Books

Let's Pretend This Never Happened/My Pants are Haunted/Am I the Princess or the Frog?/Never Do Anything, Ever (Dear Dumb Diary 1-4)

Average customer rating:

The Most Amazing Most Spectacular Book Ever To Be Read In History By: KC from North Beoulevard School
very funny

Let's Pretend This Never Happened/My Pants are Haunted/Am I the Princess or the Frog?/Never Do Anything, Ever (Dear Dumb Diary 1-4)
Jim Benton
Manufacturer: Scholastic Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Can Adults Become Human (Dear Dumb Diary #5)
Our Dumb Diary
My Pants Are Haunted (Dear Dumb Diary #2)
Never Do Anything, Ever (Dear Dumb Diary #4)
Am I the Princess or the Frog? (Dear Dumb Diary #3)

ASIN: 0439884780

Book Description

Dear Dumb Diary, Here's the thing about Angeline. I know that she shouldn't really bother me that much. I mean, Angeline has even done nice things for me in the past, although I have come to believe that these were probably accidental. There's just something so infuriating about perfect people. When she's nice, it makes me mad. When she's pretty, it makes me mad. It never changes. I guess the only good thing about Angeline is that she can never bother me more than she does right now. Perfect people make me perfectly ill.

Customer Reviews:

The Most Amazing Most Spectacular Book Ever To Be Read In History By: KC from North Beoulevard School.......2006-12-22

The book I read is called Dear Dumb Diary. The book was written by Jim Benton. I am going to give this book five stars because it was about a girls life and how she goes to school and the boy she likes, and the girl who thinks that she is perfect in every way. Anyway, the girl in this story Jamie who tells about what is happening in school and her life. Some of the characters in the story are Angelina, Sparky, the lunch lady, Henry, and Isabelle. Angelina is the popular girl who likes the same guy Jamie does. And boy does that make Jamie MAD!!! Angelina is very bossy and likes to torment Jamie in any way she can. Sparky is Jamie's dog. She tells him everything that happens in her life. The lunch lady is the lady who serves disgusting lunches, in the cafeteria. Henry is the guy I was telling you about. He's the guy who both Jamie and Angelina like! And last but not least Isabelle. Isabelle is the Jamie's best friend in the whole wide world. They do everything together. And in the story Jamie likes to call people names in her diary. She talk about them and what they look like and what she plans on doing to them in the future. And one off the parts is when Angelina get her........................oops!! Can't tell you! You have to read the book to find out.

very funny.......2006-11-22

My 10 year old daughter loves these books-- and absolutely laughs out loud when she reads them! They're not deep literature or a difficult read, but the author has a very funny way with words and really seems to know the pre-teen mind.

Can Adults Become Human (Dear Dumb Diary #5)

Average customer rating:

THIS BOOK IS GOOOD
can adults become human (dear dumb diary #5)
So Entertaining!
LOL! Too funny! Love it!
side splitting hilarious!

Can Adults Become Human (Dear Dumb Diary #5)
Jim Benton
Manufacturer: Scholastic Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Never Do Anything, Ever (Dear Dumb Diary #4)
The Problem with Here Is That It's Where I'm From (Dear Dumb Diary, No. 6)
Am I the Princess or the Frog? (Dear Dumb Diary #3)
My Pants Are Haunted (Dear Dumb Diary #2)
Let's Pretend This Never Happened (Dear Dumb Diary #1)

ASIN: 0439796210

Book Description

Jamie go school. School full savages. Savages be mean Jamie. Jamie teach hippo bite Angeline. Good hippo.

Customer Reviews:

THIS BOOK IS GOOOD.......2007-05-14

I loved this book! When i picked it up i could not put it down! I just keep on reading!!! I would recommend this book for everyone who love comedy books!!

can adults become human (dear dumb diary #5).......2006-11-10

My 10-year-old daughter , a picky reader, devoured this whole series. Easy to read, great illustrations, and absolutely hilarious. Book # 5 is just as funny as the first 4. I read them too. Laughed til I cried! Honestly!

So Entertaining! .......2006-11-08

L.O.L.! A hilarious adventure of Jamie Kelly! WHAT? Haven't read it? You're missing out on a lot! This one- the best of the whole series! Read this FUNNY, yes, the letters are capitalized, comedy of the great things Jamie does to live an interesting and funny life. Chao!

LOL! Too funny! Love it!.......2006-08-29

As you may or may not have known, jim benton, the happy bunny dude wrote these. there easy to read, and even my mom enjoys the series! I burst out laughing on every sentence. its too funny. all of my friends have borrowed the books, and they cabt let go of em! A must read.

side splitting hilarious!.......2006-06-09

I love this line of books. They are all very entertaining. I couldn't stop laughing.

Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic 1912 (Dear America Series)

Average customer rating:

Very sad, but good book!
best young adult novel on the tragic sinking
The Ship of Dreams
Excellent Book Collection
A Sad Disaster

Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic 1912 (Dear America Series)
Ellen Emerson White
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620 (Dear America Series)
Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana 1932 (Dear America Series)
I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembly, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony 1691 (Dear America Series)
Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847 (Dear America Series)
Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catharine Carey Logan (Dear America)

ASIN: 0590962736

Customer Reviews:

Very sad, but good book!.......2007-05-30

Hey!;)
I love dear america, and have written reviews on a lot of them. This one was like, the fiftenth I read? (maybe twentieth???) and I loved it. I reread it more times than I can count! It's very touching and sad; I lvoe the author's style of writing. It has a good plot. There aren't many books about the titanic, especially in a young woman's perspective. The plot to this book is a little similair to the movie, "The Titianic", but not enough that it's obvois or annoying. The only parts that are similair to the movie is the relationship between Margret and Robert, and the small love scene. Besides that, there's no similarities. Again, this is an amaizng book, and I love it! a greta ddition to your historical fiction or dear america collection.

best young adult novel on the tragic sinking.......2007-05-05

A well-written and historically accurate telling of the Titanic disaster from the perspective of a young girl immigrating to the United States as a companion to a wealthy passenger. Margaret's perspective is that of an outsider, not only to the wealthy culture, but to the adult and American culture. Probably the best young adult fiction based on the disaster, as it's true to history (the period and the event) and the characters are real (Margaret is spunky, but obedient, emotional but constrained). It captures the emotional tragedy, the spirit and feel of the horrific event. For adults and the Titanic fascinated, the story isn't anything new or original or especially engaging. Grade: B+

The Ship of Dreams.......2007-03-08

Everyone called the Titanic the ship of dreams, and for Margaret Anne Brady, it was a dream. She would be traveling with a lady from London England to find her brother, whom she hasn't seen since her parents died a few years back. Margaret was leaving her friends which was her family to come to America on the Titanic. She loved it. It was everything she dreamed off until that dreadful day the Titanic sank. If I was her I would have never made it through the night of freezing cold weather with only a over coat. She had no family just Mrs. Carstairs who she was traveling with. I don't know how anyone could have gone through that. It truly would have been a nightmare.

Excellent Book Collection.......2007-02-26

I have started reading the "Dear America" book collection to my little sister. We started with Margaret and just loved the book so we bought another and then another. My brother has even started listening now and we have gone through eight or nine of the books and are continuing to read more. The thing about these books that make them so AMAZING is that they not only have an interesting story line for people of all ages (making it so enjoyable for people of all age groups) but they are also very historically acurate and well researched. My sister told me one day that her class was covering The Mayflower and she already knew everything and she got up to share more! These books are so educational and also fun. The one thing to throw iin as a warning would be the fact that they are VERY real to history-- and sometimes they can be very graphic. All in all these books are five star! Def. worth the investment!

A Sad Disaster.......2006-12-03

An orphaned girl named Margaret Anne Brady, is on the Titanic, as a companion to a rich lady, Mrs. Carstairs. She agreed to this because her brother William lives in America and she would love to finally live with him. But when disaster struck, Margaret decided not to get on a lifeboat, and then she changed her mind. It was very late and there was only one more lifeboat left. Margie boarded it and survived. Then the Carpathia picked her lifeboat up and in New York, she reunited with William. How was the Titanic before the disaster to Margaret? Read and find out!

Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana 1932 (Dear America Series)

Average customer rating:

Zully's Review
Perhaps The Best Christmas Book I've Ever Read
The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift
Bad choice
Christmas after all

Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana 1932 (Dear America Series)
Kathryn Lasky
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic 1912 (Dear America Series)
When Christmas Comes Again: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer, New York City to the Western Front 1917 (Dear America Series)
A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620 (Dear America Series)
I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembly, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony 1691 (Dear America Series)
Survival in the Storm: The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards, Dalhart, Texas 1935 (Dear America Series)

ASIN: 0439219434

Amazon.com

To 11-year-old Minnie Swift, Christmas, 1932, is not going to be the time of bounty she's used to. Instead, it has become the "Time of the Dwindling." The Great Depression has changed everything: Minnie's father is working fewer and fewer hours, her hungry family eats more and more aspic and "rumor of pork" (high up on the Vomitron, a zero-to-ten scale Minnie and her brother have invented to determine the vileness of their meager dinners), and a tiny orphan girl has joined their family from Heart's Bend, Texas. Minnie finds a worthy outlet in her daily journal, in which she records the sometimes troubling, sometimes exhilarating experiences of one winter month in Indianapolis during the depression. Nothing can subdue Minnie's lively spirit, although the disappearance of her father challenges her sorely.

Kathryn Lasky's latest addition to the Dear America series is chock-full of period details: Greta Garbo's hairstyle, The Shadow radio program, Charlie Chan, Hooverville shantytowns, Buck Rogers, Amelia Earhart, and phrases like yee gads and go-to-the-dickens. Minnie is an exuberant and witty chronicler of her family life, as well as the world outside. Young readers will come away from Christmas After All with a strong image of life in the 1930s, and a sense of the resiliency and ingenuity of many Americans during that deeply troubled time. A historical note and photos follow the diary, providing background to help readers understand the era in which the fictional Minnie lived. (Ages 9 to 14) --Emilie Coulter

Customer Reviews:

Zully's Review.......2007-01-26

Imagine you have to live with an orphanage girl that doesn't know what an adjective is. This is what Kathryn Lasky in the book Christmas After All talks about. It's a masterpiece of love ness. The love ness of the main character, Minnie is that she helps an orphanage girl that goes to live with them.
Minnie Swift is a young girl who is in 4th grade she is 11 years old. Minnie Swift lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.
One day an orphanage girl name Willie Faye got to their house she didn't know anything, so Minnie's parents put her in school and Minnie couldn't believe that they put Willie Faye in fourth grade, Minnie was so embarrassed. Minnie's fingers were tired from poking cloves into oranges.
Do people always help orphanages? Can we break our friendship with a person?
Minnie faces these issues in the book Christmas After All. Is four dollars a lot of money for you, well I don't think so, but in the book Christmas After All they think it's a lot of money. Would you use a fancy dress like a curtain? Well Minnie's sister wanted to do that, she wanted to put it in their room because they didn't have a lot of money to buy a curtain. Minnie didn't like that idea, and she didn't say anything because if she says that she doesn't like that idea lady her sister will get mad at her.
Jackie is Minnie's maid house. Jackie is kind of the color cinnamon, and Minnie wishes she could be that color of skin. In school Minnie was bored in Geography.
When they got back from school Willie Faye went to her room and start getting stuff so she could make earrings for lady that goes with her dress.
Christmas After All is a book of how people of the past help orphanage people. This book shows honesty for a lot of people. Christmas After All is for these who love a heart felt story and for those who have read this book before. For those people who help people will be a really, really good book.
I felt a good affection for this book, and you will too. " We have had Christmas after all."- Christmas After All.

Perhaps The Best Christmas Book I've Ever Read.......2006-11-22

The "Dear America" books are something I can take or leave. MY SECRET WAR was pretty good, as was WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AGAIN (not really a Christmas book, but about the "Hello girls" in World War I), and the story of the Italian girl crossing the great plains. The Titanic book was average and the Pearl Harbor book was pretty bad. I've heard some pretty scathing criticisms about the two books involving Native American characters.

But in CHRISTMAS AFTER ALL, Kathryn Lasky has created a masterpiece within the diary format of the books.

It is the story of Minnie Swift, youngest of four sisters, her precocious genius younger brother Ozzie, and her parents during the days of the Great Depression. Dad's job is going badly and the family is reduced to shutting down rooms in their home to cut down on coal bills. They rarely have meat for supper, but eat a succession of aspics and "O'Grotons," as Minnie calls them. Then, as December begins, Willie Faye Darling comes into their lives. Willie Faye is the only daughter of cousins of Minnie's mother. Her parents, from a small town called Heart's Bend, Texas, have died after losing a battle with life in the Dust Bowl. Willie Faye is Minnie's age (11), but looks two years younger due to malnutrition and hardships. She arrives at the Swift home covered in dust and with a kitten named Tumbleweed whose nose she had to suction out morning, noon and night to keep him from smothering. Willie Faye has never seen an indoor bathroom, gone to a movie, read a Buck Rogers comic, or listened to the radio, so Minnie thinks that Willie Faye will have a lot to learn from them.

She never dreams what she--and the entire family--will learn from the fragile-looking but tough little girl from the Dust Bowl when the ravages of the Depression begin leaching away the family's security.

I have many of Lasky's other books and love them as well including PRANK, which takes place in East Boston, and her adult mysteries starring Calista Jacobs. But this story has a special magic to it, perhaps because it is based on Lasky's mother's experiences as well as her own and the characters ring true. Highly recommended.

The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift.......2006-10-30

The depression diary of Minnie Swift is about a girl trying to live during the Great Depression of 1930.It is cold, snowy, and miserable November right after Thanksgiving.Minnie and her family is trying to live through the troubles of the Great Depression. The biggest trouble is that her father lost his job and there is no more money coming into the family fortune.I really liked this book because it gives you an idea of what people faced during the Great Depression.The book reminds you of how fortunite that you have all that you need in life and that you don't have to worry about anything.

Bad choice.......2006-03-31

I did not care for this book. At first I thought it looked good because I used to find the depression interesting and I couldn't wait to tell my grandmother about I was reading about the depression. I didn't like it that much. It was very boring and Minnie writes so many entries in one day, she can't even write a full month's worth of diary entries. We all know about how hard it is during the depression and WHO CARES that she saw a bird at 11 PM or 12 AM!

Christmas after all.......2006-03-15

Imagine trying to be happy for your family on Christmas Eve, when your father could be laying in the streets, dead. Minnie Swift had to endure through that as well, as others. Minnie lived in Great Depression. Her role model is Amelia Earhart, which she cuts out all of the newspaper articles or clippings, she can find, because she is her role model. Her father was at a point in his job where they could "downsize" any minute. It`s hard enough to make ends meet with seven family members, but then they get the telegram for Heart's Bend, Texas. Willie Faye, their cousin, is coming to live with them. Willie Faye's parents died and her guardians were the Swift family. Willie Faye was a little girl that was going to change their lives. Minnie's father was laid off, and spent all of his time with his typewriter in the attic. One day, Minnie's father had vanished, leaving a note not to worry, and that he would be back soon. They started to worry and in times of their most distress, Willie Faye stepped up to the plate and organized Christmas gifts and gift-making for everyone so they could get rid of worrying about Father, and when they would wake up in the middle of the night fearing the worst of Father, Willie Faye would tell a story that would spin a weave of imagination while they drifted to sleep. Mother and Minnie's brother Ozzie were so nervous, they sold Father's typewriter to try to find Father. On Christmas Eve Father still had not come home, and as they sat down for dinner, they felt an emptiness in the pit of their stomachs that they should share this momentous occasion, that they took their food to Hooverville and gave every one their Christmas dinner. When they came home, lights were on in the house, and the radio was on. Father had come home! He was at the National Broadcasting Offices in Chicago selling scripts to a radio program called Ozzie, the Boy Wonder about Minnie's brother Ozzie. He sold three scripts to the offices, and wanted more. He bought everyone new Christmas gifts, and Minnie and Willie Faye were all part of a family. This book was very boring and I don't recommend it to anyone, it would be a waste of time reading it.

This book has very detailed characters. Minnie is a very conservative girl, but stood up for what is right for her family. When her father left, she took up extra chores and tried to make everyone happy, even when she had lots of opposition at school and extra homework. Willie Faye is a very reserved girl, but, piece by piece, each layer of her shows that she is a wonderful asset to the Swift family. Mother is definitely a role model to Minnie in which she can be very sensitive, yet when Minnie's father left, she took up extra sewing to help pay, rationed the food they had more, and she would not let anyone of her kids, except for her oldest, get a job because she wanted to get an education because when the Great Depression was over, she was certain that her children were going to do great things, in which they did.

Christmas After All had very historical elements to it. Minnie's role model was Amelia Earhart, and kept everything she could find about her. She had started a scrapbook and she believed that Amelia Earhart was the woman that took charge of her life and learned how to fly and even joined the air force. During the book, the Swift family went to Hooverville and brought food or helped fix houses or even tried to nurse some back to health. These trips took their mind off of Father and where he was. The Swift family loved their radio. They listened to the shows, the important speeches and the important announcements. Their life was almost centered on trying to get information.

Christmas After All was very boring. When Willie Faye comes to live with the Swift family, nothing is told about her, she is swept to the side. Then, all of a sudden, she is in many conversations talking about things I didn't understand. Minnie's diary is filled with boring things of how she went to school, and what they had for dinner. The only exciting thing is that her father leaves, and that is commonplace today, so it wasn't very shocking. In Minnie's diary, she doesn't talk about her family all that much. Then at the end, they are used repeatedly, and I didn't know who they were!

This book, Christmas After All, is overall a very boring book with historical elements to it and detailed characters.

-B. Rimando

One Eye Laughing, The Other Eye Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss, Vienna, Austria to New York 1938 (Dear America Series)

Average customer rating:

one of the best!!
Missed the Mark
A Child's Book?
Heartbreaking
A Vienna Girl's Story From 1938

One Eye Laughing, The Other Eye Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss, Vienna, Austria to New York 1938 (Dear America Series)
Barry Denenberg
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan, The Perkins School for the Blind, 1932 (Dear America Series)
Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic 1912 (Dear America Series)
My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck, Long Island, New York 1941 (Dear America Series)
My Face to the Wind: the Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher, Broken Bow, Nebraska 1881 (Dear America Series)
Survival in the Storm: The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards, Dalhart, Texas 1935 (Dear America Series)

ASIN: 0439095182

Customer Reviews:

one of the best!!.......2007-03-11

My daughter loved this book! She said it was one of the best Dear America books that she has read.

Missed the Mark.......2006-11-03

Very dissappointing and bordering on revisionist history. The author makes a point of letting us know that the Jewish girl really doesn't practice religion. These events were driven by racism and religious oppression. By focusing on the character's lack of religion, it looks more like a modern day political perception rather than an historical account. I'm sorry to say we did not share this book with our daughter, but threw it away.

A Child's Book?.......2006-08-29

This book starts out very sweetly - a little girl named Julie waiting up for her Father to come home. A few pages later, I'm wondering if some brat stole Julie's diary, because the tone flips! She's glad, GLAD! that her brother Max is in crutches, she brags about how she's as smart as he is, she makes VERY personal observations about Milli's (the waiting maid) anatomy, and cheerfully reports that a fat, ugly boy from school tried to look up her dress, etc; etc. Weird book. I can't believe this ended up in the Dear America series.

Heartbreaking.......2006-05-23

Sure a good book, and hearing about the awful things happening around Julie is just heartbreaking.

A Vienna Girl's Story From 1938.......2006-05-11

This is a book about the Holocaust which is based on a true story. The Holocaust is told with horrifying details of the tasks Nazis took while trying to eliminate the Jew's. Julie Weiss is the main character in the book and she experienced first hand the horrifying ordeals the Nazis did to them. The story is told with great diary entries. Julie is a young girl and is as normal as other young girls. She is growing up with thoughts of making friends and going to school. Her family is Jewish but they do not practice the Jewish faith. One day Julie's world changes for ever. The Nazis invade and take control of all the Jews in Vienna, Austria. She no longer has to think about going to school, and making friends. She now is forced into a world of survival for herself and her family. The Nazis protest in the streets of Vienna, chanting Kill the Jews. Julie is very confused and can not understand why Jews are being thought of as terrible people. One night the Nazis barge into her home. The Nazis destroy her home. Her family and her are very fearful. Suddenly her father and brother are forced out of the home to scrub the sidewalk to get rid it of anti Hitler signs. After a while her father and brother realize that the liquid they are scrubbing the sidewalk with is not water, and that it is some kind of paint stripper that burns their hands. If they stop scrubbing the sidewalk they are punished severely. Many other events like that one also happen in the book. Although the book made me feel very sad, I could not put it down. Julie's mother is forced into the streets by the Nazi soldiers. It is not told what happened to her that evening, but her mother never fully recovers and is later brought to something heart-rending for everyone,. Julie's has an Aunt that lives in New York and her father brings together a plan to send Julie to America to live with her Aunt Clara. After many months of effort, Julie arrives in New York City where a whole new life awaits her, including a dream she had as a little girl. Julie never forgets the family she left behind. It is a terrific book. The diary entries are so real. If you find what happened with the holocaust interesting you should definitely pick up this book.

Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 (Dear America)

Average customer rating:

the golden country
Gabby
Life's Roads as a Jewish Girl
Dreams in the Golden Country, But is it really golden?
Molly's Review for Dreams in the Golden Country

Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 (Dear America)
Kathryn Lasky
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620 (Dear America Series)
So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, An Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847 (Dear America Series)
A Line in the Sand: the Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence, Gonzales, Texas 1836 (Dear America Series)
One Eye Laughing, The Other Eye Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss, Vienna, Austria to New York 1938 (Dear America Series)
Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catharine Carey Logan (Dear America)

ASIN: 0590029738

Customer Reviews:

the golden country.......2007-03-06

I thought the book was awsome. I couldn't put it down there was no part that was boring. I recccomend this book to every one. i read it so fast and i want to read it again

Gabby.......2006-11-08

Have you ever wondered how long and painful a trip across the Atlantic, would be? Leaving your home, your customs, your whole life, all left in the waves. In the book, Dreams in a Golden Country by Kathryn Lasky, a girl named Zipporah Feldman, mostly known as Zippy struggles to adjust to the American way of life. Zippy would not even have had to come to America, but in her small town in Russia Jews were being persecuted. Zippy has a father who decided to come to America first, who is becoming more American everyday. Zippy has a mother who refuses to leave her old ways, and two sisters, one named Tovah who is obsessed with politics, and the other, Miriam who falls in love with a Catholic firefighter. Zippy has to start in 1st grade, since she had never gone to an American school before, but she eventually gets to the grade she should be in. Zippy is the only family member who was allowed to go to school. I like this book because you get to see the easy and difficult times in an immigrant girl's life during the 1800's. I recommend this book to someone who like stories in diary entry form.

Life's Roads as a Jewish Girl.......2006-03-08

Life's Roads as a Jewish Girl

Zipporah Feldman (Zippy) comes to America with her Jewish family. They came from Zarichka. This book was the diary of Zipporah. After coming to America they all have found some sort of dream in this new country. What was it about America that makes you like this, having big hopes and dreams. Her beloved sister has gone away with the guy she loves, who is not a Jewish boy. Mama gets mad ands pretends top mourn over her daughter like she is dead. The family has fallen apart. Zippy is sad. Something happened to one of her friends. She wants to fly an airplane like the first two brothers did. Or be an actress. She had dreams to look up to.

I really liked this book. Because it was a diary. It was interesting and I liked it a lot. Because she wrote in it almost all the time, it was like a story of her life. Another good diary book that I enjoyed was The Diary of Patrick Seamus Flaherty. I like diary books because they are like a life story and very interesting. These books are different diary's and people. But both are excellent books to read!

Dreams in the Golden Country, But is it really golden?.......2006-03-08

Zippoah is a jewish girl coming to America to meet her Father in New York City. They come to New York City from A small village in Russia. They come for a new life away from all the attacks that are going on in Russia. Zipporah starts a diary of what is going on in the new country she is in. SHe Starts school, Makes firends, and new ideas come to her family that they would have never dreamed of thinking about in Russia. Some thoughts are good & some are bad & some frighten her mother. Her mother is a person who likes to stick to old customs but she starts to add some new ones once she is more comfortable with the New country she is in.
Her father is a very nice man who played the violin very well and was a photographer. Zipporah has two sisters Meriam & Tovah. Tovah is a more seriouse and political person she is also the oldest of the three. Mariam is a very romantic girl, she is the middle child. Mariam ends up falling in love with a cathlic boy and her mother is furious when she finds out that they got secretly married.In Zipporah, or Zippy as her firends call her, has to learn how to read & write in english. At School Zipporah recites poems and learns many new things at school. Zippora's life gets better at some points and bad at some points. But let me ask you how would you feel in her shoes?

Molly's Review for Dreams in the Golden Country.......2005-05-10

Dreams of the Golden Country
By Kathryn Lasky

(Publication: 1998 by Scholastic Inc.) (188 pages) (Genre: Historical fiction)

In summary the book Dreams in the Golden Country was an extremely good book. The book takes place in New York City, 1903. In the book there is a Yetish Jewish family and they live in Russia. The dad of the Feldman family immigrated into the United to States to earn money and buy a place for the family when they came. He worked in a sweatshop factory and had bought an apartment that was shared with an elderly border. When the family immigrated over months later they found that the "papa" they knew and loved had changed. He had cut off this side locks, stopped playing the violin, and did not celebrate any Jewish holidays anymore. Sara, the mom was very upset along with the three children, Zipporah, the youngest, Miriam, the middle child and Tovah the oldest. They were not all impressed with the small unlit apartment either but they had to deal with. As the book went on Zipporah who is keeping the journal is going through school and working hard to learn English along with the rest of the family. The times are pretty smooth until they start to fall apart when Miriam runs away and gets married to a non Jew and the family pretends she's dead. Then more problems come as mama is pregnant and a close friend dies. Times eventually get smooth again and the family resolves their problems and starts their "real" life in America.
I was attracted to this book by the part of the title "Golden Country" it made me wonder what the author was talking about, also the fact that is was a diary.
The main character of the book is Zipporah who is the writer of the journal. Her two friends Blu and Yitzy are immigrant also that have been in America longer than Zippy and her family. The Feldman family, papa, mama, Tovah, and Miriam. The conflict in the book is how the family has to manage being in a new country and not knowing the language there.
My opinion about this book is that the author made a real situation interesting. She made it seem like you were in the book. Very descriptive and hard to put down. I believe the author achieved the purpose of writing this book. The book was powerful, strong, and good and I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a truly amazing story. I would rate this book as a pretty easy read.
The lesson that is taught in this book is that even though life's journey is the most difficult ride you'll ever be on you have to be yourself and stay true to your friends, family and the true you. You also need to appreciate what you have and not take anything for granted.

A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620 (Dear America Series)

Average customer rating:

Blast from the past with a pilgrim girl
Pretty Good Look at Pilgrim Life
A View of the Unexplored Fronteir
COOOOOOOOOOOL!
Historical Balderdash!

A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620 (Dear America Series)
Kathryn Lasky
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 059050214X

Customer Reviews:

Blast from the past with a pilgrim girl.......2006-08-05

Remember Patience Whipple is a pilgrim child on the Mayflower. When Remember comes ashore, things get tough. Lots of people are dying, including a member of her family, and it's harder still when her best friend has to go back to Holland. I first saw the movie version of this book, and I just had to read it. After a slow beginning, it gets better and better. This is not quite as good as the other "Dear America" books that I have enjoyed--but like the other books, this one made me feel as though I was back in the past with the characters.

Pretty Good Look at Pilgrim Life.......2006-06-01

This is a pretty good book about a pilgrim girl coming to America in the early 17th century. I give it four stars because even though the writing is descriptive and well-paced, the main character is too headstrong and stereotypical for me. Also, I didn't feel any really strong emotions while reading this book. However, I do recommend it as a beginner for the series because it is set before any of the other books in the series.

A View of the Unexplored Fronteir.......2006-01-20

The book A Journey to the New World is the fictional yet accurate account of the pilgrims' settlement in America, the new world, to be free from the king's religious oppression. The story is told in diary form, through young Remember Patience Whipple, making it easier for younger readers to comprehend but benefit in full. The book is the beginning of a new nation, an unexplored future of pain and suffering, joy and happiness. The book is finly illustrated; another great accomplishment by Kathryn Lasky.

COOOOOOOOOOOL!.......2006-01-07

I Think this is a great book. Our class read it and they think this is a great book too.Its about a pilgram girl who journeys to a new world.You should read it yourself!

Historical Balderdash!.......2005-10-24

My grandchild & I read this book last spring as part of our homeschool studies of early European immigration to North America. Liv loved it - until we researched the REAL girls that came on the Mayflower. Remember was on the boat - but she was 6, not 12! Her "best friend" according to this book also came over on the Mayflower - as a babe in arms!

There is a wealth of information available about many of the people that came over on the Mayflower, including the girls that really were 12, 13 and 14. We wrote our own historically accurate "Mayflower Diary" of a real 12 year old Pilgrim girl.

NOTE also: Liv did not notice that the language used and topics of conversation in much of this book were extremely inaccurate for the period, but I did. All in all, a huge disappointment. The only book that we have found to be worse is the "Magic Treehouse" version.

The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins: A World War II Soldier, Normandy, France, 1944 (My Name is America: A Dear America Book)

Average customer rating:

I dont know what to title this
I dont know what to title this
Scott Pendleton Collins
Yep...it's a keeper
The Journal of Scott Pendleton

The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins: A World War II Soldier, Normandy, France, 1944 (My Name is America: A Dear America Book)
Walter Dean Myers
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0439050138

Customer Reviews:

I dont know what to title this.......2006-12-18

i read The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins,a world war two soldier.i really liked this book,i give it a 5 star rating, its an interesting historical fiction book,if you are gonna do a historical fiction book report i recommend this book. I only recommend this book to those who like reading about wars or reading about journals.when i picked this book i thought it was going to be another boring old book but it wasn't I just wanted to keep on reading this book, just to see what would happen to scott and all of the people in the war. In this book Scott tells of all his troubles while he is serving in the war. This book has some sad parts that make you want to cry and some happy parts that make you feal happy that he is alive.

I dont know what to title this.......2006-12-18

i read The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins,a world war two soldier.in this book Scott Collins goes through some tough times like seeing people die, being scared of dying and bomb shells and all those terible things that go on in war.When I picked this book I thought it was going to be another boring old book, but it wasn't. It was actually quite interesting.I usually dont like reading journals, because to me they are boring, but this book is far beyond boring(in my opinion.) some things they mentions in this book are interesting to do reaserch on, like battle of the bulge and when they mention D-day i was thinking what the heck is d-day so i did some reaserch on it and found out what it was, im not gonna tell you because you should do your own reaserch on it.I give this book a 5star rating because i liked this book. If you like reading journals and/or reading war stories then this is the book for you , if you dont like reading books on war and journals then i dont recommend this book for you.

Scott Pendleton Collins.......2006-12-12

The book was a great book and I wish Walter Dean Myers would make more books about war. My friend and I really like war books and it would great books like this. I have read The Journal of James Edmond Pease and The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty and they both are great books.

Yep...it's a keeper.......2006-11-21

I finally had to break down and buy this book when my 10 year-old son kept renewing it at the library at his school. He would mysteriously "forget" to take it on library day...he must have had that book for 6 straight weeks. He absolutely loved it...I will buy more in this series.

The Journal of Scott Pendleton.......2006-04-24

I read the book The Journal of Scott Pendleton. This book is depressing.Scott has to expierience death. The book is depressing because how the way the Germans treat people. Also
how the Nazis treat people.
I learned some interesting facts. I learned that Hitler was part of the Nazis. I also learned that mine fields are bombs. At the end I learned that the Nazis commited suicide on April,1945.
I would recommend this book for three reasons. First it tells you about World War II. Also the book tells you about the Germans. Finally the book teaches you about the Nazis. The Journal of Scott Pendleton is an exciting book.

The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777 (Dear America)

Average customer rating:

I really like it, It kept me reading.
The winter
The Winter of Red Snow
Winter of red snow
Winter of Red Snow

The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777 (Dear America)
Kristiana Gregory
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0590226533

Customer Reviews:

I really like it, It kept me reading........2006-12-02

For me this book was one that I just couldn't put down, I was always reading it. I like this book becuase I learned more about what went on in Valley Forge then I ever did. The author Kristiana Gregory even put in words like thy and ye to make it sound more back then when you read. What happens to Abigail is so exciting that you want to keep reading and never stop. The Winter of Red Snow has a nice ending and goes on to the epilogue, to tell about what happens in the future. On the very end pages there are pictures of historical people and historical things that happen in the book. The book is 170 pages long counting the epilogue and the pictures. You read to page 147 to get to the very end before the Epilogue. I really predict this book to anyone who likes to read their brother or sisters journal, or someone who likes to hear about history mixed with adventure. If you read it make sure to pass it on to someone else, I am sure they will like it too.

The winter.......2006-06-19

This historical fiction book is about a young girl named Abigail Jane Stuart. She lives in Valley Forge in 1777 and has come to find that some solders come and stay not far from her home. The main characters are Mr. Stuart, Mrs. Stuart, Elizabeth, Sally, and Abigail of course. Also she has a little brother that has just been born named Johnny and there not shore if he is going to survive the winter because winter is just around the corner. The solders are not making things better for them; one example is the solders are very hungry so they stole their chickens. Abigail also gets to meet general George Washington and his wife. I really enjoyed this book because it really explained things well and you really could feel how they felt and you could picture it. The only thing that was a little hard was that some names were hard to say. Also there kind of grammar was hard to say. If you really like historical fiction then buy this book today, I would.

The Winter of Red Snow.......2006-06-19

The Winter of Red Snow is about a girl named Abigail Jane Stewart who records her days by writing in a diary. On December 17, 1777 Abigail was writing and she wrote...
I woke to the sleet hitting the window and another sound I'd not heard before. Papa came and said, "The soldiers are coming!" Finally through the grey we saw them. Three officers on horseback led. We ran outside to cheer for them, but the men were quite and thin. The sight of them took my breath away. "They have no shoes." Elizabeth whispered. Their footprints left blood in the snow. As I wrote this upstairs my candle low, I think I shall never again complain.
I think that really say's allot. She writes about tragic movements sometimes. I think they called it the "Winter of Red Snow" because blood is red and as she said, in her writing there footprints left blood in the snow making it red snow. Abigail has many problems and troubles in this book, witch she tries to find solutions to them. She likes to write what's in her head, what she sees, but mostly what's going on. Read this book for many adventures with Abigail Jane Stewart.

Winter of red snow.......2006-06-14

This book is about a family living during the revolutionary war.
They live in Valley Forge Pennsylvania. Then Washington's troops come with supplies and stay in Valley Forge. I think that this book is annoying because they take to long to explain one thing, for example when Abigail is doing laundry for general Washington's
Laundry they explain every piece of cloths in Abigail's hands. I also think that it was weird that they didn't use chapters they used days so it is harder to keep track of where you are in the book.

Winter of Red Snow.......2006-06-08

Winter of Red Snow takes place in Valley Forge Pennsylvania in 1777. It is all about a girl named Abigail Stuart her sister and her baby brother Johnny. Abigail is worried about her brother because all her other brothers died in the winter. Abigail works for the army by washing soldiers clothes. One of Abigail's friends Lucy ran away to some spot where only Abigail knows. Some words are confusing because it is in the olden day. This book has all diary entries instead of normal print. The house of Abigail Stuart is like any olden day house with no dryers, television, or radios. Also the army is training right next to their house. This is a good book for anyone who likes history but in a fun way.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan, The Perkins School for the Blind, 1932 (Dear America Series)

Average customer rating:

Great book
facts about mirror,mirror on the wall
Learning About Being Blind
A good book...
An atypical Barry Denenberg book

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan, The Perkins School for the Blind, 1932 (Dear America Series)
Barry Denenberg
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0439194466

Book Description

After Bess Brennan is blinded in a sledding accident, she must face a frightening, much-altered world. Confronted with a new set of obstacles, Bess manages to overcome her disability with the help of her new friends at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts, where she also learns how to read braille. Her twin sister, Elin, assists her with recording daily events in her diary and contributes entries of her own. Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Bess's story will inspire all readers to be strong in the face of hardship.

Customer Reviews:

Great book.......2006-03-27

Just like all other Dear America books, this was a wonderful view into the life of a young American girl in a situation that is not common in children's literature. many books are written about wartime periods or significant events such as the dust bowl or Oregon trail, but how often do you get to read something about the lives of the Blind in the early 20th century? This is an excellent and educational book for young readers.

facts about mirror,mirror on the wall.......2005-12-20

I did not get all the way through the book.Its about a girl that
loses eye-sight.She goes to a blind school.They teach her how to
figure out if she is on the brick or has wondered off.
I like the way the writer explanes the story.What I did not like about the book was that the writer
would talk about one thing.Then he would skip to another.
December nine-teenth,two thousand five

Learning About Being Blind.......2005-04-07

"Mirror, Mirror on the Wall" is about a girl named Bess that is blind. Her uncle and mother want her to go to a school for the blind called Perkins. She became blind when she was sledding with her friends and a boy named Brian McManus (that she didn't like) was distracting her. When she was about to say you are so annoying, she............well, you can find out what happens next if you read the book. Okay back to the story, she finally decided to go to Perkins School and she surprisingly liked it. She made three very pleasant friends and they spent time together.

What I liked about the book is that it was very interesting and it is the first book that I had ever read about blind people. It really made me think about living without being able to see, and how tough it would be. Also, in the historical notes, the author told some information on Louis Braille, Helen Keller, and Samuel Gridley Howe, who started the Perkins School for the Blind.

I didn't like that the author would talk about the same thing for a long time and then just skip to another subject. It took me awhile to figure out what he was talking about.

I would rate this book a 4 out of 1-5, because I liked it a lot, but in some parts bored me.

San Anselmo, CA

A good book..........2005-03-03

Twin sisters...look the same...and totally different.
Because of a sledding accident, the author is now totally blind. She's scared, unhappy, and bitter about what's happened to her.
Then comes news of a place that might restore her confidence...Perkins School for the Blind.
She starts a new school with new people and all by herself....and I'm not giving anymore away.
This book was very interesting and made me very happy and thankful that I still can see life!

An atypical Barry Denenberg book.......2004-11-17

When I picked up this book, I wasn't expecting it to be very good, since Barry Denenberg's books in the Dear America series usually are slim and have the line 'I was too busy to write this week' somewhere in it, and the plot is rushed, unclear, or unbelievable. But I was surprised how different this was.

Although, yes the book is slim, (114 pages of entries) and the facts are screwed up a bit (It claims that Louis Braille was 105 when he started think of the idea of Braille), the story content was wonderful. It's about Bess Brennan, a girl who just lost her sight to a terrible accident and now must go to a new town and a new school, The Perkins School for the Blind. Although she is blind and it would make no sense for her to keep up a diary, her sister and a friend take up the task of writing Bess's thoughts, by Bess telling them orally what to write. Along with Bess's thoughts, you get Bess's twin sister's thoguhts sometimes.
We see how Bess gets acustomed to life being blind, as well as her family, and how life is at Perkins, and how it was started.

I really liked this book, and I'm glad someone wrote about what it's like being blind as a kid and in America. Barry Denenberg surprised me by writing so well and believingly that I got a good grasp on this book and its plot, unlike some of his books I could metion....

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