SIX DAYS

SIX DAYS By Philip Webb
384 pp. Chicken House. £6.99. (Ages 10 and up)

ISBN
9781906427627

Rating: ? Stars

      I read the book because I read the back and it seemed like a thunderous mystery.
       I think ages nine and up should read this book because if you are any younger you will not understand the first half of the book. I would not recommend it to grown ups though because it has a childlike story.
       A shiver went down my spine when I found out about the soldiers that were basically machines controlled by the bosses mind. Six Days is about girl called Cass and her brother, Wilbur, who are both "Scavs" (scavenger). One day when Cass is out looking for Wilbur they meet up with two alien people who help them find something called the artefact.
       I think the characters were realistic because the main characters are not Mr Perfect or Miss Perfect but are more real. However the characters are a bit unrealistic because they can do some crazy things that normal people cannot do. Although the setting started off in London, which was realistic, it ended up in extraordinary places which were not realistic.
       Despite this story not having much off a moral, at least that I noticed, it is a book you would probably just read for fun. In addition this book reminds me of a time I had a sleepover at the British Museum and went sleep walking which scared the daylights out of my mother. Why? Because close to the end they go to the British Museum to find the artefact.

also on the Guardian Children's Books site

THE LIVES OF CHRISTOPHER CHANT

THE LIVES OF CHRISTOPHER CHANT
The Worlds Of Chrestomanci Book 2
By Diana Wynne Jones
336 pp. HarperCollins Children's Books. £6.99. (Ages 10 and up)

ISBN
9780006755180

Rating: ? Stars

      This book caught my eye because I had read another book by the same writer, and this story was supposed to have happened at least twenty five years earlier. I also read this book because the back of the book (the part that tells you what it's about) seemed like the style of story I like (fiction, but not the kind that is impossible to believe).
      People who can read proper big fat books should definitely read this book. I will not name any ages because some older people will not like it because it has too much magic, while others may like it because of that. Younger children might not like it because there is not always something exciting going on, while others will think that makes the exciting parts more exciting.
      When I was about two thirds of the way through I gasped in surprise when I found that Christopher's uncle, who seemed to be the only good person in our world, turned out to be the worst villain in all the twelve worlds. The book is about a young boy called Christopher Chant, who is first tricked by his uncle's evil ways. Christopher gets a big surprise when he finds out that he is destined to be the next Chrestomanci. However when he has to learn how to be the next Chrestomanci he faces the problem of being against the man that used to be his best friend.
      I think Christopher was obviously not completely realistic because no human being has nine lives or can even cast one spell. Unlike that Christopher is realistic in some other ways for example since he had never met any other children's parents he thought that all children's parents were like his and did not just know that they were different than his own.
      I think the setting was realistic in some parts of the story but completely unrealistic in most of it because it talked a lot about the twelve worlds.
      The book didn't exactly go straight to the point the writer (I think) was trying to make, but wrote about it in a sneaky way. I think that the writer was trying to say that the way people butcher different animals (that we don't even eat) and sell there different parts for a lot of money is evil and should be stopped.

THE NEVERENDING STORY

THE NEVERENDING STORY
By Michael Ende
445 pp. Puffin. £7.99. (Ages 9 and up)

ISBN
9780140317930

Rating: ? Stars

I haven't finished “The Neverending Story” and I never will because it never ends. I got this book for my ninth birthday because I read too quickly and my parents thought this might keep me company for a while. I started to read this book because I had watched the movie. The movie was good, so I expected the book to be just as good (or better, because most of the books I've read have been better than the movies which they make after them just to get more money).

This book is about a boy called Bastian who reads a stolen book in the school attic. The book Bastian reads is about a boy called Atreyu who is trying to save Fantastica. He can only do this by finding a human who can give the childlike empress a new name, which will make the Nothing go away and which will make the childlike empress well again. Bastian ends up calling the empress “Moon Child”, which makes the childlike empress well again and makes Fantastica safe again, but he does not know what adventures Fantastica has waiting for him.

I think that you should be at least nine to read this book because if you are younger you won't understand it when it switches between the two worlds, and if you are older you won't appreciate the adventure and the magic.

In my mind the old turtle is a bit like humans. Most humans don't care a bit in the world about what happens to the world and if their ancestors have a happy life or a sad life but only care about themselves, just like the old turtle. The Big Bang is a bit like the Nothing, except the Big Bang started off with nothing and ended with something, but the Nothing started off with something and ended with nothing at all. I think that Atreyu is bit like ME because he does care if Fantastica survives or not. When I came to the part where the monkey said that he would have to stay in that topsy turvy town forever if he didn't find his way home again before he lost all of his memory, a shiver went down my spine because I was worried that he would have to stay in that topsy turvy town forever.

The characters were definitely not all realistic because some could do magic, and the characters definitely don't look normal. Contrary to those big differences between the characters and us there were some similarities. For example, Bastian turned a little evil from having the power of wishing, because power makes you sour. Similarly the setting, like the characters, was a bit realistic and a bit unrealistic. The human world where Bastian lived was realistic, but Fantastica was completely unrealistic (you can even guess that by its name).

Although I had discovered many morals in reading this book there is one in particular that stuck with me. The moral that I think is really important is that when Bastian had the power of wishing he turned a bit evil. However, I am not sure that the book was all about this real moral problem in the world. Still, while reading it I noticed that it talked a bit about Bastian turning evil from all of the power he had, Atreyu trying to save him by defeating him, and Xayide trying to defeat him by being defeated (the opposite, something which doesn't make sense at first but after you think about it starts to make sense).

also on Guardian Children's Book Site

THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE

THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE
By Jacqueline Kelly
352 pp. Square Fish. $7.99. (Ages 9 and up)

ISBN
9780312659301

Rating: ? Stars

      I came to read this book because my mom had bought it from America. She had read some of it first. She thought it would be nice if I read a book about a girl born in the same place as herself, Texas, and liked that it talked about evolution and nature.
      You might be wondering what this book is about. It is about a girl called Callie. She turns into a naturalist, but then faces the problem of what she is expected to do. The moral off this book is that it’s not really fair that girls are expected to be house wives. The truth is that some girls want to do other things for their life. I completely agree with the author’s point. This book teaches you about naturalists and how a long time ago in Texas girls weren't allowed to be naturalists but had to be housewives. A naturalist is a person that studies nature, like plants and animals.
      Callie (Calpurnia tate) is a bit realistic and a bit unrealistic. I think she is a bit realistic because she is not “Mrs Perfect” and acts like a normal person. However Callie is a bit unrealistic because most people don’t find a humming bird’s nest a few weeks after they start looking for a new species. In contrast J.B. (Callie’s younger brother) is definitely realistic because he is a lot like my younger sister who always wants cuddles.
      The setting was quite realistic because it wasn’t magical or anything. I do acknowledge, though, that they must have been one of the richer families to have everything they had. Ages nine and up should read this book because if you are any younger you will think it is boring because it's not magical or silly.

GRACE

GRACE
By Morris Gleitzman
192 pp. Puffin. £6.99. (Ages 12 and up)

ISBN
9780141336039

Rating: ? Stars

We borrowed this book twice from the library but the first time I didn’t read it because I was busy reading other books. You may think that I finally started reading this book because it had a really cool cover or because the name sounded exciting. If you did think one these things then you are completely wrong because the front cover was only a picture of a girl and the name of the book was the name of the girl, Grace. The reason I read this book was actually because I had been to the Red House Book Awards and he was one of the people that might have won the award, so I thought it must be a good book then and decided to read the book.

You are probably wondering what the book is about. It is about a girl called Grace who starts doing what she calls ‘sins’. In her church the dad always gets the blame. Because of this her dad gets expelled, which means he has to go away and never gets his family back. Grace is for most of the book doing more sins while trying to get her dad back so that she doesn't have to do sins anymore and so that she can be a whole family again. You probably think that she is breaking a car killing a person or something like that. If you did think one of these things then you are completely wrong because she only did things that were bad for her religion like touch an outsider.

This book was set in Australia. It takes place in Grace’s house, Grace’s new house, the farm of prayer, the zoo, Kyle and his dads house and finally in the hospital.

This book gave a really good moral that suggests it is fine to have a religion as long as you respect other people’s religions and don't go to crazy about your religion. I completely agree with the author’s opinion. In this way the book is really similar to My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece. If you have read this book and liked it I greatly recommend to you My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece.

There were some parts of the story that I wish were longer, like the part where she got her dad back. In contrast, I despised that it never actually tells you why the project she did was so bad and when her dad's there and when he's not. There are actual, real religious sects like the one in the book all over the world, like in Arizona, USA, and they have lots of people that are extremist Christians just like in the book like that there. I discovered that this book is similar to My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece except the crazy people in that book are Muslims and the person that isn't crazy is Muslim. When I came to the part where they were taking her dad away I started to tremble and feel my eyes moisten with tears because he was expelled, and when you were expelled you normally never saw your family again. I would absolutely hate if we had that rule and if my dad ever got expelled because I like my family and never want to have it be broken apart.

The characters were quite interesting because Grace (the main character of the title) who completely loved and believed in God (not too much though, like the crazy people) became friends with Kyle. Kyle did not believe in God and when he did believe in God at all he definitely didn't love him at all and sometimes when he was in a bad mood he would completely hate God.

Ages nine to twelve should read this brilliant book because if you are younger you won’t understand and your brain will be bursting and if you are older you won’t like that it has lots of adventure and action.

RUNNING WILD

RUNNING WILD
By Michael Morpurgo
196 pp. HarperCollins. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up)

ISBN
9780007267019

Rating: 5 Stars

      Michael Morpurgo is FAMOUS. Michael Morpurgo is so famous that at today’s book fair everyone was shoving past each other to try and find one of his books. However, “Running Wild” sat on my shelf for over a year unread. It is by Michael Morpurgo and I am not interested in most of his books, unlike most people in my class who have his whole (or nearly whole) collection. Michael Morpurgo’s books are less appealing to me for three reasons: most of them are about domestic animals, most of them start off with an adventure but then they quickly detour into drama before getting on with the story, and because he uses some description that is not needed.
      This book was set in the Indonesian rainforest. It is about a boy named Will who is saved from a tsunami by a very unusual elephant called Oona. Will has to try and learn how to survive in the rainforest with the help of Oona. You might guess that I read this book because of the adventurous cover, which is actually misleading because the cover looks Indian, although the story is set in Indonesia. Anyway the actual reason I read this book is because my mom urged me to after reading it herself and liking it, and because we were going to The Red House Book Awards and we wanted to have read it before having it signed by Michael Morpurgo.
      I think that the story would be much better if Michael Morpurgo took out the first two chapters. They have absolutely nothing at all to do with the rest of the story and don't even really make any sense. You might not figure out how good the rest of the book is if you start snoring before you are even on the second chapter. Besides taking away the first two chapters, I think he could expand the part about the bad people who catch him in the forest. The villains are based on real-life threats to the rainforest. The baddies cut down the forest to plant palm oil trees, kill mommy orangutans to steal their babies and sell them as pets, and kill tigers to sell their fur.
      I really liked how the author noted some real life problems like illegal hunting and burning trees to grow palm trees in place of them for palm oil. I wish the writer would write more about the growing of palm trees in place of the rainforest because that applies to the whole forest and is serious. The author gave some hints about his own opinion because most writers make the main characters have the same opinions as themselves. I discovered from the subtle hints in the book that the writer thinks that what people are doing to the rainforest is bad and I completely agree with his opinion. The reason I agree with the author is because I've actually been to the Indonesian rainforest. While I was there I learnt about what people were doing to the rainforest and how it was affecting the orangutans, gibbons and lots of other animals. I thought it was really sad. I even saw illegal logging and saw people cutting down the rainforest.
      The writer may think that he can write about just any animals and no one will notice but he is completely wrong because in Indonesia they do NOT have any long tailed lemurs or any humming birds! In spite of these big differences between my adventure and Will’s adventure, there were some similarities, for example he did see some of the same animals as we saw such as gibbons and poisonous snakes. When I came to the part where the bad people had him locked up in a cage and were deciding what to do with him I started to shiver with fright that the boy and the three orangutan babies would never get out again and felt a bit like I was there, in that situation.
      Meanwhile the writer could have written about the characters in much more detail because sometimes I didn't understand what the characters look like or who they are. Provided the information I did get about the characters, I think Oona was a bit like the guide we went to the rainforest with, and I think that Will is a bit like ME. I think that the writer made the characters a little bit unrealistic because wild orangutans do not just come down and hold peoples’ hands, people cannot swing in trees that well, and elephants don't understand humans. Besides these things that make the story unrealistic, there are some things that make Will realistic, like feeling sad about death, not knowing what to do, and getting angry from sadness.
      I think that this book is similar to “The Primate Puzzle” because they are both about going to the rainforest and trying to save the animals. For anyone who has read this book and liked it, I strongly recommend to you “The Primate Puzzle”.
      This book was so good that I wish the writer would write more good stories like it. I think you should be at least nine to read this book because you may not understand the boring parts and it will be twice as boring for you if you are not nine and up, even the exciting bits might be a little bit boring if you are too young. This book has taught me that Michael Morpurgo is actually quite a good writer and has inspired me to read another book by him ("Escape From Shangri-la") and swap one of my books for his book ("Adolphus Tips").

WOLF BROTHER

WOLF BROTHER
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness: Book 1
By Michelle Paver
240 pp. Orion. £8.99. (Ages 9 and up)

ISBN
9781842551707

Rating: 4.5 Stars

      This books tells you about a boy whose father had died and had been told to go to the world spirit before the red moon and ask for help to destroy the bear that killed him.
      When Torak finds himself all alone in the forest to fend for himself, find the world sprit and ask for help he meets up with a wolf cub and becomes friends. He calls it Wolf. One day Torak finds himself captured by a different clan for killing an animal in their part of the forest. Torak is luckily helped out by one of the girls. What happens when Torak find that he has to find the three strongest pieces of the Nanuak? Will he be able to find them in time or not?
      This book made me understand what dangers you might have in North West Europe six thousand years ago. My favourite character is Renn because she's really good at archery. My favourite part is when Torak find the river eyes. I think ages nine and up should read this brilliant book. I think this book deserves four and a half out of five stars.


Renn's Bow and Arrows. Accessories for World Book Day costume, inspired by Wolf Brother. Gift bag covered in packaging paper with designs in colored pencil. String and twigs carved with pocket knife. Original design by Bellusaurus sui.

MY SISTER LIVES ON THE MANTELPIECE

MY SISTER LIVES ON THE MANTELPIECE
By Annabel Pitcher
240 pages. Orion. £9.99 (Ages 11+)

ISBN
9781444001839

Rating: 4 stars

      This book informs you that even on the rainiest days of sadness the sun can always come out at the end of it.
      Jamie and his family live in London. When his sister Rose is killed, the rest of the family move away. Unfortunately the parents start to fight so much that finally the mum goes to live with Nigel, a man who works with her. Due to this the two children only have a drunken dad to look after them. In Jamie's new school basically all the children are mean to him except for Sunya. However that bothers his dad because she's a Muslim and Muslims killed his sister. What happens when Sunya gets fed up with Jamie treating her so badly and stops being his friend? Will Jamie ever be able to fix their friendship again or will he not?
      My favourite character is Sunya because she always stands up for Jamie. My favourite part is when Sunya puts clay sausage rolls on Jesus's head in Daniel's clay stable to get Daniel in trouble because it is the funniest part. I think ages nine through twenty should read this brilliant book. I think this book deserves four out of five stars. This made me think that if one person in a religion did something bad that it doesn't mean everybody else in the religion is bad too.

YOSHIKO AND THE GIFT OF CHARMS

YOSHIKO AND THE GIFT OF CHARMS
Land of Dragor Series Book 1
By Julia Suzuki
280 pages. Steve Brookes. £12.99 (Ages 8+)

ISBN
9780956414588

Rating: 4.5 stars

      This book tells you about a young dragon called Yoshiko who was born out of a colourful egg.
      When Yoshiko was born every one thought he would bring a curse to Dragor, land of the dragons. On Yoshiko's first day at fire school a purple Alana dragon teased him for not knowing how to blow fire yet. One day Yoshiko nearly turned yellow in front of all the other dragons and flew away to a cave out of embarrassment were he met an old dragon. What happens when Yoshiko finds out what he was made to do? Will he be brave and do it or shall he not?
      My favourite character is Yoshiko because he's the hero of the story. My favourite part is when Yoshiko goes into the volcano because that's the scariest part. I think ages eight through fifteen should read this brilliant book. I think this book deserves four and a half out of five stars. I think this story teaches a good lesson, that everyone is special and it doesn't really matter if you're extra different because it's probably for a very very special reason.




The Dragon's Hoard. Movie trailer inspired by Yoshiko and the Gift of Charms. Black and white paper cut out of the "Dragon" optical illusion, available at http://www.sticksite.com/dragon/index.html. Filmed using digital camera and edited using iMovie software. Original design by Bellusaurus sui.

MISTER CREECHER

MISTER CREECHER
By Chris Priestley
400 pages. Bloomsbury. £10.99 (Ages 12+)

ISBN
9781408811047

Rating: 5 stars

      This book tells you about a boy who makes friends with a monster.
      After the monster persuades the boy, Billy, to spy on Frankenstein (the man who made the monster) they start to become friends. Billy spies on Frankenstein and the monster steals the money and food to live off of. What happens when Billy starts to doubt the monster? Will he go back to living on the floor or will he change his mind and stay with the monster?
      My favourite part is when the monster tells Billy his secret because you’re itching to know the monster’s secret and he finally tells it. My favourite character is Billy because he's the main character so I know the most about him. I think ages eight through fifteen should read this book. I think this book deserves five out of five stars. I really like the writing because it has lots of action. I think the writing is very suspenseful because you always want to turn the page in case something exciting happens next.

also on Guardian Children's Books Site