Entries Categorized as 'Review'
Posted by Rebekah
Categories: Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Robert Louis Stevenson, Scary
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Mr. Utterson, a lawyer, is becoming curious about a mysterious man, Mr. Hyde. Ever since Mr. Utterson saw Mr. Hyde walk right over a child, Mr. Utterson has had a sort of horrid fascination of him. Who is this Mr. Hyde? And why did Dr. Jekyll, a friend of Mr. Utterson, say in his will that, in case of his death or his disappearance, all his money is to go to Mr. Hyde? The problem deepens when Mr. Hyde kills a man and then disappears. Can Mr. Utterson figure out what’s going on?
This is an interesting tale. I suppose it’s considered to be a horror story, (it has a lot of “nameless dreads” and presentiments in it. All I can say is there are a lot of dreads running around without a name) but I only found it to be strange, not scary. At least not this time I read it. There’s one line in there that’s great. Mr. Utterson is trying to find Mr. Hyde and he thinks, “If he be Mr. Hyde, I shall be Mr. Seek.”
Posted by Rebekah
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Horses, The Black Stallion, The Island Stallion, Walter Farley
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On their way back from Europe, Alec and Henry’s plane goes down. Using a life raft, Henry, Alec and the crew make it out safely. The only problem? The Black and several other horses were on the plane with them. As Alec drifts about in the raft, his only comfort is that Henry saw the horses leaving the plane before it went down. Once the life boat reaches the island of Antago in the West Indies, Alec and Henry devote their time to finding the Black, before it could be too late.
This is a fun book. The only problem is the vampire bat. (Excuse me a moment while I go shiver.) The bat is infected with rabies, and plays a large part in the story line. As a heads-up, there are a few evolutionary statements about the bat. If you ever feel queasy about the bat, whatever you do, just keep breathing, it turns out okay in the end. I find it interesting how Walter Farley brought together his two most famous horses and manages to never say which horse is better. There are some tense moments, and, on the whole, this book is fun.
Posted by Rebekah
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Horses, The Black Stallion, Walter Farley
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This book opens dramatically when someone tries to kill the Black, then, while Henry and Alec are still trying to figure out who would want to kill the Black, Abu Já Kub ben Ishak arrives and proves that he is the owner of the Black, finally taking the Black to his home in Arabia. Alec, separated from the Black for what seems to be forever, jumps at the chance to travel to Arabia, in the hope of seeing the Black one last time.
This is the second book in the Black Stallion series. These books are not long reads, in fact, at one point when I was first reading them, I actually read six of them in one day. (Of course, I didn’t have anything else to do.) I enjoy them, and The Black Stallion Returns is very fun. It’s tense in some places, thrilling in others, and yes, occasionally predictable. (But is there a problem with that? At least it’s not “form-written”!) There is some violence. I take that back. There is quite a bit of violence, but it’s not told in a gross way at all. It has almost everything. A great horse (obviously), a really bad badguy, life or death situations. It even has an old feud! A great sequel to a great book.
Posted by Ruth
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Horses, The Black Stallion, Walter Farley
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When Alec Ramsey receives the Black’s son from Abu Ja’ Kub ben Ishak, he can’t wait to begin training the young colt for racing, with the help of Henry Dailey, his trainer for the Black. But the colt proves to be more fiery and vicious than his father, with a strong killer instinct. Will Alec and Henry be able to tame the colt and fulfill Alec’s dream of a great racer?
A pretty good horse book with some heart-pounding races. On the whole, the story pacing is fairly consistent, although some parts seemed a bit slow.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Fiction, Picture Books, Review, Younger Readers
Tags:Animals, Dr. Seuss, Elephants, Funny, Good Read Aloud, Quick Read
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Horton the elephant hears a small call for help from a speck of dust, and concludes that tiny people live there! However, a sour kangaroo doesn’t hear as well as Horton, and ridicules him. And then she decides to make him boil the speck in beezle-nut oil. Horton and the Whos must prove that the Whos do exist, before it’s too late.
Go Horton! He’s the all around nice guy sort and is willing to help anybody in trouble. Oh, and I might add that I still read Horton.
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