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Some of
the Spinebreakers editorial team went to the launch event for the blockbuster
new movie, Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters, based on the book of the same name,
by Rick Riordan. Here’s what they thought . . .
Agnes Okanlawon
Attending the premier of Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
was one of the highlights of my summer. I am a massive fan of Percy Jackson and
all things demi-god related, so I really appreciated all the little kooky
extras like the blue sweets and magic tricks.
I would recommend that anyone who has read the books
still go see the film because it’s a must for all fans. Anyone who hasn’t read
the books should be ashamed! But also should still go see it also because it is
an action packed fantasy with good characters and an interesting cast. I would
like to thanks Spinebreakers for the tickets and also for the starting my love
of the Percy Jackson books. I can’t wait to see if anymore of the series become
movies. Thoroughly enjoyed the whole event and feel blessed to have seen Logan
Lerman up close, front and centre in 3D!
Megan Quibell
10 of the Best Bits about Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters
1. Hermes,
played by Nathan Fillion, and George & Marth
2. Seeing
Grover in a dress!
3. Annabeth
is blonde! Alexandra Daddario now has the beauty, brains, spirit, strength and
looks of Annabeth!
4. The
3D is absolutely mind-blowingly stunning
5. The
relationship between Percy and Tyson
6. The
very-very end is just perfect. Absolutely perfect.
7. Mr
D, AKA Dionysus, the god of wine. He’s hilarious. I mean, he’s a complete
jerky, but he’s just so funny.
8. All
the witty banter, especially between Percy and Clarisse
9. The
romance was so true to the book
10. This
film stuck so, so much closer to the book than the first film
Ruth Walbank
Like all book to film adaptations, the film was quite
different from the book. Bits from the other Riordan books had been added in
and changed slightly but I don't think this detracted from the film. I think
all book lovers know that when a book is adapted into a film, it's going to be
very different from the original in one way or another, so there were no
surprises there! On the other hand, I would recommend trying not to compare
this film to the book. I tend to find that when you do, you will always leave
the cinema disappointed and if you go to see a film, you should enjoy yourself
as much as possible! Otherwise what's the point in going to see it?
Overall, I expect this film to do as we'll as the first
film did. As a whole, the film was excellent, and I have to add that the 3D was
very well done. I congratulate Thor Freudenthal on his directing and Marc
Guggenheim on his adaptation of the book. I look forward to seeing how Percy
Jackson is going to be revived after its long 3 year rest from the first
film!
Atifa Jiwa
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is visually impressive
with the fantasy elements brought to life in stunning 3D shots. An audience is
immersed in everything from an underwater world to scenes made of vibrant
stained glass. Most aesthetically pleasing is a watching a hippocampus (a water
creature that looks like it's half horse, half rainbow) jump out of the ocean.
For me, that was one of the most beautiful pieces of cinema I've ever seen.
Peter Hartlaub noted that Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
is "an easy film to pick apart" and indeed, if you're looking beyond
face-value, it's easy to be disappointed by the clumsy plot edits,
cringe-worthy one liners and unfortunate cliché. But ignoring that, this is one
of the most easy to watch and easy to enjoy films you'll come across this year.
3/5 stars. An enjoyable (and wonderfully
family-appropriate) adventure film with a pleasing dose of Greek myth. And if
those reasons aren't good enough? Two words. Logan. Lerman.
Chuo Ying Ye
The long awaited sequel really lived up to its
expectation. The action and story was exciting indeed and I believe that during
the film not a single whisper was heard, even if the audience contained quite a
lot of young children, showing that Percy Jackson has once again captured the
entire attention of the views – a difficult task to do. When the film finished,
I was actually speech-less because it was just that good. The story was not
confusing and carried on very well from the last movie. This new adventure of
Percy's to obtain the golden fleece was amazing to watch, it reminded me of
when I was younger and how mesmerised I was about Greek mythology and how each
God has certain powers. Since it is a movie for everybody, humour, action and a
little bit of romance is incorporated into it. At times I was laughing at the
slap-stick comedy but at points I was on the verge of tears, taking me on an
emotional roller-coaster. If I was obsessed enough with the film before – Logan
Lerman's looks play a big part in this obsession – I am even more drawn in now.
I would rate the film 5/5 and hope that others enjoyed it as much as I did, a
thrilling experience all in all.
This month you could win all these gorgeous new Peter Rabbit books featuring the characters from the CBeebies animation: storybooks, a little library and sticker book. Plus, the original classic tale of our favourite blue-jacketed bunny!For your chance to win, simply hop over this page right here.
A blog from footie-fiction favourite Tom Palmer:
The beginning of the football season presents parents with a
great opportunity to get their football-loving kids reading more. Here are ten
tips for things you can do to use the beautiful game to encourage the beautiful
habit that is reading for pleasure.
ONE
Visit the library for free books on how to play football, the
history of football, biographies of players, fiction set around football, fact
and quiz books, as well as newspapers and access to the internet. There are
hundreds of books in sections like Sport, Children’s Non-fiction, Biography and
Junior Fiction. IF in doubt ask a librarian.
TWO
Set up the BBC Football page as your homepage on any
computers in your house. Every time someone goes online they might be enticed
into following up the homepage headline and reading more.
THREE
Newspapers are full of football season previews and
outrageous transfer speculation in August. Buy a local or national newspaper
and leave the sport section in the living room, on the table, on a kids’ pillow,
or magnet it to the fridge. Read it yourself first, so you can ask your child
what they think of the content, if they don’t read it straight off.
FOUR
Buy one of several football magazines available that will
include football season previews. Match,
Match of the Day and Strike It cater for younger readers. FourFourTwo and World Soccer for older readers. Many big football clubs have their own
magazines.
FIVE
Set up an email account for your child. Encourage in-the-know
relatives and family friends to email them links to football newspaper articles
or football book reviews, asking your child what they think of this or that.
Encourage them to send links back in return.
SIX
Read football stories by famous footballers, if your children
don’t normally enjoy fiction. David Beckham, Theo Walcott and Frank Lampard
have stories in their name. Also try other football story writers like Helena
Pielichaty, Dan Freedman and, er… Tom Palmer.
SEVEN
Do fantasy football in one of the newspapers, like the Sun or Telegraph. This means kids will want to check their scores in the
newspaper every week. It might also encourage them to check who is injured or
in a run of form, to help them play fantasy football more effectively.
Challenge them to beat you.
EIGHT
Set up a football feed on Twitter, so that you can follow
your favourite football team, fan clubs, some of the players (the ones who
don’t swear), as well as local newspapers and others. Most tweets will have a
link to a football match report, a player interview or an article.
NINE
Ask your school if they take part in the Premier League
Reading Stars football and literacy scheme: www.premierleaguereadingstars.com. Many
schools can sign up for free access to videos of footballers talking about
reading and excellent football and literacy resources. The scheme has a great
record for engaging reluctant readers.
TEN
Visit my website – www.tompalmer.co.uk – and help
yourself to the free children’s activity packs and first chapters of all my
football books. And please feel free to email me via the website if you want to
ask anything about how you can help your children get into reading through
football.
Tom Palmer, author
A huge thank you to the wonderful Tom Palmer for his words. He very modestly hasn't mentioned that he was recently awarded the 2013 Solihull Children's Book Award for Black Op – so massive congeratulations are in order too!
Puffin's always quite liked a kickabout. He fondly recalls the days he and his fellow pufflings used to do keepy-uppys with a conker. He was never any good at headers though because his beak was always stuck in a book.
Just like George’s marvellous medicine, a good story needs some crazy, splendiferous ingredients to create startling surprises. Roald Dahl loved to let his
imagination run wild so that his stories took unexpected twists. Who else could have thought of a peach that never stops growing, or an eight-year-old child who
can move objects with the power of just her eyes?
At the Roald Dahl
Museum and Story Centre, we love to see children stretch their creativity every
day. This year, our Writer in Residence Josh Lacey has been working with students
from schools in Buckinghamshire to do just that!
Josh Lacey is the author
of the eight-book series A Dog Called Grk and The Dragonsitter,
which was shortlisted for The Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2012.
Josh has been telling
students to come up with ‘anything you want’ – put this character in this unusual
setting with this unlikely object, this unlikely event and this unlikely ending
– and what do you have? One
swishwhiffling story ready to serve up to your audience!
Here are some bizarre
and wonderful ideas from students at participating schools. Look at their
unusual choices of main characters and their great use of narrative voice and
dialogue. Which one is your favourite?:
- One day, Max was playing
with his sister’s teddy. “Hi-ya! Chop! Chop! Chop!”
- The jelly was sitting quietly on
the floor in a picnic basket. She was wondering about London to meet the Queen
and look at the tall and huge clock, Big Ben. Next to the jelly were some fresh
strawberries and raspberries. ‘What are you looking at?’ screamed the strawberries,
looking vicious. They were very angry with Jelly because Jelly was made out of
squashed strawberries.
- I have 2,000 sisters, 4000
brothers, 3000 parents , 20 grandmums and 30 grandads. We live in a small
doll’s house.
- One boring royal day, the
King and his nephew were fishing on a boat. To tell you the truth, the King was
the one fishing, his nephew was on tesco dot com forward slash buy one get one
free Jet packs
- Once upon a time in a deep
dark unknown forest there was a little Chihuahua called Mrs Burbushca. She had
brown fur, a spiky Mohican and sharp claws, and she was searching and searching
for an exit to Los Angeles.
- I needed the toilet and I
went to the disgusting, smelly toilet. The smelly toilet said to me, “Hi!
Please don’t sit on me; I am allergic to children who sit on me!
- It started when I was in the
supermarket, doing my shopping. I was minding my own business, when my daughter
needed her nappy changing. I didn’t know what to do because I had just had a
manicure. I quickly called the police. ‘Sorry, Madam, this is not an
emergency,’ they said, and hung up.
- He
tried to ring his Mum but on his phone it said ‘NO RECEPTION.’ In blood.
Unusual main
characters, unlikely meetings and bizarre combinations – just some of the
elements of a great story! Thank you to participating schools Oakridge Combined
School and Castlefield Primary School in High Wycombe.
Isy Mead, Education Manager
at The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
COULD YOU BE THE NEXT WRITER IN RESIDENCE?
If you've a way with words and a few published poems to your name, then you could be the next writer in residence at The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre. From November 2013 to February 2014 they're looking for a poet to continue to enrich Roald Dahl's legacy.
The poet will be involved in the delivery of a number of projects, including workshops to students in targeted Buckinghamshire schools, and family events at the Museum during school holidays. The poet will also have five days set aside to work on their own piece of writing and can even do so from Roald Dahl's chair in our replica writing hut!
Closing date for expressions of interest is Monday 19 August. Interviews will take place in the week beginning Monday 2 September. You can find more information, including how to apply right here on the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre website.
The writers of the Doctor Who anniversary series tell us how their Doctors introduced themselves . . .
“As a boy I had been reading the Doctor Who books for years before I
ever saw a single episode and I found that the on-screen version of the First
Doctor was almost identical to the version in my imagination.” Eoin Colfer
‘Everyone has their ‘own’ Doctor – usually the one they first started
watching. Patrick Troughton, the Second Doctor, was mine and so writing this
story was an opportunity to revisit a really important part of my childhood.
There are elements of Patrick Troughton in every Doctor who followed – that's
how influential and important he is.” Michael Scott
“To me, Jon Pertwee is the quintessential Doctor – a hero of both
thought and action. When I was young he seemed like a schoolmaster you were a
bit afraid of, and yet really liked at the same time. Bringing him back to life
and pitting him against his old nemesis, The Master, was a huge thrill for me
and I hope fans will recognise Jon in the pages of my story.’Marcus Sedgwick
‘I started watching Doctor Who during the Tom Baker era and so to me he
is the ‘real’ Doctor, and it was a huge honour to be asked to write about him.
I tried to imagine myself at saturday teatime, circa 1979: a new Doctor Who
story was about to begin – where would the TARDIS materialise and what would be
waiting for it?’ Philip Reeve
‘The Fifth Doctor is always the Doctor I thought most likely to be a
novelist. People sometimes call him slightly passive, but I think it's more
that he's observing, watching, waiting on the fringe to make his move. Just like
any good writer. Which is why I've made this story one of those – which I've
always liked – where the Doctor stays a bit out of the action and we see what
happens through a non-canon character and get a whole different point of view
of all the strange things happening. It's a bit like how it feels when you watch the
show as a young viewer.’ Patrick Ness
‘I’ve always loved watching Colin Baker as The Doctor. When he’s on
the screen, you can’t take your off eyes off of him—and no, I’m not just
talking about his infamous wardrobe! Everything about him is larger than life:
his personality, his ingenuity, his biting humour. He’s one of the darker
of the Doctors, and yet through it all, that heroism and need to do what’s
right never fails. That’s what makes him so fascinating to me. It’s
an author’s dream to be able to write with a character like that.’ Richelle Mead
‘I have always loved Doctor Who – from the time I was a child and the
Daleks used to make me run and hide behind the sofa, to Saturday morning
pictures when I first saw the Doctor Who films featuring Peter Cushing, right
up to the current Doctor with Matt Smith. So when I was asked to write a Doctor
Who story featuring the seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, I didn't even need to
pause to think about it. My answer was an immediate yes. I've always found
Sylvester McCoy's Doctor fascinating because of the way his character developed
from a bit of a clown to a Doctor with a more Machiavellian streak. In my
story, the Doctor's actions are responsible for a universal catastrophe which
forces him to face up to his own fears and prejudices.’Malorie Blackman
What is 52 Puffins – Waiting in the wings? Well, although we love our main characters, in 2013 we think it's time to celebrate the supporting cast: the extras with the witty one-liners, the dastardly villains and the best friend every hero would be lost without. Who's your favourite?
Download 52 Puffins – Questions – Download me!and send your answers to puffinblog@uk.penguingroup.com
Your character’s name and the book they star in . . . Fregley, Diary
of a Wimpy Kid
Famous Friends? Greg Heffley and Rowley Jefferson
Hero or villain? Hero, Fregley would never hurt a fly
Why you love him? Fregley is one of Jeff Kinney’s more hilarious,
yet arguably most pitiable characters. Extremely unpopular at school due to his
rather strange interpersonal skills, or lack thereof, Fregley valiantly
attempts to make friends with Greg Heffley. Naturally, Greg is repulsed by
Fregley’s attempts and numerous humorous encounters ensue. Whenever Fregley
pops up you know you’ll soon be laughing!
What’s his catchphrase or best quote? ‘Wanna see my secret freckle?'
What wouldn't he leave the house without? Something gross he will use to try and make
friends with Greg.
Tell us something we might not know. Fregley once sent Greg a ‘booger’ in the mail.
It wasn’t a joke, he was being totally serious.
What really annoys him? Nothing seems to bother Fregley, he always seems
pretty happy.
What does he dream of? Being best friends with Greg Heffley
Where would you go to hang out together? To Fregley's house where his mother would call me Fregley's playmate
Win all this 100% awesome, 100% Official Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters merchandise and a copy of the book to celebrate the film's cinema release on August 7th! To enter, simply fill point your mighty-cursor here and CLICK.
You can also sign up to Beak Speak (our monthly newsletter don't you know?) which is packed with books, exclusives and more competitions!
Fathers…wonderful
people of stubble and formidable snores. It’s that day of the year again and
here at Puffin we’re celebrating fathers everywhere…including those heroes
lounging about the pages of our books!
Here are some dads
who have earned the honorary rank of a Fantastic Mister:
William from Danny the Champion of the World
A whirlwind of a character! He’s raised Danny singlehandedly, tucking
him into bed every night and filling his head with magical ear twitching
stories. A fine mechanic by day, William has a spark about him that means it’s
impossible to be bored in his company. With his inventive take on the art of
poaching and passion for having fun, it’s hard to not become a champion of some
sort when adventuring with this man.
Mr. Benjamin Bouncer from The Tales of Peter
Rabbit
Trapped under a basket for five hours with a tom cat on top is not a
place many young rabbits want to be. It’s a good thing then Mr. Benjamin
Bouncer has not an ounce of fear and arrives in his purple jacket to kick the cat
off his perch and march Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny back home with a booty
of vegetables. So that’s where Benjamin Bunny gets it from!
Geppetto from Pinocchio
People have a lot to
say about Geppetto. He wears a yellow wig, gets annoyed when you call him
Polendina and undoubtedly is a mean tyrant who would hurt Pinocchio. Yes to the
first, yes to the second but the last is the kind of talk that would make
Pinocchio’s nose grow long. Geppetto’s gentle heart is something of a wonder, painstakingly
crafting Pinocchio, crying when he’s hurt and selling his only coat to pay for
Pinocchio’s school. A real man!
Whether it’s the
animals of the Jungle caring for Mowgli or Mister Tom raising young William out
of his troubled past, we all know someone we love that fathers away with
admirable verve. Let them know in your own way that they’ve earned a Puffin
salute and a place among all Fantastic Misters. Yes…the fox made it too.
Ehsan Khan,
Penguin Children’s Work Experience
There’s still enough to join in our #BookDads competition. Guess the fictional father figure from the quotes and you could win a bundle of books for father’s day – including all the above! Follow @puffinbooks for the latest clue
The penultimate
book in Rick Riordan’s Heroes
of Olympus
series will be published in October and today we can reveal the new cover for
it – check out The
House of Hades – pretty awesome, huh?
At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumbled into
a pit leading straight to the Underworld. In this latest adventure, the other
five demigods have had to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s
instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. But Leo wonders, if
the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth ever escape? The stakes are
higher than ever in this high-octane adventure that dives into the depths of
Tartarus.
And
don’t forget you can get a big screen dose of your favourite
half-blood hero this summer when the movie of Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is released on August 7th.
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