The 6th Grade Nickname Game
by Gordon Korman

Skunk, Snoopy, Carrot-top, Gas-bag, Ice-man, Mr. Huge; the list could go on and on of the nicknames that best friends Wiley and Jeff created for their fellow dimbulbs, a.k.a. Class 6B of Old Orchard Public School or OOPS for short.
Old Orchard is a nice, sunny countryside town with a large abandoned mansion at the edge of it. The new girl, Cassandra, inhabits this mansion. She's a nice, tall, red-haired girl who always wears different coloured skirts and combat boots. Wiley and Jeff take on a quest to nickname her, but they'll soon find out that this is almost impossible to do.
Wiley and Jeff had been friends since the moment of birth. Born 2 hours before Wiley, Jeff is taller and a bit more mature. Wiley, on the other hand, is shorter, less mature and has a bit of an attitude. There is a boy in the clanss named Charles who Wiley and Jeff had nicknamed Snoopy for always snooping around the school and eavesdropping on other people's conversations. But Charles hates his nickname so he makes a bet with Wiley and Jeff. The bet goes like this: You have to nickname the most upopular guy in school a name that represents the opposite of him and if it sticks they you can nickname me whatever you want, but if it doesn't than I get to choose my nickname. Wiley and Jeff agreed.
Mike Smith, the most unpopular guy, was the guinea pig for their project. They decided to nickname him Ice-man. Believe or not it stuck like crazy glue and in two weeks he was so popular that people were asking him if the could go to the bathroom.
Wiley and Jeff made a trip to Cassandra's house to help her move in and hopefully find a nickname for her, but by the time they got there she had her hair down and looked rather pretty to Wiley and Jefff and they both developed a crush on her. The next day all the teachers announced that the Sadie Hawkins dance was coming up. Both Wiley and Jeff tried to spend as much time with Cassandra as they could. Who will win the bet? Who will Cassandra ask? Find out in the book The Sixth Grade Nickname Game by Gordon Korman. In my opinion it was a very funny book that always had your attention. I would also recommend this book to anybody who is looking for a nickname. To me it seemed cool how the most unpopular guy in school became the most popular.
S. B.

Naruto, The Boy Ninja
by Masashi Kishimoto

Do not let the picture of the happy kid fool you because this isn't your happy kind of book.
The main characters are Naruto, Iruka, Misuki and Lord Hokage. The book takes place in the Leaf Village in the Land of Tree and Leaf.
Naruto gets in trouble by painting on the four Lord Hokage's faces that are carved into the mountains.  His master, Iruka has him clean it up and discovers his connection with Naruto because they are both orphans.  There are tests for all students to become Ninja's, but Naruto is not very good at them.  The main test, to get your head band to become a Ninja, is called Dopplegangers. This means you must make three duplicates of yourself.  Naruto fails because he makes one dummy of himself that has no bones.  Misuki tricks Naruto into stealing the scroll of banned jutsu and tells him to hide in an abandoned cabin. Here Naruto begins to learn the jutsu's and hopes to impress his real master Iruka.  When he is found by Iruka, Naruto is interrupted by Misuki so he cannot show Iruka the jutsu.  The truth is found out that Misuki is evil and the battle begins between the masters. 
S.C.J.

Charley Joe Jackson’s Guide To Not Reading
by Tommy Greenwald

Ok, so who hates reading? I know I did, until I read a book which is titled Charley Joe Jackson’s Guide To Not Reading, written by Tommy Greenwald. By the way, if anyone else hates to read, this book will solve your problems.
Charley Joe Jackson is a boy in grade 7. He is 12 years old and loves to play video games. He has never read a book in his life, and gets the best grades! This book is basically about giving tips on how not to read.
The setting of this story takes place in his school and home. Imagine being in 7th grade and always getting into trouble. This was Charley Joe. One week, he had to do a book report for school, and when he saw how long the book was he thought “there is no way I’m reading that!” Did I mention that he hates reading? He convinces this boy in his school, named Timmy, to do it for him. Then  two days later Charley Joe comes home to find out that Timmy’s mom had talked to his mom about what Charley Joe did, then Charley Joe’s mom tells his dad what he has done and then they both decided his punishment. His dad took away his phone and laptop, his mom said he was grounded for a week and has to set the table for two weeks and put the dishes in the dishwasher for three weeks.
My favourite passage from this book is on page 57. I chose this passage because it’s a little funny and explains when Charley Joe finally gets busted and punished.
The most important punishment happens at school.
So, does Charley Joe get out of his punishment and finish his book report? Does Charley Joe learn a lesson in the end? Find out more by reading Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading, written by Tommy Greenwald.
I would recommend this book for boys, ages 7-11, because the story is mainly about boys getting into trouble all the time and not wanting to read very much...But don’t get me wrong, I DO like to read..........NOW.
B. L. A.

The Silver Chair
by C.S. Lewis

Witches, talking animals, enchantments, mystical creatures if you like those then read The Silver Chair. It is the sixth book of C.S. Lewis' seven-book fantasy masterpiece The Chronicles of Narnia.

The main characters are Eustace Scrubb, Jill Poll, and Puddleglum. Eustace is the cousin of the Pevensies- Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy who are characters throughout the Narnia series. Eustace was also in the previous book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Jill is a young girl who is about the same age has Eustace and she is a new character in the series. Puddleglum is a marsh- wiggle who always points out the negative and has the most experience travelling in the Wild Lands of the North.
The story begins in a school in  England but most of the book is in the Wild Lands of the North, which is north of Narnia, a land in a magical world.

It was just another boring day at the Experiment House (a school in England) when Eustace and Jill find themselves in a forest. Then, Eustace falls off a cliff. Then, Aslan the great lion tells Jill four signs to find a lost prince. Jill got to Narnia but she didn’t get the first sign right so they would not get the help they would have gotten. So, a bunch of owls tell Eustace and Jill of the story about the lost prince. Then, the owls bring Eustace and Jill to a marsh-wiggle named Puddleglums.
From there, they travelled in the Wild Lands of the North and met two strangers one who is the Lady of the Green Kirtle the other one is a man in black armour. The Lady told them about a kingdom called Harfang inhabited by giants. So, Eustace and Jill want to go to Harfang but Puddleglums does not want to go. On their way there, Jill falls in a trench but, Puddleglums and Eustace get her out. Along the way to Harfang, Jill sees things that look like factory chimneys but she didn't care.
When they got to Harfang, they were well treated. In the night, Jill woke up and saw Aslan and he showed Jill the second and the third signs. Jill woke and she thought  it had been a dream. But when Puddleglums, Eustace, and Jill looked out of the window they saw the second and the third signs too. They wanted to get out of Harfang. When the giant King and Queen were out for a hunt, Puddleglums, Eustace, and Jill were eating. They found out that the meat they were eating had been a talking stag. Later they were in the kitchen they saw a recipe for man pie and a  recipe for marsh- wiggle pie.

Will they ever find the lost prince? Will they ever get out of Harfang? And will they ever be eaten by the giants? Read this book to find out.

What I like about this book is that it has a lot of adventure. It is a fantasy book and I have liked fantasy books since I was about 6. The book also has a little bit of humour,  is really exiting, has great choice of vocabulary, and has tons of dialogue. 

My favourite passage is on pages 40 and 41. I chose this passage because it has a lot of hilarious dialogue. I find it humourous because the Lord Regent Trumpkin the dwarf has lost some of his hearing so Glinfeather the owl has to explain to Trumpkin why Jill and Eustace are in Narnia. But the dwarf is misunderstanding everything Glinfeather is trying to say to him. I think the target audience is girls and boys and ages about nine and up. Ages six and up might like to listen to the CD audio story like me.
I hope I convince you to read The Silver Chair. So read this book, no seriously read this book because it's a really good.
G.T. B.

The Dragon Prince
by Vicki Blum

The Dragon Prince is a good book and now you are going to know about it. And, if you are interested alot, you might read it. This book is about two dragons named Ember and Brand who go on a big adventure to escape Ember's pack and save Shadrel, a boy. Ember's father (Herd Father) is going to eat Shadrel. Ember is best friends with Brand. This book is basically like segregation. THAT'S the reason Ember's pack hunts Brand. It's just because Brand is red. According to Ember's dad, there are no such thing as red dragons. Is it true? Find out in the book! Anyway, let me tell you a little bit of the book. Ember, Brand, Shadrel and this other human named Yemah set out on adventure to protect Shadrel and also find King Braiais, a human friend of a dragon. They were very hurt along the dangerous adventure, but the one who got really hurt was BRAND. Ember HAS to trust humans to heal Brand. Will Ember trust humans to heal brand? Also, Brand lies to Ember in the story and Ember is mad so there is also a possibility that their friendship will break. Ember dosen't trust a human, that's the problem. In fact ALL DRAGONS HATE HUMANS. That's why Ember's father tried to eat Shadrel. My favourite passageway is page 21.  It's funny when Ember says,"Where?" This is an awesome book even though sometimes it makes you a bit worried. It's a great book for grade 3 to grade 7. The author and illustrator is Vicki Blum. She wrote a lot of Unicorn and Dragon books. She lives in Calgary, Alberta. She is also an elementary school librarian and works with other writers. I hope you will read this book . . . it's awesome!

S.A.V.

The BFG
by Roald Dahl

Imagine meeting someone that talks like this, "that is a scrumdiddlyyumptios snozzcumber. I is guzzling it gleefully every day and night. Is you never trying a snozzcumber Bloodbottler?" This is the way giants talk in my novel, The BFG, written by Roald Dahl. This novel is a humorous fantasy. It’s funny because of the words they use like scrumdiddlyyumptios. At the same time it is interesting because even with words like scrumdiddlyyumptios we still understand what they are saying. This story takes place in London England and in giant country. The main characters are Sophie, the young orphan girl, the BFG, the Big Friendly Giant, and the 9 other giants, the carnivorous giants.

One night Sophie, the young orphan girl, can’t sleep and she looks out her window and she sees a giant. The giant kidnaps Sophie and brings her to giant country. But luckily enough it was a friendly giant the bfg, big friendly giant. He captured her because if a human sees a giant they would tell everyone and the giants are scared that they will be locked up in a zoo. There are 9 other giants who are not like the bfg. They are not like the bfg because they eat humans.

Every night the 9 other giants go to a different country to eat the humans that live there. The bfg hides Sophie from the other giants so they don’t eat her. While the bfg is hiding Sophie he tells her things that no human has ever heard of like how he catches dreams. With his big ears he hears the dreams floating around and he catches them with his dream catcher and gives them to kids everywhere. One night the 9 other giants go to London England to eat children which makes Sophie really mad so she thinks of a way to use the dreams to stop the giants.

I would recommend this book to boys and girls ages 8-12 because at this age, you tend to like fantasy and humourous books. Personally, I liked the book. I really liked how they said things that were really funny, like "as happy as a hamburger".
How will Sophie stop the giants with dreams? What will happen to the giants? Find out by reading the book.

P.B.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Dog Days

Greg Heffley is planning his days inside playing video games, but that is not all he does . . . he goes to his best friend's country club, gets a crush on Heather Hills, a high schooler, and many other things!!!
This story takes place at Mrs. Cannfield's front yard, the arcade, Greg's house, the beach and so many other places. My favourite passage is page 119. It's my favourite part because Rowley hits Greg with a mallet thinking it'll stop the muddy hand. As Greg said, "All a mallet is going to do is make it angrier." I like this book like a monkey eats bananas or me and cats. Sorry folks but my book talk is coming to an end. If you have annoying siblings, do what Greg did . . . freak them out!
A.M.

Anne of Green Gables
By Lucy Maud Montgomery

Just close your eyes and imagine being in Anne Shirley's shoes waiting for your fate at a train station in Nova Scotia. You're wondering what your new home would be like? Will your new step father and step mother be nice? You are feeling scared and curious.

The book, Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908. The story takes place in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Mr. and Mrs. Cuthbert had planned to adopt an 11 year old boy to help them around the farm and to help with chores. But the only person waiting at the train station from the orphanage in Nova Scotia was eleven year old, Anne Shirley.
Anne was a creative, talkative, intelligent young girl unlike Mr. Cuthbert (he’s barely sociable). She’s longing for a family that will keep her. The moment, Anne stepped into Green Gables farm, the place would never be the same. When she overhears Mr. and Mrs. Cuthbert discussing about them bringing her back. Instantly, she starts shedding tears and saying “you don’t want me because I’m not a boy!” 

To me this book is very descriptive. I could imagine everything from Green Gables farm to Mr. Berry’s pond. I also think this book is funny because of all Anne’s mistakes and the situations she gets into. I think this book is a little bit sad because of the ending when someone suddenly dies.

I recommend this book for boys and girls ages 9 and up because of the vocabulary and the events may be confusing. 

Will Mr. and Mrs. Cuthbert keep Anne even though she got into so much trouble there?
She fell off her best friend’s roof.  She got her best friend, Diana Berry drunk giving her wine instead of juice. She almost poisoned the minister’s wife by accident, by putting the wrong ingredients in her cake. If I were her and I made those mistakes I would be so sad.  I would scream in the mirror “I AM SO MEAN!” I would hate myself for those mistakes. What about you?

The author of this book is L.M Montgomery.  She was born in P.E.I.  She wrote 20 novels and 500 poems and short stories. She was born on November 30, 1874 and died April 24, 1942. She was age 64.

Will the family keep Anne?
Read L.M Montgomery’s heart warming, classic novel, Anne of Green Gables to find out!
P.S. “I’m glad I’m not her!”
A.B.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
By Jacqueline Kelly

1899. Fentress Texas.  Imagine yourself on a cotton plantation farm in Fentress, Texas. It’s summer. And it’s hot.

Calpurnia Virginia Tate, also going by the nickname Callie and Callie Vee, is the only girl of 7 kids. She is expected to cook, bake, clean, knit, sew and other domestic housework with her mother and their cook, Viola.
Harry, the oldest of the Tate siblings, aged 17, claims Callie Vee his “pet”. Calpurnia agrees with this, and claims Harry to be “hers”. Despite this fondness for each other, Harry still believes that women belong in the home, which Callie does not.  She is a tomboy, at heart, that wants nothing to do with housework.
The other large relationship Calpurnia has is with her Grandfather. He has inspired Calpurnia to be interested in Science, “curiosity is necessary” is a line he says to her. Later, as the relationship grows closer, Grandfather starts to tell Callie Vee of the war stories and his pet bat and how it changed his life and turned him onto science.
With her interest up, Calpurnia goes to the Library and ask for Charles Darwin’s book, “The Origin of Species”, but the librarian said no, because she was not with an adult. She later goes to her Grandfather to ask a question about animal behaviour.  He gladly offers her “The Origin of Species” from his library, a copy he received from his friend, Charles Darwin.
Later on, Calpurnia and her Grandfather discover what may be an unknown type of Hairy Vetch. Have Calpurnia and her Grandfather found a new type of Hairy Vetch? Will they be able to name it? Or is this type of Vetch already discovered?
Her mother disapproves very much at the subject Calpurnia is studying but allows her to go as long as it doesn’t interfere with her learning to sew, play piano, cook.
That Christmas, her parents give her a book, and as she rips open the wrapping paper, she sees the word ‘Science’ in curly letters. As she finishes, her heart sinks. The whole sentence on the book was ‘The Science of Housewifery’ all in curly letters.
Will Calpurnia be able to still do what she loves? Or will she have to give in to her mother and Viola and do housework?

I found this book amazing! The book was very descriptive, and I could imagine myself as Calpurnia every where she went, all throughout the book.

I recommend it for age 9 and up.
I think the book is targeted for girls, but if you are interested in Science and you are a boy, you will also enjoy this book.
R.B.

The Loser List by H.N. Howitt

If you like diary of a wimpy kid then you should really like this book.  It’s called The Loser List, It’s by H.N Howitt and it’s an illustrated fiction humour book. 
Danny is a 12 year old, 7th grader at Gerald Ford Middle School.  Danny is tall and skinny has long hair and he loves to draw.  Even though Danny is very talented, everybody thinks he is a geek and he gets bullied alot.  Once, a bully demanded Danny’s favourite pen and Danny replied “no”.   The bully got mad and put Danny’s name on a list called the “loser list” in the girl’s washroom.  Danny has a best friend named-Jasper, who wears safety goggles all the time and has a cape.  Danny and Jasper try to remove Danny’s name from the loser list in the girl’s washroom.  Jasper hides as a teacher walks in but Danny gets caught and gets detention.  In detention, Danny meets a group of bullies that call themselves "the skulls."  Axl is the leader of the Skulls.  Axl has long hair, wears a bandana and is not very smart. After school the day of detention, the bullies attempt to beat Danny up.  Right before he’s about to be punched, Danny notices that they have fake sharpie tattoos on their arms and Danny suggests that he could do a better job of their tattoos.  Danny and the Skulls become friends but in the process he loses his friend Jasper.  While Danny and the Skulls are at a comic book store called Commix Nation, the Skulls steal a comic book that is worth $500. Danny is the one that ends up getting blamed, but that is not the end of the story.
I liked this book because it reminded me of my sister because my sister really likes to draw and she is a geek.  I would recommend this book because you never know what is going to happen next, like when there is a food fight in the cafeteria and Danny tries to save a girl he likes from getting dirty.  A description from the food fight in the cafeteria is: “I held the bottle like an Uzi and laid some covering fire.  A guy pointed a squeeze mustard bottle at Asia, and I blasted his whole face with red slime. He turned toward me, really slowly. Under the goop I made out a studded wristband and a death Trawler t-shirt. My stomach dropped. It was Axl.”
 I think that anyone who likes illustrated diary style books would enjoy reading this.  It is an easy book to read.  This book was amazing and I would recommend reading the Loser List.
B.B.

Charlotte's Web  By E.B. White 
      

A pig named Wilbur was born on Mr. Arable’s farm. Wilbur is a runt, and Fern, Mr. Arable’s daughter, heard that Mr. Arable was going to kill Wilbur. Fern saved Wilbur by asking her father if she was small; would he kill her too? Fern took care of Wilbur for five weeks. When the Arables could no longer take care of Wilbur they sold him to Mr. Zuckerman, their uncle, who also had a farm. Wilbur did not have any friends at the barn except for Fern who came every day to visit Wilbur. One night Wilbur heard a voice that said “Go to sleep, you’ll see me in the morning”. Wilbur went to sleep with his mind full of thoughts thinking of who may have spoken to him. When Wilbur woke up, he learned that the voice that had spoken to him the night before was a spider named Charlotte. One afternoon Wilbur heard that in the winter he would be killed. Wilbur was very sad but then Charlotte told Wilbur she would try to save him. However, Charlotte was also getting older. Will Charlotte be able to save Wilbur in time for winter?

LdV