Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner

Oh, boy!

Little Willy was with his grandfather. One day, as the story took place in grandfather's house-barn, grandfather didn't want to get up from bed. He was staying stock still.

Little Willy called the doctor. She came and well, she said "Well, he wants to die." But Little Willy said "oh, no, no, no, he's not going to die!"

An old man came up and said "taxes-we need your taxes." Then in the strong box was all the taxes: $500! I think that was too much!

Willy was headstrong so he wanted grandfather to get better then he wanted to go in a dog race. And then this Indian came up. He never lost before.

In the middle of it-10 feet away from the finish line-then the dog DIED! The Indian made a line and said "anyone who crossed the line he would shoot." Willy won all with the help of an Indian.

Wasn't that a sad ending? Oh, I forgot one thing: the grandfather gets better.

The Chocolate Touch

I read at school The Golden Touch. It was really, really, really, COOL because all his things turned to gold and then he said I didn't want that. A substitute told me a story the chocolate touch where the boy turns his mom into chocolate because of a magic chocolate. Then I got to read it at home with Mommy.

I really thought it was scary because he got into all this big trouble at school.

Busybody Nora by Johanna Herwitz

Busybody Nora asked this lady what her name was and this woman in the elevator said “Mrs. Mind Your Own Business” so she thought that was her actual name, but she really said it because she wanted Nora to mind her own business. In the end, Nora got everybody’s name right except Mrs. Mind Your Own Business. They had a big party.

Nora wanted to know all the names of all the people in the apartment building.

The Moffats by Eleanor Estes

One day Jane Moffat was sitting on a post. She wanted to go upside down for a while. So she did at this broken down old house that she liked. She went inside and she had a cat. The BIG PROBLEM of the book was THE OWNER WAS GOING TO SELL THEIR HOUSE!

This family looked all over the house and wanted to buy it. At the end they had to move. The end.

Little Town on the Prairie and These Happy Golden Years

Little Town on the Prairie

Laura felt happy when they moved to town because she had friends in town like Almanzo and the people at school. I feel happy when I have friends at school.

Laura felt nervous with her president’s thing. She had to practice learning their names and telling all about them. She said it in front of the whole town. I felt nervous when I had to recite John 3:16 in the play.

Laura felt upset when Nellie Oleson came to school because she took the candy from Cap when he was trying to give it to Mary Power. I feel upset when Caroline takes my toys and Molly destroys my creations when I’m in school and Nathaniel yells at me.

At the end of the book, Mary had to go to school. Laura got a teacher certificate.

Almanzo walked Laura home from the church. Laura doesn’t understand that. I think it’s cool because they are really the right type to be together.

These Happy Golden Years

These Happy Golden Years was the best book I loved. When These Happy Golden Years are done, oh, but I have to tell you the beginning!

She went to school. Nellie Oleson was there-dun, dun, DUN!!

I liked it because when she taught school for the third time and when they went driving, Almanzo and Laura didn’t talk much. I wish they talked more often.

Laura changed because she got married and she was shy about it.

Almanzo was a shy sort (I’m just kidding). Almanzo was good at working and building houses and training horses, too. He trained six horses. One were Barnum and Skip. Barnum was WILD! I liked him. I liked Skip, too because Skip was not really wild.

And they got married. There were only two people there. They went back to Laura’s house then they ate dinner and then they went to Almanzo and Laura’s house.

Pa gave her the cattle-just one cattle. And Laura looked around and she loved it.

The end

Mommy’s note: We loved looking at why Almanzo was a good man and good husband material. I asked Evelyn, will your husband be patient, kind, and gentle like Almanzo? Evelyn said, “yes, but he’ll also be WILD like out in the woods with the horses and outdoors.” Also when we finished this book, Evelyn sighed and said quietly, “I will always remember this night…”

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Evelyn with a sad face since this was such a sad book!

Laura helped Pa with the hay and then Pa needed another part for his mowing machine section. On the way back the went through the slough and got lost and saw the pretty horses.

It's called The Long Winter because there was lots and lots and lots of blizzards. Grace was in the rocking chair with her little coat on. Laura and Mary had coats on.

They had to eat potatoes and bread that Ma made. They didn't have enough to eat because the train didn't come because it froze-freezed-frozen!

This is the most exciting part. Pa went to town to get some kitchen supplies and food and an Indian went in. He pointed up 5 and 2. And he said "7 months blizzard."

Pa built a house in town.

Cap Garland was throwing a ball and Laura dropped her books and caught it. Almanzo cooks some pancakes. He made good pancakes-yes, he did!

The End

By The Shores of Silver Lake

The Beauty of Silver Lake

The beginning of the book was sad because everybody got sick and then everybody got better and all the sickness went to Mary’s eyes. Then Jack died! I cried when Jack died.  And then they had to go on a train ride. They were going west to the shores of Silver Lake.

Laura and her cousin Lena went horseback riding. I wish I could. WithOUT the back things for the horses and they had to hold on to his mane (or her mane).

Mr and Mrs Boast, the Boast family, moved in to their house. It was great, it was wonderful. She taught them how to make a corner whatnot. It’s a shelf that goes in the corner.

Pa put trees and then Grace got lost. They found her in a big huge place with daisies and daises and daises or whatever flowers they were. The end.

On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder



The characters are Laura Ingalls Wilder, Mary, Carrie, Ma, Pa, and the good old bulldog Jack. We met a new character in the story. I don't know what his name is. We'll just call him "Boy" he said "snipes!snipes! snipes!" Nellie Olsen is always bragging like about her pretty coat. The teacher was kind. Laura and Mary never went to school before.

The setting was mostly in their house and the school and the church, on the prairie, in the water. Laura and Mary got to sleep in the attic.

They didn't have much. They were poor and they are real if you tell me!! The wheat died because the grasshoppers came. They were eating the wheat. Pa needed the wheat to sell so they could have the money.

There were problems in the winter time because there was a big storm and they put in all the wood! Pa couldn't get back. He was so hungry! He ate all the Christmas candy.

Pa came back. Pa walked one hundred miles to get a job if you tell me! And he gots hundreds and thousands of money!

The doll, her loving true doll, she didn't like that doll but she wanted it. Then Ma said to give it to her and Laura wasn't really happy about that. And then one day when Laura got the mail she saw that Anna had thrown her away and took her one eye off and so she put it in a mud puddle to drown. Laura Ingalls got her up and brought her to Ma and Ma said I'll fix her up. And then she put it all back in her box. And that was the end of that story.

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder



Almanzo is a boy that doesn't like going to school because he doesn't like the bullies there. The bully leader- he got snake whipped! The teacher is another teacher's friend. And when they get home, they are cutting sheep because the wool is too fat and they need clothes.

They had a fair. It was a town county fair. And there were instruments playing. Almanzo brought a pumpkin. The pumpkin was like 50 pounds and 200 feet. He got the winning prize.

The story is set at the house doing the chores. He had cattle and at the end he gets a horsie.

Almanzo has a choice. His choice is to live with Mr. Paddock, a person who helps farms by getting a buggy, or live on the farm with Father and Mother. Almanzo picked to live with Father and Mother. I would pick to live with Mr. Paddock because I love painting.

Little House on the Prairie

At the very end they had to move. I was so sad because they had to move two times in the story, from Wisconsin to Indian Territory and then well, I don't know because we haven't gotten that far yet. It's kinda just like us because we had to move two times, too!

Pa. It was a long journey for Pa. They had rushing water next to them and they had to cross it to get to their land (well, not really their land, but Indian Territory in the middle of nowhere.) Well, Ma she said in a very screaming voice "lay down, Laura!" Well, Pa, he went in the water to drag the horses and Ma was taking over and she didn't really like Indians. So the place in Indian Territory was scary to Ma. There was a big huge line of Indians and Laura said "I want that baby!" She wanted a real Indian baby.

We met the guy that took the cattle away, Mr. Scott. Mr. Scott thought it was foolish to put a light in the well before you go down. But you know what? It wasn't! He just noticed after he got down there there was this thing down in the ground, a gas, that makes you like drunk or almost dead and Pa had to quickly go down there and get him and everybody helped and Ma lowered the bucket down into the well and he got Mr. Scott!  And in the well one time Pa went down there to dig. And guess what? There was quicksand and Ma said quick girls!

Santa gave the Christmas presents to Mr. Edwards for Laura and Mary. And Mr. Edwards danced! Mr. Edwards climbed up the stacked pile of wood. The doggie, Jack, growled at him.

In the log cabin they were staying in, two Indians who had skunk skins on them went in the house that Pa made. And they ate the cornbread that was supper. They felt scared and worried.

Mr. Scott says the only good Indian is a dead Indian, but I say the only good Indian is an alive Indian (it's the other way around). There were lots of good Indians that helped Pa and told motions to Pa that said we already killed the panther.

Well, the book was EXCITING! And they finally had to say good-bye because the judge said "you white poeple have to leave!" But they had a garden and they were planting in the garden. Mr. Edwards said "we have to move."

The Canada Geese Quilt by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock

I remember they had a quilt blanky and they made it with the girl and Grandma. Mommy and Daddy didn't help made the quilt. They were making the quilt for the little baby. Grandma got sick. She had a stroke.

I liked the book a little. I didn't like that they had a baby. I did like about it that Aerial liked Grandma and Daddy liked the Mommy. I didn't like that Aerial wasn't sure about the baby and Aerial wasn't sure about Grandma. The book felt happy and sad.

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

        

    About the Hobbit. One day a man went to Bilbo Baggins and the man (you can call him Bilbo-I just call him Bill) Bilbo let that man come to his house. So it turned out that Balin, Dwalin, and Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bombur, Bofur, Thorin Oakenshield, that was the most important dwarf of all of them. One night they planned to go and get a treasure the dragon was guarding. It was a secret hill. And Bilbo could come if he wanted to. It was early in the morning and he was in his pajamas eating breakfact and Gandalf said "Hurry, hurry, don't be late!" He had no time to get his clothes on. So he was out the door before he even knew it! And he was on a horse. He was a-galloping off.

        One night they ran out of food completely, they had no food, only crumbs. And it was raining completely so they were just tired from the long journey. They get to the treasure. It's just that it's a long trip.

        Bilbo is like "I'm not really part of this journey.  Balin just wants me to come. Why does he want me to go? I just want to stay at my home."

       Bilbo did lots of stuff-he did ALL the stuff! He found the key to the den where the treasure is.

       The ring! The secret ring isn't really a secret. It just makes you invisible. I wish I had that ring to be invisible and touch other people.

       And first they went into the forest. It's not just a normal forest-it's an ouchy forest!

      When he gets back to his hobbit home, they think he died. He didn't die! They were selling his stuff and his hobbit home.

       There were lots of songs. The songs were sometimes cheerful, sometimes mad, sometimes lots of things. We singed the song and the last thing my mom thought was a song ("oh my! it's another song") But when we got to that part it was a poem!

The Best Christmas Pagent Ever by Barbara Robinson

The problem is the Herdmans were the worst people ever!! Until the end. Imogene actually cried at the end! I can't believe it. She actually knew Jesus at the end. The wise man actually brought ham. Why didn't they bring gifts? Like gold, frankinscence, and myrrh!

There were more people of the Herdmans, not just Imogene. There were all kinds of people. The people were in the play. Imogene played Mary in the play.

If you look close there is an x on the worst. It turns out to be the best. I like Mary a lot. Well, Imogene.

And if you look at the book there is an angel who said "Shazam! The black night!" and she said "Hey! Unto you a child has been born!!!"

I got to go see the play! It was good. I liked where I sat because the Herdmans were like piling up in the aisle next to where I was sitting! I had to, like, move over. In the play there was cigar smoke, but not in real life. Whoosh! Good thing it wasn't in real life. That would be scary.

Betsy Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

Once we did this before. Anyway, they didn't be friends but then they turned up to be friends. The characters are Betsy, Tacy, the mom, and the dad, and the mom, and the dad of both of them. Betsy is like an ordinary girl. She has brown hair and she has little blue bows. Betsy is good at climbing trees. She is good at making friends. Tacy is just a girl that doesn't want to go school. It says in the book once they went to school and Tacy was crying. She put her head down. She keeped it down. When it was recess time she planned to run home, but Betsy went to go get her. And then they stopped in front of the candy store and they both cried together. But the chubby owner went out and she gave them free candy. (Someday I want to do that!) Then the chubby owner said "Go to school!" They walked and cried to school. Recess was done and they went in their school and they weren't sad anymore.

This happened on the planet earth maybe near England or near America. I don't know. It happened long ago. This is just a pretend story. A fake story. The Daddy drives a horse to work.

Thanksgiving on Thursday by Mary Pope Osborne

The book was awesome. They had the first Thanksgiving. I was dissappointed because Samoset wasn't in there. I like that Jack said "Annie's nuts." The Pilgrims said "nuts?" And they said "Indeed!" I like that Annie and Jack put the turkey in the fire. It was an accident. He ruined it. They had squash, corn, and the feast.

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh

Sarah and her father are on a journey with their horse, Thomas. And Sarah is hearing these noises. And now they are out of the woods and they went to a house which had four children. And then Sarah keeps saying along the whole journey "keep up your courage, Sarah Noble, keep up your courage." Now they are with the horse again and Sarah keeps saying in her mind, "keep up your courage, Sarah Noble, keep up your courage." Sarah's dad said to Sarah Noble that those are south Indians. And they will be kind. So they ate supper which I think was beans and they stayed in a cave last night. Now it's the morning and the father is building the house. Sarah Noble was just sitting under the tree and these kid Indians come up. Sarah keeps saying "keep up your courage, Sarah Noble." And she picks up the Bible and begins reading. So Sarah Noble and the two Indians like a couple and they were picking some berries. So they are with the father again and Tall John. Her dad says "you are going to stay with the Indians until I come back with Mom and the children." So she is living and she keeps saying "keep up your courage, keep up our courage." And this night she combed her hair and prayed. And the Indians were looking at her strangely like she was speaking a strange language. And in the morning she had mocassins and they got off their mocassins and they played a game with these mocassins. And they were talking with Mom and the children and Sarah Noble said "I have to take my baby doll to bed."

I liked that they have a safe ending. I am like Sarah Noble because I like time with my mom. I am brave because I am not scared of the dark.

All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

   



    The family were mostly all girls except for the dad. The dad is a boy. At some point one night two girls of the family were being noisy at night in their beds. The father's friends, one was called Pickle Nose and the other was Charlie. The family lived in the city. The family worshipped God. Holidays! Well there were lots of holidays. One time they went to lots of people's houses and they gave out candy and the people brought them money. On one of the holidays they built a tiny house.
    Anyway, a job of dusting the five kids and one of the kids had that dusting job everyday. So they were getting a little whiney about it so she did a job, a fun job. She hided buttons and then when it was their turn to clean they had to find all the buttons while they worked. And at the end there was a BOY baby! The end.


Rachel's Note: This book was such a treasure! And I randomly picked it off the library shelf. It is set in 1912 in New York and they are a devout Jewish family. There were detailed descriptions of how the family celebrated Passover, Purim, and Succos.

Rachel Field's Hitty abridged by Rosemary Wells





I liked the whole book and especially when they made a dress for her. It was so pretty. I loved it.

 



Hitty is a doll. For the first chapter Hitty was in a house and the father for Christmas he had a little girl and Hitty was made from mountain ash. Oh, and a girl went in a wheelchair and she loved Hitty, but the teacher, when the wheelchair and the girl that was in the wheelchair went to the library, sneaked into the room and stole Hitty and sold her to a shop. And a girl said to the boy shop guy the girl didn't have enough money to buy Hitty so they made a deal. And when they made the deal the girl went away. The End.

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

 

I liked when Laura went in the seat because she slapped her big sister in the face. And I liked all of the other ones, but I liked that one best of all. Oh, and when the machine came I liked that one best of all, too. The horses went around and around and around and it went faster and faster and faster so the men had to work faster and faster and faster. The men had to put in the straw and it chopped into pieces and the mom kept braiding and braiding and braiding and she made hats for all the family.

 

 

Laura and Mary had to be quiet when they are at the table and eating. On Sundays they had to sit still. They had to be seen and not heard. And we tried the seen and not heard. It didn't work! My sisters and my brother didn't want to do it. And I'm going to do it next Sunday, too.

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Pippi is funny. She has two friends. One is a boy and one is a girl. Tommy and Annika is their names. We have two books. One we can keep forever and one we cannot keep forever. Pippi is very strong. And once she even went to the circus and she picked up the big strong guy and she was so strong she could pick up his whole body. She has a monkey, just one monkey and one horse and she could carry her horse in her bare hands. There is a hole in a tree Pippi Longstocking has and Tommy and Annika like to play at Pippi's house. And Villa Villakula, that's Pippi Longstocking's house, very creepy because she has an attic and there's lots of ghosts. She said she has all the ghosts in the whole wide world. Pippi Longstocking fell down a cliff once. She forgot to flap her wings. And she has an umbrella that has circle holes in it.