c17pm

We had our debate today about whether or not the Wizard of Oz (Woz, which is Mrs. Edinger’s shortened version of Wizard of Oz) movie was a good adaptation of the book or not. I was on the Bad Adaptation side with c17zt, c17ar, c17dw and c17db. Lucky for me, I thought that the Woz movie was a bad adaptation, so it wasn’t too hard to argue about it.

The debate was really fun (I was nervous at the beginning) and we all got really ‘passionate’ about it, according to Mrs. Edinger. (see her post about it.) We argued about the Golden Cap, and if you don’t know about it ’cause you just watched the movie – that totally proves our point! We also argued about the two good witches (there were originally two, in the book, but the movie morphed them into one) and about them journeying to see Glinda, the good witch of the south and the lion becoming the king of the forest and the little china place. If you only watched the movie – you won’t know any of it. It was a bad adaptation because

1. They left out parts I thought were important like the Lion becoming king of the forest

2. They turned the witch of the north and Glinda into one good witch – Glinda, witch of the north

3. They left out the golden cap – and every part where it was mentioned!

4. A famous part of the movie is when Glinda (the fake one from the movie) sends Dorothy home and Dorothy keeps saying, “There’s no place like home.” But that is NOT what happens in the book – the real Glinda sends Dorothy home with the golden cap!

The movie was totally a bad adaptation and now you can see why.

This is an interview between my buddy and I.

podcast interview

You might of heard of Stevie Wonder – the amazing blind singer. He was born in Saginaw, Michigan, and then later moved to Detroit, Michigan. His real name is not Stevie Wonder (though it is believable) but actually Steveland Morris.

You might want to call Stevie a ‘musical’ child prodigy … since his first song was written at age 10. (Which is my age!) He was recognized quickly, of course, and his first album was titled Little Stevie Wonder, the 12 Year Old Genius. During Stevie’s childhood career, he continued to amaze audiences with hit singles, like “Hey Harmonica Man,” “Contract on Love,” and “Work Out, Stevie, Work Out.”

Sometimes Stevie would perform as a one man band – and he was good at it too. I’m sure it would be a sight to see, watching Stevie Wonder play the drums, harmonica, piano, organ and sing at the same time! If that’s not talented, what is?

When I did New Jersey I know I made these two seperate blog posts but to save time, I decided to just combine them.

Michigan’s State Symbols

State Bird: robin

State Fish: brook trout (what a coincidence, just like New Jersey!)

State Flower: apple blossom

State Tree: eastern white pine

State Motto: If you seek a peninsula, look about you

State’s General Population: 10,120,860

Michigan Facts (Both Fun and Normal)

You just learned Michigan’s state motto, which is If you seek a peninsula, look about you. If you are wondering what a peninsula is; it’s land that is surrounded by water on 3 sides. Michigan is actually split up into TWO peninsulas, because of the four great lakes that surround it.

The great lakes are Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and of course, Lake Michigan. They are what keeps Michigan from being an ordinary, fully connected piece of land.

Michigan’s capitol is Lansing but their biggest city would be Detroit. And speaking of Detroit, Michigan, you might want to know that one of Dalton’s librarians, by the name of Joe Quain, is FROM Detroit, Michigan. Most people at Dalton know him.

Battle Creek, Michigan is somtimes called ‘Cereal City’ because it homes the Kellog cereal brand. If you eat Kellog cereal, this is probably an interesting thing to know.

Sometimes people call Michigan the Wolverine State, but it’s believed that there are NO wild wolverines in Michigan. It’s a strange nickname, if you ask me.

WE FINALLY FINISHED OUR ALICE PROJECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We made posters with our comic chapters and we had two chapters so we couldn’t fit everything onto one poster board so we used two.

Then Mrs. Edinger put it up in the hall so everyone could see it. (The only other ones there are c17ar and c17ds’s, and c17am and c17sp’s.)

Yesterday we had our Tea Party (based on the one the Mad Hatter and March Hare had in Alice in Wonderland) and I brought the jam. There were cookies and tarts and butter and strawberries & cream and fruit and cupcakes (mini ones) and Kool-aid and hot chocolate and tea.

There was also entertainment (where people would recite poetry from Alice in Wonderland like You are old, Father William and the Walrus and the Carpenter) and c17db recited Jabberwocky from memory and he didn’t make any mistakes. He didn’t have to use the book either, like every other group did. He was the best entertainment.

Then we played Pin the Smile on the Cheshire Cat. People got really close (one person, I forget who, put the smile right next to the real smile!) but no one got it exactly. I almost put it on the door (according to someone) but then I ended up putting it on the wall.

This was a really fun project!!!!!

Grace Lin is the author of The Year of the Dog and The Year of the Rat. Now she is the author of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, a book about a girl named Minli who goes on a journey to find Never-Ending Mountain and the Old Man of the Moon, so she can change her fortune.

It starts out with a description of what her village, which is shadowed by Fruitless Mountain, a mountain where nothing grows. Minli’s family works hard, like everyone else in the village, but they are still poor. Her life changes when a man, selling goldfish, comes by. According to him, the goldfish will bring fortune to the house that it lives in.

So Minli gives him some copper coins, and the goldfish is hers. When she brings it home, though, her mother is mad. “Another mouth to feed!” she complains. So that night, Minli sneaks out of the house with the goldfish, and sets her free. And then the goldfish speaks to her, and gives her directions to Never-Ending Mountain, where she will find the Old Man of the Moon.

I would tell you more, but you should read it instead.

This is my very first podcast on my blog! (Hmm, maybe it’s my last.) We all made Podcasts about the imaginary Pilgrim characters we invented. My Podcast tells you about some of the stuff we did and also about Dorothy May Rawlins (which is the name of my character.) I would tell you more, but I want to let my Podcast explain it.

 

 Pilgrim Podcast on Dorothy May Rawlins: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Southwest of New Jersey is Camden, New Jersey’s sixth largest city. A poet named Walt Whitman spent the last 19 years of his life there, talking to strangers whenever he met them. Later, one of Camden’s landmarks is a place called the Walt Whitman House. 

Ever eaten Campbell Soup? It’s based on Camden. The company has it’s own MUSEUM there! The Campbell Museum has soup bowls dating back 2,500 years.

In 1982 the New Jersey State Aquarium (in Camden) opened. Children all over New Jersey loved it. 

If you want to learn more about Camden and New Jersey read the book From Sea to Shining Sea: New Jersey. 

At the southeastern tip of New Jersey lies Cape May, a very attractive attraction. People like to collect the Cape May “diamonds”, which are really just pieces of quartz. After collecting enough of them, people turn them into jewelry, such as necklaces or bracelets. 

Sometimes people come to see wildlife. They will visit Cape May’s Whale Watch and Research Center, then take the boat tour. On the tour you can check the water for whales and/or dolphins. 

Some people take the tour for other reasons. In the fall, tons of bird-watchers hit the boats and try to spot the most types of birds to win the contest. They’re 700, so it could take a while to spot them all! 

If you plan on visiting this place for a vacation, or maybe just a day trip, try staying at the Abbey, a seaside inn at Cape May. 

To look Cape May up some more, you can read the book From Sea to Shining Sea: New Jersey. It will have info about New Jersey in general, not just Cape May. 

Instead of the State Symbols of New Jersey (see earlier post) I present to you some of the facts of New Jersey. See here for more information on New Jersey.

• It’s name origin was from the Channel Isle of Jersey
• The capitol is Trenton, New Jersey. This is also where the first professional basketball game was played.
• The governer is Jon Corzine
• New Jersey has 13 U.S representatives.
• It entered the Union on Dec. 18, 1787
• New Jersey’s motto: “Liberty and Prosperity.”
• Their nickname is the “Garden State”
• Their number of counties is 21
• They have 11 state forests and 42 state parks.

These are not all of the facts of New Jersey, and if you want to know more click on the link at the beginning of this post.