Posted in Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Matilda

Book review: Meet Alice

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 10, WA

Meet Alice cover

Matilda reviewed her own copy of this book.

Meet Alice by Davina Bell, ill. Lucia Masciullo, Puffin Books, ISBN 9780143306290

This is the first book of four in a series about a girl who likes ballet and dreams to be a professional dancer. When war hits, that dream is proving to be hard, especially when her ballet teacher is taken away because she is part German. Alice has to face the truth that everything is not okay.

I really liked this book because I love ballet too. This is one of the Our Australian Girl series and I’ve been reading books from this series for a long time. This is one of the best series I have read from their range.

I recommend this book for children aged 8+. It’s very educational.

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

Posted in Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Matilda

Book review: The Flyaway Girls

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 10, WA

The Flyaway Girls

Matilda borrowed this book from her local library.

The Flyaway Girls by Julia Lawrinson, Puffin Books, ISBN 9780143308652

The Flyaway Girls is a novel about a girl called Chelsea who is really serious about gymnastics. She starts getting her hopes up about getting into the nationals competition as she gets better and better. But then a new girl comes and is catching up to her quickly, except for one thing holding her back — the vault. The badge ceremony is drawing closer and closer. Will the new girl stop Chelsea getting into the nationals?

I recommend this book for ages 8+ or serious gymnasts like Chelsea. I really enjoyed this book though, and I’m not a gymnast.

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

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TOP READS: February 2016

Our Top Reads team stops by to share their favourite reads on the last day of the month (February to November). Earlier today we introduced our Top Reads Team* for 2016.  These books come highly recommended by the kids on our team:

You’ll find a recommended list from our Top Reads Team on the last day of every month (February to November). If you missed November’s, don’t forget to check out the November 2015 Top Reads.

*All our Top Readers are kids aged 13 and under. No grownups allowed!

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Top Reads Team 2016 (No adults allowed!)

It’s time to introduce the 2016 Top Reads Team. What is the Top Reads Team? Members of this team are keen readers who stop by each month to recommend a favourite read for the month, and they’re all kids like you! We’re very excited to introduce our team members for this year.

INTRODUCING:

Joseph, 12, WA
Joseph has been reviewing books for Alphabet Soup since 2011. When he’s not reading, he likes writing, playing the trombone, and playing cricket. He likes books that hook you into the story straight away.

Jarvis, 10, VIC
Jarvis loves Star Wars, gaming, Youtube and reading. He spends his spare time uploading Vlogs about his life on to Youtube and logging subscribers.

Matilda, 10, WA
Matilda has been writing book reviews for Alphabet Soup since 2011. When she’s not reading, she likes gardening, drawing portraits and writing poems. Her favourite author at the moment is David Walliams.

Mitchell, 10, VIC
Mitchell loves spending time reading, playing video games, going outside and playing sport.  Cricket is his favourite outdoor game.

Tess, 10, WA
Tess’s favourite things to do are reading and gymnastics. She also enjoys swimming, netball and playing her violin. Tess enjoys curling up in her hanging cocoon to read her favourite books.

Lewis, 7, WA

Lewis loves trains, soccer, swimming and building with Lego.

Xavier, 7, NT

When he’s not reading, Xavier enjoys being outdoors, swimming and running. He also loves singing and telling himself stories. When he grows up Xavier wants to be a doctor or an ice-cream maker.

Céití, 6, WA
Céití loves spending time with her chocolate labrador Flynn. She enjoys all sorts of reading and writing, and playing minkey. Her favourite books at the moment are the Andy Griffiths books.

 

Look out for their first book recommendations for 2016 later today!

Posted in Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Matilda

Book review: Alice-Miranda in the Alps

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 10, WA

Alice Miranda in the Alps

Alice-Miranda in the Alps by Jacqueline Harvey, Random House Australia, ISBN 9780857982742

Matilda reviews her own copy of this book.

Alice-Miranda is a very bright girl with a big imagination. She solves a lot of mysteries and is liked by nearly everyone. This is Book 12 in the series, and Alice-Miranda goes on holidays to Switzerland with her friends Jacinta, Sloane, Millie, Lucas and Sep. They only planned to stay at Fanger’s Hotel but when they find that they have to stay an extra week in Switzerland, they decide to visit Alice-Miranda’s uncle’s hotel — the Grand Hotel Von Zwicky, and help him out. Alice-Miranda is suspicious to find Frau Doerflinger now appears to be staying at the hotel when the hotel was supposed to be full.

This was one of my favourite Alice-Miranda books because I have just been through the Alps.

People who already love Alice-Miranda books will enjoy this book, and so will people who like mysteries. I think ages 6 to 12 will like reading Alice-Miranda in the Alps.

Matilda is one of our regular book reviewers. Her most recent review (if you don’t count this one) was of  Mrs Frisby and the rats of NIMH. 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: Ping Pong

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.

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!

Posted in Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Matilda

Book review: Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

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.

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

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:

 

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.)