"Are you boys going home from vacation?" everyone asks Al Capsella and his friend as they board a bus for Scutchthorpe. Alas for Al, he is going to Scutchthorpe for their vacation. But he won't need his surfboard unless it gets pretty windy by Reilly's Dam (a lot of things get lost in Reilly's Dam). The truth is, it has been a little while since I read this book and I don't remember every detail. But it might be the funniest book I've ever read. I couldn't recommend it to people after I read it because as I was trying to explain it I would start laughing uncontrollably. I think it is a complete book, I am 21 now and would read it again without hesitating, I think the last time I read it I was 20, so don't be afraid if you've passed your teenage years. I loved the other two Al Capsella books, maybe the Heroic Life is better, but this one is definitely the funniest. I especially recommend this to people who love Gordon Korman. For anyone who has ever wondered why birds fly south for the winter, J. Clarke might just be able to answer your question. This book just shouldn't be out of print!

My nephew is such a huge fan of the movie, "Dinosaur". He wants to know everything about Aladar, and this book has everything you ever wanted to know about him. What a joy it was to find this book. Now I'm getting one for all his cousins!!

When I found this book in my libary I picked it up and began to read it. After the prompting of a somewhat aggressive librarian I borrowed the book and read it while walking home (I don't recomend anyone do this).
I found it to be a fascinating read. It conveys the ordinary details of people's lives in a way that creates a voyeristic interest. The characters are very well developed and quite easy to like.
I suppose some of you American readers may be asking the question 'Where's Bankstown?" etc but I find it refreshing to read an Australian book, most of my favourites come from overseas.
I do recomend you buy this book. It has no passionate love affairs (Even if love is a theme present) or feirce battle scenes but it is not afraid to explore taboo characters like a mentalally ill grandmother. A very good read

Disney Mouseworks seems to be moving to smaller books and it looks like the end of the line of the Disney Classics series. The new Read-Aloud Storybooks are shorter (by about 20 pages) and smaller (by an inch here and there). That's too bad for those of us who have been collecting the old series. The paper is nicer and the artwork is very good, though, so it's not a total loss.

The Edgar Rice Burroughs books are full of suspense, a perfect bedtime story. The best thing is that many (if not all of them) can be downloaded from from Project Gutenberg. Try reading the first one, Tarzan of the Apes, to your child as a serial bedtime story. They'll be begging to go to bed.

This version of Disney's Tarzan is clearly written and has accurate drawings true to the film's content. Rarely do you find a smaler version of the big books so well presented.

Another good book on a Disney classic. Full of wonderfull drawings, sketches and animation concepts and background designs. I always buy the "Art of" books Disney puts out on each of their new films. It's always a treat to see how concepts of characters and backgrounds changed as they went along. Sometimes for the better, and sometimes not. Being an artist myself, I always enjoy seeing the drawings of the rough animation and characters studies. It's nice that they included some photos of the original source material from China in the front of the book. This again shows how far Disney's team goes to research a subject. The information and research shows up on the screen. And besides, the books pretty cheap, so you can't go wrong. My only complaint is that it could have been a slightly bigger book page wise.

I think this book's art is quite nice and that the text is gratifyingly bold, which I like.

This children's storybook is a shortened version of the movie, packed between two hard covers. The wonderful pictures are in full color and relive the movie's magic. A great addition to the disney classic storybook collection that every Mulan fan should have.

I had to read this book for 8th grade summer reading. I couldn't believe what a dumb story it was. It made no sense but was quite funny. Maybe I just don't get it.

Having read this book when I was in year 10, it was a great eye openeer for me, with the revelation of the significance of how we perceive 'normaility'.

At a time in every teenager's life where they are struggling to find meaning, udnerstanding, this was a useful read...

4 years later, it still remains as a book that turned me into a bit of a rebel, yet allowed me to realise that we can try to be normal, or we can try ot be different...just be yourself....that's the beauty of life...........

This is a very dry account of a teenage boy's struggle to get by in his teenage years and his quest for normalcy. It is hilarious! This is a very interesting book, it isn't just funny, it is also a complex look at teen angst, what it means to be normal, there are parts of it that I laugh about when I just think about them. Al Capsella Takes a Vacation was also really funny.

Judith Clarke's most recent book, Wolf on the Fold, depicts an Australian family's life-time of struggles over a period of seventy years. Clarke, being born and raised in Australia, portrays life in this country most accurately. In the book, she accounts for how this nation was affected by the trials and tribulations of events such as the Great Depression all the way to current problems with Iraq. Clarke's amazing style of writing and fascinating stories will keep the reader intrigued till the end.
The story progresses from generation to generation. Clarke begins with the family's struggle to stay afloat during the time of the Great Depression. After the children's' father dies, the oldest son, Kenny, is responsible for getting a job and supporting his family at the age of fourteen. The story then jumps to the 1950's; Kenny is now a father with two girls of his own, Clightie and Frances. The girls live through a typical summer in the 1950's while caring for their mentally insane Aunty May. The girls follow their crazy aunt on hilarious outings throughout their home town. Clarke continues this style of writing all the way up until the 1980's.
The story then begins telling of more recent events. Frances moves to Israel at the age of thirty-six during the time that Saddam Hussein is in total power. She teaches English to children and soldiers and has a son by the name of Gabriel. One day at the market, Gabriel begins yelling, 'Saddam Hussein is a loony.' At this point, Frances is terrified for both of their lives, and is thankful when they are not stoned to death. Clightie remains in Australia and gets married.
The books then jumps to a story of Clightie's grandson, James. James hears his mother and father arguing every night, and try as he may, he cannot hide the fighting from his younger brother, Davie. James' greatest fear is that his whole family will fall apart around him; that one day they will all be gone. Clarke does an amazing job tying serious problems, such as a family on the brink of extinction, with everyday family problems, such as a ten year old listening to his mother and father argue.
Clarke's amazing style of writing is intriguing and humbling. By the end of the book, the reader sees how many struggles that they personally may or may not have had to go through. She shows life through a perspective of just how many trials one can overcome. Clarke uses similes such as 'the air was as whole as milk' to allow the reader to feel the severity of the situations. Through Clarke's vivid descriptions and realistic accounts, the reader feels as if they are actually part of the story.
Thus, the story is a vivid account of one family's difficulty to survive. The title, Wolf on the Fold, is to symbolize a wolf attacking a flock, such as the problems that attack this family. The story's title comes from lines in a poem that Kenny is forced to memorize. One day, when Kenny finds himself in trouble, the lines of that poem are the only thing he can think of. 'Lines of a poem he'd learned at school flashed into Kenny's mind: 'The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold; / And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold.' The situations that occur in this book are real, serious and crucial problems, just like a wolf on attack. Clarke does a wonderful job portraying the harshness of these people's lives, and how they strive to overcome.

So many beautiful images in this book. Kenny's mum waving goodbye as her 14 year old son sets off to look for work after his father has died... The words of the poem that flashed through Kenny's mind that kept the stranger in the firelight from hurting him... Vonny Cooney trying to teach Daffy Kevin to read... Gabriel's luscious figs in a basket of green leaves in the market in Jerusalem... And the power of Kenny's words, coming down through 70 years of time, "Ride on James! Just keep riding on"!
This book gave me goosebumps. The Aussie's never let me down!

Some people think UFO's and aleins are jokes. But what do they know? No one has been found of anything. Sure they have probley have seen a shadow or a strange light in the sky. But to really think about it no one actually knows.So read about things you didn't even know, find the answer to your questions, finally find out the real mystery of UFO's.

I got this book a long time ago, but unfortunately lost it. Anyway, the stories in here are very strange and odd, but in a good way. They seem to have a real atmosphere about them, and they stick with you, and pop into your head at the most unusual times. Good, creepy stories, but in a weird way, not a gory one. And they just aren't the typical campfire ghost stories that you've heard a million times. In fact, they aren't about ghosts at all, except for Auntie Madie's Starving. Its not the best book i've ever read, but its darn good, and i reccomend having it. So if you're looking for a good and interesting read get it.

Although I found great concepts within this Young Adult novel, I found myself getting more and more frustrated about the never ending circle of repeated plot an antagonizing conflicts that Luke, our main character, faces. Can he make something of himself, why is he such a failure when he has the potential to become a bright and successful man in the future? His Father no longer acknowledges his existence, his Mother wants to believe in Luke but she no longer trusts him, and his sister Molly dwells on a time when Luke was "normal" and conformed, while Naomi tries to protect him. Protect him from what? Himself? Or Fate? I do accept the fact that the repeated scenario we see in Night Train does give the reader that "frustrated" feeling that Luke probably was experiencing in his life at certain moments. If this was the author's intent, it works brilliantly. If not, I'm afraid readers will become bored and lose interest in the text. I found myself wondering where on Earth this novel could be going with this plot. And I knew from the very moment we were first introduce to the late night train whistle, that something tragic was involved with this "mystery" train (that only Luke could hear.) And why was that? Do we ever find out, or is it too left ambiguous to our imaginations. Perhaps our antagonists carry their job a little too far for readers to enjoy the novel and characters themselves, although this is a "hard" book of realities to begin with. Perhaps a softer side of Luke and his family or friends was needed so we could better connect and feel sorry for the events in which Luke goes through. All in all, I give this book a 2, in hopes of a better read next time from Judith Clarke.

Luke Leman, a school student is about to fail his HSC exams again. Why can't he do better this time? Well, that's the problem. Luke is so confused about hearing these noises, from the nighttrain that he readily never finds his inner success from the past. Even for the worse, Luke's father Dan and mother Margaret use to care about him. But now, consequently from his failures from his past exams, his father never has spoken to him again. Judith Clarke really shows a great deal of personal self ashame in Luke's father and also with Margaaret who wittingly loves and cares for Luke, but she's not 'controllable' and successful mother in the situations of Luke and his sister Molly.

Although it's found that Luke's tremendous hardship, Naomi, his sister cares about him and loves Luke for his present. Naomi predicates Luke's intention, and realising him for what he is, unlike his father.

Many controversial and inflicting situations that to of Luke's weakness arises out from the communication within the family and particularly school. Although the ending is terrifying, but simply takes the pressure off, which finishes the plot of freedom and symbolises the unlocking of chains.

Overall, this book is great. Ages from 11-18 should love this.

Luke is an 18 year old still in 12th grade, due to him failing his HSC last year. Final Exams are coming up, and Luke is fearing he may fail again. He has been kicked out of 2 schools, but despite all this he has a very high intelligence rating. He is very close to his youngest sister, Naomi. Molly, his other sister, towards the end starts to like Luke. Luke's parents, both have almost given up on him. His father is no longer speaking to him, and his mother is almost ready to give up. His girl friend, Caroline, is one of the very few people who likes him. With the fear of failing, and getting expelled again, Luke is under alot of pressure. He starts to hear a night train, but nobody else hears it. He has to find out if he is going crazy or not. He has to find out if it is real.

Over all the book was great. I liked the way everything happened. I thought the ending was good, but I didn't want that to happen. This is one book that i found myself reading every minute I had to myself, and finished it in 3 days. I hope you like it that much.