I am submitting these reviews on behalf of my 8.5 yr son, Reansh, who loves to read and re-read.
Even though Reansh moved to chapter books faster than I expected, he still loves books meant for younger children and we still have our picture books with us. He doesn’t agree to give them away, only agreeing to lend them and gets them back before people forget! So, in our book bingo list below, you will see few books which are meant for 5-8 year old’s too, as mentioned in the brackets! The others are for 8+.
- A book by an Indian Author: A very naughty Dragon By Paro Anand and Sarah Rose (For ages 6+)
The story is about the first ever komodo dragon known to be able to swim and climb trees. The komodo dragon makes a friend and he goes to visit his friend every year, and soon becomes the most famous dragon on that island. This is not the dragon that I usually love to talk about, but I still loved the story and have re-read it many times.
This book can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
2: A purple coloured book: Goosebumps HorrorLand: Say Cheese, and Die screaming! By R.L. Stine
This book is all about a haunted camera and whichever part of body it clicks a picture of, the person feels that that part is broken! A very spooky story, so much so that it gave me nightmares for a few days, especially as the camera was extremely creepy! Now when I tell spooky stories to my friends, I take references from this book, and watch my friends shudder!
This book series can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
3: An award-winning book: The one and only Ivan By Katherine Applegate (Winner of the Newbery Medal in 2013)
This is one of favourite books to re-read, as it is very interesting. In this book we get to know the story about a Gorilla, from a Gorilla himself – Ivan! Ivan is captured and kept in a cage in a mall to perform, where he draws and plays. As the story progresses, another elephant Stella, tells Ivan about a larger, more open place, called a forest where animals are free, and when a young elephant, Ruby, joins Ivan at the mall, Ivan finally escapes. Read the book to find where Ivan finally ends up! My favourite character is Bob, and the scene I found the funniest in the book was when Ruby the baby elephant kicks the mall owner, Mack in stomach, not once but twice!
4: A book with a male protagonist: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief By Rick Riordan
This is a very interesting and adventurous story about Zeus, the King of God. The main weapon, the master bolt, is stolen and he suspects that Percy has stolen it, but Percy has not. In fact, Percy finds the thunderbolt and goes to Olympus to prove he did not steal it. An interesting fact from the story, Percy can control water and breathe in it because he is the son of Poseidon, the Greek God of the Sea! My wish is to go in the world of Percy Jackson as the son of Zeus!
5: A mystery/adventure book: The adventures of Mooli: The blue legged Alien By Asha Nehemiah / Secret Seven books By Enid Blyton (For ages 6+)
In the book, Mooli’s father is growing lots of flowers for a competition but somehow few flowers keep getting stolen, so they hide a camera to figure out who is stealing them. But, all they can see is blue legs and they think its an alien! They then set about trying to figure out what the blue alien was doing! A mysterious and funny story! This book series can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
I have read and re-read all of secret seven story books. One of my favourite Secret Seven story is “Secret seven win through”. In this, their shed gets destroyed and they have to find another meeting place which is a cave! How cool is that! Whenever I read these books, I feel like going on adventures with the secret seven!
6: The first book in a series: Beast Quest: Ferno the fire Dragon By Adam Blade
This is a very adventurous story and I found Ferno, the dragon’s story very fascinating, how his scales can protect you from fire! My favourite character is definitely Ferno, even though the main story is about a boy named Tom, who goes on an adventure to free six beasts that protect his kingdom in order to save them from an evil wizard. This is first book in the extremely gripping series.
7: A graphic novel: Astrosaurs: Riddle of the Raptors By Steve Cole
This is a very funny book with an element of mystery. Captain Teggs Stegosaur and his crew transport dino games champion to dino games. Few raptors come aboard their spaceship and steal two of their champions! They have to rescue their champions and get back to dino games in time. I wonder how dinosaurs were able to make technology advanced enough to go out in space! My favourite character is Iggy tooth, the chief engineer of sauropod. You must read this book- I am sure you will enjoy it!
8: A scholastic book: The magic school bus flies with the dinosaurs By Martin Schwabacher (For ages 6+)
This book is about Ms Frizzle and the magic school bus going back in time to the dinosaur age! They learn about fossils and nearly get eaten by a T-Rex! We have many books from scholastic and the magic school bus series. I like the magic school bus series as I can finish reading them very quickly and they are very fun reads.
This book and the entire MAGIC SCHOOL BUS SERIES can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Click our special kbc storefront link and type The Magic School Bus flies with the dinosaurs in search. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
9: A non-fiction book/encyclopedia: It’s a fact: Robots in space By Ruth Owen, Dinosaurs WOW Children Encyclopedia in Augmented Reality By Dreamland Publications (For ages 6+)
I want to be an Astronaut when I grow up and the book “It’s a fact: Robots in space” is all about Robots, what they can do, how they work in space, how they are sent there and how they are controlled from Earth! Fascinating, isn’t it?! Curiosity, the robot rover on Mars is controlled from Earth! Did you know that there is a robot called Dextre that makes repairs to the International space station when needed? Another fascinating robot is Robonaut! How much fun it would be if I get to work in space with a Robonaut!
This book can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
Wow dinosaurs! was a Christmas gift, and since I love dinosaurs, I knew quite a bit about them before I got this book but I got to know so much more. But, the most amazing thing is that I get to see the dinosaurs roar! I wish I can go back in time and see dinosaurs in real life!
10: A book about school stories: Letters from an Alien Schoolboy By Ros Asquith
It is hilarious and fascinating to see human life from an alien point of view. This book is about how an alien gets used to human life and the way he does it is very funny. He actually doesn’t even get used to it! The opening note is the best part, and extremely funny, and I even tried that on my friends!!
11. A Classic: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Peter Pan is a classic about a boy who lives in Neverland, where you don’t grow up and be of same age. Few kids join Peter Pan in Neverland and take on adventures. magical adventures and pirate attacks. Those kids return back and then go again to Neverland when they grow up. They wear their childhood clothes when they go back. When they get there and they are of same age as they were last time when they they were in Neverland. When they find Peter Pan he has changed.. to more read this book for sure!!
12: A rib-tickling book: Dog Man By Dav Pilkey (For ages 6+)
This series tells us the story of dog man. Dog Man has the body of a cop and the head of a dog. He has one terrible enemy, Petey the cat. There’s always something up between Dog Man and Petey. A very funny book that will have you laugh out loud over and over.
This book and the series can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
13: An inspiring book: India’s Space Adventure By Biman Basu, Geronimo Stilton: Mouse in Space By Geronimo Stilton
Though both books are very different but you get to know a lot about space, satellite, astronaut etc. through both. India’s space adventure has lot of information like all the first’s regarding India’s satellites. It even includes what we should study or what different careers we can pursue in space.
The Geronimo book is all about science and space in fun way. I want to be an astronaut when I grow up and that’s why I like re-reading these books. This book can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
All other Geronimo Stilton books can also be ordered from Amazon here.
14: A sci-fci/fantasy book: Percy Jackson and the last Olympian By Rick Riordan
This is an adventurous and exciting read. In this book Percy and his friends make an army, and Percy defeats Titan in a huge war. This is the last book in the Percy Jackson’s series but there is sequel to this in Heroes of Olympus, and the story is continued from this book though that is a different series.
15: A book on being ecofriendly: The story of solar energy By Arvind Gupta
An informational book that tells us how the technology of solar energy has evolved. It tells us how we can use solar energy as an alternative to other traditional energy forms. I, along with my mother and a friend did an experiment on solar energy after I read this book, which was a lot of fun. Here is a fun fact- Did you know that mirrors were used as weapons earlier?!
This book can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
16: A book on any place in the world: Magic school bus: Expedition down under By Rebecca Carmi (For ages 6+)
This is an exciting book in which Ms Frizzle and the magic school bus explore Australia and meet many animals that I haven’t heard of before. The most fascinating animal was Platypus, which has a duck like bill. The book also has many fun facts about Australia and a few jokes as well in the end!
This book and the entire MAGIC SCHOOL BUS SERIES can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Click our special kbc storefront link and type The Magic School Bus expedition down under in search. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
17: A biography: Boys who rocked the world By Michelle Roehm McCain
This book has short biographies about a lot of young men who changed the world.. Many of them are still there, some are from past. I liked reading about Einstein, Bruce lee and King Tut. They make you believe that you can dream of anything and be what you want to be when grow up.
18: A book by your favourite author: Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth By Rick Riordan
Off late, I am reading a lot of books by Rick Riordian. His books are magical, exciting, mythical and adventurous. I liked the Percy Jackson series the most. In this book particularly, Percy Jackson finds a mythical Labyrinth and they try to navigate through it to find the person whose machine will greatly help them defeat Kronos, who is the King of Titans!
19: A new author you were introduced to: The Gopi Diaries: Coming home By Sudha Murthy
This book is about a cute puppy, Gopi, who finds a new family and a new home. It takes him a little while to adjust to the change. You would be surprised to know that Gopi is Sudha Murthy’s dog is in real life! I think the character Aachi in the book is Sudha Murthy herself. I got to know more about Sudha Murthy and her style of writing through the book and now I have a couple of more books written by her.
20: A book that was gifted to you: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone By J.K. Rowling
This story is about finding a mythical, magical stone which can make you immortal and can turn metal into gold! Harry, Hermione and Ron have to face several challenges to get to it. The last challenge is very hard, and only Harry can get to the stone but ultimately it is destroyed! This is the first book in the Harry potter series, gifted by my Mama! One of the best gifts ever! I wish I could go into the world of Harry Potter and use the spells!! Crucio! Lumos! Expelliarmus! Avada Kedavra!
[Note from Team Kids Book Café: For your convenience, affiliate links (MARKED IN PINK) to some of the book titles & images have been added to enable you to buy the books from AMAZON, should you wish to! A very small amount of money comes to kidsbookcafe.com when you purchase a book via the amazon affiliate link provided (at absolutely no extra cost to you!). Do let us know if you need information about other children’s books by writing to asha@kidsbookcafe.com.]
