Wendy Orr (1)Recensioni

Nim vive en una bella isla, en medio del océano, con su padre. Y durante unos días deberá hacer frente a un tornado completamente sola. Bueno, sola no, están Selkie, Fred y Chica, una hembra de león marino, una iguana y una tortuga, y su ordenador, gracias al cual podrá mantener contacto con el mundo.

It was a great summer book club read with the students from Erie Elem and my boys. Adventure, animals, etc.!

This was a cute little story and a nice way to spend a couple hours. I'll be watching the movie next!

Nim and her father live alone on a tropical island. When a storm delays Jack from returning from a scientific trip, Nim has to rely upon herself, her animal friends -- an iguana, a sea-lion and a turtle -- and a satellite email connection to a correspondent of her father’s.

This was published back in 1999 and although I'd read other books by Orr, I'd never read this one or saw the film adaptation. A librarian recommended it for reading aloud to my class and it was an excellent choice. I thought the prose was delightful and evocative, and my students were engaged by the story.

A child’s chapter book of a young girl left on an island for three days. Things go wrong to worst. Nim does her best and of course everyone lives happily ever after.

Amanda lives on a farm with her mother and her father. Cows, dogs, rabbits, cats, kangaroos, possums, wallabies, wombats, parrots, chickens, peacocks, emus, turtles, snakes, and lizards live there, too.

But Amanda wants a dinosaur.

One day, Amanda finds an egg in a log. And soon a baby dinosaur pecks his way out of the egg. Amanda is thrilled. But can a dinosaur be happy on a farm?

Young readers, ages six through eight [grades one and two], are the targeted audience for this colorfully illustrated, sweet tale that is sure to satisfy all dinosaur-loving young readers [although they may feel compelled to check out old hollow logs in hopes of finding a dinosaur egg of their own].

In an entertaining way, the clever story answers many questions young readers may have about dinosaurs and lets young readers speculate on what it might be like to have a dinosaur around their home.

Highly recommended, especially for dinosaur lovers.

Beautiful

I was surprised to know there was a book behind the 'Nim's Island' movie and I was really happy about it! The book is very well written and the illustrations are amazing. The story is just like the movie and I honestly don't know if I like the book or the movie best because they complement each other very well.

Nim at Sea was so fun and such an improvement from Nim's Island! I really enjoyed the adventure and I wish I was half as brave as Nim. Loved Nim's character and the animals (who can resist Fred and Selkie's cuteness?) were especially well described and had a personality of their own. Really really liked it! :)

Bronze Age comes alive

Thought provoking coming-of-age (in a different way) tale set in the Bronze Age exploring relationships, abuse, perceived disabilities, traditions, moving beyond the group’s beliefs and mores, and change. Orr’s prose evoked the senses, whether it be the pottery works and processes, the honouring of slaves, the grief Clio experiences at her grandmother’s death, Clio and Mika’s race to the temple, the threat of the raiders—all so real. That reality captured me. I loved the ideas behind the story although I must admit that at first I found it hard to really identify with Clio. Clio was injured when her pony, her soul mate, Gray Girl, shied at a snake, unseating Clio. Clio was left with a permanent injury to her leg necessitating the use of a crutch to walk. Her horse riding days are over. Mika is from a fishing village nearby. When she shows an affinity with horses she and Clio begin a friendship that will startle all.

A Pajama Press ARC via NetGalley

This is such an emotional read. The story is very well written and the characters are utterly believable.

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good read aloud

Many years before the rise of contemporary YA, Wendy Orr wrote this visceral and raw story, drawn in part from her own real life experiences. Anna bears the brunt of a terrible car accident, breaking her neck and suffering other injuries, which take some time to reveal themselves. Her anger permeates the story, often in the form of sarcastic asides (some of my favourite lines), as Anna rapidly casts aside any illusions of a happy ever after ending. Seventeen-year-old Anna's whole life has been derailed and she doesn't know who she even is anymore. A powerful, relevant read about the shattering of hopes and dreams and the remaking of them, cracks included.

Again, I have no idea why this was on my to-read list. It appeared with many others at the library with my name on it, so I figure I read about it somewhere. Perhaps because the movie came out this month. I haven't seen the movie, but it's getting bad reviews, so I'll probably wait for the rental. It could be a contender for Pages & Popcorn because it's fairly short (125 pages) and easy to read.

I enjoyed the Swiss-Family-Robinson-like setting and the adventurous plot once I let go of all my grown-up logic and needs for literary quality. Wendy Orr reportedly began writing this story as a nine-year-old, and it retains that childlike sense of adventure, even if it is a tad predictable and nonsensical. I can see imaginative kids internalizing the settings and using it for their own creative play.

Just as cute as the first one--with a bit more action--though I wished it had taken place on Nim's little island again. But there were monkeys in this one ;P so it's a trade-off... I read this book on my Kindle and still enjoyed the hilarious illustrations.

I adored this book. Nim is cute, sweet, and incredibly resourceful. Her island is wonderful and she has lovable animal friends that she plays with. Basically Wendy Orr has written a book about my fantasy life...

A Bronze-Age historical fantasy told in prose and verse about life on an island which sends a yearly tribute to the Bull King, a tribute which includes two thirteen year olds for his bull dances.

When the snake priestess’s daughter is born with extra thumbs, it’s seen as an omen that she cannot be her mother’s successor. Aissa is smuggled away to a farming family, but a few years later, she’s separated from them by a raider attack and becomes a lowly, nameless servant in the priestess’s household.

This is intriguing and poignant. When Aissa's foster-mama hid her from the raiders, she told Aissa to stay quiet until she returns -- and so Aissa does not speak. But she is smart and resourceful, and her changing circumstances not just keep the story interesting but allow it to show more of what life on the island is like.

The wind howls so strong
she can hardly walk,
the rain lashes so hard
she can hardly see,
but she hears from somewhere
goats bleating,
ble-aah, ble-aahing
and remembers Lanni the goatherd,
“Our summer cave is nearby,
If you need help.”
Aissa doesn’t know how
to ask for help
but this might be
the time to learn.½

Dragonfly Song has just been awarded a silver Honour Book certificate by the CBCA. A well-deserved accolade. Here's my review from last year.

http://readingtime.com.au/dragonfly-song/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_mediu...

I haven't felt this enchanted with a book since I read "Serafina and the Black Cloak." High praise for the writing style and kudos for the beautiful book cover illustration! I was honored to read this book and hope that one or all of my granddaughters will someday read it too and be just as smitten.

Thank you to Pajama Press for a copy for my review.

A fun read, with a heroine who is not only brave and resourceful, but helps a shy woman to develop her own inner resources. It is entertaining and touching in parts, especially for girls and mothers, but I think plot relies heavily on technology which may eventually date the text. Also, while it's good to see a girl who is an active hero in a story, the plot resolution really relied on underlying gender stereotypes. This bothered me particularly as it was subtle and aimed at children.

My kids and I listened to this on audio this afternoon.

My 7yo said he liked it but couldn't say what he liked about it. "I just liked listening to it," he said.

When asked what she thought of the story, my 11yo said, "I don't know."

No one asked me what I thought, but if they had, I would have said that I found the plot highly implausible.

In other words, we all responded according to our personalities and ages. I don't think we'll be reading any more books in this series.

In a palm tree, on an island, in the middle of the wide blue sea, was a girl.
-first sentence

That was what Nim called it, because soccer was the only ball game she'd ever seen a picture of -- and because nobody else has ever thought of a name for a game with a girl, a sea lion, a turtle, and an iguana all trying to be the first to get a floating coconut to shore.
-Chapter 6

Nim loved the ocean because it was always there, wherever she looked and as far as she could see, but it was too huge and powerful to understand and too dangerous to trust.
--Chapter 8


Nim's father goes on a three-day boat trip to study plankton and doesn't return for two weeks. Nim is left to fend for herself with only an iguana (Fred), a sea lion (Selkie), and a green sea turtle (Chica) to keep her company. She does have email and makes an email friend in Alex, a famous author. Alex and Nim exchange emails, but they both make assumptions that end up being false.

This is a cute story. Nim is a smart, resourceful, girl. I enjoyed reading how Nim interacted with her "friends" the iguana, sea lion, and sea turtle. I loved reading the exchanges between Nim and Alex and seeing how confused they both were about each other. We don't hear much about the Troppo Tourists, except that they were responsible for the loss of Nim's mother in an unusual way. And Nim and her father are desperate to keep the island hidden from them.


Recommended to:
Young readers who enjoy adventure.

A fantastic way of looking at Resilience. Raven uses past experiences to support her through an epic adventure. Told in first person, Raven constantly refers back to past discussions, then tries to imagine what her friends, her sister, her mother would say if they were in the situation with her. This story looks at the repercussions of actions. The thought process that goes into choices. A very interesting read. A great book for those that always run off when out on excursion ;) Set in the Canadian Rockies. Written by the same Author that wrote Nim's Island.

Nim and her father Jack lead an idyllic life on a distant tropical island. But when Jack is stranded at sea during a storm, Nim and her animal friends must learn to fend for themselves.