Toppsta - Childrens Books – Reviews

This is the first book in The Bromeliad Trilogy. My son has enjoyed listening to this book as much as I have enjoyed reading it. It is very like The Carpet People which we had read a short while ago. However, this one has nomes, small people living amongst humans, as the central characters. It is a typical Terry Pratchett book, cleverly written with a huge dollop of imagination and charm. It can be read by children as an amazing adventure story. whilst adults and older children might see the satire within it. The characters are very funny. Our favourite has to be Masklin, the brave youngish nome, who is the leader but not leader. It is worth mentioning death is mentioned in various ways, be it the nomes killing to survive or dying through accidents or old age.

Recently, a new illustrated hardback edition of Truckers has been published. I would definitely recommend it with its colourful illustrations.  I saw it in Waterstones the other day and wished I had known that it was going to be published in this format before reading it to my son. This edition is perfect for a bedtime read, makes it more accessible to younger readers.

Son: This is so good. There is so much in it. I like the designs and the pictures best. I would recommend it to people who are into Minecraft.

Mum: This hardback book came free with this month's official Minecraft magazine. It is far too advanced in terms of MInecraft building for my eight year old. However, he loves it. It is broken down into sections on Castle, Village and Traps. It looks at the various features of a Medieval Fortress from turrets to barracks to market square. On a lot of these double spread pages, one side is taken up mostly with a large illustration of the feature in question. At the top of this page, there is also a brief explanation of what it is, how long it will take, who it is suitable for i.e. beginner (not so sure about this) easy etc. On the other side is an 'exploded build', a detailed sectioned illustration (on a grid format) telling you how many blocks are required where. There is also 'Traps' with 'Getting it Right' pages and in the Village Section, 'Mix it Up' pages. At the moment, this book's main use seems to be as a source of inspiration, perhaps this will change as my son becomes more proficient at building in the game.

This is a hilarious book. I thought it was very funny what happened to the chickens after they had some of George's medicine. It is not something that you see everyday. George is very smart. The Grandma got the ending that she deserves. The illustrations are very funny, especially of the animals and Grandma.

I liked doing the quizz at the back of the book. I got all the answers right. I would recommend this book.

This is an excellent book for any young naturalist. I was set to be irritated and grossed out by more mention of 'poo'. However, it is an amusing, incredibly informative guide on tracking and identifying animals from what they leave behind, from poo, to footprints to feathers to skulls. There is a touch of humour in the illustrations, in particular around the eyes of the animals portrayed. There is a quite a few quizzes within the book as well. This book will keep a young naturalist entertained for hours. (Only problem now my one wants to acquire a few skulls.)