Albert Park reviews for December

Harry Potter and the goblet of fire by K. J. Rowling - reviewed by Jo

My favourite thing about the Harry Potter series is that you never know what will happen – it never repeats itself.  In all the Harry Potter books there is always a problem and usually starts at the beginning of the school year.  He participates in a race and something unexpected happens.  I like it because it’s full of adventures. I recommend it for 8-12 year olds.

Rated: 4 billion/5!

The slightly true story of Cedar B. Hartley by Martine Murray - reviewed by Emma 

This book is about a girl - Cedar B. Hartley - who is almost 13 years old.  She lives alone with her mum, her older brother has runaway and her father died when she was one.  She meets Kite, a boy who is into the circus and acrobatics.  They become good friends and start training together.  She is happy to have Kite as her friend because it’s only her and her mum who she doesn’t see much as she works until late.  It’s funny in places and sort of written like a diary and has doodles.  It would be like how I would write a diary. 

Rated:  5/5 - "I would recommend it for 11+ because some of the themes in the book are more for older kids".

Horton hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss - reviewed by Alex G. 

Horton is splashing in a pool when he hears a voice from a speck of dust.  It turns out that there is a whole village - Whoville - living on this speck of dust and Horton vows to protect them.  When the other animals in the jungle don’t believe in the existence of Whoville they try to get rid of the dust by throwing it into a field of clovers.  Horton faces a difficult search.  When he finally finds the speck of dust he has to prove to the other animals that Whoville really exists.  Every member of Whoville has to be as loud as possible.  It’s funny with lively illustrations and a bit scary.

Rated:  5/5

Deltora Quest - the whole first series - by Emily Rodda - reviewed by Annabelle 

The main characters are Lief, Jasmine, Barda, a raven called Kree and Filli, a ball of fur with eyes and a tail.  Their quest is to save Deltora, their homeland.  They have to find the 7 gems that go on the Deltora belt so that they can drive out the evil Shadowland.  Barda and Lief go to the Forest of Silence where evil birds were hovering when all the gems went missing.  The gems are under the watchful eye of the evil guardians.  I liked this book because it is set in a faraway land, lots of evil characters and a quest that comes close to failing which keeps the story interesting.  The Deltora Quest series is for people who like adventure, danger and ups and downs.

Rated:  5/5