Lisi Harrison's Alicia: A Clique Novel: A Review by Keyani, edited by Ms. Hernandez!

Alicia is spending her summer in Spain with her family. She wants to meet a boy named ¡Ignacio!, who is the hottest pop singer in Spain. ¡Ignacio! wants a true Spanish beauty to star in his video. But how can Alicia prove she is worthy when she knocked down a statue and has to work as a towel girl to pay for it? I like this book because it is very interesting and makes me want to hurry up and read the next part to see what is going to happen next. You should read this book because it's good for your vocabulary and it's not like a "baby" book. It is short, easy, and fun!

Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days: A Review by Ashe!

Greg and Rowley had to pay a bill for drinking a lot of smoothies. Greg and Rowley started a lawn service to raise money to pay for the bill. Rowley quit because Greg was not going to do any of the work. Greg's checks were taken by his mom to pay for the bill. I like this book because the book has its own funny sense of humor and it has funny pictures. People should read this book for an easy AR test after they worked on other books.

Walter Dean Myer's At Her Majesty's Request: A Review by Ms. Lane!

Who would ever have thought the queen of England had an African goddaughter? It’s true. African princess, Sarah, at age 5 survived the slaughter of her parents and her village by a Dahoman tribe. Sarah was spared and taken into captivity for human sacrifice in the bloody Dahoman ritual known as “watering the graves.” The Dahomans believed to honor their ancestors they must kill their captured and spread the blood of their victims over the graves of their ancestors. The markings on Sarah’s face indicated she was of royal blood and Sarah’s royal blood would please the Dahoman ancestors. Sarah was rescued from this ritual by a British captain, Commander Forbes, who convinced the Dahoman king that the England’s queen would not respect a king who killed a child. As a result Sarah was given as a present to Queen Victoria by the Dahoman king. When Captain Forbes returned to England with the child the queen sent for little Sarah and was so impressed with Sarah’s intelligence and personality she took the child under her protection and oversaw her upbringing, education and even Sarah’s marriage. Sarah lived a privileged life in London. She married, returned to Africa with her husband and taught school there. The queen continued to provide an annuity for Sarah and for Sarah’s daughter, Victoria, after Sarah’s death. Young Victoria was a regular a visitor to the Queen Victoria. When the queen died young Victoria was one of her last visitors. This is an enthralling nonfiction story is based on true events discovered in a stack of letters found in an old antique store in London.

Ellen Howard'sThe Crimson Cap: A Review by Ms. Lane!

The crimson cap belonged to Pierre’s father and now it was his. Pierre did not want to leave his mother, sister and younger brothers behind but he was the oldest boy, and he was responsible for them now that his father was gone. Even if he was only 10 years old he had to try and find help for his family and the people at the French settlement. Pierre and the men encounter hunger, pain and illness as the ill-fated expedition unravels. Most of the men kill each other and Pierre ends up living with an Indian family. They nurse Pierre back to health. He learns their language and customs, to hunt, to swim and to live like they do. Will Pierre ever make it back to the settlement and his family? This gripping story is based on the real Pierre Talon and true events in history of America.

M.T. Anderson'sThe Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Volume II. Kingdom of the Waves: A Review by Ms. Lane!

The riveting saga of Octavian Nothing continues with his escape along with Dr. Trefusis, a compassionate tutor, to British controlled Boston, Octavian joins the Royal Ethiopian regiment in exchange for the promise of freedom. Octavian hears and records the stories of his fellow Africans and escaped slaves. The Royal Regiment is destroyed by smallpox and Octavian experiences first hand the injustice of their military service, evil and hatred. He learns what it is like to kill someone in the fight for emancipation and the struggle for liberty that ironically will exclude Octavian and slaves like him.

Welcome Back Tigers! And a Review from Ms. Lane!

Happy Back-to-School Tigers! Ms. Lane and I are revving up to make it an awesome year with new books, programs, and activities. Need a good book to read? Check here often for new book reviews from your fellow Tigers! If you have a book you would like to review and post on Tiger Reviews, see Ms. Lane or me, Ms. Hernandez, for a Tiger Reviews form. After you have filled it out and submitted it to us, we will reward you with a Tiger Ticket!

Ms. Lane and I spent our summer vacation relaxing and enjoying some great books. The following is Ms. Lane's Tiger Review of M.T. Anderson's The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: The Pox Party.


Diaries and letters recount this remarkable story, a National Book Award winner, in revolutionary America of Octavian Nothing, a young African prince who is a zoological experiment conducted by the Novanglian College of Lucidity, a group of Boston radical intellectuals. They want to determine if the African mind can absorb what the European mind can. The boy, Octavian, and his mother are treated as royalty but kept isolated from the rest of the world. Octavian received an excellent classical European education. However, his entire life is observed and recorded. They measure how much food he takes in and how much outtake there is. The situation takes a turn when, at age seven, Octavian discovers he is part of a scientific experiment and the reason for the close scrutiny he has lived under. Another turn of events occurs when the Novelangian College hosts a pox party, an attempt to improve the small pox vaccine, where the guests are inoculated with the disease. The attempt fails miserably. Octavian’s mother dies of the disease and in his grief he escapes. He meets other runaway slaves and realizes the reality of his bizarre life. The story is told is eighteenth century prose and describes the struggle for freedom, the goal of his Patriot captors, while defining the horrors of slavery along with the hypocrisy of the nation’s quest for liberty.