Diary of a Wimpy Kid isn't a Wimpy Book

Based off the cover of the book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney, it looks like a typical kiddy, dessert book that was only read for fun. I’ve completed the whole series and that’s not entirely true. Dairy of a Wimpy Kid is about a middle school kid named Gregory Heffley and as a kid, you relate to him in many ways. Every once and a while from most middle school kids, they eventually get picked on, they rarely feel like doing their school work and get bossed around far too much by their parents. This book also takes some heavy focuses on some issues many young children face today, like friendship. The book does a fantastic job restating the lives of children and speaks in the voice of a child. Even the book’s targeted audience is children, adults can enjoy it just as much. Therefore, Diary of a Wimpy Kid isn’t a wimpy book.

            When teenagers start to turn older, they start to look at the past. Some feel that the younger version of themselves isn’t as mature as what they are now. They could possibly be fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, etc. But the book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid helps remember past childhood for older people, because typical childhood depends and relates to the book so heavily. Greg Heffley is the most typical teenager you can think of. Once he enters sixth grade, his mood changes, like almost every other kid. Greg concentrates on being so uptight about being cool and start living the life as a teenager. For example, Greg hates when his friend Rowley says, “Hey, do you want to come to my house and plaaaayyyy??!!” Greg then starts talking to him like if he was being embarrassed. He tells him the middle school kids don’t say “play” or “play date”. They say hang out. Although, that does sound really obnoxious, it’s kind of a spark that many middle school kids feel once they want to start acting like older kids. Kids may feel that the younger version of themselves is immature in a kind of way, but it’s still important to cherish the memories. It’s fine for older children to think that saying play or play date is wimpy, but the days when they were younger are precious and started saying all that, it’s precious. You can only live as a kid once.            

Diary of a Wimpy Kid doesn’t exactly tell you that childhood memories are precious. The reader needs to find that out themselves. Although, the look of the book tells the moral. It’s in a format of a journal and it makes the reader feel like the whole book is a memory. Greg may seem to hate his memories because it’s mostly scenes where he’s getting annoyed by his friends or family. But Greg’s passion for writing all it down in a diary shows how much he would probably care about his childhood. He would want to remember all the past experiences he had, even if it was lame. To many readers, that could show how much you need to love your childhood memories because they don’t last for long.

In conclusion, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is not a wimpy book. Just because the look of the book seems like a cheesy children’s book, it tells why childhood memories are important. Never judge a book by it’s cover! The look of the book has a nice feeling and touch to it about childhood memories, that it helps the reader think about his/her past. Even if someone felt that their childhood was annoying, being an adult isn’t that cool. Being a young child only happens once. Enjoy it while it’s there!

The Child Decides

Parents think they have complete control over their children, and I understand why they feel that way. They’re the parent, and they feel that their child should obey them in all cause. I don’t disagree with that matter, but some parents abuse their control for their child a little too much. I’m talking about parents who are overprotected for the child, don’t give much freedom, and especially, they don’t allow any choices. Parents feel that they need to make all the choices for they’re children, and to me, that makes no sense.

         Romeo and Juliet is an extremely famous story, and that seems to be pretty obvious. For many people I know who love this story, they enjoy it because of its strong compassion for young love. I totally agree with that because the story does have a huge impact on two people fighting for a little love. But I enjoy the story because of how William Shakespeare delivers a message about self-indulgent parents making stupid choices for their child. This is the scenario, Juliet’s parents want Juliet to marry Count Paris. Juliet doesn’t even know the guy, so why does her parents force her to marry him? Anyway, she doesn’t exactly agree to the deal then, but when she meets Romeo at the party, they both go nuts for each other. But the father doesn’t like it, he still wants Juliet to marry Paris.

         The moral about parents that Shakespeare delivers has just as much of an impact about the love between Romeo and Juliet. Sure, it’s not exactly the main plot of the story and you also have to think about it a little, but to me, it means a lot. If you’re a parent, it’s good to be active around your child’s decisions, but don’t go to hard on them about you making choices. Just like adults, children have feelings. You don’t need to tell them what to do, 24/7. They’re not a computer. Kids need to learn how to make choices for themselves, and marriage is a big example for that. There are many traditions about arranged marriages, but this is completely different. If Juliet loves Romeo more than anything and they want to marry, why can’t they? It’s a lot more honest than her marrying some other person she never met before. True love is when you love someone and you want to be with them forever. Juliet found it, so it’s healthy for her to make up her own choice instead of her parents making if for her. This can also be related to one’s dream. Your parents shouldn’t have to tell you what your dream job is, your dream is your choice, your decision, something that you want to do with your life. Mom shouldn’t have to decide and so as your dad or anybody. That’s what Romeo and Juliet represents to me. To make up your own choice without your parents telling you.

Elementary School Memories? BLECH!

I’ve read, “There’s A Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom” about a million times and I feel that this book deserves to be a classic. Why do I praise it? Why do I love it so much? I relate to it in so many ways. The main character, Bradley Chalkers is a fifth grade, stubborn moron who bully’s other kids and everyone in the school hates him. Carla Davis, the school counselor tries to help him so he acts a little more pleasant. I relate to Bradley more than anything in the book. I mean, that I relate to him as if I was still in Elementary school

            In my opinion, I think I was a self-centered, willful brat in Elementary school. When I remember my behavior and how I acted three years ago, it just sickens me. When I talked about this with my father, he strongly disagreed with me. I’m not going to get into a bunch of examples and reasons why I felt that I was a brat in Elementary school, but this is some reasons why There’s A Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom was so relevant to me.

            First, Bradley Chalkers behavior is unbearable. He talks rudely to his teacher, to other kids, and his family. Bradley lies and blindly makes his mother look like the scapegoat. He’s mean for no reason, he loves to pick on other kids, and he NEVER does his homework. Then later, Bradley acts cocky and tells his mother that he got an A+ on his test, for example.

 Okay, maybe I didn’t act that badly when I was younger, but what makes me feel so related, is how I evolved into more of a mature person, like Bradley Chalkers. All he needed was some discipline, but no teacher could do that because he was such a pain. That’s what makes Carla Davis a special character. Unlike everyone else, she had the patience and knew how to take it slow, to help Bradley become a better person. Instead of yelling and lecturing Bradley, Carla had the capability to talk to him and know him more of a friend than a student.

            Back in Elementary school, I was oblivious and that caused me to be so bullheaded. I was never aware of my actions, so I would ignore how I behaved in the past. When it came to future expectations, I would act like the same facetious moron. Yeah I know, it sounds like I’m being a little to hard on myself. But hey, this is really how I feel about my younger childhood memories. Today, I’m not perfect at all, but I’m not so damn annoying like I was a few years back. I didn’t really need a teacher to talk to me in a genial, patient tone to turn me into a better person, like Bradley Chalkers. I talked to kids who were my age and notice how they normally acted, so then I tried to do the same. Then later, I knew how to be cautious about my actions and was a little more careful what I do. This is another reason why I really love, There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom. It teaches kids that how ever you act in the past, it can’t change your personality in the future. You have the power to change who you are because we all have hope. Hope, meaning that you have the right to do what you do best and we all have courage to make our own choices in life. 

My Wacky Response Blog to Other Blogs :)

http://me-blog-explosion.blogspot.com/2010/11/reality-blows.html?

"Reality Blows" by Louis Bonnet (ME + BLOG = EXPLOSION)

http://benselablog.blogspot.com/2011/01/lady-looking-through-telescope-while.html?

"Telescope" by Ben Futterman (Ben's E.L.A Blog)

http://nukethatblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-can-write-reasonably-good-article.html?

"I can write a reasonably good article about this now" by Jack Cassidy (Angry Twinkie Blog)

Louis wrote a sensible and meaningful blog, and deserves to be a mentor text. He explains how silly it is, to ask a young child what they want to be when they grow up. Why is it pointless? Why is meaningless? Well, asking the question is fine, but being concerned about what they say is just dumb. Louis elaborates on his opinion with understandable logic. A person's idea to figure out what their occupation is going to be when they grow up, will change once they become older and older. This may not happen with every child on the planet. Who knows? Maybe a person stuck to their dream when they were five years old. I really enjoyed reading this blog because Louis made good connections with the character he talks about, and lots of his writing shows good examples of a legible blog.

Telescope, a poem written by Ben Futterman, is a perfect mentor text for me, especially, because he uses certain technique skills I could learn when writing poetry. For example, he uses smoother rhythm and rhyming. He also knows how to end a poem, without leaving the reader confused. Something else I could relate to Ben’s poetry, is his humbleness. When I read the comments below of his poetry blog, lots of people compliment or even praise it. Letting him know that he wrote a really good poem. Then, Ben replies back saying he hates the poem and he feels that it’s the worse poem he ever wrote. In my opinion, my poems is really nothing special. When other people tell me that they enjoyed my work, I usually reply back saying something like, “It wasn’t all that good”.

I really admire Jack’s blog here, because the voice and tone can really match what he’s trying to point out. His words articulate well and doesn’t sound like the voice of a recorder messaging machine. Also, he speaks in the tone of a professional book reviewer, or something related to that. Jack is descriptive and creative with his choice of vocabulary. I’m kind of into reviews and since this blog has the voice of it, I think it’s perfect for a mentor text. 

Introducing the Warzone

Introducing the Warzone by Kai Junn Lathrop

I stride across the soothing forest,
as I swim across the sparkling lake.
I can't deny the nature,
With the birds chirping,
with the rabbits hopping,
with the tigers roaring.
Feeling the smooth, wet rock against my hand.

The forest speaks to me.
It says, "Be free, be free! Enjoy the soft silky grass!"
It's peaceful, so quiet.
I took what I had to enjoy

Then...

BOOM! The bountiful memories of nature flashes before my eyes.
A panda chewing bamboo blurs into a firing tank.
Birds flying into the sky blurs into a fighter plane.
The trees burining,
the lake drying,
the grass pulverizing.

I wish that the whole world can see,
that nature is in fear,
my eyes drop into tears.
I wish that nature was free as me.

I sit under the smooth rock
which is now a half stone.
I moan... I moan...
This is me,
introducing the warzone.

Faking the Sickness

Sick by Shel Silverstein

"I cannot go to school today,"

Said little Peggy Ann McKay.

"I have the measles and the mumps,

A gash, a rash and purple bumps.

My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,

I'm going blind in my right eye.

My tonsils are as big as rocks,

I've counted sixteen chicken pox

And there's one more--that's seventeen,

And don't you think my face looks green?

My leg is cut--my eyes are blue--

It might be instamatic flu.

I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,

I'm sure that my left leg is broke--

My hip hurts when I move my chin,

My belly button's caving in,

My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,

My 'pendix pains each time it rains.

My nose is cold, my toes are numb.

I have a sliver in my thumb.

My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,

I hardly whisper when I speak.

My tongue is filling up my mouth,

I think my hair is falling out.

My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,

My temperature is one-o-eight.

My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,

There is a hole inside my ear.

I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?

What's that? What's that you say?

You say today is. . .Saturday?

G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

The “story” or idea of this poem is pretty simple. A kid doesn’t want to go to school, so he pretends that he is sick. I love how Shel Silverstein puts creative and wacky expressions to describe how many ways you can get sick. I notice how the poem builds up into a transition, like you hear a girl groaning in pain. But then you here her say, what? It’s Saturday? So the voice and tone of the poem changes erratically. I also noticed how the poem starts off with Peggy Ann having a soar throat, and then comparing what she says at the end, I have a hole in my inside my ear. I also noticed interesting metaphors, like my brain is shrunk and my belly is carving in. I don’t know how, but Shel Silverstein must have a ton of creative ways for metaphors and descriptions. The reason why I find it so original is because the phrase isn’t so predictable.

         I find the rhyming simple in this poem, but has a very smooth rhythm. Reading it felt more like I was reading lyrics, and that’s not bad at all. So the poem is basically has an A + B pattern. Like Mumps, Bumps, Eye, Dry. I find the rhythm smooth because each segment or line have an equal amount of syllables. For example, “My tongue is filling up my mouth” and “I think my hair is falling out”. If I played a metronome throughout the whole poem, it would not sound choppy.

         Shel Silverstein has many creative ways to describe expressions and phrases, and I find most of it fairly original. That’s why Silverstein’s work is fresh, and his literature actually has the capability to get kids excited about his poems. It is also why I picked, “Sick”, because kids relate to it heavily. Waking up in the morning for kids is a bummer because, what makes you think we feel like getting up to go to school. It’s like a “Today’s another day”, moment. But the positive issue with Silverstein’s work is that we can take this example of lazy kids who don’t want to go to school, and socially, put it in a healthy manner, and have a sense of humor about it. The poem “Sick” is my main reason why I admire Shel Silverstein’s literature. 

Spin Us a Web, Spider Man

Reading the graphic novel, Spider Man, brought my “super hero” comic book experience to a whole new level. That may sound a bit silly, but reading comics was a real hobby for me when I was an elementary school kid. Then, watching Spider Man as a movie was awesome. Seeing him hop around New York with his web, and seeing it come to life was great. But then, years later, watching Spider Man as a Broadway musical BLEW MY MIND. Seeing Spider Man fly across a city was cool, but seeing Spider Man fly across a Broadway theater room was just a phenomenal, while I was there! It was simply amazing. The acting was great, the set was mind blowing, and the music was enjoyable.

Most people are pretty familiar of the Spider Man franchise. Like the story, characters, etc. But for people who are not, here is the story of Spider Man: It starts off with a shy, quiet bookworm high scholar, Peter Parker. Peter is a victim to bullies and kids who love to make fun of him for being smart. He lives with his aunt and uncle who have over-protective parenting issues. Peter loves them, but he does get irritated. When he goes on a school field trip to a science laboratory, he gets bitten by a mutated spider. It hurt, but the spider gave Peter super powers. Like climbing walls and building up his strength. Meanwhile, Peter creates his own sticky web shooter on his wrist, to reach higher places. But in other versions of Spider Man, he gets the web from getting bit by the spider and it squirts out of his veins or something. I don’t really know. But Peter, the lonely high scholar, now turns into a super hero who fights crime and beat up bad guys!

There’s the basic story, but reading the graphic novel, watching the movie, and seeing a Broadway show of Spider Man was a very interesting experience. Spider Man is a thriller, and probably one of the reasons why Broadway decided to make a musical from Spider Man. They knew that mostly everyone in the country knows Spider Man and predicted the show would be famous. And besides, it is the most costly production Broadway musical to this date. So yeah, that attracted a lot of people to see this play.