Difference between revisions of "Newest Confident Readers Reviews"
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
==Confident readers== | ==Confident readers== | ||
__NOTOC__ | __NOTOC__ | ||
| + | |||
| + | {{newreview | ||
| + | |author= Glenda Millard | ||
| + | |title=A Small Free Kiss in the Dark | ||
| + | |rating=4 | ||
| + | |genre=Confident Readers | ||
| + | |summary=Skip is a runaway. Shipped around from one foster family to another, he finally plans an escape. Ending up homeless on the streets, he befriends an elderly homeless man called Billy. Just as Skip seems to be finding an unusual kind of stability in his life the city he lives in is suddenly bombed, and overnight his life changes again. Billy and Skip find themselves responsible for three more people: Max, Tia and the baby. Soon they're running away again, but this time to try to save their lives. | ||
| + | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848770278</amazonuk> | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | |||
{{newreview | {{newreview | ||
|author=Karen McCombie | |author=Karen McCombie | ||
Revision as of 10:42, 18 May 2011
Confident readers
A Small Free Kiss in the Dark by Glenda Millard
Skip is a runaway. Shipped around from one foster family to another, he finally plans an escape. Ending up homeless on the streets, he befriends an elderly homeless man called Billy. Just as Skip seems to be finding an unusual kind of stability in his life the city he lives in is suddenly bombed, and overnight his life changes again. Billy and Skip find themselves responsible for three more people: Max, Tia and the baby. Soon they're running away again, but this time to try to save their lives. Full review...
Six Words and a Wish by Karen McCombie
Jem has a dad who's a clown, a best friend who's a hypochondriac, a house where it's always Christmas, and a sister who's missing – or is she? Gracie left home after something Jem said, and the younger girl has always wondered whether she's to blame for her big sister's disappearance. When her mother receives a present from Gracie on her birthday, she thinks she might finally be able to ask her. As well as hoping her sister returns, Jem also tries to form a band, helps her dad do his clown shows, and may even have found a cute boy she likes… Full review...
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Conor wakes up from his nightmare at 12.07am. To. The yew tree from the churchyard has uprooted itself, transformed into a huge monster and is waiting at his window, full of threat. Conor, though, is unimpressed. Nothing could be as frightening as his nightmare. Nothing could be as frightening as his waking life, for that matter. So he snorts in contempt. But the monster shrugs off this reaction and tells Conor he must listen to three stories and then tell one of his own. And that fourth story must be The Truth. Full review...
Divine Freaks by Fiona Dunbar
Unless you really love science, Mr Wesley's Biology lessons can occasionally seem a little dull. Still, a spot of boredom might have been better, in Kitty Slade's opinion, than the mean grey-faced man who turned up, began to dissect a rat, then just as suddenly disappeared again. Leaving her, of course, to explain to her mystified teacher just why she had leapt from her seat, shoved him aside and lunged at thin air. The rest of the class didn't mind: watching Kitty dash about the room screaming was way more fun than anything Mr Wesley could do. Things got a little heated after that, however, and Kitty stormed out of school, convinced she was losing her mind. Full review...
The Silver Brumby by Elyne Mitchell
When Bel Bel's foal was born she called him Thowra, which meant 'wind'. Like her he was a creamy, silver brumby. They're the wild horses of Southern Australia and Bel Bel knew that her foal would not have an easy life. As a stallion he would have to fight to keep his own herd of mares and foals but his main enemy would be man. The brumbies were regularly captured and herded away but the creamy, silver brumbies were the biggest prizes of all. 'The Silver Brumby' is Thowra's story as he matures from young foal to adult stallion. Full review...
Cinderella by Sally Gardner
Most little girls must surely know the story of Cinderella by heart. My little girl likes nothing better than putting on her princess dress and parading around the house talking about pumpkins and lost shoes. This version of the familiar story is written specifically for early readers and manages to capture the magic of this wonderful fairy tale. I once got to be Cinderella, in my very last year at school before I left for University (surely just on the verge of being too old!) It is a wonderful, magical story and I never get tired of hearing it and it is, fortunately, my daughter's favourite too so we both sat down eagerly to try out this new retelling by Sally Gardner. Full review...
Ocean of Blood (The Saga of Larten Crepsley) by Darren Shan
In book two of this prequel series about the beloved orange-haired vampire from Darren Shan's Cirque du Freak series, we find Larten Crepsley and his friend Wester Flack finally free of the restrictions and privations imposed upon them by their master, Seba Nile. The young vampires have joined the Cubs, and are wandering the world enjoying all the "pleasures" human life can give them - wine, women, song, and a ringside seat at as many bloody wars as they could shake a stick at (plus a good supply of fresh blood in the aftermath of battle). Full review...
No Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer Choldenko
India is fourteen and, like many teenagers, doesn't see much outside her own narrow sphere of interest. She's spiky and defensive and reacts to any setbacks with anger and aggression, usually turned against her family. But inside, like many teenagers, she's rather lonely and lost. Finn is twelve and not as good at basketball as he'd like. He's not as popular as he'd like either. But he is honest and loyal, and he longs for a chance to prove it. Mouse is six and a bit of an oddity. She has an imaginary friend and a brain the size of a planet. This doesn't always make her easy to get along with. Full review...
Queen Victoria's Knickers by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley
A message from the palace has arrived! It's from Queen Victoria, and as mum reads it she cries out 'The Queen wants my knickers!' Queen Victoria, ruler of the British Empire, has riches galore, but she has no knickers, so the dressmaker's family set about making her some. Full review...
Night on Terror Island by Philip Caveney
Kip is a real film buff, and because his dad runs the local independent cinema he gets to see all the latest films as a reward for making the popcorn and generally helping out each evening. But this happy state cannot continue for much longer: the big multiplexes on the edge of town are taking all their clients, and the Paramount Picture Palace may soon have to close for good. Things start to look up when the eccentric Mr Lazarus arrives, but Kip is suspicious: the new projectionist may have a gift for raising the quality of the films he shows to enviable standards, but he knows far more than he should about everyone who works at the cinema. And he talks about stars, films and cinemas of the past as if he had actually been there. Full review...
For the Record by Ellie Irving
Luke is obsessed with records. He's so busy planning on breaking world records when he grows up, and playing world records DVD games, that he doesn't take much of an interest in what's going on around him. But that's about to change, because when the village of Port Bren is chosen to host a waste-incinerator plant his house will be demolished and the graveyard where his dad's buried will be destroyed – unless the village is too historically important for this to happen. How can they put themselves on the map in one week? Luke comes up with the idea to break 50 world records… but why won't his mum let him take part? Full review...
While We Sleep... the Dream Snatchers Cometh! by Wolfren Riverstick
You could be forgiven for thinking that the Jackson family was unimaginative. Jack Jackson, the head of the household was generally known as Pa, even before he had any children to call him by that name. His wife, Jacqueline, was known as Ma. You could put all this down to accident but naming their first child Jackie (after a comic which Ma had enjoyed in her youth) and their second child Jacques might confirm your fears. It was a few years before they acquired a pet, but the cat was to be called Jackson and the Dutch Hamster Sjaak. Guess what their house was called? Yup – it was Jacksonville. Full review...
Garbology Kids: Where Do Recyclable Materials Go? by Sabbithry Persad
I was once told that a lot of children think that milk comes out of a bottle or a carton and are disconcerted to find that it actually comes out of a cow. The thinking has been reversed in Sabbithry Persad's book 'Where Do Recyclable Materials Go?' It's all very well dividing up your waste but it doesn't make a lot of sense unless you actually know what happens to it after you put it out at the kerb. And it all started when Tiana and Peter went looking for their dog Bubbles who loved to go running after the recycle truck. Full review...
H.I.V.E.: Higher Institute of Villanous Education by Mark Walden
Otto Malpense is one of the newest students at the Higher Institute of Villainous Education, better known as HIVE. So is his new friend Wing. As you'd expect, neither of them are keen to stay there – although this is less to do with moral scruples than with the thought of wasting six years studying how to be evil when they consider they're rather good at it already, thank you very much. A plot to escape is hatched… Full review...
Laura Marlin Mysteries: Kidnap in the Caribbean by Lauren St John
ideal guardian for the crime-and-detection-obsessed young girl, because his job is swathed in secrecy and involves a great deal of creeping out of the house late at night to meet mysterious strangers. But for now they can both relax: Laura has won a holiday for two in the Caribbean, and all she and Calvin have to do is sunbathe and swim. Needless to say, that isn't how things turn out. Full review...
Small Change for Stuart by Lissa Evans
Poor Stuart Horten is rather small for his age. Unfortunately for him, if you put his initial with his surname it becomes 'shorten', which is just asking for trouble. Still, he's happy and has lots of friends. Or, at least, he does until his parents move house and he finds himself living in a strange town (his father's hometown) in the school holidays, looking at the prospect of a long, boring and lonely summer ahead of him. He soon discovers, however, that there is a mystery surrounding his family's history in the town, and it looks as though Stuart might just be the one to uncover what really happened... Full review...
The Memory Cage by Ruth Eastham
Alex is worried about Grandad. So is the rest of the family. It started with a lot of small things, things that Alex can help him with, like lost keys and glasses. Last night though, Grandad set fire to his pillow. Alex has hidden it, but knows that this is dangerous, and it can't stay a secret for long. Grandad has Alzheimers, and Mum and Dad are thinking of putting him in an old people's home. He is also worried that 'big brother' Leonard knows what has happened and will give them both away. Full review...
Grubtown Tales: When Bunnies Turn Bad by Philip Ardagh
This book is a lesson in never assuming anything you shouldn't. Just because Jilly Cheeter and Mango Claptrap are on the cover, don't assume it isn't about a lad called Failing Toucan instead - because if you did, you'd be wrong. While on the subject of the noteworthy names used throughout Grubtown, never assume to know the gender of someone called Asphalt Nosegay. And just because it's called When Bunnies Turn Bad, and has lots of rabbits on the cover and throughout, don't assume it isn't about the dangerous and tangled task of taking a chimp back to the old folks' home where he lives. Full review...
Blood Red Road by Moira Young
Saba has lived in the desolation surrounding the dried-up Silverlake for all of her eighteen years. The family has just one neighbour - a chaal addict, so not exactly sociable - so Saba's only companions are her father, her twin brother Lugh, and younger sister Emmi. Saba worships Lugh, resents Emmi for their mother's death in childbirth, and is confused by her father, who believes he can read the future in the stars. But it's all she knows and as long as Lugh is close, she's happy enough. Full review...
Sky Hawk by Gill Lewis
Rob and Euan want to chase Iona McNair off Callum's farm. She's newly returned to the village, staying with her grandfather, her mother nowhere to be seen. It's a close community and rumours abound - and Iona is a bit of a pariah amongst the children. But something about her draws Callum in and Iona returns the favour by trusting him with her deepest secret: she's found an osprey's nest high above the loch and she's desperate to protect the endangered birds. And so the two of them forge a friendship as they try to keep Iris and her mate out of harm's way. Full review...
Chinese Calendar Tales: The Tale of Rhonda Rabbit by Sarah Brennan and Harry Harrison
Here in this tale we find ourselves back in the year 221BC, and the Emperor Qin Shi Huang is having some rodent issues. As this is from a series of books called The Chinese Calendar Tales I think I was expecting the story to relate more to the Chinese zodiac and the rabbit's place within it. However, this is really just a story about a very naughty rabbit who keeps eating the Emperor's vegetables, his mission to capture and kill her, and the unfortunate conclusion to this romp of a tale... Full review...
Bracelet of Bones (Viking Sagas) by Kevin Crossley-Holland
It's 1036 in Trondheim, Norway. Solveig lives with her father, stepmother and stepbrothers. Her mother died many years ago and neither Solveig nor her father Halfdan have ever truly recovered. Before his injury, Halfdan was a Viking mercenary and his dearest wish is to rejoin his old commander, Harald Hardrada in Miklagard (Constantinople). He promises Solveig that, should the call ever come, he will take her with him... Full review...
Tales From Witchway Wood: Crash 'n' Bang by Kaye Umansky
The Whichway Rhythm Boys is a band made up of Filth (who is Witch Sludgegooey's fiend) on drums, Arthur the Dragon on piano (he lives with his mum and likes a nice hot curry) and O'Brian the Leprechaun on penny whistle who is often mistaken for a Pixie, much to his disgust. Together they play gigs in the woods, for Zombie balls and suchlike, but the music they really love to play is Crash 'n' Bang! Full review...
A Cat Called Ian by Wolfren Riverstick
The lad was trouble. He was a bully, a thief and a liar. We've all known someone like him – the company into which you hope that your own child doesn't fall. He's cocky with it too, convinced that he can do whatever he likes and get away with it – and that's when we meet him on his way to climb the great white oak at the top of Sunrise Hill, despite the fact that his mother has told him he's not to. It was a difficult climb and it wasn't long before he remembered the old story that some people climbed so far up the tree and then were never seen again. Full review...
Jinny at Finmory: The Summer Riders by Patricia Leitch
On the first day of the summer holidays Jinny was looking forward to riding her horse, a beautiful Arab mare called Shantih, over the moors for the summer and life seems just about perfect when she meets a girl of her own age who's camping on the beach with her family and her pony. What could spoil that? Well, Jinny's father used to be a probation officer and he's agreed to take a boy and a girl from the city to give them a holiday for a couple of weeks. The boy has been in trouble with the police for stealing and the girl walks with a limp. Just having them around is going to be bad enough, but there's worse to come. Full review...
Unleashed : A Life and Death Job by Ali Sparkes
A new series about what happens when Britain's most important and secret assets - teenagers with paranormal abilities - get a week's holiday. In book one, Lisa gets involved with kidnapping and assassination attempts. And she only wanted to go shopping at Harvey Nicks! Full review...
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
It's been a long time since I read 'Goodnight Mister Tom' at school. Picking it up again twenty five years later I wondered how good I would find it. I needn't have worried. This wonderful story captured my attention from the very beginning and I became so caught up in Tom and Will's lives that I didn't want it to end. Set during World War Two, William Beech has been evacuated from London and is placed with Tom Oakley, thanks mainly to his proximity to the local church, as Willie's God-fearing mother requested he be close to a church. They seem an unlikely match, the gruff old man who keeps himself to himself and the thin, timid young boy, but there lies the joy of the story, in watching their relationship grow. Full review...
Run Rabbit Run by Barbara Mitchelhill
dad in Rochdale, Lancashire. Two months ago their mum was killed by a bomb which fell on her shop. Lizzie is being bullied and taunted at school and on the way home, because her dad won't join the army. He is a conscientious objector who doesn't believe it's right to kill people. As conscription has been introduced making nearly all men aged 18-51 liable to be called up for military service (and therefore required to fight), this means he is breaking the law and may well be treated as a criminal. Dad has decided they are going to move to Whiteway, a Colony (a sort of alternative community), for people who don't believe in war, in Gloucestershire. Full review...
Blood and Allegiance by Annette Hart
Bryony was orphaned when she was very young and since then has lived in the Abbey at Ambleton, but once she reached her fourteenth birthday her cousin, Unwin, King of Athlandia, required that she join him at court. She lost the only friends she had known, her clothes were replaced with much grander garments and she became a part of the inner circle of the court. It wasn't long before she realised that her cousin was far from benevolent – but he was fighting an uprising and perhaps what he was doing was necessary. Then Milly, her maid, is punished for stepping slightly out of line and Bryony realises how little she knows of other people in Kynbury and even of the history of her own family. Full review...
The Secret Kingdom by Jenny Nimmo
Protected by a moon cloak, a ring, and three mysteriously powerful leopards, Timoken the magician and his camel Gabar seek a new home after the boy is forced to flee the secret kingdom. But will they ever find peace with the vicious viradees on their trail? This prequel to the Charlie Bone series contains new and old characters, including a couple of brief cameos from Charlie himself, but is well worth reading as a stand-alone or introduction to the series if you've never heard of it. Full review...
The Western Mysteries: The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence
It is always a little worrying when an author finishes a popular and well-loved series to start something new. Will the new characters be as interesting as the old, familiar ones? Will the books just be a pale retelling of the plots in a new context? But fans of Ms Lawrence's Roman Mysteries need not worry. What we have here is a rip-roaring tale of the Wild West, with tons of credible local colour, a bunch of villains every bit as wicked as those to be found in Ancient Rome, and a likeable lead character. Full review...
Raven Mysteries: Magic and Mayhem by Marcus Sedgwick
Life is never completely dull at Castle Otherhand. Edgar the resident raven may get bored a little, and end up pecking and plucking at things he shouldn't, but that at least keeps the humans there on their toes. And even Edgar must admit to being rushed off his talons when he has to save the day yet again, this time from death by cabbage, and things that go quack in the night. Full review...
The Emerald Atlas: The Books of Beginning by John Stephens
Whisked away from their parents in the dead of night ten years ago, Kate, Michael and Emma have seen more than their fair share of orphanages. Nobody wants to adopt three children together - least of all when the youngest has a strong penchant for using her fists whenever she can - and so when we meet them, they're on their way to yet another. But the orphanage at Cambridge Falls is unlike any other. They're the only children in residence, the housekeeper seems to think they are members of the French royal family, and the town is in the middle of a barren wasteland and is bereft of children. Full review...
One Dog And His Boy by Eva Ibbotson and Sharon Rentta
All Hal had ever wanted was a dog. Other presents never mattered, expensive though they were: he wanted a dog. But – his mother wouldn't entertain the idea. She was far too busy (shopping) and neurotic about the possibility of dirt, puddles or hairs. His father was busy too. He worked hard to fund their lavish lifestyle and was away so much that he spent more time in the air than he did at home. It wasn't as though Hal had many friends either. He'd just been moved from a school where he had friends (because he wasn't doing well enough) to another where he'd made no friends. All he wanted was a dog. Full review...
Slightly Jones Mystery: The Case of the Glasgow Ghoul by Joan Lennon
There are spooks and ghouls aplenty in this story: readers avid for a delicious shiver or two will be pleased to know they appear right from the very first chapter. And in keeping with the wonderfully Victorian flavour of the book, it is body-snatchers, digging up a corpse to sell to a local doctor, who encounter the terrifying spectres. This is not a horror story, however, despite the scary setting of its opening pages: the haunted cemetery is simply one element in the complicated case of the disappearing treasures. Full review...
The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg
Thirty years ago, Harris Burdick walked into a book publisher's office with samples of his work. He had fourteen stories ready for publication, but just brought one picture and caption from each. Burdick was never heard of again. The publisher spent many years trying to track down Burdick, showing the pictures to people - many of whom were inspired to write their own stories. (Shh about The rights of Chris Van Allsburg to be identified as...). Full review...
Power of Three by Diana Wynne Jones
Gair's father is the chief of their mount. Gair's mother is famous for being incredibly wise. His brother and sister, Ceri and Ayna, both have special gifts, and so it is just Gair who is left feeling ordinary and out of place. However, when a powerful curse begins to affect the livelihoods not just of his people but also their enemies, the Dorig, and the Giants, it is up to Gair to find a way for them all to survive... Full review...
The Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale by Elena Pasquali and Sophie Windham
There are three trees standing side by side on a hill. They dream together of what they hope to become in the future; one wishes to become a chest for the finest treasures, one wishes to be a ship carrying a mighty King, and the last wants to stay on the hillside quietly pointing up to heaven. The first is cut down and made into a trough, but then it turns out it is a trough in the stable where Mary gives birth to Jesus, so it becomes the manger for him. The second is made into a simple fishing boat, but then it is the boat which Jesus goes in when there is a big storm and he calms the waves. The third tree is cut down and forgotten in a yard until one day it is made into a cross. It is, of course, the cross Jesus is crucified on and becomes the symbol of hope, forever pointing to heaven. Full review...
Tales From Percy's Park: After the Storm by Nick Butterworth
One day, after a particularly wild and windy evening, Percy the Park Keeper discovers on his check around the park that an old oak tree has fallen down in the storm. All of the animals who lived in the tree ask Percy to help them find a new home. He loads them up in his wheelbarrow and, after a bit of an adventure, they finally find a new place for Percy to rebuild their homes. Full review...
Claude in the City by Alex T Smith
Claude is a sweet little dog who wears a beret and whose best friend is a sock called Sir Bobblysock. They live with Mr and Mrs Shinyshoes, and when Mr and Mrs Shinyshoes go out, Claude and Sir Bobblysock go out and have their own adventures which, in this book, involve capturing a thief in an art gallery and solving a medical mystery in the local hospital. Claude, who reminds me a little bit of Snoopy, is very endearing and it's amazing how much personality an old sock can have! Full review...
Tilly's Pony Tails: Moonshadow the Derby Winner by Pippa Funnell
We've met Tilly Redbrow before. She's of native American Indian descent but living with her adoptive family in the UK. To say that she is mad on horses is something of an understatement – just about everything she does revolves around them. This time she and her friends are having a sleepover at the Silver Shoe Stables, where – although no one is supposed to know about it – a famous racehorse is staying incognito because his history as a Derby winner means that horse thieves are after him. Full review...
S.W.I.T.C.H: Ant Attack by Ali Sparkes
It seems that Josh and Danny are about to meet their match. Despite being almost eaten by cats, birds, spiders and more when they've turned into creepy crawlies before in this series, they have a far worse foe this time - Tarquin, the snooty posh brat from up the road. How they survive him turning them into ants, and his misguided attempts to kill them, while all the time the next door neighbour's scientific research which is allowing all this transformation has to be kept a top secret, are all elements of this fourth book in the series. Full review...
Ice Angel by Charlotte Haptie
Rockscar City is controlled by the Scarspring family – or at least, its water supply is, which comes to the same thing. And the water which the citizens receive is stale and unpleasant, especially in the summer months. City authorities are obliged to spend vast amounts of money looking for new wells, but for some reason each excavation is sabotaged as soon as it is begun. So when Zack and Clovis decide to use the pure, sweet water from a secret spring high in the mountains to make and sell delicious ices, they run into all kinds of danger. Unless they're very careful, they will be made to disappear, just as their father did twelve years before. Full review...
S.W.I.T.C.H: Grasshopper Glitch by Ali Sparkes
One minute Mrs Potts is an innocent old biddy living next door to Josh and Danny, the next she's horrifying them by turning them into spiders, then bluebottle flies. But now they're working for her, trying to complete her bizarre body-swapping research. She's paying them back by driving them to school. Luckily there's not a chance that they might SWITCH while at school, or have to suffer a bully while in the shape and form of a grasshopper. Oops... Full review...
S.W.I.T.C.H: Fly Frenzy by Ali Sparkes
Josh and Danny have only recently recovered from being turned into spiders by the peculiar scientist woman next door. But however adamant they are it'll never happen again, they don't foresee a time when they're willingly taking a repeat dose of the SWITCH serum, becoming tiny flying detectives, and almost drinking up spills from the toilet rim... Full review...
The Curse of the Catastrophic Cupcakes (Boy Zero Wannabe Hero) by Peter Millett
Boy Zero Wannabe Hero has defeated General Pandemonium twice before, but as with all supervillains, he's relentless. This time, the General has come up with a wicked plan to conquer the world by making everyone float off into space by feeding them catastrophic cupcakes. Will Boy Zero be able to save the world yet again? Full review...
