Revised response

            The book Shadow by Michael Morpurgo is told in an unusual way. The story so far is told by three different characters: Matt, Grandpa, and Aman. Each character’s name is printed at the beginning of each chapter, and each chapter is told in first person.  I thought that the book was confusing at first because the reader has to keep track of who is talking. Then after a while I knew each character a little better, and the story made more sense.

Matt is a little boy who cares about his friend and wants to know what happened to him. Matt encourages his Grandpa to go see Aman who is Matt’s friend from Afghanistan.  He was put in a prison called Yarl’s Wood not far from where Matt’s Grandpa lives. At first Matt does not know if Aman is still at the prison.  Or after three weeks of being held was he shipped back to Afghanistan like he said they would eventually do in his letter. The prison won’t let kids in, so he persuades his Grandpa to go in and see if Aman is all right. I think that show’s that Matt cares about his friend because he went through all that trouble just to see if Amen was alright and still in the country.

Matt’s Grandpa is a nice man who would do anything to help.  When Matt told him his problem about Aman, Grandpa helped Matt and went in to see Aman in the prison even though he didn’t want to.  When he arrived at the prison he thought about turning around if Matt wasn't in the car watching.  This emphasizes how Grandpa is a good man who will do anything to help because he did something he didn't want to do to help someone else. Grandpa will do anything to help Matt.

Aman is a boy from Afghanistan, who tells Matt’s Grandpa all about himself. First Aman started to talk about where he lived and how war destroyed his city in Afghanistan. Aman told Matt’s Grandpa all about how his Grandma wanted him and his mom to go to England to escape war.  Amen also told him how he had a dog just like Matt’s Grandpa’s dog. I thought it was pretty cool that they both had the same kind of dog especially because they were both brown and white.           

The story is written in an unusual way because it is told by three different characters. One character is Matt who is a boy who encourages his grandpa to go see his friend Aman since he is not allowed to. It’s also told by Matt's Grandpa who helps Matt find out about what happened and is happening to his friend. Finally, it is also told by Aman who is an immigrant from Afghanistan who tells Matt's Grandpa all about his problems hoping he can help. I think that more stories should be like this because the different perspectives are interesting and keep you engaged in what is happening. 

Shadow

 The book Shadow by Michael Morpurgo is told in an unusual way. The story so far is told by three different characters: Matt, Grandpa, and Aman. Each character’s name is printed at the beginning of each chapter, and each chapter is told in first person.  I thought that the book was confusing at first because the reader has to keep track of who is talking. Then after a while I knew each character a little better, and the story made more sense.

Matt is a little boy who cares about his friend and wants to know what happened to him. Matt encourages his Grandpa to go see Aman who is Matt’s friend from Afghanistan.  He was put in a prison called Yarl’s Wood not far from where Matt’s Grandpa lives. At first Matt does not know if Aman is still at the prison.  Or after three weeks of being held was he shipped back to Afghanistan like he said they would eventually do in his letter. The prison won’t let kids in, so he persuades his Grandpa to go in and see if Aman is all right. I think that show’s that Matt cares about his friend because he went through all that trouble just to see if Amen was alright and still in the country.

Matt’s Grandpa is a nice man who would do anything to help.  When Matt told him his problem about Aman, Grandpa helped Matt and went in to see Aman in the prison even though he didn’t want to.  When he arrived at the prison he thought about turning around if Matt wasn't  in the car watching.  This emphasizes how Grandpa is a good man who will do anything to help because he did something he didn't want to do to help someone else. Grandpa will do anything to help Matt.

Aman is a boy from Afghanistan, who tells Matt’s Grandpa all about himself. First Aman started to talk about where he lived and how war destroyed his city in Afghanistan. Aman told Matt’s Grandpa all about how his Grandma wanted him and his mom to go to England to escape war.  Amen also told him how he had a dog just like Matt’s Grandpa’s dog. I thought it was pretty cool that they both had the same kind of dog especially because they were both brown and white.           

The story is written in an unusual way because it is told by three different characters, a kid named Matt, Matt’s Grandpa, and Aman a boy from Afghanistan and it was all written in first person. 

The Drummer Boy of Shiloh Response

In the story The Drummer Boy of Shiloh by Ray Barbary, the theme is self importance. Joby is a fourteen year-old drummer boy in the army.  In the beginning, Joby thought he was useless because he did nothing important for the army. When the general found Joby crying he walked up to him and started to assure Joby that he was not totally useless. He told Joby that he played a very important role in the army. The theme of self importance is displayed as Joby’s self-esteem is dramatically improved by the general throughout the story.

            Joby’s self importance grows when he speaks to the general.  For example, when the general said, “You want to cry some more, go on ahead.   I did the same last night.” That statement helped Joby realize that soldiers cry.   Joby’s self importance started to improve because he understood it was alright to be afraid.  The general’s conversation was the beginning of improving Joby’s self importance.

            The General continued to help Joby’s self importance improve. For example, when the General said, “You are the heart of the army.” That helped Joby’s self importance because it assured him that he played a very important role in the army by playing the drum. It proved to Joby that he was actually the most important part of the army because the drumbeat set the tone for the soldier to march and fight. The general really changed Joby’s view on his self importance.

            The theme of the book is self importance. Joby’s self importance in the beginning was low because he thought he was totally useless to the army. Then Joby’s self importance improved when the General explained how significant to the army he was because he was the heart of the army. Overall, Joby’s self importance grows throughout the story because the General spoke to him about how important his job was to the army.      

Theme Response Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring

The theme of the book The Lord of The Ring, Book One, The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, is the challenge of being brave and having responsibility.  In the beginning, Bilbo disappears from his party and goes away, leaving everything to Frodo including his magical ring.  Gandalf told Frodo to keep the ring safe and instructed him to never put the ring on.   Many years later, Gandalf returns and tells Frodo that he must leave the Shire because of Bilbo’s magical ring that possessed a Great dark evil power.  In addition, Gandalf told Frodo to bring Sam (Frodo’s friend) with him in order to watch his back and help him.  Almost immediately after Frodo and Sam stated to leave the Shire, they were pursued by scary black riders.  The theme is responsibility and bravery because Frodo and Sam have to face their fears and protect the ring from falling into the wrong hands.

            In the book the theme of responsibility was expressed when Frodo followed Gandalf’s instructions to leave the Shire with Sam.  This emphasizes Frodo’s responsibility because he didn’t just say, “Not my problem” and walk away like nothing happened or was going to happen.  Also, it shows how responsible he was to do exactly what Gandalf instructed him to do by bringing Sam along to watch his back and help him. These examples show how Frodo and Sam were responsible and brave enough to leave the Shire.

            Frodo and Sam exhibit bravery even though they were frightened. Almost immediately after Frodo and Sam started to leave the Shire they were pursued by scary black riders.  “We have all been scared.” said Pippin another friend of Frodo who got dragged into the chase. Even though they were fearful of the black riders, Frodo and Sam didn’t just give up and go home.  Their perseverance shows their bravery.

The theme of the book is responsibility and bravery.  Frodo is responsible and does exactly what Gandalf instructs him to do.   Frodo is also brave enough to ignore his fear of being caught by dark riders and keep going on his mission.  Overall, Frodo is responsible and brave enough to leave the Shire and keep Bilbo’s ring out off the wrong hands.  

Blog Response

http://chrisdawsome1.blogspot.com/

I enjoyed reading this blog post because I liked how the summary was very detailed.  The summary helped me understand the biography on Steve Jobs. I was amazed that he got fired from Apple.  I also liked how Chris listed the movies Pixar made with Steve Jobs' computer and put in which one was his favorite.  I found it interesting that Steve Wozniak got his credit stolen by Steve Jobs.  I think Steve Wozniak didn't fight hard enough to get the credit he earned.

http://hhyti.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-great-gatsby.html

I enjoyed reading this blog post because now I really know what "the Great Gatsby" is all about.  I liked how the theme "money isn't everything" because money doesn't buy happiness or friendship and when you die money has no value.  I also liked how Justin put "spoiler alert" to tell the reader that he was about to ruin the book for people who are going to read it or are reading it now.  I find it interesting that Myrtle would stand in front of Tom's car to try and stop it instead of waving the car over to her on the side of the road.   

From Baghdad With Love

In the book From Baghdad, With Love by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth, the Lava Dogs saved a puppy’s life getting him out of Baghdad.  From the time the Lava Dogs see the puppy in the empty room, a bond between them start, especially for Lt. Kolman who at first follows General Order 1-A and won’t let the puppy get to close to him.  General Order 1-A states that no pets are allowed on base except military trained dogs like bomb dogs.  After thinking about it, Lt. Kolman and the Lava Dogs decide to take the dog anyway and name him Lava.  Slowly the Lava Dogs start to like having Lava around and decide to keep him and not put him out on the streets again.  After that, they cared so much about Lava that it was not an option to leave him in Baghdad when Lt. Kolman went back to the states.  

I thought Lt. Kolman and the Lava Dogs did the right thing by taking Lava back to the base and ignoring General Order 1-A because if they didn’t Lava would probably have been shot or blown up.  In addition, Lava could have starved to death because he is a puppy with almost no way of getting food.  Also, if the Lava dogs didn’t take Lava someone else probably would have found Lava in a building or on the street and would not have taken him with them because most people in Baghdad are afraid of dogs.  I think that Lt. Kolman must have loved Lava a lot because he saved Lava from going back out on the streets after he left by spending hours and hour’s arranging ways for Lava to go to the states.  But in the end, only one way worked.  Lt. Kolman and the Lava Dogs saved Lava’s life by taking him back to base and making sure he was fed and well taken care of, then sent him to the states where he would be safe.