Double Entry Diaries

"In the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, Propser got up. He pulled the blanket over Bo's exposed feet and fished his flashlight from underneath the pillows. Then he put on his jacket and crept past the others. Riccio was tossing and turning in his sleep and Mosca was holding on tight to his sea horse. One of Bo's kittens was sleeping on Hornet's pillow, its head hidden in her brown hair.
Prosper opened the door of the emergency exit and shuddered as the cold air assaulted him. It was a starlit night and the moon shimmered on the canal behind the movie theatre. The houses on the opposite side were dark-expect for one window, where a light still shined. Someone else who couldn't sleep, Propser thought. A few broad, worn steps led down to the water. They looked as if the led all the way to the bottom of the canal. Deeper and deeper, and into another world. Once he had sat by the canal with Bo and Mosca, and Bo had claimed that mermen and mermaids had built those steps. Mosca had asked him how they used them with their slippery fishtails. Prosper smiled as he remembered. He sat down on the topmost step that looked across the moonlit surface of the water. The canal showed the blurred reflections of the houses, just as it had don long before Prosper had been born.
Prosper tried not to think about it-he was not homesick. This was his home now. The city had welcomed Bo and him like a great, gentle, animal. It had hidden them in its winding alleys and had enchanted them with its exotic sounds and strange smell. It had even provided them with fiends. Prosper did not want to leave again. Ever. He had grown so used to hearing the water smack and slurp against the wood and stone.
But what if they had to run again? But they were all in danger, for if the detective got on to Prosper and Bo's trail, then he would also find the Star-Palace and the others....Prosper got up. The stone steps were cold and wet and he was freezing. Prosper would tell the others right now...Prosper returned to the movie theatre with a heavy heart." (63-64).

This description is so vivid in the first paragraph! I feel like I am right there creeping past my friends with Prosper. I even feel the need to be quiet right not as if not to wake them. I love how the author described the kitten being snuggled in Hornet's hair! What a cute and sweet picture that is to think about. Mosca sleeping with his sea horse reminds me of how I had to have a stuffed animal to always sleep with when I was young. I even like one to sleep with today!

I would describe the picture that this description gives me as beautiful! Have you ever been outside on a clear night and seen the stars twinkling ever so brightly at you? It will take your breath away it is so beautiful! I also can see the moon reflecting on the water...I picture the moon as being a full moon which sparkles and shines on the water in brilliance. I wonder if the steps were slippery that lead down into the water. I also find myself imagining how far the steps go down into the water and what I would find if I were to travel down the steps into the water. Would I see mermaids and mermen that Bo believes built the stairs? What would they look like? Would they talk to me?

I really liked how Propser referred to Venice as his home that welcomed him like a gentle, great animal. He refers to the alleys, sights, and sounds of Venice. I wonder what this would be like and how it would be different from America?
This website about Venice provides some great information about Venice and helps us to image what the city that Prosper loves so much may look like. It truly is a beautiful and unique city. I also like how the author used the words of "smack" and "slurp" to describe the water against the stone. I can almost hear this in my mind!

This description about the way that Prosper is feeling is important because we can really feel how Prosper is feeling. Have you ever been so worried and sad about something that you could not sleep? That the more you think about it, the more worried you become? This is the way that Prosper is feeling because he is afraid that he is putting his friends and Bo in danger. I like how Prosper decided that he was going to resolve this and go talk to his friends right then. Sometimes we need to take action in this way to help our worry and fear to dissolve.