UglyFish Bookclub

Reviewed by: Sabrina

Have you ever seen something no one else has? That’s what happened to August. He was almost the only person to see everything differently.

August Brown just moved from Vermont to Washington D.C. with his mother and he didn’t really like it. But one day, he discovers a place called Pineapple Place, and soon discovers that the people there are only visible to him. As he has fun with the children he meets, he gets strange looks from grown ups. At the same time, is he sure the fun will last forever?

What I liked was the fact that August was with people like him. Me and August are similar because I’m the one who usually sees things differently. My favorite part was when August discovered Pineapple Place because he knew that he would finally connect with someone.

I thought the writing was really cool because the author really showed how each of the characters felt when something happened. She explained everything so detailed, I could see everything in my mind.

During the whole time, Pineapple Place changes August’s whole life because April and the others showed him that fun was anything. Then Pineapple Place moves and the rest is a mystery to August…

Thanks to Sabrina for an excellent, personal review of this book. We can’t wait to read it, because we live near Washington DC, and everyone loves a book set near home!

We hope you have a great day, and a terrific year!

Reviewed by: Raquel

How would you feel if all of your dolls were alive? Well, for Nora and her sister Kate, that’s how things are. But the exciting part is that they don’t know their dolls are alive! Their doll, Annabelle is the most special. But what happens when Annabelle’s auntie disappears all of the sudden? Go on an adventure with Annabelle and her family and friends to go find Auntie Sarah.

In the book, “The Doll People,” Annabelle’s auntie goes missing! Is she in the house, is she outside, where is she? These are the questions that had been going through Annabelle’s head ever since her auntie had disappeared. While Annabelle had been trying to figure out what had happened, she ended up finding something that told a lot of things about the disappearance of her auntie, but she didn’t tell anyone because she wanted to be the only one who knew. Annabelle didn’t look too strong until a friend came along to help her. Can Annabelle find her auntie without letting the humans know that she is alive? Or will she get trapped and go to permanent doll state?

My favorite part of the book was at the end because at the beginning, she didn’t believe in herself too much. I thought the author’s writing was good because she wrote an exciting mystery, but there were some parts where you really laughed. And I liked how at the end of a chapter it left you hanging so you just HAD to read the next chapter to find out what happened!

Reviewed by: Rose

Do you like mystery? Well in this book there’s a lot of it!

This girl Sammy loves binoculars, she can’t use them but that doesn’t stop her from looking at the Heavenly Hotel across the street.

Sammy is a girl who lives in an apartment with her grandma, who she calls “Grams.” Her mom is in Hollywood looking for a job. Nobody really knows she lives with her Grams. Every time someone knocks at the door she hides. This girl Sammy loves to use her binoculars, but Grams won’t let her. She should have listened to Grams, now she’s in trouble! To find out how Sammy solves this problem, pick up this book and read.

Sammy and I are a lot alike because I would also take the same risks even if it meant getting in trouble. I love to use my binoculars, and I love an adventure.

What I like about this book is that right in the middle there are little funny words and funny figures of speech like a girl at her school being poked in the butt with a pin.

Sammy is close to finding out who is the thief. She does crazy things to find out who it is. She hides in a bush and puts some money on the sidewalk to see if the man will take it. Now read and find out who is the thief, you’ll be surprised who.

Thank you Rose for such a lively review. We can’t wait to find out who the thief is!

Have YOU read this book? Tell us what you think, but don’t give away the ending!

Reviewed by: Jordan

What do a little Chinese girl and a big league baseball player have in common? NOTHING!

In the story a little girl from a clan in China moves to Broklyn, New York with her mom. There she has some trouble with her English. But guess what? In one chapter she has trouble with her Chinese. In the story, she finds a good sport, a hero and herself all in the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson.

I never knew that it was so hard to move from one country to another. Like how she had to present a poem to the class and she got one of the words wrong and then the class laughed at her. Then she felt embarrassed.

Will the little girl ever meet Jackie Robinson? Will they ever cross paths? Find out in the year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson.

Thank you to Jordan for a wonderful review and a great point of view.

Reviewed by: Lauren

What happens when a ten year old girl writes a novel? Her best friend thinks it should be published! Only one problem: her mother works in the publishing company. Natalie doesn’t want her mom to know she wrote the book.

Natalie has always been a writer and now she writes a novel. She doesn’t want to get it published until her best friend, Zoe reads it and convinces her to. Since Natalie’s mom works in the publishing company, they use code names. Natalie’s name is Cassandra Day.

This story relates to me because I like to write stories sometimes like Natalie and I sometimes don’t show my parents something if I don’t like it or am scared. I relate to Zoe some also because I like to read like Zoe and sometimes I am sneaky too.

My favorite part of this story is when Zoe throws a surprise party for Cassandra Day (Natalie) and everybody learns who Cassandra Day really is while her mom is crying and it is all on TV. What happens? You can find out when you read this book!

Thank you, Lauren for your wonderful review! We can’t wait to check this book out!

by Tedd Arnold

Reviewed by Marya and B.W.

This book is hilarious. It takes the everyday events of your bodily functions and talks about them from the perspective of a neurotic (nervous) toddler. The boy begins questioning what is going on when (GASP) his hair falls out as he is brushing it and his fears of going bald early in toddler-hood begin to surface. But it doesn’t stop there. He continues to get nervous when belly lint makes him think the stuffing inside his body is coming out. Naturally he questions his parents about all these concerns including the fact that his brain is coming out of his nose (also known as snot!!)

B.W. thought it was the funniest book ever. He loved the part where the little boy tries to solve all his problems by wrapping himself up in masking tape. Of course in the end after all his drama, his parents inform him of the realities of snot, belly lint, wrinkled skin and hair loss. Although, he still questions what the “stuff coming out of his ears” is!! If you’re curious about all the things going on in your body, you should pick up a copy of this book!!

Seema’s note: this book is unfortunately no longer available on Amazon. It sounds great, though and we’ll be checking for it at our local library–you should too!

Reviewed by: Shark

Frindle is about a kid named Nick who decides to make a new word, because his grammar teacher tells him that anyone can make a difference in the world. Nick thinks School is the perfect place to launch his new word. ‘Frindle’!!! It means PEN. But then chaos happens. Everyone who uses the word has to stay after school! But no one cares. They just keep on using it. What will happen next?

I borrowed Frindle from my aunt and read it and I liked it so much that I decided to read more of Andrew Clements books and I am going to review more books by Andrew Clements. The books all start off really good and make me want to keep reading. They are mostly about kids in school, teachers, principals and sometimes reporters and newspapers. It’s good to read these books in the summer because it makes you even more happy that school is over!