Barking Mad Book Reviews

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

2009-08-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

Percy Jackson is not a normal boy. He is a half-blood: Half god, half human. He is the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, and Sally Jackson, a mortal human. Percy has to go to Camp Half-blood to train to fight monsters because monsters will come after pretty much any half-blood. He has to lead a quest to find Zeus' lightning bolt within 10 days, or there will be a big war between Zeus and Poseidon. Percy's fatal flaw is helping friends out which gets him in trouble.

I love Percy Jackson and by now I have read 4 books of the 5 book series. I'm waiting for the 5th one to become available at the library. The books are fast paced and exciting. Usually I can't keep my eyes off them. I would give this book 5 stars because, for one thing, they're the only books that I would actually like to re-read.

5 STARS

Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief. Miramax Books, 2005. 375 pages. RL: Gr 5-9

NEXT REVIEW: Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo

26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie dePaola

2009-07-30T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hey. I'm sorry about not posting reviews in awhile. So here's my new one:

26 Fairmount Avenue is an autobiography. It is about a boy who lives in an apartment in Connecticut and is waiting for his new house to be built. The story starts in 1938. One of the things I liked about it was when Tomie (the boy) is with his great-grandma and they mistake laxatives for chocolates. I also liked it when Tomie goes to see the movie Snow White in the theater. He hates it so much that he yells at the screen (he didn't think it was like the original story).

This book was riveting because one good thing happened right after another. I give this story 5 stars because it was short and fun.

dePaola, Tomie. 26 Fairmount Avenue. New York: Penguin Puffin Books for Young Readers, 1999. 57 pages.

RL: Gr 3-5

FIVE STARS

NEXT REVIEW: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, a Percy Jackson book

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

2009-01-03T08:42:00.000-08:00

Despereaux Tilling is not a normal mouse. He breaks mouse rules like "Never talk to a human." He has big ears and his eyes were wide open when he was born. This story is about a mouse who loves a princess, a poor girl who dreams of being a princess, and a rat who loves light.

I give this story 5 stars because it is a good story. Somehow it seemed just the right length. The characters were good because they had interesting names and interesting personal stories.

The movie version was well done but is very different from the book. It tells its own different story about Despereaux. I enjoyed the movie but it is not the same story.

DiCamillo, Kate. The Tale of Despereaux.Candlewick Press, 2003.
272 pages. RL: Ages 9-12

FIVE STARS

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

2008-12-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

A prequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Magician's Nephew is about Diggory and Polly as they are tricked into discovering a world called Narnia by Diggory's Uncle Andrew and accidentally bring a wicked witch into it. The story tells about how Narnia began, and how the children have to save it.

I liked this book. I give it 4 stars because it wasn't long enough. I liked it because there is magic in it. One of my favorite parts is when the talking animals in Narnia try to plant Uncle Andrew in the ground.

Lewis, C.S. The Magician's Nephew. HarperCollins Children's Books, 2002.
240 pages. RL: Gr 4-6

FOUR STARS

The Dragon of Lonely Island by Rebecca Rupp

2008-05-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

This story is about three children named Hannah, Zachary, and Sarah Emily. They go off on an island and find a tridrake: a three headed dragon. The dragon is named Fafnyr Goldenwings. Each head tells them one story. From the stories, they learn that dragons are tolerant, generous, polite, tidy, brave and self-reliant.

I enjoyed the stories. They were very good. I'll tell you the characters in the stories, but nothing else about the stories. The people are Mei-lan, Jamie, and Hitty and Will. There are other people, but those are the main characters in the stories.

I give the book 5 stars even though it was short because it was so good. I wish the book could go on forever.

Rupp, Rebecca. The Dragon of Lonely Island. 1st. Cambridge: Candlewick Press, 1998.
160 pages. RL: 9-12 years

FIVE STARS

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

2008-03-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

Coraline is a good book. I think people should read it. In the book Coraline, Coraline finds a world of people with button eyes and her other mother and father. Lemony Snicket thinks the book is scary but I don't. I think it's exciting and mysterious. I give the book a four star rating. The reason I give the book a four star rating is because I think it could have been longer. It's only 176 pages. But everything else is good.

Gaiman, Neil. Coraline. 1st. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002.
176 pages. RL: 9-12 years

FOUR STARS