Literature

The Expeditioners and the Treasure of the Drowned Man’s Canyon by S.S. Taylor

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When I laid my eyes on the first pages of The Expeditioners, metal chains sprung up and linked my eyes to the story.

Three children, explorers named Zander, Kit and MK, hold one map that could be the road to their fate… From slimy slugs to colossal birds, each child must pass them to get to the treasure everybody wants. Sukey Neville has entered the picture at the start of the journey, but is she a friend or not? How is the map supposed to be looked at? Who is good, or bad?

S.S. Taylor has mastered writing one of the most creative books that I have read. The story is based in the future, but sometimes, when I read a tale with lots of characters and an unusual time frame, the book can get confusing. Somehow the writer has managed to keep the story from becoming puzzling, which is one of my favourite things about this book. I admire how the author wrote something so original and captivating. The Expeditioners is like a crocodile that gulped me down so fast that I came out of its tail before I realized how much I enjoyed being in its stomach, in this case the middle of the story. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

The Expeditioners and the Treasure of the Drowned Man’s Canyon by S.S. Taylor

You Have to Stop This by Pseudonymous Bosch

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Now, although this book’s cover is creepy, it doesn’t mean you judge a book by its cover! When Cass, a survivalist and her two friends, Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji, are suspected of stealing a mummy from the National History museum, transported to Las Vegas in a crate, Cass is determined to find the dangerous Secret. But what will it take to get a walking mummy on stage to cooperate? At the same time, all three children are incredibly eager to graduate from middle school, and will Cass ever learn the Secret?

All the loose strands of this book twined around me and shook my brain to so hard that I was desperate to keep on reading, partly to stop my brain shaking so hard to find out what would happen next, and partly because I wanted to see what happened when the loose strings knotted together. A gripping tale, rather like a bumpy car ride, pushing your feelings up and down. There are other books in the secret series, so as this book is not the first, try reading a book before it, as they really shake your feelings around!

You Have to Stop This by Pseudonymous Bosch

The Wind In The Willlows by Kenneth Grahame

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The Wind in the Willows

Kenneth Grahame has produced a wonder. Each time I read this book its descriptions of characters, food and especially homes enthrall me. As this tale doesn’t use a lot of adventure, the animals’ wide personalities help to keep it alive! The glorious use  of personification has really hooked me. For instance, the kind and amiable Mr. Badger actually fighting with a sword! You could not, should not, would not miss out on reading this story. Though I admit that this isn’t exactly a Hitler’s Angel (which you can read my review on) kind of book with tons of adventure, Mr Toad‘s funny and conceited personality is enough to have you in stitches, even in the hospital! If you do read this book, (which I really hope you will) then I hope you enjoy it as much as I have when I read it time and time again.

The Wind In The Willlows by Kenneth Grahame

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

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The Emerald Atlas:The Books of Beginning 1
I am amazed at the creativity and description John Stephens has used when writing this book! It is about three siblings , Kate, Michael and Emma, who have been tossed about from orphanage to orphanage when their parents left them. When the malicious Miss Crumley sends them to Cambridge Falls, the three children find themselves running back and forth in time through an old photo album. Soon the young explorers embark on an adventure meeting dwarfs and escaping from the sly Countess and her Howlers, an exploration that will save the world and never be forgotten. If you want to read a fantasy adventure book then all you will do before you finish this book is turn the pages of it! If you want to read more John Stephens then the sequel to The Emerald Atlas is called The Fire Chronicle: The Books of Beginning 2, starring as well Kate, Michael and Emma, and of course, the ever-faithful giant, Gabriel! When I read this book I was so wrapped up in its original and interesting story that it was all I would think about day and night. Everyone that I have encountered who has read this book has loved it, but if you do read it( which I really hope you will) then just be sure to remember to let it inspire you to read other fantasy books, such as The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, or The White Giraffe by Lauren St John, as they are also truly amazing!>

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

Bombs on Aunt Dainty by Judith Kerr

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Bombs on Aunt Dainty

A teenager in the Second World War, Anna’s life is hard enough. Money is scarce and Anna’s beloved family is classified as enemy aliens. That makes getting jobs an incredibly hard trial. So when Anna’s mother loses her job, life is just a matter of Anna coming home from her art classes and her mother telling her, before she even had the chance to ask ‘not this time’. In this collection of thoughtfully written sentences, I wondered whether Anna will ever lead a proper teenage love life, as there is a lot of description of the air raid sirens and food rationing. In the end Anna falls in love with her drawing teacher, John Cotmore. Personally I think that there could have been more time allocated to this section of Anna’s refugee life, after all, this is really the only part of the young teenagers life that is normal. It is funny how Anna and her older brother Max don’t express much fear at the air raids, only in one particular one. Bombs On Aunt Dainty is a sequel to When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, the first book in the series by Judith Kerr.  Judith Kerr has also written the book The Tiger Who Came to Tea and is still alive after living through the Second World War, fascinating!

Learn more about Judith Kerr from Wikipedia

Bombs on Aunt Dainty by Judith Kerr