Fantasy Reading Response - The Dreamwalker's Child

The Dreamwalker’s Child

In the book The Dreamwalker’s Child by Steve Voake, I think the themes of the story are; Love is always important, and you will always find it, and; Don’t always stay in your comfort zone. One of the things about love in the book, was Sam’s dad, Jack Palmer, grew up without love, but when he grew up he found love:

“Before he met Sally [Sam’s mom], Jack had never found it easy to say the things he felt. He had been brought up to believe that shows of affection were a sign of weakness… His mother and father had been big on teaching him the values of strength and independence, and they rarely cuddled him or held him close.”

I think that passage is important, because it shows that love can always be found. Another part of the book says that Odoursin used to be a good person, until his brother passed away. That shows how much Odoursin loved his brother. I also think that it was good that Sam went on his journey, and out of his comfort zone, because he had a great time with his new (and only) friend, Skipper, and he saved the world. In a passage of the book, Sam was complaining that he wanted to stay in the bug world, so I think that shows that he really had a great time.

One setting in this book is in Vermia, in the marshlands. The land of Vermia is in the unnamed bug world, where Sam was transported to. In my mind, I imagine Vermia as a dark, scary, and dirty place. Here is text from the book where Sam lands in the bug world:

“He could see that he was surrounded by flat marshlands which stretched all the way to the horizon. Pools of leaden water lay in grey pockets and green vapours rose like ghosts from the damp bogs around, curling up to meet the yellowish mist that hung in the heavy clouds above giant reeds.”

I chose Vermia, because it has a very descriptive setting, and it really matches the people who live in it; Odoursin and his men.

In my story, an archetypal character is Sam. Sam is the protagonist, because he is the one who stops Odoursin from killing human kind, and he is the main character. [And main characters usually are the protagonists]. Sam is a special character because he is the dreamwalker’s child, yet he still acts normal and looks normal. I also think Sam is really great because he never believed he could stop Odoursin, but at the end, he ended up stopping Odoursin.

A symbol in this story is Odoursin’s red eyes. Odoursin’s eyes represent a evil, because red is an evil color. I think Steve Voake purposely made Odoursin have red eyes to show how abnormal and terrible Odoursin is. Though eyes aren’t really known for symbols, sometimes the eye colors in books show personality. For example, if an author describes someone with baby blue eyes, they’re not usually mean, bad person.

My main character, Sam, faced many internal and external conflicts in the story, examples of these were:

External	Internal
Sam gets captured in a jail cell in Vermia.	He was scared, confused, and stressed.
Sam meets Skipper! Skipper is a young, smart girl that loves to fly [wasps, mosquitoes, etc.]!	He feels relieved, happy, and thankful for hope of escaping.
Sam and Skipper escape from captivity in Vermia. Sam and Skipper escape by flying a wasp.	He feels jubilant!
Goes back into his normal, human body.	Happy about being back and okay, but sad about having to leave Vahlzi and Skipper.
Sam and Skipper stop the mosquitoes from killing all the humans on earth.	He is amazed, and happy.

I chose those events because they were one of the most important parts of the book. Those events also show how many great, amazing things Sam did.

One element of fantasy in my book was personification. The bugs were talking, and acting just like humans. Another fantasy element was small people. Skipper was smaller an ant, and Sam was shrinked to the same size as Skipper! The last fantasy element was that there was a bug world, and bugs could go to earth and back to the bug world by the holes in the bug world that go to the earth.

Connections I made with The Dreamwalker’s Child were that in the book The Hobbit. The main character in The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, and Sam both ended up going on a journey out of their comfort zone, and they both didn’t expect it… at all! This book had a similar theme to The Dreamwalker’s Child, because one of my themes were; Don’t always stay in your comfort zone. I think that this theme works for both books, because after Blibo’s and Sam’s adventures, they ended up looking back at their adventure as a great experience. I think that the difference between The Hobbit and The Dreamwalker’s Child, is that The Hobbit’s main theme was hope.

Historical Fiction Reading Response - A Diamond in the Desert

A Diamond in the Desert by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

We read the book A Diamond in the Desert by Kathryn Fitzmaurice. The book was about how Tetsu, a 12 year old boy, and his family went to a Japanese internment camp in Gila River after Pearl Harbor was bombed. His family had to go the the internment camp because they are Japanese. The story shows what Tetsu went through, his everyday life, and what friends he made in the internment camp. Also, later on, the people in the internment camp made a baseball diamond (or baseball field), and it also shows Tetsu’s love for baseball.

I think the big ideas are hope and love. The theme for hope is: Never lose hope, because everyone still has a chance. I think this is the theme for hope, because Tetsu and the people in Gila River never lost hope for a better life, and at the end, Tetsu was freed with family. This is a passage where I think Tetsu and Kimi both had hope, “Please feed Lefty. From, Kimi.” I took it to the recreation barrack and asked around for an envelope.” I think this shows how Tetsu has hope that Mr. Bobkin, his neighbor, found his dog, Lefty, and it shows this because he asked everyone for an envelope. I think the theme for love is: You can take everything away from someone, but you can’t take away love. While moving to Gila River, Tetsu lost his home, his dog, his friends, and his belongings, but he didn’t lose his love. This is a part of the book where Kimi got hurt, and Tetsu was showing his love: “Mama and I sat across from each other for two days in the infirmary, waiting for Kimi to wake up.” This shows how he loved Kimi so much that he waited for her for a whole two days.

The non-fiction resources I used were Youtube, books, and Google. For Youtube, we found videos about the Japanese Internment camps. We used the book I Am an American by Jerry Stanley. This book put small stories about some things people went through, and it also helped us understand the situation. Google helped by giving a lot of facts about Japanese internment camps.

From the book I Am an American, I learned why the Japanese were treated really bad. I found out that they were sent to internment camps because Japanese warplanes bombed a US Navy Base in Pearl Harbor, and I didn’t know that before. Videos on Youtube helped me understand what people went through during the Japanese Internment. Sites on Google showed me timelines of the Jaanese Internment, and showed me what parts of the book were true. In the book A Diamond in the Desert it mentioned that Eleanor Roosevelt visited Gila River, but I was unsure, so I searched it up on Google, and found out that Eleanor Roosevelt really DID visit Gila River.

In the story A Diamond in the Desert, I think Tetsu had the power because he was the one who told the story, and also he got us to care about him and his story. Tetsu was also the only one who shared inner his thoughts: “I could not think about the little girl named Akiko anymore, and how she fell into the water.” I think this is a bit special because Tetsu didn’t say this to anyone, and only the reader knew what he was thinking. Overall, I think the Americans and soldiers had the power because they could control the Japanese, and make them do what they wanted the Japanese to do. The Americans made the Japanese go to internment camps after Pearl Harbor was bombed, and they also emotionally made Japanese feel like outcasts, “- even Marty Burns, the shortstop on my team that I’d known since first grade-their faces said: I can see you’re Japanese. And those pilots who bombed Pearl Harbor, maybe one of them is your brother or your uncle-how are we supposed to be sure? You’ve got no choice but to leave, because we’re not buying your papa’s crops or letting him head up our community. We’re not letting you play first anymore.” This is what Tetsu said how Americans acted.

Another person that had the power was Kimi. She had the power of love throughout the whole book. She cared for everyone. This is a passage of the story where Kimi got angry because Tetsu brought home a rattle from a rattlesnake, “When Kimi saw the rattle that evening, she sat up from her cot where she’d been resting with her cardboard box of lizards next to her. ‘Where’d you get this?’ she asked. ‘We had to kill it. I would’ve bit me.’

Tears came to her eyes.” This shows that Kimi care for everyone. Even rattlesnakes.

The only voice and opinion we heard was Tetsu’s side of the story. The story was written in Tetsu’s point of view, so the reader knew Tetsu’s thoughts, and what he was going through. The voices we didn’t hear were the Americans, the soldiers, and the other people in Gila River Internment camp. I think they should have put more point of views, so we know thoughts of different people.

A character relationship that changed were between Tetsu and George. At first when George first met Tetsu, George wasn’t very nice to him. They met at block 67, and George didn’t make a good first impression, “‘Where are you going?’ the oldest one [George] asked me. He smirked and showed me a broken front tooth. He looked like the fighting type. ‘Nowhere,’ I said. He squinted at me, spit in the dirt by my shoes, and the dust swirled up behind him like it was getting out of his way. ‘You’re coming with us to the canal,’ he said.” This is the part where George and Tetsu first met, and George was bossing Tetsu around. Later on in the story, George and Tetsu became really close friends. George was probably Tetsu’s closest friend. They did many things together, like how they both were looking for Horse together, “After dinner, George and I headed to block 67, but found nothing.” I also think that they have a similarity, they both care for their friends… In this case, they cared for Horse. Another time, Kimi’s fish died, so George and Horse showed their respect, “Horse came with George and me to the pet cemetery.” I think this shows how close Horse, George, and Tetsu are.

My big takeaway is all the history I learned from reading and researching this book. I learned about the Japanese Internment camps, the Pearl Harbor bombing, and how the Americans treated the Japanese. This book helped me realize and understand how the Japanese felt while they were in the internment camps. I think the themes my group and I learned were things that could apply in my life today. Hope and love are important. Also, like Kimi did, we should learn to love EVERYTHING.

Research Based Argument Essay

SLURP! I swallow the creamy, yummy liquid, knowing that the nine essential nutrients in the drink will soon enter my body. Chocolate milk is definitely one of my absolute favorite drinks. I not only love it because of the taste, but also because there isn’t a lot of sugar in it, and there are nine essential nutrients in chocolate milk. Another thing about chocolate milk is kids love it! Why would you take away chocolate milk if it’s good in so many ways?

My first point that chocolate milk should be sold in the cafeteria is there isn’t a lot of sugar in chocolate milk. A fact the National Dairy Council stated was, “Flavored milk contributes only 3% of added sugars in the diets of children 2-18 years.” This is necessary to know, because it shows that chocolate milk is not very sugary compared to many favored foods and drinks kids like. The SAS Food Services and Nutrition said one of their main goals were, "To ensure every student has access to safe, nutritious and tasty food". Chocolate milk is nutritious and tasty, so I don’t see why we should take chocolate out of our cafeteria. Studies show that only about 3 teaspoons of sugar is added in your average chocolate milk carton. In other words, chocolate milk isn’t as unhealthy as people say it is. If we wanted to take chocolate milk out of the cafeteria because of the added sugars it contains, churros and donuts should be taken out from the cafeteria!

Kids love chocolate milk. Research has shown that most kids drink more milk when it’s flavored, and most kids choose chocolate milk over white milk: “We serve six or seven cartons of chocolate [milk] for each one of white milk at lunch,” stated Mrs. Rally, a server in an elementary school. I think that chocolate milk is truly delicious. Mannie Tarenworth, the author who wrote “Nutrition in Disguise”, agrees with me. Mannie said, “You’ll have to admit that the creamy, smooth, chocolaty taste is truly delicious.” In my opinion, chocolate milk is one of my favorite drinks. Recently, I’ve started to love it more after finding out how healthy and good it is for the human body. A title of an essay in the Los Angeles Times was: "Removing chocolate milk from schools caused plain milk to be wasted"... And it’s true! In the essay ‘Got (Chocolate) Milk?’, Caron Gremont stated a similar fact: "-when you ban chocolate milk in school cafeterias, overall milk consumption falls and there is an increase in waste."

A reason some people are against chocolate milk is because it has more sugar than some sodas, but do sodas have nine essential nutrients? Studies have shown that in most chocolate milks, the essential nutrients in chocolate milk are; calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins A, vitamins D, vitamins B12, riboflavin, and niacin. Also, chocolate milk is good for you because there is no added fat or calories. Research shows that people who drink chocolate milk do not consume more fat, sugar, and calories, and are not heavier than non milk drinkers. In other words, you will not gain more weight, and you will NOT eat more sugar than people who DON’T drink milk at all. Melissa Dobbins, a nutritionist said; “The fact is, that chocolate and other flavored milks have the same nine essential nutrients as white milk, and a small amount of added sugar compared to other beverages. Best of all, because they love the taste, some kids drink more milk when it’s flavored.” This shows how healthy and good chocolate milk is, and it shows that kids drink more milk when it is flavored. Like me. I never drink white milk unless I have Oreos with it. In the other hand, I have chocolate milk almost everyday! Think about it. All parents would be really happy to know that their children are drinking more milk, and the great thing is, the chocolate flavoring in the chocolate milk doesn’t make the drink unhealthy!

For the reasons stated, I believe schools should keep chocolate milk. Chocolate milk is healthy, loved by children, and does not contain large quantities of added sugars. We love chocolate milk… Do you?

Bibliography

Adding Chocolate to Milk Doesn’t Take Away Its Nine Essential Nutrients - National Dairy Council

Works Cited

"Food Services and Nutrition." Singapore American School:. Web. 02 May 2014. <http://www.sas.edu.sg/page.cfm?p=388>.

Nutrition in Disguise - Mannie Tarenworth

Fantasy Story

Informational Writing Celebration

The best thing about Informational Writing was I learned many different perspectives of how people see my writing, and I took in some feedback to guide me on what I should do next time.
Next time I will add a glossary and make my presentation more "interesting" and less "boring" as Emily said. I may also make an index.
I learned from my peers about New Zealand and how to swim (even though I know how to swim)! I also learned that some people don't know much about Greek Mythology, so I should make a glossary.
I ate a ridiculously small amount of popcorn because someone, (a.k.a. Jake) spit chewed up popcorn into my popcorn.

Informational Writing - Zeus

Essay Comparison

I now know that the difference between a personal and persuasive essay is that persuasive essays have a convincing voice, and is also someone trying to persuade an opinion to others. Personal essays try to state a opinion, but not in a persuading way.

I improved from my on demand essay by planning out the essays more, and using more topics that I care more about. My on demand essay, I had trouble thinking about a topic that I cared about, so I decided to write about a topic that other people really care about. I also added in more mini, peronal stories in my persuasive and personal than the on demand essay.

Writing my persuasive essay was easy because I truly believe in my topic, and I had a more convincing voice than in my on demand essay, and I added true facts, and many mini stories, but writing my persuasive essay was also difficult because I had to add in mini stories and facts, and we also planned everthing out on a planning sheet.

My new learning in this unit was that adding mini stories and facts add a loud and more convincing voice rather than just stating your opinion. I also learned that you should always care about the topic your going to write about.

My Personal Essay

Music Makes Your Life Better

Do think of music as a life changing thing? Well I do. From my point of view, I think that music makes people’s lives better. After reading my essay, you will see without a doubt, I believe that music makes your life better. Just in case you didn’t know, a lot people listen to music to calm them down when they're stressed, and people also like to relax while listening to music. Listening to music also makes people happy, and many people are in great moods while singing along to music. Also, if you're in the music business you have fun, travel the world, (and sometimes) earn money.

From my point of view, there is no doubt that music makes your life better. One supporting reason to my statement is music can definitely help people bring down stress. Recently, my counselor, Mr Felice, taught my class that a way of releasing stress, by listening to classical music and breathing properly. Releasing stress isn’t the only great thing music can do. Music also helps people calm down and just THINK. I know this because I love to watch music concerts, and they always calm me down. Whenever I look around full music halls, I see that many people share my same interest in music as I do. This summer, I watched “Mostly Mozart”, and I saw an old lady really relaxing while listening to the music… In her sleep! (I know this because she was snoring… Loudly).

It’s really hard to escape music. You hear it in advertisements, you hear people singing, nursery rhymes… Everywhere! I went to a music camp called Kinhaven, and you can hear music wherever you go. Every mealtime, a table would plan to burst out singing, and soon the whole mess hall would be singing in harmony. I guess EVERYONE likes music. I remember when I was younger, I went to the subway in New York City, I wondered why there were so many people making music- singing, playing the guitar, and playing the piano. Now I know why: Everyone likes music. My family loves to play music in the car, I guess it just makes us happy. Everyone can sing, maybe not very well, but I still stick to my statement -  Everyone can sing. I like to sing when I’m happy, despite the fact that I’m not such a great singer, and the fact that my sister lectures me on how terrible I am at singing. One of my ultimate favorite types of music is classical music. My flute/piano teacher loves classical music so much that 90% of the music she gives me is classical.

In case you don’t know, if you’re in the music business doing competitions, they can be really annoying and stressful, but you have a really fun time at the end. I have been to Rome, Japan, and America for music competitions and all the places I mentioned had great, fun, parts to them. Rome had the nice, beautiful landmarks, Japan had the great food (and the $1.20 store!), and America had my family’s house, so I didn’t feel too much like a tourist and uncomfortable. Travelling the world is also very exciting. Musicians can travel the world just to play music! Some of my musical friends have been to Russia, Hong Kong, US, Japan, and so many places JUST for competitions and performances. One of the great things about doing performance and competitions, is you can also earn money… Almost every performance and competition my friends and I have done, we earned money. Music is definitely not about the money you earn, but I believe its about sharing music around the world, and having a great time. Summarizing my whole essay, without a doubt, I know that music makes your life better.

Music gives us life changing moments. To me, music is a bit like whether. I absolutely hate rainy days because they make me sad - same with music. When music is sad, I also feel sad. On sunny days, I’m happy for some reason - same with music. When I hear happy, nice music, I feel happy too. Music makes your life better.

Personal Narrative

Go Karting

I’m ready. I have three pillows on my back, my foot is ready to press the pedal, and my hands… Are on the wheel. I’m SUPER scared, and I was showering the wheel with sweat. Is it too late to turn back? I want to do it but why do I have to be such a scaredy cat? It’s not like this is my first time go karting. I did it when I was about five years old… On my dad’s lap! I guess that doesn’t really count, but I’ve played Mario Kart at home, and a few race car games in an arcade. Go karting can’t be that hard, or this scary. But is it even safe to go kart at 8o’clock at night? There isn’t even any sunlight! Why do nerves hate me so much?

“3...2...1, GO!” The checkered flag aggressively waves in front of me. I feel the pedal against my food, and I stomp on it. Zooming straight ahead, I feel my navy blue shirt stick to my back with sweat. I see the yellow ‘Slow down’ flag wave at me, but I ignore it, which is a bad idea because;

“SHCREEEH!” My cart slides while trying to get past a sharp turn. I look around. I’m still in front of everyone! I keep going.

Jeer. Jee-jeer. I hear an engine coming towards me, so I violently step on the accelerating pedal.

Phew! I’m safe. I think to myself while taking a deep breath. I suddenly notice another turn. This time I will not slide, I will not slide. So I vigorously turn my wheel. Slipping off with sweat, my hand flies of from the wheel. I feel my back jerk to the side. Then I notice… I’m facing the wrong direction!

“Help me! Someone! Please!” I yell. A man comes running towards me, but he came too late. My best friends Alex and Jackie had managed to get in front of me. The force between my foot and the ‘Go’ pedal makes the engine roar.

I come closer and closer to Alex. Her head turns around. Yup, she knows I’m here… I don’t know why, but suddenly I feel a sudden burst of rage. I grip the wheel and drive in front of her. One down, another to go. Jackie is now only 2 meters away from me, and she knows it. She tries swerving in front of me, but I was prepared for that. So as she tries again, I spin my wheel with pride, and make my way in front of her. I blindly look around barely seeing the checkered flag wave again. I head towards the starting point with no interruptions. I suddenly feel the sides of my mouth flying. I won.

“Nice job Maddy! How did you do it?” I hear.

“I dunno, nerves?” I call back. Then I look at Alex and Jackie’s dad.

“By the way, can I go again?” I ask. This time, I think, nerves were on my side.