“The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” by William Kamkawmba and Bryan Mealer, Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon. The book should be for ages 6-8 because the book is very simple and the book said so. The book is about how a boy named Malawi and his family had a farm but because there was no rain they started to starve and become poor. When the boy went to the library he discovered what a wind turbine can do. So he built one out of trash and it could generate light and later he also made one that pulled water from a well nearby. The first connection I can make is a text to text connection to the book called “Adrift”. In the book Adrift, the group had to use all they had to build a fresh water generator. So they all built something. The second connection is a text to media connection with the movie “Hugo”. In the movie Hugo, Hugo had to fix a robot that was left by his father. Once again the book and the movie were similar because they all built or fixed something.  I didn’t like the book because it was too simple and boring. If you can try reading the novel or watch the movie but this book is very boring.

Cell phones are a very popular device that is used around the world. Sometimes students have cell phones. Some teachers see cell phones are useful but other teachers think they cell phones distracting. cell phones can help students judge online information and they can talk to people in other countries. On the other hand, cell phones can make the students look at the phone instead of the teacher. You also don’t know what the students are doing on their phones. One school said that phones take a lot of face to face talking away form students. Question 1, A benefit of phones is that you can use the calculator or camera to film science videos for your refection. A drawback is that the students might be more focused on their phones than the teacher. I think the drawbacks outweigh the benefits because if I was a teacher I would want my students focused on me than their phones. Question 3, A prediction I can make about future phones in daily life and school is that there will be more. It will be very easy to use so everyone will want it and maybe the school will even allow it because of how useful and helpful they are.

After The Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again By and illustrated by Dan Santat is a book for 8-10-year-olds. The book is very simple yet interesting. The book was about how an egg called Humpty Dumpty loved to climb up walls to look at birds but one day he fell off the wall. From that day on Humpty Dumpty was never the same because he was now scared of heights. He wanted to climb the wall and watch the birds but he was scared that another accident would happen. Later, Humpty Dumpty created an airplane that flew like a bird. Then an accident happened. The airplane landed on the wall! Humpty Dumpty was about to walk away but he thought about all of his hard work and mustered his courage. Lastly, he climbed up the wall where he became a bird and flew away. The message of the book was about overcoming your weaknesses and having courage. The first connection is a text to self. Before I was always scared of heights but then my dad took me on a glass elevator where I mustered my courage to go on it. The last connection is a text to text connection. Another book I have read called warriors was similar to the book because the cat called rusted overcome his fear by joining the clan cats. The last connection is text to media. I like the book because of how funny and interesting it was.

The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract art by Barb Rosenstock and Illustrated by Mary Grapré is a book of historical fiction. The book was about how the boy Kandinsky got a paint box and loved to paint. Once he was at the orchestra he somehow saw colours as music flowing out of the instruments. Later he decides to be an artist in Germany but as he started painting his master told him to paint houses and landscapes. At last Kandinsky got the courage to paint what is now abstract art, he wanted art to feel like music but with no meaning. I thought the main message of the book was to follow your heart and do what you feel even if other people don’t approve it. A connection that I can make to the passage is a text to self. One time I was trying to fix our houses dishwasher and my mom and dad all said that it wasn’t how you fix the dishwasher. In the end, I fixed the dishwasher. Another connection I can make is a text to text connection. The book Adrift was similar to this book because the children that were adrift on the ocean only survived only by following their hearts. I liked the book for it shows how you should do something you like even if other people don’t approve of it. Last but not least the book should be for ages 6 to 9 because the words are very simple and the book has a deep meaning.

The book There by and illustrated Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick should be a book for 4-6-year-olds. The book should be for 4-6-year-olds because it talks about growing up and being more mature. The book is about a little kid who is very curious about growing up and whats it going to be like. The child asks many questions about growing up, some of the questions that the kid asked are do I have to go there, how long will it be to get there and how will I know where to go? A connection that I can make with the book is a text to self. I remember when I was small and how many questions I had about growing up. I even still have some questions about growing up now. Another connection I can make with the book is another book that my mom read to me back in China, that was also about growing up. The last connection I can make with the book is a text to media. Before I have watched a movie about a boat full of animals sinking and all that survived was a child in a lifeboat with some animals. The children asked many questions like how long will it be and will I survive the journey, just like the child in the book There. In conclusion, it is a very interesting book that asks many questions that children ask and the message of the book is growing up!

The book Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa written by and illustrated by Jeanette Winter is a book about caring for the environment. Wangari left her home in Kenya for a university in America and when she came back thing has changed. When Wangari came back she noticed that women had to walk miles to gather firewood because all the trees were gone. So she started planting trees and paying the women of the village to help her plant trees. Other villages heard that Wangari’s village had become green, they started planting the trees too. The book was based on the person Wangari Maathai who had received the Nobel Peace Prize for planting trees in Kenya. A connection that I can make to this book is a text to self-connection. I used to go to an organization called Weed Busters and for two months we planted trees around the Burnaby Lake Park. I liked the book because it talked about how someone did what they think was right even though it was tiring and the government didn’t like it. I think the moral of the story is to not give up and do what you think is right.

The book The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau written and illustrated by Dan Yaccarino should be a book for ages 6 to 13. The book was about Cousteau can how much he loved to explore the ocean. He invented the first scuba diving gear that allows people to stay underwater for a longer amount of time. With new gears, he travelled around the world in his boat and unveiled the undersea lives. He also made many other things like submarines. Later the first sea that Cousteau swam in was starting to get polluted. So Cousteau started teaching people about the undersea worlds and how important it is to save them. A connection that I can make with the story is swimming. In the story, it said Cousteau swam in the tropical areas around Australia, I have also swum in the tropical areas around Australia. A second connection I can make with the book is another book that I have read called 20000 Meters Under the Sea. The book is about a person that is also very interested in the sea and went in a submarine to study the sea more. I liked the book because of the meaning of the storying never stop trying.

With the book Enemy Pie, by Derek Munson, the book was about how a kid had an enemy. His dad told him that he would make an enemy pie so the enemy would disappear. But he had to spend one day with the enemy and be kind to the enemy. After one day of playing with his enemy, he made friends with him. Lastly, he discovered that the pie was a good pie not a bad pie so they ate the pie. With this book, I can make two main connections of how I can relate to the book. My first connection is that back in China, I didn’t like to play with a kid because he always fights with me. One day my mom invited the kid over for one day and I was really angry. In the end, I and the kid became friends. Another way I can relate to this story is text to media. The Lego Movie 2 a movie that I had watched was similar to the book because everyone thought that a planet was evil but in the end, they discovered that the planet was actually nice not evil. Just like in the book The main character thought that the enemy was bad but eventually he made friends with the enemy. All in all Enemy Pie is a great book to read about how to turn enemies into friends.

For my last Kindness act, I help Farsan Publish his first kindness blog. I choose that as my act of kindness because Farsan was asking me how to publish the blog so I helped him. It made me feel confused about how Farsan didn’t know how to publish a blog and thankful that Farsan now knows how to publish a blog. I think Farsan was very thankful because he now knows how to publish his blogs.

The Sunday I was at church and there was a new kid who didn’t know English that well. So I talked to him in Chinese and help him a bit with speaking English. I choose that as my act of kindness because before I was new to English and you felt as if you were out of place. So I didn’t want the new kid to feel that way. It made me feel happy to know that I have made someone else not feel excluded and helped with their English. I think it made him feel want to come to church again because he is not excluded there.