Diana Wynne Jones

Not lightly named! She's a winner ! Amazing. Fantasy and Fiction par excellence. Really good at fleshing out character, has a sense of fun and adventure and has original ideas. Even if you don't like her characters, you know them and they all do quirky things.

I have enjoyed most of her books and will post the list asap! One fan has even set up a forum to discuss her books.

She's awesome.

The Chrestomanci series

The Dark Lord of Derkholm
The Year of the Griffin

The Dalemark Quartet

I didn't like The Merlin Conspiracy that much but it was OK.

Comments by NTB

in case you would like to read a review for the book

http://www.kidsreads.com/reviews/0399243577.asp

The Whispering Road

Recently read a book called "The Whispering Road by Livy Michael about a boy called Joe or Tom or Dodger depending on who he is with. It's fairly harrowing because he and his sister are workhouse children who are farmed out to people as unpaid slaves, kept and fed the bare minimum to keep them alive and working, but it has a reasonably happy ending -thank goodness,- and manages to hold the interest in a Dickensian kind of way. It also has an element of magic, fantasy, and psychic abilities which make it more intriguing. If you can stomach all the tragedies and get to the end you may even realise that hundreds of kids in India live like these children. Not a pleasant thought!

The story originated out of a real situation in the author's neighbouring farm and has been cooked and stewed with historical facts,people and places. If you get to the end of the book ,there is an author's note which is also worth reading.

For older children..................

a little funny, a little sad...

i recently read a book called "the music of dolphins". it is about a girl called mila who was found on a deserted island. she has grown up with dolphins since she was 4 years old. when i started reading, i expected the book would be all about her life with the dolphins -- all the time she spent with them on the island. instead, it was about her life after she was found on the island and how she learnt to speak and sing like humans.
still i liked the book. it was a bit sad though -- even though mila was funny in parts and got into all kinds of strange situations. i like books about animals and all creatures so i finished the book quite fast.

mekaner10

bow wow, bleat bleat

I find the books in the animal ark series by lucy daniels quite nice. some are better than the others. the one i read last is called badgers by the bridge and its not only about a badger but about a badger and a dog. both are equally important in this story.
i liked the book called goat in the garden best. it was very funny because. once the goat chewed up the grass in a neighbour farmer's garden and then it decided, just for fun, to run away from home and went to the ANIMAL ARK which is a vet clinic run by the parents of Mandy Hope -- the main person in the book. She loves animals and has a lot of adventures with them.
mandy is an adopted child and she thinks that animals must always come first. this is what i like about her. i like james who is her friend too and he is sometimes better than mandy in the books because he is not always obsessed about animals!!

please read these books and tell me what you think of them.

By mekaner10

reviews of 3 books by Kamini

‘Gifted’ by Nikita Lalwani

‘Gifted’ is a very well written book in the sense that the reader is compelled to carry on reading, I could not put this book down! However, I felt some of the issues raised in the book and some of the terminology used is quite dated. Having moved to the UK in my early teens I sympathise with the authors concept of belonging neither with the British nor with the Indians especially when I was trying to fit in at school and then make my mum happy by not compromising my results. Nevertheless, I do not think Indian parents still put as much pressure on their children as they did before. In my experience and in others I know, the parents did not view their move to the UK as a sacrifice or an unpleasant experience.

As for the terminology it was simply confusing when the author referred to ‘O’ levels as this is no longer relevant and has not been for a while, GCSE’s are a more appropriate term. On the whole though the social, educational and romantic journey the protagonist goes through are entertaining and heart wrenching at the same time!

‘Northern Lights’ by Phillip Pullman

The first book in the trilogy ‘His Dark Materials’ is a thrilling read. The adventures had by Lyra an orphan in ‘Oxford’, but in a world completely different to ours, are vividly described. The book is spellbinding as we travel through Lyra’s world, time and other worlds in search of her best friend guided by a ‘magical compass’. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in fantasy or mysteries in particular, although, I believe it is an interesting read even if you are not. All in all though, a fantastic book, with 2 more fantastic books to follow.

‘Artemis Fowl’ by Eoin Colfer

‘Artemis Fowl’ is essentially a fairy story. However, I don’t think we have been presented with fairies that have made superior technological advances, continue to live below ground at present to avoid Mud People (us humans) and have their own LEPrecon unit with feisty elf Holly Short at the helm, at least she likes to think so! Artemis Fowl the protagonist is essentially a genius who has lent his talents to criminal activities, he is also just 12 years old. The description of the chaos that ensues between the two worlds when Artemis decides to take on the fairy world makes a fascinating read. Very original and not patronising.

"Artemis Fowl is great…a new thriller fairy tale that will grab your interest, no matter your age." -- The New York Post

These reviews are by Kamini, who lives in London. She is 18 years old.

the marple movies

i like the miss marple movies better than the books. i like reading the feluda series of books because he is a smart detective!
football detective, age 12

small talk

These three detectives met over a cup of coffee to exchange notes and catch up on crime times. Can someone set the scene, put in some dialogues ...?

Name: Hercule Poirot
Author: Agatha Christie
The man Agatha Christie made famous, was born in 1916 as a not so young, astute and arrogant detective in her first novel: The Mysterious Affair at Styles. He was a retired private detective who had very strong views on everything, especially murderers. He took great pride in his grey cells and was extremely dismissive of the rest of the world.
Hastings, his friend and trusted sidekick described him thus. "He was hardly more than five feet four inches but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military. The neatness of his attire was almost incredible; I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound." He never rushed about looking for clues and interviewing people. His style was slow, measured and very precise. He lived through 33 novels and 65 short stories and was deeply mourned when he died.

Name: Miss Marple
Author: Agatha Christie
Miss Marple was born an old woman. She lived a life that seemed very dull and uninteresting from the outside but it was a world that was full of intrigue, mystery and murder. She was British and between 65 and 70 years old when she solved her first case.
Tall and thin with a pink wrinkled face, she always piled up her snowy white hair on the top of her head like a bun. She spoke in a slow and meandering fashion and she was always knitting. She never stood out in a crowd. Many dismissed her as a dithering old maid at first meeting but realised soon enough that she was a sharp observer of all things around her and of human nature. Miss Marple was quite clear that there is evil all around us and did not think well of those who thought old women should stay at home.

Name: Sherlock Holmes
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes has been described as cold, conceited and astute. Some find his mannerisms effective and some others find it affected. At first glance, he appears a bit frightening but as you get to know him better, his habits may seem strange but they don’t alarm any more. His methods are difficult to understand.
He is addicted to music and plays the violin at odd hours. He practices shooting with his revolver indoors. He wears a deerstalker hat, a pipe and convex lenses – everything makes him a character that is larger than life. His sidekick, Dr Watson, is kinder and gentler and very loyal.
It is believed that the inspiration for Holmes came from Doyle’s former teacher at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Joseph Bell, who had a hobby of deducing peoples’ character, by minor details of their appearance. Doyle also was known for his atmosphere of mystery in his novels: foggy November nights, dim gaslights and hansom cabs

all images courtesy http://search.creativecommons.org/

The Mystery of the Missing Exam Paper

"Oh please, help me, help me!" the damsel in distress begged the Great Detective TriKi, who watched and winced as the damsel flapped her school tie.

"My Hindi exam paper is lost. I have searched high and low, in and out, behind and beneath..... I cant find it anywhere", she wailed louder and louder. "I really, really need to hand it in tomorrow."

The Great Detective TriKi raised one hand and signaled for silence. The keen eye scanned the room minutely while the great brain processed visual information and calculated the odds of the missing paper turning up behind the curtain, under the mattress, inside the school bag, somewhere in the humungous mess on the desk...

"I can see all the other papers on the desk," TriKi muttered. "History, English, Physics, Biology...Hmmmm, the Maths paper looks rather bulky. Find Maths heavy-going, do you?" The damsel looked blank.

"Anyway, my dear, you really must not bother me with such trivial problems. It's perfectly obvious where the missing paper is. And if you had used the process of logical reasoning and systematic elimination, you would have found the paper within minutes," said TriKi, walking majestically out of the room.

"But... but.. where is it? Tell me!" asked the damsel petulantly.



Do you guys read Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot or other such brainy detectives? Write in and tell us which one is your favourite. And dont tell us where the missing paper is, coz... We know!

Percy WHO?

Since Percy Jackson just whizzed by, here's the writer behind the creation. He has a blog of his own. Check him out here and find out more. If you scroll right down you'll get sample chapters, and if you scroll down further you'll get Rick Riordan's suggestions for other books to read while you are waiting for him to complete his latest book.

http://www.rickriordan.com/children.htm

ciao

Shadows and substance

Hi. I'm Shadow. I'm ADS' friend. I haunt bookshelves and devour stories. Sweet ones, savory ones, sour and corny, bitter or salt, real and unreal, all of them are worth sampling. I'm happy to be here with you.




This is a place you could start a Readathon or a......A Readathon? WHA! A Whatathon??? Believe me the word exists.



Or you could review books you liked, loved or hated! That too.



OR you could blog what you want your friends to read. Your stuff. Stories and poems you wrote.



Illustrations are welcome too.



We keep our ears open too, for a good tale, and when we hear one which may or may not be new, but can bear the telling, this is where we'll bring it, so look out.

This is a place where we will post interesting stuff about authors too. Some of them were kids after all , once ....some are kids still!

Meanwhile there's Percy Jackson and Judy Moody out there looking in on us. Anything to say to them? And those Unfortunate and completely indestructible children to whom everything dreadful under the sun seems to happen Don't know who they are? Why not find out?

Bye for now.

YYY

We are a bunch of young readers who want to chat about books. books we like, characters we love, stuff that creeps us out and so on... come join us. Write in a comment about what you'd like to us to start with. Or suggest the name of a book or an author or even a fictitious character who refuses to let you complete that awful maths assignment...