KPE Episode 356 :""The Dog I Share"

"The dog I share" by Janice Marriott is podcast by Chelsea and Te Roimata from Room 21

If you would like to read it yourself, check it out online here...

KPE Episode 355 :"My Dad, the All Black"

Crusader and Waata from Room 17 review the perfect book in the Rugby World Cup year - "My Dad, the All Black".

As New Zealand gears up for total rugby fever, these boys from Room 17 bring this classic from Sandy MacKay back to KPE.

Will McCann, 12 years old, is a top notch rugby player. Everybody says he gets his talent from his famous All Black father, but Will never knew his dad. After a game goes wrong, Will wonders if he plays rugby because he loves the game, or because everybody says he should?

When Will's grandad dies, Will meets Jim, his reclusive uncle with a troubled past. Why has Uncle Jim stayed away from Will and his mum for so many years? What really happened the night Will's dad died? While, on the other side of the world, the All Blacks battle for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, Will battles to discover the truth about the past. He eventually unlocks a secret that helps him decide things for himself.

Anyone who ever wanted to be an All Black should read this book!

KPE Episode 354 :"Seven Wheels of Power"

Ashleigh and Brooklyn are in Room 17 and they have been reading "Seven Wheels of Power" by  Dawn Barnes. 

Seven Wheels of Power is the first book in the Black Belt Club series of martial arts adventures, which follows four young karate students, Max, Maia, Antonio, and Jamie. In the Seven Wheels of Power, the four members of the BBC must use their martial arts to defeat the Death Master - the darkest force in the universe, which has threatened to end all life and create a world of horror and fear! Pretty scary stuff... even if you have ablack belt in karate. As the four work together to defeat the Dark Master, they must each use courage, intelligence and abilities they never even knew they had.

KPE Episode 353 :"My Dog the Dinosaur"

Vivienne and Litia from Room 17 have created another fantastic episode of KPE
.
Take a listen and tell them what you think of this book and their podcast....

Gunk's dad wears fluffy chicken slippers.

His sister, Fliss, is into weightlifting and his mum is searching for aliens. 

Gunk has Spot, his pet dog or is it? (a dog, that it.) Spot has a long neck, a flat tail and eats lettuce. Lots of it. Come to think of it, Spot is the silliest-looking dog Gunk has ever seen. Spot is scared of cats, too, and Fliss′s motorbike. And then Spot starts to grow...

Will Spot ever learn to bark? What strange secret does Pete, the girl next door, keep in her shed? Can Gunk teach Spot to like dog food? Or, will everyone in the world want to take Spot away when they find out that he isn′t really a dog?

KPE Episode 352 :"Payback"

Kingston and Crusader have reviewed "payback" by Michelle Kelly in this episode of KPE.
Watch their podcast, and read more about the story below...
And most importantly, tell us what YOU think!




Riley Mitchell is nearly 14 years old. He is a popular guy, funny and confident. The
only problem is that he is really, really short. In fact Riley is pygmy-sized. Usually
this doesn’t bother him. After all, it didn’t stop him from going out with one of
the most popular girls in school and being best friends with Karl and Alex, two
sporty types who also happen to make excellent bodyguards. But things seem to
be going pear-shaped lately. Kelly isn’t talking to him and he has no idea why.
Vince McGerk, the school bully, won’t stop hassling him about his diminutive
stature, and now Riley has had enough. In a moment of extreme insanity Riley hits
Vince over the head with his plaster cast (result of a skateboarding accident),
knocking him clean off his feet. While Riley’s actions turn him into a temporary
hero he knows that it is only a matter of time before Vince gets him back.


Thing get even worse when Riley joins his school’s softball team. He plays
backstop and Vince McGerk is chosen as pitcher. While Riley loves softball and
representing the school he can’t fully enjoy himself. When and how will Vince get
him back? To make matters even worse the doctor has referred Riley to a growth
clinic. Riley always assumed that he would grow, sooner or later. What if this isn’t
true and he is destined to be a “midget” for his whole life?

KPE Episode 351 :"Maximum Boy"

Kingston and Crusader from Room 17 have been reading "Maximum Boy" by Dan Greenburg.


Max "Maximum Boy" Silver is a 11 year old hero. He lives on the north side of Chicago next to Lake Michigan. He lives with his mum, his dad and his teenage sister, Tiffany. He has braces, glasses, and superpowers: he can lift freight trains, fly faster than a space shuttle, and burp the alphabet. He has an adult friend named Porter "Tortoise Man" Torrington, who has a power called the Tortoise Ray.
Read more about this series here

KPE Episode 350 :"Jim's Run"

Onosa'i and Logan from Room 17 have their first podcast for 2011 to share with the world!

They have been reading "Jim's Run" by John Parker.

This is the story of a boy who wants some trendy sneakers. To prove to his parents just how much he does need them, he decides to enter the toughest fun-run in the country.

KPE Episode 349 :"TT's Terrible Tuesday"

"TT's Terrible Tuesday" by John Parker is podcast by Starford and Donyae from Room 17.

This junior graphic novel tells of a day in the life of Top Tom - a pampered cat with a bad attitude. Being rather spoilt, TT refuses to eat the new breakfast cereal being offered, one, which he believes, is of an inferior nature. This proves to be a mistake when his refusal is taken to indicate ill health and TT is rushed...to the VET! 

KPE Episode 348 :"Something Weird About Mr Foster"

Darius and Waata from Room 17 have been reading "Something Weird About Mr Foster" by Ken Catran.

Joe Bennett is a typical intermediate student. He enjoys school for the most part but would like it even more if it weren’t for Raymond. Raymond is the school bully. He is mean and ugly. Raymond takes money off the other kids and never pays them back. He’s always getting into fights. Joe spends a lot of his time avoiding Raymond so that he doesn’t have to give him money. 

Raymond is the reason why Joe leaves school through the teachers’ car park one day, instead of out the front gates. This is when he sees something extraordinary. His favourite teacher, Mr Foster drops a ball on the ground and instead of going over to pick it up he simply reaches out his arm, which grows and grows to over 4 metres long! Joe can hardly believe what he has seen, but he’s sure he’s not imagining it – especially when weird things start to happen. Joe has a very strange feeling that Mr Foster can read his mind and suddenly he has this amazing power and strength. Raymond is no longer a problem anymore – in fact, now the other kids aren’t scared of Raymond; they’re scared of Joe! But it seems that time is running out for Mr Foster. He is from outer space and all of the parts that make up his physical form are becoming weaker by the day. Earth is too polluted by humankind and Mr Foster is slowly dying. Joe needs to use all of his resources in order to save Mr Foster. The only problem is that he needs Raymond’s help to do it…

KPE Episode 347 :"The Seed"

Starford and Ahsin from Room 17 have recorded this podcast about "The Seed" by Isabel Pin.

The Scarabs and the Chafers were two tribes that never ever crossed each other's borders. But on one particular day something that fell out of the sky landed right in the middle of the border that divided their regions. The two tribes' ability to remain peaceful began being tested. Unfortunately they prepared for war as each tribe wanted to own the thing.

In the meantime, though, this strange thing that fell out of the sky, transformed into a beautiful cherry tree and its branches spread over both their lands. Both tribes realised they could SHARE its beauty and its fruit forever.

The happy ending in this story certainly does involve everyone winning.

War was avoided.

The two tribes learned to share.

Everyone lived in peace and harmony.

Tell Starford and Ahsin what you think about this podcast...

KPE Episode 346 :"Leaving One-Foot Island"

Chelsea and Aneisha from Room 21

Chelsea and Aneisha from Room 21 have produced this podcast about "Leaving One-Foot Island" by Graeme Lay.

These Year 7 girls have read this book for older children and teenagers that is a moving story of the harsh reality of the extreme differences between life in the Pacific Islands and New Zealand. The story tells about a girl who moves to New Zealand from the Cook Islands and the hard times she faced learning to live in a strange culture.

Take a listen and give them some feedback.....