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MyrandaK (((:

Meg Cabot - Category: Did It - 0 views

www.megcabot.com/did-it

meg cabot Gone?

shared by MyrandaK (((: on 05 May 11 - No Cached
  • Henrietta
  • I know you will think I am making this up, but at one point Gem actually climbed up onto my husband’s shoulders and sat there, leering down at poor Henrietta and purring, JUST TO SHOW OFF.
  • Of course, I’m not sure
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • is a tortoiseshell. She fits the personality profile, but tortoiseshells, or “torties,” are cats with “mottled” fur, usually with patches of orange or cream and chocolate, black or blue (they differ from calicoes in that calicoes are predominantly white).
  • MyrandaK (((: on 05 May 11
     
    she has two cats now she did have like a dozen or more
  • MyrandaK (((: on 05 May 11
     
    by the way the other stuff infront of mine is stuff i highlighted
  • Madddie Minter(: on 06 May 11
     
    OMG!!!!!!!! It is sooo weird that Henrietta only has one eye!!!
Leslie Blankenship

A Good Addiction: Book Review: Prey by Lurlene McDaniel - 0 views

agoodaddiction.blogspot.com/...-prey-by-lurlene-mcdaniel.html

cjhs mcdaniel lurlene

shared by Leslie Blankenship on 25 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Unique, beautifully grotesque, and cataclysmic. This book takes some very interesting turns, pitching the reader between being grossed out and engrossed. The subject alone- teacher sleeping with student- is one that makes the majority of people cringe and turn their nose up in disgust. But McDaniel writes Ryan in such a way that immediate discredit doesn't exist, even during his first time in bed with this teacher.
  • This book will make you think. Ryan's homelife isn't ideal- a mother who died when he was 2 and a father who loves him but travels often for work, leaving him alone the majority of the time- but by the end of the book, I found myself wondering how much, in this scenario, that homelife really mattered. How drastically different would Ryan's decisions have been if he had two loving parents who were there? Granted, sneaking around would have been more difficult but even with his father being gone, it didn't go unnoticed. I think this is a very prime example of a teen knowing what he wants and going for it, all legalities aside. Ryan is a cocky yet sweet guy but becomes his own sort of obsessive, falling quickly for a women double his age. He falls into the trap she sets easily, going through the gauntlet of emotions from lust and love to jealousy and betrayal. He puts Lori first for a long while, at least until her unsettling mental state begins to become apparent. It seems like Ryan gains some insight and maybe even grows a pair, turning back towards his schoolwork and the friends he ditched for her, but still masterfully played both sides.
  • ri is an incredibly unique character and despite being the sexual predator, she was written in a brilliant way to thrust sympathy and understanding towards her. She could easily have been the victim in this case which added an entirely new element, taking the story as a whole to a different level. This, coupled with Ryan's home life and several other twists- particularly towards the end- all tie together to make this book shocking and memorable. She uses her beauty and body to get what she wants, tossing the reader back and forth between appreciating her for it and despising her.
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  • The ending of this book was very shocking but once that faded, it left me in thought. I didn't see it coming and that one part made me feel a myriad of emotions but ultimately, it did make me wonder long term how this would effect not only Ryan but Lori too- and even Ryan's friends and family. These relationships, while seemingly solitary and intimate, have a ripple effect once they come out and while it's subtle at first, this ending very much emphasizes this point.Switching between character's, this book gives the reader a look at Ryan and Lori, as well as Ryan's best friend Honey. This varying mindset helps show multiple angles of the story without making it choppy or hard to follow. This book is written very beautifully, building each of the characters artfully. Overall, this one hits in at 4 stars and is one I recommend across the ages.
Shelby Tomlinson

Meg Cabot - Henrietta My One-Eyed Cat - 0 views

www.megcabot.com/...107919524537290367

meg cabot CJHS Author

shared by Shelby Tomlinson on 03 May 11 - No Cached
    • Shelby Tomlinson
      Shelby Tomlinson on 03 May 11
       
      This tells the story of Henrietta.
  • Henrietta My One-Eyed Cat
    • Shelby Tomlinson
      Shelby Tomlinson on 03 May 11
       
      The cat is also a Ninja cat!! And I am NOT KIDDING!!!
  • “Why can't you ever bring home a normal pet?” my husband wanted to know. Henrietta quickly proved to be a problem cat. Maybe it's genetic. Maybe it's her one eye. Maybe it's the tortoiseshell thing. But from the beginning, Henrietta was just…weird. She likes to collect things. Her primary loves are paper clips and bottle caps—anything sparkly. She used to keep these things in a little pile beneath bed. Not that we were allowed near it. If we so much as looked like we might be about to go under the bed for a suitcase or whatever, Henrietta would puff out to ten times her normal size, hiss, and stalk around the bedclothes, growling menacingly, to try to keep us away. This was charming when she was little. But as she grew larger, if anyone happened to come to my apartment and see her do her “Bed Dance”, they'd often ask, “Um…what's wrong with your cat?” The last straw was when my wedding ring disappeared. I tore the apartment apart looking for it, then realized there was only one place it could have gone.
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  • the rest of her litter, abandoned in an alley in Brooklyn. The reason I went for an alley cat, instead of a cat from the ASPCA or Bide-a-Wee or whatever, is that my husband insisted he wanted a calico cat. And calico cats, for some reason, were in short supply in the Tri-State area at that time. So I put out an alert to all of my friends: If you hear of a calico kitten, let me know. Sure enough, a friend knew of a neighbor who had found a litter of kittens (Gigi), one of which was a calico. OK, first thing: Henrietta is not a calico. She is a tortoiseshell. Here is what the vet said in an unenthusiastic voice when I first brought Henrietta in: “Oh. A tortoiseshell.”
  • Why? Because tortoiseshell cats, though revered in some cultures (ancient Celtics believed tortoiseshell cats brought good luck; Japanese fishermen used them as ship cats to ward off ghosts) can be, in actuality, “difficult.” I didn't know all of this the day I heard about Henrietta. All I knew was thatall of the kittens from the litter Gigi found were really sick, with infections in their eyes. Henrietta was the least badly affected of her brothers and sisters…she still had one good eye left. And yet when I got to Gigi's, Henrietta was the only kitten she hadn't managed to give away. People had chosen completely BLIND cats over Henrietta. Perhaps they knew what my vet knew.
  • Recently, my friend Beth (the owner of Fat Henry, on whom Mia's cat Fat Louie is based) revealed to me that when she and I walked into Gigi's house (I took Beth with me because my husband was stuck at work) Beth took one look at Henrietta and thought, “That cat is going to be dead by the end of the week. If she's not dead now.” Henrietta didn't move or even utter a sound the whole subway ride home. When my husband came home and finally saw her, he had to poke her to make sure she wasn't dead. She did look kind of dead. I didn't know what to do about my new dead kitten. I thought maybe she was hungry. There'd been three huge dogs at Gigi's house, so maybe Henrietta had never gotten a proper meal.
  • So I opened a container of Sheba and put it on a plate and set it front of her. The slab of Sheba was almost as big as Henrietta was. At first she showed no interest. She just lay there, kind of dead. Then she must have gotten a sniff of salmon pate. Since she sat up. And then ate the whole thing in about two minutes. I've still never seen anything that small put away something that big. And then, to our very great surprise, this tiny, almost comatose kitten stretched, turned around, saw my new sheer curtains, and immediately began to climb them. Purring loudly.
  • So the other night, I watched the movie Seabiscuit, which, in case you don't know, is the true story of this champion race horse. And I couldn't help thinking, as I watched, how much Seabiscuit, a problem horse whose owners at times despaired of him, reminded me of my cat, Henrietta, a problem cat whose owners sometimes despair of her. Don't get me wrong. I love Henrietta with all the fiber of my being. If there were a fire in my building, Henrietta would be the first thing I'd grab. My husband and I disagree about many things—the therapeutic benefits of the show Charmed, for instance. But fortunately we both agree on Henrietta: She is the best thing in our lives—a little angel who fell down from heaven to be with us. The only problem is that we're the only people on the planet who've met Henrietta who feel that way about her. Henrietta didn't have a very good start in life. I got her from a woman, Gigi, who'd found her, along with
  • But when I moved the bed to get it back, I was confronted by the strangest sight I have ever seen. If you can imagine a Ninja in cat form, that is what I saw in front of me. Henrietta, who had previously only made threatening noises and puffed her fur out a lot during the “Bed Dance,” was now walking menacingly towards me ON HER HIND LEGS, her front claws raised to gouge my eyes out. I thought she'd get over it. I really did. I mean, she's a CAT. How long would she remember the day I ransacked her treasure chest?
  • For THREE MONTHS after that, every time she saw me, Henrietta turned into Ninja cat again, puffing out, growling, and walking on her hind legs. One day while cornered in the kitchen, I called my vet, and asked them what you're supposed to do when your cat is really a Ninja in disguise and is TRYING TO KILL YOU. “This is the tortoiseshell?” my vet asked, with a sigh. “Yeah. They do that.”
  • The vet suggested an animal therapist be sent to study Henrietta and suggest treatment. For $170/hr. I didn't have $170/hr to give to an animal therapist. I was living in a studio apartment, for crying out loud! So I launched my own line of therapy: I didn't touch Henrietta's stuff anymore. I bought her a nice, comfy bed for my closet, since that seems to be her preferred sleep spot (on top of my suede boots). I spent hours experimenting with treats with which I tried to lure her into petting distance to prove I wasn't all bad. And I kept plenty of containers of catnip all around the apartment to hurl at her in emergencies. It's seemed to work—at least in so far as she isn't trying to kill me anymore. In fact, she finally seems to have forgotten all about my betrayal, and will now allow me to touch—and even carry–her. She usually purrs when I do so. She likes to curl up under the duvet when I'm writing, sleeping on my feet.
  • She loves my husband, too, and will, when he points at her, roll over and squirm in delight. Yes. Like a dog. That is not Henrietta's only doglike trait. When Henrietta hears activity in the hallway outside our apartment, she runs to the door, growling. If anyone—no matter how long she's known them, or how many times they've fed her–who is not myself or my husband enters our apartment, she goes Ninja cat on them.
  • This was a particular problem when a landlord wanted to show the studio apartment we were moving out of. Henrietta would not allow the realtor or the prospective tenants move freely through the apartment. I would be out shopping and get a frantic phone call on my cell from the realtor—“Your cat has us all trapped in the kitchen and won't let us out”—and I would have to run home, grab Ninja Henrietta off her hind legs, stuff in her pet carrier, and take her back to Bloomingdales with me (Henrietta seems to like Bloomingdales). The truth is, as much as I love her just the way she is, Henrietta really is a Problem Cat, much like Seabiscuit was a problem horse. Henrietta, however, will not be winning any races. I've discussed her condition with many vets. Would getting another cat help? What about a dog? The consensus, sadly, is that tortoiseshells often get worse, not better, when another animal is introduced into the household. The best I can do is enjoy Henrietta the way she is, relishing in the fact that I own such an unusual pet.
  • Still, when we start going down to Key West, Henrietta will be facing her first plane ride—in the cabin with me, of course…I would never put her under the plane—and I can't help thinking about what might happen if she should escape from her carrier during the flight. What if she start swandering down the aisle on her hind legs, waving her front claws Ninja style? Can you imagine the horrified looks I'll receive from the other passengers? And what if there's an air marshal on board? He might conceivably shoot her. I mean, really, in her own way, Henrietta is a dangerous weapon…. I just hope they'll let her through security. More later, Meg
justin moore

The Foxman by Gary Paulsen - 0 views

www.carolhurst.com/...foxman.html

cjhs author gary paulsen

shared by justin moore on 02 May 11 - No Cached
  • Mr. Paulsen is a prolific writer who has given us many treasures, probably the best known of which is Hatchet (Penguin, 1988 ISBN 0-14-032724-X). His books often deal with a character in isolation who goes through a sort of rite of manhood through survival in that isolation. Gary Paulsen lives in northern Minnesota, and Foxman as well as many of his others are set in that area. While it deals with isolation, it is primarily a book about the horrors of war and the various ways we deal with it.
  • The book does have some sexual references although they are far from explicit. They are alluded to rather than experienced and they are not the focal poin
  • In Foxman the narrator and his cousin find the Foxman, a recluse with a horribly disfigured face, in a remote cabin in Northern Minnesota. The narrator has been sent to live with relatives in Minnesota because of the violence of his alcoholic parents. The relatives have accepted him and made a place for him in their lives, including him in the storytelling on winter evenings or, rather, including him in the audience for storytelling. It is two of the men who tell stories each night and their stories are always about their adventures in World War I. The audience is expected to laugh at many of them and the narrator finds nothing to laugh at, feeling instead the horror of war. As the boy's relationship with the Foxman grows, he becomes aware of the contrast between the Foxman's handling of the war experience and that of his two uncles.
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • Things to Notice and Talk About
  • You'll want to focus on the Foxman as the book does. What caused his disfigurement? Notice the ways in which he deals with it, living away from society, hiding his face even hiding himself so that the boys don't have to look at him. Find examples of his behavior which show his constant awareness of his physical appearance. Imagine the horror of being horrible to look at.
  • Look at some of the minor characters here. The uncle is concerned about the boy. He asks if he is happy and if he knows the woods well enough now so that the uncle can relax a bit when the boy is gone for long periods of time. Does the uncle know about the Foxman?
  • What about the person who brings the supplies once a year to the Foxman? What does he/she know? How does that person deal with it? How was the routine established? Did the Foxman go to town once?
  • The Foxman says at one point, "Science kills beauty." What does he mean? What is his example of knowledge ruining wonder? What are some other examples? Talk about the effects on both boys of knowing the Foxman. Why is Carl's reaction different than his cousin's? What will change in the boy's life after this book? Will he stay in the north? with the family? alone? Will he go back to his alcoholic parents? Finally, there is the burning of the cabin with the Foxman and all he owns inside. Is that what Foxman wanted? Why did the boy take only the fox pelt? Was he right?
  • Another quote says that the storytellers are "plucking roses from manure." What about that one? Can you cite examples of it in the book and in life? There is violence throughout this anti-war novel. Pick out the references to it and debate their cause and effects. Speaking of alcoholism, investigate Alanon and Alateen. Could they have helped the boy? The battle of Verdun in World War I is talked about in the book. Find out what you can about it. We're hearing a lot about poison gas now in the Middle East. What was said about it then? Why was it outlawed? Can there be rules to war? Who makes the rules? The work on the farm is important to the book. Everyone does his or her share, even the animals. Talk about the draft horses. Do some research on the different breeds and their particular strengths. The cold plays a part in this story. He talks about the blue of cold. What does he mean? Frostbite is dealt with. Is rubbing snow on frostbite recommended? At one point the boy is freezing to death. Are his experiences consistent with those of real people in the cold? What about snow-blindness? Is it a real thing? Talk to an eye doctor about it. How would the author have known about such things?
  • A distinction is made in the book between killing and hunting animals. How do you feel about it? Is hunting still necessary? Is there a connection between the killing of animals and the killing during war in Foxman? Is trapping necessary? Why? Is there a humane trap? Contact animal rights organizations and furriers to get their sides of the debate. There are some pretty graphic descriptions in the book of preparing killed animals for food. Who prepares the meat you eat? There are other disfigured characters in literature and in real life: the Elephant Man, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Phantom of the Opera, the boy in "Mask." Compare their handling of the problem with that of Foxman. What would you do?
  • Related Books
  • Tree by Leaf by Cynthia Voigt Macmillan, 1988 ISBN 0-689-31403-5. Compare the Foxman to the father in Tree by Leaf. The father was also gassed and is hiding out in the boathouse rather than facing his family. Collected Stories by Richard Kennedy Harper, 1987 ISBN 0-06-023256-0. This book contains a story called "Oliver Hyde's Dishcloth Concert". In that story Oliver hides his face with a dishcloth, not because of a physical disfigurement, but because of an emotional one. Fireweed by Jill Paton Walsh Farrar, 1988 ISBN 0-374-42316-4 This novel deals with war more directly Keeper of the Doves by Betsy Byars Viking, 2002 ISBN 0670035769 Another novel which focuses on an outcast.
  • Other works by Gary Paulsen Read some of his other books (they're all good) and see if you can decide what his values are. Related Areas of Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
  • US History. Featured Subject with related books, activities and links. Farms in Children's Literature. Featured Subject with related books, activities and links. Work and Occupations. Featured Subject with related books, activities and links. Alida's Song by Gary Paulsen. Book Review. Call Me Francis Tucket by Gary Paulsen. Book Review. The Haymeadow by Gary Paulsen. Book Review. The Monument by Gary Paulsen. Book Review. Popcorn Days and Buttermilk Nights by Gary Paulsen. Book Review. The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen. Book Review. Woodsong by Gary Paulsen. Book Review.
  • justin moore on 02 May 11
     
    Gary Paulsen and one of the books that he rought the foxman.
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