One year, at the town fair, my Mum got roped into buying encyclopaedias. Back then, encyclopaedia and Tupperware salesmen door-stepped you almost as often as the Avon lady – all now sadly lost to a bygone era. But with no computer in the house (err bit early for that) and four kids in school, Mum…
‘It’s funny because it has talking socks!’ was the cry that came from my 3 year old. Simon Sock –written by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet, illustrated by Nick East – has quickly become a firm favourite in our house. Simon is a stripy and odd sock. Will he ever be part of a perfect…
Penguin in Love, text and illustrations by Salina Yoon, is a heart-wrenchingly beautiful picture book about a penguin searching for love in an icy wilderness. The simple, emotional and engaging first line grabbed me by the heart-strings: “One day, Penguin was looking for love.” With bold, cute illustrations by writer-illustrator Salina Yoon, it tells the story…
“That’s it Mum… YOU’RE OUT OF THE SHOW!” my four-year-old Alice hollered when I forgot to serve dinner on the pink rabbit plate. It’s her go-to-phrase when I apparently get this whole child rearing malarkey so terribly, terribly wrong. Like when I switched off Hey Duggee – mid episode – to do the school run. That day…
How the Sun Got to Coco’s House, by Bob Graham, is a beautiful tale of the sun’s journey throughout the day. The journey begins while Coco sleeps and ends with the sun barging ‘straight through Coco’s window!’. Luckily for Coco, ‘the sun had time on its hands’ and spends the whole day with her. Bob…
Little Red Reading Hood is a fun, fairy tale twist from Lucy Rowland and Ben Mantle. I love this rhyming version of Little Red, who spends her time with her head stuck in a book, ‘dreaming up stories and laughing out loud.’ But as tends to happen to many an ardent library user – she…
I love you, Stick Insect, by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros, caught my attention straight away… we didn’t have many pets when I was little, but we did have stick insects. In fact, we had hundreds of stick insects who at one point managed to escape. We were still finding them around the house months later! But that’s…
Here Come The Trolls! Written by Ron Butlin, illustrated by James Hutcheson Mischievous trolls are everywhere! Have you seen them? Are they hiding somewhere in your house? Check under your bed, look behind the curtains, you never know where a troll might be lurking. Oh no, the trolls are here? What shall we do? A…
As part of my MA Writing for Young People at Bath Spa, I chose to look at why we have comparatively few books in translation on our shelves and what they could add in broadening our reading horizons. So I’m always delighted to find a beautiful book in translation. One House for All is a…
This Is My Rock, a Flying Eye book by David Lucas, is a fantastic example of pictures and words working concisely together. It has a beautiful to touch, multimedia cover and sumptuous quality pages. Each spread brings with it a unique visual treat. David Lucas’s distinctive art work stands out from the crowd with its…
‘The Stone Age was boring’ begins Game of Stones by Rebecca Lisle and Richard Watson but, as I’m always telling my kids, boredom is the mother of creativity and Pod sets about inventing games for his brother, Hinge. The similarity of Yow-Yows and Crackit to modern versions will go down well with young readers. I shan’t…
‘MEG AND RAT’ and ‘PUFF! PUFF! PUFF!’ by Cath Jones (Bonkers About Beetroot), illustrated by Adam Pryce. These two stories come in one book, part of Maverick’s Early Reader scheme. They are banded as Maverick’s Book Band Pink, which is the first level in Maverick’s scale of reading difficulty. What I really like about these…
How many picture books have you read about two dogs falling in love? I’m guessing it’s next to none! Dog in Boots, from Paula Metcalf, is a delightful, funny and original story, with ‘lift-the-flaps’ adding an extra fun dimension. Philip is in love with his neighbour Penelope. There’s just one problem. Philip is short and…
The first thing that attracted me to Pip Jones and Sara Ogilvies’ picture book was the fantastic title – Izzy Gizmo – straight away you get an idea what the story is about. A girl who loves gizmos! The front cover is bold and bright and you just know you that the story will be…
Katherine Rundell (The Wolf Wilder, Rooftoppers) and Emily Sutton’s (Lots) One Christmas Wish is heart thumpingly beautiful, tender and uplifting. It is THE book to gift on Christmas Eve. Without a doubt. ‘It was Christmas Eve, and Theodore was fighting a cardboard box.’ …and so the story begins. Theo is alone, apart from a snoring babysitter.…
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Great review, thanks for posting the pictures. Really makes a difference with picture book reviews. Will order for the store…
His books are a great way help kids read while soaking up important Science concepts without even knowing it. Ironically,…
Ooh, this sounds fantastic!