Lockdown reading

By Poppy Hart

Poppy, who is 11 years old and lives with her family in Sheffield, is our latest guest blogger. Like many others these days, she’s thinking about her lockdown reading.

My book review is about the book A Pinch Of Magic, or as it says in full on the cover, Three Sisters, A Family Curse and A Pinch of Magic, written by Michelle Harrison.

This book is based around a family who (years before) had been put under a curse. The curse meant that if they left their town they would die by sunset. The main character (Betty) and her sisters are determined to undo the curse.

Personally, I like the main character Betty because she is adventurous, daring and mischievous!

Some parts of the book I find very puzzling and scary! Puzzling because I didn’t know how it was possible that they would break the curse, and scary because sunset was coming near which would cause their death!

My favourite part of the book was when Betty finally found her sisters, after they had been taken, by risking her own life as well.

The reason I wanted to carry on the book was because I had no idea how it was going to end. Also, this is a book that is hard to stop reading.

A book I would recommend is Why The Whales Came by Michael Morpurgo. I would recommend this because it’s a short, interesting book set during the war.

I normally prefer to only read a book once but one I have read more than once is Katy by Jacqueline Wilson, because at points in the book it’s telling you the perspective of somebody in a wheelchair. It’s saying that when you’re in a wheelchair, everyone stares at you and treats you differently, which is something I find interesting.

Personally, a place I specially like to read is either in my bed. or in the garden on a nice sunny day! I read in my bed because I find it comfortable and gets me ready for a good night’s sleep. I like to read in the garden because it’s nice and relaxing with the sun shining above you.

The books along the way…

By Lily

Lily, who lives with her family in Sheffield, is our latest guest blogger.

During lockdown I have been enjoying the Harry Potter books very much. They are very intriguing and I can’t get to sleep until about 10pm because I can’t put them down. I am currently reading the sixth book and there have been lots of interesting things that have happened along the way. I like Ron because he is funny and gets in the way, not knowing what is going on around him. I don’t like Luna because she is very strange and doesn’t play a big part in the books.

I also like the Famous Five books written by Enid Blyton. They are great tales of four children and a dog called Timmy and together they find criminals and solve mysteries. My favourite character is Anne because she makes me feel like myself. I don’t like Julian because he is too serious. I recommend you read them, because something new happens every time. There are 21 books in the series and all of them are amazing, I would really recommend them. They are old books but still great reads.

Another author I like is David Walliams. He has a really good collection of funny stories with incredible illustrations by Tony Ross. Some of my favourites are The Ice Monster, Gangsta Granny and Grandpa’s Great Escape, but all of them are really good. David Walliams is really good at writing about how children and adults interact, and the characters are great. Lots of his books have been turned into films.

One book I often go back to is The Truth Pixie by Matt Haig. It’s about a pixie who is cursed to tell the truth which stops her getting any friends. In the end she finds a little girl who loves her and wants to keep her for who she is. I like to read it when I am scared or upset as it is comforting and stops me having nightmares.

Sometimes I enjoy to read fact books. At the moment I have been reading the Great Women books by Kate Pankhurst. She is the great-grand-daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst who I also enjoy reading about – I have a book called Suffragette: The Battle for Equality, by David Roberts, that I really enjoy reading. I got Greta Thunberg’s book for Christmas and it is great. Inside are all her speeches which are worth a look at. Me and my family also love the See Inside series of fact books. They are lift-the-flap books with hidden facts and there are lots of different ones, we’ve got Castles, Space and General Knowledge.

In lockdown I’ve been reading in the garden because it has been warm and sunny. I also read in bed where it is cosy and warm. I am looking forward to the libraries reopening so I can get some new reads.

The top of the attic stairs

By Mabel

We usually record the reading journeys of Sheffielders born in the first half of the 20th century. But we enjoy hearing from anyone who loves books. Here is our latest guest blogger, Mabel, born in the 21st century, talking about what she reads.

At the moment I’m reading The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson. It’s about a girl who goes to boarding school because of the war and joins a folk dancing class which goes to a competition in the kingdom of Bergania. But when they get there the king is shot and the girl rescues the orphaned prince from going to Colditz.

My favourite character is Tally because she is funny, brave and exciting. The book is sad because it’s set in the war so people die but it has a happy ending. It’s also quite mysterious because you don’t know who is the mother of Julia, another student at Tally’s school. My favourite bit is when they go to the dragonfly pool – it sounds beautiful – I’d like to go there. I need to keep reading the book because the prince has been taken away and I need to see if he comes back.

I would recommend The Dragonfly Pool to people who like adventure and suspense. Other books I would recommend are:

  • Inkheart by Cornelia Funke – for a person who likes books, magical creatures and adventure
  • The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson – for someone who likes mystery, horses and happy endings!

I love to read all my books again and again because they feel like old friends and they’re still exciting even though I know what’s going to happen. The place I most like to read is the top of the attic stairs because it’s light and I’m not disturbed, unless Mum comes up to tell me not to sit on the stairs!