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From Booker T. Worm
(T stands for Text)
Booker T. Worm is the cyber authority for great books, fun facts, and good times.

Hello!

Did you see the Shrek movie and love it? Or hear all about it from your friends and want to know more?

Did you know the movie was based on a book by William Steig? This week Kidsreads.com brings you a feature about that book, and all the books that were inspired by the movie as well.  Click here to check it out, plus we have a Shrek word scramble and a bio of the author, William Steig!

I took the younger worms to see the movie last Sunday. Everyone came away talking about the fairy tale characters that they liked best. My personal favorites were the Three Blind Mice. Their little dialogue made me laugh. We were wondering which characters you liked best. So here's the Question of the Week....

Question of the Week
Which was your favorite fairy tale character in Shrek? If you could be any fairy tale character, who would you be?

Send your answer to BookerTWorm@www.com. Write "Question" in the subject line. We'll post your answers online!

And now the rest of the news....

--Booker T. Worm

World War II Feature
Interview with Stephen E.Ambrose
Memorial Day is a day that we honor all veterans from all wars. To celebrate this Memorial Day, we've rounded up a great group of books just for you in our World War II Feature. Among the book selections is THE GOOD FIGHT, written just for kids by the famous World War II historian, Stephen E. Ambrose. Read an interview with Ambrose and check out some great reading!

Did you know that World War II is the most expansive, expensive, and deadly war on record? It began in 1939 when Germany, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland as part of Hitler's quest for world domination. By late 1940, Italy and Japan joined Hitler's efforts, continuing to invade countries all over the world. Their missions were brutal, resulting in much death and destruction, including persecution of the Jews in Germany, Poland and throughout Europe. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, a devastating event that drew the United States officially into the war. The U.S. soon allied with Great Britain, Russia and others in battle. After several long and grueling years and countless military campaigns, the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. On August 9th, the U.S. also bombed Nagasaki, Japan. Following this devastation, Japan surrendered and the war officially ended on September 2, 1945.

6-321
This novel, set in the early 1960s, gives us sixth grader Marc Chaikin who is stuck in the middle of things everywhere he turns. To begin with, in his school, there are two separate classes for each grade. Marc is in room 6-321, the classroom for the smartest kids, who are usually thought of as nerds. Cary Lipshitz thinks he's the smartest of the smart class, and he sneers at all the other kids. The other sixth-grade group, class 6-309, is for the less advanced kids, the ones who can barely read. Nicky Raffetto is the leader of this group and under him, they're fighters!

ODYSSEUS IN THE SERPENT MAZE
Prince Odysseus, age 13, drags his reluctant friend Mentor along on a boar hunt after "borrowing" the king's spear. The boys manage to come back alive, but just barely, as the hunt is pretty hairy. And Mentor would like to think the adventuring is over. But Odysseus doesn't believe that the Age of Heroes is finished yet; he thinks there is still room for him to grow up to be a great hero himself.

Well, we know that all the children survive to grow up for more adventures, but how? And where does the serpent maze come in? You'll want to read ODYSSEUS IN THE SERPENT MAZE to find out.

Kidsreads.com "Visit Beverly Cleary's Klickitat Street" Contest
RAMONA fans... Don't forget to enter the Kidsreads.com "Visit Beverly Cleary's Klickitat Street" Contest! Contest entries are being accepted up to June 12th at midnight eastern time, so get your entry in now!

We Asked, You Said
To see everyone's answers to last week's Question about the books you are doing your book reports on, check out We Asked, You Said. You might find some great book suggestions.

Quote of the Week
The impossible is often the untried. -- Jim Goodwin

Mailbag

Rules for submitting to Mailbag: We are not allowed to post anyone's e-mail address, real name, address, phone number, school information, or any other information that is private about that individual. There is a law called the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act which prohibits us from publishing private information about our readers in our newsletter. Also, we will not publish anything in the newsletter that has bad words in it.

Poems from fellow Bookworms

There's so many things in life that you can't find
So many things you can't get out of your mind....
Every corner you turn,
Theres always something there to learn,
There's people to talk to,
And so many ewwww's and ahhhh's.....
But hey thats life.....

Theres guns,bombs, and not to menchin the sick people who do it,
Theres people who hit,
and people who kiss,
not to say the people who hiss....
there are some good and some bad,
and some that make people feel sad.
But hey thats the facts of life.

Life has so many yes's and no's,
and so many finger's and so many toes...
so many maybes,
so many babys,
so many deaths
so many beth's
but there is never enough of loving, caring, people.
but hey thats the facts of life....

life is round, life is small,
whose the prettist girl of all?
life is big life is square,
but life is not always going to be fair...
you may not always be there....
so be very kind,
and you'll live just find,
because hey thats the facts of life!

* * * * *

I can't remember the last time that we kissed goodbye
All our "I love you's" were just not enough to survive
Something your eyes never told me
But it's only now too plain to see
Brilliant disguise when you hold me
And I'm free
I've been thinking and here's what I've come to conclude
Sometimes the distance is more than two people can use
But how could I have known girl
It was time and not space you would need
Darling tonight I could hold you and you would know
But would you believe

There's a light in your eyes that I used to see
There's a place in your heart where I used to be
Was I wrong to assume that you were waiting for me
There's a light in your eyes
Did you leave that light burning for me

* * * * *

The suns rays magestic touch seems to brighten up a day
Something about can  be a person
Who wants others to be happy  A DAY
like its crying out for hearts broken or tears
For souls who are lonely
or just want to fly

But the moon seems to promise a touch of the sun
and a heart will keep saying
GO ON!!!!!!

For all who read this poem never give up. But go on. I deticate this to those who never gave up But tried again. I also deticate this to my 4th grade teacher.

* * * * *

Fear and Dread
I sit inside my bed, as I hang my head in fear.
Dreading sleep, for fear of the nightmare.
I am chased in the woods by a creature quite unknown.
He catches up, I fall, and I let out a moan.
I scream as I am taken to someplace far below.
Below the ground, and all I want to do is know...
Where i"m going, if I'm staying, if it's a place at all.
I then see I am being dragged down a dark and dusty hall.
I am strapped to a chair, and all I do is bawl.
I want to go home, get away, from this terrible dream.
Then I wake up, sweating, and I scream.
So that is why I sit inside my bed in fear,
For fear of that horrid, dreaded, nightmare.

* * * * *

Mail from fellow Bookworms

Note from Booker: Is there a great read that you'd like to tell others about? If so, drop me a note about it at BookerTWorm@www.com and maybe you'll see it posted in the next newsletter!

Stay safe! Always!
Remember to be safe online. NEVER tell anyone personal information --- which includes your real name, age, address, phone number or school. Hey, pretend you are undercover when you go online and protect yourself!