Posted in Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Pippa

Book Review: Alex, The Dog and the Unopenable Door

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

Alex, The Dog and the Unopenable Door by Ross Montgomery, ISBN 9780571294619, Faber and Faber

Review by Philippa, 12, WA

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

Alex, the dog and the unopenable door (cover)

Alex lives near The Cusp, a border around the Forbidden Land which prevents humans from going in. Alex father has made it to the magical centre of the Forbidden Land but when he comes back he starts digging holes in the back garden, and trying to run back to the centre of the Forbidden Land. Then Alex is captured by the head of expeditions-to-the-centre. Can he escape and find out the truth about his father?

This is a fantasy-thriller. The story is gripping and it is not like any other book I’ve read before. Do not read it 5 minutes before bedtime! (You’ll want to stay up all night reading it.)

I think the title doesn’t match the story. There is a lot going on in the book but the title makes it sound like a light read and for younger readers than I think will enjoy it, and the title doesn’t tell you it’s a fantasy book. I thought a better title might be something like The Secret of The Cusp.

I recommend this book for ages 10 to Adult. (I gave it to my Nana to read, and she couldn’t put it down either.)

Alex, The Dog and the Unopenable Door is in my Top Ten reads for this year.

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Philippa is one of Alphabet Soup’s Junior Reviewers. If you are aged 12 or under, you can email us your book reviews, too — check out our submission guidelines. You can also read Philippa’s most recent review — Liar & Spy. 
Posted in Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Matilda

Book Review: An Aussie Year

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

An Aussie Year by Tania McCartney, ill. Tina Snerling, ISBN.9781921966248,   EK Books

Reviewed by Matilda, 7, WA

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

an aussie year

This is a book about 5 Aussie kids and one dog and each month they tell you what Australian children do in that month. Matilda is my favourite character because my name is Matilda too, and that character even looks a bit like me.

There are lots of illustrations scattered across the page of each month. My favourite month in this book is December because everyone’s celebrating.

Some of my favourite illustrations are:

  • The girl playing hopscotch in February (because I like to do that)
  • The Harmony Day pictures on 21 March where they’re all holding hands.
  • The Easter egg hunt with the costumes and the bilby
  • The Tasmanian devil at the tea party (he’s funny)

At the back of the book there’s a map of Australia with a bit about each of the states.

I learned some new things in this book — like Canberra Day is in March. (I didn’t know there was such a thing as Canberra Day).

I think all kids up to age 10 would like this book. There’s lots to look at and even if you think you know everything Aussie kids do in every month you can still learn some new things.

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This review is part of a Blog Tour celebrating the launch of An Aussie Year. Check out all the stops on the tour. Or why not have a sneak peek at the characters in An Aussie Year?

Posted in poetry

Young Writers in Action: Brooklyn Bridge Poem

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

Brooklyn Bridge Poem

by Arya, 10, Ridge Road Elementary School, USA

The Great East River Bridge
….John Augustus Roebling designed

Stood up high and tall,
….Held together by iron strings confined

Connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn,
….While in the river swim the fins

As the towers touched the sky,
….The birds soar and fly

The traffic of cars, vans, and buses move on,
….As the conversations on the walkway carry on

In the morning the bridge is a road to success
….At night it takes us home to rest!

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Would you like your work to be considered for publication on Alphabet Soup’s blog? Check out our submission guidelines.

Posted in info

Family-friendly activities at the State Library of WA

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

Picture a Story Family Day

Explore the magic of picture books with your child at a fun family day at the State Library of Western Australia.

Join a magical story-time before taking part in the host of art activities on offer.

Kids will love creating artworks to hang in our tiny gallery. They’ll also learn new drawing techniques from local illustrators and create a small book to take home. Don’t forget to visit the fabulous fairy tale photo booth to have your picture taken!

Before you leave, purchase picture books from the State Library Shop and have them signed by the illustrators themselves.

The Family Day is a wonderful opportunity to explore the world of picture books illustrations with your little ones.

When: Saturday 2 November.

Join a special storytime from 10.30am and fun family activities from 11.00am to 1.30pm.

Where: The Place, Mezzanine Floor, State Library of Western Australia (25 Francis Street Northbridge, WA)

Recommended for: Children aged 6+ and their families. Younger siblings are also welcome.

Cost: Free

Bookings: Not required

More info: visit the State Library of WA website

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SLWA event

Picture a Story Exhibition

 The Picture a Story Family Day is being held as part of the Picture a Story exhibition which is taking place from 2 November 2013 to 27 February 2014. On display throughout The Gallery (Ground Floor) and The Place are original illustrations from Australian picture books from the 1970s to today.

When: 2 November 2013 – 27 February 2014

Where: The Gallery, Ground Floor and The Place, Mezzanine Floor, State Library of Western Australia (25 Francis Street Northbridge, WA)

Entry is FREE. Open during library hours.

Posted in poetry

Time for a Poem: Windy Nights

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

Happy Hallowe’en — here’s a poem to spook your friends!

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Windy Nights by Robert Louis Stevenson

 
Whenever the moon and stars are set,
Whenever the wind is high,
All night long in the dark and wet,
A man goes riding by.
Late in the night when the fires are out,
Why does he gallop and gallop about?
—
Whenever the trees are crying aloud,
And ships are tossed at sea,
By, on the highway, low and loud,
By at the gallop goes he.
By at the gallop he goes, and then
By he comes back at the gallop again.
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Do you know any other scary or spooky poems good for sharing at Hallowe’en? Tell us your favourites in the comments below!
Posted in Book reviews by Rebecca

What we’re reading: Shimmer

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

Shimmer by Jennifer McBride & Lynda Nixon, ISBN 97811922089434, Fremantle Press

A review copy of Shimmer was provided by the publisher.

Shimmer (cover)

One afternoon David accidentally summons a genie when he’s out walking in the bush. He can’t believe his luck — he has his own genie to grant him wishes! — but he quickly discovers that having a genie is not as easy as he thought. The teenage genie, Kora, has been sent to Earth against her will. She resents being harnessed to anyone and she is especially annoyed to be harnessed to this teenage Earth boy.

Trouble is brewing and not just on Earth. David and Kora realise they will need to join forces to protect the people they love.

Set predominantly in our everyday world, Shimmer will grab upper primary readers who love a fantasy thriller. This is a Good vs Evil story with a twist — and the plot seems to hint at a possible sequel, too.

© October 2013 “Review of Shimmer” by Rebecca Newman (https://soupblog.wordpress.com)
Posted in competitions

An Aussie Year Blog Tour

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

An Aussie Year

An Aussie Year is a new picture book (out this month!) about what Australian children love to do each month of the year. There’s a Blog Tour to celebrate (we’ll be featuring a book review of the book on our stop of the tour).

Would you like to see one of your stories published? Then DON’T FORGET to enter the ‘An Aussie Year writing competition‘. The winning entry will be published on the Kids’ Book Review site as part of the book launch celebrations! (Entries close 27 October, so get those entries in!)

Posted in Book reviews by Joseph, Book reviews by kids

Book review: The 39-Storey Treehouse

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

The 39-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths, ill. Terry Denton, ISBN 9781742612379 , Pan Macmillan Australia

Reviewed by Joseph, 9, WA

The 39 Storey Treehouse

I’ve read The 13-Storey Treehouse  and The 26-Storey Treehouse, so when The 39-Storey Treehouse came out I looked for it at my library and saw with horror that every copy had four reserves on it already. I added my name to the waiting list and waited MORE THAN A MONTH for it to be my turn. When I got the library email to say it was waiting for me I thought ‘YES!’

This is the third book in the series and there are 13 more levels than in the previous book. I wanted to know what storeys they had added and I thought some were very clever like the not-very-merry-go-round. My favourite storey would be the Top Secret Not-Yet-Finished one and I thought the name of the machine on that level was great but I’m not going to tell you what it is because it’s better to get a surprise.

It was worth the waiting — this book is just as funny and interesting as the first two, though I still think that The 26-Storey Treehouse is my favourite because I really liked the new storeys they added in that book. The illustrations in this book made me laugh out loud and I really like the colour maps inside the covers of all the Treehouse books that give you a cool look at the new storeys each time.

I can’t wait till The 52-Storey Treehouse comes out in September 2014 to see what the new storeys will be.

Now I’ve finished it, I’d better rush this book to the library so the next kid on the waiting list can enjoy it too. I would recommend the Treehouse books to kids aged 6 to 12 and cheeky grownups too. I rate it 9/10.

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Joseph is one of our Junior Book Reviewers. Here are two of his other book reviews: The Nelly Gang, and Maximum Maxx. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Posted in Book reviews by Celine, Book reviews by kids

Book review: The 26-Storey Treehouse

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

The 26-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths, ill. Terry Denton, ISBN 9781742611273, Pan Macmillan Australia

Reviewed by Celine, 11, WA

26-storey treehouse

Have you read The 13-Storey Treehouse? Well, Andy and Terry are back with another 13 new storeys! When Andy tries to tell us a story, he is rudely interrupted by Terry, who’s apparently made the sharks sick by feeding them his underwear. Then Jill comes and helps. Inside one of the shark’s bellies, Andy finds a wooden head that belongs to Captain Woodenhead.  This leads into the story of pirates with Jill, Andy and Terry. Then a real pirate ship pulls up at their shore, and out comes a captain with a disgusting head. Apparently he found it in a fish’s tummy.

Could this possibly be Captain Woodenhead, and if so, how will Andy and Terry shoo away the captain and his crew?

I liked this book, however — it was quite gruesome and this book would suit pirate lovers better. I would give this book a rating of 7/10.

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Celine is one of our Junior Book Reviewers. Here are two other books reviewed by Celine on Soup Blog: Blood Brothers, and Rotters and Squatters.  If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!