Poptropica!

Poptropica rivals some of the other computer games that I play. It's surely one of the top five. This game is both interesting and challenging, and has no combat. In Poptropica, there are islands and on each island is a quest. On each quest, you have to face a challenge and earn something when you complete it. But your quest is never done, because new islands always come! You get to make your own character. Also you can remember your character by clicking the save button in the lower right hand corner of the screen.

Coming soon: Mythology!

The Chicken of the Family

The Chicken of the Family
by Mary Amato illustrated by Delphine Durand (2008)

Imagine you're a kid with two older, annoying sisters who tease you all the time. And then one day they tell you you are a chicken. And you believe them. That's what this book is about.

Henrietta, the youngest sister, is shocked when Kim and Clare, her two sisters, tell her she is a chicken. She isn't sure she believes them. But they put an egg in her bed, and feathers by her bedside, and say all these things that aren't quite true about her, and she ends up believing them. So she goes to the farm next door, where there is a hen house garden, and she plays tag and follow-the-leader with the chickens. Her sisters say she has to come home, that she's not a chicken, and that they are going to get into trouble. But Henrietta likes being a chicken, playing with her new friends in peace....

The King Who Rained

The King Who Rained is about the trickiness of the English language, and that's why I like it. This book is both fun and a tiny bit educational, especially for young children. It is about a girl whose parents tell her things that she misunderstands, like "there was a king who rained for forty years." Of course, they meant "reigned" but the girl thought "rained." That's just one example--if you want more, read the book! The illustrations are really funny. They show what the girl thinks, not what is really being said.

This is a good book for kids five and up.

Mythbusters-- the best tv series!

Mythbusters is very eductional and has a lot of booms, bangs, and laughs. It is brought to you and me by the Discovery Channel, which also has other good shows. On the show, the Mythbusters "put myths to the test." My favorite is their baseball myth episode. If you happen to be a fan of Mythbusters, let me know!

Amulet Book 1: The Stonekeeper!!!!!

Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper (Bk. 1)
by Kazu Kibuishi (2008)

This is a graphic novel for kids ages 7 and up. It's the first of a series of books where two kids, Emily and her brother Navin go into a mysterious world where they meet their mother's grandfather and a pink bunny named Miskit and his robot friends. They have to rescue their mother from a tentacled creature and face an evil wizard. The amulet is helpful charm belonging to Emily which helps her overcome obstacles in the other world in which kids find themselves. Emily almost fell under the power of the dark wizard, but she was able to fight it off because of the amulet.

The drawings are excellent--I really liked all the detail in them.

I took this book this book to school, and I lent it to two of my friends, but I never got it back...so my mother got another copy for me. And now my little brother wants his own copy!

I'm looking forward to the next book--I just read on the author's blog that it's on its way!