Swimmin' with the Mermaids!

Emily Windsnap is a girl who is full of questions. She lives on a house boat but has never been in a bath, ocean, or the pool before! So she tries to take swimming lessons. As she is in the water, she feels strange, so she jumps quickly out on the side of the pool, and is scared to go back in the water. She needs to know what was happening! That night she snuck out of the boat. She needed to know why she felt this way in the water. She jumped in… there was the feeling. She looked down it was unbelievable…SHE WAS A MERMAID!! Will she be able to live in both worlds?

I love this book. In the book The Tail of Emily Windsnap my favorite part is when Emily really finds out that she is a mermaid. For example, that night she finds out that she is a mermaid she swims around and she thinks it is a dream! That makes you want to read on and on.

This series has many books, so you can enjoy many adventures with Emily. When you read this book you feel like you are in the story and you are with Emily the whole time. The whole series is exciting and fun and you will not be able to put the book down. If you love fun and adventurous books than this is the book for you to read! I would give this book 5 stars. 

Posted by: Super

Champs is great!

Last summer, I went to Champs for my 9th birthday. Champs is a roller rink and Laser tag center rolled into one. The point of laser tag is to shoot the opponent with a beam of light. If you hit their sensor they have to wait to get back into the game. When you shoot the person he can’t shoot you until 2 minutes because the chest plate will have to recharge.

I like Champs because we get to go skating inside. They play music while you skate, and they also have cool fog machines. Too, the place is huge, so everyone has room to move.

Unfortunately, in order to play laser tag we had to wait 1 hour, and the people who played laser tag with me were mean. They were making fun of me because I never shot somebody with the laser.

You should choose champs because it is a good place for a party because you can go skating and go play laser tag. I hope you come to this place on your next birthday, and I hope you have a good time there. I give Champs 4 paws.

Posted by: Schoolhouse Chicken 123

Van Gogh Biography

Van Gogh's Sunflowers

        Vincent Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in Holland. He was the son of a pastor, brought up in a religious household. Vincent was very emotional and lacked self-confidence. Between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van Gogh had had two unsuitable and unhappy romances and had worked unsuccessfully as a clerk in a bookstore, an art salesman, and a preacher in the Borinage, where he was fired for too much enthusiasm. 

He stayed in Belgium to study art, determined to give happiness by creating beauty. The works of his early Dutch period are easy-toned, sharply lit, genre paintings of which the most famous is "The Potato Eaters" (1885). In that year van Gogh went to Antwerp where he discovered the works of Rubens and purchased many Japanese prints.

In 1886 he went to Paris to join his brother Théo, the manager of Goupil's gallery. In Paris, van Gogh studied with Cormon, met Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin, and began to lighten his very dark colors and to paint in the short brushstrokes of the Impressionists. His nervous temperament made him a difficult friend, and all-night discussions combined with painting all day lowered his health. He decided to go south to Arles where he hoped his friends would join him and help found a school of art. Gauguin did join him but with disastrous results. Near the end of 1888, an incident led Gauguin to leave Arles. Van Gogh chased after  him with an open razor, was stopped by Gauguin, but ended up cutting a portion of his own ear lobe off. Van Gogh then began to alternate between fits of madness and having a peace of mind, and was sent to the mental asylum in Saint-Remy for treatment.

            Van Gogh died in 1890, in the Netherlands.

Posted by: Stinkyfoot

Surf's Up!

Subway Surf is the best game that you can have and it’s on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod. You can pick a person that you want and then go to the apple store. Then click download. You double tap if you want a surf board or not and you only get the board for 10 or 20 seconds, when you start playing. You get coins that you have to have to run away from a police officer in order to not get caught because you spray painted SUBWAY SURF.

I like this game because you can buy this game for free on the apple products. One of the people is a bunny guy that has a suit case, a suit, and a rabbit mask. The other one looks like a kid with a hat, a jacket, a shirt, and pants.

I don’t like this game is because they don’t let you play two players, and it's not offered as an online game. I think it would be cool to play with other kids.

I recommend by giving this game 3 out of 5 paws. Hope you like my report! 

Posted by: Soccerboy2012

Very Despicable

Everywhere you hear about evil. You hear it on television, you hear it from your parents, and you especially see it on the internet. Not all evil is actually bad though. Like in the movie Despicable Me. Evil villain, Gru, has sinister plans to… STEAL THE MOON! His minions and sidekick will work and work. But will trying to take down competition foil his plans?

This movie was funny, sad, and a little weird. One thing that it’s lacking though, which I feel every movie needs, is a surprise. I mean, the only thing that was close to a surprise was when his sidekick tried to give the girls away because Gru was focusing on them more than his work. I have to say though this movie is number one when it comes to funniness. His minions are little yellow things that are out of the park funny. They’re what make this movie a little weird.

 Over this entire movie definitely deserves 4 paws. And if you like this movie, you’ll like the movie Hop even more. It’s the perfect Easter movie, by the same creators.         

Posted by: Cookie Monster

The Beacon Street Girls

Have you ever moved a lot but never felt like you were home? Well, for Charlotte in the Beacon Street Girls, this couldn’t be truer.  She has been many places around the world including Africa and France. Now she is moving to Boston where she grew up. Her mom had died there, but they were still moving. Charlotte’s dad is a writer and likes to move where his books take place, but this year he is going to be teaching at a college. Charlotte always has a first day problem. For example, when she went to Africa she went in the boy’s bathroom because she didn’t know what it said. Do you think Charlotte can survive the first day without a disaster?

I really liked this book. The writer really let you know how the characters felt and thought.  For example, she uses a lot of thoughshots that let the reader know what the characters are thinking. She is a really good writer.

One thing I didn’t like about the book is people in the book were really mean to Charlotte in the beginning. For example they thought she was really stuck up, so they ignored her and refused to talk to her.

If you want to read a book that will make you never want to stop reading it you should get The Beacon Street Girls. I would give this book 4 out of 5 paws. 

Posted by: Soccerlover10