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| letter.Independent Novel Study Unit – Novel Assignment Number One
1 ) Dear Diary;
You
would not believe what mother is making me do. She and her friend from
Cape Breton, called Mrs. Mac Causley-Brown have gotten together and
made a plan to send me where Mrs. Mac Causley-Brown works.I’m so mad at
her. I’m working as a mere servant to some rich blokes from down that
way, the woman is deaf and the man is a “batty” old fellow that invents
things, or so I hear.
2 ) Dear Diary,
Work is going fine.
The people here can be okay. I’ve made friends with a few people, who
seemed fine until I cheated them during my break at the Sheep Farm
where I work. Isaac is the boss at the Sheep Farm, he was the one who
pointed out that I was picking up and shaking dices in my left hand,
but throwing from my right. The old hag. Anyways, this place is pretty
cool, besides where I’m working. On the tour of the land the other day,
I was allowed to view a recent project of Mr. Alexander Graham Bell.
It’s called a hydrofoil, and the only way I can describe it to you is
by saying it looks rather like a plane-boat mix with silver tin-like
stuff all over the bottom. I asked if I could join that project instead
of the Sheep Farm, but I guess the hydrofoil is top secret, as it is to
be used as a tool in the fight against Germans.
3) Dear Diary,
Tonight
Mr. And Mrs. Bell asked me to join them for dinner. I accepted, but
decided I’d work instead of sit and eat with all their fancy friends.
After the guests and the Bells finished their meal, they decided to
retire to a beautiful room within the house, the Drawing Room. There
they started dealing cards! Who would imagine such fancy people playing
something like cards!? I was certainly surprised. There Mr. Bell asked
me to go to his own private room and fetch him three of his Cuban-made
cigars. When I was there, I took three for him, and three for myself,
and after work I left to the bench in the woods to smoke them. But I
wasn’t alone. I heard voices and hid under the bench. The voices, all
but one was speaking a different language. I told no one but you. But
the English voice, Diary, sounded very familiar.
4 ) Dear Diary,
This
afternoon I found where the civilians all play poker. I only cheated a
little, but I managed to get over 80 dollars in winnings. But on my way
back to the Bell Mansion, the boys I was playing against tried to bet
me up, in order to get my money. Lucky for me, Mr. Bell was taking his
midnight stroll through the land. He got me out of the mess. But on the
way to the staff house, where I stay, we smelled smoke and found the
building that held the hydrofoil was afire! WE managed to save the
hydrofoil, but it was so close, even now, a few days after I am choking
on black stuff that seems to line my whole throat. My hair had to be
cut and everything because the heat in the building made paint buckets
within the building explode, getting everywhere.
4 ) Dear Diary,
I’m
SO happy. Mr. Bell, as a token of his thanks for my help in saving the
hydrofoil has relived me from my job at the Sheep Farm and hired me at
the hydrofoil project! Right now I’m mostly helping on building the new
building because the old one has been reduced to a pile of smoldering
rubble on the ground. I still can’t get over the fact that me and Mr.
Bell nearly died saving the hydrofoil. I never sent mother a letter
yet, because Mrs. Bell has been keeping me locked in the house on
wellness rest until today. | | |
| The book I read is Swiss Family Robinson, written by Johann David Wyss. This book features a family on a ship heading foir a new beginning in Autstrailla. On their way, the ship they are sailing on is caught in a massive storm that takes them off corse and kills a lot of the people abord. In the storms last hours, it manages to swipe the ship into a reef where the whole side of the boat is broken apart. The captain and company the family were sailing with, out of fear fled for lifeboats and left them behind on the distroyed vessel. The family of four sons a wife and father, don’t give up hope and pray to god, woking hard to find some way to follow the other’s who fred before them. THe storm broke the morning arter the Robinsons were left on the ship, and the family uses their strenght and cleverness to discover that from old bathing tubs and bookshelves they could make a boat to sail to the land they can make out in the far distance. They sailed in their rough raft to land, bringing with them a little food, their two dogs, Flora and Turk and oither thinks that might be able to help them as they hit land. When they finally arrive at the island they find that it is deserted and that they are going to have to fend for themselves. They create a rough shelter and unload the goods they brought with them. They have a great supper, in spite of not having forks, knifes our bouls to eat with, instead they used seashells that they found in the small bay aroudn the place they are settled. They are content living in one palce for a little while, with the few possesions they have. But soo the father and his son, Fritz are eager to go back to the ship to gather the nessary goods that they left behind. When they return, safe and sound with more trunks and provisions, they create a more stable home, in a huge tree. In their tree house, the family lives peacfully for a long time. They befriend a baby monkey and a baby flamingo, both who’s mothers were killed by Turk and Flora. And they also find a distroyed buffalow, who’s baby they train and make into an animal that they could travel on. They create cellers, barns and boats in order to help with their day to day activity’s. Ernest, Jack, Fritz, Elizabeth, Francis and Willaim one day spot a ship passing by, knowing that this is one of the few chances they will get to rid themselves from the island. They set of some fireworks they foiund on board the ship and catch the ships eye. They are picked up by a a couple heading for the Robinson’s original destination, Port Jackson, Austrailla. Almost as soon as they pull away from the East Indian Island where they were stranded, William Robinson becomes deathly ill. You’d have to read for yourself to discover the fate of the family.
I think that pretty much everyone would like this book, nobody should turn it down as I amost did. It’s long old words were hard to find in dictionarys and I hadn’t even heard some of them before, I could only guess what they ment. “Jackals”, “Sailcloth” and other words threw me off, since I thought I knew quite a lot of long, old words.
This book also really opens your eyes to the fact that a few decades ago, the east indian islands were barley occuplied by people. It also shows how dedicated some people are to their family’s, and hgow heavily they rely on god to helpo them. I noticed that the Robinson’s prayed an average of four times a day. They said a prayer when they woke, at all their meals, and when they discovered something or found something that could help them, they prayed. I would encourage others to read it, in order to help them learn geography, learn more about religion, or learn how to fend for themselves on a deserted island. Also it talks a lot about many exotic plants and animals like kangeroo’s, monkeys, flamingo’s, giant turtles and “jackles”. It is also a classic adventure novel. It is also very captivating, it will keep you up reading. I found it quite hard to relate the this novel. Witch made me not like it is much as I think I could. But I did see a few. · My parents and Elizabeth and William both belive in god and are religious. · The mokey inside the book reminded me a lot of a mokey I was at an exibhit when I was nine in New York. They were both small, without mothers and noth needed humans to help them live. · I am around the same age as the Robinsons eldest son, Fritz. · One I made a raft, although mine was made on dry land with sricks and fallen down tree limbs. · I once saw a horse tamed, like the Robinson’s trained their buffalow, Shadow. I didn’t like the names of the Chapters, they kind of gave away the point to the whole chapters, like before you even thought that the family would make a tree house, you read the chapter title and it’s called “We create a tree house and ladder”. It was kind of annoying and made you not want to read the next chapter half as much as you would have, because there is nothing to look forward to, since the chapter next will make the same mistake. But that was pretty much the only thing I didn’t like about the book. When I researched more into the book I discovered… · That the authours son finshed and edited the book for him. · That the family was on the island for years, not months. · That the family was originally bound for Austrailla. · That they were deserted in the East Indies. · That the family was not actually the “Robinson’s”, they were swiss and that is noit a swiss surname. They just called themselves that becsuae they were reminded of Robinson Crusoe. · There have been over twenty-two remakes or television shows based on the story of The Swiss Family Robinson. | | |
| He sat beside him mom's bright blond coat, so that
he was hardly visable. But I saw him, and I knew he was the only puppy
I would ever let the family take home. I hopped into the little pen the
bordered the dog house leaving a little room in front for the 2 week
old pups to frolick around and fight about.
My friend Jillian that I had met a year or two
before at a horse show in antigonish, had a dog named Stacy. Stacy was
not fixed and had had her 5th littler of puppies on Canada day, so when
I ran into her and her mother, Trisha they were sure to tell me all
about the little newborns. THey were looking to get rid of them before
they were too old. I mean, those nine puppies were going to be hard to
feed, with the price of puppy chow these days and everything...
Anyways I had promised I would talk my mother into
taking Abigail, Mason and me to just "take a quick peek" at them. Mom
had given up and headed towards Jill's after all of her children got in
her face and begged with our sickest most huge-tearey-eyed looks ever.
And there we were, and there he was. He was the un-named one then.
I coaxed him over to me and held out my hand for him
to sniff at and look scared about. Then he hopped onto my open palm,
and to my surprise my fingers bent far back under his weight. I winced
and smiled, hoisting him up into my arms. He stufffed his nose into my
neck and gave a shrill bark. I thimnk he was trying to tell me to take
him home, that he liked me as much as I liked him. That gave me a
little confidence, now I was totally positive that this little puppy,
half the size of the others was definatly the only dog that I could
ever want.
Although I was soft hearted when you got right down
to it. But that day as I held that teeny bundle of fat and black hair
in my arms, and he licked the red and white Canada Flag off my face, I
headed towards my mom and family, detirmind as I was ever going to ever
be.
"Mom, check his little fella out." I glanced down at
Sakic, who's abnormally large chocolaty brown eyes stared at mom.
"Olivia look at him he is so plain, why not a more
coorful and funny puppy?" She looked at my face,"Well, if you think
that he's perfect, you can talk to Mason and Abigail, they are other
there fighting."
Mason had played football that day, and was still
wearing his uniform without his sholder pads, he had hopped right into
the car, sweaty and muddy after we all ran up and told him about the
puppy's, he was gold colored and very exited, he was practically
falling over his bum as he raced to catch his bushy tail. I lauhged.
Abigail on the other hand was feeding the fluffy
tri-colored lump that was crying to get down on the ground and eat some
more food.
Mason and Abby rushed over and looked at Sakic, and
to my surprise Sakic leaped into Mason's arms and cuddles, chased
Mason's football and then tryed to chance him around the yard.
Abigail fed Sakic some of the kibbels and bits that
lay on the ground, and had been dumped by other pup's onto the grassy
lawn. Sakic nibbled at a few of the chicken flavored lumps and then
tryed to race in figure eights around her legs.
It was final, as we piled into th car with the two
other puppies stuffed into an old apple basket so that we could "make
certain" witch ones we wanted, although we had already picked Sakic.
-------------------------------
After my uncle, mothers brother had passed
away, his family had let the beautiful full story house behind and left
the poveince and country to grive. he was around 35 when he passed away
suddenly at war.
now there was a new family in the house, they were
sweet and even mother liked them. mervin and annabelle had moved into
the huge blue house through the woods, at perfect timing, just around
christmas. and they had brought decorations.
we had never had decorations in our house,
daddy hung up some spruce bows over the doors and ouside the windows
and somtimes we could find some ribbon to tie around with it. but
nothing in our whole house including my mother's mother's tree
ornements could even start to sum up to annabelle, mervin and their
children's beautiful festive lights.
they were rainbow colored and hung all over the
beautiful house that had once housed joe quinn and his family of seven.
inside they had done what daddy did with the bows, they were snaked
with mesh-like gold ribbon that sparkled and danced in front of light.
they also had a beautiful tree.
| | |
| He sat beside him mom's bright blond coat, so that
he was hardly visable. But I saw him, and I knew he was the only puppy
I would ever let the family take home. I hopped into the little pen the
bordered the dog house leaving a little room in front for the 2 week
old pups to frolick around and fight about.
My friend Jillian that I had met a year or two
before at a horse show in antigonish, had a dog named Stacy. Stacy was
not fixed and had had her 5th littler of puppies on Canada day, so when
I ran into her and her mother, Trisha they were sure to tell me all
about the little newborns. THey were looking to get rid of them before
they were too old. I mean, those nine puppies were going to be hard to
feed, with the price of puppy chow these days and everything...
Anyways I had promised I would talk my mother into
taking Abigail, Mason and me to just "take a quick peek" at them. Mom
had given up and headed towards Jill's after all of her children got in
her face and begged with our sickest most huge-tearey-eyed looks ever.
And there we were, and there he was. He was the un-named one then.
I coaxed him over to me and held out my hand for him
to sniff at and look scared about. Then he hopped onto my open palm,
and to my surprise my fingers bent far back under his weight. I winced
and smiled, hoisting him up into my arms. He stufffed his nose into my
neck and gave a shrill bark. I thimnk he was trying to tell me to take
him home, that he liked me as much as I liked him. That gave me a
little confidence, now I was totally positive that this little puppy,
half the size of the others was definatly the only dog that I could
ever want.
Although I was soft hearted when you got right down
to it. But that day as I held that teeny bundle of fat and black hair
in my arms, and he licked the red and white Canada Flag off my face, I
headed towards my mom and family, detirmind as I was ever going to ever
be.
"Mom, check his little fella out." I glanced down at
Sakic, who's abnormally large chocolaty brown eyes stared at mom.
"Olivia look at him he is so plain, why not a more
coorful and funny puppy?" She looked at my face,"Well, if you think
that he's perfect, you can talk to Mason and Abigail, they are other
there fighting."
Mason had played football that day, and was still
wearing his uniform without his sholder pads, he had hopped right into
the car, sweaty and muddy after we all ran up and told him about the
puppy's, he was gold colored and very exited, he was practically
falling over his bum as he raced to catch his bushy tail. I lauhged.
Abigail on the other hand was feeding the fluffy
tri-colored lump that was crying to get down on the ground and eat some
more food.
Mason and Abby rushed over and looked at Sakic, and
to my surprise Sakic leaped into Mason's arms and cuddles, chased
Mason's football and then tryed to chance him around the yard.
Abigail fed Sakic some of the kibbels and bits that
lay on the ground, and had been dumped by other pup's onto the grassy
lawn. Sakic nibbled at a few of the chicken flavored lumps and then
tryed to race in figure eights around her legs.
It was final, as we piled into th car with the two
other puppies stuffed into an old apple basket so that we could "make
certain" witch ones we wanted, although we had already picked Sakic.
| | |
| For school...My Childhood Memory
Mom passed me a little gold book. Pretty small and the perfect thing
for a girl the age of four. "I bet it is real gold too" the young
Catherine Graham thought with delight.
"Before you go to school. Becasue you are such a big girl, Catherine."
Mother looked at me with a small smile on her lips. Behind her my
littler siblings, James and Tom fought noisily over a remaining cookie
in the cookie jar.
"Boys outside now", Mom's shrill, yet firm vioce cut through the humid
air that filled our kitchen. She alwasy kept the whole house tidy. You
wpould expect she like her children would take at least a tiny break
from her chorse, but that was out of the question. Mom had to make sure
everything was squeeky clean. It was just the way she was. But I wasn't
thinking about that at the moment.
The boys paraded out of the kitchen even they knew that Mom was nothing
to be reckones with. They both started whispering and glancing at my
book as they left the room.
"Thank you, Mother." my voice filled with awe as a stared with a wide smile across my face at the little gold book.
"Your very welcome, Catherine. You should go join the boys outside, get
some color to your skin." Mom had the bluest eyes I had ever seen. I on
the other hand had very round, celery green eyes. I was skinny and
rather tall for my age and mother was always trying to get me to eat
more becasue I was so skinny, but she knew that I had got it from her.
Mom was a good eater, she loved every food imaginable except for green
peppers, she wan't too tall, but she was skinny as a string bean with
long narrow feet and perfect hands with slender fingers that worked
hard everyday.
"Alright mother."
I ran outside and held my brethe s i turned the first page, the smile
that was plastereed sillyily on my face from before, grew even wider as
I saw a beautiful pink pony laying in a feld of daisy's. I laughed out
loud and started hopping around, happy with my new book beyond words.
My youngfer brother, James who happened be exactly one year younger and
shareed the same birthday as me, came up and looked at my page. "Ou,
lucky!" James voice was happy but calm. He was never really out of
controle.
"Isn't is pretty?" I asked exitedly, then I thought of what they would think of me if.."I can read it too."
Tom had quietly joined Jim who gazed at my books golden cover greedily.
"Wowwww... Read to us, Read to us." They begged.
I sat on the lawn and after making up a story about the pony's that
existed in my book me and the boys decided to go play in the
feilds. But I was not about to just abandon my beautiful new present in
the yard for somone to take. My young mind not taking in that none in
my family except Jim or Tom who would be with me would ever want such a
thing. I ran to the end of the driveway where a mess of clumpy bushes
with small bean-like things on them hung dring in the sunshine.
I ran back to thew house, took a tin pail off of the front stepts where
we stored some of the wood we used, and sprinted back to the bushes
with the speed and grace of a newborn awkward foal. I started ripping
the beans from the vine, spliting them, and taking all the pods
stashed inside, throwing them into the pail.
Behind me I heard the motor of the car easing it's was down the
driveway. And stopping beside me. My fathers jolly face poked through
the window, behind him you could see unckle Ronny smiling as he watched
me continue to pick the beans.
"Catherine what on earth are you doing?" My father looked at me
quizzically as he pulled on one of my light brown spirally locks. He
had the same eyes as me, and eyes that had tiny wrinkles at the corners
when he smiled. He and mother were two people that didn't mind smiling
or laughing a bit.
"I'm making beans"
As the two men errupted in laughter I thought opf a place wheree I
could keep my book and beans safe. I instantly thought of the mailbox.
And I walked over, thrusting my chin up in the air poped the pail into
the blue mailbox and ran back to meet Jim and Tom.
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