WOLF BROTHER

WOLF BROTHER
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness: Book 1
By Michelle Paver
240 pp. Orion. £8.99. (Ages 9 and up)

ISBN
9781842551707

Rating: 4.5 Stars

      This books tells you about a boy whose father had died and had been told to go to the world spirit before the red moon and ask for help to destroy the bear that killed him.
      When Torak finds himself all alone in the forest to fend for himself, find the world sprit and ask for help he meets up with a wolf cub and becomes friends. He calls it Wolf. One day Torak finds himself captured by a different clan for killing an animal in their part of the forest. Torak is luckily helped out by one of the girls. What happens when Torak find that he has to find the three strongest pieces of the Nanuak? Will he be able to find them in time or not?
      This book made me understand what dangers you might have in North West Europe six thousand years ago. My favourite character is Renn because she's really good at archery. My favourite part is when Torak find the river eyes. I think ages nine and up should read this brilliant book. I think this book deserves four and a half out of five stars.


Renn's Bow and Arrows. Accessories for World Book Day costume, inspired by Wolf Brother. Gift bag covered in packaging paper with designs in colored pencil. String and twigs carved with pocket knife. Original design by Bellusaurus sui.

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YOSHIKO AND THE GIFT OF CHARMS

YOSHIKO AND THE GIFT OF CHARMS
Land of Dragor Series Book 1
By Julia Suzuki
280 pages. Steve Brookes. £12.99 (Ages 8+)

ISBN
9780956414588

Rating: 4.5 stars

      This book tells you about a young dragon called Yoshiko who was born out of a colourful egg.
      When Yoshiko was born every one thought he would bring a curse to Dragor, land of the dragons. On Yoshiko's first day at fire school a purple Alana dragon teased him for not knowing how to blow fire yet. One day Yoshiko nearly turned yellow in front of all the other dragons and flew away to a cave out of embarrassment were he met an old dragon. What happens when Yoshiko finds out what he was made to do? Will he be brave and do it or shall he not?
      My favourite character is Yoshiko because he's the hero of the story. My favourite part is when Yoshiko goes into the volcano because that's the scariest part. I think ages eight through fifteen should read this brilliant book. I think this book deserves four and a half out of five stars. I think this story teaches a good lesson, that everyone is special and it doesn't really matter if you're extra different because it's probably for a very very special reason.




The Dragon's Hoard. Movie trailer inspired by Yoshiko and the Gift of Charms. Black and white paper cut out of the "Dragon" optical illusion, available at http://www.sticksite.com/dragon/index.html. Filmed using digital camera and edited using iMovie software. Original design by Bellusaurus sui.

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THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET

THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET
A Novel in Words and Pictures.
By Brian Selznick.
Illustrated. 533 pages. Scholastic Press. £12.99. (Ages 9 and up).

ISBN
9781407103488

Rating: 5 Stars


      This book tells you of the adventures Hugo Cabret had while trying to fix the automaton without being caught.
      It is about a 12 year old boy called Hugo Cabret whose father died in a fire in the museum where he had worked and had found an automaton. After the fire went out, Hugo lived with his uncle in a train station where he was trying to live by stealing food. His uncle went missing, but he continued to work on his uncle's clocks so no one would know. Meanwhile, he was fixing the automaton which he recovered from the wreckage of the museum fire. Hugo only has one problem, the train station toy shop owner has stolen his notebook. What happens when the toy shop owner says that his notebook is burned? Should Hugo believe the toy shop owner and give up or should he keep on trying to find the notebook and maybe end up fixing the automaton?
      My favourite character is Isabelle because she is quite adventurous. My favourite part is when Isabelle and Hugo watch the automaton write and draw. I think this book was written a bit like a flip book because you feel a bit like you are watching a movie when you turn over all of the lovely pictures. It's not just an ordinary flip book because it has zoom and movement, not just movement. I think it will make a really good 3D movie and I hope I will get a chance to see it. I think people aged eight through forty should read this brilliant book. I think this book deserves five out of five stars.
also on Guardian Children's Books Site



Hurricane. Film inspired by The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Constructed from one scanned pencil sketch on paper and sound effects recorded from violin and background noise using iMovie software. Original design by Bellusaurus sui.

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ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS

ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS
By Scott O'Dell.
192 pp. Houghton Mifflin. $6.99 (Ages 8 and up)

ISBN
9780547328614

Rating: 5 Stars

This book is about a girl named Karana. Karana lives on a small island, called Island of the Blue Dolphins, her Father is the Chief. The mane thing to know is that she gets left behind on the island.

I really liked this book because it is sad and because she has animal friends.
I like that she has animal friends because I wish I had animal friends.

This is one of my favorite books; actually it's very close to being my favorite. Even though this book looks thin when you are reading it it seems as though it is as fat as my table because so many unforgettable things happen. An interesting thing to know is that the Aleuts came to hunt sea otter. My favorite part is when Karana and her dog are in a cave and suddenly sea a giant devil fish outside on the sea, it is actually twice as big as there canoe. If I put this book out of five I would definitely say five out of five.


Old Mr. Sea Otter. Film inspired by The Island of the Blue Dolphins. Sea Otter puppet from paper bag and printed template from Monterey Bay Aquarium. Filmed and edited with iMovie software. Original design by Bellusaurus sui.

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IF YOU'RE READING THIS, IT'S TOO LATE

IF YOU'RE READING THIS, IT'S TOO LATE
Secret Series: Book 2
By Pseudonymous Bosch.
416 pp. Usborne Publishing Ltd. £5.99. (Ages 10 and up)

ISBN
9780746097403

Rating: 5 Stars


      I liked this book so much I could barely put it down. This book is about a girl called Cass and a boy called Max-Ernest. Both are twelve and both are in the Terces Society, which is secret backwards.
      First they are fooled by Pietro's twin brother Doctor L. But while they are locked up they find something very mysterious, a sound prism. When they get back to the Terces Society they are given a job to do it is to find the homunculus.
      But Cass is grounded so she has to be clever. That night Max-Ernest gets some mail from the Terces Society. He runs to get Cass the minute he sees it. Together they read it. This is one of the stories they read.
      There once was a doctor who was very nice and taught children. But, when he found the philosophers stone, he grew envious and locked himself in his laboratory. One day he found out how to make a man in a bottle. He called this man the homunculus but treated him horribly. So the homunculus runs away altogether.
      The next day Cass , Max-Ernest and Yo-yoji go camping with Cass's uncles. Cass and Max-Ernest do not want to let Yo-yoji into the Terces Society so they go off by themselves but Yo-yoji finds out. When he comes up to them they tell him that they are trying to get the homunculus by the sound prism's music, magic music. The next morning they find the homunculus and take him back. What happens when they find he is not there anymore?
      I really liked this book. This is one of the best books I have ever read. I could barely put this wonderful book down. My favourite part is when Cass gets caught and while they are tied up the good people and the bad people have war. If you are not reading this book then you are missing out on a lot of fun. I think nine, ten, eleven, twelve and thirteen year olds should read this book because I just think those ages should. The moral of this story is evil people never win. If I put this story out of five I would definitely say five out of five.



Homunculus Army on Brain. Artwork inspired by If You're Reading This, It's Too Late. Constructed from one digital photograph and an automatically parcellated cortical surface reconstructed from MRI images using FreeSurfer software (http://surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/). Original design by Bellusaurus sui.

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MINNIE 'N ME - WHERE'S FIFI?

MINNIE 'N ME - WHERE'S FIFI?
By Lyn Calder.
25 pp. Golden Books. Out-of-print. (Ages 1 and up)

ISBN
9780307301052

Rating: ? Stars

I like this book. My friend borrowed it. Fifi and Minnie are in this book. It's not scary in it. Fifi likes Minnie Mouse and Minnie Mouse likes Fifi her dog. The dog is going to catch a squirrel and Minnie doesn't let her. The dog ran away and Minnie runs after her. Minnie is crying because Fifi is lost. Minnie's friends Daisy and Penny love Fifi too. They write posters about Fifi. In the end they are happy. Fifi licks Minnie and she looks like she's falling over! Minnie is my favourite.

(communicated by Irritator challengeri; written by a parent)


Untitled. Artwork inspired by Minnie 'n Me - Where's Fifi?. Original design by Irritator challengeri created with help from a parent.

Buy Minnie 'n Me - Where's Fifi?at amazon.com
Buy Minnie 'n Me - Where's Fifi? Edition: Reprint at amazon.co.uk

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THE GRAVEYARD BOOK

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK
By Neil Gaiman.
304 pp. Bloomsbury. £6.99. (Ages 9 and up)

ISBN
9780747594802

Rating: 5 Stars

I really liked this book and it makes me remember The Jungle Book although it is a bit better.
This book is about a boy called Nobody who is raised by ghosts because an evil man Jack killed all of Nobody's family.
But Jack is still out there and still wants to kill Nobody.
My favourite part is when Nobody defeats Jack.



This is one of the best books I've read because it's really exiting and makes you want to know what is going to happen next.
I think the moral of the story is don't want power because it won't lead to good unless you want to lose of course.
If I had to put this book out of one hundred I'd say one hundred out of one hundred no matter what you said so I say you should definitely get this book and if you don't your missing out on a lot of fun and I do know this because I couldn't even put it down it was so good.
I think eight, nine, ten, eleven and twelve year olds should read this book because I think those ages would appreciate this book best and because little children might be a bit scared.




Three Ghosts in the Graveyard Puppet Theatre. Artwork inspired by The Graveyard Book. Constructed from cardboard milk box wrapper, construction paper, yarn, ribbon, feather, googly eyes, brass fasteners, and cardpaper. Skeleton template from Ben and Jerry's website http://www.benjerry.com/fun/halloween/assets/images/skeleton.gif. Original design by Bellusaurus sui.

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THE MOON'S REVENGE

THE MOON'S REVENGE
By Joan Aiken. Illustrated by Alan Lee.
32 pp. Red Fox. Out-of-print. (Ages 4 and up)

ISBN
9780099750109

Rating: ? Stars


Acrostic Poem about The Moon's Revenge

Massive monstrous moon was mad
On his face were seven marks
On the sea wall were seven odd shoes
Nobody knew that Sep was a great fiddler
Something odd was coming close

Rushing towards the harbour was a seven footed monster
Everyone was skared and petrified
Vicious monster
Everybody running away in fear
Never had Seppy fiddled to a monster
Giant monster was shrinking smaller then disappeared
Everybody dancing and cheering for Seppy



Poem inspired by The Moon's Revenge. Original poem by Iguanodon bernissartensis.

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THE NAME OF THIS BOOK IS SECRET

THE NAME OF THIS BOOK IS SECRET
Secret Series: Book 1
By Pseudonymous Bosch.
304 pp. Usborne Publishing Ltd. £5.99. (Ages 10 and up)

ISBN
9780746090923

Rating: 5 Stars

      This book is a lot like Lemony Snicket, because she keeps telling you not to read it, when you just can't stop yourself because it is so good.
      This book is about a girl called Cass who meets a boy called Max Ernest. What happens when the two children find a magician's diary, and have to fight Mrs Mauvais?
      To find out read the book. A cool thing about the magician's diary is that it talks about synaesthesia, which is a mixing up of the senses and it is real!  An example is a person who when we see black writing, they see rainbow writing like this. I think 8 to 12 year olds should read this wonderful book, because it is a bit too scary for small children, and a grown - up would think it is too childish.



Fire In The Pyramid. Artwork inspired by The Name of this Book is Secret. Constructed from a cereal box which was cut into a square with four equilateral triangles radiating off of it, joined by a tab on the edge of each triangle. Original design by Bellusaurus sui.

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