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.

I AM BATMAN

I AM BATMAN
By Catherine Hapka.
Illustrated by Adrian Barrios and Kanila Tripp. 30 pp. HarperCollins Children's Books. £2.99. (Ages 5 and up).

ISBN
9780007865109

Rating: 5 Stars
[INTERVIEW-STYLE REVIEW]
What is this book called? I am Batman.
What is this book about? Batman.
Who is in the book? Batman and the Joker, other people too.
What happens in the story? Batman have a car and he has a really big thing that goes really fast and he lives in a building and he have a Batman costume. And there's lots of nice people and there's the Joker. When the Joker comes someone thinks he's a clown and then kills everybody before all his smoke and makes them die. And the baddy have lots of money and the baddy took a big money bus and he hit a money bus guy and he throwing him on the road. He got a favourite piece of paper and a painting. And some person helps him.
What is the best thing about the book? The good people and the Batman. And the Batman took money the Joker put. And the baddies put something on him so he stay in jail forever. And Batman was flying.
Did you like the story? Yes.
Was it a scary book? Yes.
Was it a funny book? Yes.
What children should read this book? The kind of children want to read it.

(communicated by Agustinia ligabuei; written by a parent)

ROSE

ROSE
By Holly Webb
272 pages. Orchard. £5.99. (Ages 7 and up).

ISBN
9781408304471

Rating: 5 Stars

This one of my favourite books.

It is about a young girl called Rose who lives in an orphanage. Then she is suddenly taken into the work of Mr Fountain (the king's magician). She soon finds that she just might be a little bit magical herself. Meanwhile she has already saved Freddie (the magician's apprentice) from a giant smoke monster. What happens when her and Freddie's magic is put to the test? Where have all the children gone?

This book is set in an orphanage, a magician's house, the evil sparrow's house and sometimes in the town where rich people go in golden carriages, normal people walk and poor beggars lie on the floor.

My favourite character is Rose because she is a bit similar to me. My favourite part is when they get out of the cellar and are fighting the evil Miss Sparrow because I think that bit has the most action. I think ages seven and up should read this book. I definitely give this book five out of five stars.