Who’s Going to Bed? by Abie Longstaff & Eve Coy
What a fun and beautiful picture book Who’s Going to Bed? is! Abie Longstaff’s lyrical text and the soft and dreamy quality of Eve Coy’s illustrations make for a really stunning book.
Read more: Who’s Going to Bed? by Abie Longstaff & Eve Coy
Rise Up: Ordinary Kids with Extraordinary Stories by Amanda Li & Amy Blackwell
Read more: Rise Up: Ordinary Kids with Extraordinary Stories by Amanda Li & Amy BlackwellA good non-fiction addition to a school library – though beware – I did turn the pages feeling like a majorly under-achieving adult!
The Stolen Spear by Saviour Pirotta, illustrated by Davide Ortu
Read more: The Stolen Spear by Saviour Pirotta, illustrated by Davide OrtuThe Stolen Spear by Saviour Pirotta, illustrated by Davide Ortu Wolf dreams of being brave. Every night he prays to the spirits to make him the bravest boy the village has ever known. But every day he wakes up and nothing has changed. When a sacred spear goes missing from a burial site, Wolf is…
The Mouse Who Wasn’t Scared by Petr Horacek
Read more: The Mouse Who Wasn’t Scared by Petr HoracekThe 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…
Wildspark by Vashti Hardy
Read more: Wildspark by Vashti HardyA fantastical Victorian-esk world with colourful, real characters to enthrall you to the very end. When I picked up Wildspark by Vashti Hardy, I expected not to enjoy it as much as her wonderful debut, Brightstorm. How wrong I was. Wildspark was even more enthralling to me, perhaps because I identified with main character, Prue,…
The Murderer’s Ape by Jakob Wegelius
Read more: The Murderer’s Ape by Jakob WegeliusThis is an astonishing book. Not just because of its effortless, innocent, and engaging prose. Not just because its main character is an incredibly intelligent and emotionally aware gorilla who you immediately want to be friends with. And not just because its story is a meandering, thought-provoking, epic journey through the cultures, people and history…
Pirate Pug: The Dog Who Rocked the Boat by Laura James & Églantine Ceulemans
Read more: Pirate Pug: The Dog Who Rocked the Boat by Laura James & Églantine CeulemansI absolutely adored the previous books in the ‘Adventures of Pug’ series, so I had high hopes for the newest one, Pirate Pug: The Dog Who Rocked the Boat (Bloomsbury). I was not disappointed! This time Pug and his owner, Lady Miranda, are off on a seaside holiday… and straight into an adventure. First of…
The Last Spell Breather by Julie Pike
Read more: The Last Spell Breather by Julie PikeA rip-roaring adventure with an unusual branch of magic… The Last Spell Breather by Julie Pike, published by OUP in July, is a seat grabbing adventure packed with an unusual branch of magic. Young Rayne is no ordinary girl – she’s an apprentice Spell Breather, destined to look after her village folk through the power…
The Boy Who Flew by Fleur Hitchcock
Read more: The Boy Who Flew by Fleur HitchcockThe Boy Who Flew, from Fleur Hitchcock, is a gripping adventure with plenty of chilling twists and turns. Athan Wilde spends every possible moment with Mr Chen, who lives in the shop opposite his house. This suits Athan’s family perfectly – nan has always thought him to be unlucky and very inconvenient, and his mum…
The Wonderling by Mira Bartok
Read more: The Wonderling by Mira BartokOnce in awhile a gorgeous children’s book comes along that you just know is going to be a tour-de-force of sumptuous, old-fashioned and involving storytelling…and Mira Bartok’s The Wonderling is that book. It is an epic romp across a strange yet familiar Victorian steam-punk land, and at its heart is a one-eared fox “groundling” (which…
The Tall Man and the Small Mouse written by Mara Bergman, illustrated by Birgitta Sif
Read more: The Tall Man and the Small Mouse written by Mara Bergman, illustrated by Birgitta SifIn my experience, mice are usually in the jaws of my cat in my bedroom or at the very least her plaything, being tossed in the air like a hot crumpet. They are neither as useful to me or as adorable as the little mouse in this quaint rhyming story about the blossoming unlikely friendship…
Mo, Lottie and the Junkers from Jennifer Killick
Read more: Mo, Lottie and the Junkers from Jennifer KillickThe next new series from Jennifer Killick has kicked off. And, it’s a real cracker if book one – Mo, Lottie and the Junkers – is anything to go by. Fresh, original and chock-a-block full of Jennifer’s trademark witty dialogue.
The Titanic Detective Agency – Lindsay Littleson
Read more: The Titanic Detective Agency – Lindsay LittlesonThe Titanic Detective Agency is the latest novel from Lindsay Littleson. When Bertha Watt boards the unsinkable RMS Titanic she embraces life on the sea as her family makes the bold decision to cross the Atlantic for a better life in America. It’s not long before Bertha’s instincts tell her things on board are not…
The Explorer by Katherine Rundell
Read more: The Explorer by Katherine RundellLong before we all started doing the endless scroll through Netflix, we’d rifle through the TV guide for the juiciest picks. That was back in the olden days, you know, the 80s, when we all had those faux wooden tellies on legs. Anyway, once we’d found the perfect film (The Goonies, Labyrinth, Willow), Mum would…
The Dog who Saved the World – Ross Welford
Read more: The Dog who Saved the World – Ross WelfordThe Dog who Saved the World, written by Ross Welford, is a novel about technology, time travel, family, dogs and friendship — and of course… saving the world. This book is about Georgie, Ramzy and Mr Mash and the adventures that they go on to save the world. It all begins when Georgie and Ramzy…
I often hope to find interviews with Margaret Wild who fascinates me and whose work I adore. Thoroughly enjoyed this…