There were so many details in this book that I thought I was there.Lowry has such a great way of writing. I have also read Number the Stars and thought it was just as heart warming. I hope one day I will read all of her books. So far this is my favorite and I truly give this book 5 stars.

From the opening description of the painting of Autumn Street that Elizabeth plans to the final, haunting image, Lowry creates a world that feels completely authentic. Elizabeth's rivalry with and love for her sister, her difficult relationship with her distant grandmother, her admiration of her grandfather and her overwhelming love for her best friend, Charles, all ring true. This book manages to include class issues, racism and war inside a story of a small Pennsylvania town. I read this for the first time at age seven and still cry for Elizabeth. I can't say enough good things about it.

I thought that this book is very emotional. I`m only 11 and this year I`ve already read it four times!!! I`m the type of girl that cries at sad and touching books and movies like Autumn Street. I cried for hours after reading this book. And now, I even sit back and enjoy it even more. But now that I`ve experienced this book a lot, I even will start tearing up in the beginning. Lois Lowry wrote the book with such feeling that when you read you really feel like you`re Elizabeth and something tragic finally happens to your best friend. Her description of all the details in the book are so magical and real. Even now when I get deep in thought over the book I might start to cry. This year we have to read it in school. I don`t think I`m going to be able to handle the sadness. And even when I`m about 48, I`ll never forget this book. As long as I live!!!!!

This is a book I could read over and over again! It is all about faith,love,courage,and especially hope.Natalie searches for her real mother,and it leads her down many different paths.I felt and could relate to Natalie's feeling as she gets closer to finding her mother.An exciting and intriguing book for people of all ages!

When Natalie Armstrong graduates from high shcool, she decides that she wants to go on a search to find her birth mother and learn about her adoption. Her curiosity takes her to the small town of Simmon's Mills. There she meets old Dr. Therrian the man who helped arrange Natalie's adoption. While talking to this dying man she finds out her mother's name. Her real mother's name. But there Natalie is at a dead end. Later, after careful searching Natilie decides to go to New York. This book holds you in its grasp to the very last page. The gripping truth of a young girls search to find her past is painstakingly real. Lois Lowery has once again created a masterpeice. A must read.

I have read this book, Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye 2 times now and it is the BEST book I've ever read. Natalie Armstrong had everything beauty,great boyfriend, an early acceptance into collage, a great family, but one thing was missing: Who is my real mother? As Natalie searches for her mother over the summer she has some tough times. But finally she finds her mother. She was happy but not as happy as she would have liked to of been. I highly reccomend this book to anyone who is adopted and wants to find who their bilogical parents are.

Sam is a preschool boy who doesn't know how to dress for Future Jobs Day. He finally decides to dress like a zookeeper, his favorite character in his book. His mother stitches "Zooman Sam" on a one-piece pajama set of Sam's and his older sister borrows lots of caps with animal mascots for his hat. Since Sam only has time to show his class one hat, his teacher lets him continue wearing a different hat each day, and Sam works to decode the animal names on his hats. Nothing wrong with the story, but I have a hard time seeing how this story would appeal to "9-12 year olds," as the age recommendation above suggests. This book would be best used as a read-aloud for preschool through 2nd graders who are good listeners and don't require as many illustrations. (Another book of this type would be the Russell and Elisa books by Hoban.)

Section 1- Summary

In my book "Zooman Sam" Sam as the main character is at Krupnik's nursery school. The kids were told to dress up as what they want to be for their job. All the other boys in his class want to be a fireman in his class. Sam doesn't want to be a fireman. Instead he wants to be somebody important.

With the help of his mom and sister (Anastasia) Sam dresses up in a zookeeper's costume. Who would have thought? Maybe the title foreshadowed a lot! Sam's teacher let Sam to tell his class a little something different like an animal everyday. He likes the fun activity that he finds both really fun and challenging! The book was great!

Section 2 - Rate the Book
I rate this book Four Stars (excellent)

I think this book was excellent because it shows what I can't remember what it was like in pre-school! But it was fiction since he isn't "Vibrant" like usual. I recommend this book to kids ages 7-12 that like some fun with a (almost real) pre-school's day.

This was a hillarious comedy of a 4 year olds life. It starts out when his pre-school teacher announces that they will be having a future job day in the upcoming week. Sam decides that he will be a Zoo Keeper like Jake in his Zoo book. His mom makes him a Zoo keeper outfit that says Zooman Sam right on top. His sister Anastasia borrowed some baseball caps of animals from her un-boyfriend. His teacher and he decide that he will wear one cap every day. But when he used every cap in his bag except for the scary ones what will he do?!? Can Sam be a Zoo man forever!?!

This book was a good book. It was very well written and rather enjoyable. I recommend this book to middle school girls because it is an easier book to read and is about two sisters.
A Summer To Die took place in the "boonies", or out of town, mostly. The Chalmers have to move because the father has to write a book and needs quiet. The move is only temporary but still the two girls dislike it. Eventually they adjust.
The protagonist, Meg Chalmers is a friendly, average girl who is into photography. She and her older sister, Molly, fight frequently, like any other two siblings. One day after they have gotten into one of their predicaments Molly gets one of her nosebleeds. She gets these nosebleeds when she is stressed. This one is not like all the others though, and Molly has to be rushed to the hospital. The doctor says that her blood does not clot right and gives her pills to take. Molly starts to change dramatically; she is more moody and easily set off. She also does not have the same interests, such as babies, boys, and looking pretty, as she did previous to taking the medicine. She takes up new hobbies such as flowers, which she never would have done before.
Overall I found this book to be very good. It has happy, sad, suspenseful and very intriguing parts to it. Middle School girls would probably enjoy this book most. A Summer To Die was a good book that was enjoyable and fun to read.

A Summer To Die is a very sad book, but it was great. 13 year old Meg envies her older sister, Molly, who is beautiful, practically perfect, and has a great boyfriend. One night Molly gets really sick and tells Meg to get their parents. Molly is rushed to the hospital and Meg feels as though it was all her fault. Finally Molly comes home from the hospital, but still can't go back to school, but she seems to be getting better, until one morning Meg got mad Molly was still in bed at 11 o'clock and when Molly goes to get out of bed, Meg sees something is wrong again. Molly asks that Meg not say anything about it, but she does and Molly is sent back to the hospital. Toward the end of the book Meg realizes that Molly isn't going to be coming home. Will Meg be able to tell her sister that she cares? Read the book to find out. This is a wonderful book I am sure you will like it!

"A Summer to Die," was a great book. It was about two girls who have to face the new challenges, changes and having to make new friends when they move out of the city. Fifteen year old Molly has always been pretty, populair, and had an easy time making new friends. Molly already has a boyfriend in the first week they move their. But it does not come as easily to Meg, her sister. She can't make a single friend, and she is depressed. Her dad sits in his study all day writing a book, her sister is her usual, annoying, self. But one day Molly is rushed to the hospital and it is then that Meg knows that something is terribly wrong with her sister. Molly comes home and has a new drug she has to take. But Meg notices that Molly's long hair is falling out, Molly is loosing weight and she gets sick again. Read this story for yourself to find out the ending.

I would not recomend this book because there was no suspense, no
action, no nothing. it was dead!

This is one of my all-time favorite Anastasia books. You start reading it thinking it is going to be boring, because, after all, what can be exciting about a book about helping an old lady? Well, you are in for a pleasant surprise because the humor and lesson Anastasia learns just draws you in. It is a really cute story.

In Anastasia at Your Service, Anastasia finds herself bored during the long summer bofore school starts when her only frined in her new neighborhood goes to summer camp. Desperate to find something to do, and desperate for some money, Anastasia puts out an ad for a lady's companion. A woman named Mrs. Bellingham answers, and Anastasia thinks that her problems are over.
But that's before she finds herself polishing silver and acting as a maid at Mrs. Bellingham's granddaughter's birthday party! And when Anastasia destroys one of Mrs. Bellingham's expensive spoons, she has to stay and work longer as a result. Anastasia does make a new friend, however, in Mrs. Bellingham's granddaughter. Angry that her grandmother bought her a doll, Daphne Bellingham teams up with Anastasia, who is angry about being a maid, to exact their revenge on Mrs. Bellingham.
Lois LOwry's books about Anastasia and Sam are a true delight, and are among my favorites. I didn't get around to reading this book until I was 18, (I read the first book when I was 12) but apparently, Lois Lowry's Anastasia stories are a delight at any age.

This is a really good book. This book makes you think about the future. I dont like to read that much but this book made me want to read.If you don't like to read this book will make you read. I strongly recommend this book.

I thought that this was a really good book except the ending. I thought it was confusing. I didn't know what to think of it, like it was so confusing and there are so many things that could have happened! There wasn't any real story, like you had to choose it for yourself. That is one thing that I don't like about books. I like the book to tell the story not me. :):( Otherwise it was a really good book! Lois Lowry must have a wild imagination to think of such a strange book! I mean who would think of writing a book like that! It is a strange book but there are lots of good lessons in it!!!!! I would definantly recommened this book to anyone that is looking for something good to read! If you are looking for a great book read this book!

I read this book at school. At first it was really confusing and kind of weird, but when I read on everything fell into place. It's a great book full excitement and suspense. ....The ending of the book can be confusing but it lets you decide for yourself which is a good thing to learn how to do. I recommend this book from people ages 13 and up, because some things in the book are a little more for older people.

I read The Secret Gerden when I was in the fifth grade. The book was a combination of realistic fiction and mystery. I was always looking for clues to explain the next chapter.I was so engrossed in the book that I read 30 pages every half an hour!
The whole plot of The Secret Garden was about a girl named Mary Lennox, an orphaned, disagreable looking, girl, who needed some action in her life. And she reached her goal. She was ten when she moved to her Uncle's house on a moor in Yorkshire. One of the housemaids, Martha, showed her around, and told Mary stories about her family that Mary enjoyed. On of Martha's brothers, Dickon, was an animal charmer and a nice, perfect boy who Mary fancyed that Mary finally met. He helped her uncover and bring to life a huge secret.This secret can not be shared with you, you'll have to find out yourself.Mean while, when Mary was sleeping at night, a childs cry woke her up. On day she investigated the noise. She found another secret on her way, a secret corrider. Will Mary find out who is screaming? If so, what should she do about it? Will Dickon and Mary succeed in bringing the secret alive?
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading exciting adventures. My opinion on The Secret Garden is that out of five stars I would give it 5 stars, because it was so fun to read, and I didn't want to stop!

The Secret Garden (book review)

Soon Kim
June 18, 2002

Do you believe in magic? If you read The Secret Garden you will experience the amazing magic, I am sure.
Mistress Mary Lennox was born in India. Her parents paid no attention to her. Mary is not loved by all, she is spoiled, gloomy, sullen, and selfish in India. Suddenly, her parents die and she goes to live with her uncle on the Yorkshire moors of England. But also her uncle is an apathetic person.
When she arrived in Yorkshire she found another person who looked like herself. He is her selfish sickly cousin Colin. Mary and Colin discover his mother's garden. They take care of flowers and trees together, and they have a great deal of fun together. Mary learns to accept that there are other people in the world, and she helps Colin. The garden's magic makes the two children's characters normal and happy through good people and the beautiful secret garden.
I wish that you would read this book; if you need to love, if your mind has been devastated, if your life is dry and boring, if you lose interest in everything, then read The Secret Garden and your mind will sprout " The word is so beautiful." I still smell many kinds of sour smelling blushful roses in the secret garden. The sweet roses are coloring my mind still ......... I love them so.

I am EAD a fifth grade student at Wadron Mercy Academy.
A sour nine year old, Mistress Mary, has just moved to her uncle's mansion in a far lonely place. She has moved here because Mary made a nasty wish that her parents and maids would die, and it came true! Now, Mary is lonly and unwanted by everyone. Mary's uncle is a widower who has one son named Colin.
Soon, Mary becomes used to this place and explores all of the gardens. She has an Irish friend named Deacon. Deacon and Mary explore all of the gardens. Does Mary, Deacon, and Colin find the magic garden that their aunt had locked up? Find out what happens to Mary, Deacon, a krippled boy Colin, Mary's mysterious uncle, and the magic garden. ... I think this book was a real page turner. I could not put this exciting book down. I highly recommend this book. It is a classic of all times! I rate this book #1 of all the books I have read. I also recommend the movie.

Lois Lowry is one of the best writers for children around, but I find Sam to be one of the most annoying characters around. He is simply too precocious to be at all believable, as was his sister Anastasia before him! In fact, all the neighbors are really too clever, interesting, well educated and understanding to ring too true to me. Maybe there really is a neighborhood like Sam's someplace, but I doubt it. That said, I always read each new Lowry book and do find myself enjoying them, and I'm sure most readers would too.

I really loved this book. My favorite part was when he found out that the towel he had was his dads gym towel waiting to be washed. I would recommend this book to everyone!

See You Around Sam is about a boy named Sam who almost runs away from home to Alaska. The story takes place in a small country town in the Fall of the 1950's. In the end, Sam goes home to see his family and friends because misses them.

This review of the book Pollyanna may be affected by the fact that it's being written by a boy, but let me say first that I enjoyed the Disney film version with Hayley Mills. I just didn't like the book as much. It's really nothing more than your average "irrepresible orphan turns everything upside-down" story, and like most of them, it's filled with cliches and is blatantly unrealistic, not to mention cloyingly cute. I could not stand the character of Pollyanna; she spent too much time chatting her mouth off and misinterpreting every cold act of her aunt's as an expression of love to really make an impression on me with her "glad game." While the characters are somewhat interesting, they're all stereotypes: the cold, unloving mother figure (in this case an aunt), the kind doctor who spends too much time with his patients to blot out an unhappy personal life, the embittered millionaire with a secret, the hypochondriac, grumpy invalid. It's so easy to notice these stereotypes that it makes everything so much less real than it already is. The movie was different in that it was completely believeable, thanks to the talented cast and the calm, subtle playing of Hayley Mills, who actually made a difference and had an obvious, BELIEVEABLE effect on the town without drowning us in cuteness. Get the movie; forget the book.

This book so effected me as a child, to this day, many many years later the phrase, "If you look for the good, you will find it" still serves as a valuable reminder for how we can effect our realitiy with our personal perspectives. This little girl, Pollyanna, teaches other children how to play the glad game in a wonderful and engaging story. Too few children today, know how to recognize or be happy. They haven't learned the "glass is half full" thinking. This book is a great spiritual guide, without trying to be one. Please read it and discuss it with your child. You'll both be happier. Thanks.

Pollyanna is a great book at any age. She always found something to be glad about. Pollyanna's father made up the glad game, and now Pollyanna plays it and teaches everyone else how to play. It made a lot of unhappy people a lot happier than they were before. After her father's death, Pollyanna goes to live with her Aunt Polly and she is an unhappy woman and Pollyanna and her game make her happy in the end. This is a story about appreciating all the good things in life. I think you should read this book because to me it was a great book!

A ten year old girl going through an exciting yet confusing life runs into obsticles that change her life. For instance she falls deeply in love with a crazy boy who has a last name for a first name. Washburn Cummings. He's a crazy boy that got sent home because he came to school with an insane writing on his t-shirt. It leaves you hanging on about everything and makes you want to read on. When she finds out her mom is pregnant she gets mad. Her mom and dad decide she can name her baby brother. The worst name she could think of is Boy Krupnik or Girl Krupnik. When her Grandmother dies she decides that she would name it- in honer of her grandmother- SAM.This is the kind of book that lets you skip chapters and still you know what's going on. It makes you want to keep on reading and then read the series.

Would you like to know what a avarage 10- year-old girls life is like? In Anastasia Krupnik a ten year old girl named Anastasia Krupnik deals with a hard life. She has a green notebook that she has a page that has a Things I Hate list and a Things I Love list. At first her Things I Hate list was longer than her things I love list. In the middle of the book she found out that her mom was pregnant. Near the end of the book she starts to try stuff on her Things I Hate list and moved it to her Things I Love list. At the end of the book she finfds out that her grandmother died and the only thing only thing on her Things I Hate list is liver because she tried new things. If you like reading searies about a normal girls life then I would recommend this book and the whole series. You do not have to read the books in order.

In my opinion the 'Anastasia' series should be a treasured possesion in any book collection. I read 'Anastasia Krupnik' and 'Anastasia Again!' for the first time when I was 9, and have re-read them again and again. I liked them so much that I purchased copies for my own collection. Since then I have read as many Lois Lowry books as I could get my hands on, including the rest of the 'Anastasia' series. Anastasia Krupnik is a ten-year old girl with a lot on her plate, like falling in love, moving out on her own, converting religions and getting an unnecessary baby brother. It seems as though Frank, her goldfish, and her secret notebook (in which Anastasia stores her most private thoughts) are her only friends, what can Anastasia do! This book, although a little different, is a wonderful story for kids around the world.