The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme: The Floating Island by Elizabeth Hayden. Illustrations by Brett Helquist. Genre: Fantasy. Pages read: 32

This book is about a boy named Charles Magnus Ven Polypheme who is in a prison in a castle waiting for his sentence. All he can do is write in his cell. He's writing about what happened before he got there. He is fifty years old and it's his birthday. He is a Nain and they are pretty much like dwarves. His family lives above land making ships. The Nain live about four times longer than humans so he is about 12 or 13 years old in human years he said. He strangely hasn't grown a beard yet because Nain usually grow beards at 30 years old and he's tall for a Nain. He's about 5 feet tall. He's going to inspect the ship his family recently made for a guy named Mr. Witherspoon by sailing it with a crew of men and Mr. Witherspoon. Before he took off, his father gave him a jack-rule, which is an expandable ruler that belonged to his great-grandfather. It is the most accurate measuring device. It includes a knife and a magnifying glass that also acts as a telescope. He's about to take off after giving his father a hug.

I like this book. My friend recommended it. I wonder how he gets to the island? I think he either crashes on it or gets taken to it.

The word I chose was grateful. It means: grate·ful (grtfl)

adj.

1. Appreciative of benefits received; thankful.

2. Expressing gratitude.

3. Affording pleasure or comfort; agreeable.

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