February/March - The Museum's Secret by Henry Chancellor



"Welcome to the Scatterhorn Museum! But don't get too excited - it's a cold and dingy place, crammed full of tatty stuffed animals and junk. Nobody much wants to visit any more, and its days are surely numbered.
 But when Tom is sent to live there, he soon finds there is more to this museum than meets the eye. The animals may be shabby and moth-eaten - but they possess an incredible secret. And when Tom discovers he can go back to the time of their making, a hundred years earlier, he embarks on a journey full of unimaginable terrors...
 Join Tom in his breathtaking adventure in and out of time, from an Edwardian ice fair to the wastes of Mongolia, the jungles of India and beyond..."

So reads the book's back cover; unfortunately the book group was not sure it quite lived up to the blurb!

The Museum's Secret is the first book of a trilogy and racks up a whopping 445 pages. The story starts with a rather gruesome prologue, but takes quite a while to really get going. Despite some good ideas and exciting action, the plot was over-complicated and hard to follow.

"It's a good story but it had confusing parts. I think Henry Chancellor got a bit carried away with his ideas. Parts could've been left out because it was really complicated." - Lilah

"Quite a lot of exciting things, but lots of bits you couldn't understand." - Tabitha

"It's a good story but a bit too complicated. The middle is the best bit!" - Ana
"It's complicated and jolts round to different places, but otherwise it was a really good book." - Sam

"The beetles really freaked me out!" - Beck

Sam and Lottie intend to read the next books in the trilogy, but everyone else decided they probably wouldn't bother.

Page Turners rating for The Museum's Secret: 3.5/5

January/February - The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

Last month we read JRR Tolkien's classic work of fantasy, The Hobbit.

"Whisked from his comfortable hobbit-hole by Gandalf the wizard and a band of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon..."

The book group welcomed three new members this month, swelling our ranks to ten!

Everyone enjoyed The Hobbit, but some struggled to get into it at first. The group found the language a bit tricky and old-fashioned, but the story exciting. Several book group members are planning to go on and read The Lord of the Rings now.

"It's kind of boring at the beginning, but when you get into it it's really good." - Beck

"Loads of really exciting scenes." - Ana

"I like the name Bilbo Baggins!" - Sam

"It's very good and it's got mystical creatures in it" - Olivia

"It's really exciting and you're not expecting what happens." - Tabitha

"It's amazing, I love it." - Poppy

Freya, Lottie and Lilah liked the riddles. Poppy enjoyed translating the runes from the map.



Here's Poppy's picture of the thrush:

Overall, The Hobbit got a big thumbs-up!

Page Turners rating for The Hobbit: 4.5/5

December/January - Wilma Tenderfoot and the Case of the Frozen Hearts by Emma Kennedy

The Book Group met today to discuss our latest read - Emma Kennedy's Wilma Tenderfoot and the Case of the Frozen Hearts.

This is from the book's blurb:

"Wilma Tenderfoot dreams of one day becoming assistant to the world-famous and very serious detective Theodore P. Goodman.
But the last thing Mr Goodman wants is a small and slightly accident-prone sidekick - especially one with an over-friendly beagle called Pickle who keeps eating all the clues.
Still, she's not about to give up - Wilma Tenderfoot may be small, but she is very determined."

The book is funny, exciting and a bit scary in places. It has lots of lovely black and white illustrations.

The Book Group really enjoyed Wilma Tenderfoot, and had fun trying to solve the clues and work out who was the thief (but no-one was right!). Most people wanted to go on and read the next two Wilma Tenderfoot books.
Recommended to anyone aged from 8 to 12.

Tabitha said: "It was exciting, but bits were scary. It had lots of unexpected twists and turns."

"It made me want to keep reading!" - Alison

Poppy said: "Don't not read it; read it don't not!"



Here are some pictures inspired by the book:

                        Wilma Tenderfoot and Pickle - by Alison

                                             

by Tabitha

Page Turners rating for Wilma Tenderfoot and the Case of the Frozen Hearts by Emma Kennedy: 5/5

RIP Dick King-Smith

Just heard the news that children's author Dick King-Smith died yesterday.
A farmer and teacher before he took up writing in later life, King-Smith wrote over a hundred children's books, nearly all about animals. He was most famous for his book The Sheep-pig, which was made into the film Babe.

Dick King-Smith

1922 - 2011

Escape to Wonderland

Back in the summer a few members of the book group visited a local gallery to see an exhibition of children's book illustrations.

Escape to Wonderland exhibition

With artwork by some of the most famous and talented illustrators in the world such as John Tenniel (Alice in Wonderland), EH Shepherd (Winnie the Pooh), Quentin Blake (iconic Roald Dahl illustrator), Nick Sharrat (instantly recognisable from Jacqueline Wilson's books), Lauren Child (Clarice Bean, Charlie and Lola), Mick Inkpen (Kipper, Wibbly Pig), David McKee (Elmer), Chris Riddell, Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) and many more, this was a magical exhibition.

As it was coming to a close, we decided to go back for one last look. There were a few extra exhibits added since our last visit, a Christmas section with some beautiful paper engineering and a cell from Raymond Briggs' The Snowman film.

We also learned that Cicely Mary Barker who wrote and illustrated the Flower Fairies books was educated at home and taught herself to paint!

Words for joy!

OK, this is another catch up really, but it's an important one.

Throughout David Almond's book My Name is Mina which we read back in November, Mina invents what she calls "Extraordinary Activities" that tie in with what she's been doing or thinking about. Here are a few examples:

Write an empty page. This is quite easy. Now look closely at the emptiness. This is quite easy, too, and quite delightful.

Write a page of UTTER NONSENSE. This will produce some very fine NEW WORDS.

Go to sleep. Sleep while you fly. Fly while you sleep.

Stare at the stars. Travel through space and time. Hold your head and know that you are extraordinary. Remind yourself that you are dust. Remind yourself that you are a star. Stand beneath a street lamp. Dance and glitter in a shaft of light.

Mina also suggests writing a page of words for joy and a page of words for sadness. Here is the Book Group's page of Words for JOY:

My family is going to be using Mina's Extraordinary Activities for inspiration in the coming New Year. Lots of food for thought!

Catch up

They're a talented bunch, this Book Group! The books we've read have inspired some fantastic pictures that deserve to be shared...

        This picture was drawn by Tabitha, after reading Anna Dale's Spellbound.

         These Ballet Shoes - inspired pictures were drawn by Ana...

...as was this one of Anne Shirley...

             ...and this one of Mina McKee from My Name is Mina.

Hopefully lots more to follow!