friendship – Page 2

Book review: The Simple Things

Posted on May 15, 2015August 19, 2015 by Alphabet Soup

The Simple Things by Bill Condon, ill. Beth Norling, ISBN 9781743317242, Allen and Unwin

The Simple Things (cover)

REVIEWED BY JOSEPH, 11, WA

Joseph reviewed his own copy of this book.

The Simple Things is about a boy named Stephen who’s never met his great aunt Lola before. His only connection with her is the birthday and Christmas cards she sends to him with $10 inside. His family goes to stay with his great aunt because they haven’t seen her in over 10 years and they’re her only relatives left. Stephen thinks there will be nothing to do and Aunty Lola seems very stubborn — she overreacts to everything.

I enjoyed this book because I liked how the characters were reacting to their situation. The illustrations at the start of every chapter are comic-like and black and white. They suit the characters and the story, and give a bit of a hint about what’s going to happen in each chapter without entirely giving everything away.

I thought the choice of cover illustration didn’t suit the book the best. I think the picture that was at the start of chapter 4 would have been better for the cover because the whole book isn’t about Stephen going fishing (and he’s alone on the cover, but he’s almost never alone in the book.)

This is a book about unusual friendships. It was an easy, quick read for me so I think ages 8 to 12 would enjoy it.

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Joseph is one of our regular book reviewers. His most recent review (if you don’t count this one) was of Lennie the Legend. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Book review: Toppling

Posted on April 10, 2015April 9, 2015 by Alphabet Soup

Toppling by Sally Murphy, ill. Rhian Nest James, Walker Books Australia, ISBN 9781921529429

Toppling (cover)

REVIEWED BY CELINE, 12, WA

Celine reviewed her own copy of this book.

I attended a Literature Centre session last term where Sally Murphy was teaching us how to write poetry. She showed us some of her books she had written, and this was one of them, so when they announced that they were selling some of Sally’s books, I jumped at the chance to buy my very own copy of Toppling.

John loves to play with dominoes; they are his passion. He plays with them in his spare time, and when his mother is not looking. Coincidentally, his best friend’s name is Dominic, which sounds a lot like domino. Dominic and John and have a group of friends, which consist of Joseph, Christian and Tran. They hang out together at school all the time, so when Dominic is suddenly sick, John, Joseph, Christian and Tran become very worried. Dominic has to go to hospital, and John and his friends have not seen him for quite a while. They hope he won’t pass away. Will John, Joseph, Christian and Tran ever see Dominic again?

This was a unique book, where the whole story was in verse. It is not rhyming poetry, but it was very entertaining, telling the story of a group of friends, and how they coped with their friend’s absence. I absolutely adored this book, and I felt so sorry for John, Dominic and their friends. I really hoped Dominic would get better soon.

I would rate this book 105%, and it is recommended to a very wide audience, especially people who have had a sick friend or family member.

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Celine is one of our regular book reviewers. Her most recent review (if you don’t count this one) was of Pharaoh, the boy who conquered the Nile. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Matilda

Book review: Violet Mackerel’s Helpful Suggestion

Posted on June 23, 2014January 6, 2015 by Alphabet Soup

Violet Mackerel’s Helpful Suggestion by Anna Branford, ill. Sarah Davis, ISBN 9781 922244369, Walker Books Australia

Violet Mackerel's Helpful suggestion

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 8, WA

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

Do you know Rose from Violet Mackerel’s Possible Friend and Violet Mackerel’s Pocket Protest? Rose is going to go to Japan for six weeks. Violet is excited as well as Rose but it’s a particular sort of excited. Violet has a bad feeling. What if Rose forgets about her?

I think this is a very good book to lead on from Violet Mackerel’s Pocket Protest. I learned some Japanese words and at the back the activity is ‘How to make your own set of flashcards’ and I think I might try to do that for my spelling words.

My favourite part about this book is that Violet learns the Japanese word for smile (egau) and then she uses the Japanese word instead of the English word when she is talking about smiles after that.

I really like the illustrations in the Violet Mackerel books because I like the style of drawing. There was one thing I was thinking about: it is interesting how on the front cover Violet looks older than she does in the illustrations inside the book.

This book is recommended by me for ages 6 to 9.

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