Tag Archives: Roald Dahl

NEWS/EVENT THIS WEEK May 22-26th

NEWS/EVENTS, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dear Pint-sized Bookworms (and their mummies, daddies, aunties, uncles and teachers),

It’s a new week and boy, do I have news for you!

  1. PBW Reading Club

Our first reading club event will take place on Children’s Day, May 27th 2016 and we’re raring to go! The new Pint-sized Bookworms will be reading three books: HANDA’S HEN by Eileen Browne (read review here); AFRO: THE GIRL WITH THE MAGICAL HAIR by Okechulwu Ofili (read review here) and HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN COUNTRY by Valerie Wyatt (read review here) and two stories with lots of activities like word games, puzzles, and an arts and craft session. We will also have one author book reading by newbie author Nnenna Ochiche. She will read her new book, ADAEZE, THE TRUE PRINCESS (read review here).

 

  1. Connect Nigeria’s Writer’s Conference

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The annual conference for writers, ‘The Business of Writing’ organized by ConnectNigeria held two days ago at the Sleek Center, in Victoria Island, Lagos. It featured speakers like Okechuchukwu Ofili of Afro: The Girl with the Magical Hair, Eghosa Imasuen of Fine Boys, Efe Paul Azino, poet par excellence, Adebola Rayo of Artyliving and Director and screenwriter Ike Nnaebue. Yours truly attended with the latest Pint-sized Bookworm. More information on the conference can be found here.

  1. Movies  

a. Through the Looking Glass

The movie, Through the Looking Glass, sequel to Alice in Wonderland, will premier in the US on May 27th! Yes! Children’s Day! Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, it features actors like Anna Hathaway (Princess Diaries), Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. The movies are based on the books of the same title by Lewis Carroll. Be sure to read the two books before going to see the movie!

b. The BFG Movie

Fans of Roald Dahl and the BFG (read review here) will be glad to know that the BFG is about to hit the big screen. Premiering this July in the US, this sure to be blockbuster was directed by Stephen Spielberg and produced by Dreamworks!!! Can you imagine?! Definitely a feast for the senses!

You can find last week’s news here

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Happy Reading !!

The BFG: A Set of Plays

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

Title: The BFG: A Set of Plays

Author: Roald Dahl

Publisher: Puffin

Number of pages: 119

Type of Book: Classic, Fiction, Play

Age: 8+

Buy it here: http://www.amazon.com/The-BFG-Plays-Roald-Dahl/dp/0142407925; free download of The BFG (The Book not The Play) here: http://www.freeport.k12.pa.us/cms/lib2/PA01001445/Centricity/Domain/253/The_BFG.pdf; buy The BFG (The Book not The Play) here: http://product.chelisbookazine.com/product/the-bfg/

Price:$5.99; N1580

MY SUMMARY

Life is as normal as can be for little orphaned Sophie until one day, she spies a tall dark person in a black cloak, holding a large suitcase and a thin trumpet in his hands, walking on the street in the middle of the night. This person is not just any tall person, he’s four times taller than the average person. He’s a giant! This chance encounter sparks the beginning of the adventure of a lifetime as the giant thrusts his big thin hand in her window, snatches Sophie from her bed and takes her with him to Giant country! There Sophie meets all sorts of scary man-eating giants, visits the Dream Country, etc.  Read the book to learn about Sophie’s adventure with the giants and how she became an international sensation!

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP: The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) was the major highlight of the book! With his bad English and funny behaviour, he’s the type of character that readers never forget.  The book also sports detailed instructions on how kids can produce the play at home or in school including tips for sound effects and lighting, costumes, props, etc.

Use this for a school play, family play, etc. I recommend this book for kids aged 8 and above, their teachers and parents.  

DOWN:  None.

RATING

5 Stars 

TRIVIA

  1. The giants love eating these ……? Human Beings
  2. A ………………… to a giant is like a lovely ice cream lolly to humans? A nice Fat Eskimo.
  3. Who said this? ‘Upgoing bubbles is a catasterous disastrophe!’ The BFG.
  4. Child-chewing giants would rather eat children than old people because…? In the words of the BFG: ‘Little chiddlers is not so tough to eat as old grandmamma’
  5. The BFG held these in his hands? A very long thin trumpet and
  6. A large Suitcase

Read The BFG here: http://www.freeport.k12.pa.us/cms/lib2/PA01001445/Centricity/Domain/253/The_BFG.pdf

Visit here: www.roalddahl.com

CHALLENGE: The BFG: A Set of Plays

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

  1. Write a short play with 1 act and 2 scenes.

OR

  1. Draw a picture of the BFG using the details below:

There was something coming up the street on the opposite side. It was something black …
Something tall and black …
Something very tall and very black and very thin…

It wasn’t a human. It couldn’t be. It was four times as tall as the tallest human. It was so tall its head was higher than the upstairs windows of the houses…

The Giant (if that was what he was) was wearing a long BLACK CLOAK…

In one hand he was holding what looked like a VERY LONG, THIN TRUMPET. In the other hand, he held a LARGE SUITCASE…

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, April 10th 2016.

Next Book of the Week:

AFENI by Tolulope Popoola

The Witches

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

Title: The Witches

Author: Roald Dahl

Publisher: Puffin

Number of pages: 224

Type of Book: Classic, Fiction

Age: 8+

Buy it here: http://product.chelisbookazine.com/product/the-witches/ ;

http://www.amazon.com/Witches-Roald-Dahl/dp/014241011X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458518772&sr=1-3&keywords=the+witches; free download here: https://vk.com/doc14694589_297706035?hash=cec1ba58b5287a43eb&dl=05d2f01cc85afbead4

Price: N1580; $4.24

MY SUMMARY

Boy, the narrator lives with his grandmother. An ordinary boy living an ordinary life until his grandmother tells him stories about witches; then he meets the first witch and then he stumbles upon the annual meeting of ALL the witches in England!! Even worse, he finds out that the witches plan to do away with ALL the children in England by turning them into mice!!! Read the book to find out the truly exciting way that Boy foils the witches’ plan and pays them back for turning him into a mouse!

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP:  Everything!!! Everything!!!

DOWN:  None.

RATING

5 Stars 

TRIVIA

  1. A witch is always …………..? A woman
  2. What do the Witches hate more than anything in the world? Children.
  3. The grand plan of the Grand High Witch? To turn all the children in England into mice!
  4. How did she plan to do this? Using Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse-Maker
  5. What do the witches do to ‘Boy’ the narrator? They turn him into a mouse!
  6. The tale of the children who vanished because of witches? RH was lured away by a tall lady wearing gloves; SC took an apple from a lady and the very next day, she appeared in a painting in her home; BS turned into a chicken and laid eggs; H turned into stone and became an umbrella holder and L turned into a talking porpoise while was swimming.

Read the book here: https://vk.com/doc14694589_297706035?hash=cec1ba58b5287a43eb&dl=05d2f01cc85afbead4

Visit here: http://www.roalddahl.com/roald-dahl/stories/1980s/the-witches

CHALLENGE: The Witches

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

  1. Imagine waking up and realizing that you’ve become a mouse, then write a short 600-word story describing life as a mouse (the things you can see, feel, hear, taste, smell)

OR

  1. Draw a picture of the Dining room using the details below:

All over the Dining-Room women were screaming and strong men were turning white in the face and shouting, “It’s crazy! This can’t happen! Let’s get the heck out of here quick!” Waiters were attacking the mice with chairs and wine-bottles and anything else that came to hand. I saw a chef in a tall white hat rushing out from the kitchen brandishing a frying-pan, and another one just behind him was wielding a carving-knife above his head, and everyone was yelling, “Mice! Mice! Mice! We must get rid of the mice!” Only the children in the room were really enjoying it. They all seemed to know instinctively that something good was going on right there in front of them, and they were clapping and cheering and laughing like mad.

OR

  1. Write a 100-word short poem about a mouse

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, March 27th 2016.

Next Book of the Week:

THE BFG: A SET OF PLAYS by Roald Dahl

 

 

 

 

 

Matilda

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

Matilda-9780141346342Title:  Matilda

Author: Roald Dahl

Publisher: Puffin books                   

Number of pages: 240        

Type of Book: Fiction

Age: 8+

Available here: http://product.chelisbookazine.com/product/matilda/ or Plot 12 Johnson Street, Off Bode Thomas Road, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria and http://www.konga.com/matilda-1991425

Price: N1580 and N840

MY SUMMARY (without the ending):

This book is about a 5-year-old but do not be deceived, your 8-year-old may not be able to read it without a dictionary and/or some adult supervision.

Matilda is an absolutely delightful story about a tiny little genius called Matilda. Matilda is a well-behaved, mild-mannered child born to the nastiest set of parents in the world and schooling in a primary school with a most monstrous headmistress. Matilda’s parents are more interested in their work (Matilda’s Father), games (Matilda’s mother) and their son than their little girl. Miss Trunchbull her headmistress, hates little children and is fond of picking them up and throwing them out of windows or locking them in dark cupboards. In the midst of the madness and cruelty that she lives in, Matilda makes new friends and discovers that she has magical powers, which she uses to play (sometimes outrageous) practical jokes on her ‘enemies’: her parents and Miss Trunchbull.

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP: Humour! The book made me laugh and laugh and laugh. I loved the description of the characters especially Miss Trunchbull and Matilda’s parents. I loved the practical jokes Matilda played on her parents and Trunchbull.

I also loved the fact that this book contains references to so many other good books as well as a mini reading list. I think this is Dahl’s way of trying to get children to read more books. I enjoyed this book as a child and I appreciated it even more as an adult.

DOWN: None

RATING

5 stars

TRIVIA

  1. Hortensia got thrown into ‘The Chokey’ because she put this in Miss Trunchbull’s knickers? Itching powder
  2. What is ‘The Chokey’? A tall and narrow dark cupboard where Miss Trunchbull locked the children up to punish them.
  3. “Looking at her, you got the feeling that this was someone who could bend iron bars and tear telephone directories in half.’ Who was Matilda describing? Miss Trunchbull.
  4. Matilda loved doing this more than anything else? Reading Books
  5. Matilda’s magical powers shot from here? Her eyes
  6. Matilda played tricks on these people because she disliked them as much as she did Miss Trunchbull? Her parents

BONUS:

Matilda knew no parent would ever believe this story: That Miss Trunchbull picked Amada Thripp up by the hair and threw her across the playground.

Read an excerpt here: http://www.npr.org/books/titles/205190773/matilda#excerpt

Visit Matilda here: http://www.roalddahl.com/roald-dahl/stories/1980s/matilda

CHALLENGE

CREATE (WRITE a
Story/Poem OR DRAW)

  1. What do you think would have happened if Matilda hadn’t lost her magical powers? Write a different ending for the book. 150 words OR write a review of the book. 100 words.

OR

  1. Draw a picture
    of Miss Trunchbull based on her description in the book

OR

  1. Write a limerick about the importance of reading books

Send your answers to ugochinyelu.anidi@gmail.com

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

Answers must be submitted before 12:00am on Monday, October 18th.

Next Book of the Week

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF IZI AND LARRY THE DINOSAUR by Olusegun Akande