The Beatles Fan Book

       When I read this book, I figured that a lot of people had grown up listening to Britain's favorite boyband, "The Beatles",  I thought that I should show everyone this fan book explaining about the lives the Beatles had before and after the band had broken up.

       The book also contains of photos and facts about John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harris, and Ringo Starr since the book is made as a fan book if you are a Beatles fan. The book does mention about what happened behind the scenes when the boys were on tour. Since Paul McCartney and John Lennon were the main song writers in the group, the book does mention how some of their most popular songs came to be the songs that we recognized today. Finally, the book does show and mention the murdering of John Lennon and the events that happened after the world knew he had died.  Therefore, if you or you know someone who are Beatles fans, I would recommend this book to those who would love to learn more about this legendary boyband from England.


The Beatles. igloobooks, 2016.

Hate List written by Jennifer Brown

     

                            *** WARNING: READER'S DISCRETION IS ADVISED!***

      Incase you forgot or have not seen my blog post that has to do with school shooting you can look at if you would like which is about books that had to do with either school shooting and also true stories about the Columbine High School shooting (posted on 2/7/17). Let me just tell you now, the book, Hate List, is about school shootings. 

      When Valerie's boyfriend, Nick Levil, committed murder by going into his high school and started shooting his classmates! But not just any classmates, Valerie and Nick had created what they called the Hate List which had names of their classmates that they hated because Valerie and Nick would get bullied these classmates all the time. After the school shooting, Valerie had to begin her senior year of high school learning to cope with the fact that her beloved boyfriend injured and killed many of their classmates before Nick turned the gun on himself. This book will take you on a journey through a teenager's mind of her troubled life after a tragedy that people do blame her for since she had co-created the Hate List and her boyfriend had taken action to go through with the plan. 

     Personally, I (strangely) enjoyed the Hate List because I thought the author did a great job setting up the scenes at the beginning of the book to where it draws me in and the flow of the scene changes through the book. Also, I thought the author did a fantastic job creating personalities to all of the characters in the story such as Valerie's family, the classmates and the teachers, Valerie's therapist, and the police officers. 

    In concluding, Hate List is a fictional story written by Jennifer Brown and it is about a girl who had to deal with the fact that her boyfriend had committed a high school shooting and she now has to pick up the pieces and move on even though she felt alone and has to deal with everyone blaming her for the shooting. 

Brown, Jennifer. Hate List. New York, Little, Brown and Company, 2009.

     

Comparing Hary Potter and the Half - Blood Prince written by J.K. Rowling

 

(The book on the left is the US version and the book on the right is the UK version)

     When comparing Harry Potter and the Half - Blood Price, the sixth book of the Harry Potter series, I found nothing different between the books. The text were the same between the US and the UK versions, the US had pictures and the UK did not, and the US had a Table of Contents and UK did not. Pretty much everything was the same that I have covered before in my previous posts, except that Halloween was not . The  only difference were the page numbers, the US had 652 pages and the UK had 607 pages.


***If you want to read the other posts that I previously did, here are the dates that I posted each book:

 
Book 1 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer/Philosopher's Stone - April 8, 2017

Book 2 Harry Potter and the Chambers of Secrets - May 5, 2017

Book 3 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - July 2, 2017

Book 4 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - November 8, 2017

Book 5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - November 29, 2017


Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. New York: Scholastic, 2005. Print.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. London: Bloomsbury, 2005. Print.

           

Midnight Sun written by Trish Cook

     Imagine a life if you had a rare disease that could eventually kill you, how? Sun exposure! Well, that is what happened to Katie Pierce in the book, Midnight Sun.

     Midnight Sun written by Trish Cook tells a fictional story about a young girl named Katie Price, who suffered from a disease called Xeroderma Pigmentosum also known simply as, XP. Meaning, Katie could not be exposed by the sun’s UV rays or she will die because her skin cannot take the sun’s UV rays, which causes her skin to burn and not be able to heal. Since Katie was not allowed to go outside during the day, she spent most of her of her life staying inside the house sleeping and watching a boy named, Charlie Reed, from her bedroom window. Growing up inside of her house, Katie would watch her neighbor, Charlie Reed, skateboard from her bedroom window and all she would dream about was meeting him in person and fall in love with him. Do not say I warned you that this book is a teen romance novel.

     Over all, I loved reading this book after I saw the movie in theatres because it is similar plot to John Green’s book, The Fault in Our Stars, how a girl with cancer fell in love with a boy who had cancer as well. Except that Katie Price had a disease where she could not be exposed to the sun and Charlie Reed is a normal boy who cannot help himself but falling in love with a girl with a rare disease.  I think Trish Cook did a fantastic job writing this teen romance novel how a girl with a rare disease finds love with a guy who accepted her for what she was despite her disease.

Here is a link to the movie trailer to Midnight Sun

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/entertainment/trailer-midnight-sun/2018/03/22/39a642e4-2de1-11e8-8dc9-3b51e028b845_video.html?utm_term=.25bba549247e

Trivia Questions:

1) What did Charlie Reed spend his savings on for Katie instead of purchasing a new car? 

2) What instrument did Katie Price love to play? 

3) Who was Katie's best friend? 

Cook, Trish. Midnight Sun. New York: Little, Brown, 2018. Print. 

      "Trailer: 'Midnight Sun'." The Washington Post. WP Company, 22 Mar. 2018. Web. 28 Apr. 2018 <https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/entertainment/trailer-midnight-sun/2018/03/22/39a642e4-2de1-11e8-8dc9-3b51e028b845_video.html?utm_term=.25bba549247e>. 

Upstairs at the White House written by J.B. West

      Imagine you were given a job at the White House, not just any job but being an Assistant to the Chief Usher! The job title of being the assistant to the Chief Usher is to help the Chief Usher take care of The First Lady, The President of the United States, and their family. The Chief Usher’s job was to be in charge of the White House. For instance, you had to make sure everything ran smoothly and on schedule, and made sure all of the Department Heads did their job right so the First Lady and her husband, the President of the United States are safe and happy.

    Upstairs at the White House was written by J.B. West who told his story about working along side The President of the United States and The First Lady beginning as Assistant to the Chief Usher and was later promoted to Chief Usher. J.B. first stated as Assistant Chief Usher with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor. Next came Vice President Harry Truman and First Lady, Bess, after Franklin D. Roosevelt passed away. Finally, President Dwight Eisenhower and First Lady, Mary "Mamie", entered into the White House when Dwight was elected President. When J.B. was promoted to Chief Usher he first served John F. Kennedy and First Lady, Jacqueline, famously known as Jackie. After John F. Kennedy passed away, J.B. served Vice President Lyndon B. and The First Lady, “Lady Bird” Johnson.  Even though J.B. worked for the President of the United States, his main priority was serving The First Lady. He told stories of each First Lady and President and everything that happened behind the scenes with the other White House staff, President, and First Lady that we may not know about, unless you are a History Buff and your best friends are named History Book and Google. For example, when John F. Kennedy was President of the United States, he and Jackie Kennedy had interesting animals that roamed the White House property such as, peacocks, ducks, and deer for a short time before they were relocated. Why? First, when The Kennedys built a pond out front of the White House for the ducks to swim in where the tourists can see, their little daughter Caroline, would fall into the fountain and be laughed at by the tourists! Therefore, the ducks were relocated somewhere else. Next, when Jackie Kennedy wanted deer and peacocks on the White House lawn, the local zoo told J.B. that they were dangerous and unpredictable, so they had be relocated as well.  Overall, J.B. did tell some interesting stories that happened around the White House for every President and First Lady who has lived in the White House.

    Not only would the reader learn about the President and The First Lady, they would also learn about the changes the White House faced itself. For example, when Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt were in office, there was no A/C; everyone had to walk up and down the stairs because elevators were not installed. Also, the kitchen staff had to wash dishes by hand because dishwashers were not installed and The President and The First Lady had to use wardrobes because built in closets were not in the bedrooms or sitting rooms.  When Harry Truman was reelected President, he and Bess were relocated to Blair House, which is a private house for the President and his family. Since the White House had to be rebuilt from the inside because of poor foundation, the new changes in the White House included, A/C, dishwashers, an elevator, and built in closets!

    In concluding, I would recommend Upstairs at the White House to anyone who is curious to know what happened inside the White House and what kind of   Presidents and First Ladies were like. Also, learn all of the changes that the White House had to go through when the United States gets a new President and First Lady. Finally, learn about the tragic or happy events that went on inside the White House and how the President, The First Lady, and White House Staff handled the situation.

Trivia Questions: 

1) What kind of Bible did Harry Truman's staff use for his inauguration? 

2) Which First Lady threw one too many parties at a time that she mostly forgot who she invited? 

3) Which First Lady "borrowed" twenty portraits of proud American Indians, painted by, George Catlin, from the Smithsonian and put them on display upstairs in the hall way at the White House?

4) Which First Lady accidentally used pen ink to help with a stopped up nose?

5) Which First Lady grew up in Nevada on a farm as an orphan and had to educate herself? 

Bonus Questions:

1) Which Kennedy room did Luci Johnson (daughter of Lyndon B. and "Lady Bird" Johnson) change up to make it her own private room so she can hangout with her friends and have some privacy? 

2) Which US President would skinny dip in the pool at the White House? 

3) Which First Lady was pregnant during her husband's presidency but the baby ended up dying due to a premature birth? 

West, J. B. Upstairs At the White House: My Life with the First Ladies. New York: Coward, McCann &         Geoghegan, 1973. Print. 

The Complete Tales (And Poems) of Winnie-the-Pooh written by A.A. Milne

      Remember watching Winnie-the-Pooh shows either on TV or VHS tapes, (before DVDs were invented)? I don’t know about you but I never grew up reading Winnie-the-Pooh until middle school when a friend introduced the books! Anyways, if you have had love Winnie-the-Pooh coming to life on your TV screen then I would suggest you dig deeper and discover the stories that were told at The Hundred Acre Wood.

         As it says in both books, A.A. Mile had a son named Christopher Robin, and Christopher Robin had once owned a stuffed bear, a toy donkey, and a toy pig. Thus his stuffed animals gave A.A. Milne the idea to turn his son’s toys into something creative that children and adults love to read

     Now, I bet you wondered where the heck I have gone with this blog, I shall tell you, A.A. Milne wrote two Winnie-the Pooh books. The first Winnie-the-Pooh book was titled, Winnie-the-Pooh, (how appropriate!). The second book was titled The House At Pooh Corner.  But the beauty of it all is that you can get those two books in one collection! Did that sound like a TV commercial? But wait there’s more! A.A. Milne not only write Winnie-the-Pooh stories, he also published poems. In that case, if you wanted the whole volume of Winnie-the-Pooh stories and enjoy reading poems in the same book then you must read, The Complete Tales & Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh. The poems came in two parts, the first part is titled, When We Were Very Young. The second part of the poems was called, Now We Are Six. The poems were very random mostly. For example, some poems were about Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh, other poems were about kings and queens, and the rest of the poems were just plain random.

      In concluding, there was nothing different between the books, The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh and The Complete Tales & Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh. Except, that the Complete Tales & Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh does have poems that were written by A.A. Milne. Overall, these books are great for adults and children to read and be entertained by a little boy and his favorite stuffed teddy bear.

Trivial Questions:

1) What is Winnie-the-Pooh's real name?

2) What is Piglet's full name? 

3) According to Owl, what is the opposite of an introduction? 

4) Where does Christopher Robin go in the mornings before he visits the Hundred Acre Wood? 

Milne, A. A. The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh. N.p.: Dutton Children's, 1993. Print. 

Milne, A. A. The Complete Tales & Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh. N.p.: Dutton Children's, 1996. Print. 

Tiger Eyes written by Judy Blume

              Now, I have to admit, I am not a huge Judy Blume reader! But when I came across this book when I was in the fifth grade, I did start to read it but I couldn’t finish reading it because I thought it was mature for me to read. Now that I am much older, I thought I should try reading it again just for the fun of it and it turns out it was one of her better books that Judy Blume wrote.

            Tiger Eyes was about a teenage girl named Davey whose father was murdered and her mother and her little brother, Jason, had deal with the loss of losing a husband and father. When Davey’s Aunt Bitsy (Elizabeth) and Uncle Walter invited the family to live with them for a few weeks after school started in New Mexico, which means leaving Atlantic City, New Jersey. While living in New Mexico with Aunt Bitsy and Uncle Walter three events happened with Davey and Jason. First, their mother had fallen ill, which means the week stay in New Mexico turned into an entire fall semester at school! Therefore, Davey and Jason had to enroll into a new school. Second, Davey meets a mysterious young man named Wolf, they become great friends, and Davey feels that Wolf understands her more then most people. Third, Davey had to learn how to adjust living with her aunt and uncle while figuring out how to live without her father.  For the most part, I do think Judy Blume did a great job giving personality and life into her characters in this particular story.

            Overall, I think Tiger Eyes was a great book to read because it was full of tragedy, romance, and dealing with family matters.  If you are not a Judy Blume fan I would just say that I think this is by far the best book she has ever written, trust me on this I have read plenty of her books . . . or tried to anyways; to know that she is not one of my favorite authors. With that being said . . . Happy Easter everyone!

Trivia Questions: 

1) Who came up with the nickname Tiger for Davey? Why? 

2) Why did Wolf keep on calling Davey Tiger Eyes? 

3) What did Davey and Wolf have in common? 

4) In the beginning of the school year in Atlantic City, New Jersey Davey started to faint! What caused Davey to faint? 

Blume, Judy. Tiger Eyes. Scarsdale: Delacorte Press, 1981. Print. 

Voice Lessons written by Cara Mentzel

We know the lyrics to the songs of Defying Gravity and Let It Go. We know that powerful singing voice behind those songs is Idina Menzel, the singer who stared on Broadway’s hit show Rent as the original Maureen Johnson, who then played as the original Elphaba in Wicked, and also stared in the original cast of If/Then. But did you know that Idina Menzel has a little sister? That’s right! Cara Mentzel, the author of Voice Lessons, is Idina Menzel’s little sister!

            Cara Mentzel tells her story of her life growing up with her big sister; Idina Menzel mainly in New York after their parents got a divorce. She also talks about her childhood being raised by her parents and her early childhood memories and growing up watching her sister taking the spotlight with her singing.  When Cara grew up, she attended University of Colorado where she studied Biological Psychology and met the love her of life, Jon. While at University of Colorado, Cara went to visit Idina in New York, when they were in Idina’s apartment, Idina handed Cara a script for a new off- Broadway show that she was auditioning for called Rent, little did the girls how popular that show would become on Broadway.

            After graduating from college, at the age of twenty-three Cara became a mother to a boy that she and Jon named Avery. After Avery was born, Cara and Jon had another baby boy together named Jacob. Sadly after being married for a short time, Jon’s abusive behavior led their marriage to a divorce, Cara was a single mother of two little boys.

            Since Cara is a little sister to a well-known Broadway superstar,  she saw the Broadway opening shows for Rent, Wicked, and If/Then. Not to mention when Let It Go was introduced to the world when Disney’s movie Frozen was released in 2014. Idina Menzel was nominated for an Oscars for “Best Original Song” and she invited Cara to go as her date. Since Cara attended Broadway shows and the Oscars, she has stories of living through the moment when her sister is in the spotlight. For example, remember at the Oscars in 2014 when actor, John Travolta, mispronounced Idina’s name on live TV? When you’re sitting on the couch watching Idina Menzel singing Let It Go, you wouldn’t have noticed all the chaos that happed backstage. But hey, Cara got to see the whole world in rage when John Travolta didn’t know how to say Idina’s name. In the end, Idina returned the favor that next year by mispronouncing his name and the whole world laughed.

            Over all, Voice Lessons was a great book that I enjoyed reading. I can relate to Cara on a personal level since I have an older sister that can sing better than I and we (Cara and I) both love Idina Menzel. Also, I love the stories that Cara shared that means a lot to her and Idina. So, if you are a huge Idina Menzel fan, like how Cara Mentzel and I are, then I definitely suggest that you read Voice Lessons.

Mentzel, Cara. Voice Lessons: A Sisters Story. New York, NY: St. Martin's, 2017. Print. 

Trivia Questions: 

1) Why did Idina Menzel drop the "T" in her last name Mentzel? 

2) Cara went to a drama camp one time and auditioned for the musical Guys and Dolls, what part did she get to play? 

3) True or False:

When Cara birth her two baby boys, she had a natural home birth? 

Choosing To SEE written by Mary Beth Chapman

*** Check out my latest post, Between Heaven And The Real World: My Story, written by Mary Beth Chapman’s husband, Steven Curtis Chapman!!****

            Mary Beth Chapman is wife of Steven Curtis Chapman, whom was the first one in the Chapman family to have a book published. In her book, Choosing To SEE, is mostly about how she, Steven, and her five other children dealt with the death of their daughter/sister, Maria Chapman, who was tragically killed by a car.

            When Mary Beth Chapman grew up in Ohio in a Christian home with loving parents along with her older brother and sister. After graduating from high school, Marry Beth attended Anderson University where she met a handsome young man named Steven Curtis Chapman. What she really loved about Steven Curtis Chapman besides being a Christian was that he had the same last name as her! Weird!! Anyways, Mary Beth married Steven when she was twenty years old and did not plan to have children until later in life until she got pregnant after being married for six months. OOPS!

            So . . . since I have mentioned the majority of the Chapman life in my previous blog post, Between Heaven And The Real World: My Story, written by Steven, I will continue by comparing Steven’s and Mary Beth’s books. First, in Steven’s book, he wrote about everything! What I mean by, everything, was: life growing up as a kid, going to college, getting married and having kids, adoption, Maria’s death, and establishing an orphanage for children with special needs in China. What Mary Beth mostly talked about in her book was the death of Maria, the youngest daughter in the family, to what happened before and after her funeral, and the marriages of her two oldest children, Emily and Caleb. Mary Beth also talked about her experiences of adopting three girls from China and also how she and Steven established an orphanage for special needs children in China as well. Over all, she never went into a lot of detail of her life growing up in Ohio and about her high school life, except for the fact that she did mention that she lost her virginity but never any detail of what happened.  

            In concluding, if you have read, or soon will read, Steven Curtis Chapman’s book then I would suggest to read Mary Beth’s book, Choosing To SEE, and SEE what you can learn from Mary Beth’s perspective of life dealing with family, tragedy, and dealing with grief.

Trivia Questions: 

1) True or False: 

Mary Beth's first pregnancy WAS planned? 

2) Why is the word SEE an important word in the Chapman household?

3) How did SEE become an important word in the family? 

 Chapman, Mary Beth., and Ellen Vaughn. Choosing to See: A Journey of Struggle and Hope. Grand Rapids: Revell, 2011. Print.