Jackie won a pony

Author: Judith M. Berrisford
Pages: 127
Age group: 9+
Genre: Horses, Adventure
First published: 1958

Blurb
Dear Jaqueline,
You will, I am sure, be delighted to learn that the judges of our competition for the best essay on 'If i won a pony' have awarded you the first prize of a pony.
yours sincerely,
Stephen Clarke
Editor of horseshoes
Jackie has always longed for a pony of her own. Now she can have her pick of any number of beautiful, well-bred, highly-trained ponies. But then she sees Misty-a sad, grey pony, pulling a firewood cart- and Jackie knows that, for her no other pony will do.

My review
I am such a fan of old Horse books!! Jackie won a pony was so 'original'! I thought it was such a cool book! It was all about how a girl called Jackie wins a pony of her choice but although she has choice of many well bred show horses but ends up choosing an ex-cart pulling horse. They have many adventures together and make many friends along the way. I rate this book 8 out of 10.

Hi everyone,
Hope you are all healthy and well.
Back at school/work again!! :(
Holidays are over!
enjoy this awesome book!
Courts 

The Mennyms

Author: Sylvia Waugh
Pages: 236
Age Group: 9+
Genre: Mystery, Real life, 
 From the outside, 5 Brocklehurst Grove looks like an ordinary house - the windows are always clean, and the garden well-tended. And from the inside, to hear the voices of the inhabitants, the Mennym family, you would think they were an ordinary family, too. Wrong! The Mennyms - Granny and Grandpa, Vinetta and Joshua and their five children, as well as the elusive Miss Quigley and mysterious Pilbeam - are far from ordinary. The whole family shares an astonishing secret to which nobody has even come close... until perhaps,now. When an airmail letter from Australia comes through the letterbox of number 5, its contents are enough to plunge the whole family into fear that now, for the first time, the mystery surrounding it is about to be exposed. 

My review 

Great book! very unusual and creative, you have no idea what is going to happen next! I rate it 8 out of 10. I found it a really interesting book so I'm sure you would enjoy reading it too. This is the first book in the Mennym's series and starts it off with a boom! Highly recommend to primary school students especially!

Hopefully I'll see you again,

Courts

Americans Vs Australians

I would just like to let you all know that the Americans have officially had more views than that of the people of my Home country Australia. I would just like to say to all you Americans Thank you for supporting me and i would also like to promote My Favourite Australian Authors to you as i think Australia has some very talented authors and I only reccomend the best. 
So continue reading and I shall work to make my blog better and more personal!
If you have any Ideas please, please share them with me by posting underneath this post or by emailing me (go into my profile and click contact me button).
Hope to hear from you,
Courtney
 

Hello everyone

Hi everyone,
I would just like to thank you all for supporting me on my blog throughout my first year in 2012! If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for things that i could change or add to my blog to improve it. I would love to hear from you! Thanks again for reading and (hopefully) enjoying my writing. I love to hear from people all around the world so feel free to comment on my posts etc!
Hope you continue following my reading progress throughout 2013.
Thanks again
Courtney :)

A Basket of flowers

Author: Christoph Von Schmid
Pages:189
Age Group: 11+
Genre: Christian, real life, imprisonment
First Published:1999

 Blurb

Mary grows up sheltered and secure in a beautiful cottage with a loving father. She learns lessons about humility, purity and forgiveness under her father's watchful gaze.

However, it doesn't last. Even though she loves God and obeys him this does not protect her ultimately from the envy and hatred of others. Mary is given a generous gift of a new dress from her friend Amelia, the daughter of the local landowner. This incites envy from Juliette, Amelia's maid who had wanted the dress for herself.

When Amelia's mother's ring goes missing Juliette decides to pass the blame onto Mary. Both Mary and her father are imprisoned for the crime and eventually exiled from their home. Mary learns to trust in God completely as difficulty follows after difficulty.

Even when she doubts if she will ever clear her name she turns back to God who is a constant source of comfort to her. Who did steal the ring in the end? That is the final unexpected twist in the tale, which makes this book a really good read. 

My Review

Hi, Everyone! My Best Friend Damaris Brought me this book! 

Message to D: Thanks Damaris, Loved the Book.

 It is a really great book, she couldn't have chosen a better book for me! It was very educational, with some very important morals behind the text. I highly recommend this book to you not just because of the story but because it has lessons in it that could change the way you live! I Rate this book 8 out of 10 but I will +1 because of the great lessons embed in the story so I rate it...
 9 out of 10!!!

Hope you read this one,

Summer is here!

It is starting to warm up here in Victoria

am looking forward to the warmer weather.

Christmas is coming up pretty quickly!!

I might post some Christmas present ideas up sometime next month!   

See you all soon,

Courtney the reader behind the posts!! 

Sparrow

Author: Michael Morpurgo
Pages:253
Age group: 11+
Genre: Joan of Arc, history, Birds, Battles
Published: 2012
There was only one creature on this earth who really knew Joan. He was a sparrow, just an ordinary sparrow...
He was her best friend on this earth, maybe her only friend, too.
A young girl faces an impossible task - to save her beloved France from tyrants. To free her country, Joan will lose everyone she has ever loved. But she listens to her heart and believes in her calling.
Many years later, a girl called Eloise has a very special dream about her heroine, Joan of Arc.
My Review
wow! Great book! This was a really interesting book which is set in the time of Joan Of Arc. It was even more suitable because at school I am learning about the Medieval Times. The story is told through both a sparrow and Joan's point of view. It is all about Joan's life and how she rids the English out of France. 

Hope you enjoy this great book by Michael Morpugo! He also published a book called outlaw about robin hood, when sparrow was released!
See you soon,
Courtney 

#9 Trixie Belden and the Happy valley mystery

Author: Kathryn Kenny (Pen name)
Pages: 212
Age group: 11-adult (everyone likes Trixie no matter what age!)
Genre: Mystery, Farm life, 

"we'd better get out of here," Jim said. Trixie nodded, unable to say anything. A rush and a roar of water followed the collapse of the bridge. About fifty or seventy-five feet from them, water swirled angrily. Big tree branches floated by out in the current, then the bloated body of a cow, and half a dozen chickens. 
"turn the car around as fast as you can," Honey urged, terrified. "Oh, you can't turn around, Jim! There isn't a road anymore!"

My Review
When the Bob-Whites go to the Beldens uncle's farm they are thrilled! But when Trixie finds out there are some sheep thieves on the loose, she is constantly naming suspects who turn out to be neighbors or people who are definitely not the thieves. So she is the laughing stock of the household! This really upsets her and makes her even more eager to find the real thieves! Will she find out who is stealing her uncles sheep? What is the strange light in the woods near the farm?
Will Trixie find out the answers???

A great book, Hope you are having a good holiday, and enjoying the last few days! Take care,
Courtney