Book review: Papa's Promise

I finished a book called Papa's Promise.
I'm not used to reading historical fiction, so this book was a little different from other books I've read.
I was satisfied at the end of the story, because it isn't so simple but it isn't confusing or hard either.

The characters were believable throughout the whole story, except for when mama forgot to take her pouch out of her clothes before hanging them to dry because she was so serious and cautious and unforgetful about everything.

I definitely got pictures in my head as I read.  Some pictures I remember are:  Mama, Sarah, and Esther boarding the boat to America, Sarah getting a chalk mark and getting double checked by another doctor; lots of Jell-o, Esther's friends, Esther jump roping with Gisela, and Mama, Sarah, and Esther finally getting to see Papa and stay with him in America forever.  But really, the whole story was a flowing picture as I read.

I did learn some interesting things.  I learned that when the Russians decided to travel to America it wasn't at all a so-called "easy" process.  I mean, they had to ride by horse wagon and then stop at a place, then keep going, stop again, encounter soldiers, get on a  train, get inspected by doctors, get on a boat, get inspected again by doctors, stay on Ellis Island for awhile, and finally get to America.  Huge and extremely hard process!

The whole story moved at a good pace except for when Papa was in America for two years while the rest of his family was in Russia.  Nothing really happens in those two years until they leave.

When Esther told her cousin Karina and her friend Baka that she and Mama and Sarah were traveling to America to live with her papa, I was thinking, "Why would you do that, Esther!?".

The main reason why I like this book is because Papa kept his promise, even though it was a long time til he could truly fulfill it.  I also liked it because I think I can relate to Esther because I'm a big sister, too, and I do almost all the work while my little sister lounges around.  Mama was a really strong woman because she kept note of everything, she was careful, and she planned far ahead.

I would recommend this book because it tells you a lot about Hebrew/Russian history, and also because it is a good book, and who doesn't love a good book?

The Beach: A Poem by ZoeCreates

 I love the beach. Cool breeze, crashing waves, pretty textured seashells, squishy sand, crabs. Water! You can dig shapes in the sand, or just dig a deep hole you can have a spa in, and, if you dig deep enough, water appears! As you explore the sand and crashing ocean waves, you may hear a seagull, or a child that plays. Sometimes you find shark teeth with luck, and sometimes the sand can look like muck. Seagulls fly in the sky high, "C'mon, C'mon!" they say. But when we leave, that's okay, we will go to the beach another day; We will collect shells, ride the waves, and walk among all the bays. Squish our feet in the wet sand, dig by hand, yes, we will do all of that when we go to the beach again.

                                                             🏖🐚🦀🌊🤽🐦̼̼̼🐠🐟

Shopping with Grammy

On Thursday I shopped with my Grammy. It was super fun, but after I was soooooooooo tired. First, me, my mom, sister, brother, my aunt Nancy and Grammy shopped at Target. We got rompers, dresses, and tons of other cool clothes. We tried almost all of them on, but we only got our favorites.
Then we went shopping at TJ Maxx. I got another dress there, and some notebooks and pens, too. My brother and sister got clothes. After that, we were hungry! It was after 12:00, so we went to Chipotle for lunch. We filled our stomachs full. We went shopping again at Marshalls after we had lunch. There we got shoes. My brother, sister, and I got sandals, and only sandals. It was almost time to leave after that, but before saying goodbye we went to Whit's Frozen Custard and got ice cream. while we were eating it, Grammy gave us presents. They were so awesome! We got a sketch pad, books on how to draw things, books, an arts and crafts kit, and many more things. We had to go after that, but we had a great time.
I was very grateful.  I also got to hear some stories about when my Grammy and aunt were little.  They shared a room and my Grammy got mad and taped the room down the middle!  Me and my sister did that once, but it didn't work out well, so we took the tape off.
 Shopping was fun. Especially with my Grammy and Aunt Nancy. I hope to do it again.
Shopping Rocks!

(My Grammy doesn't like having her picture taken).

Safety Patrol

Guess what? I just got picked to be safety patrol in my school!!! It is a BIG DEAL. Only four people out of every fourth grade class get picked to be safety patrol trainees for the last 2 weeks of the year, then the entire next year they get to be safety patrols. The people who got picked in my class are: Isabella, Eric, Aidan, and me. The trainees have to save up $705 cash to go on a trip to Washington D.C. at the end of next year. There are also safety patrol Captains! I am one of them. Me and Gabby are the captains of the safety patrol trainees, but we are trainees, too. Kylie and Maya are the captains of the safety patrols. They also train me and Gabby, they are really nice. Anyway, the captains' job is to walk around the the school making sure every safety patrol is on their post, or where they are supposed to be. It is kind of fun. But every day you have to be at the flagpole by 7:45, or else you get a tardy. You leave by 3:15, unless you are a walker, then you leave by 3:00. Also, if you are a captain, you need to put up and take down the flag. That is pretty much it for safety patrol, but comment if you want to and ask me questions!

Field Trip to the Zoo

Last week I went on a field trip to the Jacksonville Zoo. It was fun! we got to see lots of animals and other really cool things! Here are some of them:

1. Kimodo Dragon

 This is a Kimodo Dragon, it is from Kimodo Island. It is usually very still and doesn't move, kind of like a alligator. But if you disturb it, it will jump out at you!

2. Gorilla

 Gorillas are basically big monkeys. Adults, of course. Baby gorillas are tiny, like regular monkeys. The little gorilla on top of that big one in the picture is a baby gorilla, it is so cute!

3. Polar Bear

 This is a Lego Polar Bear. Polar Bears live in the North Pole, they love the cold. But since of global warming, they are becoming endangered.

4. Flamingo

These are Flamingos. They have long legs, so they can stand tall in the water. When Flamingos are babies, they have gray feathers. But around their third and fourth birthday, their feathers turn flaming pink or orange!


Hope you learned a lot about these animals in this post! Comment and tell me about your trip to the Zoo!

My Great-Grandmother

My great grandmother's name was Eleanor.  I am the only kid in my family who knew her because she died when my mom was pregnant with my sister.  Everyone called her Ama.  Here are some of the things I know about her...

Ama and me

She was a middle child.  Today would have been her 102nd birthday.  Wow!  When I was born people say she was "tickled" that I had red hair because there hadn't been a redhead for awhile.  She had four kids, six grandkids, and when she died she had 5 great-grandchildren.  She lived in Massachusetts.  When her husband died, he had a company and everybody said, "Oh, you should sell the company now that he's not alive" but instead, she just said, "No, I'll run the company!" which is pretty cool for that time.
She was also a good cook.
That is all I know, but I am trying to learn more about my family history.
Try to learn a story about your family history, you can learn a lot of interesting facts and anecdotes!

My Dream Vacation

What would your Dream Vacation be? My Dream Vacation would be this: I would wake up, and go downstairs and have pancakes for breakfast (I never have pancakes for breakfast, or ever, so it would be a very, very special breakfast.) Then, me and my family would hurry to the airport with our luggage and tickets to Ireland (yes, Ireland!) Once we were in the airplane and had took off, I would fall asleep, wake up and eat, then draw, then read, go back to sleep, wake up and eat, and I would do that all day, all night I would sleep, but when we finally got there, we would rent a hotel and stay in Ireland for about a week, and while we were there, we would kiss the Blarnystone, go to famous Ireland castles, and most of all, explore! That would be my Dream Vacation. Comment and tell me what your Dream Vacation would be, I would enjoy reading it!           ;)