"The Familiars" Blog for Week December 15

12-18-14
The Familiars
Pages Read: 100-160

Prompt:   Describe the most important event. Give at least three reasons why you think it

is the most important event. Warning: Spoiler

Prompt 2: What surprises you in this story? Explain why.

Prompt 3: What ideas do you have about what is going to happen? What clues have you

read to give you those ideas?

             I believe that the most important event that happened in my book was that the Queen of the kingdom that they were in, captured them, and tried to kill them. The three familiars, (Aldwyn the cat, Skylar the blue jay, and Gilbert the frog) are left on there own and they have to rescue their owners. This is also important because Skylar wants Aldwyn to help him by using his "telekinesis", but he does not have any. Another reason why this is important is because it is their first mission and they have to learn how to survive on their own. Although Aldwyn already knows how to survive on his own, because he is not a familiar, rather a street cat. They have 3 days to rescue them, because of a guarding spell that Kalstaff put on the three owners. 

             I got very surprised when I found out that Queen Loranella was evil, and she wanted to kill the three kids (Jack, Marianna, and Dalton). Loranella was told to be nice, sweet, and caring, but I guess it was all a lie. The author states "Loranella," he said with a note of relief in his voice." So she would have had to be a great queen or Kalstaff would not be in relief, rather in fear. She was just being selfish and she wants the thrown all to herself. When she saw the future, that the three kids would out rule her and become very powerful masters, she planned a surprise to kill and capture the kids. The author stated "Aldwyn didn't want to believe his ears, and from the look on Kalstaff's face, neither did the old wizard." Therefore this was a total surprise and they were not expecting this from their "great" queen. 

             I believe that Aldwyn is actually a familiar and he has powers, but he doesn't know it yet. I got clued into this when the author said "...in this shop filled with countless amazing animals, one more magical than the next-really picked him as his familiar?" I think the author was trying to clue me on that is was more than just a coincidence, but more like fate. The author also stated "So you are Kalstaff's three pupils," said the queen. "World in Vastia's wizarding circles is that great things lie in your futures." I thought the author was trying to say that they are super powerful and that they will experience great and powerful experiences in the future. Therefore all this evidence lead me to believe that Aldwyn does have powers after all but he has not discovered them. 

Weekly Blog "The Familiars" for 12-8

12-8-14
The Familiars
Pages Read: 60-100

Prompt : List three new vocabulary words from your reading. What can you tell about

them from their structure? What can you tell about them from their context?

     
          A new vocabulary word that is new to me would be halberd. The author uses this word when he states "Kalstaff stopped in front of the ancient weapons secured to the wall and unfastened the bronze clamps holding the spiked club, trident, and halberd in place." I think this word is an object that was used mainly in the ancient times. I could tell because it talks about ancient weapons and it was listing objects that were in place. This is my educated guess, but the dictionary definition is "a combined spear and battle-ax." Therefore, I think I made a pretty accurate guess.

        Another new vocabulary word to me is eerie. The author uses this word when he states "A full moon was now hanging high in the sky, casting an eerie bluish light across the land." I think this word is describing the bluish light. I think it means bright, or shiny. I could tell because it is describing a light while the full moon is on which makes me think it is probably bright or shiny. This is my educated guess, but the dictionary definition is "strange and frightening". I guess I was a bit off, but I least I tried guessing with the context clues given.

         My last vocabulary word that I had a little bit of trouble on was hasty. The author uses this word while stating "In the living room, the wizards made some hasty emergency preparations." I think this word is describing how fast they made their emergency preparations. I could tell because when their is an emergency, people want to get things done fast. This is my educated guess, but the dictionary definition is "done or acting with excessive speed or urgency; hurried". I think I made  pretty good educated guess.

Blog for Week 12-1-14

12-1-14

The Familiars

Pages Read: 0-60

Prompt 1: Describe your least favorite character and explain why. Describe your most

favorite character and explain why.

Prompt 2: Do you like what you’re reading? Why or why not?

         My least favorite character is Grimslade. Grimslade is a bounty hunter which means he hunts all kinds of animals, just to kill them. I do not like him because I love animals. In the book he stated "You're an impressive foe," Grimslade called out, "but the chase ends here."As you could see Grimslade was determine to kill Aldwyn (a cat/main character). Aldwyn was just trying to escape. He is a poor street cat who was starving and trying to eat a fish he had gotten. Aldwyn was trying to cause any harm at all. Grimslade even has skulls of the animals he has killed, hanging in his house. I was terrified because i love animals. 

         My favorite character is Aldwyn. I love how he never gives up even though he is in a life or death situation. Another thing I like about him is that he is a cat. I may be a dog person, but it doesn't mean that I don't like cats. The author stated "With the shadow hound closing the gap, Aldwyn got a better look at the beast chasing after him." Aldwyn was running away from Grimslade who had conjured a hound to help him catch Aldwyn. All he wanted was to get to eat the fish he had. He didn't stop at anything to get what he wanted. He kept going and at the end he won. He accomplished what he risked everything for. You may think wasn't worth all of that trouble but to him it was worth everything. That is another thing I like about him, even if it may be a little thing he wants he won't stop. 

          My book The Familiars is a very interesting book and I do enjoy it very much. I would say that my favorite genre is fantasy and action. This book has both of those genres. This book is about talking animals who have wizards as their owners. You may think this sounds like a very childish book, but I think it is not. The animals owned by the wizards are called familiars and those animals have magic as well. Another reason why I like this book is because it includes animals. Like I said in the first paragraph I love animals. I like how this book includes a bunch of dialogue. I like dialogue because I fell like I'm watching a movie and it is easier for me to picture it in my head.