Category: Book reviews by kids

Posted in Book reviews by Aashi, Book reviews by kids

Book review: The Riding Gallery

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of a children's verse novel: The Riding Gallery

The Riding Gallery by Sally Murphy, illustrations by Martina Heiduczek, Walker Books Australia, ISBN 9781760657345

REVIEWED BY AASHI, 10, VIC

Alphabet Soup provided Aashi with a review copy of this book.

The Riding Gallery is a beautiful book that is written in verse. It is historical fiction with poems that bring it to life. The book, written by Sally Murphy, is set in St Kilda. St Kilda is a busy place, in Melbourne,  that is right by the sea shore. When you read the book you can almost feel the sand grind between your feet, and the sea roar. 

The book features a German engineer, Anton, with a dream. His dream is to build a steam powered merry-go-round. He works on it day and night, carving wood and painting the horses. As he works on it, he realises not everyone trusts him since he’s German.

Evelyn, is the daughter of a newsagent. She wrinkles her nose when her dad tells her they are moving to St Kilda. She is quite reluctant to move to St Kilda untill she hears that her neighbours have a son, her age.

There is also a boy named Rory. He is Evelyn’s neighbour. Rory has a hard time choosing what is right. He wants the Allies (Australia’s side) to win especially because all three of his brothers are fighting. Rory also thinks all Germans are bad, unlike Evelyn.

Soon Anton’s ride is complete. At first, everyone is excited about the new ride. But when the war starts, things change. People get scared. They think Anton is bad, even though he has done nothing wrong. Evelyn tries to understand. Rory feels confused and worried about his brothers. Some people are still kind, but others are not. 

Will Anton’s ride become a hit or go down in flames? Will Rory’s brothers make it home? Will Evelyn find friends?

The book is beautifully written. It gives insights for all the characters and their feelings. The pictures by Martina Heiduczek give a great visual interpretation.  I would recommend the book for anyone in upper primary school. 

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 kids, Book reviews by Milan

Book review: The Light in Everything

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of a children's novel: The Light in Everything by Katya Balen and illustrated by Sydney Smith.

The Light in Everything by Katya Balen, illustrated by Sydney Smith, Bloomsbury Publishing (AUS), ISBN 9781526622983

REVIEWED BY MILAN, 10, NSW.

Milan reviewed his own copy of this title.

The Light In Everything is a very intriguing fictional novel written by Katya Balen. The story is set in a seaside cottage. Here we meet Zofia and her dad, Marek, as well as Tom and his mum, Fiona. Each chapter switches perspectives between Zofia and Tom. Their personalities are the polar opposite of each other. Tom is a shy, timid boy who has trouble trusting others due to a traumatic experience with his father. Zofia, on the other hand, is an energetic, confident girl who has a close relationship with her dad and finds it difficult to share his attention. As the story progresses, Marek and Fiona fall in love and the families move in together which poses many challenges. The four of them quickly discover their differences and this causes tension in their relationships. Later, Fiona and Marek have a baby who is born with complications which forces Tom and Zofia to spend more time together.

Overall this was a very engaging book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really liked the description of the pain Zofia and Tom were going through. The language she used made me feel as if I was really there and experiencing their emotions. One of the quotes I really liked was “The sea is bright today. Far out towards the inky horizon are little licks of white foam that mirror the lazy clouds above them.” This quote shows us how powerful Katya Balen’s descriptions are and it made me imagine how the characters might feel. 

One thing I didn’t like was how ruthless Fiona’s last husband was and how brutal he was towards Tom. The quote “I tell her that Dad used to hurt us and now he’s in prison but I’m still afraid” shows the impact Tom’s dad made on him. This made me empathise with Tom but I also found it difficult to read because it made me feel fearful. I thought that the end was quite predictable and I usually prefer a twist at the end of a book. 

I would rate this book 4/5 stars and highly recommend it to readers who enjoy a heartfelt story about relationships and family.

This is Milan’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 Review: Zoe the Beach Dragon

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of a book: Zoe the Beach Dragon

Dragon Girls: Zoe the Beach Dragon by Maddy Mara, Scholastic Inc, ISBN 9781760265151

REVIEWED BY SCOUT, 8, QLD

Scout reviewed her own copy of this title.

Zoe the Beach Dragon by Maddy Mara is part of the ‘Dragon Girls’ series. I love that there are lots of animals like turtles and seals and lots more in this series. 

In this book Zoe and her friends, Grace and Sofia, have to stop the Firesparks and their leader, the Fire Queen, from making the water disappear. They also need to save the ocean leaders like the turtle leader and the dolphin leader. 

I think kids who like dragons and are aged 8, 9 and 10 would maybe like this book. I would give this book 10/10 stars. 

This is Scout’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 review: The Wonder Brothers

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of The Wonder Brothers by Frank Cottrell-Boyce and illustrated by Steven Lenton.

The Wonder Brothers by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, illustrated by Steven Lenton, Pan Macmillan UK, ISBN 9781529048315

REVIEWED BY SCARLETT, 10, QLD

Scarlett reviewed her own copy of this book.

The Wonder Brothers is a book about three kids named Brodie, Nathan and Middy and Brodie’s unusual rabbit, Queenie, who decide to go to see the famous magician called Perplexion at his last show.

They climbed on a truck because they thought they were going to meet Perplexion at the airport on his way to Las Vegas for his final show. They end up stuck in Las Vegas, find out something mysterious about Perplexion and then have to find their way back to Blackpool.

I like this book because it is about kids, travelling, magic and it is very funny. I like the bit where they arrive in Las Vegas and don’t know where they are. They think they are in Paris and then they think they’re in Egypt because they see an Eiffel Tower and some pyramids. That is one of the funniest parts of the book. 

I recommend this book for 8-15 year olds, I think they would really like it.  I rate this book 9 out of 10. I didn’t rate it 10 out of 10 because I wish there more great books in the series so I can read more about the Wonder Brothers. 

This is Scarlett’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 review: Spooky Sleuth and Solve

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of a children's book featuring a colourful cover illustration of spooky halloween style characters/creatures. The book shown is Spooky Sleuth & Solve, Decode Mind-Twisting mysteries inspired by classic creepy characters by Victor Escandell

Spooky Sleuth & Solve: Decode mind-twisting mysteries inspired by classic creepy characters by Victor Escandell (an adaptation of mysteries by Ana Gallo), Chronicle Books, ISBN 9781797205908

REVIEWED BY ARJAN, 11, NSW

Arjan reviewed his own copy of this book.

This is a nice adaption of spooky stories for kids to read and added twist of detective work. I liked its goofy and hideous drawings.

I learned that you need to fully read and absorb the information given to be able to solve the mystery. The book helps with building comprehension skills. When I read the first story, I didn’t get the answer but by the third story I had improved my thinking and observation skills. It was fun solving the questions and decrypting the answers.

I recommend this book for kids to read for Halloween, and it gives ideas for Halloween costumes. It’s a fun book that has twists on classic scary stories. When I first started reading the book, I found it was quite creepy and dark, but the more I read, the stories became funny and interesting. My personal favourite story was ‘The Loch Ness Monster’ because you had to read the text thoroughly to get the answer.

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

Posted in Book reviews by kids

Book review: Wonder

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of a childen's novel: Wonder by RJ Palacio

Wonder by RJ Palacio, Random House UK, ISBN 9780552565974

REVIEWED BY EMILY, 10, New York, USA

Emily reviewed her own copy of this title.

Wonder by RJ Palacio is an incredible book. It is about the main character, Auggie Pullmen and the challenges he has to face at a real school because of a facial disorder that he was born with. This is a book of mixed emotions – some of his feelings were happy, sad, mad and embarrassed.

Auggie had many struggles at school and with his friends because he was different.  One example of when Auggie felt embarrassed is when Auggie trusted Jack with secrets of his surgeries, but Jack let him down by making fun of him with other kids behind his back. Even though this made him feel sad he didn’t forget about his other friendships. Another friend, Summer, made Auggie feel stronger about himself. Summer was always there for him and she didn’t care what other kids thought about his face. And Summer was very kind to Auggie. The way Jack treated Auggie made me feel unhappy and sad because you should always treat others the way you want to be treated. But Jack was unkind and didn’t care about how Auggie felt.

The life lesson of this book is to be brave and to not care what other people think of you. And to try and overcome those challenges in life even if it’s hard.

This is Emily’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 review: D-Day Dog

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

D-Day Dog by Tom Palmer, illustrations by Clohosy Cole, HarperCollins, ISBN 9781781128688

REVIEWED BY Arjan, 11, NSW

Arjan reviewed his own copy of this title.

D-Day Dog is a book that teaches kids about the D-Day landings on 6th June 1944. Eleven-year-old Jack has an admiration for war heroes, particularly men on D-Day. But his beliefs are questioned when his dad is called up for active service in Afghanistan. Out of the blue, Jack’s class is taken on an excursion to Normandy. There he learns the true story about D-Day and how one paratrooper took his dog with him at the airborne landings. Sadly neither of them survived.

I loved the shared dialogue between the different characters as well as the descriptions of the characters and the places. I liked the dream sequence, it showed Jack’s emotional turmoil.

The book teaches kids that war is not a good thing and empathises with different characters and their common traits.

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

Posted in Book reviews by Ella, Book reviews by kids

Book review: Escape From Marigold Manor

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

Escape From Marigold Manor by Rachel Jackson, Riveted Press, ISBN 9781763526068

REVIEWED BY ELLA, 9, WA

The publisher provided a review copy of this title.

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

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of Higher Ground, a children's hardback book.

Higher Ground by Tull Suwannakit, New Frontier Publishing, ISBN 9781922326997

REVIEWED BY MARLEY, 9, WA

The publisher provided a review copy of this 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

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

Meet the Mubbles by Liz Pichon, Macmillan Children’s Books, ISBN 9781035068326

REVIEWED BY EDITH, 9, WA

The publisher provided a review copy of this book.

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.