Children's Books > J Children's Books > B

Advantages: easy to read
Disadvantages: sad, historical inaccuracies

...that it was worth all the hype surrounding it. The book, which is set during World War II, tells the story of Bruno, a 9 year old German boy, who is dismayed when he has to leave his home in Berlin to move to 'Out-With', where his father has been given a job by the 'Fury'. Bruno does not understand why there is a huge fence at Out-With, behind which 100s of people in striped pyjamas live, who he is not allowed to associate with. However, Bruno ...
...only end in disaster. The book is told from the point of view of Bruno, so it is easy for adults to see past his naive views of the world, and sense impending doom, where Bruno is unable to see it. One thing that did bother me about the writing was that Bruno's mis-understanding and mis-pronouncing of words such as Out-With and the Fury, would not actually in the language in which Bruno would be speaking, i.e., German; they work in English only, ... Read review

Advantages: Fabulous description, amazing imaginative worlds, likable chacters, believable [almost] setting...
Disadvantages: Deaths at beginning were a little blunt and rushed, development of villan could have been better...

...Exodus is a magical, truly entracing novel telling a tale that explores a frighteningly believable future of our world... Mara lives on one of the only remaining land masses in our world, an island called Wing, somewhere over what we know as Scotland, but is a forgotten land in Mara's time. But her island is slowly swallowed by the sea, and the islanders' only hope is to travel on, following rumours of new cities, rising out of the sea to touch ...
...for me, the reason that Exodus is such an extraordinary book. From the simple, pleasant life on Wing, we are plunged into the dark depths of the Netherworld, and then whisked up to New Mungo, the world of the future. But far from being a tacky attempt at time-travel, Bertagna takes a refreshing, original, and most important of all, believable take on where our future generations are living. In both Noospace [a computer dimension accessible by the ... Read review

Advantages: Simple story line
Disadvantages: none

Mr Gumpys Outing A long time favourite of mine, and one which I have read to children of different ages. THE STORY Once again, I am going to briefly outline the story because I feel it is important so that adults can ascertain whether or not the text is suitable for their child. The story starts, appropriately enough, by introducing Mr. Gumpy, and goes on to state that he has a boat and that his house is near a river. He decides to go out on ...
...and children completely disregard what Mr Gumpy has told them and do all the things they were told not to do, and of course, the boat tips and they fall into the water. They all have to swim to shore and walk home, where Mr Gumpy, being the kind soul he is, gives them something to eat and invites them all out the next time he goes on the boat. THE LANGUAGE The book is written in simple sentences, using simple, repeated connectives, so that children ... Read review

Advantages: Offers a straigt forward view of the topic, any references are not unnecessary
Disadvantages: Readers must have reached the correct age of maturity

...however once you are i feel that it is a positive insight into some of the questions you would be too ashamed to ask otherwise. Forever by July Blume is truely a teenage classic, and i would definitely read it again! A must have in any teen girls collection. ... Read review

Advantages: Very funny, easy to get into
Disadvantages:

For those of you who have read other Fudge books, he's back - and he's driving his older brother Peter mad...AGAIN! Now they've gone on holiday - along with baby Tootsie, Turtle the dog and Uncle Feather the mynah bird. But there's bad news at the holiday house. Sheila Tubman is already there! This is a fantastic tale of disasters which is ideal for kids. It's incredibly funny and easy to get into. Once you start, you just can't stop! I was given ... Read review