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Review Shots |
Do you remember a while ago I made a decision to focus on reading more classics this year? Well, I am definitely sticking to it, more or less. I am happy to announce that there are 7 classics of the 28 books I have read as on date. It seems to me that reading them is a lot simpler than reviewing classics.
Classics with little boys in them
This month on review shots I have picked up three classics that have little boys as one of their main characters. So let us get on with it shall we?
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Genre: Fiction – Children Classics
No. of Pages: 164
This rags to riches children classics revolves around Cedric and his family. His mother and the seven year old Cedric are one of those nice, kind and goody good people who barely make their ends meet in New York City. He is found to the inheritor to earldom in England and his newly found grandfather invites them back home. The grumpy, stubborn Earl already dislikes them even before he meets them.
How the charming boy turns the misanthropic grandfather around forms the rest of the story. I read Little Lord Fauntleroy as a part of the children’s classics challenge and surprisingly have never read it before.
It is always difficult to review a children’s book given that we are not the target audience. Despite that, I enjoyed this book and it would still be suitable for kids even in the current age.
Final thought: Clean and charming children’s tale
Recommended to: Children of 4-7 years old.
Turn of the Screw
Author: Henry James
Genre: Fiction – Classics Horror
No. of Pages: 131
This is one of the classic horror stories with a twist. When a young governess is given a chance to run a forlorn estate and teach two young and lovely children she decides to do her best. Troubles begin when the young boy is expelled from the school and she starts seeing a shadow man. Smitten by the master of the house and in an attempt to appear competent she decides to solve things by herself.
It appears that there are two dark creatures that want her innocent students and the estate’s haunting past makes it difficult for her to believe it is all her imagination. To make matters worst, the children seem to enjoy these visits and do not seem as innocent as she thought they were. How does she escape the nightmare and does she win in safe keeping the kids form the rest of the story.
I loved the ending that left things for the reader to decide if indeed the haunting was true or it is just an attention seeking behavior of the lonely and lovesick governess. The Turn of the Screw might be tedious read and frankly I was happy that it was a short story, I might have given up if it were any longer.
Final thought: Despite the intriguing story the writing seemed too tedious to enjoy
Recommended to: Classic and horror lovers
The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
Genre: Fiction – Classics, Fantasy
No. of Pages: 204
The Giver is set in a dystopian world where everyone is assigned a job that they are good at when they turn twelve. This perfect world is devoid of colors, emotions and free will. Except for Jonas, who is chosen as the Giver, the receiver of memories – basically the only one who can question anything in the society.
But when he realizes what people are denied in seeking this apparent utopia, Jonas has a change of mind, He is ready to give up his assigned family and his prestigious role in the society to have a real life. What happens further and did he escape his society forms the rest of the book.
I read The Giver as a part of the Banned book club and I was surprised on why it was banned. While I liked the premise of the book I didn’t end up loving it, like many of my friends did. I understand that this is just the first part of the Giver Quartet and that might be a reason why it was such an underwhelming read for me.
Final thought: Short novel with bits of sci-fi element to it.
Recommended to: Science fiction lovers
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Have you read any of these books? What was the last classic you read recently? Do you push yourself to finish a classic even if you don’t enjoy it? Let us chat.
![Review shots: Little Boys in Classics]()
Drama |
Remember my post about how I never got to read many Middle grade books when I was younger? It is time to change that, thanks for all the children’s books that I get to review on my blog. I am happy to say that I am enjoying the chance. Thanks to Medina Publishing, Middle East for sending me a bunch of children’s books for review.
I enjoyed reading them as they had stories from the Arabic world, which is a lot different from the Indian folktales that I grew up listening to and the Western tales that I read as a kid. Let us get on with it shall we?
Author: Julia Johnson
Illustrator: Susan Keeble
In Saluki-Hound of the Bedouin, we read about the story of Sougha, a hunting dog of the native breed called Saluki through eyes of its master Hamad. We also learn about the life style of the Bedouin, the nomadic group from the Middle East as well.
Perfect for 6 – 12 years, especially if they love dogs and pups they will love this book.
Author: Julia Johnson
Illustrator: Emily Styles
Ameera, a young girl sets out alone in search of berries in the wild but accidentally falls down into a deep dark cave. The wells in Ameera’s village have dried up and the villagers are in the brink of a drought. Her family and their friends have set out to find her but they have no idea where to search for her.
Ameera meets an owl and a mysterious young boy who keep her company in the dark caves. But how can she attract the attention men who are searching for her on the surface, not underground where she is?
With illustrations that keep us hooked to the narration, The Secret of the Cave will work perfectly for children between 6 to 10 years.
Author: Joan Hannam
Illustrator:Patricia Al-Fakhri
We all have heard good things about the majestic Arabian horses right? Sharifa was one of the horses and she belonged to the Sheikh who loved her very much. She was the apple of his eye.
With beautiful illustrations to steal our hearts, Sharifa The Story Of An Arabian Horse has a pretty straight forward narration and talks about the love for pets. Perfect for young and middle grade kids.
Author: Julia Johnson
Illustrator: Charlene Kasdorf
Abu and his donkey have been together all their life and they help transporting the villagers’ goods together. But things change when a new truck arrives to the town.
If you are looking for a children’s book with colorful illustration that will appeal your younger ones, The old man and his donkey should be your choice. This book is funny and ends with a moral value.
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Do you like these awesome illustrated children’s book? What are your favorite folktales from your culture and language? Let us talk.
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Review Shots |
You know don’t always read that children or middle grade books. But then I didn’t have access to many of those growing up. But of late I have been sent quite a number of them for review and it has been an adventure.
They make up for a great change in scenario between adult and young adult books, don’t you think?
Here is a list of books that I enjoyed reading in the past few days. There might be more to come.
My Raccoon Family by Margaret Churchill
The book about a woman who encounters a raccoon that later occupies her basement with her litter. It has 47 pages filled with adorable illustrations that would keep your young one or even yourself engrossed.
The book helps the younger kids to learn about raccoons and their life style. It also teaches how important it is to be kind to animals in general, even wild ones.
Trouble in the Chicken House by Jim Snyderd
This small book of 42 pages teaches a big lesson on bullying. The story is about three mean dogs that bully smaller dogs and scare them into stealing chickens from a farm for them.
The farm’s watch dog and his chicken-allergic fox capture them and teaches them a good lesson with the help of a bullied dog.
It has its funny moments and has drawings illustrating the story. This book is perfect for a read aloud for your little ones.
The Trotters of Tweeville: Zavis Damavis by Shirin Zarqa-Lederman
This 35 page book shares a day in the life of Zavis who tries to follow his mother’s advice of ‘Treating others like how you want to be treated’. I liked how the book teaches its young readers about the importance of being kind to everyone else.
The pictures are simple and fits to the narration. There are a number of other books with other characters in The Trotters of Tweeville series as well.
What do you think about these books? Do you, as an adult, enjoy reading the books with illustrations? Are there any recommendations for others? Let me know in the comment section.
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review, Thriller |
I like jumping into the books without reading much about them. I try not to read the blurb before I pick a book up if I can help it. I did read the plot summary on its blurb before I received this book for a review, a while ago but had completely forgotten what I had read. So I dove directly into the book without an idea what to expect. How did that end up for me? Read more to know.Book Name: Here and Gone
Author: Haylen Beck
Characters: Audrey, Danny, Sean, Louise, Sheriff Whiteside, Deputy Sheriff Collins
Setting: The USA
Disclaimer: Thanks to the Author, Netgalley and Blogging for Books for the free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Audrey is running away from her terrible past with her children. She is not hiding from the law technically but was she? When she is stopped by the cops on her way to San Deigo, does not realize her life was going to turn for worse. She knows the cops took her children while she was arrested on a fake charge of possession of Marijuana, but who is going to believe her? It is her words against the County Sheriff’s, and her ex-husband’s attempts to discredit her does not help her case. A former addict, single mother with no one turn to, one who is running away from Child Protection Services. It doesn’t take long for the media to turn her into the villain – child murderer. Does she get her kids back? Who could help her out?
I have a solid woman crush on Mrs. Gerber. I could picture her smoking from the top of her stairs looking down at her husband’s body like a badass, just moments after pushing him down to his death. I wish I could have felt this close to Danny or Audrey, but I am not complaining. Dark web and their conversations were flimsy and disappointing. Thankfully their parts were kept brief, lest it might have been bizarre and too clichéd.
Rarely thrillers sustain the pace they begin with. Here and gone does a great job at maintaining it till the very end, even after we got to know what had happened to the kids. Even if at times when we get the gnawing feeling that it is one of those stories that has been retold countless times, we stick glued to the book, and that is the power of crisp and straight forward narration. There are no unnecessary twists and turns that could have made false promises to the reader.Here and Gone does justice to the plot and genre. I can recommend this book if you are looking for a fast paced thriller that might keep you occupied for an hour or two.
