Spencer Fogle is an ordinary kid who lives in the extraordinary town of Filmington. His hometown used to be called Flemington, until film and TV crews discovered its range of landscapes, from fiery volcanoes to snowy mountains and lush rainforests, and took over the town. The town’s richest resident, Jimmy Jangle, controls most of the business within Filmington and holds alot of people’s futures in his hands. When Spencer is walking home from school one day, he hears blood-curdling screams coming from one of the science labs and goes to investigate. Spencer uncovers a dark plot involving carnivorous plants, genetically modified flies and a mysterious, hidden file. However, Jimmy Jangle and his thugs are willing to do anything to keep the truth covered up.
The Flytrap Snaps is the first book in The Fly Papers series, by New Zealand author Johanna Knox and illustrator, Sabrina Malcolm. It’s a quirky story with action, mystery and plenty of laughs. I love the idea of Filmington, with it’s different companies set up for the movie and television industry. There’s the science labs that create experiments to be used in films, catering companies to supply food and drink for the film and TV crews, and the BodySlam Stunt Wrestling Club where they train stunt people for the movies. I really liked Spencer because he’s just an ordinary kid who has to deal with an extraordinary situation. I can’t wait to read the second book to find out what Spencer, Dion and Tora get up to next, and to solve the mystery of The Fly Papers.
Recommended for 9+ 8 out of 10
We were first introduced to Juno and the people of Taris in Juno of Taris, what would become the first in a trilogy. I picked up Juno of Taris on a recommendation of another children’s librarian that I worked with and was blown away by the community that Fleur Beale had created. For those of you who haven’t read the first book, it’s best to start at the beginning, but one of the great things about the subsequent books in the trilogy is that you get a summary of the story so far before you start. I don’t know if this was an idea of the publisher, Random House New Zealand, or Fleur herself, but I think it’s something that all trilogies/series should have, especially when the books come out a year apart.
Douglas, the loveable bear who wants a hug is one of my favourite picture book characters. David Melling really knows how to write and illustrate for children, particularly preschoolers, and he’s created a character that every child will love. In his first picture book outing, Hugless Douglas, our bear friend just wanted a hug, but he never seemed to be able to find the right type of hug. In Don’t Worry Douglas! he’s given a special wooly hat by his dad and he goes off to show his friends. On the way out the door his dad tells him to look after it, but this is exactly what Douglas doesn’t do. His hat gets caught on a tree and slowly unravels. The other animals say “Don’t worry Douglas” and try to help him put it back together. But what will Douglas’s dad think?
Lenny the Tarantula lives at Zurlington Zoo. He’s “furry and fuzzy and hairy” and he likes to play tricks on people, especially his favourite trick, Tarantula Boo, where he jumps at people. The only thing that’s missing is a friend to share his scares with, and when a flying coconut breaks the glass on his cage, he escapes to go and find a friend. Lenny looks all over the zoo, but will he find someone who isn’t scared of him or tries to eat him?
Join the dinosaurs and follow the leader as they stomp, jump and hop their way through the jungle, the swamp and the river. Children will have fun doing the actions and making the sounds as they pretend to be dinosaurs. Those dinosaur-mad children will be able to name the different dinosaurs and can pretend they’re a T-Rex or a Triceratops.
If you’re a huge fan of Skulduggery Pleasant like me, you’ve been waiting a whole year to find out what happens next to Skulduggery Pleasant and his side-kick Valkyrie Cain. We were left wondering whether Valkyrie’s dark side would show her head and there was a feeling of impending doom. Death Bringer doesn’t disappoint and there are plenty of thrill, chills and surprises to keep you on your toes.
When I first picked up an Invisible Fiends book in my library last year I thought, ‘this is a BRILLIANT idea!’ In the past few years I’ve become a huge fan of horror stories for kids and reading the blurb I knew the Invisible Fiends series was going to be great. The mixture of horrific characters and dark humour had me hooked and I’ve loved every book in the series so far. The fourth book in the series, Doc Mortis was recently released in the UK but I couldn’t wait until it’s released in New Zealand in October so ordered it from Book Depository. I got straight into it as soon as it arrived, but took my time as I wanted to savour it.
My Best Friends Are Books 