Alcock, Vivien - Books - Magic Bean Dip

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Singer to the Sea God

Vivien Alcock

List Price: ~~$15.00~~
By: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good reading if you like adventure and Greek Mythology. 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Would you rather be a well-fed slave with a place to sleep or a free man who knows not where he will rest or how he will eat? That is one question which crops up in this adventure story about a young boy and his companions who escape slavery only to find a harsh, superstitious world. I thoroughly enjoyed this tale and would recommend it to any middle schooler interested in Greek times and people. The characters win your affection and the story transports you back to this primitive time when men believed in oracles and the wiles of the Gods.

Singer to the Sea God 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book got a little boring and confusing, but the end was enjoyable, suspenseful, and exciting. I don't recommend it to people under 12. It's too boring for someone younger than that age. I, 14, liked it a little. I used it as a book report book, which worked out well because the plot is very obvious.

Editorial Review:

In a powerful tale based on Greek mythology, Cleo is turned to stone by the deadly glare of Medusa, and Phaidon embarks on an epic journey to rescue her from an eternity in marble.

The Cuckoo Sister

Vivien Alcock

List Price: ~~$4.95~~
By: Sandpiper
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Wow! This was great! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Ever since she heard about the mysterious disappearance of her older sister, Emma, from her carriage outside a dress shop two years before she was born, Kate has been fantasizing about meeting her perfect older sister. But when a thin teenager shows up at the door with a note reading, "I had just lost my baby and needed yours when I saw her. Lately I saw in the paper you never got over the loss of your baby so I am returning her to you, love, Louise" Kate is confused. The girl is not at all what she imagined Emma to be, and no one is really sure if it is Emma. The family tries to find out her real identity while the girl searches for Louise, who she thinks as her mother. The ending is nice and the whole story is very enjoyable. It's my second favourite book now because I loved it so much.

Editorial Review:

"Since the day I found out about Emma, I seemed to have gone to the bad. I was rude. I told lies. I listened at doors and read other people's letters if they left them about. I was always losing things . . . watches, cameras, and silver bracelets. And whenever my mother reproached me, I screamed at her, 'Look who's talking? Who lost her own baby? Who lost my sister? Just because you wanted a new dress?'"

Convinced that her family's problems will end if only Emma is returned by the person who snatched her from her baby carriage, Kate longs for the older sister she never knew. But when a thin, spiky-haired stranger with hard eyes shows up with a letter claiming she's the long-lost sister, there's more trouble than ever. This "Emma" is certainly not the sister Kate imagined.

The Monster Garden

Vivien Alcock

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By: Sandpiper
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

The Monster Garden 3 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This story is about a lonley girl, who try's to make a friend, a sibling- A MONSTER? Vivien Alock writes about a girl who wants to prove to her father that she loves him, and more than anything she wants him to love her. One day she makes an absured deal with her brother, for a little bit of the substance he got from his dad's laboratory, the only problem is the monster is growing fast, very fast. He starts living in a hutch, but when he escapes from the hutch, everyone knows he cant stay a secret for long. The monster garden is a very injoyable book especially for young readers.

The monster Garden 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

It is a very interesting and detailed story I give it five out of 10 stars.

Editorial Review:

Frankie isn't exactly sure what her scientist dad does in his top-secret laboratory, but her neighbors tease her that it must be something awful -- like developing germ warfare. So when Frankie's older brother steals a bit of mysterious goo from their father's lab, she makes sure she gets some to conduct her own experiment. But Frankie never could have anticipated the results...

The Haunting of Cassie Palmer

Vivien Alcock

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By: Sandpiper
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Editorial Review:

Thirteen-year-old Cassie Palmer, the seventh child of a seventh child, has inherited the gift of second sight. Unsure whether or not she even believes in ghosts, Cassie heads to the cemetery to test her ability to communicate with the Other World. She starts with the departed spirit of a harmless child: CHARLOTTE EMMA ELIZABETH WEBB, BORN 1840 DIED 1847. But when a mysterious man appears, Cassie finds a new companion. Is he a gravedigger? A bum? Or did Cassie's inexperience cause her to bring back Charlotte's frightening neighbor: DEVERILL 1720 - 1762?

Travelers by Night

Vivien Alcock

List Price: ~~$2.95~~
By: Yearling
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A wonderful children's adventure story. Well written. 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Involves two youngsters in a defunct circus who attempt to save the life of an old elephant. Well written. Suitable for children of ten or older I think; can be read to younger ones.

Editorial Review:

Determined to save an old elephant from the slaughterhouse, two circus children kidnap the animal and begin a dangerous journey, traveling by night across the English countryside to a safari park where they hope to find the elephant a home.

The Red-Eared Ghosts

Vivien Alcock

List Price: ~~$4.95~~
By: Sandpiper
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

It was a funny and interesting book. I liked the book. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The book was The Red Eared Ghosts. A girl named Mary is confused. She clames she can see ghosts. Everyone thinks she is crazy. Her mom can't see the ghosts but her grandmother could, just as she can. When she goes to see where her grandmother disappeared she ends up in a new world. What will happen to Mary when she doesn't know where she is and doesn't know anyone?

a good read, but a bit dull in parts 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I enjoyed reading this book, but some parts didn't fit together well. It was somewhat boring in the middle, but picked up in the end. Over all a "solid" read

It was a boring book at some parts! 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The beggining of the book caught my interest but the middle got dragged out and got boring but the end caught my interest once again. All in all it was an OK book.

Editorial Review:

There is definitely something strange about Mary Frewin. She looks like an ordinary child, and she tries to act like the other children too, scraping through life at home and school without calling too much attention to herself. What separates Mary from her classmates is that she can see ghosts - red-eared ghosts. In a fast-paced, well-plotted novel that explores the concept of time, Vivien Alcock brings Mary Frewin and her red-eared ghosts vividly to life.

Stranger at the Window

Vivien Alcock

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By: Sandpiper
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Must Read 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The book Stranger at the Window is a book about a young boy who has to hide places in houses because he is a illegal immigrant. I think the book is exciting because you never know what is going to happen next. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes an interesting and exciting book.

THE STRANGERS THAT CAME TO TOWN REVIEW 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

THE STRANGERS THAT CAME TO TOWN WAS A GREAT BOOK. iT WAS ABOUT A YOUNG 11 YEAR OLD GIRL WHO HAS TO STAY WITH HER AUNT IN LONDON WHILE HER MOTHER IS AWAY WORKING IN EGYPT. LESLEY IS LONELY AND TRIES TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE TEENAGERS NEXT DOOR. THEY HAVE NO INTREST IN HER. THEN SHE INSISTS THAT SHE SEES A YOUNG BOY IN THEIR ATTIC. THEY SAY SHE IS IMAGINING AND ITS PROBABLY HER SICKNESS. SHE WAS RIGHT THERE WAS SOMEONE HIDING THERE. AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT IS HIDING THERE. WHEN THEY ARE IN GREAT RISK OF THERE BROTHER TELLING ON THEM LESLEY STARTS HELPING. VICTORIA IS MEAN ROBERT IS NICE AND CHRISTOPHER JUST DIDNT THINK THAT THEY SHOULD KEEP ERRI THE IMMIGRANT. SOONER LESLEY FINDS VICTORIA A NICE GIRL AND FINDS OUT SHE LIKES ROBERT. LATER VICTORIA MAKES LESLEY HER HONORARY SISTER, AND ROBERT KISSED HER, CLAMING IT WAS ONLY A BROTHERLY KISS WHEN VICTORIA PROTESTED. SHE SAID LESLEY WAS TOO YOUNG FOR HIM TO PRACTICE ON. HE SAID HE DIDNT NEED PRACTICE AND ASKED LESLIE. SHE BLUSHED AND HE LAUGHED. THAT IS THE KIND OF STORY THIS IS. I HOPE YOU READ IT AND LIKE IT. ITS A GREAT STORY.

Editorial Review:

Lesley, who is recovering from an illness at her aunt's home while her mother is in Egypt, is convinced she's seen a frightened child peering out of the attic window of the house next door. When she confronts her neighbors and learns about their secret castaway, she becomes involved in their desperate attempt to keep him from the authorities. As Lesley and her neighbors struggle to provide a safe haven for a stranger in a strange land, they begin to understand their own strengths, as well as their own limitations.

The Trial of Anna Cotman

Vivien Alcock

List Price: ~~$3.25~~
By: A Dell Yearling Book
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Wow :) 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I recently re-read this book and didn't find it as interesting as I once did, but of course that's because I'm not ten years old anymore. However it is an excellent book for younger people, and it's not such a bad idea for "adults" to read either. It tackles issues like friendship, betrayal, addiction, struggle to fit in, using a very unique setting. The world is that of any adolescent, but has been made dark and frightening by a "game" gotten out of hand. The Society of Masks is intriguing, color-coded and led by "lords" who impose tasks and duties upon the lower-ranking "companions". It takes the reader to a different world, despite the fact that it's only some kids with some masks in an abandoned shop. The trial scene is strangely symbolic, and the ending is perfect (a rare thing for me to say, as I never like the ending of a book). Read!! ~Raksh:)

Editorial Review:

The new girl in town, Anna is thrilled when bossy and popular Lindy announces that Anna is now her best friend, unaware that the price for that friendship is membership in a strange and dangerous secret club. Reprint. VY. SLJ. K.

Stonewalkers

Vivien Alcock

Amazon Price: $14.10
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By: Topeka Bindery

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Hichcockian fare for the under 14 set 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Vivien Alcock is best described as the Alfred Hitchcock of children's literature. Don't laugh, cause I mean it sincerely. She is a master of suspense in juvenile fiction. Her books, when they are realistic, are all about crazy mind games and deceit (as in her "Vertigo"-like, "The Sylvia Game"). Alfred Hitchcock was often ready to dip in surrealistic horror as in "The Birds", and to that extent, "The Stonewalkers" is Alcock's undeniable equivalent. Hitchcock made us nervous of the avian menace perched just above our heads. Alcock makes us nervous of our stone neighbors hanging out on our streets, sidewalks, and walkways. The statues can no longer be trusted.

Poppy Brown is a filthy liar. A disgusting, repugnant, truly overwhelming little fib-meister. There are various reasons for this. Some people think her lies spawn from the fact that her father died when she was young and her mother has always been repeatedly institutionalized (possibly to avoid the responsibility of Poppy). The kid has been shuffled from one foster mother to another like a piece of beloved (but not particularly enjoyed) old luggage. Now her mother is back in her life again and the two are living on a large English estate. Her only friend is a stone statue of a young woman whom Poppy has named Belladonna. When the girl fastens a mysterious chain she found in the estate's basement around Belladonna's ankle, she's shocked to discover that with a little lightening, her stone friend is brought suddenly to life. Unfortunately, this experiment turns distinctly Frankenstein-like and Poppy enlists the help of pudgy neighbor Emma to discover where her statue has gone and what it might do. When statues from churches and graveyards start walking off on their own accord, Poppy and her friend find themselves in terrible danger at the hands of these beautiful and horrible monsters.

When a read a blurb of a review of this book from Horn Book Magazine that called it, "An absorbing tale of terror", I didn't really believe it. Sure, I was a little disturbed by the image presented on its cover. If you purchase the 1998 reissue of "The Stonewalkers" then you are privy to a picture drawn by the excellent children's illustrator Barbara McClintok. Something about the picture really disturbed me. There was a hint of cruelty to it that I couldn't exactly place. Something to do with the faces of the child characters perhaps. I didn't give it much thought until I started reading the book itself. When things go bad for the kids in this story, they go real bad real fast. One child goes around being forced to move around on a broken ankle for long periods of time. Others have their hair ripped from their heads and wish that they could wake up from the nightmare that is their life. I'm a pretty liberal reader of children's books, but even I found myself getting a little edgy during some of these passages. Alcock leaves no doubt in your mind that these statues' cruelty stems from their misunderstanding of what it is to be human. Just the same, it makes for rather harrowing reading.

What allows Ms. Alcock to be such a wonderful writer is that even when her books are dealing with such fantastical themes as statues coming to life, they still are grounded in a story of growth and understanding. Poppy begins this tale a friendless liar and, through her troubles, learns what it is to be a friend and to care about the people around you. She also sorts out the whole fibbing thing as well, which is probably a great relief to her peers. The descriptions in this book are particularly gripping as well. When Belladonna comes to life, you believe that this is EXACTLY how such a thing would happen. Of course statues wouldn't be able to talk. But they could understand us and learn to make do on their own. The more I think about it, the more I realize that this really is a kind of Frankenstein tale brought down to a child's level (horror elements left intact). If you're fine with that, feel free to recommend it to someone you know.

"The Stonewalkers" is definitely not gonna be for those kids who are so timid that "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was too much for them. If you've a child who has a taste for children's books with a dark vein of truth to them, however, definitely give Vivien Alcock a try. Her books are consistently well-written and consistently interesting. Just don't expect to fall asleep at night quite as easily after reading one.

Editorial Review:

Everyone is so tired of Poppy Brown's stories that Poppy has begun talking to garden statues. When her favorite statue, Belladonna, is struck by lightning and comes to life, Poppy must find a human who will listen! Poppy's classmate Emma is skeptical, but curious enough to help Poppy investigate the living statues, which are disappearing from gardens all over town and assembling somewhere on the moors. What seemed fascinating at first soon becomes terrifying as the two girls are captured by the creatures they had observed - creatures who are at once beautiful, spiteful, and as unfeeling as the stone they're made of.