Good Books for Tough Times - book reviews by children
Here are some book reviews by children. If your child would like to write a review of any of the books in Good Books for Tough Times, email us and we might publish it here on our website.
There’s a boy in the girl’s bathroom! by Louis Sachar
I liked this book because it’s very emotional and it has three well described characters. Bradley is the trouble maker; and his only friend is Jeff Fishkin. Jeff is the new boy in class; first Bradley hates him then they’re best friends. He also becomes a bully at the end. The last of the 3 is Carla. Carla is the school counsellor and help both Bradley and Jeff. Carla will believe anything, including Bradley talked to the President about hats! I recommend this book to anybody above the age of 7 and a half especially if you are bullied at school.
Thomas, age 9
Secret Friends by Elizabeth Laird
This story is about Lucy who only wants to be friends with Rafaela out of school. At school she only wants to hang out with the most popular people and not get teased.
This book is sad because Rafaela gets teased about her ears so she wants an operation. It goes wrong and Lucy regrets how she treated Rafaela. I would recommend this book for ages 9-10 because it helps you understand how unhappy and lonely it can make children feel when they are teased.
By Emily, age 9
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
I loved this book because I love books about animals. At times the book made me feel sad, for example when pinch faced Amanda talks about her little brother who drowned at the age of five, and when Otis explains why he went to jail. It is sad to hear that Opal’s mother left when she was three. I like it when her dad helps her remember her mum. This book also made me feel very happy, Opal meets interesting characters. There are some funny parts that made me laugh out loud, like when Winn-Dixie sneezes. So all in all I found this book very enjoyable.
Winn-Dixi sounds like an amazing dog.
By Hannah, age 9
The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams
I thought the Boy in the Dress was great, it was very funny but also made you realise people will love you for who you are. I thought the boy in the story was very brave to be himself. It made me feel good because it was funny, but it also made me feel a bit sorry for him at times, as he sometimes had a hard time. My favourite character was Raj, the shop keeper, who was quite funny because he was trying to sell things to people when they didn’t want it.
By Simon, age 12
The Runner by Keith Gray
This book is about an 11-year-old boy called Jason who doesn’t like his
parents’ quarrelling and decides to run away by himself and travel by
train to live with his older brother in Liverpool.
I really enjoyed this book because it’s full of suspense and has brilliant
descriptive sentences. This book made me nervous because I was
thinking “Is the train going to leave on time?” “Are Jason’s parents going
to catch him just before the train pulls out of the station?”. I would
recommend this book.
By Thomas, age 9
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