The Little Nicholas, Rene Goscinny

Nicholas, a 9 year old boy, is always up to something that is not always very smart. He has a great gang: Rufus, Alec, Geoffrey, Matthew, Eddie and Jeremy. Their favorite games are to tease Cuthbert, the teacher’s pet, as well as punching each other on the nose.
I liked this book as the short stories are easy to read and the endings are always hilarious. I’ve read the book both in French and English and prefer the way it’s written in French for two reasons. One: The way it’s written is funnier, the jokes in English are not the same and not as effective as when it’s read in French. Two: The names of the characters are better in French. If you speak French, try to read both the French and English book, that way, you can see what I mean.

Dragonsdale, Salamanda Drake

Far away, on the Isles of Bresal, live creatures which we’ve always classified as fairy tale creatures. The Dragons.
Cara and Breena are best friends, the only difference is that Breena is a dragon rider.Cara has wanted to ride a dragon for as long as she can remember, the only thing that is stopping her is her Da. Cara’s mother died while riding a dragon so Cara’s Da has strictly forbidden her to fly any dragon which is hard for Cara as she spends her days on a stud farm mucking out dragons stable’s and watching younger kids fly. Luckily there’s Sky Dancer, Cara’s favorite dragon, a golden brow, the rarest dragon breed in all the isles. Sky Dancer was found next to his dead mother and was taken in to the dragonsdale. Ever since, no rider has been able to ride him, but Cara knows she can. She knows that she could beat every dragon in the Island Championships. It’s just that she isn’t given a chance.
Then there’s Hortense, the selfish daughter of the ruler of the isles. She mistreats every dragon she rides and enjoys teasing Cara and Breena, which is why, that when she finds out that Sky Dancer is Cara’s favorite dragon she does anything in her power to get her father to buy him. Huw, Cara’s Da and the Dragonmaster of Dragonsdale, needs the money and Skydancer is just an extra dragon to feed as no one can ride him. If Hortense agrees to buy Sky Dancer, the dragon is sold. But Cara reacts before that and runs away with Sky Dancer.
Will they ever return? If they do, what will happen to Sky Dancer?
This book was an easy read but at the same time, extremely gripping. Not in the sense that you really want to know what will happen next but in a way that it enchants you. I sort of wanted to live the story while I was reading it. I would give it a 10/10 rating as the book is very nice to read as a soothing story, something to read before you go to bed.

How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse, Cressida Cowell

Can Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III come and be the hero yet again? This time, a Venomous Vorpent has stung Hiccups best friend, Fishlegs. The symptoms: fever, runny nose and worst of all, episodes of madness. Fishlegs has charged down a mountain on skis towards the craziest of all Viking tribes: the Hysterics. To save him, Hiccup had to fire an arrow in Norbert the Nutjob’s (The chief of the Hysterics tribe) bottom! Fishlegs also shouted some very rude words to Hiccups dad, Stoick the Vast, chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe. This disease is fatal and Fishlegs could die in less than 24 hours.

The only possible cure to this sickness is the vegetable- no-one-dares-name, in other words, the potato. This is a lot harder than you think as America is the first continent to grow potatoes and we are in the Viking times. Conclusion: America has not been discovered yet. According to the Vikings, the world is as flat as a pancake, if you sail too far east or west, well, lets just say that’s a bad idea. Luckily, Norbert the Nutjobs father, Bigjob, has been to America and brought back the potato as proof of being there, the only problem is that Hiccup is probably not one of Norbert’s best friends at the moment, as he had to shoot him in the bottom. Fortunately, Camicazi, Hiccups friend from the Bog-Burglar tribe has enthusiastically agreed to come with Hiccup on his quest for the potato.

Will Hiccup and Camikazi manage to find the potato before they are discovered? Will Norbert accept to give them the potato? They don’t even know what the potato looks like. How are they supposed to find the right thing? I found this book quite hard to get into as I’m used to reading books that drag you into the story immediately. From my point of view, this book doesn’t grab the reader’s attention until further in the story, but once I had started reading it, I did not put the book down until I was finished. The book itself is fun to read, as the illustrations are quite funny. The writing is also a bit silly along with the title. This book deserves 9/10. I took away one mark as in the story, an object is found and Cressida Cowell doesn’t fully explain what the object is. But in general, this is an astonishingly well-written book.

Note of an author!!!

HI,
It’s been so long since I got this from you (sorry), that I’m not sure how I “met” you!
I got my original inspiration on a cattle drive when I saw — maybe — a lone white horse in a canyon, and my imagination just took off. I KEEP getting inspiration from many places — almost every time I’m around a horse.
I don’t know how many of my books you’ve read, but there will be 35 PHANTOM books altogether: 24 in the original series in Nevada and 11 in the WILD HORSE ISLAND series.
Best,
Terri

Thank You!!!

Thank you to everyone who has come on my blog. I’m really happy to see people enjoy books as much as I do! If anyone has any books to recomend to me, write a comment on this post. During Christmas, there probably won’t be many posts, just to warn you. Thanks again and have a very Merry Christmas!

Raphaelle

The Number Devil , Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Wow!!! This book is fabulous! It literally has an ABC on numbers and math at the back. I’ve learned loads because of it, Ex: 1×1 =1, 11×11= 121, 111×111= 12,321. This book is educational as well as fun and fiction!
Robert hates dreams. He always ends up falling through a bottomless hole or being gobbled up by giant fish. Robert also hates math. Mr. Bockel, his math teacher, is always using pretzels for his sums. Then, one night, Robert meets the number devil. The number devil uses logical yet complicated ways of teaching Robert. He easily loses his temper and produces so many numbers that Roberts feels faint. But he and Robert turn into very good friends. Robert meets the number devil in his dreams and always ends up in different places. Robert learns about number heaven, as well as famous number devils like Bonacci. In the end, Robert gets to visit number heaven and he is awarded a chain for being lowest rank of number apprentice order of Pythagoras, fifth class!
I think this story is brilliant because it contains all you need to know about math and numbers. It has thousands of different facts: did you know that a man spent a very large time of his life to prove that 1+1=2 !

Stormy:Misty’s foal, Marguerite Henry

Stormy, Misty’s foal is about Misty the horse having a filly during a flood. The island is in bad condition. In Assateague, horse herds have drowned, and the ones that are alive are suffering badly. To find out what happens, read: Stormy: Misty’s foal.

I think that this book is suitable for 9 years old and up. The story is a true story. I would give this book 7/10. I like the story but I think that it doesn’t have enough action. My favourite characters are : Misty and Stormy. I reckon that this book would be good for my brother.

Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry

Misty of Chincoteague is about a beautifulmare called Phantom and her colt Misty. Paul Beebe work very hard to earn 102$ to buy the Phantom and her colt. But does he have enough to buy them both? And if he does, what will Grandpa and Grandma Beebe say? Find out in Misty of the Chincoteague!!!!!!!

I liked this book because I like horses. The story is well written, but Marguerite Henry could have added some funny dialogues to her story. My favourite characters where Misty, Phantom, Paul and Maureen. I recommend this book to Ross and Ali, some of my favourite riding instructors.

Fire Bringer, David Clement-Davies

This has got to be the most gripping book I’ve read this year!It is a bit like a thriller, only written in a different way. I can’t really describe how David Clement-Davies writes Fire Bringer.

This book is about a prophecy that says that a deer with a perfect oak leaf on his forehead will defeat Sgorr, the ruler of the lower land. Sgorr isn’t what you call “nice”, in fact, he is plain cruel. Sgorr came to the herd homeless, and was quickly moved up to be Drail’s, the current ruler of the low lands, closest deer. Drail has an army called the draila who is extremely loyal to him. On the night Rannoch, the deer with a white oak leaf on his head, is born, his father is killed by draila. When Drail finds out about Rannoch, he is determined to kill him for he, himself, is afraid of this prophecy. Rannoch flees with his friends all around the low lands until they have no choice but to go to the high lands. Scary rumors about this place have been told. Will Rannoch come back alive? Is the prophecy true? Read Fire Bringer to find out.

This book is amazing. 10 out of 10 and no doubt about it !

The Black Stallion Returns, Walter Farley

One dark night, someone threatens to kill the Black by trying to inject him with an hypodermic needle. Alec Ramsay is attached very much to his horse. So when Alec comes home and finds a man called Abu Ja’kub Ben Ishak claiming to own the Black, it doesn’t stop stop Alec from being suspicious. Does this man have anything to do with the hypodermic needle? How can this man suddenly show upand claim to own his horse? When the Black leaves, Mr Volence, the owner of racehorses, things start to go the way Alec planned. Mr Volence is rich and is looking for Horses to buy for his stud barn. He invites Alec and his best adult friend, Henry Daily, to go to the homeland of the Black: The sandy land of Arabia, home of the pure blood Arabian horse, one of the most beautiful breed of all time!

If you want to find the Black with Alec, Henry and Mr Volence, just read the book!

The great thing about this book is thatnce you pick up the book, you can’t let go! The story is a model book for other authors I give this story a 9 out of 10 rating because at one part , it does sound a bit gruesome and it makes you want to put the book down for a second, stick out your tongue and then …  you continue reading !