Cynthia DeFeliceAnmeldelser

This was great fun and a quick read. Quite the page turner! Caught my attention right away and kept it all the way through. This is an older book, but I think it would still appeal to the youth of today. I'll look for more of this author's titles.

In a weird tale where running away from home fixes all your conflicts because your grandparents are nice like that, this book's not bad. It's obviously a manipulation of grief on Erik's part some, and kind of questionable as he technically grave robs, along with stealing someone's dog, but it's not the most putrid thing I've read.

The conflicts however are resolved in mere hours of his life.

Conflict: Erik is sent off by his parents before he can hunt.
Resolve: He ends up in nowhere North Dakota, finds a dog, and by the next day he's gone off to hunt illegally.

Conflict: Erik doesn't like where he's sent, his grandparents are cold and grieving and their daughter, his mother, obviously left and didn't look back.
Resolve: He takes the new dog he's found and leaves.

Conflict: Erik's bad at shooting.
Resolve: He remembers the lessons and shoots good.

Conflict: He's hungry.
Resolve: He finds mouse-chewed candy bars, chips, and soda that likely have been left out for a year in an abandoned house.

These are just a hand full of examples, there's at least four more I can think of off the bat, one of which is this one. His grandfather is cold and closed up and callous, even abrasive towards him. Erik runs away. When he comes back, his grandfather has been "fixed". That's not me saying it, his grandmother straight up calls it that. Him running away "fixed" his grieving grandfather and inspires him to be a better man. It's very questionable and I'm not sure that's the right message to send.

Then there is the line it ends on.

"I guess there's a lot of things I used to do." He looked at Erik. "Maybe I just wanted a boy to do 'em with."

The reason he stopped doing everything was he grieved over his dead son. In ways this ending leaves me feeling he's vicariously getting his son back through his grandson wearing his son's clothes. While that can be taken sweetly, it could also be disturbing. Especially given the almost abusive nature he was displaying before.

Recommend it for a read, but not as a keeper.

This is categorized as a murder mystery, but it's a morality tale. A twelve-year-old argues with himself over whether or not to kill a man who murdered and seriously injured many others, and stole livestock and captured his maimed father. The pacing is strange. The structure is weird. The descriptions and dialogue are great, though. The audience for this...I don't know. I wouldn't know who to recommend this to.

This one wasn't half bad. It makes you see things from an unexpected point of view, and even though the events are unlikely, the book is still awesome. The title sounds like something out of an anime...

Two books in this short "series". both very good. I do enjoy a good adventure story from the early days of American history.

In a weird tale where running away from home fixes all your conflicts because your grandparents are nice like that, this book's not bad. It's obviously a manipulation of grief on Erik's part some, and kind of questionable as he technically grave robs, along with stealing someone's dog, but it's not the most putrid thing I've read.

The conflicts however are resolved in mere hours of his life.

Conflict: Erik is sent off by his parents before he can hunt.
Resolve: He ends up in nowhere North Dakota, finds a dog, and by the next day he's gone off to hunt illegally.

Conflict: Erik doesn't like where he's sent, his grandparents are cold and grieving and their daughter, his mother, obviously left and didn't look back.
Resolve: He takes the new dog he's found and leaves.

Conflict: Erik's bad at shooting.
Resolve: He remembers the lessons and shoots good.

Conflict: He's hungry.
Resolve: He finds mouse-chewed candy bars, chips, and soda that likely have been left out for a year in an abandoned house.

These are just a hand full of examples, there's at least four more I can think of off the bat, one of which is this one. His grandfather is cold and closed up and callous, even abrasive towards him. Erik runs away. When he comes back, his grandfather has been "fixed". That's not me saying it, his grandmother straight up calls it that. Him running away "fixed" his grieving grandfather and inspires him to be a better man. It's very questionable and I'm not sure that's the right message to send.

Then there is the line it ends on.

"I guess there's a lot of things I used to do." He looked at Erik. "Maybe I just wanted a boy to do 'em with."

The reason he stopped doing everything was he grieved over his dead son. In ways this ending leaves me feeling he's vicariously getting his son back through his grandson wearing his son's clothes. While that can be taken sweetly, it could also be disturbing. Especially given the almost abusive nature he was displaying before.

Recommend it for a read, but not as a keeper.

I loved the style that Cynthia DeFelice used to write The Ghost of Fossil Glen. Allie and Dub have such real personalities, and I could relate to both of them in different ways. I enjoyed the way the two friends worked on the mystery, and I was on the edge of my seat as the story developed. This book starts with excitement, and the pace doesn’t slow throughout the book. I recommend this book to anyone from third grade through eighth grade. I also think adults and older kids will be captivated by this page turner. Mystery lovers will be thrilled with this unique story and will be happy to learn that this is the first book in the Ghost Mysteries series. I can’t wait to read them all! Don't miss out- grab your copy today!

This is a good read for any time that you are looking for a book you can finish in a day or two. The story starts at a slower pace, but the action starts to build as soon as Campion and Owen meet. Campion was so mysterious, and she kept me guessing throughout the story. My heart went out to Owen because he was so lonely and depressed. I especially liked learning about Home and what a wonderful planet it is. As Owen learned more and decided to help Campion, I was able to see how he was finally changing and growing since his mom passed away. He had a lot of unresolved emotions, and it was great to see how his life changed through his relationship with Campion. I was curious throughout the book, and I couldn’t wait to find out if Campion was really from another planet and if her parents would see her signal and pick her up in their spaceship. I think kids between the ages of 8 and 14 will enjoy this book if they like science fiction and stories about friendship. This story kept my interest and made me think. I also learned a lot about crop circles!

This is a realistic fiction story about a 12 year old boy named Erik who has to go and live in North Dakota, with his grandparents, that he doesn't know very well, while his parents are deployed overseas with the Army Reserves. All Erik ever really wanted to do was go hunting and own his own hunting dog. Now that he is in North Dakota, he thinks his dreams will never come to pass, so he makes a choice to run away. Will he be able to survive on his own? Erik makes many discoveries about family secrets, commitment, survival,courage,and the power of love. This is a wonderful book for young men, in particular, but also for anyone who is wanting to be independent and follow their dreams.

The O'Grady's are poor and do not have a lot. When they find a pot that doubles whatever goes in it, their lives change. Cute and amusing, sure to get the children thinking.

Mr. and Mrs. O'Grady are the elderly couple and they live a very simple life by having only one item each that is needed to survive. The elderly couple are very poor, and they grow just enough to get by and pay the bills to survive without being homeless. While trying to get the potatoes Mr. O’Grady realizes they are out of potatoes but one day, they discover a black pot when they were digging up potatoes. They find out that the pot has the power to double everything. This book would be great for younger grades and can introduce counting and life lessons.

This book is about a young girl who has a giant family. She decides that since she is old enough she is going to go to work to earn her room and board. She finds a job at the home of Lord Pinkwinkle. He makes her call everything weird names. She is even called a weird name. One night, the house almost catches on fire. She runs to wake him up and has to explain what is going on using all of the weird names. At the end of her speech about the fire she has had enough. She quits and returns home. In the morning, Lord Pinkwinkle comes to her house and begs her to come back, saying that she is the best housekeeper he has ever had and that he needs her. She agrees to come back on one condition: that she does not have to use all of the silly names any longer. He agrees, besides the fact that he wants her to call him Pinky. She is content and accepts his offer.
This is an alright story. I do not understand how it fits into the category of traditional literature. It was listed under that in the choices to pick from but I just don't see the correlation. There are no author's notes or cover on the book that I got from the library so I didn't find any information about it that way either. Overall, the story is good. It would be fun to share with students so they could get a good laugh at all the silly names that he has her use for everyday things. It also has very sweet illustrations which are nice to look at.

Mr. and Mrs. O'Grady live a very simple and thrifty life, containing only one of every item needed to survive. As Mr. O’Grady began to dig for their daily potato, he uncovers a magical cooking cauldron that doubles anything that falls inside. The couple then begins to double everything they own: candles, coats, blankets money. One day, Mrs. O'Grady trips and falls into the pot, thus creating another Mrs. O’Grady. It is then that there are two Mr. and Mrs. O’Gradys; the two couples live happy life. This book can be connected to math instruction by describing doubling and halving. As well, this book can help students determine the greater sum of two different equations (2*2½

This is a fun silly story about a girl named Nelly who lives with 12 brothers and sisters. when she comes of age, she decides its time for her to help out and try and make some money. She does this by going to work for Lord Ignasius PinkWInkle and he demands that Nelly learn his unique langauge by having her call ordinary things by unordinary names. Eventually, Nelly cant take it any long and she decides to have her say.

This book is about a poor couple who have lived together and they are married. They are very poor and they grow just enough to get by and pay the bills. They do not complain about their short comings and never let anyone know that they are struggling. One day the husband Mr. O' Grady goes to the farm and and realized that they are completely out of potatoes. Throughout the story they are limited to one potato for breakfast, lunch and dinner. One day the husband stumbles upon a magical pot that can make double everything that is planted. Once they realize this fact, they begin to grow everything they need and they do not plant anything that they do not. Even though they had a magical pot,they never lost sight of their morals. The theme of this story is to appreciate what you have and to work as hard as you can. One day all of the hard work will pay off, but you should not let it change you. I enjoyed this book very much and it teaches children to not be greedy and take advantage of a situation.

One Potato, Two Potato is a fable that tells of two poor farmers who find a magic pot - everything they put inside doubles. This would be a great discussion starter about empathy and could be linked to math.

I thought this was a clever little book that would make a fun read aloud. Great for showing students that they can be their fun quirky selves, no matter who is around you.

This book tells about an elderly couple who lives in poverty. They don't have a problem with the way they live and are happy. One day, they discover a black pot when they were digging up potatoes. They find out that the pot doubles everything. This book would be great for younger grades and can introduce counting and life lessons.

This book is about an elderly couple who live in poverty. They do not complain about their situation, and one day they get surprised with a magic pot that doubles everything they put into it. They get everything they wished, but never get greedy. This book is great for children from kindergarten to sixth grade. It can be used to teach about character traits and can be used to introduce numbers in a math lesson.

This children’s book is about a very poor, hungry, and old couple that live together on a farm and have just enough to get by and nothing more. Despite this the old couple- Mr. and Mrs. O'Grady- are still very grateful and happy for all that they have and portray a deep sense of humility and grace throughout this story. Each day they eat 1 potato for breakfast lunch and dinner and they are just fine with this until one day Mr. O’ Grady goes to the farm and realizes that it’s the very last one. So he continues to dig in hopes of finding more potatoes, but instead finds a magic pot and can make doubles out of everything you put inside it! Amazed at their good fortune they begin to clone and their necessities and more until they are get everything the ever wanted. But what is interesting about this story Is that despite their new-found luck; they did not desire anything outrageous or become filled with greed. The moral of this heart-warming story is to appreciate the most out of what you already have, because even though it’s okay to want new things for time to time, you never should forget who and what truly matter at the end of the day and the finer things in life.

Mr. and Mrs. O'Grady were a poor elderly couple with one of everything. One chair, one blanket, and one potato a day to provide them with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When Mr. O'Grady was digging for their one potato one day, he found a pot that would double anything that went into it. Suddenly they had two potatoes, multiple coins, and another pair of Mr. and Mrs. O'Grady. This book shows how even if you don't have a lot of money you can still live a valuable life and be grateful for all that you do have. Mr. and Mrs. O'Grady did not have much and they were still grateful for each other and valued what they had. This story emphasizes family value and how to make the most of what ever situation you may be in.

The youngest brother of three shows his wit in this hilarious french folktale. He sought to marry the princess after the kind made a grand announcement for a competition. He won but not being of noble birth, the ing tries everything to get his daughter out of the engagement. But always a step ahead the young boy outwits the king and makes a fool of him. In the end, he marries his princess and they both lived happily ever after. The author used watercolors to illustrate the story and the most appealing thing about it was the characters' facial expressions. You can really see the king's frustration and the smugness on our protagonist face. An easy read that children will cry laughing.

Erik is a young boy from North Dakota. He is left with his grandparents for six months while his parents both get deployed overseas. As he simply cannot stand it any longer, he decides to run away. He isn't going all alone though-he has his dog named Quill. To survive on his own (with Quill of course), he brings along his shotgun to hunt. Since he has a hunting license, he can hunt birds to serve as most of his meals. He later realizes that this was a mistake as he gets taken to the police station for a reward.

I thought that this book was okay. It wasn't my favorite just because it wasn't exactly realistic. How do people not think anything of a small boy walking down the road with a shotgun? The actual story though, was decent. I liked the adventurous way of Erik. This book is good for anyone that likes adventure books. Might be best for younger readers though.

Cute enough - but I'm glad they didn't dwell on the size of the heroine's family, because I cannot bring myself to countenance having 13 children when you're clearly in a position to support only 2 or 3.

This book is about a young poor girl who has a large family she needs to help support. She gets a job has a housekeeper for a wealthy man. He has silly rules and she doesn't like to follow them. She suffers a great stress of a fire within the house, and return home to be with her family. Only shortly after, the wealthy man returns to her home to ask her to return to work, and she could do the job how she liked.