[Janice Marriott]

Here’s a great example of a book review by a student  doing Assignment 3

<i>Great example of a book review.</i>

Ten in the Bed by Penny Dale

I love reading this book as it has a gentle repetitive flow to it. Or as you would say a good read-along rhythm. I can sing some parts and encourage the children to sing along with me. Even the youngest children join in with “Roll over, roll over.” The ability to use lots of expression as I read final ‘exclamation sound’ before turning the page.  

I enjoy that it is written and illustrated in such a way that it is an interactive book for the reader and the child listening. The main character is described as ‘the little one.’ Which means I can involve whichever child I am reading the book with, to put themselves as the main character. 

The toy animal characters are all very delightfully presented in the pictures. I like how they show the toys  getting up to mischief when the ‘little one’ is not looking. The pictures tell a second story which gives the reader the ability to extend and draw the child even further into the book. Just about each picture adds another layer to the story telling. The children can choose their favourite animal. 

It is a very playful book with lots of energy and movement. 

Children can relate to the story, as bedtime can often be a time of unwinding before actually sleeping. I like how it indicates that the child is able to settle itself to sleep without an adult coming into the room. 

I love that it can either be read to a child or a child can enjoy this book alone. The words are simple and clear. An easy-to-read book for young children due to the repetitive nature of the words. If a child does not know the word the picture indicates who the character is falling out of bed.

The ending is appealing as all the toys are restored to the bed after their adventures and no one is left out, all go to sleep together. The pace of the rhythm slows on the last few pages and the reader is able to quieten down towards the end drawing the book to a close. I noticed the subtle rhyming in the last three pages assists the flow.

It works well because of the read-along rhythm and repetitive language which encourages children to read or sing along. The words don’t get to tell the whole story, the illustrations encourage the children to use their imaginations. A child can enjoy this book with or without an adult assisting.

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[Janice Marriott]

Another book review list: this time of gritty  Y A fiction:

<u> </u><u>No Safe Harbour</u> by David Hill

This was a great book!  That I enjoy reading historical novels helped.  Stuart and Sandra were typical siblings in their love, hate relationship.  Them being under sufferance at their grandfather’s funeral and keen to get home, rang true for an average teenager.  The disaster part was compelling.  A real sense of urgency evolved and grew, until they were spat out on shore to safety.  Nice ending in that they had new appreciation for each other albeit inwardly.  Again, a teenage thing.

<u>Slide the Corner</u> by Fleur Beale

Loved this book too.  My son teaches at Tauranga Boys’ College his comments were, ‘it the closest thing I have to a ‘silver bullet’ – boy doesn’t vibe with school, boy’s dad is a dick, boy’s mum is unreasonable…it gets the boys in the first few chapters.’

And indeed, it does.  Always great to see the underdog come out on top.  I can see how teens would relate to the nagging parent thing as well as his total disinterest in school. Greg’s character is believable, as he stands up to his awful parents, pursues his dream and does a really good job of it in the end.  Great message to young readers.

<u>Over the Edge</u> by Fleur Beale

A quick read about two competitive skate boarders. This story has a message too i.e how bloody mindedness, on the protagonist’s part, nearly cost a little girl her life.  That the arch enemies reconcile in the end rounds this story off nicely.

<u>Dawn Raid</u> by Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith

This was a nostalgic read.  Sophia is born the same year as myself.  The things that she talks about I know well, for example, television programmes of the day, music, film, the milk runs, bottle drives and fashion etc.  I mostly enjoyed this book.  I expected more on the issue that it addresses – dawn raids.  The Bastion Point book in this series does that.  A much better read in my view.

<u>Another Me</u> by Catherine Macphail

This was a gripping wee tale.  Deals with teen thoughts and issues.  The protagonist has a bildungsroman moment where she sees and understands her mother, for who she really is.  It’s an intense story about a doppelganger. The storyline becomes very compelling as it nears the end.  Who will get to live Fay’s life?  The real Fay or her shadow? The annoying neighbour grows into handsome young man who naturally, asks her to school dance.  An entertaining read.  This is a genre I wouldn’t normally pick up, but I enjoyed it.  Lots of pathetic fallacy.

<u>The Well</u> by Mildred D. Taylor

Loved this book.  The dialogue, the setting, the key issue (racism), convincing, authentic and engaging. There’s a real sense of hopelessness and helplessness for the Logan family, yet sweet vengeance when the antagonists Ed-Rose and Charlie get called out.  A story about deep rooted discrimination despite the so-called emancipation of black Americans.   It stands the test of time as it sadly, has relevance today.

<u>Walkabout</u> by James Vance Marshall

First published in 1959, this book was rich in description, mood and tone.  A survival story that crosses two cultures and a language barrier.  It highlights the prudishness of Mary yet the willingness of Peter to adapt to ‘darkie’s’ guidance and ways.  They are reliant on him and would not survive if it weren’t for his bush skills.  When he dies, they are able to fend for themselves and have a new appreciation for the environment and wildlife.  This was a totally different read to the other books i.e the style of writing and vocabulary.  Quite delicious! The thought processes of the protagonist are so unlike the teens in the other books.  Refreshing and enlightening.

<u>Checkers</u> by John Marsdon

This protagonist is in some sort of Adolescent Unit, due to a trauma.  We don’t find out what this is till the very end.  The story jumps from present day, to the backstory leading up to why she is in this place.  It didn’t really grab me, but I read to the end purely to find out what had happened to her.  The book follows her thought processes and opinions on the other Unit dwellers, her family and parents.  This would appeal to an adolescent reader.  It is her naivity that unhinges her in the end.  We the reader see this, but she doesn’t.  It destroys the family and reveals what her father in particular is made of and did, that put her in the Unit.

[Janice Marriott]

Another great student  review, this time for a YA novel written by the winner of the Tessan Duder Award given out at the Storylines Margaret May Day on Sunday:

The Memory Thief. By Leonie Agnew.

Wow! So original! Scary? Also, heart-warming but suspenseful. And with a mystery to solve! Then watching trust and love built between the two main characters, sublime. This authors ‘good idea’ is just so novel. A troll boy that eats memory but has no memory of his own. A human girl that has memory but wants no memory anymore. Boy meets girl and you have the best story I’ve read in years.

[Janice Marriott]

Another excellent picture book review

Fix-It-Duck & Why I like it

 This book is a favourite of mine. Duck is a loveable character that has a few books written about him and Fit-It-Duck is one. The crux of the story is that he has a leak in his house but doesn’t have a ladder to get to the roof so borrow one from Sheep but then at each friend something else goes wrong causing the story to move along to a different direction and another character but the duck’s recklessness sees it all go awry. Ultimately Duck had misunderstood his house leak situation, rather than the roof as he had first thought, he had actually flooded his bath by not turning off the tap properly which was on the second floor.

I was initially attracted to this book because of its illustrations as they are fun, the animals have been given great expressions and the different layout of the pictures allowing two picture scenes on some pages. Not only are the illustrations fun but so is the story as it gives animals human characters and Duck is so silly jumping to conclusions and thinking he can fix anything not unlike a DIY male. The book makes children laugh and is super catchy with rhyming words and allows the reader to create voices fitting to the animals.

This book is enjoyable for the kids, making them laugh, and also a pleasure to read as it uses rhyming words throughout which is makes for the fun, appealing read aloud factor but also an important skills for children to recognise how and why word rhyme.  The way the story is written with theses prose creates rhythm and pace.

Fit-It-Duck is full of action with Duck’s ‘can do’ attitude and the nature of urgency to get stuff done, keeps you interested in what’s going to happen next, as well as some use of ellipsis which also adds to that page turning factor.

The characters have many expressive ways they say things, eg. wails, bleats, moans.

While there are four characters it is very clear that the duck is the main character and clearly has a beginning (leak starts), middle (action of events) and an end (Frog tells him he just left the bath running). The ending of the book tells you what you might’ve missed in the first illustration before the written story began. Here is also an illustration after the story’s end which shows his friend Frog and him mopping up the bath water.

[Janice Marriott]

Another Favourite Picture Book Reviewed by a student

That’s not a Hippopotamus! by Juliette MacIver

Juliette MacIver’s latest is a comic romp through a safari park, as a multicultural class of eager but clueless kids and their harried teacher try to find a missing hippopotamus. 

You’ll be astonished at the number of things MacIver has found to rhyme with the word hippopotamus, and you’ll snort at the wrong turns the kids take, before they finally listen to Liam, who has been following the clues all the way. 

[Janice Marriott]

Another great review, of a picture book from Assignment Three.

Well done!

“Granny’s Undies by Deano Yipped

Granny’s undies by Deano Yipadee had my four- year- old Granddaughter rolling around the floor laughing. It is a fun and light hearted story that takes granny’s undies on a journey to all sorts of interesting places.

It is a journey with pace that is enjoyable for the adult reader and child. The language is simple with some repetition. Up, Up Up went granny’s undies!

The illustrations work well with the text and are useful for extra language around the text. The language is ideal for reading out loud.

After a whirlwind of adventures granny’s undies end up back on the line so a good outcome for granny and the reader.

An entertaining, quirky little story that makes everyone laugh.”

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