UglyFish Bookclub

Reviewed by: Jules

One of my favorite books is Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech.
I liked it a lot because it showed how a boy named Jack ( who is the main character) thinks through poetry.
I think other kids would like it because it is very interesting and poetic plot.
I learned a lot about different ways of writing poetry and just had a lot of fun reading this book. It is also a good sequel to Love That Dog also by Sharon Creech to anyone that has read that book.

Reviewed by: Root

Have you ever moved before? Well, this book talked about someone that moved. Here a girl named Allie Finkle is very mad because she is moving. Her best friend is a cry baby. Allie is sad, mad, and happy about moving.

I like this book because maybe you had moved before. Also I like the book because I moved before. When I heard that I was moving I felt happy. I felt happy because there was a girl who wasn’t nice. Also in the book there was a girl who was not nice too so I can connect with that.

My favorite part is when Allie’s room got fixed up. Her room was very old. They got new wallpaper. She was scared when her room wasn’t fixed.

I also like that the book has real events that can happen to you. Also the book is very humorous. One thing that was funny is when they had a cupcake fight. An exciting part in this book is when she was moving. This part is important because she can meet new people. You should read this book because this book is very real!

Thank you, Root for your terrific review. Everyone has either moved or knows someone who has, and it really can be exciting and scary and horrible and wonderful all at once! Have you read this book? Have you ever moved? Tell us about either below in the comments!

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!

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 and Seema

Oh, this book.  I had it when I was little, and I am sure a lot of parents out there are familiar with Frances.  I had forgotten how clever and downright hilarious this little badger is! Her little songs are such fun. We tried to figure out what tune she was singing to, which was pretty funny.

In this book, Frances only wants to eat bread and jam, while her family (even the baby) eat an interesting variety. Finally, her parents decide that bread and jam is all Frances will be offered, and poor Frances starts to feel ‘like a jam jar, full-of-jam.’  Imagine if your parents gave in and gave YOU just your favorite food! How long do you think it would take you to get tired of it?

Reviewed by: Shark

Peter and the Starcatchers is about a boy named Peter (it’s kind of the beginning of Peter Pan) who becomes a…Hey!  Why should I tell you?  You should read about it yourself!  I think you’ve already guessed what he becomes but I’m still not going to tell you.

In the book, Peter is in England and he is a leader of a small group of boys, because he is the oldest (even though he doesn’t really know how old he is).  He claims himself to be the leader also because he can spit the furthest.  He and his group are a bunch of orphans (orphans means kids that don’t have parents) and they are put on a ship called the ‘Never Land,’ on their way to Rundoon, to serve the terrible King Zarboff the Third.  On their way, Peter discovers a mysterious trunk and tries to find out what is in it.  At the same time, a girl named Molly is trying to stop him and his friend Alf from finding out (even though Molly is sort of Peter’s friend).  Also, Black Stache, a PIRATE, is after a trunk.  Once Black Stache finds out that the trunk he wants is on the ‘Never Land,’ a bad storm is already coming, the worst he’s seen in his years sailing the seven seas.This book is written in a funny way, and there is a lot of action–almost too much!  I can see in my head like I am right there in the middle of the action because the descriptions are so good.  Some parts of the book are scary, like when Peter gets thrown overboard by the first mate.  I took this book to school for silent reading and read it four or five times.  The first time I read it, it took me like two weeks.

Seema’s note to parents:  This is a terrific book, I love Dave Barry.  Buy it and then wrestle it out of their little hands and read it yourself!

Reviewed by: Seema and Shark

 Seema: I LOVE these books.  So, so, so funny.  I read them when I was a kid, and I was so glad to introduce Shark to them (and have the chance to read them again).  They’re all about this wild school that is supposed to have 1 level with 30 classrooms, but instead has 30 levels with 1 classroom on each. They have a series of crazy teachers (good and bad) and none of it makes any logical sense. My favorite is when one of the kids discovers the classroom where all the lies kids have been making up have come to life.  Oh–and the sock song: “I’ve got one sock, looking for the other/One sock, looking for it’s brother/When I find that sock, I’ll tell you what I’ll do/I’ll put it on my foot, and I’ll stick it in my shoe!”  Unfortunately, we sing this song a lot, because either our dryer or our baby eats socks.   Our copies of these books are nearly falling apart–a sign that they are truly loved.

Shark: I like Wayside School because everything is mixed up and funny and I am sometimes funny (even though my parents don’t always think so) in class.  I have read them so many times I can’t remember.  Once Allison found out that there was a 19th story (even though it might be a dream) while she got sad and started shouting “fish for sale!”  That was an example of how funny the books were.  I really like the Wayside School series and I really think you should read them.

Reviewed by: Seema and Curly

Something about this book really cracks us up.  It’s about a gang of babies heading out on their own and getting into mischief while their parents are busy with a pie-eating contest.  The illustrations (pictures) are beautiful silhouettes (like shadows) of the babies and the trees, birds, butterflies and frogs they see.  It may not make a baby laugh–our two year old Thunder didn’t really get it–but the rest of us loved it.
Shark, who was absorbed in a book of his own, had to put his book down and see what those babies had gotten up to.

Curly’s note: I think the pictures are a little spooky. But I liked it anyway.