by Eoin Colfer

Science Fiction / Children’s Books / Young Fiction Ages 8-12

Click here to buy the Book: The Supernaturalists by Eoin Colfer

Click here to buy the [Audio Book: The Supernaturalists by Eoin Colfer]

Book Synopsis:

Future, Satellite City.

Cosmo Hill is 13 years old and lives at the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys. Cosmo Hill is an orphan, otherwise known as a ‘no-sponsor’. No-sponsors are put to work by the government as human lab-rats. Day in and day out, they test dangerous products. Night in and night out, they sleep in their cardboard utility pipes covered in scars, sores and burns from their hard day’s work.

Cosmo Hill needs to escape. But how? Cosmo prepares for the day when he can make his daring getaway from Clarissa Frayne…

After a tumultuous escape, Cosmo is saved by a gang of kids with amazing psychic powers. They are able to see ‘supernatural parasites’, invisible creatures who suck the life force of humans. Cosmo finds that he has psychic abilities of his own.

And this is where the adventure begins…

My Book Review:

Eoin Colfer is a young peoples writer and I enjoyed reading his first Artemis Fowl book (I’m about to read the second Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident). However, I guess I was expecting something more sophisticated when I bought the audio book for The Supernaturalist. I found it in the Sci-Fi section, and assumed it was an Adult Sci-Fi book. I realize now from Eoin Colfer’s website that the book is meant for 8-12 year olds!

I was not personally engaged with the story. However, I am really of the wrong demographic to judge this book so harshly. If I were pre-teens, I would probably quite enjoy this book. I think that The Supernaturalist contains characters that young people would identify with.

The story has larger then life characters (or in this book’s case, smaller than usual), and has high stakes and big twists.

I thought the narrator, Jack Davenport, was very easy to listen too, as well as being a very capable narrator. He shifts accents for almost every character, which sounds like he’s just showing off his range at first, but it also adds an extra multicultural aura to the futuristic Satellite City. However, the choice to make Stephan’s voice so deep, drew me away from the ‘reality’ that the characters are all young people, teenagers themselves. In the audio book, I began to think of them more as adults because of this choice and I think it would have been more effective for me if I been able to imagin them as teens trying to save the world.

If you have children, or are looking to buy a gift for a child, or if you are a child, I think you’d enjoy the adventure and imagination in Eoin Colfer’s books.

Click here to read my review of Artemis Fowl

x Julie

Online Bookstore and Book Reviews

Reading Like Rabbits

I’ve been listening to podcasts like the New York Times Book Review and B&N Meet The Writers which I have enjoyed very much, but I’m now ready for more. I get motion sickness if I read while traveling, so I get really bored and frustrated not to be able to be engaged in a book while I’m getting from one place to another.

So, I decided to sign up for an audio book membership with Audible.com to listen to audio books on my i phone/i pod/ MP3 player. I used to think of audio books as being expensive, but I’ve realised, they can be cheaper than buying an actual book!

Here’s the plan I’m getting:

Audible Listener Discount Gold Membership

• Price: Monthly: USD$7.49 for the first three months and USD$14.95 thereafter and Annually: USD$149.95

• Benefits: 12 membership credits; 30% discount on future purchases; complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times
  

• Click here to Download an audiobook for $7.49 and save 50% for your first 3 months. Choose from over 75,000 titles.

or try:

Audible Listener Platinum Free Trial Membership

You can also sign up for a 14 day free trial – but you must remember to cancel it before 14 days are up in order for it to remain free.

• Price: Monthly: $22.95 and Annually: $229.95

• Benefits: 14 day risk free trial; 24 membership credits; 30% discount on future purchases; complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times.
• Click here to Try Audible Now and Get A Free Audiobook Download with a 14 Day Trial. Choose from over 60,000 Titles.

Personally, I think the Gold Membership is better if you only want one book a month. But if you plan to listen to more than one audio book a month, Platinum would be a good choice.

All plans allow cancellation at any time.

Audible Fact: The average reader gets through 5 books a year, the average AudibleListener member completes 16 books a year.

Click here to buy the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett (free delivery)

The first Audio Book that I’m going to get is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I’ve heard so much about it. It’s been on the New York Times bestseller list for 50 weeks and is still at number 2. It’s about a young white woman and two black maids in 1960s ­Mississippi.

Click here to read my review of The Help by Kathryn Stockett

You can listen to samples of all the books to get an idea of the story and what the voice you will be listening to will sound like. I’ve found the quality of the voice actors very high. (there are even audio awards!)

IMPORTANT NOTE:

When I tried signing up on audible.com the first time, I was furious to find out I couldn’t get the book I ordered because I live in Singapore. However, audible.com kindly wrote back to tell me that I can usually get the audio books I want, but owned by a different publisher (it’s an area rights and copyright issue). Once I sign up and they have details of where I’m from, as long as I’m logged in, they will show my only what I CAN buy.

Look out for my audio book reviews coming out soon!

x Julie

Audio Book Reviews

Reading Like Rabbits

by Eoin Colfer

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Book Synopsis:

Artemis Fowl, a genius criminal mastermind has succeeded in establishing the existence of fairies, and is determined to catch one. After staking out over 100 fairy locations, Artemis succeeds in kidnapping LEPrecon Captain Holly Short.

But these aren’t the toadstool-dancing creatures of fairy tales, these are trained law enforcement fairies, and they are ready to fight back. Just when Artemis Fowl thinks he has them cornered, the fairies stop playing by the rules.

FYI: Artemis Fowl is a twelve-year-old.

My Book Review:

I flew through this book.

Artemis Fowl is just like a hostage-situation action movie. The only difference being, the bad guy is 12-years-old and those under siege are tech savvy fairies who live near the earth’s core. In fact, Eoin Colfer has described it as “Die Hard with faries”.

The characters in Artemis Fowl include Artemis, a villainous scheming child (who reminds me of Stewy in Family Guy) who may have a prickling of a conscience (unlike Stewy), a centaur (very much like Q in James Bond), a huge hunk of a bodyguard, a fuming LEP-recon commander, and history’s first female LEP-recon officer.

I should explain. We humans don’t know this but “the word ‘leprechaun’ actually originated from LEPrecon, an elite branch of the Lower Elements Police”. No bucked shoes and knickerbockers in this book! (That was their old uniform).

Eoin Colfer creates a vivid fairy culture, dispelling our pre-conceived ideas of the fairy world.

This is a fast paced, funny story packed with action and other-worldly intrigue. This is the first of 6 in the series so far and I’m definitely going to read the rest of the series!

These books also come as BBC Audio Books which you can buy as a gift for kids for bedtime story listening or to keep the peace on long car journeys.

x Julie

Book Shop and Book Reviews

-Reading Like Rabbits-

[A pop-up book]

by Keith Faulkner / Illustrated by Jonathan Lambert

Children’s Book / Picture Book / Pop-up Book

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Children’s Book Synopsis:

The curious wide-mouthed frog wants to find out the favorite foods of all the animals he meets along his journey.

He can’t stop himself chattering away, stopping to ask every creature he meets: ‘What do you eat?’

But then he meets an animal who loves eating wide-mouthed frogs…

My Book Review:

This is an amusing story that my mother, who is a storyteller, tells to young children. In book form, the pop ups of the animals are delightful, and the repetition of “I’m a wide-mouthed frog and I eat flies…What do you eat?” helps the kids join in as they learn about what mouse, bird and alligator love to eat. And despite the carnivorous inclinations of the alligator, the story of The Wide-Mouthed Frog has a funny ending.

x Julie

Reading Like Rabbits

Children’s Book Review

by Jill Murphy

Children’s Fiction

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Book Synopsis:

The Worst Witch:

Mildred Hubble joins Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches. But it doesn’t take her long to realize that she is possibly the worst witch the school has ever had.

Mildred is a klutz, can never get her spells right, and has a tabby cat who is terrified of broom-flying.

However, Mildred may have been able to pass under the teacher’s radar, if the mean Ethel Hallow hadn’t decided to become her worst enemy.

A few more books from the series:

A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch:

Can Mildred shed her reputation as the worst witch of Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches? She tries her best, but as usual for Mildred, things go horribly wrong for her…

The Worst Witch All at Sea:

Mildred and her class of young witches are going on a school outing to the seaside! But Mildred can’t find the heart to leave her tabby cat alone for a whole week, so she brings him along with her. But will Mildred be able to stay out of trouble this time? Especially with the strict Miss Hardbroom and her devious enemy Ethel Hallow out to get her…

My Book Review:

This is Harry Potter for younger readers. The Worst Witch is endearing and exciting with magic spells, people being turned into frogs, a scarily strict teacher, a horrid enemy classmate and loyal friends.

I loved the childrens series The Worst Witch when I was a kid. The Academy for Witches seemed just like a normal school – just with broomstick lessons and spells classes! This book is also very funny with Mildred getting into all sorts of scrapes. Mildred is so hopeless that even her cat, Tabby, is a terrible witches cat. This is wonderfully reflected in the drawings in the book with Tabby, his eyes squeezed shut, clinging onto the broomstick for dear life.

There are at least 5 books in the Worst Witch series and I think primary school girls would love reading them, just as I did.

There are also Audio-CD versions of most of the series for car rides and bedtime listening.

x Julie

Children’s Book Review

-Reading Like Rabbits-

and

Spy’s Guide

Illustrated by Colin King

Children’s Non-Fiction Book

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Detective’s Handbook Synopsis:

Being a detective is challenging and extremely thrilling. You must be well trained, alert and patient to be a good detective. He must be able to create a whole story from the tiniest clue at a crime scene. He must be on the lookout for criminals and be prepared to chase down a baddie if necessary.

The Detective’s Handbook teaches you special detective skills, such as dusting for fingerprints, identifying handwriting, questioning witnesses and finding clues.

Full of advice, tips and hints, this handbook for young detectives will prepare you for when your skills are put to the test!

Spy’s Guide Synopsis:

Have you ever wanted to be a top-secret spy? Have you ever wanted to learn now to decode secret messages, disguise yourself and stalk the enemy? This book will show you how to train yourself to be a good spy!

The Spy’s Guide is full of ways to hide messages for allies, tips and tricks to cover up secret meetings, and how to create disguises and play the part successfully. Learn how to fool the enemy and uncover their secrets!

My Detective’s Handbook and Spy’s Guide Book Review:

I was a little detective as a child and these Usborne books fed my imagination heartily (In a healthy, safe way).

These Spy and Detective Guides are packed with colourful pictures, activities and mysteries to solve. They cover so much, from how crooks work, to tracking, stalking and shadowing, to looking for fingerprints.

My primary school friends and I would play detectives and use secret signals and signs to alert each other about imaginary crimes. We had secret message drop offs that we would pass by before and after recess. We also used to send signals to each other through colour-coded home-made rings. It was fun!

The Usborne Detectives Guide would be a great gift for a boy or a girl aged about 8-11. So if you have a curious niece or nephew, these book would be perfect for them.

x Julie

Children’s Book Reviews

-Reading Like Rabbits-

by Maurice Sendack

***** (5/5)

Children’s Fiction / Children’s Picture Book

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Book Synopsis:

Where The Wild Things Are is about a little boy called Max dressed up in his monster suit who gets sent to bed without any supper for making mischief. He defiantly created a forest in his bedroom, travels by boat and ends up where the wild things are. The wild things are monsters who gnash their teeth, but Max stands up to them and therefore becomes their king. But he misses home, and his mum, so he gives up being king of the wild things and makes the long journey back home.

Why I love this book:

Where The Wild Things Are is a classic children’s book about an imaginative boy who conquers and makes friends with monsters. If you have or know a child who is scared of monsters in the cupboard or under the bed, this book may help them see monsters in a different way and empower them to face their fears.

Where The Wild Things are has recently been made into a motion picture by Spike Jonze, in which a friend of mine played a Wild Thing!

x Julie

Children’s Book Reviews

- Reading Like Rabbits

by P.D. Eastman

Children’s Fiction / Picture book

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Book Synopsis:

Fred and Ted were good friends.

But they were different.

They were different sizes, they played different instruments, and they even drove their cars differently.

When they go on holiday together, they come across a problem that they need to solve…

Why I like this book:

My mum used to read Big Dog.. Little Dog to me when I was a child. I loved this children’s book because the simplicity of the language made it easy for me to repeat. I also enjoyed the contrast between the two friends. This book is also filled with useful verbs, adverbs and adjectives.

x Julie

Children’s Book Reviews

-Reading Like Rabbits-

By Pat Hutchins

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Children’s Book Synopsis:

A little boy is sent on his way to buy the groceries. His mother tells him what he needs to buy and especially says, “Don’t forget the bacon.”

The boy remembers his list by saying it to himself over and over again. But on his travels he is distracted by the sights and sounds on the street.

Will he remember the bacon?

My Book Review:

I loved this book as a child, it’s very funny. The little boy chants his little shopping list as he is sent down the street to the shops by his mum. But as he goes along, what he sees replaces the food on the shopping list. Like ‘six farm eggs’ become ‘six fat legs’. It’s very funny for child as they witness the disastrous consequences. Will he remember or forget the bacon?

x Julie

Children’s Book Reviews

-Reading Like Rabbits-

by Ronda and David Armitage

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Book synopsis:

Three kids can’t find any clean clothes to wear. Mum’s gone to work, so it’s up to Dad to do the washing. Dad piles all their dirty clothes into the washing machine. But something goes wrong…. What will Mum say when she returns?

Why I like this book:

When Dad did the Washing must have been written by Ronda and David Armitage after a washing incident of their own.

Valuable, albeit domestic, life lessons can be learnt in this book:

• If you don’t want pink clothes, don’t wash red jump suits with white skirts

• Some mistakes are blessings in disguise, it just depends on how you decide to take it.

When Dad Did The Washing is a nice book about an incident that is bound to happen at least once in your life, so kids might as well learn about it now.

x Julie

Children’s Book Reviews

-Reading Like Rabbits-

by Shirley Hughes

Children’s Fiction, Picture Book

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Book Summary:

Alfie’s Feet is a charming book primarily about… Alfie’s feet. He counts his little sister’s toes with the rhyme ‘This little pig went to market…’, he wears his old brown shoes to splash about in puddles, but discovers that his feet, shoes and socks get all wet. So his mother buys him a shiny new pair of yellow wellington boots. This will help him keep his feet dry, but why do they feel so uncomfortable?

Why I love Alfie’s Feet:

I still have fond memories of reading Alfie’s Feet. Shirley Hughes’s expressive illustrations of the cubby-cheeked children are magnetic, and there is so much to look at in her drawings. Alfie’s Feet will help children learn vocabulary to do with well…feet…but also what goes on your feet, some movement verbs and adjectives, as well as the importance of left and right.

x Julie

Children’s Book Reviews

-Reading Like Rabbits-

by Shel Silverstein

***** (5/5)

Children’s Fiction

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Book Cover Synopsis:

“Once there was a tree…and she loved a little boy. So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.

Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk…and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree and the tree gave and gave.

This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another’s capacity to love in return.

Why I love The Giving Tree:

The Giving Tree is my absolute favourite children’s book. Its a children’s book, but it’s content is sophisticated and will touch the heart of any adult.

It is a love story between a boy and a tree. The tree possesses unconditional love for a young boy, and the boy, like all of us, grows up and wants more and more from life and the tree. With its simple black and white drawings, The Giving Tree is extremely moving and has powerful messages relating to the environment and the nature of love.

When my mother read The Giving Tree to my sister for the first time, she ended up in tears. It is a heartbreaking, but beautifully told story, that gently teaches us valuable life lessons.

This is the most powerful children’s book I’ve ever read. It would be perfect as a gift or as a teacher’s resource.

x Julie

Book Reviews – Reading Like Rabbits