Monday, August 24, 2015

The Village Blacksmith

The poem “The Village Blacksmith” was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem was first published in 1840. The main character is a blacksmith who lives in a small village.

This poem is a mix between a lyrical and narrative poem. The first three and the last two paragraphs are more like a lyrical poem, and don’t follow any kind of story. These paragraphs describe what the blacksmith’s work is like. Two of the paragraphs, the fifth and the sixth, are more like a narrative poem. They actually have some kind of story in them that describes the blacksmith’s feelings. The fourth paragraph though, is a mix between the other two kinds of paragraphs in the poem. It is lyrical, but it has a very small narrative element which is the children stopping on their way home from school to watch the blacksmith.

There are many characters in this poem, but not all of them are there physically. They include the blacksmith, his sons, his daughter, his wife, other children, and the narrator. For most of the poem the narrator is describing to the reader what the blacksmith’s life is like. But during the last paragraph the narrator thanks the blacksmith for what he has taught him.

The poet uses many rhymes along with easy and hard to rhyme words such as sinewy and brawny, and hard and rough. Most stanzas use the rhyme scheme a,b,c,b,d,b, and all of the stanzas are six lines long.

 The blacksmith has big rough hands, is very strong, and has long black hair. He works all day, all week, just to feed his family. But he doesn’t owe anybody any money. When he went to church. His daughter’s singing made him happy and sad, because it reminded him of his wife, who had died previously.

This poem is one of my favourites that I’ve read so far because it’s easy to understand and is interesting. I think that the meaning of the poem is that you can’t have a full happy life without any hard work.

Friday, May 22, 2015

A Book

The poem, A Book is a lyrical poem that was written by Emily Dickinson. The poet is the person speaking in the poem, and also is the person talking to the reader. The poet is telling him or her how books are an inexpensive way for people to travel to different places.


The poem only has one rhyme in modern English, “soul” and “toll”. But when the poem was written, “poetry” probably rhymed with “away”.  The poet tells the reader that books take you to faraway places in your head, without actually travelling there. She then goes on to describe how it barely costs any money to buy a book, and you don’t need anything else. Then she declares that people who are too poor to visit faraway lands can use a book to do so inexpensively.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

The Boston Tea Party Version 2

Long ago, before the United States of America was founded, England put a tax on almost everything for the colonists, which naturally made them very angry. Then the English started to regret making all those taxes, so they removed it from everything but the tea. They kept the tea under tax to show that they still had authority over the colonists. The colonists were angry that they were being taxed for the tea, and wanted a say in the government. They thought they were being treated like slaves.

A ship full of tea approached the harbour, and the colonists agreed that the tea shouldn't reach land. Colonists dressed as Indians leaped aboard the ship with their weapons and tossed all 342 chests of tea into the ocean. This happened on the date the 16th of December 1773.


The colonists were still dressed as Native Americans as they walked passed the house that Admiral Montague was staying at for the night. Montague demanded the colonists pay the taxes for the lost tea crates. The colonists told him to come out and they would give him payment for the taxes. But he made a wise decision and decided to let them not pay for the lost chests. The Boston Tea Party was a grand leap in the colonists becoming independent.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships V2

When Paris returned from a war, he was greeted with a crowd and was crowned prince of Troy by his father, the king. Later, Paris was sent by his father to a war with Tyre. On his way back to Troy, he traveled through Greece. The king of Greece, Menelaus, greeted them graciously.

Menelaus’ wife Helen was the most beautiful woman in the world. As soon as Paris saw her, he fell in love with her. Before, Paris had chosen Aphrodite as the most beautiful of goddesses, and as a reward for choosing her, she made Helen fall in love with Paris. Paris was very brave, and during the night, Paris and Helen snuck out of Menelaus’ palace and hurried to Troy.

The next day, when Menelaus found his wife missing, he was furious at Paris and Troy. He demanded his wife back or else he would declare war on Troy. But the Trojans refused to give Helen back to him. Menelaus then started attacking Troy, but with no success. Thus started the Trojan War.

Agamemnon, the king of the wealthy city Mycenæ was very powerful and organized. When he saw his brother Menelaus suffering a humiliating defeat from the Trojans, he called together all the armies of Greece. He promised all of them great rewards if they helped him defeat Troy and save his brother’s armies. Achilles and Odysseus were among the leaders of the Greek army.


One by one the allies of Troy were defeated by the powerful Greek army. But for nine years the Greek armies fought the city of Troy, but could not defeat it. During these nine years, heroes on both sides such as Achilles and Hector died in battle. But on the ninth year came THE PLAGUE. The plague killed more people then the Trojans ever did during the war. But then, Odysseus came up with a plan that would end the Trojan War once and for all.

Friday, August 8, 2014

The Trial of the Bow

Of all the men who tried to bend the bow, not one of them had yet succeeded. Now only two remained, Eurymachus and Antinoüs.

Earlier, when the Suitors were having breakfast Odysseus was given the same amount of food as everyone else. Ctesippus was angry because Odysseus was given the same amount of food as everyone else, so he threw a cow foot at Odysseus. Odysseus moved out of the way and the foot made a dent on the wall.

 Telemachus said, “If you had hit my guest with that, your father would have to prepare your funeral, not your wedding.”

Another suitor said, “It would be bad to do harm to Telemachus or his guest, because he has to choose one of us to marry his mother.”

“My mother can marry who she wants, but I won’t force her to leave this house” said Telemachus.

Everyone laughed, but it was not the laugh of people who were happy. Then one of the suitors said, “Take the stranger away, he makes the room seems dark when he is here.”

Then Penelope took down the bow of Odysseus and brought it to them. She said, “Whoever can hit the target that Telemachus sets up the best, I will marry.” Telemachus set up the target and wanted to go first, but Odysseus signed to him not to do it. First up was Leiodes. He was the strongest, but he wasn't used to working with his hands. He said, “I can’t bend the bow, and I am afraid that it will make many people sad today.”

Then Antinoüs said, “Don’t say things like that! Go get some fat from the kitchen, and rub on the string to make it soft.” They rubbed the fat on it and tried again.

Now, Eurymachus was warming the bow at the fire, then he tried to bend it, but he couldn’t. “I am not mournful for not marrying Penelope,” he said, “I am sad because I am weaker than the great Odysseus!”

Antinoüs said, “Don’t give up, this is the holy day of Aphetor, and he isn't happy that we are doing this, let’s try again tomorrow.”

But Odysseus said, “Let me try, I want to see if I still have the strength that I did when I was young.”

All the suitors were angry that he would even think of bending it, but Telemachus said, “It is my bow, and I can choose if the stranger can use it or not. Go to your room mother, and take your maids with you, this is for the men to decide.”

Penelope left, and Telemachus told the nurse to keep Penelope in her room no matter what. He gave the bow to Odysseus, and Odysseus felt it to see if it had been damaged. After he found that it wasn't hurt, he twanged the string, and then he shot an arrow and hit the target.


“Come, Telemachus,” he said, “There is still another feast to be had today.” Telemachus stood at Odysseus’ side with a spear.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Rapunzel

Once there was a man and a woman who lived next to an enchantress. They really wanted a child, and they were going to have one soon. They also had a small window facing the enchantress’ garden, which was the most beautiful garden in the world.

One day, the woman wanted some of the rampion that was in the enchantress’ garden. She wanted it so bad; she told her husband that if she didn't eat some of it, she would certainly die. He husband didn’t want her to die, so that night he climbed over the wall, and took some. Then, his wife made some into a salad.

The next day though, she wanted it three times as much as before. So her husband climbed over the wall, but he found the enchantress on the other side!
“How dare you steal something from my garden!” she yelled.
He replied, “I only did it because I had to, my wife needs some, or she will die.”
“You can take whatever you want,” she answered,” if you give me your child. I will take care of it like a mother.”
He quickly agreed, and took the rampion back to his house. When their child was born, the enchantress appeared, named the child Rapunzel, and took her away.

Once Rapunzel reached the age of twelve, the enchantress shut her up in a tall tower with no door and no way to get down. When the enchantress wanted to get up, she called out, “Let down your hair, Rapunzel.” Then, Rapunzel let down her hair, which had never been cut. It reached nine-hundred inches down, far enough for the enchantress to grab on and climb up. The only fun thing for Rapunzel to do was to sing in her free time.

After a couple years, the prince started riding through the forest where the tower was. When he heard Rapunzel sing, he wanted to see her very much. He followed the sound of her voice, and he found that the noise was coming from the tower. Every day he rode to the forest to hear Rapunzel’s singing.

When he heard the enchantress coming, he hid behind a tree and saw how she climbed up the tower. So when the enchantress left, he called out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.” Rapunzel let her hair out the window, and was surprised to see the prince instead of the enchantress. She was a little bit scared first, because she had never seen a boy before, but they became friends quickly. When the prince asked her if he could marry her, she said yes. But Rapunzel couldn’t climb down on her own hair, so every time the prince came he would bring a spool of silk with him, then she could spin it into a ladder so she could climb down.

But one day, Rapunzel made a mistake by asking the enchantress, “Why is it harder for me to lift you up than the prince?”
“You evil child!” the enchantress said, “I thought I had separated you from the entire world, and now you have tricked me!”
The enchantress cut off Rapunzel’s hair and brought her to a desert. When the prince came and told Rapunzel to let down her hair, the enchantress let down Rapunzel’s hair. The prince climbed up, but found the enchantress instead of Rapunzel.
“You would have found your beloved, but she is no longer here!” said the enchantress.


The prince jumped off of the tower so he wouldn't be killed, but he landed in thorns, which blinded him. He wandered through the forest for a couple of years, and then he found the desert where Rapunzel lived. When Rapunzel saw him, she wept over him, and some of the tears fell on his eyes, which let his eyes see again. Then the prince led them to his kingdom, where they lived together happily ever after.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

The Boston Tea Party

Long ago, the English made the Americans pay a tax for almost everything. But when the Americans started to get angry, the English decided to remove all the taxes, except for the tax on tea. The Americans were still angry. They yelled, “We don’t care about the few dollars of taxes we have to pay, we care about how we are being treated, England! You’re treating us as slaves by deciding to tax us without any of us having a say about it!”

So when a ship stuffed full of tea crates was arriving at Boston, the Americans decided that the tea would never be brought ashore. When the ship landed, an Indian war-cry was heard. The Indians ran up, brandishing their weapons and boarding the ship, while the frightened sailors just stood back watching. The Indians came out of the hold struggling under the weight of the tea crates. Then, they tossed them into the ocean.

The Indians lined up and then everyone found that the Indians were actually men from Boston. On the way back, they passed the house that Admiral Montague was staying at for the night. He decided that the Americans didn't need to pay the tax for the tea anymore. The Americans took one big step towards liberty.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

The Defeat of Cyrus

When king Darius II of Persia died, both of his sons, Artaxerxes and Cyrus, wanted to be king. But Artaxerxes made himself king by force. Cyrus decided that he would raise an army and demand Artaxerxes to step off the throne.

Cyrus couldn't find enough Persian soldiers, so he hired eleven thousand Greek soldiers. In the middle of the battle, Cyrus was killed and the Persians on his side surrendered. But the Greeks continued fighting. Artaxerxes sent a message telling them that Cyrus was dead and gave their leaders an invitation to their council.

When the Greek leaders arrived, they were killed and a message was sent to the Greeks. It told them that their leaders were dead so they now had to fight in the Persian army. The Greeks were both enraged and grief-stricken when they heard this. The Greeks thought that they were going to die and they would never see Greece again. They wouldn't eat their supper and couldn't sleep because they were so sorrowful.

However, Xenophon was thinking of a way that the army could return to Greece. He was a pupil of Socrates, a famous philosopher. While everyone else was in despair, he found a way that they might get back to Greece. They could appoint a leader and retreat to the ocean.


Thursday, March 20, 2014

The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships

Paris returned to his father's powerful city of Troy, once he arrived he was crowned prince. His father then sent him to Tyre, and on his way back he went through Greece. He didn’t know what trouble and suffering this would cause.

In Greece lived the fairest woman in the world. Her name was Helen and she was married to king Menelaus. When Paris saw her, he fell in love, stole her, and took her to Troy.

Menelaus sent a message to Troy, “Give me back my wife peacefully or I will wage war on you!” But the Trojans said that they wouldn’t give up the most beautiful woman in the world for one, small, measly, king of Greece.

Agamemnon was the king of the very rich city Mycenæ. His deeds and fame were told throughout the country, and every king of Greece looked to him for help. Now after king Agamemnon saw his brother Menelaus’ armies being defeated by the powerful Trojans, he vowed to gather the forces of Greece together and defeat Troy. Then Agamemnon said, ‘If all the kings of Greece unite, we can overcome the Trojans, and you can gain great riches.’

They all joined together, and destroyed all of Troy’s allies, but they couldn’t defeat Troy. They stayed for years. But at the ninth year, there was a plague. That killed more people than the Trojans ever did.




                                                 To be continued later….

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck (retold)

Jemima Puddle-Duck lived on a crowded, noisy farm. Every time she laid her eggs, the farmer’s wife took them and ate them.

Jemima was very annoyed by this, so she decided “I will make a nest away from the farm. I will start looking for a place,” she paused for a moment, “right now!” So she gathered everything together and went off to find a place to make a nest.
               
When she reached the top of a large hill, she could see a forest in the distance. She decided to fly there and find a good spot to make a nest, but she wasn’t very good at flying. While she was walking she tripped a few times, but after she ran a long way she was able to fly nicely.

She saw a tree stump and thought it looked like a nice spot. She landed and was surprised to find a very gentlemanly fox reading the news. “Hello there, madam, what may you be doing here, deep in the forest?”

“I am trying to find a nesting place away from the farm. The farmer’s wife always takes my eggs once I lay them. I also have a feeling that she eats them.”

“Don’t worry about that, I have a shed behind my house full of feathers, you can make your nest there. It is very warm.”

They went to his shed and it was overflowing with feathers. Jemima was wondering, “Where did he get all those feathers?” But she was very glad to have them. They kept her very warm.

Every day she tripped, ran, and flew to the shed to make her nest. Eventually she laid nine eggs in her nest. Then she said, “Tomorrow I plan to start sitting on my eggs. They might get cold even with all those feathers. I will bring a bag of food so that I will never have to get up.”

But the gentleman said, “Before you sit for a long time, let us have a large feast! Bring onions and herbs for an omelette and roast duck.” But Jemima wasn't paying much attention to the “omelette and roast duck” part, so he just told her the herbs he needed.

Jemima went back to the farm garden and found everything that the gentleman needed. But on her way back the collie dog stopped her and asked her where she went every day. She told him everything. The collie went with the farmer to find some lost puppies and Jemima went to the fox’s house.

When she got there, he looked very worried and was apparently in a bad mood. “Give me the onions and the herbs. Come inside after looking at your eggs!”
She was just about to leave her eggs when the collie came and locked her in the shed. Jemima was very scared as she heard noises of a big fight outside. When it was done, the collie unlocked the door. No sign of the fox was to be seen. All the dogs had visible signs of injury. But when the door opened, the puppies went in and gobbled up all the eggs.

Jemima was extremely sad because of those eggs and she trudged back to the farm. Next time she laid eggs, she was allowed to keep them. Instead of taking her eggs, the farmer’s wife took Rebecca Puddle-Duck’s eggs.            













    The end

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Parable of the Prodigal Son

A farmer had two sons, but the younger son asked his father, “I don’t want to live here all my life; I want to choose what to do with my life. Can you please give me my inheritance now?” So their father brought his older son and younger son, and gave them their inheritance. Soon the younger son gathered his things and left home.

Just when he had wasted all the money given to him, a huge famine began. He was so hungry; he started serving a citizen of that land. He sent the younger brother into his field to feed the pigs. He was so hungry, he would eat the pig’s food, but no one would give him anything.

Then he thought, “Even my father’s servants have more than enough food, I’m his son, and I don’t have any. I don’t deserve to be called his son. Maybe if I go back, he will accept me as his servant. At least then I will have enough food.”

When he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming back home, and ran to greet him. “Father, I don’t deserve to be called yo…”

“I am so happy that you’re home! Bring him better clothes, and let us have a feast!”

His older brother was working in the field all day, but when he got back and heard the feast, he asked a servant, “What is all this noise?”

 The servant said, “Your brother came back home! Your father is very excited, come on in and celebrate!”

But the elder brother was very angry, and said to his father, “I work very hard for you every day, and you never let me have a feast with my friends. But when my brother who has wasted your money comes home, you give him a huge feast.”

“I gave half of what I own to your brother, everything else here is yours. It is a time to celebrate, your brother was lost, and now is found!”

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Xenophon, to the sea

A long time ago during the year 400 B.C., Xenophon was travelling with the Greeks to the sea. But when they arrived at a prosperous city called Gymnius, the ruler of the land gave them a guide to help them travel through a country that was unfriendly to his kingdom. Their guide said "At the end of five days, if the sea is not in sight, you can kill me." So very willingly, they traveled with him to the sea.

On the fifth day, they were climbing Mount Theches and Xenophon was riding in the back when he suddenly heard a loud noise. He had no idea what the noise was, but he thought it was caused by enemies attacking. He thought this because they had attacked and burned the country on their way to the sea.

Then Xenophon thought "My people are being attacked, I have to help them!" So he took Lycius and some of the cavalry with him to go to the top of the mountain and fight off the attackers. When they arrived at the top, they found that the noise was actually everyone shouting "The sea, the sea!" for they could see the sea from the top of the mountain.

Everyone was crying and hugging each other because they were very happy to see the sea. So they brought stones to the top and built a big cairn to remember the moment. Then they dedicated skins and shields, and the guide smashed apart the shields, and told the rest to do it too.

So the Greeks gave their guide presents such as a horse, money, and some of their rings. The guide showed them a place that they could stay for the night. Then, when night came, he went back to his own country.

Monday, October 21, 2013

The Frogs Want a King

The frogs were living happily with no one ruling them, and nobody bothered them.  But some of the frogs thought that this way of living wasn't right, and they wanted a king.  So they decided to go and ask Jove for the king that they wanted.  When they told him, he laughed and threw a huge log into their pond.  The frogs jumped out of their skins and ran away from the log.  Later, one of the bravest frogs jumped on it and started dancing.  They saw that the log wasn't harmful.  Then the frogs asked Jove for a better king that would actually rule over them, not just sit there.  Jove got angry and put a stork there in their pond that ate the frogs.


                                                         
                                                      Better no rule than cruel rule

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Belling the Cat

     Long ago in a mouse hole, the mice were debating eagerly how to eliminate the danger of the cat, but they couldn't agree on anything. Then a young mouse stood up and said "The cat sneaks towards us to attack without us even knowing.  But I can fix this problem!  We just need to find a bell and hang it around the cat's neck, so when she's nearby, we'll hear the bell and be able to go back to our homes safely."  Everyone liked the idea, so they decided that they would do it.  But an old mouse said "Who is supposed to put the bell on the cat?"  Nobody said anything.  Then the old mouse said "It is very easy to propose impossible remedies."







Rewritten version of one of Aesop's fables
Original version copyright Aesop

Friday, October 19, 2012

The Sinking of the Titanic



First, twenty minutes before midnight an iceberg was spotted straight in the Titanic’s path.  William Murdoch, the first officer, commanded them to turn the ship left.  But it collided with the iceberg less than a minute after it was spotted.  The sharp side of the iceberg cut the right side of the ship open!

Then, a distress signal was launched at 12:50 AM.  Ships received the Titanic’s distress signal, but were too far away. The closest one, the Carpathia, responded but was four hours away.  The shipline official said, “We are confident that there will be no loss of life”.

Afterwards, they started launching the first lifeboats at 1:10 AM.  But the passengers were unwilling to leave the ship and a large amount said, “This ship cannot sink; it is only a question of waiting until another ship comes up and takes us off”.  Then, the deck started to sink, and more travelers left the Titanic.  Captain Smith went down with the ship, but he said to the officers, “You have done your duty, boys. Now every man for himself”.

After, water smashed the windows and poured into the bridge.  The Titanic’s front plunged under the water.  The back later sank at 2:20 AM.  But only one lifeboat returned for people stranded in the water.

Finally, the Carpathia arrived at 4:10 AM. It stayed picking up passengers until 8:50 AM, and then set out for New York.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Jungle Book Book Report

The Jungle Book was written by Rudyard Kipling.  It is a collection of short stories.  Rudyard Kipling was born in India.  He left India at 6 to go to school in England.  Then, he came back to write as a journalist.

The setting is in wild India.  The main characters in the stories about Mowgli are:  Shere Khan, Mowgli, Akela, Bagheera, and Baloo.  Rikki-Tikki-Tavi's main characters are:  Nag, Nagaina and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.  The main characters in Toomai Of The Elephants are:  Little Toomai, Big Toomai, and Kala Nag.  My favourite story is Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is my favourite because it is a you-just-have-to-know-what-is-going-to-happen book.  The stories in The Jungle Book are Mowgli's Brothers, Kaa's Hunting, Tiger-Tiger!, The White Seal, Toomai Of The Elephants, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, and Her Majesty's Servants.  Mowgli's Brothers, Kaa's Hunting, and Tiger-Tiger! are about Mowgli when he is a boy.  Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is about a mongoose who gets lost.  Toomai Of The Elephants is about a boy who works with elephants.

I really like The Jungle Book.  My least favourites are Toomai Of The Elephants and Her Majesty's Servants because they are really boring.  I think you should read The Jungle Book.  If you like his stories, then you might want to try some of his other books.  Just So Stories is another good book by Rudyard Kipling.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Red Pony book report

The Red Pony was written by John Steinbeck.  It was published in 1945.  Its setting is on a mountainous farm in California.  The main characters are Jody, his father, mother, Billy Buck, and Jody's grandfather.  His mother takes care of the house, Jody's father and Billy Buck run the farm, and his grandfather liked to tell stories of when he brought the people to the west.

The story starts when Jody is about to get a horse.  The weather starts to get bad when it keeps raining.  It never stops raining!  Then it doesn't for a while.  Jody doesn't know whether it is going to rain or not. He asks Billy Buck who is supposed to always get things right, and he's wrong!  It rains and the pony gets sick.

I really liked the book.  But to me the chapters are really long.  My favourite character is Jody because he is the main character.  This story is one of my favourites because it has spots where you just have to know what's going to happen.  I recommend that you should read it.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Different Kinds of Pizza

Do you like pizza?  There are many types of pizza in the world.  There are tons of popular pizzas in the world.   I can't talk about all of them because there are so many!   Some of the most interesting kinds of pizzas that I found are: Tomato Pie, Hawaiian Pizza, and Greek Pizza.

Tomato Pie is a pizza with a big tomato flavor.  It is Italian bread sprinkled with cheese and then covered in tomato sauce.  You can buy it in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Delaware.  Found in Sicilian-American communities, Tomato Pie is circular and served at room temperature or reheated.  I haven't tried it yet, but I think I'd like it.

Hawaiian Pizza has lots of toppings and is delicious!  Invented in Ontario, Canada, it is made with cheese, tomato sauce, pineapple, and ham.  Hawaiian Pizza is the only pizza I know with this many toppings.  Some varieties have peppers, mushrooms, and bacon mixed in.  It is the most popular pizza in Australia.  Hawaiian Pizza is my favourite kind of pizza.

Greek Pizza has the strangest toppings.  Greek Pizza is a pizza with Greek toppings.  It also has a special crust that is usually quite oily and has feta cheese, onions, Kalamata olives, green bell peppers, gyros meat, and spinach as toppings.  It is round, but you won't find it in Italian restaurants.  You need to go to Greek restaurants to find it.

Do you like any of these kinds of pizzas?  I really want to try Tomato Pie and Greek Pizza.  Hawaiian Pizza is so good, just looking at a picture of it made me hungry!  I hope that one of the types of pizza that I told you about are one of your favourites.  Different varieties of pizza can be very interesting.  Why not read about some?  Or go to a restaurant, or pizza place and try some other pizzas than what you usually get.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Don't Litter

Do you litter?  I don't.  Littering is bad for the environment and you!  So why litter?  I don't see any reason why you should!

If you just dump garbage everywhere, it will be all over the place.  Golf balls take 100 to 1000 years to decompose, wow!  Also, litter can cause water pollution.  Instead, put your garbage in garbage cans or recycle if you can.  So why litter if you can put it where it belongs?

If you litter, it can kill some animals.  If you dump garbage in the ocean, a leatherback sea turtle might mistake it for a jelly fish and eat it.  Parts of cigarettes have been found in the stomachs of birds, fish, and whales.  Some other animals might try to eat it too.  So you can see, litter is very dangerous to animals.

Littering is also against the law.  You can get a fine ranging from $100 to $1000.  It depends on how much litter is already there and where you are.  In some places there are signs that remind you to not litter.  I think it's better if you don't litter.


So now do you think it's right to litter?  It pollutes the environment, it kills animals, and you have to pay a lot of money if you do!  There are no reasons to litter.  There should be no littering at all!  So, agree with me and don't litter.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Treasure Island book report

Treasure Island is written by Robert Louis Stevenson.  The main characters are Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver, and Dr. Livesly.  The setting is on an old, almost deserted island called Treasure Island.

Jim Hawkins gets a treasure map, and Dr. Livesly, Long John Silver, and a whole lot of others go out to look for the treasure.  Then, Long John Silver, and most of the other guys turn against them!  I think you should read the book to find out what happens.

I really like Treasure Island.  I think that it is one of the best books I ever read.  The movie skips a lot of it, and changed a few parts.  I think this is a very good book for someone to read.