Inesh Shenoy is one of the iThree and enjoys performing magic. He loves books, movies, and generally spending time in the company of his brothers. You can learn more about Inesh and the iThree at i3andco.com
I recently read a book called ‘Stories of Wizards and Witches’. This book consists of many many stories of magic and fantasy. It is an absolutely fabulous book. It is a story collection written by Enid Blyton.
Enid Blyton was an English, children’s writer who lived between 1897 and 1968. She wrote over 700 books and they have been translated into 90 languages. The most famous among those books are the Adventures of Noddy, Adventures of the Wishing Chair, the Secret Seven, the Famous Five, and the Five Find-Outers. She won numerous awards and is regarded as one of the best authors ever.
Inesh Shenoy of i3andCo showing off his copy of Stories of Wizards & Witches
The Stories of Wizards and Witches has all sorts of magical creatures from fairies and unicorns, to wizards and witches, to pixie cats and elves. I remember our dad reading at least one story before putting us to bed every night when we were little. Since then, I have read this book again and again. Most of the stories also teach morals and good behaviour.
The best part is that there are 25 stories in this book. And they are all about magical characters. I love anything that has to do with magic. There are also many illustrations all across the book by Mark Beech. This book is a wonderful book for bed-time stories.
One of my favourite stories is The Strange Umbrella. It is about Tip Tap, a pixie who would always borrow others things, but never return them. Over time no one liked this and stopped lending their things to Tip Tap. One day he was going around asking for an umbrella, and of course everybody refused to lend him one. He asked Dame Trips if she would lend him her umbrella. When Trips told Tap she didn’t have one, he stole the umbrella that he found in her backyard. And then a lot of mishaps followed since the umbrella actually belonged to a mighty wizard. Read the book to find out what happens next, and many other stories!
Enid Blyton’s writing is very fluent and in good English. It always transports you to a land of magic and wonder, and makes your imagination run wild. I hope you read this book and enjoy it as much as I do.
Please tell us if you read this or other books by Enid Blyton. We love hearing from you. Stay safe, stay well. And keep reading.
Hello everybody! I am Inesh and today I am writing a review on a new movie called Disney Magic Camp. Disney recently made this movie about learning and performing magic, which was going to hit the theatres in 2020 but due to the pandemic it was delayed. So they released it worldwide via the new Disney+ streaming channel, which is available via Hotstar in India.
Image courtesy: Disney Magic Camp
Disney Magic Camp is roughly based on the world famous Tannen’s Magic Camp. It is a real-life 7-days magic camp which children who want to learn and improve their magic attend, and famous and wonderful magicians from around the world come together and teach them magic. This experience is captured well in the award-winning 2012 documentary called ‘Magic Camp’ by Judd Ehrlich. That film can be watched on Amazon Prime for free. I think you will like it.
Image courtesy: Tannen’s Magic
This year, due to COVID-19, the Tannen’s Magic decided to hold their Magic Camp online. My twin Ishaan and I both attended the sessions and it was a lot of fun. We got to learn magic from top magicians from around the world and to perform magic too! While this latest film by Disney is inspired by Tannen’s Magic Camp, it does a lot of things differently from the real camp.
For starters, in the film, the Magic Camp is called ‘The Institute of Magic’ and it is a camp where children go to learn magic for one month. All the children attending the camp are grouped into four groups: Diamonds, Hearts, Clubs, and Spades, and after that they compete for the Top Hat Competition and the Golden Wand. For the Top Hat Competition all the groups perform magic and the best group wins. The Golden Wand is awarded to the person who performed the best magic act.
The story line of the movie is about a boy named Theo Moses, who got into magic because of his father Devin Moses. Theo’s father passes away, and Theo practices cardistry (card tricks) to feel better.
Andy Dickerman (played by Adam DeVine) had attended the Institute many years back and had won three Golden Wands. Roy Preston (played by Jeffery Tambor) who is the head of the Institute of Magic asks Andy if he would teach the kids, but Andy wouldn’t come because he has stopped doing magic. But when Andy realised that his rival and ex-friend Kristina Darkwood (Gillian Jacobs) was coming as a trainer, he accepted. Andy and Kristina were a magic duo, but they fought and so they were now rivals.
Similarly, the movie plays with the topics of friendship, love, misunderstandings, and magic. Thanks to all this, it becomes a great and wonderful movie. The movie also ties in magic into life. I really enjoyed it.
My favourite part is Theo showing off his cardistry and magic. It also shows how each of us can be good at different things, and how each of this can be magic. I think you should watch the movie because it really shows how magic is everywhere.
It was a lot of fun watching the Magic Camp movie. It is available on Hotstar, so you can watch it right from your homes. Go watch it. I really hope you enjoy it. See you next time! Bye!
Hi! I am Inesh and I recently finished watching a Netflix series called ‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’. This televised show is based on a series of books by the same name, written by Daniel Handler.
Listen to the review directly from Inesh Shenoy
Daniel Handler is an American author and musician, best known for ‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’. He writes most of his books under his pen name, Lemony Snicket.
Lemony Snicket is the narrator of ‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’, and he is also a character in the story. Lemony introduces us to the Baudelaire family, which is made up of Beatrice Baudelaire (mother) and Bertrand Baudelaire (father) and their three children. The story revolves around the adventures of the Baudelaire children, Violet (eldest daughter), Klaus (son) and Sunny Baudelaire (baby daughter). They are played by Malina Weissman (Violet), Louis Hynes (Klaus), and Presley Smith (Sunny).
A Series of Unfortunate Events – A Netflix Series (Image: Netflix.com)
Violet Baudelaire is very inventive. She can build any device with the help of ordinary objects that are around her. Klaus Baudelaire loves reading and has read lots of books on different topics from the huge library in his house. He remembers all that he has read and can recall everything accurately. Sunny Baudelaire is an infant and loves biting into things. Her teeth are so strong that she can even bite into wood and metal!
The story starts with the Baudelaire mansion burning down completely in a sudden, terrible fire. Along with their home, the Baudelaires also lose their parents to the fire. In that moment, the Baudelaire children are turned into orphans and there is nowhere for them to live.
Mister Poe is a banker at Mulctuary Money Management, and is now in charge of managing the Baudelaire children and their “enormous fortune” till they grow up. Mister Poe takes the kids to Count Olaf (played by Neil Patrick Harris) as he is the “closest relative” and places them under his care.
Neil Patrick Harris is an Emmy award winning, American actor. He is multi-talented and is also a producer, singer, comedian, writer and magician. He is one of my favourite actors. I think his role as Count Olaf was perfect, as it allowed him to play many different roles.
Count Olaf is supposed to be a famous theatre actor and is always behaving like he is acting on stage. He takes charge of the Baudelaire children and takes them into his scary looking house. But Count Olaf and his bunch of actors are very cruel and they treat the children very badly. The children realise that they are in terrible danger: Count Olaf only wants their fortune, so they escape from him.
Mister Poe places the Baudelaire orphans under the care of another guardian, Uncle Monty, who appears to be an old friend of their parents. This is when they first start learning about something called V.F.D. But Count Olaf hasn’t given up on his chase, as he wants to take over the Baudelaire fortune at any cost. He disguises himself and comes to Uncle Monty’s house to catch the Baudelaire children.
This is how the whole story goes. The Baudelaire children keep running away from Count Olaf and his dangerous gang, and they keep coming after them in different disguises. Every time the Baudelaires escape from one unfortunate event, they only get trapped in another one! The Baudelaires run from one guardian to another guardian, and with each new guardian they learn something more about the V.F.D. For example, they learn that it is a top secret organisation and that their parents were part of it too.
Will Count Olaf and his gang stop at nothing to get the Baudelaire’s fortune? Can the Baudelaire orphans escape? Will their story remain to be a series of unfortunate events ending in sadness? How does V.F.D. fit into all this?
I found ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ so interesting that I watched the whole series episode after episode continuously, and I finished it within a matter of days! That is 25 episodes spread over three seasons! I think they call it “binge-watching”. Sometimes, our friend Ananya also joined us in watching these shows.
My favourite parts of the series are when Violet invents devices within a matter of seconds in the nick of time to help them in any situation. And every episode had so much suspense, and ended with a surprise!
You really need to watch ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’. It is extremely wonderful. In fact, even at the very end, the story ends with a big surprise! I loved it. I am sure you will too.
By the way, Neil Patrick Harris has recently written a new book series for kids called ‘The Magic Misfits’. I have just started listening to these on Audible, and will review them soon after I have finished listening to the books.
Hi! This is Inesh of the iThree. We saw the latest movie Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on Sunday. This latest film is directed by J J Abrams and produced by Lukas Films. The Rise of Skywalker is the ninth episode in the Star Wars series and brings an end to the Sequel Trilogy. It is also the last movie of the overall saga.
Hear the movie review directly from Inesh Shenoy!
In an earlier movie The Force Awakens, Ben Solo became Kylo Ren and he tried to make Rey go to the dark side. This also happened in The Last Jedi.
This storyline continues in The Rise of Skywalker too, where Rey, Finn, Poe, and The Resistance have to find the Sith Way-Finder, but only two of them were made and Kylo Ren already has found one of these.
Star Wars… Here we come!
A Sith Way-Finder is a special compass that leads you to a secret world called Exegol, where Emperor Palpatine has been hiding all these years. He has now created the biggest fleet ever, which he calls “The Final Order”, and is threatening to start a war to end all resistance and rule the whole galaxy.
They start searching for the Sith Way-Finder, but Kylo Ren finds them first and again tries to make Rey go to the dark side. Rey finds that she can’t control herself. Rey is scared that she might become bad, bring an end to the Resistance, destroy the galaxy, and rule the universe with Kylo Ren.
Will Rey be able to control herself? Will the Resistance win the war? Or will Emperor Palpatine win, with Kylo Ren successfully making Rey go to the dark side? You should watch the movie to find out.
What good is a movie without a couple of buckets of pop-corn?
My favourite character is Babu Frik. Babu is very cute and funny, and he is also one of the important characters in the movie.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was full of suspense and action. The graphics were very nicely done, and it all looked very real. It was really nice how they made the movie very serious and funny at the same time, I really liked that combination. I love Star Wars movies because everything is futuristic: from laser guns to spaceships and space travel, it is all very interesting. Overall, the movie was awesome.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a must watch for everyone. It is a great way to end the saga. I loved it and I’m sure you will too.
Special Effects of the 4DX Theatre
My brothers and I watched Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in the PVR 4DX Theatre, these were the following features:
Scent: If we were watching a scene with flowers, fruits, plants and trees there would be a nice sweet smell.
Motion: If we are flying in a plane, swimming in an ocean, or running, the seats move exactly how the character is moving, it all feels very real.
Wind: if we were in a heavy storm or going at top speed in a car, air would be blown at us.
i3andCo getting ready to take their seats in the 4DX Theatre
Snow: If we are in a cold area like a snowy region, there would be fake snow falling all over the place. It was a very nice feature.
Smoke: If there was a fire in the movie, the whole room would be filled with smoke, you would really think that there is a real fire!
Water: If you are near a shore and the waves are really strong, some water gets sprinkled on you! This also feels very real.
Light: This was one of my most favourite features because everyone would be shooting guns and there would be light all over the place! Even if there was a lightning strike, there would be a flash of light. This was the best feature ever. I loved it!
Thanks to the 4DX features, we felt like we were inside the movie and a part of everything that happened. It was a wonderful experience!
Hello! I am Inesh Shenoy and I am nine-years-old. Today I am writing about the book ‘Coraline’ by Neil Gaiman. This book is illustrated by Chris Riddell and published by Bloomsbury.
Listen to this book review directly from Inesh Shenoy
In the book, a family shifts to a new house with their daughter Coraline. This house used to have another section, which was removed in the past and covered up with a wall. But when Coraline opens the door, she sees that sometimes instead of a wall, it contains a mysterious passage to another place!
Our resident Neil Gaiman expert is happy with his books!
Inside this passage there appears to be a house that is exactly the opposite of the house she lives in. It is like looking into a mirror, but for real! Even the neighbouring house is there, but everything is exactly the opposite of how it is in the real world!
Coraline enters this mirror dimension of her house and is surprised to meet her parents there! But she quickly realises that these are not really her parents as they have black buttons instead of eyes. These mysterious creatures had already captured Coraline’s mother and father, and now have captured Coraline too! They are not letting Coraline go back to the real world.
Who are these mysterious creatures? Why do they want Coraline to stay with them? What is this mirror dimension? Can Coraline escape from there? Can she save her parents? Read the book to find out.
My favourite part was when Coraline tries to find various ways to escape from the mysterious mirror world. It was like solving a large puzzle, one piece at a time, and it was it all very interesting. When I read this book, I felt very scared. The book is amazingly spine-chilling spooky.
I think you should read this book as you will like it very much. It is scary, but much fun too. It also tells how Coraline is brave and fearless, when it most matters. If you read it, let me know.
Is there any other Neil Gaiman book that you have read? Or any other book that you would recommend me to read? Write to me!
Hello! I am Inesh Shenoy and I am nine-years-old. Today I am writing about ‘The Ice Monster’ book by David Walliams. This book is illustrated by Tony Ross and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books.
Listen to the review directly from Inesh Shenoy
The Ice Monster is about a girl named Elsie who lives in an orphanage called Wormly Hall: Home for Unwanted Children. Elsie lives there with her 25 friends, who are also orphans. Miss Curdle who runs the orphanage is a mean old woman.
Elsie knew she had to escape from the orphanage or she would never survive. So one night she manages to escape into the streets of London via the hole she scraped in the roof.
Inesh poses happy with his copy of the Ice Monster
She keeps secretly visiting the Natural History Museum and there she becomes a friend of Dotty, a cleaning lady at the museum. One day she learns that a great ancient Mammoth was dug up and would be brought to the museum.
When the mammoth finally arrives at the museum, Elsie goes to see it. She then manages to bring the mammoth back to life and that is when the adventure really starts. The mammoth (who Elsie calls Wooly) wants to go back to the North Pole.
My favourite part of the story is when Elsie brings the mammoth back to life. The different things they do, from attaching wires to using hot air balloons, to bring the mammoth back to life is very interesting.
Elsie, Dotty, and a group of retired soldiers decide to take Wooly to the North Pole. But they have to face Lady Buckshot who is a hunter and wants to kill the mammoth, and The Professor who wants to keep the mammoth and become famous. Even the Queen wants the mammoth back and sends her soldiers to capture it.
At one point of the story, one of the Queen’s soldiers shoots Wooly. Can Elsie save Wooly? If she does, can she save it from Lady Buckshot and The Professor? Can Elsie and her friends really take Wooly safely to the North Pole? What other dangers await them there? Read the book to find out.
I hope you read this book because it shows how strong friendship can be, even between a 10-year-old girl and a 10,000-year-old mammoth. If you read this book, let me know.
Have you read any other book by David Walliams? Which of them should I read next? Write to me.
Hello! I am Inesh Shenoy and I am nine-years-old. Today I am writing about the movie ‘Mary Poppins Returns’. It is a Disney film directed by Rob Marshall. I really liked Mary Poppins and all the magical things she does!
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Mary Poppins is a magical character created by P. L. Travers and featured in a series of eight books in the 1930s. I have not read the books yet. My father recently bought the 80th Anniversary Collection of Mary Poppins which has all the books! I am planning to read them soon. I will share my thoughts after I have read them.
In 1964, a movie called Mary Poppins was directed by Robert Stevenson. This was based on book one of the Mary Poppins series and showed the Mr and Mrs Banks having two children, Jane and Michael. One day a mysterious lady flies in from the skies with her magical umbrella. She comes to their house and tells that her name is Mary Poppins and she will be their nanny!
Mary Poppins becomes the nanny for the kids Jane and Michael. She has a magical umbrella that can talk and a bag which is bigger on the inside so she can fit anything into it! She leaves them one day, and they slowly start to forget about all the magical impossible things they saw with her.
The #iThree are excited with their special passes for #StarMoviesSecretScreening
Our father was invited to a #StarMoviesSecretScreening by @StarMoviesIndia. They told that he could bring his children, so Baba took us along. I loved the experience of Secret Screening! We kept guessing which movie it could be.
Later at the theatre, we guessed that it had to be Mary Poppins Returns. They had this nice bench we could sit on with Mary Poppins standing behind us!
“We know what movie it is! It has to be Mary Poppins!” shout the #iThree
The new movie starts many years after the first one, and shows Jane and Michael as grown ups. Michael was married to his wife and has three kids. Ever since Michael’s wife died a year back everything is in a mess.
Mary Poppins comes flying at the end of a kite to look after the three children. She has her talking Umbrella and the small bag which is so so big on the inside!
This movie is picturised in London in the 1930s. Watching it I felt like I was in London. I also got to see the Big Ben. It was amazing.
I loved the movie. It combines animation and reality and shows us many impossible things. It is a lot of fun! My favourite part is when Mary Poppins changes time! You need to see the movie to understand what I mean.
Have you seen Mary Poppins Returns? Or have you read any of the Mary Poppins books? Tell me how it was for you.
My name is Inesh Shenoy and I am nine-years-old. Today I am going to write about The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.
Listen to the book review directly from Inesh Shenoy
This book was given to us by my father. It came in a box-set of three books by Neil Gaiman, which were:
The Graveyard Book
Fortunately The Milk, and
Coraline
All these three books are illustrated by Chris Riddell, whose drawings make the stories come to life.
Inesh looks at his happiest with Neil Gaiman’s books!
I like Neil Gaiman because whenever he writes a book it has out-of-the-world imagination. I have also read the other two books mentioned above, and I will write about them some other day.
The Graveyard Book is about a boy named Nobody Owens, who is known as Bod. Bod is an orphan and is raised in a graveyard.
This story is an adventure where Bod faces danger from a man named Jack. Jack has already killed Bod’s family and is now trying to kill Bod. Why is Jack trying to kill Bod is the main secret in this book. And it is rather shocking too!
My favourite part is when Bod’s guardian Silas saves him from going to jail. I like Bod so much that I did not want him to get hurt or die, because every time he is down and defeated, he gets back up and fights.
Join Bod in his adventure with ghosts, and learn how he deals with Jack. I hope you read this book because it is filled with mystery and suspense. If you read it let me know how it was for you.
iThree and Co. 