tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58945499122490926232024-03-13T12:03:28.232+10:30366 Books: My Year of ReadingCelebrating the National Year of Reading 2012Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.comBlogger384125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-53393923330978199092013-01-21T18:23:00.001+10:302013-01-21T18:23:32.451+10:30My New Blog For 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RmbBjSMhG7Q/UPzzb7QT0FI/AAAAAAAADPY/6gQXVTLhalc/s1600/house.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RmbBjSMhG7Q/UPzzb7QT0FI/AAAAAAAADPY/6gQXVTLhalc/s200/house.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello my lovely loyal readers, I just wanted to let you know that I have finally set myself up with a new blog.</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My new blog is called </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://whatsrebeccareading.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">What's Rebecca Reading?</a> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and I hope you will all make your way over there for a visit.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-53035206889670826112013-01-01T21:29:00.001+10:302013-01-01T21:29:38.894+10:30This is it...I'm done<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gBQbe2JjMMs/UN0C2OrqCnI/AAAAAAAADKc/ob9eC5ocP5U/s1600/New+Year.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gBQbe2JjMMs/UN0C2OrqCnI/AAAAAAAADKc/ob9eC5ocP5U/s200/New+Year.png" width="185" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, my last book has been read, and it's a brand new year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to say that reading a book a day has been a real challenge for me, and there were a couple of times when I didn't think I would make it through. It was all of the wonderful feedback I have had from readers of the blog throughout the year that have made it all worthwhile for me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have read some amazing books, I have discovered some great new authors and I have picked up books I would never have considered, so for me personally and professionally, this experience has been extremely valuable.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Someone asked me if I was going to list my favourite books, and I wasn't going to, because where would I stop? I read so many great books this year, the list could go into the 100s. But I decided that I would, and I have included a Top 10, which are really the first 10 books that sprang to mind when I thought of books I loved this year. Ask me tomorrow and the list would probably be different, as other amazing books would have popped into my mind, but here is my list in alphabetical order.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top Ten:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/184-bink-and-gollie-two-for-one-by-kate.html" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Bink and Gollie: Two For One</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Kate DiCamillo</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/204-tmdaughter-of-smoke-and-bone-by.html" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Daughter of Smoke and Bone</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Laini Taylor</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/187-fantastic-flying-books-of-mr-morris.html" target="_blank">Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore</a> by William Joyce</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/22-fault-in-our-stars-by-john-green.html" target="_blank">Fault In Our Stars</a> by John Green</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/342-matilda-saga-book-3-girl-from-snowy.html" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">The Girl From Snowy River</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Jackie French</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/50-one-and-only-ivan-by-katherine.html" target="_blank">The One and Only Ivan</a> by Katherine Applegate</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/227-on-two-feet-and-wings-by-abbas.html" target="_blank">On Two Feet and Wings</a> by Abbas Kazerooni</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/218-probability-of-miracles-by-wendy.html" target="_blank">The Probability of Miracles</a> by Wendy Wunder</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/285-this-is-not-my-hat-by-jon-klassen.html" target="_blank">This Is Not My Hat </a>by Jon Klassen</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/48-wonder-by-rj-palacio.html" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Wonder</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by RJ Palacio</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In case anyone was interested, I will let you tell you the most viewed post this year was <a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/176-chronicles-of-harris-burdick-by.html" target="_blank">The Chronicles of Harris Burdick </a>by Chris Van Allsburg with a whopping 1366 views, the next closest was <a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/271-this-moose-belongs-to-me-by-oliver.html" target="_blank">This Moose Belongs to Me</a> by Oliver Jeffers with 386 views. I find that stat quite amazing.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So...what does 2013 have in store for me. Well, I can say with absolute certainty that I will not be reading (and writing) about a book a day. It's time for me to get back out into the world, instead of having my nose stuck in a book every spare moment I have.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saying that, I have enjoyed this 'blogging' thing a lot, and I will continue to write about books I have loved and any interesting book related 'stuff' I come across. I am still deciding on a name and a location for the new blog, but I will post it here as soon as I am ready to go.</span></div>
</div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-2619981753300288492012-12-31T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-31T09:00:00.662+10:30366. The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b5WIbHp0i_o/UN0HWQ4O57I/AAAAAAAADL8/pjttb_D-HXE/s1600/Book+Whisperer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b5WIbHp0i_o/UN0HWQ4O57I/AAAAAAAADL8/pjttb_D-HXE/s1600/Book+Whisperer.jpg" /></a></div>
<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child </b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Donalyn Miller</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published
February 2009 John Wiley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the publisher:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Donalyn Miller says she has yet to meet a child she couldn't turn into a reader. No matter how far behind Miller's students might be when they reach her 6th grade classroom, they end up reading an average of 40 to 50 books a year. Miller's unconventional approach dispenses with drills and worksheets that make reading a chore. Instead, she helps students navigate the world of literature and gives them time to read books they pick out themselves. Her love of books and teaching is both infectious and inspiring. The book includes a dynamite list of recommended "kid lit" that helps parents and teachers find the books that students really like to read.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All
bets are off for book number 366. It’s
not a children’s book, and it’s not new, it was published in 2009. I have included it because a friend of mine
mentioned it, she’s a school librarian, and it sounded like the book that everyone
who has anything to do with children and books should read. As I was reading this book, I did think there was no way I could include it, mainly for the fact that I knew I wouldn't know where to stop when it came to raving about it, so I apologise in advance for that, and I really did try to only highlight the parts that jumped out at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Uses Interest Surveys to get to know her students. It's such a simple thing, but if you want to be able to recommend a book for a child you do actually have to know something about the child. In my personal experience there really isn't really a one book fits all. Working in a retail bookstore I am often faced with a customer who wants a book for a 10 year old girl, when I ask what sorts of things does she like, what was the last book she read that she loved, they can't tell me, but they still want that perfect book. and that's one of the reasons I find Donalyn's approach so interesting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Donalyn Understands that students home lives can be busy, with little free time, so she makes sure that she allows time to read in her class every day. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She has a classroom library of over 2000 books, but she still takes her students to the school library on a regular basis. She says, </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'Part of wearing a reader's clothes is learning how to navigate a library and feeling at home in one. Poring through the stacks alongside my students is a great opportunity for me to show them how to find books, expose them to a larger collection and teach library etiquette.' </i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(page 59). With the alarming trend of school getting rid of their libraries, this attitude </span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the key reading requirements in Donalyn's class is that her students will read forty books a year. As she says, for many people who only read a book or two a year it may seem a hefty requirement, but her argument is that is she set the target of say 20 books, then they will read 20 books, if you set the target of 40 they will read 40 books. She believes that the 40 books is enough to instill a love of reading and help the students catch the reading bug. There are guidelines within those 40 books, she sets a specific number of books that students must read in each genre, but the specific number is not set, and may change from year to year depending on the students in her class, or it may factor in any curriculum requirements.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book contains many examples of Donalyn's students, and even how to deal with students who may not complete the task, but not reading the required 40 books doesn't have to be a failure, as she mentions, one of her students who had read one book in his entire life, read 23 while in her class, so that can't be considered a failure. She also </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">tries to get away from terms like struggling readers, using the terms Developing Readers, Dormant Readers and Underground Readers instead.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another point that I really like is in regard to reading freedom and encouraging students to make their own reading choices...even if that choice isn't the most literary one. If, as a teacher you support that choice and the child feels validated, they are more likely to take your advice when suggesting more inspiring reading material, and then hopefully move readers on to something more substantial.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The way in which Donalyn connects with each student and ensures that they are reading is to hold regular conferences. Each student has a reader's notebook that shows a tally of what they have read, a reading list where they record what they've read/attempted/abandoned, a books to read list and Response entries, in the form of letters where the students reflect on their personal reaction to books. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's even a section for teachers/educators who may not be readers themselves, and a Reading Improvement Plan which will hopefully get teachers back on track as readers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The author of this book is American, so her Ultimate Library List (</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is worth noting that this list has been created by her students) </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is pretty much all US authors with a handful of UK authors thrown in such as JK Rowling, Anthony Horowitz and Eoin Colfer to name a few. There are no Australian authors included at all, so for Australian teachers and librarians it might be useful resource when looking for some great US content, but you would need to use your own favourites or consult other lists for Australian content. There is however a mention of The Day My Butt Went Psycho by Andy Griffiths on page 85!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The author makes a point that the book could do two things. It could either open educators eyes to the possibilities of books in the classroom, or it may reinforce</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> what teachers and librarians are already doing. Even if you have a class/school full of readers, it’s an interesting book and it’s full of useful and easy ideas. She has even included a number of appendices at the back of the book. She explains how she set up her own classroom library, there's the Ultimate Library List (mentioned above), and her Student Forms which includes Reading Interest-A-Lyzer, Characteristics of Genre and an End-Of-Year Reading Evaluation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Who will like this
book: </b>Anyone who want to make sure there will be a next generation of readers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
<b>Read it if you like: </b>to feel inspired</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-40641573597487289372012-12-30T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-30T09:00:00.175+10:30365. Romance Diaries Book 2: Ruby by Jenna Austen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2Jrc4remi6Q/UNjffXBN05I/AAAAAAAADFc/Iantm2OjIV0/s1600/Romance+Diaries+Ruby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2Jrc4remi6Q/UNjffXBN05I/AAAAAAAADFc/Iantm2OjIV0/s200/Romance+Diaries+Ruby.jpg" width="127" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Romance Diaries Book 2: Ruby </b>by Jenna Austen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published January 2013 Harper Collins</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the publisher:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Ruby's worried that her friends keep making the same mistakes when it comes to romance. Then she develops a theory: most girls go for either a Jane Austen guy (funny, sweet, caring) or a Jane Eyre guy (dark, brooding, serious) -- when really they should be dating the exact opposite! But when Ruby puts her theory into practice, the results don't exactly go to plan ... And if shes so smart about love, how come she can't figure out who's been sending her all the flirty emails and flowers?</i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Being the book nerd that I am, my first thought when I saw this book, was Who Is Jenna Austen? I was fairly confident that this was a pseudonym, and after a bit of Googling, I came up trumps. Jenna Austen is non other than the well know Australian writer Sophie Masson!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Ruby is a matchmaker. She has worked out where all of her friends are going wrong on the relationship front, and she is making it her mission to steer them in the right direction. This right direction however is HER idea of what that right direction is, and she sometimes fails to see the bigger picture.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Ruby is so bust worrying about everyone else's love life (and I do mean everyone, from her Mum and sister, to each of her best friends), that she fails to see what is right under her nose. As a reader, watching the story take place before our eyes, and to us, it's obvious what is happening and who Ruby's admirer is, but Ruby, so caught up with everyone else, has no idea. It's that element that may frustrate some readers, because they will want to shake her and tell her to open her eyes, but it's also the thing that makes you feel like you're in on a secret, and you're just waiting to see Ruby's reaction when she realises!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">As the authors pen name would suggest there's a bit of a nod to the classics, and this story was inspired by the book <i>Emma</i> by Jane Austen. There's also more than one reference to one of my all time favourite movies, <i>The Princess Bride</i>, and this is the second book I have read this year that makes reference to it, see <a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/125-preloved-by-shirley-marr.html" target="_blank">Preloved </a>by Shirley Marr.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">After reading this book, one of the first things I though about was, who is this book for. I am super conservative in my recommendations when it comes to primary school libraries, so when I come across a book like this, that's a romance with 'pashing' I don't know what to do. For a long time primary schools (I am in South Australia so our Primary Schools go up to Year 7, 12/13 year olds) have steered clear of books with any boyfriend-girlfriend action, but the times they are a changin', so this book is probably OK for girls age 11+. There's no sex, and no swearing (the word that is used is 'pig' as in 'pigwit' and 'pigged off'), so all clear on that front too, so if a bit of matchmaking, dating and pashing sound OK to you, then I am sure girls will just eat it up.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">See below for a link to an interview with Sophie Masson talking about her inspiration for this new series.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><a href="http://writerunboxed.com/2012/12/19/romance-for-young-readers-jenna-austen-and-isabelle-merlin/">http://writerunboxed.com/2012/12/19/romance-for-young-readers-jenna-austen-and-isabelle-merlin/</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls age 11+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: <a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/230-girl-v-world-waiting-for-it-by.html" target="_blank">Girl Vs The World</a> series by various authors</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-90477679871743472192012-12-29T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-29T09:00:02.160+10:30364. Mr Birdsnest and the House Next Door by Julia Donaldson illustrated by Hannah Shaw<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UFKsAnz4lIo/UNLFGTutzTI/AAAAAAAADA4/kgOOYGAzkZk/s1600/mr+birdsnest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UFKsAnz4lIo/UNLFGTutzTI/AAAAAAAADA4/kgOOYGAzkZk/s200/mr+birdsnest.jpg" width="152" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Mr Birdsnest and the House Next Door</b> by Julia Donaldson illustrated by Hannah Shaw</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published August 2012 Barrington Stoke</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the publisher:</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Beautifully packaged book from Children's Laureate, Julia Donaldson and illustrated by the wonderful Hannah Shaw. A tiger in the back garden! A bird-eating spider in the cupboard! Elmo and his sister love playing in the jungle house next door, that is, until mean old Mr Birdsnest moves in. But when it appears that Mr Birdsnest has kidnapped the children's grandma they must sneak back in to rescue her!</i></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">The name Julia Donaldson is a name that anyone who knows even a little bit about children's books would have hear of. Does the book <i>The Gruffalo</i> mean anything to you? While Julia Donaldson is most well known for her fantastic read-a-loud picture books, she has also written a number of novels, and this is one of them.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F52Qt8UdL3I/UNzyC6JZnoI/AAAAAAAADHE/ye9GRUyoQtI/s1600/Birdsnest3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F52Qt8UdL3I/UNzyC6JZnoI/AAAAAAAADHE/ye9GRUyoQtI/s200/Birdsnest3.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">I don't think this book has had an Australian release, I borrowed it from my library, and the publishing date is a UK date. The publisher is Barrington Stoke, and they are a publisher that specialises in books for dyslexic and struggling readers. To be honest, I remember Barrington Stoke titles from many years ago, and I didn't really like them. I think it was because they looked more like a reader, and I found that that was a bit off putting for struggling readers. I have to say that they seem to have re-vamped their image because at first glance I didn't even recognise that this was a Barrington Stoke title. Having a quick look at their website, I can see that their books have great looking covers, and some well know and popular authors.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">One of the first things you will notice about this book is the colour of the paper. The paper is a yellowy/cream colour and this apparently <span style="background-color: white;">'</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #5d2010; line-height: 21px;">reduces glare, which is a factor in visual stress and may make words seem to ‘jump around’. </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">Here is a link to the Barrington Stoke website for anyone interested in finding out more.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.barringtonstoke.co.uk/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_9YC9ndQR4o/UNzxeXF70jI/AAAAAAAADG8/er5EoN5G6-Q/s1600/Barrington.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enough about the publisher, onto the story. It's a great little story, broken in to 4 chapters, which as I have said before, younger/emerging readers love. It's about Elmo and his sister who have been told that their Granny has to move in with them (she's 'getting into muddles'), and because of this they need a new house. Elmo and his sister LOVE the rundown house with giant spiders and jungle wallpaper, but their parents decide on the must less exciting house next door, with boring rooms and flowery wallpaper.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pQEwb17-C1o/UNz0zhOZ9lI/AAAAAAAADIk/ewCT9Ha1FCY/s1600/Birdsnest+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pQEwb17-C1o/UNz0zhOZ9lI/AAAAAAAADIk/ewCT9Ha1FCY/s200/Birdsnest+1.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only good thing is that they still live next door to the jungle house, and because no one lives there they can play in the overgrown garden, and when they find a rusty old key that fits the lock, they can even go inside...that is until the house gets sold, to a man they nickname Mr Birdsnest. The way the siblings make up a whole back story about Mr Birdsnest, based on a very brief meeting makes me laugh. Children do that, they pick certain elements, like a rundown house where an old lady lives, and all of a sudden it's a haunted house and a witch lives there, so the storyline is believable and will really appeal. A mix-up involving their Granny and a possible kidnapping reveals the truth about Mr Birdsnest, and of course, he is NOTHING like the person they had imagined him to be.</span></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-_Ba1QXrlk/UNz07YWcVnI/AAAAAAAADIs/PAgfygKjLTc/s1600/Birdsnest+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-_Ba1QXrlk/UNz07YWcVnI/AAAAAAAADIs/PAgfygKjLTc/s200/Birdsnest+2.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br /><br />There's also the added bonus of gate fold endpapers. At the front of the book the gate fold reveals jokes, and at the back of the book you can learn how to draw a jungle bird</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #5d2010; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Boys and girls age 6+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: The <a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/336-alfie-small-pirates-and-dragons-by.html" target="_blank">Alfie Small</a> Series</b></span></div>
</div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-21577194127968954492012-12-28T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-28T09:00:01.178+10:30363. Feathered Man by Jeremy de Quidt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rm_liWA5UhQ/UIIxb22DLaI/AAAAAAAAB_g/IE_mJMS2Z9I/s1600/fEATHERED+mAN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rm_liWA5UhQ/UIIxb22DLaI/AAAAAAAAB_g/IE_mJMS2Z9I/s200/fEATHERED+mAN.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feathered Man</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Jeremy de Quidt</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Due to be published January 2013 David Fickling Books<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the publisher:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.5pt;">
<span lang="EN"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>'Where does life go?' Who wouldn't want to know the answer to that if it
was almost in their grasp? Klaus's
perfect white teeth were the only thing he had. But after they brought him to
the attention of Kusselmann, the toothpuller, he discovers he has nothing. Not
even his life. When a hidden diamond is
discovered in a dead man's tooth, the stage is set for a terrifying mystery to
unravel. Unwillingly embroiled in the twin clutches of greed and ancient omen,
Klaus and his friend Liesel only understand one thing: they must escape. At any
cost. But where can you go when you are being hunted by a force more deadly and
more powerful than anything in this world?</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who would have thought I would read three books this year that involve the collection of teeth? Well I have, the first two, Daughter of Bone and Smoke and Days of Blood and Starlight, and now this one. Admittedly, the teeth in this book are used to make false teeth, not chimaera (monsters), but still...teeth?!</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imagine working for a man who collects teeth from dead bodies? That's exactly the life Klaus leads. When a days work takes Klaus and Kusselmann to the house of Frau Drecht, where two bodies are ready to give their teeth, Kusselmann finds a surprise in the mouth of one poor dead souls. his teeth, capped in plaster are actually all made of gold, with the exception of one tooth, that's a diamond!</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so begins the story of finding out who this mystery man was, and for Klaus and Liesel who inadvertently finds herself involved, keeping one step ahead of the many people that want the diamond tooth!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's the medical professionals, Professor Karolus who studies anatomy and his assistant Marcus. The become involved, as they often take dead bodies form Frau Drecht to use for their anatomy lessons, and the owner of the gold teeth ends up on their table.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then there's Father Henriquez, and his Aztec companion along with their sneaky monkey who are looking for something else, as well as the diamond, they are looking for a large leather box, and most especially what it contains. Of course I can't tell you what this is, you will have to read the book.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will warn you that this is a seriously creepy book. The tone is Gothic, and there are some very descriptive sections that leave little to the imagination. There is also a lot of action in this book, as well as the element of horror. Liesel and Klaus are on the run throughout the story, they encounter more than their fair of nasty folk, but generally escape, ready to face the next challenge.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN"></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<span lang="EN"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Boys and Girls age 12+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: <a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/211-devil-walks-by-anne-fine.html" target="_blank">The Devil Walks</a> by Anne Fine</b></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-43834802683734595152012-12-27T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-27T09:00:00.110+10:30362. What We Saw at Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRP6RvsIcgo/UJ7ywYS6T6I/AAAAAAAACXs/kXWXb-uPqtA/s1600/What+we+saw+at+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRP6RvsIcgo/UJ7ywYS6T6I/AAAAAAAACXs/kXWXb-uPqtA/s1600/What+we+saw+at+night.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><b>What We Saw at Night </b>by Jacquelyn Mitchard</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">Due to be published January 8th 2013 (eBook) Soho Teen</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">From the publisher:</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Three teenagers with XP (a life-threatening allergy to sunlight) are a species unto themselves. As seen through the eyes of 16-year-old Allie Kim, they roam the silent streets, looking for adventure while others sleep. On a random summer night, while scaling a building like any other, the three happen to peer into an empty apartment and glimpse an older man with what looks like a dead girl. A game of cat-and-mouse ensues that escalates through the underground world of hospital confinement, off-the-grid sports and forbidden love.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While there is an actual story in this book, there are two key elements that stand out in this story and are worth mentioning from the start, XP and Parkour.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">XP or Xeroderma Pigmentosum, is an inherited condition characterised as an extreme sensitivity to ultraviolet light (UV) from sunlight. What is basically means is that people who suffer from XP, do not venture outside during daylight hours, and as with the characters in this book, they live their lives at night. It also means they can’t attend school, they are all home schooled, and they have difficulty having friendships with Daylighters, because as their moniker suggests they live their lives in during the day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I recently made a comment to someone about free-running. Without knowing much (anything) about it, I joked that running was SO restrictive, that people needed to do ‘free running’ instead. As I was reading this book I started to mentally take back my comments, because a big part of this story is about Parkour (or free running), and I had no idea that it’s practice had such a long history and was extremely disciplined. Being the nerd (information gatherer) that I am I had to see for myself what this Parkour thing was all about. The descriptions in the book are good, but to see it in action is another thing altogether!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So, the two interesting elements aside, the story is about three friends, Allie, Juliet and Rob, and as the little suggests, what they saw at night. On their first attempt at Parkour on a new apartment block just outside of town, they see a man with a lightning streak of blonde in his hair, in an empty apartment leaning over a half naked girl, who looks dead. While they all convinced themselves it wasn’t what it seemed, Allie can’t get the image out of her mind.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What begins to unfold is the mystery of this man, Blondie. Why he is in town, what he’s doing there, and how does…know him. When a friend of Allie's dies right after spotting Blondie and Juliet at a Festival, she is certain he is the cause, and we start to find out what’s going on. What Allie finds out is that Juliet basically has a secret life, that she has kept hidden from her friends, and it's not all nice, and it's starting to become dangerous.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As much as the mystery/thriller elements to this story, I really liked the story about the relationship dynamic of the three characters. As so often happens in real life, a group of three friends will often have it’s fair share of drama. In a trio, there is usually one person who is like the connector. If that person starts spending more time with one friend as opposed to the other the whole friendship becomes unbalanced. And if that person also starts making choices that the other two don’t understand, the trio can quickly become a duo. The friendship that these three characters is so much more intense than most teenage friendships because their world is so small (having to live it at night) and all they have is each other. In some respects their friendship has been borne more out of necessity than desire.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There are so many things to like about this book. The fact that the characters have XP, and therefore the story takes place at night makes for a very unique story. Apart from characters who happen to work the night shift, there are few adult characters in this book, so the teens basically have the whole town to themselves. I think this Independence and freedom, as well as the action, is what will make this book a winner with teen readers. When I got to the end of the book, I realised that it wasn't really the end, as there are unresolved storylines...and there was a preview for the next book at the end <i><b>What We Lost In The Dark.</b></i></span></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more info on Parkour:</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 15px;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/WEeqHj3Nj2c?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">For more info on XP:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeroderma_pigmentosum">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeroderma_pigmentosum</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls and boys age 14+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: <a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/335-dont-turn-around-by-michelle-gagon.html" target="_blank">Don't Turn Around</a> by Michelle Gagon</b></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-71177693370409104962012-12-26T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-26T09:00:01.971+10:30361. Incredible Edibles by Stefan Gates illustrated by Georgia Glynn-Smith<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Ad2WqC4l5U/UNadnRYyXaI/AAAAAAAADD8/iQu6s2rzBSI/s1600/Incredible+edibles.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Ad2WqC4l5U/UNadnRYyXaI/AAAAAAAADD8/iQu6s2rzBSI/s200/Incredible+edibles.jpeg" width="179" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Incredible Edibles</b> by Stefan Gates illustrated by Georgia
Glynn-Smith<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published December 2012 <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Walker</st1:city></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the publisher:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="overview">
<span lang="EN"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Become a food adventurer with gastronaut, Stefan Gates!<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>Does chocolate make you happier? What’s the most
dangerous food on earth? How do you milk a camel? What s the fartiest food of
all? And what’s really in that burger you re about to eat? Find out the answers
to these questions and much, much more in this seriously funny and hilariously
informative book about food. Packed full of mad recipes to cook for your
friends, kitchen science projects to try out at home and wild food facts this
photographic cookbook will take you on a food adventure from breakfast right
through to supper.</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I knew nothing about this book, and did not know that
Stefan is quite the TV star, featuring in many programs for both adults and
children. My first thought was, this is
Heston Blumentahl for kids. On closer
inspection I realised that there is a bit of Heston in some of the cooking, but
there’s also a lot of science and a whole lot of weird and sometimes disgusting
food.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book is broken up into two parts, Mad Recipes and Crazy Experiments.. The recipes you can obviously eat, and while the experiments are all about food, you may not fancy eating any. In the recipe section, you will find a nice picture of what you're making, and a clear method. Recipes include, flowerpot bread, elderflower cordial and DIY butter. they are the yummy sounding ones. There's also recipes for, Blood Soup with Eyeballs (beetroot soup with mozzarella), snot and foot soup (pea soup with a pigs trotter), Chicken with a Can of Cola up its bum (exactly what it sounds like) and there's even instructions on how to cook salmon in a dishwasher! What you will also find throughout these recipe pages are facts about bizarre foods, like roasted grasshoppers, duck tongues and sheep's blood to name a few!</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The experiment section include some that are nice, like How To Make and Ice Bowl and make a Milk Kaleidoscope, to the not so nice, How to Catch Farts in a Jar! This book may not have any recipes to help you use up your Christmas leftovers, but it would be an absolute winner for the school holidays..</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s videos, recipes, projects and a lot of
information about this interesting man.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.thegastronaut.com/index/Home/Home.html">http://www.thegastronaut.com/index/Home/Home.html</a></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<span lang="EN"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls and Boys age 9+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: Science as much as you like cooking</b></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN"><br /></span></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-76594124045417253422012-12-25T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-25T09:00:00.720+10:30360. Daughter of Smoke and Bone Book 2: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F6eU_grm1mo/ULAnTcCxyUI/AAAAAAAACiQ/HHZacqj2dWs/s1600/Days+of+blood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F6eU_grm1mo/ULAnTcCxyUI/AAAAAAAACiQ/HHZacqj2dWs/s200/Days+of+blood.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
<br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Daughter of Smoke and Bone Book 2: Days of Blood and
Starlight</b> by Laini Taylor<br />
Published November 2012 H & S Fiction<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN">From the publisher:<br />
</span><span lang="EN-US"><i><span style="color: #783f04;">Once upon a time, an angel and a devil
fell in love and dared to imagine a new way of living - one without massacres
and torn throats and bonfires of the fallen, without revenants or bastard
armies or children ripped from their mothers' arms to take their turn in the
killing and dying. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 7.5pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Once, the
lovers lay entwined in the moon's secret temple and dreamed of a world that was
a like a jewel-box without a jewel - a paradise waiting for them to find it and
fill it with their happiness. <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #783f04;">This was not that world.</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not exactly a Christmas book, but for me it was little bit like Christmas, to say I was excited about
this book would be an understatement. I
discovered Daughter of Smoke and Bone quite a while after it’s original US
release, the paperback came out earlie</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">r</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> this year, so it’s a very pleasant surprise that I get to read Book 2 in the same
year!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a a paragraph in the book that explains what has happened better than I ever could, here is her explanation to Zuzana and Mik.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"Let's see. You know how, at the end of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet wakes up in the crypt and Romeo's already dead? He thought she was dead so he killed himself right next to her?" "Yeah. That was awesome" A pause, followed by "Ow", suggested elbow punctuation on the part of Mik. Karou ignored it. "Well imagine if she woke up and he was still alive, but..." She swallowed, waiting out a tremor in her voice. "but he had killed her whole family. And burned her city. And killed and enslaved her people."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>(from chapter 47. Assassins and Secret Lovers)</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, everyone Karou loves is dead, the seraphim have started a war, and their aim is to destroy the chimaera. With Brimstone dead, Karou has a new role, she becomes the resurrectionist. She again travels the world for teeth, but this time for her own use. Thiago, the White wolf is the leader of the chimaera, and his aim is to create an army that has the attributes needed, to fight angels. Everybody that Karou resurrects now has wings, the perfect secret weapon.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The story is told in alternate chapters, by Karou and Akiva. Karou is creating an army to destroy the seraphim, and she doesn't know if Akiva is alive. Akiva is part of an army fighting the chimaera, and he doesn't know if Karou is alive. Both Karou and Akiva on their own separate sides, start to believe that there may be a better way, a way that doesn't involve destroying an entire race.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Karou is working in the human world, in a Kasbah in southern Morocco. Like the true friend that she is Zuzana and her boyfriend Mik, manage to decode a cryptic email, and find Karou in the middle of the desert, and while Karou is thrilled to have people she loves and cares about around her again, a sandcastle in the middle of the desert filled with monsters, probably isn't the best place for humans.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This story is one of good and evil, and then realising that maybe there is nothing so black and white. Our two heroes have to make decisions that put their own lives at risk, but decisions that the hope will begin to bring an end to the bloodshed.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/VrDAwyYEZWs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 7.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls age 14+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: <a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/204-tmdaughter-of-smoke-and-bone-by.html" target="_blank">Daughter of Smoke and Bone</a> by Laini Taylor</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-23955156087363590612012-12-24T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-24T09:00:01.156+10:30359. House at the End of the Street by Lily Blake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VfFqmc4gWss/UNLF1VDgyxI/AAAAAAAADBA/rhPDLURNt00/s1600/House+at+the+end+of+the+street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VfFqmc4gWss/UNLF1VDgyxI/AAAAAAAADBA/rhPDLURNt00/s200/House+at+the+end+of+the+street.jpg" width="125" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>House at the End of the Street</b> by Lily Blake</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published October 2012 Atom</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the publisher:</span><br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Seeking a fresh start, newly divorced Sarah and her daughter Elissa find the house of their dreams in a small, upscale, rural town. But when startling and unexplainable events begin to happen, Sarah and Elissa learn the town is in the shadows of a chilling secret.</i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Years earlier, in the house next door, a daughter killed her parents in their beds and disappeared - leaving only a brother, Ryan, as the sole survivor.</i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Against Sarah's wishes, Elissa begins a relationship with the reclusive Ryan - and the closer they get, the deeper they're all pulled into a mystery more dangerous than they ever imagined.</i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing I normally steer clear of, are books that have been adapted from movies. I was at my local library, and I can honestly say that I am struggling to find things to read at this time of year. It’s not so much the books, just life getting in the way. So I saw this book, I hadn’t heard of, or seen the movie, and it looked like a quick read, so I gave it a go. Let’s just say I probably won’t be reading any movie novelisations again in the near future.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The story begins with a flash back to a teenage girl murdering her parents in the middle of the night. The book begins when Elissa and her Mother, move to town, ready to make a change with their lives. They have moved next door to the house where the murder took place. While most people in town are happy to gossip about what happened, Elissa wants to find out more.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s the regular ‘just moved to town’ stuff going on. Being introduced to the neighbours, making friends, quickly finding out that those ‘good kids’ are actually the same ‘bad kids’ they moved to get away from. It’s not all bad though, as Elissa finds a group of musically inclined teens, who want her in their band, and then there’s Ryan, the son of the murdered neighbours.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My main niggle with this book is that because they are condensing a movie into 188 pages, there isn’t a lot of depth to the story, and everything seems to happen very quickly, it’s like reading on fast forward. My intention this year was never to write about books that I didn’t like, and while I didn’t love this one it did have a few good points. There is a pretty good twist in the story, just when I thought I knew what might be going on, I realised I didn’t, and even at the very end, I thought I knew, but there was yet another twist.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other good thing I will say about the book is that it’s something a non reader may pick up, because they recognise the movie image on the cover. I am all for reading for pleasure, and while books that can change your life are important to me, there’s room for the other kind too, the ‘bubble gum for the brain’. If this is the book that turns a teenager into a reader, then that is a good thing.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls and boys age 14+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: stories with a twist</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-84878841203308058762012-12-23T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-23T09:00:01.872+10:30358. There’s a Fly Guy in my Soup by Ted Arnold<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S6P8Euq1QlI/UM7YRmhqT8I/AAAAAAAAC70/gbmwQmUfSx8/s1600/There's+a+fly+guy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S6P8Euq1QlI/UM7YRmhqT8I/AAAAAAAAC70/gbmwQmUfSx8/s1600/There's+a+fly+guy.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>There’s
a Fly Guy in my Soup</b> by Ted Arnold<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published
January 2013 Scholastic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From
the publisher:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>When Buzz and his family have dinner at a fancy hotel's restaurant
Fly Guy isn't allowed in. After searching through the hotel's garbage Fly Guy
smells a wonderful aroma coming from the restaurant's kitchen. Fly Guy causes
some messy mayhem in the restaurant and, in the end, everyone needs a bath!<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hp4utQTP8Do/UM7Yu-dv_gI/AAAAAAAAC78/Hw1K0f3Nvpw/s1600/Inside+Fly+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hp4utQTP8Do/UM7Yu-dv_gI/AAAAAAAAC78/Hw1K0f3Nvpw/s200/Inside+Fly+2.JPG" width="122" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this adventure Buzz and family, including Fly Guy are staying
in a fancy hotel. It’s so fancy that Fly
Guy isn’t allowed in the restaurant, because no one wants a fly hanging around
their food. Buzz is sent out into the
night and all he finds is a lot if horrible stinky rubbish. Most flies would be overjoyed at such a
bounty, but not this fly, he wants something nicer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cBIz_v3e6BM/UM7Y207lruI/AAAAAAAAC8E/jt4wHsX8AN8/s1600/Inside+Fly+guy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cBIz_v3e6BM/UM7Y207lruI/AAAAAAAAC8E/jt4wHsX8AN8/s200/Inside+Fly+guy.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A delicious smell leads Fly Guy to the kitchen where he finds
himself in the most lovely soup, perfect for a Fly Guy bath. The only problem is that the diner who
received the soup was not so happy with the bathing fly, in fact she shrieked
and jumped causing her soup to fly, which then caused a neighbouring diner to
shriek and throw his hands in the air, causing his soup to fly…and so the chaos
begins, resulting in everyone being covered in soup!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l0l80JQ3kf4/UM7Y_mtZufI/AAAAAAAAC8M/2vS_qik4iH0/s1600/Inside+fly+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l0l80JQ3kf4/UM7Y_mtZufI/AAAAAAAAC8M/2vS_qik4iH0/s200/Inside+fly+3.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ever since the very first fly guy book Hi, Fly
Guy! Book was published in 2005, young readers haven’t been able to get enough
of these books about Buzz and his pet fly.
They work well because they are bright, funny and have chapters. Chapters are very important to readers moving
on from picture books, as it makes them feel very grown up!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Who will like this
book: Boys and girls age 5+</b><br />
<b>Read it if you like: Fly Guy</b></span></div>
</div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-61694155063817864242012-12-22T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-22T09:00:01.078+10:30357. Summertime of the Dead by Gregory Hughes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dZU5hbwQHQo/UM7WMo-5NEI/AAAAAAAAC7k/v79OiF63lKs/s1600/Summertime+of+the+Dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dZU5hbwQHQo/UM7WMo-5NEI/AAAAAAAAC7k/v79OiF63lKs/s200/Summertime+of+the+Dead.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Summertime of the Dead</b> by Gregory Hughes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published November 2012 Quercus<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the publisher:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN">Yukio's two best friends are dead. Tormented and
blackmailed by the Yakuza – the Japanese mafia – they have taken their own
lives. Yukio is a kendo champion and he knows all the stories of the samurai.</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<span lang="EN"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Heartbroken and furious, he is determined to avenge the
deaths of his beloved Hiroshi and Miko. And so begins a deadly struggle between
Yukio and the Yakuza, and between Yukio's capacity for love, and his thirst for
revenge.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Shot through with the beauty of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:city></st1:place> in spring, this is an unforgettable and
uncompromising read.</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span lang="EN"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A
book about the Japanese Mafia with a Warning: Not For Younger Readers on the
back, this has the makings of a must read for action loving boys
everywhere! Three Japanese teenagers,
friends since childhood, who are as close as siblings. One night while at an underage night club,
and a chance meeting with Riko and Louise, nieces to a gangster godfather in
the Japanese Mafia, the yakuza and their friend Kako changes everything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While
Yukio is away on holidays, his friends Miko and Hiroshi start spending time
with Kako. The twins were asked to help
with an old gambling debt, and as result an old man became badly hurt. The twins found themselves in deep trouble and
being blackmailed. This is the start of
the older content, because although it’s not described in detail, Miko was
forced to have sex with Kako, and he filmed it, claiming he would show it to
her grandfather if they didn’t do what he asked. The shame of what they were asked to do, is
enough for the twins to commit suicide, and it’s their deaths that Yukio must
avenge. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Let
me tell you that it become obvious quite quickly after this point as to why
there is a warning on the back of the book.
Yukio digs out his family’s samurai sword, gets it sharpened and starts
to plot his revenge. Kako is his first
target, and with his skills in kendo and a sharpened sword, he makes quick work
of him. Then it’s Louise and a few body
guards and then his killing escalates into anyone who has anything to do with
the yazuka. His final kill is the one
that is his undoing, and it is unexpected.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
other storyline that threads it’s way through this tale is the relationship
Yukio has with his simple cousin the Lump.
She might not say much, but her presence is somewhat stabilising to
Yukio. Her leaving is the point when things really get out of control fro
Yukio.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Yukio
goes from vengeful killer to a full on insane psychopath by the end of the
novel. I think some degree of suspended
belief may be required for this one, as while I understand the Japanese
feelings of honour, the extremes Yukio goes to is a bit much. That said, this book will appeal to boys who
have a love of martial arts, as Samurai way is a real theme in this book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<span lang="EN"></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Boys age 14+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: martial arts</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-38125629479277118672012-12-21T09:00:00.001+10:302012-12-21T09:00:02.126+10:30356. From Mud Huts to Skyscrapers: Architecture for Children by Christine Paxmann and illustrated by Anne Ibelings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lYaH0WJlKVw/UNLAPmlkG0I/AAAAAAAAC9w/MOuF3gMexuw/s1600/Mud+Huts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lYaH0WJlKVw/UNLAPmlkG0I/AAAAAAAAC9w/MOuF3gMexuw/s200/Mud+Huts.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.6pt; mso-outline-level: 2;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>From Mud Huts to Skyscrapers: Architecture for
Children </b>by Christine Paxmann and illustrated by Anne Ibelings</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.6pt; mso-outline-level: 2;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Published November 2012 Prestel</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.6pt; mso-outline-level: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.6pt; mso-outline-level: 2;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">From the publisher:</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Filled with colourful architectural drawings and
engaging texts, this history of architecture for children is a great way to
introduce young readers to the subject. Children will be utterly absorbed by
this journey through the history of architecture, from the earliest mud huts to
today's soaring towers. Chronologically arranged, this large-format book gives
each iconic building its own double-page spread featuring an exquisite
watercolour illustration and clearly written descriptions, facts, and features.
These vibrantly detailed pages are filled with people, animals, and other
objects that help bring the buildings to life. A detailed appendix includes a
timeline, a world map that points out where each building can be found, and an
extensive glossary. Children will enjoy poring over this book - and will come
away with a fundamental understanding of not only the most common architectural
terms, but also of how the built world has evolved marvelously over time. </i></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5A39Fmg2c68/UNLBdSVpugI/AAAAAAAAC_Q/6l04HdJe6JI/s1600/Mud+Hits+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5A39Fmg2c68/UNLBdSVpugI/AAAAAAAAC_Q/6l04HdJe6JI/s200/Mud+Hits+1.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Another beautiful book, that has the combination of beautiful
illustrations you would expect to see in a picture book, and simple and clear
information you'd find in a non fiction title.</span><br />
</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">The book is set out in chronological order, so it
begins with the move from caves to house and explains how people learned to
live indoors. It shows that from 10,000 BC builders decided to press mud
between the spaces in branches, and this is how the first solid houses were
built.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">There's information on the pyramids both the why
and the how. The Greeks, and how their architecture is linked to
religion, and the ancient Romans who had little time for stylish architecture,
and borrowed from the Greeks.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">The book follows all styles of architecture
through Baroque, Gothic, Art Deco and Bauhaus up to iconic buildings like the
Sydney Opera house, and the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">There is even a look at buildings of the future
and how Eco-architects feature environmental features in their designs. There
seems to be a real push for greenery to be part of the designs, becoming one
with the environment.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I like that how the information is set out in this
book. There's a short introductory paragraph to each period and there are dot
points relating to particular points on the illustration to highlight extra
information.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LJd672BIje4/UNLBzmDUlyI/AAAAAAAAC_Y/ZV0pB_l8Yhg/s1600/Mud+Huts+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LJd672BIje4/UNLBzmDUlyI/AAAAAAAAC_Y/ZV0pB_l8Yhg/s200/Mud+Huts+2.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Boys and girls age 9+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: <a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/311-underworld-exploring-secret-world.html" target="_blank">Underworld </a>by Jane Price</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
</div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-61355978164074671242012-12-20T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-20T09:00:00.424+10:30355. Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HicsWF_kl-Q/UH51iVUnWBI/AAAAAAAAB6A/1TAS_rzMBKM/s1600/Eve+and+Adam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HicsWF_kl-Q/UH51iVUnWBI/AAAAAAAAB6A/1TAS_rzMBKM/s200/Eve+and+Adam.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Eve and Adam</b> by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published October 2012 EUK<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the publisher:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.75pt; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><i>Evening
Spiker is recuperating from a freak accident in her mum's medical facility. She
is healing at a remarkable rate, faster than physically possible. As she grows
closer to the hot lab assistant Solo, who seems to be hanging around a lot, she
realises that things at Spiker Biotech are not quite as they seem. Joining
forces, Solo and Eve uncover a secret so huge it could change the world
completely. Spiker Biotech is about more than just saving lives. It's about
creating them. </i></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.75pt; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both of
the author names associated with this title will be easily recognisable. Michael Grant is the author of the very
popular GONE series, and BZRK which I read earlier this year. Katherine Applegate is the author of the
extremely popular Animorphs series, which have recently been re-issued. She also wrote the wonderful The One and Only
Ivan, which I also read earlier this year. The other thing about this writing
duo, is that they are also married, and this is their first collaboration.</span><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12.75pt;">Despite
the premise, this book is not set a dystopian world, it’s set in modern day San
Fransisco. As the blurb suggests, there
is something about Evening Spiker (Eve) that means she heals at an impossibly
fast rate. Her leg was severed and sewn
back on, yet in a matter of days she can walk, and there isn’t even a trace of
a scar. This discovery is the start of
the big question, what is really happening at Spiker Biotech?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.75pt; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12.75pt;">While Eve is recovering, her mother encourages her to test out some new genetics software that’s going to be used in schools across the country.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12.75pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 12.75pt;">Her job is to create the perfect man, not a bad way to pass the time, but it turns out that this ‘software’ is a bit more sinister than Eve could have imagined.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
story is told in alternate chapters, Eve’s story and Solo’s story. Solo works and lives at Spiker Biotech, and
we soon learn that he has been collecting information about what’s been going
on in the labs, with the intention of releasing the information world wide. If what he knows gets out, the FBI will be
involved, Spiker Biotech will be forced to close, and Eve’s mother will
certainly face jail time.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When
Solo has all of the evidence he needs he knows he will have to flee the lab,
and he takes Eve with him. He has to
decide whether or not he will release the files to the world, knowing it will
destroy Eve and her family or will he simple leave it alone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s
humour, action, frightening technology and a bit of romance in this light
entertaining read. It may not be
gruesome and hardcore enough for Michael Grant’s readers of BZRK and the GONE
series, but it’s not a bad introduction for new readers and it will definitely appeal
the female readers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/JmRb9iK3-ls?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Boys and girls age 14+</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
<b>Read it if you like: Beta by Rachel Cohn</b></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.75pt; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-32757990380094906472012-12-19T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-19T09:00:00.286+10:30354. Om Shanti, Babe by Helen Limon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ixYBwlgr_k/UGLRPBRqOYI/AAAAAAAABkk/IPa5PVIN2jE/s1600/Om+Shanti+Babe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ixYBwlgr_k/UGLRPBRqOYI/AAAAAAAABkk/IPa5PVIN2jE/s200/Om+Shanti+Babe.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><span lang="EN">Om</span></b></st1:place><b><span lang="EN"> Shanti, Babe</span></b><span lang="EN"> by Helen Limon<br />
Published November 2012 Frances Lincoln<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="overview">
<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the publisher:<br /><i><span style="color: #20124d;">
Fizzing with energy, and laugh-out-loud funny, this is a roller-coaster journey
of discovery, which also has an exciting environmental twist - all against the
backdrop of beautiful Kerala.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Cassia can't wait for her first visit to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
- Bollywood glamour, new friends to admire her uber-cool street-dance moves .
But as she steps into real Indian life, NOTHING is as she expected... Cass is
with her mum in Kerala, on a buying trip for their Fair Trade craft shop, and
everything seems to be going wrong. There's Mum's new romance with
"call-me-V" Mr Chaudury for a start, her own prickly stand-off with
pretty, fashion-mad Priyanka, and the devastating news that her mum's business
may be on the rocks. But then pop idol Jonny Gold arrives at the beach to
promote his new song, Om Shanti Babe, sparking a mystery, new friendships and a
race to save the mangrove swamps.</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span lang="EN"></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cassia
loves all things Bollywood, so a trip to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> with her Mum is a dream come
true. Cassia’s Mum Lula has a shop named
after her daughter that sells all sorts of fair trade goodies, all of which she
sources from southern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
in a place called Kerala.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cassia
wants to be a dancer, not ballet, but street dance and Bollywood. Cass has had a major falling out with some of
her friends from school, we find out what exactly as the story unfolds, and
she’s decided to drop out of school and work in her mum’s shop until her
dancing career takes off.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The
trip to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
opens Cass’s eyes to lots of things, about the world, and her own life. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> isn’t all Bollywood Glamour,
it’s hot and dusty and scabby dogs roam the streets, plus her Mum is too busy
working and spending time with Vikram to do anything fun with her. Cass really just wants to go back to <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region>, away from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> and especially away from
Vikram, who seems to be more than just her Mum’s friend.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A
trip to Malabar, a coastal town where Lula’s best friend lives is just the
change Cass needed, and she makes a new friend, Priyanka, meets a boy and gets
involved in a campaign to save the local mangrove. To top all of this off, she and Priyanka also
get the chance to meet their pop idol Jonny Gold! He’s going to be making his new music video
right on the beach from where Cass is staying, but it turns out he;s not quite the man they thought he was.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What
this book is really about is growing up, and realising that we can’t run away
from our problems forever, at some point we have to face them and deal with
them. It also shows that growing up sometimes
means putting other people’s feelings/needs before our own. In Cass’s case, she must accept that her mum
has met someone new, and she is happy, and having a happy Mum is a good start
to having a happy family.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This
book also won the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Award, to find out more about
the award go to: <a href="http://www.franceslincoln.com/en/Page/98/Diverse_Voices.html">http://www.franceslincoln.com/en/Page/98/Diverse_Voices.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
</span><br />
<span lang="EN"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls age 12+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: Cathy Cassidy</b></span></div>
<br /></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-68411099565278147382012-12-18T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-18T09:00:01.553+10:30353. Marvel Ready-To-Read Level 1: This Is Spider-Man by Thomas Macri<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8cqot_DB3Rk/UM7Olp632OI/AAAAAAAAC4c/nBcwatQotHA/s1600/This+Is+SpiderMan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8cqot_DB3Rk/UM7Olp632OI/AAAAAAAAC4c/nBcwatQotHA/s1600/This+Is+SpiderMan.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Marvel
Ready-To-Read Level 1: This Is Spider-Man </b>by Thomas Macri<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published
January 2013 Scholastic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From
the publisher:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>When Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider he becomes super-agile and amazingly strong. He makes a disguise and calls himself Spider-Man. Sometimes, though, keeping his superhero identity a secret isn't easy.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gmrc0bBUg5Q/UM7ROj88K5I/AAAAAAAAC54/yOrQoiArw2M/s1600/Inside+Spider+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gmrc0bBUg5Q/UM7ROj88K5I/AAAAAAAAC54/yOrQoiArw2M/s200/Inside+Spider+3.JPG" width="127" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Little boys LOVE superheroes, but there’s often a big difference
between the age appropriateness of books about superheroes and the age of the
children who love them. Now that problem
has been solved, as we have three new ready to read titles all about our
favourite heroes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This book is a perfect introduction to Spider-Man. We are introduced to Peter, a High School
student who lives with his Aunt, is bullied at school, but he has a
secret. This secret involves a costume,
a web shooter and lots of webs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hQansT1rrsY/UM7RZu2W_9I/AAAAAAAAC6A/AJn0dwKAUv4/s1600/Inside+Spider+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hQansT1rrsY/UM7RZu2W_9I/AAAAAAAAC6A/AJn0dwKAUv4/s200/Inside+Spider+1.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The story in this book is basic, and that’s the point. There are one or two short sentences on each
page, and each page has an illustration that supports the text. On the page ‘He loves science’, Peter is in a
lab with a test tube and he’s smiling.
The illustrations are bold and clear, and as it’s been published in
conjunction with Marvel, the Spider-Man image is just like the one readers
would know from the comics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xXyTbhO00Ng/UM7RjU09FFI/AAAAAAAAC6I/r2KviIxIWHY/s1600/Inside+spider+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xXyTbhO00Ng/UM7RjU09FFI/AAAAAAAAC6I/r2KviIxIWHY/s200/Inside+spider+2.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Books about super heroes may not be everyone’s idea about what
constitutes great reading material, and in a literary sense it isn’t…but if
this is the book that turns a non reader into a reader, then it’s value is
clear.<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Boys age 5+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: <a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/95-dc-super-friends-1-brain-freeze-by.html" target="_blank">DC Super Friends</a> Series</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-81998302920855045482012-12-17T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-17T09:00:00.976+10:30352. My Brother Simple by Marie-Aude Murail<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7Rxq5S-t8dc/UMzyUIuV_qI/AAAAAAAAC3A/nHJfQx4u09s/s1600/My+brother+simple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7Rxq5S-t8dc/UMzyUIuV_qI/AAAAAAAAC3A/nHJfQx4u09s/s1600/My+brother+simple.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>My Brother Simple</b> by Marie-Aude Murail</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published September 2012 Bloomsbury </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the publisher:</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>There's unrequited love, lust (lots of it), bad romantic poetry, too many essays, and plenty of crisps. But the seventeen-year-old boy in this story has something extra to contend with. His older brother has learning difficulties and is languishing in a care home. Listening to his heart rather than his head, the boy knows he must get his brother, nicknamed Simple, out. But as their father is entirely preoccupied with his new wife, it's up to the boy to liberate Simple, and that means finding somewhere for them to live in the city. Funny, thought-provoking and clever, this French bestseller won the Prix SNCF du Livre de Jeunesse and was dramatised for French television; in Germany it won the prestigious Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #454545; line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This book was originally published in France in 2004, and it has won awards across Europe. I have a theory that if a novel has been translated it's a book that I must read, as I believe that only the best books are ever translated.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book is about 17 year old Kleber and his 22 year old brother Barnaby, known as Simple throughout the story. While Barnaby may be the older brother, he has learning difficulties and has the IQ of a three year old. Their mother has died, and their father has a new pregnant wife, who isn't comfortable being around Simple. The obvious solution is to put Simple in to an institution, but after a brief stay, it's clear that Simple hates it, so Kleber comes up with a plan of his own.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kleber is finishing his last year of High School in Paris, and he decides that he and Simple will live their together while he does so. They find two rooms in a large flat share, their housemates are college students, all with their own issues. There's siblings Aria and Corentin, Aria's boyfriend Emmanuel and Enzo. The arrival of Kleber and Simple mean changes are afoot among this group.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love the way that we can see the true nature of each character in the way that they react to and interact with Simple. Initially there is some hesitance as to whether the rooms should even be let to the brothers, but Simple's unique charm manages to sway them. Emmanuel, a medical student, can really only see Simple as a real life case study, and we immediately start to see chinks in his and Aria's relationship. Enzo comes across as very brusque and was absolutely against Simple moving in, but it quickly becomes obvious that Enzo's heart is a lot bigger than he lets on, and he goes on to having the strongest relationship with simple of the three. Corentin, is probably the quietest of the group, and he doesn't have too much contact with Simple, but it's Simple's astute observations that make him start making changes in his life. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">Simple has the gift that we see so often with children, the gift of speaking the absolute truth. Many may think this is far from a gift, but through his eyes we see things others are too polite/kind/proper to mention. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the three other housemates are going through their own mini drama's, Kleber is trying to keep it all together. He not only has to be Simple's primary caregiver, even if he;s not there he has to make sure Simple is being looked after, plus he has to find time to study and his big goal is to find out more about girls. There are two girls on the horizon, and through the course of the story and with the help of Simple's insights, there is a clear an obvious choice. Kleber is a great character, he is perfectly portrayed, as while he has the adult parent relationship with Simple, he is still a normal teenage boy.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have mentioned all of the major human characters, but there is another star in this book, and that's Mister Babbit. Mister Babbit is Simple's stuffed toy rabbit that goes everywhere with him. To Simple, he is more than a stuffed rabbit, he is a friend who he can talk to. He is also the voice that encourages Simple to do a lot of the 'naughty' things that Simple does, like smashing the mobile to see if there's a little man inside.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This book is one of those wonderful marvels that can make you laugh out loud, break your heart and fill your heart with joy, and that is rare. I will say that while this is a book for teenagers, I would recommend it for older teenagers as there's quite a lot of sex mentioned throughout, so that's something to bear in mind.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls and boys age 16+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: the movie Rainman</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-49512411662488085472012-12-16T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-16T09:00:01.557+10:30351. Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B Cooney<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6_YH3feuYLw/UMbv5mFVtoI/AAAAAAAACzs/gewpMRwBZVo/s1600/Face+on+the+milkcarton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6_YH3feuYLw/UMbv5mFVtoI/AAAAAAAACzs/gewpMRwBZVo/s200/Face+on+the+milkcarton.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Face on the Milk Carton</b> by Caroline B Cooney</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This edition published December 2012 Random House</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the publisher:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> No one ever really paid close attention to the faces of the missing children on the milk cartons. But as Janie Johnson glanced at the face of the ordinary little girl with her hair in tight pigtails, wearing a dress with a narrow white collar--a three-year-old who had been kidnapped twelve years before from a shopping mall in New Jersey--she felt overcome with shock. She recognized that little girl--it was she. How could it possibly be true? Janie can't believe that her loving parents kidnapped her, but as she begins to piece things together, nothing makes sense. Something is terribly wrong. Are Mr. and Mrs. Johnson really her parents? And if not, who is Janie Johnson, and what really happened?</i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">OK, so it's late in the year, and here I am reading a book that was originally written in 1990, and I have read it before. I am including it because I did read it again, partly to see how it stands the test of time and also because there is a book 5 coming out next year, and I wanted to start joggi</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">ng my memory.</span><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">This is such a great story and I am happy it, and it's sequels are being re-released. The story starts off with a regular all-American teenager, she has lots of friends, does OK in school, has a nice house, good parents. Her biggest problems are getting enough driving practise, so she can get her license and figuring out how she feels about the boy next door. Her world changes dramatically on one normal day in the school cafeteria. The local dairy where Janie lives, puts pictures of stolen children on the sides of milk cartons, hoping they will be identified. Janie has a milk allergy, so she doesn't usually take much notice, but on this one particular day she does, and she realises that the girl on the link carton is her. She was stolen from a New Jersey shopping centre 10 years earlier.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">As this all starts to sink in, Janie starts to have flashes of memories about herself as a little girl called Jennie Spring. She remembers that she has brothers and sisters, and she remembers walking away with a lady with long dark hair. Janie has no idea what to do with this information, and the only person she can turn to is Reeve, the boy next door. With his help she has to figure out what to do with this information, knowing that confronting her parents will turn her life and theirs upside down. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">There are a few twists to the story, as just as we think we know what happened to Janie, more information comes to light and the Johnson family realise this is bigger than they imagined, and they have to decide what action to take.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">I am happy to say that even though this book was written in 1990, it hasn't dated. The only thing is that there were no mobile phones, so when Janie has to call her parents, she has to find a phone box. there was also a mention of cassettes, that some readers may not recognise, but they are only little passing comments, and not integral to the storyline. I will note that while there isn't any sex in the book, when Reeve and Janie start going out, there is a bit of talk about sex, so you may need to keep that in mind.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">The previously published books are all being re-released, all with covers that match the new book, Janie Face to Face, which comes out in mid January 2013. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Face on
the Milk Carton</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> (1990) </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Whatever
Happened to Janie?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> (1993) </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Voice On
The Radio</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> (1996) </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What Janie
Found</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> (2000).</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JuGPYbwCYBU/UMzuqoYjAII/AAAAAAAAC1k/P7U1UJK_NIM/s1600/Whatever+happened+to+Janie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kBzFD0VjsFk/UMzudpyva1I/AAAAAAAAC1M/LwqTJf8nMvk/s1600/Janie+Face+to+Face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kBzFD0VjsFk/UMzudpyva1I/AAAAAAAAC1M/LwqTJf8nMvk/s1600/Janie+Face+to+Face.jpg" /></a><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JuGPYbwCYBU/UMzuqoYjAII/AAAAAAAAC1k/P7U1UJK_NIM/s200/Whatever+happened+to+Janie.jpg" width="133" /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DmAN4uDldRU/UMzuhMKdiSI/AAAAAAAAC1U/oho0ik24S98/s1600/Voice+on+the+radio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DmAN4uDldRU/UMzuhMKdiSI/AAAAAAAAC1U/oho0ik24S98/s200/Voice+on+the+radio.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wV8akS3wFYw/UMzulEpl-iI/AAAAAAAAC1c/hgB0M2b40RA/s1600/What+Janie+Found+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wV8akS3wFYw/UMzulEpl-iI/AAAAAAAAC1c/hgB0M2b40RA/s200/What+Janie+Found+%25282%2529.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls age 15+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-67061684977642153462012-12-15T09:00:00.000+10:302013-01-23T19:49:38.027+10:30350. Stories for 5 Year Olds Edited by Linsay Knight<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tJwSduBAoDw/UMbolqTyu6I/AAAAAAAACxo/QqNa0fsK6c4/s1600/Stories+for+5+year+olds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tJwSduBAoDw/UMbolqTyu6I/AAAAAAAACxo/QqNa0fsK6c4/s200/Stories+for+5+year+olds.jpg" width="127" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Stories
for 5 Year Olds</b> compiled by Linsay Knight</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published
December 2012 Random House<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From
the publisher:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Top
stories specially chosen for 5 year olds! Authors include Janeen Brian, Ursula
Dubosarsky, Victor Kelleher and lots more! Two toy gorillas, twelve princesses
with a secret, a problem with bubblegum, a very hungry boy, a girl who likes
exploring, a very popular dog, a class visiting ducklings, a postman with a
problem, mysterious bush creatures and a gorilla adventure ...you'll find all
these in Stories for 5 Year Olds. And you'll find some of your favourite
Australian authors too. Once you start reading, you won't want to stop!</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When
I first saw these books for 5, 6, 7, and 8 year olds I was really excited as
it’s good to have short stories that will appeal to specific ages groups. When I had a quick look at the contents page
I was momentarily disappointed as I realised that many of these stories aren’t
new. It’s when I saw one story in particular
that I was extremely happy that they had chosen stories that have been out of
print, and are up there with my favourites stories of all time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
am only going to read the boo for 5 year olds, as it has the story in it that I
really wanted to share but the books below are also available, and I will
assume that they all contain some stories that have been out before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">OK,
one of my all time favourite stories is The Two Gorillas by Ursula Dubosarsky,
which was an Aussie Nibble, but has been Out of Print for many years. I am happy to say that the Two Gorillas are
alive and well, as it’s included in this collection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">For
those of you that don’t know it, it’s the story of Becky (she features in a
number of Aussie Nibble titles) and her two toy gorillas. These poor gorillas get put through
everything, from being covered in glitter, frozen, buried and
resuscitated. I think the reason this
story tickles me so much is because I can just see a little girl doing all of
these things, all the while a logical story of what’s happening to the gorillas
along the way going through her head. I
love it, and I am so happy that a new generation of readers can enjoy it too.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While the stories are all different, they are all designed to appeal to 5 year old readers, and most of them have quite a bit of cheeky humour. The other story I am happy to see in this collection is The Gorilla Suit by Victor Kelleher, about a boy who dresses up as a gorilla and falls into the gorilla enclosure at the zoo, the funny part is that the parents take home an actual gorilla, and don't even realise! Even though both of my favourites feature gorillas, there are gorilla free stories in this collection, there's even a re-telling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The other authors features in this collection are all well known names in the world of children's books in Australia, and what a great chance to have a collection like this that makes introducing readers to a wide range of authors so easy. There is an 'About the Authors' in the back of the book that is really great too, as it gives a bit of a background to each author, and mentions some of the other books they have written.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On closer inspection, it looks like all of the stories may be re-prints. There are acknowledgements in the back, listing where the stories may have been seen before, some listings don't give publication dates, so I am not really sure what that means? A number of them have been printed in magazines and reading schemes, so a number of them will be unknown to many readers. The other thing that I really liked is that
it’s not just a collection of stories that a 5 year old will like, it’s also a
collection they will be able to read, as the print is large and clear. The print gets smaller in each of the books,
as they go up in age.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Contents:</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 10.35pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Duck Down</b>
by Janeen Brian </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 10.35pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>I Bet You Can't </b>by Phil Cummings </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 10.35pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>The Two Gorillas</b> by Ursula Dubosarsky </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 10.35pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>The Twelve Dancing Princesses</b> retold by Mark
McLeod </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 10.35pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Oh,<span class="apple-converted-space"> F</span>or<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>a Sausage Roll!</b> by Sophie Masson </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 10.35pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Charlotte
the Explorer</b> by Dianne Bates </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 10.35pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Mates 'n' Stuff</b> by Vashti Farrer </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 10.35pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Harry and
Jasper</b> by Bill Condon </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 10.35pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Look!</b> by Lizzie Horne </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>The Gorilla Suit </b>by Victor
Kelleher</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 10.35pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Other books available:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 10.35pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d-rqJz6mumU/UMbqCpAMqbI/AAAAAAAACxw/hCqrPVIZazk/s1600/Stories+for+6+year+olds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d-rqJz6mumU/UMbqCpAMqbI/AAAAAAAACxw/hCqrPVIZazk/s200/Stories+for+6+year+olds.jpg" width="127" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dX2cuWSb9QU/UMbqGEbKhWI/AAAAAAAACyA/mJH0d7pNh5A/s1600/Stories+ofr+7+year+olds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dX2cuWSb9QU/UMbqGEbKhWI/AAAAAAAACyA/mJH0d7pNh5A/s200/Stories+ofr+7+year+olds.jpg" width="128" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IapMtlfMbfE/UMbqEutnNaI/AAAAAAAACx4/IoyQV6bmDCY/s1600/Stories+for+8+year+olds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IapMtlfMbfE/UMbqEutnNaI/AAAAAAAACx4/IoyQV6bmDCY/s200/Stories+for+8+year+olds.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls and Boys age 5+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: Aussie Nibbles</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-79361415743551862802012-12-14T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-14T09:00:00.728+10:30349. Venom by Fiona Paul<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o0xLNXnB4G4/UMbrSDN1kdI/AAAAAAAACyI/Nx2J6AkTvbw/s1600/Venom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o0xLNXnB4G4/UMbrSDN1kdI/AAAAAAAACyI/Nx2J6AkTvbw/s200/Venom.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Venom</b> by
Fiona Paul<br />
Published December 2012 Harper Collins<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From the
publisher:<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i>Beauty, romance, murder... A novel as stunning and
seductive as Renaissance Venice itself. Cassandra Caravello is part of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Venice</st1:city></st1:place>’s wealthy elite.
Her world is one of fabulous gowns, society parties and privilege, yet she
longs for something more. While her fiancé is away studying in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Paris</st1:city></st1:place>, she has a chance
meeting with an artist called Falco. He is attractive, audacious...and highly
unsuitable. When Cass stumbles upon the body of a murdered woman - with a
bloody X carved across her heart - she’s drawn into a dangerous world of secret
societies, courtesans and killers. Falco is quick to offer his assistance, but
then another body is found and Cass starts receiving death threats... Is Falco
more involved than she imagined? And will she be able to stay true to her fiancé,
or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for someone she’s not even sure she
can trust?</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not a girly girl by any stretch, but I just love the dress on the cover of this book! Again, I know not a good way to select my reading material, but that’s why I picked this one up. This is a novel set in the Renaissance Venice, basically the story of a wealthy young girl, and a poor apprentice artist who should never have met, let alone fall in love, throw in a killer who is carving up women and you have a book that’s hard to put down.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a world of the haves and have nots. Cassandra Caravello is most definitely a have, she lives with her over protective Aunt on an isolated <u></u><u></u>Island<u></u> of <u></u>San Domenico<u></u><u></u>, her Aunts house sits adjacent to a cemetery. She is closely watched over by her Aunt and the staff of the house, Cassandra is engaged to be married and the hope is that she will curtail her ‘impossible ways’ and keep her out of trouble until the day of her nuptial arrives!<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A chance meeting along a canal, and then again on a late night trip to the cemetery, Cassandra meets Falco, and she can’t get enough of the thrill and excitement being with him brings. The two of them stumble across a dead body, and find themselves on the trail of what appears to be a brutal killer. Cass and Falco find a dead courtesan with an X carved across her heart, her body in a crypt where Cass's friend should have been laid to rest, but is missing, and later a dead servant is found floating in the canal with the same X marking.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of the action in this book takes place at night and in the early hours of the morning, as this is when Cass manages to sneak out, because of this we get to see a bit of the seedy side to <u></u><u></u>Venice<u></u><u></u>. Cass, with Falco’s encouragement does things she would never dream of, such as dressing as a courtesan herself and visiting a few of the ‘houses’ to try and gather information, they attend a masked ball, in disguise, and Cass even spends the night (just sleeping) with Falco in his studio. All of this excitement mixed with her growing feelings for Cass make her begin to question her impending marriage. Be warned what Cass sees at the 'houses' is at one point described in some detail, so be aware of the sexual content,<u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I was reading this book I had my suspicions about what might be going on, there were some clues along the way. This story is set in a time when the medical profession still used leeching to fix a body overloaded with blood and black bile, and a visit to the salt baths could cure all manner of ills, and I suspect that the missing body had something to do with science and medicine. As the story unfolds we learn that perhaps the missing body and the murders are not connected, and though we learn who the murderer is, the reason behind the missing body has only just started coming to light. There is a book 2 on the horizon, so I am sure that will be revealed in time.</span></div>
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls age 15+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: Stravaganza Series by Mary Hoffman</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br /></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-473069441334904242012-12-13T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-13T09:13:48.277+10:30348. Chocolate Dog by Holly Webb<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Habdxc5k2m4/UMbn5RKvVYI/AAAAAAAACxg/7zYuv8c7a58/s1600/Chocolate+Dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Habdxc5k2m4/UMbn5RKvVYI/AAAAAAAACxg/7zYuv8c7a58/s1600/Chocolate+Dog.jpg" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Chocolate Dog</b> by Holly Webb<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published December 2012 Scholastic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From the publisher:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;">Amy and Laura aren't looking forward to the arrival of their new
brother or sister. There doesn't seem to be any room for them anymore. But at
least they still have their gorgeous dog Choc-he always knows how to make them
feel better.</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">You would be forgiven if you thought that this book was a book
about a gorgeous chocolate brown dog, and while it does have a gorgeous
chocolate brown dog in it, the story is more to do with families, and the way
they grow and change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Amy is 9, and Laura is 5, they are like any siblings, some days
they are the best of friends and others they are sworn enemies. Amy and Laura have always had a reasonable
balance between the two, but the impending arrival of a new baby to the family
means that the sisters are now going to have to share a room. It’s one thing to love you sister when you
both have your own space, but it’s a little bit harder when your 5 year old
mermaid loving sister moves in and all of a sudden you have nowhere of your
own.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I think the theme is a great one, and one that will resonate with
younger readers. If they are a part of a
big family where compromise is part of life child they will sympathise, if they
are an only child who doesn’t have to share anything they may consider
themselves lucky.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Amy is struggling with a number of emotions. One minute she is frustrated with having to
share, the next minute she misses her sister when she has to spend a night away
from her at camp. The worst feelings are the ones where she's not sure she even wants a baby in the family.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Each sister is dealing with the changes in her own way, Amy tries to runaway only to be ratted out by the dog! While Lara copes with the possibility of missing out on her birthday and mermaid cake, by hiding out under the kitchen table. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It's a lovely story about family, but I really thought the cover and title were deceiving. It looks like it may be an obvious choice for a dog loving 8 year old, but it will be better suited to someone looking for a true to life family tale.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls age 8+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: <a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/295-my-funny-family-by-chris-higgins.html" target="_blank">My Funny Family </a>by Chris Higgins</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-15987646689270618142012-12-12T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-12T09:21:29.500+10:30347. Watersong Book 1: Wake by Amanda Hocking<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oX9clVB4Vmk/UMblbcXGV2I/AAAAAAAACxQ/zFAjVAxRoSU/s1600/wAKE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oX9clVB4Vmk/UMblbcXGV2I/AAAAAAAACxQ/zFAjVAxRoSU/s200/wAKE.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><b>Watersong Book 1: Wake</b> by Amanda Hocking<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Published August 2012 Macmillan<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">From the publisher:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Beautiful. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you
envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer,
Penn, Thea, and Lexi have caught everyone's attention, including the eye of
practical Harper. But it's her sister, Gemma, they've chosen to be part of
their group. Sixteen-year-old Gemma seems to have it all - carefree, pretty,
and falling in love with the boy next door. But her greatest passion has always
been the water. She craves late night swims under the stars, where she can be
alone yet belong to the sea. Lately she's had company. Penn, Thea, and Lexi
spend their nights dancing, singing, and partying on the cove - and one night
Gemma joins them. When she wakes up groggy on the beach the next morning, she
knows something has changed.</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FWGuKQELamM/UMbl_u6oLNI/AAAAAAAACxY/cPsl6G-4t9Y/s1600/lULLABY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FWGuKQELamM/UMbl_u6oLNI/AAAAAAAACxY/cPsl6G-4t9Y/s200/lULLABY.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Book 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What
prompted me to go back and read this book was actually the second book in the
series, Lullaby which was released at the end of November. I liked it
because of it’s cover, but thought I had better start with book one, which was
only released in August, so not that long ago. It’s a book about mermaids, but
not as we know them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s
a creeping dark feeling coming down over this seaside town. It’s summer, which
should means no school, fun in the sun and spending time with friends, but
there are teenage boys missing and people are beginning to become
concerned. The most noticeable group who
have arrived in town are a group of girls, there were four, but now there are
three. What makes them stand out is
their outstanding beauty, and many of the townspeople are drawn to them,
especially the young men.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gemma
is a swimmer, she trains in the pool, but she loves to swim in the bay at
night. She see’s the girls in the cove
dancing and singing, and while she too is drawn to them, she forces herself to
stay away…until the day she can’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These
girls need Gemma, they are the daughters of Zeus, banished to the sea as a
result of a curse, destined to live theirs lives as sirens .As I said they are
mermaids, but not as we know them as they can live on land, but when they hit
the sea, their legs turn in to tails, they have beautiful voices and they
attract men. All of those things pretty
much confirm what we know, but one of the big differences is that they need to
feed, on the blood of men!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
story is about Gemma who thought that the biggest thing she would do this
summer is fall in love with the boy next door, but who finds herself having to
make decision that will change her life and affect everyone close to her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For
a book that has the feel of a book like Twilight, it also has a strong theme of
family. Gemma and her sister Harper,
live with their Dad, their mother lives in a group home after a car accident
left her in a coma for 6 months. She did
wake from the coma, but was never the same again. Harper looks out for her sister
like a mother would, and as a result she is basically a middle aged woman
living in the body of a teenage girl.
She has to deal with the changes in her sister, and her feelings of
leaving home (to go to college) and her feelings for a boy, who makes her want
to behave like the teenage girl she is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
liked this book. It would be a good
choice for those readers that liked Twilight and even Percy Jackson because of
the mythology aspect, but who want it grounded firmly in reality, with strong
relevant themes.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls age 14+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-52489544193527810752012-12-11T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-11T09:00:01.884+10:30346. Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OcCC0Wfi6-s/ULApRsf25gI/AAAAAAAACiY/PXFNheNgmZc/s1600/where+things.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OcCC0Wfi6-s/ULApRsf25gI/AAAAAAAACiY/PXFNheNgmZc/s200/where+things.jpg" width="185" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Where Things Come Back </b>by John Corey Whaley</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published September 2012 Simon & Schuster</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the publisher:</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the remarkable, bizarre, and heart-wrenching summer before Cullen Witter's senior year of high school, he is forced to examine everything he thinks he understands about his small and painfully dull Arkansas town. His cousin overdoses; his town becomes absurdly obsessed with the alleged reappearance of an extinct woodpecker; and most troubling of all, his sensitive, gifted fifteen-year-old brother, Gabriel, suddenly and inexplicably disappears. Meanwhile, the crisis of faith spawned by a young missionary's disillusion in Africa prompts a frantic search for meaning that has far-reaching consequences. As distant as the two stories initially seem, they are woven together through masterful plotting and merge in a surprising and harrowing climax.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 15px;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This book has won a multitude of awards, so I hoped I wouldn’t be disappointed, given all of the hype. I wasn’t disappointed, but it is quite a sleepy story.<u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s a story that starts off in two different places. Each one seeming separate, until it gets to a point where you realize how the two story lines are about to merge, and then it’s a bit of a WOW moment. </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The central story focuses on the town of Lily where Cullen and his brother Gabriel live. It’s a small town and anyone who’s different in a small town tends to stand out, and this is the case for Gabe who is quite unique. He likes music by bands no one has every heard of, he is smart, thoughtful and still chooses to believe that the world is a good place...and then one day he goes missing. He goes missing during a time when there are strangers coming to town, ornithologists who are interested in the possibility that the Lazarus woodpecker is alive, thought to be extinct. The town actively search for Gabriel for a few weeks, and then life just gets back to normal, for everyone except those close to Gabriel.<u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second story starts with a missionary called Benton Sage who while working in Ethiopia learns of the Book of Enoch. It's this piece of scripture that puts Benton on an unexpected course, and he becomes obsessed. His obsession leads him to his college roommate Cabot Searcy, who takes over this cause after Benton's death means he couldn't. I found myself fascinated by theses chapters. At first interested, and then as their obsession deepens, it started to get pretty creepy.<u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are elements of The Lovely Bones in this book, although unlike that story, we as a reader don’t know what happened to Gabriel, that all becomes clear towards then end. What we do see is how one group of peoples lives go on , when one important person is gone.</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="line-height: 15px;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Boys and Girls age 15+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like : a glimpse at small town USA</b></span></div>
</div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-66891387285572009562012-12-10T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-10T09:00:01.343+10:30345. Daisy and the Trouble With Coconuts by Kes Gray<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ujghDchnTwo/ULxkM469QYI/AAAAAAAACss/Hd4Y57wldeQ/s1600/Daisy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ujghDchnTwo/ULxkM469QYI/AAAAAAAACss/Hd4Y57wldeQ/s200/Daisy.jpg" width="146" /></a></div>
<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Daisy
and the Trouble With Coconuts </b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Kes Gray</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published
December 2012 Red Fox<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From
the publisher:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>'The
trouble with coconuts is that they are the worst type of nuts in the whole wide
world. If you ask me, coconuts shouldn't be allowed in a funfair. If you double
ask me, they shouldn't even be allowed to grow. Coconuts are too big. Coconuts
are too hairy. Plus, if you try to win one, they just get you into trouble.
Which isn't my fault!' Get up to no good with Daisy as she heads to the funfair
- for a whole lot more trouble!</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now for something completely different. Two days and two ghost stories, I though it was time for a change.<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Daisy, Daisy, Daisy, what can I say? If you haven’t discovered Daisy yet (there have been 7 novels and a handful of picture books too) you really should give her a go. If you’re looking for a funny read for a beginning readers, or want something longer than a picture book for a bedtime read, find a Daisy book.</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not sure if we have coconut shy’s at fair’s or shows here in <u></u><u></u>Australia<u></u><u></u>, but even if we don’t there’s still plenty that parents and children alike will recognise in this book. Daisy is off to the fair with her Grandparents, her mother is is very anti-funfair, and think’s it’s a waste of money and full of unhealthy food. Luckily for Daisy it’s her Grandparent money she will be spending, and she LOVES unhealthy food, as we will see throughout this book.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really think adults will get a kick out of this book as they will identify with Daisy's (and her Grandparents plight) as they go from game to game, her Grandparents handing over their money, without winning a prize. The darts don’t fly straight on the dart game, the hoops are not the right size to go over the stands at the tombola, there is no goldfish game anymore (animal rights issues!), the dolly mixture doesn’t quite fall off the shelf at the rifle range, and even when Daisy manages to catch a duck at the Hook-a-Duck stand there’s a big fat X on the bottom, which means no prize for her.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After each disappointment, Daisy becomes more and more frustrated and angry but her cross feelings can be eased somewhat by a mountain of food. This is what manages to enjoy on her day at the funfair:<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>A slush puppy<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>A hot dog</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Burger (with tomato sauce)<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Candyfloss<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Swirly Lolly<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>2 boxes of popcorn<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Ice Cream<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Flumps (sprinkles and added ice cream extras)<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Strawberry sauce<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Chocolate sauce<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Mint, vanilla, raspberry ripple, chocolate and caramel fudge<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>AND<u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">2 of Nanny’s mints!</span></i><span style="color: #222222;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s not until the last game, the coconut-shy, that Daisy really loses her cool. No one in her family seem to be able to knock these coconuts over. In fact Daisy is starting to suspect that something underhand may be at play…maybe these coconuts are glued in place, so they will NEVER fall off!? With the help of her friends, Daisy decide to arrange a little protest, that of course doesn’t go to plan, but is hilarious to witness!</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls and boys age 5+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: <a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/184-bink-and-gollie-two-for-one-by-kate.html" target="_blank">Bink and Gollie: Two for One</a> by Kate DiCammilo</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894549912249092623.post-23646302869553328232012-12-09T09:00:00.000+10:302012-12-09T09:00:00.585+10:30344. Dark Souls by Paula Morris<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hu0aVm_BF1s/UML1wd6kCdI/AAAAAAAACv0/BcKXANQQbSM/s1600/Dark+Souls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hu0aVm_BF1s/UML1wd6kCdI/AAAAAAAACv0/BcKXANQQbSM/s1600/Dark+Souls.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Dark
Souls</b> by Paula Morris<br />
Published December 2012 Scholastic<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the publisher:<br /><span style="color: #660000;"><i>
Miranda Tennant arrives in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">York</st1:city></st1:place>
with a terrible, tragic secret. She is eager to lose herself amid the quaint
cobblestones, hoping she won't run into the countless ghosts who supposedly
roam the city. Then she meets Nick, an intense, dark-eyed boy who knows all of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">York</st1:city></st1:place>'s hidden places and
histories. Miranda wonders if Nick is falling for her, but she is distracted by
another boy-one even more handsome and mysterious than Nick. He lives in the
house across from Miranda and seems desperate to send her some sort of message.
Could this boy be one of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">York</st1:city></st1:place>'s
haunted souls? Soon, Miranda realises that something dangerous-and deadly-is
being planned. And she may have to face the darkest part of herself in order to
unravel the mystery-and find redemption.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two ghosty stories back to back, although this one doesn’t have any laughs. What it does have is a teenage girl recovering form the death of her best friend and a visit to the most haunted town in <u></u>England<u></u>, <u></u><u></u>York<u></u><u></u>.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Tennant family have decided to take a working holiday half a world away from their lives in the US in the hope that this change of scenery will help daughter, Miranda and son Rob deal with the trauma of the accident they were involved in. What Miranda hasn’t told anyone is that she saw her friend’s ghost on the night that she died, and since then she has been seeing ghosts everywhere. <u></u><u></u>York<u></u><u></u> probably isn’t the best place for her then, as they have a whole tourist industry that revolves around the ghosts of the town.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Initially disarmed by the visions she comes across, Miranda soon meets a mysterious boy who can see ghosts too, and he shows her a side of York that most people don’t see ( because they can’t see ghosts!). What might have had an inkling of a holiday romance gets confusing and weird as Miranda finds out that Nick is not telling her the whole truth about his past, and then there’s the link between him and the ghost in the house across the lane.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As well as being a good ghost story and a good mystery, there’s also a lot of interesting historical information too. Being the nerd that I am, if I read about something that sparks an interest while reading a novel, I have to go and find out more, which I s what I did with this book. The most interesting for me, but also the most horrifying was the massacre of 150 Jews in 1190. I won’t go into details here, but you can read about it in this book, or here’s a link for more information.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u></u> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://ddickerson.igc.org/cliffords-tower.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://ddickerson.igc.org/<wbr></wbr>cliffords-tower.html</a><u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See below for a few more links you may find interesting:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If ghosts are your think, have a look at the databse, where you can search ghostly sightings across the UK.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.paranormaldatabase.com/index.htm">http://www.paranormaldatabase.com/index.htm</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A large part of the story revolves around the York Minster, here’s a link to for more information and some great images of this beautiful building<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.yorkminster.org/visit-york-minster.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.yorkminster.org/<wbr></wbr>visit-york-minster.html</a><u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.7pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who will like this
book: Girls and boys age 14+</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Read it if you like: <a href="http://366books.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/88-daylight-saving-by-edward-hogan.html" target="_blank">Daylight Saving</a> by Edward Hogan</b></span></div>
</div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01514323782902372620noreply@blogger.com0