It’s here! The third instalment in the hilariously bonkers series about Knight Sir Louis and life in Castle Sideways. Read on to find out more and to discover author Myles McLeod’s piece about writing funny, working with your brother, AND some top reading recommendations. King Burt the Not Bad is in a huff with his … Continue reading ‘Knight Sir Louis and the Sorcerer of Slime,’ by The Brothers McLeod.
Monster Max is back in another community-minded adventure. If you missed the first instalment in this chucklesome series, you can take a look here. Make sure you read Robin’s thoughts on why ‘funny’ is so important. Max is an ordinary boy, except that he can turn into a monster when he burps... Max and Peregrine … Continue reading ‘Monster Max and the Marmalade Ghost,’ by Robin Bennett, illustrated by Tom Tinn-Disbury.
Today I’m hosting part 1 of a fascinating Q&A with author-illustrator Paul Morton. It’s absolutely packed with tips for any budding author/ illustrators! For parts 2 and 3, you’ll need to visit the other stops on the blog tour too. Bug Belly is back! After the first instalment in this highly-illustrated first chapter book series … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘Bug Belly Froggy Rescue,’ by Paul Morton.
My son has just been enjoying one of Mark Powers’ other titles - Spy Toys - as part of his school topic so I was very pleased when a brand new space adventure by Mark came dropping through my letterbox. I also have an interesting piece by Mark on his favourite things about writing about … Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘Space Detectives,’ by Mark Powers, illustrated by Dapo Adeola.
Today, I am handing control of my blog over to author, Sylvia Bishop. She’s written a brilliantly useful piece about the power of playing games in junior fiction - full of tips and ideas for writers and teachers alike! There seems to be a widespread fear of funny writing. When it comes to character, setting, … Continue reading Sylvia Bishop – Writing Junior Fiction: The Power of Playing Games.
The brilliantly magnificent Mabel is back in a new title with a festive twist. It features three chucklesome short stories which would be perfect for readers who are developing in confidence. Life often doesn’t seem for to Mabel Chase. School is always so sameish, no-one wants to let her look after her baby cousin, and … Continue reading Christmas Advent – Day 22 ‘Magnificent Mabel and the Christmas Elf,’ by Ruth Quayle, illustrated by Julia Christians.
The 7-9 age group can be tricky to find appropriate books for. This illustration-packed comedy sequel to ‘The Great Reindeer Escape’ would be just the ticket! There’s trouble on Yule-1 (the real home planet of Father Christmas) and the Trubshaw family are being flown back there from Earth to help. Once again, siblings Sadie and … Continue reading Christmas Advent – Day 18 ‘Trouble on Planet Christmas,’ by Kate Saunders, illustrated by Neal Layton.
If you're already on the look out for funny books being released next year, look no further than the laugh-filled 'Chocolate Milk, Ray Spec, and Me' which is due out in January. 10-year-old Freddy Spicer writes letters to his parents - who he believes are working at a Brussels-sprouts farm in Outer Castonga, with no … Continue reading Cover Reveal & Exclusive Extract of: ‘Chocolate Milk, X-Ray Specs and Me,’ by Bethany Walker, illustrated by Jack Noel.
The week beginning the 5th October has been designated National Dyslexia Week. This year, the British Dyslexia Association have decided upon the theme #DyslexiaCreates - celebrating the ideas and organisations it can produce, as well as recognising the difficulties. They’ve produced a packs for schools available to download HERE. As a teacher, I worked with … Continue reading #DyslexiaCreates – Awesome Authors!
For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Amelia Fang before: she’s the vampire with a pet pumpkin, Squashy and a whole host of monstrous friends. In her newest adventure, we meet her stinky baby brother, Vincent. Amelia is excited about attending her friend Grimaldi’s birthnight celebrations but her mum has followed … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘Amelia Fang and the Trouble With Toads,’ by Laura Ellen Anderson.
Today’s stop is brought to you by the letter ‘L’ for ‘Library Girl and Book Boy’ as we journey through the alphabet with the newest addition to the award-winning ‘Oi Frog!’ series. If you’re an animal and want to know where to sit, Frog is your go-to amphibian, but he seems to bet getting weary … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘Oi Aardvark!’ by Kes Gray & Jim Field.
Omar and the gang are back for their third adventure. And this one contains aliens (probably!) When Mrs Hutchinson (aka the best teacher in the universe) is mysteriously replaced by the less than friendly Mrs Crankshaw, Omar knows that something fishy’s going on. There’s no way Mrs Hutchinson would just leave them without saying anything … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘Planet Omar: Incredible Rescue Mission,’ by Zanib Mian, illustrated by Nasaya Mafaridik.
You just know that any book whose tagline is: ‘A hilarious story of LOLs, llamas, dramas and finding your voice,’ is going to be a quirky, joyous read! Yasmin lives in a very loud house in the East End of London, full of bustling aunties trying to force her into sequinned dresses, annoying brothers playing … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘Llama Out Loud,’ by Annabelle Sami, illustrated by Allen Fatimaharan.
I am able to offer you the very first exclusive peek at the first in a brand new series of hilarious chapter books for readers aged seven and up! Publishing 18th February 2021 - so set your alarms! Max is a rather unusual 9-year-old; when he burps, Max turns into a rather large bin-eating monster. … Continue reading Cover Reveal: ‘Monster Max and the Bobble Hat of Forgetting,’ by Robin Bennett, illustrated by Tom Tinn-Disbury.
Every year, my sons and I look forward to signing up for The Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge, collecting our stickers and earning our medals. We shall be doing exactly the same but with a twist - due to the current corona virus outbreak, this year’s Reading Challenge has gone digital! You can sign up … Continue reading The Reading Agency’s (digital) Summer Reading Challenge
It would seems that people are always looking for new first chapter books for readers who are looking for some that’s still highly-illustrated and engaging, but also a little wordier. Fear not, I have a brand new selection of titles which might just fit the bill! If you still more suggestions, click here. These would … Continue reading Further Fabulous First Chapter Books
As part of our new schedule, #BookBoy and #BookBoyJr will be posting new reviews every Tuesday (#TuesdayReviewsDay.) This weekend, Book Boy has been reading the first in a new series of pun-filled mysteries from Piccadilly Press. Mark Anchovy (aka Colin Kingsley) is a pizza delivery boy and aspiring private detective - he is desperate for … Continue reading #TuesdayReviewsDay ‘Mark Anchovy: Pizza Detective,’ by William Goldsmith.
The Federation Of Children’s Book Groups (FCBG) Book Awards is based around the top 12 highest scoring titles that the children in their book groups have read that year. Anybody under the age of 18 can register their vote on the FCBG website HERE. I’m cheerleading for the frightfully funny ‘Mutant Zombies Cursed My School … Continue reading The FCBG Children’s Book Award 2020 – introducing ‘Mutant Zombies Cursed my School Trip!’ by Matt Brown, illustrated by Paco Sordo.
As part of our home-schooling timetable, #BookBoy and #BookBoyJr will be writing book reviews to go on the blog. Our very first review, of ‘Super Stan,’ has been composed by #BookBoy who had his nose buried in it all weekend! Title: Super Stan Author: Elaine Wickson Illustrator: Chris Judge Publisher: Oxford University Press Synopsis: This … Continue reading #TuesdayReviewsDay ‘Super Stan’ by Elaine Wickson, illustrated by Chris Judge.
Fans of funny and all things Barry Loser will be delighted to learn that creator of craziness, Jim Smith is back with a BRAND NEW series! The Pebble family (humans not stones) are moving to Donut Island and it would be fair to say that neither of the kids (Melvin and Violet) are looking forward … Continue reading ‘A Super Weird Mystery: Danger at Donut Diner,’ by Jim Smith
Library Girl and Book Boy 