You Choose - Night of the Creepy Carnival by George Ivanoff
Published by Random House Australia
What Fun! George Ivanoff's You Choose- Night of the Creepy Carnival is a twist a minute adventure of a read.
From the shadowy cover illustration with 'the horror movie opening credits' style text, to the numerous 'THE END' pennants, my eyes sprinted eagerly through this intriguing novel.
After I had read it through making my own 'brave' choices, being the hero of my own adventure (and what kid wouldn't love that?) I found that I had to go back and read it again. And read it again I did, repeatedly. Taking new paths, meeting strange and creepy characters like the Wonder Llama, the Acrobatic Ninja Defenders of the Earth and the tiny gypsy fortune teller, Madame Mags, not to mention the horribly creepy alien clowns. Children, naturally curious, will also want to know what all the possibilities are. What if I had done this or that? How deliciously tantalizing?
The large print format makes this book easy to read and the full page detailed black and white illustrations enhance the reading experience. I also enjoyed the fast pace of this You Choose story and look forward to reading the other books in this series. There are five of these to choose from including Mayhem at Magic School, The Haunting of Spook House and Maze of Doom.
I highly recommend this book for children and children at heart, 8 years and above.
CKT Book Reviewer
Author: George Ivanoff
Title: You Choose -Night of the Creepy Carnival
Publisher: Random House Australia
ISBN: 9780857986696
Published: May 2015
Age: 8+
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Writing can be a lonely profession. By necessity, you need to work alone much of the time. But it is wonderful to have a website which eases that by connecting creators with each other and with a wealth of information and resources.
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'Creative Kids Tales deserves all its accolades. Thanks to its creator, the site provides brilliant support, inspiration and encouragement for anyone who loves creating children's books. I have no hesitation in passing on your link.'
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'Creative Kids Tales is an awesome resource you should totally check it out.' - 
Creative Kids Tales offers a brilliant platform for established and emerging creators to keep in touch and learn from each other. That is a great thing for this most isolated of all professions (apart from On-site Antarctic Penguin Imitators). - 
"What a wonderful website and wealth of resources. I wish I’d discovered it sooner - but I can still enjoy it now, and have added it to my list of resources for new writers."
'The Creative Kids Tales site is great fun and full of information about authors and their books!' - 
'Creative Kids Tales is great. You can pick the brains of people who make stuff without having to stalk them or do anything illegal.' - 
'I stumbled on to Creative Kids Tales by accident. I thought it was kid's tails. I'd been doing some research about goats and how their tails were actually a fifth leg, a very long time ago. Or did I just dream that? In any case, I was bitterly disappointed at first to find not tails, but tales. However, while I was at the site I had a wander around, and soon discovered that it was even better than a goat's site - no kidding! This is a brilliant haven for writers, new and not so new; a place to showcase their work and to learn from others.' Well done, Georgie. You've done a fantastic job. - www.enterprisingwords.com.au
'Creative Kids Tales is a unique and valuable online resource for new and established authors. The site provides a wealth of information and insight into the children's writing world.' 'Thanks for all your support, Georgie, and keep up the good work.' - 
'I wish Creative Kids Tales had been around when I was first starting out! What a brilliant way to connect with other authors and find out about the lovely world of kids books.' 'Go Georgie! I think you're amazing.' - 
'Wow! What a wonderful resource.
'Wow! Creative Kids Tales is a fantastic resource for writers, no matter what stage of their writing journey they are at. Congratulations, Georgie, on your attractive, easy-to-navigate website, your generosity to your fellow writers and your constantly evolving ideas. Thanks on behalf of all of us.' - 
'Thanks for having me on Creative Kids Tales. It's a great resource for emerging writers and illustrators and I hope it will have a long future.'
'Creative Kids Tales offers new writers the joy of publication on their journey of craft and creativity.'
'This is a great website. Nowadays, when getting published is so hard and staying published not much easier, everyone needs all the help they can get. And here's Help with a capital H!' 'Go Georgie! Creative Kids Tales is an inspiration for all writers of children's and YA fiction.' - 
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'Creative Kids Tales is a brilliant resource – for established writers and those just starting out. I wish it had been around when I was a new writer. There are lots of invaluable tips and great advice.
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'The thing I like about the Creative Kids Tales website is that the authors come across as real people who face the same problems that beginning writers do and that there’s plenty of practical advice.' - 
'Buckets of thanks to Georgie for creating Creative Kids Tales. There’s a wealth of wonderful information and resources for everyone interested in creating books for kids – and a warm sense of community.'
'Creative Kids Tales is a great forum for people who spend most of their working time alone. It is interesting and inspiring to see and hear what other authors and illustrators have to say.' - 
'Creative Kids Tales is a fantastic resource for aspiring writers that showcases emerging and published authors and illustrators and provides links to publishers' websites, helpful hints and competitions.'
'Creative Kids Tales provides such a valuable service. Writing can be a lonely business at times, and seeking publication can be daunting. So it is especially wonderful for writers to be able to access such a comprehensive site where information, experiences and the ups and downs of writing for kids can be shared.' Well done, Georgie! - 
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What a terrific, enthusiastic, informative and creative resource - of value and interest to so many people.
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'Congratulations to Georgie Donaghey for her hard work and enthusiasm in setting up a site that has been sorely needed to promote current Australian children's writing. Not just for the established, but for up and coming, Creative Kids Tales showcases talent and provides information essential for anyone in the industry.' - www.enterprisingwords.com.au
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'This site is such a wonderful resource for writers and illustrators at every stage of the journey. I've learned more about some of my favourite people in children's literature here, but also had the joy of discovering whole new worlds of talent.' - 
'If a website can be described as 'homely' or 'a friendly place for emerging writers to visit' then that's how I would describe Creative Kids Tales. It's probably the only Australian website for children's writers that I visit regularly and actually feel part of. When I need motivation, interesting writers to read about, or just a peek at my own 'baby steps' towards being a published writer, I visit the Creative Kids Tales family.' A big thank you to Georgie and Rod for a great website. - 
'CKT is informative, relevant, recent and fun! It’s an exceptional resource for anyone involved in children’s literature.'
'What a wonderful website Creative Kids Tales is, supporting and helping Australian authors in their quest through the dark thorny forest of the publishing world. Georgie should be congratulated for all her hard work and fearless leadership!' - 
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'It's easy to feel alone when writing, and clueless about what happens next. Creative Kids Tales offers answers and community - invaluable resources.'