Mio's Kingdom by Astrid Lindgren

 

This book held my 6-year-old daughter enthralled over several bedtimes, and towards the conclusions other times upon request too.

Mio's Kingdom is a story of good versus evil. Prince Mio is the good, and Sir Kato is the bad. But at the beginning Mio isn't Mio because he was Karl Anders Nilsson living in North Street, Stockholm in Sweden, adopted by an unloving couple, and he had no friends except for Ben. Then one day he disappeared and ended up in Farawayland where he met his father the king.

There he lives in an idyllic place with beautiful nature all around, friends like Pompoo and his own horse, Miramis with the golden mane. But "there is a lot you don't know, Mio" for it has been foretold that Mio will one day fight Sir Kato.

There is a long build up at the beginning with Sir Kato being built up into a most evil entity, which worked for my daughter. She loved the passage "When he said that name (Sir Kato) the air all around us turned as cold as ice. A tall sunflower in the garden withered and died, and the butterflies lost their wings so that they could never fly again."

Other things in the book she enjoyed was some of the repetition, such as Mio always being "Mio, my son" to his father the king, and bread always being called "the bread that satisfies hunger." However for me some of the repetition sometimes meant I felt I was reading the same sentence again. I guess this was done for emphasis.

But for her it was a definite 5 out of 5.

(I got this book through Amazon Vine UK. It is listed HERE.)

Pip, Pip, Hooray! by Karen Bendy

This is a flap book. There are over 50 flaps, 9 of which are on the first double page spread. Each scene has Pip the cat, always identifiable because of his circular Pip badge, amongst lots of similar looking black cats and kittens with big circular eyes and pink noses. Other animals with similar looks also appear.

Then there are the flaps which might be a look inside a cupboard or might change a kitten from being at the top of a slide to the bottom of the slide. Also inside the flaps are some tasks, say to count up something, or to find a number of objects in the picture, adding to the fun.

The flaps are well glued in and the back cover says that the book is not suitable for children under 36 months due to small parts. For this reason the flaps should stay in, and ours have so far, but if younger children with smaller fingers grab hold of it I don't know if that would be the case.

The scenes have plenty going on in them too. So overall this is very good, and can be seen again and again.

(I got this book through Amazon Vine UK. It is listed HERE.)

Look at it my way! by Ken Dodd

This is not a biography. It is a cavalcade of crackpottery. 

It is mainly a picture book with pictures split across the following sections:

• Early Days
• Before the Show
• It's Showtime!
• Out & About
• Statues & Honours
• Interval
• My Home Town
• Celebrity Friends
• Comedy Heroes
• By Royal Appointment
• Dressing Up In Costume
• Star of Stage & Screen
• Doddy TV Star
• The Singer
• Doddy & Diddymen
• The Bookworm
• Family & Friends
• Ken at Home
• Encore!

There are some forewords and some commentary from Ken along the way too, including jokes of course.

It leaves you with a smile on your face.

(This book is available on Amazon UK HERE.)

Black Girl, Will Travel: Wheels Up by E. N. Smith

This is a book that I won in a Goodreads First Reads contest.

The intro to this book describes it as either "a disjointed randomness from the mind of a possible cutter", or "a clever laugh-out-loud page turner that tugs at your heartstrings", then says it is neither, although there is a possibility that it is both in places. 

After that the book takes you across the author's travels to Shanghai, Thailand, Florence, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Singapore and back to New York, with all the chapters being blogposts from her blog.

But the book isn't really about travel. In the blurb it says "it is about life" and I agree with that; the setting just happens to be somewhere abroad. The author herself says at one point "I felt like I was missing what I was truly here for - travel (ok, school, but let's be real - and the blog is not Black Girl, Will Go to School)."

So basically you have musings and some are funny (diarrhea episodes, and life as a dog) and most are hits rather than misses, with the blogs being observational in nature, and showing a passion for fashion, for TV and for shopping.

There are some pictures in here including some nice ones at the beginning of the sections for each country giving you a little flavour for the country.

There was a little self-indulgence in places with lots of comments for the benefit of family members, and the author it seems is only letting you enter into her life a little bit, for example she has just one picture of herself in the book, plus you only ever know her as nothing more than E.N. Smith (maybe she wants to be the next JK Rowling?).

The book concludes with some thoughts about how the author left her comfort zone and had a story to tell because of it. A lesson for everyone.

(This book is listed on Amazon UK FOR FREE HERE.)

You can be a Super Villain! by Shantnu Tiwari

This is a book that I won in a Goodreads First Reads contest.

First thing to say about this book is that it is a little short at 80 pages long and less than an hour's read, but when you are a super villain you want to travel light so it isn't too much of an issue.

The book is funny. Its aim is to "give you the tools and knowledge to understand what you need to do and pitfalls to avoid" in your pursuit to be a super villain. It is split into five parts: 

• Part 1: Myths
• Part 2: Running your base
• Part 3: Easy techniques to take over the world before lunch!
• Part 4: Dealing with heroes
• Part 5: Staying positive

Part 1 blows away the myths of what super villains must and mustn't be or do (Blofeld has a lot to answer for here). Part 2 tells you what does and doesn't make a good base. Part 3 is full of innovative ways to take over the world. Part 4 tells you how to resist monologuing to the hero your detailed plans amongst other things. Part 5 tells you how to pursue your career without giving in to naysayers. 

All-in-all you have everything you need to help you on your way to becoming a super villain. Now excuse me as I perfect my evil laugh and prepare to take over the world.

(This book is available to buy on Amazon UK HERE.)

The Demolition of the Century by Duncan Sarkies

This book alternates between two points of view, Tom’s then Spud’s then Tom’s then Spud's and so on.

Tom, we learn early on, is an alcoholic. He ran away from Town because he got involved in a scandal involving a horse, Fire Chief, who was put down suspiciously, and which he should have reported as part of his job, but he decided not to when the socks containing bribe money came his way. Then news got out about it and he lost his job and ran away before people started asking for their socks back.

Now he has returned to face up to his past, find his son, and pay Robert Valentine his socks back.

But it appears that people are still after him. He finds out the vet involved in the scandal has died, of food poisoning, and Tom is trying to get away from the people following him whilst trying to find out who the mysterious head honcho Robert Valentine is.

Then there is Spud who has problems of his own including regular panic attacks, relationship troubles and a faulty mobile phone. He is also the guy behind the demolition of the Century, an old theatre, which is where the title of the book comes from although it isn’t the main focus of the story.

Both characters have similar voices, which was confusing at first, but there is a reason for that. And the big reveal half-way through was confusing to me too to start with too because of the way things had been portrayed before that moment.

I got the book because I thought it would be really funny given the publicity quote “The Demolition of the Century appeals to fans of kooky, quirky humour similar to Flight of the Conchords” but it wasn’t. It was more sad in places, for example Tom despairing after his lost son and his wife, and sentimental too at the end. 

(I got this book through Amazon Vine UK. It is listed HERE.)

I Love Reading Phonics: The Circus Mice and Bad Zombie Movie by Isabel Crawford and Lucy George

The Circus Mice is an educational story. It focuses on words with i-e in them like mice, five and kite. The story starts on page 6 with the pages before containing all the phonics info. In that way I would say the book is designed for teachers. The story of the five mice at the circus is ok, and the drawings are good and in full colour. The story is short though. 

It is clearly designed for you to buy the whole 48 book series (this book is level 4 book E) although I couldn't find the series as a whole listed on Amazon. Also some of the other books in the series aren't as good as this and you probably you can find a better series out there for teaching children to read than this.

Bad Zombie Movie is an educational story. It focuses on words with ie in them like zombie, movie and field. The story starts on page 6 with the pages before containing all the phonics info. In that way I would say the book is designed for teachers. The story of the bad zombie movie isn't really a story at all because it doesn't have an ending. The story is short and because it is a phonics book it uses words like heifer instead of cow, which is not a word that kids use. The drawings are good though and in full colour. 

It is clearly designed for you to buy the whole 48 book series (this book is level 6 book G) although I couldn't find the series as a whole listed on Amazon. Probably you can find a better series out there for teaching children to read than this.

(I got these two books through Amazon Vine UK. They are listed HERE and HERE.)

Elephant Pants by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and David Wojtowycz

This book is set on Noah’s Ark. Major Trump the elephant has lost his pants. All the other animals have to parade past him showing their different types of pants to make sure none of them have put his on by accident. And all this is in rhyme.

To accompany the story there are large bright pictures. There’s also a pair of small mice that you can look for hidden in each picture too for a bit of extra fun (my daughter liked this bit).

Overall a bit of fun for young children that should keep them occupied for a little while.

(I got this book through Amazon Vine UK. It is listed HERE.)

Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron

This is expert writing. There is an underlining tension throughout which keeps you on tenterhooks because the danger is ever-present.

The story is of Jean Patrick, a Rwandan runner. At the beginning it is 1984 and he is a young boy. His teacher father wishes him and his brothers and sisters goodbye before going on a journey, where he inevitably dies, in a car crash. Soon after the tensions between the Rwandan ethnic-groups, Hutu and oppressed Tutsi, of which Jean Patrick belongs, are introduced as he grows up with stones and insults being thrown his way. Other times see his big brother Roger and him having running races.

Then a marathon runner who represented Rwanda at the Olympics visits his school and Jean Patrick shows promise so that the marathon runner tells him that "one day you will need to run as much as you need to breathe". These words prove to be prophetic as the deteriorating political picture takes shape around Jean Patrick who prefers to be oblivious to it as he concentrates on his running and schooling.

And he does very well making University in 1993 where he meets Bea, meaning blessed one, who he falls in love with. In the running he gets Olympic qualifying times in the 800m, leading to the nickname "Mr. Olympics". Through his running he even gets to meet the Rwandan president Habyarimana.

But tensions are brewing all around. The media are spewing hate speech. Assassinations are happening to political leaders. Preparations are being made. "In every commune, on every level - teachers, sector leaders, burgomasters - lists of Tutsis and opposition Hutu have been collected. It's a plan for total annihilation."

Then the president is killed and the annihilation plans are quickly put in place. The UN troops flee as the international community turns its back leaving Rwanda to deal with its problems on its own. The carefully orchestrated killings of Tutsi happen. Names of people to kill are read out over the airwaves. "All Tutsi will perish. They will disappear from the earth." Jean Patrick hears about the deaths of his best friend and others over the radio, and keeps listening out for news of his family. The radio keeps the killing fever to boiling point.

Then as the Hutu Power led troops close in Jean Patrick has no choice but to run; to run through the woods and marshes full of dead bodies, past the people being killed; to run alongside the orphans and the mothers carrying their dead babies. "One day you will need to run as much as you need to breathe." That day is now.

Brilliant book that masterfully brings alive through fiction what happened in Rwanda in 1994.

(I got this book through Amazon Vine UK. It is listed HERE.)

Mr Men Stories Volume 2 by Vintage Beeb (Audio CD)

Mr. Men is partly about the pictures. Obviously here, with a CD, you don’t get those. You do get the stories though. The six stories on this disc are:

• Mr Messy (07’31)
• Mr Snow (06’43)
• Mr Daydream (06’47)
• Mr Bounce (07’17)
• Mr Mean (06’49)
• Mr Chatterbox (06’39)

These are the audio of what was on the original Mr Men TV series. They are complete with Arthur Lowe’s narration, the classic Mr Men theme tune plus various sound effects, which perhaps sound a little dated now, for example Mr. Bounce’s Bounce, but are for illustrative purposes anyway and kids’ imaginations will be able to decipher them.

I was surprised by the audio quality which was really good compared with the audio quality I have heard of the Mr Men TV series on YouTube. It has been remastered especially for the CD.

The sleeve of the CD is designed to be a straight copy of the sleeve of the LP record that was released in 1980. There are three questions written here for each story so that you can ask your child about them when they have finished listened to them.

For me my 6-year-old and 2-year-old will be listening to this at bedtimes.

Kudos to the BBC for milking this series for all it is worth.

(I got this CD through Amazon Vine UK. It is listed HERE.)