A new chapter

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/07/2024 (438 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The first batch of reviews for the fifth Free Press Summer Reading Challenge for Kids are in, and as always our young readers have delivered a five-star collection of critiques.

The Summer Reading Challenge began at the end of June, with participants encouraged to read the book(s) with a critical eye and offer feedback for potential readers — what they did and didn’t like, whether the book is recommendation-worthy — and rate it out of five stars.

With the second batch of reviews set to run at the end of August, there’s still plenty of time for kids to join the Summer Reading Challenge for Kids. Visit wfp.to/kidsbookclub to register for free and for more information about all the books on three reading lists (7 to 9 years, 10 to 12 years and 13 to 15 years).

Once registered, you’ll receive email updates including instructions and deadlines for submitting reviews as well as reading guides for each book. Any questions can be sent to bookclub@winnipegfreepress.com.

And kids: feel free to send more than one review if you’re inspired!

---

Julia on the Go! Swimming Into Trouble

By Angela Ahn, illustrated by Julie Kim

Tundra, 176 pages, $18

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

I liked how Julia’s friends helped her stop her ear infection. I liked how her friends were helpful. I thought the book was interesting. There weren’t any parts I didn’t like.

★★★ out of 5 stars

— Natalie Neufeld, age 7

---

The Skull

By Jon Klassen

Candlewick Press, 112 pages, $22

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

The Skull by Jon Klassen is a bit weird and it leaves you with a lot of questions, but I personally like it. The author tells you that it is his vision of a folktale and that, in the end of the original version, Otilla didn’t let go of the skull all night while the headless skeleton tries to get the skull from Otilla… but that’s the original version, not this story.

It is a bit spooky but not scary. I give it five stars because I still think about it and I’d read it again.

★★★★★ out of 5 stars

— Stephanie Boon, age 9

 

I was so excited to get this book because it is my favourite book. I give it five out of five stars.

It is about a little girl named Otilla who finds a talking skull that drinks tea and eats pears (even though it all goes through it). Every night a headless skeleton tries to find the skull. The skull is scared of the skeleton and Otilla wants to defend the skull.

I think it makes her kind of cool that she watches the skeleton burn to ashes while she drinks tea.

It is really good artwork. It looks like it is drawn with pencils and pencil crayons. It is dark, mostly black and white but with some colour.

The first time I read this book I found it scary and was confused about what was happening. After reading it a couple times I understand what is happening so it is not scary to me anymore. It might still be scary to other people.

★★★★★ out of 5 stars

— River Kovacs, age 9

I really enjoyed reading The Skull. It was the first book I read of the set of books for this summer reading challenge.

The book starts one night a girl named Otilla ran away from home. She finds a very big house in the woods, and a skull who lives there opens the door for Otilla. The skull shows Otilla around the house and then they get ready for bed.

That night Otilla finds out a secret about the skull. A skeleton that is missing its head comes out every night to catch the skull.

My favourite part is when Otilla tricks the skeleton and pushes it off the highest tower and it falls to the ground and breaks into many pieces. Then Otilla takes the bones and smashes them and then burns them and then takes the ashes and drops them down a very deep hole. It was good to think about other scary things where you could do the same thing to them.

I also thought it was funny when Otilla feeds the skull or gives the skull tea and it goes right through the skull and lands on the floor. The drawings are excellent and made the story easy to read, but I prefer graphic novels so I give the book 4.5 stars out of 5.

★★★★1/2 out of 5 stars

— Rafaela LeGoff, age 9

I would give The Skull 4.5 stars. This book was weird in a good way and sort of mysterious. I also liked it because it was not a very common topic for a book.

My favourite part is when the main character Otilla throws the headless skeleton off the tower. Overall, it was a good book.

★★★★1/2 out of 5 stars

— Jacob Burbano McFee, age 9

---

The Secret of the Ravens

By Joanna Cacao

Clarion Books, 272 pages, $20

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

The Secret of the Ravens by Joanna Cacao is about two siblings named Elliot and Liza who take part in Raven Quests, which are magical missions to retrieve materials for ravens and are rewarded with money. The ravens tell them to retrieve the venom of a titan snake, but before they can get it, Liza is poisoned!

Elliot bumps into a kind kid named Seb who tells him about a mage in the forest who can heal Liza. Or so they think! There are more twists and turns, but if you want to know how it ends, you’ll have to read it yourself!

There are a lot of things I like about this book. It was written by a Winnipeg author, which makes me want to keep working on my writing and drawing. It shows the special bond that siblings can have. The characters are Filipino, just like me. What I liked best, though, is that it ends on a cliffhanger, which means that there will be more to come!

★★★★1/2 out of 5 stars

— Atticus Penner, age 11

I read this book in a less than an hour and a half on the first evening I got it. It is a good book for people who like fantasy books and presents a unique type of magic.

I give it four stars. The top spot of five stars is reserved for my absolute favourite book.

It is about twins, a boy and a girl, who have to rummage through a garbage dump because they are so poor and are looking for things to sell. Ravens show up with markings that give quests. Money is the reward for a quest. They learn that the harder a raven is to catch, the quest is harder and the reward is higher.

They follow the Raven Quests to the capitol where one twin is badly poisoned and the boy is asked to take an apprenticeship. He agrees to do that if they agree to save his sister. An evil witch gives him a tough quest.

My favourite character is the Royal Commander because they are unique and cool and use a unique magic, not the usual abracadabra magic.

As a graphic novel the artwork is a perfect midway between not being goofy in simplicity or cartoonish, but also not being too realistic.

The way they left the book ending means there will be a sequel and that is a positive thing.

★★★★ out of 5 stars

— William Kovacs, age 11

I would give this graphic novel 4.5 stars. I liked that the plot was all mysterious and dramatic. I also liked that the characters used magic and how the story had different living sentient beings. I would recommend this book to people who like to read nail-biters.

★★★★1/2 out of 5 stars

— Samuel Burbano McFee, age 12

This report is about The Secret of the Ravens. This book was about ravens. I liked this book because it had animals and magic. I didn’t like this book because it was dramatic and had too much crying. My conclusion is: I don’t recommend this book for others to read, but I think a few people would like it because some people are like me and have my taste and some people are the opposite. I give this book two stars. Bye!

★★ out of 5 stars

— Katja Luque-Reimer, age 9