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The Best Sleep-Over In The World by Jacqueline Wilson

Feb22

True Characters Shine Through

The Best Sleepover In The World by Jacqueline Wilson is a wonderful read for girls aged eight years and over. It follows on from Sleep-Overs but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the first book first as this one follows on swiftly where that one finished.

Once more we join the five familiar faces as playground politics continue. There is still the character who bullies and is sneakily mean.

The characters do face moral dilemmas. Do they do the right thing? Or do they follow the crowd?

We witness the difference a good school that caters for special needs makes as we once more meet Daisy’s sister, Lily, who has, possibly, cerebral palsy (from the sounds of it). Her love still shines brightly as we see the sisterly bond. How Lily is treated by Daisy’s friends says a lot about their individual characters. Young readers learn that we are all different, and all valued.

The action is told in the first person through the voice of Daisy. She is believable, likable and easy to empathise with.

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Sleep-Overs by Jacqueline Wilson

Feb22

Examining The Minefield Of The Playground

Sleep-Overs by Jacqueline Wilson is a contemporary tale for girls aged eight years and over.

The novel explores the world of friendships in school. It is a minefield, negotiating the politics of the school playground, even though the girls are young.

We meet the school bully who can be very cruel and spiteful. Girls are friends with her out of fear.

There are five friends who have five very different sleep-overs. It is in the final one that true characters emerge, and personalities shine. We see that when a character has a chance to be mean or be kind, she chooses the route of kindness.

The action is seen through the eyes of Daisy and is in the first person.

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The Great Race by Sun Chara & Joe Happy-Light

Jan15

A Message For Us All

The Great Race by Sun Chara & Joe Happy-Light is a delightful children’s novel for ages five to eight years. It is the first book in Return To Fable Land series.

The story is a variation of an Aesop’s fable about the hare and the tortoise. There are important lessons to be learnt as we see the value of persistence and good friends.

No man is an island. We were not built to live in isolation but in the company of others.

The book is simply but beautifully illustrated by Danila Frongia. Each illustration is a starting point for discussions with our children.

The whole story is engaging and entertaining, giving us pointers to chat about with our children.

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At Home In A Book by Lauren O’Hara

Dec23

A Pure Delight Whatever Your Age

At Home In A Book by Lauren O’Hara is the most delightful book suitable for anyone with a love of reading, an active imagination and who likes to escape into a book.

This is a unique book that takes several novels and illustrates the dwelling places – from houses to ships to submarines. It is a pure delight for the imagination.

Some of the books covered include Little Women, Alice In Wonderland, Peter Pan, Anne of Green Gables, A Little Princess and more.

Each chapter gives a short synopsis of the book, has a passage from it, writes about the lead characters and has a double page spread of the dwelling plus illustrations of key items within the story. It is a real treat to truly lose yourself in a book.

Within each picture there is the invite for the reader to step inside their imagination as we ‘wander’ through the dwelling. Each one has so much detail. I think that each time we re-visit the book, we will notice something different.

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