Bookworm’s Review of The Silver Sword

The Silver Sword is part of children’s classic literature. First published in 1956, it has never been out of print. The book is set in Warsaw in Poland during World War Two. It tells the story of the Balicki family, father Joe, headmaster of a primary school , his Swiss wife Margrit, and their three children, Ruth who is nearly 13 at the start of the story, Edek her brother aged 11, and baby sister Brona who is 3 years old.
Based on fact the story describes the way in which during times of war families can be broken up and homes destroyed. We follow the struggle of the Balicki children as they search for their parents across war torn Europe, helped in their struggle to survive by an orphan boy called Jan and a mysterious silver sword.
The Silver Sword is a story of endurance, family love, and the importance of hope. It is these qualities which give the book its lasting importance in the canon of children’s literature.

The Bookworms had strong views about the book and the issues it raised. There was lively and involved discussion about the trials that children have to endure during times of conflict. We talked about the things that helped the children in the story to survive, – their love for each other, the goodness of Ruth, and the survival skills of Edek as they struggled to care for each other and protect their baby sister. We had strong views about the effect war had on the character of Jan, and how the kindness shown to him by Ruth showed him that good will always triumph over evil.

Gemma; I liked Jan; he was clever and funny as well. I really liked the ending, it was very fulfilling…………Marks out of 10 … 9

Rionach: It was really good and interesting, I liked Ruth, and she was a great big sister so good and right. ……………. 9

Kate; Ruth was so kind, I thought it was very good, I liked the fact they always had hope that they would find their parents…………9

Hannah; I didn’t like the bit about the Father at the start, the fact that the story was about him and then it changed and we didn’t hear about him again until the end……………8

Amy; I liked it a lot, it was really interesting. Ruth was great, especially the way she helped all the lost children………..9

Edward; I really liked Edek; he was the scavenger who managed to get food and other things for the other. The bit about Joseph hiding in the chimney was very funny………….10

Sophie: I liked Jan a lot, he was bold, but I felt very sorry for him ,he had nobody to look after him, that was why he liked Ruth so much, she was kind and nice to him.

Book Review for “The Last of the High Kings” by Kate Thompson

The Liddy family, Father; JJ, Mother; Aisling, daughters; Hazel and Jenny, sons; Donal and Aidan are no ordinary Irish family. How could they be when father JJ is the grandson of Aengus Og who is himself the son of the Dagda the King of the Fairies? And if that is not enough, daughter Jenny is a changeling child sent as a baby from Tir na nOg to grow up as part of the Liddy family……….
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Jenny meets a puca who urges her to befriend the ghost who guards the beacon on the mountain top overlooking the townland of Kinvara where the Liddy family live. Strange and mysterious events begin to happen as a result of Jenny’s attempts to befriend the lonely ghost. Soon the very future of the human race is under threat, and their only hope is the intervention of the Dagda.

Will the Fairy King help the Liddy family? Is the Puca really Jenny’s friend? Why is the ghost guarding the beacon? And what part does Mikey Cullen plays in events Will Jenny ever learn her true identity?

The plot of this book lead to much lively discussion with opinions ranging from some thinking it was great to others thinking it was terrible! It is fair to say that those of us who had read The First Policeman, an earlier book about JJ Liddy, found it easier to understand the somewhat complicated plot than those of us had not. So the advice of the Bookworms was to start with The First Policeman and then read on!

Aimee: It was OK, not the best book we read, but I did like the bit when Mikey went up the mountain Marks out of 10:…… 6

Rionach: I really liked it, I especially liked the Dad JJ he was doing the best he could for all the family. Hazel was nice as well, she was so good to Jenny …….10

Zoë: I thought it was a bit boring, I didn’t like the bit where they told Jenny that she wasn’t really their child, that was sad for her. But I really liked Aidan, he was so funny…….4

Amy: It was a confusing plot, but I did like it especially the part where Donal and JJ played the music to Mikey…….9

Kate: It was good, the start was a bit confusing, and I liked the tricky puca and the lonely ghost……7

Edward: I liked JJ Liddy, he was a good Dad, and I disliked the puca and the archeologists. ……2

Sophie: It was a bit confusing but it had a good ending especially for Mikey and the ghost………3

Gemma: It was really good, I liked it, the characters were interesting, the powers of the puca were especially interesting., I liked him……..9.5

Hannah: It was OK, very funny at times, it had a nice ending , I disliked JJ because of his deal with the Puca……..9

REVIEW IN A WORD FOR THE LAST OF THE HIGH KINGS;

DIFFICULT, EXCITING, ENJOYABLE, TERRIBLE, AVERAGE, CONFUSING, BORING, CONFUSED.

‘Wilderness‘ by Roddy Doyle was the Ballyroan Library Junior Book Club reading choice for January 2010.

This part family drama, part action adventure tells the story of a very modern Irish family which consists of well-meaning father Frank Griffin, his harassed second wife Sandra Hammond and their two lively sons, Johnny 12 and Tom 10 as well as Grainne, Frank’s troubled and troublesome teenage daughter from his first marriage. Grainne’s mother left the family when Grainne was 3 and has had no contact with her since.

We meet the family at a crisis point in their lives when Grainne’s refusal to take part in family life and her hostility toward her stepmother is causing difficulties. A further complication arises when Rosemary Griffin, Grainne’s birth mother suddenly announces she wants meet her. The already troubled teenager now has to come to terms with her mother’s possible return to her life. All the family is then drawn into the emotional complications arising from the crisis.

Sandra decides the best thing for the situation is for her to take the boys away on holiday. She books a Winter Safari to go husky sledding in the Finnish wilderness. Johnny and Tom learn a great deal about themselves and their relationship with their mother as they deal with the harsh conditions of the Finnish winter. Meanwhile at home Grainne and Tom are experiencing another kind of wilderness as they negotiate the emotional difficulties of their relationship.

As the story progresses Johnny and Tom learn a great deal about themselves and their love for their mother through the difficulties and dangers they experience. At home Grainne meets her mother and the meeting helps her to recognise the depth and loyalty of her father’s love for her and the importance of her place in the family. The story ends with the promise of a new beginning for all the members of this modern family unit.

There was great involvement in a lively discussion on ‘Wilderness’ and the group were generally agreed that it was an exciting read overall. They felt that the characters were real and the plot was mostly well worked out. However some did find the double plot line confusing especially at the beginning as it switched between Finland and Ireland and between Grainne’s story and that of her brothers. We all really liked the Finnish setting and characters. We looked at some books about the Sámi people of the northern Scandinavian countries and talked about their lifestyle in the harsh winter conditions. The group really engaged with the dogs and we talked about the place of the husky dogs in the people’s lives and how they worked and cooperated together. We all felt we could really picture the characters and the setting. We said that the family relationships were well done and realistic; they thought the relationship as it developed between Johnny and Tom was good especially the character changes of both boys. I asked what they thought of Grainne whom some disliked and some felt they understood why she was difficult. We all liked the character of Sandra and the fact that she was not a “wicked stepmother” The dialogue we decided was realistic overall. I asked them what they thought of the cover illustration which they liked for its unusual and mysterious depiction of a husky dog which made them want to read the book.

Marks out of 10

Hannah thought it was adventurous and gave it 9. Sophie considered it an exciting read and gave it 10. Aimee had a problem with the dual plot but still gave it 9.5. Aoife liked the book and gave it 9. Nicole said it was a really good book, she disliked Grainne and she gave it 9.5. Edward liked the character of the neighbour, he decided on 9. Joanne enjoyed the read and gave it 9.5. Ciara had a difficulty with the start but thought it was very good overall and gave it 10 out of 10. Alannah didn’t like the plot and found it boring and gave it 5. Gemma thought it was only OK and gave it 7. Rionach felt it was a bit boring and gave it 6. Kate liked it a lot and decided on full marks 10. Zoë thought it was a good adventure and also gave it 10.

THE BOOK IN A WORD SUMMARY!

Exciting, Thrilling, Adventurous, Confused, Boring, Brilliant, Cold, Terrible, Realistic.

Review of “The Firework Maker’s Daughter by Philip Pullman”

‘The story centres around a girl called Lila, who wants to be a firework maker, however her father doesn’t think she can do it because she’s a girl. So, she goes on a quest to prove she’s got what it takes. She makes friends with an talking elephant and has a big adventure.’

‘This is a brilliant book to read., full of magic. It is very short and for younger children.’

‘I love the bit in the cave because it is scary but funny!’

Reviews for “The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall”

‘The book was excellent. It was very exciting from start to finish especially through the middle of it.’

‘I think the book is good although it can be a bit confusing.’

‘This was a interesting book about World War Two, the author is Robert Westall, Chas Mcgill is the main character who finds a dead German in a plane, and takes a machine gun and people are looking for the gun.’

‘I didn’t like this book, I thought it was a bit boring and it was hard to remember all the characters.’

‘The book is about Chas and his friends.Chas found a plane with a dead German inside and with a gun.First he wants the gun for a souvenir but then he wants to use the gun to shoot down a German plane.So Chas and his friends Nicky ,Clogger, Cem and Audrey built a fortress to shoot the plane down.. I like the book because it is exciting and it is very interesting to learn about the Second World War and about people’s life. However, sometimes it was a bit disgusting, for example the way the author describes the dead German in the plane.’

Bookworm reviews for “There’s a boy in the girl’s toilet by Louis Sachar”

‘I thought this book was alright. It seemed kind of a Jacqueline Wilson book except with a boy. I thought it was quite funny.’

7/10

‘I think it’s good because it’s very funny. Although it was a bit weird!’

8/10

‘I think that this book was good and that the author wrote the book very well’
8/10

‘I give this book 7 ½ out of ten because it was funny in places but the story didn’t change until halfway through the book.’

‘I am going to give this book 6 ½ out of ten because it got a bit boring and dragged on. Carla was my favourite because she was unusual and believed anything you tell her!’

‘It was a good book. I would recommend it and give it 8 out of ten.

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