Olivia

= Book Log  =

read || November || not like practicing the paino || P.Gifford || E || June || Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds || Rodman Philbrick || JR || December || = = || Seeds of Hope: The Gold Mine Diary of Susanna Fairchild || Kristiana Gregory || JR || December || = = || My Own Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck || Mary Pope Osborne || JR || December || reads || March || || ||
 * # || = Book Title = || = Author = || = E, JR, C = || = Date Completed = ||
 * ==1== || Silverwing || K. Oppel || Ms.S.
 * ==2== || Falling In || F.Dowell || JR || September ||
 * ==3== || One Crazy Summer || R. Garcia || C || September ||
 * ==4== || Dyamond Daniel || N. Grimes || E || September ||
 * ==5== || Moxy Maxwell does
 * =6= || Moon Over Manifest || C.Vanderpool || C || June ||
 * =7= || The Robe of Skulls || V.French || JR || June ||
 * =8= || Touch Blue || C. Lord || E/JR || September ||
 * =9= || The Magic Thief || S. Prineas || JR || August ||
 * =10= || Heart of a Samurai || M. Preus || JR || June ||
 * =11= || Turtle In Paridise || J..Holm || JR || August ||
 * =12= || Scumble || I.Law || C || October ||
 * =13= || The Night Fairy || Laura Schlitz || E || October ||
 * =14= || The Sixty-eight rooms ||  || JR || September ||
 * =15= || The Golden Ghost ||  || E || October ||
 * =16= || Guinea Dog || Patrick Jennings || JR || September ||
 * =17= || My Life as a Book || Janet Tashjian || E/JR || August? ||
 * =18= || The City of Ember || Jeanne DuPrau || JR/C || September ||
 * =19= || Donner Party Expedition:
 * =20=
 * =21=
 * =22= || Steal Away Home || Lois Ruby || JR/C || December ||
 * =23= || Sunwing || Kenneth Opel || Ms. Sellers
 * =24= || Surviving The Applewhites ||  || E ||
 * =25= || Black Beauty || ---? || E || Jauary ||
 * =26= || Every Thing For A Dog || Ann Martin || JR || March ||
 * =27= || Shoot Out || Mike Lupac || E || March ||
 * =28= || Emerald Atlas || --? || JR || March ||
 * =29= || Fever 1793 || ---? || JR || April ||
 * =30= || CandyMakers || Wendy Mass || C || March ||
 * =31= || The Year With Read Snow: Dear America || Mary Osborn || JR || Febuary ||
 * =32= || The 3rd wheel || Jeff Kindey || E || April ||
 * =33= || The Ugly Truth || Jeff Kindey || E || Febuary ||
 * =34= || The Dollhouse Murders || -? || JR || April ||
 * =35= || My Brother Sam is Dead || ---? || Ms. Sellers reads ||
 * =36= || Pearl Harbor Diary || E. White || JR || April ||
 * =37= || Sunny Holiday || M.P. || E || April ||
 * =38= || Where Have All The Flowers Gone? || ---? || JR || April ||
 * =39= || Cleopatria VII, The Royal Diaries || A Journal || JR || April ||
 * =40= || People of Spark || Jeanne Duraup || JR || April ||
 * =41= || Prophet of Yonder Wood || Jeanne Duraup || JR || May ||

=May 13, 2013 - Tuesday - 4:30pm = Dear Ms. Sellers, I just finished a book you recomened to me around the beginning of the year, **__ The People of __**__ **Sparks**. __ I enjoyed reading this book very much!!! It was quite the adventure with my favorite charecters, Lina and Doon. This book was totally relistic fiction and sientific fiction. I know this because it toke place in the futer after lots of wars and dieseases. This was called the four wars. You would have to read it to find out more. I liked that the book had a happy ending in the end when the people of Ember got to stay in Sparks all safe and sound. I very glad to know that there are four books in this series. I have read book 1 & 2 and I'm starting book 3 ( I'm more than HALF WAY THROUGH) I can't get enough of it!!!

I'm also reading __** The Prophet of Yonwood. **__ It very good and takes place place in the futer as well (but, not as far away from present day in time.) The genera of these books are all the same, relistic fiction and sience fiction. I explained why it was sience fiction, but it relistic fiction as well because its's about normal kids who do normal things that kids do. The two main charecters are Nicki and Grover. Nickie's mission is to save her grandfathers house from being sold and Grover meets a few dificult thing while owning some snakes. ..

Me and Vianne are writing storys together from two girls who are with eachother and wake up on another planet in a HORRIBLE place like no other. The story is the same, buts from two differnt peoples perspections. My charecter is Elizebth and Vianne's is Lisa. Do you want to read it?

Your Student,

Olivia
=May 10, 2013 = =Hi Everyone!!! Check Out My Discussion Post to Chat with Me and Other Members! I Hope to Hear From You!!! -Olivia =

**May 2, 2013 **
Dear Ms. Sellers, I finished the book **__Fever 1793.__** This is one of my favorite books of all time. This historicial fiction book gives the feelings of hope, love, and trust. The author got me interested when the intruders came into Mattys (Main Character) house and a fight broke out. This part upset me as well because I didn't want anyone to get hurt (actully I didn't really mind when the one of the robers got hurt) or killed. Unfortunely, the author didn't agree with my thoughts and so forth, the author had made that Grandfathers last battle... I have decide to take this hopefull book in as my Book Talk. :D

I am loving the read-aloud, **__My Brother Sam is Dead__**! I was wondering what is going to happen when Sam dies. What going to happen when Tim, his parents, and Besty find out? I wonder how Tim is going to handle it? If I could talk to Sam I would ask him if he misses his Tim and if he was nervouse if he did (wich I know won't ever happen) come home and father would still be cross. I can't wait to read more! :D

Your Student,

**Olivia **
Febuary 5, 2013 Dear Ms. Sellers, I can't believe that it is the hundreth day of school, and as well as my book talk! I personally think I did very well. Since today was the my first book talk of the year, it would only be fair to talk about the book once and for all. As you know it is historic fiction. My Secert War: __The World War II Diary of Matlin Beck__ starts with one rainy day for the girls first entery, when she feels miserable and lonely. The last entery is a sunny day, when she can see her father safe and sound. If I could ask Matlin anything, I would ask her if she would still think of the populare group is better than she is. This book is heart warming story. About the __Boston Jane__ series, I have my hands full with the Dear Americas. So I don't think I have time at the moment to read the book __Boston Jane__. Thanks though. :) Your Student, Olivia Donnelly

January 27, 2013 Hi Olivia-

I think I own that book, __Steal Away Home__- sounds great! You just LOVE historical ficiton books. It's the perfect genre for you because you love to read and you love to learn about different time periods in history. Let me know if you're interested in checking out that __Boston Jane__ series, written by Jennifer Holm the same author as __Turtle in Paradise__.

I think that you are totally right about E.D.being envious of Jake. I don't think that she could have ever imagined that he would turn out to be smart, or interested in her butterfly project. It might be one of those "don't judge a book by it's cover" because Jake may turn out to be a totally different kid on the inside since someone (the various Applewhites) finally gave him the chance.

I'm curious about what book you might want me to read after this one. I would like to read an MCBA. Is there one that you haven't read that you would particularly like to hear? One of the ones I was thinking of doing was __Because of Mr. Terupt__. I didn't notice this one in your book log. This was probably one of the favorites I read over the summer. The book is about a fifth grade class, maybe a little like ours. I made a text to text connection between this book and another favorite old MCBA called __Flying Solo__. Both of these books are setup the same way so that every chapter is told from the point of view of a different character. I like this setup because it lets you as the reader know what the different characters are feeling. Sometimes I find this format hard to follow too as you have to keep track of a lot of different characters instead of just a couple.

Have you ever read a book with this kind of format?

Your friend in reading, Ms. Sellers


 * J****anuary 15, 2012**
 * Dear Ms. Sellers,**
 * A great book I just read called** **__Steal Away Home__ is a must have read in my life time book. It is about a girl who finds out (after tearing down wallpaper) there is a seceret room as big as a small walk in closet on the other side. After shining a flash light in the room she see that there is a skeletion on the other side. The question is how did it get there? The genera of this book is relistic fiction & historic fiction because it is told from a girl in modern times and a boy from the past. **


 * __Surviving The Applewhites__ is as well a great book! I'm so glad we read it in guided reading! I think I have a new character trait for E.D. And it's Envy. A great example of this is when Jake found that Great Frivoulouse Spangle. E.D. was so mad she had to share the credit. If I could ask E.D. a question, I would ask if she really thinks it is worth fighting with Jake, when deep down he was just trying to help .**


 * Your Student, Olivia Donnelly**

January 8, 2013

Hi Olivia-

Thanks so much for writing me back! I am so excited that you have been interested in reading the various Dear America books. I sadly think that I may have got rid of a lot of that series- I found many students weren't so interested in them. Which is too bad because I LOVE historical fiction books. I know that you are a lover of history too, and I think that is possibly why you are enjoying them as well. I would be happy to recommend some other good historical ficiton books ( or even some good social studies non ficiton books). One series that pops in to my head is called Boston Jane. This historical fiction series is written by Jennifer Holm, who is the author of many great books including the current MCBA Turtle in Paradise. Did you enjoy that MCBA? I'm thinking you might enjoy Boston Jane as this series takes place in the mid 1850s and focuses on a strong female character in the past. Now what's interesting is that the beginning of this story takes place in Philadelphia- so you're probably wondering why is this book called Boston Jane? That's one of the best parts of the story, so I don't want to give it away. What I will tell you is that Jane travels on quite the adventure from fancy Philadelphia to the wilds of the Oregon Territory. You might make some connections between the characters of Jane and with Susanna in Seeds of Hope.

I am so happy that you have been enjoying Surviving the Applewhites. I love that you enjoy the character of Jake-I think he is a very interesting one to read about. I think I told your group that I felt an immediate connection to the character of E.D. I was a pretty serious student, as E.D. is and I also had an old fashioned name that I didn't really like ;( *If I could talk to E.D., I would ask her to think about the kind of life that Jake has had and maybe he deserves a chance to start over with her crazy family! I think I might also ask Jake if he really thinks it's worth it to give everyone such a hard time. He can try to keep pushing people away, but the Applewhites just might have him beat in being weird...and it might be time to let his guard down and trust someone again. I unfortunately am not getting a lot of reading done outside of school- Sigh! Over vacation I didn't get to start Reached, because I hadn't finished Crossed as I had mentioned in my previous letter. Maybe by the time we write again, I'll have had the chance to start reading the last book in this series! Your friend in reading, Ms. Sellers:)

January 8, 2013 Dear Ms. Sellers, I just finish a amazing book called Seeds of Hope: The California Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild. This book is about a girl who is going to Oregion by ship. During there dangerous voyage she losses her mother and their savings for their new life. They are forced to stop at The Mining Camps so her father can dig up some gold, so they can buy land to live on. Mining Camp is a rough place full of murders, thieves, and worse, that soon Susanna is hating gold fever. The genera of this book is historic fiction because it takes place in the past an is taking place during an historic time. If I could ask Susanna a question I would ask if she'll ever miss the Mining Camp.

Your Student, Olivia Donnelly :)

December 19, 2012 Dear Ms. Sellers, In our giuded reading group we are reading Suriving the Applewhites. The genera of this book is relistic fiction because it could happen in real life, but the aurther made it up as they went along. The main characters are Jake, E.D., Desteny, and Clordilia. My favorite character is Jake; destructive, ignorent, and lonely are some of his traits. He's my favorite because he is the foster child who is not going to coperate for his foster family and is the character who sets everyone on their ear. I love how the aurther made this book so special and different than any book I've ever read!

Lately I've been reading the Candy Makers. The genera is fiction because this could never happen in real life, an example of this is when Logan couldn't lift a easy wieght, but Diasy could easily do it herself. I think it was a five pound wieght. Every page is a mouth watering surprise! The main characters are Logan, Daisy, Miles, and Philip. All of them are determand to win. I like how Logans curiose and proud of his candy factory, but isn't a bragger. After all, it's truly a magicial, sweet book!

-Olivia

Dear member of Room 7, I can’t believe that it’s already December and that we are halfway done with our second read aloud of Sunwing. You know I love these stories and love the characters- even Goth sometimes! I think the author Kenneth Oppel does a terrific job making you as the reader know the characters really well. We’ve talked a lot about how Shade is impulsive, and that he often “leaps, then looks” which causes many problems for him and others through the stories. One place where we see him do this is most recently in Sunwing. On page 164, “From behind him came a sudden and intense flash of light, and for a split second it was as if the night had become day. “Don’t look back,” Caliban snapped. Shade looked.” This is such a perfect example of Shade. We can all imagine how hard it is not to do something when someone tells you directly not to do it- but I would think that Shade would’ve been so scared at all that he had been through and would be afraid to see what terrible things would be behind him that he wouldn’t look as Caliban told him to. Shade however has a hard time following rules, and thinking things through. Although, I think we can already see signs that Shade is “growing up” in this second story.

Over vacation, I’m getting ready to read the third book in a Sci Fi series that I’ve really enjoyed. This book is called Reached and it’s written by Ally Condie. The reason I am planning on reading it is that I’ve asked Santa to bring it for Christmas, and there’s nothing I enjoy more on Winter Vacation than curling up with a great new book. There are three main characters in this series- Cassia (the main girl), Ky and Xander. *The genre of this book is definitely Sci Fi as this book takes place in the future where the government- called “The Society”- gets to make a lot of decisions for you. They pick a job for you, and they even recommend who you should marry. You don’t have to marry that person, but they “match” you with the perfect person. (The first book in the series was called Matched.)They also tell you that you may only keep a certain amount of special items or artifacts- and paper is a very special thing which most people are not supposed to have. Can’t wait to hear what you’ve been reading about- write you back after vacation! Love, Ms. Sellers

December 10, 2012 Dear Ms.Sellers, This week I'm reading // The CandyMakers //. I'm on page 25 right now, but in the few pages I've read, I love it! It makes me wonder if any of this could ever happen? I think my favorite charecter is Logan. I like Daisy alot too. She is so steadfast and optimistic, unlike Phlip whos so... into making himself look better than Logan. Miles too is special, in his own way. Have you read the The // CandyMakers //? If you haven't it's good, I can't put it down! Have you read any really good MCBA's?

Your Student, Olivia Donnelly

__November 13, 2013__

Dear Olivia- Thanks so much for your first letter. I have read City of Ember and it is hands down one of my top ten favorite books! I loved the part in the book when you realize that not only if the power goes out there is no light, that there is also no "weather". I have read this book out loud to one of my classes before and I loved seeing the reaction of students when they realize that Ember is actually underground. I love that this book is making you think about our future and how we treat the earth. I bet that is one of the things the author Jeanne DuPrau wanted you to think. If you haven't already, I hope that you will continue with the series and read the sequel People of Sparks. This book (much like Silverwing and Sunwing) picks up right at the end of Ember when Lina, Doon, and come up from underground. What will they find? Will life be better? I think you might be surprised!

If you enjoy this kind of Sci Fi/Dystopian book, I would recommend an MCBA from a couple years ago called The Other Side of the Island. I can tell you more about it in my next letter.

Were you surprised by the ending of Silverwing__? Can you believe that Goth didn't die when he got struck by lightning. I think the author, Kenneth Oppel, makes the stories more interesting by keeping Goth- the bad guy- alive. The author got me interested in the part that we just left on- when Shade flew right in to the giant human building because he heard bat voices calling to them- but were they real voices, and should Shade have just flown in without being a little more cautious? I loved everyone in our class's reaction- could Goth be inside? could he be calling out? I kind of love it as a teacher when I leave people hanging at the end of the chapter and kids say, "Don't stop reading Ms. Sellers!"

Your friend in reading, Ms. Sellers :)

=
Have you read The City of Ember ? If you have not, you should!!! The book makes me think about what would happen if we don't stop global warming. We might have to live underground with a low supplies of light bulbs! I can't imagion what it is like to be scared to live in the dark forever. What have you been reading? Anything good? Let me know.======

Olivia Donnelly

September 26, 2012 Dear Room 7, I’m very excited to hear all your thoughts about what you’re reading on your individual wiki pages. I’ve really enjoyed all your enthusiasm about Silverwing. Even though this is my thirteenth time reading it, I still get really excited about sharing it every year. ** *The genre of this book is definitely fantasy since I don’t believe that bats and owls have wars or detailed adventures together. I also consider this to be a genre of my own invention- called Animal Adventure **. I love the character Shade; he’s one of my all-time favorites. ** *If I could talk to Shade, I would ask him if he thinks it was worth it to break the law and see the sun, especially after what happens to his colony as a result. **

Your friend in reading, Ms. Sellers:)