Pizza and Taco series by Stephen Shaskan, RHUS Children’s Books, Book 4 ISBN 9780593376072
Ethan read his school’s copies of the books in this series.
Do you like comics and friends and funny beginnings? Then the Pizza and Taco series is for you.
Pizza and Taco are always competing. And I think you should read this book because Pizza and Taco have so much fun together. But Pizza and Taco have one enemy: it’s Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger is Hamburger’s cousin. And some of Pizza and Taco’s friends are Ice Cream and Cake and the Chicken Tender Twins and Hamburger and Hotdog.
One reason I like this book is because Pizza and Taco are hilarious, one time they created a comic which had a lot of funny things. And Pizza and Taco are very nice to each other, but they get into a lot of trouble. In Pizza and Taco Too Cool for School, they get into trouble. The second reason I like this book is because it has imaginative pictures. Another reason I like this book is because they are a bit realistic. For example Pizza is a bit realistic. The third reason I like this book is because Pizza and Taco are so funny and sarcastic.
Do you want to find out more about this series? Visit your local library. I recommend this series to ages seven and up. I give this series 8 out of 10 stars.
Second grade students at Glenridge Elementary School (Missouri, USA) are guest reviewers at Alphabet Soup. Click here if you’d like to read more book reviews by Glenridge Elementary School. To send us YOUR book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!
Pow Pow Pig is about a pig named Piccolo who joins an organisation called CHOC because he wants to help animals in need, but he ends up always on kitchen duty …
My favourite character is Piccolo. Books about pigs always seem like funny books. This is a hilarious book. I even love the cover. The size of the title makes me laugh. The illustrations suit the story and are also hilarious. There are also stickers inside, at the back of the book.
Pow Pow Pig is similar to the Captain Underpants books and The Bad Guys series. Kids who like pigs, funny books, exciting books and novels (there are nine chapters in this book) will love this too.
I think 7 to 10-year-olds would enjoy this book most. Kids older than 10 would still enjoy it though, and kids who are younger than 7 would enjoy it if someone reads it to them.
I give it 5 out of 5 stars!
Pow Pow Pig: An Unexpected Hero is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library!
Tom Gates: Ten Tremendous Tales by Liz Pichon, Scholastic UK, ISBN 9781760974282
Aashi reviewed her own copy of this book.
Ten Tremendous Tales is a book with ten stories, all of the different ten stories are written by Liz Pichon.
The main character of the book is Tom Gates who likes to doodle. You must be wondering what doodling is. Well, it is practically drawing!
I like the book because there is a whole range of stories to read. Each story is unique and has a different moral, like one of them is about always to have hope. I liked this moral because in Covid times having hope is so important!
After reading this book I feel like I could read many more books where Tom Gates is the main character. He is super-duper at doodling but always gets into trouble. I won’t say more about Tom to keep some surprises for you.
This book is also cool as it is the tenth book in Tom Gates series by the author. The Brilliant World of Tom Gates was the first book and sent out to stores in 2011.
I would rate this book 9/10 because I think that some of the stories could continue a little bit longer. It will be enjoyed by children who are ages 7-11.
I hope you would like to read Ten Tremendous Tales.
This is Aashi’s first review for Alphabet Soup. To send us YOUR story, poem, artwork or book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!
James Foley is a Western Australian author, illustrator and graphic novelist. James uses a variety of materials and tools to create his books: pen and ink, pencil, charcoal and watercolour. He also uses digital tools: Adobe Photoshop, a Wacom graphics tablet, an iPad Pro and the Procreate app. His latest book is the fourth instalment in the hilarious S. Tinker Inc series: Chickensaurus.
From the publisher:
Sally Tinker, the world’s foremost inventor under the age of 12, is back with a new adventure in invention. When Sally’s nemesis hatches a fowl and poultry plot, there’s no room for the lily-livered. Sally and co will need all their pluck to return the world to its rightful pecking order.
On with the questions!
Assuming you’ve never seen a real chickensaurus, how did you design your dinosauric creatures in Chickensaurus?
I started off with some of the dinosaurs that everyone is most familiar with – T-Rex, velociraptor, stegosaurus, triceratops and pteranodon (though technically that last one is a pterosaur, not a dinosaur). I drew them normal to start with, then added chicken-y details on and gave them silly names. Sometimes the bits I added were suggested by the silly name I gave them – for example, the stegosaurus became an eggosaurus, so it’s basically a giant walking egg. Some of them just started out as a silly drawing and then I found an even sillier name for them – for example, the velociroosters turned up in my sketchbook in 2016, and there were other versions of lizardy chickens in my sketchbooks as far back as 2012.
Just how many chicken puns do you have in your archives? (Would Chickensaurus win the record for the most chicken jokes in one book?)
I hope so! (Though is that really a record that I want my name to be on? Should I be proud or ashamed?) I gathered as many silly jokes as I could and then found places for them in the book. There’s one particularly pun-filled part that I’m strangely proud of, where a character gives a long ‘villain speech’ using as many chicken and egg puns as I could fit in. It’s very, VERY silly.
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Chickensaurus is Book 4 in the S. Tinker Inc series of graphic novels. You also write and illustrate picture books. What’s different about the way you go about creating your graphic novels, compared to your picture books?
They’re basically the same process; graphic novels just have A LOT more drawings and A LOT more words. But there is one difference with my writing; when I’m writing a graphic novel I write it out like a movie script. It’s mostly just what the characters say to each other, with a few descriptions of the settings or the action that are basically notes for myself. On the other hand, when I’m writing a picture book the text is usually more than just what the characters say.
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Do you have one tip for young storytellers who’d like to create their own comic books or graphic novels?
Yes, and it’s an easy one – read lots of comics! It doesn’t matter if they’re superhero comics, or funny comic strips, or big fancy graphic novels … just read lots of them. And while you’re reading them, pay attention to the ways that the authors and illustrators tell you the story. Notice the things you like about the comic and maybe have a go at trying some of the same drawing or writing techniques. Notice the things you didn’t like so much about the comic and then ask yourself what you would have done differently. You can learn HEAPS just by reading other people’s work.
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Can you tell us a bit about your next project?
My next two projects are a short Sally Tinker comic adventure that will go into next year’s School Magazine, and a picture book about animals in space!
Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure by Jeff Kinney with help from Greg Heffley, Penguin Australia Pty Ltd, ISBN 9781760897888
Xavier received a review copy of this book from the publisher.
Xavier’s Awesomely Amazing Book Review
When the new book arrived, I felt excited because I have been a Wimpy kid fan for a long time. I have read every book many times over, so I know the story well. The book is written by Rowley and his adventures with his best friend Greg. There are twists and turns, which you’d expect from a Wimpy kid book, but they are told from Rowley’s perspective for a change.
My favourite part would be the twist at the end (no spoilers!). My favourite character would be Greg. Life for Rowley and Greg is exciting – vacations, blizzards and weddings. Their adventures are always funny and entertaining.
I feel like kids who like adventure and funny books would love this book since it is a combination of both. Other Wimpy Kid fans would definitely like it, there is no doubt. I believe kids aged from 7 to 13 would like this book (and series). I have read them since about 7 years old and still enjoy them at almost 12.
The book is 4.5 stars out of 5 because it is funny and you want to know the ending because Rowley is making a book which is a change from the other books in the series.
However, for me the story is quite a bit shorter than other books I am reading so I read it very quickly. If you are new to reading books and like a laugh this book is for you.
This is Xavier’s first book review for Alphabet Soup. To send us YOUR story, poem, artwork or book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!
LIFE OF A ROTTEN POTATO
by Angus, 10, Bowral Public School
Hello there, I’m a potato. Today I’m going to tell you how the life of a rotten potato works. At the start of my life I was stuck under this icky brown stuff, I was under there for weeks until a human finally pulled me out. That was the first time I met my family. My brother’s name was Spud, my mum’s name was Beryl and my dad’s name was Mark. My brother always teased me and said that I was rotten. I felt left out all the time because all my friends ditched me when they found out I was rotten. I asked Mum and Dad if I was rotten. They said I wasn’t, but I knew they were saying that to be nice.
The next stage of my life was being cleaned. It was one of the most horrible things that had happened to me ever. My second cousin drowned. His name was Fred, it was really quite sad. When I had to be washed I was exited I thought the mould and stuff would come off but it didn’t, it was horrible.
The third stage was being cut up, this was usually the end of a potato’s life — but I was rotten so they didn’t cut me up into little bits, they just threw me in the trash. I was super sad for the next few days because my mum, dad and brother got cooked and eaten. I was lonely in the garbage. The only thing to talk to was a mouldy banana named Rick. He said the same sort of thing happened to his family except they just got eaten not cooked. The next day the evil humans put all the garbage into one big metal bin with all the dead foods that nobody had eaten.
There was a mandarin that nobody had eaten. I said he was lucky he was alive, but then he said he was inhabited by worms. Sadly Rick the banana didn’t make it, he fell out of the bin and got stepped on and he got splattered everywhere it was disgusting. When we were first put into the metal bin we got put on a truck and got driven to a place called the tip. There were so many other foods that were still alive. My best friend became a brussels sprout named Rick, just like my friend Rick the banana but we do not speak of Rick the banana any more. After six months in the tip at night, I was laying looking up at the stars thinking about my family and friends, how they died. I thought that I should stop thinking about them and think about how I made new friends and how I’m still alive today instead of thinking about all the bad things in life like being rotten. That night I went to sleep a happy potato and I lived out the rest of my life as one. And that is the life of a rotten potato.
We will be sharing writing from students at Bowral Public School over the next few days. If you’d like to send us YOUR book review, story, poem or artwork, check out our submission guidelines.
I Just Ate My Friend by Heidi McKinnon,
Allen and Unwin, ISBN 9871760294232
Levi borrowed this book from the school library
I Just Ate my Friend is about an alien who ate his friend. He tries to find a new friend but they are too big, small or scary. He just can’t find the perfect fit. Is all hope lost or can he find a friend!
The illustrations are great and the colours blend and contrast. The characters in this book are all different and play their own roles in the story. They make the story different and interesting all the way through.
I rate this book as suitable for children 5-8 years old. The will love to read this book because the illustrations are cartoon-like.
The Wolf, the Duck & the Mouse by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen, Walker Books, ISBN 9781406377798
Isabel borrowed a copy of this book from her library.
The Wolf, the Duck & the Mouse is about a mouse in the woods unexpectedly swallowed by a wolf.
It is the beginning of the story, but is this the end already? What does the mouse find in the dark tummy of the beast? What is life like on the inside?
This book shows what it feels like for every character in this book.
This book is great for children between 7-10 years old, with remarkable illustrations and some silly nonsense. The illustrations have been created to give watery paint and collage effects. Others like the wolf are textured and maybe you might see some splatter paint on every page. This book also tells you a back story about why the wolf howls at the moon.
What challenges must the animals overcome to save their lives?
Mopoke by Philip Bunting, Scholastic Australia, ISBN 9781742991658
Charlie read a copy of this book at his school library.
Mopoke discovers new ways to be an everyday owl. That’s hard for an owl to do when all you do every day is sit on a branch.
Come along on a journey. High in a tree.
The imaginary life of Mopoke, a Southern Boobook, is amazing. Characters include other mopokes, other animals and everyday objects. They try different ways to annoy Mopoke.
The illustrations are amazing as they help the reader really get to know Mopoke and his friends. My favourite character is the ‘fropoke’ because of the clever rhyme with an unusual word. Read this book to find out more about the interesting vocabulary.
I rate this book 5 out of 5 definitely because Philip Bunting has alternated pages with text and pictures in perfect balance.
I recommend this book for children aged 3-9 years old because it’s easy for them to copy and draw their own versions of mopokes.