Saturday 30 June 2012

Dorkula - The Werewolf Club


Title:  Dorkular
Series: The Werewolf Club #3

Author: Daniel & Jill Pinkwater
Genre: Fantasy
ISBN: 0-689-83848-4
Reading Age:  9+  years

Could any school have a werewolf club that has actual werewolves in it?  Well, this club gets worried when a vampire asks to join them and after that, strange things begin to happen… all the fruit in the town goes missing.  What could be causing this and how can the Werewolf Club sort it out?

The story is full of jokes and funny comments like the difference between a vampire and an umpire.  'One will put off a batter by shouting like heck and the other will turn into a bat and bite your neck.'

My 'magical' word choice include pastrami, Transylvania, Romanian, Bismarck, adjourned, obnoxious, emerging, subtle and fiend.  This is a very silly story but lots of fun to read.

Friday 29 June 2012

Ella the Rose Fairy


Title:  Ella the Rose Fairy
Series: Rainbow Magic

Author:  Daisy Meadows (collective of writers)
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
ISBN:  978-1-84616-464-4
Reading Age: 9 years


Best friends, Rachel and Kirsty have an important quest - to help the Flower Fairies find the rose petal and save the flowers from dying. To help in their challenge, the girls are turned into fairies themselves and have quite an adventure.

The Gruesome Truth


Title:  The Gruesome Truth
Series: Hotshots

Author:  Bernard Gallate
Genre: School, Family, Adventure
Reading Age:  9+ Years
ISBN:  0-7336-1682-8



Leo tells the world's biggest stories but this time it has got him into a tough spot when he tried to impress his whole class.  He has to come up with the giant hailstone he bragged about or he will be exposed as a liar.  The trouble is that Oscar, his sister's goldfish, is in danger of losing his home forever!

Remember that a 'doona' is the Australian word for a duvet and an 'sky' is a chilly bin.  This story is full of 'magical' but sometimes tricky words like gigantic, traumatic, pulverized, fabrication and formulating.

Watch your whiskers Stilton!

Title: Watch your whiskers Stilton
Series: Geronimo Stilton


Author: Edizioni Piemme
Reading Age: 9 years
ISBN:  978-0-439-69140-6


Some mystery 'one-eyed' rat was determined to destroy Geronimo Stilton and the Rodent's Gazette. What should they do - give up the fight or pull together as a team? 
The ending is a bit of a surprise and I love the way words are written to look how they would sound. This book is fast moving - a bit like reading a comic or watching a superhero movie. 
The best advice in this book is that there is always a solution to every problem.

Thursday 28 June 2012

Charles Darwin: discover the world of Darwin through the diary of a ship's boy

Title:  Charles Darwin:  Discover the world of Darwin through the diary of a ship's boy


Author:  Alan Gibbons
Genre:  Picture Book, Historical Fiction
Reading Age:  12 - 14 years
ISBN:  978-0-7534-3223-5


Cram packed full of amazing pictures of the discoveries that Charles Darwin, the ship's naturalist, made as he travelled on The Beagle from 1832 to 1836.  The accounts are told as diary entries by a 'fictional' cabin boy but what they did and saw is true to history.


Watch out for the 'archaic' or very old-fashioned language along with the technical scientific words.  You will be checking in a dictionary to find out what a benefactor, caulked, hither and parasitic mean.  It might also be fun to follow their journeys on a map of the world.


My magical part was when the crew found an ancient tortoise on the Galapagos Islands and tried to ride on its back!  I am not sure if it was the correct thing to do but it sounded like fun!


The first half of the book are the diary entries but the second half is Non-Fiction, with lots of images of the samples Darwin collected on his journey and information about them.  

Ant Invasion

Title:  Ant Invasion


Series:  Bug Buddies
Author:  Joe Millar
Genre:  Animal, Adventure
Reading Age:  9

Have you ever wondered what bees and dung beetles do to have a party?  Well - read this book to find out what their favourite party food is.  


How are they going to stop the sneaky Yellow Ants from taking over the whole wood and who is giving them their evil orders?  It must be Spinner - the spider!


My 'magical' sentence was 'His antennae twitched nervously' and the best advice was that you are braver than you think.






Animalia

Title:   Animalia


Author:  Graeme Base
Genre:  Picture Book
Reading Age:  10+



Fancy a flick through page after page of alliterative poetry with beautifully detailed illustrations?  Search out how many 'B'  objects you can find amongst the Beautiful blue butterflies basking by a babbling book.  Collect 'magical' words to use in your writing or to just impress your friends with.

George's Marvellous Medicine - Roald Dahl

Title:  George's Marvellous Medicine


Author:  Roald Dahl
Genre:  Fantasy
Reading Age:  10+
ISBN:  978-0-141-33558-2


Why do mothers always tell their children not to get up to mischief and expect them to follow instructions?  Well - if your grandmother was as witchy and evil as George's then you would have to hatch a plan too, but is it going to turn out right or end in disaster?  


My copy of the book is the large book with extra pictures so it was easy to read.


I love the sentence where it said 'A tingle of electricity flashed down the length of George's spine.  He began to feel frightened.' because it really made me think he was terrified and painted a clear picture in my mind.

Wednesday 27 June 2012

Ancient Fire - Mark L Williams

Title:  Ancient Fire
Series: Danger Boy Episode 1
 
Author:  Mark L Williams
Genre:  Fantasy
Reading Age:  12+ years 

With a mad scientist father and a mother missing in time, Eli is forced to travel in time.  DARPA - USA Defense Research Agency are on their case for Eli to save the world.  Back to Ancient Alexandria, 415, to protect the Great Library, swap chapters with a space travelling dinosaur doing a project on Earth and rescue Thea, The Keeper of Records'.  The chapters are each from a different character which is an odd combination but interesting. 





Melting Stones - Tamora Pierce

Title:  Melting Stones
 
Author:  Tamora Pierce
Genre:  Fantasy
Reading Age:  12+

Based in times-gone-past where rebellious slave girls have no control, even if they are magic.  

Evvy is dragged along on a 'quest' to calm a mountain.  She makes a discovery - the restless magma spirits, but can she stop or prevent the destruction of the Island?  

Laced with magic, history and linked with nature.  This is a gripping tale full of strange names. 


Jelly Legs

Title:  Jelly Legs

Author:  Elizabeth Pulford
Genre:  School / Family
Reading Age:  10+




Get to know Julie and Wolf, who both end up helping each other.  Julie HATES sport but has to complete a marathon.  Wolf gains a friend at his new school who can help with his secret.


Too Many Zeros

Title:  Too Many Zeros

Author:  Geoff Palmer
Genre:  Science Fiction
Reading Age:  11+


Our hero, Tim, and his sister Coral are trapped at their aunt’s house in the country (their parents have been injured in a hang-gliding accident). 

One evening, as Tim tries to ease his boredom when he spots two talking mice.  The mice-aliens need Tim and Coral to help them escape before the evil aliens discover they’re hanging around on Planet Earth. Watch out for the seriously cool space ship!


Dead Dan's Dee

Title:  Dead Dan's Dee
Author:  Phyllis Johnston
Genre: Historical Fiction / War
Reading Age:  12+ years


A look into life at home during World War One. 

Dee has no rights or control as a child.  TB kills Dee's mother and a time in an orphanage and at the charity of a family on their farm leads her to work after primary school rather than going to secondary school, even though she is very intelligent and only 12 years old.  

Will Dee escape to the life she was meant to have?



Dark is Rising: Over Sea and Under Stone

Title:  Over Sea and Under Stone
Series:  Dark is Rising
Author:  Susan Cooper
Genre:  Fantasy
Reading Age:  12+ Years

The story stated with just hints and you questioned - is it really fantasy or is it real life?

Uncle Merry could very well be Merlin and he uses the three children Barney, Simon and Jane to search for a precious artifact.



 

Atherton: Rivers of Fire

Title: Rivers of Fire
Series: Atherton
Author: Patrick Carman
Genre:  Fantasy
Reading Age:  12 - 14 years



Their satellite refuge from a dying Earth is in the process of self-destruction and so the waring peoples must also unite against the devouring monsters.  Edgar and his two friends must travel an epic journey to save their world. 

Atherton: Houses of Power

Title: Houses of Power
Series: Atherton
Author: Patrick Carman
Genre:  Fantasy
Reading Age:  12 - 14 years



A lonely orphan boy, Edgar, over worked in a fig grove, discovers a great mystery as a result of breaking the rules.  Why do some people get all the food and water while others have to slave all day?  Finding the answer to his questions will just reveal a coming catastrophe.


A mix of fantasy and science fiction that takes a while to get hooked.  It will need a confident 12 - 14 year old boy or girl.

Avantia: Call to War


Title: Call to War

Series:  Avantia
Author:  Adam Blade
Genre:  Fantasy
Reviewer:  Allana
Reading Age:  10+


This is a beast quest where it is all about the relationship between the beast, the rider and the team. It is full of superstition and war to save the world with lots of action.

I would recommend this story to anyone who likes having a quest but especially to boys who like a challenge.

Sunday 24 June 2012

Welcome to Leap into Books

This is where you can find our favorite books and what we think about them. They will have genre tabs to help you find just the one you want to read next.

The tabs for our entries will be the genre areas:
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Adventure 
Science Fiction
Informational
Autobiography 
Biography
Poetry
Traditional Literature
Family / School
Humour
Animal
Graphic Novel
Magazine
Picture Book

Additional tabs:
Boy
Girl
Reading Age 6-7
Reading Age 7-8
Reading Age 8-9
Reading Age 9-10
Reading Age 10 - 11
Reading Age 11+

In our posts we will tell you these things:
1.  The title and author
2.  Genre
3.  Reviewer's name & age
4.  What we enjoyed about the book
5.  Some magical words or phrases
6.  Who we would recommend it for  - reading difficulty, interests, boy/girl

This will help you select a 'Good Fit Book', on a topic you like, that meets your purpose and that suits your reading abilities.



We challenge you to add a comment when you read any of our posted books to let us know what you think of them too.