Reader's Journal Non-Fiction

#21                                                 Reader’s Journal                                      1/23/12

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

            This week I read Guinness World Records 2012 by Guinness World Records. The genre of this book is Informational. Informational is a type of genre that provides information about a subject or topic in writing.

            Besides all the fantastic captions and descriptions, a quote that really sparked me interest is located on the back of the book.

“Guinness World Records 2012 boasts thousands of amazing records, covering everything from record-breaking Royals to incredible creepy crawlies, taking a trip to the centre of the Earth and traveling further afield to the international Space Station. Get to know the fastest, strongest, biggest and greatest record holders, and learn about their jaw-dropping achievements. Packed with fascinating information and trivia from around the globe (and beyond!), the Guinness World Records 2012 eBook edition offers an unforgettable experience.”

I chose this quote because it is what really caught my attention and encouraged me to read the book. Even though I had a more understanding of what I was going to expect while reading the book, the synopsis defiantly brightened and enhanced my thought about it. Also, the significance of this quote is that it is the synopsis of the book. The synopsis is what gives the reader a summary of what the book is about and encourages the reader to read about its fascinating records, just like it persuaded me to do so.

            I used various strategies before, during and after reading this book. Before reading, I thought about all the information I was interested in learning and read reviews to see what other people that read the book learned. Also, I skim and scanned for any text features so that I can comprehend the text. While reading, I wrote down and kept track of important information on my sticky notes. Also, I put myself in the position of any record player, with the help of pictures, so that I would view the record in a different perspective, and really see how cool it really was. After reading, I compare and contrasted this book to other books written by Guinness World Records, so that I would be able to see the difference and advance in records throughout the years. Also, I gathered information about all the literary elements in my mind to complete my reader’s journal and to better understand the book.

            The topic of this book is world records and the main idea is stated because it is clearly said in the title of the book, being: Guinness World Records 2012. Three supporting details I found that support the main idea are: “Guinness World Records 2012 boasts thousands of amazing records, covering everything from record-breaking Royals to incredible creepy crawlies, taking a trip to the centre of the Earth and traveling further afield to the international Space Station.”,“Record-breaking is free and open to everyone, so if you’ve got a special skill or talented pet, tell us about it now!”, “Along with thousands of our record-breakers, you can now attempt at one of our live events, or make a star appearance on a global TV show…you might even get your name listed in the world’s best selling copyright book!”

Even though it wouldn’t be necessary to change the title of the book, another title I would give it is “Are You Up for Breaking Any 2012 Records?” I would give it this title because I think it really would get others attentions. This is because it would start the book with a rhetorical question, which would interest readers to read the book so that they can answer the question.

            The essential message of the book is that No matter what talent or skill you have, you can always have the possibility to be a record-breaker or be recognized by the special talent you have. The cause and effect of this book is that if you have a special talent or skill and choose to show it, the effect would be on ending up as a record-breaker.

A compare and contrast relationship I was able to make is between all different Guinness World Record books throughout all the years because they all have a different stage and selection of record-breakers. They are similar because they all have the same topic and main idea, about World Records.

            I was able to identify five different text features in the book, and their impact on the text. They were:

-The heading and titles, which gave the reader a hint to the topic

-The table of contents helped me locate chapters and record topics in the book.

-Bullets helped because it listed facts about the record.

-Pictures helped me because it gave me a visual understanding of the record and make it seem much more lively and incredible than I would have thought it would be by just reading.

-Captions indicated what the picture was a record of.

The pattern of organization of this book is classification order. Classification order is a way the book is written, where the author classifies the information in different sections. The author’s purpose is to inform readers about world records in 2012. The author’s perspective is objective and unbiased because the author doesn’t give any of his personal opinions or beliefs in the text. The point of view is written in second person because the author uses words like you, your, you've etc.

        Obviously, this book did not have any figurative language because it just stated facts. Also, because of this reason, there weren’t any words I couldn’t understand while reading either. Clearly, this book should be classified for any reading age.

        A source I used to check the validity and accuracy was:

-Http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/

            While reading, I was able to make many connections. A text-to-self connection I made with the book was when I tried beating a world record with my special talent. Another connection I was able to make was a text-to-text connection. I can relate this book to all other Guinness World Record books because they are all based on world records. The last connection I made was to the world. I can relate this book to the world because many other children and people might also have a special talent, skill or idea that might make it into this book, considering it refers to people from the whole world.

            All in all, this was an amazing book! I was really interested to learn about all the extraordinary records that were beat out of such an imagination! I rate it a ten out of ten because I had no negative thoughts while reading and was interested throughout the entire time! I recommend it to everyone and anyone of all ages because it was an easy read that would amaze anyone.

            Love,

Joelle Ben-Nissan

 Reader's Journal #20

-On Martin Luther King foldable-

Current Event #4

-I used my homework pass for this assignment. -

Reader's Journal-Fiction

#19                                                     Reader’s Journal                                           1/10/12

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

            I am currently reading the book Time Cursor by John David Krygelski. The genre of this book is science fiction. Science fiction is fiction that deals with science or technology and can potentially take place in the future. Even though I’m not such a fan of science fiction, I still gave this book a chance and its actually turning out great!

            There were many strategies I used before, during, and after reading this book. Before reading, I read reviews that other readers wrote to decided if the book was worth reading; because it was mostly rated as five out of five stars, I decided to give it a chance.  Also, I made predictions on what I thought the book was going to be about. From the cover and title, I was able to predict the book was going to be about traveling to the future. While reading I kept track of all literary elements I identified on a sticky note, so that it would be easier to keep track and write my readers journal at the end. Also, I created mental images in my head during some events so that I would be able to visualize the future. After reading, I asked myself questions, so that I would target the answers next time I read. Also, I critiqued and discussed the book with myself so that I can reflect on the book and write my readers journal.

A quote from the book that sparked my interest was located on the kindle (don’t know page number.)

“Dwelling on the misery of his life, as it had played out for the past thirty years, was a constant for him that the thought of having the opportunity to be proactive… to actually be given the gift of a second chance… made him feel an emotion he had long ago lost, the ability to conjure… to hope.”

I chose this quote because even though it sounded like he would have to travel to his past instead of his future, I was really amazed to how willing this man was to have his second chance, even though traveling through the machine was going to be extremely risky! This quote has significance to the book because it is what starts it off and where John’s commitment of a decision was made. This decision is what makes up the plot structure and the entire book.

            So far, the main character and protagonist of this book is John Augur. Even though he is round and dynamic, I have not come to know him and his characterization so well. John travels through a time machine to stop his own wedding in the future but ends up doing what he was told not to do. Because the plot structure and exposition was not so introducing, the only other characters mentioned was Cal, and Kert (Johns best friends). Cal and Kert are foil characters that we don’t know much about, except that Cal has built the time machine.

The setting of this story varies and does not have a specific place where events happen but is mostly taken place at the wedding. The time frame is clearly set in the future. The social conditions are that John meets his future self after passing through a time machine and has to stop his own wedding. Unfortunately, the weather conditions weren’t mentioned at all in the entire plot structure yet.

The author’s purpose is to entertain the reader with a fictional story and the author’s perspective is objective (unbiased) because the author does not show her feelings and opinions in his writing. The point of view of the book is third person limited because the narrator is only limited to John’s thoughts and feelings. Since I haven’t finished reading the book, I don’t know the theme, motif, or moral yet. The pattern of organization time order because after each event, or day, it would mention the day and exact time of the event at the top of the page. The tone of this book is to feel a sense of suspense and the mood I felt was to be surprised and have a feeling of action.

            Even though I didn’t finish the book yet, the plot structure was good but so fast acting that it was confusing. The exposition wasn’t the usual. Instead, it started the book off immediately to the point where John enters through a time machine that takes him to the future. In the rising action, John meets his future self the night before his wedding. I don’t know any further parts of the plot structure but hope to read the rest of it in my next day of reading.  The conflict of the book is kind of Man. Vs. Self because he is the same person, just in the future.

There were many figurative language sentences located in this book.

·      “John nodded, listening to the admonition like a mantra.” this is an example of a simile because it compares john to a mantra, using like.

·      “At rest on its specifically designed platform stood the polished silver orb, its hatch swung into the open position, consciously waiting to receive its next passenger.” This sentence is a form of personification because it gives the time machine human features, like waiting.

·      “Trying hard to fight off the ever-present malaise that had become permanently embedded into his psyche, john tried to grin.” Is an example of a hyperbole.

·      “We’ve gone over it a thousand times” is another hyperbole because it is exaggerating.

·      “A small bit of tortilla chip flew across the room.” Is an example of another personification.

All in all, this book was great! I recommend this book to older adults, because the vocabulary and the plot structure were very complex and even had me looking up the definitions of many words.  Since I’m not done reading the book yet, I rate it a six out of ten because it impressed me with its wide imagination of the future and kept me hooked but was very hard to understand. Clearly, the book was good but confusing and I definitely think higher level readers would give it a chance!

Love,

 Joelle Ben-Nissan

 Reader's Journal-Fiction

#18                                                     Reader’s Journal                                           1/3/12

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

            I am currently reading the book The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney. The genre of this book is realistic fiction. Realistic fiction is believable fiction that can be very similar to real life situations and that is set in the present.

            There were many strategies I used before, during, and after reading this book. Before reading, I read reviews that other readers wrote to decided if the book was worth reading.  Also, I skim and scanned the covers and inside pages of the book to identify if this book was “Just Right” for me. While reading I kept track of all literary elements I identified on a sticky note, so that it would be certain to give the reader of my blog the correct factual information on the book. Also, I created mental images in my head during some events or flashbacks so that I had a great visualization of what I was reading. After reading, I made inferences and drew conclusions about the information I read. Also, I critiqued and discussed the book with myself so that I can reflect on the book and write my readers journal.

A quote from the book that sparked my interest was located on the kindle (don’t know page number.)

“The girl on the carton was an ordinary little girl. Hair in tight pigtails, one against each thin cheek. A dress with a narrow white collar with tiny dark polka dots.”

I chose this quote because I was really amazed by how descriptive the author was when describing what Jaine was looking at! I was able to make a mental picture of the little girl she was looking at on the milk carton. This quote has significance to the book because it is the start of a big incident, where she realizes that she is looking at herself as a missing person and begins to have flashbacks about it.   

            The main character and protagonist, is Jaine. Jaine is also round and dynamic. She is a fifteen year old, lactose intolerant girl who seems to be pretty, petite, and popular, while having noticeable, red, curly, hair. Reeve, Janie’s boy friend is also round and dynamic because he is mentioned and described very often in the book. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, Janie’s parents are both round and dynamic. Jaine first thought they were the antagonists until she finds out the fact. Unlike Jaine and Reeve, Hannah is the antagonist of the book. Hannah is a woman only known from stories told by Janie's parents. She is also the person who kidnapped Janie from the shopping mall in New Jersey. I haven’t uncovered any of the characters characterization yet because I didn’t finish reading the book. The flat characters are Sarah-Charlotte, Adair, Jason, Todd, Pete, and Megan. I don’t really know anything about them besides that some is Janie’s best friend and that they really aren't so significant in the story.

The setting of this story varies but mostly takes place in Connecticut, New Jersey, and California. Jaine also lives in a modern home with her “parents” where her room is the biggest in the house. The book didn’t mention when the book takes place but I think it takes place in both modern and older times. The social conditions are that Janie was kidnapped. The weather conditions weren’t mentioned either but it was described like it was the usual, sunny, cold, or rainy climate.

The author’s purpose is to entertain the reader with a fictional story and the author’s perspective is subjective (biased) because the author shows her feelings and opinions towards each character by the tone in which she writes. The point of view of the book is third person limited because the narrator is only limited to Janie’s thoughts and feelings. Since I haven’t finished reading the book, I don’t know the theme, motif, or moral yet. The pattern of organization is mainly flashback because even though the events occur in order, the book goes through a series of flashbacks, going through Jaine memory. The tone of this book is to feel a sense of mystery and suspense. The mood I felt was to be surprised and curious.

            The plot structure was really suspenseful and straight to the point. In the exposition, the author introduced all the characters, settings, and started the book off with Jaine writing an essay in her English class. Also, Jaine was really excited in trying to get permission to drive and into changing her name to more of a unique one like all of her friends. In the rising action, even though Jaine is lactose intolerant, she decided to drink her friend’s milk to complete her favorite meal, until she realizes that her picture as a three year old is on it. The climax was when Jaine tries to remember herself as a kid when she looked at her picture and gets many flashbacks, leading her into the truth. The falling action took place when Jaine finally admitted herself that she actually was kidnapped. I wasn’t able to uncover the resolution yet because I didn’t read far enough of the book yet. The conflict of the book is unclear but I think its men. Vs. self, internal, because Jaine really doesn’t believe herself and cant take in the fact that she has been kidnapped.

There were many figurative language sentences located in this book.

·      “She could feel the pulse of the deep-blue skies” this is an example of personification because the author gives the clouds human features. (Its pulse)

·      “‘I guess you’ve grown up anyway, Jaine,’ said her father reluctantly. ‘Even with all the bricks I put on your head to keep you little.’” Is known as a cliché because it is more of a saying.

·      “Ring, ring, ring. The phone rang in surprise” Is onomatopoeia because it is describing a sound.

·      “She felt like she wanted to continue driving forever.” This is an example of hyperbole because the author exaggerates her sense in driving.

·      “The picture of the little girl on the back of the milk carton stared back at her” is another example of personification it is giving the picture human features.

All in all, this book was great! I recommend this book to teens, because some vocabulary and the plot structure might be challenging and hard to understand for younger readers.  I rate the book a nine out of ten because I was hooked to the book since the first few sentences I’ve read. Also, this book impressed me with interest and curiosity almost the entire time. Clearly, the book was great and I really think anyone should give it a chance even though I didn’t finish reading the book yet!

Love,

 Joelle Ben-Nissan

 Reader's Journal-Fiction

#17                                                     Reader’s Journal                                           12/29/11

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

I am going to use my homework pass for this readers journal.

Love, 

Joelle Ben-Nissan 802

 Reader's Journal-Fiction

#16                                                     Reader’s Journal                                           12/13/11

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

            I have just read the book Chosen (The Chosen #1) by Denise Grover Swank. The genre of this book is Fantasy. Fantasy is highly imaginative fiction that uses strange or unusual characters, setting, and plot; it also will never happen in real life.

            There were many strategies I used before, during, and after reading this book. Before reading, I read my readers journal to remember what was happening in the book where I last left off. Also, I wrote down questions I was looking forward in finding later on in the book; like who the “Bad Men” were and why they wanted to threaten Emma and Jake. While reading, I discussed the book with friends that I knew read or are reading this book so that we would be able to learn things from each other and analyze what have changed since the beginning of the book to the very end. Also, I added more literary elements on a sticky note, which I have not read about before. I did this so that it would be proven that I am giving the reader correctly updated information about the book on my reader journal. After reading, I gave the book a final rating based on my likings and disliking. Also, I thought about the book as a whole and reflected on it by writing my readers journal.

A quote from the book that sparked my interest was located on the kindle (don’t know page number.)

“His head turned and he studied her in the mirror. “You don’t like him?” he asked. “No’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.” He stared with unblinking eyes. “You don’t need to like him. You just need to let him help us.” Emma’s anger erupted anew. She spun around and thrust her head between the front seats. “Why do we need him? We’ve done just fine on our own. We’ve never needed anyone before.” “Things have changed.” His face implied wisdom older than his years.”

I chose this quote because it really amazed me to see how a five-year-old boy told his mother how to make decisions and big choices they needed to follow in order to save their own lives. Also, it made me realize how much impact Will had towards Jake. By this quote, you can identify that Jake had a really good feeling about Will and I really wanted to find out why. This quote has significance to the book because it shows Emma’s characterization in the beginning, towards Will. It also shows a social condition Between Emma and Jake.

            There really weren’t so many characters introduced in the book. The main protagonists are Emma Thompson, Jake Thompson, and Will Davenport. They are all round, protagonists because they are described in detail throughout the book. Even though “The Bad Men” seem to act as antagonists because they are going against the protagonists, the book doesn’t mention their characterization so they are really considered to be flat and static characters. There were also no foil characters.  Emma has been trying to protect her five-year-old son, Jake from “The Bad Men”, who have been chasing them for an unknown reason. This incident has been happening for three years, but thanks to Jakes “special power” to tell the future, they have been safe. Will volunteered to protect Emma and Jake so that they would be able to defeat and run away from “The Bad Men”. Emma’s Characterization changed towards Will because of her five year old son, who reassures that Will can help them. At the beginning, Emma does not trust Will and doesn’t want him to help them but then she learns to accept him because of Jakes “vision”.

            The setting of this story varies but it mostly takes place in a cheap, roach-infested hotel in South Dakota, and then they drive to an unclear destination, mentioned as Austin, Texas. The weather conditions were the usual, hot and humid climate in South Dakota. Also, the time mentioned was in the months of present-day July. The social conditions are that Emma and Jake are extremely unfortunate, and they are always running away from “The Bad Men” when they chase them. Also, Jake, Emma’s son can see things before they actually happen and he believes Will can help his mom, and himself survive through the antagonists.

The author’s purpose is to entertain the reader with a highly imaginative, fictional story and the author’s perspective is objective because he does not include any of his opinions or feelings in the text. The point of view of the book is third person limited because the author is a narrator that only mentions one characters internal feelings, being what he thinks, feels, says, etc. Even though I practically finished reading the book, there is no theme, motif, or moral. The pattern of organization is climatic order because the author states what exactly happens from the beginning to the end of the book in order of events.

The tone of this book is to feel serious because the plot focuses on a very “straight face” scene. The mood I felt was to be disgusted in the beginning when the author vividly described the roach-infested hotel they lived in and the conditions they were in. also, my mood changed to curious throughout the rest of the book because I really didn’t understand what was happening at first and I wanted to know what situation the characters were facing.

            The plot structure was really straight up, to the point. In the exposition, not only did the author introduce all the characters, and settings, but she also drops the reader into a scene where Jake and Emma get ready to run away, from “The Bad Men” as usual. It didn’t take long for the book to begin the rising action. While reading the rising action, Emma, Jake, and Will go on an extreme drive to disappear in sight of “The Bad Men” that were chasing them. In this driving scene, I felt as if I really were in the middle of their situation even though I couldn’t really tell the real reason why they were being chased by “The Bad Men.” In my opinion, the climax, and falling action didn’t differ from each other in any way. It was hard to understand what part of the plot structure I was reading because almost every part of the book seemed like it was the climax. The same routine that went over and over was for Jake to announce that the Bad Men were coming and then for them to run away. Even though I only had two-three chapters left in the book, the resolution was not identified. The conflict of the book is man vs. supernatural, external because I came towards finding out that the “Bad Men”, the men who threatened them, where really some supernatural/ mystical characters.

The book didn’t contain so many figurative language sentences, but I was able to search a few.

·      “She felt vulnerable and trapped, like a noose tightened slowly around her neck” this is an example of a simile because it is comparing the way she felt trapped, while using the word like.

·      “We are not waiting outside like targets” is also a simile because Emma is comparing herself to a target, using the word like.

·      “He scrutinized her with his ice blue eyes.” Is a metaphor because the author uses ice to compare and describe Jakes eyes.

·      “The only response was the country music drifting from the propped-open back door of the bar and cicadas singing in the trees. This is an example of personification because the author gives the animal human features.

·      “Her fingernails dug into her palms” is another example of personification because her fingernails are doing human features.

All in all, this book was great! I recommend this book to teens, in particular because the scenes require a serious and focused attitude. Also, some vocabulary and the plot structure might be challenging and hard to understand for younger readers.  I rate the book an eight out of ten because I was hooked to the book since the first few sentences I’ve read and even though I don’t really like reading fantasy books, this book impressed me with interest. Clearly, the book was great and I really think anyone should give it a chance!

Love,

 Joelle Ben-Nissan