Outcast book review

I finished reading this book aloud to Aidan last night. 

Here's Aidan's book review. 

Paver, Michelle, Outcast. London: Orion Children's Books, 2007.

Outcast is a book about a boy who had the Soul Eater mark on his chest. People saw it and cast him out and then hunted him. The part of being outcasted saved Otter Clan from destruction. The book is also about a person who caused a disaster. She was very powerful. In the end, the old man called Fin-Kedinn, fosters Torak into all the clans.

My favourite part of this book was when Torak realised that Renn's mother was the Viper Mage. I was really surprised to learn this.

The funniest part was when Wolf saw fish in the trees.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Thought.

Soul Eater book review

I finished reading this book aloud to Aidan this morning. 

Here's Aidan's book review. 

Paver, Michelle, Soul Eater. London: Orion Children's Books, 2006.

Soul Eater is a book about finding a dog that Torak calls, “Wolf.” It turns out to be a journey that saves the world.

My favourite part of this book was when Wolf was the last animal coming out of the gap in the cave entrance.

The funniest part was when Torak and Renn rescued the wolverine, it snarled at them and Wolf came up and the wolverine left.

I hope that Renn’s bow will be destroyed ... this would be an example of parting with something great, for instance, Fa.

I think there should be an Exodus-type book about the past of this series and the characters. Included in this book would be stories about Fa and it would start off long, long ago when the Soul Eaters were healers. We would find out what joke Torak told Fa at the beginning of Wolf Brother, and this would be the ending: “Torak woke with a jolt from a sleep he’d never meant to have,” (the first line from Chapter 1 of Wolf Brother).

In a book about the origins of the Soul Eaters, there would be one new named Soul Eater - the one who burned in the fire - and they would all be Healers. Around the fifth chapter, the Healers would become Soul Eaters. One main character would actually be Fa. There could also be a history of Renn and Wolf. Wolf’s story would start off with his mother pregnant, and end with a duck bone in his throat. Renn’s story would start off with her father preparing to leave for the Far North and would end with, “Let him go!” the stranger said. This was the scene where Torak wanted Wolf to be released from Oslak.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Spirit Walker, or anyone who is interested in animals.

Aidan's reference to an "Exodus-type" book is based on the book, Transformers Exodus, 

in which Transformer origins are explained and some history is described. Michelle Paver's book series has greatly inspired Aidan's imagination. He often makes predictions or expresses desires for what could happen next. He also likes to ponder the author's motivations for story lines and events. And during this third book, he has been thinking back to events from earlier stories, wishing to have more details revealed and explained.

Spirit Walker book review

I finished reading this book aloud to Aidan this evening. 

Here's Aidan's book review. 

Paver, Michelle, Spirit Walker. London: Orion Children's Books, 2005.

Spirit Walker is a book about a sickness that spreads through the clans. The boy called Torak tries to find a cure and he doesn’t even know who his enemy is until the end.

I would recommend Spirit Walker just as much as Wolf Brother. I’m looking forward to reading Soul Eater next.

My favourite part of the book was when Tenris told Torak he had lied about the cure. I think it was a turning point because Torak had spent a whole long time just looking for the cure.

The funniest part of the book was when Wolf refused to get into the canoe. Another funny part was when Wolf got squirted in the muzzle by fulmar chicks.

I liked the new characters, including Tenris and the orca, Notched Fin.

Independence Day

A1: "Mom, can we go to Deep Cove?" I was working at my client's office about 1/2 an hour away from home. It was 3:15pm and Austin had just returned from picking up Aaron from preschool about 5 blocks away.

M: "Well, that's pretty far from home, but it's a nice day and I had been thinking the same thing before you called."

A1: "Can we have some money for ice cream?"

M: "That's what your allowance is for."

A1: "What about Aaron? He doesn't get allowance."

M: "Well then, you and Aidan will have to agree to buy Aaron an ice cream by splitting the cost, or else none of you should get any."

I left A1 with instructions to let Dad know where they were going and not to call me to complain if Dad says, "No." Skye was working downstairs.

Around 3:45, I received a text message from Skye asking if it was ok with me for the boys to go to Deep Cove. I responded, "Sure. I'll pick them up on my way home."

I reached Panorama Park at 5:15 and found the boys on the path near the beach. They were all happy and Austin was drinking water from a Tupperware container he had obviously filled at home. I was impressed that he had thought to pack water for the trip.

Austin excitedly told me that he had bought himself two slices of Deep Cove Pizza and he had $0.02 left over. Aidan had bought himself some ice cream and he had $1.51 left over.

M: "Did Aaron get some ice cream too?"

A1 & A2: "Yeah!"

A2: "We bought Aaron a small dish of vanilla ice cream."

M: "You shared the cost?"

A2: "Yes, Austin paid half and I paid half."

A1 and A2 explained that they had decided before they left the house, how much money they were willing to spend. So, they brought only that much ($10 and $5, respectively) down with them and left the rest in their wallets. Now comes the reason for the packed water bottles...

A1: "I wasn't going to be spending any of my money on water, so I filled up water bottles to take with us." Good thinking!

I asked how everything went and if they all enjoyed going down to Deep Cove (about 10 blocks from home) on their own. I received a very balanced answer.

A1: "Aaron got a little upset when I accidentally hit his chin with the scooter, and Aidan tread on the heel of his boot. We weren't really paying good enough attention at the start, but we got better at it. We made sure that Aaron was always farthest away from cars when we were walking on the sidewalk, even if Aaron got mad at us for that."

I was really proud of all the boys, and I told them so. This was a big step and they handled the responsibility beautifully.

Wolf Brother book review

I finished reading this book aloud to Aidan this morning. It's a real page-turner and Aidan simply loved it. We've already borrowed book 2, Spirit Walker, from the library. Austin was unexpectedly drawn into the story, so he is now off in his room, devouring the second book.

Here's Aidan's book review. This is his first book review, ever.

Paver, Michelle, Wolf Brother. London: Orion Children's Books, 2004.

Wolf Brother is about a boy who finds a wolf as his guide. His father dies. A bear is looking for him for a long time. The bear dies and the boy meets a clan called Raven Clan.

My favourite part of the story was chapter 32 because Hord and the bear die and it has a great ending. The sad part was that the bear died because I was expecting the demon to come out of the bear and the bear to turn back into a cub.

Torak made it so that the wolf was his brother. I was impressed that Torak would be able to speak wolf and understand wolf.

The most frightening chapter was the first one and it was a good part of the book.

I have recommended this book to some people in my class.

While I read the book to Aidan, he was gripped by the story. He frequently interjected with predictions for what might happen next. He had many theories about why some characters had to die or suffer. He was very curious and speculated the meaning of a riddle that was being solved throughout much of the book.


There were many opportunities to expand vocabulary. Aidan learned the meaning of "fathomless," "incessantly," "paces," and "abode," as well as countless other words. We also had to interpret Wolf's descriptions, such as "Tall Tailless," "Lights," "Darks," and "Bright Beast-that-Bites-Hot," = "Torak," "Days," "Nights," and "Fire." Wolf observed that Torak wasn't as fast as him, nor could he smell or hear as well as Wolf could. Torak noticed that there is no concept of future in wolf language; only the present. Aidan was intrigued by this.

Last night, we reached Chapter 31 (the second-last chapter) and Aidan decided to go to bed. The look on Austin's face was priceless! He was incredulous of our ability to put the book down at that stage. So, he couldn't resist and finished reading the book on his own before tucking in for the night.