Fly Away Home: Mr. Pancake Mix's Response

Every twelve seconds, a homeless man or women begs for money. That's my estimate. I could be wrong. I could be right, but it happens often and that is a fact. When you walk to school, when you walk home from school, or when you go down stairs to the deli to get a snack, look around you. There could be a person that has no home, no money, nothing. And all he/she will probably do is ask for a dollar or two. Human beings could be walking down the street who are available to spare a dime, but most of the time they walk away. They could be embarrassed or shy, maybe they feel that they don’t have to.

It’s not my job to tell people that it’s wrong not to give spare change to the homeless. The world feels that it has enough people to bug them about lending money to the homeless. A picture book called Fly Away Home made me think about people who are unfortunate. It’s a heartbreaking story about a father and a son who are homeless and live in an airport. The father and son dress up as passengers and make it look like they are about to board on a plane. They use the bathrooms to brush their teeth, eat at the food court, and walk around a lot so it makes it look less obvious that they are living in the airport.

One idea that came to my mind is how smart the father is. It’s clear that he knows what’s best for his son and himself. The father’s plan to take care of his child and keep clean made me think. Some people might think the homeless are unintelligent morons, who are incapable of living a healthy life style and trying at all to get back on their feet. The father’s character in Fly Away Home made me feel the stereotype on that specific action burned into a million ashes. The book and characters had a sad touch which also made me feel, that some people who are homeless really doesn’t deserve it. Some people who are homeless are intelligent, caring human beings who know how to take care of their selves and family. This is why the book, Fly Away Home had a meaningful, touching, and sad story about a simple father and son, living in an airport.

Bone: Tall Tales - Mr. Pancake Mix's Response

"Hey Kai Junn, you should really check out this graphic novel, Bone by Jeff Smith," said Noah, my friend from elementary school. By looking at its cover, it seemed cheesy with its character variety, but why not try it? So once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. It was a nine book series, and it had so much details in the story. It had such an excellent plot, and it's extremely funny!


 Bones are creatures that has nothing but clear white skin with big noses. There are three important Bone characters in the story, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone. Fone Bone is the character that tries to focus on helping other people and not being selfish. Phoney is the complete opposite. All he cares about is wealth and money. Smiley Bone is the goofy one always wears a top hat, and red vest, and a cigar in his mouth. Smiley is the best character in these series that will make you laugh the most. His jokes are hysterical and crack me up! Like when he's helping Lucius build the roof and when he's suppose to be fixing a hole, he starts talking about a stupid but silly opinion. The dialogue is amazing and it's hilarious.


After reading all nine books in the Bone series about five thousand times, Jeff Smith wrote another Bone book, with another author, called Tall Tales and it had the same characters, same drawings, same story layout, and it was still funny! It takes place after the nine book series and the story is about Smiley Bone, his friend Bartleby, go out camping in the woods with three Bone Scouts (Boy Scouts). Smiley tells them stories about life in the Valley with his cousins, Thorn, and Grandma Ben. Later he tells a story about a legend. The legend of Big Johnson Bone. The big reason why I love this individual Bone book if compared to the others, is that the sense of humor seems different, but still hilarious. It still makes me laugh, and I love how this sequal isn't a complete rip-off. Something that made me really laugh in Tall Tales, was Smiley's joke about being the leader because he has a huge hat that looks like a sombrero. I loved this book!


Bone is the greatest graphic novel I've ever read. Period. The story line has such a huge impact on the characters, it's funny and entertaining, all at the same times. There is even funny jokes when the scenes got emotional or dramatic. Bone felt like it had everything a kid would want in a comic. Action, comedy, and drama. Anyone could enjoy this book, even people who aren't in too comics that much. These books can get unrealistic at some points, but that's when you need to use your imagination. It is a comic, and it can be enjoyable to anyone.

Harry Potter: Mr. Pancake Mix's Response

I think the true meaning and creativity of magic comes from Harry Potter. It's the book where you really feal that magic can come to life as a reader. No other writer like J.K Rowling can make a perfect magical world of mystical creatures, spells, and evil villains. All of these themes were put together to make a masterpiece for my childhood. My thirteen years of life of picking up a book and just reading it for an hour straight. As I finish each Harry Potter book, it just keeps me wondering, "What will happen next... what will happen next..." This saga makes me feel that a child could have the most creative and original imagination. Reading the Harry Potter series might be the most memorable books I've ever read in my entire life. The conflict between Harry and Voldemort, the mystical and magical mood, the detailed setting of Hogwarts just tells me that this fantasy story can be an adventure I can't miss. 

The plot is fantastic. It goes like this: Harry Potter is a boy where his mother and father gets killed by the major antagonist, Lord Voldemort. He gets sent to his Aunt, Uncle, and cousin who are known as the Dursleys. They abuse Harry and treat hin like dirt. A man name Hagrid breaks into their house and tells Harry that he is a wizard. Harry is sent to a school full of magic and spells called Hogwarts. He meets friends, villains, and other interesting characters. Many people are very familar to this story because of how creative it is. 

Something I really love about the series is the conflict between Harry and his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and his cousin Dudley. Vernon and Petunia permanently spoils Dudley with their over extreme royalty, at the same time, they are ignoring Harry and pretend he doesn't even live with them. This idea has been used in many other books, like Roald Dahl books. But it works so well because it shows how much Harry enjoys staying at Hogwarts.

Ron and Hermione are very big characters to the book and their relationship with Harry. Ron and Hermoine are Harry's biggest friends. They work together, travel together, and sometimes fight with eachother. They also try to defend each other, like when they get into fights with Draco Malfoy who is a bully in Hogwarts that annoys Harry. I also like how Harry, Ron and Hermione have their own type of characteristic. Ron is the insecured and easiy-scared guy, Hermione is smart and loves to learn about magic, and Harry is the brave, heroic person who always gets himself into exciting and dangerous adventures. There are other characters like Dumbledore the school master, and Snape the potion's teacher. The supportive characters in the book relate very well with Harry's mood.

Harry Potter is a saga I will never forget. It makes me feel like if their was a magical world out there, it must be something like Harry Potter. I've knew these series since I was five years old. The problem was that I didn't understand it too much, but now I think it's one of the most amazing fantasy book with great dialouge and very fun characters and creatures that really stand up to the book. I always ask quetions to myself when reading, why does Harry's aunt, uncle, and cousin can't give him any respect? How does Harry know to be so cautious about his problem with Voldemort? How can Harry, Ron, and Hermione work together well when they fight all the time? These type of quetions make me more interested to the saga of Harry Potter. I'll always love the action packed, magical, and exciting stories Harry Potter gives, and I'll never forget it.

"Charlotte's Web" Response

Part 1: Introduction (The Real Story)
I've read the book, Charlotte's Web by E.B White three times in my thirteen years, and it must be my favorite childhood reading book. It's a story about a pig name Wilbur, that was planned to be killed because  of his lack of growth when he is born. There is another character name Fern, which is an eight year old girl that lives on a farm. Fern stops from Wilbur being killed from her father. She succeeds, and takes care of Wilbur. Later, he gets sold to a farmer named Homer Zuckerman. As every farmer would do: fatten up animals so they can eat them, the incident happens to Wilbur and isn't too happy. He meets a spider named Charlotte that becomes Wilbur's friend, and tries to rescue him from getting killed by Zuckerman. Very much like Fern's character. She gives out a message on her web that said "Some Pig", meaning that Wilbur is an amazing pig and has something worth to live for. Zuckerman falls for it and Wilbur enters a fair. He puts on a whole show doing flips and tricks and people find Wilbur as a rare, different, and amazing pig which prevents Wilbur from getting killed.


Part 2: The Macro Idea
The real "macro" idea in Charlotte's Web was Charlotte's and Wilbur's friendship. They are both very different characters. Charlotte is the one that knows how not to be selfish and act like a good person to Wilbur. The part that really shows Charlotte character is the scene where she comes up with the idea to give out a message about Wilbur, and basically saves his life. Charlotte is also a teacher to Wilbur. She tells him about important but big words, and facts about spiders. That's also a reason why Charlotte's Web is a great book for children because it can teach something about the real world. Wilbur is not as bright as Charlotte, but understands that he should repay Charlotte for all she did for him.


Part 3: Other Connections
Charlotte is like a mother to Wilbur, but also knows how to take care of herself. She makes an egg sac filled with over a hundred eggs. The good thing about Charlotte's character is that she acts like a real spider. Same thing goes with Wilbur. Two characters you can relate very will is Fern and Charlotte. Even though they don't know eachother, personally, it's still interesting. They both have the same thoughts on Wilbur, and both of them find every way possible to help Wilbur. That is also another example of friendship coming from another character, besides Charlotte. Fern played a big part of the story, even though she was bit of a micro or small character to Charlotte's Web.


Part 4: Conclusion
With all the fun scenes where he is flipping and dancing around with Wilbur, in the fair was great, but the main part of the story was Wilbur. How he interacted with other characters, especially with Fern and Charlotte. Wilbur was insecure most of the time, but he understood how to thank people for what they did to him and how they helped him. Wilbur is really a great character with strong motivations and reactions.