THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET

THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET
A Novel in Words and Pictures.
By Brian Selznick.
Illustrated. 533 pages. Scholastic Press. £12.99. (Ages 9 and up).

ISBN
9781407103488

Rating: 5 Stars


      This book tells you of the adventures Hugo Cabret had while trying to fix the automaton without being caught.
      It is about a 12 year old boy called Hugo Cabret whose father died in a fire in the museum where he had worked and had found an automaton. After the fire went out, Hugo lived with his uncle in a train station where he was trying to live by stealing food. His uncle went missing, but he continued to work on his uncle's clocks so no one would know. Meanwhile, he was fixing the automaton which he recovered from the wreckage of the museum fire. Hugo only has one problem, the train station toy shop owner has stolen his notebook. What happens when the toy shop owner says that his notebook is burned? Should Hugo believe the toy shop owner and give up or should he keep on trying to find the notebook and maybe end up fixing the automaton?
      My favourite character is Isabelle because she is quite adventurous. My favourite part is when Isabelle and Hugo watch the automaton write and draw. I think this book was written a bit like a flip book because you feel a bit like you are watching a movie when you turn over all of the lovely pictures. It's not just an ordinary flip book because it has zoom and movement, not just movement. I think it will make a really good 3D movie and I hope I will get a chance to see it. I think people aged eight through forty should read this brilliant book. I think this book deserves five out of five stars.
also on Guardian Children's Books Site



Hurricane. Film inspired by The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Constructed from one scanned pencil sketch on paper and sound effects recorded from violin and background noise using iMovie software. Original design by Bellusaurus sui.

MY STORY 4 book comparison

MY STORY: VIKING BLOOD
By Andrew Donkin
176 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up).

ISBN
9781407104812

Rating: 4.5 Stars



MY STORY: ROMAN INVASION
By Jim Eldridge
144 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up).

ISBN
9781407107370

Rating: 4.5 Stars



MY ROYAL STORY: ANASTASIA
By Carolyn Meyer
224 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up).

ISBN
9781407116198

Rating: 4.5 Stars



MY ROYAL STORY: ANNE BOLEYN AND ME
By Alison Prince
224 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 9 and up).

ISBN
9781407114774

Rating: 4.5 Stars


      This report is about four books, one's called "Viking Blood", another's called "Roman Invasion", another's called "Anastasia" and the last is called "Anne Boleyn and Me". The similarity between these four novels is that they are all historical.
      First I will tell you about the book called "Anne Boleyn and Me". It is about a Tudor girl named Elinor who is one of the ladies in waiting for Queen Catherine of Aragon. Anne Boleyn was as well until she caught the eye of King Henry. Since then the people of the town hated her for they wanted to stay true to their first queen, Catherine of Aragon. King Henry tried really hard (too hard) for Anne Boleyn just to divorce Catherine and marry her instead. King Henry marries her but he regrets it after about two years, a bit silly in my mind. What happens when Anne Boleyn is suspected of witchery? Shall she be condemned to death or not?
      Secondly I shall tell you about the book called "Anastasia". It is about a Russian Grand Duchess called Anastasia who is the youngest daughter of the tsar. Things go well for her family with lovely Easter feasts and sledging in the winter until the first World War and the Bolshevik Revolution comes along. Anastasia and her family are now captured and sent far away to Siberia. The life that Anastasia now knows is far from the same as her old life, she goes from eating fancy roast meals and fancy cakes off of silver tables to eating cheese and bread off of the floor.
      Thirdly I shall tell you about the book called "Roman Invasion". It is about a British warrior prince of the Carvetii tribe called Bran who is captured by the Romans to be held as a hostage. The Roman soldiers are building a road for protection and are using him to make sure no British soldiers attack in the middle for they shall kill Bran if anyone does attack. On the way Bran makes friends with two Greek men who had the choice to die or to work for the Roman soldiers and chose to work for them. One day when a British tribe did try to kill the Roman soldiers the two men pretended it was a completely different tribe and said they knew by their tattoos. What happens when Bran kills one of the soldiers from his very own tribe to save one of the two men? Shall the gods kill him for killing someone in his own tribe or shall they spare his life for saving a man?
      Lastly I shall tell you about the book called "Viking Blood". It is about a boy called Tor Scaldbane (Tor for short) who is going on the next raiding party. Tor and his half brother Ragner train with Tyral and their father to get ready for raiding. When they actually start raiding they find that they won't just be raiding but that they shall have war on the battlefield. Tor and Ragner imagined themselves fighting without the slightest fear and winning for everyone but when the time actually came they just stood there for a couple of minutes before actually starting to fight. Although they weren't the best fighters they still ended up killing one man each. What happens when Tor's hand is cut off and a great fever comes upon him? Shall the gods be kind and let him live through it or shall they make him be gone forever and ever.
      My favourite book would probably be "Anne Boleyn and Me" because her head gets chopped off, then "Viking Blood", then "Anastasia", and finally "Roman Invasion". My favourite character from all the books is Anne Boleyn because she is very brave, turns into queen, and tried to let normal people read. I think people aged eight through forty should read these books. I would rate all of these books four and a half out of five stars.

MY ROYAL STORY: MARIE ANTOINETTE

MY ROYAL STORY: MARIE ANTOINETTE
By Kathryn Lasky
224 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up).

ISBN
9781407116181

Rating: 5 Stars

      This book tells you of the adventures Marie Antoinette had on her way to becoming a French queen. It is about a young princess called Marie Antoinette who is learning how to be a French queen. Although she hates being away from her family she knows it can't be to bad. On her way to becoming Queen many sad and funny things happen. It is sad when her dance teacher dies, however it is funny when she has to run naked in front of five thousand people! Marie Antoinette is not very happy when she meets her husband because she finds he has pimples, is really fat, and droops a lot. Later on she finds she might be able to make a friend of him. Marie Antoinette hates her main lady in waiting who wears thick red lip gloss, likes to be very proper, and makes the king do what ever she wants him to. However when Queen Marie Antoinette finds that she cannot take a bath, go to the toilet or eat privately she is very surprised and angry for she learned how to go to the toilet and take a bath herself when she was six. When Marie Antoinette shows her husband how to simply make a snowball he starts singing a rhyme about his wonderful wife and how lucky he is to have her. What happens when Marie Antoinette's main lady in waiting expels Marie Antoinette's favourite lady in waiting? Will Marie Antoinette ever get her back?
      This book is set in 1769 AD. This book is set in the palace, in the village, in the garden and in the hospitals.
      My favourite part is the funniest part, when Marie Antoinette has to run naked in front of 5000 people! My favourite character is Marie Antoinette because she turns into a queen. I think people aged eight through forty should read this book. I think this book deserves five out of five stars.

BEDEVILED: DADDY'S LITTLE ANGEL

BEDEVILED: DADDY'S LITTLE ANGEL
Bedeviled Series: Book 1
By Shani Petroff. Illustrated by J. David McKenney.
240 pages. Penguin Group. $6.99. (Ages 8 and up).

ISBN
9780448451114

Rating: 3 Stars


It is about a devil.The devil is Angel's dad. Angel's dad gave Angel power.but Angel does not know how to use her power. When she used her power she made a mistake. She put her friends in the zoo, in cages.

she's sad because she does not have friends now. Sunday Angel goes to Gabi's house and says sorry for yesterday so on Monday she,ll have friends.

On Monday Cole came to school and said to Angel "Friday can we go on a date",I like the book because I love the part when Cole kissed Angel it was so funny.I was sad because Angel did not have friend.

MY ROYAL STORY: CLEOPATRA

MY ROYAL STORY: CLEOPATRA
By Kristiana Gregory
192 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up).

ISBN
9781407116174

Rating: 5 Stars

This book tells you of the intelligent princess Cleopatra.

It is about a young princess called Cleopatra. Cleopatra hates her eldest sister who is called Tryphaena and wants to be queen. When a chest arrives with a pearl necklace that Cleopatra puts on Tryphaena nearly kills her with a dagger. Cleopatra is also worried about her father who is in hiding for people are trying to kill him, and he is waiting for a chance to ask the Romans for help to fight them off. Cleopatra soon finds that her life is endangered to for she is her fathers favourite daughter and when she is swimming she finds a fake of her very own skull from Tryphaena and people being paid to kill her and her father. She then decides to go to Rome with her father but is not impressed at all at there lazy way of eating by feeding each other grapes while lying down on sofas. Cleopatra also hates the way they talk about her father but they stop when they find she understands them and will say whatever she wants to about them.

This book is set in 57 BC. This book is set in Alexandria and Rome.

My favourite part is the funniest part, where it is raining when suddenly Mark Antony picks up Cleopatra drops her in a bakery then cuts of his cloths with his own sword so that he is naked and Cleopatra picks up his sword and keeps it. My favourite character is Cleopatra because she is intelligent, and it looks like it would be most fun to be her since she has a pet cheetah. I think ages eight and up to forty should read this wonderful book. I think that this brilliant book deserves five out of five stars.

MY ROYAL STORY: EGYPTIAN PRINCESS

MY ROYAL STORY: EGYPTIAN PRINCESS
By Vince Cross
160 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up).

ISBN
9781407116846

Rating: 4.5 Stars

This is an interesting book about what it was like to be an Egyptian princess.

It is about a young Egyptian princess called Hatshepsut. The Nile has not flooded for three years. When the people ask Amun what they have to do to make the Nile flood again, he answers, "Find a running girl who will prove better than all the men in each kingdom and worship her." Every one stared at Hatshepsut because she was the only girl who ran in Egypt. A few days later when she was chasing her dog she saw her vizier Shushu and another man plotting to steal into her grandfather's tomb. While running away from them, because they want to catch and kill her, she makes a new friend called Rami. What happens when she receives the throne? Can she take this challenge? Can she defeat Shushu and what happens if not?

This book is set in 1490 BC. This book is set in Valley of the Kings, princess Hatshepsut's palace and in the city.

My favourite part is the scariest part where she finds Shushu and another man plotting to steal into her grandfathers tomb and when they find her they pin her up to the wall. My favourite character is princess Hatshepsut because she does the most action. I think ages eight and up to forty should read this book. I think this book deserves four and a half stars.

MY STORY: POMPEII

MY STORY: POMPEII
by Sue Reid
176 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up).

ISBN
9781407103082

Rating: 5 Stars


This book is about when Vesuvius, the great volcano, exploded.

It is about a young girl called Claudia who lives in Pompeii. When she starts to feel the ground shaking she thinks that Vesuvius is going to erupt again but is told not to worry. When visiting her old best friend Aemillia she befriends a British slave called Aengus. When Aemillia's cousin Calpurnia comes over Claudia thinks she might make a good friend and forgets all about Aengus. A few days later she finds that Aengus has been sold to a gladiator and might fight from the chariot. Later she finds this is not true. What happens when the volcano erupts? Will she live through it?

This book is set in 78 AD. This book is set in Claudia's house, her best friend's house and the city of Pompeii.

My favourite part is the scariest part, when the volcano erupts. My favourite character is Calpurnia because she is a tomboy like me and likes Cleopatra. I think people aged eight through forty should read this book. I think this book deserves four and a half out of five stars.

JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN

JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN
Directed by Oliver Parker.
101 minutes. Universal Pictures. (PG)

See at IMDB

Rating: 5 Stars

WARNING: this will spoil the movie

Johnny English Reborn is a sequal from Johnny English. It is about a secret agent (Johnny English) who is a really bad agent and always has a good sidekick. His sidekick is Tucker. Johnny always wants to be the more important one, so he is always is insulting his sidekick and never admits his mistakes. There are three members of Vortex in the film. there is one from C.I.A (American), one from K.G.B (Russian) and one from M.I.7 (British), who Johnny English works for. The members of Vortex get payed to kill people. The first member of Vortex, from C.I.A, is Fisher. There is a Chinese evil lady that is with them. She kills people that try to tell other people about Vortex. Fisher was telling English about Vortex so the evil lady killed him. then another bad guy comes to take the piece of the Vortex key off of Fisher's neclace so that Johnny English won't get it. Later on in the film, Johnny and Tucker find the second member of vortex from K.G.B (Pudolfkin). He tries to tell them about Vortex aswell, but the evil woman kills him first. English and Tucker try to get him to a hospital in a herlicopter. he dies on the way, but just before he dies, he tells them that one of the members of vortex is from C.I.A, one from K.G.B and one from M.I.7 but he died before he could say that the member of vortex from M.I.7 was SIMON AMBROSE. Eventually they find out that he is the third member of vortex and Johnny English ends up killing him.

I liked the film. It was one of my favourites. My favourite characters were Johnny English and Tucker. My favourite part was when at the end when the queen was coming to say thankyou to Johnny English but then the evil lady is pretending to be the queen and she starts fighting him and then runs away and he looks from behind the queen and thinks that she is the evil chinese woman and sprints up to her and jumps and rugby tackles her to the floor and then gets her in a headlock and starts banging her head on the table until he sees two guards with the real bad lady and notices he has been beating up the real Queen and then you don't know what happens next because it is the end of the film.

MARK OUT OF TEN:

9.9/10.

MY STORY: PYRAMID OF SECRETS

MY STORY: PYRAMID OF SECRETS
by Jim Eldridge
160 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up).

ISBN
9781407116563

Rating: 4 Stars

This book is about what it was like to build the pyramids.

It is about a twelve year old boy called Nebka who's father sadly died building the pyramids. Nebka now lives with his uncle and is sent to go with him and work on the pyramids because the river Nile has flooded. It is back breaking work to build the pyramids but Nebka doesn't feel it as much when he makes a new friend called Isesi. Sadly, when Isesi's father is drunk Isesi is trying to save him from the giant limestone and then he ends up getting squashed by one himself. Meanwhile Nebka is getting fooled by one of the prisoners who claims that the Egyptian thrown is his. What happens when Nebka agrees to help the prisoners escape?

This book is set in 2517 BC. This book is set in Nebka's uncle's house and in the pyramids.

My favourite part is the most adventurous part, when they are fighting the criminals, one of whom claims to be the rightful king, and the others claim to be his palace guards. My favourite character is Nebka's uncle because he is one of the more special sphinx workers and because he is the one who fights off the criminals in the end. I think ages eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty and up to forty should read this brilliant book. I think this book deserves four out of five stars.

ROSE AND THE LOST PRINCESS

ROSE AND THE LOST PRINCESS
by Holly Webb
272 pages. Orchard. £5.99. (Ages 7 and up).

ISBN
9781408304488

Rating: 5 Stars

This book is better than the first book in the series.

It is about a young girl called Rose who goes from (in the first book) being a poor orphan to being a maid for the king's magician, Mr Fountain, and is now even Mr Fountain's apprentice. Later on the princess is found in the garden hidden behind a bush. However, the king knows that someone's evil magic must have gone wrong. Rose is now set a dangerous task: to guard the princess from whoever was trying to take her. What happens when Rose fails? Will the princess ever be found again?

This book is set in the village, on the frozen lake, in Mr Fountain's house and of course in the palace.

My favourite part is the scariest part, which is when evil Victor Hugo gives Rose a present that only by chance doesn't kill her. My favourite character is Rose because she can perform magic. I think ages seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven should read this book. I definitely give this book five out of five.