My Side of The Mountain

Title: My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Why Did I Start to Read This Book?  Before my post about India, I was writing about books that Mrs. Fleming let me borrow to read. I finished the first set. This is one of books from the next set that my teacher gave me.

What is it About? It is about a boy named Sam Gribley. He lives in New York City with his huge family and it was very crowded in his house. He really detests living so uncomfortably. He says that he will run away to the mountains. Everybody laughs at him. He packs his bag with only a penknife, a ball of cord, an ax, $40, and some flint and steel to make a fire, and then he takes a train. Once he reaches the mountains, he starts to find a place to live. He finds a big and hollow tree and begins opening it with his ax. Once he makes his house inside the hollow of the tree, he starts finding food. He makes fish hooks so that he can fish. He gets fish and once he’s full, he finds a falcon that he can train to find more food for him. The rest of this story is about his life in the woods and how he manages to live on a mountain.

What Did I Like About This Book? It was written in a diary format, so it was written in a very personal way. I really liked that.

What Didn't I Like About This Book? I didn’t like the ending. Sam was writing his diary, and then he came right out and said, “And that ended it.” It was really abrupt. Instead of telling us, he should have made us feel like it was the end. 

Does This Belong On My Cool Lane Or Not? This book can go anywhere on Cool Lane except for the house marked, “ Good Endings”!

My Trip To India-2015

Last November, I went to India for two and a half weeks. This was really special for me because I got to see my grandparents again after two years! I have a lot of special memories. In this post, I will share some of my most cherished moments. Right from the start, I will say that this post is on my cool lane. 

One special thing that I did in India was meet my friend. Actually, he is my sister's friend. He used to live right here in our town, but then he moved to India. He has been in India for a year and he goes to school there. It was really nice meeting him. We played with a toy called SnapCircuits. Basically, you snap together electric pieces to make circuits. Normally, you use batteries to power the circuits, but we were (safely) experimenting with different power sources, such as soda! We also went to a place called EcoPark. It wasn't that much fun, but it's still a nice memory because I was with my friend.

Another thing that I did was go to a place called Science City. It was a really big building. There was a theater where we wore 3D glasses and watched a movie about King Tutankhamun, and how he lived and died. There was also a big dome theater. There were recliner chairs so that we could see the whole screen on top of us. That show was about adrenaline. It showed the way our bodies make adrenaline and the science behind it. There were some cool examples of when adrenaline rushes through our body. Another exhibit was about prehistoric animals. To enter, we had to walk in a dinosaur's mouth, and when the exhibit came to an end, we exited through the place where all stinky and undigested food exits. There were also a few exhibits that had illusions and hands on experiments with motion, light, and sound. One of them was a vertigo tunnel. It was a slowly spinning cylinder with a bridge going through it. I tried to walk through it without getting dizzy. Sounds easy, but it's not.

 

I did a lot of really cool things at home too!(My grandparents' home in India.) One thing we did is Rangoli. We do it during the Hindu festival of lights known as Diwali. During Diwali, we make designs using colored sand on the floor. Traditionally, we use our fingers to make the designs, but I used special molds, since my hands aren't the steadiest.

Another thing that we do at Diwali is fireworks. Sometimes there are the big cool ones, but most of the time, they are hand held sparklers. These are called phooljhadi in India. There is also fireworks called chakri. You lay it on the ground, light the fuse, and step away. In a few seconds, it spins really fast, and throws sparks everywhere. 

This is a Chakri

I also started reading books by the author, Agatha Christie. I went to my grandparents'(on my dad's side) place for a whole day. That is where I read a book by Agatha Christie for the first time called "Evil Under The Sun". I didn't think that she was very well-known. But, it turns out that she is a very famous author. I didn't like some of her books that much at first, but maybe I will like them all when I get older. In fact, my grandparents on my mom's side has her complete works. Since I didn't want to forget about Agatha Christie, I brought some of her books back to America with me.

Apart from all this, so many other little things happened that if I had to write them all, I would be here all day and this post would go on forever. For example, one day, my grandfather took me to his tennis club. It was so much fun watching him play. Also, two of my mom's friends came over and my sister and I played with their children. And last, but absolutely not the least, my grandmom cooks the best food in the entire world and she loves to feed us. Since we were on vacation, we did not bother about eating healthy or nutrition. We just ate all the yummy food she cooked for us. This whole trip was so much fun. I really hope that I can go there again very soon.

A Wrinkle In Time

 Title: A Wrinkle In Time By Madeleine L’Engle

What is it About? The main character in this book is Meg. She has a little brother. He sees things differently than Meg. They learn about three mystical creatures who travel in a strange way. They travel using what is called "tesser". This is how it works. Let’s say a very small insect walked along this line:
                               This would be a long trip. But if we folded this line, then the insect could walk to the other end without taking so much time. That is how these creatures travel. Meg’s brother gets captured by a creature called IT. Meg tries to rescue her brother from IT.

What Did I Like About This Book? I liked that this was a sci-fi book. It had aliens and different planets. It also had a little bit of science, math, and logic involved. (Like the insect example above)

What Didn't I Like About This Book? Sometimes the science became overwhelming. Also, the book was too fast-paced for me. The story went by too fast.

Does This Belong On My Cool Lane Or Not? Well, yes it sure is! But A Wrinkle In Time needs to watch out for the speed limit.

Where the Red Fern Grows

Title: Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

What is it About? When you were a little kid, didn’t you really want a dog? Well, this book is about a boy named Billy. He really wants two hounds for hunting. However, his family does not have enough money. Also, the dogs are very far away. But, he does not give up. He picks fruit and sells it to the farmers. Cent by cent the money adds up. Finally, he gets the money that he needs to buy the hounds. He starts the 22 mile walk to pick up his dogs. He goes home and starts hunting. He has a lot of fun, but his life takes a downward turn. 

What Did I Like About This Book? This book shows the value of hard work, and the rewards that come with it. It also shows that in life, bad things can happen.

What Didn't I Like About This Book? The ending was really sad. Also, I didn't feel like the title fit this book.

Does This Belong On My Cool Lane Or Not? Except for the ending, this was a really good book!

The Phantom Tollbooth

Title: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

What is it About?  A boy named Milo sits in his room, bored. He is always bored. He finds a package in his room and he opens it. He puts the contents of the package together. When he puts it together, he makes a car and a tollbooth. He dejectedly gets in the car and drives to the tollbooth. Instantly he is in a magical world where nothing seems to be right. Words are mixed up, sayings have literal meanings, and there is an island called Jumping to Conclusions. How do you get there? Exactly! What you just did! You jumped to the conclusion that to get to Jumping to Conclusions, you have to jump to a conclusion! He also meets a watchdog, Tock, who ticks. This story is about Milo's adventure in this new place.

What Did I Like About This Book? I liked that this book was all over the place. Normally I don’t like when books do that, but this book did it in an organized way.

What Didn't I Like About This Book? I didn’t like that this book had a “The End” sort of feel to it that the teachers are telling us not to use. 

Does This Belong On My Cool Lane Or Not? This book should definitely be on My Cool Lane.

Tuck Everlasting

Title: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit

What is it About? A girl named Winnie Foster is bored with her life. So, she runs away in search of adventure. She goes through the woods and finds a boy drinking out of a spring on the ground. She asks the boy how old he his. He says that he is 104. He then hastily says that he is actually 17. Winnie says that she is thirsty and approaches the stream. The boy is alarmed and protests. His family appears out of the woods and takes Winnie away. What will happen next? Will Winnie be rescued? Who are these people?

What Did I Like About This Book? I like the life lesson that Winnie learns. Also, throughout the book, I wanted to keep reading, but at the end the book had a sense of finality. I felt satisfied with the ending of the story. 

What Didn't I Like About This Book? I didn’t like that it was a little sad at the end.

Does This Belong On My Cool Lane Or Not? I liked the plot of this book. I have learnt from my teachers about using "Show, Don't Tell" but here, the ending was "Told" in clear words. This book is fine by me, but it will be under strict watch by My Cool Lane Police forces.

Chasing Lincoln's Killer

Title: Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson

What is it About? It is about, as implied in the title, chasing Lincoln’s killer. We know that John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln after the Civil War was over and the Confederacy had lost. (And if you don’t, well now you do!)Booth was upset that the Confederacy had lost the war. So, while Lincoln was watching a play, Booth took out a knife and his famous Deringer Pistol, and shot the president in the head with one shot. Then, he quickly fled the building. He also had other people in his team who at almost the same time, attempted to assassinate other important people from the Union. Booth then ran down South with his accomplices, because he would find comfort in the South. But, did he ever get caught? If so, what punishment did he face? Read this book and find out.

What Did I Like About This Book? I liked how the author specifically described what was going on. It made me feel as if I was actually there. I also had to point out that most of the books on my Cool Lane are either fantasy or realistic fiction. I don’t usually like non-fiction books. But, I really liked this book. I think that it is because the way the author wrote this book has sort of a storytelling voice that makes it sound adventurous.

What Didn't I Like About This Book? There is nothing in this book that I don’t like.

Does This Belong On My Cool Lane Or Not? Uh, yes, I believe so.