March, 2004
Page 2
Book Review
Poetry Corner
Monthly Math Challenge
P.E. Challenge
by Paula Fox
Jessie Bollier, age 13, who loves to play his fife, was coming home from his Aunt Gertrude's with the candles his mom asked him to get. He was careful to avoid the main street and the slave auctions by taking back streets. Suddenly, a cloth was put over his face and he passed out. When he regained consciousness he was in a small boat heading away from the shore toward a larger ship which he will learn is a slave ship. He had been kidnapped!
Jessie soon meets the crew of men. Most of the men are rough, but one, Nicholas Spark, tries to comfort Jessie and look out for him. Even though Nicholas Spark is nice, Jessie finds that he does not trust him. Instead, Jessie discovers he is becoming friends with a tough sailor named Purvis. The captain of the ship is Cawthorne, who only cares about money. Jessie is afraid of Captain Cawthorne and does his best to avoid him.
This book tells about Jessie's daily life on the ship and how he is forced to play his fife to make the slaves dance. Jessie learns about greed and cruelty and also about the importance of trust and friendship. If you read The Slave Dancer, you will learn of the horrors and dangers of life on a slave ship and the bravery Jessie had to show to make it back home again.
Ready for people to get a workout.
Big black eyes hang on the bars,
They are not as heavy as cars.
People pulling on little black strings
Can lift very heavy things.
The sea of metal makes you stretch and strain,
While you work out, strong muscles you gain.
Good kite flying breezes blow
Soft grass wearing dew
Mark has 3 shirts: a black one (bl), a white one (w), and a red one (r). He also has 4 pairs of pants: jeans (j), shorts (sh), corduroys (c), and sweatpants (sp). Mark also has 2 pairs of socks: white socks (ws) and tan socks (ts).
How many different combinations of clothes can Mark make if he has to use one item from each group of clothes?
Good Luck!
I have signed up for the challenge. It's easy to sign up and it will be fun to have other people doing it with me. Let me know if you sign up. We could encourage each other and tell each other how we're doing! Good luck!