Dolphin Song - Lauren St John

Dug out by... Dave

If you enjoyed Lauren St John's first novel, The White Giraffe, then you'll enjoy this one too. Now settled in South Africa, we meet Martine once again, picking up with her after the dramatic events of her first adventure.

Still only 11 years old, her second adventure is equally thrilling as disaster strikes on a school trip. Her affinity with animals is brought to the fore once again and Lauren St John fills you with the sights and sounds of the African continent.

Martine is growing up fast. She has to. She's getting closer to Ben, who she met in The White Giraffe and she's becoming more and more independent.

This is lyrical writing that takes you firmly into another world.


Longlisted for Carnegie 08.

For the writers among you...

At the end of the novel, Lauren St John explains why dolphins are so important to her, giving us details from her own experience. Choose your favourite animal and write a piece which explains how you came to be so fond of that particular creature.

If you like it, try...

What I Was ~ Meg Rosoff
Treasure Island ~ R L Stevenson
Adults Only ~ Maurice Gleitzman

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Shamanka - Jeanne Willis

Dug out by... Dave

What is magic? What is illusion? What is real?

Those three questions on the cover of this book are delving deep into the mind of the readers even before you open up. The magician's oath - practise until perfect, then never tell how - sets the tone for the story as it unfolds.

12-year-old Sam Khaan is in search of her father, hunting for what's real and what's not. She sets off on a globe-trotting journey which takes her away from the horrors of her gin-swilling and violent Aunt Candy... but where does it take her to? Well, enough countries to run the Olympics and enough intrigue to last you a lifetime.

Oh yes, and she takes an orang-utan with her.

There are some fabulous characters in this book and some great revelations about the world of magic. Have you ever wondered how to levitate, for instance? Can you read minds?

Babies know the secret, of course, but they're not much help are they? What is the meaning of life? You'll have to read the book and find out, won't you.

You only have to take one look at my list of tags to see how packed it is.


Longlisted for Carnegie 08.

If you like this, try...

The Scarecrow and his Servant - Philip Pullman
Shadow Forest - Matt Haig

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Verdigris Deep - Frances Hardinge

Dug out by... Dave

Of course you shouldn't steal. But what if you're stuck out in the middle of nowhere with your mates and you've not got enough cash for the bus fare?

But there's a well, it's a wishing well, it's got money down it, thrown there by people stupid enough to believe that it'll bring them luck. They didn't want it, did they, so you might as well have it, bring it back into the world.

So that's what Ryan, Josh and Chelle do, they reverse that money out of that well. But what about the luck that went down there with it? Oops, they've reversed that too, haven't they. Silly billies!

They should have checked out the local legends too before they took that course of action.

"There was a penny of panic in his throat." Of course there was, the naughty boy!

Fairy tale, fantasy and reality are nicely mixed up in this tale of rust, trust and needs must.


Longlisted for Carnegie 08


If you like it, try...

Skellig ~ David Almond
The Devil's Footsteps ~ E E Richardson

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A to Z of Authors

Brooks, Kevin
Hardinge, Frances
Higgins, Jack
Laird, Elizabeth
Magrs, Paul
Peet, Mal
Richards, Justin
Rowling, J.K.
Shearer, Alex
St John, Lauren
Valentine, Jenny
Willis, Jeanne
Wynne Jones, Diana

It's hardly needed while this blog's still young, but as it grows, it should become useful.

Finding Violet Park - Jenny Valentine

Dug out by... Dave

In a mini-cab office at 5 o'clock in the morning, Lucas Swain meets the intriguing Violet Park. He just has to get to know her, find out more about her.

A perfectly ordinary desire for a 15-year-old boy - to want to get to know a member of the opposite sex - surely?

But she's not a young woman, she's old. And she's not a living woman either, she's dead. In fact, all that remains of her is her ashes in a pot on the cab office shelf.

It's a voyage of discovery for Lucas. He has to know more about Violet. As he digs deeper, Lucas uncovers a trail that leads him to face ghosts from the past as well as the present.

Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
Longlisted for Carnegie 08

If you like it, try...

Just In Case - Meg Rosoff
Beast - Ally Kennen

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K.Rowling

Dug out by... Dave

The final instalment. Harry's quest is to find and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes. The two superpowers literally go head to head in a cat and mouse battle that ebbs and flows throughout 600 pages. Friends and enemies old and new present themselves as The Boy Who Lived blossoms from boy to man.

The epic tale which ends the epic schooldays of Harry Potter begins with a dastardly plan to kidnap and kill our boy wonder. Can he thwart The Dark Lord? Will Snape achieve his long-held desires? Will Harry survive his final outing?

Does anyone really need to be prompted into reading it? Probably not. Enjoy...

Longlisted for Carnegie 08.

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The Invisible Man's Socks - Alex Shearer

Dug out by... Dave

A marvellously entertaining book with a brilliant plot idea, whacky characters and great humour.

The gloriously named Brian's Buses (owned and driven by Dave and he's only got the one bus!) takes Mr Ellis's class to The Museum of Little Horrors.

Mrs Abercrombie (or is it Mrs Apple Crumble?) does warn them not to touch the exhibits: "We don't want you having nightmares after. We don't want none of you getting the heebie-jeebies or the jitters or the wambling trots."

So what would happen if you were to disobey a warning? What if you touched The Invisible Man's Socks? What if you tried out some Vampire Teeth or picked up some Werewolf Hair?

Brilliant humour, with great illustrations by Tom Morgan-Jones, this tale also gives you something deeper to think about, especially with it all being told by an old man in a railway station waiting room.

Longlisted for the Salford Children's Book Award 09, this book certainly has the quality and depth to make it to the shortlist.

If you like this, try...

Nudie Dudie - Michael Lawrence
Tins - Alex Shearer
The Ancient Mariner - Samuel Taylor Coleridge (This is an old poem with a warning to us all, which is mentioned in the book)

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Being - Kevin Brooks

Dug out by... Dave

An excellent book. 16-year-old Robert wakes up on an operating table, but the operation isn't over. He can hear doctors' voices and feel his own pain, but he can't communicate.

There's something inside him, something unexpected, something horrifying. And it soon dawns on Robert that he is not safe. He has to escape, he has to survive and 'they' are out to get him.

Violence and fear abound as Robert flees for his life, but it's a voyage of discovery as well as a fight for survival. What is like to be human? What is like to have feelings? Who is he? What is he?

It's a compelling read and has been longlisted for Carnegie 08. It'd certainly get a shortlist vote from me if I was one of the judges.

If you like it, try...

The Road of the Dead - Kevin Brooks
1984 - George Orwell
Beast - Ally Kennen
Finding Violet Park - Jenny Valentine

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The Pinhoe Egg - Diana Wynne Jones

Dug out by... Dave

A huge cast of magical characters inhabit the village around Chrestomanci Castle. The various family members of the Pinhoes, Farleighs and Cleeves are constantly bickering and vying for supremacy. Gammer Pinhoe - 'the old bat' - kicks things off from her tattered armchair. Clothed in layers of black with Nutcase, her cat, in attendance, she doles out orders , setting various plot threads in motion. It's already a world of chaos and when Cat Chant finds the Pinhoe Egg, it doesn't make things any easier.



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The Penalty - Mal Peet

Dug out by... Dave

This is the second Paul Faustino novel, Faustino being a South American sports journalist. He's supposed to be resting, but he gets drawn into the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a teenage football star, El Brujito.

The story takes us into a world of slavery and the occult, showing how the past can influence the present.

It has been long-listed for Carnegie 08.

Postbag - may contain spoilers

Dave ~ Having read the book, my feeling is that it won't make the short list this time. Like Tamar it deals with the undeniable link between us and our history, but there are no significant young characters in the story - El Brujito appears at the beginning and end, but in between it's mostly an adult story.

Sure Fire - Jack Higgins with Justin Richards

Dug out by... Dave

Tightly written with action coming thick and fast from the start. I liked the switching of viewpoint to show the various parties involved. It's a pacy read.

If you liked this, try...

Robert Muchamore's Cherub series, Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider books or the Young Bond books by Charlie Higson

Postbag - May Contain Spoilers

Dave ~ Actually, I didn't like it much in the end, despite noting down at one point that the tightly-written prose reminded me of Hemingway. It was just too much action for me. Relentless. But then, some readers will like that.

Add your thoughts...

Any of you can send me a recommendation for a new book to add to this collection of our thoughts about books. I'll set up a new page for each new book so that others can then add to your thoughts. The first words on any book page should be a positive recommendation or at least a neutral introduction. Also, the Dug out by... section should give a taster of the book, but not give away too much of the story.

In the Postbag section for each book, harsh criticism is fine, providing you explain why. Also in the Postbag, you are free to discuss things that happen later in the book. Agree or disagree as you see fit, but above all, explain why you think what you think.

Other thoughts you might send in are extra Tags for books and suggestions for the site. Tags will help others to search for a book. Pick out a few tags for your book, but not too many. Take a look at which tags have been used before, but feel free to suggest a new one.

Write your thoughts on any Postbag Form - do your best on spelling and punctuation, but I'll help you out on that before I add it to the page.

Remember to include:

• Title
• Author
• Your nickname which I can publish on the site
• Your year group, school & town (optional)
• Any Tags which might be added to your chosen book - feel free to add more than one suggested year group when you are tagging a novel

All reviews & comments posted will be monitored / edited by me. Don't worry, I don't imagine there'll be any need to censor any contributions. I might need to smarten up spellings and punctuation, but my only other reasons for checking what you say are to protect your safety and to prevent spammers spoiling the site. So, let's hear you...

Crusade - Elizabeth Laird

Dug out by... Dave


A historical novel with a thoroughly modern clash of civilisation going on. The viewpoint writing in this book is excellent with the two protagonists, Salim and Adam, showing themselves to be supremely likable whilst flawed by prejudice and misinformation.

There are great descriptions of people and places, thanks to excellent historical research. The camp at Marseilles and the city of Acre are vibrantly brought to life. This book has a timeless theme. It made the long list for the Doncaster Book Award 08 and has also been long-listed for Carnegie 08.

If you like it, try...

Oranges in No-Man's Land - Elizabeth Laird
Nathan Fox: Dangerous Times - L. Brittney

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Twin Freaks - Paul Magrs

Dug out by... Dave

Eunice and Helen are not quite making it on all the TV talent shows they audition for. They're an odd couple of sisters. Helen's not got the looks and Eunice is lacking a voice, but together they've got what it takes. So their mum's new boyfriend comes up with a ridiculous plan - to pretend to be Siamese twins.

It can't possibly work, can it?

Satirising one of our modern scourges, there's some funny stuff in this book. Long-listed for the Doncaster Book Award 08, voted for by children.

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