Teodora's Blog

Traveling around the world is one of the biggest dreams anyone could ever have. It’s quite a sheer delight to go to a new country and find out everything about its culture. If you are keen on having an adventure, then this brand new collection, The Diaries of Robin’s Travels , will offer you not only a pleasant reading time, but also an exciting trip through some of the world’s most famous cities. We’ve met Robin before, in another collection called The Diaries of Robin’s Toys (you can check out its book review here ). This “transition” from toys to travels suggests us that Robin has grown up and he is up to a much more challenging experience, such as discovering the world around him. These ten new books have the same plot idea: Robin and Grandad plan a trip to a city and once they get to their destination, they cast a spell and get themselves a free travel guide. Of course, what differentiate a story from the others are the tale of the city itself and its unique history. Robin’...

Who would have thought that a cheerful elf like me could get banished from Winter Wonderland, the world of happiness? I surely didn’t expect that. It all started a few days before Christmas Eve when I somehow managed to tangle up all the presents and “ruin everything”, as Father Christmas told me. At first I thought that all the other elves would get together and fix the problem, as they always did, but apparently they had all grown tired of my ungraceful attitude. No wonder they were calling me Clumsy Caspar… It was heartbreaking to see Father Christmas mad at me. That time of the year had always been my perfect excuse of being overly excited. Right after I heard the terrifying words “ You’re banished. Banished forever! ” I felt as the whole world collapsed over me. But, as I was always trying to stay positive, I kept telling myself that everything was going to be alright and that it was actually a lot of fun to live on your own. I was a free elf after all… wasn’t I? I left Winte...

As soon as her whole family drifted off to sleep, Clara woke up in a whole new world: Wonderland. Only the maddest and most creative children could have imagined it. For Clara, Wonderland was like a second home. Back in London she was only a 12-year-old girl who still believed in unicorns and fairytales. In Wonderland, though, Clara turned out to be the best alchemist anyone had ever seen. It was Christmas Eve. While the busy London streets were already filled up with beautiful, melodic carols, the Wonderland paths were dull. The magical creatures who lived there described winter as a cold season with many windy days. Though, in time, Clara had been taking care of her secret land. She always came up with something new and exciting for her unusual friends. Her job was to keep them happy and always entertained. When she experienced the first winter day in Wonderland, she knew right away what she needed to create in order to brighten up the atmosphere: snow. On that crispy cold night...

The Apley Towers collection by Myra King is back with three new stories from the lives of the Lost Kodas. The four girls are constantly on the road to success, and they also make sure they always support each other and have fun even during their most difficult times. The fourth book of the series, Restless Warrior , talks about some of the girls’ typical teenage problems. Angela goes through two unexpected experiences. She is being interviewed for the first time by an animal magazine, Pet Talk , and finds out what it’s like to have a secret admirer and to randomly come across his surprise gifts. Meanwhile Kaela is jealous of Trixie for having her own horse and worried that her mother, Felicity, might end up being replaced by someone else. As for her love life, she knows she has a special connection with Bart Oberon, but she’s not sure whether they’ll end up together one day. Finally, Trixie finds herself in the same situation as a character from her favorite TV show, The Wild Ho...

Undoubtedly newly bought toys are awesome. Once they become part of your life, you create an exciting story with them. But what about old toys? From my point of view, they’re even better because they carry some memories they are ready to share with you! If you don’t believe me, just take a closer look at these shabby toys you randomly come across at car boot sales. You may notice the scruffy fur or maybe even some scratches. The older the toy is, the more interesting its story could be… While reading The Diaries of Robin’s Toys , I had countless throwbacks from my childhood and remembered my own experience with toys. These ten books of the collection feature a boy called Robin who goes to a car boot sale with his grandfather every Sunday. The boy is a sweet character. He is a great listener and he does anything he can to make other people smile. His weekly jaunts are just the beginning of a remarkable adventure. As soon as Grandad buys a toy and uses his special powers to wake it u...

At one point in our life everybody needs to read some of Shakespeare’s most famous and greatest plays. His original stories, though, can sometimes be difficult to be understood by young readers especially. But recently I’ve come across a delightful selection of 20 plays by Shakespeare, which is exactly what children of all ages need. The collection includes the following plays: A Midsummer Night’s Dream , All’s Well That Ends Well , Antony and Cleopatra , As You Like It , Cymbeline , Hamlet , Julius Caesar , King Lear , Much Ado About Nothing , Othello , Romeo and Juliet , The Comedy of Errors , The Merchant of Venice , The Taming of the Shrew , The Tempest , The Tragedy of Macbeth , The Two Gentlemen of Verona , The Winter’s Tale , Timon of Athens and Twelfth Night . Each book has a short summary on the back cover, which is really useful because children can find out what the plot is about. At the beginning of every single play, the main characters are shortly described, giving t...

I’m going to start off by saying that Apley Towers is a brilliantly satisfying collection of books about the importance of life and friendship. Some people might think that these books are only about horses or riding lessons. It’s true that the action takes place at Apley Towers, a riding school in South Africa, but in my opinion, the setting doesn’t matter that much. Each story brings out a different situation that can happen to anyone, anywhere. Apley Towers is born when Wendy Oberon, an ordinary English woman, moves from England to South Africa to accomplish her dream of setting up her own riding school: “ She could see it as though it already existed: a paddock for grazing, three riding rings, a tack room and, in the distance, her own little house nestled amongst the giant oak trees. It would be her own little paradise, concealed from the world. She could imagine life and laughter in this place. She could imagine a second chance at happiness. ” (page 6, fragment from the p...

I’ve always wondered what it’s like to have a twin brother or sister. Is it unusual to live with someone who looks just like you? Do you get along with your twin or do you end up having a lot of fights? Is it the same as having a younger or an older sibling? All these questions have remained unanswered until I read the Totally Twins Collection and entered the exciting world of Persephone Pinchgut, a 10-year-old girl who knows exactly what it’s like to share the same adventures with another version of herself. The reason why Persephone starts to write a secret diary is because she needs to hide her personal thoughts from Portia, her twin sister. Persephone and Portia are two interesting characters. They’re named after the Goddess of the Underworld (Persephone) and the heroine of The Merchant of Venice , one of Shakespeare’s plays (Portia). They have the same sunshine-and-honey hair with soft curls at the back, the same crystal-green cat’s eyes and the same pointy elbows and skinny ...

Over the last couple of years I’ve grown fond of acting. My mother has a friend who is an actress, so whenever there is a new play coming out at the theatre, I’m definitely not missing it. Once the play starts, all the actors and actresses enter a whole different world where they have other names, newly shaped personalities and interesting background stories. It’s quite magical really. And it’s even more exciting if they take part in more than just one play. It’s like they’re living multiple lives. Who wouldn’t want to experience something as fascinating as this? I haven’t heard of Noel Streatfeild until I found some of her books in a bookshop. Ballet Shoes , Circus Shoes , Tennis Shoes and Theatre Shoes , they were all standing on the bookshelf next to each other. I didn’t know which book was the first one in the series, so I decided to start off with Theatre Shoes , the one who actually caught my attention in the first place. The story is about three siblings, Sorrel, Mark and ...

If you had the chance to create anything you wanted with the help of a special box, what would you pick? There are countless possibilities and the only limit is your imagination… Timothy Hart, the main character of the story, lives in Glassbridge (“a quaint city full of history, complete with old buildings, wonky roofs, cobblestone streets, rusted iron railings and statues of people on horseback”), in the Dawn Star Hotel, which is owned by his adoptive parents, Chris and Elisa Green. Elisa is always busy with the hotel, being constantly anxious about money and not having enough time to pay attention to Tim’s “nonsense” (and by nonsense, she means everything Tim says or does). Chris is working for an internet company, so he spends most of his time away on business, selling and buying all sorts of things. Tim has to make his own fun, but this doesn’t seem to bother him at all. In fact he prefers his own company. His favorite hobby, drawing, is the perfect getaway from reality: “Paper...

As I’m a big fan of cookery competitions, “Recipe for Love” instantly caught my attention and made me turn the pages with both excitement and fear. While reading about Zoe Harper’s intense journey in the culinary world, it felt like I was watching a real cooking show. Zoe, the heroine of the story, has won a place in a well-known televised cookery competition and now she is ready to put her cooking skills to the test and make a good impression. She travels to Somerby, a beautiful, old mansion where the contestants and the judges are supposed to stay during the filming. The house belongs to a married couple, Fenella and Rupert Gainsborough, who gradually become good friends with Zoe. In the beginning, the contestant is exploring the Somerby’s surroundings, trying to relax and enjoy some time alone: “Zoe Harper lay on the bank in the sun with her eyes closed, listening to a lark high above her. Nearer her ear she could hear the crackling of the grass and the buzzing of insects. The ...

Reality can be tough sometimes… and no one knows it better than Joe Holt, the main character of the story. The 13-year-old boy lives in London, in a Peckham flat, with his mom and her boyfriend, Dean, who swears a lot and ends up drunk every day. Predictably, Joe shows to the readers indirectly that he doesn’t like Dean at all: “ I’m not your son , I think. And it’s not up to you, it’s up to Mum .” (page 4) The story begins on a cheerful note because the boy is relieved that he won’t be seeing Perry Fletcher, the biggest bully at school, for a whole week. The upcoming “holiday” turns out to be even more interesting when Joe’s mom announces that she’s flying to Spain with Dean. Since they can’t afford too much and Dean is busy with “a little job”, Joe is left home and he is told to stay out of sight and trouble, so nobody can ask too many questions. Joe is feeling positive about the holiday and tries to make the most of it, having a Mars bar and a packet of Hula Hoops for breakfast...