Maddy

Book Group Test
This is my book group test:
 * //__ Dies Drear Test Maddy Freedman April 16, 2010 __//**

1. I think that //The House of Dies Drear// is a pretty good and appropriate title for this book. The meaning I think the author was trying to get around the title was that one of the most important bits of the book was the fact that the Smalls were living in “the house of Dies Drear”. If she hadn’t named it that, the reader might not get very interested in Dies Drear, and more interested in other things. As it is, the people think that Dies Drear is the main theme, which is fine, but there //are// other things to think about, like Mr. Pluto, Thomas, the Darrows... But I’m getting off track. An example from the book is that there are parts that have nothing to do with Dies Drear, but some things have everything to do with him. The relevance is that, in the beginning of the book, most of the stuff they talk about connects to Dies Drear. Most of the stuff in the whole //book// connects to Dies Drear. The title is also very mysterious and eye-catching, and it makes you want to read the book. I might have chosen it, if I were the author. I honestly would not be able to decide, so here are some pros and cons. Pros: Title is very eye-catching and makes you want to read the book. It sounds mysterious and very interesting. Cons: It doesn’t tell you about anyone in the book, and you could easily think that it is in the time of Dies Drear. The title is a bit short, and I am not talking about length. You could think that the whole book is about the actual //house,// but it isn’t. I do like how the title sounds; I just don’t like what it conveys. I might have used it if I were the author, because I don’t think that I would be able to come up with another title like that. It’s cool. If I //had// to come up with another title, it could be //The Adventure of Thomas Small//s. No, that sounds kind of dumb. //The Cave of Dies Drear//. No, that sounds the same as //The House of Die Drear//, and the whole story isn’t just about the cave anyway. Well, I really like the title anyways. It is very cool. Comment from Shirley: This is an interesting and clearly written response. You have included some well chosen reasons for your ideas and you obviously know a lot about the book. Remember that book titles are either underlined or in italics....never in quotations.

2. I think that the most mysterious scene is when Thomas and his father are standing, looking at the cave they have just discovered. This is my description, as it must have been shocking, scary, mysterious, and completely jaw-dropping. I did not copy this from the book. // Thomas and his father stood, absolutely dumbfounded. They stared at the enormous, sprawling cavern before them. The walls and ceiling were rounded, like a barrel on its side. That is, a simply enormous barrel. Completely covering one wall were shelves and shelves full of… at first, Thomas didn’t realize what he was seeing. Then he knew that he was looking at thousands upon thousands of sparkling glass bottles. They were clear, but caught the orange-red glow from torches on the walls, the firelight making them sparkle and wink a thousand different colors. On each of the other walls there were beautifully woven tapestries and paintings. The colors looked so bright and… just… real that for a moment Thomas was blinded. This was not all. There were also about a dozen chests, all bursting with silks and riches, and beautifully painted Indian canoes and totem poles. The carpets and tapestries hung from white (Mr. Small thought it might be marble) columns hanging from the ceiling. These were polished to such a bright shine that it hurt Thomas’s eyes to look at them. But neither of them could take their eyes off of the glass. Some of it looked misshaped, as old as time itself. At the end of the enormous cave, there was a desk and a chair. In the chair sat Mr. Pluto, a snarl curled on his lips, his eyes very bright. Thomas was terrified. // Anyways, this is what I made of this scene. I think that it is scary, mysterious, beautiful, cold, and WEIRD!!!! My favorite thing that the book says about this is: “Thomas stood there next to Mr. Small at the end of the ramp, trembling all over. From the time they passed the stalagmites, he realized they had discovered a place of great importance. Like his father, he had guessed rightly that they had discovered the treasure house of //Dies Drear//.”

Comment from Shirley: Another clear and well written response that answers the question accurately and with an excellent summary. Remember not to begin a sentence with "and".

Comment from Grace: I love your test! It was great and clear for me to read. I loved how you packed so much detail into something easy to read.

Questions 6
I chose to answer Emily's first question, Schuyler's first question, and Kristy's second question.

1: I think that the black chest held the remains of Dies Drear. This would make sense because it is hanging from the ceiling first, and heavily locked so that no one could get inside it. It could have been there when Pluto discovered it. Maybe Drear wanted his body locked in a chest in his cave, and he could have gotten someone he trusted REALLY, REALLY well to put his body in the chest. Mr Pluto could also have found the body in the cave (Drear could have died there) and Pluto could have kept that a secret and locked the body in a chest and hung it from the ceiling so that no one would have found it.

2. I liked the end of the book OKAY, but I wish it could have been a bit more interesting. I mean, Thomas scares the Darrows, he becomes friends with Pluto and Mayhew,they all live happily ever after, all of the weird things get explained. Kind of predictable. I think that the author could have livened it up a bit, I don't know, have the Darrows try to take revenge and it doesn't work, they get arrested but they escape and the Smalls live the rest of their life in fear of the angry Darrows. Okay, that's a bit out of hand, but the ending of the book was REALLY BORING.

3. I think the most surprising thing to me about this book was that Mr Pluto had a son. That was very surprising - I had no idea. I was also surprised that Mayhew looked so much like Pluto that he could dress up as him! I was surprised that that was who the "DEVIL" Pluto was - I thought Pluto had a twin brother or something until Mayhew showed up. He seemed nice, though a bit full of himself and kind of tactless.

Sam: Maddy, i agree that the end was kind of predictable, and kind of boring. And i also think it's interesting Meyhew could dress up like Pluto so well! :)

1.I think that the “amazing” cavern that Thomas and his father found was mysterious, cool, interesting, and explained a lot. Description: The cavern was barrel shaped, with a vaulted ceiling. On each and every side hung beautifully colored tapestries, and brightly colored carpets hung on the walls also. In rows in between the tapestries and carpets, there were rows of canoes and painted totem poles. Among these were intricately carved wooden chests. There were also dozens of barrels overflowing full of silks and jewelry. One whole wall was covered with thousands of glass bottles, catching the light and shining very brightly.


 * || Amelia: You were very descriptive with your answers. Your answer was a little short, but the part you wrote was loaded with details. Well done! ||