Year Six favourite books and book characters

Favourite characters

At number 10, Katniss from The Hunger Games.

At number 9, Michael from Kensuke's Kingdom.

At number 8, Matilda.

At number 7, Greg from Diary Of A Wimpy Kid.

At number 6, Jack Slater (Monster Investigator).

At number 5, Joe from Billionaire Boy.

At number 4, Harry Potter.

At number 3, Horrid Henry.

At number 2, Tom Gates.

At number 1, Jim, the headlouse from Niteracy Hour!

Favourite Books

At number 10, Kensuke's Kingdom.

At number 9, Mr Stink.

At number 8, Zom-B.

At number 7, The Thornthwaite Inheritance.

At number 6, One Dog And His Boy.

At number 5, The Hunger Games.

At number 4, Horrible Histories.

At number 3, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid.

At number 2, Tom Gates.

At number 1, Niteracy Hour!

by Alisha.

Interview with John Dougherty

When John visited West Earlham Junior School last week as our first ever Patron of Reading, he was interviewed by the school Book Club.

Hello John. Did you enjoy reading when you were at school?

Yes, I loved it. I had my nose in a book all the time. When I was reading I felt like I was in another world. Actually, it was really hard to get me to stop reading.
  

When you were a boy, what did you want to do when you grew up?

It would depend on the book I was reading at the time. If I was reading a book about a shoemaker, I would want to be a shoemaker. If I was reading a book about a spaceman, I would want to be a spaceman. I never believed that I could be a writer.
  

What three tips would you give to someone who wanted to be a writer?

Hmmm. I think tip one would be read. Tip two would be read some more. And tip three would be read, read and keep reading.
  

If you weren't an author, what would you be?

Probably still a grumpy teacher! Or maybe a singer and songwriter.
  

Do you ever pinch ideas from other authors?

No I don't, but I love reading books by other writers.
  

Are any of your books based on your real experiences?

Not particularly, although sometimes I will take experiences from the lives of my friends and family, and exaggerate them for a book. In a way, I guess a lot of my books are inspired by real events but not really based on them. I do try to make my books seem the same as real life but I haven't yet met any Greek gods or talking headlice!
  

Do you always like a certain type of book?

I think it is really important to read (and write) different types of book. My mum always says read the first few pages of a book before you decide about it.
  

Can you tell us anything about your next book?

I can tell you that it is called Stink Bomb And Ketchup Face And The Badness Of Badgers. And I can also tell you that it is out in January next year!
  

Thanks John. We loved doing the interview and are already looking forward to the next book.

Dougherty-mania hits WEJS!

We had an absolutely amazing day yesterday when John Dougherty, our Patron Of Reading, came to visit the school, and are already getting excited about the next visit! More details will follow, including some brilliant photos.

Too many zombie books...

I realised today that I have read a ridiculous number of books about zombies over the past few months!

 

So far the list includes:

The Passage by Justin Cronin (an adult book)

The Walking Dead graphic novels

ZOM-B by Darren Shan

ZOM-B Underground by Darren Shan

The Enemy by Charlie Higgins

The Dead by Charlie Higgins

The Fear by Charlie Higgins

Death Bringer (Skulduggery Pleasant) by Derek Landy

Blood Of The Zombies by Ian Livingstone

 

I think I need to widen the range of books that I'm reading...or I could go for the 'Person who has read the most number of books about zombies in one year' world record. Any suggestions for my list?

Mr Biddle

New Tom Palmer book out soon!

Do you remember last year when Tom wrote the beginning of a spooky story for us and we had a writing competition to continue it? It was about a haunted football stadium, and we had some absolutely fantastic entries.

 

Well, now Tom has finished the story himself. Ghost Stadium is out in June!

 

The advertising blurb says:

A thrilling ghost story. Lucas, Irfan and Jack want to mark the beginning of their summer holidays in style! Tricking their parents with a camping cover story, the boys sneak into the old abandoned football stadium to spend the night. Are the rumours about it being haunted true? They're about to find out!

 

 

This sounds great, and I can't wait to read it. What other books are coming out soon that you are really excited about? The next Darren Shan Zom-B book is out in a few weeks, and it can't be long until the eighth Skulduggery book. There's also a new Spooks book out soon I believe, which will hopefully be as good as the last few.

A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge

This is an awesome book! It will take you a long time to read (almost 500 pages) but it is definitely worth it.

Neverfell, a mysterious young girl, lives in the underground city of Caverna with Grandible, a master cheese maker. She has no idea of where she is from or who her family are. The residents of Caverna are unlike other people because they are unable to show any emotion on their faces and have to be trained how to do this by Facesmiths. However, Neverfell is different because her face always shows exactly what she is feeling. Why is Neverfell so special? Why is she wanted dead by so many people? It the Kleptomancer all he appears to be? This book has so many mysteries that need solving.

You would probably enjoy this book most if you are in Year 7 or 8, as some of the words are quite tricky for Year 6 children. You must also concentrate quite hard to follow the story, as there are lots of characters, and nobody is quite who they seem to be.

Seven things we love about A Face Like Glass:
  

1) The cover. It is beautiful!

2) Neverfell's secret helpers. We enjoyed trying to work out who the people are who are sending her mysterious notes and messages.

3) The idea that perfumes and cheeses can be used to change the future and alter people's memories.

4) The chapter where Neverfell is captured by the Enquirers. It is so exciting!

5) Predicting who the mysterious Madame Appeline is, and why she wants Neverfell so badly.

6) Neverfell's plan at the end of the story. She is so clever to have thought of it.

7) The Cartographers. The map-makers of the city who have all gone completely mad...or so it seems.

We are now reading Twilight Robbery, which is another great book by Frances Hardinge.

Small Change For Stuart by Lissa Evans

I had never heard of this book until about two weeks ago, when it was given to me by mistake. I started reading it in bed one evening, and am really glad I did. It's a great adventure story, full of magicians, puzzles, mysterious triplets and other highly entertaining characters.

The story starts with a young boy, Stuart, moving house with his family. His new life is extremely dull until he hears a tale from his father about Uncle Tony, a magician from fifty years ago. Uncle Tony kept his magic workshop extremely secret and well-hidden, but left a trail of clues for 'the right kind of boy' to follow and solve. Stuart decides to take on the challenge!

He tries really hard to track down the workshop, but is constantly interrupted by some triplets who live next door, April, May and June. The girls want to put him on the front page of the newspaper they are writing. Stuart meets a whole cast of interesting people on his adventure (not everyone is on his side), and has to solve a series of fiendishly tricky problems.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot. It's easy to read and moves at a really good pace. My favourite character was Stuart's dad, who is a crossword fanatic and always speaks using ridiculously long words. Instead of saying 'It is going to rain', he will say 'Peciptiation is due imminently'.

The story got very exciting towards the end, when Stuart needed help from the triplets in order to escape from an extremely dangerous situation. There is a sequel called 'Big Change For Stuart', which is out in paperback very soon. I'm already looking forward to reading it!