Apollo 13 (Thing 1)

We watched "Apollo 13." It's about an astronaut (Jim Lovell) who ends up on a rocket to the moon (Apollo 13). Something breaks on the rocket, and the astronauts are forced to survive with only the supplies they have in the rocket with them and get back to Earth safely.

What I liked: The intensity of the situation, getting to see not only what was happening on the rocket, but what was happening back at the space station and at the astronauts' homes. The movie is based off of a true story, so if you know what happens in the end, it might not be as exciting for you as it was for me (I didn't know what actually happened until the movie ended).

What I didn't like: The technology of the rocket and trying to fix everything on it could be very confusing at times. I didn't get all of the terms they used, and I felt like we were pausing the movie a lot to say, "What? Why is everything so cold? How is that going to help them?"

A little bonus fact for you, towards the end of the movie when Jim Lovell and the other two astronauts are strapped in the rocket, a cameraman is visible in the corner of the screen. Somehow nobody caught that until the movie was released!

I give this movie

. It was a great way to teach history and had you on the edge of your seat the whole time.

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library (Thing 1)

We read Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein. It's about a boy named Kyle Keeley who loves games: board games, video games, any kind. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, is the most famous game maker in the world. So when he finds out that Mr. Lemoncello is the one behind the building of the new town library lock-in event, he knows he just has to enter. Kyle is one of the lucky twelve kids that get to go to the library and participate in the game that Mr. Lemoncello has created. The game is simple: Be the first one to escape the library and win tons of games, all designed by Mr. Lemoncello.

What I liked: I loved the whole concept. The plot was unique and the riddles weren't so tricky that they baffled me to the point where I felt exhausted, but they were just hard enough that I felt energized to figure them out myself. Mr. Lemoncello was hilarious, and after meeting the author at a local book event, it was pretty obvious that he based the character after himself.

What I didn't like: The characters were pretty cliched. You had your jocks, your video game heads, your bookworms, your awkward nerds, the rich snobs, the ditzy cheerleaders, etc. Admittedly, Haley Daley didn't fit the stereotypical cheerleader mold in the end. She actually proved to be very clever and crucial to the plot.

I give this book

. (My actual rating would be 4.5, but I can't give halves with the star graphics). It's a great family read for kids of all ages. If you love games and riddles, this book is for you!

Wonder (Thing 2)

We read Wonder by R.J. Palacio.

We've been reading this on our road trip and on normal days. Now I want to share ten things that I like about this book.

1. It made me laugh.
2. It made me cry.
3. It has good characters.
4. It is a unique book.
5. It says A LOT about things I enjoy (Star Wars, video games, etc.)
6. I like how it has different characters' perspectives.
7. I like the main character, August.
8. I like how August's family is nice to him.
9. I like the book cover.
10. I like their dog.

In the book, one of his teachers teaches them about precepts and has the students make their own. I am going to make my own too.

"Live life the way you expect it to be, don't let anyone stop you from reaching the sky, and the sky is the limit."

I think that everyone at some point in his or her life should read this book.

I would give this book

because it is funny, sad, sweet and has A LOT of good characters.

Wonder (Thing 1)

Our family read Wonder by R. J. Palacio. Instead of a "normal" book review, we're going to write our ten favorite things about the book.

1. The sweet, funny, wonderful (and not so wonderful) characters.
2. The fact that the story is told from so many different perspectives.
3. The emotional parts that brought tears to our eyes (happy and sad ones).
4. The wise messages that could make the world a better place if we all listened to them.
5. The way you can get wrapped up in the story so easily.
6. The laugh-out-loud funny parts.
7. The simplicity of the book.
8. The never-ending surprises.
9. The end.
10. The way the author helped to teach me to never judge a book by its cover or a boy by his face. You might miss out on your only chance to meet a wonder.

I would give this book





for all of the reasons above and so much more. I can't compare this book to any other. It's one of a kind.

There was a teacher in the book that came up with a monthly precept. He asked the kids in the book to come up with their own precept, so I decided to come up with my own.

"Don't waste time, because there's no time to waste in the first place."

"The Help" (Thing 1)

Our family watched "The Help." I've already done a review of this movie (and the book) on my blog, so if you would like to read it, please click HERE.

I  would give this movie . It was sweet, funny, and inspiring. I highly recommend that you watch it.

The Help (Thing 2)

Last week we watched "The Help."

It's about three women. Aibileen is a black woman who is telling the story. She also works for a white person that sometimes treats her poorly and sometimes treats her nicely. Minnie is another black woman who works for a horrible white person. Then there is Skeeter, who is a white woman who wants to write a book. She has to interview black people about their experiences while working with white people. But she and the black people she are interviewing might go to jail because of it.

I would give this movie

 



because it is exciting and interesting.

"Evita" (Thing 2)

We watched "Evita." It is a musical about Eva Perón. She goes to Buenos Aires and goes through jobs to get to the top. In the end, she became the first lady. She helped the poor and didn't like the rich. At the end of the movie you don't know if she is good or bad. I think she was doing it for herself to get revenge on the rich for when she was a kid going to her father's funeral.


I would give this movie




 because it was exciting and had good music.

Evita (Thing 1)

We watched "Evita" as a family. It is a musical made in 1996 about Eva Peron. Eva Peron was married to Juan Peron who was the leader of Argentina. Eva was often called Evita and was a very good speaker. She supported the lower class and most everyone in Argentina loved her. Almost the entire movie is music telling the story of Evita. It shows her good side and her bad side, which leaves you to decide for yourself whether or not Evita was a good or bad person. My favorite character in the movie was the devil's advocate played by Antonio Banderas.

I would give this movie
It had awesome music and told a very good story. There could have been some more dialogue, in my opinion, but overall it was a good movie. By the end of the movie I thought that Evita was a good person that made some mistakes.

Bridge To Terabithia (Thing 2)

We read Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. It is about a boy named Jess who wants to be the fastest runner in fifth grade. He gets all ready to be the best, but when he raced he was beaten by a girl named Leslie Burke. He makes friends with her and they invent a world called Terabithia. The only way to get there is to swing on a rope to the other side of the creek. Terabithia is a world where they pretend to be the king and queen. The world has villagers and giants.

I would give this book

because it was funny and simple.

Bridge to Terabithia (Thing 1)

We read Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. It is about a boy named Jess who wants to be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. Then a girl named Leslie moves into his town and beats him in a race. They become good friends after that and Leslie introduces Jess to a magical, imaginary land called Terabithia. Jess and Leslie are the king and queen of Terabithia and go on adventures to protect their kingdom. Together they become good friends through Terabithia.

I would give this book

. It was sweet, funny, and very sad. It had great characters and I loved all of the imagination in the story.

The Firework-Maker's Daughter (Thing 2)

We read The Firework-Maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman. It is a book where a firework maker is taking care of his daughter. When the daughter grew up she wanted to be a firework-maker, too, but her dad just laughed. She had made lots of fireworks but not very big ones. Her friend Chulak went over to ask how to make the good fireworks. Then her father told him that he has to go to the mountain to get the sulfur from Rasvani the Fire Fiend. Then Chulak told Lila, but what he didn't know is that she needed to get the emerald water or else she would perish in the flames. Will he get there in time to give it to Lila or is it too late?

I would give this book

. It was exciting, and it had good humor.

The Firework-Maker's Daughter (Thing 1)

We read The Firework-Maker's Daughter by Phillip Pullman. It was about a girl named Lila who, being a firework-maker's daughter, loves to create fireworks. One day, she gets mad at her father, Lalchand, for not telling her the secret to being a true firework-maker, so she gets her friend, Chulak, to trick Lalchand into telling him the secret. Lalchand does, but does not tell him the whole secret. Since Chulak thinks he has the secret, he tells Lila what it is and she sets off immediately on a dangerous journey to Mount Merapi to get some royal sulfur from the Fire-Fiend, Razvani, in exchange for the three gifts. What she doesn't know is that she needs some special water to protect herself from the flames. So Chulak and the talking white elephant, Hamlet, set off after Lila. But will they make it in time?

I would give this book

. It was exciting, had interesting characters, and funny parts. I especially liked the description of all of the fireworks.

The King's Speech (Thing 1)

We watched "The King's Speech." It's about a prince named Bertie, who has a bad stutter. He often has to give speeches and has a hard time. Bertie's wife is always trying to find doctors that will help him get over his stutter, but it never works. One day, she finds an odd speech therapist that she thinks will help him. Bertie tries it and hates it at first, but then he continues to work with him and gets better over time. The movie is all about the friendship between Bertie and the speech therapist, Lionel.

I would rate this movie


. It was sweet, simple, and had funny parts. I love British movies, too, so that made it even better.

"The King's Speech" (Thing 2)

We watched "The King's Speech." The movie is set in England during World War 2. The main character Bertie is the son of a king, but the king is dying and Bertie is scared to become king because he has a speech problem. His brother likes to party and is not going to take care of the people during the war.

I would give this movie:

 because you don't know what is going to happen, it's based on a true story, and also I like stories set in England. I really like the friendship between Bertie and Lionel, his speech therapist.