The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

Book review by Kate

For my book report I did the Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo. It was a great mystery and part adventure story about a ten year old boy named Peter Augustus Duchene. Peter had a troublesome life. His father died at war and his mother died trying to give birth to his baby sister. But Peter doesn’t know his sister is alive or dead. Was his soldier instructor, Vilna Lutes, lying that Adele, his baby sister, is dead? And will an elephant actually appear in Europe? Well, that all does happen and an elephant does appear and crashes through in a magic act, but will the elephant ever help Peter? Will Peter ever find his sister Adele? You’ll see if you read the Magician’s Elephant.

Well, Peters adventure starts when he has a copper coin and uses it for a fortune teller so he can ask questions, but what he’s about to find out is that his sister is alive! And an elephant is going to help him find her. But Peter is thinking how, how can an elephant come to Europe? Well, he finds the elephant when a magic trick is being performed in a coliseum. And everyone was fascinated! But when Peter meets the elephant everything changes. And Adele is hoping she can find the elephant. That was my favorite part. I would absolutely recommend this book to others, and if I would rate this book one to ten I would rate it a ten because it was very exciting.

Who Was Anne Frank?

Book review by Aria

I read the book Who Was Anne Frank? Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl who lived in Amsterdam when World War II broke out in 1939. She became famous when her diary was published after her death. The main characters are Anne, her parents Otto and Edith Frank, her older sister Margot Frank, and friends Meip Gies, Jan Gies and the VanPels family. Anne and her family go through many struggles along the way. In the book the author explains in detail the family’s life in the “Secret Annex.” Anne has many hopes and scares while in hiding. She ends up liking the VanPels son and she almost gets caught when someone drops a bag of rice. The ending is sad when Anne, her sister and mother die in a concentration camp.





This is a good book because it has many facts and details about Anne’s life. My favorite part is about her childhood. One story is when Anne and a friend sprinkled water from the balcony on the pedestrians below. Another favorite part is when the Franks made their own movie theater including refreshments and ticket takers. At this time, Jewish people were not allowed to go to the public movie theaters. I learned Anne was very outspoken at an early age. While in hiding, it was interesting to learn how quiet the people had to be. Any noise could get them caught by the police.
I hope you will read the book to find out more about World War II history and Anne Frank.

The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman

Book review by Michelle

My book review is about the book The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman. The main characters are Judy, Sam, Kelsey and Brenton. They only have two things in common; they are all in 5th grade and HATE HOMEWORK! Then suddenly all four of their worlds are turned upside-down by this crazy homework machine. What are they supposed to do, keep using it or leave it alone? Always do homework or no homework ever again?!

I thought this was a good book. I like this book because it always keeps you excited and you never know what is going to happen next. My favorite part was when you meet all of the characters because you get to see what the book is really going to be about. If I had a homework machine I would use it, and it would definitely help. One thing I found surprising and interesting is how close their friendships got. It’s hard to find a good friend. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure. They would love it. I would rate this book a 9 out of 10.

Dispatch from Vancouver

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls by Meg Cabot

Book review by Charlotte

I read the book Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Stage Fright. It was a really good book. The main character is Allie Finkle. There are a lot of other main too including; Sophie, Caroline, and Erica are her BFFS. Her enemies are m & d, Marianne and Dominique, and Cheyenne makes fun of her all of the time! This book takes place at Allie's house, Erica's house and their school. In this book Allie and her class make a play about a princess named Penelope and the realm of recycling. Now the pressure is on and Sophie and Allie are trying out for the part of Princess Penelope so Cheyenne, their enemy, won't get it. At the same time Allie's mom drops the bomb that she got another job as a movie reviewer. In the end the play ends up being really good.

I liked this book because it has good humor. My favorite part was when all of the drama started. When Sophie spat out at Allie because of her shoes. She said they ruined the whole play. One of the things that I found interesting was when Allie didn't get the part of Penelope. I would recommend this book to any girl, but you have to read the series in order to know what has happened.