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All of us chummy book bloggers and I just read this book with our teacher (Ms. Edinger)! It was a really nice little book. It’s set in India, which is one reason I liked it so much. I go to India every summer to see family, and so I also have a general idea of the setting and stuff. And I’ll be sure to look out for it when I go to the Oxford Bookstore at The Leela Palace!

And so, back on topic. I really enjoyed this book a lot – here’s a summary:

A little boy is walking down a little dirt path, and he finds a baby tree! And so, over many years, he nurtures it and gives it TLC – all the while ignoring the pedestrians’ “Get out of the Ways” – until, one day, he comes to visit in an industrial city with his children!

I thought this was a real sweet story. I especially liked the illustrations (Done by Uma Krishnaswamy – she’s not the author), which were really nice, colorful, and Indian looking. I also liked how, over the course of time, the tree’s habitat changed from a small town in India, to a big and bustling trafficy town!

I also think that, although it is a book aimed at smaller children, it’s really sweet for everyone to read! It reminded me of The Giving Tree and The Little House. I really hope that it will come to the USA for everyone to read!

Pretty cover, isn’t it?

We just re-read the heartwarming Mo Willems stories – Knuffle Bunny + Knuffle Bunny Too! They sure are great! But guess what? We also read (before it came out)…….Knuffle Bunny Free! Get it? Too and Free? Two and Three? Yeah! I love puns!

So, in case you haven’t read the series yet (gasp!), I’ll give you a quick summary (SPOILER ALERT!):

• Well, in the first book, Trixie is a little tiny baby, and she goes to the laundromat with her dad. But, while putting all the clothes in the washing machine, they accidentally put Knuffle Bunny in, too! Which they realize when they’re halfway home. So they rush back, and pull poor, soggy Knuffle Bunny out!

• And in book #2, Knuffle Bunny Too, Trixie is a little older, and she goes to school. But just when she’s all excited to show everyone her special bunny, she sees another girl across the room, with a bunny JUST LIKE HERS! And so the teacher takes the bunnies away for class, and gives them back after. But she gives them the wrong bunnies! Which Trixie and Sonja (the other girl) figure out in the middle of the night, 2:30 a.m. to be exact. And so they RUSH out to meet each other, and exchange bunnies. And that’s how Trixie finds her first friend! (awww)

• And in the third book, Knuffle Bunny Free, Trixie is a bit older, and she goes to visit her Grandma (Oma) and Grandpa (Opa) in Holland. But on the plane ride there, she accidentally leaves Knuffle Bunny in the seat pocket! Which she is very sad about, the whole trip. She tries to imagine all the fun places Knuffle Bunny is going to, but it doesn’t help much. And when her grandparents try to cheer her up with a new and improved Bunny-Robot toy thing, that doesn’t make her feel much better, either. But on the plane ride back, guess what she sees in the seat pocket? That’s right, Knuffle Bunny! But she also hears a crying baby behind her. And so, she does something really nice – she gives it to the baby! Which the baby’s mother, her mom and dad, and all the passengers on the plane are very happy about. And when she gets back home, she gets her first letter – from the baby and Knuffle Bunny!

So. Here are some things that I noticed -

1. In the beginning of each book, there’s a photo montage of Trixie growing up, which is really interesting. And for each book, they add a new photo to represent it.
2. I also noticed that, as the series goes on, Trixie looks older. First, she’s a baby, then she’s a little girl with really mismatched clothes, and then she’s a little older, and she has a new haircut! Knuffle Bunny doesn’t change much, though.
3. In all three of the books, if you look carefully, you see little representations of Mo Willem’s other books, such as ‘The Pigeon’ on a guy’s shirt, or Trixie reading ‘Elephant and Piggie’!
4. And in each book, Trixie somehow loses track of Knuffle Bunny, and has to go back and get it.
5. This is kind of random, but it’s also pretty cool how he puts the color-cartoons in the black-n-white backgrounds. Just thought that was cool.

Although I’m very sad that this is the last in the series, I think this is a terrific trio of books for kids and adults of all ages! And I hope you all like them as much as I did!

Okay, here’s the deal: all of us Book Bloggers (and our teachers, Ms. Edinger, Ms. Nickels, and Ms. Feldman!) decided to read the same book so that we could talk about it and relate to each other, and that book was…The Illustrated Mum by Jaqueline Wilson!. So that’s what this post is about!

Here’s a summary of the book so that you can have a general idea of it:

Dolphin, and her older sister Star live with their “Illustrated Mum”, Marigold – she’s head to toe COVERED in tattoos! But she also has some problems; ever since her boyfriend, Micky, left her, she hasn’t been the same. She goes on and on about him. She also goes out to clubs late at night, and sometimes, doesn’t even come back until the next day! And so, Star, being the oldest, is forced to take care of her. Although she isn’t as into Marigold as Dolphin is, they both love her. Until, one day, they find the infamous Micky, and he offers to take Star back (because he’s her dad, not Dolphins). He also offers to take Dolphin back, but she doesn’t want to leave Marigold. Then… DISASTER breaks out!

I thought this was a pretty good book. It’s not really the type of book I usually read, so that kind of affects my opinion on it. I usually read fantasy/mystery/sci-fi types of books, not really this kind of book. But it was still pretty good! I also think it’s set in London, which would probably explain the funny (in a good way) accents! I think the age range would start from around 11-12 years old, because, although it’s hard to understand with the accent, they say some interesting things…

But mostly, I thought it was a nice little book (223 pages), and I would recommend it!

I just saw the movie, Alice in Wonderland, based on the original book by Lewis Carroll. And let me tell you, I was a little disappointed. But that’s just my opinion. I’ll give you a little summary of what the plot was, first:

Easily distracted, but nonetheless imaginative Alice, who is now 19, feels confined in a world of proper manners, and people telling her how to live her life. And when she arrives at a garden party, she isn’t surprised to find that, Hamish, the son of one of her father’s business partners, is planning to propose to her, and all of the guests expect her to accept. But suddenly, just as he asks her, she spots a white rabbit out of the corner of her eye, and runs after it, through the bushes and trees, until she comes to a hole, and falls in.

I think that this movie would have been a lot better, though, if it were the actual story; I just thought that this story wasn’t as good as the first one by Lewis Carroll. And, one other thing I would have liked to have seen would have been an Alice with a hair color other than blonde. But that’s just me.

But now on to the positives: I really liked the costumes, especially The Red Queen’s (look at the pix below) and The Mad Hatter’s (again, look below). And I also liked how it was like “Alice Returns to Wonderland” (though, like I said before, I think the original story was better). Maybe they should have named the movie something else, so that people would be less confused about whether it is the original version or not. And finally, I liked the fact that it was a family movie (that’s always a good quality!) So, all in all, I think this was a nice movie.

I think this book was Science-Fiction (SteamPunk, according to Ms. Edinger!). And, even though I almost never read Sci-Fi, it was a REALLY good book! So…here’s the story line:

Arthur (Art) Mumby, lives with his sister, Myrtle, and his dad, Edward, who studies Icthyomorphs (Flying fish things from space). Edward stays in his study room most of the time, though, and although their mother has sadly (and apparently) deceased, they live a life fairly at ease.

Until one day, a visitor named Mr. Webster comes! It turns out that he’s actually a giant, white spider, and when him and his giant, white spider crew captures their dad, Art and Myrtle have no choice but to try to escape via rocket/lifeboat! (or they could be captured along with their dad, but that probably wouldn’t be a very good decision.) Want to know what happens next? Well then, read the book!

This was a really intriguing book -in fact, I could hardly put it down! From giant moths that capture you in giant jars, to a colossal crystal greenhouse/palace that grows legs and walks around destroying England, it WON’T disappoint! (that is, if you like this kind of book.) I would say that it’s for about 10+ years, cause it’s got a lot of longish words, but, if you’re an advanced 9 year old or something, then go ahead! I’m no good at writing age ranges anyway. I’m a big fan of the British accent that Art narrates the book throughout with, too! But, altogether, this is just a super great book, and I’m hoping that the next book, Starcross, (which I happen to just be starting!) is just as good, if not better. As Art would say, “Huzzah!”

Petronella, a plucky, 16 year old Victorian girl, lived happily with her uncle, Augustus T. Percival, as a normal family. Until, that fateful day, it happened:

The weather was unusually warm for the season, and so Mr. Percival – who is my uncle Augustus – a few select friends, and myself were gathered on the lawn in the south garden of my estate just outside London, enjoying a little luncheon in honor of my sixteenth birthday. At that precise time, Uncle Augustus laughed loudly at a rather mediocre joke – the one about the man with two heads who could eat only strawberry jam with one mouth and cheese curds with the other. At the very moment Uncle Augustus opened his own mouth for a most unseemly guffaw (and Uncle Augustus is a very large man, so the rather moist mouth made a massively large target), and a beetle of enormous proportions flew into the orifice and was swallowed. (1-2)

As you can probably tell, her Uncle Augustus swallowed a beetle. Probably not on purpose, but from now on, he’s OBSESSED! He eats any bugs that he spies, and strangely, they make him quicker, swifter, and a lot more agile than before! Unfortunately, this is not exactly the image of a normal person in London. And Petronella is doing everything she can to stop this unseemly habit!

And during her coming-out party (Birthday Party) she’s not surprised to find her Uncle Augustus publicly swatting moths around the lamps. But what she IS surprised to find is that her uninvited guests, the Generalissimo Alejandro Reyes-Cardoza, and Dame Carruthers, go missing! And all they have as evidence are some mysterious notes and some strange butterflies from the Tou-eh-mah-mah Island…

At 196 pages, this book isn’t really long, but don’t let that fool you – it’s still a great book! But although it’s a great super terrific book, I would recommend it for peoples 10+ years, because of the long words and such. And it’s also a bit confusing and complicated at some points, but I guess that’s cause the characters are all Victorian and use really long words (just look at the title!)

But anyhow, this is a terrific book, and I’m sure that anyone who reads it will LOVE it! And I hope there’s a sequel…

I just read the book, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place – The Mysterious Howling ( That’s quite a mouthful!). But it’s worth it because it’s fantastic! So here’s the summary:

An orphaned 15 year old girl named Penelope Lumely, being taught at the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, finds an ad in the newspaper. It reads:

“Wanted immediately: Energetic Governess for Three Lively Children. Knowledge of French, Latin, History, Etiquette, Drawing, and Music will be Required – Experience with Animals Strongly Preferred.”

And that pretty much describes Penelope! She is very intelligent, can speak A LOT of languages, has knowledge on many topics, and absolutely ADORES animals! Even the gross ones!

And so, off she goes, excited to teach her new, and well behaved pupils, all that she knows! But of course, things never go as planned. And this story is no exception…

I loved this book! Written in the 1900’s (I think. I need work on my history), it is beautifully composed, and the author’s use of the common accent in that time period is terrific! In fact, I think it might have been my favorite part!

I also think this book is fine for all ages, especially if they like cliffhangers and suspense, cause this book’s FULL of it! And the book isn’t long, either. But it certainly is enjoyable! But the aspect I think I liked the MOST about this book was that it left you really hanging: WHO was clanging around in the attic? WHY was Penelope’s hair the color of apples? WHAT was Lord Fredrick planning on doing with the children? Well, hopefully all of these mysterious questions will be answered in the second book, which I’m sure will be even better than the last!

Today, my fellow book bloggers and I went to the library to see David Macaulay, a famous author/illustrator, talk about some of his books! He was talking about how he was re-illustrating several of his old books. We got to hear him talk about Castle and Cathedral! And he was telling us how he got the idea to color in all of the books! It went like this:

He was sitting in his house, not doing particularly anything except for eating peanut M n M’s, when he got a letter that went kind-of like this one:

“Dear Mr. Macaulay,

We wanted to know if we could turn your terrific books, Castle, Cathedral, into full color books, by using the computer to digitally color them in?”

Well, after three days of puking (this is exactly what he said!), he finally decided that he would agree to their suggestion except for one little detail. He wanted to just redraw all of them in color! For two reasons:

1. Because drawing in color and digitally coloring in are two different things.
2. He wanted to go back and fix all the little flaws he made when he first drew them.

But, as he said, it gave him an opportunity to completely redo the books. And soon, that’s pretty much what he was doing! (Well, not the written part, but the illustrated part.)

One interesting thing I noticed about this was, in his first and fifth books, all of his pictures were black & white and 2D. But all of his new pictures were in color, and almost all of them were in 3D!

All in all, this was a great lecture! I loved hearing about David’s books, and not to mention, from the primary source!

Here are some of his amazing sketches!

Diribani lives with her stepmother, Ma Hiral, and her stepsister, Tana in a humble little house in their fictional hometown of Gurath. They are barely able to pay for their own food, but together, they are happy. One day, when Diribani’s stepmother sends her to the village stepwell to collect water, she unexpectedly meets the divine goddess Naghali, and is granted a miraculous gift: delicate blossoms and precious jewels fall from her lips whenever she speaks. And when her own mother sends her to the stepwell, Tana is not surprised to find that, while her lovely sister speaks flowers and jewels, she articulates snakes and frogs.

In my opinion, this was both a beautifully written and detailed book. When I first read the back of it, I realized that this book was based on the well known fairy tale, Toads and Diamonds, and that it was set somewhere in India. At first, I thought that, because I am Indian, this book would be easy to relate to. But after reading the first few chapters, I perceived that it wasn’t that simple; in fact, this book was set a while back in India, with societies and customs I have never even heard of. In the beginning, this book was very complicated and hard to understand. But after re-reading the parts that didn’t make sense, and reading further into the book, I realized it’s true beauty. If only I could write like this! But although short, this 276 page book is very complex, and I would recommend it for ages 11 and above. But if you are a daring young reader, go ahead – read it! I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised.

I just read the blog Read Roger by Roger Sutton, editor in chief of The Horn Book, and guess what he thinks of children’s book reviews? He thinks they’re “painful”! In my opinion, I think kids are capable of writing very good reviews, that is if they have the right teacher (Ms. Edinger!) and I also think that their reviews can be very “illuminating” at times, as well. So you might not have the same opinion as me – maybe you think kid’s reviews are unsatisfactory. But I really think that children are very capable of writing good book reviews!

Oh and here’s a picture of him!