29th December, 2007
The Usborne Book of Art Projects by Fiona Watt
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I bought this book yesterday at Popular as I was looking around the bookstore for any book that will have any artsy ideas for making greeting cards and other arty stuff. My friends were at the Chinese section of art and craft books and unfortunately, I can’t read Chinese so I wandered over to the English art and craft book section.
Now why didn’t I ever go to that section before? Whenever I enter a bookshop, I always head to the Fiction books section. Well, I used to visit the revision books section too but not anymore.
This book captured my interest right from the very first page. The instructions for each art project are simple and that’s why this book is suitable for kids who want to make fun stuff. Like greeting cards, for example. Instead of buying one card for around RM2.90, why not make one yourself? There’s the personal touch too and the receiver would be so happy to know that you made the card yourself!
In this book, there are interesting art tricks that you can use if you’re designing anything from cards to photo frames. You don’t need too many expensive materials to get you started on your art projects. You can even create a masterpiece from a piece of eraser!
Also, colourful pictures are included so you will know exactly what you are making. Pictures with instructions, everything is laid out for you. All you need to do is find the materials, which are easy to find and then you can embark on your project.
I’ll try one of the projects in this book later, then I’ll show you how it turned out!
Buy The Usborne Book of Art Projects (Miniature Editions)
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Posted in Authors W, Nonfiction, Titles U at 5:52 am | Comments (5)
5th December, 2007
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Probably this book became even more popular after a movie based on this story came out in cinemas. Unfortunately, I did not watch the whole movie yet and I think that Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka is quite suitable. After all, Mr. Wonka is an eccentric character and I’m sure Depp plays the role to perfection.
Anyway, the hero is Charlie Bucket and his family is extremely poor. His father is the only one in his family who is working but his pay is not enough to buy the proper amount of food for his whole family. Also, Charlie’s grandparents are very old and they stay on their bed all day and night. But, everyday, Charlie will sit on the bed and talk with his grandparents. This cheers them up despite having to live in such poor conditions.
And every day on the way to school, Charlie passes Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. When Charlie’s birthday was coming up, something exciting happened too. After so many years since he’s reopened his chocolate factory, Willy Wonka is inviting 5 children to visit his factory. He’s inserted 5 golden tickets in 5 random chocolate bars and the lucky 5 kids who find those tickets can see what it is like inside the factory.
As luck would have it, Charlie is the fifth person to find the last Golden Ticket. The other four lucky finders are Augustus Gloop – a boy who loves to eat, Veruca Salt – a rich, spoilt brat, Violet Beauregarde – a girl who likes to chew on chewing gum, and Mike Teavee – a boy who always watches television. Aren’t they an interesting mix?
The day of the visit is on Feb 1. Charlie is accompanied by his Grandpa Joe. As they enter the factory, all the visitors are overwhelmed by the beauty and the heavenly chocolatey smell there. Wow, wouldn’t I want to drink a cup of melted chocolate from the chocolate river? How I wish there’s a real Chocolate Room somewhere like the one in Wonka’s factory!
Besides that, the children got to see Willy Wonka’s secret workers, the Oompa-Loompas! These Oompa-Loompas are small people who love singing and eating cacao beans. It’s certainly a magical chocolate factory and new surprises lie in wait for all the visitors. Good and bad surprises.
The book that comes after Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Oh, Dahl probably doesn’t like the television very much. The joy and wonders of reading is clearly stressed in one of the Oompa-Loompas’ songs!
Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Tatiana, 20223banana, Alice
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Posted in Authors D, Children's Books, Fantasy, Humour, Modern Classics, Science Fiction, Titles C at 12:04 pm | Comments (10)
3rd December, 2007
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
A well known book and has gained numerous excellent book reviews though some book bloggers couldn’t finish it. Well, I did complete the book. The language was easy and it was quite a quick read. However, some parts of the book were too deep for me and I’m too tired to understand everything in it. But, never mind, at least I got the gist of it all. After reading, you may want to consider to really follow your dream, like what Santiago did!
The title is ‘The Alchemist’ but it isn’t wholly about an alchemist. The alchemist only appears halfway through the book. All the while, the story is about a young boy, Santiago, who is in search of some hidden treasure near the pyramids of Egypt. That’s what a gypsy lady told him after she interpreted some dream he had dreamt a few times.
Santiago was a shepherd and understood his sheep but he gave them up so that he could look for the treasure. During his journey, he met several interesting characters who guided him towards his goal. He’s met the gypsy lady, a king who wanted his sheep, a crystal merchant, an English man and many others. He even fell in love with a woman of the desert.
Then, there’s all this stuff about Personal Legend, the Soul of the World, the Language of the World, etc, which is all quite complicated. Perhaps I just wasn’t alert enough to really understand everything. Anyway, there are words of wisdom that one could use through life. It’s kind of like a motivation book. A book that gives hope to the despondent. My favourite part of the book is on page 86 where a camel driver tells Santiago:
“Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man.”
That makes a whole lot of sense, don’t you think? No use worrying about the past or the future. It just won’t bring anyone any good.
If you have read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, then you’d definitely be familiar with the Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Life. The functions of both items are explained more in this book. So, that part’s quite fascinating.
While reading, I had suspicions that the ‘treasure’ wouldn’t be a physical thing. The ending was a surprise anyhow. It’s an okay book for me – some parts were too deep and boring. Or like I said, perhaps I didn’t give this book a chance. I will try reading it again later on.
Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Zeek, Alice, QuaChee, Just A Reading Fool, Bibliolatry
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Posted in Authors C, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Titles A at 1:28 pm | Comments (10)
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