FUTURE GENERATION THE GIFT OF READING For the second time, the Ponsonby News Christmas kids’ book review team are proud to bring you a selection of great books for the tots to teens in your life. Our trusty reviewers are Gabrielle Marshall (13) and Noah Burrow (6) - pictured, with a little help from their mum. All these titles are available now at the proverbial “good book shop”.
Preschoolers+ WHERE’S SANTA? by Louis Shea (Scholastic, $19) 1,001 things to spot, including the jolly red-dressed hero. Noah said “I just like ‘Where’s Santa?’ so much! I just want to read it! (This in lieu of getting dressed for school). He has since invited mum back to pore over ‘Where’s Santa?’ with him. DO YOUR EARS HANG LOW? Pictures by Jenny Cooper, sung by The Topp Twins (Scholastic, $21) Adorable illustrated version of the song grandad used to sing, complete with CD of the Topp Twins singing it and - a karaoke version! THE TWELVE CATS OF CHRISTMAS / THE TWELVE DOGS OF CHRISTMAS by Kevin Whitlar (Scholastic, $14) Our review team have a collection of Christmas themed books that come out each December, and The Twelve Cats / The Twelve Dogs of Christmas will be great additions. Updated take on the classic Christmas poem complete with joyful cat and dog themed lyrics and illustrations. THE WORD WITCH Margaret Mahy, edited by Tessa Duder (Harper Collins, $39.99) This one is all ages, really. We already own the original hardback version of this book, but in the light of Mahy’s death this year it is even more precious, and this more recent paperback edition includes a CD with recordings of Margaret reciting 12 poems. I can’t wait to introduce little ones to her poems, and adored hearing them in her own voice myself.
5 Years + THE LITTLE YELLOW DIGGER TRACE N RACE by Betty and Alan Gilderdale (Scholastic, $21) This version of the Kiwi classic comes with a battery operated digger and a ‘magic’ marker pen – you draw a line on a big piece of white paper and it follows it, so the story can move into 3D. Just make sure you get your hands on the marker, before your little one does.
Strong primary school readers+ BUILD THE HUMAN BODY AND DISCOVER HOW IT WORKS by Richard Walker (New Holland, $29.99 This beautiful book combines 32 pages of illustrations and accessible text which explain the intricate activities of the body, with everything you need to build a 75cm+ skeleton. The finished model can be hung from the ceiling, its organs slotted in. It was a little bit over my six year old’s head, but I am going to keep ‘Build the Human Body’ to read and construct together so that he can learn, and I can re-learn. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON – HOW TO SEIZE A DRAGON’S JEWEL by Cressida Cowell (Hachette, $19.99) Noah seized this book as his own the moment he saw it, but he has not yet read it. Mum thinks it is slightly above his current reading level and that he will love having it read to him in instalments, until such time as he can grapple its size, himself. Naturally he didn’t hesitate to pull out the four collectors’ cards inside! The book is adorned with numerous illustrations to enhance the young reader’s experience, and is the 10th in the Hiccup books series. THE HOBBIT COMPANION by David Day, illustrations by Lidia Postma (New Holland, $29.99) David Day is a Tolkein authority and is currently consulting on Sir Peter Jackson’s very-soon-to-be-released The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. In The Hobbit Companion Day explores the brilliant language that unfolds in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, exposing the crafty puns and riddles, hidden meanings, and mythical associations beneath the saga’s surface. Gaby says this is “a beautiful, descriptive book that explains a lot of magic.”
Pre-teen/Young teen RUBY REDFORT 2 - TAKE YOUR LAST BREATH by Lauren Child (Harper Collins, $24.99) Part 2 in a series from Lauren Child, author of the Clarice Bean books. Ruby Redfort is a code-cracking genius, intrepid detective, and schoolgirl. Gaby said “quirky and different, with great characters.” She recommends this book for pre-teens. KETCHUP CLOUDS by Annabel Pitcher (Hachette, $27.99) Gaby says this is the best book of all those she reviewed. “A great plot - a book that I can’t put down.” In which 15 year old Zoe shares a terrible secret to a stranger on death row...a second novel from the author of the bestselling Debut, ‘My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece.” THE DEADLY SISTER Eliot Schrefer (Scholastic, $18) The heroine Abby’s sister has a very bad reputation, and Abby finds a body and evidence that her sister may have killed someone! Gaby says this book is emotive and realistic and that she really identified with what the heroine was feeling. “You really want to find out the end,” she says. PN
THIS MOOSE BELONGS TO ME by Oliver Jeffers (Harper Collins, $29.99) Noah enjoyed having this beautiful book read to him - (though not as much as other Harper Collins one with the farting monster in it!) However, mum LOVES this book which means he may be read it quite often. Great food for thought in the plot (just who does an animal belong to?) and luscious illustrations. A book to keep. THERE IS A MONSTER UNDER MY BED WHO FARTS by Tim Miller and Matt Stanton (Harper Collins, $29.99) Mum says “this had been Noah’s favourite since the first read. He would have me read it, or read it with me, every night if he could.” The title really explains it all! A beautiful quality illustrated book in hard cover.
The World Belongs to the Dissatisfied
DEADLINE – 20TH OF THE MONTH December 2012 PONSONBY NEWS+
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