Overdone sci-fi pictures, but overall a good idea for a story. I really didn't like the way it was written, but the plot of "evil aliens take over brains to view on televisions" is kind of interesting. Read this book if you can get a hold of it from a library, but I wouldn't spend any money on it.

Darnell is going to be in the newspaper just to impress a girl. He is saying this is sort of fun. Later he becomes the most popular kid in the newspaper. I did not like this book but you might. I thought it was cool how Darnell did things how he wanted to do them.
Another book I read like this was Crash. They were similar because they both were trying to pick up girls.

Darnell is an African American that goes to Oakdall Middle School and he finds that he gets into a lot of trouble. He gets low grades and visits the principal often. The principal comes up with a suggestion for Darnell to join a school club, which he does. He begins to help the school newspaper with hesitation until he befriends a homeless man. By talking to the homeless man, Darnell gets a different outlook on life.
I liked and disliked this book. I disliked this book because the story moved slowly. I did like this story because I believed that Darnell was not a loser. He finally finds a homeless person who he helps by writing an article to help the others think beyond their own world.

The reason I think Darnell Rock Reporting is a fantastic fiction book for young readers. Darnell Rock is a cool kid who didn't get into many activities at school. That was until he got into the school newspaper. At first he didn't like it that much, but it turned out to be a great success. So you see, this is why I Darnell Rock Reporting. Why do oyu like it?

I give The Journal of Biddy Owens two stars. Although I am a big fan of Baseball I am not a big fan of this book. This book was kind of boring to me. It's about a 17 year old kid who loves baseball. He is the equipment manager for the Birmington Black Barons, one of the best teams in the Negro leagues. The main character , Biddy tells about his experiences traveling with the team and the prejudice they encounter. Although I enjoyed reading about their eperiences I wanted to know more. I think the author could have told more about Biddy's friends,his life in the neighborhood and his encounters with prejudice. I also think the author could have told more about characters and their relationships. This book kept me wanting more information,descriptions and details. To me this is not a must read book.

As the great American pastime, baseball will always hold a special place in the hearts of the American people. However, the prominent role this sport has played in the African American community is often overlooked. The Negro Leagues gave African American athletes the opportunity to both display their talents and earn a living. In addition, the Negro Leagues provided all African Americans with a social outlet and heroes of their own. As African American athletes such as Jackie Robinson began to integrate into the Major Leagues, the vitality and ultimate survival of the Negro Leagues was threatened.

Through The Journal of Biddy Owens, Myers deftly teaches children about this y time of transition in the history of the Negro Leagues. Through the fictional journal entries of seventeen year old Biddy, an equipment manager for the Birmingham Black Barons, readers are immediately drawn into the world of baseball. Children are not only exposed to historical
information about baseball and the Negro leagues, but also about segregation, racism and other aspects of the social climate in the 1940's. The final chapter of the book provides a brief historical overview of life in 1948 for children like Biddy, while reinforcing the history lessons laced throughout the book. This book is a must for children who love baseball, but will be enjoyed by all.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Baseball fans I have the book for you.The title of the book is The Journal of Biddy Owens Biddy Owens is a seventeen year old boy who is equipptment manager for the Birmingham Black Barons.The Birmingham Black Barons are a Negro league team.The Negro league teams travel around alot because few of them have their own field. Biddy would travel with the team and write about his experiences. HIs parents didn't actually approve of Biddy working for the team because they thought the more he traveled the more it endangered their family. He kept on traveling though because he loved baseball, he loved watching it and he loved playing it. I really liked that the author talked a lot about baseball in 1948 and only a little about what else was going on during that time. I would ratehre just hear about baseball and not so much about how cruel and mean people were to blacks. That doesn't keeep my interest as much as reading about baseball does. For those of you who want a story rich with history and relationships I would not recommend you read this, but...for baseball fans this is a must read book. I give it 5 stars!

this book is awful, if you bought it you are a weinerschnitzel.

This book intrigued me when I was in a used bookstore and read the cover. It stated, "Tarik is as valiant as King Arthur and as brave as Luke Skywalker". Well, that made me laugh, and the cover was typical of YA fantasy with its noble knight riding a warhorse. So, just for chucks (read Stephen King's IT, to understand that reference) I bought it. Well, the book surprised me because the hero was a young black man. I was not expecting this in the least. I think that the plot is simple enough for anyone above the age of eleven to comprehend, and it is exciting enough to keep anyone interested. I suggest this book to anyone who is wanting to get youths to read. Also, since the character is a Black, it exposes children to new views. I am sure that most kids think of heroes in books as white, but this book breaks down that barrier.

I have read it in the classroom with my other 7th grade students. This book was a simple outline with great detail, but I have not learned anything from this book, nor did I think it was extremely suspensful. To any reader, I suggest you take a peek. To a younger reader, pulling out a cyclop's eye, getting your father killed, might be a tad bit too... "creepy" maybe?

The book Now is your time was about the African American Struggle for freedom. It was broken down into many stories of the african struggle for their freedom. Each story seemed to build up to like the greatest thing an abolitionist did for African freedom. The whole book through and through was collections of stories about african freedom and miny facts about african culuture. It showed how they are very religious and used many African songs to silently keep with their African culture roots. I liked all the different stories that showed the African struggle for freedom and how if you fight and never give up you will accomplish your goal. What I did not like was after all the stories it just listed out a bunch of facts and facts. It just got too textbooky and it just got me out of interest with the book and I started rushing just to finish the book so I could just get it overwith. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes anything about history and the loads and loads of facts that go with it. It is also for people who like good stories for inspiration in their own life. Overall I would say this book was alright with the good stories about African struggle but find some way to do away with the useless facts that seemed to be listed one right after the other.

One purpose for the writing of this book, "Now is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom" is to fill the need for a readable and accessable text book on African-American History for children. I've used the book to teach my own child about the struggle for freedom faced by those of African descent as well as a stepping stone in teaching about oppression in the local school system. The book does an admirable job of showing the over all climate of Early America and doesn't gloss over any of the harsher realities of slavery. This book also highlights many of the key people in the struggle for freedom and civil rights. I believe this book to be one of a kind and necessary reading for all who wish to grow in their own understanding.

I bought "The Journal of Joshua Loper" hoping to read a true account of a cowboy. I did not have to reach page 158 to notice that the "journal is a work of fiction." While the library research was quite extensive, he missed the realities and language of the culture. No normal, free young man in a ranching environment would still be fumbling with a rope at 16. He would have a good handle on it by age 11.

I cannot imagine a South Texas cowboy of that era calling men "guys", black people "colored" and horses "animals". These terms are more midwestern, perhaps more educated than was common among the people of that time.

Finally within a week of Austin he has blacks picking cotton in May. Cotton might be picked in August, but even in Texas, cotton takes a while to mature after it is planted.

The one thing that saves this book is the humor. Otherwise, it is the college description of a description. For the real thing read the real thing, or better yet, do it.

Joshua Loper and seven others are driving a herd. Joshua is pushed harder by the captain of the drive because of his race.In the end Joshua is one of the best known herders and in the end gets paid the most money because of his hardwork. The captain and Joshua have more respect for one another at the end of their trip.
I have two opinions about the book good opinion it is very discriptive well written, exciting, and enjoyable. Another opinion is the rambledon and on about things I thought were less interesting to me

I read all of this MY NAME IS AMERICA book. But like some of the other books in this series, it lacked excitement, suspense, and was not entirely accurate. I did not feel that the book was written by a 16 yr. old cowboy, though it kept my interest and gives children a feeling of what it was like to live in the 19th century. Much better and more accurate historical novels are THE JOURNEY OF LEROY JONES, A FUGITIVE SLAVE and THE DIARY OF A SLAVE GIRL, RUBY JO.

I would rate Me, Mop, And The Moondance Kid with 3 out of 5 stars. I liked this book because it had a good theme. It was also interesting, creative, exciting, and always kept me on the edge of my seat. I never wanted to put the book down. There are many other books similar to this book. You need to get this book and read it as soon as you can. If you enjoy reading books that have some mystery in them and are exciting this would be perfect for you. This book is about three kids named Mop, T.J., and The Moondance Kid. They all grew up together as orphans, but just recently T.J. and Moondance were adopted by the Jacksons. The academy that Mop is still at is closing down so if she doesn't get adopted before the Dominican Academy closes down she will have to move. In order to spend more time with Marla, who she wants to be adopted by, she joins the Elks. The Elks is a little league baseball team that T.J., Moondance, and some other kids play on, and guess who the coach is. Marla! Besides that problem they have to worry about beating the Eagles in the play-offs. Will Mop get adopted? Will the Elks beat the Eagles in the play-offs? To find out go and check out Me, Mop, and The Moondance Kid.

This book is very confusing. still dont understand most of it. Has better books!

Nice children's book about a father taking his son Steven, and Steven's friends to the park. Steven asks his father "Where does the day go, Daddy?" Steven's friends each give their idea on what happens to the day and in the end the Dad explains about the sun and the earth and night and day. Also has family values, politeness interwoven in story.

My opinion of this book is that it's funny and easy to read. but the book is hard to understand like they might have two problems that just change back an forth without us knowing about it. I did like that the ending wasn't what I thought it was. In the book the Nagasaki Knight were picked as one of the teams to play in th championship. Some of the main characters on the team were Mop, Moondance, Greg and T.J.