Celebrate fifteen years of ‘Dear Santa’ with this special edition of Rod Campbell’s Christmas classic with an extra sparkly gold-foiled cover. Join Santa as he wraps and packs the perfect present for each and every child. For generations, children have loved joining in with the simple text and repeated refrains, lifting the flaps to see … Continue reading Christmas Advent – Day 10 ‘Dear Santa,’ by Rod Campbell.
Today’s advent pick is a wry, clever and downright hilarious journey towards finding the real meaning of Christmas. The International Postal Service is in the red and this spells bad news for seasonal worker, Santa. He’s going to have make some cutbacks: reindeer hire and insurance is a major expense, and as for some of … Continue reading Christmas Advent – Day Four ‘Santa Gets a Second Job,’ by Michele D’Ignazio, illustrated by Sergio Olivotti, translated by Denise Muir.
If you are after a festive treat to officially kick off the festive season, you absolutely cannot go wrong with one of Alex T. Smith’s beautiful picture books. This year’s delight is a reimagining of a classic Christmas poem, borne from Smith’s inability to remember the original gifts celebrated in poetic form. Things start off … Continue reading Christmas Advent – Day 1 ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas or Grandma is Overly Generous,’ by Alex T. Smith.
After the end of the Second World War, British citizens from the Commonwealth were invited to relocate to Britain to help rebuild the country. Not all were made welcome and many suffered discrimination and racism because of the colour of their skin. Due to various changes in law, and the government’s determination to be seen … Continue reading The Windrush Generation
If you’re in the mood for a chucklesome boarding school tale full of ingenious orphans, evil matrons and belligerent goats, then this is the book for you! I had the absolutely pleasure of reading this wickedly funny tale over the Summer and it really tickled my funny bone. The humour was just dark enough for … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘The Orphans of St. Halibuts,’ by Sophie Wills, illustrated by David Tazzyman.
I’m loving this series of chapter books by Tom Percival which explore emotions and how to manage them. The Dream Team work together to turn nightmares into incredible adventures and they’re back for their second mission. You can find my review of the first title HERE. In this adventure, Erika’s just having a normal day … Continue reading Blog tour: ‘Dream Team: A Case of the Jitters,’ by Tom Percival.
If you loved last year’s award-wining title, ‘The Umbrella Mouse,’ you are going to love this gripping sequel full of treachery, distrust and the power of hope. Following their legendary escape from the Nacht und Nebel camp, Pip and the other members of the Noah’s Ark resistance movement have regrouped and are honouring their fallen … Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘Umbrella Mouse to the Rescue,’ by Anna Fargher, illustrated by Sam Usher.
This week Book Boy Jr. has chosen to share the first in a new series of ‘Dream Team’ chapter books from Tom Percival. Erika is sick to death of her baby brother, Randall, getting away with everything and of her parents being too tired or busy to talk to her. After a particularly bad day, … Continue reading #TuesdayReviewsDay: ‘Dream Team: Attack of the Heebie Jeebies,’ by Tom Percival.
It would seem that I’m not the only classic turning forty this year. As well as me entering my fortieth year, some beloved children’s books are also entering a new decade. ‘The Paper Bag Princess’ by Robert Munsch, art by Michael Martchenko (Annick Press) It was this special 40th anniversary edition of a classic feminist … Continue reading Happy 40th Birthday!
This next collection of biographies features fifty individuals who weren’t afraid to break boundaries, take risks and dream big. This book is beautifully illustrated and features a fantastic mix of people - well-known and not so well-known. It has entries for inventors, scientists, artists, sports people, writers, film makers and actors, amongst others. I was … Continue reading They Did it First: 50 Scientists, Artists and Mathematicians who Changed the World,’ by Julie Leung, illustrated by Caitlin Kuhwald.
I was left feeling bereft after finishing Leonard’s fabulous Beetle Boy trilogy so was extremely excited to see that she was embarking on a new series of books with friend, Sam Sedgman. Let me introduce the first instalment of the new Adventures on Trains series: The Highland Falcon Thief. When Harrison Beck (or ‘Hal’ to … Continue reading ‘The Highland Falcon Thief,’ by M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman, illustrations by Elisa Paganelli.
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.
I have to confess that not all of these picture books are petrifying but they do contain some seriously spooky characters as well as cracking stories! ‘Where’s Mrs Witch?’ by Ingela P Arrhenius (Nosy Crow) A special spooky edition joins one of my favourite board books series. This one sees a whole host of Halloween … Continue reading Petrifying Picture 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.
The National Curriculum states that children should be exposed to a wide range of texts, including those from our own cultural heritage. So what exactly does that mean? You may have heard these books referred to as ‘heritage texts’ or ‘classics.’ Either way, we aren’t lucky to have a wealth of classic children’s books to … Continue reading Introducing classic texts across the primary school: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (as seen at Reading Rocks South)
Sibéal Pounder has imagined what would happen next, following on Eva Ibbotson’s classic tale ‘The Secret Of Platform 13.’ Get ready to revisit The Island Of Mist and its magical inhabitants. When Lina was dragged to the train station by her parents to visit her aunt in Salzburg, the last thing she expected was to … Continue reading ‘Beyond Platform 13,’ by Sibéal Pounder & Eva Ibbotson, illustrated by Beatriz Castro.
I am a huge fan of Chris Ridell’s work - stories and illustrations - so imagine my excitement when I discovered he was writing a brand new magical adventure series AND that I was invited to be part of its blog tour! The Kingdom Of Thrynne is a place of ancient magic, but those seen … Continue reading “The Cloud Horse Chronicles: Guardians Of Magic,” by Chris Riddell.
As they head back to nursery and school, children might be thinking about making new friends. ‘Hello, Friend!’ is a charming picture book about just that. Inspired by her own daughter who is always keen to make new friends, Cobb has created a wittily-observed story about a little girl who is determined to make friends … Continue reading ‘Hello, Friend!’ By Rebecca Cobb.
In honour of International Dogs Day, here’s a round up of some of the fab books I’ve received featuring some of the most brilliant dogs around! ‘This is a Dog’ by Ross Collins (Nosy Crow) Uh oh! A very loveable but slightly excitable young pup has broken into a First Book of Animals and taken … Continue reading Puppy Love
With the 50th anniversary of the moon landing being celebrated this July, I’m seizing the opportunity to share all of the fantastic Space-themed books I’ve been enjoying recently. ‘Molly’s Moon Mission’ by Duncan Beedie (Templar Books) Duncan Beedie is one of my favourite picture book creators. All of his books are right on target as … Continue reading Take-off With A Good Book!
Library Girl and Book Boy 