Author jillrbennett

Tick-Tock Around the Clock

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Tick-Tock Around the Clock
Ruth Brown
Scallywag Press

The pendulum clock strikes seven bongs rousing Tick-Tock a marmalade moggy, from his slumbers. Having munched and crunched through breakfast, he exits the house through the cat flap, out into the garden with its abundance of wildlife. Squirrels bombard the cat with acorns, some of which are consumed by a little mouse but unfortunately, it’s too quick for the cat that pursues the rodent into the shed.

There, the cat pounces causing all manner of paint tins, flower pots and garden tools to come cascading down, while the mouse dashes away as fast as its tiny legs will carry it – wheeee! Eventually the cat, now covered in what looks like compost, comes out into the descending darkness of the garden and has a wash. An adult appears to call the moggy in for tea, which is followed by a cosy snuggle and then it’s time for bed, purr, purr, purr.

With its minimal onomatopoeic text that echoes the ticking of the clock and Ruth Brown’s realistic depictions of Tick-Tock and the surrounding environment, this is ideal for sharing with an individual or small group who will enjoy joining in with all the sounds and perusing the detailed scenes of Tick-Tock’s day.

Locked in the Museum

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Locked in the Museum
Leisa Stewart-Sharpe and Acapulco Studio
Templar Books

When Liam is accidentally left behind on a school trip readers, along with the boy, are taken behind the scenes of the Most Marvellous Museum as new rooms and artefacts mysteriously appear. There follows a surprising adventure visiting nine galleries and exploring more than one hundred artefacts from almost forty countries.

The fascinating items encountered in the Nature Gallery include an enormous African elephant that lets out a loud trumpeting sound and comes to life before you, as does a Japanese spider crab with a leg span just under four metres, and a giant squid.
In the Ancient Egyptian Room an Egyptologist introduces some mummies and moving on to the Art Gallery there’s Maman – a massive steel spider nine metre high (taller than a giraffe)

as well as some other wonderful works of art including a painting by Mary Cassatt and a ginormous world-famous masterpiece by Michelangelo. In the Transport Gallery travelling by air, sea and land are covered and it was great to see mention of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott and its outcome.

Exhibits from all over the world are gathered together in each section and each item’s real location is given at the end of the book in the Museum Credits spread. Ideal for encouraging children to visit them for real should they be in the appropriate place.
It’s good to read that many countries and museums now recognise that some items in their collections including human remains should be returned to their rightful owners and precious objects are gradually being returned to their original homes.

With several fold out spreads extending the number of objects available to view, there is an absolute wealth of fantastic exhibits to discover and linger over, and readers are also introduced to the conservators, palaeontologists and others who work in the museum.

A book to add to home and school collections.

Terrible True Tales: Saxons / Terrible True Tales: Victorians

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Both books are published by Bloomsbury Education: thanks to the publisher for sending them for review.

Terrible True Tales: Saxons
Terrible True Tales: Victorians
Terry Deary

Continuing the Terrible True Tales series, Horrible Histories author Terry Deary presents two new four in one titles, each accessibly written in his chatty style.

The four Saxon Tales are set in turn in Yorkshire, Maidstone (Kent) and the Kingdom of Mercia (the Midlands of today). The first is related by Ardith Hutton whose father, a tanner died from plague. Ardith, narrowly escaped being burnt alive in their home and was taken in by Wilfred a kind neighbour, became his apprentice and then almost got burnt alive again. Eventually after Wilfred died, Ardith took on his role and in turn found an apprentice.

Fictional children are the main focus in each of the other tales so readers are given a glimpse of what it was like to be a youngster in Anglo Saxon times. Figures from history include King Offa (of Mercia), King Athelstan (of England) and the foolish King Vortigern and topics mentioned are medicine, magic and healing, bandits and the work children did.
Following each story comes an afterword that puts the tale into a historical context and some ‘You Try’ activities for children.
With Tambo’s black and white illustrations further illuminating the text, this is a smashing way to encourage primary age children to engage with history that could otherwise perhaps be dull and dry.

Also told in Deary’s captivating style and bursting with information is Victorians wherein the focus is on travel during the Industrial Revolution.
The stories are about in turn, the first powered airship set in Paris invented by Henri Gifford, the first steamship the Sirius, to travel to America, the Staplehurst rail crash in Kent (Dickens features herein) and finally, the Big Stink that tells the story of the London sewers and related to it, the invention of the London Underground.
Like the previous book, children play an important role in each tale and this book is illustrated in an appropriately dramatic style, by Helen Flook

The Lost Robot

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The Lost Robot
Joe Todd-Stanton
Flying Eye Books

Not so much lost as deposited in a rubbish dump has been the fate of the broken robot at the heart of this story. Said robot has no idea from where it came but knows that it doesn’t belong on the dump so it starts walking. On its journey it passes a woman wearing an eye-patch; she has a baby on her back and is sorting through rubbish. Continuing on its way, the robot goes through a hole in a wall, on the other side of which are lots of people. This reminds the robot that it once had a person too but it wasn’t any of these. Then up on a billboard, it notices a robot not unlike itself and it’s advertised as ‘Your new best friend’. Seeing this initiates a memory of when the robot was given to a boy as a present and the exciting things the two did together.

But then the robot recalls a less pleasant memory: the boy’s parents gave their son an updated version of the robot. Now the protagonist is determined to find its friend but would he recognise his old robot? Perhaps a quick fix might help?

After a long, long walk the robot reaches a house that it remembers; however something is different. Inside, the boy is having fun with one of the new robots. Telling himself he had woken up right where he was supposed to be, back goes the little robot to the piles of rubbish where it falls fast asleep. When it wakes up, several years have passed: the baby seen on its mother’s back is now a little girl; she notices the robot, claims it and she and her mother drive the long distance to their home where they transform their find into a colourful robot full of love and joy, just like its new family.

A wonderful fable of renovations and restoration wherein Joe Todd-Stanton provides lots of visual cues in his illustrations so that readers can make connections as the story unfolds. This is a treasure of a book to seek out and return to over and over.

I am Ray’s Imaginary Friend

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I am Ray’s Imaginary Friend
Brian Moses, illustrated by Bethan Welby
Scallywag Press

Written in verse by poet Brian Moses, this is an intensely moving, sensitive story about coping with change. Its narrator is one of the star pupils from the School for Imaginary Friends who is given the name Jacob when he responds to eight year old Ray’s call of distress.

Ray loves his life in Pratts Bottom village but then he overhears his parents talking about moving away because his Dad has a new job. Horrified by the idea he even contemplates running away. Instead he calls into being an imaginary friend. Jacob. Jacob takes his role very seriously, even going so far as to deliver difficult messages to Ray, knowing that in the long run they will help the boy. In addition to being there for him, Jacob particularly likes to say ‘yes’. ‘I like to say yes, / even if I ought to say no. / Saying yes makes Ray feel good / and makes me feel good too.’ we read.
To begin with Ray does lots of everyday things with Jacob as well telling his mum off when she almost drives into him. It’s merely a phase, is what his parents think.

A little while later at his new school, Ray’s teacher talks about what’s happening in Ukraine and this leads to two things: first Ray writes a poem about it which is put on the school website and then his family decide to open their new home to two Ukrainian refugees.

As he hears about and processes what the mother and son have endured, Ray realises that his own problems are not so bad after all and it’s then that Jacob knows it’s time for him to find someone else to help.

Quietly brilliant, this is a book that explores coping with change and becoming mentally stronger and the powerful influence of empathy. The latter in particular is brought out beautifully in Bethan Welby’s black and white drawings. It’s a must read for older KS2 readers either at home or as a shared class book.

Wirtz / We

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Wirtz
Matt and Tom Oldfield
Dino Books

This latest addition to the Ultimate Football Heroes tells the story of current Liverpool star Florian Wirtz and his footballing journey from the school playground to the hallowed turf of Anfield.
Liverpool fans and avid young followers of football alike, will doubtless enjoy reading how having become the youngest goal scorer in the history of Bundesliga, Wirtz later went on to win the German title with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Having grown tremendously as a player under the management of Xabi Alonso, Wirtz was signed by Slot’s Reds in the summer of 2025 and is now seeking to take his place in Merseyside folklore. I highly recommend you get you hands on a copy of the book and discover how you too might be able to follow in Florian’s footsteps.
(This review was written by 10 year old Sam who is an avid soccer fan.)

Interestingly the first woman featured in the next book is a soccer player too.

We
Yu Yi, designed by Yu Rong
Fox & Ink Books

This picture book focuses on women who have become highly successful in a wide range of fields from maths to music and space travel to soccer.

First off we meet world-famous footballer Marta Vieira da Silva who grew up in the Brazilian town of Dios Riachos and played football in the streets with the other children. She always yearned to be a football player and her favourite player was Rivaldo. She became her school soccer team’s top scorer and as a teenager saved up and travelled to Rio to try out for the Vasco da Gama club. Since then she’s played in five world cups, scored seventeen goals and become the top scoring player in World Cup history. Described as the biggest name in women’s football, she was honoured as FIFA’s Player of the Year six times – amazing!

Other women featured include Wang Yaping who became China’s first woman space walker and Nobel prize-winning scientist Carolyn Bertozzi.
All these women and the others included – the titular ‘We’ – followed their dreams, took risks and their contributions have changed the world we live in today. A book to inspire young readers to dream big too and not be put off by naysayers.

Igor and the Mending Mice

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Igor and the Mending Mice
Alexander Mostov
Ivy Kids

In a little town where fashion was everything, people threw clothes away that weren’t perfect and bought new ones. That meant anything torn, faded, stained or no longer fashionable enditfked up on the scrap heap. This meant that for Igor, the owner of the towns’s biggest garment factory, business was booming.

However unbeknown to him, as he worked, a family of mice studied his techniques through a crack in the wall. What they saw inspired the mice to teach themselves to darn, sew, embroider and hem using the abandoned garments. Soon their cupboards were full of amazing made-to-measure clothes.

The mice then decided on a new challenge – mending the discarded clothes – so they set to work creating funky garments from them. The townsfolk were thrilled and gave the mice delicious cheese to thank them. Moreover they stopped buying brand-new clothes, which meant that Ivor’s business started to fail.

One night when everyone was asleep, Igor crept out and set a trap for the mice comprising mendable clothing outside his factory. The following morning there was a chase as the mice hurried through the town with Igor hot on their tails and just as he was about to catch them, he tumbled into a thorny bush, tearing his favourite coat that had been passed down through generations of his family. The sight of the heartbroken Igor is a turning point for both the mice and the factory owner: can you imagine what happened?

The importance of re-using and re-cycling is at the heart of this story. A sharing of the book could well be the starting point for a discussion with young listeners; it’s never too soon for them to become responsible citizens aware of how crucial re-using and recycling are for the environment.

My Tiger

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My Tiger
Joy Cowley and David Barrow
Gecko Press

We first encounter the young boy narrator’s tiger as the two of them are wandering down the road just outside a cake shop. The window is full of the tiger’s favourite food: cake. They enter and the baker is anxious to know whether the tiger is dangerous. “He only eats cake”, his friend replies and the feline proceeds to sample some of the cakes. Almost inevitably after a diet of sweet confectionary, the tiger gets a bad toothache.

Time for a visit to the dentist. Clearly alarmed like the baker, the dentist inquires whether the tiger is dangerous. She receives the same assurance as the baker and so the tiger is coaxed into her chair. The drill makes the patient howl and growl but eventually the tooth is fixed. “Tell him he’s not to have cake again,” the dentist tells first the boy and then the tiger.

So what is the tiger supposed to eat: what do you think is best suited to his needs? …

The hilarious, dark ending will likely satisfy young human listeners to Joy Cowley’s dead pan, simple but very funny telling, In contrast David Barrow’s wonderfully expressive watercolour illustrations portray the tiger as truly intimidating with its vast size, and those jagged teeth that we see in some close up views.

Rumpelstiltskin

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Rumpelstiltskin
retold by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Carson Ellis
Scholastic Orchard Books

In this retelling of the classic fairy tale, Mac Barnett uses a modern chatty stye. and understated humour. ‘Her father , a poor miller, was a nice enough guy, but he had a big mouth. He told wild stories and bragged all the time. Here, I’ll give you an example.’

One morning, said miller was on his way into town to sell his wares when he encountered the king coming the opposite way. The two got talking and in an endeavour to impress the king, Tom (as he introduces himself to the king) tells a big lie, claiming that his daughter can spin straw into gold. Unsurprisingly the king wants to meet the girl and then comes the classic tale about demands to use the spinning wheel and spin the straw she’s given into gold; if not she’ll have her head chopped off. (How can any woman be stupid enough to marry so cruel a person, one wonders)

Three times this happens, with the girl doing a deal with the little man who conveniently appears on each occasion. On the third night the king promises to make the girl his queen. And in true classic style she becomes a queen, bears him a son and in her joy, forgets that she’s promised this child to the straw spinner. However her happy life is about to be disrupted for back comes the little man and seeing the queen’s tears makes one more deal. The name guessing starts the next morning after the queen has collected a long list of names. Failure ensues twice and a thoroughly distraught queen decides to take a walk in the dark forest with her little one.

On the way back she hears the vital information she seeks and on day three, well, you know what happens. Thank goodness her highness enjoys walking in the woods.

Carson Ellis’s painterly gouache illustrations, inspired by 18th century fairy tale art and portraiture of the Renaissance era are a great complement to the telling, while the black and white illustrations resemble wood-block prints.

Doubtless both old stagers and youngsters will enjoy this, though for different reasons and the latter will likely demand re-reads.

The Call / Control Alter Delete

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The Call
Peadar O’Guilin
David Fickling Books

Vanessa Doherty (Nessa) is fourteen and attends Boyle Survival College, an Irish institute the main purpose of which is to teach its attendees how to survive The Call of the Sidhe. Young humans start training to survive The Call from age ten. Long, long ago the Sidhe were banished from Ireland to live in a hellish underworld and in their quest to win back Ireland from the humans, have placed a magical seal around the whole island.

To get revenge the Sidhe use The Call to kidnap Ireland’s young and transport them to a horrendous underworld. However, if a pupil can evade the faerie Sidhe for a whole day (three minutes in the human world), their life is saved, though they may well be sent back badly maimed.

Nessa, a fiercely determined, quick-witted, brave hero, permanently disabled from polio who does her training using crutches, and wants to be treated like her fellow students is less likely than most to survive the ordeal but she’s spent all her life preparing, so maybe … It’s from her viewpoint that much of the story is told. But will she or will she not survive The Call. And will the Nation survive?

Well paced, with credible characters and excellent world building, this is a truly gritty tale that blurs the boundaries between Irish mythology, fantasy, science fiction and horror, and will appeal to readers around Nessa’s age.

Control Alter Delete
K.L. Kettle
Little Tiger

Thanks to tech genius Francis Knox and the pioneering work done by her company, Halcyon Green (Hal) lives in the seemingly perfect World 2.0 and is fully engrossed therein, having pretty much everything she wants apart from her family. There’s one thing remains that Hal really desires though, to win the hugely competitive Knox Cup; however she lacks to funds to enter. Then, unexpectedly, her guardian challenges Hal to prove herself and arranges for her to compete.

If she manages to win, she will meet Frances Knox and then there’s a possibility that her real wishes might come true. As she moves through the competition rounds, Hal finds some thoroughly unpleasant things buried deep beneath the world’s seemingly perfect facade. As a result she must decide what it is that she truly wants.

A hugely thought-provoking, timely Young Adult story, superbly crafted, with great world-building that really draws you in, and a wonderful protagonist who finds herself in a complex situation.

Murder at the Ivy Hotel

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Murder at the Ivy Hotel
Emily Hourican, illustrated by Paula Escobar
Scholastic

Sisters Macy (ten) and Meredith (twelve) love living in Dublin’s Ivy Hotel where their mother is the General Manager and the hotel staff feel like their extended family. The girls’ mother has been feeling very stressed because the new owners are business people who want to make a lot of changes – it’s a case of profit over keeping the hotel’s friendly character – and that puts her job at risk. Clearly it would impact on their family’s lives if they lost their home.

Then one night an unknown elderly man books in and is found dead in his room the following morning. Nobody knows who he is, from where he’s come or how he died. However a post-mortem shows that there’s been foul play and everybody is a suspect. Meredith and Macy with their intimate knowledge of the hotel, and their new friend, Colin (the note-taker) who also lives at the hotel, decide it’s up them to take the lead and solve the mystery as well as discover the truth about some of the peculiar things happening in and around the hotel. No easy task as they’re supposed to keep a low profile.

A pacy, thoroughly intriguing, twisting, turning story with red herrings, suspense, danger and a cleverly constructed plot. Cosy crime for KS2 readers to lose themselves in.

Amari and the Metalwork Menace

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Amari and the Metalwork Menace
B.B. Alston
Farshore

In this fourth book we find 8th grader, Amari, one of the very best magicians ever, deciding she’s had enough of magic. Unexpectedly she’s found swimming has a calming effect on her and has had an offer to take the sport further, so she’s decided to retire as a Junior Ranger from the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. She’s still traumatised by having lost a mentor on her last mission and retiring will assuage the feeling of terrible grief. However so doing will also mean giving up on her friends in the face of a huge crisis: the Metalwork Menace is overtaking the supernatural world and she’s already seen the Bureau’s recruitment and also retirement officer, Mr Ware’s hand suddenly turned to metal.

It’s when a close friend starts turning to metal and is sent to the clinic, that Amari decides she must defer her decision and plunge back into the supernatural world. If she’s to save those she loves from disaster, she will have to work with Dylan Van Helsing, her arch enemy, break all the rules made by both the Bureau and the Government, and generally create chaos. However breaking rules may be the only option if she’s to save the world. With ever more people being truck by the terrible curse, what will be the outcome?

The action is truly gripping though sometimes unpredictable and readers will be on the edge of their seats, rooting for Amari throughout the book.

Something that struck me particularly was part of a speech given by Elsie towards the end of the book: “None of us are born good or bad. It’s our experiences that shape us. We shouldn’t look only to punish those who’ve done wrong but also to rehabilitate them. If we remove the negative, sometimes even traumatic, experiences that push our worst offenders on to the wrong path, they can become better citizens, and our world will become a safer place to live.”

A marvellous mix of magic, mystery, friendship and danger: the whole thing ends on a cliff-hanger that will leave everyone eagerly anticipating the final book.

Poetry Pizza

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Poetry Pizza
Simon Mole, illustrated by Tom McLaughlin
Otter-Barry Books

There’s a plethora of playful poems and some more serious ones to be found in this first collection for older children by Simon Mole.

Of the light-hearted offerings, one I particularly like is The Blop. It starts by describing a hot bath and its effects: ‘When the bath’s so hot / that your cheeks turn pink / and the steam is so thick / you can’t see.And your eyes are only half open anyway / because they feel so droopy / because you feel so droopy / that you can’t get out of the bath / … In our house, we call that / The Blop.’ If anything should encourage children to invent their own words for things, that’s surely it.
I love too the playfulness of LOL, which begins thus: Lemurs On Lawnmowers! LOL! / Labradoodles on Lavatories LOL!’
There’s further fun in BRB, a great demonstration of the use of abbreviations: examples given are ‘Baking Raisin Biscuits’ and ‘Babysitting Ryan’s Buffalo’.

Of the more feeling centred poems my favourites are I Need A Hug and 60 Second Spell For Being Here And Being You – that’s one for people of all ages.

I could go on enthusing but I’ll finish by saying, there’s lots here for everyone, some accompanied by a fun drawing by Tom McLaughlin and whether or not you’re already a poetry enthusiast, get your hands on a copy of this, it’s full of tasty offerings.

The World’s Worst Alien Fights Back

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The World’s Worst Alien Fights Back
Alice Primmer, illustrated by Fred Blunt
Walker Books

Having created planet Earth for a school project, eleven year old Sky left it with a lot of problems – war, climate change, corruption and more. Now though, she must revisit Earth and clear up the mess so that she can get a pass grade from her teacher.

No easy task as she has only a day (3 weeks in Earth time) but at least she has one friend, Zana Jackson, on Earth, and so it’s to Zana’s bedroom that she returns, only to find her fast asleep. Four hours later though. both girls are awake and ready for school. Once there she receives a somewhat hostile welcome from the head teacher but Zana smooths things over.

After school that day Sky accompanies Zana and some others to a cricket match against another school, one that turns into a fight.

Before long, despite getting clonked on the head by a ball, Sky finds herself with an apology to make and several fights to stop.

However, one fight leads to another. So, what about a peace-making plan instead? Hmm! Several more fights later, Zana suggests apologies followed by peace talks. Could this be the answer? Or would pillow fighting be better?

Bursting with humour, added to by Fred Blunt’s black and white illustrations, this second story in the series is a great read for those gaining confidence as solo readers as well as a fun read aloud for KS1 classes.

100 Goats and Granny!

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100 Goats and Granny!
Atinuke and Lauren Hinds
Walker Books

‘Granny’s got a goat! / Granny’s got a goat! // Not 1, not 2, not 3, /not 4, But more and more / and more and more!’ Granny is sitting on a crate with laundry drying on the line behind her as she looks benevolently at a little white goat. However, every turn of the page reveals more goats engaging in mischief of one kind or another until 99 goats grace the spread, several of which are shown pooing while others cavort on roofs, clamber up trees, chew the pages of books and more: ’20, 30, 40, 50 … / 60, 70, 80, 90 … // Till 99 …’ we read. Where though is Granny’s goat? Imagine what ensues when Granny digs in the garden, visits the tailor, spends a day at church. Moreover on the return journey, one stays on the bus having a great time beeping the driver’s horn; another visits the salon for a trim,

the baby ones chew the aunties’ panties and one takes it upon himself to guzzle whatever he feels like. Where will all this end?

At round up time where will Granny’s 100th goat be and what might it be up to? A considerable bit of mischief somewhere in the town,

but will it ever be caught and if so, who will be the catcher?

With Atinuke’s playful, rollicking text that cries out for young listeners to join in, and Lauren Hinds’s highly detailed, exuberant scenes both large and small, this book is an absolute delight to share with a pre-school/KS1 class or group. It’s glorious goatish gleefulness.

Animals / Josephine

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Animals
illustrated by Dawn Machell
Little Tiger

The very youngest children can enjoy meeting all the creatures in this slightly larger than usual board book. Seven spreads in turn introduce animals from different habitats entitled In the Jungle, Into the wild, Wonderful Woodlands, Farmyard Friends, Watery Worlds, Perfect Pets and In the Mountains. Each animal is clearly labelled, occasional animals have a speech bubble (tiger says, ‘I can run very fast’), and there are flaps to lift and touchy feely features on every spread as well as on the cover.

The final spread shows fourteen of the featured animals and asks, “Can you remember their names?’

In addition to becoming familiar with the animal names, little ones can develop their manipulative skills. Playful, interactive fun learning for tinies.

Josephine
Chloé Alméras
Gecko Press

Josephine the giraffe is an optimist and with her nose in the blue sky and her hooves in the green grass, always makes the most of what she experiences in her daily life. She finds new friends in a ‘peculiar’ tree, plays games with the clouds and makes rings in the water. The choppy waves and rippling bushes are places wherein to lose herself, treetops provide something to nibble when she’s hungry and she’s ‘curious about the world down below’ so sticks her nose into a burrow to watch a family of creatures. Josephine is awed by a tall mountain and enjoys counting small ones. She’s never lonely for long, finds wonder in both autumn and spring and becomes playful on snowy winter days and in the ocean’s bubbles when summer comes. In fact, not a day goes by that isn’t a source of awe and delight.

With stylised ink illustrations, this is mindfulness for toddlers. Sharing the book with a small group may encourage them to think about and talk about the everyday things they love to experience.

Sticky Mildred

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Sticky Mildred
Alastair Chisholm and Rikin Parekh
Walker Books

Mildred Honeyfur is a creator of chaos of the messy kind. She absolutely loves sticky things such as pond slime, glue and purple goo and she loves being sticky all over. However, she absolutely loathes having a bath. Despite her despairing parents, Mildred sets off to look for the stickiest thing in the whole world

and it’s not so long before having declared herself the stickiest creature in the world, her sticky trail is so huge that arriving at the top of a hill, she trips and tumbles all the way back down – what ‘a big sticky, runaway ball’ she has become. Unstoppable rolling Mildred passes a jelly shop, a glue factory and a glittery quarry as she heads straight for the cliff edge where she grabs a tree and clings on for all she’s worth, stretching and stretching until …

What happens thereafter turns out to be a surprise, one which causes Mildred to feel somewhat different about stickiness. Young listeners however, will be in for an altogether different surprise on the final page.

Rikin Parekh portrays the chaos caused by Mildred brilliantly in his detailed, sometimes scribbly style illustrations and Alastair Chisholm’s slightly surreal telling that sometimes breaks into rhyme is a cautionary tale of the adhesive kind that could just coerce young listeners into having regular baths and enjoying so doing. A really fun read aloud.

Isla and the Sky

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Isla and the Sky
Greg Stobbs
Oxford Children’s Books

Isla sees Sky differently from other people and this is reflected in her paintings. Sky has a variety of moods: sometimes she is rainy and people complain about her dreariness and grumble about the awful weather. Isla however loves the sky on the days when it rains – those dancing, swirling clouds – and with her paintbrush she creates swirls of purple, white, brown, blue, pink and many kinds of black she sees. She loves the sunset on such days and brushes gentle pink and pale yellow across her page. Equally she loves the deep inky black sky on a cloudy night and paints that too.

Come morning Isla’s bedroom is filled with sunlight and this bright blue delights everybody. “If only every day were like this,” Isla hears them say. This is a day to use her bright blue paint. The sky that night is gorgeous – star filled and stunningly beautiful. Several days and nights like this ensue: Sky smiles and Isla paints, again and again and …

The lack of rain causes the landscape to change, Sky’s smile starts to fade and Isla’s paintings are boringly the same for she misses the variety of weather. The girl is just about to give up painting but decides to try something different first. She climbs high up a mountain and calls to Sky offering her help. Sky finally sees Isla and explains why she’s been people pleasing rather than being true to how she feels. Isla’s encouraging words and her paintings might just change this.

How will the people react if Sky reverts to expressing her true emotions? And will Isla start painting again?

A touching tale of emotions and artistic representation, gorgeously illustrated by the author showing how important it is for big feelings to be understood and supported.

The Awesomely Adventurous Librarians

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The Awesomely Adventurous Librarians
Donna David and Victoria Stebleva
Oxford Children’s Books

Rida’s Grandad works in Sleepy Creek Library and Rida absolutely loves to help him. She dusts shelves and finds books for all the visitors: Grandad being of the opinion that there’s ‘a perfectly perfect book for everyone’ and their job is to find it. Rida would observe the visitors, make a list of their requirements and when everyone had gone home, she’d pass the list on to Grandad. Then having slid back a large bookshelf, off he’d go to visit the Land of Books. Bedtime stories were to be found among the clouds, books about marine life required him to dive deep down in the ocean and for those about tiny animals, he’d crawl around. A good system until Arun comes to the library saying he’s eager to read Awesome Adventures at Lava Falls. Despite Grandad’s efforts to offer him other books, Arun stands his ground and Grandpa explains it was an impossible task, leaving the boy to go home feeling sad.

That night Rida recalls Grandad’s remark about there being a ‘ perfectly perfect book for everyone’ . She takes it upon herself to fulfil Arun’s request. Grabbing Grandad’s map she goes on her first visit to the Land of Books, heading to the outermost edge where the book is waiting up in a tree. Rida takes out her lasso, fastens it securely around a nearby tree and chases the book

through rapids, up a mountain and over bubbling lava pools. Just when the book is about to go up in flames Rida performs a daring rescue for which the book is very grateful. As a thank you, the awesome Adventures at Lava Falls agrees to the request Rida makes and everyone is happy at last – for a while anyway.

Featuring two very special librarians, this is a fun story about the power of books and the worlds they open up to readers, the delights of libraries and being kind. The illustrations are full of delicious details to linger over.

Reggie Rabbit and the Metro Mice / Toby and the Pixies: How To Be Cool

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Reggie Rabbit and the Metro Mice
Swapna Reddy and Becka Moor
Oxford Children’s Books

This is the 4th of the Reggie Rabbit series and it appears that Reggie isn’t quite as sharp as usual and is missing bits of information here and there: could those high-alert detective skills be getting a tad rusty?
As he and Pipsqueak head out of the school gates one afternoon, they are approached by Mo, a shy mouse asking for their help. His home, the warren-like metro tunnels beneath Bearburgh, is under threat, putting the metro mice in great danger. Cracks are appearing in the metro’s structure but equally, the mouse community isn’t united in wanting help from members of ‘The Aboves’ so Mo’s Aunty Mona says.

Mo isn’t going to give up on their help though and he takes Reggie and Pipsqueak to a tunnel beside the council room where they hear strange sounds and see more cracks appearing. Once back on the surface Reggie and Pipsqueak hear a scream for help. They rush down the city street to where a jeweller tells them that he’s been robbed. Maybe the two things are connected with the criminal activity of racoon, Nora Masque, Reggie’s nemesis, and her brothers. It looks as though it’s up to Reggie and Pipsqueak to discover what is afoot.

Part chapter book, part graphic novel, this funny tale is ideal for new solo readers particularly young comic lovers.

For slightly older readers of graphic novels is:

Toby and the Pixies: How To Be Cool
James Turner and Andreas Schuster
David Fickling Books

In this 4th book featuring the accidental king of the pixies Toby is endeavouring to reinvent himself as T-Train. However, it doesn’t work so the pixies step in to help by using a memory orb, telling Toby that it will ‘make sure that everyone gives you a completely clean slate.’ This is clearly a step too far as now, not even Toby’s dad recognises him and sends the boy packing from his home.

A fresh start or an utter mess? Can the pixies sort out this particular disaster. Maybe but that’s only the beginning of the mayhem. Then come the hairy problems and a whole lot of more besides.

Ridiculously nonsensical silliness but highly hilarious: Toby’s fans will gobble it up and ask for more.

Ten Tiny Squirrels

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Ten Tiny Squirrels
Kael Tudor and Marc Boutavant
Scholastic

A zany counting book wherein readers, along with the bear narrator, are supposed to count back from ten to zero one joining in with the rhyme. That isn’t quite what happens however. It starts off thus: ‘Ten tiny squirrels sitting in a line, / One ran away, / and then there were … ‘ but it’s not just one squirrel that runs away – it’s all of them.

A squirrel hunt ensues during which we encounter a diminishing number of other creatures – nine budgies, eight geese, seven polar bears, six chameleons (particular hard to spot), five mice, four very belligerent ducks,

three rocks – oops! make that tortoises, a couple of budgies AGAIN! and one very large tiger snacking on – phew! not squirrels. At journey’s end sitting atop a park bench are the runaways, all ten of them. Let the counting game begin. Err …

There are plenty of counting opportunities in this tale but so much more. I thought- I saw some of the squirrels hiding in plain sight among the other animals but were they?

With Bear’s various different expressions and those of the other animals engaged in all manner of unlikely occupations, Marc Boutavant’s illustrations give readers and listeners so much more to enjoy.

Home Away from Home

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Home Away from Home
Nazneen Akbari and Rashin Kheiriyeh
Barefoot Books

Nuha is anxious about the prospect of going to spend the summer with her Jadda (grandmother) in Oman; however she takes comfort in her favourite doll, Mary, that she’s taking with her. That is her intention at least but on arriving at the airport Nuha realises that she’s left Mary behind in the car.

Consequently when she arrives in Oman, Nuha is sad and grumpy. Fortunately Jadda knows what to do: she takes her granddaughter straightway to the souk to choose a new doll. Despite her reluctance, Nuha goes along but remains unimpressed with the Omani dolls that look nothing like her Mary.

Lured by the smell of roast chicken, they then proceed to the place where the meat is being cooked and eventually Nuha decides to taste a bite of shawarma (a Middle Eastern street food) and approves of the snack. After this they continue exploring the alleyways full of stalls and shops in search of dolls. While so doing Nuha is distracted by women applying henna and is reminded of Eid celebrations at home. She sits down very still and after a while is excited to see her name in henna on Jadda’s hand.

This proves to be a turning point and henceforward the little girl discovers joy and fun in her new environment: she plays a drum and dances before finally sitting with her Jadda and feeling that after all, this place truly is ‘home away from home’. As they walk back to Jadda’s through the market, an Omani doll catches Nuha’s eye and she loves it for lots of reasons. Jadda buys the doll and Nuha names her Maryam.

This tenderly told, delightful story, provides a glimpse of every day life in Oman. Rashin Kheiriyeh’s warm, detailed mixed media illustrations extend the text. I love that Nuha names her new doll named Maryam, the Arabic equivalent of her favourite doll, Mary.
(Notes following the story add further details about some of the things Nuha experiences and there’s a short glossary.)

Rock and Roll

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Rock and Roll
Ruby Amy Thompson
Little Tiger

Meet Rock and Roll. Rock is grey and hard; he also hates attention. Roll is a golden yellow colour, squashy and loves attention. They always appear on opposite pages – Rock on the verso, Roll on the recto. They don’t seem to have much in common but wait. Despite coming from very different worlds,

they are both great team players; they both look fabulous in green; both love fancy dress and both remain calm when under pressure

Yes they’re always on different pages but though strong as a rule, sometimes Rock is soft, Roll, on the other hand has the strength to give comfort. It appears that this is a friendship that can rock and roll. Assuredly, these two have found common ground.

With its seemingly simple text, and clever layout, this is a picture book that’s bursting with heart and can initiate deep thinking on the part of listeners. Wise and wonderful is what I’d call the creator’s debut picture book.

Boy vs Reality

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Boy vs Reality
James Fox
Scholastic

Ethan Lacey’s family – mum, dad and elder brother Mason – are influencers. They film pretty much everything they do and upload it onto their vlog, Meet the Laceys. However Ethan detests the performative nature of his life at home and doesn’t even consider them a proper family, let alone a perfect one, any longer. All they’re obsessed with is ‘likes’ and pleasing their million subscribers, not real life. Real life is not just about freebies and having fun. Ethan has Fidget, a toy monster with a zipped mouth that he keeps in his pocket. He writes all his worries on paper and feeds them to Fidget and it’s no surprise that Fidget is nearly full.

Then Mason posts his first video on his own channel showing Ethan reacting to a ridiculous prank he’d set up concerning news of an alien invasion. Some days later Mason posts another video entitled Secrets From My Brother’s Anxiety Toy’. It’s time for Ethan to retaliate.

Add to all this the fact that Mum and Dad Lacey have been arguing a lot for some while and have decided to get divorced. That’s an awful lot for anybody to cope with and that’s without visits to Grandad at Sycamore Village when it’s likely as not he won’t even remember who Ethan is.

With cracks appearing all the time Ethan is set on persuading his family to focus on fixing the real world and not so obsessively on the online one. Can he do it?

Funny and full of heart, this is a hugely moving story about the importance of making the most of real, everyday life and its highs and lows. With children becoming ever more screen obsessed, it’s a timely book showing the adverse effects social media can have on people, whatever their age.

Ribbit Rabbit

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Ribbit Rabbit
Philip Ardagh and Gareth Conway
Scholastic

Bob is a frog and the rest of his family are rabbits so Bob does things rather differently from the others.

He’s smaller than the others, far greener, his manner of eating is slurping whereas the rabbits chew, and his diet is insects – carrots bring him out in spots. When it comes to hopping, they’re all good but Bob out hops all the rest; he also out swims them and at lily pad leaping the rabbits are no competition at all.
However, if any of the woodland creatures bully Bob, they have to face up to his entire family.

Certainly not something to be recommended.

The combination of Philip Ardagh’s bouncy rhyming text, which is the perfect fit for the movements of his characters and Gareth Conway’s splendidly expressive illustrations make a thought-provoking, funny, heart-warming story of family, difference, acceptance and love. It’s a book that is rich in potential for Foundation stage/ KS1 discussion after a class read aloud. 
Definitely one to add to your collection be it family bookshelves or a class library.

Tomorrow I’m in Charge!

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Tomorrow I’m in Charge!
Jörg Mühle
Gecko Press

When Weasel comes home he’s surprised (and a tad annoyed) to find his pal Bear playing with Badger. “We’re in the middle of a game,” says Bear. “Would you like to make us something to eat?” So begins a long row between Bear and Weasel about who should be friends with Badger, what games they should play – house,

football, memory, hibernation or hide-and-seek, as well as what role each should play in each one.

It’s no surprise when a thoroughly disgruntled Badger, announcing that it’s time to go home, decides to leave them to it and not return the following day; tomorrow will be a play day with Fox.

A story showing a battle of wills if ever there was one. Jörg Mühle’s straightforward, direct text is very similar to what a child’s emotions and exchanges would be. His watercolour and pencil illustrations of the characters stand out against the white background and are in prefect harmony with the words.

Negotiating social interactions is an important life lesson and young children still working out when they should be assertive and when to acquiesce will surely relate to Weasel and Bear. It won’t surprise them that Bear is jealous of Badger and empathise with Badger and his dilemma.

A sharing of this book with Foundation Stage/KS1 children will surely lead to a lively circle time discussion

Don’t Do It, Doug

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Don’t Do It, Doug
Maudie Powell-Tuck and Duncan Beedie
Little Tiger

Doug is a hamster with insatiable curiosity. Nothing wrong with that you might think, but with Doug, the result always seems to land him in trouble. Lacking self control, he does things such as shaking cans of fizzy drink, disturbing a nest of bees – ouch!

and touching a tall pyramid of canned beans, causing an avalanche. (I seem to remember my partner being similarly tempted by a tall stack of bean bag seats in Habitat with similar catastrophic results, causing the floor staff considerable angst.)

Having pressed the lever on a reclining chair that his insect friend has taken him to for relaxation purposes, he ends up flat as a pancake, between the halves so his pal takes him skydiving, followed by wakeboarding and lastly, roller-coaster riding.

After these experiences, Doug appears to have gained control of his impulses. He slurps his drinks, ignores red buttons and handles the tiny saucepan with surprising care. His friends even award him a rosette.

Could it be a case of no more temptations for Doug? Errr! What do you think? The last we see of him he’s wielding a stick …

Duncan Beedie’s illustrations are absolutely bursting with humour and are an ideal complement to Maudie Powell-Tuck’s to the point narrative. Young listeners will delight in admonishing Doug by repeating, ‘Don’t do it, Doug!’ when an adult shares the book.

You Can Do It, Bert!

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You Can Do It, Bert!
Ole Könnecke
Gecko Press

We meet Bert on his big day. Having prepared himself both mentally and physically he’s going to jump out of the tree. He’s ready, well almost, though he needs to check everything … just once more. Yes, got it! He’ll do a running start but … hang on, he’s going to snack on his banana first. With that finished, surely he’ll jump. Maybe some loud encouragement from the narrator and little humans will do the trick.

Yeah! Off he goes dashing along the branch and wheee! After worrying on the way down, into the water he plunges and there to greet him are his other avian friends. Time for another jump: Who’s going first?

A spare text, which makes a great read aloud and simple. bold illustrations that show so well Bert’s feelings throughout, provide a story that contains a powerful reassuring message about overcoming your reluctance to try something new. Young listeners will certainly relate to Bert’s internal struggle and the book offers a great starting point for discussion on risk taking.

One for both home bookshelves and class collections.

Stop the Ball!

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Stop the Ball!
Susanne Strasser
Gecko Press

Duck kicks the ball at the goal but it misses and goes sailing over the bar. Duck gives chase as it bounces … BAMM right into and off the large tree, startling Owl out of his hole. Owl then joins the chase as the ball hurtles through the bushes WHOOOSH! dislodging a spider from its web. Spider joins the chasers and the ball, now on a downward trajectory, thumps onto a dog’s head. Somewhat stunned, Dog too pursues the ball: that’s four animals running after the ball as it splatters into a muddy patch surprising Rat before rolling under a bench.

Now ‘Duck runs. Owl runs. Spider runs. Dog runs. Rat runs.’ BOING BOING BOING down the steps goes the ball and splash it lands in the water. Therein we see a pair of crocodile eyes. The crocodile moves towards the ball … Errr… But that’s not the end of the ball, and not quite the end of the story.

This slightly larger than usual board book is great fun and will stand up to lots of re-readings with little ones who will delight in joining in the repeat patterned text with its surprise final twist.. There’s lots to enjoy in Susanne Strasser’s illustrations; they flow from one spread to the next, and sometimes include details not mentioned in the text.

The Chase

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The Chase
Jenny Bloomfield
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

What starts as a straightforward game of chase on the beach involving a child and her dog quickly escalates. The girl tosses a red ball and as she says chase, a plethora of pooches of all kinds join in. The chase that takes the ever increasing number of canines dashing through a museum creating mayhem in their wake. After the elusive ball they go, to a construction site and onto a beam that gives them a free ride to the top of a tall building, then down they dash again racing, chasing and CRASH! through a bandstand

and splash splash into some moving water narrowly missing cascading over a waterfall.
Eventually they end up right back where they started on the beach, where stands the child with her ball ready and waiting to start all over again.

Jenny Bloomfield’s jaunty rhyming text imitates the rhythm of the bouncy ball and the chase: ‘It’s a hustle, a bustle, a running tussle’. A playful pooch story that works really well as a read aloud but make sure you give your audience time to peruse each of the illustrations with their amusing details.. They’ll enjoy seeing one dog caught up in a tuba and removing it from the bandstand. Which breeds of dogs do they recognise from the many in the chase? Who can spot the one with wheels assisting its hind legs?

Tickets for Murder

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Tickets for Murder
Niyla Farook
Piccadilly Press

This story is told from alternate viewpoints: Ani’s and Riri’s. It’s about six months since twins Ani and Riri solved the Mrs Kossas murder mystery, and have now become good friends as well as siblings. However with Riri and her mum living in LA and Ani and their Dad living in Yorkshire, staying close is anything but easy, particularly as Ani appears to have lost interest in sleuthing.

Now though, it’s the summer break and they’re all together in LA to enjoy an exclusive holiday in Deadwood Manor theme park but from the outset tension between the siblings starts building. Why Ani wonders has Riri’s best friend, Adora, plus their elder sister Valentina and her boyfriend Simon come on what is supposed to be a family trip. Then there’s the issue of Riri being on her phone so much: who is she calling? And why has Ani stopped sleuthing?

On their first evening everyone is to meet Finn Glynn, their personal VIP tour guide for Deadwood Manor Park so that he can set up their personalised itinerary, but for some reason he’s late to arrive and when he does so, he seems preoccupied.

The next day as the twins are in the maze they hear a scream, followed by glass shattering and having run out they see before them a body: it’s Finn and he’s dead. Accidental death or murder? That is the question. Riri and Ani think it’s murder and so begins their next investigation.

There are so many twists and turns in the story that like the twins, readers have to keep their wits about them all the time until the murderer finally is unmasked.

With humour, great characters and surprises aplenty, this is terrific sequel to Murder For Two.

My Friend, Billy Whiskers

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My Friend, Billy Whiskers
David Litchfield
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Patrick is shy and as a consequence doesn’t join in with other children’s play. However, Patrick has Billy Whiskers, an imaginary lion friend that nobody else can see. They cycle together, read stories together and Billy listens as Patrick talks about all kinds of things. Billy’s a great listener; he listens as they play games and use the swings; he encourages Patrick when he kicks the ball up in the air over and over and when he climbs his favourite tree, watching the other children as he does so.

Patrick worries more and more about making friends and that’s when Billy takes him on extraordinary adventures through the air, through magical forests, eventually reaching a stadium where the boy scores the wining goal in a soccer game. Their adventures together make Billy ‘feel big and brave.’ Now he has the confidence to say hello to other children and at last he’s invited to play with them.

Patrick has a great time until he falls from a tree and back come all those worries. making him long to fly away with Billy Whiskers once again. That’s when something truly magical happens …

That’s not quite the end of the story, for Billy remains a part of Patrick’s story throughout his life, but he only appears now and then.

David Litchfield’s watercolour scenes are every bit as magical as the adventures Patrick and Billy Whiskers share, particularly those of the two characters flying through the starry skies and wandering through the forest.

Bear’s Perfect Dance

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Bear’s Perfect Dance
Rachel Tilda Wolf
Scallywag Press

Bear loves dancing so much that he spends all day practising his moves until they’re perfect. He touches his toes, works on this balance and even masters the splits. However, something bothers our ursine dancer; he’s always dancing solo and there are some dances that are better with two.

Bear decides to find himself the perfect dance partner. To that end he makes a checklist and several ‘wanted’ posters advertising auditions; the latter he puts up on trees all around the forest.

The following morning Bear wakes full of excitement. He dons his favourite tutu and best ballet shoes, then begins some warm up moves. Concerned in case nobody comes to audition, he opens the front door

to discover his garden is full of woodland creatures waiting to demonstrate their favourites moves.

Crow is first to audition – she won’t do as her Can-Can is chaotic. Beaver’s boogie lacks ‘Woogie”; Snake’s Shimmy is much too slithery; Fox’s Flamenco lacks fandango, Wild Pig’s waltz is much too awkward and Stag doesn’t move at all. All the other animals have got bored waiting and gone away leaving Bear thoroughly miserable. Back indoors he goes telling himself he’ll never find he perfect partner. Suddenly there comes a knocking at the door. Outside Bear discovers a child performing all manner of twists and twirls. Could this joyful dancer be the one?


With themes of connection and friendship, this charming tale is told and illustrated with gentle humour and a lot of warmth.

Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin

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Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin
Nancy Springer
Hot Key Books

It’s February 1891 and in London, Enola Holmes, (a Scientific Perditorian), the younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft is attending a funeral when she hears the faint sound of a ringing bell in the distance. Not one to ignore such strange a happening she goes to investigate and discovers something horrific: the bell is attached to a tombstone over a recent grave and somebody inside it is pulling the string and making the bell ring in alarm.

Enola and her companions unearth the coffin and discover inside a young woman named Trevina Trairom clad only in a white dress. She cannot remember much at all, not who she is nor who buried her and definitely not why. Enola takes the girl in, learns from a doctor that she’s been drugged and takes it upon herself to solve the mystery. Her investigations result in her being involved in one of Sherlock’s cases.

Little by little, with the help of friends, Enola works out that the person at the root of all the terrible happenings is the master criminal of all London, none other that Professor Moriarty. No wonder Sherlock had warned her not to get involved. Now she’s even more determined than ever to keep digging until the secrets surrounding Trevina are unravelled.

I’d not read any of the previous Enola Holmes stories but thoroughly enjoyed this one, finishing it in a day. I loved Enola’s determination and caring attitude and the plot is intriguing. With themes of friendship, family, lifestyle, abuse and the expectations and treatment of women, this will keep older primary readers turning the pages eager to find how things are resolved.

Rising: A Shabbat Baking Story

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Rising: A Shabbat Baking Story
Sidura Ludwig and Sophia Vincent Guy
Walker Books

An expectant mother – Ima – and her young child wake up early and begin preparing to make challah for the sabbath. Mum has a bowl of yeast bubbling in the warm water into which the child stirs the ingredients and they then knead the wet, sticky dough forming it eventually into a large round, shiny ball. They place a towel over the bowl and wait while it rises. Then it’s time to divide the dough into six parts, roll them like snakes and interweave them into two challah loaves. Once cooked they’re left too cool allowing time for family members to get ready to honour Shabbat.

All the family then sit together to eat but first they bless the candles, say a blessing and share the challah: ‘We add a sprinkle of salt for the times we’ve cried, sometimes a dab of honey for the sweet times to come.’

One sweet time is coming soon for on the final spread we see a new baby in its mother’s arms as the sibling and father prepare to make challah.

Yes, this book is about making challah and the rituals surrounding it, but it’s also about family, love and the beauty of taking time to rest. Sophia Vincent Guy’s mixed media illustrations in pastel shades are perfectly in-keeping with the gentle lyrical nature of Sidura Ludwig’s narrative. The author includes a recipe for challah and a glossary of Hebrew terms after the story.
A book that should definitely find a place in primary school collections.

The Misadventures of Mina Mahmood: School Inspectors

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The Misadventures of Mina Mahmood: School Inspectors
Farhana Islam, illustrated by Simran Diamond Singh
Farshore

Mina Mahmood and her best friends Reema and Mobeen are back for further misadventures and mayhem in the second book in the series. Mina and her class are super excited when they hear from their class teacher, Miss Khan, that 6K’s post-exam ‘Party Bonanza’ will include such things as a school disco, a water balloon fight and best of all, a trip to Fisbo’s Circus. Suddenly however, all this changes when Mr Aku, the headteacher announces that inspectors are coming to the school.

Tension rises at the news, even more so for Mina and her buddies who are selected to act as school ambassadors to show the inspectors around and are under strict instructions from the head that they mustn’t embarrass him. This in itself is a huge challenge but then, Barney’s pet tarantula (actually his brother’s) escapes just as the announcement comes from the school office of the inspectors’ arrival.

With Miss Kahn having said they might still be able to go to the circus if they impress the inspectors with their ‘EXCEPTIONAL behaviour’, this somewhat sweetens the pill, giving terrific incentive to the friends but putting a huge weight on Mina’s shoulders.

Chaos follows as you might expect if you met Mina et al in the first book of this hugely entertaining series. This one is even more hilarious and like the author, I’ve spent many years in primary education mainly in multi-ethnic schools, so recognise much of what’s written herein. I strongly recommend this for KS 2 readers and it would make a terrific class read aloud.

Watts & Whiskerton: The Great Glacier Hotel Heist / Dream Keepers: Song of the Midnight Meadow

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Watts & Whiskerton: The Great Glacier Hotel Heist
Meg McLaren
Piccadilly Press

The third in this series sees the two detectives and best friends on holiday with no thought of any detecting whatsoever. However, things don’t quite turn out as they’d planned./ the best laid plans of dogs and cats. Watts’ parents have been hired by the hotel after a string of robberies had taken place at nearby ski resorts and it’s thought that the Ice Crystal, a priceless necklace might be the thief’s next target.

Soon to Watts’ horror, the necklace is stolen and his parents have become the prime suspects. That can’t possibly be right, so who is the robber? It looks as though Watts and Whiskerton have their toughest case yet and it turns out an advantage that the latter has hurt her paw and so is confined to the hotel. She spends her time speaking to the other guests and making notes about everything with the aim of solving the mystery. Cut off by thick snow their objective is to recover the stolen jewels and find the important guest who has disappeared. Can they do so before the snow melts and guests and any suspects depart along with the necklace? Could it be an inside job? A terrific adventure for the young detective duo.

Visual storytelling is a vital element of the tale with the illustrations adding much to the drama, making this book one that will also be enjoyed by younger graphic novel fans.

Dream Keepers: Song of the Midnight Meadow
Rebecca Lewis-Oakes, illustrated by Anastasiya Kanavaliuk
Piccadilly Press

Moon Wood is the magical night-time version of Mai and her friends’ town, Sunny Wood. Having banished the Queen of Nightmares, Mai and friends have become Dream Keepers; they have to craft the sweetest dreams for their sleepy town. Now though, Mai has just become a big sister and however much she loves baby Cam, the cutest most adorable thing ever during the day, she’s having problems sleeping on account of her baby sister’s all night crying. She feels a bit left out: being an only child was much easier, Mai thinks to herself. She even misses out on having one of her parents reading her a bedtime story.

With a solo performance in the upcoming show in Sunny Wood, Mai is set on becoming the centre of attention once more.
However on the night of her first performance, after promising to be in the audience, Mai’s Mum has to stay at home to look after Cam. Then during the show Mai’s prop- an umbrella – malfunctions and later on when she goes to meet her Dream Guardian, Crystal, in Moon Wood, the creature is missing. Has she done something to annoy her, Mai wonders. Everything appears to be going wrong: is the Dark Queen of Nightmares meddling with their dreams again?

Can Mai and her friends get to the bottom of things and prove that there’s power in kindness before it’s too late and Moon Wood’s magic fades away?

With magical moments aplenty, fantastical creatures and characters, this latest in the Dream Keepers series will be a winner with young fantasy fans.

The Map of Me

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The Map of Me
Nicola Davies and Olga Shtonda
Templar Books

The little girl narrator has just moved to a new home in a new country and inevitably everything feels strange and unfamiliar. ‘… the streets outside were like a jumble of spaghetti. I got lost every time I went out. The world seemed big and much too scary,’ she tells readers. Her thoughtful Mum helps her draw a map to help her navigate her way around: included are such things as the roads, the supermarket, the school, even the flowers by the traffic lights on the corner. However, some important things from before aren’t included – Granny and Joe-Dog for instance.

Mum’s comment that the map isn’t large enough prompts her daughter to extend the map so it fills the entire wall.

Now she can add new things as she found them – the swings in the park, the free lending library and her new friends for instance. On seeing the girl’s map those friends add things of their own and gradually the distance between everyone and everything seems to shrink. Her new house finally begins to feel like home. But then two sad things happen: Joe-Dog becomes poorly and dies and the girl’s favourite tree is cut down: even though they’d been on the map they weren’t safe.

That night the narrator cries herself to sleep but the following morning there on the kitchen wall is another map – a large one drawn by her dad – and it shows how things were once. Both the narrator and her friends like this map and go to find out more about the past and then add other places where their families have lived in the past.

The girl then ponders upon how things change – some are for the better but not all. She draws a map showing a future with trees on every street, parks not car parks, Granny now living close by and a puppy. This is a world without fear, without wars; yes it’s massive but it’s ‘full of love and wonder’. That’s the world we all long for and should be working towards.

With its empowering message, this is a story both for children experiencing big change in their lives and for sharing with a primary class to encourage discussion on belonging and relating to others.

Where The Dragon Waits

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Where The Dragon Waits
Tom Moorhouse
David Fickling Books

When out sailing, twelve year old Ed and his dad are involved in a crash. When the boy comes round, he’s on an almost deserted beach but his dad is nowhere to be seen. The only person anywhere around is a rather bossy girl named Steff. There’s also a white butterfly that perches on his thumb. “There’s weirdness afoot,” Steff tells Ed as they sit together under a strangely white sky.

It’s not long before the two of them are are fleeing from a swarm of butterflies. They find themselves in the Realm on a curious quest in search of a dragon that rules this magical land and lives at the top of a rocky spire. Protecting the Realm is grumpy, armoured pangolin named, Astolpho.  The creature informs the children that in order to return home, they must obtain the tears of the dragon. Further danger in their quest comes in the form of bloodthirsty wolves. These wolves are on the hunt for Ed and Steff as their presence in the Realm draws butterflies that the wolves are deathly afraid of, so Astolpho tells the children.

Meanwhile we readers realise that Ed’s parents are waiting anxiously by his hospital bed as he lies in a critical condition. With further perilous situations to contend with, will he ever return to them. And Steff: what is her fate to be?

Utterly engrossing, this twisting, turning amalgam of fantasy and reality is hugely thought-provoking, exploring as it does the importance of courage, loyalty, ingenuity and family There’s humour too and plenty of excitement and intrigue. Who could ask for more?

The Night I Borrowed Time

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The Night I Borrowed Time
Iqbal Hussain
Puffin Press

Eleven year old Zubair is a seventh son, his sextuplet elder brothers are often a pain but he loves them all the same. His parents’ marriage is falling apart so when his Gran from Pakistan arrives to stay and gives him a strange black velvet pendant that allows him as the seventh son of the family, to travel back in time, he decides to use it to try and change things in his parents’ pasts that will mean that they’re happy in the present. Once Gran is settled in she begins regaling the family with amazing stories every night. After one tale something weird happens to him; this he tells his best friend, Fozia, and in so doing comes to think about how best he can use his new, powerful gift.

Convinced that the failed relationship between his parents has been caused by his father’s accident while driving a cab and if that hadn’t happened all would be well between them, he fails to stop and consider whether his perception of how things are is based on what he wants to be the truth or the evidence that is right before his eyes. So when his attempts to change things fail to have the desired effect, he tries something different. However, each trip back in time affects something else and Zubair’s ever more desperate actions threaten to eradicate the life he knows. Is it possible to put things right, or has he not only destroyed the present for himself and his family, but their futures too.

This amazing and gripping tale of family and friendship is hugely thought-provoking, seamlessly weaving in as it does information about Partition and arranged marriages in Pakistani culture. (Further information about these comes after the story).

Iqbal Hussain is a very exciting new voice in children’s books this book being the first title published under Puffin’s new list, Puffin Press and I look forward to his next novel.

The Good Deed Dogs

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The Good Deed Dogs
Emma Chichester Clark
Walker Books

Bodger, Billy and Betty are very good dogs, always eager to do good deeds: they’re constantly looking out for those who might be in need of help.

First they decide to help an old lady carry her shopping. However they end up scattering the contents of her bags all over the place because she keeps a firm hold of the bag handles. Fortunately she takes it in good heart and requests that they clear up the chaos they’ve created. Later the same day their efforts to assist a man on a ladder watering hanging baskets also has calamitous results and same is true of their attempts to help a girl hanging out washing. Both the man and the girl merely ask the pooches to clear up after themselves.

At the end of the day as a thoroughly despondent Bodger, Billy and Betty make their way home there comes a loud scream for help coming from the direction of the river. On the bank stands a little girl pointing to where a kitten in a saucepan is bobbing up and down in the water. Without a moment’s hesitation in dive the dogs with an almighty SPLASH! What will be the outcome of their efforts now?

The repetition element works really well and young listeners will love joining in with “We’re here to help!” and “Leave it to us! and shouting CALAMITY at each disaster but it’s Emma’s dramatic, detailed illustrations that really steal the show. A real winner this.

Star. Moon, Zoom

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Star. Moon, Zoom
Moira Butterfield and Ro Ledesma
Happy Yak

Moira Butterfield is adept at presenting complex subjects in such a way that they appeal to relatively young readers. She certainly does so with this space science book. Herein she uses a lively group of children and their brainy dog, Charlie (a space expert) to introduce readers to big scientific questions, making the content approachable and thought-provoking. ‘Is space smelly? Is it noisy?’ she asks to introduce an early spread; that’s sure to grab children’s attention from the outset. This reviewer was amused to read that ‘NASA has a team of top smellers to test everything they put in a new spaceship. Anything that’s too pongy gets taken out.’

Have you ever wondered what trash astronauts have left behind on the moon? Apparently there are a dozen pairs of boots, a falcon bird feather, two golf balls, three space buggies and about ninety six bags of sick, wee and poo – delightful. Let’s hope all this was left in the moon’s dark patches.

Do you know what a comet tail is made from? Or rather a comet’s tails – it has two, one a gas tail, the other a dust tail and some comet tails can stretch up to a million kilometres.

The final question: is there any life in other parts of space? is one that has yet to be answered. Questions like these are sure to encourage discussion, critical thinking and prediction all of which are vital skills that children need to develop.

With its lucid explanations, a playful tone and gently humorous illustrations by Ro Ledesma, this is likely to encourage many youngsters to become space experts. A valuable addition to a KS1 class collection or home bookshelves.

Sportopedia

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Sportopedia
Adam Skinner, illustrated by Mark Long
Wide Eyed Editions

If you want to find out about the enormous variety of sports people participate in, then look no further than Sportopedia, a compendium wherein there must surely be something for everybody. In all some sixty different sports are included some familiar such as football (the world’s most popular sport), cricket, tennis, sprinting and swimming, to those less well known such as kabbadi, a team combat sport that requires no special equipment. It originated in India where I’ve seen it played and is now popular throughout South Asia.

The book is divided into nine sections- ball sports, racket sports, athletics, gymnastics, water sports, motor sports, target sports, combat sports, and finally sporting events (the Olympics Games, the Paralympic games and the Winter Olympics. Each sport is engagingly outlined with such things as kit, rules, pitch diagrams and interesting facts about the game/sport in a ‘facts of the matter’ box in the top corner of each right-hand page. The spreads are brightly coloured and visually engaging with plenty of labelled diagrams, sometimes one of the pitch/field or court. Also included are some historical facts – did you know the first Olympic Games took place she 3000 years ago in Greece?

A great book to have in a primary classroom as well as a home collection.

The Man Who Wore All His Clothes

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The Man Who Wore All His Clothes
Allan Ahlberg, illustrated by Katharine McEwen
Walker Books

The Gaskitts are a pretty normal family. Mr Gaskitt gets up in the morning, dons three pairs of socks, three vests, three pairs of pants, three shirts and two pairs of trousers and four jumpers plus a tie. After breakfast he adds four coats, After that, this very bulky person heads outside, squeezes into his car and as the snow starts falling, off he goes.

At school Gus and Gloria’s usual teacher has had a fall and is replaced by a rather out of practice curmudgeonly supply teacher who has it in for the siblings.

By this time, Mrs Gaskitt, who drives a taxi, has picked up a suspicious-looking character who left the bank in a hurry carrying a large bag. And so it goes on with all manner of craziness until eventually the robber is apprehended, in no small way thanks to Mr G. who eventually drives off to be Santa in a department store. Oh and I forgot to mention Horace, the Gaskitt’s cat who’s fond of comfy chairs from where to watch movies and cat food ads.

All this unfolds in eleven short chapters after which there are a further three action-packed stories about the family to laugh over: The Woman Who Won Things, The Cat Who Got Carried Away and The Children Who Smelled A Rat.

Perfect for new solo readers and equally great for reading aloud but adult readers aloud, make sure you let listeners see Katharine McEwen’s liberal scattering of black and white illustrations that add even more humour.

Seven Babies

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Seven Babies Forest Xiao Walker Books

One Thursday morning there’s a ring at the bell of number 14 and a box of seven babies appears – self-delivered one supposes.

A man and woman open the door looking somewhat bemused and invite the infants in. The babies quickly make themselves at home and for the reminder of the day, enjoy themselves. They play in the park, take a bath together and do some quiet investigating.

They help with hanging out the clothes on the washing line and come the end of the day, they snuggle up with their hosts to share the storybook they’d brought with them.

The exhausted couple then fall fast asleep and the exuberant babies depart with their box plus a few items they’ve appropriated – a sock, the woman’s sleeping mask, and the man’s spectacles. With them too are the ladybird (this can be spotted on every spread) and the seven little peas in a pod book that that came with them. The story concludes with a question for readers/listeners, ‘What will they do next?’ – A great opportunity for children to do their own creative storying about the adorable babes.

With a minimal text and scenes that are bursting with gentle humour, this light-hearted, playful tale is irresistible and certain to be requested over and over by little humans slightly older than those endearing visiting babies.

The Secrets of Wild Hill: Lottie’s Dream

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The Secrets of Wild Hill: Lottie’s Dream
Olivia Tuffin
Nosy Crow

I first came across Olivia Tuffin’s horse stories when I was sent a copy of The Horse Who Danced and absolutely loved it, so I expected a lot from this one. The author has a great deal of knowledge about horses and eventing and she carefully knits together factual information and fiction, the result being another terrific book – one that I couldn’t put down.

The protagonist, Lottie has deliberately failed the entrance exam to an elite school in order to spend more time at Wild Hill, the livery yard belonging to her grandparents; it’s there that her beloved pony, Patch, lives. However, her father, still set on his daughter going to Telsteads instead of the local comprehensive where’s she happy, has appealed for her to be allowed to retake the entrance exam. He also hopes that with support from Lottie’s mother, he can persuade her aging parents to sell Wild Hill, something else that deeply troubles Lottie.

On a visit to her Granny, Lottie takes Patch out and she has an encounter with another rider , slightly older that herself who introduces himself as Felix McCavendish and they have a short talk. Felix is the grandson of Ralph McCavendish, her family’s enemy, owner of the adjoining yard. A tentative friendship forms between the two – something that horrifies her gran – and Felix encourages Lottie to join the local pony club, her main aim being to compete at Badminton Grassroots. Then comes news that her grandad has been involved in a serious accident and is in hospital. Lottie’s parents call her older brother Harry to return from Florida where he’s pursuing his own riding career and instead help at Wild Hill. Unfortunately for Lottie, Harry agrees with their parents that it’s a liability and they should put it on a firm footing and then sell it.

Lottie makes it onto the Pony Club team, participates in a riding competition and Patch amazes everyone when he sails over the advanced jumps. In the meantime her brother has come under they influence of Ralph McCavendish who has promised that he can ride one of his horses, something that greatly troubles Lottie. She’s determined to work out what exactly is going on before it’s too late; but can she? And can she completely trust Felix? What happened long ago between her family and the McCavendish family that is threatening her future? So many questions …

An absolute cracker of a story and the final page sets the stage nicely for the story to continue in a sequel. I hope we don’t have too long to wait to see Lottie continuing to follow her dreams. There’s no need to be a horse fanatic to enjoy this, it will appeal to those who enjoy a good mystery story.

Zamzam for Everyone

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Zamzam for Everyone
Razeena Omar Gutta and Bassent Dawoud
Barefoot Books

Mariam, the narrator and her parents are among the throng on their Hajj, a once in a lifetime pilgrimage to Makkah. “Mariam, Hajj is a time to do good, share and be thankful. …” Mama tells her daughter. After filling her bottle with Zamzam water, Mariam ponders upon what her good deed could be. Eventually she decides that sharing the Zamzam with others is the best idea and she proceeds to do so cup by cup. Each sharing is a learning experience for Mariam: having helped an old lady find a seat and given her some Zamzam, the lady responds by saying “Shukriya”, giving her some dates and telling her that she’s from Pakistan. Next Mariam asks two sisters if they too would like Zamzam: “Terima kasha,” comes the reply. The sisters are from Indonesia and they share some sweet pandan cookies.

Besides them, an Uyghur family say, “Rahmat”, when they receive Zamzam from Mariam and share with her some crunchy fried dough, sangza.

Throughout Mariam’s umrah, she learns ways to express thanks in different languages and samples tasty foods like syrupy koeksisters from South Africa in return, as the pilgrims she meets from many different lands each respond in their own language and share some traditional food, mostly sweet.

Eventually it’s time for the journey to begin and off they set. Mariam is concerned whether or not she’ll have sufficient Zamzam for everybody. What about their bus driver?

Kindness, generosity to others and thankfulness are key in this heartwarming story, which together with Bassent Dawoud’s digital, collage images show the rich cultural diversity and comradeship of those undertaking Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam.

One to add to primary school book collections.

Grandad’s World

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Grandad’s World
Michael Foreman
Scholastic

It’s the beginning of the summer holidays and city dweller, Jack is off to stay with his Grandad in the countryside. Jack’s favourite thing is to walk in the woods with Grandad who points out all kinds of interesting wild life. Grandad’s favourite place is the stream running through the woods to a pond on the village green and he reminisces about taking a similar walk when he was a boy.

Having watched the otters building a den, Jack is eager to build one too and so they do, staying inside it watching the animals until darkness creeps upon them. The following day is stormy so Grandad and Jack spend their time in the shed where there are lots of exciting model boats about which Grandad tells stories and they construct a nesting box for blue tits. Once the storm has passed the two venture out to the stream, which looks very peaceful.

However that night the screech of tyres and shouting wake Jake and through the window he sees Grandad chasing a van that’s driving from the stream. He’s horrified to discover a large pile of rubbish heading down towards Grandad’s special pond. Immediately the two fetch a wheelbarrow, buckets and a torch and return to start clearing the rubbish the fly-tippers have dumped

and come morning lots of other villagers join them in their task. Can they clear it all before it’s too late?
A lovely portrait of the special intergenerational bond between Jack and Grandad with a powerful message about caring for the environment.

Goldilocs

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Goldilocs
Ella McCleod and Rochelle Falconer
Scholastic

Readers of this blog will know that I’m a fractured fairytales enthusiast and this one certainly fits the bill. It’s Goldilocs narrating her own story and as you’ll notice from the cover, her hair is black. Her name comes from other golden attributes – her style, her beads and her smile. She’s a resident of fairyland and being a girl, she has only three options: she can be a wicked witch, an evil power mad queen or a royal princess. The last Goldilocs considers the worst as a prince’s kiss is needed to break an evil curse. What to do?

First she concocts a spell to make her hair grow, with disastrous results. So Goldilocs resorts to cooking her Grandad’s cornmeal porridge. As she stirs the pot there comes a growly sound – time to hide from the three ursine characters that have appeared. However, no need to panic: they consume the porridge with relish.
Next Goldilocs tries being an evil queen and using all manner of bits and pieces she creates three thrones for royal sitters.

It’ s not royal sitters that try them but the three bears and they deem them just right.

Finally Goldilocs switches to princess mode but soon falls asleep. Back come the bears and terrified of being their next meal Goldilocs declares herself a total failure and tries to run away. To her surprise Baby Bear’s carefully considered words of encouragement make her feel empowered. Her decision? “ … the only rule is that I just be ME. As long as I’m kind and try my best, I don’t need to worry about the rest.” The most important thing to remember is that despite being an imperfect person, she has made three new and very supportive friends.

Told in rhyme with just the occasional glitch in the rhythm, this feminist version of the classic story with Rochelle Falconer’s vibrant, expressive illustrations makes for a tasty story time treat.

It’s Not My Cookie

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It’s (Not) My Cookie
Kael Tudor and Ben Sanders
Scholastic

Imagine strolling along and suddenly finding a cookie: what would you do? That is exactly what happens to Bear, the story’s narrator. and he’s now in a quandary. Who does it belong to? It must be lonely sitting there surely and it certainly does look yummy. Bear persuades himself it’s not right to pick it up if it belongs to someone but then changes his mind: a quick feel won’t hurt surely. With the cookie in his paw, Bear delights in its crumbly texture and delectable chocolate chips.
Along come some other creatures and they too like the look of the cookie. A tortoise lumbers up with an apple and what it says might prick the cookie claimer’s conscience, or will it?

Then there arrives a distressed-looking animal looking for a cookie: what happens then? Well that would make me a story spoiler so I’ll leave it to author Kael and illustrator Ben to finish the tasty tale.

I love the dry humour of both words and pictures that capture so well Bear’s temptation. I’m pretty sure both young listeners and readers aloud will be salivating before the story is finished and the former will request second helpings.