Bottersnikes and A Hank Of Hair reviews

Bottersnikes And Gumbles, by S A Wakefield, is a delightful book about two sets of bizarre creatures who live in the Australian bush.  It's utterly ridiculous, but so beautifully realised and narrated with such conviction that it's totally believable.  I particularly love Tinkingumble, who gets better ideas when the other Gumbles squeeze him in the middle so his head gets bigger.  Highly recommended for anyone who needs 40 minutes' light relief.

On the other hand, I found A Rag, A Bone and a Hank of Hair by Nicholas Fisk quite elusive.  From the start, I felt as if I was missing something, and I don't really understand now what it was supposed to be about.  It was unpleasant and seemingly pointless, as well as confusing.  Several of the characters acted very unconvincingly at times, and I didn't like any of them enough to get emotionally involved with what was going on.  I'm sure there's much more to it than I comprehended, but I probably wouldn't have finished it if it had been more than 125 pages.

March of the Penguins review

The lifecycle of the Emperor Penguin is apparently completely insane!  It must work, though, since they've been doing it for thousands of years.  This is an excellent documentary, greatly enhanced by Morgan Freeman's dulcet tones, some very jolly music and amazing footage of the penguins.  You can certainly see where Happy Feet got its backstory, but this is way, way better.