Yappy Super Reading Blog

   Six short stories about everyday life in Ireland in the early nineteen hundreds - about families, growing up, love and death in the city of Dublin.    James Joyce, one of Ireland's most famous writers, paints a clever and understanding picture of the city and its people. Joyce, James. (1993). Dubliners. London: Penguin Books.

   It's a terrible problem - or it's really not as bad as people say. There will be sudden big changes - or slower changes that we can learn to live with. It means the end for many animals, people, even whole islands - but will this happen soon, or hundreds years from now?    What is the true story about climate change? Why is it happening, and what can we do about it? If we learn about the past, then perhaps there will be time to make changes for the future... Newbolt, Barnaby. (2009). Climate Change. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

   England in 1647: King Charles is in prison, and Cromwell's men are fighting the King's men. these are dangerous times for everybody.    The four Beverley children have no parents; their mother is dead and their father died while fighting for the King. Now Cromwell's soldiers have come to burn the house - with the children in it.    The four of them escape into the New Forest - but how will they live? What will they eat? And will Cromwell's soldiers find them? Marryat, Captain. (2000). The Children of the New Forest. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

   There has been a ghost in the house for three hundred years, and Lord Canterville's family have had enough of it. So Lord Canterville sells his grand old house to an American family. Mr Hiram B. Otis is happy to buy the house and the ghost - because of course Americans don't believe in ghosts.    The Canterville ghost has great plans to frighten the life out of the Otis family. But Americans don't frighten easily - especially not two noisy little boys - and the poor ghost has a few surprises waiting for him. Wilde, Oscar. (2002). The Canterville Ghost. Oxford: Oxford University Press.