What I Would Say To My Main Character

          If I had a chance to talk to Gilbert right now I would tell him that it wasn't very smart to try to stand up to his bully after he had gotten beat up. I would tell him that he should have just told a teacher to have someone stop him from bullying you. I would say that, because after he had gotten beat up the first time he already knew that his bully was stronger than him and he could beat him up again, so after he had gotten bullied again in the lunch line he should of just told a teacher or some other adult that could of helped him.
          Some other things that I would say to my character are maybe you could of talked your way out of the fights that you got in. Sometimes  you can just talk your way out of fights and not get anyone hurt or in trouble. A question I would ask Gilbert is why didn't you go to the movies to see the second karate kid movie? You can still see movies and not have to act like them. I was surprised when he didn't go with his friend I thought that he would still like the movies, even after all the trouble they have gotten him into.

What I would I say right now to my main character-Manuel

           I would say to Manuel that he needs to just go out the stage and sing his hardest. I would also say that he needs to try his hardest. I would tell him this because he is singing in a talent show. I would also say that he needs to be confident but not too confident. I would tell him this because he needs a little bit of confidence but not too much because then he might get too cocky and mess up. I would also tell him that he needs to remember his words and just keep on rehearsing them in his head. He needs to do this so he doesn't mess up on his words and embarrass himself in front of a bog crown of people. I would tell him that he would do great and to make sure to smile in front of the big crowd.
           After Manuel was done that his performance I would tell him that he did great. I would tell him this because in the book it said that the crowd went wild for him. I would also tell him that it was okay that his music repeated over and over again. I would tell him this because he was scared that he had embarrassed himself because his music repeated over and over. I would also tell him to be happy with his performance because he did really good and covered up the mistake in the music well. I would also tell him that he should be proud of himself because not everyone has the courage to go up in front of a lot of people and sing in front of them. I would tell him that he did a fantastic job and that he should do it again next year.

Blog Post #3

The author of this book is Gary Soto. Some stories he has written are: How things Work, Facts of Life, Too Many Tamales, Broken Chain, Baseball in April, Two Dreamers, Barbie, The No-Guitar Blues, Seventh Grade, Mother and Daughter, The Karate Kid, La Bamba, The Marble Champ, and Growing Up. He has written much more stories. He wrote this book to entertain us with multiple stories at a time, and it is entertaining.

Research On My Author

Gary Soto is my author. Gary Soto is an american poet, novelist, and a memoirist born in 1977. Some of his notable awards are, the Academy of American Poets prize, American Book award, and a NEA Fellowship award. Some things that he has written are, Petty Crimes, New and Selected Poems, and Living Up the Street. I am not exactly sure why he wrote this book, but if I had to guess it would be maybe about his childhood friends or maybe some of himself as a kid.

A Little Research About My Author!

           My author is Gary Soto. He writes a lot of autobiographical stories. 3 stories that he has written is Too Many Tamales, Curried Onions and of course Baseball in April. Those are just 3 of the many stories he has written. One reason I think he wrote this book is because he wanted to tell how it was being a Mexican American. Like he wanted to show the challenges he had with money just like how most of the characters in teh story has some money issues. I think he wanted to share his background and his childhood through a book through lot's of characters. I think he wrote this book to be able to give many stories to entertain people while just having one book.

Books Main Conflict- Unbroken Chain

     I think that the type of conflict for Alfonso is man vs. himself. I think that it is man vs. himself, because he has struggles with his appearance. He does not like the way his teeth look and he is always trying to fix himself. Some things that have made his struggle more complicated is his father. His father asked him if he had hurt his head after he got the haircut that he wanted, and that did not help him with how he thought about himself. I think that Alfonso did solve his conflict by finding someone that he liked and she liked him back. I think that Alfonso will feel better about his appearance now that he has someone who really likes him.     

The Books Main Conflict- Broken Chain

           In the book Alfonso is struggling with not having two bikes. He needs two bikes so he can go on a bike ride with Sandra. The problem is he only has one bike because his brother won't give him his bike to borrow. The main event that has complicated the conflict further is that Alfonso broke his bike so now he doesn't have any bikes not even one. I think this is man vs. self. Yes I think that the characters will solve the problem without having any more harm. His brother loaned him his bike for him to use.

Blog #2: Broken Chain

Alfonso met a girl, Sandra, and she agreed to go bike riding with him later that week. His brother, Ernie, wouldn't let him borrow his bike, so he only had one bike for the trip. Later that day, Alfonso's bike chain broke, so he got really mad. When Alfonso was at the spot to meet Sandra and Ernie came by and he and his friend let them borrow their bikes. They solved the problem without getting anyone hurt.

Impressions of my Main Character

     The impression that my main character had on me was that he is pretty self conscious about himself. I think that, because he is always trying to fix his teeth. I learned that Alfonso has an older brother that he fights with sometimes. Alfonzo likes a girl that he met by helping her brother. Alfonso's brother got jealous about Alfonzo hanging out with a girl that he thinks stood him up. I'm not sure yet if I like Alfonso, he has had some good things about him and some bad things about him. I think that I am leaning more to liking Alfonso though. 

Baseball in April - Blog #1

There are different stories, so there are a lot of main characters. The main character so far is Alfonso.  Him and his father are Mexican. His actions tell us that he is a sensitive, caring brother, that gets mad often. He doesn't feel normal because he tries to push his teeth to where he thinks they're supposed to go, and he wants his hair cut like rock & roll musicians. When his chain on his bike broke, he threw it and scared a cat. He likes bike riding, rock & roll musicians, and working out. He doesn't like when something goes wrong at the last minute, but I don't think anyone like that. I like the main character because he is good, not a villain.

Impression of the Main Character!

           The Main character in Broken Chain is Alfonso. His actions tell us that he is insecure about himself. He always tries to fix his appearance to impress other people. He wants to try to look like the people in the calendar. He does whatever it takes to fix his appearance. I have learned that his habits are always fixing his teeth he tries to always get them straight by pulling them. He likes rock and roll musicians. He doesn't really have any dislikes. I like Alfonso because he has a fun personality. He always finds a way to get out of his problems and he finds a way to fix his problems on his own. I think he is also a light-hearted person and would do anything for anyone. Overall I think he is a good person.

Welcome!

Welcome to your Literature Circle's blog! You will be using this space to discuss and share your ideas with other Bode students reading your chosen book. Before we get started, here's a refresher on how we use our blogs at Bode!

When Posting...

1. Reread your post for mistakes before you post it!
2. Don't bother other peoples' posts! You are sharing this space. Don't open a post unless you are its author. 
3. Focus on your responses-- not fancy fonts, not cutesy pictures, not making people laugh. This is a space for you to dig into and discuss the text!
4. Use images if you want, but don't use them if they are distracting. Any posts with distracting visuals will lose points when graded-- only use meaningful pictures. 
5. Don't spoil the book for anyone!

When responding...

1. Don't be a jerk when you reply to a blog post. Correcting spelling and grammar is ALWAYS off-limits-- that's not your job! Your response should be positive and supportive of your peer's writing. If you don't agree with what they are posting, that's fine! Just make sure that when you express your opinion, you do it in a way that isn't mean or insulting. Your goal is to add to a conversation-- not to shut one down. Remember! If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!
2. If something isn't clear or is left untouched in the original post, ask away! Comments are a great way to suggest new blog posts or to begin a conversation. 
3. Don't just say "I agree" and move on-- dig into the text! Use what you already know to spark a discussion!
4. Don't spoil the book for anyone!