February reviews from Albert Park

Judy Moody, girl detective by Megan McDonald - reviewed by Jo

Judy Moody has read all the Nancy Drew books and now she wants to be a detective and solve a mystery.  When a puppy form her school goes missing she decides to solve it.  It isn’t the best book I’ve read – not that exciting, but still a little bit of fun.

I recommend this book for 7-9 year olds.

Rated:   3/5

The Barrumbi kids by Leonie Norrington  -  reviewed by Emma

This book is about kids that live in a small town.  The town is divided into rich, middle and poor.  The kids have a lot of adventures and also try to avoid the school bully.  They also wag school and get caught in a fire.  This book is AWESOME!  I love adventure stories and the outdoors.  It is written well I can imagine what it would be like to live in that town.  

Recommended for those 12+

Rated:  3/5

The magician's nephew by C. S. Lewis - reviewed by Alex G.

Diggery and Polly, and Diggery’s Uncle Andrew go to a very old secret world called Charn.  They wake up the Empress of Charn who turns out to be the wicked witch of Narnia.  In this book Narnia is a young world and is just starting to form.  The animals in Narnia can talk.  They plant a silver apple which turns into a silver tree.  Anyone who steals an apple from this tree is cursed.  There is a lot of adventure and fantasy and the author has created a good picture of the other world.

Rated:  5/5 

The blue lotus : the adventures of Tintin by Herge - reviewed by Che

Tintin is listening to the radio when he comes across an unknown radio station.  A secret code comes through and Tintin wants to find out what it means.  Tintin is warned that someone wants to kill him (the person has yellow skin, black hair and glasses).  He makes his way to Shanghai where he is almost killed.  I like comics and if it is in colour that’s even better!  Some bits are boring because they are unnecessary and would not have made a difference to the story.  

I recommend this book for around 9+.

Rated:   4.5/5

The great switcheroonie by Alex Shearer - reviewed by Henry

Bill Harris is a nerd who decides to frizz his hair.  After he does this he is mistaken for a famous cool person called Benny Spinx.  Bill is paid to impersonate Benny Spinx in an ad.  But someone is after them and they both get kidnapped.It is a really, really good book.  It’s well written and funny in parts.  The characters aren’t boring and there is lots of information about them as well.

Rated:  5/5 

The shifting sands (Deltora Quest) by Emily Rodda - reviewed by Alex W.

This is a great book and series.  Kids are on a quest to save Deltora.  They hide in an apple farm owned by an old woman, when they steal apples because they are hungry she releases angry bees to chase them.  They enter a town called Rithmere and hear about some games that are on.  They decide to enter the games but it turns out to be a trap.  They are kidnapped but escape.  They go to the Shifting Sands and find the lapis lazuli. I liked this book a lot and the characters in it.

Rated:  4/5 

  

 

February reviews from St Kilda

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick (this is the sequel to "The invention of Hugo Cabret", the book the movie "Hugo" is based on – the movie was fantastic!!!) - reviewed by Lily

It’s about this boy called Ben, and he’s from 1975, and a girl called Rose from 1925, and they are both about 10. Rose is deaf so she needs to have tutoring, and Ben is deaf in one ear as well. It tells about their lives.

Rose’s mother is Lilian Mayhew, who is a famous actress at that time (the 1920’s). Ben is living with his aunt and uncle and cousin because his mum has died in a car crash. Then, one day they meet up. Rose is 60, and we find out that Rose is Ben’s grandmother.

I won’t say anymore because I don’t want to give away the whole lot. Both Hugo and this one are very visual, told in a lot of pictures, which are their own part of the story. You have to read the pictures. Amusing at times, sometimes you might want to cry.

Rated:  5 reallys

Dork diaries 2 : Tales from a not-so-popular party girl by Rachel Renee Russell - reviewed by Elsa

Nicky likes this boy at school, Brandon, and wants to go to the Halloween dance with him. Nicky’s other friends are going. 

Her sister, who is 9, is scared of fairies and she hasn’t been getting enough sleep. Nicky’s enemy is a girl called Mackenzie, and both she and Nicky are invited to the party. When she gets there, there is a chocolate fruit fountain. 

Nicky and her 2 friends meet boys going to the dance. Mackenzie’s friend plays a mean trick on Nicky and she thinks they have invited her so they could be mean, but Brandon asks her for the dance at the end.

Rated:  5 reallys

When you reach me by Rebecca Stead - reviewed by Lucy

Set in 1978, it is really amazing. It's about a girl called Miranda who has a fairly normal life. 

One day she gets a letter in her school bag but before that she is walking along with her friend and a boy came and punched her friend in the stomach. The boy ran away and the friend ran away and won’t speak to Miranda again. The letter she found in her schoolbag says “I want to help your friend” but Miranda wonders who wrote it. 

There is a homeless man who is always on her street who they call “the laughing man”. Another two more letters over the next month say the same thing.

The novel chronicles the events of her year. In the end they find out who the letters are coming from.

Rated:  5 reallys - "My mum bought this for me."

Her debut novel was called “First light”, and Lily made a comment that these titles "appeal to me, they make you want to read them!"

It was only a small group to start the year off with, and we ended with their film holiday highlights over January.

Lily and Lucy recommend "Hugo"; 


while Elsa recommends "Red dog".