Showing posts with label Book reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book reviews. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Dead Man's Money

Suddenly, the car goes off the road!
"Oh, no! No! NO!"
But it is too late. He can't stop the car.

Today, I read Dead Man's Money, an Oxford Bookworms Starter. It's set in 1931 and it's about some bank robbers. It's written in a manga style. It's quite exciting, and I recommend it to everyone!

Vocabulary

gang, cabin

Friday, November 8, 2019

Hercules

My name is Hercules. I am very strong!

I read Hercules today. It was great!
2,221 words

Friday, October 18, 2019

Dead Cold

"Don't worry, Scott, I'm behind you," I said quietly.
I could see Scott in front of me. It was dark, but I could just see him. Suddenly I heard a loud noise. A gun. Then Scott was down on the dirty floor. His blood was everywhere.
This detective story is a Level 2 book in the Cambridge English Readers series. It concerns Detective Flick Laine, a Denver detective whose partner, Scott, died recently. There has just been a murder in Pine Crest, a skiing town nearby. Flick has to go and try to solve the crime.

This story is very interesting. In particular, I like the way that it describes Flick's work as well as her emotions.

Leather, S. (2006). Dead cold. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

著者 : Sue Leather
Cambridge University Press
発売日 : 2007-01-15

Vocabulary

governor: 州知事
bribe: 賄賂


Friday, September 20, 2019

Henry and Mudge and the Yellow Moon

The clicking got louder.
The shoes are coming! thought Henry.
He put his head in Mudge's neck.
Now the clicking was louder than ever.
"Mudge," Henry's mother said, "stop chattering."
Chattering?
Henry put his ear near Mudge's mouth.
And Mudge's teeth went CLICK-CLICK-
CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK.

Henry and Mudge and the Yellow Moon, like the other Henry and Mudge books, is a Ready-to-Read Level 2 book. It is a collection of three very short stories, all about the autumn. The three stories are Together in the Fall, Under the Yellow Moon, and Thanksgiving Guest. The above quotation is from the second story. Henry's mum likes reading ghost stories to the family at Halloween. Henry doesn't like them. But they are all surprised to find that Mudge is more scared than anyone!

Vocabulary

hold one's breath
graveyard
jack-o'-lantern
chipmunk

Rylant, C. (1987). Henry and Mudge and the yellow moon. New York, NY: Simon Spotlight.


932 words

Henry and Mudge and the Careful Cousin

Henry felt around under his bed.
He pulled out a brown paper bag.
It had some dust balls on it and an old piece of hard gum stuck on it.
Henry pulled out a cookie and handed it to Annie.
She turned pink again.
Uh-oh, thought Henry.
This was going to be a very long visit.

Henry lives with his dog Mudge and his parents. One day, his cousin Annie comes to visit. Henry has never met her before, so he is a bit worried. When she arrives, he is even more worried, because she wears very elegant clothes and she doesn't like getting dirty. She doesn't like it when Mudge licks her, and she doesn't seem happy that Henry's room is so dirty.

But, as time goes by, she gets used to Henry and Mudge, and she is very good at doing the frisbee.

By the time she leaves, Henry and Mudge are sad to see her go.


Friday, April 26, 2019

The Little Red Hen

Before long, all the wheat was cut.
“Who will help me grind this?” asked the little red hen.
“Not me!” said the dog.
“Not me!” said the cat.
“Not me!” said the duck.

The little red hen has some very lazy friends. Every time he asks them to help, they refuse. What do you think happens when she finishes baking some bread?

As with many folk and fairy tales, this story has an important lesson for us.

VOCABULARY

grind: すりつぶす・粉にする・砕く




Martina the Cockroach

A rooster came by and said, "Marry me!"
"What sound do you make?" asked Martina.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" he said.
"No, thank you," she said.

Today, I read Martina the Cockroach, one of the 15 books in the Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers from Scholastic. Martina finds a gold coin and goes shopping for clothes and perfume. Then she looks for a husband. But she doesn't like the sounds that most of her prospective husbands make.

VOCABULARY

whistle: 口笛を吹く


264 words

The Little Red Hen

Before long, all the wheat was cut.
“Who will help me grind this?” asked the little red hen.
“Not me!” said the dog.
“Not me!” said the cat.
“Not me!” said the duck.

The little red hen has some very lazy friends. Every time he asks them to help, they refuse. What do you think happens when she finishes baking some bread?

As with many folk and fairy tales, this story has an important lesson for us.

VOCABULARY

grind: すりつぶす・粉にする・砕く

Friday, April 12, 2019

The Lost Cup

The next morning, you wake up early. You see a paper under your door. It reads: "WE HAVE YOUR PARTNER. GIVE US THE CUP, OR HE WILL DIE."…
Someone kidnapped your partner!

A search for the World Cup turns into a deadly game in this Atama-ii book. Please check it out when you have time!

Vocabulary

kidnap
statue

Monday, November 26, 2018

Henry and Mudge under the yellow moon


But there was one thing about Halloween that Henry did not like: ghost stories. And Henry’s mother loved to tell ghost stories. Every Halloween, she put on her witch’s hat, lit candles, and told ghost stories. She thought Henry liked them because he told her he liked them. But really he hated them. They scared him. He was afraid to tell her that.

Henry is a young boy who loves his dog Mudge. Henry and Mudge Under the Yellow Moon consists of three stories, Together in the Fall, Under the Yellow Moon, and Thanksgiving Guest. The above quotation is from the second story, Under the Yellow Moon. Mudge is also frightened by ghost stories!

Rylant, C. (1987). Henry and Mudge under the yellow moon. New York, NY: Simon Spotlight.



932 words

Monday, October 29, 2018

Sarah's Surprise

Sarah has just started work at Mrs. Hayes's café.

The man takes some sandwiches. He puts them in his bag. He takes an apple, too. Sarah watches him. She is surprised.
"What's the man doing?" she thinks. "Oh! He's taking the sandwiches."…
The man does not give the money to Sarah. He says nothing. He walks out of the café with the food.
Sarah looks at the man. She s very surprised but she says nothing. "What do I do?" she thinks.…
Sarah calls the police…


It was a very eventful first day for Sarah at her part-time job. The police nearly arrest the man who took the sandwiches, but finally they discover the truth: the man is Mrs. Hayes's husband, the co-owner of the café!

Waring, R., & Jamall, M. (2006). Sarah's surprise. Boston, MA: Thomson ELT.



Sk8 for Jake

John, Eric, and Yoko were skating in the park, when suddenly…

"Stop that!" [says Mr. Walker]. "Do not play on the benches!"
Yoko says, "But we like skating here, Mr. Walker."
Mr. Walker says, "The benches are for people, not for skateboards. No skating here. Go away."

The children are very disappointed, but they are excited when they see that Jake Montoya, a famous skateboarder, is coming to Bayview. On the day of the event, however, Jake is late, and the children are asked to perform while they wait for Jake to come. Later, after Jake arrives, they also perform with him. As a thank you to the children, Mr. Walker sets up a skate park in Bayview Park for them to use whenever they want.

Waring, R., & Jamall, M. (2006). Sk8 for Jake. Boston, MA: Thomson ELT.


Monday, June 11, 2018

The Ugly Duckling

That made the ugly duckling curious. He looked into the shiny water. Wow! He had grown into a beautiful swan, just like them! (pp. 14-15)

Today, I read The Ugly Duckling, in the Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers series from Scholastic. The series features 15 titles, with five copies of each title packaged in a nice, colorful box. Check out the whole series!

The Ugly Duckling is a well-known story written by Hans Christian Andersen. I find the message of the story a little confusing. On the one hand, it seems to celebrate superficial beauty: if you look like a swan, you're going to be fine, but if you look like a duckling, you will be the target of ridicule. On the other hand, it does seem to celebrate self-confidence and also kindness:

From that day on, the once ugly duckling lived happily ever after. And he was always kind to all living things, from peacocks to potato bugs. (p. 16)

The set of books comes with a teacher's guide, with some background and activities to use in class.
Although it's good to read stories with which you are familiar, I recommend that you use this series to familiarize yourself with stories that you haven't read before. Another series that's also good for that is Usborne First Reading. Here are links to levels 1, 2, 3, and 4.


著者 :
Scholastic Teaching Resources
発売日 : 2006-03-01

Monday, May 28, 2018

The Little Red Hen

Once upon a time, a little red hen decided to plant some wheat.
"Who will help me plant this?" she asked.
"Not me!" said the dog.
"Not me!" said the cat.
"Not me!" said the duck.

The little red hen is a hard worker. She plants wheat, cuts it, grinds it, and bakes it into bread, all by herself; the other animals never offer to help. After she has baked it, she asks "Who will help me eat this?" What do you think the other animals said, and how did Little Red Hen respond?


Vocabulary

grind: 粉にひく


Findley, V. (2006). The Little Red Hen. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Monday, April 23, 2018

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Book review 1-1)

When Muff woke up, he found the knife in his hand.
"Why'd you do it?"
"I never meant to!"

I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It's a very exciting story. Did Muff kill someone?

settle:
thief:

Twain, M. (2007). The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Mankato, Minnesota: Stone Arch Books.


Monday, October 2, 2017

BR 2-03

Hundreds of years pass. The people of Edin become rich and free, but the people in New Edin stay poor. They are not happy.
The people there start to call their land "Vinia" again. They want to be rich and free, like the Edinese.
Soon, there are angry Vinians in the streets.

Immortal Empire, by Marcos Benevides

This was my third time to read Immortal Empire, a book written by Marcos Benevides, who is also the editor of the Atama-ii Books series. I read only one or two paths each time, so every time I get some surprises. I think this is the best of all the Atama-ii books; in the other books, usually my choices decide whether I survive or die, get lucky or unlucky, and so on. In Immortal Empire, I am a god, so what I do decides the fate of an empire and even the world.
The book makes us reflect on the nature of freedom, and on war and peace. If I make my people peaceful, they may be killed by rival warlike empires. If I make them warlike, they may become cruel and make other people miserable. If I make them free and interested in learning, they may stop believing in me. Each choice has long-term consequences with ethical implications.

VOCABULARY

destroy: 破壊する
immortal: 不死の

Benevides, M. (2015). Immortal empire. Tokyo, Japan: Atama-ii Books.

Monday, September 25, 2017

BR 2-02: Backstage Pass


You know you shouldn't touch Stevie Helix's guitar, but you can't stop yourself. You look around again, then you grab it. The guitar feels so good in your hands—like it was made for you! Maybe you can play just one song…You look at the costume cart. It has costumes for the backup musicians. I'll put on a costume, you think. Then people will think I'm a backup guitarist, and they will leave me alone.

In this book, I go to a Martians gig with my friend, Julie. She arranges a diversion so that I can go backstage. And when I do go, I borrow Stevie Helix's guitar without permission! What will happen if a security guard sees me?
Backstage Pass, by Lesley Ito (Atama-ii Books)

I hear that one of the backup guitarists is ill. Maybe I will get my chance?
As with the other Atama-ii books, there are several points in the story where you have to make important choices. If you make the wrong choices, you could end up in prison, or even dead. Other times, nothing bad happens, but things don't go so well, or there is a boring ending.

Vocabulary

riff: 反復楽句, a short, repeated instrumental piece of a longer song
jam: to play music together casually

Ito, L. (2014). Backstage pass. Florida: Atama-ii Books.

BR 2-01: Brainstorm

For this operation, you will use your new nanobots, the Mark 5 series. The Mark 5's are the newest and most powerful nanobots in the world.
The Mark 5's can find and fix sick cells by themselves. They can even make more nanobots if some are damaged.
The operation room is locked.…Nanobots are too small to see, so you must be careful. If they got out into the world, it could be a problem.

I am a famous scientist, and I have invented nanobots used in surgery to cure patients. But something strange happens when I perform an operation: the nanobots start multiplying rapidly. I need to decide whether to terminate the operation or try to get control over the multiplying nanobots. Then I find different kinds of nanobots. Where are they from? If the creators find out that I know, will I be safe? As with the other stories in this series, there are many difficult choices to make. Your fate is in your own hands!
(173 words)

Vocabulary

nanobot: a very small robot (nano = 十億分の1)
self-destruct: to destroy oneself
Boon, A. (2015). Brainstorm (Atama-ii Books). Tokyo, Japan: Atama-ii Books.

Monday, July 3, 2017

The Jigsaw Puzzle

"Quickly, you must hide!" he said. "Get inside the house. The soldiers are coming!"
Edmund's father ran inside.
"Quickly!" shouted Edmund. "We must help my father to hide. The soldiers mustn't find him."

As often happens, the children are in some danger here. Will the soldiers kill them
if they don't reveal Edmund's father's hiding place? The soldiers are checking the floor and the walls. Will they find Edmund's father anyway? Is there any way for him to get away?

Hunt, R. (2003). The Jigsaw Puzzle. Oxford University Press.

Vocabulary

smash down: 打ち破る

Lost in the Jungle

Suddenly they fell into a big net. It pulled them up in the air.
"Oh help!" called Anneena. "We're in a trap."
The children were hanging in the net. The net was a trap to catch animals.
"Help! Help!" called the children.
"Let us down!" called Kipper.

Is this the end of the road for the children? Will their amazing luck finally run out? Can the magic key extricate them from this perilous situation, or will the net block
the magic?

This story features monkeys, snakes, alligators, and a mysterious lost city. I heartily recommend it to you!


Hunt, R., & Brychta, A. (2011). Lost in the jungle. Oxford University Press.

Vocabulary

paddle: 
throne: 王座