The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is by Steve Brusatte, a palaeontologist, and discusses the dinosaur’s world and the time leading up to it. While dinosaurs themselves are a main topic in the book, Brusatte also creates a clear image of their environment, including the weather. Two other topics are the mass extinctions that … Read more
The seventh Swallows and Amazons book, We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea, is one of several by Arthur Ransome. The Swallows (John, Susan, Titty and Roger) and their mother are waiting at Harwich for the return of their father. Soon, they meet Jim Brading, who agrees to take the Swallows as crew. However, fog … Read more
Boy is one of many books written by Roald Dahl, and the author describes his childhood in this story. However, Dahl states that Boy is not an autobiography because he left out the boring details! In Boy, the author describes events in his life between 1922, when he was 6, and 1936, when he was … Read more
Written by Arthur Ransome, Pigeon Post is the sixth book in the Swallows and Amazons series. The Swallows, Amazons and Ds arrive at Beckfoot for the summer holidays and plan to mine gold for Captain Flint. After meeting three requirements (the ability to get milk and water, and for pigeons to deliver messages), the group … Read more
‘Rats with brains. Rats who can think. Rats who don’t turn and run. Rats who aren’t afraid of dark or fire or noises or traps or poison.’ A Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents takes the idea of the Pied Piper of Hamelin and flips it on its head. … Read more
The only children’s book by Robert Browning, The Pied Piper of Hamelin is illustrated by Kate Greenaway. Compared to the tale’s original recording, Browning’s narrative poem was written fairly recently: the legend first appeared in a church window around 1300 AD and this version of the story was written in 1842. The Pied Piper of … Read more
‘The next moment the big motor cruiser was round the bend, bearing down on them, towering above them…’ The fifth in the Swallows and Amazons series, Coot Club is by Arthur Ransome. This book includes sailing terms but provides definitions. Coot Club also includes two maps: one for the Northern rivers of the Norfolk Broads … Read more
‘One of th’ gardens is locked up. No one has been in it for ten years.’ Written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden is a children’s classic. The cholera seizes Mary’s mother, Ayah and servants. Now all alone, the spoiled, unhealthy child is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle. After discovering … Read more
‘THUD! The scales shifted instantly as the Naughty List hit the desk and sent the much lighter Nice List rocketing up towards the ceiling.’ The Christmasaurus and the Naughty List is the third book in the Christmasaurus series by Tom Fletcher. Like The Christmasaurus and The Winter Witch, this book is a fantasy adventure. (Click … Read more
I have written a book review for ‘Swallows and Amazons’ before, but I have learned a lot more since then and started doing themes. Plus, my favourite character has changed! Click here to see the original. The first of a twelve-book series, Swallows and Amazons is an illustrated, classic adventure by Arthur Ransome. In the … Read more