Because a book a day keeps us going in every which way.
I am posting this on behalf of my 10 year old, Namit, who participated in the KBC Book Bingo Sr for older kids (8 – 12 years old). Below are his mini-reviews for each book. Happy reading!
With a Male Protagonist: Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Hoot is a book about a boy named Roy, a pancake house, and some burrowing owls.
Hoot takes place in Florida, where Roy lives (for now). His dad’s work forces them to move, so he is now in Florida. One day, Roy sees a boy running, so he goes to follow him. Roy discovers the boy had been living at a golf course in a hole. He had a bag full of snakes, too.
Near where Roy lived, there was the future location of a pancake house. The place is full of holes, containing burrowing owls. Not only that, but a series of small crimes have been committed there—for example, every survey stake there has been pulled out. Later, Roy finds out that the boy who had been running had done this (but I will not say why—that would ruin it too much). Roy listens to the boy and makes a surprising discovery about this boy and becomes friends with him. What will happen to the owls? Or the crimes? Or the pancake house? Read on to find out in this thrilling novel!
I loved Hoot, mainly for the page-turning, attention-grabbing suspense. There is so much mystery that you cannot put it down. This makes the book very exciting. I hope you read it and love it too!
With a Female Protagonist: Best Friends Forever by Arti Sonthalia
Pari and Aditi are BFFs. They sit together, play together, do everything together, but Pari gets upset when Mrs. Sharma, their teacher, moved Pari and Aditi away from each other. Soon, a new girl comes to their class, Amber. Aditi goes off and becomes friends with her, leaving Pari alone. Pari decides not to like Amber. Pari’s world is crashing apart. What will happen? Will they all become friends…. or foes?
I liked this book because of the friendship themes. It was really nice when Pari and Aditi supported each other. It is also a short book, so you can read the whole thing in a little bit. If your kid can’t read very fluently, that’s OK. I would recommend it for you!
By an Indian author: The Clever Tailor by Srividhya Venkat
The Clever Tailor is a great book about a famous but poor tailor named Rupa Ram with a dream. He wants to make something for his family, but he never gets to. One day, he goes to a wedding and gets a new saafa, which he loves so much that he wears it wherever he goes, and it finally gets worn out. He sees some good cloth is left and turns it into something for his wife. His wife also loves it so much that she wears it wherever she goes, and then that too gets worn out. This pattern continues for his children, and finally, he gets a story out of it which never wears out and Rupa Ram is very proud of.
I would recommend this book for anyone. I liked it because first of all the illustrations were vibrant and colorful. The second reason I liked it is because it showed how people used things over and over and made it into different things. Rupa Ram made something for his whole family out of one saafa. It’s a nice message and a great book, so you should definitely read it.
Author you never read before: Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar
Ahimsa is the story of a 10-year-old girl named Anjali, and her involvement in the fight for India’s freedom.
British forces have come into India. Gandhiji is working to help fight for independence. When Anjali’s mom resigns from her job as a secretary for Captain Brent, a British officer, Anjali is shocked that her mother is becoming a freedom fighter. She resigned because she thought that she was following orders that were hurting others, like large taxes on salt.
When Anjali sees how another child in her class is living, as a freedom fighter’s child, she gets scared. Her mother starts burning all the British-made clothes and teaching people how to spin on a charkha. Then, surprising Anjali most, her mother starts working with the Dalit community. The Dalits are also known as the Untouchables. They are the people who do dirty work, like cleaning toilets, and no one touches them. They call themselves Dalits, though. However, Anjali starts meeting them and making friends. Then something dreadful happens to her mother, and Anjali is not sure if she can handle it.
Will Anjali be able to tackle this challenge? Will India ever be free? Find out!
I liked this book, mostly because of the idea of change. It shows people that change is possible, and everything is not stuck in one way. It is also nice because of friendship (I didn’t put that part in the actual report), and freedom. That is why I liked this book. I hope you read it, too!
Mystery/Adventure: Red-Headed League (Sherlock Holmes) by Arthur Conan Doyle
In this exciting Sherlock Holmes adventure, a man called Mr. Jabez Wilson comes to Sherlock Holmes (and Watson, naturally). He shows Holmes an ad for something called the Red-Headed League. Wilson tells him that a worker in his pawn shop, Vincent Spaulding, told Mr. Wilson he was eligible for this job. The work is light and strange, but you get a few hundred a year. Vincent Spaulding is a man who works in Mr. Wilson’s pawnbroker shop for half-pay, and he offers to take care of the business while Mr. Wilson does the work at the League: he has to copy an entire encyclopedia, but he also has to stay there the full 4 hours and not leave. So Mr. Wilson did this for a while, but suddenly the League closed without warning . Read along as Holmes and Watson attempt to solve this mystery!
I really loved this book because of all the mystery in it. That’s what makes Sherlock Holmes so exciting! It’s also really awesome that you get to solve it with him and witness all his genius (though at times you will have no clue what he’s doing). It does have old words, though, so you might need a dictionary, and it’s why the age group is high. Still, if you like mystery, you’ll LOVE this
Nonfiction/Biography: Scholastic Discover More: Human Body by Steve Setford
Human Body is a book about everything inside you. There are sections about metabolism, what you should eat, how you breathe, how your heart works, blood vessels, digestive systems, the skeletal system, different types of muscle, muscular system, different types of bones, and much more. The whole thing is enhanced with hundreds of photos on everything it covers. It’s not boring, either. You learn really cool things. For example, did you know that if you unraveled all your DNA, it would stretch from you to our Sun and back over 200 times? Crazy, right? This book is full of this kind of information, plus explanations of almost all parts of your body. So if you like books about humans that blow your mind, this is definitely for you.
I liked this book a lot, because it has so much information that is so cool, along with amazing visuals to help you understand everything. I also learned a lot from it, such as the fact that the average human lung has 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) of airways, and all of this seemed crazy to me. It also had really close up pictures of everything it talked about, which were so cool to me. I think if you like learning about the human body, you should really read this book!
Book about the Environment: Earth Smart by Leslie Garret
Earth Smart is a book about the environment. Spencer and Sophie learn about different types of pollution, like littering and air pollution. They learn about toxic waste, more about the environment, and how to help the earth with all the problems people cause for it.
For me, the book was OK. It was short, which is why the report is small. If you are looking for a light book, with easy vocabulary, and a brief introduction to the topic of the environment, try getting this one. I am 10. I think it would also be suitable for slightly younger kids (6-7 year olds).
Graphic Novel: Big Nate Blasts Off! by Lincoln Pierce
Big Nate is a character that has many books and provides comic relief. In this book, a new girl called Ruby has come and Nate secretly likes her.
The Mud Bowl is also coming up, which is a big contest between Nate’s school and their rival school: Jefferson. But when Nate finds his arch nemesis Randy Betancourt likes Ruby too, Nate gets mad. To make things worse, Dee Dee, Nate’s friend, has spilled the beans about Ruby and Nate.
Then, Nate gets hired for the Weekly Bugle, the school’s newspaper (that Nate thinks is world-class boring) and starts writing comics for it.
One day, Randy pulls a trick on Nate to get him all soaked with soda and sees him in the bathroom. They start fighting, but the principal catches them and Randy pins everything on Nate. So, since Nate had been hired for the school newspaper, he tries to hurt Randy’s reputation by making a comic about him that destroys it because all the kids like it. Was that the right thing to do? Then Randy and Nate start fighting, and the principal catches them again, and, once again Randy blames Nate. What will happen next with Nate and Ruby? What about the Mud Bowl? Nate and Randy?
I liked this book and would recommend it for anyone who likes graphic novels. However, there is one drawback (if you don’t like romance). There is a lot of romance in this book, even if there a lot of laughs, so if you don’t like that, don’t read this book. Everything else was good, though, with Nate’s funny sense of humor and drawings!
Classic: Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Heidi is an orphaned young girl, who is taken by her Aunt Dete to her grandfather’s house: the mysterious and feared Alm-Uncle. There, she makes friends with Peter, a boy who grazes sheep. Then, Heidi meets Peter’s blind grandmother, whom she likes very much.
Soon, Heidi is taken to Frankfurt because the people who Dete works for have some relatives that need a companion for their invalid daughter named Clara. Heidi makes friends with Clara, but Fraulein Rottenmeir disapproves of her in every possible way. How will Heidi live with Fraulein Rottenmeir? Will she ever go back to Dete or her uncle?
I liked this book because it shows Heidi making friends with Clara, her journey with the Alm-Uncle and adjusting to Frankfurt, along with little adventures along the way. It shows you a lot about friendship, too, which was nice. I would definitely recommend it for anyone!
Funny book: Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories by Jeff Kinney
Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories is a book of a bunch of mini-stories. They are supposed to be scary, but they are actually quite funny. With the same hilarious pictures as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the comedy is awesome. Kinney even put in some suspense! There is also friendship themes, and practical jokes, which are absolutely hysterical. You should definitely read this amazing book!
I loved this book mostly because of the comedy. There are great pieces of practical joking, which I think are fun
Book That Is Also A Movie/TV show: Goosebumps: Welcome to Dead House by R. L. Stine
This Goosebumps book is a book about two kids, Josh and Amanda. When their dad gets a letter saying that they inherited a house, they move there. When Amanda and Josh start exploring, the neighborhood is OK, but then Amanda starts seeing freaky kids and the curtains blowing when the window is closed. Amanda is very creeped out, and then they meet the kids of the neighborhood. They are normal, until they start behaving oddly. I won’t say anymore because this is a short book.
I really liked this book from the Goosebumps series because it is slightly creepy and has mystery. I like these kinds of books, so if you like to be scared a little, you should read it. It also is a short, light book, so it’s easy to read. I hope you like it too.
Favourite Author: Going Solo by Roald Dahl
Going Solo is an autobiography by Roald Dahl. It is an amazing book, filled with the vivid writing of Roald Dahl (author of Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, etc.). This book is the second autobiography, about his adulthood. His first autobiography is called Boy, which is about his childhood. This is one of those books that starts slow but picks up speed, so you’ll have to give it a few chapters. Going Solo starts on a ship to Africa because Roald Dahl has a contract with Shell. He then arrives at Africa and is given a house, plus a cook and a “boy”, or a servant. Roald Dahl loved it there, and his words are colorful and clear. He then talks about some very exciting adventures there, and how he learned to live there.
The next part of the book is when Roald Dahl joins the Royal Air Force, or RAF. He wanted to fight in the war against Hitler. He is put in flight training and starts training with a bunch of other people to become a fighter pilot. After him and the other people mastered this with a Tiger Moth, he moved on to a new training. A while passes, and then he is put in 80 Squadron. He is then sent to a part of the desert where his squadron is, and this part is very interesting. Dahl crashes but miraculously survives and is taken to a hospital. A few more thrilling adventures are told, and then the book ends.
I loved this book, for two big reasons. The first is the way Roald Dahl writes this book. His language is so detailed, vivid and colorful. It’s really great so you can imagine everything just like he did. I had to summarize a lot because of all this detail. Second, there is a lot of action, especially when Roald Dahl joins the Royal Air Force. It’s very exciting to read, with suspense and action. I hope you read it!
Informative Book: A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
A Really Short History of Nearly Everything is a book about…… well, nearly all sciences, with history in it. The book talks about various topics, such as the Big Bang, inside Earth, early animals, early humans, fossils, the solar system, and everything in between. The entire book is also accompanied with pictures to help you understand the text, and humor.
I would really recommend this book for anyone who likes science. There is lots of very interesting information and great (and funny) pictures. I learned a lot from it, and it didn’t drone on and on and on and on about things, like some books do. So if you like science, get this book!
Book that was Gifted: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan
Magnus Chase and his friends are back from defeating Fenris Wolf, but nothing is normal and OK. Hearth and Blitz are missing, Marvin the goat has been killed by an assassin, Thor’s hammer is missing and being sought by giants, and a new Valhalla resident is causing trouble. Randolph is also somehow being used by Loki! Magnus even learns that Sam has a mysterious, forced wedding with a giant. And, Loki is involved in it, and he wants a bride price. Sam knows she needs the missing hammer of Thor to stop this deal, but it won’t be easy and will whisk them off into an adventure across the nine worlds. The new resident is also found to be a child of Loki, which concerns Sam. Can they figure this all out? What will they do??
I liked this book for the action and humor. The action is very exciting, and I have compressed the story a lot to make it fit in a book report. There is fighting, running away, mystery, and surprising encounters with weird creatures. There is also a lot of humor, which I love about Rick Riordan’s books. I hope you read this (and the other Magnus Chase books — this is book 2)!
Fantasy: Magnus Chase and the Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan
WARNING: If you have not read the previous Magnus Chase books, this will spoil things for you!
Loki has been freed by Randolph, and is out to start Ragnarök by setting sail on Naglfar, also known as the Ship of the Dead, or the Ship of Nails. Magnus, TJ, Halfborn Gunderson, Mallory and Alex need to stop him from launching Naglfar at Midsummer. However, when Alex and Magnus visit the family mansion, they found something that Randolph had written about something called the Whetstone of Bolverk, Loki’s symbol, and a weird word that they don’t recognize. Magnus and his friends set sail to stop Loki, and are faced with giants, angry gods, and something that Hearth needs to revisit. Will they stop Loki? Read it to find out.
I liked this book because of the large amounts of suspense, mostly. I also liked the comedy, as always. There is a lot of action as well, like all of Rick Riordan’s amazing books. If you like mythology and action, this is the book for you!
Inspiring Book: 103 Inventions by Soumyajit Mandal and Abhinanda Mukherjee
In “103 Everyday Inventions, Discoveries, Creations and Stuff.”, there is a variety of inventions and creations, such as Monopoly, ballpoint pens, chopsticks, and much more It takes you through a short history of each object, showing you what happened to make it real and what we see today. It is quite fascinating when you look at all the people who contributed to one small object.
However, even though it is very informative and a bit inspiring, it is not very fun to read. This book is a little enjoyable, but sometimes the author drones a tiny bit, which has made me lose interest a few times. So, that is 103 Everyday Inventions, Discoveries, Creations and Stuff. If you choose to read it, I hope you find it a little more interesting than me!
Short stories: Amar Chitra Katha
The ACK books is a collection of books that tells stories from India. It tells us mythology and epics, like Ramayan, as well as folk tales. They are comics (like short graphic novels), fully illustrated. I like the books because it is interesting to read the mythology from India, and to relate to the festivals we celebrate at home. And I like the folk tales, because they are humourous. Each of the comics is so different from each other, so get the whole set to read!
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