Betrayal at Cross Creek

Betrayal at Cross Creek is about a Scottish girl who's family is being betrayed. Elspeth is living during the time of the Revolutionary War. She believes in what the patriots fight for, yet she doesn't like the way the Scottish are treated by the rebellion forces. When two of her cousins get angry at the patriots for frightening Elspeth, they run away to join the British Navy. Afraid for their safety, Elspeth's grandfather joins the Loyalist Militia. When someone gets word to the Rebellion Force about where the troop of Scottish and British men are headed to, Elspeth's cousins and grandfather become endangered. Soon, one of her cousins is killed in the battle, and Elspeth faces the greatest mystery of all her life: who betrayed her family? This intriguing story is one of my favorite American Girl books of all times!

Claude Monet: The Painter Who Stopped the Trains

Claude Monet was an artist who painted a lot. He was not very popular, until he painted The Gare Saint-Lazare. Immediately, the public started recognizing his art, and soon Monet gained the respect of a top art critic and one of the most famous authors at the time, Emile Zola. Mr. Zola wrote this review of Monet's work:
                
                        Monsieur Claude Monet has the most distinctive personality of the Impressionists. He has exhibited some superb interiors of the railway station. You can hear the trains rumbling in, see the smoke billow up under the huge roofs . . . . That is where painting is today . . . . Our artists have to find the poetry in the train stations, the way their fathers found poetry in forest and rivers.


Monet's place as one of the greatest painters became known more and more all over the country. Monet soon earned the nickname "The Painter Who Stopped the Trains."

The Search for WandLa

The Search for WondLa is a good book. It is very thick, but for me it is easy. I like it. It is about a girl who lives underground on Earth. Earth has been changed a lot. Now there are aliens and cool inventions, and Earth is called Orbana. Eva Nine is the girl who lives underground. When it is time she will come up onto the surface and meet other humans. When a dangerous alien tries to destroy her home, she leaves and travels upward. When she gets up to the surface she has many adventures. 





                                                              

Me and My Friends

The last time I did my blog, I wrote an abridged version of one of my stories. I shall now write an abridged version of the second chapter:


                                                                              Chapter 2
I blinked and rubbed my eyes. This wasn't happening, was it? I looked around at my new surroundings. I spotted a sign made of a cinnamon sticks and gingerbread points. I licked my lips as I looked at it. There were six signs on the cinnamon stick in all: Cookie Town, Fudge River, Candle Maker, The Frost Village, Candy Cane Lane, and another one I shivered at. The letters were frosted in dark, black letters: goblins, BEWARE! I stepped back and tripped over something. I turned around, expecting to see a dirty, green goblin. Instead, it was Gigi! She was running and bouncing on the crumbly, frosted cookie road. I gasped. July was running to Gigi, and Story and Hilda were hopping up and down. I felt Kit moving in my bag. This was magic! Kit teeter-tottered over the edge, then started to fall. Story, having loooonnnnggggg arms, grabbed Kit around the waist and snapped her over. I watched with amazement. "Hi guys, I mean girls!" I laughed and sat down. Gigi smiled and ran over from playing with July. Story pulled Hilda and July over with her stretchy arms. "It's good to see you again," Gigi said. July nodded and climbed up my arm. Story grabbed Kit and Hilda and jumped up to hold everyone around my neck. Gigi jumped into my bag. The sun hit the mountains, and I shielded my eyes. "We better find somewhere to rest," I said. I shivered thinking about the sixth sign. It wouldn't be safe to be out here in the dark with goblins roaming, I thought. "I'm hungry!" Announced Kit. I looked down at my bag, where she had jumped to. She smiled sheepishly, and I grinned back. "I want to explore," July commented. "Yeah, well, there are goblins out here, just so you know," I informed everyone. "Oh." Suddenly, I heard grunting and looked over my shoulder. There were about fourteen goblins at my heel.
"Run!" I yelled. I zipped my bag and started running as fast as I could. This wasn't a game of tag with Pop at home, I reminded myself. If there was one thing I had learned from tag, though, it was to find an accurate hiding spot until the enemy has passed. However, there was no shelter. Only me, and stuffed animals who don't even have teeth! Suddenly, I felt arms carrying me up. I blacked out.
                                                           *********************
When I awoke I was hanging from an oak tree, upside down. A rope was tied around my leg and I twisted around to look at my foot. I was trapped!!!

Me and My Friends

I am writing a story about me falling into a magical world. Wow! I thought it would be fun to write an abridged version here of the first chapter:


                                                                       Me and My Friends
                                                                   #1 The Magic Funhouse

     I looked around the fairgrounds at all the rides. There were smells of corn-on-the-cob, roasted turkey leg, and churros. I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked to my right. Behind a building, there lay a funhouse. "Oh! Lets go there first!" I dragged Pop's hand and finally, when he wouldn't go any faster, I broke free and ran. "Trinity!" Called Mom. I stopped and slowly turned around. "Yes?" I was disappointed. "Don't run away from us, OK?" I shrugged. "OK." I walked slowly toward the funhouse. When we reached it, I looked up at the plastic sign.  The sign read in swirly writing: Magic Funhouse. It looked like wood. So realistic. I jumped and just barely touched it. I gasped. It was real wood. I glanced at the man running it. He was all smiles. I smiled back at him. He had warm, brown eyes, and dark hair. He was dressed casually. He was wearing a gray shirt and jeans. He had a fedora on and he held it to his chest as he bowed low. "Welcome to my amazing, magic funhouse. An adventure awaits you inside." I looked down at the bag slung around my neck. Gigi, July, Story, Hilda, and Kit rested in it. Kit's head was so small and it blended in with the bag. I could see her twinkling, blue eyes. Go on, she seemed to say, ask how much it is. I felt assured, so I looked up. "How much is it to go inside the funhouse, sir?" The man smiled. "My name is Mr. Mann, and the magic funhouse is free." I looked hopefully up at Pop. He grinned. "Go ahead." I ran in, my heart leaping. What were these "adventures" Mr. Mann had been talking about? Whatever they were, they were sure to be amazing. I climbed ladders, took a little ride on a mini roller coaster, and did so many other things I couldn't possibly remember. I finally found myself at a room filled with nothing but doors. I stared around in puzzlement. Some doors had fake backgrounds, but some were just plain oak doors. I stared at a gingerbread house. This looked promising. I closed my eyes and opened the door. I stepped through and opened my eyes. A swirl of colors had taken effect in the air, and I felt dizzy. Silver and gold sparkles glowed and glittered in the air. They settled after ten seconds. I blinked and looked around. This wasn't the funhouse at all! 

Hoofbeats of Danger

I am a big fan of American Girl. American Girl is a big company that sells stuff for girls. There are also books, completing the list of things that American Girl sells. At the library there is a whole section of American Girl books. I got a few. One of the books I got from the library is Hoofbeats of Danger. I like it a lot. I have read it five times. The book is set during the wild west. I love the wild west, and so the book appealed to me greatly. I like this book a lot!

Remembering My Childhood

As I look at Mom's screensaver, displaying pictures of us in our younger years, I yearn for it to be that time again. We had so much fun, and it was just nice being little. I want to be seven, six, five, or even four years old again. It was so much fun! Although, it's not exactly that easy to be a littler kid again. Why? Because you can't! Although many people wish they could, there is no turning back those days, and we had our fun, but now we're older. We can't play and be princesses or pirates. We can't ride little rides at the fair, and play dolls or spies. Memories of our childhood is all we have, and remembering it like it was just happening is all we can do.

The Fences Between Us

At Barnes and Nobles, I used half of the money on a gift card I got for Christmas. With the money, I got a book from the series Dear America. It is not actually a series, as much as just a set of books. Each book is a diary from someone in history (not real of course, fictional, historical characters). I got the book on Piper Davis, I girl living during World War II. This book is very, very, well written. I like it a lot.

Tell Me a Dragon

Tell Me a Dragon, by Jackie Morris, is a very good book. While short, it proves to be one of my favorite storybooks. Most of the time I read novels, and when I read a little kid book, that's something. This book, however, is not only interesting, it's... eye-catching! You see, I love fantasy, and my favorite fairytale creature is a dragon. I'd love to have one for a pet. During the entire book, all you read about is someone's dragon. In the end, my favorite part, the author implores the reader, "Tell me about your dragon?" The list of possibilities of what the reader's dragon could be like is endless. This book just goes to prove that Jackie Morris is a great author.

Bye, Bye

For Christmas this year, my Tia Nene came over to California again. We have had a lot of fun having her here, but I'm afraid that tomorrow she leaves. Yes, it's true, but at least I'll have great memories. Tia Nene does a lot when she comes over and we try to make the most of it. She makes cards, so we've learned new techniques from her. It is fun to have her come over. In the past, my family has gone to Las Vegas, Disneyland, Victoria Gardens, and other fun places. This Christmas, we just kicked back and had some fun at home. I stayed up with everyone for the New Year, and exchanged jokes with Tia Nene. It's fun having my aunt coming each Christmas and our birthdays.

Happy Holidays!

So much has happened during Christmas vacation. Family, friends, making cards for soldiers, going up to the mountains to visit a family in our homeschool group, and more! But in the last week and days, we celebrated the holidays. First, Christmas. Not the the exact day of Jesus' birth, but what can we say? We weren't there to know when Jesus was born. He could have been born in Summer, for all we know! So with all the Christmas stuff we were busy and then there was the party (more like a little family thing) for the New Year! For the first time ever, I managed to stay up to midnight. I have been allowed to, but I couldn't stay awake! We (Joe, Lina, Noel, and I) had sparkling apple cider. Our little get-together wasn't much, but it was still a ton of fun! For now that's all, but tomorrow there'll be more...