What are your three favorite things about your book?

When I first started reading my book, My Antonia, I thought it was going to be a little boring but as I read on I found that it's actually a really good book and I love it! The first part I like about this book is the setting. This book is based back when there were pioneers and not very much technology. The characters in my book live in a town called Black Creek but they're far away from the actual town and don't have many close by neighbors unless they travel a few miles or so. They are farmers and must work in the fields all day tending to the crops or feeding cattle. I like the setting because I've always wanted to see what it was like living a couple hundred years ago and be away from technology sometimes, running around in the corn fields in those old fashioned dresses.:)
Another part I like about this book is the reality. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love reading books about unrealistic and bizarre things like dragons and powerful kings and queens but it was nice to read a book that had a very realistic plot with things that actually did and can happen. Some examples would be when Antonia's father commits suicide because working on the farm and doing all this hard work, he just couldn't take it anymore. Another example would be how hard families had to work back them, harvesting there own food, trying to keep warm in the winter season, and not having many close by neighbors.
The third part is not something about the book but a character I like. My favorite character is Antonia. She is a girl a little older then I am in the beginning of the book but she acts like a child, which is why I like her character so much. Even though she had to do a lot of work around the farm, helping her mother and Jimmy's grandmother, Mrs. Burden, with housework, it never seemed to bother her and she never complained. She would always go in Mrs. Burden's garden and play and just be a child. She would make the most of her life everyday. One funny thing was that after her father died, she had to do a lot more work around the farm then usual and she became stronger then the boy Jimmy and worked more than him.:)

Quote Response

"Good literature substitutes for experience which we have not ourselves lived through."
-Alexander Solzhenitsyn

I think this quote means that in literature there are different experiences we have not lived through because the story is based on the past or in the future. Also sometimes the characters experience unrealistic things such as magic. So, when reading literature you can see what it's like being in that character's point of view and get a better idea of what it is like.
My book, My Antonia is about a boy named Jimmy who must travel out west in the country to live with his grandparents because his parents passed away. This quote relates to my book because I've never been anywhere in the west or where the land is all flat with no trees. This boy now lives in the country and is not used to his surroundings at all. The story is also based a little bit in the past because they do not use cars, they use horses that pull wagons. This book helps me experience and understand what its like for him and his new experiences.

Soundtrack for The Wizard of Oz

1.) "With a Little Help from My Friends" by the Beatles. This song goes along with the Wizard of Oz because without running into the Scarecrow, Tin man, and the Lion Dorothy would have never found her way to the Emerald City. She had her friends there to help her defeat the monsters they ran into and the Wicked Witch of the West.
2.) "Cruella De Vil" from the 101 Dalmatians. Dorothy had to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West in order for the Great Oz to grant her wish to go home. This song matches the Wicked With because she is the "bad guy" in the story and does evil things.
3.) "On my Way" by Phil Collins. This song relates to the book because its about Dorothy and her new friends and how they find their way to Emerald City. They never gave up no matter how tired or hungry they were. They eventually found there way to the city after running into all kinds of trouble on the way.
4.) "Home Is Where the Heart Is" by Lady Antebellum. When Dorothy first came the Land of Oz all she wanted to do was go home. She tried to get home as fast as she could to see Aunty Em and her uncle Henry again and always cried because she thought she'd never be home again.

The Wizard of Oz

I finished The Wizard of Oz and I was actually very suprised. The book is about a girl named Dorothy who is caught in a cyclone and ends up in The Land of Oz. She wants to find her way back home and must follow the yellow brick road to The Emerald City where she finds Oz to see if he can grant her wish. She also finds friends along the way that go with her to have theirs wished granted; they are the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion. One reason I wanted to read this book was because I wanted to see how different it was from the movie. In the book they do find out The Great Oz is just an old man and he leaves in a hot air balloon without Dorothy on accident, like in the movie. Whats different is that Dorothy travels to the Land of the Quadlings to find the Good Witch of the South instead of the the Good Witch of the North appearing. Also in the book there is a Golden Cap which grants any three wishes to the owner. This cap is what the Wicked Witch of the West uses to call the Winged Monkeys to destroy Dorothy and her friends. I enjoyed reading this book, but one thing that I wonder about it why the author never stated Dorothy's age and I wonder if that would have made a difference in the book.

Quote Response

“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” - C. S. Lewis

I think what C.S. Lewis means by this quote is that literature makes reality more exciting. When you are writing you can be creative and use your imagination. Even when reading literature it can make you think more and give you new ideas. Also that literature doesn't have to be boring, it does add to reality and makes it more interesting.

In my book, The Wizard of Oz, it is very different story in a creative and fun way. Its full of adventure and there are many unrealistic parts to the story but this makes the book more interesting. My book is related to this quote because the book is unique compared to life in general.

What about this book do you think will challenge you? How will you deal with that challenge?

I don't really think this book will challenge me that much since I know a lot about the plot and everything already because I've seen the movie many times. One thing that I might have trouble with would be difficult words. I will look at the words around the word I do not know so i can firgure out at least an idea of what it might mean.

Which book did you choose, and why did you choose it?

I chose the book the Wizard of Oz. I chose this book because I've always loved the movie since I was little and I like the plot of story and all the characters. I wanted to read the book to how it is different and how its alike the movie.