So I was enlightened when I read Beauty and the Beast on my Kindle. Jeanne-Marie wrote an abridged version in 1756 and it was later translated into English in 1757. Not bad, they translated fast, didn’t they?

In this story, Beauty is the youngest daughter of a merchant who had three sons and three daughters. Beauty’s two elder sisters were mean and only cared about themselves. They were jealous of Beauty who seemed perfect in every way.

The merchant lost his wealth and the family were forced to move to a farmhouse. A few years later, in the hopes of recovering his wealth, the merchant leaves for the city. Before he left, the sisters requested for dresses but Beauty only asked for a rose.

Unfortunately, the merchant could not regain his money, leaving him as poor as ever. He loses his way when returning home and finds shelter in a castle. Duh, he landed right in the home of the Beast! He eats and sleeps there for the night. The next morning, he could not resist plucking a rose from the garden for Beauty. The Beast appears and demands that in return, the merchant must sacrifice himself or one of his daughters. The merchant goes back home, tells his sad tale and Beauty offers herself up to the challenge.

That was my abridged version. Well, the story was longer than that but you could read it all under an hour. I enjoyed it somehow and simply ignored most of the stereotypes in the story.

Beauty = good, good, good, perfect!
Beast = kind, a bit stupid but smart at the same time.
The merchant = Loves his children very much but willing to sacrifice youngest daughter to the Beast.
Beauty’s sisters = self-centred, envious, cunning.
Beauty’s brothers = no personality.

Unlike The Little Mermaid, this fairy tale has a happy ending.

Have you read the story? Any thoughts on it?

It begins with ‘Mary’s Secret’ where Mary finds out from the angel Gabriel that she’s going to be the Mother of God.

After that, it’s a chronology of events right up until the birth of Jesus Christ.

There is a short prayer included at the end of every story. I love this one because of the way it’s written:

Dear God, thank You for the best secret: Jesus. Amen

What’s fun is that you don’t only read from the book to your kid but both of you could engage in some fun movements to bring the stories to life! For example,

The angel told Mary a special secret.
Put your fingers on your lips: shhhh.

You and your child will not find a dull moment while reading it.

Written by Robin Currie and illustrated by Constanza Basaluzzo, it is a sturdy board book with cute, colourful graphics to keep your kid (and you!) glued to the pages till the very end. Even if your baby decides to chew on the pages, the book won’t fall to bits.

This book is a recommended read during Christmas, of course. But don’t let it stop you from picking it up at other times of the year and re-reading with your child about the events that lead up to the birth of Jesus, which is the moment celebrated by Christians worldwide every Dec 25th!

***Thanks to Audra Jennings from The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy of this book.

After reading The Blue Umbrella, you’ll probably never look at weather or an umbrella the same way again. The entire story is centred on weather though it’s not as boring as small weather talk.

Ten-year-old Zac Sparks has just lost his mother. Apparently she died after being struck by lightning. Zac does not know who or where his father was and thought he had no other living relatives. But on the day of his mother’s funeral, two “aunties” appeared and fussed over him.

When the other mourners left, Auntie Esmeralda and Auntie Pris changed their tune. They bundled him up in their car and brought him back to their house in Five Corners. They refused to call him by his name and only addressed him as ‘Boy’. He was also forced to act as waiter at their birthday party and was not given any meals.

At the aunties’ house, he meets Butler, a very small and old man who works as a butler for the aunties. Butler tells Zac that the aunties are everybody’s aunties, which is weird. They also seem to hold some kind of authority over the other inhabitants of Five Corners. They are very, very old and Zac is curious over how old they really are.

Zac also meets Chelsea, a girl who doesn’t talk but is one of the few people who is pleasant with him. He befriends her brother Ches, an expert on weather. Zac also meets a blind balloon seller, Eldy who also doesn’t speak even though Zac thought he had a conversation with him. How, he wasn’t sure. Zac then gets to know about O, the “town drunk” who sings beautifully but is never seen.

The person who fascinates Zac the most is Sky Porter. Mr Porter owns Porter’s General Store which people say is haunted. Every morning through his bedroom window, Zac would watch Mr Porter welcome in the new day. Mr Porter would just stand with his umbrella on his arm, in front of his store as the day begins. Zac wonders what it’d be like to meet Mr Porter whom the Aunties extremely dislike.

When he finally does meet him and is offered a job at the store, Zac felt that he has met somebody that he could trust. But Zac walks around feeling troubled because he has to steal something from Mr Porter to give to Dada, a terrifying old man who happens to be the Aunties’ father. As long as he does not steal it, the Aunties would whack him with their beloved, mysterious cane.

If only some parts weren’t included or it wouldn’t be a 425-page book. I felt sorry for Zac who has just lost his mother and was forced to be a slave to horrible characters like the Aunties. It’s quite a lot for a 10-year-old to endure. No wonder he opened up to Sky Porter the way he did. I really liked this Porter character. He sounds like a pleasant enough fellow that it’s hard to believe most of the people in town stayed away from him.

What’s attractive about the book is the colourful cover which shows Porter standing in the doorway of his store. The story is okay for me and it is different from other fantasy novels. I liked how the author, Mike Mason could spin a simple theme such as weather into a welcoming read like this. I also liked the various characters in the novel. Each of them had their own striking individuality!

You can check out the interview with Mike Mason at the end of the book. There’s also a glossary for you to refer to should you not know the meaning of certain words found in the story. This is also Mason’s first novel.

***Thanks to Audra Jennings of The B&B Media Group for sending me a copy of this book to review.

Since Fanny’s an orphan, she’s been under the care of her two doting aunts and her uncle who’s her guardian. Fearing that Fanny will be tricked and hurt by Stacy, Abby tries to keep them apart. Well, she can’t really separate them but she keeps an eye on them whenever she can. Fanny is only 17 years old and Stacy’s much older. Therefore, it’s quite odd and disturbing to know that an older man would genuinely be interested in Fanny. There’s also been a case of unsuccessful elopement in Stacy’s past.

Now there’s another Calverleigh in the picture. It is Stacy’s uncle, Miles Calverleigh who has also tried to elope some 20 years ago. Because of that and as punishment, he’s been sent to live in India. Well, the prodigal son has since returned and he has set his sights on Abigail Wendover herself! Two Calverleighs showing interest in two Wendovers! It couldn’t be more fascinating.

Miles doesn’t seem to care for anyone else or what other people think of him. Although Abby tries to refrain herself from laughing out loud at the things that Miles say, she just couldn’t help chuckling every now and then during their conversations. They’re obviously falling for each other but can the Wendover family accept such a man as Miles Calverleigh, the known black sheep of his family?

The ending is a delightful one. I was curious to find out if Stacy will actually marry Fanny or if he’ll just ditch her because he can’t get approval from her aunt and uncle. Will Fanny also see his true colours and not put him on so high a pedestal?

I’m so glad Black Sheep has been a better read than Friday’s Child, the first Georgette Heyer book I’ve read. There are only 18 chapters in this book so it wasn’t quite a drag. I was pleasantly surprised to come across some funny parts in it and actually laughed at them. I don’t remember laughing once with Friday’s Child! Maybe I should give these books a chance.

***Thanks to Danielle Jackson from Sourcebooks for sending me this book to review.

I was sobbing away while reading the ending of The Book Thief. Yes, this book has that effect on you especially if you’re an emotional kind of person. I don’t wish to reveal the ending but I’ll tell you the beginning.

This book received a lot of attention and praises that I had really high expectations from it. However, the first 50 or 60 pages didn’t impress me much. I wasn’t used to the odd, short paragraphs and short sentences. But as I went on, the reading became enjoyable and I found myself lost in Liesel’s story.

As most of us who have already read or have an idea on what the book’s about, the narrator is Death. Death? Sounds frightening and morbid, don’t you think? Actually, it’s anything but that. Death sounds kind of melancholic and it’s (or he???) obsessed with talking about colours. I did not care about the colours though. Also, it’s not a totally depressing book. There are parts that can make you laugh too. Seriously, Death can also joke.

Okay, so I read about Liesel’s story. She’s the book thief because she steals books so she can read them later. While travelling to Munich with her mother and brother on a train, her brother dies. He was only six. Liesel would be sent to live with foster parents at Himmel Street. That was in 1939. She does not meet her mother again.

Liesel’s foster parents are Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Hans is a really cool and kind foster father. The total opposite of his loud-mouthed, cursing wife, Rosa. Because of his caring and calm nature, Liesel warms up to him. He comforts her when she wakes up from recurring nightmares of her dead brother and he teaches her to read after those nightmares. He’s like the father she never had.

Anyway, Liesel makes new friends with the kids from her neighbourhood, particularly with her neighbour, Rudy Steiner, who obviously likes Liesel a lot and is always asking her for a kiss whenever the opportunity seems right. Rudy and Liesel become best friends and they always go on stealing sprees together.

I guess my favourite character in the book would be Max Vandenburg. He’s a Jew and with the Hubermanns’ help and permission, he hides in their basement. He feels sorry for putting them to so much trouble but they can’t turn away a man whose father once saved Hans’ life. The sub-chapter, “Liesel’s Lecture”, was an emotional one. It’s where Hans tries to make Liesel understand the danger of spilling out an absolutely dangerous secret, which will ultimately cause unpleasant events.

Liesel and Max, they too become friends. Liesel would find newspapers for him to read and do crossword puzzles. They would sit together in the basement, each doing their own reading. They share a strong bond and you could feel Liesel’s sadness and sorrow when they’re separated later.

All in all, it’s a riveting and keeps you glued to the pages kind of book. It does not have a strong introduction but if you keep on reading, you won’t regret it. Of course, I assume that you’ll keep on reading to find out what happens to all the characters. Read the book and I hope you’ll like it like I do.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Nymeth, Laura, Leah, Kristine, Reading Monk, Rimi, Natasha, Alessandra, nylusmilk, Zeek, Tricia, Fresh Ink Books, Aaron, The Book Coop

Anyway, the whole family, that is, Father, Mother, Gretel or The Hopeless Case, and Bruno have to move because Father has been given an important job by The Fury (Führer). Bruno is reluctant to leave his home in Berlin and also his 3 best friends for life, Karl, Daniel and Martin. He just doesn’t like the idea of moving to a whole new place at all.

When they arrive at their new 3-storey lifeless-looking house, Bruno feels that the place is devoid of any real joy and laughter. Then, in his own room, through his window, Bruno sees the concentration camp and its inhabitants. He sees only grown-up men and young boys but no women. He’s curious as to why they were all wearing the same grey striped pyjamas and were looking gloomy. Bruno’s only 9 and nobody will want to tell him who he’s really looking at. Even Gretel, his older sister, can’t think of anything suitable to explain the people they saw through the window.

Bruno wants to be an explorer when he grows up. He has always enjoyed exploring at his old 5-storey Berlin house and since the new house is not even worth exploring, he decides to take his exploration outdoors. Without anyone knowing, he walks towards the concentration camp and at a fence, he accidentally meets a small Jewish boy. Bruno’s pleasantly surprised to find out that both of them share the same birthday. The boy, who calls himself Shmuel, is just happy to sit and talk to Bruno. Bruno is delighted to have made a new friend.

Each day, they’ll sit and exchange stories about their different lives. Shmuel will tell Bruno about how he came to his ‘new home’ and how his mother had been taken away. Bruno listens but doesn’t really understand that his new friend is suffering. He assumes that there are vegetable and fruit stalls in the camp. He’s also jealous that Shmuel seems to have many friends to play with while he has nobody but Gretel and she was a Hopeless Case.

The friendship between the two lonely boys is endearing and it reminds me of the two boys from The Kite Runner. I finished this book in one day as it’s quite easy to read. It’s written like a book for children but I think that only older children should read it. Younger children might not really understand and also to handle the ‘heaviness’ of the story although it’s written in a light way! Parents may need to explain things to them though.

There’s no doubt that it’s an utterly good book which everyone should read. In a way, it’s about history but history only takes up a small portion of the book. It’s more about Bruno’s young life and his chance encounter with his new friend. Moreover, it’s a relatively sad story and I won’t be able to forget it for a long time.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Marg, nylusmilk, Papercuts, Steven, Carol, KittyCat, Natasha, Alice, Trish, Melody, Alessandra

However, I found some interesting words that do not exist, for example, squackling, biffsquiggled, flushbunking, and lots more! After all, it is a story book and it’s supposed to be superbly fun!

Anyway, one night, during the witching hour, Sophie, a bespectacled orphan girl, was ‘kidnapped’ by The BFG. She had seen him and the giant thought he had better bring her back to his home so that she couldn’t tell the whole of England and the whole world that she had seen a giant. The BFG then brought her back to his cave/home in Giant Country.

Sophie and The BFG soon strike an unlikely friendship. The BFG is kind and sympathetic and Sophie likes him. The other 9 giants in that country are horrible and they eat humans. Therefore, The BFG has to hide Sophie in his cave where she’ll be safe. And no, The BFG doesn’t gobble up humans.

Besides that, The BFG has excellent hearing. He can hear things that we can’t normally hear. For example, he can hear a flower scream when it’s being plucked. He can hear a terrible sound a tree makes when it’s being chopped. He can hear the beating of your heart even though you are quite a distance away from him.

The screaming flower and chopping tree parts are also told in The Sound Machine, also written by Roald Dahl. Dahl was probably passionate about preserving the environment and making the world a better place. In The BFG, The BFG is proud of being a giant because he says that giants don’t kill their own kind. So are the animals. Only humans go around killing each other, especially in terrible wars.

The BFG likes to collect dreams, too. The dreams are invisible but he can hear them. He catches the dreams with his net in Dream Country where the dreams float around invisibly. He then keeps his dreams in jars and at night, he blows the dreams into children’s bedrooms where they’re sleeping. The dreams that he gives to the sleeping children are always good and happy dreams.

Anyhow, one day, the human-eating giants decide to visit England to feast on English children. Sophie was horrified and insists that she and The BFG go to England to tell the Queen everything about the nasty giants. The BFG was afraid to go at first but after persuasion from Sophie, he agreed to help her capture the giants with the Queen’s help.

I like the ending of the story. Read it and then you’ll see how Dahl ends his story in a clever way.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Melange, T