children’s fiction

Doc Mortis blog tour and short story

/ zackids / Leave a comment

I discovered Barry Hutchison’s Invisible Fiends series earlier this year when I was looking through our new titles in the library.  Children’s horror/ghost stories are one of my favourite genres and Barry has to be one of the best writers in this genre.  The Invisible Fiends series is incredibly original and terrifically scary.  Barry has taken the idea of an invisible friend, something that comforts children, and turned it into something that scares the pants off of me, let alone the children these books are aimed at.

I have no idea how he does it, but each book in the series gets creepier and he amps-up the terror.  First there was Mr Mumbles, then Raggy Maggie,  The Crow Master, and now there is Doc Mortis.  On the Christchurch Kids Blog, Barry described Doc Mortis as “a deranged imaginary friend who hides in an old abandoned hospital and likes to think he’s a surgeon. He kidnaps children and performs operations on them while they are still awake, turning them inside out, giving them the heads of dogs, and much, much worse.”  He’s also said on his own blog that Doc Mortis is the only book to have given him nightmares while writing it, so it’s going to be pretty freaky.  I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.

Barry Hutchison has just started his Doc Mortis blog tour.  Check Barry’s blog to find out where he is and when.  One of the most exciting parts of the blog tour is that he is posting a five-part short story about the origins of Doc Mortis.  The first part can be found at the excellent  Book Zone for Boys blog, and it will send a chill through you.

Not Bad for a Bad Lad by Michael Morpurgo

/ zackids / 1 Comment

Michael Morpurgo’s latest book is about a boy who is always getting into trouble.  Everyone is always telling him he’s a bad lad.  He gets caught playing on bomb sites, banging rubbish bin lids and stealing tomatoes and even a car.  He gets arrested and sentenced to a year in Borstal, which was a prison for young offenders where they could learn a trade like carpentry, painting or bricklaying.  The judge sends him there to think things over and learn his lesson.  The first few months are tough and the boys are worked hard, ‘laying bricks for hours on end in all weathers, making bread in the kitchens, weeding in the vegetable garden.’  Every morning the boys have to go on a two-mile run and the bad lad likes running past the stables.  One morning, as he goes past the stables the old man who looks after the horses calls him over and offers him an amazing opportunity to help out in the stables. This opportunity helps him to turn his life around and make his family proud of him.

Not Bad for a Bad Lad is another amazing story from Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman, the author and illustrator of War Horse, Kaspar: Prince of Cats and Billy the Kid.  Michael Morpurgo often writes stories about an older person telling a child about their interesting life, and this is one of those stories.  The story is inspirational and Michael Foreman’s illustrations add perfectly to the story.  Don’t get put off by the picture of the horse on the front cover because this isn’t just a story about a horse.  This is a must-read for all Michael Morpurgo fans, but a great book to delve into if you haven’t read any of his books yet.  

Recommended for 9+    10 out of 10

Sophie and the Shadow Woods by Linda Chapman and Lee Weatherly

/ zackids / Leave a comment

Meet Sophie, the one girl who will save the world.  Sophie is different from the other girls in her class at school who like to play games about fairies or giggle about girls.  Her favourite things are action films, taekwondo, sports, adventures, bikes, and skateboards, and when she grows up she wants to be a stuntwoman.

Sophie has just turned 10 and her taekwondo skills are going to come in very handy, because she has become the new Guardian of a magic gateway in the mysterious Shadow Woods.  Her mission is to stop the mischievous creatures that live there, including trolls, goblins, and gnomes entering our world.  The only problem is that Sophie has lost the key to the Shadow Realm and if the goblins get their hands on one of the shadow gems, Sophie’s world will be in danger.  Will Sophie be able to find the gem first and defeat the goblins?  Find out in the first book of the series, The Goblin King.

Sophie and the Shadow Woods is a cool new series by Linda Chapman and Lee Weatherly.  Sophie is an adventurous girl who kicks butt and she isn’t afraid to stand up to a goblin.  If you’re a girl who would rather read a Beast Quest book than a Rainbow Magic Fairies book, then this series is perfect for you.  We have the first two books, The Goblin King and The Swamp Boggles, in the library now and there are more to come soon.     Recommended for 7+       8 out of 10

The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence

/ zackids / Leave a comment

Yee-haw!  Welcome to the Wild West where you’ll meet outlaws, miners, saloon owners, detectives, Indians, Celestials, Soiled Doves and a whole cast of other characters.  Caroline Lawrence transports you to the West in her new book, The Case of the Deadly Desperados, the first book in The Western Mysteries series.

The story starts with P.K. Pinkerton trapped down a mine shaft, writing about what has happened.

“My name is P.K. Pinkerton and before this day is over I will be dead.  I am trapped down the deepest shaft of a Comstock silver mine with three desperados closing in on me.  Until they find me, I have my pencil and these ledger sheets and a couple of candles.  If I write small and fast I might be able to write an account of how I came to be here.  Then whoever finds my body will know the unhappy events that led to my demise.”

So, stuck down the mine, P.K. tells his story of how he came to be trapped in the mine, starting with his foster ma and pa being killed by three deadly desperados dressed as Indians.  P.K. escapes and hops on a stagecoach to Virginia City, followed by the three desperados called Whittlin Walt, Dubois ‘Extra Dub’ Donahue and Boswell ‘Boz’ Burton.  P.K. meets many colourful characters in Virginia, some that help him, like newspaper reporter Sam Clemens and Poker Face Jace, and some that steal from him, like Belle Donne.  Will P.K. escape from the mine and the three desperados?  You’ll have to read the book to find out.

The Case of the Deadly Desperados is a fantastic story and will go on the list of my favourite books.  P.K. is such a cool character and I loved seeing him deal with different situations in the story.  At the start he tells us about his ‘Thorn’, which means that he’s not good at recognising emotions – he can only spot happiness, fear and anger.  He can’t spot whether someone is lying or telling the truth and as P.K. says, “People confound me.”  Caroline Lawrence paints a vivid picture of life in the American West and you can almost smell the drunken miners, feel the dust and grit in your eyes, and taste the Comstock layer cake.

Put on your spurred boots, grab your quick draw library card and head to your nearest dry goods store (library) to get your copy of The Case of the Deadly Desperados.  Recommended for 9+   10 out of 10

Do Not Push by Kyle Mewburn

/ zackids / Leave a comment

If you found a big, red button in the middle of a forest, would you push it? Even if it said DO NOT PUSH?

Cam likes to explore the forest behind his house.  He feels like it might change and move around when he’s not looking because there’s always something new to explore.  One day, he decides to check out the pond to see if the tadpoles have legs yet, but he falls down a bank and finds himself in a gully surrounded by steep cliffs.  One of the cliffs is covered in vines, but he notices that there is a large, red button behind the vines, with the words DO NOT PUSH written underneath.  Cam doesn’t think anyone will notice if he pushes the button and he doesn’t think anything has happened.  As he turns to leave he sees a green lever that says PLEASE PULL, but he leaves it and runs home.  When he gets home, he realises that something strange has happened, all because he pushed the button.  Suddenly there are no rules and everyone is acting really weird.

Do Not Push is the hilarious new book by our June Star Author, Kyle Mewburn.  He shows you that a world without rules would be fun but also a little embarrassing.  Who really wants to see their mum sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor in her pajamas, eating icecream with her hands?   I also really liked Sarah N. Anderson’s illustrations, especially the one of Cam when he’s in town watching all the chaos.  If you like short and funny stories, Do Not Push is perfect.  Recommended for 7+   8 out of 10

Angel Creek by Sally Rippin

/ zackids / Leave a comment

Jelly has just moved into a new house, in a new neighborhood that’s far away from all her friends.  If that wasn’t bad enough, she’s having to spend Christmas eve looking after her cousins.  There are only two things she likes about her new home: the old apricot tree  and the creek at the back of the house.  Jelly dares her cousins to go down to the creek and it’s in the creek’s dark waters that they discover a baby angel with a broken wing.  They decide to keep it in a shed at the school and nurse it back to health.

But soon things start to go horribly wrong; her grandmother gets sick, a tree falls on her uncle’s car and there’s  some very strange weather.  Jelly realizes that you’ve got to be careful what you wish for, especially when there’s an angel around.

Angel Creek is a mysterious, spooky story that makes you want to keep reading to find out how it ends.  Like Jelly and her cousins, Pik and Gino, you wonder why there is an angel in the creek and why all these strange things seem to be happening.  Even though bad things keep happening to those around them, the children are really brave and do all they can to protect the angel.  I loved Angel Creek and I’m sure you will too. 

Recommended for 9+   10 out of 10

John Stephens talks to NZ about The Emerald Atlas

/ zackids / Leave a comment

Stay tuned for our review of The Emerald Atlas tomorrow. If you think it sounds like a book you would love to read, make sure you enter our Week 2 Reading Crusade Challenge for your chance to win a copy (we’ve got 5 copies to give away).

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

/ zackids / Leave a comment

Do you miss Harry Potter and wish that there was another series you could read that’s similar?  Look no further thanThe Emerald Atlas by John Stephens, a magical new fantasy story and the first in The Books of Beginning Trilogy.

Kate, Michael and Emma have never really known their parents who disappeared in the dead of night 10 years ago.  They were taken by a mysterious stranger, left at an orphanage and have been moved around ever since.  When the children are sent off to another orphanage in Cambridge Falls they think this place will be the same as the last, but they are very, very wrong.  No-one seems to have heard of Cambridge Falls, and they discover that it is kept hidden from the world by a magic spell.   In their new home they meet the mysterious Dr Pym, who Kate seems to recognise.  While exploring their new home, they discover an old leather book and set in motion an ancient magical prophecy which will take them on the adventure of a lifetime.

The Emerald Atlas is a fast-paced, magical adventure through a world filled with dwarves, horrible creatures, a beautiful but sinister witch, and a mysterious book with the power to change the world.  The story will suck you in and keep you guessing to the very end.  I loved the dwarves who always seemed to be cursing and arguing, but pulled together to help the children.  If you love stories like Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Series of Unfortunate Events and The Golden Compass, then you’ll love The Emerald Atlas.

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Super Finn!

/ zackids / Leave a comment

Finn Marsh is just an ordinary kid who’s not very good at most things.  When his class has to do a homework assignment about what they’d like to be when they grow up, Finn decides he’d like to be a superhero.  But to be a superhero there are a few things you need, like superpowers, a nemesis, a costume, and you need to save someone’s life.  To finish his homework Finn needs to become Super Finn and, with the help of his friend Brain, he must figure out what it takes to be a superhero.  When Finn’s mum tells him and his brother that they can’t afford to sponsor their World Vision child, Umbaba anymore, Finn realizes that it’s up to him to raise the money to save him.  After their experiments to try and get super-strength and night-vision powers don’t go as planned, Finn and Brain turn to doing dares for money and running a black market junk food business during their lunch break to raise money to help sponsor Umbaba.  Are their crazy schemes enough to help save Umbaba’s life and become a superhero?

Super Finn is the funniest book I’ve read in a long time.  Finn and Brain are cool characters and you might even have kids like them in your class.  The things that they get up to are hilarious and one part of the book, when Finn is in assembly with bags of lollies strapped to his body, made me crack up laughing.  I loved the character of Finn because even though he keeps getting in trouble he doesn’t give up his mission to help Umbaba. Super Finn is Leonie Agnew’s first book and I can’t wait to read what she writes next.  Recommended for 7+     10 out of 10