Dear Diary,

I just read another book. It is called, A Little Princess. First I wrote my theory on what was going to happen, and then I wrote the actual book report.

A Little Princes by Frances Hodgson Burnette

The title tells me that it could be about a princess.

The pictures in the book tell me:
* The princess likes to play with dolls
* She likes to shop
* She goes to school
* She might have a little sister
* She could have a barred window

The illustrator is Tasha Tudor.

I would like to find out if Sara is a princess, or if she pretends to be one.

After I read the book, I will watch the movie.

This book is fiction.

My Book Report:

If I were the author, I would have made a conversation in the end that goes something like this:
Miss Minchin: "Come home, Sara."
Mr. Carissford: "No. Sara Crewe is not going with you. Her father, the Indian Raja..."
Miss Minchin: "A Raja?!"
Mr. Carissford: "Yes, a Raja. Sara is the child of a Raja. She is a little princess. Her father was laden with grief, and died of it."

The moral I found in this story is no matter what happens, you can always be a little princess (or prince), and behave like one.

This story is in London.

I think I can relate to Sara most, because we both like to pretend and tell stories.

Here is my favorite part of the story:

One evening, Mr. Carissford, looking up from his book, noticed that his companion had not stirred for some time, but sat gazing into the fire. "What are you supposing, Sara?" he asked. Sara looked up with a bright color on her cheek. "I was supposing," she said. "I was remembering that hungry day, and a child I saw." "But there were a great many hungry days," said the Indian gentleman with a rather sad tone in his voice. "Which hungry day was it?" "I forgot you didn't know," said Sarah. Then she told him the story of the bun shop, and the fourpence she picked out of the sloppy mud, and the child who was hungrier than herself. She told it quite simply, in as few words as possible, but some how the Indian gentleman found it necessary to shade his eyes with his hand, and looked down at the carpet. "And I was supposing a kind of plan," she said when she had finished. "I was thinking I should do something." p. 317-318

To find out what her plan is, get a copy of A Little Princess.

Dear Diary,

Yesterday we MADE, ice cream. We MADE it! Even though it wasn't as firm as store-bought ice cream, it was better than store-bought ice cream. It tasted like French vanilla. To make this yummy treat you'll need:

• milk
• sugar
• vanilla

1. Put the ingredients in a small ziplock baggy.
2. Put some ice into a large ziplock baggy.
3. Put the milk mixture bag into the ice bag.
4. Put salt into the ice bag.
5. Close both bags.
6. Shake for 15-20 minutes.
7. Enjoy!

p.s. For a more detailed recipe, go to Mommy's blog: http://davimee.blogspot.com/2009/05/recipe-for-fun.html

Dear Diary,

It’s me again!

Last month I went to Tombstone, AZ. There was a road closed off to vehicles. There were stagecoaches though, and they were allowed on the road. The road was dust, and the sidewalk planks. There were beautiful horses. Walking down this road, I felt like a real live Cowgirl! There were sounds of talking, and the occasional whinny of a horse. I got of a picture with John Wayne (a cardboard statue), went panning for “gold,” got an old-fashioned sepia photo, and bought the coolest pen at the Tombstone Epitaph. My favorite thing I did was panning for “gold.” My favorite thing at Boothill cemetery was the mist room. It was cool inside, but hot outside. The Tombstone motto is, ‘THE TOWN TOO TOUGH TO DIE.’ Back in the 1880’s, Marshal Wyatt Earp won a shootout in less than one minute! where the OK corral is, now.

Tombstone sure is a great place!

Dear Diary, I've just read a very exciting book! It is called The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pene du Bois. It is about a man named Professor William Waterman Sherman. He wants to spend a year in a balloon. But when he comes back, he has been around the world in only 40 days. He will tell the story only to the Western American Explorer's Club in San Francisco, of which he is a member. As he tells it there, he unravels the trip of his life!

The story takes place on the Island of Krakatoa, where most exciting things happen. Even though the explosion really happened, and blew up half of Krakatoa and made a noise that went up to 3,000 miles away, this book is fiction.

The part that makes this story most exciting is my favorite part, too.

The BIG explosion. On "D Day" in the Month of Lamb, Professor Sherman sat telling stories about San Fransisco. The island usually rumbled, but the Professor noticed it was shaking violently... too violently. A huge crack appeared in the wall. All of the families rushed to a life saving balloon raft.

To find out what happens, try reading The Twenty-One Balloons.