Children’s Book Reviews by Yollie

This is what the dust jacket reads:  

I’m scared.

Scared I’m a coward.

Scared we’re trapped.

Scared that it’s my own

ghost standing at the bottom

of the stairs, waiting for me . . .

That this is it –

all that’s left of my life.

In this incredible re-creation of life in the annexe, Sharon Dogar re-awakens Peter van Pels: his thoughts, his hopes, his fears, his feelings, his words and his dreams.

As I read this book I was drawn into the annexe. When Peter wished to be outside, I did too. When he wanted to scream at the world and yell as loud as he could , no matter who heard him, I wanted to scream too. Slowly Peter begins to fall in love with Anne. He has so much longing for her that he hardly notices all the signs indicating that they may have been found out.

Then the moment comes; the eight in the annexe are betrayed. From here on the book tells of the camps, of the torture, the hangings, the gasing, the screaming, all the death.

 I would recommend this book to older children and adults. It is a wonderful story, although there are obviously terrible subjects such as the Holocaust and impossibly terrifying places like Auschwitz.

This book is definitely worth a five star rating – ***** Thank you Sharon Dogar for writing a wonderful book and helping to keep this important subject fresh in our minds.

The amazing sequel to At the Sign of the Sugared Plum.

It is a year after the plague and Hannah is desperate to get back to London and re-open her and her sister’s sweetmeats shop. However Sarah, Hannah’s older sister, is not so sure after all many are saying that the plague may still be around and there have been terrible prophecies indicated to this year – 1666.

When fires begin to rage in London, Hannah is sure they will be stopped. The king is helping put them out afterall.
However as smoke begins to fill the air and block out the sun she’s not so sure.
What if the fire gets to the shop? … What would Sarah say? … What should she do? … How would she get her little sister out alive? …

Join Hannah in this excellent adventure as she along with her younger sister try to escape the Great Fire of London!!

At the Sign of the Sugared Plum is one of those books that draws you in and really makes you feel like you are in London; alive while you watch others become infected and cry out in pain before slipping away. This is a gripping tale of terror!

When the plague strikes London people begin to drop like flies. Can sisters Hannah and Sarah stay alive during this terrible time, when the Bills of Mortality are saying that there are 10 thousand dead in a week.

Here is what the dust jacket reads:

” You be going to live in the City, Hannah? ” Farmer Price asked, pushing his battered hat up over his forehead. ” Wouldn’t think you’d want to go there . . . Times like this, I would have thought your sister would try and keep you away.”

It is 1665 and Hannah is full of excitement at the prospect of her first trip to London. She is going to help her sister, Sarah, in her sweetmeats shop, ‘The Sugared Plum’. But Hannah does not get the welcoming reception she expected. Sarah is horrified that Hannah did not get her message to stay away: the Plague is threatening to take hold of London . . .

Through Hannah’s eyes, Mary Hooper brilliantly recreates the smells, sounds and sights of seventeenth-century London life. Hannah’s excitement at coming to the big city is vividly evoked, as is the growing terror of a seemingly unstoppable plague that takes hold of the city, street by street, house by house.

An amazing book that everyone should read! With delicious recipes for sweetmeats and candies!

‘ Talk about Horrible History!!’ Henrietta

‘ Couldn’t put it down!!’ Susie

The fourth and final book (so far) of the Gallagher Academy Series. Another amazing read, a fast-paced, exhilarating book.

After having a very close encounter with the Circle of Cavan, Cammie, Bex, Liz and Macey are trying to discover as much about the Circle as possible but with one of their teachers accused of aiding the Circle the girls no longer know who to trust. Can they defeat the Circle and prove their teacher isn’t a double agent at the same time?

Here’s what the dust jacket reads: Despite having known him for almost a year, there were a lot of things I still didn’t know about Zachary Goode. Like how soap and shampoo could smell so much better on him than anyone else. Like where he went when he wasn’t mysteriously showing up at random (and frequently dangerous) points in my life. And, most of all, I didn’t know how, when he mentioned the jacket, he made me think about the sweet, romantic part of the night last November when he’d given it to me, and not the terrible, bloody, international-terrorists-are-trying-to-kidnap-me-part that came right after.