Alphabet Soup

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Young Writers in Action: Ping Pong

Posted on February 11, 2016July 25, 2025 by Alphabet Soup

PING PONG

by Lakota, 7, WA

Tom was scared of ping pong. He was five years old and was in Year One. His hobbies were soccer, football, ice hockey, hockey, rugby but not ping pong. When Tom was eight he got into sea creatures. He liked killer whales the best!

Tom also loved surfing with his dad.

For Tom’s birthday he had an underwater party. People dressed up as underwater animals. Tom invited six friends, their names were: OLLY, SAM, GUS, FINN AND FRANKIE. Tom’s best presents were a bike, bow and arrow, Lego plane and a magic book.

One day Tom was at the beach surfing with his dad when he saw a ping pong ball in the water. He screamed until the lifesavers came to save him and ask what made him scream. So Tom told the lifesavers that he had been screaming because there was a ping pong ball in the water and that he was scared of everything to do with ping pong.

Tom also had to tell his mum and twin sisters, Myla and Lakota, and got into lots of trouble for just a simple thing to be scared of. One of his punishments was to tell everyone in his family on his mum’s and dad’s sides on the phone, with his twin sisters, mum and dad looking him in the eye. Another one of his punishments was no sweets for seven days. The last one was to tidy up the house instead of the cleaner doing it, without getting money for it.

When Tom was ten, his favourite colours were white, black and orange. It’s quite funny because those are the colours of ping pong balls and Tom still didn’t like ping pong.

When Tom was 12, all his friends played ping pong but not Tom of course. One day, Tom was walking in the games room in the apartment building where he lives when he bumped his thigh on the corner of the ping pong table, but he didn’t notice. He went to pick up the ping pong ball and bat, but he didn’t notice. Then a guy came in with a ping pong bat and started playing with Tom but Tom still didn’t notice. When Tom finally noticed that he was playing, he got quite a big shock but in the end it became his favourite game and he was the best at it in his whole school.

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This is Lakota’s first story published with Alphabet Soup. If YOU would like to send us a story, drawing, poem, or book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy writing!

Book review: Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Posted on February 9, 2016February 8, 2016 by Alphabet Soup

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 10, WA

Mrs Frisby and the rats of NIMH

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C O’Brian, Penguin UK (Puffin Modern Classics), 9780141333335

Matilda found this book on the bookshelves at a holiday house.

When we were on holidays this book was on a bookshelf, so I read it. When I picked it up I thought that Mrs Frisby was a person, but she is actually a mouse and she lives at a farm with her children. The rats of NIMH are a group of rats with a secret, and they also live at the farm. Soon Mrs Frisby knows that it’s time to move their house again because the humans are coming with ploughs — but she has a big problem. One of her children is very sick and can’t get out of bed. The mice mostly stay out of the rats’ way. Will Mrs Frisby be brave enough to ask the rats to help before the ploughs arrive?

You can’t put this book down because it’s so exciting and you’ll need to find out what happens next. I recommend Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH for children aged 7 to 12.

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Matilda is one of our regular book reviewers. Her most recent review (if you don’t count this one) was of An Artist Once Said. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

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Books with Monkeys

Posted on February 8, 2016February 8, 2016 by Alphabet Soup

We’re very happy to be back from our break! Happy New Year! (And Happy Year of the Monkey, too!)

Later this week we’ll be sharing some book reviews and stories by young writers. But today we’re thinking about monkeys in books. Here are some of our editor’s favourite books featuring monkeys:

The Barefoot Book of Animal Tales from Around the World

What are your favourite books with or about monkeys? Let us know — we’ll add them to this post! (You can leave us a comment or email our editor, Rebecca.)

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Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 17, 2015December 11, 2015 by Alphabet Soup

We will be taking a break until late January 2016.

Merry Christmas to all our readers! We hope you have some good books waiting for you on your holiday reading pile …

Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Matilda

Book review: An artist once said

Posted on December 16, 2015December 11, 2015 by Alphabet Soup

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 9, WA

An artist once said

An Artist Once Said: An inspiration book by Hannah Rollings, Michael O’Mara Books Ltd, 9781449472290

Matilda reviews her own copy of this book.

Have you ever got frustrated because you don’t know what to draw? This book will cure you.

A picture and a quote from all different artists leads you to drawing something you might never have thought of before. I love the idea of this book and it did lead me to drawing lots more pictures, right inside the book.

There are different types of pictures and this book will inspire you in different ways, from reading quotes by artists like Picasso and Kahlo, to looking at yourself in the mirror.

I recommend this book for people who would like to draw more often — kids and adults too.

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Matilda is one of our regular book reviewers. Her most recent review (if you don’t count this one) was of At My Door. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

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Young Writers in Action: Australia Wild

Posted on December 14, 2015July 25, 2025 by Alphabet Soup

AUSTRALIA WILD

By Klara, 10, NSW

Where the weather is humid, hot and dry,
And the birds there just love to fly.

Where the bushland sways,
And where all the creatures have their own ways.

And where the sun beats down endlessly on the red, bushy desert.

And the koalas in the gum trees are always alert,
For the brown, wild dog, the dingo, that’s him,
prowls around the gum tree while koalas don’t want to lose a limb.

The crocodile is snapping fish,
And serving them up for a bliss summer dish.

The kangaroo hops around the place,
Chasing the hum of busy flies, like a wild goose chase.

The wallabies always avoid the hot sun,
They lie down under a rock away from all fun.

The platypus is in the water feasting on worms and yabbies,
He eats as much as he does weigh, every single day.

And the emu is running across the charred plains,
Kicking up dust for the hope of everlasting rain.

The echidna is around snuffling and looking for ants,
Burying his nose in the overgrown plants.

Old man wombat is in his burrow taking a nap,
And all the creatures know he is a tired old chap.

The Tasmanian devil roars to the sky,
And then he sits and waits for a thundering reply.

Australia is beautiful, unique and wild,
And each animal here is the bushland’s native child.

The kookaburra tilts his head back and laughs “hoo ha ha, hoo ha ha”,
To let all the creatures know that Australia is their home.

This is Klara’s first poem posted to Alphabet Soup. If YOU would like to send us a book review, story or poem — check out our submission guidelines.

Book reviews by Joseph, Book reviews by kids

Book review: Mister Cassowary

Posted on December 13, 2015December 12, 2015 by Alphabet Soup

REVIEWED BY JOSEPH, 11, WA

Mister Cassowary

Mister Cassowary by Samantha Wheeler, UQP, ISBN 9780702253881

A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

Mister Cassowary is a fantastic children’s novel about a boy named Flynn and his dad visiting the farm where Flynn’s grandfather had a terrible accident and died. They’re trying to fix up the farm so it can be sold in two weeks. Flynn doesn’t know much about cassowaries (lots live around the farm) or why his dad is so scared of them.

With the help of local girl Abby, Flynn tries to discover the mystery around his grandfather’s death, about his grandfather’s own cassowary — Big Blue — and why two baby cassowaries don’t seem to have a dad.

Although I didn’t find the opening scenes intriguing, if you continue further in then you will find yourself staying up at night to find out more about the mystery of Grandad Barney.

Throughout the book you learn more and more about cassowaries and how they are a beautiful and endangered species. At the end of the book it tells you more facts about cassowaries so you can deepen your understanding of those birds.

This book is definitely worth reading for children aged 7+ — it does deal with some tough topics (like death, and facing your fears, and family relationships) in in easy-to-read novel.

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Joseph is one of our regular book reviewers. His most recent review (if you don’t count this one) was of Australian Kids Through the Years. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Book reviews by Joseph, Book reviews by kids

Book review: Australian Kids Through the Years

Posted on December 12, 2015December 12, 2015 by Alphabet Soup

REVIEWED BY JOSEPH, 11, WA

Australian Kids Through the Years

Australian Kids Through the Years by Tania McCartney, ill. Andrew Joyner, NLA Publishing, ISBN 9780642278593

A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

Australian Kids Through the Years is an easy-to-read, informative, and beautifully illustrated picture book about Australia’s history. It is taken from the point of view of kids from different time periods.

The book has a different era every four pages — the first two include a brief description, and the next two are a setting from the era.

This book feels light in mood. The illustrations are much like colourful cartoons, with clear yet complex pictures. You might recognise the illustrator from Too Many Elephants in This House (a picture book written by Ursula Dubosarsky). My favourite pages in the book are the 1990s — everything seems modern but it’s still different from how things are now.

At the end of the book there is a summary of each time period, including photographs and paintings from each time.

I like that you can extract lots of information really easily. This is a great book for kids aged 7+ because of the easy language and because it’s fun to read.

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Joseph is one of our regular book reviewers. His most recent review (if you don’t count this one) was of Ugly. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Matilda

Book review: At My Door

Posted on December 11, 2015March 10, 2016 by Alphabet Soup

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 9, WA

At My Door by Deb Fitzpatrick

At My Door by Deb Fitzpatrick, Fremantle Press, ISBN 9781925162707

A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

This book is set at Poppy’s house. When the doorbell rings and a car speeds away, her family discovers that a baby has been left on the doorstep. What will they do? Where are the baby’s parents?

I really liked the creativity and the language in this book. I liked how it was about a situation that doesn’t happen every day. My favourite character was Mei because she was funny and cute. I was surprised when she turned up because I didn’t expect what was left on the doorstep to be her.

This story is realistic and you feel like it could happen to you. What would you do if a baby turned up on your doorstep?

I would recommend it for kids aged 7+ and people who wonder about these sorts of things.

You can read a sample chapter of At My Door on the publisher’s website. And you can listen to the author read from the book, too.

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Matilda is one of our regular book reviewers. Her most recent review (if you don’t count this one) was of The Cleo Stories: A Friend and, A Pet. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!