Because of Winn Dixie

Opal came running down and she heard a scream in terror.  It was from the shop, Dixie's Buns. Opal is about 9 or 10. Then she found out that a baker was covered in potatoes in Dixie's Buns. Then she saw something zoom past her.  It left a trail of potatoes and bread crumbs.  She followed it and there was a dog covered in potatoes that had sauce all over it's teeth.  On some parts of his body were spots that didn't have any hair.  There were flies around him and the baker said, "who is this dog?"

Opal said, "it's mine, he got loose".  The baker looked furiously into Opal's eyes and he said, "Keep that dog under control!!!" Also the baker said, "Are you sure it's your dog?"  Opal said, "yes".  The baker said, "Prove it then.  Tell her to come to you and then I'll believe you".  Opal backed away a few spaces back and she tried to think of a name to call the dog, then she saw the sign Winn Dixie Buns, then she remembered when the dog flew through the room and she thought of a name.

"Winn Dixie! Come here, boy" said Opal.  The baker was shocked.  The dog came to Opal, he pulled up his cheeks and then he SMILED.  He smiled so hard that he sneezed.  Then Opal said, "Come here Winn Dixie, let's give you a bath, you're dirty".

After the bath, Opal would see bald spots all over his body, but she couldn't do anything about that.  Then she went to her Dad, the preacher, and she asked him if she could keep Winn Dixie.  The preacher said, "Opal, let me see this dog and then I can choose."  Then suddenly, something came out of the window. Somehow, he flew through the window.  Opal was shocked.  She went outside to see how he went through the window and she found trash cans stacked up to make stairs! Then she went back inside and talked about how she found him.  The preacher asked what his name is.  Opal said, "Winn Dixie."  The preacher said she could keep him.

Opal went to a pet store to see the pet toys that Winn Dixie might like.  There were all kinds of animals there.  Snakes, turtles, cats, and then something said, "DOG!"  Winn Dixie and Opal looked up.  They saw a green and red parrot.  A man rushed in and said, "I'm so sorry about Gertrude!"  Gertrude is the parrot.  Winn Dixie looked confused.  "I named her after the owner who owned this store," said the manager.  A lot of animals liked to see Winn Dixie.  At the store, they found a blue leash and a collar for Winn Dixie.  Opal really wanted to have them.  Winn Dixie looked like he liked them too.  Opal asked the man if she could do chores around the shop to pay off the leash and collar.  The man told her to sweep every afternoon and I'll pay you 25 cents.  She thought that was a perfect deal.

Every afternoon she would sweep the floor, dust the windows, wipe the tables and calm the pets down when they got loud.  Winn Dixie seemed to be very good at that job.  When they went out they saw a little girl and she had her knuckle in her mouth.  She looked like she was about 5.  She was dressed in yellow with a yellow bow on top of her head.  She said, "do you want to come to my party, Opal?" Opal looked confused.  She said, "how did you know my name?" Then the little girl said, "I'm Sweetie Pie and the preacher told me about you.  The preacher and my mom have been friends since your Mom left you".  Opal looked a little happy.  Then Sweetie Pie said, "do you want to come to my party?" and Opal said yes.  Sweetie Pie saw Winn Dixie and she hugged him and he looked like his eyes would pop out.

Opal went to her house and then she saw these two little boys, the Dewberry boys.  The boys were bullies to Opal.  Then she ran to her house and she was ready for the big party for Sweetie Pie.  She went to the party and there was cake, berries, and pictures of dogs.  Opal felt a raindrop and Sweetie Pie said, "I feel like it's going to rain" and suddenly rain started pouring down on them.  Then it started to thunder.  Winn Dixie shot up in the air and ran around and around and across and she disappeared into the woods.  Opal came out with a flashlight and umbrella and she raced out into the dark to find Winn Dixie.  She looked everywhere in the dark.  She saw cars passing super fast.  She was worried that Winn Dixie was in the middle of the road.  Then she went home and started to give up.  She decided to wait until the rain stopped and then go look.  When Opal came back, the preacher was there hanging out with other grown ups. The preacher heard about what went wrong with Winn Dixie and said, "we have a surprise for you". Suddenly, Opal heard a sneeze.  She looked under the chair and there was Winn Dixie, sleeping and smiling at the same time.  The preacher said, "hug him softly, he's sleeping".  Then someone came in the door and it was the pet store owner and he had a guitar and he played a song.  Then Opal felt happy.  The End.

Recommend this book to people who have or like dogs.
I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Survival Guide

1. How to survive a lion encounter: when you see a lion, stand tall and put your hands above your head and look as fierce as you can.  If the lion charges, stand still, don't blink, don't move a muscle.  If a lion backs off, freeze once more, don't follow it, when it turns around, RUN. And, don't think that's the only lion.  Lions live in groups called prides.  Good luck, you're going to need it.
2. How to survive a tiger encounter: if a tiger is far away from you, run as fast as you can.  If a tiger is close to you, stay still so it doesn't see you moving.  If you think a tiger is small, you are wrong, they are the biggest cats in the world.  If you're in a place where tigers are around, please turn your head once in awhile.  If you're with people,  stay calm you have more eyes.
3. How to survive a shark: don't swim in an ocean after dark, sharks usually hunt at night.  Never swim where people are fishing, sharks can smell the blood of an injured fish from a hook.  If you are bleeding in the ocean, get out.  If a shark is coming at you, I know this sounds weird, but slam your fist in the shark's eye or nose.  If you do that, the shark may feel beaten. Swim out of the water immediately.  
4. How to survive a bear encounter: always walk in a group in bear country.  If you see a bear far away, walk away slowly.  If you're camping out in bear country, hang your food up high so bears can't get it.  If a bear comes toward you, wave your hands up in the air and make a lot of noises (crow! oink! moo! quack!).  Say anything to make you sound fierce.  If that doesn't work, play dead immediately.  Never run away from a bear.  Bears are faster than humans. 
5. How to survive a gator encounter: just so you know, crocodiles and alligators are not the same thing.  Crocodiles can grow big, but usually alligators are the biggest.  Alligators have a bigger snout for catching mammals.  Crocodiles have a skinnier snout for catching fish.  Crocs have their bottom teeth sticking out.  If you see an alligator, walk away slowly.  Mother gators will attack if they're protecting their eggs.  Back away if a gator takes interest in you.  They will attack quickly.  If it's very close to you, punch it in the nose and RUN.  

Stars: I give this book 5 out of 5 stars because it's very interesting.

Recommend: for people who will be in the wild.

Every Animal I've Seen in the Wild

Birds:

1. Turkeys in my back yard in Minnesota, North America
2. Geese at my friends house in Minnesota, North America
3. Roadrunner while I was golfing with Pop and my Dad in Texas, North America
4. Ducks on the lakes in northern Minnesota, North America
5. Bald Eagle at Lebanon Hills Regional Park Minnesota, North America
6. Peregrine Falcon on a building downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, North America
7. Bluejay in my backyard, Minnesota, North America
8. Robin at my neighbor's house, Minnesota, North America
9. Loon on Ottertail Lake, Minnesota, North America
10. Pelican on Ottertail Lake, Minnesota, North America
11. Seagulls in Duluth Minnesota and Door County, Wisconsin, North America
12. Pigeons in Minnesota, North America

Mammals:

1. Rabbits in the neighborhood in Minnesota, North America
2. Deer in my backyard and neighborhood in Minnesota, North America
3. Squirrels near my church in Minnesota, North America
4. Chipmunks in my neighborhood, Minnesota, North America
5. Bat stuck on our window shutter, Minnesota, North America
6. I heard a fox or raccoon making loud and strage sounds in our backyard, Minnesota, North America
7. Mouse in my house, Minnesota, North America
8. Smelled multiple skunks in our backyard, Minnesota, North America
9. Coyotes in a backyard, Deephaven, Minnesota, North America

Reptiles & Amphibians:

1. Gardner snake at Lebanon Hills Regional Park, Minnesota, North America
2. Fresh water turtle at Lebanon Hills Regional Park, Minnesota, North America
3. Frog in a pond in Minnesota, North America
4. Thorny devil lizard in Texas, North America
5. Lizard, Texas, North America

Fish:

1. Bass in Minnesota, North America
2. Sunfish in Minnesota, North America
3. Lake Sturgeon in Minnesota, North America
4. Walleye in Minnesota, North America
5. Perch in Minnesota, North America
6. Northern in Minnesota, North America
7. Catfish in Minnesota, North America
8. Minnows in Minnesota, North America
9. Mussels in Duluth Minnesota, North America

Arthropods:

1. Fly, lots of places
2. Mosquito, lots of places
3. Bee, lots of places
4. Dragon fly, lots of places
5. Wasp, lots of places
6. Butterfly, backyard in Minnesota, North America
7. Ant, lots of places
8. Caterpillar, neighborhood, Minnesota, North America
9. Inchworms in my backyard, Minnesota, North America
10. Pondskater, on top of the lake, Minnnesota, North America
11. Grasshopper, Minnesota, North America
12. Firefly, Minnesota, North America
13. Ladybug, lots of places
14. Beetle, lots of places
15. Daddylongleg Spider, Minnesota, North America
16. Barnacle, Duluth Minnesota, North America

The Boxcar Children #1

What happens: first the children (Benny, Henry, Jessie and Violet) go to a bakery and they sleep there for one night.  Then they runaway because they wanted to take Benny to the orphanage.  Then they slept in a haystack for 2 days then they walked down the road and saw a boxcar with plenty of room inside and they thought they could make rooms for people.  They decided to stay there.  They ate bread. Then the night that they stayed there, they heard something outside.  They saw a dog limping.  The leg had a splinter in it.  Jessie pulled it out and they kept the dog and named him Watch.  Then two weeks later, their big brother Henry entered into a race. He started off slow and he looked at the person who won last year.  He passed number 6, number 16, number 20.  He was number 14 and people kept cheering 14, 14.  He passed 16 and he crossed the finish line and won the race.  People asked him what he would do with the money.  He said he would give it to his big sisster Jessie.  Jessie bought more food and more things they could eat food with.  Then two months later they came across a man and kind of recognized him. They didn't have a mom or dad but the man kind of looked like their grandfather.  The man realized they were his grandchildren so the man wanted them to move into his house, but they wanted to stick with the dog and stay in the boxcar. They made a deal that they would live in a box and he'd live next door.

Stars: 2 out of 5 stars because I like nonfiction better than fiction

Recommend this book for: people who like their family and their house

Snakes and Other Reptiles

What I learned: that birds are most related to crocodiles then any other reptile. Alligators and crocodiles are not the same thing.  They don't live in the same place.  There's only one place where they meet together: Florida. Alligators are much bigger. Crocodiles are longer. Not all snakes are venomous.  

Stars: 3 out of 5 stars

Recommend this book for: kids that like reptiles

Polar Bears and the Artic

What I learned: Polar bears are not actually white. The sun and snow make them look white.  Polar bears are the biggest land predators on earth.
Stars: 4 out of 5 stars
Recommend this book for: kids who like animals

                                                    This is one of my favorite book
                                                           POLAR BEARS in the ARCTIC
                                                                                               
                                                   

Eli's Family

My name is Eli and this is my family.

this is my mother and me

                                                     this is my littile brother

this is my dad and me

This is my Dad's family

This is my Mom's family

This is my Dad's family too