Gloriana's Book Blog

I Got a Hermit Crab!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Readers, yes, it’s true, I got a Hermie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute!!!!!!!! :)):):):):):)

His shell is orange with Winnie the Pooh on it. His Full title is Herbert Aransas the Second, but I call him ” Herbie” for short. He is Herbert Aransas the Second because the first one I had I bought dead, ( I obviously didn’t know that then!) so then I went and exchanged it, and kept the name. The condo we stayed in was awesome, it was just about 100 yards from the beach!!!!!!!!!!

On the way back, we stopped and went out to lunch with my Grandma in San Antonio. All in all, it was a very fun vacation, and guess what? Next Saturday, I am going to my favorite band, The Newsboys, concert. I’ll have to ask my dad if I can put a small clip of one of their songs, Shine, on here. :):):):):))):):):):):):):):):):):)))

Summer Time Brainstorm

In Writing class, we always do a “brainstorm” before the actual paragraph. I just make a list of every thing I can think of on a particular topic. Sometimes, as I did in this one, I time myself.

Summer Time

1. Vacation :):):)))
2. Hot :(:(:(
3. Humid :(:(
4. Swim Team :):):):):)
5. No School :):):):):):))))))))))):):):):)):):):):):)
6. June Bugs :):(:):(:(:(
7. Sunshine :):):):):)):):(
8. Yellow :)))):):):):):):):):
9. Flip Flops :):):):):(:):):)
10. Sunglasses :):):):)))))))):):)
11. Pool :):):):):):):))::)):))))))))))
12. Swimsuit :):):(:):):):):)):)
13. :):):):):):)))))))))))))))))):):):):):)):):):):):):)):):):):):)

Another One of Those Writing Assignments

Here is another writing assignment:

Uncle Jeff’s Sculptures

My Uncle Jeff is a sculptor. He has a small business called “Stonecraft Arts” The Wall hangings and garden decorations he makes are majestic. We have some of his works. Six of them are wall hangings, and we have a funny little frog in our front bed. Our wall hangings are: a cross, a heart, a square whith a flower in the middle, a an angel’s head with her wings spread out behind her, an angel playing on a guitar-like instrument, and a sun. When Uncle jeff sculpts, he uses several different colors of clay, but each sculpture is all one color. For example, the heart we have in the kitchen is a slightly pale blue, and the frog we have is an earthy sageish. My Uncle also uses light and dark tan, and yellow clay, too. After he finishes sculpting the clay when it is soft, he hardens the sculpture, whitch I think adds more beauty to them. they feel sort of smooth, but also a little rough. the main focus is usually a flower, face or shape. These and the leaves, flowers, swirls and cirliques used to accent them are as life-like as you can get with a sculpture. I am glad I have an uncle who is a sculptor.

:):):):):):):):):)):):):):):):):):):):):))))):):):):):):):):):):)))))))):):) 

I Love Reading!

Hola! I have been really busy. I am in 6th grade this year, and since I homeschool, going back to school means lots of reading (my favorite subject) and going back to my one-day-a-week school on Tuesdays. I am taking math and writing. In writing, I write a paragraph on the assighned topic. I make a few changes, and, voila! a post. This past week’s topic is to choose a topic sentence from the three choices available. I chose, well, you’ll see.

                         I Love Reading!

    My best subject is also my favorite. Reading is easy for me because it is very relaxing and I do a lot of it. I can go back in time, visit Africa, and solve a mystery or two.I also like reading because there are so many different kinds of books to read, and they can be very long. My favorite book, Redwall, has 351 pages!!!!!!!! Iknow that I will enjoy reading my entire life!!!!!:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:

Limericks

Limericks are 5-line poems which are fun and easy to write,despite the fact that you have to write them a certain way. Here are the specifications:

Lines 1,2, and 5 ryme and have 8,9, or 10 syllables each

Lines 3 and 4 ryme and have 5,6, or 7 syllables each

Here is one I wrote:

New, New Paint
I like the smell of new, new paint

I like it because it really ain’t

Capable of smelling bad,

Or making me sad

That’s why I like the smell of new, new paint.

Like it? I forgot to tell you that a lot of times limericks can be very silly! Here’s another one:

Limericks
I like writing limericks a lot

I like writing them because I guess I ought.

It is a lot of fun,

I could write a ton

So now you see why I like them a lot.

Howzat one? Here’s 1 more:

A Long, Long Word

Phosphorescencse is a long, long word

To say it wrong makes me feel like a nerd.

If you knew what it meant,

You could live in a tent

And be a dictionary for that word.

:):):):):):):):):):)):):):):):):):):):):):):)):):):):)):):)

Funny Book Exerpt/ My Vacation

Hi, Readers! Sorry I have not been writing very much lately! I have been very busy these last, these last, however long it has been since I wrote! My family went on vacation from July 13 to July 21. We went up from Austin to Colorado Springs, and on the way back,we stopped at a cabin that my dad’s workmate is letting us use for free! The scenery at the cabin was amazing, but the cabin itself was very rustic, not having electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing! So we decided to take a side trip about 3 hours from the cabin at a place called Ghost Ranch. It was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The scenery, that is! We stayed in a dorm-style room, and I also got to go on a 6:30 A.M. Horseback ride!!!!!!!!!!!! It was really pretty, and it wasn’t hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing! Ghost Ranch also offers breakfast, lunch,and dinner. And I am not talking about your ordinary, junky, bad-for-you camp food. I am talking the best and healthiest camp food that I have ever had in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When we got back, I promptly read a 408 page book in the space of about 1 day ( broken up, of course). About halfway through it, I came upon a part that I thought would be a good thing to blog about.

The characters are Tansy, a hedghog maid, Craklyn and Piknim, who are squirell maids, and Friar Higgle stump, another hedghog, who is the Abbey cook. Also, the Dibbuns are the toddlers of the Abbey, Sister Cicely is the Abbey nurse, and warm nettle broth is the worst-tasting cure-all medication in the history of Redwall Abbey. When this takes place, Tansy, Craklyn, and Piknim are watching a house martin’s nest in the rafters above the Abbey’s main building, which is visible through the near-by window if you stand in the courtyard and look up. Here goes.

About mid-morning Friar Higgle Stump came waddling along the walltop with a laden sack upon his back. He stopped by the three Abbeymaids and nodded to them.

” Good day t’you, misses, ain’t you joinin’ the search for those missin’ Dibbuns?” Still staring up at the nest on the high ledge of the Abbey building, Piknim shook her head.

” Oh, g’day, Friar, no, we’re not searching.” Higgle set the heavy sack down.

” Hmm, I see. So what are you doin’, pray tell-watchin’ our Abbey t’see if it grows any taller?” Without taking her eyes from the nest, Tansy replied,

” No, we’re just watching that house martin’s nest,Friar.” Higgle nodded understandingly.

” Oh I see.Good hobby, nest-watchin’. Per’aps you’d like to shell these chesnuts, they’re good’n’dry enough for shellin’ right now.” Craklyn looked at the Friar, taking her eyes from the nest momentarily.

” Tch! Do we have to?” she said.

Higgle nodded, smiling affably at the squirrelmaid.

” Aye, ‘fraid y’do, miss, that’s if y’want strawberry flan an’ meadowcream for lunch. No work,no food. Can’t ‘ave idle paws around Redwall an’ chestnuts don’t shell themselves, y’know.”

Automatically the three friends began shelling nuts, still gazing upward at the nest as they talked.

 Note: This is where the funny part comes in: 

“Tain’t fair, we’re already doing one job, watching the nest.”

“Hmm, now we’re doing two jobs, watching and shelling.”

” Maybe if we waggled our tails a bit we could sweep the walltop, then we’d be doing three jobs.”

” Aye, and who knows, if we started singing a song together that’d keep those down below happy, and that’d be four jobs we’d be doing.”

“But just think, if sister Cicely saw us, watching the nest, shelling nuts, sweeping the walltop with her tails and singing, you know what would happen, don’t you?”

“Yes, she’d think there was something dreadfully wrong with us and she’d put us to bed in the sick bay and feed us warm metal broth. “

“Groooogh! Let’s just stick to to two jobs.”

-The Pearls of Lutra pages 239 to 240

See what I mean now? I think that that is the funniest part of the book! :):):):):):) :)) :)))

Favorite Words Notebook

Hey guys! The other day I had the idea of having a notebook of my favorite words. So far, I have 6 words written in the notebook, and about 67 unidentified words. The reason that I have so many words already, is that right now I am reading Salamandastron which is one of the Redwall books, which as I have found out, happen to be very wordy! Every time I find a word that I don’t know, or a I like, I write it down.

Some of the words I have found are: expostulate, garroulous, jocular, ignoramous, irrepressible, excavating, and paraphernalia. I have not looked up any of these words, or the other 60 that I have on big, fat sticky notes.

So, dear readers, if you find a big one this week, why not try out my idea of a notebook? If you look for them, you just might find a couple of interesting words. But don’t be surprised if you get more than a couple, for example, 67! :):):):))))))))))):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Understood Betsy Book Review

 Understood Betsy By Dorothy Canfield Fisher is an interesting book about a ten-year-old girl who is sent away from her over-protective Aunt Frances to her Aunt, Uncle, and cousin about whom she has only heard as “Those horrid Putney Cousins” Because of Aunt Frances’ over-protectiveness, Betsy is terrified of almost everything from even going near Old Shep to going to a new school by herself at first. Eventually, Betsy comes to understand, and even enjoy life at the Putney Farm. With Aunt Abigail to help her, Cousin Ann to instruct her, and Uncle Henry to steady her, she can’t go wrong. So when Betsy gets a letter from Aunt Frances asking her to come home, Betsy hesitates. After much discussion, Betsy decides to stay at the farm, which Aunt Frances is fine with because she is getting married.

  I rate this book 10 out of 10, because I really enjoy this time period a lot and it is one of the best books I have ever read. This book is a perfect book for reading aloud, but it is also good for reading silently,too. :):):):):) 

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Book Review

The Lion, the witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis is an enchanting story about four children who discover a magical land in the back of a wardrobe. As they explore this new world called Narnia, they soon uncover the secret as to why it is always winter and never Christmas, and has been so for the last 100 years. The White Witch is the source of this magic, and Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are apart of a prophecy that will end the seemingly never-ending winter. The end of winter would end the White Witch’s rule, and so she dreads the coming of any humans into Narnia, and up until now, none have come. When she does find out, she immediatly starts trying to kidnapp one of them, which she suceeds in capturing Edmund, so now it is up to Peter, Susan and Lucy to defeat the Witch and rescue thier brother. This, as they find out soon enough, is easier said that done. After much discussion with their friends the beavers, the children conclude that they will go to the stone table, and await Aslan’s apparently very soon return. Aslan agrees to help them rescue their brother and defeat the White  Witch. 

   I rate this book 10 out of 10 because I really enjoy all of C. S. Lewis’ books very much. I recommend all seven books for people of all ages. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the 2nd book in a series of 7 books. I enjoy all of them. :):):):):):):):):) 

Otherwise Known as Shiela the Great Book Review

   Otherwise Known as Shiela the Great by Judy Blume is a hilarious story about a ten-year-old girl who is scared of almost everything from swimming to dogs to spiders and all bugs in general. In her city apartment, she has enough trouble trying to avoid the neighbor’s dogs, the local pool, and the teeny, tiny bugs that live only in the city. Then her parents announce that Shiela, Her annoying older sister Libby, and her parents will be spending the summer in a house that Shiela has never set eyes on. The occupants of this new and strange house are vacationing in London, So the house, as far as Shiela knows, is empty.  At first she thinks that the summer is ruined, but as she thinks about it, she realizes that maybe the summer won’t be so bad. But then all the bad feelings rush back when she learns that she has to sleep in a boy’s room, she has to take swimming lessons and, worst of all, thje house comes with a dog named Jennifer!!!

 Throughout the summer, Shiela eventually gets used to it, with the help of her new best friend, “Mouse” I rate this book 8 out of 10, because Shiela hates swimming and dogs, and I love swimming and dogs. I recommend this book for people in 3rd to 6th grade. :):):):)