Jadon



__**Satchel Paige:Baseball Hall Of Famer from the Negro Leagues**__ __Julie Schmidt__

Satchel Paige was a Negro league hall of famer, powerhouse pitcher that was not allowed to play in the Major Leagues because of his skin color.Satchel Paige:Baseball Hall of Famer from the Negro Leagues by Julie Schmidt is a great description of Paige’s Life and how segregation segregated sports.This book also had amazing quotes that Paige said during the Jim Crow laws.Here is one quote Paige said: “Ain’t all the nice comments in the world gonna knock down Jim Crow.” Or this quote: “Ain’t no man can avoid being born average,but there ain’t no man got to be common.” ~Satchel Paige The setting of the book is Mobile,Alabama July 7,1906 when Leroy “Satchel” Paige was born in his house.Nobody knew that this newborn would be a major league pitcher.The setting moves from town to town because Paige kept barnstorming during the off-season.But the setting is not important,what’s important is his journey to get there. Parts of the book were shocking because Paige took risks and got paid $40,000 per year,and he was the highest paid player in his time with the Kansas City Royals.Also,Paige had money management problems.He blew off all of his cash except the little portion he sent to his mother every year.Paige often had to ask for pay raises and skipped his contracts before the duration to go to the team that offered him the most money.At one point,the creator of the second negro league,Gus Grenlee,Owner of the Pittsburgh Crawfords,tried to kick Paige out of the league. I really liked this book it showed me how not only showed how Paige lived and how he was afraid to fly in his private jet because it broke down twice.Or how he was a money spender.And,he pitched like “Bullet” Rogan.But the book also showed life for baseball players and segregation.This book was amazing and I would give it a perfect 5 out of 5 stars. URL:[] The Wednesday Wars

Book by Gary D. Schmidt Review by Jadon Duncan

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt is a John Caldecott award- winning book. I liked this book because it tells a humorous story of a seventh grade boy named Holling Hoodhood. What Holling wants to do is survive the seventh grade. One of my favorite quotes from the book is “Then you might try getting some guts, Holling.” The reason I thought this quote was in the book was because Holling thinks that Mrs. Baker, his homeroom teacher, hates his guts. I like this quote because it is telling the character, if you have guts, you can brace yourself for anything. I think the plot in this book was well developed. I think it tells of a boy who needs to face his fears by accomplishing being embarrassed in front of the whole school. While I was reading the book my mind wandered with what if questions. Such as, What if Hoodhood and associates got the Yankee Stadium contract? Would Meryl Lee have to leave? And what if Lt. Tybalt Baker was never found, would Mrs. Baker quit her job? I think the book tells a good story because the book keeps those questions in your mind and they keep you wander which is what kept me hooked to the book. The setting takes place in the years of 1967 to mid 1968, during the Vietnam War. The house address is Lee Avenue, not on the north side, not on the south side, the perfect house. Holling’s family does not attend Saint Adelbert’s (Catechism) or Temple Beth-El (Hebrew school). Holling’s family is Presbyterian. The setting plays a big part in the book because it tells Mrs. Baker, that Holling has to spend Wednesdays with her. The setting also plays an important role because it gives you an idea of the town The problem for Holling is that he has to survive Wednesdays with Mrs. Baker. The book showed me that you can be friends with teachers out of school. It also showed me that the times during the Vietnam war was tough. I think the author did what he set out to do. I think this because I could not stop reading about Holling’s adventures. I liked the theme in this book because it was interesting and it kept me hooked to the book. There were a lot of surprises in the book that kept me hooked to it. Such as, for the Goldman holiday extravaganza when Holling had to wear the Ariel costume with feathers on the butt. Or Lt. Tybalt Baker’s when his plane crashed in Vietnam. Some chapters ended with cliffhangers, but that’s what made me want to keep reading it. The dialogue in the book was believable for the characters. Holling developed throughout the story by getting guts by being embarrassed. I can identify Holling with Greg Heffley from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Greg wants to survive middle school to and he gets guts in the story too. I really liked this book because it was very funny and I would recommend it to anybody who likes humorous books. My rating for this book is three and a half stars.

URL:

 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban  Book Review  By Jadon Duncan 

 Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban is a fantasy book by J.K. Rowling about a boy named Harry Potter who is different from his peers. He is different because he survived one of the most powerful dark wizards, Lord Voldemort,. He is considered to be brave because he is not afraid to say ‘Voldemort’, like his peers. My favorite quote from the book is “Buckbeak’l be OK.”said Hagrid,Gamekeeper/Teacher of magical creatures at Hogwarts school for witchcraft and wizardry. I chose this quote because it shows pride that Buckbeak, mystical creature, will be OK and that Hagrid loves his job as a teacher.  Harry’s Personality is an outgoing, friendly 13- year old boy. He lives at the Dursley’s house, his aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon’s,house over the summer. The Dursley’s pay Harry no attention,they constantly, no ALWAYS forget Harry’s birthday, they mistreat him limiting him to a kitchen cabinet as a bedroom. They let him go to Hogwarts to get rid of him on September 1st. Harry loves Hogwarts The classes, the teachers, his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. But, Harry does not like two teachers Professor Snape, Potions teacher and Professor Sybil Trelawney,Divination teacher. He does not like Professor Snape because he is always putting people in Harry’s house, Gryffindor, feel bad. He But, he is always making people in his house, Slytherin, feel good.  I really enjoyed this book because it was moving at points and suspenseful at points, such as when Harry thought Peter Pettigrew was a good guy. Also, when Harry thought Sirius Black was a bad guy, not his godfather. I cannot compare Harry Potter to anybody because he is a very unique character and no one compares to him. This was a very enjoyable book and my rating for it would be 3½ stars.

**The Hunger Games** **By Jadon Duncan**



The nation of Panem is in the ruins of North America. It has 12 districts and a Capitol on the West Coast bordering districts Seven and One. During the rebellion of the districts the Capitol blew up district Thirteen, thus the Hunger Games began. Katniss Everdeen lives in District Twelve and has a sister named Primrose or Prim. The Reaping is how the Capitol picks the contestants for the Hunger Games. When Effie Trinket pulls the name : //“Primrose Everdeen”,//

 Katniss urgently volunteers to be a tribute for the Games. Next, the boys, Effie pulls out a piece of paper that reads:

 “ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//Peeta Mellark”//

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Katniss had not really known Peeta that well. All she knew is that he went to the same school. Also, another encounter with Peeta was when he gave her burnt bread to take home to her family. Katniss’ family is her younger sister ,Prim, and her mother. Her father was a coal miner, District Twelve’s specialty,he died from an explosion in the mine. Twelve has only had two winners in the past seventy-four Hunger Games. This may be because of the Career Tributes from districts one, two and four.Career tributes are tributes that have already been trained for the Hunger Games. Only one is still living. His name is Haymitch Abernathy, he won a Quarter Quell (read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire to find out what a Quarter Quell is). Haymitch is normally drunk, and that’s how he showed up to the Reaping. Effie thinks that Haymitch is a disgrace. Haymitch does not like Effie Trinket all that much either. Effie Trinket is the escort for District Twelve. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Hunger Games are taken very seriously in Panem. Nobody can object to the Capitol taking their children, or the Capitol would blow up the district. The Hunger Games takes about a week or two of preparation. Their is a lot to get done such as, training and impressing the Gamemakers, who control all effects in the arena. The Gamemakers give tributes a score from one to twelve being the highest. In the private session, Katniss does something unusual and extraordinary. Then the interviews with Caesar Flickerman. This is required viewing for the whole nation of Panem. All the tributes sit in order from one two twelve first the boy, then the girls. Katniss is last of all the twenty-four tributes to get interviewed. Peeta’s interview was kind of interesting because he said something about Katniss that caught the nations eye. After he said that Caesar Flickkerman said this remark <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//“And I think I speak for all of Panem when I say our// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__//hearts//__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> //go with yours.”// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The opening ceremony is basically the beginning of the end for some. Katniss’s stylist, Cinna, designed a costume that made Katniss look like she was on fire. Peeta looks the same as Katniss. Cinna also wanted Katniss and Peeta to hold hands to show them as Friends instead of enemies in their carriage. The actual Hunger Games don’t begin until tomorrow but this is the opening ceremony. The Capitol citizens cheer on their favorite tributes. There are only two rules in the Games: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 1. Don’t step off the metal plate until the gong sounds <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 2. No Eating dead bodies. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The no eating dead bodies rule was created when one of the tributes in the earlier Games lived off eating the dead bodies after the tributes were killed. The Capitol was not fast enough to get the bodies, lift them up to the hovercraft and put them in a coffin with the Panem flag. Katniss has an extensive knowledge of berries, plants and weapons. She uses some of her knowledge to outsmart the Capitol and Seneca Crane, head Gamemaker. In the Games, a new interesting rule is added. I would like to close out by saying “ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//May the odds be in your favor.”// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> This book is so different that I cannot compare it to anything else. I loved this book and I would give it five stars.