Dear Mr. Daw,

I just finished the book A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park. This book made me feel that poverty was and will always be a major problem in the world. Min is a potter during the whole book Min has a wish his wish is to become a man who makes pottery for the Emperor I can connect to that because he really needs to fulfill that wish and I have read about another character in another book. This connection helped me because during the story I knew that he wouldn't die before he would have fulfilled that wish. This is a just right book for me because i could read it at a good tempo and still understand everything.

The two characters that changed a lot in this book were Tree-ear and Min. Tree-ear changed in the end of the book .When Tree-ear knows that he is bringing the two vases to Emissary Kim he gets really cocky and he thinks he is so cool and like thinks nothing bad is going to happen. But later on when he gets robbed and the two thugs throw the vases of the cliff something happens to Tree-ear. Tree-ear is so worried but then he finds a single shard and brings it to Emissary Kim and Kim accepts it. In the beginning of the book Min the potter is very stubborn and really doesn't care about anybody but himself. Min is so stubborn because all that he wants is to get a royal commission from a Emissary. For a example Min doesn't want to teach Tree-ear to make pots only because it doesn't follow old traditions. In the end Min is still a bit stubborn but he is happier because he has finally gotten his royal commission. Min also takes in Tree-ear as his own son because Tree-ear is a orphan and he teaches him to make pots.

The problem of the story was resolved when Emissary Kim accepts the single shard and lets Min become a royal commissioner. I felt good about the revolution because everybody ended up happy. If I could change anything in the book it would be that Min would let Tree-ear learn to make pottery earlier in the book and not in the end. I think the message in the book is everything might not seem perfect but you need to carry on until it at least gets better.


Sincerely,
Simon Fischer

The Million Dollar Goal - April 22

I just finished reading the book The Million Dollar Goal by Dan Gutman. This book made me feel sad because there was a grandma called Oma and she basiclly only had one goal wich was to win something in her life and in the end she didn´t achieve her goal. A connection I had was that Oma in the book was very stubborn like my 2 year old brother. My connection helped me because I know how hard and annoying it can be to take care of somebody who is very stubborn. This book was maybe a bit to easy for me because I could finish it in just four days but it was a fun read.

Well the two characters I choose are Oma and Dad. Well in the start of the story Oma doesn't care about shooting and scoring the million dollar shot. Oma is also stubborn and doesn't listen or care about what any body tells her. In the begginning Oma always gets mad about everything. In the end she learns that it is just stupid to not listen and she also learns that it can help to listen. What made Oma change is the hockey training that Dawn and Dusk made up to make her good for the million dollar shot. They make her listen by being strict and forcing her to train. Dad's change is that in the beginning of the book he is really worried and says that Oma can't take the million dollar shot but as more things happen he agrees that it's Oma's own disiccion to choose if she is going to take the shot or not. Dad is pretty stubborn like Oma his mother. What made him change was Oma because all she wanted was to win those million dollars and Oma was even more stubborn than her son and said that it was her choice.

Well the problem in the story is winning the million dollars. The end that you think is the end is that Dusk takes the shot because of Oma's death and he misses. But that isn't a happy ending so it ends with them selling Elvis Presley's birth certificate and earninga a million dollars. I thought it was a funny but stupid ending because they didn't win then they won in another way. I would change that Oma dies after the shot on the ice rinc holding a microphone and she says ''Elvis lives'' and they still get the million dollars from his certificate. I think that the author's message is don't give up. I think that because that is exactly what the Rosenbergs don't do they never give up.
Dear Mr. Daw,

I read the book Behind Rebel Lines this book made me feel impressed because a woman could slip into the Union force pretending to be a man. A connection I made was that Women are usually more discriminated than Men. This is a just right book for me because I didn't read it to fast or to slow.

Well in the beginning of the book Emma Edmonds was a bit scared deep inside but she didn't want to show that she was. Later after spying on the enemy, helping a Reb soldier almost dying. After all of her hard and harsh experiences she became very bold, brave and courage's.

Well there was no one problem but the main problem was that she was actually a women and not a man. The problem about her being a women was resolved when the war ended because she could come forward and say that she actually was a women and not a man. I felt surprised that she could become so open with that she was not a man. I would have changed to add more information about her spying missions.

The Rumpelstiltskin Problem

Dear Mr.Daw

I just finished reading the book called The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde. This book made me feel confused because there where so many different story's in one book. I made a connection because when I was in first grade I did a play about Rumpelstiltskin it helped me understand the book because I could like keep on connecting back and forth. This is a just right book for me because I could understand it very easy and clearly.

Well two characters that changed during story were, Katya and King Gregory. I'll start with Katya well Katya in the beginning of the story was very greedy and always saying "duh" she didn't care about anything not even herself. Her dad had told the king that she could spin straw into gold so the king believed him for no particular reason. So she was crying so Rumpelstiltskin came and told her it's okay. Later Katya forced Rumpelstiltskin into taking her first new born baby because she didn't care. Later when her first newborn baby came she cared so much she didn't want it to happen Rumpelstiltskin said that she didn't have to take the baby but she didn't listen so Rumpelstiltskin ran away. The big change was that Katya started to care later on especially about others. King Gregory was like really too nice and cared too much about others in the beginning. But when King Gregory meets Carleen the super annoying girl he learns something. Carleen only wants to get married rich and live a luxurious life. In the end King Gregory sent the Carleen away to another King and he learned that you can't always be nice.

Otto Christina's dad who had always gotten her into trouble and never gotten her out of it finally helped her. He helped her by rowing a boat down to the place they had thrown down the straw. When Christina said she didn't want to marry the king she jumped into the water landing in the straw. Christina and her father rowed away in the boat to a new country and lived happily ever after. I would have put something to explain the book in the end and also moved the stories around. I think that the author's message is that stories change and that what culture you come from you may know the story differently.


Sincerely,
Simon Fischer