ADVENTURES IN ZAMBEZIA ★★★★

Reviewed by Jemma (Aged 11)  Meet Jemma

Opens in Australia: 11^th April 2013
Other Countries: Release Information

Adventures in Zambezia is about a bird named Kai who lives with his father Tendai in the middle of nowhere in Africa. Gogo a friendly bird flies past trying to get away from marabous with a woven bag on her back.

The woven bag had Tini, a weaver bird and some duckling eggs. Gogo tells Kai about Zambezia and as Kai is an adventurous bird he is keen to go see the big city.

Will his father let him see the big city or will his father not let him go because of the dangers that lie ahead?   Kai flies off in the night ignoring what his father has said. Kai tries to catch up with Gogo but soon Kai finds himself flying with Paui and her flock.

Soon after they arrive at Zambezia and Kai is amazed at what he saw. Kai puts his name down for a tour the next day. Then Kai meet Mushana the receptionist who shows Kai to his room. He is awoken by his tour guide, Ezee keen to start the tour. Kai finds himself in a heap of trouble, adventure and discovers some truths about his family.  

The Adventures in Zambezia is an exciting movie everyone would love; a wonderful movie for all ages.  It’s full of adventure, thrills and lots fun characters. I would love to see it again. This movie is made by trigger fish, which have also made the movie Khumba soon to come out in 2013.

VISIT ADVENTURES IN ZAMBEZIA WEBSITE

MYSTERY AT RIDDLE GULLY by Jen Banyard ★★★★

Reviewed by Jemma (Aged 11)  Meet Jemma

Pollo di Nozi, a reporter in training, with her sheep sidekick Shorn Connery sets out to find the truth in a very big investigation at Riddle Gully.  

Pollo has to find out about the weird things that are happening at Riddle Gully. Pollo believes she has a major scoop on her hands in her hunt for the Graffiti kid.  But is Will the new boy going to get in the way of Pollo and her big mystery?

Kids who love to read mystery and adventure will enjoy this book. This book is best for the older kids about ten years and above.

I am not a big fan of reading and I joined Kidz Review Krew so that I would force myself to read more.  But even though I don’t usually enjoy reading, I loved this book so why not give it a try.

Thank you to Fremantle Press for our review copy.  For more information on this book and where to purchase please CLICK HERE

VISIT JEN BANYARD’S BRILLIANT WEBSITE:  CLICK HERE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I was a big fan of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five mystery series and of Rider Haggard’s adventures set in Africa. When life proved frustratingly safe, I imagined intrigue and danger in the everyday. (Everyone does that, right?) Although I’d always loved story-writing, it took twenty-odd years of study, travel, work and parenting before I got down to it seriously. From a career in non-fiction, it was fun writing stuff in which anything was possible. After a few community courses, I returned eventually to the University of WA, where post-grad studies morphed into the PhD in creative writing I’m working on now.

I live near the ocean and Reabold Hill bushland with family, a cat, some bossy possums who live in the roof and the ghost of a friendly old dog. Aside from writing, I like to swim, kayak, take photos, hang out at lacrosse grounds and accost my ukulele.

GIRL'S BEST FRIEND by Leslie Margolis ★ ★★ ½

Reviewed by Sophia (Aged 10)  Meet Sophia

Maggie Brooklyn is a dog walker. She spends nearly all of her spare time walking dogs, but something strange is happening all over Park Slope, dogs are going missing!

Maggie figures out it is up to her to untangle the mystery. Ivy Maggie’s ex-friend has unfortunately got her dog (Kermit) taken too. So she has to help get Kermit back and all the other dogs back too. Maggie goes on a huge scavenger hunt to find all missing dogs, and she finds clues to help her on the way.

This book was a mystery-adventure story which I like because I like books with loads of action!

I really recommend this book to other young readers in search of an action packed, imaginative, adventure story. 

Our review copy of GIRL'S BEST FRIEND thanks to the wonderful people at Bloomsbury Publishing Australia

For purchasing details of this book and more information: CLICK HERE  

Leslie Margolis's Website:  CLICK HERE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LESLIE MARGOLIS is the author of more than fifty books for young readers, including two Annabelle Stevens books: Boys Are Dogs and Girls Acting Catty. She lives with her family in Park Slope, Brooklyn-which is also the setting of her new series, the Maggie Brooklyn Mysteries.

Leslie answers reader's questions about herself:  CLICK HERE

ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH ★★★★

Reviewed by Sophia (Aged 10)  Meet Sophia

Australia: 28th March 2013; USA 15th February, 2013 

Other Countries:  Release Information

          Gary is an alien and so is everyone on planet Baab. Gary works in mission control which of course means he controls the missions that his brother Scorch goes on. When a new mission comes up Scorch is the one to do it and this time he has to go to the Dark planet, also known as Earth.

          No Alien has ever come back from the Dark planet (Earth) but Scorch is determined to go there. He gets himself into a bit of trouble with the victims (humans) and the next thing he finds himself in is a cell. Gary goes after him using the rescue pod but there is a slight complication and he finds himself with the humans and  then he is put in a cell near Scorch.

          Shanker the evil human has his own plans to take over the universe using the aliens and a Love website. And much adventure follows.

        This was an exciting movie and kept me entertained. I really recommend this movie to all.

Alice-Miranda in Paris by Jacqueline Harvey ★ ★ ★★★

Reviewed by Sophia (Aged 10)  Meet Sophia

         In this book, Alice-Miranda in Paris, Alice-Miranda and her friends from Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale, and the boys from Fayle School for Boys go to Paris to sing at a few fashion week events. A group of teachers travel with them to Paris. Catastrophe strikes when a very unique fabric goes missing from a famous fashion designer. This becomes part of a mystery.  

          Famous fashion designers are all getting ready for the show that is taking place in just a matter of days. They make the most of their visit by seeing the Eiffel Tower and many other places around Paris. A young boy from Fayle School named Sep sees a child in a window. The boy looks sadly at Sep who gets curious and wants to find out more about the boy. Alice-Miranda and all the other children perform as a choir at two of the fashion shows and at the fashion week mass.

          Her mother surprises her when she shows up at her performances. At the time of the fashion show Alice-Miranda realizes there is a dark side to some fashion designers. Is someone out to ruin fashion week? As she is a nice and intelligent person, she knows exactly what to do. This turns out to be a bit of an adventure for her.

          This is a very interesting story that relates to other little girls that are intelligent, nice and confident. I enjoyed this book and wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. It was a great read and other girls will also enjoy reading it. I hope! 

Thank you to Random House Kids Books for our review copy of Alice-Miranda in Paris

For more information on this book please visit the book’s page: ALICE-MIRANDA IN PARIS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

         Jacqueline Harvey is married to Ian – who she says is the most amazing husband and frequently comes up with great ideas for her writing and she has a stepdaughter, Olivia.  Until the end of October 2012 Jacqueline worked full time as the Director of Development at Abbotsleigh, a school for girls in Sydney where she used to be Deputy Head of the Junior School.           She has now taken the brave and scary leap to become a full time author and is available for school visits, teacher inservice and other speaking engagements.

          Jacqueline has always loved writing and has kept diaries for many years (which she says should definitely be destroyed before anyone else has a chance to read them). Inspired by her students, she would often write poems and stories for her classes and always hoped that one day she would be published.

         Jacqueline enjoys playing golf, reading, travelling and eating out.  She likes writing her books somewhere with a view of the sea.

Useful Links

• Jacqueline Harvey on Facebook
• Jacqueline Harvey on Twitter
• Jacqueline Harvey's Website

Whacko by Dave Caddy ★ ★ ★★

STRANGE AND WILD

Reviewed by Annabelle (Aged 10)  Meet Annabelle

Whacko is a very adventurous and wild book. It was written by David Caddy, who used to teach at our school, Our Lady of Assumption in Dianella Perth.  He is now teaching at St Peter’s, so it is great to be able to read local author’s books.

 It’s all about a family with six kids; Jo, James, Justin, Jade and the twins Joshua and Janelle (who are only babies). The four older kids notice that their parents have been doing the strangest things, mum’s eating pig brains and dad’s losing his mind.

The kids get really suspicious about all this strange things that are happening and they try to work out what is going on.

 I think that this was a great book and everyone that is the age of 10-13 should read it!

Read more about Whacko and David Caddy the author and his other books.  CLICK HERE

Thank you to FREMANTLE PRESS for our review copy. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Caddy was born in 1962, in Perth, Western Australia. He worked for a number of years in computing, but is now a primary school teacher who writes madly in the holidays. He is married to Liz and they have four children named Ben, Meg, Daniel and Joe.

Favourite Food: Mashed spud with a dash of milk, a sprinkle of salt, and loads of butter, pepper and cheese. Pet Hate: Not being able to wear casual clothes all the time. Hobbies: Spending time with his family, writing, and surfing.

Awards

David Caddy’s book The Reef was short listed in the Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards 2006

He was also the Winner, WAYRBA Hoffman Award, 2002

ROBERT IRWIN DINOSAUR HUNTER SERIES ★ ★ ★★

 EASY READ, AMAZING TWISTS

 Reviewed by Jack  (Aged 11) Meet Jack

The Irwin’s are a fun Australian family of animal lovers.  When Robert Irwin finds a prehistoric claw in outback Queensland that will accidently send him back in time his whole world turns upside and he has to somehow find his way home.

From Queensland to Texas and other places all around the world Robert has some great adventures.

In THE DISCOVERY Robert has to survive a dinosaur stampede and a run in with an australovenator that has sharp teeth and claws.

In AMBUSH AT CISCO SWAMP we find Robert doing research on the America alligators and when he accidently goes back in time he sees its prehistoric version which jumps out at him and chases him up a tree.

Overall I think the books start off wonderfully and get you into the story straight away and I personally would give the series a try.  They are very small books and are very quick to read, which could also be a downside.  Jack Wells has written a great series and both books I read had a fantastic storyline

In my opinion I reckon you should try to read them all in order not just go from 4 to 1.  These are fantastic easy read books with amazing little twists.

Thank you to RANDOM HOUSE for our review copies.

Visit the ROBERT IRWIN DINOSAUR HUNTER PAGE for cool clips and more information on how to own your own copy.