Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Little Women series by Louisa May Alcott

There is one certain series of books that makes me feel as if I am in the story. These books are the Little Women series. Although the series was written a long time ago, during the American Civil War, when I read it, it stil makes me feel as if I am in the story. Little Women is about the lives of the four March family sisters, Meg the elegant and responsible, Jo with the feisty nature, Beth the gentle and caring and Amy the youngest who wishes she was older. Over the different books, the sisters grow and change. Reading the books, makes you feel as if you are watching the sisters mature. Meg starts out as a young lady who is very careful about the way she looks, even though the family really don't have much money to spare on frills and fancies. In the first book, Jo is well intentioned, but always seemingto get into trouble; burning Meg's hair, spilling lemonade on her best white gloves and not forgiving Amy for something until they both go through a life-threatening accident. Beth is a young gentle girl, who is always helping and being kind to everyone, from cheering up her sisters to helping people even poorer than her own family. Amy is the youngest of the March family. She is a young girl, who cares most about making her nose look more elegant, saying the most intelligent things (which she usually didn't say quite so intelligently as intentioned) and of course, her talent: painting. In the second book in the series, you see that the girls have changed and grown. meg becomes married to a poor but kind man, which is quite different from how she felt in the first book, about marrying a hadnsome and rich man and living in a huge and magnificent house. Beth becomes ill and weak, from nursing a sick child who turned out to have scarlet fever. Amy goes off to Paris and feels quite a lady. But I think the person who experiences change most in the second book is Jo. Jo faces trouble when she finds that her best friend changes the way he feels about her and even proposes marriage. I think it must have been very hard for Jo then. Jo was very close to her friend, Laurie, but she felt that she couldn't marry him. But Jo knew that once she refused to marry Laurie, their relationship would change. Jo was right. Once Jo refused Laurie, he turned the cold shoulder on her. At this same time, Jo was relieved to ehar that her Aunt was going to Paris, and would be taking one of the sisters with her. Jo assumed that her Aunt would be taking Jo to Paris, and Jo was glad that she would have chance to get away from Laurie, and have a lovely time. Unfortunately for Jo, her Aunt decided that she would take the youngest of the March family sisters, Amy so that Amy could paint all of the lovley scenes in Paris. Jo felt depressed and anguished and knew that she had to start a new part of life, away from Laurie and memories of Amy leaving for Paris. So, Jo became a nanny to two children in a boarding house. There she met a quite unattractive-looking man who was about 10 years older than she was. He was a kind and clever man, but he was very poor and Jo flet sorry for him. The two helllped each other out in hard time, and a warm relationship formed between Jo and this man. But when Jo heard how he disapproved of the way she wrote her stories, she felt bitter and sad. To make things even worse for her, Jo found out that her younger sister Beth was dying. Jo rushed back home at once, leaving her new life and friend behind. When Beth died, Jo felt upset and was not sure what to do. In the end, all is sorted out and Jo again, starts a new part of her life, with a family of her own. Throughout the series, all of the sisters show change in the way that they feel about things. All of them have high prospects for the future at the start of the series, but none of them receive what they always wished for. As the books are so realistic and true, you can really relate to each character. When I read it, I feel that I am right int he story. I feel that I am with the sisters when they put on plays and play games. I feel that I am with the Mother of the family, listening to all of the sister's troubles. And I also feel, that I am crying with Jo as Beth breathed her last breath. Reviewed by Lucy

Meet Addy by Connie Porter

Meet Addy is the first in a series of books about Addy Walker. Set in 1864, during the US Civil War, Addy is a 9 year old girl born into slavery. Her family are planning to escape and use the underground railroad to find freedom in the north. Before they have an opportunity, Addy's father and older brother are sold off to another slave owener. Addy is whipped when trying to ask for her family to be kept together. Addy's mother fears for their safety so they escape at night andt ravel on foot for many nights, moving only in the dark to keep hidden. Addy and her mother, after several terrifying experiences, eventually make it to the house of an abolitionist woman who is willing and able to help them get to safety and freedom. This book introduced me to an extremely different world; that of slavery and inspired me to read more on this subject. Recommended for 8 and over. Reviewed by Iris

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet is an amazing book about two lovers each from a different family, either the Montagues or the Capulets. Romeo and Juliet must let the knowledge of their family's feuds escape from their minds to truly love each other. The setting of the book is in Verona a city of Italy. Romeo must escape his house to see his beloved Juliet. The characters in this book are Romeo, a son of the Montagues, Juliet, daughter of the Capulets, Mercutio, Romeo's closest friend, Tybolt, Juliet's cousin, Prince of Verona and Juliets maid. If you are into tragedy, love and hate and escaping family, fueds then this is the book for you. I rate this book 9/10 Reviewed by Sophie

Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda

It starts out in Rin where the stream that flows down the mountain has run dry and the Buksha have no water to drink. (The Busksha are native bull like creatures) That means that there is no milk or cheese for the people of Rin. They go to ask Sheba the village witch, and she says "you must climb the mountain and remove the blockage" This may sound easy but the mountain is home to horrible and unspeakeable things and the Dragon! Sheba then throws a stick at Rowan. A skinny little boy who is scared of his own shadow, which later turns out to be a map which happpens to show the wall up the mountain and only shows the way in Rowan's hands and he has to go to their mountain! A great book I recommend it for 8+ Reviewd by David

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The White Ship by Jackie French

Escape! That's what the White Ship is all about! This story captures your imagination and it lets the reader escape from their normal life. The White Ship takes place on an island near France but then the main character Michael and all the children escape on a big trip from the island but the ship is cursed: no one grows older! Michael is a boy who just wants to be like any other boy on the island. He is brave & kind hearted but he just wants to escape from the White Ship. This book is great for children ages 10-14 and I give it a 7/10. It's a great escape for everyone. Reviewd by Kiara

The Billionaire's Curse by RIchard Newsome

The Billionaire's Curse is a fantastic book about a boy named Gerald and his new found friends Sam and Ruby Valentine. They are on a quest to find the Diamond Casket, while having to escape the evil murderer, the "Thin Man". This story is set in Australia at the start, and after the unfortunate death of his great aunt, he is flown over to England for the funeral. The author mentions many other places, such as tropical islands, the snow, and other getaway escapes, although a good chunck of the story is set in England. Towards the end of the book there are death traps dark covers, and other dark grim places. Gerald is the main character, having to escape lots of the dangers, although Sam and Ruby are most definately in second place. The trio fights dangers, temptations and other troubles and in more ways than one, this bonds them together more and more. The plot consists mostly of escaping the wrath of the murderous "Thin man", and finding, the Diamond Casket. Gerald, being only 12-13 years old, inherited the fortune of a billionaire from his great aunt. The funny thing is, Gerald hasn't even MET her! There is drama, murder, tragedy, fun, and much more. After everything that happened to the trio, Gerald took his friends to his new mansion. If you like a book with a mix of pretty much all of the themes you can think of (apart from romance), then this is the escape book for you. I strongly recommend this book to you , and I rate it 10/10. Reviewd by Caitlyn

The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman

"Oh Roger where are you, what is this place?" she said "It's the world of the dead Lyra" Lyra is missing and Will can't find her to help her escape, the witches have been attacked and a mothers hug is in another universe, who will help a boy too far from home? This book goes from universe to universe and at one point the land of the dead, through each portal is another place to explore. In this book the setting is described in acute detail, every place comes to life around you. Lyra and Will are the main charcters in this amazing book. Will, the boy from this world who accidently escapes through a portal into another world in the last book and inherits the 'Subtle Knife'. Lyra is the feirce, wild-cat girl who learns to read the alethiometer which posses the truth. The book does not have an exact time but is a time of it's own. The time is three hundred years after Dust started falling, the sublt knife was made as well as the alethiometer. From helping Lyra escape from Mrs Coulter to going to the land of the dead the plot is quite complicated with lots of twists and turns. Whenyou read the book you can escape to the wonderous world of the Amber Spyglass. This book is amazing and I recommned it to everyone over 10. The book let's you escape from modern day to all of these universes. If you have a good imagination and lots of hot chocolate read this book! Reviewed by Matilda

Don't call me Ishmael by Michael Gerard Bauer

Ishmael Leseur wants to escape. While reading this book, you feel indulged, and happy, beacause there are great chapters and weird ideas. The protagonist of this story is Ishmael Leseur. In year 9 and 14 years old, he wants to escape from his 'Ishmael Leseur's Syndrome'. Some of the other main characters, include James Scobie; the new boy, Barry Bagsley; the bad boy of year 9, Orazio Zorzotto (or the Big Z as he calls himself), Ignatus Rindabel and Bill Kingsley. This story is set in a high school, St Daniel's Boys College to be exact. Lot's of things happen here. The teachers at the school aren't that strict but when things happen, there are plenty of detentions. The complication of the story is that Ishmael has to get past his Syndrome and all the teasing. Many mishaps occur including an incident with spiders, snakes and insects. I think the author has done an excellent job at creating crazy characters and interesting scenes. This book will take you into Ishmael's world. I recommend this to people who enjoy humour and adventure books. I rate this book 9/10 Reviewed by Bridget

The Fire Acsending by Chris d'Lacey

The Fire Acsending is a great book to escape into because it's very well written and has a very deep story. The main character is David Rain, he is 20 years old and is part dragon, part Polar Bear and part human. In the first book he starts his life long adventure by looking for lodgings near his college. (He chose that college because he wanted to escape his old dreary life in the outskirts of London). The setting changes constantly through out the story. It starts in Scrubley a small village in the country, near David's college, and in that small village he meets, and lodges with Elizibith Pennykettle, who's home is filled with small clay dragons. The setting then moves, in the last book to a small island. The Tooth of Ragner, where David and Rosa are being held captive and need to escape. The plot is held throughout all of time, because this story also contains magic they do a lot of other things, and everyone is constantly escaping and plotting. The main setting is part 6 or 7 of the story , on the Tooth of Ragner, a small island just off the Arctic circle, but it's timeline has changed and it's full to the brim with Darklings, evil dragons, and people possessed by the IX, evil 'spirits'. My opinion is that if you like a slightly complicated story with a good story line and you like to escape I suggest this story for 10+ Reveiwed by Albert

Twelfth Night by Andrew Mathews and Tony Ross

When I read the Twelfth Night I just felt like escaping into the book and live the story. The Twelfth Night is a bit of a romantic book and it is really enjoyable to read. The book is set on the coast of Illyra after the boat has sunk in the sea. Most of the book is set in Illyra but only at the start is the book set on a ship and in an ocean. After they flee from the boat and the water, they get washed up and are seperated. The story is mainly about Sebastian and Viola who are brother and sister. The plot of the story is that Sebastian and Viola get split up after the ship that they are on sinks and they are washed up on two different sides of the island. Viola then dresses up as a boy because she thinks that she has more chance of surviving. Then somebody falls in love with her and she needs to show that she is a girl otherwise she will have to marry a girl. She has to escape the love before it is too late. This is a very good book and I would recommend it for ages 6-12. I rate it 8/10. Book review by Sarah

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

ESCAPE

Where do you escape in your reading? Do you escape into what you are reading? What is your greatest reading escape? If you are between the ages of 6-12 write a book review and hand in to one of our branches before the end of the month to have a chance of winning a $20 book voucher!

Hansel visits library!

Hansel the Bunny visited Storytime at Bowral Library just before Easter. The children enjoyed "Happy Easter Curious George" by Margaret Rey and "The Easter Party" by Lucy Su. After stories and songs the children had fun creating their Easter Craft to take home.