#38

Cyberbullying

Author: Lauri S. Friedman

Summary: Various viewpoints both agreeing and disagreeing on whether or not cyberbullying should be treated as a crime and possible ways to prevent it. 

Personal thoughts about the book: All the viewpoints about cyberbullying were insightful. Some I agreed with. Some were just downright rude. And others I agreed, but then again disagreed on. I do personally think that cyberbullying should be treated as a crime. It's one of the main causes of severe depression and committing suicide. The suicide of a girl named Megan Meier was discussed numerous times in the book. After receiving quite a few very cruel messages from a woman pretending to be a boy named Josh, Megan decided that suicide was the only way out. There was some controversy as to whether or not what that woman did to a 13-year-old girl was a true crime considering that Megan killed herself over it. While suicide itself isn't a crime, posing as somebody else online can be. It was also discussed whether parents should monitor their children's behavior online to prevent possible cyberbullying or to trust their child and give them a right to have some privacy.
I personally think that cyberbullying should be treated as a crime, especially if the victim receives threatening messages such as the bully wanting to beat up or kill them. 

Rating on a scale of 1 to 10: I would say an 8 because some of the viewpoints, can be quite long-winded! 

-Jessi :)

#37

James Dean: "Dream As If You'll Live Forever"

Author: Karen Clemens Warrick

Summary: The true story of rebellious and ill-fated movie star James Dean

Personal thoughts about the book: I remember seeing Rebel Without a Cause for the first time when I was in college and very much liked it. Years later I saw the movie again and was curious about what the ill-fated movie star's life really was like. So after reading this book, I got the impression that his rebellious and sulky attitude towards directors and cast members came from 2 incidents: 1) James terribly missed his mother, who died of cervical cancer when he was little. 2) He never felt truly loved or cared for by his father. 
If his life wasn't cut short due to a severe car crash, I wonder what more he could've done in his life besides only 3 successful films. Quite sad. 

Rating on a scale of 1 to 10: 10

-Jessi :)

#36

Paddington Treasury

Author: Michael Bond

Summary: Various stories from the Paddington Bear series of books

Personal thoughts about the book: I've been a Paddington Bear fan since I was a little girl, as you already know. So naturally, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I really miss Michael Bond a lot! 

-Jessi :)

#35

After the Dinosaurs: The Story of Prehistoric Mammals and Man

Author: James C. Shooter

Summary is pretty self-explanatory based on the book title

Personal thoughts about the book: It was rather insightful to read about how ancient animals came to be after the extinction of the dinosaurs and the evolution of them all into what most mammals are like today. And of course, it showed various evolution of man. 

Rating on a scale of 1 to 10: 10

Note: Illustrations were done by Peter Barrett

-Jessi :)

#34

The Big Golden Book of Dinosaurs

Author: Mary Elting

Summary is self-explanatory

Personal thoughts about the book: As a little girl, I was fascinated by dinosaurs and was even able to remember the names of them, what they ate, and so on. To this day, I still love dinosaurs and my favorite is Triceratops. :) 

Rating on a scale from 1 to 10: Definitely a 10!

Note: Illustrations in the book were done by Christopher Santoro

-Jessi :)

#33

So You Want to Work in Set Design, Costuming, or Make-Up?

Authors: Torene Svitil and Amy Dunkleberger

Summary: An insight into the world of working as a set designer, costumer, and a makeup artist

Personal thoughts: I love films and I love makeup, so I was curious about what those particular jobs were like behind the camera. Was it fun and easy? Well, I learned that the answer to it is both yes and no. Yes, in the sense that the person is performing their talent and making it come to life, so to speak. But the answer is also no because of the fact that each of the departments take talent, a lot of hard work, and can be terribly time consuming, especially with doing makeup! 

Rating on a scale of 1 to 10: 9

-Jessi :)

#32

Cherries and Cherry Pits

Author: Vera B. Williams

Summary: A girl tells her friend stories through her drawings of people revolving around one subject: Eating cherries! 

Personal thoughts about the book: I read Cherries and Cherry Pits for the first time when I was in 3rd grade. I really liked the story of how one little girl drew the different subjects and put together a story where although the characters are different, they just have eating cherries in common. While I think cherries are yummy, I certainly wouldn't recommend planting a bunch of cherry pits in a yard...unless of course your family is OK with that idea. 

Rating on a scale of 1 to 10: Definitely 10!

-Jessi

#31

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Summary: A diary kept by a German-Jewish girl named Anne Frank while she was in hiding from the Gestapo during World War II

Personal feelings about the book: I remember having to read this book in middle and high school. It was one of the most tragic true stories that I'd ever read! Nobody deserves to be arrested and killed in concentration camps just for being a certain race or religion. Despite not being able to go outdoors without risking being arrested and/or killed, Anne showed a very courageous spirit amid inconveniences such as hunger, too little privacy, and boredom. Sadly, her life was cut short all due to anti-semitism occurring during that time period. :'( 

Rating on a scale of 1 to 10: 10 

-jessi