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Build a library

Wallace & Gromit: Cracking Contraptions Manual by Haynes – review and giveaway #100books

8th February 2011 by Jax Blunt

We’ve been sent some great stuff to review as part of the 100 books challenge, but this has been one of Small’s favourites. So I’m particularly glad to have been sent two copies – meaning I can give one away without having to pry it out of Small’s grasping fingers!

We like Haynes stuff here. Small has a Haynes manual Death Star t-shirt that I got him just before Christmas, and Tim is slightly jealous that they don’t go up to his size. This book is everything you’d expect from a collaboration between experienced manual writers and slightly nutty contraption builders – especially ones who’ve created an Edit-o-Mattic machine :D. It’s great fun for Wallace and Gromit fans, and pretty good even if you’re not that up on them. There’s loads of pics from the various films, detailed drawings of all the contraptions, and descriptions too. Plenty of material to keep you going for quite a while.

If you fancy your own copy of this manual, all you need to do is leave me a pick-me comment. And if you’d like a second entry, tweet or FB this post, preferably explaining a little about the #100books challenge and what I’m trying to achieve with it, and leave me a second comment telling me where you’ve shared it. The competition will run until Friday 11th at midnight, and I’ll pick a winner using random.org on Saturday. (If that winner doesn’t get back to me by Friday 18th, I’ll pick again.) UK entries only please, as I’ve to cover the postage!

Book 63 of 100. [Read more…] about Wallace & Gromit: Cracking Contraptions Manual by Haynes – review and giveaway #100books

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Filed Under: 100 book challenge, giveaway, review Tagged With: 100BookChallenge, 100books, Build a library, charity, Haynes, Wallace and Gromit

And still they came #100books

31st January 2011 by Jax Blunt Leave a Comment

Few more reviews that the kids finished off earlier.

Big reviewed There’s A Pharaoh In Our Bath! – her third Jeremy Strong of the week I think. And I took a look at the fourth Astral Legacies book, The Elephants’ Call, as sent to us by Top That Publishing.

Small read and reviewed The Great Space Race which he seems to have liked. Not that there seems to have been much he hasn’t liked to be honest 😉

Book 57, 58 and 59 of 100. [Read more…] about And still they came #100books

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Filed Under: 100 book challenge, Big, Small steps Tagged With: 100BookChallenge, Astral Legacies, Build a library, charity, Gordon Volke, Jeremy Strong, top that publishing

Connor's Eco den #100Books

31st January 2011 by Jax Blunt 2 Comments

On our library raid yesterday I spotted a book with a geodesic dome on the cover. I couldn’t resist, and added to the pile of 71 books we were bringing home with us.

It’s an interesting take. Turns out that Barrington Stoke, the publishers, are working very hard to design books for reluctant readers. This particular book is shot through with facts, although as many of them are totally accepting of global warming, a theory which does have its detractors, it’s difficult to say whether some of these are facts or propaganda. I don’t think that is the point of this book though – I think the facts are to draw in ppl who might find a story a bit pointless. And I was a bit disappointed to find that there might be a geodesic dome on the front, but it doesn’t feature in the story.

Still, it’s an interesting book, and an even more interesting publishing company. I shall be looking into them and their resources further.

Book 56 of 100. [Read more…] about Connor's Eco den #100Books

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Filed Under: 100 book challenge Tagged With: 100BookChallenge, 100books, Barrington Stoke, Build a library, charity, dyslexia, Pippa Goodhart

Divide and Rule #100Books

31st January 2011 by Jax Blunt Leave a Comment

I borrowed Divide and Rule from a friend’s last week (accidentally leaving my half finished review copy of O: A Presidential Novel there in exchange, so that won’t get finished and reviewed til next week now, *oops*). I like Jan Mark – as is obvious by the fact that I’ve already reviewed a couple by her this month, and this looked interesting.

It didn’t disappoint. It’s a psychological and philosophical novel about religion, the story of a young man’s experience living in a temple for a year, and tbh, nearly as deep and deeply worrying as something like 1984. It could easily be read on a lighter level, but there’s a lot going on – Jan Mark really didn’t hesitate to address the darker side of human nature and society in these books, ostensibly for teens. I can only say that any adults who turn away from them because of those labels are doing themselves no favours at all.

Book 55 of 100. [Read more…] about Divide and Rule #100Books

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Filed Under: 100 book challenge Tagged With: 100BookChallenge, 100books, Build a library, charity, Jan Mark

Off the shelf #100books

31st January 2011 by Jax Blunt Leave a Comment

A few more round up reviews of books that we’ve had around for ages and I’ve read again to Smallest.

The Whales’ Song is one of the batch of mini treasures that we picked up, but it’s also a book we’ve had for a while. It doesn’t seem like a first picture book somehow – it’s quite a deep story, and they are detailed, older pictures if that makes any sense. It’s a thought provoking tale at some levels, as well as being a quiet short story about a girl and some animals.

Thank You Kitty and Kitty Helps Out are large format pictures books with flaps that have survived two children so far, though may have to work quite hard to survive Smallest as she seems to take personal affront to anything stuck in books, like library labels or flaps. These are both somewhat moralistic stories in which Kitty discovers the virtues of helping her friends, most of whom are more often found on cat menus rather than Christmas card lists iyswim. So Kitty helps little Rabbit find his teddy, and shares her ball of wool with the birds and mice, and everyone lives happily ever after with smiling Cat looking on. That said, these books are really quite inoffensive, and have been favourites of our family for a decade now.

Book 52, 53, and 54 of 100. [Read more…] about Off the shelf #100books

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Filed Under: 100 book challenge Tagged With: 100BookChallenge, 100books, Build a library, charity, picture books

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