Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow launches with a dim, dark start. Poor Morrigan has been labelled as a cursed child. Everything is her fault. Everything. Her family dislike her – such bad luck to have a cursed child. The apparent bleakness of tone is punctuated by some great touches of humour from Jessica Townsend. Morrigan…
There was high excitement in my house when we realised we were going to get a sneak preview of Sue Hendra and Paul Linnets’ new Supertato picture book: Evil Pea Rules! My youngest (now 6) has been a fan of the heroic spud since he swapped his World Book Day voucher for the first Supertato book…
It’s a heart thumpingly brilliant moment when a shiny new tome from picture book extraordinaire Anthony Browne pops through the letter box…. and Hide And Seek is his 50th, yep 50th book. Wowzas! Browne is a marvellous story teller, Hide And Seek is no exception. The main characters, Poppy and Cy, are sad since their…
This is a gorgeously atmospheric re-telling of Dodie Smith’s classic tale, The Hundred And One Dalmatians from Peter Bently & Steven Lenton. Intrigue, a deliciously wicked villain and a race against time – all these ingredients remain, with a few more popped in, to make a delightful mix for younger readers. Bently’s narrative is clear, and…
As a lover of cats and history, I was looking forward to reading Megan Rix’s Winston and the Marmalade Cat. My own marmalade cat, Horace, was interested too. He told me that he was especially keen to see how one of his brethren was portrayed in print. At least, I think that’s what he was…
A compelling story about overcoming grief and how hope really can be a feathery friend. Gill Lewis’s Sky Dancer, due out in October 2017, opens with grief stricken Joe and his older brother Ryan scattering their father’s ashes with their mum on the moors in northern England. Having died from a heart attack in…
The multi-talented (and now prolific!) writer of children’s books, the very lovely Emma Carroll, has done it again with her latest release, Letters from the Lighthouse. It’s a pacy, nuanced and stealthily educational middle-grade age story about World War II and the kinds of deeds local communities did in order to help fleeing refugees. Letters…
I’m always fascinated to read about the oddball creative processes of great writers. …Victor Hugo wrote ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ entirely in the buff. Under tremendous deadline pressure, he placed himself under house arrest, stripped naked and coiled himself in a grey shawl. …Agatha Christie insisted that her architect make room for a big…
There’s a silly old bear of very little brain (but great wisdom) that goes by the name of Pooh. And at the ripe old age of 91, we get to cherish a new story starring his rumbly tummy and loyal friend Piglet. Giles Andreae, Picture book veteran and award-winning author of ‘Giraffes Can’t Dance’, brings…
You know that feeling when you delve into a new book, then become immediately swept up in it’s world, fully invested in the character… and cancel the day’s plans to ensure uninterrupted reading can commence? It’s a deliciously warm feeling, and exactly what I encountered when I delved into Em Lynas’s You Can’t Make Me…
Stunt Double, a middle grade novel from Tamsin Cooke, is a glorious action and adventure filled novel which takes its readers on an brilliant ride. It’s chock-a-block with plenty of twists and turns that even I didn’t see coming. I’m pretty sure this is the first children’s book I’ve read featuring a protagonist who is…
When I was asked to review Simply The Quest, the follow on to Who Let the Gods Out, I jumped at it. “Elliot and Virgo’s troubles are far from over: death-daemon Thanatos and his scary mum are at large and determined to destroy the world. As even more immortal allies and enemies emerge, Virgo and…
Gaslight, the middle grade novel from Eloise Williams, is an absorbing fast paced story full of intrigue and adventure, set in Victorian Cardiff. “My mother disappeared on the sixth of September, 1894. I was found at the docks in Cardiff, lying like a gutted fish at the water’s edge.” I adore a great opening to a…
William Wenton and the Luridium Thief , from Bobbie Peers, is a very visual, fast-paced book, which will certainly appeal to kids at the younger end of the middle-grade spectrum who are looking for adventure. William Wenton and his family are in hiding in Norway, though he doesn’t know why. He loves to crack codes, and…
Running on the Roof of the World is the debut middle grade novel from Jess Butterworth. Tash lives in Tibet with her parents. From the opening chapter Butterworth highlights Tash’s life – full of rules dictated by an inflexible army. Soldiers to be scared of, soldiers to watch out for. “I want to run and…
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