Bud, Not Buddy

Bud, Not Buddy

SUMMARY:

Bud, Not Buddy is a heart warming book about an African-American boy who is an orphan in Pennsylvania. He travels from home to home in search for family. At some point he decides it's time to find his real family members using some clues from when his mother was alive! He goes on a search and has many adventures on his way! 

VIOLENCE:

Bud does get hurt at homes and this book has some detailed scenes of Bud's pain.

LANGUAGE:

There is no language in this book

AGE LEVEL:

This book is recommended for 8+ because of the A.R level. 

RATING:
Three thumbs up!

Back Again

Hey guys it's Railey again! I know I have not written for a while. Last time I wrote I was in 3rd grade and now I'm blogging to you from my very busy life in middle school! Anyway hope you stay tuned in!

A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts by Ying Chang Compostine

A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts by Ying Chang Compostine is deliciously creepy. These are ancient Chinese tales told throughout generations. The Chinese people put out different foods to stop hungry ghosts from haunting them. This book is a collection of short stories arranged like a menu. On the menu is stuff like monkey brains and long life noodles. One of the appetizer stories is about people working on the great wall of China. Many of the workers mysteriously vanish and people are starving to death while one Inn seems to always have more than enough food to satisfy the hungry crowds. Two hungry robbers discover the truth and shut down the Inn. From then on legend has it that the Inn is haunted. Even to this day, people put out dumplings on the porch to ward off the hungry ghosts.

Railey Recommends: I loved this frightening book but warning you might lose your appetite! This book is best for a more mature middle grade reader since there are some pretty scary and icky ghost stories.

School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari

This book is about four kids who all have different fears. They go to a school called the School of Fear. At the School of Fear the kids learn to conquer their fears. They go on exiting adventures and meet strange people.

My favorite characters are Lulu and Theo because Lulu has a kind of sassy humor and Theo has a scared all the time humor.

Railey Recommends: This book is recommended for kids 8 and a half +

Sounder by William H. Armstrong

Sounder is a great story. It is about a boy who is black and his family is poor. The author doesn't tell you the boy's name. The family has a dog named Sounder. The main characters are the boy and Sounder.
The dad is a sharecropper and Sounder is their hunting dog. The dad gets taken to jail. Sounder runs after the truck to save the dad and the dog gets shot. Sounder is hurt badly and wanders off after he gets shot. The boy finally finds him. The dad finally gets to come home.

Railey's Rating: Thumbs up. It is a good book.
Railey Recommends this book to kids in third grade and older. It is a bit sad and scary when the dad gets taken away to jail and Sounder gets shot.

Brave

Brave was the second movie I ever saw in the movie theater. I went with my mom.
The movie is a mother-daughter movie.

Merida is a teenager aged Scottish girl who loves to ride her horse and do archery. She is a princess and her mom wants her to be a real lady. Merida would rather ride her horse and do archery. Merida doesn't want to get married. Her mom wants her to.

Merida's dad is the leader of the four clans and her mom wants Merida to marry one of the sons of the clansmen. So the mom organizes a contest with the three other clans. The person who wins gets to take Merida's hand in marriage. So Merida competes in the archery contest and wins her own hand in marriage! Her mom is really, really mad!

Merida is mad, too! So she runs away, finds a witch and asks the witch to make a potion to change her mom. Merida bakes a tart and puts the potion inside. Merida's mom eats the potion tart and turns into a bear! 

And just like that a new adventure starts.

The rest of the movie is about Merida trying to change her mom back into herself. The witch gives some hints of how to fix her mom but Merida has a hard time figuring out the clues.

There is also a scary bear that Merida and her mother and all the clansmen have to fight. Some of the parts with the bad bear are really intense. But it's a really good movie.

I learned that you should learn to work together with your mom even if you have a hard time trusting each other. 

Railey's Rating: Two thumbs -WAY, WAY, WAY, WAY up!

Railey Recommends: The movie is rated PG. There are some really intense parts with the scary bear so it is probably best for third graders and older.

Railey's mom says: As with all movies it is up to your parents what you can and can not watch. This movie was okay for our 8 year old but not so much for our 6 year old or our 3 year old.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is a book about a boy named Greg who's in 4th or 5th grade and has an older brother whose name is is Rodrick. Rodrick is in a band called the Loaded Diaper. Greg also has a younger brother named Manny. Manny is in preschool and is a big tattle-tale. He also has a dad, a mom and a friend named Rowley. Rowley goes to the same school as Greg and is funny. He is a pulling pranks and laugh out loud at the fart kind of funny.
Greg's dad is usually happy. His mom is usually not. She makes the boys do stuff that they don't like to do - like read literature books when they are more into comics.
One of Greg's uncles is kinda mean. He told the kids to call the dad Aunt Josephine. And he also scared Manny with tales of the potty monster that meant he had to re-potty train.

Railey's Rating: Two thumbs up! WAY up!

Railey Recommends: If books were rated I would rate this book PG because Greg and Rodrick get into fights a lot. There is bathroom humor and rude talk. Sometimes the boys are sassy to their mom and dad. It is an older elementary age, middle school and older kind of book because of the humor.