MR POPPER’S PENGUINS by Richard and Florence Atwater - Book Review

[This book has been read and reviewed by R, my oldest son, who is nine years old at the time of this publication.]

Rating: 10/10 - Amazing! Everybody needs to read this book!

Title: Mr Popper’s Penguins

Author: Richard and Florence Atwater

Illustrator: Robert Lawson

Format: paperback

Published: 1938

Genre: humour

Publisher:  Little, Brown, and Company

Landed in my hands: purchased by mom


Summary (from cover blurb):

It was hard enough for Mr. Popper to support himself, Mrs. Popper, Bill and Janie Popper. The addition of twelve penguins to the family made it impossible to make both ends meet. Then Mr. Popper had a splendid idea—the talented penguins would be a sensation on stage. And so they were...

A classic of American humor, this story of a gentle house-painter and his high-stepping penguins has delighted children for generations.

Review:

This book is a good book, I read it and know why it has a Newberry Honor Award on it. Those are good books, ones with Newberry Honor Awards. And that’s probably why I see, like, seven copies at the school library.

A lot happens in this book, and the penguins do really interesting things, so it makes sense that it was made into a movie. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I don’t need to see it because I’ve read the book already. I have pictures in my head from the book so I’m not interested in watching the movie—I already know how it goes.

Mr Popper liked to read about penguins and the Arctic stories, and he was an interesting character.

I recommend this book for all ages: it was a lot of fun to read.

THE BFG by Roald Dahl - Book Review

[This book was read and reviewed by R, my oldest son, who is nine years old at the time of this publication.]

Rating: 8/10 - Great!

Title: The BFG

Author: Roald Dahl

Format: paperback

Published: 1982

Genre: children’s literature, fantasy

Publisher:  Puffin Books

Landed in my hands: purchased by Mom


Summary:

Just imagine suddenly knowing you may be eaten for breakfast in the very near future; dropped like a rasher of bacon into a frying pan sizzling with fat.

This is exactly what worries Sophie when she is snatched from her bed in the middle of the night by a giant with a stride as long as a tennis court. Luckily for Sophie, the BFG is far more jumbly than his disgusting neighbours, whose favourite pastime is guzzling and swallomping nice little childers. Sophie is determined to stop all this and so she and the BFG cook up an ingenious plan to rid the world of troggle-humping, bogthumping giants for ever!


Review:

At the end of grade three we watched a movie--I forget the title--but the same thing happens at the beginning of the book as happened in the movie. So the movie was probably based on this book.

What makes this book so great is the writer was very creative. His story did things I didn’t expect, and sometimes it was really funny. The ending was unexpected, so it made the book even more enjoyable. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read stories about giants. It’s called the BFG because BFG stands for Big Friendly Giant. I will definitely tell my friends to read this book.

FANTASTIC MR FOX by Roald Dahl - Book Review

[Note: This book has been read and reviewed by R, my oldest son, who is nine years old at the time of this publication.]

Rating: 8/10 - Great!

Title: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Author: Roald Dahl

Format: paperback

Published: 1970

Genre: fantasy

Publisher: Puffin Books

Landed in my hands: purchased by Mom

Summary (from cover blurb):

Every time Mr. Fox steals a chicken from the farm, Farmer Boggis, Bunce, and Bean grow wild with rage. They’re the nastiest crooks in the valley, and they’ve concocted a cunning plan to dig him out of his hole once and for all. But it never occurs to them that Mr. Fox has a fantastic plan of his own...

Review:

Fantastic Mr. Fox has an interesting story where lots happens, so it’s easy and fun to read. Three farmers dig out the roots of the tree so the animals have to save it, and that’s all I’m going to spoil. In this book the animals talk and speak English, and that wouldn’t happen in real life, but it makes for an interesting book. My copy had pictures from the animated movie in the middle, and they were great pictures, I loved them. I have seen the movie before and enjoyed it, but it was so long ago I don’t remember the details so I was comfortable reading the book. I would recommend this book, for sure.

STUART LITTLE by E. B. White - Book Review

[Note: This book has been read and reviewed by R, my oldest son, who is nine years old at the time of this publication.]

Rating: 9/10 - Woooooow!

Title: Stuart Little

Author: E. B. White

Illustrator: Garth Williams

Format: paperback

Published: 1945

Genre: speculative fiction

Publisher:  Scholastic

Landed in my hands: purchased by Mom

Summary (from cover blurb):

He’s one small mouse on one very big adventure.

Stuart Little is no ordinary mouse. Born to a family of humans, he lives in New York City with his parents, his older brother George, and Snowbell the cat. Though he’s shy and thoughtful, he’s also a true lover of adventure.

Stuart’s greatest adventure comes when his best friend, a beautiful little bird named Margalo, disappears from her nest. Determined to track her down, Stuart ventures away from home for the very first time in his life. He finds adventure aplenty. But will he find his friend?

Review:

This is a good book because it’s about this mouse that likes to travel and it takes place in New York. Stuart is different because he’s a regular mouse but he acts like a human and he does all kinds of great stuff. One time he was a substitute teacher. I would definitely read more books like this. At first I wasn’t sure that it would be good when my mom recommended, but I tried it anyway and it’s a great book.

JACOB TWO-TWO AND THE DINOSAUR by Mordecai Richler - Book Review

[This book has been read and reviewed by R, my oldest son, who is nine years old at the time of this publication.]

Rating: 10/10 - Amazing! Everybody needs to read this book!

Title: Jacob Two-Two And The Dinosaur

Author: Mordecai Richler

Illustrator: Norman Eyolfson

Format: paperback

Published: 1987

Genre: speculative fiction

Publisher:  Penguin Books Canada

Landed in my hands: purchased by mom

Summary (from cover blurb):

When his parents give him a cute little green lizard on his eighth birthday, Jacob Two-Two is thrilled. But as the days pass, Jacob realizes that Dippy, as he calls his pet, isn’t a lizard as all. And as the months pass, it’s obvious he’s not little, either.

As Dippy grows bigger... and bigger... and bigger, he begins to attract some very big attention—from the Certified Snobs’ Golf and Country Club, from Professor Wacko Kilowatt and, worst of all, from Prime Minister Perry Pleaser and his yes people. Before Jacob knows exactly why or how, he is on the run from the entire government of Canada with a full-grown dinosaur to hide. This is a hilarious, fast-paced sequel to the bestselling Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.

Review:

This book was very well written and I couldn’t keep track of the time because of it—I kept reading past my bedtime because I couldn’t put it down or stop to check the clock.

It has wacky illustrations in a good way—really interesting to look at. There aren't too many pictures though, just enough.

I read the first book, Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang, and really liked that one, too, so I wanted to read this one. This book is good for everyone, no matter what age. I’m only nine, and I loved it. It’s definitely something other people would like, too.