Posted in Book reviews by kids

Book review: Escape From Marigold Manor

The cover of a children's book: Escape from Marigold Manor by Rachel Jackson.

Escape from Marigold Manor is a detective book with lots of cases, which the reader sometimes has to help solve.

This is not the kind of book I would usually read, but I enjoyed the surprising endings and interesting challenges. I did find some of the challenges a little bit tricky! 

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries and puzzles, and choose-your-own-adventure books! 

Read Alphabet Soup’s interview with the author


Ella is a regular book reviewer for Alphabet Soup. You can read another of her reviews here. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines.

Posted in Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Marley

Book review: Higher Ground

The cover of Higher Ground, a children's hardback book.

Higher Ground is a picture book about a grandma, brother, sister and one rabbit who get stranded on a really tall apartment building in the rooftop garden, because of a huge flood and lots of rain. There’s nowhere to go unless they take a boat. The water is filled to the brim.

Their grandmother teaches them ways to survive with a scarce amount of food. She taught them how to tie knots and how to eat every part of a fish. She teaches them all of the knowledge she has so they can pass it on in the future.

My favourite page is where the illustrations show how they have all grown up over time. You can even see at this point, in their faces, that they have lost hope. 

They end up never giving up and have enough hope that something great will happen. The moral of this book is to never give up and keep on pursuing what you believe in.

My favourite thing about this book is that there is always a cliffhanger to keep it interesting. 

The book itself feels really high quality with an embossed cover and thick pages of illustrations. 

I really enjoyed this book and people that like big cliffhangers and that are into adventure books and like learning new things would enjoy this book too.

Read Alphabet Soup’s interview with Tull Suwannakit, the author of Higher Ground.


Marley is a regular book reviewer for Alphabet Soup. You can read her earlier reviews here. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines.

Posted in Book reviews by Edith, Book reviews by kids

Book review: Meet the Mubbles

The cover of a children's graphic novel: Meet the Mubbles by Liz Pichon

Meet the Mubbles is a vibrant comic book adventure for younger readers aged between 6–8.

I had lots of fun reading this book because of the detail, colour and interesting concepts on every page.


Edith is a regular book reviewer for Alphabet Soup. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines.

Posted in Book reviews by Edith, Book reviews by kids

Book review: Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle

The book cover of Lexie Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle by Melissa Garside and illustrated by Lauren Mullinder

This book centres around the main character, Lexie Moon, who builds a contraption that takes someone’s words and gives them to someone else but alas Lexi’s invention gets stolen by a technology-crazy burglar.

Lexi Moon and the Word Burgling Bungle is perfect for tween readers who want a fun and interesting book. I absolutely loved keeping up with Lexi’s antics and the plot kept me guessing till the very end. I cannot wait to join Lexie Moon on her next adventure!


This is Edith’s first book review for Alphabet Soup. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Posted in Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Marley

Book review: Little Bones

The cover of a book: Little Bones by Sandy Bigna

Little Bones is about a girl called Bones and she loves collecting animal bones for her collection. She doesn’t have many friends at school and people think she’s a freak. She ends up finding a little skeleton of a bird at the wetlands, she brings it back to her house and wishes the bird would come alive again. And guess what? He came alive.

The book is very different to other books I’ve read. It’s way more heart-warming and has different formatting. And I love the front cover.

I liked how there was always a cliff hanger and you could never stop reading the book without finding out what happened next.

My favourite character was Tenny, because Tenny is really sweet and kind. They are the perfect match for Bones as they are kind of Bones’ happy shadow. I liked the inclusion of diverse characters.

I liked the setting because it has very big home cosy vibes and it makes it feel more realistic.

I found the story very interesting because there aren’t many stories about people dying in kids books, but i think more should because you can’t just hide away what’s sensitive from kids. I didn’t find myself being sad, but intrigued to see how Bones would overcome her own sadness and regret.

I think people that are not super sensitive would enjoy this book. Its a mix between fantasy and adventure and about overcoming your fears. Also people that don’t feel like they belong might be intrigued to find out what’s in this book.

Read Alphabet Soup’s interview with the author of Little Bones.


Marley is a regular book reviewer for Alphabet Soup. You can read her earlier reviews here. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines.

Posted in Book reviews by kids

Book review: Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra

Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra by Cassy Polimeni, illustrated by Hykie Breeze

The publisher provided a review copy of this book.

Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra is a fiction book with lots of facts about frogs. The story is about Ella, who moves house and finds frogs near her new home.

I really liked the author’s descriptions of all the details in the book, and all the onomatopoeia, that made me feel like I was actually there. I thought Ella was a fun and likeable main character. The illustrations were really good, I just wish they had more colour in the book. 

I think that anyone aged 5-9 would enjoy this book. Anyone who likes frogs or wants to learn about frogs, would love this book. 

I loved this book!

Read Alphabet Soup’s interview with the author


This is Ella’s first book review for Alphabet Soup. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Posted in Book reviews by Aashi, Book reviews by kids

Book review: Crunch

I recently read Crunch and I LOVED it! It is a must read for any avid readers from the age 8 to 12. This graphic novel is part of the Click series. The whole Click series is about Olive, a smart and kind sixth grader.

Olive loves to try new things with a positive attitude, so she signs up for many things. Between film making, homework, scouts and even a fashion show, Olive feels overwhelmed. Olive begins to wonder if she really can juggle all of her actives or will she fail at everything?

One of the best things about Crunch is the pictures. They are full of colour and pop. It makes you want to keep reading. The pictures look really good and make you feel like you are in the book.

Olive is not perfect, no-one is, and this made me really like her. She is really brave and outgoing. By the end of the book she learns how to say No and how to juggle her life.

I think that anyone who loves friendship and school stories will enjoy Crunch. Be sure to check out the rest of the Click series.

Happy Reading!

Take a look inside Crunch.


Aashi is a regular book reviewer for Alphabet Soup. You can read more of her book reviews here. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines.

Happy reading!

Posted in Book reviews by Aashi, Book reviews by kids

Book review: Act

The cover of Act by Kayla Miller

You should always stand up for what you believe, right? Olive thinks that it is unfair that kids have to miss out on field trips just because they are expensive. She knows she has to fix this problem but she doesn’t know how.

Olive knows she has to act and change the problem (this is why the book is called Act). She decides to run for the school council. She works really hard and makes really cool posters, speeches and talks to her peers about why the problem matters.

Olive is running against two of her best friends. She did not tell them that she was going to run and they felt betrayed. This makes things awkward between her friends and she gets discouraged but does not stop trying.

I really liked Act because it shows you that you do not have to be an adult to lead. You may be a child but you have a powerful voice that you can use. It also shows perseverance and determination.

I would rate the book 5 out of 5 stars. It is so good and is suitable for all young readers between the ages 9 to 13.

I hope you enjoy the book!

Read some sample pages of Act.


Aashi is a regular book reviewer for Alphabet Soup. You can read more of her book reviews here. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines.

Posted in Book reviews by Aashi, Book reviews by kids

Book review: Funny Kid Belly Flop

The cover of a children's novel: Belly Flop by Matt Stanton

Meet Max, a professional prankster. He is always trying to make people laugh and have a blast. This means he gets in trouble a lot.

Max is on another adventure where he is going to the Red Hill Pool for swimming lessons. Max does not think it is fair that he has to be in his undies in front of his whole class while jumping into a pool.

Max’s enemy, Abby, is up to no good. She fakes notes to get her out of swimming, which is completely unfair. Finally, Max has had enough and challenges Abby to a hard competition.

Belly Flop is a funny book with lots of jokes. It made me laugh so hard. This is a book suitable for ages eight to ten. It is best for people who love humour and friendship.

If you have read David Walliams books including Gangsta Granny, World’s Worst Parents and World’s Worst Children, then you will love Belly Flop. All these books include humour, exaggeration and friendship.

Happy Reading!

Read a few pages from Funny Kid: Belly Flop.


Aashi is a regular book reviewer for Alphabet Soup. You can read more of her book reviews here. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines.

Happy reading!

Posted in Book reviews by Aashi, Book reviews by kids

Book review: Thea Stilton and the Chocolate Sabotage

The Thea Sisters set off on an adventure to Ecuador. They are visiting Paulina’s old friend, Antonio, who runs a chocolate factory. He runs Choco Loco with his cousin Hector. 

Choco Loco is in the running for the Chocolate Cup award. The award is very prestigious so the competition is tough. Out of the blue there are multiple malfunctions in the factory. The Thea Sisters start to wonder if it is sabotage. Join them to solve the case.

The book is full of interesting and exciting scenes. Every Thea Sister is good and loves different things and together they are unstoppable. Colette loves fashion and is great at designing clothes. Violet is shy but so smart and great at classical arts. Pamela is talented at mechanics and cooking, she loves eating. Pauline likes technology and loves travelling. Nicky is enthusiastic about sports and fitness.

My favourite character is Violet because even though she is shy on the outside, in the inside she has such cool ideas and is so talented at many things.

Thea Stilton and The Chocolate Sabotage is a good fit for people who want to solve a mystery. You will definitely enjoy it if you enjoyed Sherlock Holmes. If you get stuck trying to solve the mystery, there are clues to help you.

I recommend the book for people aged seven to ten as it has some tricky words but lots of colourful pictures to illustrate it. I rate it 4 out of 5 stars as it could have had some clearer explanations.


Aashi is a regular book reviewer for Alphabet Soup. You can read more of her book reviews here. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines.

Happy reading!