Review: The Kaboom Kid #1: The Big Switch by David Warner

The Kaboom Kid #1: The Big Switch

Author: David Warner

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia

Age group: 8-11

Pages: 160 pages

Release date:  December 2014

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

For ages 8-11

Meet Little Davey Warner. He lives in Sandhill Flats with his mum and dad and his brother Steve – and his stinky dog Max. Davey and his schoolmates – even Max – are MAD for cricket. All they want to do is play … but there’s always something getting in their way.

In this first book in the series, Davey and his friends have a big game coming up against Shimmer Bay, their arch rivals in the local comp. They need to practise, and spend all their free time at school – in the morning and at lunchtime – making sure they’ll be ready.

But disaster strikes. Davey and his friends find out their new teacher is Mr Mudge, a strict grump who HATES cricket even more than he hates Year 6 boys, and thanks to bully Mo Clouter, they find themselves on detention. Which means no cricket.

The boys are desperate. They’re going to need to pull something special out of the bag to win against Shimmer Bay. Davey’s mates have some ideas, one that could really get them into trouble, but it means getting around Mo, who seems to be everywhere they turn.

But Davey has an idea that he thinks may just work … he just needs to practise. Will he pull it off in time for the game against Shimmer Bay?

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

The Kaboom Kid is part of a new series written by David Warner and aimed for children between the ages of 8-11.

Our main character is Davey Warner who lives in Sandhill Flats with his parents, his brother Steve and his dog Max. Davey absolutely loves cricket and tries to play it at any opportunity he can get.

Davey and his mates came across a problem when the start of the school year they get Mr Mudge as their Year 6 teacher, a man who would do anything to prevent the boys from playing a sport they all love. We enjoyed the way this problem was dealt with as well as the preparations and game against their arch rivals Shimmer Bay.

All of the characters were written well but we especially liked Davey who was likeable, we especially loved the background details on his cricket bat which was passed on from his grandfather and named Kaboom.

The chapters and short which really appealed to my 9 year old and there are illustrations throughout so it was visually entertaining.

The Kaboom Kid #1: The Big Switch is written well and my son didn’t find it difficult, confusing or overwhelming – I highly recommend this book, especially for young boys.

Thank you to Simon & Shuster Australia for the opportunity to read and review The Kaboom Kid #1: The Big Switch.

Review: Nightbird by Alice Hoffman

Nightbird

Author: Alice Hoffman

Publisher/Source: Simon & Schuster Australia

Pages: 206

Release date: 5^th March 2015

Amazon

Synopsis (Goodreads)

Twig lives in a remote area of town with her mysterious brother and her mother, baker of irresistible apple pies. A new girl in town might just be Twig's first true friend, and ally in vanquishing an ancient family curse. A spellbinding tale of modern folklore set in the Berkshires, where rumours of a winged beast draw in as much tourism as the town's famed apple orchards.

Review: 3 out of 5 stars

Nightbird by Alice Hoffman was kindly provided to me by Simon and Schuster Australia and is perfect for those interested in Middle Grade novels.

Nightbird is set in Sidwell, apple-country in New England and follows the story of Teresa or Twig as she more commonly known, she is a part of a family with a very big secret so she doesn’t allow anyone to get close but things quickly change when a wonderful family move in next door.

I liked Twig as a character, she had a great imagination, was likeable and you could get a real feel for her loneliness which really tugs at your heart strings, I enjoyed the friendship she came to have with her neighbour Julia.

Nightbird is a well written, magical fantasy with interesting, likeable characters – filled with many surprises, curses, witches and a small town setting it was a delightful little fairy tale that also showcased a lovely friendship. I am not much of a MG reader but certain parts I would get my 10 year-old to read out loud and he quite enjoyed it so he has actually started to read it himself.

Despite enjoying this book, there was a lot of telling rather than showing and a few plot holes but overall it was a quick and entertaining read. This book is written for the younger audience who enjoy fairy tales about magic, fantasy and things that stretch beyond the imagination.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia for the opportunity to read and review Nightbird by Alice Hoffman.

  

About the author: Alice Hoffman was born in New York City on March 16, 1952 and grew up on Long Island. After graduating from high school in 1969, she attended Adelphi University, from which she received a BA, and then received a Mirrellees Fellowship to the Stanford University Creative Writing Center, which she attended in 1973 and 74, receiving an MA in creative writing. She currently lives in Boston and New York. 

Hoffman’s first novel, PROPERTY OF, was written at the age of twenty-one, while she was studying at Stanford, and published shortly thereafter by Farrar Straus and Giroux. She credits her mentor, professor and writer Albert J. Guerard, and his wife, the writer Maclin Bocock Guerard, for helping her to publish her first short story in the magazine Fiction. Editor Ted Solotaroff then contacted her to ask if she had a novel, at which point she quickly began to write what was to become PROPERTY OF, a section of which was published in Mr. Solotaroff’s magazine, American Review. 

Since that remarkable beginning, Alice Hoffman has become one of our most distinguished novelists. She has published a total of sixteen novels, two books of short fiction, and eight books for children and young adults. Her novel, HERE ON EARTH, an Oprah Book Club choice, was a modern reworking of some of the themes of Emily Bronte’s masterpiece Wuthering Heights. PRACTICAL MAGIC was made into a Warner film starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. Her novel, AT RISK, which concerns a family dealing with AIDS, can be found on the reading lists of many universities, colleges and secondary schools. Hoffman’s advance from LOCAL GIRLS, a collection of inter-related fictions about love and loss on Long Island, was donated to help create the Hoffman Breast Center at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA. BLACKBIRD HOUSE is a book of stories centering around an old farm on Cape Cod. Hoffman's recent books include AQUARMARINE and INDIGO, novels for pre-teens, and The New York Times bestsellers THE RIVER KING, BLUE DIARY, THE PROBABLE FUTURE, and THE ICE QUEEN. GREEN ANGEL, a post-apocalyptic fairy tale about loss and love, was published by Scholastic and THE FORETELLING, a book about an Amazon girl in the Bronze Age, was published by Little Brown. This fall Little Brown published the teen novel INCANTATION, a story about hidden Jews during the Spanish Inquisition, which Publishers Weekly has chosen as one of the best books of the year. In January 2007, SKYLIGHT CONFESSIONS, a novel about one family’s secret history, was released on the 30th anniversary of the publication of Hoffman’s first novel.

Hoffman’s work has been published in more than twenty translations and more than one hundred foreign editions. Her novels have received mention as notable books of the year by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Library Journal, and People Magazine. She has also worked as a screenwriter and is the author of the original screenplay “Independence Day,” a film starring Kathleen Quinlan and Diane Weist. Her short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe Magazine, Kenyon Review, Redbook, Architectural Digest, Gourmet, Self, and other magazines. Her teen novel AQUAMARINE was recently made into a film starring Emma Roberts.

Review: The Numberlys by William Joyce

Author: William Joyce

Illustrated by Christina Ellis

Series: -

Publisher/Source: Simon & Schuster Australia

Pages: 56

Amazon – TBD

Ages: 3-7

Release date: July 2014

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

From the team who brought you The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore comes an alphabet tale extraordinaire!

Once upon a time there was no alphabet, only numbers;
Life was fine. Orderly. Dull as gray paint. Very numberly. But our five jaunty heroes weren’t willing to accept that this was all there could be. They knew there had to be more.

So they broke out hard hats and welders, hammers and glue guns, and they started knocking some numbers together. Removing a piece here. Adding a piece there. At first, it was awful. But the five kept at it, and soon it was artful! One letter after another emerged, until there were twenty-six. Twenty-six letters they were beautiful. All colorful, shiny, and new. Exactly what our heroes didn’t even know they were missing.

And when the letters entered the world, something truly wondrous began to happen; Pizza! Jelly beans! Color! Books!

Based on the award-winning app, this is William Joyce and Moonbot Metropolis-inspired homage to everyone who knows there is more to life than shades of black and gray.

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

What first caught our attention when we received this book was the beautifully detailed cover, Miss 7 loved removing the sheer overlay covering to check out the hard cover below; it was quite unique.

The next thing we noticed was we had to flip the book around so that it was lengthwise to read which was a little awkward when tiny miss 7 was holding the book, it became a bit awkward.

The book goes from black and white muted tones to full vibrant colour by the end of the book, we really enjoyed this aspect.

The book started off with only numbers existing in a world that was dull and bland, letters don’t exist so numbers 1-5 gathered to create letters; it was educational and enjoyable but Miss 7 did point out the importance of numbers in our world as well.

The illustrations tell a story themselves, they are amazing. The moral of the story to make change for improvement was done very well and my little people found the changes entertaining; they loved the way the alphabet and words came about.

The Numberly’s was a wonderful experience, we really enjoyed this book and appreciate the opportunity to read and review it. Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia for providing us with a copy.

  

About the author: William Joyce does a lot of stuff—films, apps, Olympic curling—but children’s books are his true bailiwick (The Numberlys, The Man in the Moon, Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, Toothiana, and the #1 New York Times bestselling The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which is also an Academy Award–winning short film, to name a few). He lives with his family in Shreveport, Louisiana.