Would you believe I am halfway through the second grade since I last posted about my reading? My teacher is Mrs. Kelly and she does a lot of fun things with us. After school and on the weekends, I have been doing Girl Scouts, playing the piano, and dancing. I also joined the Canton Dolphins swim team with my brother, Ryan. I still have free time and one of the things I still like to do best when I am not busy is to read.
My Mom and Dad finally let me start the Harry Potter series. I am about halfway through the fourth book, the Goblet of Fire. So far this series is my favorite in the entire world. I also love to watch the movies, but my parents won’t let me watch until I have finished each book.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
Here’s where we first meet Harry Potter and learn that he is a wizard. We also meet Hagrid and Harry’s two best friends, Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
This story takes place in Harry’s second year at Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We meet a new character in this story named Dobby. He is a house elf.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
In this story, we meet Sirius Black and learn that he is innocent of the crimes he has been blamed for. He is also Harry’s Godfather!
There is so much more I could tell you about these books, and maybe we will do that another time.
You can read what my brother thinks of Harry Potter by clicking here. And my Mom loves Harry, too!
At Your Service by Jen Malone
This story takes place at a hotel in New York. The main character is Chloe, and her Dad is a concierge in the hotel. They live there. Royalty comes to the hotel. Chloe is like a junior concierge. She is supposed to take them out and show them around. Princess Ingrid gets lost in New York. The rest of the story is about tracking her down and all the adventures that happen. I went to New York City with my family last April and it was a busy and exciting place. I loved reading this story that took place there.
Lost in London by Cindy Callaghan
This story takes place in London! I have never been there, but I would like to go. When I get to go, I would like to shop in the big stores and have tea. Riding on a double decker red bus would be good. Of course we would need to ride on the top deck.
Jordan and Caroline get trapped in a large store overnight. This sounds really scary to me but kind of fun.
I have written about these books before. I still love them and like to read new ones all the time.
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
Oh I just love Ginger Pye! Ginger is the Pye’s dog. Someone steals her and runs away! Ginger Pye breaks free and comes home in the end. I like this story so much that I have been drawing pictures of all the characters in my sketch book.
The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler
Emily Windsnap is a half mermaid. She can walk on land but when she is in the water she has fins. When she finds out she is a mermaid, she makes a mermaid friend. Emily learns that her mother had married a merman and the king merman put him in jail for it! Her mother was a regular human. Emily and her friend get her father back. This is a series with more books and I want to read another one.
The Witches by Roald Dahl
This story is about a boy who stays in a hotel while there a lot of witches staying there at the same time. They talk with Vs instead of Ws. So they call themselves vitches. The witches are plotting to kill all the children in England, because witches hate children and think they are smelly. Of course they do not succeed in the end. There is a movie that goes with this book and I liked both. The movie was a little scary.
American Girl Rebecca series
Rebecca Rubin was a Jewish American girl living in 1914. She moved to the United States from Russia. She has three cousins who have not yet moved, or emigrated, from Russia. I learned that Rebecca is an immigrant. Immigrants emigrate from their home countries. These words are very confusing.
There are many books in the Rebecca series and my favorite is the second book, called Rebecca and Ana.
I just love these big books of short stories. We found this one at the library by accident! The Arabian Nights stories are about people in deserts. The story of Aladdin is one of the Arabian Nights stories. Another is Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. This is a great book. It is mysterious and exciting with pretty pictures.
Celia & the Fairies by Karen McQuestion
I read this book on my Kindle. I like reading regular books made of paper better than e-books.
Celia is a regular girl who meets fairies in the forest. They become friends. The fairies give Celia a magical flute. There is a bad person, Vicky McClutchie, who is going to trample down the forest and some houses nearby. Celia and the fairies uses the flute to make a wish. Her wish is that Vickie will have a good heart. Her wish comes true and the forest and the fairies’ homes are saved.
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
The story of Heidi takes place in the mountains and the the city of Frankfurt. Heidi is an orphan girl and she goes to live with her grandfather in the moutains. Nobody likes her grandfather because he is kind of grumpy. Heidi gets to know him and she gets to like him. One day, Heidi’s aunt comes to take Heidi back to Frankfurt to be a friend for a girl named Clara who cannot walk. Heidi gets homesick for the mountains. Clara’s father sees that Heidi is sad and send her back to the mountains. Once Heidi is back in the mountains, in the springtime, Clara comes to visit and while she is there, she learns to walk!
Today on the snow day I am going to watch the movie Heidi! Can’t wait.
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Sarah Crewe is a princess living in India, but her father takes her to a school in England, where she has a hard time getting used to the rules. Sarah’s father dies of brain fever while she is at school. Although she is still a princess, now she has no money. Miss Minchen, the headmistress of the school, makes Sarah a maid.
She becomes friends with the other maid, Becky. There is a man living next door who used to be friends with Sarah’s father, and he is sad for her. Hi name is Mr. Carrisford. They become friends. One night, Mr. Carrisford’s pet monkey goes over into Sarah’s attic bedroom. Sarah returns the monkey and in the end, she gets to live with Mr. Carrisford instead of being a maid.
I watched the movie of this book yesterday on the third snow day of the year! I actually liked the movie even better than the book!
Right now I am reading The Secret Garden, which was written by the same author as A Little Princess. I’ll tell you about it when I am done.
Mom and I talked about all these books and she typed up what I said about them.
Beautiful Narnia 