Tag: Matilda

Book reviews by kids, Book reviews by Matilda

Book review: The Cleo stories

Alphabet Soup

The Cleo Stories: The Necklace, and The Present by Libby Gleeson, ill. Freya Blackwood, Allen and Unwin, ISBN 9781743315279

The Cleo stories (cover)

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 8, WA

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

This book has two stories — ‘The Necklace’ and ‘The Present’. It’s about a girl who’s 6 years old, playing and present wrapping and drawing. The characters include an uncle, her Mum and Dad, and Nick (Cleo’s friend).

‘The Necklace’ is my favourite because Cleo wants a necklace but her birthday is ages away and she solves the problem all by herself. Cleo reminds me of my friend’s little sister because she’s so imaginative and she’s adventurous in her own backyard.

I also like how Cleo wears different headband ears — cats and rabbits. And I really like the endpapers too because it shows Cleo’s town.

Five to eight year olds would enjoy this book. I’d like to read more stories about Cleo and Nick.

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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  Rescue on Nim’s Island. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Book reviews by kids

Book review: Rescue on Nim’s Island

Alphabet Soup

Rescue on Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr, pictures by Geoff Kelly, Allen and Unwin, ISBN 9781743316788

rescue on nim's island

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 8, WA

Matilda borrowed a copy of this book from her local library.

I read this book because I like all the other books I’ve read by Wendy Orr so far.

There are scientists coming to the island. So far Nim, Jack and Alex have kept the island a secret but now Jack has discovered something on the island and he wants other scientists to come. One of the scientists brings a daughter called Tiffany and when everyone goes exploring in a cave, Tiffany gets stuck …

Rescue on Nim’s Island is not a follow-on book from Nim at Sea, it follows on from the second Nim film (Return to Nim’s Island) instead. I was surprised that it didn’t follow on from Nim at Sea.

People who like to take risks will like this book because Rescue on Nim’s Island is full of risks. It would suit kids 8+.

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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  Fantastic Mr Fox (audiobook). If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Book reviews by kids

Book review: Fantastic Mr Fox

Alphabet Soup

Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl (audiobook), read by Lionel Jeffries, BBC Audiobooks UK, ISBN 9781408483770

fantastic mr fox audiobook

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 8, WA

Matilda borrowed this audiobook from her local library.

I like listening to audiobooks because they make you have an idea of the picture in your head. With this audiobook I could read along with the book while I listened but sometimes I just like listening without the book. I like the voices they have for the characters.

Fantastic Mr Fox is about a family of 6 foxes (4 children and 2 adults). Mr Fox has a very clever brain and every night he makes sure the wind is blowing towards him so he can go out and steal some dinner from the 3 farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean. The 3 farmers are really mean and they try to catch the foxes because they want to shoot them. I like this story because it’s exciting and the foxes can dig faster than any other animal.

Most kids from 5 and up would love this book but little kids might need a grownup there to help with the scary bits.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

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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  Pearl Verses the World. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Book reviews by kids

Book review: Pearl Verses the World

Alphabet Soup

Pearl Verses the World by Sally Murphy, ill. Heather Potter, Walker Books Australia, ISBN 9781921150937

"Pearl Verses the World"

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 8, WA

Matilda reviewed her own copy of this book.

I saw this on the bookshelves at our house — I’ve met the author and I also really like Roses are Blue and The Floatingest Frog by Sally Murphy, so I read the first few pages of this book and I didn’t stop.

This book is about three people: Pearl, her mother and her grandmother. And that’s how it’s always been. But suddenly Pearl’s life changes. Her grandmother is ill and her mother is thinking they will have to send her grandmother to a nursing home.

This is a sad book. I liked the characters Mitchell Mason and Prudence Jones because they were very interesting people. Pearl Verses the World is a verse novel and I liked it even more than Roses Are Blue, which is also a verse novel.

I would recommend this book to kids 7+ because it’s about school and it might be too sad for younger kids.

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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  Nim at Sea. 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: Nim at Sea

Alphabet Soup

Nim at Sea by Wendy Orr, pictures by Kerry Millard, Allen & Unwin, ISBN 9781741148619

Nim at sea

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 8, WA

Matilda borrowed a copy of this book from her local library.

I’ve watched the movie Nim’s Island and I saw this book in the library, so I borrowed it. Now I’ve read Nim at Sea, I will have to read Nim’s Island.

In this book, Nim tells Alex in a really angry way that it would be better if she was off the island. So Alex goes. Jack still thinks Alex is on the island and Nim is going to get into really big trouble. Then Selkie (a sea lion friend) gets captured by the Troppo Tourists — can Nim get Selkie back? Can they all be together as a group again?

I really like the bits when Fred (the marine iguana) sneezes and everyone says “Yuck, Fred!” and I like feeling inside the story and wanting to encourage Nim.

Kids that like books with lots of adventure should read Nim at Sea. (So should kids who love Nim’s Island.) This book is great for kids aged 8+.

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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  The Red Wheelbarrow. 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: The Red Wheelbarrow

Alphabet Soup

The Red Wheelbarrow by Briony Stewart, UQP, ISBN 9780702249259

The Red Wheelbarrow

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 8, WA

Matilda reviewed her own copy of this book. 

There are no words in this picture book — the pictures tell the story. There’s a big sister and a little sister and they have a red wheelbarrow to sit in and eat lollies. One has a blanket and one has pigtails. They love each other but there is some fighting because the little sister wants another lolly but the big sister won’t give her another one. There are some chickens watching nearby.

I’d love to have a wheelbarrow I could play in — I could put a pillow in it and drag it into my room and sleep in it. It would be so relaxing to have a bed on wheels.

There’s a photo at the end of the book which shows you that the book is really about when Briony and her sister used to sit in a wheelbarrow when they were kids.

I think little sisters and big sisters will like this book. (It teaches them not to be selfish to the little sister, or not to have a tantrum if the big sister is being selfish.)

The Red Wheelbarrow would be good for 3 to 7 year olds.

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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  Orpheus and Eurydice. 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: Orpheus and Eurydice

Alphabet Soup

Orpheus and Eurydice, retold by Hugh Lupton & Daniel Morden, ill. Carole Hénaff, Barefoot Books, ISBN 9781846867842

orpheus and eurydice

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 8, WA

Matilda reviews her own copy of this book. 

This is a Greek myth and it tells the story of how Orpheus and Eurydice got married but then Eurydice died. Orpheus really loved Eurydice so he goes to the Land of Forgetfulness (the Land of the Dead) to ask for Eurydice back. He thinks he can get her back if he plays his lyre for the god Hades and the goddess Persephone. Will life go back to normal for Orpheus and Eurydice?

I already knew this myth from school and this book explains the story really well.

I like the illustrations because they are like paintings from a mural and I like the extra decorations added — like swirls in Eurydice’s hair.

The story does have creepy parts, so BEWARE! In other bits the words are so soothing and they get into your heart and make your heart burn with sadness for Orpheus and Eurydice.

People from ages 8+ will like this book and also people who like Greek myths, folktales and adventures.

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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  The Lost Girl. 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: The Lost Girl

Alphabet Soup

The Lost Girl by Ambelin Kwaymullina, ill. Leanne Tobin, ISBN 9781921529634, Walker Books Aust

the lost girl

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 8, WA

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

This is a story about an Aboriginal girl who wandered away from her big family one day. She called and called and then she found she’d lost her way and she needed to find her own way home.

I love the illustrations because they make me feel sad for the girl. I also liked that on every page the pictures show lots of Australian plants and animals in the Australian bush. Even though she is lost, she’s a very clever and sensible girl not to panic. She looks for Mother Nature’s help to find her way back to her family.

I think kids aged 5+ will enjoy this picture book.

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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  Meet Daisy. 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: Meet Daisy

Alphabet Soup

Our Australian Girl: Meet Daisy by Michelle Hamer, ill. Lucia Masciullo, ISBN 9780143307631, Puffin

Meet Daisy

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 8, WA

Matilda borrowed this book from her local library.

Meet Daisy is set in 1930. Her dad can’t find a job and they’re poor, so she gets sent to the city in Melbourne to live with her Aunty May. Her little sister Flora goes as well.

Aunty May loves Flora but she really doesn’t like Daisy and Aunty May gets meaner and meaner every day. Daisy is scared that her aunt might throw her out if she doesn’t earn some money. She’s very disappointed that she can’t go to school and she really misses her dad.

I like stories with adventure and where something tragic happens and the characters have to find a way out of the situation. This is a really adventurous story and once I started reading I couldn’t stop. I’m up to book three in this series already (Daisy and the Mansion).

I recommend this book for ages 8 to 14.

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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  Roses are Blue. 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: Meet Nellie

Alphabet Soup

Meet Nellie by Penny Matthews, ill. Lucia Masciullo, ISBN 9780143306238, Puffin

Meet Nellie

REVIEWED BY MATILDA, 8, WA

Matilda borrowed this book from her school library.

This book is set in 1849. An Irish girl (Nellie) and her friend (Mary) are on their way to South Australia from a workhouse in Ireland and they have to look for jobs. If Nellie does get a job, will she ever see Mary again?

I borrowed this book from the library because my friend is from Ireland and she said she really liked it. I learned that in 1849 it was really hard to find jobs and that even kids had to find jobs or they’d starve. Also, it was very easy to get ill and there was no-one to help you if you did and lots of people died.

Meet Nellie is a mixture of happy and sad. There are four books in this series and this is the first book. I want to read the others because this one was so interesting.

I recommend this book for ages 8 to 14.

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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 How to Make Small Things with Violet Mackerel. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!