Who was Lewis Carroll? By Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso

Review by: 5A (21) Ma Tsz Tung

Summary of the book:

This book was talking about Lewis Carroll, the man who created ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Lewis is full of curiosity and perseverance. He once asked his father about some complicated Mathematics problems. His father said that Lewis was too young to understand them at that time but Lewis nodded and said, ‘But, please explain!’ In 1862, Lewis created the world of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ when he was enjoying a day on the water with friends. The book was published in 1865.

Recommendation:

Because of his curiosity, imagination, and determination, Lewis has created ‘Alice in Wonderland’. The world depicted in the book is crazy but wonderful. Nowadays, this book is one of the most famous fairy tales in the world. I want to recommend ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to other students to encourage them to stay curious and be persevered all the time. Curiosity and Perseverance will lead us to success.

A Scandal in Bohemia by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Review by: 4A (27) Luo Zhi Mei

Summary of the book:

Sherlock Holmes received a letter and asked him to help. Sherlock Holmes thought he was the King of Bohemia. The king explained that he engaged in a secret relationship with Irene Adler. Now he was set to marry a princess. He worried that she would use a photograph showing him and her together as blackmail against him. He requested Sherlock Holmes to retrieve the photograph. One day, Holmes Sherlock returned to Irene’s home and signaled to Watson. Watson threw in a smoke-rocket and yelled that there was a fire. Then, Holmes knew where the photo was hidden. The next morning, they arrived at Irene’s home and tried to collect the photo. But a woman informed them that Irene had already left England and took the photo with her. Finally, The King was satisfied with this outcome to the case and Sherlock Holmes requested a photo of Irene.

Why you would like to recommend this book:

In the story, there are many characters worth learning. First, Sherlock Holmes has insight into what is going on. Through the peculiarities of the anonymity letter, he deduced that the writer of the letter is from Bohemia. Second, Irene is a high moral woman. She promised not to expose the King’s indiscretion and prevent the King from marrying another woman. Finally, everyone must think Sherlock Holmes is the most intelligent. But in this story, you can find a woman who bested him and you will feel surprised.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Review by: 3C (26) Lam Ka Yan, Jocelyn

Summary of the book:
Howl’s Moving Castle is about a love story between an unconfident young girl named Sophie, who is cursed to live in an old body by a spiteful witch, and a handsome magician who lives in a moving castle named Howl. Sophie flees into the hills where the moving castle is in order to find a way that can help her become young again. Inside the castle, she makes a promise with the fire demon Calcifer to help it escape from Howl. While Sophie is staying in the castle, Howl falls in love with her for her kind heart instead of her appearance. At last, Sophie becomes young again and finds her true thought, therefore living happily ever after with Howl.

Why you would like to recommend this book:
I like the book because of the core message behind the story - “be yourself ”. I think it’s what we should learn. In the story, when Sophie still looks young, she is very capable and pretty. However, she has no confidence in herself. Feeling depressed, she has an inner self that is equivalent to a 90-year-old woman. On the contrary, when Sophie is cursed to look old on the outside, she no longer cares about the others’ opinion and therefore can express her inner thoughts more sincerely. This tells us there won’t be any happiness in any stage in our lives if we are not true to ourselves. I believe students will be inspired by the story, so I strongly recommend the book “Howl’s Moving Castle”.

The Bark In Space by Trina Robbins
Review by: 2C (27) Cheung Ngo Yi, Natalie

Summary of the book:
One day, the only dog detective on Earth, Bradley, was assigned to a mission. He was told to find a dog princess, Alas. Last month, Alas ran from her home planet, Fnarf III (a planet which is full of dogs) and went to the planet Earth. Unfortunately, she was caught by a crazy scientist who wanted to do experiments on her to find out more about her home planet. Therefore, Bradley invented a machine to find Alas. After a long investigation, he finally found and rescued Alas.

Why you would like to recommend this book:
I would like to recommend this book, for it is very interesting. you can imagine that you are the detective, and take part in the investigation. The investigation is thrilling and full of surprises. The drawing and illustration in the book add to the thrill as they are very beautiful and exquisite. The vocabulary is also quite easy to understand. In a nutshell, I like the book very much.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Review by: 1D (32) So Yan Wai

Summary of the book:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a story about a man called Willy Wonka who is in charge of a chocolate factory. He wants to find an heir, so he makes a plan. He makes five Golden Tickets that are placed in five random Wonka Bars and sends them to the different parts of the world. People who get the tickets will be invited to go to the chocolate factory to pass a test. And Charlie gets one of the golden tickets. After the test, Charlie passes the test but the others fail, so Charlie becomes the heir. But Willy Wonka has a condition - Charlie cannot live in the factory with his family. Charlie refuses him. Charlie doesn’t want to be the heir because he thinks family is more important than the factory. After Charlie goes away, Willy Wonka understands family is really more important than his factory. In the end, Charlie lives in the Chocolate Factory with his family and Willy Wonka.

Why you would like to recommend this book:
I would like to recommend the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory because the story is fun and creative. Inside the factory, all the things are made of chocolate and thus, can be eaten. Besides, I admire Charlie as he is kind. He teaches us that family is more important than anything else in the world. Even if the factory can make him rich, he declines the offer but chooses his family. Some characters in the story are not worth learning and we should remind ourselves not to make the same mistakes as they do. One of them is Veruca, who is a little girl spoiled by her parents. She comes from a rich family. However, because of her parents, she becomes willful, so she can’t win the jackpot. Another example is the boy named Augustus. He likes eating sweet things very much because he is gluttonous. Once he gets inside the chocolate factory, he falls into the chocolate river, so he cannot win the jackpot. I think some characters in the book are worth learning and some characters are not, so I want to recommend this book.