SAFARI ADVENTURE

SAFARI ADVENTURE
By Willard Price
240 pp. Red Fox. £5.99. (Ages 9 and up)

ISBN
9780099482284

Rating: ? Stars


    This book was kindly sent to me to review by the Guardian because my cousin enjoyed reading this series. I finally read it after Michelle Paver recommended it. When I first got it I thought it would be full of drama and was concerned that it would be like 'Running Wild' by Michael Morpurgo. It turned out completely different and brilliant.
    'Safari Adventure' is about two brothers called Hal and Roger who fly to an African park to help get rid of the poachers and especially Blackbeard. On the way there the pilot is shot by a poison arrow. When they get to the camp a suspicious judge tries to cure him, but while doing so he nearly kills him. The brothers suspect the judge to be bad, but he could be someone they would never imagine him to be...
    Even though it was a brilliant book I didn't understand why the whole series had to be called 'Adventure Stories for Boys'. In my mind girls can read the series too because my friends and I (who are girls) read many books that are similar to this series. I think boys and girls aged nine to seventeen who like wildlife adventure stories should read this series.

also on Guardian Children's Books Site

THE AUSTERE ACADEMY

THE AUSTERE ACADEMY
A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the 5th.
By Lemony Snicket. Illustrated by Brett Helquist.
224 pp. Egmont Books Ltd. £6.99. (Ages 9 and up)

ISBN
9781405266116

Rating: ? Stars


    I have actually read this book before, but back then I didn't review it. I have read it again and I am now reviewing it. I have decided to read this book again because Snicket is completely absurd - a word which here means he says contradictory things in a clever way. Lemony Snicket is a very interesting writer because Lemony Snicket isn't his name, it's a pseudonym. No one knows who he is as he keeps that a secret. I don't blame him as I would probably do the same if I had all that fame.
    This book is about the three Baudelaire children when they go to boarding school. Because they didn't have parents or a guardian they had to live in the orphan shack. Inside the shack, fungus dripped from the walls, crabs crawled around and they slept on hay. This wasn't the worst of their problems though, for Count Olaf, their nemesis, had followed them disguised as a PE teacher!
    I think ages nine to fifteen should read this book. Even clever adults can read it! This whole series is brilliant and this book definitely deserves five stars.

MY STORY: TITANIC

MY STORY: TITANIC
By Ellen Emerson White
176 pp. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 9 and up)

ISBN
9781407131412

Rating: ? Stars


    I haven't read or reviewed one of these books for a while but don't worry around twenty of them are still coming. I decided to read the 'Titanic' in particular because of a girl called Lily who I played with for a while in my old school. She always wanted to play act the Titanic and after pretending to be on a giant boat with her I wanted to read the book.
    This book is about a girl called Margaret who is an orphan at an orphanage. One day she is lucky enough to be chosen as a rich american lady's companion on the Titanic. While on the Titanic she makes friends with her steward Robert. Sadly on the way to New York they hit an iceberg and the impossible happens. The Titanic sinks. Luckily Margaret is saved on a lifeboat, but sadly her friend Robert drowns.
    Ages 9 and up should read this book because it would be brilliant for all ages that can read very well. It is set in 1912 on the Titanic and a little bit in London and America. It is very interesting to read the history bit so I would advise no one to skip it.

THE WINDVALE SPRITES

THE WINDVALE SPRITES
By Mackenzie Crook
224 pp. Faber and Faber. £6.99. (Ages 9 and up)

ISBN
9780571240722

Rating: ? Stars


    I read this book because I found it interesting that someone who is best known as a bad pirate that is always pulling his eye out and eating it could be a respectable writer. It would surprise you to see what completely different people he could be.
    This book is about a boy called Asa, who after a huge storm finds a sprite (fairy) in his garden. Determined to find out if anyone else knows about these sprites he looks through old books in the library. While looking through books he finds one about a madman called Benjamin Tooth who said he saw sprites. It also tells him about a trunk and a lost key. While going outside he trips over a bird case and finds the lost key inside the bird. Then he gets himself locked inside the trunk and looks through it until he finds out that the sprites live in the Windvale Moor. This book reminds me of how people kill endangered species for no reason. The boy in the book is like Jane Goodall because he cares about animals. I think many children aged nine to twelve should read this book because they would enjoy it and it has parallels in the real world.
also on Guardian Children's Books Site