This year it was the 50th anniversary of man’s first step on the moon. So, it is no surprise that there has been an influx of children’s book published around the theme of space. Therefore, it would take something special for a book to stand out among the others on the shelves. What could be…
Liz Flanagan’s Dragon Daughter, which won both the Leeds Book Award and the Calderdale Book Award, has been a firm favourite. But. Wait ’til I tell you that the second book of the series, Rise of the Shadow Dragons, is due for publication in May 2020. Oh yes! And to top that off, My Book Corner…
What an unusual story this ‘lets-find-a-story’ story is! Translated from the original Spanish, this book is a whirlwind of ideas and jokes for children who are ready for a few more words in their picture books. Each page is a busy mix of story text, illustrations, signposts, and chat. Yes chat – the pictures all…
Cor blimey, what a ride through the pages of The Switching Hour, the debut novel from Damaris Young. Just spooky enough for Halloween reading, or for when the nights close in. But not too spooky that it’ll stop yourself from falling asleep with pleasant dreams! Amaya lives with her protective grandmother and her toddling little…
Look out for our Twitter giveaway during Friday 11th October. We have TWO copies of The Ghouls of Howlfair to giveaway. Welcome to Howlfair, a town quite unlike any other. There’s a history and mystery to this town so big, that young Molly Thompson has spent years digging around trying to discover something juicy –…
I do adore picture book which celebrate that wonderful bond between children and their grandparents. A bond that is nurtured through fun, time and storytelling. Let me show you Old Man of the Sea, from Stella Elia and Weberson Santiago, which achieves just that. Sometimes Grandpa tells stories, sometimes he doesn’t. But when he does…
Rebel Dogs! Heroic Tales of Trusty Hounds, by Kimberlie Hamilton, is an engaging book for doggy fans packed with tales of trusty hounds and canine facts – so many opportunities for ‘Did you know…?’ The tales of doggy derring-do were so engagingly written, I was hooked and read it cover to cover. The usual suspects…
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.
A 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 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 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…
A 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,…
This 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…
I 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…
A 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…
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