Book 10

Dear Ms. Zrihen,                          11/01/11

I am enjoying reading the book, Myths and legends of the World, written by Geraldine  McCaughrean.  The genre is definitely short story.  The store takes place on a coast line. The main character is Kahakura.  He is round/dynamic.  The plot evolved in the following way threw the story: First, Kahakura has a dream, then he tells his people about it, then he runs away, later he comes back with a gift, and so on. The main problem was they needed more food. The tone or mood of the book is suspenseful. A theme that appeared in the book is don’t be greedy. The moral of the book is that you should not be greedy.  From my point of view, I could see that the generous get rewarded. The author organized the story through a time order.  The author’s purpose was to entertain and pass on lessons of morality, and how things cam to be. Her perspective was that in life, you should be generous to the needy.  

“So Kahakura took home to his tribe the amazing secret of fishing nets- how they are used and how they are made.  As long as the sea runs and the fish run in the sea, the Maori people will never go hungry for fish, nor empty of love.  It is as the gods wish.”  This was written on page 19.  I picked this passage because it shows the generous get everything.  The passage is significant to the story because Kahakura got his treasure because of generosity. 

I used several reading strategies throughout the book. Before reading, I skimmed and scanned through this book, or I flipped through the pages looking for text features to see whether or not I would like this book.  Also, my mom recommended it to me.  While reading, I would quiz myself on what I read after each story and re-read parts I didn’t understand.  After reading, I am writing this, and I quizzed myself.

Figurative language I saw in the book: illiteration, simile, metaphor, oxymoron, personification.

I would rate this book 5 stars ***** because once I start reading, even during dinner when my mom tells me to, I can’t put it down.  And at the end and middle of every page, there is a cliff-hanger so you want to read more all the time.  

Sincerely, 

Mikey Rogatinsky