Tag Archives: Comedy

The Day the Crayons Quit

AGES 0 - 4, AGES 4 - 8, BOOK REVIEW, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FEBRUARY IS ‘COLOUR‘ MONTH

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Title: The Day the Crayons Quit

Author: Drew Daywalt

Publisher: Philomel Books

Number of pages: 40

Type of Book: Fiction

Age: 3 – 8

Buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/Day-Crayons-Quit-Drew-Daywalt/dp/0399255370 ; http://readingcorner.ng/P3052-The-Day-the-Crayons-Quit-C621.asp ; http://www.tamsinkbooks.com.ng/product/the-day-the-crayons-quit/

Price: $12:09; N2,200; N4,000

MY SUMMARY

There is a crisis in Duncan’s crayon box. When he opens it, he finds a stack of letters from his crayons, they’ve quit! Red and Blue are exhausted – from colouring so many hearts and apples, rivers and oceans – and need a break. Purple wants Duncan to colour inside and not outside the lines and Yellow and Orange are quarreling because they both claim to be the true colour of the sun. Read the book to find out how Duncan solves the problems in crayon-land.

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP: It tickled my funny bone, I loved it. If crayons had voices, they would probably say the things that the crayons in Duncan’s box had to say. Guaranteed to make your little artist laugh.

DOWN: None.

RATING

5 Stars

HAVE FUN WITH THIS BOOK

  1. Watch a read-aloud video here:

 CHALLENGE: The Day the Crayons Quit

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

  1. Draw a picture of a creature with 10 colours (3 – 6 year olds)
  2. Find ten colours in the crossword puzzle below (7 – 8 year olds)
Z D C Y H N M K D G J B X
V N O H G O N D S A M N O
K S A R E D B E I G E A N
H B G R A Y W K B L U E N
I W O L L E Y K R O E I T
O D S J A A G K N R S U S
O C N K L E T E G I D N A
L X S B A E L P R U P L F

Send your answers to ugochinyelu.anidi@gmail.com

Entry requirements: Entrants must be within the 3 – 8 age range. The first correct entry will be announced on this page and will win a copy of this book.

Answers must be submitted before 12:00am on Friday, February 16th 2018.

Next Book of the Week:

SLEEP WELL, SIBA AND SABA by Nansubuga Nagadya Isdahl

 

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photo credit: amazon.com

 

 

 

 

 

Twelfth Night

AGES 4 - 8, BOOK REVIEW, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Title: Twelfth Night

Author: William Shakespeare

Publisher: Usborne Publishing

Number of pages: 64

Type of Book: Fiction, Classic, Play

Age: 4 – 8

Buy it here: http://product.chelisbookazine.com/product/twelfth-night-young-reading-series-2/; https://www.amazon.co.uk/Twelfth-Night-Young-Reading-Two/dp/0746099002; Free Download here: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/twelfth_night/full.html

Price: N580; 4.99GBP

MY SUMMARY

Yet another play featuring a shipwreck, twins and a comic case of mistaken identity. Viola and her twin brother Sebastian are lost at sea after a shipwreck. Viola lands at Illyria and disguised as a boy (Cesario) goes to work for and falls in love with Duke Orsino. The Duke meanwhile is madly in love with the Countess Olivia and sends his trusted servant Cesario (Viola) to woo her on his behalf. In an interesting turn of events, the Countess falls in love with Cesario (Viola). Read the book to see how this love triangle is resolved and the chaos that ensues when Sebastian shows up at Duke Orsino’s court!

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP: Humour! As usual, the case of mistaken identity caused by identical twins makes for hearty laughter. The characters made this book a delightful read. The major highlight was Viola. Her asides were entertaining. The love-struck Duke Orsino was a highlight too. His silliness was comical. I recommend for all the members of the family.

DOWN: None

RATING

5 Stars

TRIVIA

  1. This play is also called What You Will
  2. It was named after a Christian holiday/festival, the Twelfth Night.
  3. It was first performed on the twelfth night of Christmas, the end of the Christmas season, in either 1601/1602[1]

HAVE FUN WITH THIS BOOK

  1. Read the story here (the original version): http://shakespeare.mit.edu/twelfth_night/full.html
  2. Visit William Shakespeare here: http://www.shakespeare-online.com

CHALLENGE: Twelfth Night

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

1. Read the information above, then answer the following questions (6-8 year olds)

  1. Who is Cesario?
  2. How are Viola and her brother separated?
  3. This play is also called ………. ?

OR

2. Draw and colour identical twins (a boy and a girl) (4-5 year olds)

Send your answers to ugochinyelu.anidi@gmail.com

Entry requirements: Entrants must be within the 4 – 8 age range. The first correct entry will be announced on this page and will win a copy of this book.

Answers must be submitted before 12:00am on Thursday, May 26th 2015.

Next Book of the Week:

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM by William Shakespeare

 

 

 

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night

The Tempest

AGES 4 - 8, BOOK REVIEW, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The-Tempest-303x450Title: The Tempest

Author: William Shakespeare

Publisher: Usborne Publishing

Number of pages: 48

Type of Book: Fiction Classic

Age: 4 – 8

Buy it here: http://product.chelisbookazine.com/product/the-tempest-young-reading-series-2/; http://www.amazon.com/Tempest-Young-Reading-Two/dp/140950672X; Free Download here: http://sparks.eserver.org/books/shakespeare-tempest.pdf

Price: N580; $7.58

MY SUMMARY

A play of treachery, romance and the triumph of good over evil. There are three plots to usurp in this play. The first is mildly successful. 1. Prospero, the Duke of Milan loses his dukedom to his brother Antonio with the help of the King, Alonso. The second and third are not. 2. Antonio and Sebastian, King Alonso’s brother plan to kill the latter so that Sebastian can become king. 3. Some of the King’s and Prospero’s servants plan to kill Prospero to take over his island. Prospero who doubles as a sorcerer causes a magical storm and shipwreck which brings Antonio, Sebastian, Alonso and his son Ferdinand, and some Lords to the desert island where he has lived for over a decade (since his brother took his dukedom). Here he contrives to use magic to scare them into repentance. Read the book to find out how Prospero regains his beloved Dukedom and how his daughter Miranda marries the Prince.

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP: It’s a heartwarming romantic comedy that lives you with a good feeling long after you’ve put the book down. The major highlight for me was Prospero!

DOWN: None

RATING

4.5 Stars

TRIVIA

  1. This play was written in the 15th century!
  2. It was one of the last set of plays written by Shakespeare. (It is thought by many to be the last play he wrote)
  3. The epilogue by Prospero is believed to be Shakespeare’s way of saying goodbye to writing and his readers!

HAVE FUN WITH THIS BOOK

  1. Read the story here (the original version): http://sparks.eserver.org/books/shakespeare-tempest.pdf

CHALLENGE: The Tempest

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

A. Read the summary above, then answer the following questions (6-8 year olds)

  1. How many children does Prospero have?
  2. What are the names of Prospero’s and the King’s children?
  3. How did Prospero bring his brother Antonio and King Alonso to his island?

OR

B. Draw and colour a magician and a sinking ship (4-5 year olds)

Send your answers to ugochinyelu.anidi@gmail.com

Entry requirements: Entrants must be within the 4 – 8 age range. The first correct entry will be announced on this page and will win a copy of this book.

Answers must be submitted before 12:00am on Friday, May 13th 2015.

Next Book of the Week:

TWELFTH NIGHT by William Shakespeare

 

 

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The Comedy of Errors

AGES 8 - 12, BOOK REVIEW, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Title: The Comedy of Errors

Author: William Shakespeare

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Number of pages: 272

Type of Book: Classic, Fiction

Age: 8+

Buy it here: http://www.amazon.com/Comedy-Errors-Folger-Shakespeare-Library/dp/0743484886/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= ; free download here (unabridged version for older readers): http://www.pubwire.com/DownloadDocs/PDFiles/SHAKESPR/COMEDY/COMEDYOF.PDF

Price: $5:99

MY SUMMARY

This story is one of mistaken identity and as is common with stories of this nature, what follows is chaos for the characters and laughter for the readers. One fateful night, two women gave birth to a set of identical twin boys each. The first woman was a wealthy merchant’s wife from Syracuse, the other, a poor woman. The latter sold her twins as servants to the former’s twins. Shortly after, the merchant and his family were caught in a storm at sea; the wife and a set of twins (one son and one servant) was lost. Distraught, the merchant named the surviving boys after the lost boys. Many years later, both boys (Antipholus of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus) and their servants (Dromio of Syracuse and Dromio of Ephesus) happened to be in the town of Ephesus at the same time. This led to mass confusion, a lot of beatings, some arrests, an almost exorcism and riotous laughter!

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP: Humour! It lives up to its title. Most stories featuring identical twins are filled with laughter, this one features two sets of identical twins so its twice as much fun! I recommend for all the members of the family.

DOWN: None

RATING

5 Stars

TRIVIA

  1. The story is set in the city of Ephesus
  2. Egeon, (the father of the twins) must do this to avoid being executed the next day? Give a thousand marks to the Duke of Ephesus.
  3. While dining in his brother’s house, (he’s mistaken for his brother) Antipholus of E does this: he woos his brother’s wife’s sister!
  4. Antipholus of Ephesus suffers this as a result of the mix-up: He’s locked out of his own house
  5. His wife thinks he has gone mad and begs an exorcist to cure him.
  6. He’s accused of refusal to pay a debt and he’s locked up in prison.

Visit William Shakespeare here: http://www.shakespeare-online.com

Watch the play here:

CHALLENGE: The Comedy of Errors

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

  1. Write a 600-word comedy of errors. (8 – 9 year olds)

OR

  1. Write a 1000-word comedy of errors (10-12 year olds)

Send your answers to ugochinyelu.anidi@gmail.com

Entry requirements: Entrants must be within the 8-12 age range. The first correct entry will be announced on this page and will win a copy of this book.

Answers must be submitted before 12:00am on Sunday, May 1st  2016.

Next Book of the Week:

MERCHANT OF VERNICE by William Shakespeare