Karl's Reading List

Published by Knight Books/Hodder & Stoughton: London, 1979. First published 1956. Book 4 in the 'Adventure' series. Preceded by ' Underwater Adventure. ' Followed by ' Whale Adventure. ' This fourth book in the 'adventure' series is a bit of an outlier in the series so far, in that it drops the idea of collecting animals altogether! Instead, as the title gives away, our heroes - the brothers Hal and Roger Hunt - join with a volcanologist, Dr Dan, to observe numerous volcanoes around the Pacific. The previous entry, Underwater Adventure, ended by suggesting that this was in order to figure out why a number of unusual eruptions had begun occurring in greater frequency, but the book ignores this. It doesn't really matter, after all! It was only an excuse to give the brothers a reason to begin this adventure; the point of the book is to tour a number of exotic locations and talk about the volcanoes within them, while giving some minor linking throug...

Published by Knight Books/Brockhampton Press Ltd: Leicester, England, 1973. First published 1955. Book 3 in the 'Adventure' series. Preceded by ' South Sea Adventure. ' Followed by ' Volcano Adventure. ' Picking up straight after the end of South Sea Adventure , and still based in the same region of the world (the Pacific Ocean, particularly around the Marshall Islands), Underwater Adventure sees Hal and Roger Hunt continuing their animal gathering expeditions. This time, however, the focus is a little different, with the brothers (and their friend Omo from the previous book) joining forces with Dr Blake, a scientist with the Oceanographic Institute, to explore (surprise, surprise) the underwater world. Although there is still some animal collecting, the focus is far more on scientific discovery and trialling of various 'cutting edge' underwater technology (such as aqualungs, diving bells, and even snorkels - which I guess were cutting edge in 1955). As ...

Published by Knight Books: Leicester, Great Britain, 1968. First published 1952. Book 2 in the 'Adventure' series. Preceded by ' Amazon Adventure. ' Followed by ' Underwater Adventure. ' In this, the second book in the Adventure series, brothers Hal and Roger Hunt are sent to the 'South Seas' (aka, the Pacific) to collect various animals for the private aquarium of a rich steel magnate, including such things as a giant octopus and giant squid. The actual job only exists to get the plot in motion; we never really come back to the steel magnate at all. However, a secondary mission - to check on the secret pearl farm of an Oceanographic professor - is far more important to the proceedings, as it allows for the introduction of enemies, seeking to find the location of the pearl farm for themselves, and perhaps bring the boys to harm. As in the previous entry, South Sea Adventure has fairly obvious villains, heroic 'native' characters, unlikely escape...

Published by Penguin Books: North Shore, Auckland, NZ, 2006. I am currently involved in a national Teacher's Reading Challenge, in which books by New Zealand authors gain double points... so you'll be seeing a few more Kiwi authors over the next few months. This book, which was nominated for a Booker prize but didn't win, was lent to me by a co-worker who had just finished it. Her comment to me was that it felt a bit like a Pacific To Kill a Mockingbird, in the way the protagonist (a young girl) was witnessing dramatic and 'adult' events but interpreting them through the eyes of an innocent child. This is an apt description.  For the Teacher's Reading Challenge, I wrote a few notes on my thoughts while reading: "sweet - happy - nice - interesting - OMGWHATSHAPPENINGMAKEITSTOP!! - epilogue."  This is also an apt description. Mister Pip is told through the eyes of Matilda, a young girl from Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. When a civil war breaks out an...

Published by Random House New Zealand: Auckland, New Zealand, 2011. Another book I got from the school library as I was researching my Year 10 English module, Tupaia: The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook's Polynesian Navigator is a far more in-depth look at Tupaia than The Adventures of Tupaia was. Considering the time-frame of both releases, I have a strong suspicion that the other Tupaia book was based on this one. This is much more a traditional 'historical biography' than The Adventures of Tupaia, starting with an examination of life in Tahiti pre-European contact, then moving forward to the arrival of the Dolphin - the first European ship confirmed to have visited the island, though the possibility of others having visited earlier is discussed. Tupaia's role in these early encounters is highlighted, and when he eventually decides to join the crew of the Endeavour - the third ship to have visited - we have some understanding of his motivations.  Having the main sub...

Published by Allen & Unwin: Auckland, New Zealand, 2019. Text by Sina Meredith. Illustrations by Mat Tait. The second book I read cover to cover during my research for a Year 10 module, The Adventures of Tupaia tells the story of Captain Cook's Tahitian navigator and translator, Tupaia, as well as Tupaia's young assistant Taiata. The book is quite pictorial, with segments of it told in comic form and most pages having far more image than text, meaning that getting through it was a relatively simple process. The book also portrays the story through Tupaia's worldview, meaning that the character 'Oro - the Tahitian God of War - also has an influence on the story, occasionally appearing in scenes involving some conflict or another. When Tupaia and Taiata eventually die, this worldview is continued, as the final pages present a 'crossing over' poetic event of sorts focussing on the Tahitian beliefs about such things. By presenting the story of a lesser-known fig...