Book Reports

Book reports can unfortunately be perceived as dull assignments to many students. We tried to make it fun this summer, and I presented the students with a guide to making book reports sound great. Here it is, for anybody's use this upcoming school year!

(Recommended age guideline for this report format is 3rd grade and up.)

Step 1: Write an introduction paragraph. This should tell what book you read, who the author is, if the book is part of a series, and even how many pages it is. You should also include one or two adjectives describing your book in this paragraph!

Step 2: Choose one, two, or all three of the topic choices below. This will make up the BODY of your report.

*Choice #1: Write a paragraph on the main characters. Tell their names, and what they did in the book. Were they good or bad characters? Would you like them as friends? If they were animals, were they personified? Think about these questions to help you.

*Choice #2: Give a one to two paragraph SUMMARY of your book. Remember, summaries tell what happened in YOUR OWN WORDS. Be sure to include the most important information.

*Choice #3: Summarize your favorite part of the book. Use lots of detail, so the person reading your report will know exactly what happened, and why it was your favorite part!

Step 3: Write a conclusion to your book report. Be creative! Tell why you liked or disliked this book. Would you recommend this book to a friend? Would you like to read other books by the same author? Would you have changed the book in any way if YOU were the author? Think about these questions to help you write a great conclusion.

I am still waiting for a student's final copy to post on this site, but in the meantime, I will provide my own sample!

Old Mother West Wind: Old Stories for the Young at Heart!

I read the fantastic book Old Mother West Wind. Thornton W. Burgess wrote this book in 1911, so it is almost 100 years old! Even though it was written long ago, it is still perfect for today's children. Anyone who likes animals, humor, and adventure will really enjoy this book. Thornton W. Burgess loved nature, and wrote many stories based on the characters found in Old Mother West Wind.

Old Mother West Wind is a chapter book, with each chapter focusing on different animal characters and the adventures they go on. Some chapters tell stories simply to entertain, but most stories have a moral of the story and a lesson to be learned. A few chapters tell how certain animals came to be the way they are today. The animals are all personified and some act like children, while others act like adults.

          There are too many characters to list, so I will share some of my favorites. All of the animals are personified and wear clothes, live in houses, talk, and have their own unique personalities. Johnny Chuck is a woodchuck who is very good-natured. He is always in a good mood and even when funny or embarrassing things happen to him, he remains cheerful. Grandfather Frog is old and wise. He has lived longer than any of the other animals and has many great stories to tell. Spotty the Turtle doesn't make any big appearances until the end of the book when he outsmarts everyone in a race. I like how he uses his brains, not necessarily his athleticism, to win! Reddy Fox is an interesting character to me, but I wouldn't want him to be my friend. He is the bully of the book, but he makes the stories more interesting by being in them!

          As I mentioned, I really liked the last chapter of the book called "Spotty the Turtle Wins a Race." In it, Spotty gets teased by the faster animals and gets challenged to race against them. Spotty agrees, and ends up outsmarting them all and winning the race, even though he is by far the slowest. Honestly, Spotty does cheat in the race, but the reader ends up liking him so much that it seems okay for him to do so! At the end of the book, everyone is so surprised and happy that Spotty won, and the reader is too!

          I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to students in grades two through six. Anyone who likes personified animals in literature will enjoy this book. I plan on reading all the other books by Thornton W. Burgess!

July 29, 2010

I was able to get a copy of Katherine's (entering 4th grade) book report, and I just love how she organized it. She chose to do two out of the three body options, which is a great goal for her age group. With a little assistance, she made some strong revisions and came up with the following excellent report:

Night of the New Magicians, by Katherine (entering 4th grade)

          I read an adventure book called Night of the New Magicians by Mary Pope Osborne. If you like adventures, you might like this book. This book is part of the Magic Tree House series, A Merlin Mission. Mary Pope Osborne loves adventures! This magic book with lead you to Jack and Annie's magical land.

          The main characters are Jack and Annie. They love going on adventures. When Jack and Annie go on adventures, they go in a Magic Tree House. When a mission begins with Jack and Annie, the tree house spins faster and faster, and then it's still. They are good at solving things. I wouldn't want to be friends with them because sometimes I'm shy meeting new friends.

          My favorite part of the book was when Jack and Annie were running from one place to another in the Paris World's Fair. They were trying to find all the magicians. Each time they ran to a new place, a messenger always came before them. After they went to the last place, they went to the Eiffel Tower and found all the magicians. It was good that Jack and Annie found all the magicians: Magicians of Invisible, Sound, Iron, and Fire.

          I liked this book. It wasn't the best book, but I still liked it. I think kids who like adventures should fly into this book and have adventures with Jack and Annie.

Here is Jeffrey's (entering 3rd grade).  He did a fabulous job.  I wish I could type this blog in his own cursive-- it is absolutely beautiful!

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic, by Jeffrey (entering 3rd grade)

          I read the great book Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic.  Betty MacDonald wrote this book in 1949.  This book is currently 61 years old.  Even though it is 61 years old, it's still a fun book to read.  Anyone that likes Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle will love this book.

          Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic is a chapter book, with each chapter focusing on a bad habit of a certain child.  Some chapters don't have cures, but most do.  All the cures are silly and aren't real.

          I really liked the last chapter of the book called "The Waddle I Doers."  In it all the children are invited to go to Big Rock with Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.  It was raining, so they went to Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's house instead.  Since Mr. Piggle-Wiggle had hidden money in secret drawers in the house, and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle ran out of money, they had to find the gold.  When they looked, the basement was flooded.  So they drained it, and then they found a note from Mr. Piggle-Wiggle that told where the treasure was.  After opening the right chambers, they used the gold to buy dinner.

          I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone.  It was fun and interesting.  This is my third one and I can't wait to read the fourth!