Seeing Eye dog contest - books!

[Cocodri]

As I was thinking about what sort of contest I'd like to have for the Seeing Eye dog contest I was reminded of one of my favorite books when I was young, Follow My Leader by James B. Garfield. It is about a boy, Jimmy, who is blinded in an accident with a firecracker. He has to relearn to do everything from reading braille to walking with a cane. He gets discouraged and angry and all those normal feelings. He gets an opportunity to have a guide dog, and has to learn to work with his dog - Leader. Yet as hard as it is to learn, having Leader gives him a whole new freedom, and a new friend.

I think it was an important book to me because I did not have one of those storybook perfect childhoods (well, who does really) and also I am, or was then, extremely nearsighted and had been told by one doctor that it would get worse until I was blind. Even then I was more pleased by a book in which someone came through what seemed like an insurmountable hardship, even though sometimes they wanted to just give up.

And that gave me the idea.

Tell me about a book that really meant a lot to you, one you would reread, one that really touched your heart for some reason, made you think, maybe even changed your life in some way. The deadline is next Monday, so you have lots of time to think about what book meant that much to you and why. For this contest I will look less at spelling and grammar than at content - make me want to read this book and/or recommend it to others. Although I am sure we have all read more than one special book, please pick just one for this contest.

*BTW far from going blind, my eyesight has actually improved. Don't ask me what that Dr. was thinking to tell a kid something like that.*

[SomebodyDude]

Uglies - By Scott Westerfeld

What it's like
Tally can't wait till she is 16. In the cities of Uglieville and New Pretty Town when you turn 16 you get a special proceder to make you Super model pretty. But when Tally makes a new friend [Shay], she finds out about a small vilage in the middle of nowhere, where people chouse to stay ugly. There is also Special Circumstances. Thought to be a fake they are real, and geneticaly enhanced.... There is a huge conflict and everything seems to turn Tallys life upside down. Espicily the choice to Betray her friends or never turn pretty. Ever.

I have just finished this book and I LOVED IT! It's the first in severel books.

I loved it because it showed the real meaning of friendship and dedication.It also shows why we need to take advantage in our choice to be ourselves. Be who we want and never give up. it touched me very deeply. I just coulden't put it down it has such emotion and it just teaches you so many great lessons. LOVED IT!

[Fire Opal]

Dragons in Our Midst: Raising Dragons

Summary:

A boy learns of his dragon heritage and encounters a girl who has known hers for years. They combine their faith, courage, and love to overcome the evil in a slayer who seeks to bring an end to dragon heritage, forever.
The kids at school call Billy "Dragon Breath" for good reason. His breath is bad! It isn’t the normal, morning-mouth bad; it's the hot-as-fire, "don’t-you-dare-get-near-me" bad. Trouble erupts when his hot breath sets off the fire sprinklers in the boys’ restroom at school, and his parents learn that they’ve kept their secret for too long.
Billy finally discovers the secret. His father was once a dragon! Now that's a piece of news you don't hear every day! Billy feels betrayed, alien, lost. When the dragon slayer traps him on a cold mountaintop in West Virginia, Billy learns to battle with weapons of steel and spirit while relying on a power he doesn’t yet understand, a power that helps him learn to trust again.
Bonnie, an orphan, tries to find a home, someone to love her, even though she feels like a freak because of a body feature that she calls a deformity. But this unusual feature becomes a life-saving attribute as she discovers that her love for others and her faith in a creator hold the answers she's looking for.
Raising Dragons is a contemporary fantasy novel that inspires young people to dig deep within to find their God-given strengths and use them to overcome any obstacle. It is both a hair-raising, modern-day adventure and a glimpse into another world - a world of knights, dragons, and fair maidens. It is the first installment in the Dragons In Our Midst series.

What it Means to Me:

I love the whole series, but I have chosen the first book as the most important to me. I was very encouraged by this book. It reminded me to put my faith in God. The whole series is fantastic! The books are engaging, with exciting, fast-moving plots. Yet each one carries a deep meaning. Raising Dragons, like the rest of the series, tells readers to love others. To never give up. To trust in God as well as the people around you. Within the story, you see the characters struggle, as all of us do in some point in time. But always there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and always there is a God that sees us and loves us. This is what the book points out. I am very glad to have read Raising Dragons, and I would recommend it to anyone!

[*~Trent~*]

crap.. i was gonna do uglies... can i also do uglies? or should i just do pretties specials or extras?

[SomebodyDude]

Arn't they awsome Trent?!? I am workin on readin` Pretties right now!

[wolfgirl159357]

hmmm its a really kiddie book but i LOVE it is a Dr.Suess book called Put me in a zoo,

SUMMARY

A creature wants to be put in the zoo like all the other creatures but the boy says no that he is special teh way he is.

[MonteCristo]

The book I read/had my grandmother read me about 10^5 times was 101 Dalmatians. Don't know why. Apparently I loved it

[wolfgirl159357]

awww i loeve the movies and teh book

[Cocodri]

You can do Uglies, too, Trent. The same book can have different meanings to different people, or they might see it differently and get different things as the most important thing in it. If that made sense.

When I was little (a long long long time ago) my favorite Dr. Seuss was Green Eggs and Ham. Why I do NOT know but I must have read it a zillion times - LOL.

I love dragons - I'll have to see if my library has any of the Raising Dragons series.

And here I expected everyone to chose a Harry Potter book!

I'm gonna end up with a whole new list of books to read here, aren't I?

[wolfgirl159357]

yup but Dr.Suess books are awesome.

[Bratterratt]

"The Giver" -by Lois Lowry

What it's Like:

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community.
When Jonas turns twelve he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now it's time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

What it Meant to Me:

I loved this book, and it was even enough to draw a few tears. What really hit home with this book, is how it seems like especially in teenage years, we try to all fit it, to be the same. We want to be part of the crowd, and everyone is going for the "sameness" that is found in this book.
Along with that, the author really shows how at times the human race can be so... clueless, and sometimes stupidly willfully obedient to any command given by a form of government.
It really shows what could happen when people take their feelings and free will for granted.
In any situation, it was an amazing story, a great read, and I would recommend it to anyone!

Bratterratt

[*~Trent~*]

Uglies:

Tally Youngblood has been stuck in uglyville for 2 months without her best friend. Paris turned sixteen two months earlier than her, got THE operation, and was now livin' it up in pretty town. She sets out to see him again, and sneaks into uglyville. He was different. his personality had changed. he no longer had their "friendship scar" [they cut themselves on the hand and then held hands. its like blood brothers when people immigrated and never saw their friends again]. feeling distressed, she returns to her dorm, and meets Shay, who sets her on a path that she can't get off.

This book helped remind me that:
People change. your options are to accept it or change too. you cant change someone else.
dont do it cause everyone else it. just because other people can do it doesnt mean you have too. dont follow someone else. lead them. you set the trends, dont do something cause someone else does.
Dont always trust the goverment: be careful. you never know what gets put into your brain when you having full-body-plastic-surgery...
its hard to sum up how the book helped me, but i guess this will have to do =]

[Cocodri]

Not only am I late - I can't chose. LOL. Really, I can't choose.

Trent, Bratterat, Fire Opal, and SomebodyDude. Yeah, you all win. Um...Um... What am I going to do?

Hmmmm...



You four PM me and tell me which service dog variety you'd like a puppy from. HRD, Seeing Eye, Police, Drug Detection, Arson Detection, or Bomb Detection. I'll get your pups bred for you sometime this week.

Please forgive me for being late and also for not being around a whole lot this week. Going out of town a lot, squeezing every penny twice, appointments with doctors and social workers and all kinds of crazy stuff, trying to somehow get and work a job around all this...

Thank you all - for being my escape (((hugs))) my little farm paradise

[Bratterratt]

I have to get off SBF for now, but I'll tell you soon! Btw, if you haven't read The Giver, I would definitely recommend it and the others in the series!

Bratterratt

[Cocodri]

Between Dr.s app'ts and social services and NOW I've got a rotten head cold - I haven't been here at all for a few days. GAH.

You guys just let me know. I'm going to be on for a while later tonight so I'll get the last two puppies bred (Trent and SD I think got theirs) Ugh, not thinking real clearly LOL brain stuffed.

The Giver - yes, and the others too, I'll make a list so I can stop at the library. I'll have something good to read in the waiting room. THX!