Friday Recap - Week 8

Week Eight. How quickly it goes...
 
The number, "8" is considered auspicious - good luck - in Chinese culture so it seems a good time to take a break.  We will be back in a week or so with up-to-date information from the World Final in Durban, South Africa.

In the meanwhile, there's a lot to keep you busy if you like reading.

Book Review - The Recruit

The Recruit (CHERUB series, Book 1) by Robert Muchamore (Hodder, 2004)

Book Review - Don't Call Me Ishmael!

Don’t Call Me Ishmael! by Michael Gerard Bauer (Scholastic, 2006)

Looking for a Book to Read?

There are a lot of good books out there and, in a well-stocked library or book shop, it can sometimes be hard to know where to start.

It is one of the reasons librarians were invented. Here's a tip - get to know your school or local librarian and, once he or she knows the books you like, the world is your literary oyster.

Apart from shooting the breeze with your friendly neighbourhood librarian, it also helps to ask keen readers for recommendations. Some of the best books I've read have been recommended by friends and family members - which is why I asked our contributors, all avid readers, to tell us the titles of books they read as children and of books they are reading now.

So, here are the titles mentioned on this blog - all in one place - for your convenience and reading pleasure. These are book lists with a difference!

How to Find Posts that Interest You

It is seven weeks since this site went live and there's a lot of material here already - 51 posts and 25 guest authors. Lots of books to read and lots of ideas to consider.  So I thought it might be helpful to list the featured author posts here and provide an overview of the topics covered:

On John Steinbeck, Gratitude and Dedications

The American novelist, John Steinbeck (1902 - 1968) is probably best known to school-aged readers for his novella, Of Mice and Men.

Written in 1937, the book remains fresh and relevant and is still found on many school reading lists today.  Readers aged 14 and upwards are more likely to appreciate this book than younger readers.

Friday Recap: Week 7

Each Friday, I’ll be posting a recap of the week’s events in case you missed them and invite you to tell us what you’re reading. If you’d like a recommendation for new books to read, send a comment telling us what sorts of books you like and other readers may be able to give you some suggestions.

Book Review - Homecoming

Homecoming by Michael Morpurgo (Walker Books, 2012)

Book Review - The Assassins of Rome

The Assassins of Rome by Caroline Lawrence (Orion Books, 2002)

Lucky by Nicole Deans

Lucky, that's how I feel about my involvement in the Kids' Lit Quiz.

I have always loved reading and even more than that I have always loved sharing stories with children, so it sort of made sense that I started work firstly as a teacher and now as a Teacher Librarian.  I became the National Coordinator (Australia) for the Kids' Lit Quiz in 2011 and haven't looked back since!

South Africa, 2013 by Marj Brown

We are very excited about hosting the Kids' Lit Quiz world final in Durban this year.

E-Books v. Real Books by Justin Garrick

It’s great to see a website about books so heavily featuring the real thing – the paper book!

I’m wrestling with my conscience over the move to e-books. It’s not that I don’t like technology or understand the convenience of carrying dozens of books in my 662 gram iPad – I do, especially when I’m travelling – but I can’t give my friends and family e-books in the way that I’ve always loved giving real books.

Friday Recap: Week 6

Each Friday, I’ll be posting a recap of the week’s events in case you missed them and invite you to tell us what you’re reading. If you’d like a recommendation for new books to read, send a comment telling us what sorts of books you like and other readers may be able to give you some suggestions.

Book Review - Gone

Gone by Michael Grant (Egmont, 2008)

Book Review - Mortal Engines

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeves (Scholastic, 2001)

The Worlds of Fantasy by Paul Collins

The most popular (read notorious) question authors get asked is: ‘Where do you get your ideas?’

Dragonlinks,  Book 1 of The Jelindel Chronicles series

I pondered this in relation to fantasy writing and built a 12 point "Structure of Fantasy" workshop to explain how fantasy authors write humongous tomes.  This is as good a place as any to start to answer this question.

Bush Bash by Nette Hilton

To begin with, I guess you need to know something about me.

Firstly, I’m an author…secondly I’m an illustrator.  I have waited a long time to say that and now I am able to say I’m an illustrator as my new picture book is being illustrated by me – with, tra-da – a realio-trulio publisher’s blessing ….YAY!

Right now I’m working on a new book about a girl who lived a long time ago and is haunted by something that is truly scary – and that she needs to understand and fix before she is safe again. I’m also working on my new picture book – a love story about a fox and a hen. 

The middle sketch shows the fox and the hen dancing because foxes love foxtrotting

Meeting Hazel Edwards

‘Reading and writing is like cracking a code. You need to work out the word and picture clues.’

A Book from my Childhood by Hazel Edwards

I admit my secret. I was an Enid Blyton fan.

Nowhere Boys by C.S. McMullen

How making a TV show is different to writing a book.

Matchbox Pictures is making a brand new TV show for kids, called Nowhere Boys.