Journey to Venezuela
Michael Palin: In Venezuela (Hutchinson Heinemann 2025) Michael Palin is an English comedian, writer and actor, who, apart from Monty Python’s Flying Circus, is best known for his travel series, which had such a great impact on those who want to travel all over the world and drew attention to exotic destinations that the process was named the ‘Palin impact’. In addition to the tv series, the stories were also published in book form and have been published ever since. Although he had previously participated in a BBC travel series, his first real big adventure was in 1988 in ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’, in which, 150 years after Phileas Fogg, he also circumnavigated the Earth using the route and means of transport dreamed up by Verne. From there, there was no stopping. He circumnavigated the Earth several times, first in a north-south direction, then around the Pacific Ocean,…
Insta fit
Serena Patel: Picture Perfect (Union Square Kids 2026) I was able to read the book in e-book format thanks to NetGalley. Sonal chose ‘family’ as the topic of her school photography project. However, she didn’t expect that it would be so difficult to keep her family in one place at the same time, let alone ask to look into the camera. Everyone is always busy with their own staff. Only Sonal’s grandfather wants to help her, so they come up with an idea to take the whole family camping, and on the condition that no one can use their phones or other digital devices. Will Sonal manage to take usable pictures of them this way? The topic of the story is very relevant, because nowadays, we could not exist without the digital world even if we wanted to. Social media often does not connect us, but isolates us from others…
Classics – A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol (originally published in 1843, this edition was published in 2024 in Puffin Books) Charles Dickens, an English writer, is considered by many to be the greatest writer of the Victorian era. He was very popular in his own time, and his books have been available in the in English, and in translations ever since. A Christmas Carol was first published in 1843 on December 19, and all copies were sold out on that exact day. By Christmas 1844, 13 editions had been published. Dickens also gave public readings of the novel, which were so successful that he had given a total of 127 readings by the time of his death in 1870. Dickens’s own childhood experiences also influenced the writing of A Christmas Carol, and the novel captures the atmosphere of the Victorian Christmas, featuring typical traditions and foods. There are many adaptations of the…
The Christmas Moose
Andreas Steinhöfel: An Elk Dropped In (originally published under the title Es ist ein Elch entsprungen in 2021) It was the third Sunday of Advent, Billy and his family were in the living room singing a Christmas song when with a loud bang, not an angel, but a moose descended from the sky and crashed into the middle of the room through the roof, tearing their IKEA table to pieces. Mr. Moose can talk, so he tells them that he and his boss, Santa Claus, were just making a test flight when he drifted off a curve and landed in Billy’s house. Billy really likes the new arrival, who is housed in the garage, but the Boss soon comes to get him back. The book is not a traditional Christmas story, but it contains the values that we usually emphasize especially as the Holiday approaches: kindness, care and family. In…
Christmas Magic
L. D. Lapinski: The Biggest Christmas Secret Ever (Orion Children’s Books 2024) Harper and her brother Will had a surprising but magical Christmas two years ago when they met their mom’s new boyfriend, Nick. At first, it was difficult for them to accept a new family member when there were always the three of them, but Nick’s kindness won everyone over. Now, the family has another new member, Harper and Will’s little sister, Yula. However, Christmas holds surprises this year too, because as the holiday approaches, Yula will be able to do magical things like Nick. Will the family manage to keep this Christmas miracle a secret? The book is the sequel to Stepfather Christmas, with its 25 chapters, it can also be read as an advent calendar. I really liked this one too. The previous volume was also my favorite the year I read it, and this book was…
Classics – The Hound of the Baskervilles
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The Hound of the Baskervilles (originally published in 1901) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish writer, is best known for his Sherlock Holmes stories, but he also wrote in many genres outside of detective novels. His science fiction stories include The Lost World, in which Professor Challenger embarks on an expedition to a South American plateau inhabited by dinosaurs and extinct animals. Doyle was born in Edinburgh in 1859. He worked as a doctor, but his practice was not very busy, leaving him plenty of time to invent stories. His first major work, A Study in Scarlet, was the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and opened a new era of detective stories. Doyle based the character of the detective on his university professor, Dr. Joseph Bell, whom Kipling recognized when he read the novel. In addition to his novels, he also published documentary works, and he is…
Paola Santiago and the dreams
Tehlor Kay Mejia: Paola Santiago and the River of Tears (Disney Hyperion 2021) Paola Santiago is down to earth. She believes that what cannot be scientifically proven does not exist. She is obsessed with space exploration, and events in space have always been more important to her than things on Earth. She often daydreams: for example, how to create rocket fuel from algae. Paola has a difficult nature: she often gets angry. But why shouldn’t she be angry, because there are so many things in the world that can make a person angry. For example, because her father left them. Or because she can’t have such a nice phone like her friend Emma has. Of course, Emma is rich. She lives in the west part of the city, unlike Paola and their other friend Dante, who live in a housing estate called Riverside Palace in the east. The sun even…
Witch Apprentices
Kamome Shirahama: Witch Hat Atelier (published from 2016) Coco works in her mother’s tailor shop, but she dreams a lot because she is very interested in magic. Unfortunately, only witches can cast spells, and a witch must be born. One day, however, Qifrey, the mysterious wizard, walks into the tailor shop. His presence comes in handy because a magic tool needs to be repaired. However, no one is allowed to see how witches cast spells. But Coco cannot contain her curiosity and spies on Qifrey. She realizes that it may not be impossible for her to use magic. But when she tries, something terrible happens. Now she must go with Qifrey, become an apprentice and correct her mistake. I haven’t read manga yet, but I’ve heard a lot about the genre and when I saw how beautiful the drawings are, I thought I’d give it a try. Coco is a…
Orla and the tangled woods
Anna Hoghton: Orla and the Wild Hunt (Chicken House 2022) Orla and her younger brother Apollo have recently lost their mother. It seems to have turned her world inside out and upside down. Orla hopes that when they visit their grandmother in Ireland, everything will be the way it used to be. Unfortunately, she must be wrong, because their gran is behaving strangely: she hides something in the garden shed, locks all the windows and doors and forbids them to go out after dark, even though she herself leaves the house. Could these strange things have something to do with the disappearances? When their gran also disappears, it is Orla and Apollo’s turn to take control, put aside their grief and anger, and together find their gran before it is too late… The story draws from Irish-Celtic mythology, bringing its elements into our modern world. However, its main theme is…
Orla and the witchcraft
C. J. Haslam: Orla and the Serpent’s Curse (Walker Books 2020) C. J. Haslam: Orla and the Magpie’s Kiss (Walker Books 2022) Orla arrives in Cornwall on a family holiday with her mother, brothers, Richard and Tom, and their Jack Russell terrier, Dave. But the trip quickly takes a bizarre turn when Orla discovers that the area holds a sinister secret and begins dreaming about a crow. It turns out that Orla is the only chance for Cornwall, and perhaps the entire world. And she has to hurry. Luckily, the family’s close protection specialist and head of household security is always by her side: Dave, The Dog. Orla is an adroit girl, but she always gets into trouble. She doesn’t look for trouble, but it always finds her. She’s a strange child, but she’s kind-hearted and a true explorer. My favorite character, however, is definitely Dave, who sometimes gives us…