Tag Archive | Rachels Random Resources

Maggie’s Red Circus Bus by Sue Wickstead

Oct2

Working Together

Maggie’s Red Circus Bus by Sue Wickstead is a most delightful book and just perfect for the under fives. The story has its’ roots in fact, as we learn from the back of the book.

The whole book is very colourful and appealing. The illustrations are full of detail and make perfect starting points for discussions with our children.

We see that the bus is at the heart of the community. It stands out as a bus but needs to be identified as a play bus. The children work together to decorate it.

Over a summer the children learn different circus skills, working towards a performance at the end of the summer.

The book teaches the importance of working together, learning new skills and how we are all part of our communities.

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Sisters Of The Resistance by Jina Bacarr

Sep30

Daisy Chain

Sisters Of The Resistance by Jina Bacarr is a powerful and heartbreaking historical novel. It is the sequel to Sisters At War which I recommend reading first for maximum enjoyment.

The novel opens in 1942. The action is mainly set in Paris with alternating chapters between the two sisters, Eve and Justine. They both ‘fought’ very different wars. “Not everyone fights the Boches with guns and ammo.” Both were in opposition to the Nazis – one in the resistance, the other from within the Nazis as a spy but posing as a mistress, after events took a dreadful turn in the opening of book one. For safety’s sake, secrets and silences were kept, even when it meant others thought badly of them.

The battle for France was played out not just on the battlefields but in homes and streets, the people fought back however they could, holding on to the hope that one day France would be free again.

Family is important. Family ties and their safety saw one sister denying herself in order to preserve her family. “Winning the war is what counts, not me.”

There were some truly awful atrocities committed by the Nazis against women. Jina Bacar has realistically and sensitively portrayed some very hard to read scenes of the violence and attacks against the women of Paris.

Round-ups and the treatment of the Jewish people was horrific. A sister declared “I need to know. Then someday I can tell the world what I saw.” Survival was essential to tell the world what really happened.

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The Last Bookshop In Prague by Helen Parusel

Sep30

Hold On To Hope

The Last Bookshop In Prague by Helen Parusel is a powerful, heartbreaking historical novel that I read in just one sitting. The story is fictional but grounded in fact as it surrounds the Nazi occupation of Prague from 1942 to the end of the war. The historians will recognize this as the place of Reinhard Heydrich, the butcher of Prague, and of his fate and the fate of the people of Prague. Fast forward to the end of the war, and once more, the people of Prague will go down in history.

The Nazi occupation was horrendous. Fear and cruelty abounded. Everything was designed to wear down the citizens of Prague – but they were made of stern stuff, and far from being worn down, many brave souls rose up.

The Last Bookshop In Prague is an inspiring read as we hear of the extraordinary bravery of the ordinary people who refused to be silenced.

At the heart of the community is the last bookshop in Prague. Here, although outwardly adhering to the Nazi orders to only stock German books and approved authors, inwardly it was the hub of the resistance.

We see the bravery of the young proprietress as she refuses to stand by and do nothing when Jewish children are in need. She and her family, do what they can, when they can, in order to save lives.

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Cut Short by B D Spargo

Sep10

Absolutely Thrilling

Cut Short by B D Spargo is an absolutely thrilling contemporary crime suspense that I just could not put down. It is the first book in the DCI Liam Doyle Thriller series and I cannot wait for the subsequent books.

The action is set in present day, with flashbacks to 1996 and 1999. As the story opens, we hear the cruel voice of the perpetrator. The reader does not know who or why. As the novel progresses, bit by bit a character is revealed, and the who and why are answered.

As we follow a character, we fear for those who cross their paths.

Tension rises, heightened by the isolated, unforgiving landscape. The reader’s heartrate rises and sweaty palms ensue!

All the characters were well drawn and believable. I followed all the action, instantly liking some of the characters but not others. My responses were guided by the author’s marvellous pen.

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