friends

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Protect the Mountain or else.

Living in the shadow of Mountainfell, Erskin is used to danger.  Mountainfell is a wild place with tall mountains and deep caverns.  It is also a place of wild creatures and dangerous magic.  It has been years since any of the villagers have been taken by the monsters of Mountainfell and Erskin’s family is in charge of keeping the villagers safe.  Then one day the most powerful creature of all, the cloud dragon, snatches Erskin’s sister away and destroys part of the boundary wall. Erskin knows she has to do something.

She sneaks out of the village and starts to climb the mountain.  Her greatest fear is facing the monsters on Mountainfell but it is up to her to save her sister.

She soon finds out there is more to the story than just the dragon.  Terrible secrets also live in Mountainfell.  Secrets she cannot imagine but ones that she must conquer to save not only her sister but the whole village.

This was another amazing story by Katherine Orton.  Kept me reading to the very end and I read way past my bedtime to finish it.  After you read this one you will be wanting more so also check out Katherine Orton’s other books – Nevertell and Glassheart.

5 out of 5 ZZZZZ

 

Orton, K. (2022). Mountainfell. Walker books: London, Great Britain

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Witchlings

What would you call a group of young witches?

Witchlings of course!

Every young witch can’t wait for the day they are joined in a circle as a coven of their own.  This is when a young witch becomes a fully fledged witch and can start doing magic all on their own.  It is a very exciting day that takes place during the Black Moon Festival every year.

It is finally Seven’s turn this year and she has done everything she can to make sure she gets into a really good coven.  She wants to join House Hyacinth but she would be happy to be in any coven really.

The festival was amazing and finally it was time to name the Witchlings covens.  Seven couldn’t wait.  That was until, she wasn’t named in House Hyacinth.

She wasn’t named in a coven at all.  She was a spare!! The most dreaded thing of all.  No coven to join, just her and two other spares left behind and disowned.

You would think things couldn’t get any worse, wouldn’t you? but they did.

It gets worse.  One of the spares was the girl that always bullied her and when they tried to perform the magic circle to seal them as a coven it didn’t work! They were doomed.

To save them all from being exiled and rejected, Seven invokes an ancient ritual called the Impossible Task.  It is three tasks that all need to be completed for the Witchlings to be able to stay.

Will they three girls work together to solve the tasks?  They aren’t called the impossible tasks for nothing.

And more importantly will they learn to trust each other and become friends.

I loved this story.  It is different to many other stories I have read.

Try this story if you like Harry Potter or Magic.

4 out of 5 ZZZZ

 

Ortega, C. (2022). Witchlings. Scholastic Press: New York, New York

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The Smiling Man is back!

Until next time, was the chilling promise the Smiling Man left with Ollie, Coco and Brian.  So when things don’t feel quite right or as they seem, there is only one conclusion to make…

He is Back and a new frightening adventure is at hand.

The next two instalments of the devious games the Smiling Man plays are here.

Dead Voices and Dark Waters.

In Dead voices the kids are looking forward to a relaxing winter break but when the lights begin to flicker they fear the worst.  Their fun filled trip quickly turns into another terrifying game with the Smiling Man as they fight through a storm and for their lives.  It is not just a voice in their heads!

In Dark Waters, the friends finally have a chance to relax on a boat cruise on the lake until a sinister fog rolls in.  The captain doesn’t remember a fog so bad.  It was then that the mythical sea monster of the lake decides to show up crashing their boat and stranding them on an island no one knew existed.  How could this island never have been marked on any of the map or charts?  If the sea monster wasn’t scary enough there is always the axe man in the woods to frighten you a little bit more.

I love these scary stories! They follow on from the first book in the series – Small Spaces.  I can’t wait for the fourth and final Small Spaces story to arrive in the library. 

Read it today but make sure you finish it before bed!!!

Tried not to read these books to close to bed but it was so good I had to finish them.

Read them today if you dare.

5 out of 5 ZZZZZZZZZZZ

 

Arden, K. (2022). Dead voices. Putnam: New York, New York.

Arden K. (2022). Dark waters. Putnam: New York, New York.

Arden K. (2018). Small spaces. Putnam: New York, New York.

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Runt small but mighty.

Do you have a pet?  Are they well trained? Are they so close to you that only you can make them do certain things?

Runt is like that.  He was a scrawny stray that the local town members hated and the police had tried to catch for years.  He was scared of people because of the way he’d been treated. Until he met Annie.

Annie sits alone in the playground but when she sees Runt hiding in the bushes near the school fence she decides he’s a little bit like her.  Annie eventually adopts Runt which infuriates most of the town but Annie loves him and trains him to herd the sheep as well as other things.

Annie controls Runt like a magician.  She just has to wave her fingers and Runt obeys.  It is really quite amazing.

When a greedy Landowner decided he wanted to buy Annie’s farm if they couldn’t pay the money he wanted, Annie tried to think of a way to help.

Maybe Annie could get Runt to help? But how, because there is one big problem with everything she could come up with.  Runt would only do what Annie asked when no one else was there.

I absolutely loved this story.  Annie and Runt were the best of friends who would do anything together.

This book was funny, surprising and wonderful.  I read way way way past my bedtime to finish this one!

Another fabulous Australian story you should read right now!

more than 5 out of 5 ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzZ

Silver, C. (2022). Runt. Allen & Unwin: Crows Nest, Australia

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You thought your name was bad. At least it’s not Corpse!

The map of Elston-Fright shows there are witches on a rock that doesn’t exist.  It doesn’t exist because it can’t be seen by anyone on the mainland.  Only the witches know it is there, as well as those unfortunate souls who are trapped there forever.

Corpse is a girl who is trapped.  She has spent years trying to leave the island but has never found a way.  Her only friend left, but she didn’t know how.  Now it is just her and the witches.

Her hair is made of seaweed and her eyes abalone shells polished blue by the sand. Her skin made of wax and teeth two rows of pebbles.

She knows she has a family somewhere. They would be missing her since the witches stole her away.  Why did they do that? She doesn’t know.

What she does know is that one day she will uncover the truth and escape the island and the witches for good.

There is danger at every turn and an unexpected message sends Corpse on a surprising quest.

Will she come out alive? or is she already dead?

A brilliant Australian story with a twist and turn at every page.  A true gift of the imagination in a world so unexpected it made me want to  read just a little bit more.

I can’t wait for the next one later this year.

5 out of 5 ZZZZZ

Carter, R. (2022). A girl called Corpse. Allen &Unwin: Crows Nest, Australia

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Would you know how to save a dragon?

Pip didn’t want to go home.  She never wanted to go home.  She preferred to stay out in her secret place. Out in the bush near the waterhole, where she could dig in the dirt with a stick to find treasure long ago washed in from somewhere else.  She new every part of the creek.  Every white rock and bleached tree. Every drop of water in the waterhole.  She told herself she would wait till the sun hit the creek stones, when the riverbed shone and looked magical and then she would go home.

But that was the moment she found it.  Curled up like a snakeskin around a stick or maybe a scrap of fabric. Somewhere deep inside her she knew what it was with its bursts of pinks and golds and greens before she picked it up.  It was a dragon.  A real life baby dragon.

The dragon was in a bad way.  She had rescued animals before, birds and lizards but never a dragon.  She hid it in her t-shirt cradled close to her chest.  How was she going to keep this hidden from her mum and Matt her stepdad?

Now the problems really started.  How was she going to save this little dragon?

How would she keep him a secret form Mum and Matt?  Matt would not approve and Mum would pay the price for that.

What do you feed a baby dragon anyway?

It is all going well and the baby dragon starts to improve on his mashed arrowroot biscuit diet until he spikes Pip with his claw.  The burning sensation gets worse and her whole arm feels heavy.  The doctors give her antibiotics but she knows they won’t help.  Nothing will help. She is changing and she doesn’t know why or when it will stop.

A  book that makes you look for possibilities no matter how small because you never know how one small thing could change your life.

It reminds us that we need to sometimes save things to save ourselves.

4 out of 5 ZZZZ

 

Foxlee, K. (2021). Dragon Skin. Allen & Unwin: Crows Nest, Australia.

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Meet me at midnight.

Ema has always been different.  She has never really had a friend and bad omens seem to follow her around.  She was the twelfth child born at the stroke of midnight.  She had spider silk hair and her eyes were so unusual.  Her eldest sister loved her dearly and was always happy to answer her many questions, but one day Ema found herself alone with all her siblings gone away to find their own lives.  How was Ema ever going to cope in a world that didn’t understand her?

Then one night Ema meets Sylvie.  A strange girl who hangs upside down like a bat and thinks Ema is extraordinary. Their adventures and friendship grows and nothing makes Ema happier than the times they spend together.

Disaster strikes one day when Sylvie goes missing. No one seems to know Sylvie.  They think she is made up so it is up to Ema to find her.  The trouble is this means she will have to show courage and search the city and come to terms with the secrets she finds along the way.

Will so have enough to courage to solve the mystery of her friends disappearance?

Will she escape the mysterious Midnight Guild and the strange people who work there?

A fantastic mystery about friendship and courage with a little bit of fantasy mixed in.  I really enjoyed the strange people and places different to most other stories of this kind.

Will you find the courage to be extraordinary?

I read way past my bedtime to solve this mystery!

4.5 out of 5 ZZZZz

Toole, H. (2022). The midnighters. Puffin:Dublin, Ireland

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Battle of the Books

The library is a very special place don’t you think.  A place to go and find a new adventure or escape the noise and heat of the playground.

Hetty loves the library especially since the fight with her friends.  They all found new things to do at school and her group, called the Ladybirds, wasn’t so important to them anymore.  But the library never changes and that’s why Hetty likes it there.

One day Hetty hears that they are planning to close the library.  What!  Surely they can’t close the library, can they?

Hetty couldn’t let that happen but how was she ever going to save it on her own? She was going to have find some help.

Will Hetty find out why they are really closing the library and make a plan to save it in time?

Will their plan even work?

This small dyslexic friendly book is funny and fast paced.  It reminds us just how important the library is and how not all things are how they seem.

3.5 out of 5 ZZZz

James, A. (2022). Battle of the books. Barrington Stoke:Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

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Would you like a pet dragon?

Would you like a pet dragon?  I know I would. I think it would be amazing but also maybe unrealistic.  Luma wanted a pet and it was nearly her birthday. Mum and dad had said she could go to the Puppy Rescue Centre and choose one on her birthday.  Luma had it all planned out. She would get a girl puppy and call her Chloe and they would be the best of friends.
When the big day arrived Luma went down to the puppy rescue as planned but there were no girl puppies!  How could that be? The man at the centre said she would have to wait a few more weeks for a girl puppy. This was not how her birthday was supposed to go.
Luma was so sad and upset not even a hug from her mum could cheer her up.  She decided to go and see her grandmother.

Luma’s grandma was so happy to see her and had the perfect gift to cheer her up.  As Luma opened the box she saw a bracelet.  It belonged to her grandmother and had beautiful charms dangling from it.  This was a very special gift and Luma loved it.  Her favourite charm was the black and gold dragon. Luma headed into the garden to play but what happened next was a big surprise.  Under the bushes hiding was a strange creature.  It was like nothing Luma had ever seen before.  She crawled closer to get a better look when the thing stole her bracelet.  She just had to get it back.

And then it spoke. “Mine” it said and ran further into the garden. Luma had to get it back, so the chase begins.

I loved this short story.  It has well spaced words so it is easy to read and short chapters so I could read just a little at a time.
If you have ever wished for an interesting pet this story might just be for you.

3.5 out of 5 ZZZz

Mohammed, L. (2022]. Luma and the pet dragon. Wellbeck Flame: London, England

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Who needs a Unicorn when you can have a Unipiggle!

Princess Pea always wanted a unicorn and it won’t be long until she finally gets to choose her very own Unicorn at the Royale Unicorn Parade.  It will be perfect, just like everything else in the kingdom.  The problem is Princess Pea isn’t perfect no matter how hard her mother tries to make her.
It was the day that Princess Pea didn’t want to go to singing class or dancing, or yoga that she slung a ladder over the balcony and escaped.
Laying on the nicely ironed grass Princess Pea noticed some things out of place.
That can’t be right. Nothing is ever out of place in the kingdom but here in the garden the grass was bent, the flowers were pulled out of the ground and there was a strange footprints in the mud.
The princess decided she’d do a bit of research about naughty unicorns and the more she read the more she was unsure. Was it really a unicorn in her garden?

When the day of the parade finally arrived Princess Pea watched all the unicorns parade around.  There were so many to choose from.  Which one should she pick?

Which one would be the perfect match for a muddy princess? A muddy unicorn pig perhaps?

Madness and mayhem abounds on every page.

I loved this funny full colour short novel.  It made me laugh out loud at how silly the kingdom is and I can’t wait to read the next Unipiggle adventures.

4 out of 5 ZZZZ

Shaw, H. (2020). Unipiggle the Unicorn pig. Usborne:London, England.