2026 T2 Book Review Competition Winners
Sep 11 2026
We are excited to announce the Book Review Competition Winners for 2026 Term 2!
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Book Review Competition!
We were truly impressed by the insight, creativity, and passion shown in all the submissions.
After careful review, we are excited to announce the winners.
🎉 Congratulations to all the winners, and once again, thank you to everyone who took part!
Congratulations to all the students listed below. Each winner showed strong understanding of their chosen book and shared their ideas clearly.
| Full Name | Grade | Branch |
| Bella Feng | 5 | Liverpool |
| Adwin Abhiram Dash | 5 | Strathfield |
| Aritri Saha | 5 | Adelaide SA |
| Tahmeed Rayyan Aroosh | 4 | Strathfield |
| Megan Louis | 4 | Strathfield |
| Kian Gupta | 4 | Pennant Hills |
| Kashnika Sooriyakumar | 3 | Castle Hill |
| Thenuli Kulappu Arachchige | 2 | Eastwood |
| Sherry Yan | 2 | Gordon |

| [ Student: Bella Feng ] |
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| The Book Review of Tom Sawyer The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is a brilliant book full of miraculous adventures. It’s about a really naughty boy named Thomas Sawyer (Tom for short) who is always getting into trouble, but always manages to run away from mischeif. The story is set way back in the 1840s in a quiet town called St.Petersburg. It sits right alongside the great Mississippi River. Tom doesn’t follow rules, he breaks them. Tom lives with his Aunt Polly. She is quite strict. But she loves him dearly. For Aunt Polly everyday is a battle. It is a massive struggle for her to keep him in line. That is because Tom is always finding clever ways to bunk off school, skip church and get out of doing his chores. The story kicks off with one of the funniest parts of the book when Tom gets caught skipping school to go swimming on a hot Friday afternoon. Aunt Polly punishes him by making him whitewash a massive backyard fence on a beautiful Saturday morning. Instead of complaining, Tom uses smart reverse psychology on the neighborhood boys who walk past to tease him. He trades in stuff to paint the fence as a grand honour rather than a chore. His friends get so jealous of this honour that they beg him to let them try. They eventually trade their favourite childhood treasures just for a turn to paint. Tom took his pay in weird treasures like a kite, a shiny brass doorknob and a scruffy, one-eyed kitten. This proves that Tom has a brilliant understanding of human nature and knows exactly how to get what he wants. Seeking total freedom from the strict rules of adult society. Tom later decides to run away to Jackson’s Island. This is a nearby isolated river island. He goes alongside his best friends Huckleberry Finn and Joe Harper. Ohn the island, they pretend to be wild. lawless pirates who have successfully escaped civilization forever. The squad can cook fish over a blazing fire, swimming whenever they feel hot and sleeping under the bright star anytime they would like. Meanwhile, back in St.Petersburg. the commubnity believes the boys have tragically drowned in the river. The whole town plunges into deepmournign. Loving the drama of being the absolute attention, Tom sneaks the boys back into town just in time to hide in the church gallery. They dramatically attend their own funeral service, totally shocking and then delighting the entire town. The book gets much darker and chamges from lighthearted children games to a scary mystery when Tom and Huck sceak out to the local graveyard at midnight. They initially go there to test a superstitious wart cure using a dead cat. While there, they accidentally witness the terrifying local villain, Injun Joe, commit a brutal murder. After seeing the murder, the boys run away and promise never to tell anyone because they were terrified of Injun Joe. But Muff Potter, a harmless local guy, gets blamed for and locked up, but he has done nothing. Tom feels so guilty that he decides to break his promise and tell the judge exactly what happened. This saves Muff Potter from hanging but allows the angry Imjun Joe tio escape through the courtroom window. Later in the book, during a festive school picnic, Tom and his classmate Becky Thatcher wander off into McDougal’s Cave. wandering deep into the cavern’s pitch-black, sprawling tunnels, the children quickly become utterly lost. Days pass without food, water or light and Becky soon loses the will to keep going. Yet, faced with total darkness, Tom suppresses his panic and shoes newfound maturity and resilience. Tom confronts Becky, share his last piece of wedding cake with her and uses a long kite string to systematically explore the pitch-black paths. Even after spotting Injun Joe hiding in the cave, Tom keeps his cool. He searches until he spots a tiny speck of daylight, safely guiding them both back to the riverbank and home. I really like this book because Tom’s adventures are a fascinating mixture of lighthearted hun and highly troublesome behaviour. At the start, Tom selfish, playing mean tricks on friends and hurting Aunt Polly just for fun, but he later shows real personal growth. When he stands up for Muff Potter in court, he literally risks his life just to do the right thing. He doesn’t suddenly turn into a perfect, flawless hero by the end of the book. But he definitely learns to balance his love for perspnel freedom with the safety and feeling of the people he care about. My favourite character in the book is Huckleberry Finn. Because of his complete, unvbothered independence from the rigid expectations of society, it make him look like a warrior, fighing for justice. While Tom ultimately wants to be accepted and admired by the townspeople, Juck lives entirely by his own rules and values his comfort over social status. This unique lifestyle is perfectly shown through his specific choice to sleep in a proper house. Despite his rough appearance and lack of schooling, Huck proves to be an incredibly loyal, honest friend. He nevers abandons Tom when things get genuinely dangerous. Their unbreakable bond show that true friendship means sticky together through both imaginary pirate games and real-life life-or-death situations. The story successfully highlights the theme opf clevereness, which is best seen when Tom outsmarts the local boys during the fence-painting episode. He turns a miserable punishment into a highly profitable game. Mark Twain also beautifully explores the theme of courage, which is proven when Tom overcomes his paralyzing terror of Injun Joe to speak the absolute truth in front of the judge. I would definitley enjoy visiting Tom’s world because the absolute feedom of the Mississppi riverfront makes childhood feel like a giant, magical playground where technology does not exist. However, a major drawback of living in that era is the constant, unsupervised physical danger. This ranges from getting lost in the pitch-black caves to witnessing voilent crimes without any modern safety nets or police protection. Ultimately, this brilliant 19th century novel remains well worth reading. Beacause it contains some dark themes and confusing achaic language like “dog’d”, it is best recommended for readers aged 10 and up who can fully appreciate its historical context. |
| [ Student: Adwin Abhiram Dash ] |
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| Book Review on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Book Summary: In the novel, The Adenvtures of Tom Sawyer, we are introduced to quite a mischievous and adventurous boy named Thomas Sawyer. During the first few chapters of the novel, Mark Twain tells us that, in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, Tom creates a storm in the village. Set near the Mississippi River in the 1840s, the town is pulled into various grave situations, such as solving a murder, Tom and his friend, Huckleberry Finn finding treasure and many more! Hence the name of this bildungsroman, the almost superhuman tasks that Tom carries out goes second to none. In Chapter 2 of this episodic marvel, Tom gets his own friends to whitewash the fence on a Saturday morning. In the aftermath, the whitewashed fence is a symbol of Tom’s cleverness, with the shrewd boy happily eating an apple he was given by his Aunt Polly. Additionally, after meeting Becky Thatcher, Tom becomes more tender and has a reason for delaying his adventures, changing his personality in the process. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer clearly demonstrates a strong sense of mystery throughout the story. During the graveyard incident in Chapters 9 and 10, Tom and Huck’s playful and mischievous environment turns into one full of dread and fear while witnessing Dr. Robinson’s life being taken by Injun Joe. The fruitless event plunged the boys into a scary reality full of grave-robbing and other murderous crimes. Several other elements included the hunt for a $12000 stash by Tom and Huck, Tom and his friend, Becky Thatcher being trapped in McDougal’s cave with Injun Joe in the same area and Tom, Huck and Joe Harper running off to Jackson’s Island to create a storm in the village. Tom’s evolution revolves around the events that took place, from getting his friends to whitewash the fence to testifying in court to expose Injun Joe of his crimes. This teaches us, as readers to think about our actions and always support a good cause, even if you don’t get anything out of it. He transformed from a mischievous boy, who was ready to do naughty things and deceive anyone, to a kind-hearted person who was ready to do anything for his town, St. Petersburg. Personal Opinion: Personally, I feel that Tom’s adventures were funny and mischievous but I also thought that those adventures were for a purpose. However, if I were to evaluate all of Tom’s adventures overall, I believe they were quite troublesome as Tom couldn’t understand what would happen to those around him if he carried out those tasks. They also affected the ones dear to him, such as Aunt Polly, Sid and Mary. He also impacted himself too. My favourite character was Huck Finn as he was full of righteousness, despite not being included as much in church. He did the right thing out of instinctive, natural decency. As well as being a great and supportive friend, his immense use of Western and 19th-century and American vocabulary also teaches us the forms of literature in the olden days. Huck Finn is also very curious as well. The story displays cleverness in various ways. When Tom got his friends to whitewash the fence, he showed a huge amount of guile by tricking people like Jim into doing the whitewashing for him. Additionally, after getting stuck in McDougal’s Cave, Tom is able to memorise the path to the treasure, providing a clear example of critical thinking and mental prowess. The novel shows courage during Chapter 16, when Tom, Huck and Joe Harper need to survive on Jackson Island, where they stood their ground facing huge storms and major disasters. For my personality, daily life and day-to-day activities, I don’t think I would enjoy living in Tom’s world because life was hard in the 1840s and during that time, the gold rush would have started to happen. This would lure the people of the town into the goldfields of California, thus minimising the population of the village. Additionally, with constant thievery and naughty acts, I wouldn’t want to put on a show as it would be harder for me to make a reputation for myself. There also wouldn’t be as many opportunities as we have today and I want to grasp those opportunities. Hence, I most definitely wouldn’t enjoy living in Tom’s world. For young readers and readers who are huge fans of mystery and humour, I highly recommend this book as it is quite entertaining, especially in the darkest events of the book. The esteemed author, Samuel Langhorne Clemens (otherwise known as Mark Twain) has based this story on his own life in the city of Hannibal in the United States, therefore providing an insight to how life was in the mid-1800s. As a whole, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a novel destined to be put amongst the greatest fictional novels of all time. The insane descriptions of characters, situations and realistic dialogue creates vivid images in our mind, making us feel as if we are in the story at a specific time and place. The way the story is set is fantastic as Mark Twain explains each and every moment in extra detail. If we compare this novel to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, you will see that the themes are strongly related, combining Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer as best friends in the same situations. Overall, I would most surely give this book a 100/10 because I loved the action, description and everything in the criteria was there for a “body” (courtesy of Huck Finn) to learn and understand. The thoughts that this novel left me with really changed my thinking of positivity and commitment. When Tom and Huck found and actually brought the treasure to the town, I thought that the commitment required to perform this act was immeasurable, as this is something you can’t do today. I then learnt that if you can’t do something, try, try and try again! Therefore, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is the epitome of mystery, cleverness and courage, making one of the best books ever written in the history of literature. |
| [ Student: Aritri Saha ] |
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| Why The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a Must-read The Adventure of Tom Sawyer is a novel that was published on the 9th of June, 1874. This is an adventure-fiction and a classic literature. This book was made by proud Mark Twain who wrote 257 pages on the book. Tom Sawyer, not only an unusual boy but an adventurous one too. Tom isn’t the ony one exploring adventure, but meets many new friends, sees incidents and gains a lot of cleverness. He has been living with Aunt Polly, his aunty since his parents died. He has a brother named Sid Sawyer. Sid is obedient, gentle and gets Tom normally in trouble by telling on him. Mary Sawyer is Tom’s cousin and she is very kind, obedient and responsible. In the story, the main characters are Tom, his friends Huck, Becky and Joe. There are more like Aunt Polly, Joe Harper and Muff Potter. In the stories Tom visits variety locations including the Mississipi river, a cave, a graveyard, school, church and Aunt Polly’s house. In this novel, many incidents occur. One was where Tom and hish friend Huck secretely see Dr. Robinson get murdered by Injun Joe. Injun Joe accused Muff Potter and told Tom not to snitch. At first he didn’t snitch but then he felt really bad for Muff Potter and told that Injun Joe murdered Dr. Robinson. Another one was where Tom had to whitewash the fence since it was a punishment. His friend Ben Rogers walks by and sees Tom whitewashing the fence. Tom tricks Ben by saying that this was a pleasent job for gentlemen. Then Ben got interested amd was willing to trade his apple for a try. Many other friends came and Tom used the same trick to get the whitewashing done. Not only the whitewashing was done but he got an apple, a kite, a dead rat attached to a string, a doorknob and a piece of bottle glass. He also got keys that wouldn’t open to anything, a piece of chalk, a glass stopper, tin soldier, small toy cannon and a dog collar. Overall, the main character is Tom who is is adventurous, clever, mischievous and confident. In the story, Tom got braver since he helped others in actual danger rather than a fun adventure. Tom also got more responsible because he used to avoid chores, skip school and became. Later in the book, Tom starts caring other people too because he comforted Becky who was frightenned in the cave and he helped clear an inocent man’s name by telling the truth in court. This novel took many settings and adventures with Tom. All of the places in the book sounded really realistic and is realistic because the Mississipi river is real. All of the others places sound normal and would be places that people would normally go to. Many themes and messages follow this story. It follows courage, honesty and friendship. The faced danger, situations and punishments. But still, they showed bravery, honesty and respect. Therefore, the author wanted to shpw us some morals in the story. One was about honesty, even when it was hard to tell the truth. The second one is about friendship where we all help and care about each other in difficult times. Here, people learn their mistakes and became more mature. Lastly was where we should use our imagination creatively but we should be balanced with responsibility. In my opinion about the book, it is a well-written classic, perfect for readers who likes exploring. It is a little bit inappropriate but I was fine with it. What I really enjoyed about it was all the adventures explored, the theme and the messages, the problem ang the resolution. What I didn’t really enjoy the book was how there where innappropriate words. The story is humouress, adventurous an interesting which made me really want to read the book. My reccomendation is not to use the inappropriate words and make some of the settings more interesting. “The Adventure of Tom Sawyer” would be reccomended to people who like exploring, people who like adventures or people who enjoy discovering incidents. The age I would suggest that it would be suitable for is 11+ years old. Yes, I would reccomend this to people and overall, the book’s rating is a 3.5/5. |
| [ Student: Tahmeed Rayyan Aroosh ] |
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| THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ AUTHOR : L. Frank Baum In the wondeful wizard of Oz, the main character is dorathy who is transported to a magical world by a cyclone that sweeps her of her feet and carries her to the land of Oz, which is surrounded by a vast desert from north, south, east, west, you name it! In this land, there are four witches, (well three after Dorathy lands on one of them and kills them flat!) and one “wizard”. She was carried here because there was a cyclone and while she was trying to find Toto, her dog, the wind picked her house up and frizbeed it across the the terain and made it land in the country of OZ. She was really frightend after her house killed the wicked witch of the east when it landed. On her journey, she sees lots of companions like the scarecrow on the post in the farm field, the Tin man in the woods (more on the rusty side when he was discovered), the cowardy lion in the woods who is even scared of a dog (Toto). She sees more people including OZ himself (for the first time in history, only to discover him a humbug) and all three of the witches, (two kind and ane nasty ( the nasty one got melted later on)), the quadlings, hammerheads and munchkins. Along the journey she meets friends and foes but her friends are the Scarecrow, the tin man, the lion and the cause of the story: The dog Toto. They all want something, (well, exept Toto of course, he only wants to stay with Dorothy, and that always happens). Dorothy only wants to be back at home with Aunt Emm, the scare crow wants a some brains, because he says that since his head is stuffed with straw, he is foolish. The lion wants bravery, because he is scared of even a dog and he wants to have true bravery. The tin man was once a (Yep, you guessed it) a man. but a terrible runout with the witch gives him injuries, so he is now practicly a suit of tin armour that moves and talks. That means he has lost his heart and he wants another one so he can feel love again. Of course this story can’t be story without problems, right? So that’s where the foes and obsticles in rough the terain come in. The first enemy that she defeats (or rather, her house does) is instantly obilarated by the falling house and basically gets turned into a witch pancake and Dorothy picks up her shoes (more about that later). The next one is the wicked witch of the west who she defeats with (frankly, out of all the weird and whacky weaknesses, ) a bucket of water! There are also the fighting trees, who the woodman cuts down and defeats, the hammer heads, with heads that act as if they were homing missiles ( punching glove eddition) and the terain dificulties like the river, a massive hole in the ground and lined with sharp spear-like rocks and a china country (china clay, not the actual country!). Based on my opnion, my most favourate character was Dorothy herself because of how enduring and hardworking she was. She would be in royalty with perfect comfort (like in the castle with the winkies) but still one way or another still remind herself she had to go home even though it wasn’t perfect there at home. She would still cross entire sectons of the country on foot and even if she didn’t find a solution there, she would still cross entire countrysides to find the what she was looking for. The most suprising or random part of the story was when the china country (again, not the real one) popped up so randomly in the story. one moment there was a massive gaping forest with branches and things growing so tall, they looked like they were undisturbed for millenia and in the middle if it all, standing out like a black splotch on a white sheet, was THE china country ! How did they get there in the folage without ripping trees apart, nobody knows. They are not magical, they are too brittle to fly without shattering as well. So that is the mystrey that still intruges me to this day. Amongst all this chaos, Dorothy had to show some guts and not chicken out even though she felt scared, like in the forest when the lion roared and dorothy quivered like a jelly being vigourously shaken, she still piped up enough courage to fight and save her dog, toto. They had to be friends and be together so they could protect each other with their strenths, and cover other’s weaknesses. This is particularily displayed during the fight with the wicked witch of the west where the scarecrow and others protect each other from all the hard danger. If I was to be deposited into the land of 0z, here are the things l would do: Firstly l would build a house to survive and find the nearest brook or river to know the nearest warer source for later and make a bucket to cary my water. Secondly, l would find some food to eat like nuts and beries and I would pluck the seeds out and plant them in the nearby river so they get food, sunlight and water in one go. l would then upgrade my house to stone so it can survive harsh weather and make a mat out of straw which will have to do as my bed for now and would sleep out the night. Then l would gather lots of fruit in my baskets for the massive trip ahead, and travel to the south to ask Glinda to take me back home and go to my place. I think this book is perfect for readers aged from 8-15 because it shows a story of courage and its storyline will have you re-reading this book again. I would give this book a five star rating because of how un-put-downable this book is. |
| [ Student: Megan Louis ] |
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Book Review Term 2 2026 The Wizard of OzBook Summary:Dorothy was an industrious and kind-hearted orphan who lived in a one-room house with the care-worn Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and her little dog, Toto, in the midst of the great Kansas prairies. Her family lived peacefully there, and weren’t the least disturbed by any of their surroundings. However, one fateful day, there happened to be a low wail of wind, then a sharp whistling in the air from the south, and disaster struck. A terrible cyclone occured, carrying the house many miles away, due to the powerful strength of the wind. It blew the house away to a strange country (known as the Land of Oz), and that was where Dorothy’s great adventures began. 2. During her journey to the Emerald City, where the Wizard of Oz dwelt, Dorothy met a few friends along the way. One of the friends she met was the Scarecrow, whose body was made completely with straw, and had an unusual appearance. He also had a very awkward way of doing things, and sometimes lacked intelligence, but he was cheerful, good natured and extremely helpful. The Scarecrow also showed lots of perseverence, resilience during the journey, and was full of courage. Another friend Dorothy met was the Tin Woodman, and though his body was made completely out of tin, he had a heart truly made out of gold, and was indeed, a very grateful and polite creature. Additionly, the Tin Woodman was hard working and untiring, always supporting the party of travellers and showed friendship, which proved that he was a loyal and tender-hearted companion. Finally, the last friend Dorothy met was the Cowardly Lion, who was a great, invincible beast, who lacked courage, but sometimes showed bravery- his true identity. Furthermore, this comerade has razor-sharp claws and powerful paws. 3. The journey to meet the Wizard of Oz was fun, exciting, hazardous and full of obstacles, such as the time when the Wicked Witch of the West tried to stop their expedition and tear them into pieces, the travellers ate, slept and journeyed on foot, helping each other and beeing very cooperative. They also took care of each other, stood up for each other and worked very well as a team. For instance, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman guarded and protected Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, and little Toto when the comerades were sleeping in the Country of the West, because the two friends could never rest. While they were doing this, the two members of the party sensed danger (like the time when the furious pack of wolves charged towards them), and took action immediately using their spectacular skills. The unstoppable heroes always saved the team from a lot of trouble and danger. There were also times when things went well, like the part when the travellers made friends with the field mice, and could call them whenever they required assistance from them. After many days and nights, the companions arrived to the Emerald City and each asked Oz to give them something. Dorothy asked him to help her reach Kansas with Toto, the Scarecrow asked the Wizard for brains, the Tin Woodman asked Oz for a heart, and the Cowardly Lion asked him for courage. 4. There were many obstacles that Dorothy and her friends faced along the way. Some of them include the time when the comerades faced the fierce Kahlidahs, who got defeated by them, when the Wicked Witch of the West tried to put an end to the comerades by sending a pack of wolves, a flock of wild crows, a swarm of bees and had challanged them to duel with the Winkies, and then recieved help from the Winged Monkeys after the rest of her plans had failed. Furthermore, battling the Fighting Trees was a great difficulty as well, especially when they caught the Scarecrow off guard, its branches bending, twining around him, suddenly lifting him off the ground and throwing the poor comerade. Fortunately, the Scarecrow's fellow travellers assisted and helped him back to his feet again. Eventually, towards the end of the book, Dorothy learned that there is no place like home, because that comfortable place is where you truly belong, and nobody can take that safe, secure environment from you. Additionlly, Dorothy also learned a significant lesson about self reliance, because if she had known the power of her silver shoes, Dorothy could've gone back home to Aunt Em and Uncle Henry the very first day she arrived to the Land of Oz, but since she didn't, she journeyed through all the main directions of the compass, and her companions travelled along with her to the castle of Glinda after facing many challanges. Personal Opinion 1. My favourite character in this story is Dorothy, because she is bold, industrious, intelligent, compassionate and very resilient. Whenever Dorothy and her companions faced challanges, difficulties, hardships or slavery, she never gave up and kept trying until she finally achieved her goal. Also, when Dorothy was admitted into the throne room of Oz, and despite his hideous face, Dorothy boldly stepped forward, answered the Wizard bravely and obeyed him, even when things became tough. Furthermore, Dorothy was very industrious, intelligent and compassionate because she freed the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman from trouble and misery, tamed the Cowardly Lion, and most importantly, Dorothy didn't care the least about her companions appearance. 2. The most interesting and surprising part of the story for me was when Dorothy and the other comerades found out Oz's true identity and that he really was a false Wizard, who had no magic powers, because it was a very shocking scene. Additionally, it was also unbelieveable when Oz told his story, how he tricked every individual into thinking he was a true, brilliant, magnifacent wizard, and the fact that he was an awesome ventriloquist. 3. The characters helped each other by protecting each other, saving each other from misery, and using first-rate ideas to save each other from danger and trouble. For instance, if Dorothy hadn't rescued the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, they could've passed their lives in misery, boredom and uncomfort until the end of the world. Therefore, Dorothy showed consideration and compassion towards the two comerades, and soon, in return, they protected the rest of the party in the Country of the West. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman also battled the pack of wolves which the Wicked Witch of the West herself sent, the flock of crows, the swarm of wild bees and the Winkies, likewise. Another time the characters in the story helped each other was when the Scarecrow suggested an amazing idea and the time the comerades had to deal with the fierce Kahlidahs, and told the Tin woodman to chop the great tree near the ditch so it could act like a bridge when the party tried to avoid the dreadful beasts, and to chop the bridge again when the Kahlidahs were crossing it. Thus, the Scarecrow showed intelligence, cleverness and cooperation in the team. If he hadn't thought of that fantastic idea, every comerade would have been torn into pieces! 4. If l could visit the Land of Oz , l would do excactly what Dorothy did in her adventures with the Scarecrow, Toto, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, make a group of my own and seek adventures. I would also visit the Emerald City , travel around the compass with my companions , face obstacles or go looking for treasure because l think it's fun. Additionlly, l would go camping with my friends, and enjoy the beauty of the Land of Oz. |
| [ Student: Kian Gupta ] |
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| Dorothy is the main protagonist in this book. She lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in a farmhouse on the Kansas prairie. She lives with her dog Toto, who keeps her happy and also runs a lot of the plot in this story. The story starts when a tornado carries Dorothy, Toto, and Dorothy’s house into a strange land far away from her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. Over there, Dorothy accidentally lands on the Wicked Witch Of The East and saves the Munchkins, little people who were slaves of the Wicked Witch Of The East. She takes the Wicked Witch Of The East’s magical shoes and wears them throughout the story. Everyone thinks she is a witch but she wants to go home. There are two good witches, one in the North and one in the south. There are also two evil witches, one in the East and one in the West. The Good Witch Of The North tells Dorothy about Oz and Dorothy journeys to the Emerald City, where Oz resides, hoping to find a way home. On the way, she meets different people. She first meets the Scarecrow. He is convinced that he has no brain, but is a loyal companion. The Scarecrow joins her, hoping that Oz will give him brains. The Tin Woodman is the second friend she meets. His axe was enchanted by the Wicked Witch Of The East so that his axe cut him in half, so he lost his heart and had no love. He also joins them and wants a heart from Oz. The third friend Dorothy meets is the Cowardly Lion. He is an ordinary lion but has no courage and is a coward. He joins so that he can get courage from Oz. Throughout this story, they all help each other like when the Tin Woodman makes a raft for them to cross a river and when the Scarecrow collects some nuts for Dorothy to eat. The Wizard Of Oz holds the power of the land of OZ. He has kept this power because he kept his identity a secret from the citizens. Later in the book, Dorothy finds out that he was a humbug and that he also came to Oz by accident when his hot-air balloon got blown away and he never tried to leave. Oz tries to help by giving a fake brain to the Scarecrow, a fake heart to the Tin Woodman, and fake courage to the Cowardly Lion. The Wizard makes a hot-air balloon to carry himself and Dorothy back to Kansas but accidentally launches it too early, leaving Dorothy behind. Dorothy and her companions journey to the South. The Winged Monkeys, monkeys with wings, who are forced to work three times for the person with the Golden Cap, also help Dorothy through facing obstacles like the Hammer-Heads, beasts with extendable necks which they use so they can hit you with their heads and how when Dorothy lost her way, they carried her to the Emerald City. Dorothy and her companions also face other obstacles like the Fighting Trees, which they face during their journey to the South. Dorothy goes to Glinda, the Good Witch Of The South, who says that Dorothy’s magical shoes could carry her over the desert and to Kansas. Dorothy reaches Kansas and is greeted by Aunt Em. Dorothy and her companions learn the lesson of home and self-reliance when they get to know that Oz was a humbug, realizing they had the courage, smartness, and kindness in them all along, and all they had to do was believe. This shows self-reliance. When Dorothy is transported to the land of Oz, she lears that home isn’t about where you are, it’s about who you’re with. This is on the theme “home.” My favourite character is the Cowardly Lion because during the part when the Kalidahs come, he says that even though he was cowardly, the he would fight them if he had to, and that represents bravery. It shows that even though he was scared, he would do it for the companions also representing kindness and friendship. For me, the most exciting part of the book was when Dorothy was transported to the land of Oz because it made an enormous change that is not experienced before. It builds up a lot of suspense because you do not know what could happen next. It was really exciting when she landed in the land where witches and wizards existed. If I could visit the land of Oz, I would definitely visit the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Woodman because they are very interesting characters because in real life, a scarecrow would not be able to talk and walk, a lion would not speak English, and a woodman can’t be made of tin. I would also visit the Good Witch Of The South to see some magic, since I love magic. |
| [ Student: Kashnika Sooriyakumar ] |
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| Book Review of The Story of Doctor Dolittle I recently read book called Doctor Dolittle. The author Hugh Lofting wrote this book and it’s about a Doctor who loves animals and learns to talk to them. This book inspired me to love animals just like Doctor Dolittle. In a small village called Puddleby-on-the-Marsh, there lived a handsome man called John Dolittle M.D. This man had an affection on animals and kept many of them. But, his favourite animals were Dab-Dab the duck, Jip the Dog, Gug-Gub the baby pig, Polynesia the Parrot and Too-Too the owl. One day the the Cat’s meat man (the one who sells the scraps of cat food) came. He told the Doctor that he should become an animal doctor. He agreed to become an animal Doctor. Then Polyneisia perched on the table started to talk with the doctor “Doctor, did you know that animals could talk?”. “I knew that parrot could talk.”said the doctor. “Yes, we parrots can speak two languages, English and bird language” said the parrot. Soon, Polynesia taught all the animal laguages to Doctor. Meanwhile, the Cats meat man had told many many people about the Doctor who turned into an animal Doctor. People brought their sick cats and dogs to treatment who ate too much cake! Later that day, an Organ Grinder brought a monkey to the Doctor. The Doctor realised that owner was mistreating the monkey. The monkey was called by Chee-Chee and Doctor looked after him. Another day someone brought a crocodile to doctors house. One cold winter day, a sparrow came with a message from Africa. The monkeys in Africa had caught a great sickness. Doctor Dolittle borrowed a ship from a man and got all supplies and went to Africa with his favourite animals. Once he near the coast of Africa, Black men seized te Doctor and his favourite animals and sentenced them into jail. They remained in jail until clever Polynesia thought of an interesting plan. That night, Polynesia squeezed through the bars and flew through the broken window. She pretended to be the Doctor and outsmarted the King. She said to the King, “Your Majesty, I have made myself invisible. Open the the prison door, if not I will raise my pinky and your people will become sick like monkeys.” Oh! Please Doctor, don’t do that, I will free you”said the King. “Ok” said Polynesia and flew off. The King unlocked the prision door. By that time, the Queen was coming back from the ball and saw the parrot. She told that the King about the parrot, the King was red in face and made his soldiers to find the Doctor and his animals. Meanwhile, the Doctor had found not-so-sick monkeys. They cheered happily and made so much noise that could hear it from miles away. Unfortunately, the soldiers heard the monkeys noise and came rushing in. Some of the monkeys saw the soldiers approaching and warned the Doctor. One soldier chased the Doctor, but his earing got stuck on a leaf. This gave the Doctor Dolitte a chance to escape. The monkeys made a bridge so Doctor Dolittle could cross the river. Once he got other side, he helped the sick monkeys get better and was awarded for his kindness. On his journey back, the doctor met Ben Ali and made them into birdseed farmers. They took his ship and sailed back to Puddleby On-The-Marsh. When he arrived back in Puddleby-on-the Marsh, he had plenty of money. People and animals respected him and treated Doctor Dolittle kindly. My favourite part was when Doctor Dolittle learned how to talk to animals. I like this because it showed that Doctor Dolittle has interest in animals and he cares about them. He understands not only people but animals too! Something else l enjoyed in the story was when the Doctor goes to Africa to help sick animals. This shows that he cares and treats animals respectfully. My favourite animal in this book is Polynesia the parrot because she is clever, kind, helpful, brave, thoughtful and intelligent. She was very helpful to Doctor Dolittle in difficult situations like the time when they were imprisoned. She works with Doctor Dolittle and teaches him how to speak with animals kindly. This story made me feel like that I wish I would become like Doctor Dolittle. When I read this story it made me feel calm, relaxed, heartwarming and with great excitement. It’s also show how chacters face problems and how they overcome it through plans. I would love to have Doctor Dolittle wonderful skill to talk to animals because I wanted have an animal which I can talk to when I’m upset, angry or bored. It is not just talking to the animals but also understanding their thoughts and imaginations. Wouldn’t it be magnificent to live in a world like Doctor Dolittle’s, where I can talk to animals? Imagine stepping into a world of imaginaion where animals can talk and we can understand each other……. Thank you Kashnika Sooriyakumar |
| [ Student: Thenuli Kulappu Arachchige ] |
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| BOOK SUMMARY Dot was a little girl who got lost in the Australian outback while chasing a hare. The hare ran so fast and she couldn’t catchup and lost her way back home. She tried not to cry, but then she was sad and worried. Finally she ended up crying in the middle of the forest all lost. When she was crying, she heard a soft sound and she looked up. She saw a Kangaroo staring at her and seeing her made Dot forget all her sadness and fear. Dot felt that the Kangaroo seemed to understand her and was feeling sorry for her. Then the Kangaroo brought some colourful berrries and told her to eat only some of them. Dot was happy to eat as she was hungry. After eating those magical berries, Dot started to hear sounds around her which soon she realised as animal voices. After that Dot could understand what Kangaroo was telling her. She got the ability to understand what the animals say and could communicate with them. Dot told the Kangaroo that she lost her way back home and that she needed to find her ‘lost way’ as soon as possible. The Kangaroo seemed to understand her worries and tried to help her as best as she could. The Kangaroo told her how she lost her joey and that she can feel her worries. At night Dot felt thirsty and asked the Kangaroo for some water. The Kangaroo told her the journey to the nearest waterhole was a long way so she kept Dot inside her pouch and hopped all the way to the waterhole. Then Dot saw some birds called “Bronze Wings’ who also came looking for water and that they were scared to go to the waterhole because of the humans. The Kangaroo was determined to help Dot find her ‘lost way’ and asked many animals if they saw her ‘lost way’. She was told by them to talk to the Platypus who seemed to know everything. They started a long journey looking for the Platypus through many adventures. All this time Dot was fed with berries and taken care of by the Kangaroo. Once they reached the area where the Platypus lived, they had to speak to the Platypus as polite as possible to keep her talking. Finally she came up with a person who can help them. It was ‘Willy Wagtail’ who was also the cousin of a bird called ‘Click-i-ti-clack’. On the way to finding the Click-i-ti-clack they came across some dangerous Dingoes who attacked them. They were saved by a young tribesman boy. During this journey, Dot also met a Koala who she thought was a Native Bear. Once they found the Click-i-ti-clack, he told them the directions to find the Willy Wagtail which again was a long journey. There they also found a friendly Emu on their way to find water. After travelling a long distance the Kangaroo asked Dot to stay back and wait for her to come back looking for the Willy Wagtail. Soon Dot fell asleep and when she woke up she saw a group of animals surrounding her, who seems to be hurt by humans before. They held a trial to see if Dot was guilty of the wrong acts done by the humans to the bush animals. However, they failed to prove Dot guilty for any of those harmings and releaased her calling it a ‘failed trial’. Soon the kangaroo returned and took her to the Willy Wagtail to fing her way back home. FInally they reached the Dot’s home on the fourth day. It was full of excitement, happiness and joy to meet the parents of Dot. Dot told her parents how she was protected and looked after by the Kangaroo and other wild animals during her scary stay inside the forest. The most important thing was that the Kangaroo was reunited with her lost joey! During this entire journey, Dot learnt how scared the animals were of humans because humans hunted and harmed them, sometimes as a sport. She promised herself that she would be an ‘improved human’ who would never harm any creature. She also made her parents promise to never harm any bush animal in future. Her parents also made a safe place for the animals to come and drink water. The Kangaroo and the joey and some other freindly animals whom she met in the forest visited her again and again. PERSONAL OPINION I really like the friendship which Dot had with the Kangaroo, because it is exciting to see how a Kangaroo can become so kind, helpful and understanding. The most beautiful part of their bonding is that Kangaroo never left Dot until she found her parents. Kangaroo looked after her giving her berries to eat, finding water to drink through scary journeys and keeping her safe during night time, just like looking after her own joey. In real life kangaroos can be more scary and dangerous to humans, but in this story Dot felt safe and protected with the Kangaroo. What I most like about their friendship is that Kangaroo kept coming to see Dot even after she returned home, and they remained friends forever. My favourite animal in this book is the Platypus, because he was a mysterious animal, who knew so many things. He also helped Dot to find her ‘lost way’ by telling them the right person to ask for her way back home. He seems clever as he knew how exactly the human have described him in the books! I learnt that many different creatures live in the Australian Bush, like hares, Bronze-wings, Nightjar, Kookaburra, Platypus and Possum. I only knew Koala and Kangaroo as Bush animals before reading this story. I also learnt that Bush animals live a very hard life trying to find food, water holes and keeping themselves safe, away from humans. It is interesting to feel like I have actually lived in a Bush for a few days. I was curious about the magical nature of the colourful berries. They helped Dot to talk to the Kangaroo and understand what she was telling her. Dot could communicate with many animals in the forest and somehow find her way back home, because of that. I wish I could find some of those berries and eat them and be able to talk to animals. I would love to enjoy an adventure like Dot, because then I could hop inside a Kangaroo pouch and experience the life in a Bush. I also like to eat the colourful berries and talk to the birds and animals, which was something I always wanted in my life. Anyway just like Dot, I want to return home safely and get back with my parents in the end. |
| [ Student: Sherry Yan ] |
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| Book Review – Dot and the Kangaroo A little girl named Dot is lost in the outback after chasing a hare. A kind animal which is the kangaroo helps her out after Dot has eaten some magical berries. That helps understand what the bush creatures are talking about. She met a platypus which told her to find Willy Wagtail. On her way to find Willy Wagtail she met Click-i-ti-clack. He is Willy Wagtail’s cousin he exclaimed that Wily Wagtail’s nest is not so far away. The kangaroo had no trouble listening to Click-i-ti-clack’s directions. My favorite character is the platypus because he is very informative and even if he gets angry he is still keen to help. This story made me feel curious and it makes me feel like that I want to go on that adventure as well. Here is the reason why. It is because Dot is so brave and always have lots of questions in mind. What I learned from this book is never harm a bush creature although they are annoying you. |


















