Toppsta - Childrens Books – Reviews

WE had heard that this is a classic read and a really good book so we were keen to try it out. I think I would have given it four stars based on my son's enjoyment of the story, but for me it didn't quite meet the high expectations I had  built up about the book.

It's an excellent idea. A Willy Wonka-esque character, a game maker and toy creator, who builds an interactive and fun library which is actually the set for a giant game - of which 12 children are selected to be the players. The only goal is to use the library's resources and clues to find a secret exit out of the library - and win the best prize ever!

The characters while interesting fall a little flat. As such, there are kids you definitely don't want to win (as in Charlie and the Chocolate factory), but we didn't really root for any of the other children to win - probably because the characters were not built up very well in the beginning of the story.

There were some really exciting bits and the children were gripped, but we also found the story flattened a bit by the overly long descriptions of book titles and dewey decimal numbers, which having not read many of them didn't mean much to the children (authors were writers like Tolstoy etc)

It's a good concept but the clues were quite hard and I don't think we could have worked it out from the clues given in the book, is not explained by the characters.

IT was an ok  book, wouldn't give it a rave review though.

"Wow, best Toppsta giveaway EVER!" William (Age 10)

I've only just started reading this book but I've never read anything quite like it, it's really different and really quite fun! The Augumented reality is really cool and has loads of visuals and sound effects. I love that it's also really interactive and that you have to solve clues as you go along. You can't cheat and move along too quickly as you have to collect energy on the way.

I will review this book again when I'm finished, but safe to say, I am really, really enjoying it. It's like a computer game and book all in one!

It's a classic book and greatly deserves the good reviews it attracts. It gripped my 10 year old son, who goes through stages of avid reading and not wanting to read, but this book really pulled him back into bookworm mode! So much so, that he immediately asked me to order the next three books that follow on from this one from the library.

I have also been trying to move my 6 year old on from picture books and expand his experience of literature, so have been reading him The Indian in the Cupboard. Again, he was absolutely gripped, begging for more chapters each night and he listened intently (which is amazing as he usually loses focus if books don't have pictures). I really credit this book with moving him on to the next stage in reading.

It's well suited for both boys and girls -particularly boys who love a good Cowboy and Indian stand off! But it is much more than than - a story of how  the Cowboy and Indian overcome their personal and cultural differences to become the closest of friends.

It also captures the imagination with magic - the main premise being a magic cupboard which can bring plastic character toys to life. Both boys demanded I seek their old indian and cowboy figures out of the loft once they had read this book - and spent many hours playing with them again. 

We would highly recommend this book and we are now reading the sequels!