Children's Books > B Children's Books > Malorie Blackman

Advantages: Lots of interesting and thoughtful plots to throw you.
Disadvantages: Can get rather slow in the middle.

I have rated this book 4/5 star. It is a deep and meaningful book all about apartheid. It is a reverse of the British apartheid in South Africa, as Sephy and Callum (main characters) live in a world where white people are second best and black people are rich and powerful. This is a very compelling book. It is not to be read if you are looking something light and cheerful. I would recommend this book to anyone in their teens to adults as it is not ... Read review

Advantages: well-written; engaging characters
Disadvantages: depressing

From the beginning, this is a sad tale as it follows Jude, a nought who has tried to make himself invulnerable by ceasing to feel or care, and Sephy, a Cross who is struggling to come to terms with her life. She is alone except for her new baby and generally despised by her community for giving birth to a 'halfer' child. Although the mood is sad and tense initially, there are moments which suggest positive possibilities for some kind of resolution ...
...shocking and traumatic events occur. From then on, Jude is set on a path of total destruction and Sephy loses all hope for the future. Thereafter almost relentlessly bleak and depressing, this is not a novel that can be treated lightly. Blackman emphasises the increasing agony of her central characters by moving through the colour spectrum, from red to violet: from anger to despair. Possible new ventures wither for Sephy and Jude's malevolence is ... Read review

Advantages: engaging characters; interesting plot; interesting ideas
Disadvantages: a gruelling read emotionally in places

After a predictable prologue to reveal a key piece of information, the opening chapter is stunning in its understated approach to horror: Callie Rose, a mixed race child in a racially intolerant world, is preparing to commit a shocking act at a young age. After this, the novel shifts continuously between the past and the present, including different viewpoints to allow you to witness over time the fragmentation of Callie's relationship with Sephy, ...
...This is a well executed structure, which means that everything is clearly interconnected but Blackman is still able to surprise us along the way. After the depressing feel of 'Knife Edge', the second in the trilogy, this is a novel that has a steep path to climb to find some hope for the future, but Blackman manages, perhaps by sheer dint of emotional weight, to suggest possibilities through the believable but terrifying choices her characters are ... Read review

Advantages: Teaches kids to accept families
Disadvantages: none

...***The Story*** Jessica Strange is a stripey ginger cat, but as she looks so different from the rest of her family, who are strangely a group of cute little mice, she decides that she must be another animal. Throughout the book she visits all the other animals on the farm and asks them all what type of animal they think she is but finds herself becoming more confused with every answer. The butterfly thinks that because she has 4 legs that she ...
...to Mrs Duck who asks Jessica what it is she would like to be. After a lot of thought she says she wants to be a mouse so she can stay with her family but she thinks she is a cat. Mrs Duck points out that families can be made up of all sorts of people and as long as there is love then what you are doesn't really matter. Jessica decides the best thing would be to just be Jessica Strange and toddles off home happily to be with her family. ***The Illustrations*** ... Read review

Advantages: Lovely character
Disadvantages: N/A

Mr Daydream is another Mr Men story from the Mr Men Collection written by Roger Hargreaves, which contains 46 books. Mr Daydream is number 13 in the series and is a pale blue cloud shaped character with a very broad grin. This is the picture of him that is one the front of the book, which is itself small square and white. Mr Daydream's name is then printed above this picture in bold block capitals. On turning the book over you can then see smaller ...
...format as all the other Mr Men stories with writing on the left hand side of the book and colourful pictures on the right. The pictures are extremely bright and cartoon like and so ensure a child's attention is captured throughout the duration of the story but the writing itself although their isn't much of it making the books great for bedtime, it can be rather small. The book itself is a story about Mr Daydream and this is exactly how the story ... Read review