The Fantasy World of Fourth Grade

Moving right along with the book reviews by the 2009-2010 fourth graders in Mrs. B.'s class, we are now up to fantasy, one of my favorite genres.

Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle
Sandy and his twin brother Dennys mess up with their father's science experiment and end up in a desert populated with munchkins. Sandy and Dennys get a sunstroke and suffer for a couple of months and have to put up with some things such as death, captivity, and a big flood. Then Sandy and Dennys meet Noah. Like in Noah and the Ark. Then Noah introduces Grandfather Lamech. Grandfather Lamech said that El has told him that a flood is coming. El is like a god that only people that believe in him can hear him. So Noah, Sandy, and Dennys build an Art. But will Sandy and Dennys be able to put up with all these things? Will the people on the island be able to survive the flood? Will Sandy and Dennys be able to get back home? Read the book and find out.
Rating: I would give this book 5 stars because I always wanted to know what will happen next to Sandy and Dennys and wondered if they were going to get back home.

Seven Day Magic by Edward Eager
There were five children named Barnaby, Abby, Fredericka, John, and Susan. They go to the library one day and Susan checks out an old book. When they are walking home Susan opens up the book. There is nothing in it! She shows the other children. When they get home they check all the pages and realize that exactly what they had just said was in the book. Maybe it's a magic book. Fredericka wishes for a dragon. They go outside. A dragon swoops down and grabs Fredericka. Will the children save Fredericka and unravel the mystery of the book?
Rating: I would rate this book * one star. It wasn't exciting or funny. A couple of times I wanted to stop reading and start a new book. It was one of the worst books I have ever read.

Emily Windsnap and the Monster From the Deep by Liz Kessler, illustrated by Sarah Gibb
This book is about a curious eleven year old girl named Emily Windsnap. She loves to explore. One day when she was exploring with her friend, Shona, they found a cave. They decided to see what was in it. They found a huge monster called the Kraken! That monster was Neptune's monster. (the King of the Sea) When Neptune found out that the monster had escaped, he was furious. Emily and Shona were the only people who could calm the Kraken down. Meanwhile Emily's enemy, Mandy, was going to go on a cruise with her family and it wasn't going well. What will happen to Emily and Shona? Read to find out.
Rating: I give this book four stars out of five stars because I like funny books better and some parts were boring. Other than that, I really liked it.

The Sisters Grimm and the Tales From the Hood by Micheal Buckley, illustrated by Peter Ferquson
This is a great book about two girls named Sabrina and Daphene and their family. The family lives in Ferryport Landing, a town full of everafters (live people that were in fairy tales). In this book they have to complete two missions. The first one is about Mr. Canis, the old bodyguard for the Grimm family. Mr. Canis is a friendly man but when he has anger he blows with rage and turns back into the big bad wolf. The police have been looking for the big bad wolf for years to put him in jail so when the police see him they arrested him. They have to get Mr. Canis out of jail before it's too late.
The second problem is that Sabrina and Daphene's parents are under a sleeping spell. Goldilocks is the only one who can break the sleeping spell because she truly loves Mr. Grimm. But they are out of luck because Goldilocks is moving from town to town because a man is chasing after her. Even though they have to battle against the man and get Goldilocks back they get to see the beautiful cities like Paris, Chicago, New York, and they even get to see the ocean. Will they complete their missions in time?
Rating: This book had an abundance of action in each chapter. There was magic, mystery and suspense. I give it 5 stars.

Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson
Arriman the Awful needs a wife. Even though he is the blackest wizard there is, he is aging quite rapidly and needs a son to take over his role. Which witch will he choose? Will it be Mabel Wrack, half mermaid and great at fishy magic; Old Mother Bloodward who knows every spell in the book except the turn-yourself-young-again spell or the Shouter twins who would kill each other to win over Arriman? All of the witches are scared of Madame Olympia who knows the blackest magic in the universe. Poor Belladonna doesn't stand a chance against the other witches because she only specializes in white magic, not black. Belladonnna already realized that the young wizard is alive but Arriman doesn't have a clue. What will happen?
Rating: I gave this book four stars because most of the time it was exciting and had nail biting moments. The rest of the book gave me no emotions.

The Giggler Treatment by Roddy Doyle
This book is about adults getting the giggler treatment. The giggler treatment is about if adults are mean to the children then they get poop on their shoe. Adults get poop on their shoes until they stop being mean to the children. The Gigglers don't poop. The dog owner makes Rover poop outside and the Gigglers get the poop and pay Rover 20 pence.
Mister Mack was being mean to his children because he put his kids in bed early because they broke the kitchen window. The Giggler thought the kids were in their rooms for a long time but they were in their room for two minutes. The Gigglers put poop on the sidewalk. Does Mister Mack step on the poop? Read the book to find out.
Rating: I give this book ***** stars because the book was funny. It was funny because the gigglers were hilarious.

The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull
The Candy Shop War is about four friends, Nate, Summer, Pigeon, and Trevor, who discover a candy shop owned by Belinda White. She is a magician who gives magical candy to children in exchange for shady tasks. Her goal is to drink from the fountain of youth, a thing of liquid that would make her more powerful and younger. After the children find out she betrayed them they go to Mr. Stott, the ice cream man, who is also a magician. He helps them try to beat Belinda to the treasure. Belinda recruits three bullies from their school, Denny, Eric, and Kyle. She also gets a few magical creatures, a Gusher, A Fuse, and a Kinetic. Will they be able to stop Belinda White?
Rating: I would give this book five stars because it had a lot of action an magic in it. I also would recommend it to other people.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien, illustrated by Zena Bernstein
It all started with a family of four field mice and their widowed mother named Mrs. Frisby. Her children were called Teresa, Martin, Cynthia, and Timothy. One day Timothy became terribly ill with pneumonia and the seasons were turning from winter to spring. The only problem, other than Timothy being sick with pneumonia, is that in a matter of time Mr. Fitzgibbon, the farmer, and his sons pull out the plow. Mrs. Frisby's house is right in the middle of the field and she needs to find a way to move her house before time runs out. Luckily, she finds a magnificent species of super rats called the Rats of NIMH who can help her. Can she persuade the rats to accompany her with the help of her children, a crazy crow named Jeremy, an out of this world owl and another field mouse named Mr. Ages?
Rating: I liked this book because it was thrilling and always made me wonder what would happen next. I GIVE THIS BOOK FIVE STARS *****

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Twelve year old Meggie and her father, Morimer, were snug in their house when suddenly a strange man appeared outside. Mortimer led him inside and took him into his office. The next thing she knew Meggie was in the car on the way to her Aunt Elinor's house. Aunt Elinor was obsessed with books and her walls are all book shelves. Meggie and Mortimer take the stranger with them whose name is Dustfinger. When Mortimer reads aloud characters come out of the book. He read Dustfinger out of a book named Inkheart. When someone comes out another person goes in. When Dustfinger came out, Mortimer's wife went in. Dustfinger is a fire eater. He puts on a show for Meggie later at night. The next day they are off to Capricorn's village.
Capricorn is a cold souled person whose heart is ink black. Capricorn captures them and puts them in a horse stall that Capricorn uses as a dungeon. Later they escape and find an old shack to hide in. After awhile Dustfinger sets fire to Capricorn's house as a distraction. What will happen next? Read Inkheart to find out.
Rating: I give this book ***** stars because I loved the adventure in the book.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Coraline had just moved to a new apartment, but her parents still ignore her. They are always busy. Then one day, Coraline found a locked door. when she unlocked it, she found another world. Living there is a magical mother. Coraline thinks the other world is a wonderful place, until one night at dinner her magical mother says she wants to sew buttons on her eyes. Coraline goes back until her magical mother steals her parents and locks Coraline in a secret room. In the room there are three ghosts that the magical mother already stole. They tell Coraline to find their souls and she will be free from the magical mother. The magical mother says if Coraline can find the souls and where she hid her parents, Coraline can go back to her world with them. But how can Coraline find them? And what if the magical mother doesn't let her go back.
Rating: I give this book ***** stars because it was really suspenseful and it had a lot of action in it.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Jess is a boy who loves to run. He also loves to make up animals and draw them. One day a girl came to live next to Jess. Her name was Leslie. Leslie and Jess became best friends. They wanted a place for just the two of them. They find a creek and a tree hanging over it. That gave Leslie an idea. She tied a rope onto the tree sot hey could swing across the creek.
Then they started to build the castle. They built and built every day after school until it was finally done. They named the area Terabithia.
On Easter they had to go to church. Leslie found out and wanted to go with Jess's family. Leslie went with them. When they got there, Leslie started reading the Bible. She said, "I don't believe this." Jess's sister said, "If you don't believe this then you might not got to Heaven!" Still, Leslie didn't believe it.
One morning, Jess got a call from his favorite teacher to go to the Smithsonian with her. Jess was so excited he told his mom and was running to the driveway, where the teacher would be waiting. On the car ride, he thought about Terabithia. Then he thought of Leslie. Jess forgot to tell Leslie! Jess thought she would be fine and everything will be all right. Or will it?
Rating: I give this book **** stars because it made me want to read more. At the end of the chapter it stopped at an important part and made me want to continue reading. I think some people may not like this book though because it wasn't as action packed as other books.

The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks, illustrated by Brock Colein
This book is an action of adventure that inspires children to read the fantasy and mystery of Omri and his action figures. Imagine a young boy with his action figure coming to life and trying to defend themselves from danger. How the action figures come to life is a secret you can uncover by reading the story. Many magical things begin to happen as you go deeper and deeper into the book and discover the purpose of Omri's birthday present, the cupboard. Omri finally discovers the secret, but you can only find out by reading this fantasy story.
Rating: I really enjoyed the book because it was full of adventure and magic. Even though it was a fantasy book, I still felt like it was a real story! It was easy to read because it was so exciting and in parts of the book it had dangerous parts. I would give it 5 stars and I would suggest that all my friends should read it.

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
Fablehaven is a story about a girl named Kendra and her younger brother Seth. When their parents are going on a cruise, Kendra and Seth must go to their grandparent's house until their parents are back. While Kendra and her brother are at their grandparent's house they soon discover a big secret. Their grandparents own Fablehaven, a secret sanctuary that gives magical creatures a place to stay. They find out that fairies, satyrs, and freaky demons all exist and find refuge in these secret sanctuaries. Kendra and Seth gain all of this knowledge fast and soon after quickly find trouble. An evil witch named Muriel is set loose in Fablehaven and she wants to release Bahumat, an evil demon who could destroy Fablehaven and everyone in it that has taken refuge at Fablehaven. Can Kendra and Seth, along with their grandparents, Lena, and Dale (who are new friends) save the day? The existence of Fablehaven and the existence of themselves? Read the book to find out.
Rating: I give this book 5 stars because each chapter was full of suspense and the author has so many wonderful ideas. I would highly recommend it to people who love magical creatures!

Half Magic by Edward Eager
Half Magic is about a girl named Jane who has a magic coin. The problem is the coin only wishes half of your wishes. So they travel around making unsafe wishes and it turns into a big problem, they mess up history, their cats speaks English and meows, and their little sister has only half her body.
Everybody in town is worried because a dog statue starts speaking and Mark's friends play basketball with half a body. Now they are worried because they messed up everything and might not be able to fix it. They only have limited wishes and they have only a couple more wishes left. Can they fix all their problems? Will anybody believe them? Will they be able to fix any trouble?
Rating: I give this book ***** stars because it really caught my attention so I felt like I was int he book.