A palace, a jewel thief and a daring escape! These are the main ingredients of Waterstones’ Children’s Book of the Month: ‘The Girl Who Stoke an Elephant’ - debut novel of Nizrana Farook. Make sure you read to the bottom of the post to find this blog’s treasure hunt clue! Chaya doesn’t fit with her … Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘The Girl Who Stole an Elephant,’ by Nizrana Farook, cover by David Dean.
In light of the current #MeToo movement, it seems more important than ever to ensure that our children understand what it means to give consent and set their own boundaries, and that we also teach them to respect the boundaries of others. With ‘consent’ soon to be part of the National Curriculum, books like Rachel … Continue reading ‘Respect: Consent, Boundaries and Being In Charge of You,’ by Rachel Brian.
I don’t seem to get many sci-fi titles sent to me, which is surprising as children tend to love outer-space adventures with aliens and uncharted territory. Enter ‘Orion Lost’ - a new middle grade title by Alastair Chisholm. Thirteen-year-old Beth and her family are onboard the colony ship Orion which is heading for Eos Five … Continue reading ‘Orion Lost,’ by Alastair Chisholm, cover by Dan Mumford.
My first read of the new year was ‘Little Bird Lands,’ which is the sequel to last year’s ‘Little Bird Flies.’ A story which followed Bridie and her family as they scratched out a living on the remote Scottish Island of Tornish before the arrival of a new lord caused terrible trouble and disruption. You … Continue reading ‘Little Bird Lands,’ by Karen McCombie, cover by Jasu Hu.
Welcome to 2020, everyone! I am exc yes to share more of the bookish delights you can expect to not over the coming year. If you still have book tokens burning a hole in your pocket, I would highly recommended my last read of 2019 and my first review of the new decade: Darkwhispers. Ever … Continue reading ‘Darkwhispers,’ by Vashti Hardy, cover by George Ermos.
I had been saving Frostheart for one of my Christmas holiday reads as I wanted to be able to fully enjoy reading it and immerse myself in its world. It was definitely worth the wait. Ash has never really fitted in with the rest of the Fira people, being passed from one guardian to the … Continue reading ‘Frostheart,’ by Jamie Littler.
I was thrilled to receive a copy of ‘The Conspiracy of Magic,’ because it would give me another opportunity to dive into the magical world of Cass (whom I first met in The Company of Eight.) Things have taken an icier turn with sorcerers and magicians beginning to rebel against the ban on magic. Cass … Continue reading ‘The Conspiracy of Magic,’ by Harriet Whitehorn, cover by Maria Surducan.
Oh. My. Goodness. What an absolutely beautiful book! The words on the page shimmer as brightly as the exquisite, foiled illustrations. Let me take you on a journey through the pages of ‘Starbird.’ The Moon King has known the legend of the Starbird for as long as he can remember. When he learns that he … Continue reading ‘Starbird,’ by Sharon King-Chai.
Today it’s my turn to tell people all about the rather wonderful ‘Granny Magic’ and share a special post by author, Elka Evalds, about some of the wonderful books she loved in her childhood. When Will’s granny passes away, he and his mum make a start on clearing her house - which is absolutely stuffed … Continue reading ‘Granny Magic,’ by Elka Evalds, cover by Teemu Juhani.
I am a huge advocate of funny books and promoting more diverse humorous titles in school and home libraries. That’s why I was so thrilled to be asked to champion one of the titles for this year’s Lollies (The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2020), run by Scholastic with Michael Rosen as head judge. The … Continue reading Introducing the Laugh Out Loud Book Award nominee ‘Planet Stan’ by Elaine Wickson (illustrated by Chris Judge)
Some of you may have read Hilary McKay’s Costa Children’s Book Award for ‘The Skylarks War.’ If you did, you will be interested to know that she has new middle grade novel out called ‘The Time of Green Magic.’ It kept me engaged for a couple of what could have been very boring hours at … Continue reading ‘The Time of Green Magic,’ by Hilary McKay, cover by Dawn Cooper.
This book is just a little bit special. It beautifully melds a touching story about the struggles between a mother and a daughter who’s growing up with a strong fantasy/ gaming theme. Unlike anything I’ve read before but totally enchanting. *UPDATE* Aisha’s wonderful book has just been nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2020 - … Continue reading ‘A Pocketful Of Stars,’ by Aisha Busby.
Introducing the perfect book to snuggle up under a blanket with now that Winter is drawing nearer. Lose yourself Siberian wilderness full of wolves, ice and magic - Nevertell. Lina has only ever known life inside the dangerous prison camp she was born in. Life is hard; the rations are meagre and the guards often … Continue reading ‘Nevertell,’by Katharine Orton, cover by Sandra Dieckmann.
I have only recently discovered the joys of novels written in free-verse. Kwame Alexander and Sarah Crossan are award-winning examples of authors who do this already. The ability to tell a whole scene of a story in a few carefully chosen and placed words, and making an emotional connections with their readers is a real … Continue reading ‘In the Key Of Code,’ by Aimee Lucido, cover by Helen Crawford-White.
At a time when the usage of food-banks is on the increase and more and more children are living below the poverty line, We needs books to use as tools to gently explore and explain the reasons behind these things to children. Fortunately, award-winning author/ illustrator Kate Milner has produced a thoughtful picture book which … Continue reading ‘It’s a No Money Day,’ by Kate Milner.
I am always enormously excited to be sent new titles from Barrington Stoke as you know that you are going to get a fantastic snappy story from a world-class author. ‘Seven Ghosts’ is absolutely no exception to this rule. Written and illustrated by Chris Priestley, ‘Seven Ghosts’ tells the story of Jake and the other … Continue reading ‘Seven Ghosts,’ by Chris Priestley.
#BookBoy is a huge fan of exploring and planning his own mini expeditions so is always very interested in any books I receive which have an ‘adventuring’ theme. I’m going to share four with you which he has enjoyed delving into. ‘Adventures on Earth’ by Simon Tyler (Pavilion) This wonderful book is absolutely packed with … Continue reading Calling all Adventurers!
If you’re looking for for something a little bit different this Halloween, I would strongly suggest that you purchase yourself a copy of the gloriously gothic ‘The House Of Madame M.’ Are you brave enough to enter the house of the mysterious Madame M? It’s full of creepy monsters, cobwebbed hiding places and sights to … Continue reading ‘The House Of Madame M,’ by Clotilde Perrin, translated by Daniel Hann.
Lots of children love to be scared. If you happen to know one of them, they might just love one of these chilling chapter books suitable for readers aged 5+ ‘Isadora Moon Puts on a Show,’ by Harriet Muncaster (OUP) One of my favourite, glittery half-fairy, half-vampires is back in her tenth adventure. Isadora is … Continue reading Chilling Chapter Books…
After reading the magical Snowglobe, I couldn’t wait to read Amy’s newest title: ‘Shadows of Winterspell,’ which I read over the summer but have had to wait until nearer its publication date to review (17th October). Finally, the wait is almost over! Winterspell Forest inhabited by the magical fae folk and haunted by the dark … Continue reading ‘Shadows Of Winterspell,’ by Amy Wilson.
Library Girl and Book Boy 