Johannes’ Blog

Squished between two tree trunks a brown weathered door squeaks in the silence as I push against it. It opens a little and a beam of light illuminates the world around me. I step through the door and close it behind me. The click it makes echoes in the well lit room in front of me. I take a few more steps into the room. There is an old fire place with orange and yellow shafts of heat bursting from the wood. Over the fire a pot full of steaming water is hanging from the chimney. An old wooden table and a comfortable rocking chair are placed quite close to the fire.  I take a seat in it to warm myself up. A few minutes later with a cosy feeling inside me I spot a bowl full of delicious fruit in the middle of the room. I can’t resist taking an apple and eating it in front of the fire. I go to the door to throw the core of the apple away. The door opens and instantly everything goes dark, as if some one had blown out all the candles and the fire as well! Outside everything had changed, now the sun is shining and I can see trees and plants. Birds are flying amongst the trees and everything appears lush and exciting. 

And so I continue with my life and I’m looking forward to opening the door again…

The book I am reviewing is titled ‘MY STORY: Journey to Tangiwai-The diary of Peter Cotterill, Napier, 1953’. The main characters are: Peter, Mum, Dad, Tom, Uncle Hugh, Uncle Adam, Mr Mason, Mrs Mason, Barbara Mason, Howard, Stafford Bell, Rua and Dick Finlay. The book is about Peter Cotterill’s life leading up to the Tangiwai accident. He talks about scouts, his paper round, his dyingUncle
Hugh,
School and other day to day activities. The diary starts on the 1.1.1953 and finishes on the 31.12.1953.  One of the strengths of the actual book I found was, that because the book is written in diary form it takes the reader on the journey in Peter’s life during that year as well. The book also gives a good in depth description of his and his relatives’ daily life. I also thought the book has a good sense of humor and I learnt a lot about how people lived in 1953. For example how Peter’s family was saving up to buy a car and how Peter was talking about it two weeks before they actually got it. One of the weaknesses I found was that it is a bit repetitive. I guess this is because daily life is a bit repetitive too. Therefore this is virtually unavoidable when writing a diary.  I think this book is suitable for children nine and over who like history books but don’t just want the facts but some characters as well.