zero, my hero

I would just like to say that I am sad, but excited that I am finished. I can't believe that I have actually done it. In the middle of the challenge, I had moments when I thought "I am not going to finish, I might as well not read any more. " I shouldn't have doubted myself. I love to read! I was having a lot of fun doing the challenge. So why did I doubt? I doubted because I was anxious and sometimes in a bad mood too. Did you see the title of my post today? I titled it "zero, my hero" because I have zero more books to read to complete my challenge. (This is also the title of a funny little song that my parents grew up with.) It feels like today is like an ice cream day that has turned into a sundae. It's just a better day than every other regular day.

The pictures that I am posting today were a lot of fun to take. My favorite one is me laying with all of the books on top of me. Those books made me itch. They poked me and I had to stay still. It was still fun and I like the way that the picture came out. The picture with the stack of books? It only contains 50 of the books that I read. The other 50 were from the library, friends, school, or some of them I have loaned out. Can you believe how big the stack would be if all of the books were there? I think it would probably be taller than I am. This morning, to celebrate, I convinced my dad to make his special cinnamon rolls. They were "Yummy, yummy, yummy, I've got love in my tummy". (That is a song reference for those of you who love 60's music!) Thanks dad for making them. We are also headed to the library again, because I am out of books. Then off for ice cream to end today's celebration. What a great day, don't you think?

So I have some surprises for you. The first one, was of course, that I finished 100 books in November. November! I was worried about finishing by New Years. I decided to go skiing, which I already told you about. I can't wait! The second surprise for all of you Texans, is that we are moving to Austin next month. My dad will no longer be working in Denver (it was not the right school for any of us!), so we are going to be spending some time in Austin while he looks for a new job. I'm excited that we will be closer to our Houston friends. Austin is a wonderful place. We have been there to visit before, and I like that they have these cute little vans that sell food in them. The cupcakes I had there were huge and delicious. So, since we will be so close, please come and visit us often!

Now, I do have a question for you. Should I continue my blog? I was actually going to continue until the year was over, but what about next year? I might need some new ideas. Should I change what kind of blog I am doing? I just don't know. Will you give me your ideas?

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Thank you for reading my blog and for supporting me. It made me proud to have people actually reading about my challenge and caring about me. Thank you again!

Love,
Gracie

Five

That's right, five more books. I can't believe it. I decided to celebrate by going to the mountains and learning to ski. My mom's friend Cathy has a house in the mountains that we can stay at. It's all set. I am going to learn to ski! I am so excited! I haven't decided yet, but I think I am going to ask my sister to go too. If you know her, you know that things can get more exciting and fun when she is around.h

My last five books have to be ones that I am really going to like. I don't know what to read. I think that these should be the 5 best books that I am going to read. I need your help. I need your very favorite books to help me end my challenge well. All of you have given me lots of great suggestions. I can't believe that I have already been through a whole year of reading. I have loved all of the books that you have suggested.

Thank you to Lesley (Ms. Police Officer I should say) for suggesting Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing. I loved that book and continued to read a few more Judy Bloom books although my mom has said, "No More Judy Bloom Books!" Lorin, my cousin, gave me a few books by Julie Andrews that I really liked. Thank you to Grandma Gogo for giving me the book "Out of the Dust". It was a great book, even though it was sort of a grown up book. Grandma Wathen sent me "The Night of the Twisters" which was interesting to learn about what tornado's can do to peoples homes and houses. It was nice to have it in a "true story version". Thank you to my third grade teacher, Mrs. Hawkins, for picking such good books for my class to read. Miss Laura sent me "Alanna" and it gave me some fantastic ideas about being a girl knight (even though nobody else knew it). Now, since I can't remember everybody right at this time, and really, there are so many books to remember and who suggested them, I want to just say "Thank you so much!"

It's time for me to go to bed, which actually means that I am wanting to go get in bed and read. first my dad will read "Cheaper by the Dozen"- hilarious, and then I get to read my own book. I haven't decided what exactly that is going to be yet.

Vale (sung in a very sing-song-y voice), au revoir, and goodnight!
Gracie

I'm so excited!

We have been having some trouble with my blog. I know, I shouldn't make excuses for not writing in my blog, but when we finally got around to writing, my mom forgot the email address that was needed to sign on. Today however, we finally figured it out.

Today, after adding all of the books that I've read, I now only have 9 more books in 54 days. Earlier this week I told my mom that I wasn't going to reach my goal. I was feeling grumpy about it because I had been at my grandma's houses and hadn't been reading a lot. The tv was a big temptation! I changed my mind though, and I started reading. I've finished 3 books this week! Can you believe it? Well, I can't, so moving on!

At the beginning of the year, I felt pretty confident. Then, there were times when I didn't really think that I could make it. You know, even if I didn't reach my goal, I have filled up with a lot of knowledge and I have really enjoyed it. I am not just reading these books because I have to, you know?

My half-way goal was to go and have tea with one of my friends. We had a super-duper time. We were a little bit loud at the tea place. While everyone was sipping their tea quietly, Teah and I gave each other high fives and were laughing, talking loudly and slurping out of our tea that we put too much sugar in. It was a blast. For my 100 book goal, I had planned on having a book party. I wanted to invite all my friends to dress up as a character from their favorite book. Now that we have moved, I don't have good enough friends to do that with yet. So, I have been thinking about ideas for celebrating. I was thinking about going to Disneyland with my cousins or going and learning to ski with my dad. I'm not sure if either of these ideas are really possible, so I need your help. Would you give my ideas for celebrating. Remember I am a 9 year old girl, I'm not allowed to get my ears pierced yet (so don't make that one of your ideas although I really would like that!), my parents aren't really rich, and please make it sensible and fun.

Another thing! I am reading for school Voyage of the Dawn Teader. The movie is coming out December 10! I can't wait! People, you should read the book quick before the movie comes out. If you want to go with me to see the movie, you'll have to come to Denver. Remember to bring a coat because it's getting a little nippy! If you already live here, I would love to have you join me. Remember it's December 10th. I don't want to see it in 3d because it ruins it, so I hope that's ok with you too.

We have people coming to our house soon, so I better tell my mom to get off the computer because I am just the dictator you know! (**I think she was aiming for "I'm only dictating for this blog") I'll try to write more as I finish my last 9 books. It's getting close to the blog titled, "I did it!" You will know what I mean when you see it, right? 100! I can't wait to see the list of all my books!

Wa ha ha!
Gracie

A.P, H.S. and STRESS

Let's begin with my big news. I am home schooling. It is great. Here is what my days look like. In the morning, my mom, my sister, my dog, and I all go for a walk. When we get home, we head up to the Learning Loft in our house and we do our subjects. We are finished by lunch. Depending on the day, I might practice my recorder, do Latin, go to fencing, go to Jams (my choir), or play in the afternoon. I love homeschooling! My mom is a fantastic teacher and I think other kids should be jealous. On Fridays, I have a special day. Fridays are my cooking day! Last Friday, I made mini apple pies! I did almost the entire recipe myself. The crust was the hardest and my mom helped me roll it into a ball. The recipe made 4 pies, just my luck. My sister got to eat hers first and she went "goo goo" over it. The rest of the family had to wait because we were leaving so we ate our for breakfast. (Hey it is not as bad as sugar cereals and it had fruit!) They all agreed it was delicious. Shhhh, here is a secret, I didn't really like the crust. My mom said it was flakey and great. You should also probably know that I do not have a sweet tooth, but I like making sweets for other people. Actually, I don't really like making things for myself at all, but it's fun to make things as presents for other people. This Friday, I think I am going to make Chex Mix from scratch because we might be going camping in our new camper and can bring it along. You know, you can't bring cupcakes along on a camping trip. Lastly I want to talk about STRESS. I hate it. I wish it never came into the world. I wish the word didn't even exist.. It's terrible. It makes your mom, your dad, your brother, or your sister and even you, grouchy and mad. Nobody likes a stressed person. Stress is like the devil, it can play with people and make the whole family feel bad. But stress always starts from scratch. It's a little bit like a food that you make. It starts with something simple and turns into this terrible thing, like you put too much salt or cinnamon in your apple pie. It goes from ok to bad. Nobody likes stress at all. I think homeschooling might help with our family stress because we are all together more, can encourage each other, and maybe have more time so we don't have to go running our heads off. It's getting late and I have to go to bed soon, which really means that I want to go read. But if you haven't figured it out already, the letters at the top stand for what I wrote about. A.P is apple pie, H.S. is home school, and STRESS is what you all know-stress (Yuck!) I have been reading some darn (my mom isn't sure that I should be using that word yet) good books. I hope you have been too. Vale, Grace PS Vale is Latin for ? (look it up yourself!)

Sorry!

I'll say is again, I am sorry. First I should undecode the puzzle that I gave to you in my last post. The answer is "I might move to Colorado". As you may know, moving is very busy so I didn't have time to tell you, but I think that you might already know. We have moved to Denver, Colorado.

Denver is very different from Houston. In the morning it is chilly and I have to wear a sweatshirt. Can you believe I have to wear a sweatshirt in August? Another thing that is different here is that people bring their dogs everywhere! For example, I went to a fencing camp and the owner had 3 dogs that just hung around while we fenced. It was awkward. Another awkward thing is that we live near a prison. It has razor wire and electric fences that nobody could literally get out of. My mom says that those things are just the way they are when you live in the city. The altitude is very high and that also has made our family not feel very well. I have to drink 2X the amount of water that I normally drink in Texas. Some things I like about my new town are: the Farmer Market I can walk to on Sunday mornings, we live in a gorgeous neighborhood, I can see the mountains all the time, and there are not as many mosquitoes.

Even though I haven't been able to post for a while, I have been reading. Did you notice that I have finished 70 books now? I am on target! My mom took us to the Denver Public Library. It is ginormous! It has three floors and each floor was about the size of our library in Texas. This is the big library that is downtown and it is fabulous. While we were there, the librarian helped me find a really good book and also helped me order some other really great books. These were the books I got. "Holes", "Dragon Slippers", and "The Capture: Guardians of Ga'hoole". So far, I have liked "Dragon Slippers" the best, but they are all totally different and I am only on chapter 5 of "The Capture". I think you might want to know that the "Guardians of Ga'hoole" will be coming out as a movie sometime.

The pictures that are at the top are of me enjoying my new town. The picture of me with the purple flowers is in the front courtyard and you can see the house where I live. We are just renting it, but we really like it.

Have a good rest of your summer. Keep reading. I want y' all to know, that I miss you and would like to hear how you are doing.

Love from Denver,
Gracie

My week in Aspen, Colorado.

Even though I had a lot of fun in California, I was really excited to get to Aspen. I was tired of being in the car and I knew that in Aspen I was going to get to stay in a really great town and a really special house. At the Aspen house, which was not ours, there was a really cool tv that came out of the ceiling. It was awesome!

This was my first time going to any mountains. Did you know that the air in Aspen is dry and thin, so every time I ran up the stairs, I was tired and fell on my face. Ok, I am exaggerating, but it was close and I was pooped. I would like to tell you some of the highlights of my week.
I got to:
go on a gondola up a ski run
hike
play in a freezing creek
go in a deliciously warm jacuzzi
explore ice caves (My dad fell, hit his head, knocked himself out, and hurt his tailbone but I thought the place was beautiful!)
hold my first snow ball
eat my first snow (I thought it was good.)
jump off a cliff that was 30-40 feet high into freezing snow water
meet my dad's college friends, the Jackson Family
go mountain biking and get a huge blister (I wasn't very good and ended up on the fire road instead of the trail. I don't think I want to do that again but it was a great experience.)
attend an Harry Connick Jr. concert that my dad got us into for free. The music was so boring I slept through it! My parents thought it was good, but I didn't really agree.
go to the Aspen Farmers Market and meet an author (more about that in a minute)
watch my dad and sister rock climb way up in the Rocky Mountains and
stop at an old ghost town and mine

Then we went to Canon City, Colorado Springs, and Denver. I went to:
Garden of the Gods
visit my mom's friend
Focus on the Family
Yogurt Land
Toy Story 3 (it was sorta intense but cute)

All that's left of our trip is a wedding and a long long long drive home. It's really not that long, only a day and a half.

So, let me tell you about the book that I bought at the Aspen Farmers Market from author Jill Sheeley. First, I got to meet her, and she signed my book. Jill writes books about her yellow dog Fraser who is an amazing dog. The book that I bought was about the world according to Fraser. This book told about his adventures working at a hospital, visiting schools, and having his home ransacked by bears. I really really enjoyed the book and I think I will keep it for my children to read someday. The book taught me aboutwhat it is like to live in Colorado, and I like it. It is totally different than in Texas, I can tell you that.

As you can tell, my vacation has been really great so far. I hope that you are having a great vacation too. Keep reading! I am almost to book 60 and I am about 10 books ahead of my goal right now. That makes me really excited!

So long,
Gracie

ps. I have a puzzle for you. You will have to unscramble the letters to find out my secret. Please DON'T leave me a comment with your puzzle answers. It will give it away! You can send my mom an email at swathen@pcsclassical.org if you think you know the answer! Who knows, maybe I will give a prize to anyone that can figure it out. Sorry that it's a hard one, but it's a really great secret.

mmvooooodattrgheiilc
The last hint- it is 5 words. Happy puzzling!

Tea with Teah

Today for my 50 books celebration I got to go have High Tea with my best friend Teah. We met in Long Beach, CA and I had peach tea. We had five courses which were delicious and we were there for three hours. It was a delightful date with my friend. Teah is a loving and charming friend and I have missed her.

I've noticed something about Roald Dahl that I want to share with you. The main characters in his books, are ususaly children who have something sad about them. For example in "The BFG", Sophie was an orphan. Charlie from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was very poor. James from "James and the Giant Peach" was an orphan who had to also work for his evil aunts. My mom and I wonder if Roald Dalh may have had some sad things in his childhood. Let's hope he didn't have a fat and skinny evil aunt problem! Roald Dahl has become my new favorite author. I like that he uses made up words like "whizpopper" which is the word he uses for tooting (gas) and "snozcumber" which is a little like our cucumber but it's bigger and tastes like rotten fish. I think that this is hilarious.

California has been fantastic. I have enjoyed everything. We still have another week here and I have so many great plans. Did you know that vacations are a great time to read? My favorite place to read so far has been on the porch at the grandma's house with the sound of the hummingbirds and the wind chimes. It's beautiful and fun.

California...you can see I'm too busy to post right now!

50 Books Yahoo!

I did it! I finished 50 books. All year I have been working on this goal and my award for getting half way to 100 was going to be a new blue blazer. You know the kind that Lucy Pevencie wears in the Narnia stories? Now that it's time however, my mom pointed out that it's hot and I won't be able to wear it until the fall and school is back from vacation. So, I chose to have High Tea with my friend instead. Teah moved to California last year and I haven't seen her since last summer when I got to visit her at her house. All year long, I have been talking to her on the phone and praying for her. I have missed her very much. We decided a few weeks ago, that we were not going to talk on the phone anymore because we wanted our heads to burst with ideas. I can't wait to see her and have tea together. I'll post pictures after we go.

I am now on my 52nd book "The Beloved Dearly". I just started last night and I am on page 62. There is a second book in the series and I have that ready to read on my long car trip to California. I get car sick really easy, but I think I am going to be able to read this when we get on the long highway and after I take my car sick medicine. It is going to be about 24 hours of driving. Can you believe 24 hours of being able to sit and read all I want? Oh I had better not be feeling car sick!

Summer officially starts on Tuesday afternoon for me. I am planning to do a lot of reading during this time. Here are the places that I am planning on reading in: in the car (jostle, jostle), on my Grandma Gogo's porch near the pretty hummingbirds (hmmmm), at the pool with my Grandma and all of the Wathen cousins ("Marco?....Polo?"), in the Colorado woods (whoot, whoot) , in the airplane ("fasten your seat belts"), in a cabana on the beach in Mexico (whish, whish), in the hammock at our house (hehe hehe), while I am waiting for my bouts at Summer Nationals in Atlanta (beeeep beeeep), and in my favorite place of all, my mom and dad's bed (silence, shhhhh). See what a fun summer I am about to have!

PS...Please give me move suggestions for great books. Hurry ! I am running out of ideas!
PSS... My passport already came and I recieved my birth certificate back in the mail! Whew!

Passports!

I applied for my first passport. I am thrilled to be going to Mexico this year and Italy and France next year. This is my sister and me at the post office. She wanted to be in my picture too. As you can see I was a little shocked. So, I did what any sensible person would do and I smiled. Now I just have to wait for my passport to come. I am praying that they don't lose my birth certificate!

Did you know, a book is like a passport? It can take you almost anywhere you want. The only place it can't take you is Heaven, because Heaven is so much better than you or any author can imagine or think. Books not only take you to different places, but they can take you into a different time, a different life, a different view or thoughts, and it can even help you get to know different people. Books are almost exactly like passports, but you don't have to send your birth certificate in and you don't have to worry about the paperwork or swearing that you have told the truth. Books are wonderful and easy.

This week I read the last book in the series, "Ten Girls Who...". It was called "Ten Girls Who Don't Give In". There were some sad parts because all of these women were killed but still trusted in the Lord to the very end. It is very hard to imagine how scared these women were. If I was one of them, I would have to keep praying that I would not deny Christ. But, it makes me worried that I might. So, I am praying that God would give me the courage to do what is right.

Happy reading to all of you!

Girls Who Make A Difference!

Hi again. I am back. On Thursday, I had a medieval feast. I dressed up as Sabra from St. George and the Dragon. See me. I am in the brownish orange dress on the right. I am with my friends Sabra and Sabra (Charisa and Madison). We got to eat everything with our hands...everything, including cherry pie.

This week I have been reading Ten Girls Who Made a Difference. I would like to tell you about one of the girls who made a difference. Her name is Monica and she prayed for her son named Augustine for him to convert to Christianity. If you are not a Christian, and you are on this blog, email me and I would be happy to answer questions. I don't have all the answers, but I have some. Now back to Monica, her son Augustine didn't care much about anything...just to have fun. She prayed for at least ten years for him. He finally converted to Christianity and he became a saint. So some of the worst people who are not Christians can become the best Christians of all.

Today my dad built a super cool zip line in my back yard. It is super duper wooper cool zip line that goes from our pine tree to our club house. It is made out of steel cable that is pulled real tight. We are still working on getting it perfect, but it is very good. If you are a dad and reading this blog (I hope not only ladies are reading this blog), you could build a zip line for your kids. They will love you. You can call my dad for the plans from his head.

Keep reading!

Pandy Gets Vain

My best friend, Teah, suggested a book called "Pandora Gets Vain". I found it at the book store but didn't buy it because the back of the book said, "a totally adorable boy/bodyguard..." I told my mom that I didn't want it because I thought it was going to be about boyfriends and girlfriends. That kind of book really isn't the best book for me.

So my mom bought the book as a surprise for me a few months later. I had a choice between reading "Peter Pan" and "Pandora Gets Vain" and I just didn't feel like "Peter Pan" at the time, so I started the other book. From the first page, I loved it.

This book is funny, scary, strange, and cool. It's about 3 girls and a boy named Homer (you know he's the one who wrote books). These 3 girls are trying to capture Vanity, which is a mirror. Vanity has escaped from Pandora's box. Ooops. I think you already know the story of Pandora and her box so I won't tell you all about that. If you don't, you can find out about it on the internet or find a book at your library, which is full of books.

One of my favorite parts is when Pandora is almost skewered by a long pole, so that an Egyptian god may eat her. Pandora, however, has one "power". She is able to throw burning coals out of her hands. Instead of being skewered, she burns all of the poles. I loved that part because she out smarted them. It's great when the little girl out smarts the evil old god!

The ending of the book is a really good one. I won't ruin it for you but it's also a little sad. There are 2 more books in this series. They are "Pandora Gets Jealous" and "Pandora Gets Lazy" I want to get the lazy book next. Thank you Teah for the suggestion, I really loved the book. You are a loyal friend,. Teah Marie and I will trust you next time with your book choices.

The Boy Who Likes Me

He is driving me crazy, that boy who likes me. Crazy I tell you. I am not interested in him. Last week he was staring at me longingly. Yes, upsetting is it not? It makes me feel like I want to run up the wall. So mad, that I feel mad as a bull. He is a bull fighter and I am the bull. Help me!!! Please, I am begging you. This boy is not even in my class but whenever I see him, he is trying to get my attention. Do you know what he does? He gets all dramatic (there is no other word for it!), talks loudly, and acts weird.

Today, while I was playing PIG (a game) on the playground, he was bugging me and getting on my nerves. This is what he did. When it was my turn to be it, I was supposed to spin around with my eyes closed, count to 15 and then tag people on the play equipment. My eyes are supposed to be closed the whole time. So, I was it. I closed my eyes, spun around, counted, and then prepared to tag people. What happened? This boy, who was playing the game too, would not get out of my way. He wanted me to tag him every single time. When other people were it, he teased them, but he got out of their way. For my turn, he just wouldn't let me by. He followed me everywhere I went, like Mary's annoying little lamb. So I was forced to say "Get away from me XXXXXXX"! I don't want to tell you his name because people will read it that know him and I would be embarrassed. If he was embarrassed, that really wouldn't be my problem. He was the one who wouldn't leave me alone in the first place, so it's him and not me! Come on ! Look Peeps, I was forced to say this to him many times. But did he leave? Did he run away? Did he take heed to my viscous warning? NO!!! I was so mad that my head wanted to blow off, but I kept my mouth closed.

Peeps, he is going to pay. Here is my plan. Tomorrow, if he bothers me or looks longingly at me, I am going to tell him about my families rule. Here is the rule. If a boy wants me as a girlfriend, then he has to go and talk to my dad. Did I tell you that my dad is the headmaster? He is very strict and he is planning on keeping boys away like a guard dog at night! This boy doesn't have a chance and I am all smiley about that!

So here is the warning to all of the silly boys who like me or might like me in the future. Get lost buster! My dad isn't going to let me be pestered by any boys. Also you should be prepared to get a bloody nose from my big sister who is pretty fierce about protecting me.

But wait, if you are a nice boy, I would like to be your friend- just a friend, and I might even give you my candy from my Latin quizzes. Nice boys should also know that maybe in the future when I am much older, I would consider having you be more than a friend, but only after you talk to my dad.

Naughty boys, who want to be my boyfriend, let me just say to you, nothing is coming your way but trouble!

Spring

We are just 3 days away from spring and I am very excited. I just finished a book about a girl who loves flowers and the great outdoors and now I am reading an American Girl Story "Lanie" and guess what, she loves nature too.

My sister and I have been enjoying nature too. Last weekend, we played baseball in our yard with my neighbors. It was a lot of fun hitting the ball, running to the bases, and tagging people. I am just learning to hit, catch, and not to go out of the batting order. I learned that after people kept yelling at me! The weather was fantastic and we had a blast.

My family and I went out to breakfast last week and I ordered fresh squeezed orange juice. It was glorious. Have you had it? It is not like the kind you get at the grocery store. I wanted two more glasses of it! On Friday, since it was spring break, we decided to make out own fresh squeezed orange juice. First I washed the oranges, then I cut them into halves, and then we got out our juice maker/squeezer majigger. I squeezed 10 oranges and so did my sister. The orange juice was not cold so we put a bag of ice into the pitcher. We didn't put the ice straight into it because we didn't want the orange juice to become watery. It was delicious. Mmmmmmm! I then knew the value of orange juice and how much work it is to make it. We drank small amounts each time we had some so that we could have some the next day. As a surprise, on Sunday, we squeezed more oranges and made some juice for our teachers. They loved it

So now I am back to reading. You should be too. Read like you are on a race to save the world!

Spring Break!

I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have written to all my people. It is Spring Break so I have a good chance to be writing more and reading. It's a rainy day in Texas and my mama, my sister, and I will be heading to the library right after this to check out books for the week. This is heaven. I love the library because it smells of nice old books. They also have some comfy nooks where I like to sit on the animal bean bags and read forever.

I must tell you something hilarious. Last night, my sister fell asleep while playing with her silly putty. So, this morning she found a treasure in her hair. She woke up my parents telling them she had an emergency. My mom looked up on the computer all different ways to get it out. **Just in case you ever need to know how to get silly putty out of your hair, here it is. My dad put rubbing alcohol in my sisters hair and it melted the silly putty out. Then you put olive oil all over the hair and comb it out. This takes the most time. After you do this add some more olive oil to the hair (because the alcohol makes it very dry) and put a shower cap on for a few hours. When you wash it out, wash it well, and ta da! The hair is finished.

Last Saturday I competed in Y10 Womens Foil. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's fencing. I love poking people. It's so fun. A funny thing happened while I was waiting to fence. A bigger girl, Mary, came up to me and said to her mom, "Look mom, there is a little person." (PS, I am not that little!) Then she kept talking about how cute I was. It really made me as mad as a hornet, but I held my temper and just smiled. Then she told me that she was going to poke me. Since I was mad, I told her that I was going to poke her. So then I became known as "The Cute Girl who Pokes". I took third place in the tournament out of seven girls. Mary ended up in first place, but she is 12 years old and taller and has long arms. Next time, she should be prepared to be killed.

Lastly, I want to tell you about "The Pagemaster". I like fantasy worlds. The book is about a boy who is scared of everything until he goes into the library and begins to read. His life changes through "talking books" and the adventures with his new "book buddies". It was a great book and the illustrations are the best. I have included a picture of these illustrations for you to see.

Did you see that I finished book 29? Can you believe it? I am over a quarter of the way there. I am wondering what the bottom of my blog will look like when I am finished with my 100 books. Please keep suggesting books. I would also like to hear about what you are reading. You are reading aren't you? Don't stop reading just because you have nothing to read. I bet there is a library in your town too.

The Lightning Thief part 2

This weekend my family went to Austin and my dad and I saw "The Lightning Thief" which was renamed "Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief". I liked the movie. I liked how Grover, Anna Beth and Percy worked as a team when they found the pearls and had to get out of the Underworld. The liar of the lotus flower part of the movie I thought looked like lots of fun because they were in Las Vegas which looks like a very cool place. (I would not like to live there though.) When Percy first got the flying shoes, I was thrilled because they looked like regular sneakers but they had little wings attached. I would like a pair!
Do you remember what I said about books and movies? This movie was not as good as the book. There was not as much action, for example they missed blowing up the bus. In this movie Luke was the Lightning Thief but in the book Aries was and he and Percy had a sword fight that I thought would have been good in the movie. Anna Beth was different too. In the movie she had red hair and blue eyes and in the book she had blond hair and grey eyes. Why would they have changed that? Anna Beth is supposed to be the daughter of Athena and everyone knows that Athena has gray eyes. They could have given her gray contacts or changed it on the computer. In the end of the book, Percy is betrayed by his friend and almost dies with a poisonous bug, but not in the movie. In the movie, Percy starts fighting for fun with Anna Beth (because they were training) and then the camera goes up and that's the end of the movie. That's a big ole difference. I still think it was a good movie and I would go see the next one, but I enjoyed the book more and it was way longer.
Did you see that I am on book 20? It's going good, I think. I have 30 more books until I reach half of my goal and get a beautiful blue blazer for school. I can't wait!

A few busy weeks.

What a busy few weeks it has been. I am sorry that I haven't responded to all of the people who have been sending me comments. The comments have been very nice from everyone and I have enjoyed reading them. Thank you for taking the time to write to me. The last couple of weeks I celebrated my dad's birthday, went to school, went to fencing, and on the weekend, to tell you the truth, I have been lazy. Some of the time, I have been reading.
One of the books that I read, was "Alanna, The first Adventure". It is about a girl who wants to be a page and her brother wants to be a sorcerer. So Alanna cuts her hair, dresses up like a boy and heads to a different palace with her servant Corm. In the first couple chapters I was reading, she got into a couple fights with a squire. The book has a lot of action, is very gory in some parts and is set in the Middle Ages. I loved the book because I thought the things that she did were interesting and humorous. My dad asked me if Alanna was worth emulating. (A fancy word for modeling yourself after.) I think not. Alanna tells a lot of lies to get through things, but lies are always bad. She seems to get into fights for no reason because of her bad temper. I have, on a scale from 1 to 10, a temper that is a 4. I would like to change that down to a 0 so, I think I would not want to hang around Alanna. She might get me into trouble.
I started Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator today. I know that Mr. Willey Wonka is going to be crazy, the story will funny like all of Roald Dahl's books, and I am going to like every millisecond. I am going to go and get started on reading it, right after I make a few Valentines.

Willy Wonka Day!

First, I want to tell you that I finished "From The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler". The book was really good. I liked it because the kids ran away to a museum. As I got to read about their adventures, I got to learn about art. I don't know a lot about art, so it was a good time to read and learn. This is one of my new favorite books. My friend, Hannah said that it was her favorite book in 4th grade, and I am excited to read it again next year.

Today was Willy Wonka Day at school. I dressed up as Miss Violet Beauregard and my sister was an Oompa Loompa from the book. I won't tell you about the descriptions of these characters because I want you to read it and not watch the movie please. I am begging you, read the book. My favorite parts of this funny book are: Veruca in the nut room, when Charlie gets the golden ticket, the Chocolate Room, and the ending which includes the Great Glass-----you need to research this part on your own. I don't want to give away anything.

Now, I want to tell you about this "candyish" day. Can you see the pictures of all my friends? Sprinkled throughout the fun day, was candy (CANDY...Can-dy!) . I felt like Charlie at the factory, because I could eat candy all day long. I had nerds, gummy sweet tarts, a big sweet tart, a chocolate bar, fun dip dust, and last but not least a jaw breaker. I also had some hot chocolate later on. It was a hyper day! After all that candy, I felt wonderful, even though my mom probably would not have been happy about me eating all that. I also want to tell you quickly that even though I had a lot of sugar, I got a 96 on my Latin quiz and a 100 on my spelling test, which all makes me very proud. It was a wonderful day!

Now I am reading, well I am almost done, with the library book I got yesterday. It is "James and the Giant Peach" also by Roald Dahl. My teacher suggested that I might like it and my friend Madison told me that I would be able to find it in our school library. So, I started last night and today I am on chapter 28 out of 39 chapters. So, as soon as I finish this post and help my mama put away the laundry, I am going to READ. (Try to finish the book if I nobody bothers me!) I hope that you are enjoying the books that you are reading too. Have a stupendous weekend! ****All of this was dictated with a British Accent today!

Mike Teavee from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

I like this song and hope you do too.

First half of the song in not here since it is so long. This is the second half:

“All right!” you’ll cry. “All right!” you’ll say,
“But if we take the set [television] away,
What shall we do to entertain our darling children? Please explain!”
We’ll anser this by asking you,
“What used the darling ones to do?
“How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?”
Have you forgotten? Don’t you know?
We’ll say it very loud and slow:
THEY . . . USED . . . TO . . . READ? They’d READ and . . .
READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half of their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching ’round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be!
Good gracious, it’s Penelope.)
The Younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty totter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and -
Just How The Camel Got His Humbe,
And How The Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless by soul,
There’s Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole -
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks -
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They’ll now begin to feel the need
Of having something good to read.
And once they start – oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They’ll grow so keen
They’ll wonder what they’d ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.
P.S Regarding Mike Teavee,
We very much regret that we
Shall simply have to wait and see
If we can get him back his height
But if we can’t – it serves him right.

Books that are too hard

Good morning or good afternoon to some. Last week I started my second book from Lemony Snicket. It was a busy week with my grandma visiting , homework, Latin, and a sleep over and I didn't have time to really sink into the book. I discovered that the book was more than I can take right now. I feel stressed when I want to get into a book and time is running out and it's a little bit too hard. So, I want to tell you what I think I should do with a book that's a little too hard. Could you give me your ideas too.

If the book is too hard, I set it off for later. I want to read it but when it's too hard I can't pay attention to the story. Then I don't keep reading and I am confused with it all. So, a "Series of Unfortunate Events" will have to wait until I am nine years old (which is in April) and then I will give it another go.

A special friend sent me a package of books. One of them was "From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler". It looks like there are kids going into a hotel on the front cover. I chose this one today because it looks interesting and it has a gold seal on it which I think means it is an awarded book. I am going to get started with the book, after I go rock climbing with my dad. I want to advertise Stone Moves, it is a rock-climbing gym. My sister is on the rock climbing team and it is a great place to climb. If you live in Houston, you can find it located in a phone book. Go visit it, it's great and you might find us there.

Did you notice that my blog now has music! Mrs. Maines helped my mom get it on. My mom picked all of the songs that I love. Can you tell that I love musicals? I also love acting. My mom couldn't resist putting the song "Bag of Hammers". It reminds me of my mom. I "soothe" my mom "like a lick of ice cream", at least sometimes.

I am wondering, what books are you reading by the way? So go, read, enjoy the world.

Gracie

The Austere Academy

Last night, my Grandma Gogo came and she brought me 6 books from a Series of Unfortunate Events. I decided that this series was better than the Betsy-Tacy book that I had already started. So today, I am reading "The Austere Academy". Some people think that it is not good to stop a book before it's finished. But, if it's not a great book then, in my mind, you shouldn't have to finish it. There is so many good books and I can't spend time on one that is not the best book in the whole entire world. So, I am now reading "The Austere Academy" which I already have listened to on my mom's ipod. Of all of the stories we have on that ipod, this one is my favorite. "Cakesniffing orphins in the orphan shack" Now that is very funny. My mama, my sister, and I love to chant this to annoy my father. It's just fun and funny.
One part I have to share with all of you is about the principal. He says he is a genius at the violin even though he is the WORST player in the world. He makes all of the kids listen to him for 6 hours and then if they don't, he makes them buy him a bag of candy. Then he makes them watch HIM eat it. He is a bad principal. I am glad that my daddy is not like that. Did I mention that my daddy is the principal of my school? I looked up the word "austere" in the dictionary and it means harsh. This school was definitely harsh. I learned a new word today! Back to reading for me and later I'm going to a musical called "Seussical". What a busy day I am having.

Mischievous Girls

"Betsy-Tacy and Tib" is the second book by Maude Hart Lovelace that I have read. The book is about three little girls who are friends. Two of the girls are middle class and one of them is the highest class, her family is wealthy. All of the girls are Christians, and I like that, but they think that they have to be good to go to Heaven. The girls wanted to be good like the saints for a day and they punished themselves for doing something bad. They punished themselves by pinning marble bags into their dresses and when they did something wrong they placed a pebble in it. Putting the pebbles in turned out to be so much fun that they began to get into a lot of mischief. In an other chapter, they wanted to remember each other when one of them died, so they cut off a piece of each others hair and placed them in pill boxes because they could not afford lockets. This book is funny because the girls are getting into a lots of trouble. My next book is "Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill."

I am still reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", and it is getting really good. Charlie has found the golden ticket and has gone into the chocolate Factory. Charlie tells us how good the smell of chocolate is. I can't wait to read about Oompalumpas!

Books not movies!

Today I read a post from Michael that warned me that books are better than movies. He is right. I found out last year when I saw the movie "The tale of Despereaux". My dad had read this story to me first, than I read it for myself and then we went to see the movie. It went down hill. I mean, "soup day" where did they get that? The queen loved soup, she ate it everyday, not just on soup day. There is NO soup day. Why did they do that? Then there was a "tin man" who was not even in the book. The movie was also not very scary. It should have been. My sister didn't want to go because the book scared her, but the movie wasn't scary at all! Michael is right about books being better than movies! They almost always are. Except, I really enjoyed Prince Caspian the movie, a little more than the book. My dad read the book to me. Maybe I will like it more when I read the book myself. I do think the Bible is the best book of all. Usually the movies about the Bible are not as great.

I finished "Betsy-Tacy" in one day. I think it was "fabulouso" because it was the beginning of "friendship for a lifetime". That's the kind of book that some girls like, and I am one of them. You should know that this story took place before automobiles were common. My mom is trying to find more of the "Betsy'Tacy" books. If you happen to have any would you mind letting me borrow them? I will try to give them back when I finish.

Today I am back to the myths. I am starting the "Sirens and Sea Monsters" by Mary Pope Osbourne. It is book three of a series of 6 books. I have already read "The One Eyed Monster" and "The Land of the Dead". It was published by Disney. Why Disney for goodness sake? Disney's books aren't usually all that great, they are usually about princesses, frogs, and have poor writing. By the way, I saw "The Princess and the Frog" yesterday. You don't want to see it if you don't like Voodoo. It was weird!

Now, back to my book!

Winnie-the-Pooh

This morning I finished Winnie-the Pooh by A.A. Milne. It was an awkard book for me to read but I continued on and found that it was quite interesting. These were short stories about Pooh and his friends. Some of them I had seen as movies. As I was reading I noticed that Tigger was missing. He was not included in these stories and it bummed me out. I like Tigger, he is a funny character.

It feels nice to have finished two books in one week. My daddy said that there are 52 weeks in a year. If I read 2 each week, I will have read 104 books this year. I am off to a good start don't you think?

Did you see that on the bottom of my blog my mom added some links. These are for friends of mine who have also started there own reading blogs after they saw mine. It's exciting that I have so many friends who are bookworms like me!

Since it is so cold, I am back in my mom's bed all snuggled with my sister Faith-Marie, reading my new book. It is "Betsy-Tacy" by Maud Hart Lovelace. It was written in 1940. Last summer Ms. Beverly had a garage sale that we went to. She had many books for sale. My mom will always buy books so we picked out a few. Ms. Beverly said that she loved this book when she was a kid and loved reading it to her kids. I am already on chapter 5 and I agree it's a very good book so far. Thanks Ms. Beverly for a great suggestion.

I am also excited to be reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". This week I think he is going to get the Golden Ticket! I can't wait.

Hope you have a good week reading at your house. If the weather at your house is cold, I hope you have a good book to enjoy too.

First Week

At school I am reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and I am loving it so far. Did you know that Willy Wonka created a blue birds egg made of chocolate? When you put it into your mouth it slowly gets smaller and smaller until all that is left is a tiny pink baby bird made of sugar, on your tongue. I would really like to have one because it sounds delicious and cute.

Yesterday and today I recieved packages in the mail! The first was a book that my mom ordered named "Parzivel by Katherine Paterson". It has a list of the characters in the story and tells about them on the first few pages. This story is about Knighthood and the Code of Chivalry. I am interested in reading about Parzivel and all of his adventures. Thank you Ms. Linda for suggesting the book. My second package came today and in it was 3 books that all look really good. Thank you Ms. Laura for sending me 3 wonderful books. There are so many interesting books that I don't know which I will choose next.

This weekend the weather is supposed to be cold for Houston, it may even snow! My plan is to bundle up in my mom and dad's bed with the chubby comforter, drink hot chocolate, and READ. I'll probably play a little with my sister and our American Girl Dolls too. This is going to be a good winter weekend!

I finished "The Lightning Thief" last night! It was 375 pages of adventure, death, and triumphant glory! I would like to recommended this book to my friend Teah and any other person who likes mythology and can stand stories where some of the characters die.

It is exciting to finish my first book of the challenge. You may think this next book is a baby book but I am oing to read "Winnie-the-Pooh" by A.A. Milne. (Well, I already started!) This is not a baby book because lots of the sentences are akward because the writer is from Britain. Did you know that A.A. Milne wrote speeches for Winston Churchill? He is a very good writer and I am excited to get started. "Winnie-the-Pooh" won't be as bloody as the "The Lightning Thief" and will be a nice change.

Yesterday was the first day of school for 2010. My class began reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". So far, I am loving it. At the end we are going to have a party and I am wanting to dress up as Violet, the girl who chews gum all day. P.S. we normally aren't allowed to chew gum all day at school but this will be a special day!

Go get reading!
Gracie

Oh, no! I almost forgot to tell you that Rick Riordan, the author of the Lightning Thief wrote me back! Here is his note:

Hi Gracie,
Thank you for writing. I'm glad you are enjoying the Lightning Thief. Good luck with your blog and your challenge! Best wishes, Rick Riordan

Can you believe he wrote me back? I was shocked!

The Lightning Thief

I am now on page 94 of the Lightning Thief. Thank you Mr. Michael for suggesting the book. The book is about a boy named Percy. The funniest part so far has been when Percy was about to get his head dunked in the toilet. Mysteriously, he made the water shoot out and spray the girl, who was his enemy, in the face with toilet water. I can't tell you anymore because I want you to read it too. It's an adventurous story that is making me want to read every hour of the day.

Thank you to all who have suggested a book. Yesterday I went to Barnes and Noble and I looked up some of the books that were suggested. They looked interesting. I am going to have to buy them moderately, go to the used book store, borrow, or go to the library to be able to afford 100 books this year. If you have an extra copy of a great book, please let me know, I would be happy to have it!

Keep the suggestions coming!

My first book of 2010

Last summer Barnes and Noble had a reading program and when you read so many books you got to choose a free book. Since, I like mythology I chose " The Lightning Thief". My dad started reading to me then, but we stopped because I hadn't started taking Latin yet. My classical school starts Latin in 3rd grade. So now, after 14 lessons in Latin (Cave Gracie!) I think I am ready to start the book.

By the way, I gotta go. I just finished chapter 3 and the book is great!