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Raskin, Ellen. The Westing Game. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Speak, 2008. Print.

Book Review: The Westing Game

This mystery is a wonderful book by Ellen Raskin. This book is about a man, Samuel Westing, who gathers sixteen heirs to play a game. Sam Westing is a very rich man and his estate is worth over 250,000 million dollars. The winner of this game gets all of the Westing Estate. These characters play the game with bombers, burglars, bookies, and one mistake. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat and you won't be able to put it down! If you want to find out who the bombers, burglars, bookies, the mistake, and the winner, you will just have to read it yourself. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery. I also recommend it to people who just love books in general!

Crossword Puzzle Bonus

Bonus: Abbot and Costello who's on first

Author Post

1. Ellen Raskin became an artist (www.goodreads.com/author/show/10074.Ellen_Raskin).
2. Ellen Raskin wrote children's books including Nothing Ever Happens on My Block.
3. Ellen Raskin was born in Milwaukee, Wisconson.
4. She illustrated lots of books like A Wrinkle in Time.
5. Even afterbeing published, Ellen Raskin always considered herself and artist, not an author.
6. Ellen Raskin went to college wanting to major in journalism, but after a trip to the Chicago Art Institute she decided to change her major to fine art (www.education.wisc.edu).
7. Some of her books were awarded the Newberry Honor and the Newberry Medal.
8.

Clues

Each pair's clues:
Madame Sun Lin Hoo and Jake Wexler- OF AMERICA AND GOD ABOVE
answer: BOOM!
Turtle Wexler and Flora Baumbach- SEA MOUNTAIN AM O
answer: $11,587.50
J.J. Ford and Sandy McSouthers- SKIES AM SHINING BROTHER
answer: no answer
Grace Wexler and James Shin Hoo- PURPLE WAVES FRUITED SEA FOR
answer: Ed Plum
Berthe Erica Crow and Otis Amber- THY BEAUTIFUL MAJESTIES WITH
answer: Mother
Douglas Hoo and Theo Theodorakis- ON TO THEE FOR HIS
answer: no answer
Angela Wexler and Sydelle Pulaski- GOOD HOOD SPACIOUS GRACE FROM
answer: Otis Amber
Chris Theodorakis and D. Denton Deere
answer: Mr. Westing was a good man.

answer to The Westing Game:

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
(Berthe Erica Crow)

Other Clues:
the queen's sacrifice
Angela- the bomber
Sydelle Pulaski- mistake
Madame Sun Lin Hoo- Burglar
Grace Wexler's maiden name is Windkloppel, which is the real name of Sam Westing.

Raskin, Ellen. The Westing Game. New York, N.Y.: Speak, 2005. Print.

Character List and Descriptions

Madame Sun Lin Hoo- She is 28 years old, born in China, and immigrated from Hong Kong 2 years ago. She is the thief in the Westing Game.
Jake Wexler- A podiatrist. 45 years old. Married 22 years and has 2 daughters.

Turtle Wexler-She likes to play the stock market. She calls Baumbach Baba. Her real name is Tabitha-Ruth. Baumbach calls her Alice.
Flora Bambach- calls Turtle Alice, dressmaker, had a daughter named Rosalie and she died when she was 19. Westing connection: she made Violet Westing's wedding dress.

Christos Theodorakis- Age 15. He is confined to a wheelchair, and he knows a lot about birds. Westing Connection: Father was childhood sweetheart of Violet Westing.
D. Denton Deere- Age 25. He is a graduate of Medical School. He is a plastic surgeon. Westing Connection: Engaged to Angela Wexler, who looks like Sam Westing's daughter Violet.

Alexander McSouthers- Age 62. Immigrated from Scotland to Wisconsin at age 3. He is the doorman for Sunset Towers. He is Samuel Westing.
J.J. Ford- Her name is Josie-Jo Ford. She is a judge. Westing Connection: Her mother worked in the Westing house and her Father was a gardener on his days off. She lived in the Westing House, and always played chess with Sam Westing.

Grace Windsor Wexler- Her maiden name is Windkloppel. Age 42. She is married to Jake Wexler.
James Shin Hoo-He was born in Chicago. Owns the Chinese restaurant. He is 50 years old, and added Shin to his name when he went into the restaurant business because he thought it sounded more Chinese. Westing connection: thinks Westing stole his idea for the disposable paper diaper. Lastest invention: paper innersoles

Berthe Erica Crow- Age 57. She was raised by her father. She was married at 16 and was divorced at 40. Her ex-husband's name was Windy Windkloppel. She had problems with chronic alcoholism, and was arrested 3 times for vagrancy. She gave up drinking and started the Good Salvation Soup Kitchen. She is a cleaning lady at Sunset Towers. Westing Connection: She is the ex-wife of Samuel Westing.
Otis Amber- 62 years old. He is a delivery boy, and a fourth grade dropout. Westing Connection: Delivered letters from E.J. Plum, attorney, both times.

Theo Theodorakis- High-school senior. Wants to be a writer.
Doug Hoo-highschool track star, 18 years old.

Sydelle Pulaski-Age 50. She had a high-school education. She was the President for a sausage company. Westing Connection: ?
Angela Wexler-the bomber. She is the sister of Turtle.

Barney Northrup- He is Sam Westing.

Raskin, Ellen. The Westing Game. New York, N.Y.: Speak, 1997. Print.

Wordle I

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Book Review

Maniac Magee Book Review.egg on Aviary.

Click here if it doesn't work.
Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee. Boston: Little, Brown Young Readers, 1999. Print.

Wordle II

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Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee. Boston: Little, Brown Young Readers, 1999. Print.

Plot Post

Responses to Literature

9. What parts of the book seem most believable or unbelievable? Why?

Maniac Magee Project.egg on Aviary.

Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee. Boston: Little, Brown Young Readers, 1999. Print.
Click here if that doesn't work!

Character Post III

Jefferey Lionel Magee is the main character in the story. After his parents died, he just kept running, running and running. People gave him the nickname Maniac Magee because he must have been a Maniac since he could run so fast and catch a football with one hand. When Jefferey came to stay at the Beale house on the East End, he was a very helpful person. He took the dog for walks, gave baths to Hester and Lester, did the dishes, and a lot of other things. People were very racist and Jefferey didn't understand. It didn't make sense to him that skin color was a big deal. To him they weren't black and he wasn't white. They were all different shades of colors. Grayson, in the West End, didn't know about how black people were just regular people like them. Maniac was changing the community and he didn't know it.

Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee. Boston: Little, Brown Young Readers, 1999. Print.

Bonus: Maniac Magee Part 1

Theme Post II

Another theme in Maniac Magee is kindness. Many people in this story were kind to Maniac. Amanda was kind to him. She let Maniac Magee borrow a book even though she didn't know him. She even let him come home with her. The Beales were very kind to him. When they found out that he didn't have a home they let him stay with them. Mrs. Beale was like a mom to him. Another person that was kind to Maniac was Grayson. Grayson found Maniac in the buffalo pen at the zoo where he worked. Grayson bought Maniac a lot of food. He also bought new clothes for him. Grayson treated Maniac like he was a son. He would tell Maniac stories of when he was a kid playing baseball. He taught him things he learned in baseball. He turned the baseball equipment room into Maniac's room, and he bought him drawers to put his clothes in. Grayson was another perfect example of a kind person.

works cited:Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee. Boston: Little, Brown, 1990. Print.

Character Post II

Grayson is a nice, old man who helps Maniac Magee. He finds Magee at the zoo lying outside the buffalo pen. Grayson picked him up and took him to the baseball equipment room. He laid him down and covered Maniac Magee up with his winter jacket. Grayson showed kindness to Maniac Magee by feeding him. He made a cup of chicken noodle soup, and then he got him a zep. After he ate he wanted Grayson to take him to get Butterscotch Krimpets. He was kind enough to go get the Krimpets even though he didn't know who Maniac Magee was. Grayson even took Maniac to his home, the YMCA, and he took him to buy new clothes. His old clothes smelled like the Buffalo pen (Spinelli 79-85). Grayson demonstrated true kindness toward Maniac Magee.

Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee. Boston: Little, Brown Young Readers, 1999. Print.

Theme Post 1

I think the theme for Maniac Magee is rascism. Maniac Magee lives in a town where the blacks live on one side and the whites live on the other side. Maniac Magee doesn't realize this. The blacks live on the East end. He doesn't understand why they are called black because they aren't the color of liccorice. He also doesn't understand why he is called white. To him he is several different shades of colors.

Character Post 1

According to Jerry Spinelli, Amanda Beale lived on the East End. She was the first person to actually stop and talk to Maniac Magee. She carried around a suitcase full of books because she didn't want her brother and sister to draw on them, and so that the dog wouldn't chew them up. Amanda let Maniac borrow one of her books. When they saw each other again, Amanda invited him over to her house. Amanda had one brother and one sister. Her sister's name was Hester, and her brother's name was Lester. Hester was 4 years old. Lester was 3 years old. Amanda's mom always had to clean up after her brother and sister because they drew on everything. When Maniac came to live with them, he would always help around the house and it made Amanda feel bad. So she started to help dry the dishes. Amanda is a very kind person.

Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee. Boston: Little, Brown Young Readers, 1999. Print.

Author Post

1. He won the Newberry award for Maniac Magee in 1998 (www.carr.org/ ).
2. Was born in Pennsylvania (http://www.carr.org/).
3. He went to Gettysburg college and John Hopskins University (http://www.carr.org/)
4. He wrote a poem in high schoool about the footbal team's win over a tough opponent. It got published in the local newspaper (http://www.jerryspinelli.net/)
5. He started out trying to write books for adults, but the publishers rejected them (http://www.jerry/ Spinelli.net).
6. He started writing Space Station Seventh Grade one night when he saw his children eating fried chicken (http://www.jerrryspinelli.net/)
7. He wrote "Who put that hair in my Toothbrush?" in 1984 (http://www.jerryspinelli.net/)
8. He also wrote Jason and Marceline (www.JerrySpinelli.net)
9. Got married in 1977 to Eileen Mesi and has six children (http://www.jerryspinelli.net/)
10. He was in the United States Navy (http://www.jerryspinelli.net/)

Wordle 1

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