Book 18

Dear Ms. Zrihen,              01/3/12

 I am enjoying reading the book, Cryptid Hunters, written by Roland Smith.  The genre is definitely Mystery .  The story takes place in Africa. The main characters are Marty, and Grace.  They are both round/dynamic.  The plot evolved in the following way threw the story: First, Marty and Grace’s parents get lost in the Amazon, then she and Marty go to there uncle’s (wolfe) island. Later, a chimp scares Marty and Grace, and they jump out of a plain and into Africa.  Last, they burn a dinosaur body and save the eggs.  The main problem is that they are having trouble avoiding a criminal in the area.  The tone of the book is very suspenseful and mysterious.  A theme that appears in the book is Marty and Grace get into trouble. The moral of the book appears to be that you should not go looking for adventure if you are not prepared for danger.  From my point of view, I could see that they are very excited to go searching for dinosaur with their uncle Wolfe. The author organized the book through chronological order.  The author’s purpose was to entertain. His perspective was that Marty and Grace are very adventurous and can deal with trouble. 

 “The little poodle was still hurtling toward earth-an activity Marty was no stranger to.  The summer before his father had secretly taken him skydiving.  “If you tell your mother shill kill me” he had said. ”  This was written on page 144.  I picked this passage because it shows that Marty is adventurous to go skydiving.  The passage is significant to the story because it shows that Marty is brave to chase the poodle into the air with no parachute to save it’s life. 

 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, I read the synopsis, or summary.  While reading, I would quiz myself on what I read after each page and re-read parts I didn’t understand.  After, reading I am writing this, and I discussed it.

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

 I would rate this book 5 stars ***** because once I start reading, I can’t put it down.  And at the end and middle of every page, there is a cliff-hanger (because it’s a mystery)  so you want to read more all the time.  Also, I do recommend it to the class.

Sincerely, 

Mikey Rogatinsky