Kay Harker and Cole Hawlings Picture accessed via BBC There are few things more Christmassy than the opening few bars of the theme tune to The Box of Delights . In fact, the tune is based on Victor Hely-Hutchinson's Carol Symphony and had been used in radio adaptations of the same novel years earlier than the 1984 television series. Clearly, everyone already knew that you just couldn't improve on that sound to evoke the magic of Christmas which - for me and for many - is so wonderfully explored in John Masefield's story. As a viewer, one of the things I enjoy most about the television series of The Box of Delights is the acting. Child actors are precarious things: too sweet and they're almost unbearable to watch, not sweet enough and they're unbelievable. They must walk that fine line between the two, and it is a perilous one! Most young actors fall into the first category, where their on-screen presence is almost dangerously saccharine. Not so the child actors ...
Front Cover It's great to part of this book's journey! When my parents bought me my sewing machine many years ago, the gift tag read "believe in your ability and this will become your best friend" or something to that ilk. This book reminded me a little of that - it gives you the matter-of-fact motivational speech needed by some many youngsters. 4 Stars! "Total Blueprint for World Domination" is an inspirational book for young people. Young people need to think big, and believe in themselves, and this book certainly helps with that! There are motivational speeches and activities gallore. Some of the activities have been seen before, but others are new to me. Occasionally, books heap activities onto the reader like nobody's business, but this book gets it just right. Not too many, and not too few. The reader is left feeling like they can take part without worrying about the time! And did I mention the graphics? The design of the book i...