Rooftoppers: 10th Anniversary Edition

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Mustang Wanted, real name Pavlo Ushivets, a Ukrainian rooftopper who has performed climbs and stunts around the world. In August 2014, during the War in Donbass, he climbed the spire of Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building in Moscow, Russia and painted the yellow star on the top of the spire in blue to symbolize the colors of the Ukrainian flag. He was later prosecuted in absentia in Russia for vandalism, and also awarded in Ukraine. [11] [12] [13] [14] There was a rooftopping "craze" in Russia around 2017. [10] Known rooftoppers [ edit ] Mustang Wanted hanging on a steel beam By far the best part of this book is Sophie’s relationship with her foster father, Charles. Charles always encouraged Sophie’s peculiarities and never tried to fit her into a mould. His only method of upbringing was to love Sophie as much as possible – everything else was to work itself out. Parents can learn a lot from Charles; oftentimes we try too hard and focus on all the wrong things, and in the process, we neglect what’s most important. Sophie ate from book covers because she tended to break plates; she never brushed her hair, allowing it to become a tangled mess; she wore trousers sewn by Charles when girls were expected to wear pretty dresses, and she was homeschooled, mostly on Shakespeare. But she was the happiest child, free to become the person she was meant to. She knows how to read, and how to draw. She knows the difference between a tortoise and a turtle. She knows one tree from another, and how to climb them. Only this morning she was telling me what is the collective noun for toads." Miss Eliot did not approve of Charles, nor of Sophie. She disliked Charles’s carelessness with money, and his lateness at dinner.

This book was simply wonderful and dealt with themes of friendship, love, family, and music. I loved Rundell's smart but simple writing style that was unlike most books published nowadays. She had a way of stating truths so plainly and beautifully that I just adored. Matteo and some other rooftop children help Sophie to break into the police files. They find out that all the ship's musicians were recorded as being men. However, one of the musicians, called George Green , looks very similar to Sophie and is wearing a woman's shirt in a photograph. Jen gave me this lovely book for Christmas, and it was the perfect way to start off the reading year. You're likely to hear the 'timeless children's book' descriptor a lot, and with good reason. It's timeless in the sense that it's a non-specified date in the past (early 1900s? Later 1800s?) when women were not cellists and were not supposed to wear trousers, but when it also feels perfectly right for a delightful man like Charles to rescue a baby, take her home and raise her, without bothering either of them with stupid things like school. It's also timeless in that same way because it could be a Noel Streatfield if he got in a Nanny to help out.

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I think kids might appreciate the use of language, whereas I found some of it a bit kitschy. There were descriptions and even minor plot elements that chose quirky aesthetic sweetness over actual usefulness. A Chelsea bun that tastes like blue skies? It's a lovely sentence, but I'm no closer to knowing what that bun tastes like. And having a suit where a heart should be? It's been done - in fact, I'm pretty sure Meg Ryan says something very similar in You've Got Mail. But for young readers/writers just learning to wrangle words into a particular voice, this kind of language can be engaging and open up new possibilities. In one report presented to American Educational Research Association in 1995 participants were suggested as thrill seekers who enjoy "high levels of stimulation and complexity of thinking," although other theories explaining their motivation exist. [4] [1] Tom Ryaboi, a Canadian photographer who has been credited as a pioneer in the community. [18] [19] [20] His photo "I'll Make You Famous" in 2011 was the first Rooftopping image to go viral. [15] At its heart, this story was one of human connection and how even in the hardest of times people can get through with teamwork and helping each other out. Some of the characters were difficult to connect to at first which is perhaps why my rating didn't come out as higher however I would like to draw attention to how Rundell masterfully displayed character growth and by the end of this book, I was enchanted by each and every character. Don't look down: Tom Ryaboi's photos of the craze of Rooftopping in Toronto". Daily Telegraph. 30 January 2012. ISSN 0307-1235 . Retrieved 2020-07-14.

I would rate Rooftoppers 9/10, and would definitely re-read it again and again. I would recommend it to anyone aged 8 and up, though it would easily be understood and enjoyed by all ages. So yeah, OK, I actually did have a lot to say about this book. But I really, really loved it and I really hope other people join Sophie for her adventure because it’s truly magical. I absolutely can’t wait to see where else Ms Rundell’s stories takes me.Many people have died or been injured while rooftopping due to falling from a height. [2] [3] Details [ edit ]

Miss Eliot also disliked Charles's hands, which were inky, and his hat, which was coming adrift round the brim. She disapproved of Sophie's clothes. Sophie looked down at herself. She fingered the material. It felt quite normal to her; still a little stiff from the shop, but otherwise fine. "How can you tell it's not a girl's shirt?" she asked. I have not read anything by Katherine Rundell before, but now I really want to read more by this incredibly talented author. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story.Charles drinks whiskey and offers some to Sophie (she takes a sip but doesn't like it). Sophie mentions previously trying alcohol. She disliked Sophie’s watching, listening face. “It’s not natural, in a little girl!” She hated their joint habit of writing each other notes on the wallpaper in the hall.

Rundell’s writing is a thing of beauty, smooth and elegant, easy and utterly charming. She created a wonderful and magical story, full of love and unconventional beauty. It is almost impossible to describe why this book feels so much like a classic, but it does. Books like Rooftoppers are extremely rare and I’m eager to share it with the people I love. This might just be me, as I tend to have issues with most endings, but I was really unsatisfied with how this story wrapped up. Like, Sophie found her mom, but then it just ends? The rooftoppers storyline felt unresolved, as well as Charles’s. We never find out what happened with her mom, how she is still alive, if she gets to keep Sophie… Whimsical, beautifully written and as carefully balanced as the tightrope Sophie learns to walk, Rooftoppers is a sensitive and emotionally resonant novel with an uplifting message about the power of hope * BookTrust *karen pretty much nailed it when she said this was "classic-feeling". This whimsical historical tale has something timeless and wonderful about it - like all the best children's classics. The characters are so well-drawn and memorable, and the writing sparkles with a certain bittersweetness. The two decide to run away to Paris in search of Sophie’s mother, who she insists is still alive. While there, Sophie meets a peculiar boy who lives on the rooftops who may just lead her to find her mother. Knutson, Kari A; Farley, Frank (1995). "Type T Personality and Learning Strategies" (PDF). San Francisco, CA, USA . Retrieved 31 October 2019. A rare and remarkable treat, witty and full of original thoughts ... This quirky book advocates curiosity, thoughtfulness, freedom and courage * Sunday Times *