The greatest storyteller of our time!

If you ever doubted that Philip Pullman is the greatest storyteller of our time, here's the book to assuage those doubts. This tale of the first meeting of Lee Scoresby between Iorek Byrnison combines adventure, mystery, excitement and humour in one delicious package. Like the other reviewers my only complaint is that I was left wanting much, much more. Having said that, it is the brevity of the story that proves to my mind why Pullman is such a great teller of tales. This is a book for children and adults alike, and while you could read it to your children in the course of a rainy afternoon, you will return to it again and again when your children are in bed to enjoy time and again the richness of the descriptions and the humour of the dialogue and to delight in Lee's relationship with his daemon Hester.<br />The board game that is included with the book is another treasure which subverts traditional board games in that it is the"loser" of the balloon race (i.e the last player to reach the centre) who actually wins!

Brilliant !!!

My daughter is 5 and loves it, I am quite a bit older and love it and nanny loves it too. Fab illustrations, fun story just great

"Don't judge a book by it's cover????"

Another wonderful book from Giles Andreae. The other animals laugh at Gerald the Girafe because gangly"Girafes can't Dance" but Gerald learns from an unusual source that he can dance wonderfully when he can hear his own music. A real treaure that teaches children and adults alike that appearances can be deceptive and we must look past the cover. Look past this books cover and you find yourself on a magical road to self awareness. A great tool for discussing all forms of prejudice or just a wonderfully funny book. Read and enjoy whilst reader and child learn a valuable lesson for life.

Wow (:

I can't really say that much without giving away the plot, but this is an amazing book and my personal favourite in the series so far!<br /><br />DARREN SHAN FTW (:

Fantastic books but the film ruins the 1st book

There is only one way to describe the adaption of the book into the film they have murdered it!! I saw the film then thought I would read the books. I found the Northern Lights hard to get into and to concentrate on it due to the way the film massacred it by completely ultering the storyline, I continued to read the Subtle Knife and the Amber Spyglass and they were absouletly amazing I was absorbed into the books within seconds and couldn't put them down. Phillip Pullman transports you into a world only accessable through good literature. My only regret about these books is that I saw the film first! Read the books then if you want to see the film do it that way round otherwise the books will be spoilt for you!

Stunning - not just for teenage girls

I'm a 46 year old mum and I always have a book on the go - sometimes heavy, sometimes light. I picked this up in the supermarket, not initially realising that it was aimed at teens.I was absolutely hooked. The story is fast moving and absorbing and when I came to the end, I was straight out to buy the next instalment, and then the next (even coughing up for the hardback - I simply couldn't wait for the paperback!).<br />The trilogy is great - if you teach seniors, encourage them to read it. If you have teenage daughters who are sick of reading beyond homework and school, encourage them to try it. Friendship, comaradary, tension, love (invited and unrequited), a choice of two heros and a hefty dose of sexual temptation (with agonising restraint). At the end of it all, they'll decide for themselves who the girl should have chosen. I'm sure they will love it.

simply fantastic

The whole family loves to read this book. The story, the pictures, the repetative whoosh they were gone and the happy ending makes it a great fun to both read and listen to. I can see it getting better and better as we explain about the different landscape pictures and the spell and the new broom as my daughter gets older.<br /><br />

A real gem (review by a mum and a teacher)

I absolutely love this book, it is beautifully written and illustrated. A great book for opening up you child's eyes to the"world that is wide". This is the kind of book that leaves a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

What Are You All Talking About!?!?!?!

i think if you say this book is a let down after the first one your crazy. It is easily as good, i think better, than the first one. Unlike the first one this book cuts out one of the main characters of the book Edward for the majority however do not let this put you off, while he is away meyer builds character depth and Isabellas relationships with many people, mainly Jacob Black. I found this book alot more exciting than the first, were as in the first it all went wrong in the end in this book multiple things start going wrong after very little reading starting with Edward leaving. I think meyer developes Isabella beautifully in this book the way she descibes Isabellas sadness is wonderful and very real. All in all this is a fabulous book well worth reading, if you liked the first book you'll love this. P.S whoever said this book was Emo, your an idiot.<br /><br />Sam Mason <br /><br />

best book ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think this book is briliant because once I started reading it I just could not stop!!<br />Derek landy has created some amazing character's and I really started beliving the character's wherse real!!<br />if you are thinking about buying this book get it!!!!!! also it has got brilliant artwork on the cover and back!<br />every time you turn the page something exiting happens! I rate this book 10 out of 10 and the 1st book is<br />brilliant aswell!!!!<br /><br /><br /><br />by Rafi age:8

A welcome return to the amazing Alex Rider series

Barcode: 9781406309355<br /><br />So, after 2005's Ark Angel, still an extremely good book, but not as much so as the stunning Scorpia, Anthony Horowitz diversified into his equally good Power Of Five series but now i am pleased to say, Alex Rider is back and Snakehead is a resounding success.<br /><br />Far more gritty than any of the other novels in the series, this one sees Alex tavelling to the depths of Asia and the harsh outback of Australia in what is arguably his most physically demanding and tense adventure yet. The plot is lightning slick as always and you learn some extremely interesting secrets later on in the book.<br /><br />What i think let Ark Angel down was it began to become too unbelievable, and didn't feature as much of the complex character interactions and deep cover stories that made Scorpia so thrilling. In this novel though, the plot hinges off Alex disguising himself as an Asian imigrant in order to ingratiate himself into the Snakehead's workings and the resulting storyline is fascinating as is Alex's interactions with fellow character, Ash.<br /><br />As always, you become so close to Alex you can really feel every punch and battering he goes through and that only adds to the tension. I think Anthony Horowitz is one of the greatest writers around today and Snakehead is yet more proof of his brilliance.

My Sister Jodie

This book was very well written. Its main characters are the Wells family and the based around them and their move to the country.<br />It follows their lives as they settle into their new school and describes the friends that they make and the different adventures that they have. The story ends on a brighter note though with one of the sisters Pearl discovering that she is going to have another sister.<br />I really enjoyed this book. I think it would appeal more to girls as it is written about two sisters.

Amazing

My children entertained for more than 30 minutes.<br />It is a good book then.<br />They have to make their own story.<br />Great concept<br />

An enduring favourite

Long after having bought this book it is still a firm favourite with my children. The story, which is told in rhyme, has a nicely rhythmic quality that gives the book an almost soothing feel. The illustrations by Alex Scheffler are first class and look bold and colourful. I have yet to see a Donaldson/Scheffler book that either I or my kids haven't liked.

Great Books!

My son is 13 and got the first 4 in the series of Cherub Books for Christmas - best pressie!! He read them within a couple of weeks and asked for the next ones in the series. Just finished reading the latest one and has loved them! I even read the first one (I like to have an idea what he is reading about!) and thoroughly enjoyed it too (even made me cry in one part!). How great that an author can so enthrall teenagers!

A classic book for 2 generations of our family!

This book about the greedy caterpillar was my younger brother's favourite when he was a child. He always found it very funny when the caterpillar got fat after eating all the food. Whilst I was pregnant with my son, I discovered that you could get this in a board book version, so I didn't hesitate to buy it (even though my Mum still has the paperback version in the loft). I'm glad I went for this because my son would have tore the pages out otherwise. <br />I had read it to my son as a young baby and he wasn't that interested. Then they had a fancy dress day at his nursery for World Book Day and I dressed him as a caterpillar and sent him with this book. I read the book to him and he just loves it now too. (I am sick of it personally, because I had to read it so many times!). I would heartily recommend it.

Worth reading, very short though!

If you've read the His Dark Materials books and enjoyed them you should read this.<br />There aren't very many pages but as it is set 2 years after the Amber Spyglass it will at least go some way to satisfying your curiosity as to what happened next with Lyra.<br />There's a map of Oxford (amongst other things) which i must say confused me as it indicated Mary Malone's house which if i remember correctly was in Will's universe rather than Lyra's, a red herring perhaps?<br />Anyway it's an enjoyable read though far too short, i look forward to"The Book Of Dust" and i think it won't be very long before i re-read"The Amber Spyglass" which for me was by far the highlight of the trilogy.<br />If you've not read the trilogy you shouldn't even attempt this book, but i suggest you should read those first three straight away!<br />Don't be put off by them being in the teens/childrens sections, the main characters may be in their early teens but the themes have more than enough depth for an older reader.

The goat chewed the curtains and trod on the egg, then sat down to nibble a table leg!

I bought this for my son who is about to turn three and it has become a firm favourite. The fun rhyming text makes him laugh out loud, particularly"The goat chewed the curtains and trod on the egg, then sat down to nibble a table leg" and the bit where the cow does a jig on the table. The pictures are equally entertaining and my son will happily sit and study the book on his own and chat about what is going on in the nice clear pictures. There is nothing crude or scary about this book. It is simply a fun tale that teaches the child to appreciate what he or she has. My son loves this book, and if your child appreciates animals doing mad things, then yours will too.