Difference between revisions of "Newest Confident Readers Reviews"
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| + | |title=Bugsy Malone - Graphic Novel | ||
| + | |author=Alan Parker | ||
| + | |rating=3 | ||
| + | |genre=Confident Readers | ||
| + | |summary=One bunch of wise guys might think they have it all, but they don't. Another bunch of wise guys want it all and have the splurge guns to help them get it. Into the middle come a beautiful starlet-in-waiting, and our crafty innocent abroad, Bugsy Malone. Cue, at some incredibly random time honouring no discernible anniversary whatsoever, this reprint of the long-lost graphic novel version of the story, told for 'all those kids who find it tough reading books with just words'. | ||
| + | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007514840</amazonuk> | ||
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|title=Asterix and the Picts | |title=Asterix and the Picts | ||
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|summary=He ought to have realised she was evil from the start. After all, how many dentists do you know who love — yes, really love — rotten teeth? Brown, yellow, cracked, full of cavities, diseased, covered in plaque . . . you get the picture. And for Alfie, a boy who loathes dentists from the bottom of his heart and whose teeth are so rotten they ought to be a tourist attraction, danger definitely looms. You can practically hear the background music when the two meet at a school assembly: dum-dum-DUUUUMMMMMM!!!! | |summary=He ought to have realised she was evil from the start. After all, how many dentists do you know who love — yes, really love — rotten teeth? Brown, yellow, cracked, full of cavities, diseased, covered in plaque . . . you get the picture. And for Alfie, a boy who loathes dentists from the bottom of his heart and whose teeth are so rotten they ought to be a tourist attraction, danger definitely looms. You can practically hear the background music when the two meet at a school assembly: dum-dum-DUUUUMMMMMM!!!! | ||
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007453566</amazonuk> | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007453566</amazonuk> | ||
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Revision as of 12:24, 14 December 2013
Bugsy Malone - Graphic Novel by Alan Parker
One bunch of wise guys might think they have it all, but they don't. Another bunch of wise guys want it all and have the splurge guns to help them get it. Into the middle come a beautiful starlet-in-waiting, and our crafty innocent abroad, Bugsy Malone. Cue, at some incredibly random time honouring no discernible anniversary whatsoever, this reprint of the long-lost graphic novel version of the story, told for 'all those kids who find it tough reading books with just words'. Full review...
Asterix and the Picts by Jean-Yves Ferri, Rene Goscinny, Albert Uderzo and Didier Conrad
I've never been entirely certain if Asterix was written for children or adults. I am quite certain children were the original target audience, but it is equally apparent that many of the jokes are thrown in for adults as well. It does seem as if more adults are buying Asterix than children now, and comics in general have been taken over by the adult consumer, but Asterix still has plenty to offer the younger reader as well. If it is perhaps a bit more sophisticated than the average children's book today, all the better. I'm all for children's books that are light and easy to read, but I think we are doing our children a disservice by filtering out any book with a more complex vocabulary or a fair number of unfamiliar words. My children did find a few words like solidarity, fraternise and diaphanous challenging, but if we don't challenge them at all - how will they learn? Full review...
Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face and the Badness of Badgers by John Dougherty
It's a good day, unless you're a young girl called Ketchup-Face, who doesn't like being rudely woken up by happy birds singing outside her window. It's a good day, unless you're a young boy called Stinkbomb who's just been woken up by his sister jumping on him. It's a good day until they find a piggy bank raided, and can only assume the thieves were badgers – the clue is in the 'bad' bit. So they go off to meet the king, and a song gets sung, and a major crime-busting task-force is formed, and someone eats an elephant. Yes, it's a good day. Full review...
Tales from Schwartzgarten: The Woebegone Twins by Christopher William Hill
Not many people could possibly live in the town of Schwartzgarten by choice. The mortality rate is indecently high (rather like in those English country villages inhabited by amateur detectives), and the whole town exudes an atmosphere of menace and gloom. Let's face it, even the most confident estate agent would struggle to sell a property in Poisoner's Row, never mind in the vicinity of the Glue Factory or the Cinema of Blood. Full review...
Doctor Who: 11 Doctors, 11 Stories by Eoin Colfer, Michael Scott and others
It's basic knowledge that Doctor Who has changed a lot since first being seen fifty years ago – and I don't mean the title character, but the nature of the programme. It has gone from black and white, and cheaply produced, and declared disposable, to being an essential part of the BBC, full-gloss digital, and accessed in all manner of ways. So with the celebratory programme still ringing in our ears, and leaving people pressing a red button to see a programme about three Doctors, er, pressing a red button, we turn to other aspects of the birthday bonanza. Such as this book, which has also mutated in its much shorter lifespan, from being a loose collection of eleven short e-book novellas written by the blazing lights of YA writing, to a huge and brilliant paperback collecting everything within one set of covers. Full review...
Emily of New Moon: A Virago Modern Classic (Emily Trilogy) by L M Montgomery
I think I should confess, before I write this review, that I am a true Lucy Maud Montgomery geek! I have loved her books since I was a little girl, and I have read them so many times that the covers are worn and faded and her stories live inside of me, at least in part making me who I am. I wrote my masters dissertation on her books. I went to Prince Edward Island, Canada, for a conference about her works. I came back with a bottle of red sand and a heart full of memories. If anyone ever mentions Anne of Green Gables in my presence my eyes get very large and I get very excited (and my husband rolls his eyes...) So it is with trepidation that I sit down to review one of her books. Bear with me, I will try not to geek out too much, and I will do my best to be fair! Full review...
Of Lions and Unicorns: A Lifetime of Tales from the Master Storyteller by Michael Morpurgo
Of Lions and Unicorns is a collection of short stories and extracts from Morpurgo’s most popular books. The book is split into five sections, which focus on recurring themes in his writing. Full review...
The Children of Green Knowe and The River at Green Knowe by Lucy M Boston
I vaguely remember the ‘Green Knowe books from my childhood. They were an unusual mix of adventure and fantasy with some history thrown in, written in the middle of the last century. There are six books in the series, all based in a large house called 'Green Noah' or 'Green Knowe', based on the author’s own home. Full review...
Hilda and the Bird Parade by Luke Pearson
Hilda is a young girl who has just moved from the mountainous countryside to the town of Trolberg; a major upheaval in the life of a girl who likes nothing better than to go exploring the woods and mountains and discovering magical creatures. Since moving into town Hilda’s mother is not so keen to allow Hilda out exploring believing a town to be a potentially dangerous place for a child. Soon though Hilda and her new friends manage to convince her mother to allow her out and the new friends give her a guided tour of the area and all the best places in town. Hilda seems to prefer animals to other children though and early on becomes separated from her friends and instead goes exploring with an injured bird she has befriended. Full review...
Time Trap by Richard Smith
Who was Hector Lightfoot? And why did this 19th century soldier and engineer disappear in such mysterious circumstances? And who are the two ghosts inhabiting his house in 21st century London?
Jamie and Todd are thrown into the mystery when they spend a weekend in London with Jamie's Uncle Simon who lives in the house that once belonged to Hector Lightfoot. Simon takes the two boys to see Hector's recently-discovered underground lab at the British Museum. When the building is struck by lightning, the two boys are sent back in time to the year 1862. They know that their only chance of returning home is to find Hector. But where is he? And can they avoid being sucked into a life of crime while they search for him? Full review...
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
Being childless, I've never had reason to read books out loud to youngsters. I've never faced the challenge of having to pace the story verbally, find the very easily understood stress of the sentence for the young mind, or more importantly find the voice for each and every main character. There are a host of people who would have read this book and its sequels to their children however, and they never had to find the voice to read it out at all – for my generation, the TV version of Paddington is still firmly fixed in our minds after many a decade. But I can also remember reading a copy of this opening collection of short stories at that age as well – and everything associated with Paddington Bear is only going to bring back the firmest of warm memories. This lovely new volume will only create a host more too. Full review...
Ruby Redfort: Catch Your Death by Lauren Child
It's the life thousands of young girls dream of: kindly but improbably vague parents who rarely (if ever) ask what you're up to, a completely trustworthy best friend who would die rather than betray your secrets, and, of course, a place in the top-secret spy agency which just happens to be situated below your town. Oh, and a few super-cool spy devices to get you out of trouble, of course. What more could a girl ask for? Full review...
Horrid Henry's Christmas Play ( Horrid Henry Early Reader) by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross
Horrid Henry is one of those characters that parents either love or hate. Some parents feel Henry sets a very bad example - and at times he does, but what child doesn't love a bad example? Other parents love Henry simply because their children love him. Horrid Henry Books not only help children learn to read, they encourage them to read for pleasure, and children who read for pleasure invariably become better readers. Full review...
The Dragonsitter's Castle by Josh Lacey and Garry Parsons
When Edward finds his Uncle Morton's dragons at the door, he is quite happy to take a shift at dragon sitting, along with his little sister Emily. His parents however are far less happy, and the fact that they are recently divorced only makes things more complicated. It seems that the dragons visit was completely unplanned, and the adults are completely unprepared for the event. The story is told in letters from Eddie to his Uncle, the former detailing the dragons' latest escapade, and the latter writing about one delay after the other. Eddie's mother is getting ready to go away on a yoga retreat and Dad's new girlfriend says absolutely no dragons. What are the children to do? Dad finally gives in, taking the dragons and children to the castle he is renovating in the hopes of striking it rich. Needless to say nothing goes to plan where dragons are involved and the grown ups are in for quite a few problems, but things work out quite well from the children's point of view. Full review...
Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner
Emil Tischbein has been given a great responsibility - to deliver 140 marks to his grandmother, who he is going to stay with on holiday. Pleased at being trusted with so much money by his widowed mother, the young boy is determined to keep it safe. But when he falls asleep on the train, he wakes up to find both the money, and the only other passenger in his carriage, a man who introduced himself as Max Grundeis, gone! Unwilling to involve the police for fear of arrest himself, as he thinks that he's wanted for painting the nose of a local monument, Emil stumbles on a ragtag bunch of children who offer to help him track down Herr Grundeis and get the money back. Full review...
Frost Hollow Hall by Emma Carroll
The ten year old me would have absolutely adored this Victorian ghost mystery and I’m now considerably older than 10 and still devoured this lovely book in one sitting. Winter, 1881 and Tilly has sneaked into the grounds of Frost Hollow Hall. She is not supposed to be there. Ten years previously a young boy, Kit Barrington, drowned in the lake and as Tilly skates on the frozen surface she forgets the stories she has heard in the village and is no longer afraid. Then the ice breaks and she is underwater. Close to death, Tilly is saved by a beautiful boy. It is Kit’s ghost and he needs Tilly’s help. Full review...
The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of Pig by Emer Stamp
Hello.
You is looking for the funniest, most bizarre-looking but adventurous book for the under-tens, but you is also looking for a book you will have a great big beaming smile from reading as an adult. You is going to be most satisfied with this really, really fun and funny book designed as the diary of a farmyard pig, called Pig, who is best friends with a duck called Duck, but who is not friends with the Evil Chickens. The Evil Chickens are Evil and are also making a space rocket, which they prefer pigs to fly. Duck is intelligent, and knows that when Farmer and Mrs Farmer are feeding Pig so many slops it is because they wants Pig for the pot – yes, Pig is expendable. But he is a lucky Pig because he can avoid the pot by obeying the Evil Chickens and taking the space rocket to Pluto. Full review...
Richard Hammond's Great Mysteries of the World by Richard Hammond
Have you ever wondered whether or not the Loch Ness Monster actually exists? What about the Abominable Snowman? Do you think about what really goes on inside the Bermuda Triangle? Well, don't expect a definitive answer from Richard Hammond's Great Mysteries of the World. You'll have to make up your own mind after being presented with the arguments. You'll need to marshal your brainpower. There are eighteen mysteries here, arranged within four topics - Weird Waters, Alien Encounters, Creepy Creatures and Ancient Treasures. All the biggies are here. Full review...
Substitute Creature (Tales from Lovecraft Middle 4) by Charles Gilman
I've never been to an American middle school, so I didn't realise people held Valentine's balls at them in the middle of the morning, with classes to be had afterwards. But Robert and Glenn didn't realise they would spend the duration of the Valentine's ball balanced on a thin ledge of stonework four floors above a concrete ground, outside their school. They have had a head start, of course, with three books' adventures for them, as they discovered the truth of the singular world of Lovecraft Middle – and the demonic worlds it holds portals to. Once inside, however, things don't get any better – a nightmarish snowstorm strands Robert at the school, along with the caretaker of dubious repute, his school nurse mother, the ghost of a girl thirty years gone – and the substitute librarian, fresh from said demonic worlds. And all the while, the Old Ones are waiting underground for the time to be right… Full review...
The Iron Man (Faber Classics) by Ted Hughes
I'll start with a confession. I read a book recently, and got all the way through and still didn't realise I'd read the whole thing about eighteen months before. I mention it only to say that such a thing is impossible with The Iron Man. With the opening scene, of the behemoth on top of the cliff he is about to fall over, I was there. I was immediately transported to a much younger me, sat in the primary school library or classroom, getting the willies from the vivid description of the Iron Giant's hand helping put the whole robotic monster back together. I don't know of a better way to paraphrase the word 'classic' – but this book stayed with me for over thirty years, and it's just fine to revisit. Full review...
The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech
When Marta and John wake up one morning, there's a surprise in store. A little boy is asleep on their porch. He has an unsigned note asking the couple to care for him. And so they do. And they soon come to love him, even though he cannot talk. But they can't help but worry. Who is Jacob? Will his parents return for him? And if they do, how will Marta and John bear to give him up - this little boy who paints blue trees, rides cows and can make music from anything? Full review...
The Ransom of Dond by Siobhan Dowd
Siobhan Dowd wrote just four novels before she died from breast cancer in 2007. All four novels were wonderful and yet they weren't Siobhan's sole legacy to us. Patrick Ness took an idea of hers and, together with artist Jim Kay, turned it into A Monster Calls, which won both the Carnegie and Greenaway prizes. And now we have The Ransom of Dond, Siobhan's last story. Full review...
Alan Turing (Real Lives) by Jim Eldridge
Alan Turing was one of Britain's greatest thinkers of the last century. He did pioneering work on computing and artificial intelligence. He was also a hero of World War II, working in the famous code-breaking community at Bletchley Park, cracking German naval codes used to lethal effect organising U-boat attacks. Turing was the man who beat the Enigma machine. Full review...
Walter Tull's Scrapbook by Michaela Morgan
Meet Walter Tull. There's a picture early on in this book so you can do so – a young lad, with deeply inquisitive eyes, his father and four siblings arrayed around him. When he was only nine, his father – himself child to Barbadian slaves – died, leaving him an orphan, and forced to go to a Victorian children's home in London. In his downtime there Walter became quite the handsome young sportsman, and managed to get so proficient he became the English league's first coloured outfield footballer, knocking up great appearances for Spurs and Northampton and going on intercontinental tours. Glasgow Rangers beckoned just as WWI started, and instead he signed up for the Footballers Battalion. His time at the front was also going to leave him with another distinguished first, despite the official racism of the time. Full review...
The Buccaneering Book of Pirates (Pop Up Books) by Saviour Pirotta
I've said before now that it strikes me as odd that pirates have hung around so long. You can't blame it all on Johnny Depp either, yet people are still willing to revisit stories of old, pieces of eight, legs of wood and spots of black. Saviour Pirotta offers a four page truncation of Treasure Island in his book here, along with five other short tales from the genre. The others are more original, just as is the bonus element you get when you buy this title… Full review...
The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt
It's midsummer night, and Tiuri is one of five young men locked up in a chapel with one more night of silent penance between them and the ceremony that makes them knights of the realm, when a stranger lures him outside. The elderly man gives Tiuri the task of delivering a secret letter, and the chivalry and espionage is too much for the sixteen year old to ignore. The bad news begins, however, when he finds the very experienced knight he was to deliver the letter to dying alone on a forest floor, meaning Tiuri must accept the mantle unofficially, and deliver the missive to its ultimate audience – the king of the neighbouring country. The journey will bring the young man right to the cusp of danger, international intrigue and more. Full review...
Where's the Zombie? by Paul Moran and Jen Wainright
Where's the Zombie is basically a hidden pictures game, but unlike most books of this type, there is some storyline to it as well albeit a very limited one. It all begins when scientist Joel Peters is accidentally exposed to a new virus he was helping to create ZX-5. He is then quarantined with his whole family, right down to the dog and cat. Naturally they are all infected, and isn't long before they escape. The future of mankind is in your hands as this family must be located to learn more about how this disease operates. Your job is to search every page, find each and every family member as well as the medical kit to treat the infected. Your task will get more difficult as the infection spreads and more and more of the bystanders have become zombies as well. Full review...
Demon Dentist by David Walliams
He ought to have realised she was evil from the start. After all, how many dentists do you know who love — yes, really love — rotten teeth? Brown, yellow, cracked, full of cavities, diseased, covered in plaque . . . you get the picture. And for Alfie, a boy who loathes dentists from the bottom of his heart and whose teeth are so rotten they ought to be a tourist attraction, danger definitely looms. You can practically hear the background music when the two meet at a school assembly: dum-dum-DUUUUMMMMMM!!!! Full review...
