Latoya’s Comments (group member since May 21, 2014)

Latoya’s comments from the Reading Rams Summer I, 2014 group.

Pink and Say is a great book. Our social studies teacher read it to us one day and every one was disturbed. I'm pretty sure every one felt so horrible for Say. Patricia Polacco is so very talented. The illustrations are so good. You can make them real in your mind. This book brings out the joyous moments and the sad ones. If I was her, I would be so proud of this book. Anyone who would read this would want to read this book again.

From their apartment window Daniel and his mother watch the rioting going on in the streets below. Daniel is holding onto his cat wondering why all these people are so angry. Late that night they rush out of their home because of a fire. At the sheltor where they are staying Daniel hopes his cat made it out safely. Another lady there, Mrs Kim, is hoping the same thing. Mrs. Kim and Daniel and his mother did not always get along and neither did their cats. Shortly after they were at the sheltor a fire fighter brought in two cats, he said he had found them cuddled up next to each other underneath the stairs. This story uses the relationship of two cats to show how cats and people can be brought together. This book approaches to show the effects of violence through a child's eye, and teaches them a lesson that people can get along if they put their differences behind them.

I didn't like it nor hate it. I just think that it was too short. You don't really get to know the characters, you don't spend enough time with them. She's only there for what, one night, and then the story pretty much ends? The plot just never went anywhere.

I really enjoyed The One And Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate even though it is children's fiction. It is based on a true story about Ivan, a Silverback gorilla who was captured and put in a cage for 27 years without any contact with any other gorillas. In this book, Ivan is the narrator and his owner sells Ivan's drawings and paintings. Ivan is quite an artist. Ivan has a stray dog named Bob who comes into his "domain" and sleeps on Ivan's stomach. In the next cage is Stella, an elephant, who is a good storyteller but who had a hard life at a circus. When a baby elephant, Ruby, joins her, she is very protective of her and when she knows she is dying, gets Ivan to promise to protect Ruby for her. He comes up with a great plan to get Ruby moved to a zoo. This is such a cute book that has a happy ending. It is a quick read but very enjoyable! If you like animals and are looking for a heartwarming story, I recommend this one! I loved it!

This book is Awesome! I loved it. I got so into it on the first page. It is filled with exciting events. This book is thrilling and interesting. It teaches you the real reason of having a good family.

"When Zachary Beaver Came To Town" was a really enjoyable book for me, it's funny at times, it has a great plot, cool characters, and I LOVE the setting in the '70s in a small texas town. Great book for any pre-teens/young teenagers.

This book was good. There were some bad role models and the story takes place on Alcatraz Island with Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and more. Moose is trying to keep Natalie, his sister, safe on this island. Overall though it has a really good message to you should not give up and try every alternitive.

I grew up on this book and love the movie even more. Such a great author. I think most of can relate to this story we all as kids had that one special friend that meant the world to us rather it was a imaginary friend, bear, doll, pet etc. Especially if you was a child with hardly any friends. Such a great book. I think anyone would love this book.

I read this book many times as a child. It is narrated by a dog and is about a family and their pets, which include the narrator, a cat, and a strange bunny they find in a cardboard box at a Dracula movie. The cat is convinced that the rabbit is actually a vampire! The dog is not so sure. What I like about this book is that the animals are narrated from almost a human point if view and makes the book way more interesting to read.

"Sarah, Plain and Tall" is a story about people learning to live together and become a family simply because they've grown to love each other. It is also about seeing both new things with old eyes and old things with new eyes. The reader will enjoy this short, joy-filled period in the lives of these characters, whether they are learning how to swim, sliding down haystacks, or tossing cut hair to birds.
Patricia MacLachlan uses very simple language, which only highlights her poet's gift of saying volumes and painting landscapes with a few well-chosen words. The images in the novel are as potent as images in poetry, even though everything is in prose. Every last word is meaningful.

Could possibly be the closest thing to the perfect child's novel, ever. Jeffrey if forced to run away from the worst kind of unfeeling people this world produces and goes on the search to find a family who will love him for who he is. Jeffrey Magee is naive, loving, kind and completely without the traditional social barriers that we force on our children. His baths with the Beale children are wonderfully innocent and without need of judgement. What he suffers for the sake of the McNab children is what I want my children to see as being a good and decent human being. From his relationship with Mars Bar and the Beales, to his time spent with Greyson, right down to his dedication to the McNab children, I can't think of a better role model than Jeffrey Magee.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Such a great book to your class it teaches children they can do and be whatever they put their mind to and believe in. I loved Isabella imagination and how she describe the books she wanted by getting into character. Such a cute book. I'm definitely reading this to my niece.

I love this book one of the cutest books I've ever read! I thought it was cute how curious Andrew was. I also love how his teacher did not kill his spirit although she new his freckles wasn't real! That was a example of a great teacher! This book also is a lesson learn type good. Andrew teacher said it best by basically saying just because this person has this (freckles) might not mean it would be best for you or look good on you! Be happy how you are, you created how you created for a reason. Such a great book to read to your class!

I sub a 2nd grade class and this book was one of the reading assignments I had to read to the class the children was trill by the story and pic it's one of the cutest books ever

I agree it also can help children and even adults look at things from a different perspective.