2019/07/23

Kipper and the Giant

Kipper began to cry. "I'm not giant," he said. "I'm a little boy and I don't like this adventure."

I read Kipper and the Giant which is one of the series of Oxford Reading Tree. In this book, the main character is Kipper.  He saw a a angry giant man when he was watching TV  program. He liked the man because he was very strong. He lived in a castle near a village. Nobody village people liked the giant. On day, Amazingly, he was cast a spell. He picked up a magic key, and it began to glow. It took Kipper inside the magic house. He went to the village where the giant man lived. Kipper was tall in the village like the man. The village people asked him to mend their house and carry a big stone. Then, he met a giant man and what will happen to him...??   

A Christmas Carol

"Oh, It's a wonderful pudding!" Bob Cratchit said. Everybody said something about budding. But nobody said it was a small pudding for a large family. 

Today, I read A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens. This is one of the book in the series of Helbling Readers. Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” opens with the protagonist, miserly businessman Ebenezer Scrooge, working late on Christmas Eve in his London office when his nephew Fred drops by to invite him to Christmas dinner. Fred’s Christmas greetings—repeated annually and annually declined—send Scrooge into a rant against the holiday and those who celebrate it. When Scrooge’s clerk, Bob Cratchit, quietly applauds Fred’s inspirational defense of Christmas, Scrooge threatens to fire him. As Fred leaves, a pair of gentlemen collecting money for the poor call on Scrooge, but he quickly dismisses them with the reminder that he already supports prisons and workhouses for the poor.

I think that A Christmas Carol is a heartwarming story to read at anytime but especially over the holidays. It is a constant reminder to have a giving and loving spirit. The theme of watching out for your neighbors and families could make a difference in the world we now know. Dickens is trying to spread some holiday cheer and make the world a much better place in which to live. Instead of being greedy and whiny, make a change in your life and in others.

2019/07/21

Princess Diana

Everyone loved Diana. They shouted, 'We want Di! We want Di! We want Di!' The people more interested in Diana than in her husband, Prince Charles. (P. 18 L. 13~15)

 I read Princess Diana written by Anne Collins. This is one of the books in the Macmillan Readers series. I have always been fascinated by the information I knew about Princess Diana before reading this book, but had never read a detailed biography about her life.

 Princess Diana was about as complex a human being as one could envision. She's also a person who seemed to suddenly leap above and past the difficulties and tragedies of her life to assume a far larger identity. I enjoyed about this biography was that it included quotes from both Princess Diana herself, as well as quotes about her, said by the people that once knew her. In my opinion, this structure gives the reader an authentic view of Princess Diana and her life.

 After reading, you can find similarities and differences between your life and historical figures life. The understanding might be useful for your future life. You should check this book!


The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Tom was very unhappy. He was in trouble and Becky did not love him. He was going to leave home forever!

I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer written by Mark Twain. I have read this book in Japanese before reading this book, so I was really interested in this book written by English.

In this book, the main character is Tom Sawyer and his friend is Huck Finn.
Tom Sawyer is a young boy living with his Aunt Polly on the banks of the Mississippi River. He seems to most enjoy getting into trouble...


Tom spends his time playing with his friend Joe Harper and in that moment, he saw a beautiful girl named Becky Thatcher. Tom fell in love with her at first sight.

On Sunday, Tom had to go to church dressed in a nice suit and shoes. He did not like that look because he believed that it was holding him down. At the entrance to the church, people would get cards depending on their knowledge of Bible. Tom exchanged his earned money and got a copy of the bible.

On Monday, he was supposed to go to school but didn’t feel like it so decided to fake that he was ill. The aunt recognized his act and told him to go to school. On the way to school, he came across a boy who spent his days doing nothing because he didn’t have to go to school. His name was Huckleberry Finn. The two of them agree to meet at the cemetery that night...




2019/07/19

Holly the Eco Warrior

 She never eats meat, she always chooses organic vegetables and the coffee and chocolate are Fair Trade. (P.16)

     I read Holly the Eco warrior written by Martyn Hobbs. This book is about natural environment. The main character called Holly is a person who take good care of natural environment. Holly always check that the vegetables is organic and the coffee and chocolate are Fair Trade. However her family don't take care of natural environment so much, so she is always angry with their behavior. Her old sister likes make-up, and her mother use plastic bags when she go to shopping.
     One day, she heard the news about her garden. Her father decides to cut down the tree to build her father’s office. She loved the garden, so she was angry when she heard that. Then she say that she'll don't leave the tree until her father change his decision. However, she has a dangerous situation because of storms. How she protect her garden? If you want to know that way, you should check this book!
     Finally, I thought the importance of taking care of environment after I read this book and talk with my group members. Today, the destruction of nature is progressing. I think conserving electricity is one of the idea that we can do for environment. What should we do to protect nature?

2019/07/17

The Spring Cup


Don’t worry,” said Sophie.

“It wasn’t your fault. I’ll be back riding in a few weeks.”

“And Blossom?” asked Caroline. “Blossom was lucky, too.

She’ll be able to jump again.” (P. 23 L. 1~3)

I read The Spring Cup which is one of the books in the Helbling Readers series. This book is about competition with rivals. When I was a junior high school student, I have experienced same situation like Caroline. I thought competition is one of the ways to improve my skills.

One day, Caroline and her parents talked about the race. Her mother said, “do you think you can win this competition, Caroline?” to her daughter. Caroline was good at riding horse, but she could never win the first prize. Sophie Craig is always better than her. Then her father said, “If you don’t win, Caroline, I’ll sell your horse. No trophy, no horse!”. Caroline was confused and her younger brother asked what happened. Her sister didn’t know what to do. A minute later, he went to the bathroom, and had five sleeping pills. On the day of  the competition, Caroline was so nervous. First, Sophie was on the race. She was very fast, but suddenly she felt everything went black. Second, Caroline rode a horse. She was fine, and got the first prize. Her parents were proud of her because she became champion.However, after the race, she found that her brother did something bad. She was very angry and talked about that with the head of her stable. Sophie hurt her arm, but she forgave his crime. A few days later, she got well and the two girls rode their horse again together.


2019/07/03

The Clever Woman



Linda smiles and says: “Take the chickens back to the hen house. Take the geese and put them back into the yard. Then take the goat back to the field again!” (p. 20 l. 5~7)



Today, I read The Clever Woman which is one of the series of Helbling Verlag. The interesting point of this book is the idea of clever woman called Linda. The main character is Mr Murphy. He is poor person. When he comes home, his mother is playing guitar and his wife is playing the piano. In conclusion, His two younger children are fighting and two older children are arguing about television. This is why he can't relax and read his book. He asks helping to his friend. The friend advised him to visit Linda. The clever woman's idea is very incredible. She tells him to take a animal into the house such as some geese and goat! What a absurd idea she come up with! I could't understand her idea's mean. If I were her, I would advise him to go out home. Then he can go to library, or cafeteria to read his book. This idea may good for all of his family, because their family don't have to be quiet for him and he can relax. They can do things which they really want to. If you were the clever woman, what would you advise? Do you think the woman idea is really clever? You should check this book, and tell me your answer to my question.









Kipper and the Giant