Tag Archives: children’s book

Jun3

Basher Basics: Maths by Dan Green

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IMG_0158Basher Basics: Maths by Dan Green, paperback non-fiction, published by Kingsfisher in 2010.

Covering the basics of maths in an amusing and informative way, this book is a good read for younger learners. It is divided into four sections, one introducing numbers, one for shapes, one for operations and one for data. Within each section, the different aspects of maths, such as Add, Fraction and Average, have been personified with imaginative drawings, and a brief overview of what each one is. There are also some examples to help reinforce the information. At the end of the book there is a glossary of maths terms for quick reference.

This book contained simple language and easy to understand explanations of math basics. All of the information is presented in an appealing way suitable for children. The colour illustrations are well designed and fun. I think this book would be most helpful for students in lower to middle primary school. It is a good addition to our home library for both our second grader and our preschooler.

 

 

 

Jun3

Twice Upon a Time: Rapunzel, The One with All the Hair by Wendy Mass

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IMG_0140Twice Upon a Time: Rapunzel, The One with All the Hair by Wendy Mass, paperback novel, 205 pages, published by Scholastic Inc. in 2006.

Rapunzel is an ordinary girl turning twelve when a witch arrives at her home and whisks her away as payment for a deal made with Rapunzel’s parents before she was born. The witch locks Rapunzel in a tall tower in the middle of the forest. The room is bare, there is no door, and the only window is so far from the ground she would probably die in the fall, and Rapunzel is all alone.

Prince Benjamin is also trapped, not physically, but by the constraints of being heir to the throne and all the responsibility that comes with it. His father wants him to act more like a man and begin his king training, while his mother is somewhat over protective, and doesn’t even let him visit the nearby village. Benjamin’s cousin, Prince Elkin, comes to stay with them frequently, and he often tries to get Benjamin into trouble. The two of them set out on an adventure for a horde of treasure guarded by a troll, but they find something completely different. And in the process Prince Benjamin finds a tall and solitary tower in the forest.

This is another book in Wendy Mass’s Twice Upon a Time series, in which old fairytales are retold in a new and refreshing way. Following both the side of Rapunzel and that of Prince Benjamin, this version of the old tale is interesting and different. The characters are well written and likable, with faults and quirks, giving them a sense of realism. There were parts of this story that made me laugh too. I enjoyed this book very much.

I have given this book to my second grader to read, and though she is only at the start, she already likes it. Most suited to middle and upper primary school children to read independently, younger children may also enjoy having this story read to or with them. A wonderful twist on an old tale.

 

 

 

Jun1

Twice Upon a Time: Sleeping Beauty, The One Who Took the Really Long Nap by Wendy Mass

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IMG_0142Twice Upon a Time: Sleeping Beauty, The One Who Took the Really Long Nap by Wendy Mass, paperback novel, 172 pages, published by Scholastic Inc. in 2006.

Most people know the old fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, who is cursed by an evil fairy to and sleeps for 100 years. Sleeping Beauty, The One Who Took the Really Long Nap is a new version of this favourite tale, told alternately from both the side of the princess and the side of the prince.

Princess Rose is endowed with many gifts from her fairy godmothers as a newborn, but the oldest and meanest fairy in the land curses her instead to prick her finger on a spindle and die. The last of fairy godmothers can lessen the curse but not lift it, so when Princess Rose pricks her finger she falls into a deep and prolonged sleep, one which will last 100 years.

The Prince has worries, not least of which is his mother who is part ogre, and needs to feed on fresh meat twice a month. He grows up alone, with a page his only friend, but when he leaves, the Prince is on his own. He spends many hours and days wandering the forest near his castle, and he stumbles across an old castle that is completely overgrown with trees and vines. He attempts to gain entrance to this castle, but the vines won’t yield. The prince is determined to discover the secrets of this old castle.

An old tale retold and refreshed, and a very enjoyable one at that. The basic skeleton of the original story is retained, with the details expanded and tweaked to create a new version that is fun and engaging. Telling the stories of both the Princess and the Prince was a unique way to add dimension, and is done very well. The reader is introduced to the characters not just of the Princess as a beautiful girl waiting and her Prince Charming who dashes in and rescues her gallantly. The characters have depth, and flaws and realism, and I could conjure them in my mind throughout their adventure. There were also moments of humour, and I found it to be an entertaining read.

This story is most suited to middle and upper primary school children, but I think my second grader would enjoy it a lot too. Explanations of some things like pages, squires and spindles might be required for younger children, but that just adds to the experience of reading with your child.

This is the second book by Wendy Mass that I have enjoyed this year, and I will be looking for more by her in the future.

 

May28

Fly Guy and the Frankenfly by Tedd Arnold

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IMG_0095Fly Guy and the Frankenfly by Tedd Arnold, hardback, 30 pages, published by Cartwheel Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc, in 2013.

Fly Guy is Buzz’s pet fly and best friend. In this adventure they are playing monsters, doing monster puzzles and monster drawings, just before going to bed. When Buzz wakes in the night, he sees that Fly Guy has created his own monster!

This is a very easy chapter book great for first readers. The text is big, and the language simple, with great colour illustrations. My preschooler loves this story, she has a few Fly Guy books, and wants to get some more. The stories are short, but fun, and she likes that she can read it on her own. I highly recommend this book for emergent readers in preschool and lower primary school.

May28

Creepella von Cacklefur: Fright Night by Geronimo Stilton

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IMG_0090Creepella von Cacklefur: Fright Night by Geronimo Stilton, paperback chapter book, 112 pages, published by Scholastic Inc. in 2013.

Creepella von Cacklefur is a good friend of Geronimo Stilton. She lives with her family at Cacklefur Castle in Mysterious Valley, where many spooky things happen. Creepella writes books that Geronimo publishes, and Fright Night is her latest best seller.

Geronimo is in Mysterious Valley when he gets roped into being a judge for the scary poet contest known as Fright Night. Creepella’s father is one of the contestants, but during the competition he goes missing. And there is something strange about one of the other contestants too. It is up to Geronimo and Creepella to solve the mystery.

This is the fifth installment of Creepella von Cacklefur’s adventures, and like the original Geronimo Stilton books, it is full of colour illustrations and graphic text. The chapters are reasonably short and easy to read, making this a fantastic book for lower to middle primary age children. These stories are fun, and I like the funny names that the characters are given.

Despite the story revolving around a scary poet contest, this book wasn’t really scary at all. Both my preschooler and second grader thought it was funny, but I think a lot of that was because Geronimo is a scaredy mouse and kept trying to escape from the contest. There were some references to things that can be spooky, such as coffins and mummies, as is fitting for the theme of the story. This was another fun Geronimo mystery adventure told by his good friend, Creepella.

 

May25

Tom Gates: Excellent Excuses (and other good stuff) by L. Pichon

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IMG_0094Tom Gates: Excellent Excuses (and other good stuff) by L. Pichon, paperback novel, 345 pages, published by Scholastic Children’s Books in 2011.

Tom and his friend, Derek, live next door to each other and have formed their own band, the Dogzombies. They practice in Derek’s garage, with his annoying father popping in all the time to give them musical advice. Dogzombies needs a drummer, so the boys hold auditions, just in time for their first gig.

Tom has an interesting family that he has to cope with, including a mean and rude older sister, some unusual grandparents that he calls ‘The Fossils’, and twin cousins that keep trying to make him watch scary movies. And then there is school, too. Tom and Derek are in year five, where they have to avoid the school band, put up with the taunting and lies of the smug and sly Marcus, and adequately complete their homework to get merits and gold stars. None of which is always easy.

I thought this book was going to be really funny, but it wasn’t. A few times I found myself smiling, but not much really made me laugh, aside from the Dogzombies song about Tom’s sister, “Delia’s a Weirdo”, and when Marcus got his just desserts. Otherwise it was a fairly simple story of the antics of Tom and his friends as they navigate family and school life without getting into too much strife, something that is rather difficult for Tom. It’s not all bad though. The illustrations on every page of this book are simple, yet they definitely enhance the quality of the story, and help it to appeal to young readers. The story was also mostly believable, within the realms of the reader’s own experiences as a child, and the characters were interesting and diverse.

This chapter book could also be considered a graphic novel, due to the large volume of illustrations throughout the book. I found myself turning the pages far too often, as there wasn’t much contained within each page. While this was a little distracting for me, for a young reader, it would give them a feeling of satisfaction in being able to read such a thick book relatively quickly and easily. I think it is most suitable for lower to middle primary age students. My second grader started reading this, but didn’t get far into it before saying it wasn’t that interesting. She has greatly enjoyed other authors with a similar style, such as Dav Pilkey and Andy Griffiths, so I was a little surprised, but we all come across books that just don’t “grab” us.

 

May17

Clarice Bean Spells Trouble by Lauren Child

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IMG_0002Clarice Bean Spells Trouble by Lauren Child, paperback novel, 189 pages, published by Orchard Books in 2005.

Clarice Bean Tuesday and her friends Betty Moody and Karl Wrenbury are all in the same class at school. Their teacher, Mrs Wilberton, always thinks that Clarice Bean and Karl are getting up to trouble even when they are trying to be good. With the school spelling bee and the school play coming up, Clarice Bean finds life becoming complicated. She is trying to learn the dictionary for the spelling bee, but it’s not really helping her poor spelling much at all, and then Karl says she’s not his friend anymore, and her plans for the play don’t exactly work out. Clarice Bean is discovering that life often has more questions than answers.

Clarice Bean and Betty are big fans of the books and TV series about a girl-spy called Ruby Redfort, so there are many references to her throughout the story. Now Hollywood is making a Ruby Redfort movie, this is often all that Betty and Clarice Bean can talk about. Ruby Redfort is quite an important aspect of Clarice Bean’s life.

I had a little trouble warming to this story at first. It just didn’t grab me within the first couple of chapters, but I persisted, and overall I think it was worth it. I liked Clarice Bean, she was definitely unique and interesting as a character, but I thought that the other characters were a little typical of this type of children’s novel. There is the best friend, the dis-likeable teacher, and the uppity goody-two shoes teacher’s pet. Having said that, the characters and their interactions are still well written and move the story along nicely. Maybe I’ve just read a few too many books with a similar setting lately. I think what really threw me about this story was the obsession with Ruby Redfort. Ruby was on Clarice Bean’s mind all the time, and she often related Ruby’s adventures to her own life, or used phrases and advice from the show. It was a very important part of describing Clarice Bean, but it just felt like much too much for me. However, the character of Clarice Bean was still interesting and different enough to keep me reading, and I will probably try other books in this series.

Apr16

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

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IMG_9101Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, paperback novel, 280 pages, first published by Viking in 2001, this edition published by Puffin Books in 2002.

Artemis Fowl is not an average twelve year old boy. He is a criminal mastermind isolated on an enormous estate in Ireland, where he is constantly accompanied by his bodyguard, Butler, but is not restricted by any parental or guardian influence. His family’s vast fortune, accrued over many generations of criminal Fowls, has been lost, and Artemis is determined to restore it. A spot of supernatural kidnapping for ransom should do it, all he has to do is find a fairy to kidnap. Though he is a genius with an elaborate and thorough plan, when he captures Captain Holly Short of the Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance Unit (LEPcon), he gets more than he bargains for.

I’d been thinking about reading Artemis Fowl for a while (I wanted to see whether it lived up to the hype), when I came across a copy in excellent condition in a secondhand bookstore. It was also on sale, so I think it was a sign that it was time to read it! I was not disappointed. From the first chapter I was hooked. It is a fast paced adventure full of fantastical creatures, villains and plenty of action. There are fairy police, an egotistical centaur, a humongous troll, goblins and a tunneling and devious dwarf, all of which come to life in the pages of Artemis Fowl. And Artemis himself is a very interesting character. There are many stories of young heroes saving the day, but not too many telling the exploits of a young criminal using his excessive intelligence to create havoc and amass a fortune. I liked this different perspective, even though he is undoubtedly the baddie, Artemis didn’t seem like the enemy. I found myself hoping there would be some way for both Artemis and the fairies to come out on top.

The plot of Artemis Fowl contained suspense and surprises, and it wasn’t predictable as some novels for younger readers are. The characters developed throughout the story too, providing a richness to the tale, and leaving me wanting to find out more about the Lower Elements, the People and Artemis. There were also little things left unknown, which could be revealed later in the series.

The complexity of the storyline and some elements of violence probably lends itself more towards upper primary to lower high school students, though with guidance younger children may also enjoy this book. I thoroughly enjoyed Artemis Fowl, and I had trouble putting it down to sleep at night. When I can, I will find more of the books from the Artemis Fowl series to read. I am very interested to find out what trouble Artemis is plotting next.

Apr9

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

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IMG_8888Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and Axel  Scheffler, paperback picture book, first published by Macmillan Children’s Books in 2001, this edition published by Macmillan Children’s Books in 2002.

The Witch and her Cat are going for a broom flight in the starry night, but things keep blowing away. Each time they descend to the ground to recover the lost item, there is another animal wanting a ride on their broom. Can the broom hold all of these animals, or will they come to a sticky end?

Room on the Broom is another delightful rhyming book from the creators of The Gruffalo. This is a fun book to read aloud with children of all ages, but is especially good for pre-schoolers and lower primary school children. The illustrations are nice, and the story is funny, and I enjoy sharing this one with my kids. There is a dragon in this story, which my kids thought was a little scary the first time we read the book, but that hasn’t stopped them requesting many re-reads! This is one of our favourite picture books.

 

Apr8

Two Little Pirates by Ruth Paul

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IMG_8894Two Little Pirates by Ruth Paul, paperback picture book, first published by Scholastic New Zealand Limited in 2010, this reformatted edition was published by Scholastic New Zealand Limited in 2013.

As the day draws near, two little pirates attack the King and Queen where they lay in their bed sleeping. They tickle the Queen’s feet, and the King falls down, but soon the tide turns and the little pirates are hung over the side of the ship. Captured, they have to pay for their pirate ways, but soon punishment is exchanged for snuggles and cuddles.

This is a lovely book, with gorgeous illustrations and rhyming text that makes the idea of being woken up by young children seem like a fun and engaging experience. The language is just right for the subject matter, with humour and pizzazz. Two Little Pirates is a great book for sharing and reading aloud with young children. Slightly older children, lower to middle primary school age, will also enjoy reading this themselves, and listening to it being read of course!