Mandrágora

Al principio, Mandrágora puede resultar un libro poco apetecible, no sé, por la portada o por lo que dice detrás. Yo lo escogí por la escritora, Laura Gallego, pero resultó ser muy bueno. Miriam, la hija de un gran sabio llega con su padre a la corte de un rey, y, aunque no quiera admitirlo se enamora perdidamente de su hijo, el príncipe. A la vez, descubre un secreto sobre su naturaleza. Todo parece complicarse...
Un libro romántico, de aventuras, magia y misterio.

Crocodile tears

The new Alex Rider's adventure introduced by the author

The great automatic Grammatizator by Roald Dahl

There are too many books to choose a favourite from. Although one of my favourites would probably be “The Great automatic grammatizator”, by Roald Dahl. This book is a wonderful collection of exciting short stories. I really enjoyed reading them. My favourite story from the book “The Great Automatic Grammatizator” is 'Vengeance is Mine Inc.' I liked this story because it is very funny and interesting. Although it is a bit strange I though it got the readers' attention very easily because of its' plot. All of the stories were good, but some were better than others.
JSC 9T

Leaving mothers

TheseChristmas holidays I read two quite sad books about mothers leaving home. The first one was Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Browns. It is a verse novel about Rachel's feelings when her mother left home and she was left alone with her laconic father. It is a beautiful and moving story. I found a web page with videos made by children presenting this book, Have a look!
The second one is Life on the refrigerator door by Alice Kuipers. This story is told by the notes between a daughter and her mother left on the fridge door. The girl in this book is a bit older , around 14, and the mother is an extremely busy doctor who has breast cancer... To be honest I didn't like this one as much as the other , but it is becoming very popular and difficult to find on the library shelves. Read it and judge yourself...

Microrrelatos de Navidad

Pedro se levantó como siempre sobre las siete, pero hoy el corazón latía más rápido que nunca. No hizo parada para verse en el espejo o lavarse las manos o ni si quiera para orinar. La emoción de recibir su primer balón de fútbol, si era ese su regalo, le quemaba de alegría. Cuando llegó al salón, derrapó hasta el árbol, pero allí no había nada. Saltó al ver que los regalos estaban en el sofá.

"¡Qué señor más cómodo!" pensó.

Los colocó en el suelo. Desde allí se oían los ronquidos de su padre y los de su madre como contestación.

Eran dos cajas iguales, verdes , con el clásico sello de El Corte Inglés, y con "Pedro" escrito en blanco. Eran cuadradas pero se veía y se notaba que lo que ocultaban era algo redondo.

"¡El balón de fútbol!" volvió a decirse.

Y, sin abrir la caja se dispuso a golpear el interior ( que si , como suponía , fuera un balón rebotaría) Preparó la derecha, la calentó, dio dos saltitos y lanzó un zapatazo que ni Cristiano Ronaldo en sus mejores tiempos.

Los cristales volaron por todo el salón, y se oyó a su madre diciéndole a su padre.

"¿Habrá visto ya la bola del mundo de cristal?"

Pedro abrió los ojos.

"¡Albricias! me equivoqué de caja." se maldijo

IM 9W

Era la mañana del 26 de diciembre. Santa Claus estaba en el gimnasio intentando bajar esos kilillos que sobran. El pobre no podía verse las puntas de las botas porque una enorme barriga grasienta le impedía ver más allá de su ombligo. Hacía flexiones, abdominales, levantaba pesas... Y el impaciente hombrecillo del traje y el gorro rojo no veía resultados, así es que siempre ahogaba sus penas con un cocktail de chocolate y vainilla con virutas de fresa. En ese momento Mamá Claus entró en la cocina y exclamó: - "Nicolasus Martínez Claus ¿ No te tengo dicho que no piques entre horas?. Te recuerdo que tu traje ya no se puede agrandar más, y como engordes, los pobres niños quedarán desconcertados cuando te vean con el traje amarillo que te regaló mi madre. ¿ No decías que ibas a ponerte en forma con el gimnasio que los reyes magos te regalaron el año pasado?."

Al oír esto Santa Claus salió disparado hacia el gimnasio, pero a la media hora volvió a tener hambre. Abrió la nevera y sólo encontró productos sanos como " Danacol" para el colesterol y para las defensas " Actimel", y como Mamá Noel no podía prescindir del Petit Suisse, también había muchos... Santa Claus empezó a tomarse la dieta más en serio, y al cabo de un año , fue elegido el hombre más sexy del planeta por la revista People, destronando al pobre Johnny Deep. Nadie podía creerse el cambio que había dado este hombre, ni siquiera Chuck Norris.
MV 9X

¡Es la hora, se acerca la Navidad!

Después de esperar en ese remoto rincón del sitio más oscuro de toda la casa, donde no he podido lucir mis colores rojos en contraste con ese verde oscurecido durante un año, por fin soy colocada en el maravilloso árbol con mis otras amigas. He tenido la suerte de que me ha colocado el mayor de los cinco hijos cuidadosamente, haciéndolo lo mejor posible para que no me caiga.

Sólo voy a estar unos días aquí colgada, pero no me importa, estoy contenta porque veré las luces brillar en la oscuridad e la noche. Nochebuena es el día en el que hay que lucirse porque vienen todos los familiares. Siempre le dan un pequeño vistazo al árbol y luego se fijan en los detalles. Yo ya sé lo que los abuelos van a decir, ya que dicen lo mismo todos los años y además varias veces : " ¡Mira que árbol tan bonito!, mira, la estrella es preciosa. ¡ Cuantas bolas! La que más me gusta es ésta" dicen apuntándome a mí. Luego los padres encienden las luces y los abuelos dicen : "¡Ah! ¡Cómo brilla!" Este es mi día favorito.

Al día siguiente llega el momento más odioso de todos, Navidad. Es el día más odiado por varias razones. La primera es porque los niños reciben sus regalos, esto es muy malo porque siempre dañan el árbol. El año pasado a uno le regalaron una espada y la cogió y empezó a zarandearla y en uno de los movimientos golpeó y en el árbol se cayeron cinco de mis amigas. Por otra parte, no lo entiendo, no se pueden conformar con sus regalos sino que tienen que coger a una de mis compañeras y empezar a jugar al fútbol con ella. Por último volveremos a ese lugar oscuro, sin un milímetro de espacio, hasta que nos coloquen en el árbol el año que viene.

9X

The Ruby in the Smoke

This book by Phillip Pulman is set in the Victorian Times. It´s about a girl called Sally who's father has miteriously died when the boat he was in sank. Sally isn't very bright at history or literature but when it comes to fireing a pistol she is a master. As she investigates her father's death she doesn't realize the danger she is getting into...

The Spooks Apprentice

Tom Ward is the seventh son of a seventh son so his mother sends him to be the Spook's apprentice. He goes with him to his house where there is a pit in the ground with iron bars. When Tom is sent to get some food in the butcher's shop, some boys start trying to steal some of the food but a girl saves him. This girl is called Alice, and she is a near relative to Mother Malkin, famous witch known for welcoming young runaway women and sucking girl's blood to look more beautiful, but now banned in the pit in the Spook's backyard. Alice tricks Tom and Mother Malkim escapes... What will happen to Tom? Read the book and find out...

Spook's web page

Tras la Afrenta de Corpes

Horas después, Elvira, que yacía sobre las rojas hojas otoñales, abría el ojo izquierdo, por dónde le entraba un rayo de sol. Estaba amaneciendo. Intentó incorporarse, sin pensar en los brazos llenos de heridas que tenía por taparse la cabeza. Una vez sentada, se frotó los ojos para ver mejor, y pudo observar, horrorizada, el cuerpo, cubierto por buitres de su hermana. Los apartó y miró a Sol. Estaba muerta, tenía una ensangrentada y enorme brecha en la cabeza. Elvira, por unos segundos se quedó inmóvil, contemplándola, pero al recordar lo que había sucedido, sus sentimientos de tristeza se volvieron de odio. Y juró que mataría a aquellos que acabaron con su hermana. Que pagarían por lo que habían hecho. Se puso en pie, y tapándose, se vistió con lo que quedaba de sus ropas. Cubrió a Sol con los restos de su capa y la intentó coger en brazos, pero pesaba demasiado, la tendría que llevar a rastras. Le daba mucha pena no poder dar mejor trato al cuerpo de su hermana, pero no iba a dejarla ahí, le daría un funeral decente, la incinerarían propiamente, y rodeada de la gente que la quería. Ató la capa con trozos de ropa, y comenzó a buscar una salida. Pensó que sería imposible, no tenía pista alguna de en que parte se encontraban. Así que empezó a buscar pistas de por donde se habían marchado los infantes de Carrión. Creía recordar que cuándo las llevaron hasta allí fueron a caballo, así que volverían también cabalgando. Eso quiere decir que si no las habían borrado, las huellas seguirían allí. Empezó a buscar las pisadas desesperadamente, hasta encontrar bajo las hojas un camino, que ahora que lo pensaba no era seguro que la llevara a la salida, pero sí a los hermanos. Pero, ¿y si estaban solos y la mataban definitivamente? Era mejor esconderse de ellos primero, y una vez en el pueblo, con gente, y sobretodo su padre, hablar. Aún así, seguiría las huellas. Cogió a su hermana por la capucha de la capa y comenzó a seguir las huellas. Llevaba andando todo el día, cuándo, de repente, escuchó a hombres hablar. Dejó con cuidado a su hermana en el suelo y fue de puntillas escondiéndose a mirar quiénes eran. Había dos hombres, estaban sentados, dándole la espalda. Intentó acercarse sigilosamente, pero el crujido de las hojas bajo sus pies la delató. Se tiró al suelo bocabajo para que no la vieran, pero uno de los hombres se le acercó. Ella sólo podía verle los pies… Y una espada. Le pareció reconocerla, sí, era la Tizona. No podía ser, intentó reflexionar, su padre se la había dado a los infantes. Entonces escuchó una voz que le decía: “Hola Elvira”. Y la espada penetró en su interior, mientras ella le decía: “Pagarás por esto…”.

EMS 9W

Photos by Tamakisono & JamesDale10 (flickr)

Refugee Boy

by Benjamin Zephaniah
Alem is an African boy which faces a very difficult situation. At the time there are internal conflicts in Africa. One of them involves Eritrea and Ethiopia and curiously (or unfortunately) his father is from Ethiopia and his mother from Eritrea. This will make them face a stunning adventure; they are not safe in either of the countries yet they used to live happily alterning from one to the other. Knowing that war has exploited harder than ever Alem`s father goes with him to have some unsuspected holidays in London. They book in a comftarble room in a hotel. They visit the city and everything seems fine when suddenly, next morning, Alem wakes up alone…
A note is left for him. The note explains the reasons of this crazy event. It’s for his own safety…
Some social agents go and see him immediately, what am I doing here? Was the most common question he asked himself.

The social helpers find him a place to stay with kids of his age until they can manage to get him political asylum in the country.
Eventually Alem gets to hate this place and is taken to some foster parents, which are great and very nice to him. Some days after a letter get to him; it’s his father!
He is very relieved about this but days after one of the letters didn’t please him as much ; her mother had been hacked to death…

AB 9Y

The recruit by Robert Muchamore

James is a very peculiar boy. He is eleven years old, he does not know

where his father is or what does he work at. He lives with his mother

and sister Lauren, but sometimes uncle Ron, the father of Lauren comes

and stays with them but he is not very nice. James is a very smart boy,

he is one of the best students in his school, he gets bored nearly all the time.

One day he gets in trouble and cuts one girl because the girl was insulting

his mother by telling him that his mother was so fat that she did not fit in

the toilet. When he arrives home he sees his mother leaning in the sofa

until he notice she is dead, he calls an ambulance. The next day James and Lauren are in a boarding school a lady tells James that uncle Ron was picking Lauren in a few minutes and maybe that was going to be one of the last moments he was going to be with her. James and Lauren said each other goodbye. James is sent to a room where a boy was leaning in one bed he is called Kyle he is going to be James room mate, James starts hanging with some guys older than him so he starts getting again in problems until the police notice. James is sent to the police station were one man in his thirties starts asking him questions but James did not answer. James goes back to the boarding school, he sleeps for three or four hours when he wakes up he is in another boarding school or at least that is what it looks like...

Click here to visit the webpage

JVL 9Y

Hatchet

by Gary Paulsen

This story is about a city boy called Brian Robeson and his parents are divorced.
Brian is with his mother, but he has to get a plane to the Canadian forest where his father is working.
Brian was very upset because he already new the SECRET before his parents had divorced. The SECRET was a thing that only his mother and him new.
Brian was only thinking of the SECRET when he got in the plane.
The pilot didn’t talk a lot but Brian didn’t mind.
There was a thing that was going to happen that Brian would never imagine.
The plane crashed.
Through the rest of the book Brian has to survive in the middle of the Canadian wilderness with only a hatchet. He has to live good adventures and bad ones.
He has to learn to live the hard way , or die.

I think this book was a very good one, because it has some points of intrigue and of fear. This book can be read by boys or girls and it is not very long so you can read it in a few days.
This is a extract of the book that I liked:
"There was a wild crashing sound, a ripping of metal, and the plane rolled to the right and blew through the trees, out over the water and down, down to slam into the lake, skip once on water as hard as concrete, water that tore the windscreen out and shattered the side windows, water that drove him back into the seat". (Hatchet, page 23)
There is a page that I found that talks about other adventures of Brian Robeson, and I would like to read them:
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/library/briansaga.html

And then there were none

by

Ten people….
Anthony Marston, Mrs. Rogers, General Macarthur, Mr. Rogers, Miss. Brent Mr. Justice Wargrave, Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Blore, Philip Lombard, Vera Claythorne.
Soldier Island, is their destiny, they all seem to have different people or different things to do there, the two servants Mr and Mrs Rogers have had previous instructions as to what to do by letter informing them that the mysterious owner of the house Mr Owen had told them that he would only delay a day or so and that they were to receive some guests and give them everything they needed. The incomers were confused by this explanation they had expected something else or someone else.
A strange tape is put on and reveals that each one of the present people have committed murderer.
Nine people, suddenly one of them chokes and dies in the instant, it is found that he had been poisoned, there seems to be a murderer between the assistants, but who?
Suddenly a whole lot of homicide cases take place following a nursery rhyme:

Ten Little Soldier Boys

Ten little soldier boys went out to dine;

One choked his little self and then there were Nine.

Nine little soldier boys sat up very late;

One overslept himself and then there was Eight.

Eight little soldier boys travelling to Devon;

One said he stayed there and then there were Seven.

Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks;

One chopped himself in halves and then there were Six.

Six little soldier boys playing with a hive;

A bumble bee stung one and then there were Five.

Five little soldier boys going in for law;

One got in Chancery and then there were Four.

Four little soldier boys going out to sea;

A red herring swallowed one and then there were Three.

Three little soldier boys walking in the Zoo;

A big bear hugged one and then there were Two.

Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun;

One got frizzled up and then there was One.

One little soldier boy left all alone;

He went and hanged himselfAnd then there were None.

Each of the soldiers represents a person of the ten that have gone to the house.
They search everywhere for a possible extra person there and find, nothing.
So we have a question:Who is the Murderer?

TDRC 9Y

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelly

"Everybody takes decisions in life but do you know how difficult love can be? Well, this novel tells the story of falling in love and losing love. The author takes us into a different world into a boy's mind: Leo's. Leo was just a normal teenager, until one day a girl appeared at school, a girl who had been home-schooled until now, she was called: Stargirl. Everybody thought her strange; as if she were from another world it seemed as if she was never there but really she was there. She didn't wear jeans, she wore long pioneer dresses, she was always playing the ukulele around hallways, and she carried her pet rat Cinnamon everywhere. She always made people happy, or that was what she tried to because not everybody loved her; people also hated her. She sang to everybody the happy birthday song and she went to funerals of people she didn't know. As several weeks passed by she began to be really popular and she was chosen to become part of the cheerleaders but one day a match was played and her team was winning. She started to cheer for the other team and that was when everything began, when she turned from being the most popular girl to the most hated girl throughout the whole school. But one day Leo fell in love, deeply in love with the worst girl he could have fallen in love: Stargirl. One night he follows her and he declares his love to Stargirl. As he spends more and more time with her he notices his friends stop talking to him and start to ignore him as if he wasn't there. He tries to change Stargirl convincing her to be "normal" so that his friends admit her into the group again but nothing works, so now he has to take the hardest decision in his life: he has to choose between Stargirl or his friends. What will he do?"

Click here to watch a video

BG 9Y