Book of Ghosts...

Dear readers,
Are you afraid ghosts? Or do you live by horror flicks and novels? Today I will be reviewing Ruskin Bond's Favourite Ghost Stories from Around the World which is written by Ruskin Bond.
If you've read my previous horror book reviews such as '13: The Unlucky Number' which reviews the book Room 13 and 'The Other World...' which reviews the novel Coraline, you might have figured out that I prefer horror stories which don't keep you awake all night. And this exactly what this book is. It contains a number of interesting ghost stories but without frightening you to death.
This book contains a number of short stories from around the world and from other books. There are stories from Haiti, such as 'Toussel's Pale Bride,' 'When Glister Walked,' from Borneo, 'My Brother's Ghost Story' from Switzerland, 'The Undertaker' from Russia, 'Lalla Radha and the Churel' from India, 'The Boy Who Drew Cats' from Japan and so many more stories.
I really think these stories are entertaining and gripping, although you may need to use a dictionary for a few because some use older vocabulary that you may not know. The style of writing varies from the country and the author, but still the book has a great flow. Some authors in this book are Jerome K. Jerome, Amelia B. Edwards, Oscar Cook, Ruskin Bond himself and numerous other writers.
I recommend this book to ages 9 and above.
Ruskin Bond has written many other books such as The Blue Umbrella, Mr. Oliver's Diary, Crazy Times With Uncle Ken, Rusty Runs Away, Rusty: The Boy From the Hills and many more books. and short stories.

Falling Beneath Fairyland...

Hello guys!
Today I'm reviewing Catherynne M. Valente's The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, the second book from the Fairyland series. Although there are characters and references to the first book, people, including myself, can enjoy it without reading the first book.
The book takes place about a year after the events of the first book.
With her father at war, September only has Sundays and a visit to Fairyland to look forward to. That's when she sees a strange rowboat...and suddenly, before she knows it, she's in Fairyland. But things are not jolly and sunny as they're supposed to be.
Shadows are being sucked into from Fairyland to Fairyland Below. September must find out why and stop it from happening... but that'll be difficult when the cause of it all is Halloween, the queen of Fairyland Below, and her own shadow.
Join September on a rollicking adventure with fairies, shadows, dragons and even a Minotaur!
This book is very enjoyable, and like I said before, you don't need to read the previous book, although you might want to.
The story-line is amazing and it really inspires you.
Catherynne M. Valente is an American author and poet. She has written over twenty books including The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, The Girl Who Raced to Fairyland All the Way Home, The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland- For a Little While, The Boy Who Lost Fairyland, Six-Gun Snow White, The Labyrinth, The Folded World, Smoky and the Feast of Mabon, and many more.

The Adventures of Pinky and Rex

Hi!
Today I'm going to review the Pinky and Rex series by James Howe, with delightful illustrations by Melissa Sweet.
Pinky is a boy and Rex is a girl, but they are still the best of best friends. This series follows them and their other friends through hilarious misadventures.
See Pinky and Rex fight off a bully, Pinky getting a cat he does not want, Rex getting jealous of Pinky's cousin Abby at a pumpkin patch, Rex getting a new addition to her family, and so, so many more!
These books are small and have big font, divided into chapters, making it ideal for a child starting chapter books. These books are also good to read to a preschooler because they use simple language.
It's easy to understand the characters' feelings.
Even if you are out of picture books, these books are still a short, delightful read.

There's Mischief at Malory Towers!

Hey friends,
Have you ever wanted to go to a boarding school? In the Malory Towers series, young Darrell's wish is fulfilled.
Off to Malory Towers, Darrell Rivers can't wait to do her best and have fun. At Malory Towers she meets the clever, tricky Alicia Johns whom she greatly admires, the vain Gwendoline, shy Mary-Lou who offers her hand in friendship, scatterbrained genius Irene, irritable Sally Hope and many more classmates.
But life is not all fun and games at Malory Towers. Darrell does terrible on her first tests. She lets loose her dangerous, hot temper on a fellow classmate and is punished by the head of her form. She hurts Sally Hope. And then she is blamed for something that she didn't do!
Will Darrell make new friends and be able to convince her fellow classmates that she is not all that bad as she seems?
The series follows Darrell from the first form to the sixth form.
A follow-up series written by Pamela Cox is also available, and it is about Darrell's younger sister Felicity Rivers and her friends at Malory Towers.
The original books are written by Enid Blyton, a well-known British author who has also written the St. Clare's series, The Faraway Tree, The Wishing Chair and many, many more!
These books talk about school life and friendship.
I like these books because they not only show things from Darrell's point of view but from her other classmates' as well. These books are a fun and easy read.
I recommend these books for ages 7 and above.

Gold is Power

Hello everybody!
Lately I've been reading the really popular Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.
Artemis Fowl is a young criminal mastermind, ready to do nearly anything for power and money. He definitely does follow his family's motto: Gold is Power. But even a brilliant young boy like Artemis has his problems: his mother is bedridden, his father has been missing for a year now....and he's discovered a civilization of fairies living underground.
Yes, you read that right, Artemis has discovered fairies under the surface of the Earth. These fairies aren't stereotypical, dainty pretty little things. These  fairies are high-tech, well-armed, futuristic fairies that spell danger for Artemis- and the world he knows.
That's when Artemis gets his so-called brilliant idea- to capture a fairy and hold it ransom. Unfortunately for him, this fairy isn't any normal fairy. It is Captain Holly Short, an armed, cunning fairy. And though Artemis doesn't know it, his life is taking a huge turn.
Eoin Colfer is an Irish author who is mostly famous for his Artemis Fowl series, has also written the Airman, the Supernaturalist, and many more books.
I recommend this book series for ages 9 and above.
I really love this series and can't wait to read more of Eoin Colfer's works!

The Book Scavenging Challenge: Do You Accept?

Attention all book lovers!
This book is really for book lovers!
Well, it seems like I haven't updated my blog for a while. Sorry about that, but my New Year's Resolution is to post as many book reviews as possible this year, though I know that it's a little late to make a New Year's Resolution. But I'm back with an explosive book and (as mentioned above) it is on of the books for book lovers!
Book Scavenger, written by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman, is about a special website called Book Scavenger, where books are hidden all over the country and clues are updated on bookscavenger.com, left on a wild adventure.
Emily's parents are always taking the family from one place to another, working on their blog 50 Homes in 50 States. Emily, an ardent Book Scavenger, can't wait to move to San Francisco, where the founder of Book Scavenger, Garrison Griswald. And she's working on finding a new book!
Best of all, Mr. Griswald is creating a new game! Emily can't wait to find out what it is about.
But then disaster strikes. Mr. Griswald is attacked in a subway and no-one knows what his new game is. But maybe Mr. Griswald left a clue behind...
When Emily finds an odd book at the scene of the crime, she assumes that it's a Book Scavenger book. But following a secret code hidden in the book, Emily and her new friend James are thrown into a world of books, ciphers and greedy thugs.
Will Emily and James be able to crack the case of the strange book?
This book is filled with ciphers and codes which I am not at all sure that I would have been able to crack myself!
Jennifer Chambliss Bertman works as a proofreader and a copy-editor. This is her first book. The sequel to Book Scavenger will release this year (2016): The Unbreakable Code.
I recommend this book for ages 9 and above because some of the codes and ciphers will not be easily understood by younger kids.
I really look forward to reading future books by this author and I rate this book with 5/5 stars!
(By the way: Book Scavenger really does exist! If you're interested, the website is bookscavenger.com . A similar website is bookcrossing.com . If you're interested in treasure hunting, a good activity is Geocaching, which can be found on geocaching.com .)

I LOVE PURPLE!

Hey guys!
How much do you like purple? Is it your favorite color or your least favorite color? Or is it somewhere in between? For Annie in 'The Purple Hat' by Tracey Campbell Pearson, it is her favorite color!
Annie loves purple. She has purple clothes, a purple room and she loves ALL THINGS PURPLE. So when she sees an amazing purple hat in the catalogue, she knows it'll be perfect for her. And soon, lucky for her, she does get a purple hat. Annie loves her purple hat.
So one day when she takes it to school, it goes missing. The entire town is searching for it!
Where could her lovely purple hat go?
This book is sweet although it is a little strange that the entire town would be searching for Annie's purple hat. The illustrations are very cute too.
Tracey Campbell Pearson has also written and illustrated Elephant's Story, Myrtle, Bob, Where Does Joe Go?, The Howling Dog and many more.
I think this book will appeal more to ages 3-6.