St Colman's Boys' School, Kanturk. - Book Reviews

Danny Brown and the Big Surprise.

3/3/2018

My Book review

The title of my book is Danny Brown and the Big Surprise. The author is Brian Óg Brady Dawson.

This story is about a boy called Danny who goes to visit his Granny at the weekend. She has a surprise which she shows to Danny. She has a big birthday cake for his mom but Danny must keep it a secret. Danny does keep the secret but the cake gets a little battered before mom gets it.

My favourite part was when Keeno the dog was eating the cake in the shed.
My least favourite part was when Danny said it was Mom, Dad and Keeno’s fault.
I really enjoyed reading this book.

My teacher read it for my class and they loved it too. It's suitable for 7 to 9 year olds. I would give this book a score of 10 out of 10.
By Austin, First Class in St Colman's BNS

The Night Zookeeper & the Spying Giraffe by

28/3/2017

Recently, as a class, we have read the fantastic, imaginative book, Night Zookeeper and the Spying Giraffes. It was a fictional book about Tom Rivers, the new Night Zookeeper, venturing through the Night Zoo, with assistance from some loyal allies to battle the Voids and the atrocious, malevolent Lord of Nulth.

The book starts off by introducing Tom and Grandma Rivers. If Grandma Rivers hadn’t told Tom about the Night Zoo and about her being a Night Zookeeper, Tom would have never become one in the first place. As part of a school project, Tom draws an elephant onto one of the Zoo walls, yet being creative, he paints it purple. Mysteriously, the elephant comes to life, revealing herself to be the Time-Travelling Elephant. Tom is brought into the world of Night, where he learns that anything is possible and everything is about creativity. Tom joins forces with Sam the Spying Giraffe, an enthusiastic, hyperactive character, eager to help, and Ick, a squirrel equipped with Nulth Armour, a tough, clever figure. Towards the end of the story, the Voids attack. But with the assistance of his faithful, determined allies, and using all of imagination and creativity, he leads his team to victory. This book is a terrific influence for children to embrace their creative side and remember that in your imagination and the Night Zoo, anything is possible. Overall, I would have to say that, this book is a must read and a great example of encouraging imagination.

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

28/3/2017

Recently, as a class novel, my class have finished reading the novel Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz. Stormbreaker is the first book in the Alex Rider series by Horowitz. There are nine other books in the series, some of which include, Point Blanc, Skeleton Key, Eagle Strike, Scorpia and more.

The book is about a fourteen year old boy, Alex Rider, who has just discovered that his uncle has been killed. The police say that his uncle Ian wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was killed in a car crash, but after some thorough research and adventure, Alex discoveries that his uncle had been murdered by a man called Yassen Gregorovich.
Alex is then recruited by MI6, against his will, to become a spy for them. After some training, Alex is sent to Port Tallon where a man called Herod Sayle is planning to donate a Stormbreaker to every secondary school in London. Generous right? Maybe a little too generous.
Alex arrives and discovers that the Stormbreakers are not what they seem (I won't spoil the ending, in case you'd like to read it yourself). Can Alex complete a successful mission?

The main characters in the book are:
Alex Rider, the fourteen year old spy.
Herod Sayle, the man who is donating the Stormbreakers.
Mr. Grin, a man working for Sayle.
Nadia Vole, a woman working for Sayle.
Alan Blunt, who is Chieg Executive of the Special Operations Division of MI6.
Mrs. Jones, Blunt's colleague.
Ian Rider, Alex's dead uncle.
Yassen Gregorovich, the Russian contract killer.
Jack Starbright, the housekeeper of where Alex lives.

Overall, I think that Stormbreaker is a fantastic book. It is full of action and adventure. I would highly recommend it for anyone over eleven. It is utterly amazing.

Book Review: Kings of the Boyne - Nicola Pierce by Jack

25/10/2016

Well done to Jack in 6th who has just completed a Book Review of Kings of the Boyne for an Seomra Ranga. This is a great honour for Jack and our school.

I have recently finished the historical novel, Kings of the Boyne, by Nicola Pierce. The book was mainly about the famous battle, Battle of the Boyne. The chapters switched between four groups of people: Gerald O' Connor and his French friend, Jacques, fighting for King James II,the brothers Robert and Daniel Sherrard, fighting for King William III and the two kings, King James II and King William III. The book told the story of how these men took part in the battle and what it was like to be soldiers.

In my opinion, the author told quite simply what the Battle of the Boyne was about. She used great language and vocabulary throughout the book. I think that the last couple of chapters were very intense and really finished the book off well.

Clearly to me, Nicola has put together a fantastic, history-based book. Don't worry if you don't know a lot about the Battle of the Boyne, (like me!) this book is a terrific read. Overall, I would give this book 9 out of 10. So if there's any one out there that has any interest in the Battle of the Boyne, this is the perfect book for you.

Well done Nicola on an excellent book.
By Jack in 6th

Book Review : The Diary of a Wimpy Kid - The Long Haul

29/4/2016

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a series about Greg and his family. If you don't know what this series then I highly suggest it. It's very small and most of the book is pictures anyway! I'm going to be reviewing Long Haul. Also if you want every little detail in this book not spoiled then read it NOW!

It starts out in the summer holidays. All Greg and his brothers want to do is watch TV all summer. But Mom and Dad Don't want to do that so they go on a trip. Too bad it doesn't go as planed. In the end thy got a pig from a "bad smelling shoe" competition and a lost wallet.

This review cannot get the book justice. Read it and you will love it!

By Paul 5th

I am just after finishing an awesome book by Jeff Kiney called Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Long Haul. The Wimpy Kid series is hilarious and fantastic. The main character is Greg Heffley. He has two brothers, one older than him and one younger. Their names are Rodrick (the older one) and Manny (the younger one). His parents' names are Susan and Frank.

In this book the Heffleys go on a road trip, but Greg isn't so keen on the idea. He is squashed in the back of the minivan and has a very rough trip.

After a long couple of hours, they finally stop of at a motel. Though they soon regret their chose as the motel they choose is a complete dump. That night, Greg gets mad at three little kids for screaming and shouting outside their room. Soon the kids' father comes out and gets mad, but Greg gets a lucky escape.

After the motel, the Heffleys decide to go to a fair. While there Greg spots the angry father from the motel, who he calls Mr. Bear do. He tries his best to stay away from him. Meanwhile Rodrick signs up for the Foulest Footwear Contest and he wins. Though it' snot as good as it seems. The judges wouldn't give his shoe back because the wanted to send it on to the next round of the competition. Rodrick's prize was a coupon for one deep-fried butter on a stick. Manny also won a prize; a pet pig. The parents didn't want it but the competition runners insisted they keep it.

Disaster strikes at a water park when the family loose the key to there locker. Unfortunately Susan and Frank had their phones, wallets and other personal items inside.

After more disasters after that, the Heffleys decided to go home. Surprisingly when Greg was unpacking his bag, he found the key for the water park locker!

I thought this book was a terrific read. I would recommend it to anyone who likes funny, hilarious books. I would give this book 10/10.

By Jack 5th

Tom Yates YES NO Maybe

27/4/2016

Recently I read a fantastic book called Tom Gates Yes No Maybe, by Liz Pichon. The main character is Tom. There are three other people in his family, his Dad, Mum and older sister, Delia. Tom's best friend is also his neighbour Derek. Marcus, a boy at his school, absolutely hates Tom and Tom hates him.

At Tom's school, they are having a Business Day, where the pupils make things and try to sell them. Tom finds out that he is in a great group, the only thing is Marcus is in it too. Tom has a great idea for Business Day; comic folders. Unfortunately Tom doesn't listen to the teacher carefully and accidentally volunteers to switch groups. In his new group he ends up making blue popcorn.

Back at his house his Mum is planning to clean the whole house for a boot sale. In the boot sale Tom accidentally sells his Mum's antique brooch. Luckily he gets it back.

The Tom Gates series is a fantastic series of books to read. I would recommend them to anyone over nine. I would give this book ten out of ten. Well done Liz

By Jack 5th

Rugby Flyer by Gerard Siggins

14/2/2016

Well done to Paul in 5th who has just completed a Book Review of Rugby Flyer for an Seomra Ranga. This is a great honour for Paul and our school.

This is the fourth book in the series. If you've read Rugby Spirit, Rugby Warrior or Rugby Rebel then I'm sure you will love this book as well. But rest assured you do not need to read the others to enjoy Rugby Flyer.
Rugby Flyer is a book all about rugby.

In this series, this was the first one I read. If you don't know the basics of rugby but still want to read it (like me) then I think you would still love it as I did. It's just that in the match you might not understand what's happening at all. This book isn't about the matches but more about rivalry, characters, ghosts and Irish history. The main character, Eoin Madden, is about thirteen years old ; he loves rugby . The story is fast paced .The first page tells you that Eoin is going to Leicester for a rugby camp and if he plays well, he can go to England to play with teams around Europe. The story kicks off from there. You won't get bored of the story which is good.

Eoin is able to see ghosts and I don't know what to think about that. It feels really out of place. Also Eoin is the ONLY person that is able to see ghosts and it's never explained as to how he got this power.

The length of the book is 176pages long. I found this short. I finished the book in four days but I read it every night and all the time in school. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves rugby and also for those who don't want to sit down for hours and hours reading to finish it. So in conclusion this book is short but sweet with a few big problems thrown in.

I would give this book a 7/10.
Well done Mr Siggins on a very enjoyable book.

By Paul in 5th

Holes by Louis Sachar

3/12/2015

Summary
Holes is a fantastic book written by Louis Sachar. It is about a very unlucky boy named Stanley Yelnats. Stanley always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. One day a pair of shoes fall on Stanley. He decides to take them home without knowing they are stolen. He ends up getting caught and sent to a place called "Camp Green Lake". At camp green lake the warden makes them dig holes. But why? She claims it's to "build character" but Stanley believes otherwise. Will Stanley dig up the truth? If so what will he discover? Read the story to find out.

Setting
The story of holes takes places at camp green lake in Texas. Camp green lake is a juvenile delinquent correction camp. It used to be the biggest lake in Texas and had a town around it but when it dried up the townsfolk left.

Main characters
The main characters are Stanley Yelnats who is the main protagonist, his friend Hector also known as Zero, the warden who is the main antagonist, Mr. Pendanski, Mr.Sir and kissing Kate Barlow the outlaw.

My favourite character was Zero because although he didn't know much and was treated like an idiot he stayed strong and proved he wasn't stupid in the end.

Response
When I finished reading I thought it was a fantastic book. I noticed the author used quite a few similes which worked really well and made the story much better. I could really imagine what most of the characters looked like. I loved the way he made a connection between camp green lake, Zero and Stanley that made it feel almost like it was fate.

By Aidan 6th

The Midnight Carnival by Erica Mc Gann

12/11/2015

Well done to Ciaran D in 6th who has just completed a Book Review of The Midnight Carnival for an Seomra Ranga. This is a great honour for Ciarán and our school. His review can be read HERE.

I recently read The Midnight Carnival by Erica Mc Gann. It is a very detailed book about six teenage girls, all of whom study the art of witchcraft. The girls' names were Grace, Jenny, Delilah, Adie, Una and Rachel. The story is mainly about the girls going to this new carnival in town and not knowing what they were getting themselves into. The carnival was very creepy. At the carnival the rides were rusty and rickety. Something strange was going on there.

It turned out that an evil sorceress, Murdrina, gave the carnival a straw doll. The doll looked normal until you went near her; then it looked like a bunch of wriggling worms. The only way the carnival could pass on the doll's curse, was if someone took the doll willingly. Justine, the acrobat whom the girls had befriended, tricked the girls into taking the doll...

Catastrophic things happened after that. Adie's mother became possessed. The house also got cursed by the doll. The girls eventually defeated Murdrina with help from Ms Lemon, their magic teacher and finally they discovered what the curse was and how to break it.

My favourite part of the book was probably at the end when Mrs Quinlan, another of their Witchcraft teachers, was scaring the children trick or treating at Hallowe'en. I thought this was very funny. My least favourite part was probably the preparation for the battle with Murdrina. I felt the author put in a bit too much detail in that part.

I'd rate the book a 7 out of 10. It was an amazing book and very easy to visualise because of the precise detail. I think it would be suitable for children from ten years up.

The Lost Fairy

29/7/2015

Paddy in 2nd was chosen to do a Book Review of The Lost Fairy for an educational website Seomra Ranga. The aim of this website is to share practical resources for the Primary School Classroom on the web. This is a great honour for our school. Paddy has been working very hard on his review. Well done Paddy. His review can be read HERE.

I recently read “The Lost Fairy” by Marian Broderick to my three and half year old sisters. This highly entertaining fairytale follows Flora on a journey as she realises that she needs friends to help her regain her rightful perch on the Christmas tree.

Even though it looks like a “girly” book, the book is easily read by both boys and girls aged 6 and over. It would also be enjoyed as a bed time story for younger children, like my sisters. This exciting, humorous story is highly captivating and kept me turning the pages. The detailed illustrations added more excitement to the story.

In conclusion, I felt it was a little short but could easily be made into a series. What is this story going to be? A best seller in my opinion.

Book Reviews

Having read a good book we welcome the boys to write Book Reviews for our site.
Feel free to comment on a book you have read.

The Hunger Games : Catching Fire

The Giggler Treatment

The Lost Fairy

The Midnight Carnival

Holes

Rugby Flyer

Tom Yates Yes No Maybe

Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Long Haul

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

The Night Zookeeper & the Spying Giraffe

Danny Brown and the Big Surprise.