The Observer | Review | Heart of darkness
"The prose is lumpen, the attempts at mystery stifle the narrative and the characters are marionettes working at the whim of higher powers... ..."
The Observer's verdict on Wormwood by G. P. Taylor
Reviews: June 2004 Archives
Times Online - Newspaper Edition
Nicolette Jones's summer roundup of children's books...
The Times - How To Outwit A Troll
Amanda Craig reviews Troll Fell by Katherine Langrish ("Told in vigorous, vivid prose, Troll Fell is not just a marvellous, magical adventure but one which recreates the Viking way of life with the kind of imaginative touches that will please teachers...") and Measle And The Wraithmonk by Ian Ogilvy ("a terrific tale in every sense, a fable about overcoming depression and feelings of inadequacy that will thrill children of over 8 long before its spectacularly happy ending").
Guardian Unlimited Books | Review | Nowhere to hide
Jan Mark reviews Looking For JJ by Anne Cassidy
In less assured hands this could have been a well-intentioned failure, but Cassidy is in absolute control of her material. Compassionate, unsensational and unflinching, she interweaves the story of the child who was driven to murder with the story of Alice and her carers...
USATODAY.com - There's too much Madonna in preachy 'Seven Thieves'
USA Today gives Madonna's new book the bird:
"Madonna's Yakov and the Seven Thieves is the most visually magnificent of her three children's books, but the dreary and inappropriate story is lackluster and verbose... ..."
Times Online - Newspaper Edition
Sunday Times Children's Book Of The Week
Dotty Inventions by Roger McGough ill. Holly Swain
Swain's illustrations are lively, stylish and full of fun and, like the words, reward repeated scrutiny. The facts are presented no less entertainingly than the fiction and the whole book is a delightful blend of information and whimsy. NICOLETTE JONES
projo.com | Providence, R.I. | Books
This fine first novel by Kimberly Newton Fusco, an award-winning reporter and editor for 15 years at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette who lives in Foster, is billed as a young adult novel, but I read it without knowing that, and enjoyed it immensely....
Guardian Unlimited Books | Review | Top tales for sunny days
Julia Eccleshare does a roundup of some accessible reads for all ages. I haven't yet read Eva Ibbotson's new book, inhibited by a worry that it may disappoint after the truly excellent, indeed classic, Journey To The River Sea. But on the basis of Eccleshare's assessment, it seems I should have no further concerns on that score...
Eva Ibbotson creates a marvellous world of rich and poor, kind and unkind, young and old against a background of Viennese convention. The Star of Kazan is a heartwarming, old-fashioned adventure, every bit as absorbing as Ibbotson's prize-winning Journey to the River Sea.
Times Online - Newspaper Edition
Sunday Times Children's Book Of The Week
"Carle is the gentlest of teachers, but his books always add to a young reader's knowledge...."
Guardian Unlimited Books | Review | Tia and sympathy
Nicola Morgan reviews Paradise End by Elizabeth Laird:
On occasion, the narrative shifts into the present tense, without seeming to add value - there is already an immediacy to the storytelling, and these particular moments do not seem to be those of heightened drama. But this detail is overshadowed by the sizzling pace, richly drawn char acters and a resoundingly moral and important story.
plus,
Julia Eccleshare on Half A Pig by Allan and Jessica Ahlberg
"It's really an unfriendly place for teens right now," he said, surveying the long white table between two book racks, topped with an unembellished, notebook-sized sign reading "Teen Section." He wants to get rid of the outdated books - including the rows of Christopher Pike horror novels and Sweet Valley High paperbacks from the 1980s and '90s. "There's a constant turn-over in YA (young adult) literature," he said. "You've got to be vigilant, make sure you're cool."
Times Online - Newspaper Edition
Sunday Times Children's Book Of The Week
Troll Fell by Katherine Langrish
Although it is sometimes sinister, this novel successfully marries the supernatural and the mundane in the manner of fairy tales, and is engagingly told, with tantalising developments. NICOLETTE JONES
The New York Times > Books > Children's Books: The Best of Times
Four Freinds In The Garden by Sue Heap
...a simple story, told with spare text and acrylic paintings, in which the brightly colored characters run through a pastel landscape... Heap's books about the four friends acknowledge that often it is the way we resolve everyday problems and disappointments that determines the quality of our lives. SUSAN MARIE SWANSON, NYT
The New York Times > Books > Sunday Book Review > Bookshelf: Children's Books in Brief
The New York Times Books In Brief includes the following on two UK titles:
"this lavish and unusually well-written edition"
Sleeping Beauty by Adele Geras ill. Christian Birmingham
"filled with decipherable slang"
Doing It by Melvin Burgess
Guardian Unlimited Books | Review | Rhythms of life
It's enjoyable and well constructed. It will encourage young readers to put their own emotions into words precisely because the form is so much less daunting than thickets of dense prose. ADELE GERAS
