Molly’s Comments (group member since Jul 10, 2017)

Molly’s comments from the The Bee's Bookshelf group.

Grace Maxson wrote: "1. My name is Grace M.
2. I live in New York.
3. I have a lot of favorite books, among which are Harry Potter (Yet again! :P) and the Lord of the Rings.
4. I am nerdy about names, and before I na..."

Hi, Grace! Welcome to the Bee's Bookshelf! As someone who likes to write, naming people and places is always the hardest part for me. I think it's so cool that you give so much thought to naming things around you. What is your process like for choosing names? Do you have a name in mind before you start researching?

Arnav wrote: "Here are mine
-temperamental
-scrawny
-gondola
-continuum
-stegosaurus
-"v" words the wumpires said
-keelhauled
-pallid
-eroded
-diplodocus
-Anklylosauras
-doubloon"

Ankylosaurus was a new one for me—I've never heard of that kind of dinosaur before. It's definitely a fun word to say. I also really like "temperamental" because of that tricky "a" in the middle. I only pronounce it with four syllables, so that makes it hard to spell.

Emilio wrote: "I like to do segg which is sausage and eggs combined and I'll eat it any time of the day."

That sounds delicious!

Emilio wrote: "I liked it. It was funny and I liked how the dad told the story because he used all the things from around the room."

I really liked the ending of the story, too. As someone who likes to write, it makes me excited about the possibility of creating a story just by looking around me for inspiration!

Emilio wrote: "I liked prostrated, ominous, sandwiches,astonishingly, splurting and when the wumpires used all the "v" words."

I was hoping someone would mention all of the "v" words that the wumpires used! That is such a fun section of the story and I really enjoyed it as well. It reminded me a little bit of Pig Latin, and I wonder if that's where Neil Gaiman got his inspiration for this section of the book.

Marianne wrote: "Spork!"

Olivia wrote: "My dad and I do ""lupper" and "sunch"! "

I was thinking of "spork" as another example, but I've never heard of "lupper" and "sunch." Those are fun!

Olivia wrote: "My dad and I make up weird portmanteaus sometimes, like "flimp" or "limsy" (both combinations of the words limp and flimsy). They're much more fun to say!"

You're right, those are both much more fun to say! Does anyone else have examples of portmanteaus that they use in their lives? One of the most frequently used ones that I can think of is "brunch."

Emilio wrote: "I think it's going to be funny. I just got my copy from the library and I like the illustration on the front cover."

The illustrations are one of the best things about the story, in my opinion. The illustrator is Skottie Young, and he is a super-awesome cartoonist who has illustrated characters including Spider Man, the Avengers, Deadpool, and the Guardians of the Galaxy for Marvel over the last 15 years. His work is amazing!

Siddhu wrote: "Splod, the volcano god in the novel, actually has some interesting etymology.
Splod is a portmanteau of splash and rod.
Splash as in the lava splashes.
Rod comes from the Latin rodus, meaning stick..."

This is so interesting, Siddhu. Thank you for sharing your etymological research with us. I really appreciate when authors take the time to give characters and places names that are meaningful to the story.

Because you gave us some of the history behind "rod," I wanted to elaborate on your description of "Splod" as a portmanteau word. For those that don't know, a pormanteau word is a blended word. In the case of "Splod," we get that name by blending "splash" and "rod," as Siddhu explained above. Interestingly, the word "portmanteau" is a portmanteau itself, being a blend of the French words "porter" and "manteau."

Emilio wrote: "Hi. My name is Emilio M.
2. I live in Arizona.
3. I like a lot of book series-Spy School, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Timmy Failure, Big Nate, and anything by Dav Pilkey.
4. I am a mix of European, Mexi..."

Hi, Emilio! Thanks so much for joining the Bee's Bookshelf and for sharing those great facts about yourself. Dav Pilkey is such an amazing author and his books are so fun—we're big fans of his at the Bee as well. That is so cool that you have been dancing since you were three; what an amazing talent!

Siddhu wrote: "Muesli, Type of cereal
Continuum, Something that keeps on going, only changing a little at a time
Cutlass, Knife or sword
Doubloon, Coin; metallic money
Temperamental, Moody; angry most of the time..."

Wow, Siddhu—thank you so much for sharing your favorite words and for providing the definitions! I love the words you picked, especially "muesli."

Arnav wrote: "Here are mine

-insomnia
-nefarious
-etiquette
-keelhaul"

These are all such great words, Arnav! "Nefarious" always reminds me of the movie Despicable Me. I also like the word "etiquette" a lot because it's a tricky one to spell.

Arnav wrote: "I think the narrator is the fairy meriwether because he is pretty small and he could spy on Captain Hook and Jocelyn. Also, I would wish to stay human but be immortal."

Thanks for your great answers, Arnav! I think you might be on to something with your guess about a fairy being the narrator. It would be really easy for someone that small to spy on the main characters. I also really like your wish—it seems like a creative way to get exactly what you want.

Olivia wrote: "So this is what we're reading next? I'll have to look it up. That's an interesting title."

It is what we're reading next! If you're signed up for our monthly emails, you'll get one on Friday with lots of fun stuff to do with the book!

This is where we'll share our favorite words from Neil Gaiman's Fortunately, the Milk. Feel free to post words that you think would be great for a spelling bee, words you love the meaning of, words that are fun to say, and words that you like just because you like them—all words are welcome here!

Here are some of my favorite words from Fortunately, the Milk:
-continuum
-landlubber
-doubloon
-stegosaurus
-disquieting
-keelhauled
-unutterable
-gondola

This is where we'll discuss our thoughts, feelings, questions, and reactions to Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman. If you have any comments to share with our group, please feel free to jump right in!

Jennifer wrote: "Hello.

1) My name is Jennifer B.
2) I live in the great state of Texas. :)
3) How can I pick a favorite book? That's difficult for me. The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis and The Harr..."

Hey, Jennifer—welcome to the Bee's Bookshelf! I love to write as well, and I also find the process to be daunting. Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo? For those that don't know, it's an online project that anyone can join, and you try to write 50,000 words (a novel) in the month of November each year. It stands for National Novel Writing Month. I've done it the past 3 years and am planning on doing it again this year. It's hard, but a lot of fun. I think it helps motivate me to have such an extreme deadline.

Olivia wrote: "One can never get tired of ice cream, Yagyesha! I think it would be very fun (and maybe sometimes helpful) to be a fairy, but I don't fancy only being able to feel one emotion at a time. I would wa..."

I love your wish, Olivia! Such a clever and tricky way to get the best of both worlds. And thanks so much for the book recommendation—I'll have to add it to my reading list!

Zoe wrote: "kerfuffle"

Oh, kerfuffle is such a fun word! It's so fun to say!

Yagyesha wrote: "I would actually choose to remain a human, because no matter how appealing that may be, sometimes you just don't want to live forever or be treated like a royal (especially when you are a pirate!) plus, fairies are immortal, and I wouldn't want to be bored for such a long time!

I would probably ask the Queen to make there be peace on earth, no criminals, no sad faces, etc. "

I really like your answer! I think I would choose to remain human, as well. I think you're right-- being immortal would probably get boring after awhile. I think the harder choice would be what wish I would want granted. I would be tempted to choose an answer like yours and try to make the world a better place, but wouldn't it also be fun to wish for something super-fun like unlimited ice cream? :)