Dealing With Dragons

Dealing with Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede, starts with a princess named Cimorone. Cimorone isn't like other princesses though. She is bored with all the etiquette lessons and proper princess behavior and when her parents are making her marry a prince, she runs away. There she meets the dragon Kuzul and becomes her princess. Living with Kuzul, she uncovers a plot by the wizards to steal the dragons' magic. Cimorone tries to stop the wizards and in the adventure she meets a witch, a jinn, a princess, a death-dealing bird, and a prince made out of stone. Then Cimorone stops the wizards and Kuzul is made King of the dragons.

One theme in Dealing With Dragons is perseverance. Cimorone perseveres in stopping the wizards even when it gets hard and confusing. Kuzul perseveres by working hard to get to be king. The stone prince perseveres by trying to do a great service to a king over and over again. Alianora (the princess that Cimorone meets) perseveres by trying to be brave even in the worst times. Even the wizards try to persevere in stealing the magic from the dragons. Perseverance is a reoccurring theme in dealing with dragons.

The main character in this book is Cimorone. Cimorone is intelligent, a hard worker, stubborn, and a tomboy. The book repeatedly says that Cimorone is not as air-headed as other princesses. She also loves adventure and not being bored with princess lessons and duties. Another character is Kuzul, the dragon. Kuzul likes having Cimorone around because Cimrone organizes, cleans, and makes cherries jubilee for her. Kuzul is a good listener and is full of common sense to. Those are the two main characters in Dealing with Dragons.

I liked the book, Dealing with Dragons, a lot. It had adventure, excitement, and mystery. I am so glad there are more books after this one. I loved everything about it except that if you read it right, the characters sound stuck-up. It is easy to read/follow the story and I would defiantly recommend it to other elementary to middle school kids. I hope you enjoy this book just as much as I did.



Citations-

Wrede, Patricia. Dealing With Dragons. Jane Yolen Books, 1990. Print.




I got my picture at:   amethyst-dragon.jpg

Alabama Moon

Alabama Moon is a good book by Watt Key. It is about a ten year old boy named Moon. It starts out with Moon and his Father in the forest they live in illegally. To survive they live off the land and go into town just to buy and trade things with a small store. Things go as usual until Moon's father breaks his leg. His father fades fast and dies shortly after. After sadness, thought, and preparation, Moon decides to go to Alaska but he is interrupted by the owner of the forest, Mr. Wellington, who betrays him by calling the boys home. He runs away and but runs into constable Sanders. Sanders gets beat up by Moon, then after he barely wins he takes Moon to the boys home. Moon makes two new friends, Hal and Kit. The three boys escape the boys home and go to a national forest. Then Hal leaves to go with his father and Kit becomes very sick. Moon carries Kit all the way to a road, where a random car picks him up and brings him to a hospital. Next, Hal and his father find Moon and take him to their house. He stays there a while until the crazy constable Sanders finds Moon and makes him take himself to where Moon hid his gun. They run into Mr. Wellington again and he takes him in with him. Mr. Wellington turns out to be a really great lawyer who defends Moon on his trial for free. After the trial Mr. Wellington locates Moon's uncle who adopts him at the end of the book.

One theme in Alabama Moon is death, but life as well. First of all, two characters die in this book: Moon's father and his friend Kit. His mother had died before the book as well. Even though death happens in this book quite often, life is reoccurring as well. Moon's whole life was spent in the forest until his father died. After he ventured out it was like another life. He also experienced different types of life. He was put into jail and into a boys home. He experienced life in the woods, in Hal's house next to the water, and in an everyday household with his uncle and family. Death and life are reoccurring themes in Alabama Moon.

The main character in this book is Moon. Moon has lived in the forest for his whole life so of corse he is uncivilized and a little impolite. He knows how to read and write because of his father. His father also taught him how to shoot a riffle, "whip up" on somebody three times his size, live off the land, and how to escape out of almost anywhere. When Moon gets to civilization it seems he likes to brag about the things he knows how to do. Moon's rare condition he's in also gets lots of people to notice him. The press follows him if they know where he is. By the end of the book, Moon is a little more civilized but still makes a great main character.

Alabama Moon is good book. It's well written and it keeps you reading. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would recommend it to other people, but I have to warn you that it is extremely boyish. If you are a boy you will most likely love this book. It has lots of surviving, guns, beating up, death, and fun. I'm sure you will enjoy Alabama Moon.

MLA Citations
Key, Watt. Alabama Moon. Harrisonburg, Virginia: Square Fish, Inc. 2006. Print.




I got my picture at:  http://www.alfrc.org/landcon.php

Scat

The book Scat is about a feared biology teacher and her students. The main characters are Nick and Marta who are students of the biology teacher, Ms. Starch. On a field trip to the Black Vine Swamp, a forest fire starts (which is common) and Ms. Starch goes missing. Nick and Marta start researching the disappearance of their teacher after their friend, Smoke, is suspected of starting the fire because of his previous records with starting fires. Their researching leads them to find Ms. Starch: with a panther! Soon Nick, Marta, Smoke, Ms. Starch, and a older guy name Twilly go on a mission to return the baby panther to his mother. They succeed in their mission and find the real culprit of the forest fire.

The theme of Scat appreciating nature. This theme reoccurs throughout the book. Ms. Starch loves nature and she is a biology teacher. Smoke started his previous fire to save a bird's nest from being disturbed. Nick, Marta, and the others go on a mission to return the baby panther to it's mother. The police are trying to protect the Black Vine Swamp (a national forest) and the endangered panthers inside it. Appreciating nature is a reoccuring theme in Scat.

There are many characters in Scat. The two main characters are Nick and Marta. Nick is a good natured boy who enjoys playing baseball. He is good friends with Marta, who is spunky but cautious. Ms. Starch is a character who has two sides. In school, she is fearsome and tough. Outside of school, Nick and Marta learn that the other side of Ms. Starch is kind and is devoted to the environment. In the beginning of the book, Smoke was viewed as a big tough kid that you wouldn't want to get in the way of. By the end of Scat, Smoke redeemed himself.

I thought Scat was a good, but  not great. I like Carl Hiaasen's (the author's) voice. I also liked the mystery of book. For instance, when Ms. Starch went missing. I liked the characters as well. The thing I didn't like as much was the plot. It was very predictable and a little rushed near the end. Despite the plot, I really liked the plot. I would recommend it.

MLA Citations-

Hiaasen, Carl. Scat. New York City: Random House, Inc. 2009. Print.



I got my picture at:   http://1stevenm.edu.glogster.com/scat/