Juliet Nearly a Vet – Cat Show Queen by Rebecca Johnson

Reviewed by Jessica (age 8)

      In this book, Juliet’s Mum is in charge of the cats that board at her Vet clinic when there is a cat show in town. Juliet and her best friend, Chelsea, are so excited and can’t wait to see all the different cats and their owners. The cats have to be prepared beautifully for the show and some of the owners are very particular, so you can imagine the drama that unfolds when something goes wrong before the show.

     I enjoyed this book. My favourite character was Juliet’s best friend, Chelsea, because she is very calm under pressure. Kids who really love cats and animals would like this book.

     For more information about this book which is part of a series go to  https://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780143308720/cat-show-queen-juliet-nearly-vet-book-10

About The Author     

     Rebecca Johnson is an Australian author, teacher and mother of two. Juliet, Nearly a Vet is her first fiction series with Penguin. She has also written a best-selling non-fiction series of adventures featuring Australian wildlife, which has sold more than 2.6 million copies.

From the author:

When I was growing up, I was mad about animals. Not just the normal kind like cats, dogs and horses, but anything that moved. The best part of all was that I actually lived next door to a vet! We are still great friends and he's 95 now. One of my fondest memories of growing up is going out in a canoe with my sister and brother after a f lood and ­rescuing animals that were stranded on sticks and twigs and ferrying them to safety. Not every girl I know would be happiest in a canoe full of mice, bugs and the odd green snake, but I'm sure Juliet would!

      For more information about the author go to http://rebeccajohnson.com.au

Fortune Cookie – The Chocolate Box Boy by Cathy Cassidy

Reviewed by Bella (age 11)

     I absolutely loved this book. By the time I had read the first page, I was hooked! The plot in this book contains many realistic events that are amazing and exciting.  The book is creatively written and it has inspired me to embark on adventures.

     The book is about a curious and adventurous boy named Jake who visits his “step” family in a leisurely house next to the beach where lemonade is drunk, ice cream is eaten and exciting beach parties occur. Jake learns that you can’t run from your problems and eventually returns to his real family. He learns an important lesson - that you can’t run away from destiny.

     There were so many astounding ideas in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I hope there are many more books to come in this series. The beach setting in this book made me really wish that I lived right next door to the beach, that my parents owned a chocolate business and that I had a perfect life that was full of adventure. I strongly recommend this book to people my age. This book was definitely a fantastic read.

About The Author

     I was born in 1962 in Coventry (scarily ancient, I know).

 I wrote my first picture book for my little brother when I was eight or nine. I loved making comics, too - pages and pages of picture stories, features and competitions. I'd sell my homemade comic to a friend for 5p, then claim it back and sell it again to someone else . . . they didn't have photocopiers back then!

     I went to Art College in Liverpool, then got a job as fiction editor on the fab and legendary Jackie magazine. Later, I married my boyfriend Liam, went back to college and trained to be an art teacher. I taught in a Coventry secondary school for a few years, which I loved, then moved to Scotland with Liam to start a family. My kids are 11 and 12 years old now, and the four of us live in a cottage in the Galloway hills with sheep and cows for neighbours. As well as writing books, I am the agony aunt on Shout magazine and a couple of days a week I teach art in a bunch of local primary schools, which is great fun and keeps me sane. (Well, maybe!)

     I love my family, I love living in the middle of nowhere and I love my work. Of all my jobs, writing has to be the best - it's the perfect excuse to daydream, after all!

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE : www.cathycassidy.com

PUBLISHER'S WEBSITE : https://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780141351858/fortune-cookie-chocolate-box-girls-volume-6

Soon by Morris Gleitzman

Reviewed by Carmela Ramos

     A few years ago my son read a Morris Gleitzman book titled Once. My son’s response to the book was positive, and I remember him asking me so many questions about World War II and the Holocaust. Although Once was fictional, it encouraged my son to explore the reality of what happened during a very important time in history. My son couldn’t wait to read the next book of the series titled Then. Morris Gleitzman has also written three more books, After, Now and Soon. When I received his latest book Soon, I was curious to see if the story was too confronting, and whether it was appropriately written for a young reader. So I read Soon as a stand- alone book without having read the others. Slight mention was given to characters from the previous books, which was enough for me to have a glimpse into the background of the main protagonist, Felix, and what he had already endured during World War II.

     Soon continues the journey of Felix, a thirteen-year-old Jewish boy facing the emotional and physical challenge of having to endure the devastating post war environment of Poland. Food is scarce, theft abounds, black market trading is thriving, living conditions are terrible, and innocent people are still being shot. Felix finds himself living in a secret hideout amongst the ruins of the city buildings with Gabriek, a middle-aged man skilled at repairing things and making vodka. Gabriek provides Felix with protection, food, shelter, and most importantly friendship. Throughout the story Felix’s friendships are tested as he deals with life-threatening situations and ruthless gangs. Felix’s circumstances give him reason to be angry, depressed and hopeless, yet Felix remains optimistic and soon learns that some aspects of life are out of his control. He may not have the ability to solve these big problems but his capacity to love and care for others amid all that is happening around him is a mark of a true hero.

     Morris Gleitzman tells this exceptionally moving story from a child’s perspective. The thought monologue by the main character allows the young reader to get closer to Felix’s feelings. It also invites the reader to journey alongside Felix as he discovers the shocking effects of war. In Felix, Gletzman has certainly created a likeable and believable character. The reader will easily be drawn into this fictional narrative that is connected to a past reality. Soon is appropriately written for 12 year olds and up, or early high school readers. Older readers will also appreciate the talent of Gleitzman.

     With themes of love and friendship, highly appealing characters, plus a powerful and action-packed storyline, Soon by Morris Gleitzman is a gripping and enjoyable read.

     Thanks to Penguin Books Australia for sending us a copy of Morris Gleitzman's latest masterpiece Soon in exchange for an honest review.

RELEASE DATE : 24 June 2015

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE : http://www.morrisgleitzman.com/fst_contents.html

PUBLISHER'S WEBSITE : https://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780670078875/soon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

     Morris Gleitzman is the bestselling Australian children's author of almost 40 books, published in more than 20 countries, and is loved by children around the world.

     In the ten years since publication of the first book in his series about a Jewish boy in Nazi-occupied Poland, Once has enjoyed phenomenal worldwide success. Once has sold more than 130,000 copies alone and alongside subsequent books in the series Then, Now and After, more than 300,000 copies have sold in total in Australia and over 150,000 in the UK. The series has been published in ten different languages, including Chinese, Italian, German and Slovenian and is continuously nominated for and the winner of numerous awards in Australia and overseas including many readers choice awards.