A Review by Julia

 

Suspense - When Rosie (Little dolphin) got away I didn’t know what was going to happen. Would she die? Would she stay out in the wild? Would she come back? Then I read some more and she came back after a while. 

Character Development - I really got to know the characters. As the book went on I got to know Jody, her family and friends. I felt like I was actually there with them! Every day Jody took some time to write in her journal. It was a really cool book.  
 
Important lessons - As the book went along Jody made mistakes she had to fix. Some of them ware big and some of them were small. She had to fix each one. One of the lessons was when she talked behind her roommates back. Then she said she was sorry and every thing was ok. 
 
Imagination - The book was very good because it made me feel as if I was there. The characters were almost my friends. They involved me in everything they did. Everything was so realistic! It was so awesome! 

Difficulty - The book was pretty easy to follow. There were some words that I didn’t understand but I learned as I went along. The book wasn’t to easy, nor hard either. If I found a word that I didn’t know the meaning of I would look it up. It was kind of fun. 

Overall recommendation - Overall I thought the book was excellent! 

I e-mailed the author! This is what happened.
Dear Ms. Carlson,

My name is Julia Farrell and I was wondering if you could send me some information on Ben M. Baglio. You see I'm doing A book report on one of his books " Dolphin Diaries Touching The Waves". My teacher wants to have some information on him. I have looked all over the internet and I couldnÕt find anything. My Dad came across your web page and let me know about it. Can you
send me some web pages where I can find information PLEASE?
Thank you, Julia

Subject: RE: Ben M. Baglio
Date: Monday, February 11, 2002 7:49 AM
From: Ben Baglio <benbaglio@workingpartnersltd.co.uk>
Dear Julia,
Your email has finally got to me!
Please find some information attached, which pertains more to Animal Ark than to Dolphin Diaries.  Yours is the first letter I've received about Touching the Waves; I hope you enjoyed it.
Best wishes,
Ben M Baglio
 
The Author's Story - by Ben M Baglio

I was born in New York, in 1960. I spent much of my childhood in a small town in southern New Jersey, about 10 miles from Philadelphia.   I was the only boy in a family with three sisters.

I spent a lot of my childhood reading; I’d read anything from cereal boxes to Charles Dickens. English was always my favorite subject, and when I graduated from high school I decided to study English Literature at the University of Pennsylvania.

After graduation, I started to work as a children’s book editor in New York City. I edited all kinds of books--sports stories, mysteries, teen romances, and even a teen soap opera.  I also tried my hand at writing, and wrote my first book, which was about the Olympics in ancient Greece.   Five years later, a job at publishing house in England became available and next thing I knew I was living in Great Britain again!

I continued to edit children’s books for a few more years, and then decided to try and develop a book series of my own-but I wasn’t sure what I wanted it to be about.  I had always loved animals-dogs, cats, horses--everything-and by then I had kittens of my own, two Russian Blues called Benjamin and Peter. One day a friend of mine asked where they were, and I said ‘in the kitchen.’  Suddenly an idea had occurred to me-Kittens in the Kitchen.  Wouldn’t that make a good title for a first book in an animal series? My friend and I spent hours thinking of other titles-Puppies in the Pantry, Goat in the Garden, Piglet in a Playpen.  The list seemed almost endless!

Aside from writing, I enjoy scuba diving and swimming, music and movies. In addition to my two cats, I now have a beagle named Bob, who is by my side whenever I’m writing.  I regularly receive fan mail from readers all around the world.