Middle School: Save Rafe! by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts

 

Middle School: Save Rafe!

by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts

category: children, fiction, school, humour

Age: 8-12years

Reviewed by: Anika

Buy from: Amazon US, Amazon IN

This is another book in the Middle School series. In this book, after being kicked out of many schools’, Rafe was now at Airbrook Arts. Airbrook was bearable compared to the rest of the schools he had been to. Unfortunately, luck was not on Rafe's side. Just before school started, Rafe finds out that Airbrook Arts had closed down and he now had no place to go. One school finally decided to consider him, but to Rafe’s horror it was his old school HVMS (Hills Village Middle School). In sixth grade, Rafe had studied at HVMS. At the school, Rafe had broken almost every single rule in the student handbook, which had resulted in getting him expelled. Now he has no choice but to go back there. However, there is a catch. Before getting accepted, he has to go to a Survival Camp. At the camp, there were a number of tough obstacles. For each obstacle you completed you earned a badge. The goal of the camp was to earn 20 badges. If he didn’t manage to earn the badges he would be left with no school at all. The course was really tough, and they were provided with only one meal a day. Along with the new friends he makes, he must make sure that all of them work together and complete the course.

The book reminded me of when all kids are forced to do things we hate and have no option but to do them otherwise no TV or no IPad. Again, the illustrations were awesome. I also loved the comic strips that Rafe drew. The comic strips were about Loozer, a character which Rafe had created based on his own life. They are always filled with humour. Out of all the Middle School books I have read, this was one of my favourites because it was so different.



© 2018, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.

Rosa and the Special Prize (Magic Ballerina, Book 10) by Darcey Bussell

Rosa and the Special Prize (Magic Ballerina, Book 10)

by Darcey Bussell

category: children, fiction, fairy-tale

Age: 8-12years

Reviewed by: Anika

Buy from: Amazon US, Amazon IN

This is one of the books in the Magic Ballerina series. It talks about a girl named Rosa, who loves ballet and wants to become a famous ballerina like her mum. She also has a secret - she owns a pair of magic ballet shoes that take her to a magical world called Enchantia. All the characters from famous ballets live here. For example, the Nutcracker, the Sugarplum Fairy, etc.

This time when Rosa is taken to Enchantia a terrible problem has arisen. The sceptre of King Neptune (the king of the seas) is stolen. He believes that King Tristan, the king of the land had stolen it. King Neptune decided to flood the land and make huge storms till King Tristan returned it. Unfortunately, the problem was that King Tristan hadn't stolen it. It was up to Rosa and her friend Nutmeg, to find the sceptre in the vast sea and also the real culprit before the land and sea was torn apart by the storms. This was the first book in the Magic Ballerina series that I read. I found the book to have a simple and entertaining storyline. The best part was the dance which Rosa and Nutmeg did to become sea nymphs. I also liked the part when the real culprit is revealed. The only part that I didn't like was when the two girls were in the cave. It gets boring as all it talks about is Solly, a cave spirit. Other than that, it is a good read.
© 2018, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.

eGranth - Book Newsletter - Jan 2018

This is our tenth newsletter. I, Anika Agarwal, am the editor this time. This newsletter we have an amazing topic, that is India and Hinduism. We have very few books in the newsletter. The rest of them are my top 5 books on Hinduism. All the books are very interesting books. Join Surpanakha in her fascinating journey. Experience the tale filled with hardships while reading “Sita’s Sister”. Read and learn the various cultures and stories about India through the Culture Series, the Puranas and the Purna Vidya series. Feel thrilled while reading the Raven’s Gate and experiencing the magic filled world of Cosmo, the witch-cat. Most of all laugh out loud while reading the adventures of Bala, his book-eating little sister and the one eyed giant, Koobandhee. Read on and enjoy our newsletter! – Anika

1. The Power of Five: Raven's Gate, by Anthony Horowitz - review
2. Cosmo and the Great Witch Escape, by Gwyneth Rees - review
3. Linga Purana, translated by Bibek Debroy - review
4. The Kishkindha Chronicles: Saraswati’s Intelligence, by Vamsee Juluri - review
5. Avishi: Reimagining Vishpala of the Rig Veda, by Saiswroopa Iyer - review
6. Bookasura #2: Koobandhee, by Arundhati Venkatesh - review
7. My top five books of 2017 on Hinduism
1.  Lanka’s Princess, by Kavita Kane - review
2. The Puranas, translated by Bibek Debroy - review
3. Purna Vidya (series) by Swamini Pramananda, Sri Dhira Chaitanya - review
4. Culture Course by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan - review
5. Sita’s Sister by Kavita Kane - review

You can read the entire newsletter here.

© 2018, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.

eGranth - Book Newsletter - Nov 2017

Editor’s Note: -  This is our eighth newsletter. Last time my sister was the editor so this time I , Anika am the editor. We have less books in this newsletter. We have been doing the newsletters since April and as November and December are the last months of the year we are doing something different. We have decided to include our top 5-6 books from all the books that we have done. In this issue of the newsletter my favourite books will be there and in the next issue my sister’s books will be there. Hope you enjoy reading this newsletter. - Anika

Secrets of Zynpagua: Birth of Mystery child

By Ilika Ranjan

Mystery: Adventure: Fantasy

Age: 9-11

Reviewed by: Anika

Buy from: Amazon US, Amazon IN

Secrets of Zynpagua: Birth of Mystery Child – This is the third book in the Secrets of Zynpagua series which is written by Ilika Ranjan. We have covered the first book and the second book in the August and September newsletters. At the end of the second book, the mermaid kidnaps Radhika and takes her to the Pacific Ocean where she gets the demon planets to bless her unborn son. She and Radhika are taken in by a colony of old people who live in the sea. Her son was very powerful because even though he was not born he could speak and sing. Whenever he sang he would cause a lot of pressure on the eardrums of the others and their ears would start to bleed.  Meanwhile, back at Zynpagua everyone was worried. They sent many people to search for Radhika but she was not to be found. They also had got to know that Pajaro - Leo’s mother was alive and she would be crucial in saving the people from the mermaid’s son. The book then talks about how Leo, Anika, Vivian and Lady Carol try finding Pajaro. They face many hurdles and get many clues and at last they find Radhika. By then the mermaid’s son had been born and he had started liking Radhika and wanted to marry her but was thwarted by Fredrick. They escape from the mermaid’s son and learn from Venus that Radhika would be the one who would be able to defeat him. The book ends with a prophecy. The story will be continued in the fourth book The Serpent’s Shadow’.

 

eGranth - Anvita and Anika's Book Newsletter - Sep 2017

Editor’s Note: This is the sixth newsletter. Last time my sister had edited it so this time I, Anika Agarwal, am the editor. In the August edition of the newsletter we had mentioned doing themed newsletters. Well, this edition is a themed one. The theme for this one is the Bookalicious section. That basically means that all the books in the newsletter are ones that we like. There is not a single book we don’t like in this edition. There is also one new addition to our newsletter. We have decided to give awards to our favourite books and the funniest book of the month. If you look in the top right corner of each page, you will notice a small badge, or trophy, telling you which section that particular book is in. Badges are for the normal sections. The trophies are for our favourite books, and the medals are for the funniest books. Hope you like these additions - Anika

George and the Blue Moon by Stephen and Lucy Hawking

Sci-Fi: Adventure

Age: 9-11

Reviewed by: Anika

Buy from: Amazon US, Amazon IN

Electrifying
Adventures

George and the Blue Moon: This is the last and final book in the George series. In this book George and Annie are selected for an Astronaut training program that trains young kids who are interested in becoming astronauts when they grow up. After being fully trained these young astronauts were sent to Mars on an expedition to find out about life on the planet. Both the kids thought it would be fun and interesting, but they were in for a rude shock. The program was far from nice; it was quite the opposite. All the children at the program were put in pairs of two. Along with their partners the pairs had to undergo three very dangerous tasks without any adult supervision! Annie and her partner Leone were the best team by far. After some time, George and Annie start getting a bit suspicious as none of the tasks seemed like they would be useful later. When a plane that was carrying all the children of the program malfunctions, it seemed that their suspicions were turning out to be true. The plane would have crashed if Annie’s partner Leone had not taken charge and saved the day. To add to it all George and Annie meet their arch enemy Alioth Merak again! I really liked this book, though the ending was a bit sad. It could have been a bit better. Otherwise the book was amazing. My favourite part was when the plane malfunctions and Leone saves the day. I felt this was the second-best book in the George series. The best was ‘George and the Big Bang’ which was covered in the June newsletter.

Anvita and Anika's Book Newsletter - July 2017

 

eGranth - The July, 2017 Books Newsletter

Editor: Our July Newsletter is finally out. I know it has come after a long wait and I’m sorry for the delay but we finally completed it. This time we have added two brand new sections. Hope you enjoy the additions. This time I, Anika donned the editor's cap. My sister provided the content for quite a few books. She has given the content for at least eight to nine books and they are very well written. Well here are this issue's sections:

• Epic Reading
• Notable Books
• Classic books
• Yikes! I read what?
• All work no play
• Horrific Horror
• Tickled my stomach

Epic Reading

This section contains books on the Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is the first section and has two books. If you are a fan of the Ramayana and all myths related to it, this section is just right for you.

Lanka’s Princess - This is yet another book written by Kavita Kane. This book is about Shurpanakha also called Lanka’s princess. Shurpanakha means hard as nails. She is the sister of Ravan. Ravan is an asura and the villain of the great epic the Ramayana. The first opinion that forms in your head, if you have read the Ramayana is that Shurpanakha is an evil shape shifting monster. She had tried to kill Sita, but had her nose and ears sliced of by Lakshmana brother of Ram. If you are hearing about the Ramayana for the first time, then after reading this you too would have formed a bad opinion about her. This book is different. It portrays the not well-known side of Shurpanakha. Kavita Kane has tried to sympathize with Shurpanakha while being fair to Ram and Lakshman. She has succeeded in doing so. I as a kid think the book could have done well without the overwhelming romance between Shurpanakha and Vidyujiva. Others might find this important or interesting but I didn’t care about this much. In the book Kavita Kane describes the small and trivial yet crucial events in Shurpanakha life that has not been written in other versions of the Ramayana. She has described most of the story from Shurpanakha eyes and concentrating on her emotions too. It has been a nice experience reading this book. You can also visit my blog to know more about this book. [k] [link]

Scion of Ikshvaku - This book is written by Amish, and is his second series which he has written. The first one was the Meluha series, and this is the second one, the Ram Chandra series. I want to give you a small idea on the storyline. The story covers the birth of Rama, his marriage and it ends when they are in exile and Sita is abducted, and Rama sees the Pushpak Vimana taking off with her. This is not the original Ramayana, but it is a fictional retelling of it. Amish has added his own changes to the story, with the basic storyline. I really liked the book. He added so many twists, which made the story one which you will read. I found each change in the story unique. The start of the book is slow, but later you really start to enjoy it. You might have to read some parts of the book again to understand it. It is a worthwhile book to read. It describes many things in detail, making it simple for the reader to understand. It is very different from the Ramayana and has many things that have been changed, but it does not make it unpleasant to read. [v] [link]

Notable Books

This section has all the must-read books. It contains the books that we thought most children would like. Trust me the books in here are totally amazing. Even if you are reluctant to read the books in here, do not miss them out. There is no need to buy them, just get them as an e-book or borrow it from a friend or library. The moment you start reading these books you will fall in love with them and would want to buy them. If they don't spark your interest follow the fifty-page rule before you put it down. They are totally amazing.

Esperanza Rising - This book is written by Pam Munoz Ryan. It was given to me by my cousin. As most of the books she gives me are nice, I started reading it. The story was about a young girl named Esperanza. It talks about how she struggles in her survival in the escape from Mexico to the United States. It starts with the unfortunate and sad death of her father and the way she her mother and servants, escape from the mercy of her cruel uncles to the United States. Even after reaching the United States luck is no better. They must do very tough work to survive and when things could get no worse, Esperanza’s mother falls sick. Can Esperanza stay strong and support her mother in this struggle? Read ‘Esperanza Rising’ to find out. This book was very nice. It gave the message to show hope and strength in even the worst of times. This book was based on the author’s grandmother’s experience on hermove from Mexico to the United States. There ae a few Mexican words in it which you may not understand but otherwise it was an amazing experience reading this. [k] [link]

Anvita and Anika's Book Newsletter - May 2017

Editor: This is the May issue of our newsletter. It is the second issue. This time I, Anika Agarwal, am the editor. In the previous newsletter, we had written about the reading that we had done in March. This time we have written about the reading that we have done in April. You might have noticed that we have changed the template of the heading. It might continue in the next few issues before we decide on one that we like best. You also might notice that there are few different books with the same authors as in the previous newsletter. This time we have concentrated the newsletter on many series of books. Read and enjoy!


Puranas: This book is about a Purana. A Purana is one of the sacred texts of the Hindus. a sacred text. There are many Puranas. The truth is that no one person wrote the Puranas. Many people wrote them. There are 18 main ones. These main ones are known as Mahapuranas. It is believed that Vedvyasa wrote the Mahapuranas. Vedvyasa is the same person who wrote the Mahabharata and compiled the Vedas. Mahapuranas are mostly concentrated on the three main Hindu Gods. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is considered the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer. The Vishnu concentrated Puranas are called the ‘satvik puranas’. The Brahma concentrated Puranas are called the ‘rajsik puranas’. The Shiva concentrated Puranas are called the ‘tamsik puranas. All lists widely agree on the numbering of the Puranas except the fourth Mahapurana. Some people say the fourth Mahapurana is the Shiva Purana. While others say the fourth Mahapurana is the Vayu Purana. My sister and I have read four of the Puranas. They were really nice. We have even reviewed them on our bog. The versions of the Puranas that we read were unabridged ones. They were written by Bibek Debroy. His versions were easy and simple to understand. I enjoyed reading them. [Brahmna Purana, Shiva Purana, Padma Purana, Matsya Purana]