On an April morning, my sister Cici and I went to the Concord library to check out some animal books. I walked in with an excited mood. While I flipped through George Orwell’s section, a book from the top layer of the shelf fell on top. Of me. That scared me a little. I stared at it for a moment and read The Dog Who Lost His Bark. Eoin Colfer? I never knew anything about this author. Why is it in this section anyway? Quickly, I skimmed through the back of the book. Hmm… That’s kind of cool. Hey, I might actually like this book! Wondering very thoughtfully, I grabbed it. Back to my home I went with my seven books about animals. The first book I plunged into was The Dog Who Lost His Bark. Two days later, I finally finished it. It was about a little puppy named Dog who got sent to a dreadful family. They were really mean to him and when Dog barked, he was given no food. One day, Dog did something he shouldn’t do and the man was so angry that he threw Dog out of the house! Poor little puppy! But somehow, he got sent to a pet store. Then, a little boy named Patrick went to that same pet store with his granddad to buy a little puppy. Patrick looked around. He stopped wondering when he saw Dog. So he bought him home. He even gave Dog a new name – Oz. But when he tried to feed him, he just whined a little and jumped to the corner of his crate. Patrick tried so many times and it doesn’t work. Oz was now so scared of humans that he didn’t even trust good people; like Patrick. But Patrick didn’t give up. He tried again and again. Reading this made me think how important it is to not give up and to keep trying. It reminded me of a time when I had to persevere like Patrick. For example, when I was little, I struggled with math. I just got that word problem wrong every time, but I just kept trying. I didn’t give up at all, but did find some help. Finally, I got it correct the sixth time I did it. So, what do you think happened at the end of The Dog Who Lost His Bark? When I finished it, I felt like it was the best book in the whole world! It was so good! I think you should read it because it can make you feel how important trust and love is. The Dog Who Lost His Bark by Eoin Colfer. Candlewick Press, 2019. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Book Reviews
Restart by Gordon Korman, Reviewed by Serena, 9
I was looking around the library for something to read when my eye caught sight of a book with a bright orange cover. I pulled it off the bookshelf and found out that the book’s name was Restart and it was written by an author named Gordan Korman. I tried to remember where I had heard about this book and that’s when it hit me—this was the book that lots of my classmates had been talking about. So I flipped over the book and read the blurb on the back cover. The story is about a boy named Chase who fell off a roof and landed on his head. He got a concussion and ended up in the hospital with amnesia. He barely remembered his own name. When he returns to school, he finds out that he used to be a jerk and a bully. He no longer has any interest in his old ways but it takes some time for the other kids to adjust to the new Chase and to learn to trust the former bully. This book has a strong theme of friendship. Friendship is important because if you don’t have any friends, you will be lonely. A true friend will stand up for you if you are being bullied. They will cheer you up if you are having a bad day. Your friends will worry about you if you are sick. Those are only some examples of a good friend. Restart made me think of a person in my school who enjoys bullying and teasing other students. I used to be friends with this bully and then I started getting tired of her being mean to other people so I stopped being friends with her and decided to stand up for the people getting bullied by her. I discovered that I really liked being friends with people who have a kind heart and that we had a lot more in common. I really enjoyed reading this book and I hope that by reading this, you will like it too. Something unique that I liked about this book is that each chapter is written from a different person’s perspective: Chase’s, his victim Joel Weber’s, the victim’s twin sister Shoshonna Weber, and many more. I highly recommend this book because it has lots of action and it shows what it’s like to be a bully and what it’s like to be bullied. If you want to find out how Chase Ambrose finds his life, read this realistic fiction book called Restart by Gordan Korman. Restart by Gordon Korman. Scholastic, 2018. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
The Mysterious Benedict Society, Reviewed by Alexis, 13
Imagine there is an evil man, hungry for control, who has invented a machine that can control what people think. He is kidnapping people, but the machine is soothing people with a message that says “The missing aren’t missing, they’re only departed.” This is why four children, from completely different backstories but all extremely bright, are brought together: to save the world. Reynard (Reynie) Muldoon, an orphan who has never known his parents, is very keen at reading people’s facial expressions and speech. He has a knack for solving puzzles andnoticing anything strange. Sticky Washington is so called because he reads faster than lightning, and he remembers all of it. Therefore, he possesses a vast library of information inside his head, and he’s always ready with an answer. Kate Wetheral is fresh out of the circus. She is extremely resourceful and athletic, and never goes anywhere without her red bucket of tools hooked to her belt. Constance Contraire, a very tiny, pudgy girl, is a candy-loving, stubborn, demanding child, who seems nothing but a nuisance to the other Society members. But she has a very sensitive mind, which proves very useful. Mr. Benedict brings them all together through special tests, and these four are the only ones who pass. He helps them develop their gifts and sends them to the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened (L.I.V.E.) to gather information on how to best stop the evil man behind all of the strange goings-on. Teamwork is a recurring theme throughout the book. Kate learns that she needs other people. She can’t live on her own, completely independent of anyone else. Sticky learns that he matters; he’s needed and gifted. Reynie learns what it means to be a leader, to be depended on for answers. “‘I want to make some things perfectly clear,’ said Mr. Benedict. ‘It is not my wish to put you in harm’s way. Quite the opposite: I despise the notion. Children should spend their time learning and playing in absolute safety – that is my firm belief. Now then, assuming I am telling the truth, can you guess why I would nonetheless involve you in something dangerous?’(…) ‘If you are telling the truth,’ said Reynie, ‘then the only reason you would put us in danger is that you believe we’ll fall into greater danger if you don’t.’” This gives the children a sense of duty, and that is important to have. Sometimes it becomes their only motivation. The book also teaches about the importance of friendship.“‘I can see it in you,’ Reynie said with perfect conviction. ‘(…) When your friends really need you, they can count on you. I just know it. And I do need you, Sticky. I need you here as a friend.’” The Mysterious Benedict Society is an interesting, captivating book that will have you begging for more. It emphasizes teamwork and friendship, and you will be laughing and crying along with them. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. Brown Books for Young Readers, 2008. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
