Massive Book Dump
Feb. 1st, 2006 08:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
melwilWhen I went to the Lifeline Book Fest (the biggest used book sale in the world), I picked up a tonne of Baby-Sitters and other 'small' kids books, devoured them, and never posted. So here is the massive book list, quick reviews etc.
The Book List: Books finished since book fest
Book 11 Second Term at Trebizon
Book 12 Summer Term at Trebizon
Book 13 Summer Camp at Trebizon
Book 14 Into the Fourth at Trebizon
Book 15 Fourth Year Triumphs at Trebizon
Book 16 Kristy and Mr Mom
Book 17 Stacey vs. the BSC
Book 18 Mary Anne and Camp BSC
Book 19 Mary Anne to the Rescue
Book 20 Dawn and Too Many Sitters
Book 21 Abby the Bad Sport
Book 22 Mary Anne and the Playground Fight
Book 23 Claudia and the Little Liar
Book 24 The Baby-Sitters Club (Movie Novelization)
Book 25 Gymnast Commandos
Book 26 Ballet Shoes for Anna
Book 27 Jenny and the New Girls
Book 28 Hi There, Supermouse
Book 29 Ghost at the Ballet School
Book 30 The Gymnasts' Gift
Book 31 The Winner
Book 32 Stacey and the Mystery at the Mall
Book 33 Stars of the Ballet School
11: Second Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby
Some of the treasures I found at the book fest were all the Trebizon books I didn't have. These tell the story of Rebecca Mason, a student at Trebizon, the famous Girl's school. These books show a modern boarding school, where students mix with boys and have a lot more freedom than the old Malory Towers books. The books follow Rebecca as she adapts to the school, moves through the years, and discovers that she's not half bad at tennis.
12: Summer Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby
13: Summer Camp at Trebizon by Anne Digby
14: Into the Fourth at Trebizon by Anne Digby
15: Fourth Year Triumphs at Trebizon byAnne Digby: See above
16:Kristy and Mr Mom by Ann M. Martin
17: Stacey vs. the BSC Ann M. Martin
18: Mary Anne and Camp BSC Ann M. Martin
19: Mary Anne to the Rescue Ann M. Martin
20: Dawn and Too Many Sitters Ann M. Martin
21: Abby the Bad Sport Ann M. Martin
22: Mary Anne and the Playground Fight: Ann M. Martin
23: Claudia and the Little Liar: Ann M. Martin
The bookfest is great for picking up Baby-Sitters Club books. This year I managed to pick up eight I didn't have before, plus a couple of Mysteries. The basic set up is the same in each book - big thing (mentioned in the title) and little thing/s going on in the back ground. In these books big moments include Watson having a heart attack, the Baby-Sitters running a camp, Stacey leaving the club, Logan's father threatening to send him to boarding school, Abby joining a soccer team and the baby-sitters fighting over who gets a job at a playground camp. The quality of the books goes up and down. Kristy and Mr Mom and Stacey vs. the BSC are probably the best, Abby the Bad Sport is probably the worst.
24: The Baby-Sitters Club (Movie Novelization) by A. L. Singer
You know how the movie is never as good as the book/s? And how novelisations are never as good as the movie? Well this is a novelisation of a movie of books. And it's bad. Really bad.
The book suffers by being written in third person. There was never enough going on in the books to justify third person, which is why first person worked better (opinion etc, filled in a lot of space). Kristy's father comes off the worst, and least like the father we see in the later Friends Forever book.
25: Gymnast Commandos by Elizabeth Levy
Typical of the Gymnasts books by Elizabeth Levy. This time the gymnasts head off to a summer camp, where the big activity is a war games type thing. Becky's mean, the girls win in the end. La la la. I read a couple of others (below) which follow the same formula.
26: Ballet Shoes for Anna by Noel Streatfeild
Three Turkish/Polish/English children lose everything and everyone they own in an Earthquake. They are sent to England to live with their unfriendly Uncle, where they are determined that the youngest child - Anna - will be able to continue her ballet lessons. Noel Streatfeild is one of the best writers to ever write about dancing, and this story, while not as good as Ballet Shoes is a well written book full of interesting characters.
27: Jenny and the New Girls: Harriet Martyn
A Balcombe Hall story - the third in the series. I've read the first one in which Jenny begins at Balcombe Hall. This book is a little confusing - the structure of the school is never explained, so you never know exactly where you are. This story is let down by an unbelievable set of events - I doubt a known jewel theif would ever be allowed to stay at a Boarding school, even if he was sleeping with the House Matron.
28: Hi There, Supermouse: Jean Ure
I've read the sequel to this book, Nicola Mimosa, and this tells how Nicola came to ballet. Nicola always annoyed me as a character, because she was never dedicated enough to her dancing to deserve private lessons all the time. This book does nothing to dissuade me from this view - I honestly think the logical path for her to follow would have been mime or acting rather than ballet.
29: Ghost at the Ballet School: Mal Lewis Jones
Another ballet school series. This one isn't bad, full of dedicated students and frustrating adults. Cassie is the main character here, a talented ballet dancer who often falls from grace due to her tendency to go off daydreaming or on a tangent. This book deals with a mystery involving missing ballet shoes and wandering 'ghosts', while the later book deals with a possible closure of the ballet school.
30: The Gymnasts' Gift by Elizabeth Levy
31: The Winner by Elizabeth Levy see above
32: Stacey and the Mystery at the Mall by Ann M. Martin
I never got into the Mysteries the same way I got into the other Baby-Sitters books, but this one isn't bad. It tells how the Baby-Sitters get jobs in the local Mall as part of a school project. There's a spate of shop lifting going on, and the baby-sitters are going to get to the bottom of it.
33: Stars of the Ballet School by Mal Lewis Jones see above
The Book List: Books finished since book fest
Book 11 Second Term at Trebizon
Book 12 Summer Term at Trebizon
Book 13 Summer Camp at Trebizon
Book 14 Into the Fourth at Trebizon
Book 15 Fourth Year Triumphs at Trebizon
Book 16 Kristy and Mr Mom
Book 17 Stacey vs. the BSC
Book 18 Mary Anne and Camp BSC
Book 19 Mary Anne to the Rescue
Book 20 Dawn and Too Many Sitters
Book 21 Abby the Bad Sport
Book 22 Mary Anne and the Playground Fight
Book 23 Claudia and the Little Liar
Book 24 The Baby-Sitters Club (Movie Novelization)
Book 25 Gymnast Commandos
Book 26 Ballet Shoes for Anna
Book 27 Jenny and the New Girls
Book 28 Hi There, Supermouse
Book 29 Ghost at the Ballet School
Book 30 The Gymnasts' Gift
Book 31 The Winner
Book 32 Stacey and the Mystery at the Mall
Book 33 Stars of the Ballet School
11: Second Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby
Some of the treasures I found at the book fest were all the Trebizon books I didn't have. These tell the story of Rebecca Mason, a student at Trebizon, the famous Girl's school. These books show a modern boarding school, where students mix with boys and have a lot more freedom than the old Malory Towers books. The books follow Rebecca as she adapts to the school, moves through the years, and discovers that she's not half bad at tennis.
12: Summer Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby
13: Summer Camp at Trebizon by Anne Digby
14: Into the Fourth at Trebizon by Anne Digby
15: Fourth Year Triumphs at Trebizon byAnne Digby: See above
16:Kristy and Mr Mom by Ann M. Martin
17: Stacey vs. the BSC Ann M. Martin
18: Mary Anne and Camp BSC Ann M. Martin
19: Mary Anne to the Rescue Ann M. Martin
20: Dawn and Too Many Sitters Ann M. Martin
21: Abby the Bad Sport Ann M. Martin
22: Mary Anne and the Playground Fight: Ann M. Martin
23: Claudia and the Little Liar: Ann M. Martin
The bookfest is great for picking up Baby-Sitters Club books. This year I managed to pick up eight I didn't have before, plus a couple of Mysteries. The basic set up is the same in each book - big thing (mentioned in the title) and little thing/s going on in the back ground. In these books big moments include Watson having a heart attack, the Baby-Sitters running a camp, Stacey leaving the club, Logan's father threatening to send him to boarding school, Abby joining a soccer team and the baby-sitters fighting over who gets a job at a playground camp. The quality of the books goes up and down. Kristy and Mr Mom and Stacey vs. the BSC are probably the best, Abby the Bad Sport is probably the worst.
24: The Baby-Sitters Club (Movie Novelization) by A. L. Singer
You know how the movie is never as good as the book/s? And how novelisations are never as good as the movie? Well this is a novelisation of a movie of books. And it's bad. Really bad.
The book suffers by being written in third person. There was never enough going on in the books to justify third person, which is why first person worked better (opinion etc, filled in a lot of space). Kristy's father comes off the worst, and least like the father we see in the later Friends Forever book.
25: Gymnast Commandos by Elizabeth Levy
Typical of the Gymnasts books by Elizabeth Levy. This time the gymnasts head off to a summer camp, where the big activity is a war games type thing. Becky's mean, the girls win in the end. La la la. I read a couple of others (below) which follow the same formula.
26: Ballet Shoes for Anna by Noel Streatfeild
Three Turkish/Polish/English children lose everything and everyone they own in an Earthquake. They are sent to England to live with their unfriendly Uncle, where they are determined that the youngest child - Anna - will be able to continue her ballet lessons. Noel Streatfeild is one of the best writers to ever write about dancing, and this story, while not as good as Ballet Shoes is a well written book full of interesting characters.
27: Jenny and the New Girls: Harriet Martyn
A Balcombe Hall story - the third in the series. I've read the first one in which Jenny begins at Balcombe Hall. This book is a little confusing - the structure of the school is never explained, so you never know exactly where you are. This story is let down by an unbelievable set of events - I doubt a known jewel theif would ever be allowed to stay at a Boarding school, even if he was sleeping with the House Matron.
28: Hi There, Supermouse: Jean Ure
I've read the sequel to this book, Nicola Mimosa, and this tells how Nicola came to ballet. Nicola always annoyed me as a character, because she was never dedicated enough to her dancing to deserve private lessons all the time. This book does nothing to dissuade me from this view - I honestly think the logical path for her to follow would have been mime or acting rather than ballet.
29: Ghost at the Ballet School: Mal Lewis Jones
Another ballet school series. This one isn't bad, full of dedicated students and frustrating adults. Cassie is the main character here, a talented ballet dancer who often falls from grace due to her tendency to go off daydreaming or on a tangent. This book deals with a mystery involving missing ballet shoes and wandering 'ghosts', while the later book deals with a possible closure of the ballet school.
30: The Gymnasts' Gift by Elizabeth Levy
31: The Winner by Elizabeth Levy see above
32: Stacey and the Mystery at the Mall by Ann M. Martin
I never got into the Mysteries the same way I got into the other Baby-Sitters books, but this one isn't bad. It tells how the Baby-Sitters get jobs in the local Mall as part of a school project. There's a spate of shop lifting going on, and the baby-sitters are going to get to the bottom of it.
33: Stars of the Ballet School by Mal Lewis Jones see above
