Tag Archives: children’s book

Oct23

There’s a Fly Guy in my Soup by Tedd Arnold

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IMG_3405There’s a Fly Guy in my Soup by Tedd Arnold, hardback, 30 pages, published by Scholastic Inc. Cartwheel Books in 2012.

This simple book is part of the Fly Guy series, which follows the adventures of Buzz and his pet fly Fly Guy. In this story, Buzz and Fly Guy are on holidays, and Fly Guy finds himself in some trouble in the hotel restaurant when he mistakes a bowl of soup for a warm bath.

This book has easy to read text with very short chapters and colour illustrations. It could be considered an early or first chapter book and would be suitable for children in lower primary school to read themselves, but also suitable for reading to younger children. My preschooler thought it was quite funny and is interested in reading more Fly Guy stories.

Oct1

Geronimo Stilton Mini Mysteries Series

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These stories are small format books that make for a quick and easy read suitable for lower and middle primary school children. Geronimo Stilton is a very likeable character, and his adventures are fun and exciting. He is the editor of The Rodent’s Gazette, a big newspaper in New Mouse City on Mouse Island. Sounding cheesy? Geronimo is a mouse, and these books are rodent themed in a big way. The characters names are rodent or cheese related, and there are plenty of themed words like fabumouse and enormouse, as well as lots of references to paws, tails, whiskers and cheese. The mini mystery books are shorter stories than those of the regular series, but are still written in the same style. There are colour illustrations throughout, and some words in the text are written in different colours, fonts, shapes and sizes. This makes the text fun and challenging. There are several clues in each of the books to engage and encourage the reader to play detective too. These mini mysteries are a fabulous introduction to the main Geronimo Stilton series, and the Thea Stilton series (Thea is Geronimo’s sister).

IMG_3410Geronimo Stilton: The Super Scam, paperback, 77 pages, published by Scholastic Inc in 2012. This is the first book in the Geronimo Stilton Mini Mysteries series.

Geronimo gets an urgent letter inviting him to the grand opening of a new superstore. His nephew, Benjamin, is very keen to go, and Geronimo can’t say no. When they finally arrive, they are given a set of free headphones to use, and suddenly they are so happy, dancing and buying everything in sight. When Geronimo is knocked down by another shopper, he realises that something isn’t right with the new superstore, and he enlists Benjamin and his friend Bugsy Wugsy to help him find out what’s really going on.

 

IMG_3411Geronimo Stilton: The Lake Monster, paperback, 77 pages, published by Scholastic Inc in 2012. This is the second book in the Geronimo Stilton Mini Mysteries series.

Geronimo’s arch enemy Sally Ratmousen, the editor of The Daily Rat, the main rival to The Rodent’s Gazette, publishes a scoop article and photo of a lake monster. Geronimo heads to the lake with his sister Thea, nephew Benjamin and friends Petunia and Bugsy Wugsy to try to get his own version of the story. Along with his photographer Snapson, Geronimo attempts to photograph the lake monster, but it doesn’t quite happen the way he expects. Something is fishy about this lake monster, and Geronimo is going to find out the truth.

 

IMG_3409Geronimo Stilton: The Mouse Hoax, paperback, 76 pages, published by Scholastic Inc in 2012. This is the third book in the Geronimo Stilton Mini Mysteries series.

When Geronimo is given a painting by the famous artist Pablo Mousehasso there is a mysterious message on the back of the accompanying note. Geronimo must work out the mystery aided by his nephew Benjamin, and his friends Petunia Pretty Paws and Hercule Poirat.

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.