Archives de catégorie : Level B1

Smashing Stories

15 juin 2017Level B1AIDS, Amy Winehouse, Brian Jones, Buddy Holly, California dreaming, Freddie Mercury, Grunge, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Otis Redding, paperplanesteens, Psychedelic, Punk, Rap, rock and roll, Rolling Stone, Segregation, Sid Vicious, Star, tragedies, Tupac, Vintage vinylscamilledugastgameofblog

« Live Fast, Die Young »

Editions Didier – A book written by Rupert Morgan

The book

Put your mouse over the markers to have the book cover description.

The story

Level B1

This book is about stars who died young. It is about periods ranging from the 50’s to 2000. Lots of stars, for example Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison died because of drugs and alcohol.

Let’s talk about the story of Tupac Shakur: Tupac lived in New York. His life was made of incarceration and robbery. Tupac died at the wheel of his car. He was shot and died on his way to the hospital. To me the Tupac’s story is the best because it explains to us how the gang business was going on.

This book explains the evolution of the music and society throughout the century.

Listen to JT ‘s summary (Part 1) :

Listen to JT ‘s summary (Part 2) :

This book is divided into several periods. All the stories take place in the United States of America. They are about periods ranging from the 50’s to 2000. It explains the history of the music from half of the XX century to the end.

Most stars who are mentioned, didn’t live for a long time: they died very young :

Janis Joplin, a hippie rock star and Jim Morrison died at twenty-seven by heroin overdose.
Kurt Cobain died at twenty-seven too: he shot himself dead.
As for Tupac Shakur, the God of the Rap, he was killed by gunshot in his car at twenty-five.

With the help of this book, we can notice that different types of music varied quickly.

For example, the chapter entitled « California Dreaming » takes place the 60’s. It’s about the hippie generation. Sexual liberation started and the drugs appeared. Young people wanted to change and create a better world. But for this, they took LSD which led them to death and failure.

Another chapter entitled « Gang War on the Street » is about changes. They took place at the beginning of the 90’s. The USA was in a state of panic because of cocaine and crack. Other problems appeared: conflicts, deaths, murders. In 1992, there were 130,000 gang members in Los Angeles. They were Afro Americans, Mexicans or Asians and others.

There are a lot of other periods to discover…

The students’opinion

I think this book can be enriching culturally speaking. It makes us discover new types of music as well as the lives of great singers.

I enjoyed this book because I like old songs and rock’n roll in particular. You should read this book.

Listen to MB ‘s opinion :

Singing to Change the World

4 juin 2017Level B1music, paperplanesteens, rock and roll, Rupert Morgan, Singers, Vintage vinylscamilledugastgameofblog

« Rock Rebels »

Editions Didier – A book written by Rupert Morgan.

The book

On the front cover, we can see a man who is singing like a rock star.

We can actually see some people who demonstrate for the peace and love and at the top of the page we can see the title « Rock Rebels ».

The story

Level B1

The book explains the stories of the rock music stars and describes the historical contexts from the song « Jump Jim Crow » to Bob Marley’s songs. And it’s also about Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, The Clash and Peter Seeger. Some of them, like Bob Dylan, fought against the Vietnam War and played an important part to restore peace. It was the case for the Vietnam War. Other fought for freedom….and won…

Look at LP’s presentation :

The students’opinion

I enjoyed reading this book because the stars are real and various. This book is brilliant because the intrigue is ingenious and it’s about lots of people. One negative point is the first chapter which is boring to me. I didn’t like it because it wasn’t fictitious. I wished it would be shorter. I thought the book was only about Rock and Roll stars’ lives. I wished there were less historical explanations and more details about the biographies.

Listen to EC ‘s opinion :

Who is the Monster ?

4 juin 2017Level B1bride, Creature, father, Frankenstein 2.0, monster, murder, paperplanesteens, Roger Morris, sciencecamilledugastgameofblog

« Frankenstein 2.0 »

Editions Didier – A book written by Roger Morris.

The book

On the front cover, I can see the head of the creature. Its head is ugly and terrifying. He has big yellow eyes.

In the top left-hand corner, I can see the hand of the creature that is holding Billy’s head.

In the middle, I can see the title of the book in green letters: Frankenstein 2.0.

In the bottom left-hand corner, I can read the name of the author.

The story

Level B1

The story takes place at the top of the Mont Blanc during the XXIst century.

In the story, there are many characters:

Victor Frankenstein is Frankenstein Senior’s son. He is the main character and he is the creator of the monster.
The creature was created by Victor Frankenstein. He is violent and ugly.
Frankenstein Senior is Victor’s father. He is a brilliant scientist and he has his institute where he preserves the bodies of dead people by freezing them.
Victor’s mother is dead at the beginning of the story because of the sun.
Elizabeth is Victor’s friend. She lived with Victor’s family and she loves Victor.
Billy is Victor’s little brother. He will be killed by the creature.

The story is about the creation of a monster with the remains of the humans. The creation takes place in a laboratory.

The main character, Victor Frankenstein, wished he would create a human being with the remains of other human beings.

Finally, what he gave life to, was a monster. The monster would like to have a female because he was sad to be alone. But Victor didn’t manage to create her. It’s the reason why the monster decided to take his revenge and to kill a part of Victor’s family.

Listen to AD introducing the characters :

The students’opinion

I liked reading Frankenstein 2.0 because the end is intelligent and there is suspense. I also loved reading it because I find that this story makes the readers think about the progress of science. Moreover I really enjoyed reading it because the intrigue is ingenious and the story is not too long.

What I didn’t like is that it is complicated to understand and there are too many characters. I also didn’t like reading Frankenstein because it is too bloody.

I wished the creature would be nicer. I wished Victor would take care of his monster because he left him alone. I thought the creature would find another idea to take his revenge.

Listen to MM ‘s opinion :

I’ve chosen this book because the front cover was strange. To the left, we can see a creature holding a dead head and in the bottom right-hand corner there is the creature.

I loved reading Frankenstein 2.0 because I find it interesting and it’s a coherent story. I liked it because the main character is captivating and mysterious. He’s really gifted.

To me, one negative point is the end. It’s disappointing : the characters die one after the other. We don’t know what the creature becomes after Victor’s death.

I wished the characters would be more careful and the main character would take more time to get to know his creature.

I thought Victor would be nicer with his creature and the creature would be less aggressive and bloodthirsty.