Karl's Reading List

Published as an audiobook by Hodder Children's Books/Hachette Children's Books, 2013. Narrated by Jan Francis. Book 8 in the 'Famous Five' series. Preceded by ' Five Go Off To Camp. ' Followed by 'Five Fall Into Adventure.' Originally published 1949. In this entry, set in Spring (my favourite season), the four children and Timmy get permission to go on a cycling trip on their own, when Uncle Quentin has mistakenly double-booked himself elsewhere. They are only given permission because Timmy is 'such a good guard dog', but of course, the 1940s were a different time, when this sort of thing was probably seen as a little safer than now-a-days?? Of course, very quickly the five get caught up in a mystery, this time through association with a strange boy they encounter, named Richard. When I first heard Richard's name, I laughed to myself and wondered whether Enid Blyton had run out of names, seeing as how Dick (one of our main four characters) is...

This is the third entry based around picture books I've read to Ezekiel, and the first one I've done this year (it's far too long since I've acknowledged Ezekiel on this list !). It's interesting to see which books have dropped off the radar from when I did my first picture book list . At that point, Ezekiel was only 7 months old, so the books we read were largely our choice. It's also nice to see how many books are still favourites, now that he is able to decide for himself what we read. I'm trying a different format this time around for this entry, giving separate pages to each picture book even though this will still only take up one 'entry' in my list. Or you can skip this entry entirely fairly easily! Let's see how this goes... Karl's List My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes ; Do Not Lick This Book ; Scarry Word Book: On Holiday ; Perky the Pukeko ; I Can Fly a Plane . Elise's List Seek and Circle: Christmas Stories ; My First Clock Book ;...

Published by Hodder Moa Books/Hachette New Zealand Ltd: Auckland, New Zealand, 2010. I have previously talked about this author's version of  Old MacDonald's Farm  in the  first group of picture book reviews.   The Wheels on the Bus  does a similar thing to that book, taking the titular children's song and making it far more 'Kiwiana.' This one goes the anthropomorphic route, with the bus being driven by a Kiwi and picking up iconic New Zealand creatures, each from iconic New Zealand landscapes. Along with the usual verses, we also get a few like  "The lambs on the bus go baa baa baa"  and  "The passengers on the bus go bumpity-bump..."  which are a little more specific to the page. One page seems to have a cameo by the animal characters from  Old MacDonald's Farm,  which makes sense since the bus from this book is visible in the barn in that book. Another 'hidden' aspect is a little bit of Maori mythology: there are faces on the th...

Published by Penguin Group: New Zealand, 2007. Originally published 1974. This book is one I really like, and in fact is the first time that Elise has picked a book for her list that was on mine. Knowing how much I enjoy it, she changed her list to another choice. Thanks, Elise! I remember my primary school having this book in a large format, and for some reason it is a story that has stuck with me, probably because of it's repetitive and slightly humorous story. What I didn't realise then, but enjoy now, is that the illustrator of this book is Lynley Dodd of  Hairy Maclary   fame! Fun! Each page of  My Cat  introduces another cat from some international location, usually with an incredible talent -  "The cat from Spain/ Flew an aeroplane/ The cat from France/ Liked to sing and dance"  - only to compare it with the narrator's own cat, with the refrain,  "But MY cat likes to hide in boxes."  These international cats are dressed in traditional costu...

Published by The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited: London, New York Sydney, Toronto, 1984. Each time I do one of these picture book lists, I try to include a book which is  not  a favourite of either myself or Elise, but which Ezekiel likes. This is that book this time around. I remember that when I was young we had a few books in our house by Richard Scarry. I think they were more my brother's than mine, but they all shared the same distinctive art style, featuring animals in human settings.  This book is a little different than some Richard Scarry works, in that it is based on previous Richard Scarry works, with the drawings seemingly taken and repurposed to make a book on a theme (this time, holidays) and including word lists. Thus the name. We get images of animals on boats, animals rock-climbing, animals at the beach, and a bear dressed as Father Christmas. It's all pretty weird, but in a quirky fashion that is almost humorous in itself. And Ezekiel seems to enjoy it...

Published by Lake Press Pty Ltd: Australia, 2016. Ezekiel loves this book, even though the copy we got was already  very  second-hand when we got it, to the point that pages are falling apart and edges are frayed. Each page has a touch-and-feel aspect to it, from a fluffy dog to a soft blanket, and each page  also  talks about the playful pups encountering various opposites, like high and low, big and small, over and under. This makes reading quite fun, as I will often move the book around to demonstrate the different opposites; Ezekiel particularly likes when I move the book close to him for "near" and away from him for "far."  The strangest thing about the book is that a few of the touch-and-feel areas (specifically, a large bone and a mud-puddle) are not different textures at all, but rather simply expose the slightly spongy material that makes up the pages of the book. It seems an odd choice, and a cheap one, although there is a chance that this is  not...

Published by Little Friends Publishing Ltd: New Plymouth, New Zealand, 2007 (2004). A rhyming story set on a New Zealand farm,  Perky the Pukeko  tells the story of Perky, raised from an egg put under a hen, and his adventures around the farmyard, before he finally makes his way to a nearby  "pest-infested drain"  where he finds  "a place where he belongs/ with other pukekos."  It's cute, with basic yet expressive drawings, and a few humorous touches - when Perky snaps a shoelace left at the door, for example, the farmer literally boards up the front door and adds a sign with a 'no pukekos' image. Another image has the farmer racing frantically to the barn, throwing an open can of paint behind him in his haste. It feels very much like the story of  Perky the Pukeko  is based on a real-life animal, with possibly a few story embellishments, and Ezekiel seems to appreciate the story.  Karl's List My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes ;  Do Not Lick...

Published by Corax Books: USA, 2025. Looking for a book for my reading challenge that was "set in the Arctic or Antarctic", I noticed this book on the LibraryThing giveaway list for July. Nome seems Arctic-y, right?  Well, author Engelhard points on out, on page 259, that: "You may think of Nome as "the North," but its as far south of the pole as Mexico City from Kansas, one hundred miles shy of the Arctic Circle, at the same latitude as Fairbanks (Yet it decidedly looks and feels like the Arctic)." That last bracketed part is my salvation for this challenge. And anyway, the challenge says "set in the Arctic," not "set in the Arctic circle," so I'm calling this close enough. Early on in No Place Like Nome, the author mentions an online review that accuses his books of being "embellished ramblings" (page 40). He embraces this term, insisting that he will not be telling all the well-known stories of the area, but instead foc...

Published by Dean and Son Ltd: London, 1963. I needed a book with an animal protagonist, and remembered this book I read a few times as a child. After rereading it, I'm not super convinced that Brer Rabbit is a protagonist in the traditional sense - more of an anti-hero or even an antagonist at times - but the book still fits the brief over all. This is a collection of short fable-like chapters, each starring a somewhat anthropomorphised animal (usually Brer Rabbit) and usually having some sort of conflict where the smarter creature defeats the dumber creature. It is not always clear how anthropomorphised these animals are; they live in houses, they smoke cigars, all of them eat both meat and greens, and the male animals seem to be quite keen on 'Miss Meadows and the girls' (who might be human??) and yet the "carnivores" are often trying to eat the "herbivores", and at times they live in their traditional locations, such as ponds or briar-patches. Each s...

Published in an omnibus edition, 'Treasury of World Masterpieces: Herman Melville': 'Moby Dick'; 'The Confidence Man'; 'The Piazza Tales'; 'Billy Budd' by Octopus Books Limited: London, 1984. First published individually 1851. A number of years ago, when I was working as a milk runner, I used to listen to audiobooks while working, and one of the books I listened to was Moby Dick. I remember enjoying it quite a bit, and "getting" some of the choices the author made. For example, a number of chapters in Moby Dick stop following the plot entirely in order to instead talk about different species of whales, or the physical characteristics of a whale, or the history of whales, or to give a sermon about whales.... all of these could be seen as slowing down the book and giving unnecessary and somewhat dull details. But when I was listening to it all those years ago, I completely understood why they were included. Moby Dick is about obsession. A...

Published by Victor Gollancz Ltd: London, 1974 (1963). First published 1949. I first read this story as a kid, and have fond memories of it. It is also very weird, something that Elise pointed out as well. This is the only book I have read (so far) of Robert A Heinlein, and yet I know by reputation that he was a prominent science-fiction writer in his day. This book, first written in 1949, is certainly of its day. We get a Mars with canals, native plant and animal life, and a sentient Martian species with ruined cities on the surface and still-thriving (if less populated) sections underground.  Our main character, Jim Marlowe Jr, is a teenager living in South Colony. He has befriended a local 'bouncer', a basketball-sized Martian creature that can perfectly mimic what it hears, parrot-like, and also has some level of intelligence. 'Willis', as Jim calls the creature, is a hugely important part of the plot, helping Jim and his friend Frank get out of numerous scrapes, as...

Published as an audiobook by Penguin Audio, 14-09-2023. Narrated by Fiona Shaw. Book 4 in the 'Thursday Murder Club' series. Preceded by ' The Bullet That Missed. ' The final book (for now) in the Thursday Murder Club series, this book also feels a bit more like it could be the last in the series, due to a few storylines having a more 'final' feel to them. The main mystery this time revolves around a shipment of heroin that has been snuck into the country inside an antique box. A friend of our main gang has died while in possession of the heroin, and so tracking down the killer is in order. Returning characters like drug-dealer Connie Johnson, retired KGB agent Viktor, and antique dealer Kuldesh Sharma all have parts to play for better or worse, and new characters - including corrupt antique dealer Samantha Barnes and her imposing husband Garth, all add interest to the proceedings. A secondary crime-plot involves a new acquaintance becoming the victim of a roman...

Published by Red Fox/Random House Children's Books: Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, 1993. First published 1960. Book 5 in the 'Adventure' Series. Preceded by ' Volcano Adventure. ' Followed by 'African Adventure.' A lot of the books in this series have elements that have 'dated' a bit, whether in terms of how people of different ethnicities are treated or portrayed, or the way in which our heroes are mostly tasked with collecting rare animals for zoos, circuses and private animal collections, something that is far more controversial today! However, Whale Adventure takes this 'dated' element to a whole new level, with our protagonists Hal and Roger Hunt signing on to a whaling ship. An old-fashioned (even by the standards of the book) whaling ship. With flogging, and keelhauling, and actually killing whales.  I liked the book Moby Dick , and will probably read it again someday. It had whaling throughout it, and it felt normal to the world of the...

Published by Imagine That Publishing Ltd: Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2020. Omnibus edition featuring: 'I Love You SO Much, Grandma' by Susie Linn and (illustrator) Gail Yerrill; 'Can You Count the Stars?' by Susie Linn and (illustrator) Gabi Murphy; 'I Love You Because...' by Susie Linn and (illustrator) Gavin Scott; 'Daddy Loves Me' by Georgina Wren and (illustrator) Gabi Murphy; 'Mummy Loves Me' by Georgina Wren and (illustrator) Gabi Murphy; 'Goodnight, I Love You' by Oakley Graham and (illustrator) Gareth Llewhellin. This is a selection of six short picture books that work well together (although I believe each is available individually), and fit the theme of being short bedtime stories for young listeners.  All of them are very wholesome and loving, and three focus in on specific family members: Daddy, Mummy and Grandma (Poor Grandpa, Uncle, Aunt, Sister, Brother, Cousin etc get neglected). They are sweet, and show good bonds between the f...

Published as an audiobook by Hodder Children's Books/Hachette Children's Books, 2013. Narrated by Jan Francis. Book 7 in the 'Famous Five' series. Preceded by ' Five on Kirrin Island Again. ' Followed by ' Five Get Into Trouble. ' Originally published 1948. Well, originally we thought this entry in the series was going to be set at a summer camp or something similar. However, in a far more straightforward interpretation of the title, book 7 of the Famous Five series has our heroes go off to pitch some tents and do some camping. The main adult in this story - only there to provide an excuse for four children going to a remote area for camping - is Mr Luffy, a 'master' from Julian and Dick's school, who is almost as absent-minded as George's father, but far more friendly. Mr Luffy, an avid insect-collector, has come to camp on a remote moorland in order to look for bugs, and has agreed that the children could come along and camp with him. V...

Published by Voyager/HarperCollinsPublishers: Hammersmith, London, 1996 (1995). Book 1 of 'The Farseer Trilogy.' Followed by 'Royal Assassin.' Hey writers. Have you ever had trouble coming up with a name for your protagonist? It is possible that Robin Hobb did, as the main character in Assassin's Apprentice is a nameless boy, whose father happened to be the heir-in-waiting to the Seven Duchies. As a bastard (a term that gets flung his way often throughout the book) the boy is mistreated by many of the people in his life, with the main result being that it takes a long time for anyone to get around to giving him an actual name, and even longer for him to be given a name that everyone accepts as his name. It's quite an interesting element in a fairly interesting story, one that I got through a lot quicker than the much shorter Jungle Books.  Our protagonist - generally called 'Fitz' (which, if you know your etymology, means bastard) - is adopted into the r...

Published by Oxford University Press: Great Britain, 1992 (1987). First published in 1894 (The First Jungle Book) and 1895 (The Second Jungle Book). I probably could have broken this "book" in half, considering that it consists of both "The First Jungle Book" and "The Second Jungle Book", but as both Jungle Books are really just a collection of short stories - many of which (though far from all) are about Mowgli - they work together as one larger collection. Though, considering the whole collection as one book  did mean I messed up my reading challenge slightly (see the previous entry). What surprised me about the Jungle Books as a whole is that there are so many non Mowgli stories. We get a tale about a mongoose, a few from the perspective of humans that can't talk to animals, and even a few set in the Arctic region - which really stretches the idea of "jungle"...! Each of them feels a little like a folk tale or fable, and apparently some of...

Published by Dragon Brothers Books, 2020 (2017). Audiobook released 02-10-21. Narrated by the author. Book 1 in 'The Dragon Defenders' series. Followed by 'Book 2.' This is definitely a children's book, with its short chapters, simple plot, the decision of the main characters to purposefully side-line their parents rather than getting their support in dealing with the main issues, and its mild obsession with getting shot in the butt. It is also the first book in 'The Dragon Defenders' series, and one that impresses me by not having any other title than 'Book 1' and the series title! I believe the rest in the series have similar titles... wow. The author, James Russell, is a New Zealander and narrates his own book - it was quite odd to hear a Kiwi accent the whole way through the story, though I suppose Elise is more used to that than I am due to my narrating most of the books we read together. He reads it fairly well. The story revolves around two ...

Published by Gollancz/Hachette UK: London, UK, 2024 (2023). The back cover promises a story that will appeal to fans of The Princess Bride, and that - along with being a stand-alone book that isn't over 500 pages - was enough to sell this as Elise's first exposure to Brandon Sanderson. Tress (whose real name is Glorf, but who prefers to be known as Tress due to her unruly hair) lives on a planet where the 'oceans' are made up of spores dropped from the various moons, each one a different colour and having a different (usually deadly) reaction to water. When her true love gets captured by the evil Sorceress of the Midnight Sea, Tress must sneak off her island home and set sail to rescue him. Along the way she encounters numerous characters to aid or hind her, from the talking rat Huck, to the chronically-poor-aim assistant cannonsmaster Ann, to Fort, a huge mute who can only communicate via a magical writing board. In true Sanderson fashion, each of these characters has ...

Published by Hodder Children's Books/Hodder and Stoughton: London, 2017. Book 1 in the 'Toto the Ninja Cat' series. Followed by 'Toto the Ninja Cat and the Incredible Cheese Heist.' If the title didn't clue you in on it, this is a strange book.  I like a lot of strange books, so that's not necessarily a bad thing. Unfortunately, in the case of Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape, it feels like author Dermot O'Leary is trying just a little to hard to be weird. For example, Toto is introduced as a normal cat, who then says that she is blind, and whose brother (Silver) then says 'but you're a ninja, so it doesn't matter.' Why make her blind at all, if (as the plot shows) it doesn't matter at all that she is? She can still 'see' most of the time, and her ninja skills overcome anything that would potentially be an obstacle for a blind cat anyway! It might be simply because Toto is apparently based on O'Leary's own...