Book of the Year 2011

As we've come to the end of another year of book group, we did our annual vote for our favourite read.
The group found it particularly hard to choose between some of them, and as we have such wildly differing tastes within the group, the results were sometimes quite surprising. Several books were rated top by one or two members, and bottom by others!

Anyway, here are the results...

With the same number of points were four books- Sally Gardner's I, Coriander; JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit; Caroline Lawrence's The Case of the Deadly Desperados; and our last read, Debi Gliori's Pure Dead Magic.

In 2nd place was Gill Lewis' fabulous debut novel Sky Hawk. This heart-warming tale of friendship, hope and an amazing journey deservedly scored very highly with nearly everyone in the group.

And in 1st place was our read from way back in December last year to January of this year, Wilma Tenderfoot and the Case of the Frozen Hearts by Emma Kennedy. Wilma won everyone over with her adventures, and some of the group have gone on to read the following books in the series, which is always a good sign!

Looking forward to another year of discovering great books and new authors.

November/December: Pure Dead Magic by Debi Gliori

Our latest read was Debi Gliori's funny fantasy Pure Dead Magic.

Pure Dead Magic tells the story of The Strega-Borgia children, Titus, Pandora and baby Damp, and their efforts to rescue their father, kidnapped by his evil half-brother who wants to get his hands on the family fortune.

A new nanny with a big secret, an array of magical creatures living in the basement and Tock, the crocodile, who patrols the moat are just some of the larger than life characters we meet in this riotous mix of traditional fantasy and modern technology with a large dollop of madcap humour thrown in for good measure.

Again, we had some major differences of opinion over this book - some loving it, some hating it and the rest somewhere in between! Here are some quotes from the group:

"A very good book. I liked the animals." - Poppy

"It's alright, but I probably wouldn't recommend it." - Lilah

"I would recommend it - I really liked it." - Willow

"It's a really good book and I recommend it, but make sure you check the Dramatis Personae because there are a lot of long and complicated names to keep track of!" - Lottie

                                Tabitha's picture of Tarantella

Page Turners Rating: 3.5/5

Another catch-up!

I've been very bad and missed posting about our last two book group meetings, so I'm going to do a brief catch-up, then I can get on with a full post about our latest book. Sorry!

So, back in September/October we read The Sword in the Stone by T.H.White.

It wasn't the most popular of our choices, but some members of the group really enjoyed it.

Lottie said: "If you read it you should persevere, because it gets quite good."

Poppy said: "It's quite long, but it's a good book and worth reading."

The Sword in the Stone Page Turners rating: 3/5

In October the group voted for A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz for our spooky Hallowe'en read.

This was a book that really polarized opinion! Willow liked it so much she read it twice, Lilah also loved it, but Lottie hated it. Funny and gory, it wasn't quite as scary as it made out, but it seems a love it or hate it kind of book.

A Tale Dark and Grimm  Page Turners rating:  4/5

Ruby Redfort Look Into My Eyes by Lauren Child

I am a member of my local Waterstones' Junior Proof Readers Club, who lend out proof (uncorrected) copies of books before they've been published in return for a short review. I was really excited when I heard that they had an advance copy of Lauren Child's new book, Ruby Redfort book and sent my dad and my sister out to get it for me right away!



This is what the book will look like.

I am an extraordinarily massive Clarice Bean fan and enjoyed reading about Ruby Redfort, the girl Secret Agent who is the main character in Clarice Bean's favourite books. I saw Lauren Child do a talk last year and she said that she was currently working on a Ruby Redfort book so I've been looking forward to it ever since!

Ruby Redfort Look into My Eyes is amazing, I absolutely loved it. It's really exciting, scary in places and has lots of action.

It's a bit different to how Clarice talks about her in the books, but maybe the actual book will have some changes when it's published.

Ruby Redfort uses secret codes throughout the book, and this inspired me to make up my own codes which was lots of fun.

I recommended this book to my sister Tabitha, who also loved it, and I would recommend it to children aged 9 - 12 who like exciting stories.

The front of the proof copy

The back of the proof copy

   

July - Sept. : The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence

Our summer read was The Case of the Deadly Desperados, the first in Caroline Lawrence's new series: The Western Mysteries.

As the book itself describes:
" A whip-cracking, action-packed adventure that brings the Wild West vividly to life, from the bestselling author of The Roman Mysteries."

Narrated by 12 year old half Lakota Sioux "Pinky", we are pulled into the action from the first page, and the pace never lets up.

"My name is P.K. Pinkerton and before this day is over I will be dead.

My foster parents were scalped & killed a few days ago on my 12th birthday. I came to this lawless town of Virginia City to escape their fate but now I find myself trapped down the deepest shaft of a silver mine, with three desperados hot on my trail.

Before they find me, I am going to write this account so you will know What Happened and Who Done it."

Pinky dashes from scrape to scrape in a tale packed full of colourful characters, disguises and close shaves with the dastardly desperados in hot pursuit.
Real-life historical figures are woven into the story, such as Sam Clemens (later known as Mark Twain) a reporter at the Virginia City newspaper The Territorial Enterprise.

The end of the story is the perfect opening for the rest of the series.

The book group all loved this book, despite some gory and brutal scenes. They all thought they would read the other books in the series when they are published. Here are their comments:

"Really exciting" - Ana

"Really surprising" - Freya

"Really good, I recommend it." - Lilah

"It really gets you into it." - Lottie

"Most books take a while to get into, but this one pulls you in really quickly and it's hard to stop reading." - Poppy

Page Turners rating : 4.5/5

Author Sally Gardner answers our questions!

Back in May/June we read I, Coriander by Sally Gardner. At our meeting that month the book group came up with some questions that they wanted to ask the author. We sent them to Sally, and I'm very excited to be able to post her replies below...

Sally Gardner

What was your inspiration for I, Coriander?

I had the image of a little girl standing at the top of a staircase, looking down and seeing rain beating on the window and a light in a study below. The next part was to get her to walk down the stairs and look in the room, where I discovered there was a man sitting at his desk with a wooden chest in front of him which had light coming from it. I just wanted to know what was in the box and who the man was. This is how the story began.

Were the characters based on anyone you know?

My characters are never based on one person, but are an amalgamation of lots of people, you only the need yeast of somebody to make a loaf.

 

Why did you choose to base the story in that period of history?

I wanted to find a period in history where we had total repression in England, where people were living in a dictatorship. The interim of Oliver Cromwell was such a time. I'm very interested in the historical places that lie between the more glamourous and epic historical moments. It was also the introduction of the scientific man over the superstitious man. Science was to win, but this was a transitional time when people still believed in fairies and magic, a time when they thought that alchemy made gold.

 Did you have to do a lot of research of that time?

Yes, I always do lots of research for my books. I was left a library of primary and secondary sources by a friend of my fathers and that was invaluable. Anything I couldn't find there I found in libraries around London.

Lots of the characters in the book have unusual or interesting names - Coriander, Maud Leggs, Tarbett Purman, Arise Fell, Master Thankless - how did you choose them?

Master Thankless was the name of Samuel Pepys' tailor in real life and I found his name in the Museum of London. Arise Evans was a real man who belonged to the Fifth Monarchists - he was completely bonkers and I thought I should change his name a bit to reflect his rise and fall. Coriander's name needed to stand out and at the same time be broken down into a common religious name/context: 'An' (Anne).

Which character was the most fun to write?

Arise Fell and Maud Leggs because I love creating evil, cruel characters and knowing that I will be able to kill them off or have my revenge on them later in the book.
Have you been tempted to write a sequel?

No, never. I feel it stands alone and it's for people to make up their own minds about how Coriander's future unfolds. The reader can write the rest of her story.

What is your favourite children's book of all time?

I have lots, but I love 'Wind in The Willows' because it conjures up a world that you want to live in - all you want to do is meet Ratty with the picnic basket and go off down the road, or meet toad and have a drive in his car...

Who has been your greatest influence?

I think Angela Carter, Charles Dickens and the Brothers Grimm.

What do you most enjoy about being a writer?

I don't think I'd be able to get a job doing anything else! I love that I'm able to make up my own stories and that other people like them and enjoy reading them makes me one of the luckiest people in this world.

How has your dyslexia affected your life?

When I was young I was very badly bullied because of it, by both teachers and classmates. I couldn't read a whole book or write properly until I was 13 - geography, mathematics are very long words and they were the normal things I was shut out of. I was left alone in school in terms of tuition, expelled from a lot of schools because of my learning difficulties. For sixteen years people thought I was stupid. But luckily my character was strong enough to pull through it, and I had my imagination which is where the story telling began - as a way to escape and in my head I created the books that I couldn't read. So dyslexia has been an imperative part of me becoming a writer.

Are you writing anything at the moment, and if so, what can you tell us about it?

The Double Shadow is my latest novel for young adults. It comes out in November is what you could call a family sci-fi saga. It's very different from my other novels and was the hardest book I've had to write so far. The following blog gives a good summary of it: http://www.lovelytreez.com/?p=473.

Many thanks to Sally for her fascinating insights.

June/July: Sky Hawk by Gill Lewis

Firstly, I must apologise for taking so long to update the blog. Our last meeting was weeks ago, and I just haven't got round to posting the group's thoughts on this wonderful book. Better late than never, here they are...

Sky Hawk is author Gill Lewis' debut novel, and has received much praise. The front cover bears an endorsement by none other than Michael Morpurgo, who says the book "Opens your eyes, touches your heart, and is so engaging it almost turns the pages for you."

Set in rural Scotland, this is the story of Callum and Iona and an amazing secret they share. It is a moving tale of friendship, loss, hope and incredible journeys.

The group was unanimous in thoroughly enjoying Sky Hawk. They felt that they learned a lot from the book, and were kept on the edge of their seats following the story. They were shocked by an unexpected, sad twist in the tale, but most of them liked the way things resolved themselves by the end.

Here are some words direct from the group:

"I loved it; it was an amazing story." - Ana

"A good book if you like wildlife." - Sam

"Lots of interesting facts that you wouldn't know unless you worked with ospreys." - Lottie

"I couldn't put it down because it's such a great story." - Tabitha

"A brilliant book, especially if you're an animal lover." - Freya H

You can also now follow the real-life adventures of Ozwold the osprey, specially chosen to be satellite tracked like Iris in the book. Check him out here:

http://ospreydiary.blogspot.com/

Page Turners' rating for Sky Hawk: 4.5/5

The case of the deadly desperados

I'm really enjoying this book!!!! It's really good.

I can't wait for bookgroup tomorrow, i really loved sky hawk, i couldn't put it down!

Hello, this is my first post on the blog!
I've really enjoyed Sky Hawk so far, but it's quite sad in parts.

Our latest read

Well, it's 6 days until our next meeting, we're half way through Sky Hawk and absolutely loving it. I can't wait to find out what will happen next!

Gill Lewis, Sky Hawk's author, has a lovely website, including the blog of a real life osprey chick which should be starting very soon! Take a look:

http://www.gilllewis.com/

skye hawk

i really loved it i couldn't put it down lilah

has any one heard of cathy cassidy i really like her books

New authors!

I'm excited to announce that the Page Turners blog has several new authors. I'm hoping they'll be contributing very soon!

April - June: I, Coriander by Sally Gardner

We've just read Sally Gardner's I, Coriander, winner of the Nestle Children's Book Prize gold award.

Set in London in the mid 1600's, it tells the story of Coriander, daughter of a wealthy merchant and a woman with a great secret.
When Coriander is given a pair of silver shoes, a new world opens up to her, and life will never be the same again.

This is a dark fairy tale, with some truly nasty characters and a memorable, feisty heroine.

Everyone enjoyed the book; here are their comments...

"A little bit scary" - Lilah

"I couldn't put it down" - Tabitha

"I didn't want it to end" - Poppy

"You could read it again and again" - Lottie

"I thought it was great!" - Ana
"I absolutely loved it" - Freya

"I'd recommend it to anyone who likes reading" - Lilah

Page Turners' rating for I, Coriander: 4.5/5

Fantastic Festival!

For those of you who have never been, Hay-on-Wye is a small town just over the Welsh border which boasts 30 bookshops, and once a year is home to a world-famous literary festival.

For ten days every May-June, Hay becomes a hive of activity, bursting with author talks, signings, comedy shows, music, art, workshops, and celebrities.

This year there was an amazing line-up of children's authors, including Michael Morpurgo, David Almond, Jacqueline Wilson, Robert Muchamore, Lauren St. John, Julia Donaldson, Hilary McKay, Geraldine McCaughrean, Caroline Lawrence, Judith Kerr, Alex Scarrow, Andy Stanton and Eoin Colfer to name but a few!

David Almond reading from My Name is Mina

My family and I went along to the festival and enjoyed a fun-packed 9 days. Highlights were the Gruesome and Gory Movie FX workshop where passers-by were horrified to see the children coming out with black eyes, hideous wounds and even severed fingers; the wonderful David Almond talking about the book group's Oct/Nov 2010 read, My Name is Mina; soaking up the sunshine and atmosphere while eating a delicious sheep's milk ice-cream, and for me, meeting my all-time favourite author of Young Adult fiction, Patrick Ness.

Movie FX workshop - realistic isn't it?!

The festival is so great it even attracts royalty - Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall arrived in her helicopter to read a story to some children!


Camilla's helicopter!

Michael Morpurgo and Camilla at Hay

Hay Festival has something for every book-lover; check it out next year. See you there, I can't wait!  











Children's Laureate 2011 - 2013

Congratulations to Julia Donaldson who has just been announced as the new Children's Laureate.

Best known for The Gruffalo, Julia has written many well-loved books, especially those for younger readers.

This quote comes from the Children's Laureate website:

"During her two years as Laureate, Julia plans to bring her passion for spoken word, rhyme, song and drama to the fore, by making children's literature in peformance a key focus for her laureateship. ‘With my background in plays and song-writing, I am particularly keen to develop projects which link books with drama and music, and to explore the ways performance can help children enjoy reading and grow in confidence' she says."

http://www.childrenslaureate.org.uk/

Hay Festival

Whew! Just back from a fantastic week of author talks, workshops and events at the Hay Literary Festival in Wales.

Several Book Group members went along to the festival, so I'm hoping for a few reports of their experiences and highlights, I will certainly be posting mine shortly!

March/April - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

"On the banks of the Mississippi, Tom Sawyer and his friends seek out adventure at every turn. Then one fateful night they witness a murder. The boys swear never to reveal the secret and run away to be pirates and search for hidden treasure. But when Tom gets trapped in a cave with the murderer, can he escape unharmed?"

We had yet another really mixed reaction to this month's read; some loved it, some hated it, a few didn't manage to finish it!

Overall thoughts were that the language was very tricky with the dialects and old fashioned phrases, but that it was very exciting in parts once you got into the story. People seemed to like the funny or exciting scenes, but felt that some of the boring parts could have been left out.

Quite a few book group members listened to the audiobook, which they found helpful to get over the barrier of the language and to hear the authentic Southern US accents.

Here are some comments from the group:

"The language was a bit complicated" - Lilah

"It was exciting all the way through" - Tabitha

"The first 30 pages are a bit boring, except the whitewashing." - Sam

"I really enjoyed the pirate island!" - Lottie

"Really good, exciting scenes." - Ana

Alison's picture of Tom and Becky

Page Turners rating for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: 3.5/5

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