Girls to the Rescue, Book #4

Girls to the Rescue #4

by Bruce Lansky

"Girls to the Rescue turns a new leaf and Prince Charming is history."--Sallie Han, New York Daily News. The serial is described by Mary Pipher as "a powerful antidote to all those helpless, hopeless princess stories."

Genres: Middle Grade, Childrens, Short Stories, Fiction, Juvenile, Anthologies, Adventure

Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

I was born on June 1, 1941. My first home was an apartment in Manhattan's Upper West Side, a neighborhood that overlooked the George Washington Bridge. Soon after kindergarten, my family moved to Scarsdale, which seemed to be “in the country.” In high school, I broke my ankle when I went out for the lacrosse team, so I wrote a sports column for the school newspaper. I don't think I showed any particular talent for writing then.

I went to St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland. I actually learned to read Greek (I didn't understand it, though). I transferred from St. John's to New York University, so I could study political science and economics. I graduated with a major in philosophy and a minor in English. My first job was a market researcher for a beer company in New Jersey. Over the next five years, I switched jobs several times: advertising copywriter, advertising account executive, and marketing manager at a candy company.

I married Vicki and we had a baby, Douglas. I wanted him to have a home surrounded by grass and trees and ball fields, so I accepted a job in Minnesota, and Doug got a baby sister, Dana. What rescued me from poverty was that my wife and some other mothers wrote a cookbook. We published it ourselves, and it was a huge hit. That's how I figured out that I wanted to be a publisher when I grew up. We built Meadowbrook Press, and I became an author of baby name books and humor books for adults.

Ten years ago, I wanted to put together a children's book of all the poems they loved best. To find these poems, I tested poems in elementary schools. As I was testing poems on children, I decided to write a few to see what the response would be. At first it wasn't that good, but as my writing improved, I added my poems to new books. To get them just right, I'd rewrite them over and over. I've now edited six poetry anthologies and filled three books with my own poems. Because I spent a lot of time reading and testing poems in classrooms, schools started inviting me to perform. I've now performed at hundreds of schools. My goal to put on the most entertaining, most educational, and most motivating assembly a school has ever had. My web site, http://www.gigglepoetry.com, helps kids discover the fun of reading and writing poetry.

Language arts are a very important part of what you learn in school. You can read great books that take you to far-away lands. You can write your own stories and make yourself the hero of exciting adventures. Even if it seems hard sometimes, don't give up. Keep practicing your reading and writing skills, and soon it will become easier. There are so many wonderful worlds to explore in books and poetry. Get your very own passport by learning to read and write the very best that you can.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume isn't quite as good as the others.

[Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best story in the book is, “Keesha and the rat”. So funny. I learned the most from “skateboard Rosie and the soda kids” bc of the skateboarding terms.

Parts that I like, or that stood out to me:

P1
Native American - Tunica tribe

P2
Trawler

P5
Water moccasins (snakes)

P7
Brim (fish)

P8
Bow (part of boat)

P13
Russian words
Ruble - Russian money
Nyet - no

Yiddish word:
Latke - potato pancake

P15
Rachel chased away the boys who tried to pull Ida’s (her sister’s) braids, even though she would never have had the courage to stand up for herself.

P27
“I’m going down there to talk to them,” I told Mama.
“Keesha, honey, when you get an idea in your head, you don’t give up, do you?” She smiled and I felt good.

P29 (ha!)
Our teacher, Mrs. Perez, told us we all had to be really good so we could make a good impression on the mayor. But I thought he should make a good impression on us by doing his job.

P31
“It wasn’t a joke,” I said. “I wanted the mayor to know how bad the rats are. They are the meanest, dirtiest, ugliest animals in the world. He must not know that, or why would he let them live all over our neighborhood?”

P33
Italian words
Lira: Italian money ($1=1,500 lira)
Basta- “enough”

P36
Sluggard


P37
Goading

P40
Louse

P44
Nincompoop

P45
Nettlesome (?)

P49
Spanish words
Hola - hello
Amigos - friends

P49-50
Skateboarding terms:
Hang ten: all 10 toes hang over the nose of the board
Board–over-board: the skater jumps over another skateboard
Frog stand: a handstand in which the skaters knees rest on her elbows.
Helicopter: a hang ten followed by a jump off the board and a complete 360 – degree spin in the air
Shoot the duck: the skater crouches and extends one leg forward
Buddy – buddy: two skaters ride their boards holding hands.
Leg lift: standing on 1 foot, the skater extends the other leg straight up and holds it with one arm
Kick turn: turning by weighting the tail of the board, so the nose rises as the skater pivots on the rear wheels
Bongo: to fall on the head
Power slide: the skater crouches and makes a high-speed turn

P52
Power slides

P56 (how to fall)
Ray nodded. “Squat down, stay loose, protect my head and spine. …”

P69
Trillium (flower)

P73
Mr. Chester was still talking. “The 60s were a time of great idealism among young people. They believed they could change the world for the better. And many of the changes people struggled for back then – like school integration – did come about.”

Emily listened. Changes had happened, but not easily. Sometimes it must have seemed hopeless, yet they didn’t give up. “And I can’t give up either” she thought. “Anyway, I’m not trying to change the whole world. Just one little part of it in Ontario called Wellington Woods.” She knew what she had to do.

P76
“Mom, I’d only be disappointed in myself if I didn’t try to do something,” said Emily. “Years ago black people couldn’t go to the same schools as whites. You protested that. And it changed! Look at my own school.”

P79
Spanish words:
Buenos dias: good day or good morning
Señora: Mrs.
Manzana: Apple
Burros: donkeys
Bolivares: Venezuela money. One American dollar is equal to about 470 bolivares.
Gracias: thank you

P91
Thai words:
Prik: a very spicy pepper
Baht: Thai money. One American dollar is equal to about 25 baht.
Sawatdee: hello

P92
He kept hoping he would improve. His daughter, Mai, knew better.
“Father,” she said, holding up his latest creation, “rings are supposed to be round, not triangular. When will you stop abusing gold and open a restaurant?”

P105 (author biographies)
Bruce Lansky… He has two grown children and currently lives with his computer near a beautiful lake in Minnesota.

[Miss Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

2. 5 stars

The least engaging of the series in my estimation.

Rachel's Promise by Liya Lev Oertel was my favourite.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Ah the classic spoiled relative learns a hard lesson

2. Rachel is such a sweet and hard working girl

3. That's one way to get a message across Keesha!

4. Take things literally and people will lose their temper

5. In my family I'm the youngest so I was the Ray of my older siblings life

6. Activists can start young. I'm glad that's for a good cause though

7. Cute story!

8. Sometimes daughter knows best

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying the series of Girls to the Rescue.