Book Review: Rugby Rebel / Gerald Siggins

Published by O’Brien Press

I know very, very little about rugby – however as the Rugby World Cup has been going on I started to search for books for young players to read. There are a number of books about characters that play football, but we had none that covered this game. I ordered copies of this series for my branch of Waterstones, and it seems that only one book came in – Rugby Rebel.

I loved it – a mixture of ghosts, Irish history, mystery, and of course rugby. The story is one of a collection of titles – and did refer to others ‘earlier’ in the series – but that didn’t really matter (apart from making me want to read the rest) – as the story was complete in itself as well. I thoroughly enjoyed it – even though I have to admit to still not knowing anything about rugby – I have to take it on faith that the references to the game were possible and or likely.

There are four in the series – Rugby Spirit, Rugby Warrior, Rugby Rebel and Rugby Flyer. Sadly I don’t have the copy of Rugby Rebel that I read at work here at home – so I’m uncertain of the order of the books. I am sure, however that they are well worth reading – and purchasing. If you enjoy rugby – then buy these!

I suspect they are not books that will be found readily available on the shelves of English bookshops (they may be around in Ireland) – so they may have to be ordered in for you – but they are worth it.

The cover design for Rugby Rebel is indicative of those for the rest of the series. It doesn’t in my view promote the book particularly well…I think, perhaps they would have been more dramatic if they had used a photograph, but as they say, never judge a book by its cover.

Book Review: Beetle Boy / M G Leonard / 9 – 12 Years

Published by Chicken House

Not yet Published – March 2016

This is a book for every one who is into insects, in particular coleoptera – otherwise known as beetles! I have to admit to enjoying the small creatures of this life, though I once decided that hissing cockroaches weren’t a particular creature I wanted to handle.

This is a wonderful glorious celebration of all things with six legs – an adventure story mixed with sentient beetles, natural history, science fiction and danger. A brilliant book that is due for publication in March next year. The descriptions of the beetles are particularly good and include the following: dung beetles, jewel beetles, giraffe-necked weevils, Goliath, stag, bombardier,fireflies, lavender beetles, ladybirds, Atlas, Hercules, titan, rhinoceros beetles, carpet, death watch, tiger and tok-tokkies – most of which I have never heard of though I should have seen some of the giraffe-necked weevils in Madagascar. Sadly we seemed to have missed them, probably the wrong time of year.

I have taken some pictures of some of the beetles off the Internet to illustrate this post – those depicted are indicated in itallic – I haven’t yet become talented enough to attach descriptions to pictures in my blog, but you will without doubt be able to determine which insect is which.

I have taken the liberty of using a photo of Sir David Attenborough to show the relative size of the Goliath – so much more interesting than a beetle sitting on someone’s hand. The use of the photograph doesn’t of course indicate Sir David’s approval or otherwise of the book – I just thought it was a good indication of the size…

I trust that Chicken House will ensure this has a suitable cover when it is published. There are various proposals on the Internet, so I am unsure which will be used. As a result there is a pciture of a rhinocerous beetle at the beginning of this post, as one of these is so important in the story.

Book Review: The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair / Lara Williamson – Post Script! 300 Cranes

I mentioned at the end of my post about this book that I intended to make some paper cranes to give out as bookmarks at work.

I am pleased to report that I have completed 300 cranes – some them it has to be admitted are better than others, however, should you wish to have a free crane with your copy of The Boy Who Sailed the Ocan in an Armchair, then please visit the Waterstone’s branch in the Finchley Road O2 Centre where you can choose your crane whilst stocks last.

Not as many as would allow me to be granted a wish, but probably enough for those of you who would like a hand crafted crane…