My favourite characters from The Saga Of Darren Shan

This is a list of my favourite characters from The Saga Of Darren Shan.
  

Book 1: Mr Crepsley

Book 2: Wolfman

Book 3: Mr Tall

Book 4: Mr Tiny

Book 5: Harkat Mulds

Book 6: The Vampire Princea

Book 7: Steve Leopard

Book 8: Evenna

Book 9: Vampaneze Lord

Book 10: The Dragons

Book 11: Darren Shan

Book 12: Darren Shan

 

The reasons why I like these characters are: Mr Crepsley because he is a vampire, Wolf Man because he is half-wolf and half-man, Mr Tall because he is the leader of the Cirque Du Freak, Mr Tiny because he is Mr Tall's father, Harkat Mulds because he is one of Mr Tiny's creations, the Vampire Princes because they are princes and vampires, Steve Leopard because he is half-Vampaneze and Lord of the Vampaneze, Evenna because she's Mr Tiny's daughter and a witch who can predict the future, the Dragons because their brains don't look normal, and finally Darren Shan because he sacrifices himself so that he doesn't have to be Lord of the Shadows.

 

There are loads more characters in the books as well that I love, these are just my favourites. Which ones are your favourite characters?

by Sean, 6JB.

Night On Terror Island by Philip Caveney

This book is epic! It's all about this kid who works at a cinema, and his father is the manager of the place and their great friend Norman is the projectionist. However, he is getting older and he has been in the business for about 50 years and this is his last year as a projectionist. He is retiring so Kip (the kid) and his dad print loads of flyers and posters to ask people if they want to take on the job when Norman has gone. Later that night, Kip and his dad receive a letter which is weird, because all it says on it is a name. The name is Mr Larzus. Kip then takes the letter home to study it and he finds out is that it is no ordinary letter. As he looks at it closely, he sees a moving figure. At first he thinks he is imagining it, but then he looks closer and sees...you'll have to find out!

Get to the library and find this book now! I love this book. It's amazing, kids of all ages, girls and boys will enjoy and love it. If you read this book, make sure you tell your friends how good it is and then they would tell their friends, then eventually the whole country will know about it... Every single one of the people who reads this book will love it. It's amazing! All my friends love it, the author must have a great imagination to come up with such a brilliant book. 

Reviewed by Reece, 6JB.

Super Geek by Glenn Murphy

This book is so amazingly interesting, I could read it one million times! It tells you so many interesting facts about incredible stuff and I loved it so much. I have learned loads of weird and fascinating things that you probably don't know.

For example, did you know that the world's fastest passenger train can reach speeds up to 303mph (also, when it was tested it reached almost 450mph when it was at top speed)?

There are many more interesting facts and questions like: How long can a person live with only half a brain?

(A) 10 seconds

(B) 10 minutes

(C) 10 years

(D) a lifetime

Read the book to find out the answer.

There is plenty more to do and to find out! Don't just believe me, read it for yourself. I would recommend it for any good readers who enjoy learning amazing information. Also, it only takes about 30-40 minutes to finish the book.

Reviewed by Alec.

Awful End by Philip Ardagh

I am sure it has been said many times before, but Philip Ardagh is a giant amongst children's authors, in more ways than one. Our school Book Club were lucky enough to be invited to go and meet him at a nearby school last week (he was extremely funny and very beardy!), so I thought it would be an ideal time to re-read some of his earlier books.
 

Awful End is the first book in the Eddie Dickens Trilogy. Often when I read a 'funny' children's book I can see why it would be funny to children, even though it doesn't make me laugh. However, Awful End made me laugh out loud several times, and snort at least twice. Interestingly, the book was originally written as a series of letters to Philip Ardagh's nephew who was away at boarding school.

  

It is about a boy called Eddie Dickens (although he is sometimes called Jonathan and sometimes called Simon) who is sent to live with his Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud at their house, Awful End. This is due to the fact that both of his parents are suffering from an unpleasant disease which turns them yellow, as well as making them go crinkly around the edges and smell of hot water bottles. On his travels, Eddie meets a giant cow, a stuffed stoat called Malcolm, an actor called Mr Pumblesnook and numerous other crazy characters. One of my favourites is the housemaid, Gibbering Jane, who lives under the stairs and only eats slices of very thin ham. By the way, these books were written well before the Lemony Snicket series and are much, much better!
 

The Eddie Dickens Trilogy is completed by Dreadful Acts and Terrible Times, which are equally as funny. There are also three more Eddie Dickens books available called, rather creatively, The Further Adventures of Eddie Dickens.
 

Extremely enjoyable, whether you are a child or an adult and definitely a book that you need to read. Funny in places and hilarious in other places.

It had started to rain and the raindrops mixed with the tears that poured down his mother's face. She was busy peeling an onion.
 

Our authors this term

This term we are looking at American female authors, including Katherine Paterson, Cynthia Voigt and Ursula le Guin. They have published hundreds of books between them.

We are aiming to read at least one book by each of our authors:

• Bridge To Terabithia and The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
• Homecoming and Dicey's Story by Cynthia Voigt
• The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula le Guin

All of the authors we are looking at are quite different in style from each other, especially Ursula le Guin who writes science-fiction and fantasy stories. Cynthia Voigt is probably most famous for writing the seven books in 'The Tillerman Cycle', which include Homecoming and Dicey's Song. Katherine Paterson's most famous book is Bridge To Terabithia, which was made into a film a few years ago. Make sure you read the book before watching the film!

A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge

 

This story is about a girl named Neverfell who lives in the underground city of Caverna. Neverfell has a face like glass, because whatever mood she is in (happy, sad, nervous or angry) shows on her face. The people that are close to Neverfell have to wear a mask at all times. Neverfell is a girl who cannot remember what happened to her when she was younger, although lots of clues appear during the book.

I think you need to read the blurb of this book before choosing it, as it will help you understand the background of the story. It is a longer read than normal, to be exact there 487 pages. It took me two weeks and five days so it's a real commitment. But definitely worth it I think.

Nine out of ten.

Review by Segovia.

Year Six favourite authors

YEAR SIX FAVOURITE AUTHORS

At  number 5, Anthony Horowitz.

At number 4, Eva Ibbotson.

At number 3, David Walliams.

At number 2, Darren Shan.

At number 1, John Dougherty.

By Alisha