KIDS READ! LIFE OF PI

Here's a review from 6th grader Naomi:

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

An Indian boy named Pi is trapped on a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Royal Bengal tiger after a mysterious shipwreck. Stuck with no food, water, or safety, he is forced to stay on the boat. Eventually, almost every animal dies except the tiger which is named Richard Parker. At first he is scared of the tiger, but as time moves on, Pi gets used to being around Richard. He learns many practical skills during this voyage to help him survive.

In this book, there were some rather gory scenes and descriptions that I would have preferred not to read.The author was very descriptive in his writing. I could not tell if this story was based on Pi's imagination or reality. I liked this book because of the intensity and emotion the author has expressed. It was made into a movie which almost matches the book.

For readers 6th grade and up. 

BEOWULF - NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH

With the recent movie version of this classic tale, it's always nice to read where a story comes from. Beowulf is a brave hero who travels to Denmark to help the King. An evil monster named Grendel has been eating all the king's men, and no one has been able to kill the slimy creature. But Beowulf uses some tricky maneuvers and bloody mayhem to save the day. Beowulf is more than 2000 years old, and was passed down from generation to generation of European ancestors. There are many different versions of the story, but BEOWULF, A HERO'S TALE RETOLD by James Rumford tries to tell the story in a modern equivalent of the Old Ango-Saxon English of it's origin. 3rd grade and up.