Y4 Book Reviews

Year 4 homework this week is to write a review of a book that you have really enjoyed reading recently and that you think others will also enjoy reading. Write your review as a comment to this post, remembering all the things we learned this week about how to write a good book review.

Remember to include all of these important features:

  • Title:
  • Author:
  • Who are the main characters in the story?
  • What are they like?
  • What happens in the story?
  • Which parts did you like and why?
  • Do you have a favourite part of the book?
  • Which parts didn’t you like and why?
  • Were there parts of the book that you thought could have been changed to make the book better?
  • How did the story make you feel?
  • Were there funny or scary bits?
  • What did the story make you think about?
  • Did you learn anything from the story?
  • Would you recommend the book to a friend? Why?
  • If you didn’t like the book can you think why?
  • Who would like the book?

I can’t wait to read your recommendations!

19 thoughts on “Y4 Book Reviews

  1. Tittle: The Midnight gang

    Author: David Walliams

    The Midnight gang is an adventurous book about a boy called Tom he is in hospital because he got a cricket ball to the head in a ward with 4 other people Amber who has broken both her arms and both her legs, Robin who is recovering from an eye operation and can’t see anything, George who is recovering from having his tonsils taken out and Sally who is so sick she spends most of her days in bed. Together they make the midnight gang!(except Sally who is in bed).

    My favourite part is when ninety year old Nelly takes a bundle of balloons and floats into the sky but the wind blows her clothes and she is left with only knickers on! Another part I liked is when matron gives Tom a big stinky dress to wear to bed! This book is a real page turner and makes think how lucky you are to have parents when it tells you when that’s happened to the porter when he was abandoned on the steps of the hospital and makes me feel bad for orphans. Another feeling I felt is kindness and generosity because when give Sally the fazes of life she really loved it and it was very nice of then to do that.

    I recommend this book 6+ because I feel people younger would get scared of the porter’s face and I think that the genre is a adventure I also recommend David Walliams and I think that you should stay notified for his books (Fing) is one of them.

  2. My name is Stilton, Geronimo Stilton
    By Elisabetta Dami
    The main character in the story is Stilton, a mouse who writes for a newspaper called The Rodents Gazette and he lives in New Mouse City. He is too busy and hires an assistant. She is called Pinky Pick and her favourite colour is pink, she is 13 and the opposite of old Stilton. She makes him change his look, what he is wearing and the colour of his office. Pinky Pick interviews a famous rock star and tells him what a mean boss Stilton is.

    My favourite part of the book is the party on New Year’s Day because it was lots of fun. It was a very funny book and made me laugh out loud. I recommend this book to kids who are 7 or over and like funny adventure books.

  3. Harry Potter & The Philosophers Stone
    J.K Rowling

    This is the first book in Harry Potter books. my favourite character is Ron because he is funny and the main characters are Harry, Ron and Herminey. They are adventurous and they find the Philosophers Stone. The best bit I found was when they found the Philosophers Stone. I didn’t not find any bits bad. The story made me not want to stop reading. I recommend it for 7 year old or over. I think everyone would like this book. The book made me think about adventure. I really liked this book and it is full of twists and turns.

  4. The Parent Agency – By David Baddiel

    This book is about a 9 year old boy called Barry who goes to The Parent Agency because he hates his parents. He hates them for a lot of reasons, but the one thing he hates most about them is that they are boring. At The Parent Agency, Barry gets the choice of which parents he wants. He is asked by the head of The Parent Agency to choose his parents within 5 days, by living with each set of parents for 24 hours.

    I found this book funny, sometimes moving and always engaging. My favourite part in the book was when Barry was playing a football match. He had scored a header, landed on the ground, started sleeping straight away and had to be carried off on a stretcher along with a teddy bear, a blanket and a pillow.

    My favourite characters are TSE which stands for The Sisterly Entity and they are sisters of Barry. They are my favourite characters in the book because whenever Barry says something they’re always writing what he says on a pad of paper and always winding him up.

    This is a comedy fiction book. This book is aimed at 8-11 year olds. I highly recommend it and hope you will enjoy reading it!

    By Aran Tanna(4R)

  5. Oscar’s Book Review

    Title: The Midnight Gang

    Author: David Walliams

    Main Characters:

    Tom is twelve and goes to a posh boarding school. He has hurt his head.

    Amber is twelve. She has broken both of her arms and both of her legs, so she has been in a wheel chair for a very long time.

    Robin is also twelve. He is recovering from an operation to save his eyesight and for now cannot see a thing.

    George is eleven and from the East End of London which makes him a cockney. He is recovering from having his tonsils removed.

    Sally is just ten and the youngest of the group. As she is so ill she spends most of her time sleeping.

    Porter is a lonely figure whose real name is a mystery. His job is to move people and things around the hospital.

    Matron. Despite running the children’s ward, she doesn’t like children at all.

    Plot:

    The story begins when Tom gets hit on the head by a cricket ball and finds himself in hospital. Little does Tom know he is about to start on the most exciting journey of a lifetime.

    This is the story of five children on a hospital ward on a quest for adventure!

    There are many parts of the book I particularly enjoyed. Firstly, I found it hilarious when George tricked Matron into thinking he was eating a box of chocolates late at night. She caught him, took away the chocolates and then started eating them herself. What she didn’t realise was that the children had put crushed sleeping pills into the chocolates. They were then able to continue their adventure without the worry of matron stopping them.

    Another part which I enjoyed was when the children helped Sally make her dream come true. She was too poorly to join them on their adventures so they brought the adventures to Sally.

    My favourite part of the book was seeing the children become really close friends and seeing their different characters unfold. I found George the funniest character.

    I didn’t like the part where Matron shouted at the children in the ward. She was very mean and cruel to them.

    There weren’t any parts of the story that I would have changed to make it better.

    The story made me feel happy and warm inside as I could imagine going on similar adventures with my school friends.

    There were lots of funny parts, one of which was when Tom mentioned that his bottom really was on fire when sliding down the bannister!

    The story made me think that you should never judge someone by their appearance. The porter was an unattractive, overweight man with bad teeth, but he turns out to be an extremely nice man who helps the children on their adventures.

    I would definitely recommend this book to a friend. It is very funny and I liked seeing how the children became great friends and stuck together.

    Anyone would like this book, young or old. I have enjoyed reading all the books written by David Walliams, as well as seeing the films on television. The Midnight Gang is my favourite so far. If you haven’t yet read it you must!

  6. Diary of a wimpy kid the meltdown
    By Jeff Kinney

    The main character in this story is a boy called Greg Haffley. He is funny but can also be a little bit silly. At the beginning of the story it shows how Greg got an F- in his exam and had to do it again. In the middle of the story the whole of Surrey street has a huge snowball fight! The book is so good that there were no bits in the story that I did not like!

    My favourite part of the story was the middle of the story. The only thing I would change is the beginning of the story so it could have a little bit more detail to it. The story made me feel amused after the funny bits. The moral of the story is that fighting doesn’t solve anything.

    I would recommend this book to people who like books with humour in them. And finally I would say this book would be 5+ because there are no scary bits.

  7. My Book Review
    Book: How to train your dragon number one.
    Author: Cressida Cowell
    Reviewed by: Henry Ballinger (Age 9)

    Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the III is a tiny little Viking who would never be expected to be a hero. He lives on a small island called the isle of berk. One day, a Sea Dragon Giganticus Maximus appears on the beach and Hiccup has to lead all of the Hairy Hooligan tribe to fight the monster. Will he survive?

    It is a brilliant opener to the twelve How to Train your Dragon books. My favourite part is when Hiccup fights the dragon in a massive battle. Hiccup is my favourite character as even though he is small he stands up to anything. This shows other small people that you shouldn’t be afraid.

    It is an adventure book and I would recommend it to ages 8+. It is hilarious so that is why anyone would like it. I loved it, so other people my age would also like it.

  8. Mr. Stink
    By David walliams

    The main characters in this story are Chloe and Mr. Stink. Mr. Stink is a typical homeless person. He is stinky, generous and a humble man. Chloe, Is very helpful, kind, humble and she gets bullied alot in school. Even outside of school. In the story, Chloe wakes up to find that a homeless man called Mr. Stink was making a huge odorous stench around the town. Chloe helps him by giving him a five pound note. But he refuses.
    My favourite part in the story was when Mr. Stink told Chloe how he got homeless. The book used to make me laugh and make me fell bad at times. This story made me see how bad the experience of being a homeless man is. I’ve learnt that money isn’t everything.
    I would recommend this book thoughtful people. This is a perfect book for people who are humerus, once again thoughtful and generous. I liked this book because this is not an adventure story, this is a story that teaches you a lesson.

  9. Demon Dentist
    David Walliams

    Demon dentist is an amazing book it all starts off about a little boy called Alfie he never goes to the dentist for his own little reason. Alfie was a normal boy he as at the dentist and he needed a tooth to be pulled out, but the dentist pulled out the wrong one!!! Alfie never goes there again a few years later there is a new dentist. She looks very peculiar and Alfie and his friend Gabz do not trust her. Read this amazing book to find out what happens next.
    I loved this book my favourite part is when Alfie goes to the new dentist because its scary and creepy. This is the best book I’ve read out of all the David Walliams series so far. This book couldn’t have been better there is nothing I would change, it’s got everything a good book needs to have. The story made me feel scared, anxious and quite sad.
    This book made me think about we can’t live forever. The story can be for anyone grown-ups, boys or girls because everyone likes some type of genre and this has got all of them for example love, action and adventure. If the book had a little bit less sadness, I wouldn’t like it because it already is very sad for me.

  10. Charlie and the chocolate factory
    By Roald Dahl
    Charlie and the chocolate factory is an amazing fantasy book. It is about a small boy named Charlie who comes from a poor family. There was a colossal chocolate factory near his house. Mr Willy Wonka the owner of the chocolate factory was giving away 5 golden tickets to see his factory. The tickets could be found in his chocolate bars. With some small money from his Grandpa Charlie went to get some chocolate in hope of getting the golden ticket. Will Charlie get the golden ticket…?
    My favourite part of this book is the build up to Charlie getting the golden ticket because there was so much suspense so I had to read on to find out what happened. My favourite character is Mr Willy Wonka because he is full of secrets and he is very buzzing. Charlie and the chocolate factory made me feel sad for Charlie because his family didn’t have much money. I also felt very hopeful for Charlie because if he got the golden ticket it would help his family a lot. From this book I learnt that life can always change, it has no boundaries no matter what kind of family you come from.
    Charlie and the chocolate factory is a very amusing book so if you like comedy this is the book for you. I would recommend this book for 8-10 year olds. If you like chocolate then I recommend this book for you.

  11. Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid – The Meltdown
    Author: Jeff Kinney

    When Greg Heffley’s middle school is closed down because of snow his neighbourhood becomes a war zone. The Lower Surrey Street and the Hill children fight each other, build forts and have epic snowball fights. Greg and his best friend Rowley Jefferson have to play their cards right in order to survive the madness.

    I absolutely loved this book. It is funny in all the right places and extremely entertaining. The main character Greg is my favourite because he’s a normal boy with no heroic qualities but in the end he always manages to successfully navigate whatever problems come his way.

    This book is aimed at children 7 and over. The writing is presented in a messy font which might be hard to read for weaker readers. However, there are lots of amusing illustrations to help with the potentially challenging font. Definitely a must read and to top it all this book belongs to a series so there’s plenty more to choose from. A big thumbs up from me!

  12. A Series of Unfortunate Events – Lemony Snicket.
    Main characters are the Baudelaire orphans and Count Olaf.
    The older child (Violet)is intresded in machinery, the middle child (Klaus)loves books ,the third child (Sunny)likes to bite people! Count Olaf is after the Baudelaire fortune.

    The children’s parents die and they go to live with Count Olaf , he tries to marry Violet to get their inheritance. Count Olaf is a mean man ,so when he went to jail I was full of joy. I didn’t like it when Sunny was trapped to make Violet lure her.

    This is a great book as it introduces words that are difficult,then it explains the meanings.Also the plot is mysterious. I would recommend it.

  13. THE WITCHES BY ROALD DAHL

    The main character in the story was a little boy who lived in England and liked visiting his Grandma every holiday. His Parents would normally take him to his Grandma who lived in a different Country.
    Not very long after his last visit, his Parents died in a car crash which meant he now had to live with his Grandma in a different Country.
    His Grandma told him there were Witches living in England who pretended to me normal women. They wore wigs, had no toes and they wanted to kill children! They had a formula that turned children into mice. Luckily, the little Boy saved the day!
    My favourite characters were the Boy because he turned out to be a hero, his Parents because they were really kind by taking him to his Grandma’s on holiday and his Grandma because she told him bedside stories every night.
    My favourite scene was when the Boy and his Grandma snuck into the Head Witches’ hotel room and got the formula that turned children to mice.
    The story made me feel scary and excited at the same time. The book also made me think of a ballroom because the witches had meetings in the ballroom.
    I learnt from this storybook that everyone has what it takes to be a hero!
    I recommend this book to any adventure loving book reader. This is because he or she would feel emotions like a rollercoaster up and down inside them! (Also, if you are scared of Witches please read this book with a Parent).

  14. Krindlekrax
    Author Philip Ridley

    In a street called Lizard street there is a boy called Ruskin. He has frizzy red hair and he is an ordinary boy but then he turns into a hero. He is one of the main characters.There are 3 main characters. The main characters are Ruskin,Elvis the bully and Krindlekrax. Krindlekrax is a monster.

    Ithink there is a life lesson in the story and the lesson is to stand up for yourself.

    In my opinion for anyone reading this you should buy the book or read it on google .My favourite part is when Elvis’ ball smashes one of Ruskins windows and Ruskins mum ,wendy said pollywollydoodle all the day long I think it is aimed at boys and girls.I think people should read.I think there is a life lesson to this book and I think the lesson is to stand up for yourself.

  15. Title: WarHorse
    Author: Michael Morpurgo
    Reviewed by: Shourya

    The main characters of this story are a boy called Albert and a horse called Joey.
    It all starts when Albert’s dad went to a bidding for a horse and he won. When Albert’s dad took the horse home, he showed to his son Albert and he named him Joey. When war was about to begin, a person called Captain Nicholas came to take Joey to war.
    My favourite part was when Albert got blind and he knew Joey was in front of him and no one else believed him but then they found out it was his horse. I loved it because it felt like they had a connection. The story made me feel happy from inside because it was all about friendship. I learnt that friendship is really important.
    I would recommend this book to people who are in year 3 and year 4 because I think they will enjoy it and it will teach them to be nice and friendly when they are growing up and not to be mean.

  16. Title: The world’s worst Children
    Author: David Walliams
    My choice of book for the review was The World’s Worst Children no1 – as it is super funny and made me want to continue reading. There are ten short stories included in the book. I have chosen to pick out one of those stories: Dribbling Drew.
    Dribbling Drew is a story about a boy who likes to sleep and dribble all day. One day he went on a school trip to the Natural History museum and found a place to sit, sleep and dribble. He fell asleep but continued to dribble all night. In the morning a man opened up the museum and there was so much dribble that it poured out into the town destroying it all. It was so funny!
    Who are the main characters in the story? Dribbling Drew, Bertha the Blubberer & Nigel nit-boy
    What are they like? Drew is a lazy wimp, Bertha is a cry baby, and Nigel is a rude and selfish boy.
    What happens in the story? In dribbling Drew, he dribbles so much at a museum that the town floods.
    Which parts did you like and why? I liked it when he destroyed the town, with his dribbling because it made me laugh.
    Do you have a favourite part of the book? My favourite part was when the town being destroyed.
    Which parts didn’t you like and why? The description of the boy was too long and the actual story was quite short.
    Were there parts of the book that you thought could have been changed to make the book better? Yes, they could have spend less time describing the boy and more time creating the story.
    How did the story make you feel? The story made me want to read on more of the short stories included.
    Were there funny or scary bits? There were lots of funny parts to the story, no scary bits.
    What did the story make you think about? It made me think that I should not be lazy and how nice it is to be helpful when asked.
    Did you learn anything from the story? Only to be more helpful
    Would you recommend the book to a friend? Why? Yes, it is really funny and very enjoyable.
    If you didn’t like the book can you think why?
    Who would like the book? I think the book is suitable to children aged 5 -12 years old.

  17. Grandpa’s Great Escape (by David Walliams)

    Grandpa’s great escape is about a boy called Jack and his grandfather, who fought in World War II. Jacks grandfather was getting old, so his parents sent him to an old folks home called Twilight Towers, where he would spend the rest of his life. Yet do they know that Twilight Towers is a terrible place, with three horrible nurses, Nurse Rose, Nurse Blossom and Nurse Daisy, but worst of all is the manager that run’s the place, Miss Swine. Can Jack and his granddad defeat them and escape from Twilight Towers, ones and for all?

    I think Grandpa’s great escape is a brilliant book especially for those that like action books. My favourite part of the story was when Jack and his family went looking for Grandpa in the night. My favourite character is Raj the local newsagent, because he is a very kind and nice man, and is one of Jacks and his Grandpas best friends.

    I recommend this book for ages 8-12, the genre it is an adventure book because it takes you though an epic journey as if you where really there.

  18. Boy in the dress
    By David William
    Illustrated by Quinten Blake
    Rating: 5 stars
    A boy called Dennis is different to everyone else. He likes to read the Vogue, put on makeup and dress up like a girl. Dennis life was boring because his mum died. He only had his dad and his rude brother. He only had one picture of his mum and he wasn’t even allowed to have a hug in the house or anywhere.

    My favourite part is when Dennis put a girl’s dress on and wear it to school. The teacher didn’t even notice. If you are different it doesn’t mean you have to be like everyone else. I liked it when Dennis played football with a skirt on. The book made me sad because Dennis was expelled because he didn’t do anything wrong.

    I think that who ever likes funny books will love it. If you finish the book you should definitely read The Midnight Gang because it’s by the same author. David Walliams makes funny shows and writes funny books. He will always find a way to make you laugh.

    By Zachary

  19. Krindlekrax by Philip

    Krindlekrax is a adventure book,the main characters are about called Ruskin and the other called Elvis. Ruskin is a very shy boy with frizzy red hair and Elvis is a bully he threatens the whole street. And there is a creature that lives under the street it’s Krindlekrax.

    My favourite character is Wendy because she said Polly-willy-doodle-all- the-day .my other favorite character is Mr Lace who always eats pencils. Krindlekrax Is a a crocodile that gave a man called corky a heart attack! So Ruskin went to fight Krindlekrax who will win

    I love this book it is really funny I recommend this book for both genders and the age rating is 7 years old

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