Summer Reading Reader's Journal Non -Fiction

#4                                                          Reader’s Journal                                          8/10/11

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

            This week I finished reading A CHILD CALLED “IT” by Dave Pelzer. Its genre is classified as a memoir. A memoir is a type of book that is written about a specific memory or event in that person’s life. In this case, Dave Pelzer wrote about the harsh memories of his abusive childhood. The topic is child abuse and the main idea is one child’s courage to survive child abuse. The main idea is stated because it clearly written on the cover of the book, below the title. If I were to give this book another title I would name it “ Child Abuse Has Been Taken To A Whole Other Level.” I would name it this because in this book I read about the craziest and tragic things the mother tried to do and I really don’t think its right. I also think it would get people’s attention to read it. Three supporting details that supports the main idea is the title (A Child Called It) because just the title gives you a strong sense of word about a child not being called by his name and is considered a thing. Also, the book has a chapter or part of the book that states perspectives on child abuse. Another supporting detail is that Dave’s mother plays unpredictable “games” that left him nearly dead and Dave, at such a young age, went through it and stayed strong. The mother was not stable, meaning that she is an alcoholic and obviously, a horrible mother. These details were all viewed as factual.

            There were many strategies I used before, during, and after reading this book. Before reading, I checked if the book was “just right” for me since I heard that the abusive events were extremely terrifying and I just wouldn’t want it to be too hard or too easy to read. I also identified that the genre was a memoir so that I could keep track of what type of books I read. While reading I skim and scanned for any text features or things that would be needed to write my readers journal. I also tried visualizing each tragedy Dave had to face to put myself in his position and see how much pain he went through. After reading I analyzed the book to write my readers journal and I reread the parts I was confused about or was interested in.

            The author’s purpose is to share personal experiences and the author’s perspective is subjective and biased about child abuse. He explains the time he was abused by his mom and his opinion and beliefs is that child abuse isn’t right and that it shouldn’t be done to any children because it has an effect on their lives and can end up ruining them. The point of view is written in first person because the author is talking to the reader from his perspective, using the words I, me, my etc.

A quote that sparked my interest most was located right at the beginning of the book, on page three. “ I’m late. I’ve got to finish the dishes on time, otherwise no breakfast; and since I didn’t have dinner last night, I have to make sure I have something to eat. Mother’s running around yelling at my brothers. I can hear her stomping down the hallway towards the kitchen. I dip my hands back into the scalding rinse water. It’s too late. She catches me with my hands out of the water. SMACK! Mother hits me in the face, and I topple to the floor. I know better than to stand there and take the hit. I learned the hard way that she takes that as an act of defiance, which means more hits, or worst of all, no food. I regain my posture and dodge her looks, as she screams into my ears. I act timid, nodding to her threats. “Please, I say to myself, just let me eat. Hit me again, but I just have to have food.” Another blow pushes my head against the tile counter top. I let the tears of mock defeat stream down my face as she storms out of the kitchen, seemingly satisfied of herself.” I chose this quote because it showed me how hard it must have been to live that way. I learned that you should be thankful for everything you have. Also it showed me how strong and smart he was at such a young age. This was just one of the many parts of the book where Dave was abused and this passage was to show how tragic Dave’s past was.

The essential message I earned from the book is to appreciate what you have and to be thankful to have parents that take care of you. Also, it shows others how great of an effect child abuse have on people. It is just a horrible thing that no one should do.  The pattern of organization is chronological order. Chronological order is one of the many ways a book is written. It is the order in which the events or ideas occur, from first to last. The cause and effect is that if he didn’t listen to what the mother told him to do, the minute she told him to do it, he would get beaten and abused. When I think of compare and contrasting the book, I think of how the mother acted differently when other people were with her. Like for example, when the social worker came, the mother bought Dave new clothes, gave him good food, was really nice and loving, to show the social worker she was a good mother. But, when the social worker left, she didn’t care about Dave, she dressed him in rags, and didn’t feed him. This is to show you her actions compare and contrasted.  

There were many different text features I was able to sensor while reading. One text feature was quotations. Quotations helped me listen and tell the difference when Dave is talking and when he was thinking to him self. Also, I noticed that there were many italicized paragraphs it the beginning of the book, which grabbed my attention into reading it. Another text feature were titles and headings. These were at the beginning of the chapter, giving me an idea of what the chapter might be about. The next thing I noticed was a table of contents at the beginning of the book, which told me each chapters heading and its page number. This helped me locate where I was in the book.

I was able to identify five new vocabulary words while reading that I previously wasn’t familiar with. One of them was a word called mundane. Mundane means to have no interest of excitement and I was able to learn it by using context clue number five. Also, by using context clue number five, I encountered the word scalding, which means very hot water. Another word I learned was morsel, which means a small amount of food. Unlike the others I used context clue number four. Also, I learned the meaning of monotone, which means completely without emotion by using context clue number one, being definition or restatement. Finally, the word elated means to make someone happy; I used context clue number four to learn this new meaning.

The tone was to be sad and worried and the mood was to feel sorry and sorrow. Their weren’t many signs of figurative and descriptive language but I was able to identify one simile; “I was like a disabled animal being nursed back to health.” In order to understand the validity and accuracy, I used my prior knowledge on what I learned about child abuse and used it to better understand the situation.

While reading this book, I was able to make many different connections. For example, a text-to-world connection was that there are many other children in the world that are child abused just like Dave and can relate to the book this way. I couldn’t make a text-to-text connection because I have never read a memoir or a book about child abuse. Also, even though I was and am not abused, thank g-d, a text-to-self connection I was able to make was that it seems that I have a similar personality as Dave, being smart and determined of myself.

All in all this was a great book! Since it was only written from the ages of four to twelve, I am really looking forward to reading Dave Pelzer’s next book, called “The Lost Boy”, which is biased on his life from the ages twelve to eighteen! I rate this book a ten out of ten because it was truly my favorite book! I could never put it down, as if the whole book was a cliffhanger. I really recommend it to everyone, especially children who are or were abused so that they can see how strong Dave was towards it so that they can act the same way.

Love,

Joelle Ben-Nissan

Summer Reading Reader's Journal Non -Fiction

#3                                                          Reader’s Journal                                            8/9/11

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

            This week I started reading a book called CHASING LINCOLN’S KILLER by James L. Swanson. The genre is considered a biography. I was able to read through this book very quickly because of all the vivid adjectives the author included. He really took an account of Lincoln’s life, which is what really makes it a biography.

            There were many interesting quotes said in this book but the quote on page forty-one sparked my interest most. “Lincoln had not seen Booth coming. The bullet struck him in the head, on the lower left side, just below the ear. The ball ripped through his chestnut-colored hair, cut the skin, penetrated the skull, and because of the angle of Lincoln’s head at the moment of impact, made a diagonal tunnel through Lincoln’s brain. The wet brain matter slowed the ball’s speed, absorbing enough of its energy to prevent it from exiting the other side of the skull through the president’s face. The ball came to rest in Lincoln’s brain, behind his right eye.” I chose this quote because it taut me a lot about Lincolns death in detail. I learned how severe his death was and by reading this biography, it gave me so much detail about everything on his life and what he went through. This quote is to really show you how vivid and descriptive the author wrote this book.  

            I used many strategies before, during, and after reading this book. Before reading I identified what type of genre the text was, which was I biography. Also, I skim and scanned for all the text features including titles, captions, photos, etc. While reading I tried predicting. For example, I thought about what Booth was going to do to achieve his goal, which means killing Lincoln. Another strategy I used was to visualize each scene with the help of the vivid descriptions the author put up. I really felt like I was in the book and at times I might have felt frightened. After reading, I thought about everything I learned about Abraham Lincoln. Also, I compare and contrasted all the new information I learned to what I used to know.

            The tone of this book was serious and adventurous and the mood was to be interested. There weren’t so many signs of figurative language, but the only one I found was onomatopoeia; “ nay the horses screamed as the cavalry came closer and closer.” In this case, the phrase “nay” was what made the sentence onomatopoeia because it is not a real word. The topic was Abraham Lincoln and the main idea is the history about Lincoln’s past and it is implied because it is not clearly stated, meaning the book would have to be read, in order to figure it out. If I were to give this book a new title, I would name it “ The Hidden Mysteries Of Lincoln’s Death”. I would name it this because as I read the book, I noticed that that’s really what it is all about. I also think that by naming it this, it would get people more interested in reading it, and know what they are reading. The supporting details that supported the main idea were that Lincoln was killed in a theater; the death took place during the times of April 1865. This shows that it took place many years ago. Also, Booth had many attempts to kill Lincoln so this wasn’t his first try. The pattern of organization is flash back. This is because the story begins with events leading up to the murder of Lincoln and then the death occurs and then the author flashes back and talks about Lincoln’s life as a president, father, and husband. The essential message was that there would always be people who would disagree with your actions and you would never know how far they would go, just like Booth took the extreme level to actually kill Lincoln. The cause and effect was that Booth was a Confederate and he didn’t believe in Lincoln’s beliefs so that caused Booth to actually kill him. When I compared and contrasted Lincoln and booth, there were not so many similarities between them but many differences. For example, one similarity between them is that they are both important and known people in the American history because Lincoln was a very important American president and Booth shot him. In contrast, they had many differences among each other. Like for example, Lincoln was the president of the United States and Booth was a Confederate. Also, they both had different beliefs and goals in life.

            There were many text features that I was able to locate while reading this book. Like for example, captions, titles, quotations, sketches, and photos. The photos and sketches helped me visualize the scenes and see the location and the people. Also, with the help of the captions I can tell what they are doing in the pictures and sketches. The titles gave me an idea of what each chapter was about. And the quotations helped me view things from the characters perspective and sense what they have to say. The authors purpose is to inform and the authors perspective is objective and unbiased because he has no opinions and beliefs on the subject and he just states facts. The point of view is 2^nd person because the narrator is telling the story.

            While reading this book, I was able to make many connections with it. Like for example, a text-to-self connection I was able to make is with Lincoln because the book states that he was a very strong believer in dreams and goals, just like I am. I believe that if you put your mind towards what you want to achieve, anything’s possible. Also, I wasn’t able to find any text-to-text connections because I never read a book that relates to Lincoln. A text-to-world connection would be that Lincoln was a very important person in the American history and when he was shot, it affected many others.

            There weren’t so many new vocabularies I encountered while reading but I did learn a few. Like for example, assassination means to murder. I used context clue #5, which is when you infer, to find the meaning of this word. In the sentence: “published a few months after the assassination, this work of fiction was filled with exaggerations and lies, but its cover was an accurate depiction of the shooting.” According to this, the context clue is the word shooting. Another word I learned was secede which means to leave out of a membership of a federal union. Like the word assassination, Context clue #5 allowed me to understand the meaning by inferring. Also, Appomattox, meaning a historic site in Virginia, was understood by context clue #4 which is when the text gives an example of the word in the same sentence. Context clue #4 also helped me figure out the meaning of the word proprietor, which means to be the owner of something. The fifth word was cavalry, which means a solder that fought on a horse; for this word, I also used the method of context clue #5.

All in all, this was a great book! I used many sources of information like my prior knowledge to help me understand and read this book. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the life of Abraham Lincoln. I rate this book a 7-10 because it gave me a huge variety of new information! I also was interested in reading the book the whole time!

Love,

Joelle Ben-Nissan

Summer Reading Reader’s journal- fiction

(My choice of any genre)

#2                                                      Reader’s Journal                                              8/9/11

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

            Today I finished reading a non-fiction novel called THE GLASS MENAGERIE by Tennessee Williams. This book is classified as a genre of drama. Drama is a type of novel that has skits, musicals, and plays that use language, song, or dance to convey messages. I often like reading drama books because I’m really interested in plays. In my opinion, The Glass Menagerie was a great book! A librarian who told me this book was her favorite recommended it to me!

            The characters in this scene are very interesting and different from each other in their own ways! Amanda Wingfield (the mother) is a round character. There is much to admire about her even though her foolishness makes her cruel at times. Her characterization is carefully created, meaning she’s not copied from any other person and is very unique. Laura Wingfield, her daughter, is also a round character. Sadly, she has many defects. For example, she has constructed a childhood illness where one leg is vaguely shorter than the other. Tom Wingfield, Amanda’s son, is a protagonist and is the narrator of the play. He is a poet and a round character because, even though he is the narrator of the play, he also participates in many scenes and is considered one of the main characters. Jim O’Connor, like the others, is pretty much a round character and a protagonist, being a nice, ordinary gentleman caller who hopes to help the Wingfield family by trying to free them from their present lives of doubt and hopelessness.

        The setting of this book is from 1941-1943 and it takes place in an apartment in St. Louis. The book doesn’t mention any weather or social conditions. The tone is tragic and sarcastic and the mood is devastating. The theme and motif is the difficulty of accepting reality. The pattern of organization is foreshadowing because it is when the author gives subtle hints of things that will happen later in the text.  The author’s purpose is to share a skit to the reader and the author’s perspective is subjective and biased about the differences and hopelessness in people.  The moral in this story is to never give up hope on your self. The point of view is in first person because all characters are speaking in their point of view, using the words “I, me, and we”.  

            There were many quotes that sparked my interest, but the quote on page xviii gave me the most interest. “ Amanda, having failed to establish contact with reality, continues to live vitally in her illusions, but Laura’s situation is even graver. A childhood illness has left her crippled, one leg slightly shorter than the other, and held in a brace. This defect need not be more than suggested on the stage. Stemming from this, Laura’s separation increases till she is like a piece of her own glass collection, too exquisitely fragile to move from the shelf.” I chose this quote because it had significance to me. It gave me memories of a friend I knew who had the same situation. Also, when reading about Laura’s character it gave me a good start on the book, knowing some of the many problems in their family.

            The plot structure on this book was very interesting! The exposition started off talking about all the characters, the story of how the play was written, and the set of where the play is. Next came the rising action, where Amanda decides that Laura needed to get married and hopes that Jim will become Laura’s boyfriend. Then the climax had every character going at their highest points! For example, Tom decides not to pay for any of his bills and use the money to run away and leave his family in order to break from his family struggles. Jim announces that he is engaged, which destroyed all the possibilities Laura had to overcome her problems. In the falling action Laura accused a few family members for not admitting Jims engagement. In the resolution, Laura says goodbye to Jim and give him her most treasured souvenir so that they wouldn’t be forgotten.

            The major conflict in the book was that all Wingfields have problems that threaten their lives. For example, Amanda tries everything she can to make Laura, her daughter more popular and social with others. The conflict is external and man vs. society.

            I used many strategies before, during, and after reading this book. Before reading I identified that the genre of the text was drama so that I can use it to write my reader’s journal as a choice of any genre. I also determined if this book was “just right” for me since a librarian recommended it to me. While reading I analyzed for any text features that I needed to include in my readers journal. Also, I visualized what I was reading to act as a character in the scene so that I would understand and like the book better. After reading I reread parts of the book that were interesting or hard to understand and I wrote my reader’s journal according to all the post-its I wrote while reading.

            There were not so many signs of figurative language, but I was able to identify a few. “My pain is a storm that never clears up” Is a metaphor. “The alcohol called me as I tried to forget about the tragedy my family’s been through” is personification. “No pain, no gain” is an example of a cliché. “bum bum my heart beat rapidly as I was in a stage of fright” is an example of onomatopoeia. And finally “clouds of depression over our souls were as dark as the truth” is a simile.

            All in all, this book was extraordinary! I rate it a 7-10 because it kept me interested and flipping the page! Also it taught me to be thankful for what I have. I hope you have a chance to read it because its worth it!

                        Love,

                        Joelle Ben-Nissan