Into the wood

The yellow-stoned path which I was supposed to follow to get to my beloved granny’s house went into a dark mischievous forest. To tell the truth, I was quite terrified at first but, overcoming these critical fears, I decided to go in. The gigantic pines, in which probably lived more creatures that I could’ve ever imagined, seemed to reach the sky. I could feel my feet drench in the marshy mud, my new shoes getting ruined by the smelly substance. What was left of the path soon disappeared, and I found myself to be totally lost.
I thought it was a good idea to go north but, where was north? After a few minutes reflecting, leaned on one of the thousands- if not millions- of trees in that forest, I decided I should go straight. The woods would have to end somewhere, and I assured myself that, whatever direction I was determined to follow, I would find that “somewhere” if I went straight. I ripped a bit of my dress off, and tied it to one of the scratchy brown branches of the first tree I saw, just in case I started walking in circles. After what seemed an eternity of walking non-stop, it started raining. I could feel every drop hit my skin, making my clothes more humid every second. Eventually, I looked up to see that I was in front of the piece of my dress, hanging bedraggled from a branch.
I fell into despair, throwing myself underneath the pine tree. The smell of grass and mud was unbearable, and the cold windy weather didn’t help either. It soon got dark, and me, terrified and near to freezing, somehow managed to get to sleep. I don’t know what happened next but, next morning, I woke up at home. The soft, soap- smelling blankets stroking my skin, the warmth so pleasant, that feeling of security; the room seemed nicer than ever.

CPA 8W

My Enchanted forest

The wood I have been into is magical and flowery. Its magical enchantment makes me feel at home. My real home. Animals running up and down playing, laughing, swimming, everything you can imagine. I can see how the flowers are opening petal by petal to the glistening of the sun. The scarlet, emerald, turquoise blossoms are divided into a wide range of colours like a rainbow. I can scent every flower, every petal, every grass, every tree, every thing, and every smells: sweet, aromatic.
I don’t know if this is a dream but it’s perfect. I’m walking in this endless forest. The gleaming stream has a watercourse that is perpetual. I am here in this Amazon so emerald green that I can’t bear looking at it. It goes into my dazzled eyes and stays there forever. This wood is enchanting, magical, and delightful, it is not simple, it is, it, is, oh! I can’t describe it; the beauty of this place overpowers me.
I have woken up; I am again in this horrible world of problems and homework. I don’t want to be here. I will hope to dream this dream again. I want to go home. My real home.
BGV 8Y

Journey to River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

Maia is an orphan who lives in a boarding school in England. Until Mr. Murray, Maia´s lawyer and the person who is in charge of her, founds her relatives in Brazil who seem to be willling to take her in, called the Carters. Along with her new governess, Miss Minton, Maia goes by boat to Manaus a city from Brazil, where the Carters live. On the ship, she meets a boy named Clovis King, who is traveling with an acting troop. He wants to go back to England, but the Goodleys (the acting troop) won't let him. Maia promises him she will do her best to try and see his play once she arrives in Brazil.
Rainforest Sounds
When Maia arrives at Manaus, she realizes the Carters aren't as kind as she had expected. Beatrice and Gwendolyn, the twins, who are her age and seem to be extraordinarily conceited and cocky and not the least bit active, hate Maia and are horrible to her. So when time comes for Maia to see Clovis's play, the twins had lied that all the tickets had been sold and they had not bought one for her. But as Maia really wanted to see Clovis, she goes by herself to the theatre.
Later, Maia meets a half- Indian, half-English boy called Finn Taverner. Some private detectives are looking for him because his grandfather wants Finn to be the heir of Westwood, the castle of the Taverner family. Finn doesn't want to go because he wants to go up the amazon and search for a tribe called the Xanti, to which her mother belonged to when she was alive. Later, Maia introduces Finn to Clovis and she suggests that Clovis pretends to be Finn because Clovis wants to go back to England and Finn wants to stay in Brazil.

The author
Eva Ibbotson (born 1925, Vienna, Austria) is a British novelist specialized in juvenile fiction. She won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for Journey to the River Sea, a book which reflects her love of nature. Ibbotson wrote this book in 2001 in honor of her husband (who had died just before she wrote it) and was a former naturalist. According to her, the book had been in her head for years before she actually wrote it.
Why I liked this book
I think this book was very exciting and entertaining. It was very gripping and made me want to read on and on. It was extremely interesting because I learnt a lot of things from South America and its culture from the point of view of a girl about my age to whom of that is unknown. I loved the amazing descriptions because they where so good that you could basically feel, see and smell what was being told. It was an incredible book!
CPA 8W