This book is almost five years old, but I am very pleased to have just discovered it! The Thing About Jellyfish is a quirky, middle-grade coming-of-age novel about a young girl called Suzy with an unhealthy obsession with “jellies”. Set in small-town Massachusetts in America, the story centres around Suzy’s thought processes after her best…
This short book, by the lovely and passionate zoologist and broadcaster, Nicola Davies, has a stunning, haunting and magical quality to it. Its edgy illustrations, from Beth Holland, give its story an elevated feel and show the reader how much this book is about nature and what people do to the environment. Nant is a…
Harking back to Chris Priestley’s classic Tales of Terror books – which involved one character being told a series of short, unsettling tales culminating in a spooky twist at the end – his new book, Seven Ghosts, is total “haunted mansion” genius! On a school trip to a stately Manor house, Jake joins a group…
This book is an emotional, haunting rollercoaster of fairytale-meets-stranded-islanders-meets-teenage-sexual-awakening-meets-mermaids. Except it’s not about mermaids, really. Or is it? The Gloaming is told by Kirsty Logan in a particularly involving, alluring and – frankly – deceptive way, spinning us from one member to another of the Ross family who live on a weird island somewhere. This…
Set in the harsh, deadly coastal winters of 19th Century Lyme Regis, in England, Anthea Simmons’ gritty, compelling book about the real-life palaeontologist Mary Anning is as inspirational as it is educational. I was lucky enough to grow up along the Jurassic coastline where this book is set, and one of the things I enjoyed…
A white feather given to someone came to symbolise cowardice during the traumatic times of World War I. And that is the central theme that Catherine and David MacPhail explore in this moving, special and quite unexpectedly haunting little children’s book, published by the dyslexia-friendly Barrington Stoke. It’s all about a young boy called Tony…
If you thought you’d read every type of middle-grade fantasy-adventure there is, then think again. With The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, Jaclyn Moriarty has created a game-changing, quirky, epic and everso delightful novel that grips your imagination with its utterly original story. About a very practical and forthright girl called Bronte, whose parents…
Axel Scheffler is, of course, Mr Gruffalo and – in this new soft-cloth, cushioned book for very young children – he uses his distinct style of illustration to tell us a story about friendship. Pip and Posy are two close friends who go on a trip to the sunny seaside. They have a fun time…
The Big-little mouse seems to believe she isn’t scared of the really big, scary animals in the woods. And, to prove it, she goes in there alone. The other animals think she is brave, and when she comes across scary animals like bears and wolves she just says she isn’t scared and would they like…
This is surely every young child’s biggest frustration – just wanting to be MUCH bigger! And Laura Ellen Anderson explores this topic with ease, fun and multi-cultural inclusiveness. The message here is clear: be happy with who you are in the world, but you can still try and strive to reach higher too. And the…
What a cute and colourful picture book this is. Full of some lovely, bright and cheerful images – this book is the story of when Panda and Penguin decide their old sofa is broken and they should go shopping for a new one. Panda and Penguin – who are clearly lovely, fun friends – go…
Hold your nose before you dive into this educational book, because it’s jammed full of smelly poo! Animal poo, to be precise. And, if you’re a budding nature lover, “The Clue is in the Poo” has everything you need to help you spot what animals, birds – and even dinosaurs – you’re seeing when you’re…
Talk about an off-the-wall, surreal and a little bit nuts picture book! This strange, dramatic and close-up picture book is all about the “Red Dread” coming to eat all the animals up. It keeps thumping louder and louder, as it gets closer and closer! As readers, we are treated to a hyperventilatingly drawn illustrations that…
All the little girl in this wonderful picture book wants is a cat of her own to cuddle. Lots of other people in her street – including her granny – have furry balls of cuddliness, but she hasn’t. So she goes on a mission to find out all the things cats love – like balls…
Abie Longstaff has written another fun, exciting and gently mysterious story in her Trapdoor Mysteries series. This one sees the main character, Tally (a great name!), investigating why so many different animals are going missing in the village where she lives. And, in the big manor estate where she works as a maid (and tormented…
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