Tag Archives: book review

Feb6

Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda

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IMG_8107Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda, paperback, 138 pages, first published in 1993, this edition was published by Omnibus Books (part of the Scholastic Group) in 2005.

Rowan is a young boy, living in the little village of Rin with his mother, Jiller and his younger sister, Annad. Rowan is a caring, quiet, and shy boy, different to the other children of Rin. He is thought of as a weakling by many of the other villagers, who do not understand him. His job is to tend to the Bukshah, the gentle beasts that provide milk and wool to the people of Rin.

When the stream from the mountain that supplies the drinking water for the bukshah ceases to flow, the villagers are concerned, their lives depend on the bukshah. They must climb the mountain to discover the cause of the interrupted flow. Unexpectedly, Rowan must join the party of villagers chosen to embark upon this quest. They have a map to guide them, but it is full of riddles, and the path is full of dangers. And at the top of the mountain there is rumoured to be a dragon. Rowan and his companions have a frightening and arduous journey ahead, but they all must be brave and continue on regardless of any possible obstacles in order to restore the flow of water down the mountain. Rowan doubts he is up to the task at hand, but he sets out on the adventure of his life to save the bukshah and the village of Rin.

While this book is aimed at middle primary school children, I still love this story as an adult. It’s got adventure, fantasy, anticipation, riddles, and a dragon! I read this with my second grader, and she also loved the story. Each riddle gave us a great opportunity to discuss what it meant, and talk about what we thought might happen next in the story, and how it might affect the characters. It is very well written, and it is easy to bring Rowan and his traveling companions to life. I highly recommend this book for any child looking for a good adventure story.

 

Rowan of Rin won The Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year in the Younger Readers category in 1994.

Jan19

The Princess Diaries Series by Meg Cabot

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The Princess Diaries are written in first person as Mia writing entries into her journal. The language used is appropriately teenager-ish with lots of “Why me?” and “I am not even kidding”, an extremely annoying phrase, as well as plenty of obsessive comments about boys, kissing, breasts and other teenage behaviours. For this reason, I think it would be unsuitable for children below upper primary or early high school to read.

IMG_4928The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, paperback, 230 pages, published by Macmillan Children’s Books in 2001.

Mia Thermopolis thinks she is just a normal high school student with normal teenager problems, like flunking algebra, and lack of breast development. She thinks she is unattractive, unpopular, and flat-chested, and is sometimes bullied by the popular jocks and cheerleaders at school. Her best friend, Lilly, is a genius with tendencies towards being a bit domineering and superior, and Mia finds her brother, Michael, very attractive, but she can’t tell Lilly that. Mia lives in New York City with her artist mother and their extremely overweight cat, Fat Louie. Also her mum is dating her algebra teacher, the one subject she is currently failing. Her father lives in Europe in a small country called Genovia, and for her first fourteen years, Mia has thought he was a rich politician there, but then she discovers that her father is actually the reigning monarch of Genovia, and in turn Mia is the Princess of Genovia. That is when her life is turned upside down, and she has to face reporters, her Grandmere’s princess lessons, and having a bodyguard tag along on her every move, even around school. She records her adventures in the journal her mother gave her in the hopes that she might express her feelings somewhere at least, even if she won’t tell her.

I actually really enjoyed this book. It was entertaining and funny, and I came to like Mia. Of course, I could hardly see Mia as an average teenager though, even before it is revealed that she is a princess. After all, her mother is a well-known artist, and she spends summers and Christmases with her father at her Grandmere’s chateau in France. She attends what appears to be an expensive private school and mingles with geniuses on a daily basis. Her best friend, Lilly, has her own public access show, which Mia helps to film, and Michael publishes his own webzine.  That is hardly the life of an average teenager. And did it really come as such a surprise that her father was royalty? Where did Mia think all of that money came from, why does her Grandmere have before and after hour privileges to the shops in Genovia, why does her Grandmere’s chateau require a private airstrip, why doesn’t she spend her holidays at her father’s home? And why hasn’t she asked her father any of these questions? If you can just accept the premise that Mia believes herself to be a normal teenager, and that she really hadn’t asked herself any of those questions about her father, the story is quite enjoyable.

 

IMG_4927The Princess Diaries: Take Two by Meg Cabot, paperback, 213 pages, published by Macmillan Children’s books in 2001.

In the second book of the Princess Diaries, Mia has new problems to deal with. Her mum is getting married to her algebra teacher, whom she still refers to as Mr G, despite the impending certainty that he will soon be her stepfather. And her Grandmere has taken it upon herself to organise a most grandiose affair for the wedding, which Helen (Mia’s mother) will never agree to. Part of that included inviting Helen’s parents, whom she doesn’t get along with particularly well, all the way from Indiana, along with Mia’s cousin Hank. And if that isn’t bad enough, she has to cope with press interviews, and a secret admirer that she hopes is Michael, about which she still can’t talk to Lilly about it. Another enjoyable story about an unlikely teenage princess moving through the hazardous world of family, friends and high school.

 

Jan8

Wings & Co: Operation Bunny by Sally Gardner

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IMG_3647Wings & Co: Operation Bunny by Sally Gardner and illustrated by David Roberts, paperback, 185 pages, published by Orion Children’s Books in 2012.

Emily Vole was abandoned in a hatbox as a baby, and she is adopted by the very rich Ronald and Daisy Dashwood. Daisy is very vain and rather stupid, and when she falls pregnant with triplets, she turns Emily from adopted daughter into a Cinderella like slave. Emily works from sun-up to sun-down cleaning, washing, and caring for the triplets. She is not allowed to go to school and has to sleep in the laundry. One day by chance Emily meets her wonderful and elderly neighbour Miss String, and her man-sized talking cat, Fidget. They help and teach Emily, and open her to the world of magic and fairies. When the evil witch, Harpella, comes wreaking vengeance, Emily and Fidget set off on the run. They team up with the grumpy and rather self-important Buster who is a fairy detective, and together they try to destroy the evil Harpella.

I really enjoyed this story, and am looking forward to the next instalment to see what Emily, Fidget and Buster get up to. It was well written with some funky black and white illustrations to enhance the story. I found it to be an entertaining read that I wanted to keep reading to the end. I will be encouraging my first grader to read this, as I think it is suitable for school aged children. Emily is a quirky character with independence and smarts, and I liked her. Fidget was also a good character, with many cat and fish related phrases, and a rather sardonic sense of humour. I will enjoy reading this again to my pre-schooler.

Nov9

The Snake Who Came To Stay by Julia Donaldson

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IMG_3649The Snake Who Came To Stay by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Hannah Snow, paperback, 77 pages, published by Scholastic in 2013.

This is a chapter book written by the author of one of our favourite books, The Gruffalo. The summer holidays are coming up and Polly has advertised her home as a holiday place for pets. After she has accepted responsibility for Bill and Ben the guinea pigs, Charlie the Mynah bird, Doris the snake and a pondful of fish next door, Polly’s mum says that is enough. The guinea pigs make lots of noise, Charlie keeps loudly imitating everything, and Doris hisses quietly in her tank in the kitchen. It’s a rather noisy holiday home for pets, but everything is going well until Polly leaves Doris’ tank lid open. Her mum is not impressed, but surely Doris will turn up somewhere soon.

This is an easy chapter book with black and white illustrations throughout. It was a nice story with likeable characters and some funny bits. Suitable for lower primary school children, I read this to my preschooler, and she enjoyed it. My first grader read this and it was an easy read for her, but she liked the story.

Nov9

Change the Locks by Simon French

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IMG_3406Change the Locks by Simon French, paperback, 103 pages, published by Ashton Scholastic Pty Limited in 1991.

Steven, an eleven year old boy living with his Mum and baby brother, Dylan, doesn’t remember much about his early life, and any questions he asks are deflected by his mother. Her life is in tatters, as she tries to cope with her abusive ex, no job and living out of town without a car. There isn’t much left over for Steven and Dylan, and most of Dylan’s care is left to Steven, a big responsibility for a boy. When Steven’s teacher starts a pen pal program with a class from another school, Steven’s pen pal’s name sparks a memory. He is sure that he has heard that name before, but he can’t quite place it. He is puzzling over this when he and his best friend, Patrick, discover an old newspaper under the flooring while they are helping his parents with some renovations. The newspaper has an article that just might be about Steven and his Mum, but it leads to more questions than answers for Steven, and he really wants to find out the truth. He feels that he is old enough now to know how and where his life began, and why he’s never been told about it before, but his mother may not be ready to tell her story.

This book is fairly short for a novel, but it is still a good read. Steven has to cope with things that many kids will have no exposure to, such as not knowing his father or grandparents, caring for his younger brother, even during the night, which makes him very tired, and being scared of his mum’s ex-boyfriend. These things make Steven different to other kids, and children can often be mean to those that are different, making his school life harder, just as his home life is also difficult. These are great burdens for a boy of that age. The subject matter is handled well, and the story is compelling. I remember reading this for the first time in about year four, and handling it well, though we also discussed it in class, which allowed for more understanding of the themes and issues presented in the story. This is especially important for younger readers so that they get the most out of the book. It’s probably best for middle and upper primary age children.

Nov4

The 39-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

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IMG_3581The 39-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton, paperback, 344 pages, published by Pan Macmillan in 2013.

Following on from The 26-Storey Treehouse, Andy and Terry have added another 13 storeys to their amazing treehouse. There is a bowling alley, a tank of man-eating sharks and an active non-erupting volcano, but the 39th level is still under construction.  The boys are writing their next book when they get a call on their 3D telephone from Mr. Big Nose, who imposes a ridiculous deadline of the following afternoon for the new book. How can Andy and Terry write and illustrate a long book in such a short time, as long books take longer to write than short books, which take a shorter time to write than long books…. Well, Terry has the answer, on the 39th level his new invention will do the writing and illustrating for them. But when the machine thinks it can do a better job at writing books than Andy and Terry, things get out of hand. They have to regain control of their treehouse and their book, and what better way to do that than invite Professor Stupido, the greatest un-inventor ever to live, to un-invent Terry’s machine, but what if Professor Stupido doesn’t want to stop there?

This book is a crazy ride of the imagination, where anything and everything is possible, and will probably happen! A very amusing book for lower to middle primary aged students and above, it really does have laugh out loud moments, and my first grader thought it was hilarious. She read it several times over the weekend, as it is a pretty easy read, despite its length. The text is simple, large and heavily interspersed with amusing black and white illustrations. I think this would be a good book for a reluctant reader.

 

Sep16

Rain May and Captain Daniel by Catherine Bateson

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IMG_3407Rain May and Captain Daniel by Catherine Bateson, paperback, 138 pages, published by University of Queensland Press in 2002.

When Rain’s parents separate, her mother, Maggie, decides that they will leave Melbourne and move to Clarkson, a small country town in rural Victoria. There’s not much to the town, it doesn’t even have a pizza place, and the old cottage they move into is tired and rundown. Maggie is determined to make a go of it in their ‘dream house’, even if Rain isn’t happy with the move. Then she meets Daniel, the boy next door. Rain and Daniel are about the same age, and despite their differences they become firm friends. Rain has to cope with visits to her father in Melbourne where he lives with his new girlfriend Julia, and this situation isn’t easy for her. But when she discovers that Daniel is ill, it gives her life some perspective, and the strength to make the most of what she has.

A friend lent me this book, and I enjoyed it. It is written in a somewhat unconventional way, with most of the story told from Rain’s perspective, including some fridge poems her and Maggie write to each other. The rest of the story is told in a log-book format from Captain Daniel’s perspective, as he records events in Star Trek style.

The characters are interesting, well written, and believable. Rain’s friendship with Daniel sees her stand up for him, but she still resents him sometimes. And Daniel doubts that Rain will want to be friends with him once she gets to know the ‘cool’ kids. Diana, Daniel’s mum, worries too much, and is obsessively tidy. Rain’s father and Julia work a lot and have trouble finding time for her, while Maggie has a steadfast resolution to make their new life work and goes at it with gusto. These flaws and quirks add reality to the characters and to the story.

The book itself is a fairly easy read, but I think some of the content and themes, such as divorce and dating, might be more suitable for middle to upper primary school age kids and beyond. Younger children, though they may be capable of reading the text, wouldn’t necessarily understand or appreciate the story very well.

 

* Rain May and Captain Daniel was the winner for the 2003 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year in the Younger Readers category.