Run Swift Run Free by Tom Mc Caughran

 

 

 

 

 

Summer has avvived and the fox cubs are growing up, life is very exciting but it's also hard- the cubs have to learn the ways of the wild, how to stand up to other hunters and how to defeat their enemy the trapper

 

The final book in the award winning trilogy "Run with the wind", "Run to the Earth", "Run Swift Run Free" is a coming of age adventure as the young foxes learn to survive- but how will they be able to fens for themselves adn run swift, run free

 

 

If you like stories about animals you will probabally like this book! I read this when I was in school and I still loved it reading it this time around. It's also won lots of awards like Bisto book of the Decade! The story follows three fox cubs as they grow up, learn to hunt and face lots of dangerous things like hunters, traps and other animals  The story is very exciting and you are never sure if all the cubs are going to survive, you also find out a lot of interesting things about foxes. This is the last book in the trilogy but you don't have to have read the first two to enjoy it.
 

Lots of our book club really liked this book and went on to read other books by Tom Mc Caughran.There is also "Run to the Ark" "Run to the Wild Woods" and "Run for Cover"


 "Run Swift Run Free is quite difficult to find in the shops but we do have copies in the library along with Tom's other books  ! We did a quiz about foxes and we also listened to sounds a fox makes online  Did you know that foxes have over 40 different calls and sounds, some to warn of danger some just to say hi and some for when they are fighting.



 

We also looked at a really great book called "My first book of Irish animals" by Juanita Browne and found all kinds of great facts about foxes,  worth checking out to find out more about animals in Ireland, good for projects!

Guns of Easter by Gerard Whelan

 

 

 

 

It is 1916 and Europe is at war. From the poverty of the Dublin slums twelve-year-old Jimmy Conway sees it all as glorious, and loves the British Army for which his father is fighting.

But when war comes to his own streets Jimmy's loyalties are divided. The rebels occupy the General Post Office and other parts of the city, and Jimmy's uncle is among them. Dublin's streets are destroyed, business comes to a halt.

In an attempt to find food for his family, Jimmy crosses the city, avoiding the shooting, weaving through the army patrols, hoping to make it home before curfew. But his quest is not easy and danger threatens at every corner.

As it is the 100th anniversary of the 1916 rising we decided to start the year off by reading a book based on this time in history. This is one of my favourite books that we have done so far in the book club, and  if you don't know much about what happened in 1916 it is a great way of finding out more. This book kept me reading and reading until I'd finished it, I couldn't put it down.

The story follows Jimmy who need to cross the city just as the 1916 rising takes place and shows how dangerous Dublin was at this moment in time.

 We felt that the book gave a good account of what happened and the author wasn't on one side or the other. We looked at the proclamation and at a map of where everything took place and had a good talk about what life was like then and the characters in the book and we played a game of identifying who said what in the book. We also looked at pictures of what Dublin looked like in 1916. This was from a pack put together by South Dublin Libraries Local Studies section and has lots of info, facts and pictures about the 1916 rising

                                                                 

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Emil and the detectives by Erich Kastner

 

 

 

 

If Mrs Tischbein had known the amazing adventures her son Emil would have in Berlin, she'd never have let him go.

Unfortunately, when his seven pounds goes missing on the train, Emil is determined to get it back - and when he teams up with the detectives he meets in Berlin, it's just the start of a marvellous money-retrieving adventure . . .

A classic and influential story, Emil and the Detectives remains an enthralling read.

This was our November book and I really loved this story. It's a little bit different as it was written in 1929 in German and was later translated into English. The story is mostly set in Berlin and follows Emil who tries to get his stolen money back with the help of the new friends he makes, so its' a detective story really. Like all the books that we read so people loved it and some didn't

 Emil and the detectives was made  into a film  in 1935, so it's in black and white! and we watched a bit of it during our meeting. There is a more recent film of Emil but it's German. We also did a quiz and some activity sheets. Emil and the detectives is such a great story that it's available in the library and in book shops years and years after it was first written

Mr Gum and the Biscuit Billionaire by Andy Stanton

Mr Gum is horrid—in fact, absolutely grimsters. But this book's not just about him, it's also about a gingerbread man named Alan Taylor who has electric muscles! Plus, all our favorite characters are back: the little girl called Polly, the evil butcher called Billy William The Third, and the very wise man, Friday O'Leary. And, who could forget loveable Jake the dog, or the angry fairy who lives in Mr Gum's bathtub and whacks him on the head with a frying-pan? This book will have you crying with laughter!


Our book for our October meeting was "Mr Gum and the biscuit Billionaire".  Some people loved the book and were going to look for more Mr Gum books to read but others weren't so keen on the story and thought it was a bit rude : )    There are lots of  characters and the story moves very fast so it can be a bit confusing but if you are looking for a quick , easy funny read this could be for you.

 Mr Gum has a great website with all kids of stories, games and quizzes, check out the picture of our drawings of Mr Gum. David Tazzyman who illustrates the Mr Gum books has a video on the website of how to draw him and we followed this. We also did a quiz

 

 

 

Our First meeting after theSummer holidays was on Thursday 17th of September. We had some new members and kids from last year as well. This meeting was all about picture books for older kids. There are some realy great picture books aimed at older children that often get missed, they can  have fantastic pictures and great stories in them. Some books just have pictures and you have to guess the story. We picked two books to look at together

Rose Blanche by Roberto Innocenti & Ian Mc Ewan

Rose Blanche was the name of a group of young German citizens who, at their peril, protested against the war. Like them, Rose observes all the changes going on around her which others choose to ignore. She watches as the streets of her small German town fill with soldiers. One day she sees a little boy escaping from the back of a truck, only to be captured by the mayor and shoved back into it. Rose follows the truck to a desolate place out of town, where she discovers many other children, staring hungrily from behind an electric barbed wire fence. She starts bringing the children food, instinctively sensing the need for secrecy, even with her mother. Until the tide of the war turns and soldiers in different uniforms stream in from the East, and Rose and the imprisoned children disappear for ever . . .

Grandfather's Journey By Allan Say

A Japanese-American man recounts his grandfather's journey to America, which he later undertakes himself, and the feelings of being torn by a love for two different countries.


After reading and taking about these books we had a look at other picture books for older readers

 

And then everyone picked up the book for the next meeting on  Thursday the 15th of October

Mr Gum and the Biscuit Billionaire by Andy Stanton

 

 

Journey to the river sea

Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

It is 1910 and Maia, tragically orphaned at 13, has been sent from England to start a new life with distant relatives in Manaus, hundreds of miles up the Amazon. She is accompanied by an eccentric and mysterious governess who has secret reasons of her own for making the journey. Both soon discover an exotic world bursting with new experiences in this highly colourful, joyous and award-winning adventure.

Maia is sent to live with relations in a town on the Amazon in Brazil. Nothing turns out as she had expected and she has a pretty miserable time until she makes friends with Finn who lives in the jungle near her house and Clovis a child who works in an  acting company on tour in Brazil
This was the last book we read before the Summer holidays, I love this book as it has lots of twists and turns, the characters are interesting and it's a really great story. It wasn't everyone's  favourite as it is quite long and there is a lot going on in the plot. Some people found it a bit confusing to keep track of everything that is happening. Some of our group would recommend it though.

As this was our last meeting before the summer we had a vote to see what our most popular books during the year were. Our top three reads were:

1st "Beyond the Cherry Tree" by Joe O'Brien

2nd "There’s a boy in the Girls Bathroom" by Louis Sacar

3rd "The Firework Maker's Daughter" by Phillip Pullman

Everyone loved Joe O' Brien's book "Beyond the Cherry Tree" We were lucky enough to have a visit from Joe for one of our meetings where we got to quiz him on the characters and story. Louis Sacar and Philip Pullman were close and highly recommended as well

Book for meeting in May

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo

 

 

It’s 1943, and Lily Tregenza lives on a farm, in the idyllic seaside village of Slapton. Her life is scarcely touched by the war until one day Lily and her family, along with all of the other villagers, are told to move out of their homes – lock, stock and barrel.
Soon, the whole area is out of bounds, as the Allied forces practice their landings for D-day, preparing to invade France. But Tips, Lily’s adored cat, has other ideas – barbed wire and keep-out signs mean nothing to her, nor does the danger of guns and bombs. Frantic to find her, Lily decides to cross the wire into the danger zone to look for Tips herself…

The book for our next book club meeting in May  is "The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips" by Michael Morpurgo. Pick up your book at the library desk in Ballyroan