The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Clearly

The Mouse and the Motorcycle is another great book by Beverly Clearly. And her books are very popular, too! Yup! That's right! She's written other books, too! Read all of the Beverly Clearly books!

• The Mouse and the Motorcycle
• Runaway Ralph
• Ralph S. Mouse
• Beezus and Ramona
• Ramona the Pest
• Ramona the Brave
• Ramona and her Father
• Ramona and her Mother
• Ramona Quimby, Age 8
• Ramona Forever
• Ramona's world
• Henry Huggins
• Henry and Beezus
• Henry and Ribsy
• Henry and the Paper Route
• Henry and the Clubhouse
• Ribsy
• Ellen Tebbits
• Otis Spofford
• Fifteen
• The Luckiest Girl
• Jean and Johnny
• Emily's Runaway Imagination
• Sister of Bride
• Mitch and Amy
• Socks
• Dear Mr. Henshaw
• Muggie Maggie
• Strider
• Two Times the Fun
• A Girl From Yamhill
• My Own Two Feet

She's written a lot of books, huh? Well, anyway, Here's what The Mouse and the Motorcycle is about:

Ralph is no ordinary mouse. He likes speed. He likes action. He likes motorcycles! And that's when Ralph S. Mouse gets his dream come true.

A boy named Kieth Moves in to the room where Ralph's mouse hole is, Ralph knows he has found a boy he can trust. Especially a boy with a mouse-sized motorcycle. It makes for a story filled with adventure that everyone should read!

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate Dicamillo

When I read Because of Winn-Dixie I thought, "Wow! This is an incredible book!" It was such a good book. When I think of Because of Winn-Dixie, I think of love, friendship, and just about understanding other people's lives. Between 100% good, and 1% good, I rate it 87% good. Between 1% bad, and 100% bad, I rate it 25% bad, because it was too happy some times. Sometimes it just didn't mean anything to me because nothing bad was happening. But it was still a great, wonderful, meaningful, good, sensible, (almost too) happy, great, great, book.

Because of Winn-Dixie is about a girl who lost her mother when she was really young. And her dad is a preacher. Her mother and her father got into a really big fight when she was three. And so her mom left. And mostly when you think about it, a lot of people who divorce usually take their children with them. But when her mother left, she left her child with the husband. And so one day, the preacher asks his daughter to go to the store to get some bread, eggs, and milk. and that's when her life changes. When she gets to the store, nearly all the employees are chasing after this dog running around the store. And when she says it's hers, she brings it home and asks her dad if she can keep it. When her dad says yes, her life changes.

Because of Winn-Dixie is a totally great book, and I think you all out there would like it. It is such a great book, and it really means a lot to me, just like all books do.

Good job raffling!

Guess what?! I picked out a name from a hand-knitted bowl for the raffle. Anyway, it was really fun.Here's what the bowl with all the names in it looked like:


And someone who I am very attached with won. So what I basically did is I picked a name out of a hand-knitted bowl, and whoever I picked was the winner. If you were the winner, please email me within two days to get your prize. Here's a picture of my hand groping the winner's paper.



And the winner is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O.K., well, the winner's name SAID Janet, But it was Juliana who typed the comment, so . . . CONGRATULATIONS, JULIANA! Here is a $15 gift card to Powell's Bookstore! And thank you all who left comments on my blog. So now I have a whole list full of new books I want to check out from the library. Who said Horrible Harry? That sounds like a good book to me. And the Chronicles of Prydain sound great, too! Thank you all once again!

Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary

(Don't forget--the raffle is still going on! You still have 2 more days to post a comment! And remember to tell your friends to go on my blog!)

Ten-year-old Beezus Quimby tries really hard to be patient with four-year-old Ramona, but it turns out not to be easy in Beezus and Ramona. Not when Ramona drops all the eggs in the house into her sister's birthday cake batter when Mom isn't looking. And when Mom finally gets more eggs and finally gets the cake into the oven without a problem until Ramona puts a rubber doll into it next WHILE it is in the oven.

Sometimes Beezus just doesn't love Ramona, and Ramona doesn't like her, but the girls are sisters, which means they will always love each other--just not every single second.

The part I liked most about the book was the part when Ramona baked a rubber doll into her sister's birthday cake. A part that I think they could change is when she's obsessed with this book called The Littlest Steam Shovel about a steam shovel who wants to be a bulldozer and it doesn't work so he tries out all these other vehicles including a skateboard. And then Beezus takes her to the library to get a new book. I think they could change it to Ramona doesn't like reading at all, and Beezus takes her to the library and she gets obsessed with this certain book from the library. Anyway, if I were to rate it between 1 and 100, I'd say 91. Although it is funny, 80% of the book is Ramona's mischief, like when she locks a dog in the bathroom. They also have a complete series:

#1. Beezus and Ramona
#2. Ramona the Pest
#3. Ramona the brave
#4. Ramona and her father
#5. Ramona and her Mother
#6. Ramona Quimby Age 8
#7. Ramona Forever
#8. Ramona's World

Beezus and Ramona is a hilarious book full of entertainment, laughter. . . . . and mischief!

Give-a-way: Comment Now!

Do your kids need a way to get interested in reading? Here's another way to make them have to like it!

Need a nice gift certificate? We're going to have a raffle to get a gift certificate to Powell's book store with $15 on it, and all you have to do is leave a comment on my blog about your favorite book for young readers & why you like it, and make sure to leave your name and E-mail address so I can E-mail you if you're the winner. And remember, only one comment per person. But you can still tell your friends about my website so they can enter the contest, too.

Children and adults are can both enter the contest.

Powell's book store is one of the biggest book stores in the world, and they also have some of the best stickers in the world. It's really large and has a lot of books for children and adults.

Good Luck!

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

The world's funniest 3rd grader is in town!

Clementine is a book about a 3rd grader who thinks different from other regular 3rd graders. And every time she is sent to the principle's office, she is really innocent. "I shouldn't have really gotten in trouble for cutting Margret's hair!" she says, "because she asked me to." Or sometimes she goes just to ask a really simple question. " What's more smart: chimpanzees or orangutans?"

Margret, a 4th grader who lives in her apartment building, is very different in certain ways.
Her room always looks like a magazine picture, her clothes never have any stains on them, she has never gone to the principle's office, and her mom is a banker who always wears dresses. Clementine, on the other hand, her room always has things on the floor so you can't even see the floor, each morning she gets some of her breakfast on her outfit everyday, almost everyday she is sent to the principle's office, and her mom is an artist who always wears overalls covered in paint.

Then Clementine decides she wants to be more like Margret, so she gets some spray cleaner, paper towels, and water, and and decides to start with cleaning her room. She starts with under her bed.

When it turns out she never has to be like Margret to be a great person, she decides to be herself again.

Clementine is a great book with lots of laughter!

Skippy John Jones

If you are looking for a book that any toddler will want you to read, Skippyjon Jones is the book you're looking for! With this great book, the toddler will never want to stop reading (Although, I must warn you, you may get pretty sick of it if your toddler happens to make you read it over and over again)! They sell it at Powells Book store. They also have stickers and blank notebooks so you can buy them a notebook and some stickers ( The toddlers love to put the stickers in the notebook).

They also have it at Borders, Amazon.com, and E bay. There are also Skippy John Jones and the Big Bones, and Skippy John Jones Up and Down. My sister who's 2 goes crazy whenever we mention it!

Skippy John Jones is about a Siamese cat who thinks he's this chihuahua named El Skippito, the great sword fighter. When he starts sleeping in the bird bath, his mama sends him to his room "And don't go into your closet, Skippy," says mama. But inside his room, Skippy John Jones sneaks into his closet to find a gang of chihuahuas in the dessert when he enters his closet door.

Skippy John Jones really draws attention to toddlers, and is fun even for an eight-year-old.

"Aye carumba!!!!!"

Tips To Get Your Kids Interested in Reading

At first, it's really hard getting your children to read. If they start reading pretty early, there's a big possibility that they will grow up and love reading. But if they don't like reading now, that doesn't mean they won't like reading when they're a little older, some learn slower than others. I, a third grader, are all ready writing books because I love to read and as my mom told me, " if you want to read a good book, you have to write it yourself." I thought to myself I want to read a really good book now, so I'm gonna start writing my own books.

Here are some tips to get your kids reading:

First, you probably want to start by telling your kids made up stories or telling them funny or scary stories about your childhood. Keep doing that for a couple months and then one night try reading them a story from a storybook. Keep that up for a few weeks and then have them read you a story every night before bed. after doing that for a while, have them read a book or a chapter from a book to themselves every night. If they seem to like that, after a couple of days try taking them to the library and getting them their own library card. After getting them their own library card, start taking them to the library every week or so and trying out new books. If they start taking too much books they can't even carry, buy or make them a book bag to bring to the library. If they start deciding they want to read a certain book over and over again, take them to the bookstore and buy that book for them.

Congratulations!!!!!!! Your child is cured!!!

Here is a picture of the book bag my mom made me for Christmas that makes going to the library easier.