The Famous Five: Five on a Treasure Island by Enid Blyton. Graphic Novel retelling by Béja and Nataël, Hachette Children’s Books, ISBN 9781444963670
REVIEWED BY JACK, 7, NSW
This adventure graphic novel is about five amazing friends on a treasure island by the famous author Enid Blyton and illustrated by Béja and Nataël.
I like this book because it has lots of action, drama and it makes me feel emotions. The youngest kid cried for her mum when she got dropped off at her aunty’s house. But then they travel far and wide, and explore new places no one has discovered before – they find valuable things too.
If you like this book, you should read the rest of the series. There are some illustrated versions and some non-illustrated versions.
This book makes me want to read the rest of the series. I would recommend this book for ages 8 and over. I am rating it 4.5 out of five.
Matilda by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake, Puffin (Penguin UK), ISBN 9780241558317
REVIEWED BY ARA, 8, NSW
Matilda is a funny fantasy story for every age even if your parents are reading to you. It is a story that stands out because it teaches you an important lesson to stand up for yourself.
Matilda is also very entertaining. It is good for bed time stories and helps kids from ages 3 to 6 get to sleep quicker. It has scary bits and funny bits for everyone.
Matilda is brave when she stands up for herself in front of the head mistress. She is also charming and likeable and what’s more, she has special powers. The author Roald Dahl and illustrator Quentin Blake did an excellent job of making Matilda come to life.
I give this book five stars because I laughed and cried and thoroughly enjoyed it.
The BFG by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake, Penguin UK, ISBN 9780241677261
REVIEWED BY ABBY, 8, NSW
The BFG is a humorous adventure book by Roald Dahl that will have you laughing every page.
I love The BFG because it’s about Sophie meeting the Big Friendly Giant and saving the world. It’s so entertaining and makes you never want to put it down.
I think it’s a great book because it teaches you about being different and even if you are different you can make a big difference. It’s also awesome because it’s all about teamwork and trying hard.
It makes you emotional but has a happy and funny ending. It teaches you that the littlest (or biggest) things can make a big difference.
I give the book five stars and suggest it for kids aged 7–12.
The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks by Katie Kirby, Puffin (Penguin UK), ISBN 9780241460887
REVIEWED BY CLEMENTINE, 9, NSW
The Lottie Brooks series is a funny, day-to-day diary written and illustrated by Katie Kirby.
Lottie is 11 years old going on to high school but doesn’t want to start without her best friend Molly because she moves to Australia. She is all alone. But shortly after she starts school she makes three best friends, Amber, Jess and Poppy.
At the start of the book she creates a plan so she can be popular by changing her look and personality. She gets involved with all the school drama and you won’t be ready for all the twists.
My favourite part of the book is when she first started high school and made her new friends. And when people give her funny nicknames.
I love this book because it is hilarious and entertaining. It made me laugh over and over again. It is great for ages 9–13.
The Lottie Brooks series is all about school drama, day to day life, best friends, sleepovers and most importantly extremely embarrassing moments that everyone has experienced.
We are Wolves by Katrina Nannestad, HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN 9780733341229
REVIEWED BY MARGOT, 9, NSW
We Are Wolves is a beautiful war fiction novel by Katrina Nannestad. It will leave you crying, laughing and grieving for the characters, living through WWII.
Liesl and her family have fled from their home in East Prussia at the end of the war. They are scared, confused and hungry but all of that is amplified when the siblings, including their 2-year-old baby sister Mia, get separated from their parents. They must learn to fend for themselves and to realise that family is more important than anything in the world.
We Are Wolves brings out so many emotions, I laughed and cried, sometimes at the same time! I love this book because of the children’s hope, persistence and survival skills. The kids never give up, they eat slugs and frogs but they are grateful that they are not hungry.
I think kids that love the Morris Gleitzman Once series and kids that love sad war stories will love this! This book is best suited for ages 10 to 15 – even my dad enjoyed it.
I give this book 5 stars out of 5 because of the characters’ persistence, hope for finding happiness, and the love they have for each other.
After a long wait, happiness breaks through at last. Crying, laughing, grieving, this book will leave you full with a smile.
The Mountain Wakes is a picture book about persisting until you get what you need. It’s a great story about hope and how the littlest things in life can make a difference to even bigger things.
The illustrations are very detailed and scientifically correct. And the pastel colour palette is really pretty.
I think this book would be enjoyed by kids from Year 1 or 2 onwards, because younger audiences might find it a bit complicated to understand what they’re seeing.
This book is a great inspiration for those who reach for the stars.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan, Penguin UK, ISBN 9780241647523
REVIEWED BY MILAN, 10, NSW
Milan reviewed his own copy of this title.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods is an adventure novel written by Rick Riordan. This story follows the Heroes of Olympus series and is a sequel to the other Percy Jackson books. This novel starts with Percy, Annabeth and Grover who are the protagonists. Being demigods, they complete quests and missions that gods have sent them. One peculiar day, the Greek god Ganymede shows up and makes a demand that they return his special chalice. This cup turns out to be the Chalice of the Gods, which holds great power and one sip can transform any mortal into an immortal god. And so, Percy and his demigod companions embark on this dangerous quest, nervously questioning various Greek gods. Some of these gods include Hebe, the goddess of youth and Iris, goddess of the rainbow. When asking for information from Iris, however, she demands a favour in return.
In this book I especially enjoyed the humour Rick Riordan used from Percy’s perspective during some of the serious scenes. I felt that it made the story engaging and a real page-turner. I also enjoyed the combat battles that the trio fought in. Riordan described the scenes so vividly that I could picture the story clearly.
The names of the chapters bothered me because they gave away what was about to happen. I think that Riordan could have improved on this by naming the chapters more vaguely. The surprise element of books is much more enjoyable and I would have preferred to find out through a more natural progression.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would rate it 4/5 stars. I look forward to reading the rest of the Percy Jackson series. I would recommend this novel to children aged 10–12 years and to those who enjoy action-packed and mythical adventures.
I think the book is great to start the school year with. Its great for setting goals and being motivated to achieve them. The book even has a resource section on how to support resilient kids. I think the book helps you along the way by building up your confidence for the school year and it teaches you that making mistakes is okay and when you make a mistake you try again and don’t give up.
One part in the book stood out to me, it said ‘all that matters is you try your best, because when you try you grow, and growing is what school is all about.’ It made me feel motivated and I really felt the sentiment.
The illustrations are beautiful and the quality of the book itself feels really nice. I like the use of colour. It had lots of different texture. I also liked the diversity, not everyone has blonde hair or the same colour skin, and some people are in wheelchairs or have different cultures. It shows kids that having that kind of diversity is normal. I love that the teacher has diversity, normally it’s just the kids.
I think the book would be good for kids Year 1 and up, and it would really motivate shy kids and kids that don’t like going out of their comfort zone. It makes you think about what you want to achieve in the year, more like social skills rather than grades.
Soaring with the Sugarbird Lady by Dianne Wolfer, Fremantle Press, ISBN 9781760995270
REVIEWED BY ARJAN, 12, NSW
The publisher provided a review copy of this title.
Soaring with the Sugarbird Lady is about the story of Robin Miller. Since birth, Robin’s life was filled with the art of aviation. In her childhood, she would come home to the sight of Catalina aircraft roosting on the River Swan.
In Robin’s time, many people said that aviation was a man’s job and women could not participate and contribute to it. This angered Robin and fuelled her to push to fly even more, until she bought her own plane.
I found the book motivating. If you really want something, even in the face of challenges and you work for it, you can achieve it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The description and the setting of the scenes really helped me picture Robin zooming over the Kimberly region in her little plane and vaccinating kids with anti-polio medicine dripped on sugar cubes, hence the name ‘sugarbird lady’. Anyone who likes adventure and aviation, this is the book for you.
In summary, I loved this book and the story itself. It’s a great book and I hope you will love it just like I did.
Wings of Fire Legends: Darkstalker by Tui T. Sutherland, Scholastic Inc, ISBN 9781338053623
REVIEWED BY SCARLETT, 10, QLD
Scarlett reviewed her own copy of this title.
Darkstalker is a book about dragons, and not just any old dragons. They are as complicated as we humans are.
It is a legend that happened 2000 years before the main Wings of Fire series, but I know it’s by far the best Wings of Fire book.
This book is about an Ice Wing Prince and a Night Wing who have eggs together and one of the eggs is … Darkstalker. One way or another he is going to change the dragon world forever whether it’s through tragedy or harmony but only he can decide …
If you want to know about the extraordinary terrain that the dragons live in, you can see it on the very well-drawn, detailed map at the front of the book. It’s enchanting to look at.
The characters are realistic and complex. The dragons seem like real people, especially Darkstalker. He has lots of different viewpoints and questions his view of the world. He is not one dimensional like superheroes often are.
My favourite character is Whiteout. She is a unique and very interesting character. She shows emotional and social development as the story goes on.
The author is very good at writing in first person, so everyone who reads it can understand the characters from the dragons’ own point of view, not from the author telling us about them.
The description in this book is exquisite. It is so immersive you will feel like you are really there. For example:
“… rain poured from a grumbling, fire-breathing sky. The river at the bottom of the canyon swelled and roared and ate the walls, sending all the dragons who lived down there scrambling for higher ground. The wind was so fierce it seemed to be sent from vengeful Ice Wings to rip every Night Wing out of the sky. It was veering quickly from a storm to a baby hurricane.”
This book is good for philosophical people, fantasy lovers, or people who are reading / have read the Wings Of Fire series before.
I think this book is suited to mature 9–11-year-olds and above because there are some philosophical topics and diaologue that may be difficult to understand and some violence towards the end.
And I rate this book 10/10.
This is Scarlett’s first book review for Alphabet Soup. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines. Happy reading!
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