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I wrote a poem about a girl named Kagne that was taken as a slave on the slave ship The Amistad. I used some true facts that I researched and found from reading my teacher’s book Africa Is My Home. Be sure to look at the collage above that I did along with this poem. Enjoy!
:-)

Kagne

I miss the comforts of my home
I miss my four sisters and brothers
Speaking in Mende was so familiar
These white ghosts make Mende seem wrong
I wish I could be home

The Amistad means friendship
But I think that’s wrong
They treat us like we’re nothing
They push us around with their
Harsh, cold hands
They treat us like we’re nothing
What we have to eat is barely anything

I wish I wish
I could be back home
No more Amistad
I wish I wish
I could be back home
The sweet smells of Africa
I wish I wish
To be home where I belong

Africa Is My Home by my teacher Monica Edinger is a great example of historical fiction. It’s about a girl named Margru who was taken from her home in Africa to be a slave. She was taken on the ship the Amistad which means friendship. I will tell you it was anything but. In the end she won her freedom and became a teacher.

I think it’s a great example of historical fiction because it uses true facts such as dates like their case to win freedom was taken to Supreme Court on March 9th 1841.
I also thought there were good examples of literary devices. I especially enjoyed her poems in the book. I thought this book could be a Cinderella story because Margru started out with a good family, then she came down when she was taken to be a slave, and in the end came out on top when she got to go back home and become a teacher. This book is not published yet, but when it does come out I would definitely read it. One more thing, I thought I would leave you with one of the fantastic poems.

I dreamed I was home
Where I belonged,
In the place of my heart.
In Africa.

I dreamed I was home
In the land of my birth,
In the country I admired.
In Africa.

I dreamed I was home
With my family,
With the people that I loved.
In Africa.

I was home.

My buddy and I worked on writing a paragraph about the damage and the culture of New Orleans. The reason why they know so much about New Orleans is because my 3rd grade buddy has her own pen pall in New Orleans. The following paragraph you are going to read is my buddy’s own words. I hope you enjoy it!!

In my classroom I have a pen pall in New Orleans, Louisiana. We not only send them letters but we send them things that represent our culture. They also send us things that represent their culture. For example, they sent us a King Cake, which is a cake they eat on Mardi Gras. That’s a holiday where you celebrate and eat King Cake. In the King Cake you try to find the baby that’s hidden somewhere in the cake which is a Christian tradition. We work together to meet the goal of helping to fix the damaged schools in New Orleans. It’s so amazing that even though we live 1300 miles away we share a lot of similarities, such as computer games, foods, and curriculum. Our class did some research and found out that the flood did a lot of damage because New Orleans has a bowl effect. Meaning, when the water got in it stayed there. I hope that we really make a difference in everyone’s life in New Orleans.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is a book about a boy named Percy Jackson who is moved from school to school always getting kicked out. His teachers all absolutely hate him. When he goes to a summer camp called Camp half-Blood everything changes. He figures out something that definitely changes everything. It explains why he always gets kicked out of school. He’s not like everyone else.

It’s a great book packed with adventures and Greek myths. If you like Greek myths or even some of the Greek gods you will love this book. To all of the people who don’t like Greek myths: that doesn’t matter. You will still love this book as much as anyone else. The myths and gods are hidden in modern times so it’s fun to figure out who everyone is. When I got close to finishing this book I was so glad to figure out that there was more. Again I say if you like adventures and want something new this is THE BOOK. When you finish make sure to read The Sea Of Monsters and coming soon The Titan’s Curse.

Half A Sixpence is about a guy named Arthur Kipps who works in a drapery shop as well as being an orphan. It’s based on a book called Kipps by H.G. Wells. He’s in love with this girl named Ann and gives her half a sixpence so they can both remember each other. When he has the chance to make a fortune though Arthur leaves Ann in the dust for another woman a wealthy teacher named Helen Walsingham. When he finds himself not happy with his new life he decides to leave Helen and go back to his real love: Ann. In the end Arthur lives happily with Ann but with money.

I enjoyed the play very much. Even seeing some of it again, I still enjoyed it. I thought the actors and actresses did very well playing their own character. They did exceeded in their British accent. It’s about two hours – two and a half hours long so it’s a little bit long but that’s the only thing that I wasn’t so sure about. Everything else I loved and definitely thought was worth seeing. I also thought all of the music and singing was amazing. They obviously had to put a lot of hard wok into the making of this play. As my closing sentence I would say: Half A Sixpence: Full of Success!