Book reviews

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I read Wonder from R.J. Palacio for the 3rd time in the holidays.

This book follows August Pullman, a boy with facial deformity, with his 5th grade school life.

I really liked this book because it was written in different perspectives so I can dig into each person's point of view of August.

 Overall, it was a great book and I would definitely recommend it to year 4-6s.

Review by L.S.

Maria Petranelli is Prepared for Anything (Except This) by Elisa Chenoweth

I really enjoyed this book. It is about a girl trying to prove her parents wrong and being independent and taking an exchange in Italy, but it went kind of sideways. It combined action and romance and was very engaging. I stayed up half the night reading it and only got 6 hours of sleep! (def worth it!!!) . I think this book had good representation of different cultures and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Highly recommend. 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review by Alice, aged 12.

Most Marshmallows by Rowboat Watkins

I like this picture book because you can be anything you want to be. I would recommend this book to all pre-school and Kindy readers.

Review by A.I., aged 6.

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Keeper of the Lost Cities follows the story of a young girl named Sophie, who is intelligent and hides a secret. She can hear the thoughts of everyone around her, but it’s something she has never told anybody-even her parents.

But everything changes one day, starting with a field trip, a dinosaur, and a very noticeable pair of teal eyes. Sophie seems to find a place where she can be so much happier, but at the cost of leaving her old life behind. Yet not everything in this magical world is as it seems, and some people are out there to kidnap and kill.

I love this story because you can relate to Sophie on how you would (probably) react in a situation. I can imagine every detail of the Lost Cities, thanks to the descriptive way the story is written. Sometimes I can close my eyes and see everything happening in Sophie’s life, like my own realistic movie.

This book is also a must read for Harry Potter fans, even if some ideas from one book don’t quite fit into the next. Overall I recommend this book (and the series!) to anyone who can enjoy a book from start to end without putting it back on the shelf when things get less interesting. 5/5

Stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review by Janet, aged 11.

The magic finger by Roald Dahl

The magic finger is about girl and the Gregg Family. The Gregg Family goes hunting every Saturday, the girl next door doesn't like it. She puts the magic finger on them all. The next morning the Greggs woke up to discover duck wings. They fly out the window and see some human sized ducks going into their home. The first three started crying and whining but Mr. Gregg said lets make a nest and eat apples for dinner from our tree. The next morning the ducks were pointing gun at them . They were so scared they swore not to shoot again. After that, the Greggs did what they promised to the ducks.

I recommend this book for nature lovers.

Review by A.R., aged 7.

The many adventures of Singenpoo (all 4 stories in one book) by Paul Jennings

This book is about a cat called Singenpoo. She can write and tap words that people say. And she can tell the other cats to pee and poo on Major Mac! Major Mac wants to send the cats to death. Will they always win?

This book should be for ages 5 and up. 

That’s all, bye bye!

Review by Phoebe, aged 6.

Slimy Snails by Laura Hamilton Waxman

This non-fiction book is about snails. Snails have soft and slimy bodies. Snails have shells that are spiral. Hard to find snails live in wet dirt. Most snails live on or off the shore. A lot of snails eat plants but only a few eat animals. Snails make a lot of slime.

This book is for young readers that love finding out things about different animals.

Review by A.R., aged 7.

Crazy rich Asians trilogy by Kevin Kwan

Recently I read the Crazy rich Asians trilogy by Kevin Kwan, which consisted of the books Crazy rich Asians, China rich girlfriend, and Rich.

People Problems. I have really loved the ways Kevin Kwan depicts the realistic life of everyone: everybody must experience problems, even wealthy individuals who appears to live in an ethereal life, but in fact are experiencing their own hardships. It also gives us a snapshot of what it feels like when you are experiencing family pressure about the choices you make and the actions you follow. Most of the storyline revolves around the romantic relationship between Nick and Rachel, the former being inherently rich, and the latter a quite typical middle-class professor. However, each character experiences their own burden: Nick being pressured to marry someone in his social standing, and Rachel discovering there are many family secrets to unravel regarding her biological father. The plot is extremely intriguing, and I hugely recommend anybody reading this to try to read the whole series. I was recommended this by my brothers, and I shall also recommend it to you guys!

5/5 - one of the best series I have ever read from such a wonderful author.

Review by Junqi Liang, aged 11.

Dirty Bertie: kiss! by Alan MacDonald.

This book is about a disgusting boy who puts underpants on his head and does so much gross stuff that some little girls will not want to find out about. It is a chapter book with 3 stories. In one story, his friend Eugene was meant to take home the class hamster. But he forgot to tell Miss Boot that he was going to his grandma’s house and couldn’t stay home. The disgusting boy Bertie was still there so he took it home. He kept the cage door open and his door was open, so the hamster got out! The ending is a big relief.

I recommend this book for ages 5 to 10. It is funny and smelly.

That’s all, bye bye!

Review by Phoebe, aged 6.

Harvey Slumfenburger’s Christmas present by John Burningham

This book is about Santa. He thinks he is finished all the presents so he comes back home with his reindeers who are all very tired. One says it is not feeling very well. Santa thinks it just needs a good night’s sleep. But before Santa gets any sleep, he stares in his present bag and there is one present left! Santa sets off by himself and keeps meeting more people to help him on the way.

I recommend this book for ages 3 to 8. It is a sensible, beautiful book.

That’s all, bye bye!

Review by Phoebe, aged 6.

Warriors: Into The Wild by Erin Hunter

A young kittypet ventures through the forest and comes across ThunderClan, one of the 5 Clans, in danger as ShadowClan becomes stronger every day. Rusty discovers the Clans and the threatening Brokenstar. As he is accepted, Rusty fights as a strong, brave warrior with a heart of fairness. Will he turn out to be the bravest warrior of all of them? 

I personally like this book because it has a lot of adventure and deeply describes the scenes. I also enjoyed this book for having an intriguing plot and making you feel like you’re part of the story. However, sometimes I felt like some of the bits were a little boring, such as when there is a series of events.

I would give this book to kids around 8 to 11 years old. Young readers who like mysteries, mild violence and novels will surely love this book. Overall, the book has an interesting storyline and detailed scenes that transport you to a whole new world of cats.

Taking everything into account, this book definitely deserves a 10 out of 10.

Review by Aashvi, aged 9.

Dog Man by Dav Pilkey is a funny and fast graphic novel about a half‑dog, half‑man police hero. The story is full of silly jokes, wild action, and bright cartoon pictures that make it super quick to read. Dav Pilkey uses simple dialogue and playful scenes to keep everything light and entertaining. Even though it’s mostly goofy fun, the book also shows themes like kindness, creativity, and not giving up. It doesn’t try to be serious it just wants to make you laugh, and it does that really well.

Review by Yasmin, aged 13.

Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey is a funny, fast-paced book about two friends, George and Harold, who accidentally turn their strict principal into a goofy superhero. The story is packed with silly jokes, wild adventures, and lots of creative comic-style drawings. 

According to Common Sense Media, the series is known for its humour and quick, energetic style. The short chapters and flip‑o‑rama pages make it really easy to read, and the friendship between the boys adds a bit of heart to all the silliness.

Review by Yasmin, aged 13.

Jack Blasts off! by Mac Barnett & Greg Pizzoli

I love this book because it is funny and I like space.

The Lady blasts Jack and Rex into space because they were naughty and they had an adventure before returning home safety.

I would recommend this book to pre-schoolers and kindy kids for an easy read.

Review by A.I., aged 6.

The book I am reviewing is 'I love to draw horses!' written by Jennifer Lipsey.

I like this book because it gives clear and simple instructions on how to draw horses. At first I was terribly terrible at drawing especially at drawing horses, after I read and practiced I could draw horses with ease. You could learn how to draw a standing horse or a sitting down one, a horse portrait or even a unicorn!

I recommend this book to young artists who would like to know how to draw horses.

Review by E.I., aged 9.

Grace Notes by Karen Comer

When I was browsing through the range of young adult novels at Chatswood Library, I was immediately magnetically attracted to the stunning book cover (I know, I know, you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover). The design depicted a poignant portrayal of a young girl playing violin, and as a proficient violin player myself, I decided to dive between the covers to see how other people view this instrument. Instead, I was exposed to the lives of two different artists - Grace Dalfinch, and James Crux; two individuals who experience their own variety of problems. However, this beautiful piece is expressed differently: instead of the traditional novel format, this text is in dual perspective verse form about the lives of the protagonists admist a world of relentless anxiety, fear and foreboding in the global pandemic. But they have an escape - their passion - art. Grace is an extremely skilled violin player, forced by family pressure not to pursuit her musical journey professionally; and Crux is a street artist who longs to join other artists to (legally) display his art publicly. One day, Crux is inspired by Grace's discreet performance at the bar that instantly goes viral; creating a breathtaking masterpiece of her. The story unravels when the two characters realise how much they share - and what they feel about each other, but yet, their personal issues hinders them from flying free.

This novel contains themes of family pressure, creativity, love, and grief; each depicted perfectly. I would recommend this to older audiences (11 to 14), as mature subjects are mentioned, and encourage any of you who likes to have their hearts stirred by complex emotions of joy, anxiety and passion. Without further ado, I rate this profound novel 5/5, as it is incredible insightful into the lives of many during the pandemic.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review by Junqi Liang, aged 11

Review of Anh Do, Hotdog number 19 (detective time).

Hello! This is a book about three detectives - Kev, Lizzie and Hotdog. But they are not always detectives. There are lots of books in this series and they are always doing something different. Today, they are on the most royal train, and excitingly Kev’s uncle runs the train. They get bunk beds in their rooms and fancy breakfast. There are games. But on their last day on the train, when they were going to see the mega diamond, it was gone! Who could have taken it? You should borrow the book and find out who took it!

I recommend this book for ages 5 to 9. That’s all for now, bye bye!

Review by Phoebe, aged 6.