Reading Force book of the month…

Frankie’s Magic Football: Team T-Rex by Frank Lampard

It is about a boy called Frankie and his friends Louise, Charlie, and Max the dog.  They have a magic football, and it teleports them to the prehistoric age. A T-Rex is trying to eat them while they are trying to rescue a baby pterodactyl.

Twitch by M. G. Leonard

Do you like adventure books? Well, if so, I can already tell that this is the perfect book for you. Twitch is full of adventure, action, and mystery. It has an amazing yet gripping plotline that everyone will love. Nevertheless, it doesn’t give anything away until halfway through the book, so you then don’t know the ending before it happens. Twitch keeps the suspense perfectly and almost always gives you a cliff-hanger to cling onto. Twitch makes you want to keep on reading even when you are told to stop. It is a great length book and I do recommend it. It is a one of a kind book and one of the best books I have ever read. 10/10

Lauren, aged 10

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A.F. Steadman

Skandar Smith is a young boy from England who idolises unicorn riders and aspires to become a one. But disaster erupts when the Weaver, a mysterious spirit wielder, threatens the mainland at the Chaos Cup, a famous unicorn riders championship, and everyone is panicking. But when Skandar is not allowed to take the Hatchery test (which tests if you can be a unicorn rider), a mysterious rider discreetly takes him to the Hatchery Door on the island. Joined by 42 other young riders, his life in the Eyrie, where riders train, becomes increasingly difficult. While hiding the fact that he is an illegal spirit wielder and searching for his long-lost mum, he is also trying to stay in the Eyrie and make friends. But threats from the Weaver sends the whole island into a panic.

As Skandar digs through his family history and the Weaver’s, he realises that they are intertwined. When he finally meets his mum, he is shocked at her secret.

I like this book because the writing is the right pace, and the plot is creative.

I disked this book because … nothing.

When I bought this book, a bookstore employee commented on how it was their favourite book.

I would age rate it age 9+ and 5/5 stars. I very highly recommend it. Also, I think fans of J.K. Rowling will like this.

Albert, aged 11

The Empty Stocking by Richard Curtis & Rebecca Cobb

Nearly ten years old, this is one of my favourite Christmas books of all time! It features twin girls Sam and Charlie, and although they are identical in appearance they behave quite differently to each other – Charlie is supposedly naughty. On Christmas Eve the whole family is slightly and quietly worried that Santa may not fill Charlie’s stocking – given how mischievous she has been all year, and Santa’s good-bad-o-meter will certainly be able to tell if Charlie should have her stocking filled or not. We read this story every Christmas Eve and every year it delights – I don’t think kids can be too old for this book! The illustrations are gorgeous and it’s a lovely story about what’s really going on in sibling relationships and what only a good-bad-o-meter may pick up.

Reading Force’s Hattie

What is Politics, Why Should we Care? And Other Big Questions by Michael Rosen and Annemarie Young

This book’s aim is to raise questions about politics and it is written for children who don’t know about politics or “aren’t into it.” It helps those people to understand politics. Politics is all around us and we can’t ignore it; it’s on the news, the radio and everybody talks about it. The questions this book raises are questions like “what forms does politics take” and” can you be non-political. It also features experiences of the authors – Michael Rosen and Annemarie Young. It tells us about their experiences as well as the experiences of other political people. This book incorporates lots of questions and facts about society. 

This book is for ages 8-14, but younger children might find it a little complex as the way it is written can sometimes be slightly boring. I liked the questions that they ask, as they make you think about different things. I disliked how boring it is as sometimes it can seem like they’re not really saying anything. I would rate it 3.7/5 stars. Readers such as people who like knowing about the world will enjoy it. It does include political situations in history. Thanks for reading!

Douglas, age 11

You Can Do It by Marcus Rashford

This lovely book by the famous footballer Marcus Rashford, consists mainly of him sharing the lessons he has learnt in life, as well as a few of his interesting experiences sprinkled in. I love the way it is laid out, with all sorts of fun fonts and pictures. It never gets boring with all the fun ways the text is presented. At 200 pages but with fairly large text, I recommend it to junior readers, especially as the overall messages of the book are important for every youngster.

A few of the messages in YOU CAN DO IT:

Taking breaks – Marcus encourages being kind to yourself, and strongly supports making sure you rest when you need to.

Being kind – An expert in this field, Rashford talks through his experience of his anti-food poverty work and explains how you can make somebody’s day just that little bit better.

Working as a team – He also gets across his view that we are all part of a huge team, working together without even knowing it.

I recommend this book to any readers and reluctant readers out there from 7-12 years old, especially if you enjoy football! It has some fantastic messages in, and is definitely worth a read. I would rate it a good eight out of ten. Happy reading!

Letitia, age 12

Resist by Tom Palmer

Resist is a story set in the 1940s occupied Netherlands and follows a brave young hero codenamed Edda, her real name Audrey. She knows it’s dangerous, but she can’t help herself applying for various jobs for the Resistance. When the British and French invade, war rages in the innocent city of Velp, their home and they must cower in the cellar. But when her family hosts refugees and she discovers an injured parachutist, she knows things are getting serious. As the fighting presses in, they are unsure if they’ll make it out alive . . .  A page turning novel based on war survivor and famous actor Audrey Hepburn, this is a story that readers of Michael Morpurgo would enjoy immensely. It is a short book, with only 208 pages

Albert, aged 11

The Murderer’s Ape by Jakob Wegelius

The Murderer’s Ape is an amazingly well written book which features many characters, many of which have funny and well built personalities. They build the story in which Sally Jones, an adventurous young gorilla, is dragged through mercilessly. Her endless adventures have you constantly wanting to know what happens. This amazing page turner also has its very own highly distinct style, which is shown in wondrous illustrations that fill the gaps. It features many countries and places, from shady alley taverns to the Maharajah’s palace. The story has a complex plot, and the writer is crazily innovative and creative. The style of writing helps you visualise the images in your head. This story is mainly set in Portugal, where there is quite a lot about music. Sally Jones usually takes up jobs on ships and in ports. I think this book is for people who like Anthony Horowitz’s books, and action and suspense. I rate this book 5/5 stars and say that it’s for ages 8+.

Chosen by Saffron, aged 10

Press here by Hervé Tullet

You get to press buttons on it that you can share and take turns to press with your little sister. That’s why you get different colours on the spots, so I get the red as that’s my favourite colour.

My favourite bit is when the buttons make a rainbow!

I also like it when it has big buttons, they get bigger and bigger and you get to clap together really really superly loud. When you’re clapping the big spots make colours together because red and blue make purple you see. At the end you tap the white dot and it all goes small again.

By Maggie age 4 – but I’m very nearly 5!

Cosmic by Frank Cottrell-Boyce

When the unusually tall 12-year-old Liam ends up in a new theme park – the Infinite Possibility – Liam must compete with other actual dads to go to space. He wonders if he did the right thing to pose as a dad with a daughter. Either way, Liam thought that this was cosmic. When Liam gets put in charge of a rocket (costing 10 billion) he starts to regret it. They finally landed to a surprise, or maybe two. All this for fame? I don’t think so. That is for you to find out if you read the book.

I love this book, I rated it 9/10. I think you will like it if you like adventure books.

Chosen by KH, age 9

Moomintroll books by Tove Jansson

The Moomins are fun loving creatures that fill the books with excitement, even though there is not very much action. These books contain wonderful philosophies and life lessons. The world of the Moomins have numerous uncountable details, such as the uncle of the hairy thing that hides under the sink, and the family of three befriend many characters. There is much confusion about which book to read first and in what order, and it seems it doesn’t really matter what order you read them in. With strong personalities and creative characteristics, these characters will surely be similar to at least one person you know. These books are good to read with an adult.

Chosen by Lola, age 9

Ingo by Helen Dunmore

When Sapphire’s brother Conor is disappearing for hours on end, always near the sea, she is enticed into finding the cause of this strange absence. She meets Faro, a merfolk boy, and he explains many things to her. One day, her father goes missing, and is never seen again. The adventurous girl must calm the power of the sea, also known as Ingo by the merfolk, to rescue her Dad. A series of strange occurrences lead to Sapphire staying in the sea for longer each day, until one thing she sees pulls her over the edge. After what she’s seen, does she want to calm the sea’s rising powers?

Chosen by Omar, age 10

The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas

I like how it makes each emotion into a colour. My favourite is the yellow for happiness because now when I see yellow it makes me happy. The book has helped me with my emotions because it teaches me how the emotions feel.

Chosen by Ethan, aged 6

I like to get him to read this book out loud when he is feeling a bit stressed and mixed up with his emotions as it helps him to calm down and often afterwards is more willing to discuss how he is feeling or what has happened to make him “feel funny”.

Jane, Ethan’s mum

One by Sarah Crossan

One is a book written in verse, as a 400-page poem about conjoined twins, Grace and Pippi, sentenced to live and die side by side for eternity; or a least as long as they will live – not long, everyone seems to be expecting and sadly some hoping. How they manage to survive, how they manage to retain the will to live – their troubles are never ending, with an ungrateful sister, a dad that drinks, bullies at school, extreme money shortages, and the fact that the mere sight of them disgusts the majority – it’s astonishing how they manage to get by every day.

Many troubles pass them by as the book progresses – friend betrayals, family arguments, and the fact that Grace is wildly in love with their new friend. When money shortages become too pressing, the twins are forced to scrap their dignity and go through public exposure.

What depresses both Grace and Tippi so deeply is the fact that when they need surgery, it is deemed a success if one of them lives. For a while. The surgeons do not care about their lives. Only about success. Success in their eyes.

Although One is a good book, do not be fooled by its length. The ‘verse’ aspect of the book is questionable. It is just a bunch of new lines and indents, so in fact the book is fairly short. In terms of language and ‘poeticness’, it is not at all like a poem. But the story is interesting, insightful, and moving, as well as sad near the end.

Chosen by Joseph, aged 12

The Secret Animal Society by Luke Gamble

I don’t normally read about magic but I did for this book and it was surprisingly good. There was a girl whose uncle looked after fake animals (like yetis). Edie, the main character, could hear what animals say. I would recommend it overall because it was kind of a good read.

Chosen by Bethany Proctor, aged 11

Percy Jackson is a normal boy, apart from the fact that he’s never gone more than one school year without getting expelled. When he accidentally causes his teacher to evaporate on a field trip, he realises he is a Greek demigod.

 In the school holidays, he and his mother take a trip to the beach and get away from Percy’s shifty stepfather. When his mother almost gets killed by a minotaur, he travels to Camp Halfblood, where Poseidon claims him as his son. He makes friends with a girl called Annabeth, who is a daughter of Athena, and a satyr called Grover, who was disguised as a boy in his old school.

 At camp, there are twelve cabins: one for each Olympian’s children. One day, his former friend, Luke, tries to kill him with a pit scorpion and warns Percy that the Titans are planning war…

In the camp, there are stories of a girl called Thalia who founded the camp years ago with two friends: Luke and Annabeth. The rumours say that the children were fighting monsters when Thalia sacrificed herself to save her friends.

Percy, Annabeth and Grover venture into the Labyrinth, The Sea of Monsters and Mount Othrys (the titans lair). The book is written in first person of Percy.