desert island books - the thomas hardye school island book... · 2016-07-19 · book of tomorrow...
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DESERT ISLAND BOOKS
A selection of Book Reviews by DASP Staff
Summer 2016
Index of Book Reviews
Moby Dick – Herman Melville
Sharpes Rifles - Bernard Cornwell
Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
Revolting Rhymes – Roald Dahl
Girl with all the Gifts – M R Carey
Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett
The Master and Margarita - by Mikhail Bulgakov The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova
Outlander – Diana Gabaldon
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
The Magic Cottage – James Herbert
Something Wicked this way Comes – Ray Bradbury
Sons & Lovers – D H Lawrence
Book of Tomorrow – Cecilia Ahern
Remarkable Creatures – Tracey Chevalier
The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
A little Love song – Michelle Magorian
Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs - Giles Andreae and Russell Ayto
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
The Shock of your Life – Adrian Holloway
I Let you Go – Clare Mackintosh
V for Vendetta – Alan Moore and David Lloyd
The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
My Side of the Mountain – Jean Craighead George
It’s not about the bike – Lance Armstrong
The End of the World Running Club – Adrian J Walker
Name: Tim Warnes (children’s author-illustrator)
My desert island book…
Moby Dick
By Herman Melville
I chose this book because…
I would finally have time to sit and read it! I’d choose an old, leather bound edition with beautiful typeface, illustrated with engravings. That way if it was too difficult for me (it is notoriously convoluted) I’d satisfy myself by pouring over the images of the fearsome great white whale, Moby Dick, as he takes retribution upon the Pequod and his nemesis, the obsessive Captain Ahab. A desert island seems an appropriate place to tackle it, as I’m sure I’d spend a lot of time gazing out to sea, trying to spot seafarers and whale spouts… (For a quick read, try Geraldine McCaughrean’s excellent adaptation.)
Name: Mr Wickham (Maths Teacher, THS)
My desert island book …
Sharpe’s Rifles
by Bernard Cornwell
I chose this book because….
In the start of this series of books, Bernard Cornwell
really brings to life Richard Sharpe and his band of
men, all English soldiers fighting in the Peninsular
War between Spain and France. This war included
the famous Battle of Trafalgar and the Battle of
Waterloo which saw an end to the conflict and the
demise of Napolean Bonaparte.
The “Sharpe” series has also been televised by ITV
where Sean Bean plays Richard Sharpe, a rogue
soldier who doesn’t necessarily play by the book but
is a very ambitious and dedicated fighter for what he
considers many worthwhile causes…
Name: Mrs Jelly (Finance Officer, THS)
My desert island book …
Memoirs of a Geisha
By Arthur Golden
I chose this book because….
A very powerful and moving story of a geisha –told
many years later from the Waldorf Astoria in New
York. It summons up a quarter century from 1929 to
the post-war years of Japan's dramatic history.
A young peasant girl is sold as servant and
apprentice to a renowned geisha house. Her
memoirs conjure up the perfection and the ugliness
of life behind rice-paper screens, where young girls
learn the arts of geisha - dancing and singing, how
to wind the kimono, how to walk and pour tea, and
how to beguile the land's most powerful men.
It is a sad and heart-warming insight into another
culture. I found it an utterly engaging read that has
always stayed with me.
Name: Mrs Brenchley (Y5 tutor, St Marys)
Puddletown) My desert island book …
Revolting Rhymes
by Roald Dahl
I chose this book because….
If you are stuck on a desert island, life may start to
get you down!
I chose Revolting Rhymes, because this book
always cheers me up – it is really light hearted,
straightforward and quick to read.
I adore Roald Dahl; he is witty, clever and (above
all) hilarious!
I love the twists on classic fairy tales, and the
rhythms and rhymes he uses makes them even
more memorable.
I guarantee you’ll never look at fairy tales in the
same way again!
Name: Mrs Plant, Mrs Andrews, Miss Jones, Miss Wittman
My desert island book…
The Girl with all the Gifts Br M R Carey
I chose this book because…
One day we were chatting and discovered that two of us were reading The Girl with all the Gifts. As we discussed it other staff thought it sounded so good they bought it. When everyone had eventually finished the book we spent ages talking about how fantastic it was. One teacher gave it to her mum to read and another passed it around her (adult) children. It was not a book most of us would have chosen as it probably comes under ‘zombie’ stories. However it is unlike the traditional zombie stories. It is compelling, clever, lots of surprises (not of the gory kind!) and twists and turns. It makes you question whether it could really happen… Who is Melanie and what is her gift? The story is seen through her eyes and those of her teacher. As this goes to print I have just read that the film of the book will be realised in September. Read the book first though.
Name: Mrs Heinrich (Librarian)
My desert island book…
Pillars of the Earth
By Ken Follett
I chose this book because…
Stuck on a desert island, you would need something to get your teeth into and this not only fits the bill, but is an epic tale. It is set in 12th century England and follows the (mis) fortunes of a handful of prominent characters all linked by the building of the greatest cathedral in the world. The detail in this historical fiction masterpiece transports the reader to medieval England on a rollercoaster of emotions which sees loyalties tested and swings between hope and despair. It really is the masterpiece it claims to be and certainly a book to get lost in….
Name: Mr Whitbread (Teacher, THS)
My desert island book …
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
I chose this book because….
The story concerns a visit by the devil to the
fervently atheistic soviet union.
Ultimately, the novel deals with the interplay of good
and evil, innocence and guilt, courage and
cowardice, exploring such issues as the
responsibility towards truth when authority would
deny it, and the freedom of the spirit in an unfree
world.
Plenty to think about on a desert
island.
Name: Mrs Matthews (Napier College Deputy)
My desert island book …
The Historian
by Elizabeth Kostova
I chose this book because….
This is a great book which takes the letter and diary
style of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and updates the life
of Dracula into the 20th Century.
This time Dracula is chasing after scholars with
historical knowledge and the reader is given much
greater insight into the historical background to Vlad
Tepes (Vlad the Impaler a.k.a. Dracula)
I chose this book because….
The epic tale begins when Claire Randall, a young
combat nurse in World War II, moves to Scotland
with her beloved husband to reignite their marriage
interrupted by the war. Hiking one day, Claire
accidentally passes through the stones of an ancient
stone circle and wakes up to find herself in 18th
century Scotland.
Lost, alone, and confused (yet determined), Claire's
path crosses, and is inextricably linked to, a young
Highland warrior... James Fraser. The story that
ensues would make Shakespeare proud-- danger,
suspense, passion, betrayal, true love and tragedy.
Name: Mrs Holly O’Brien (ICT Co-ordinator) St
Mary’s Middle School Puddletown
My desert island book …
Outlander
by Diana Gabaldon
Name: Mrs Butcher, Finance, THS
My desert island book …
A Prayer for Owen Meany
By
John Irving
I chose this book because….
The story is told by Johnny Wheelwright, about his
best friend, Owen Meany.
Owen is a tiny person who has an exceptionally
high-pitched voice. He accidentally kills Johnny's
mother during a baseball game. However, their
bond is unbroken. Owen foresees his own death, as
a hero, and the story moves on irresistibly to that
event.
It is a long book (!) but so rewarding as in it’s
conclusion, all the threads of the story tie up & make
perfect sense.
Name: Mrs Theresa Luther, Reception Teacher (St
Mary’s Catholic First School)
My desert island book …
The Magic Cottage
by James Herbert
I chose this book because….
I am a James Herbert fan to start with. However, I
do think that this is my favourite. The imagery that
the story conjures up is nothing short of amazing. I
would go to say it is beautiful, although, there is
something lurking in the depths of your mind that
tells you it is not.
The idyllic frontage disguises an evil lying in wait for
you to discover. It draws you in without you realising
and before you know it you just can’t put it down. I
have read it several times and each time I discover
something new and more thought provoking.
I would thoroughly recommend it.
My desert island book …
Something Wicked This Way
Comes
By Ray Bradbury
I chose this book because….
At age 16 this was a book my school
librarian recommended to me and it turned
me into an enthusiastic reader.
It’s a great story about two boys growing up,
but set against the background of a sinister,
evil carnival and fairground.
Bradbury was a fantastic story teller and
descriptive writer, whose stories are always
deeper than they first appear and transcend
the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre that he is generally
included in.
Name: Mr Scott (Media Development THS)
My desert island book …
Something Wicked This Way
Comes
By Ray Bradbury
I chose this book because….
At age 16 this was a book my school librarian
recommended to me and it turned me into an
enthusiastic reader.
It’s a great story about two boys growing up, but set
against the background of a sinister, evil carnival
and fairground.
Bradbury was a fantastic story teller and descriptive
writer, whose stories are always deeper than they
first appear and transcend the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre
that he is generally included in.
Name: Gail Tucker, Teacher, St Mary’s Catholic
First School
My desert island book …
Sons and Lovers by
D.H. Lawrence
I chose this book because….
One of the great writers of the 20th Century,
Lawrence was a man ahead of his time, and
created characters with depth and well observed
human feeling.
Sons and Lovers is a book I studied at school
and come back to every few years. It has a
richness of language that makes every sentence,
indeed every word, matter; with some passages
that stay imprinted on your memory long after
reading.
Name: Miss Simmonds (Teacher, St Marys Catholic
First School)
My desert island book …
The Book of Tomorrow by
Cecelia Ahern
I chose this book because….
Cecelia Ahern is best known for her book PS. I Love
you. I wanted to try a different book that had a
fantasy element to it. This book is about a woman
who visits a travelling library. The library brings with
it a mysterious, large leather-bound book locked
with a gold clasp and padlock.
This book is full of mystery and fantasy, which made
me think of books I had read when I was younger. It
is a perfect desert island book as you totally loose
yourself within its magic.
NAME: Charlotte Dowling (Teacher, St Marys Catholic
First school)
My desert island book …
Remarkable Creatures
by Tracy Chevalier.
I chose this book because….
I think our Dorset heroine needs to be celebrated
and remembered more often and in this great read
on our fossil lady from Lyme Regis, Mary Anning
certainly is!
"She was really quite an amazing woman. She was
completely self-taught, never had any formal
education, was very poor [and] found these things
for a living," Chevalier writes this about Mary.
I recommend you read this book over the Summer.
It really is an absorbing tale ,based on true life set
on our very coastline.
icture of the cover of your
Name: Mrs Bourne (St Mary’s Catholic school)
My desert island book …
The Wind In The Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
I chose this book because….
The setting leads me towards a gentle sunny
riverside with characters who I feel would be fun to
meet and share a picnic with.
I try and read it every summer as it fills me with
images of childhood innocence with the anticipation
of the summer freedom!
Name: Alice Mattison
My desert island book …
A little love song
by Michelle Magorian
I chose this book because….
I seem to come back to A Little Love Song
whenever I need comforting and so it is definitely a
book to be stranded on a desert Island with. It's a
wartime bildungsroman, the story of the summer
where everything changes for the central character
Rose who comes of age and has the freedom to
grow into the young women she wants to be.
A book any girl of 15 up should read and will relate
to.
NAME: Miss Cook (Reception Teacher, Cerne Abbas First
School)
My desert island book …
Captain Flinn and the Pirate
Dinosaurs Smugglers Bay
By
Giles Andreae and Russell Ayto
I chose this book because….
This book is very, very, very funny! I love reading
this book to my class as I get to use funny dinosaur
voices and there are fun songs to sing in the voice
of dinosaurs. Giles Andreae is one of my favourite
authors as he makes reading fun and enjoyable. In
this story a little boy called Flinn and his friends go
on an adventure where they meet the pirate
dinosaurs!
The pirate dinosaurs want to turn the children into
sausages using a giant sausage machine! Flinn
saves the day though and wins over the Pirate
Dinosaurs! There are several other books in the
same series about Captain Flinn and the Pirate
Dinosaurs and I love them all. They are definitely
worth reading.
Name: Kerry Nottley (Cerne Abbas First School TA)
My desert island book …
The Curious Incident of the Dog
in the Night-Time
By Mark Haddon
I chose this book because….
It's a novel about difference, about being an
outsider, about seeing the world in a surprising and
revealing way. Also it ends with Christopher finding
what he has been looking for and conquering his
fears. This was also interesting to read to kind of an
insight in to what my Nephew (on the autistic
spectrum) may be thinking or feeling.
Name: Catherine Cresswell
My desert island book …
The Shock of your Life
by Adrain Holloway
I chose this book because…
It makes you think about life after death.
After a fatal accident, three young people are
catapulted into eternity. Read how Dan, a non-
Christian; Becky, a lukewarm Christian; and Emma,
a red-hot believer, get the shock of their lives as
they discover what life after death is really like.
Written especially for the next generation,
The Shock of Your Life grapples with the biggest
question of what happens when we die and
presents a fresh way of looking at the Bible's
teaching on judgment, heaven and hell through a
gripping fictional scenario.
Name: Mrs Tantrum (SMMS)
My desert island book …
I Let You Go
by
Clare Mackintosh
I chose this book because….
It has a real twist at the end. At the end of the book,
I was left feeling that I had been tricked and was
very tempted to read it again with my new
knowledge.
I also felt that the characters were very cleverly and
realistically presented. I was gripped from start to
finish.
Name: Mr.Moss (Art Leader St.Mary’s Middle)
My desert island book …
V for Vendetta
By
Alan Moore and David Lloyd
I chose this book because….
It is a powerful story about freedom and
individuality that is very relevant in our
contemporary world. The artwork is compelling,
bringing to life the ideas in the text with striking
imagery.
Name: Andy Briggs (Author)
My desert island book …
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy
By Douglas Adams
I chose this book because….
With only one book to read on a desert
island you need something that you will get
more from each time you read it. This book
does exactly that – plus I have cheated, as
this is five books in one! It’s a spectacular
adventure-comedy set across the universe,
following the exploits of Arthur Dent just after
the earth is demolished. Douglas Adams’
humour borders on the surreal – with fish
you put in your ear to translate languages,
why you should ALWAYS carry a towel with
you, a two-headed space pirate and the
Earth mark-II. It’s terrific fun and almost
guaranteed to put a smile on your face…
Name: ALI SPARKES (Author)
My desert island book …
MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN
by Jean Craighead George
I chose this book because….
It’s a fantastic story about young Sam Gribley who
goes off to live alone in the Catskill Mountains, when
he realises his family are too poor to feed him. He
takes a survival handbook and learns to forage,
snare wild animals and make his own home in a
hollow tree. He catches a peregrine chick and trains
it to hunt for him.
This is the coolest book I read when I was at school.
I think it’s what made me choose a peregrine falcon
as Dax Jones’s second shapeshifting form in The
Shapeshifter series. And it’s STILL cool. Read it!
REEEEEAD IT!
of yourself here
Name: Abbie Elliot, Learning Mentor, St. Mary’s C.E.
Middle, Puddletown
My desert island book …
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE
by Lance Armstrong
I chose this book because….
Lance Armstrong’s sheer grit, perseverance
and determination are incredible, as is his
ability to be motivated and drive himself
forward despite his despair and physical
weakness.
His story demonstrates how profoundly your
frame of mind and attitude determine the
way your life plays out. I chose this book
because it has stuck with me since I read it
nearly 15 years ago, and I think it’s a
reminder of how important our train of
thought is.
For me, this book is about being spirited and
strong minded.
Name: Mr Orchard (Maths Teacher)
My desert island book…
The End of the World Running
Club.
By Adrian J Walker
I chose this book because…
It is quite simply a rollicking good tale. Like the title
says there on the book - the story has apocalyptic
overtones. It is set in the UK and there is running in
it. What’s not to like?