Author jillrbennett

The Wild Beastie

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The Wild Beastie
Helen Kellock
Walker Books

On the secret Isle of Begg live Bumple and her Mama. Now Mama is aware of its shores alive with wild and wonderful creatures, but Bumple isn’t at all interested; indeed she is scared of what she calls the “wild beasties”.

One morning she heads off to her favourite safe place beside the stream, a place where no beastie could find her – ever. How wrong could she be for suddenly, splash! Right in the water where Bumple is sailing her boat lands a little creature. Taken aback, Bumple asks who the creature is and what he wants. “I’m Little Mop” comes the reply “… I want to play!” Somewhat reluctantly Bumple agrees and the two start sailing her toy Peedie in a tiny boat but Little Mop gives the boat an over-enthusiastic push and the two playmates have to chase it a long way downstream

till they’re far, far from Bumple’s safe place, at the sea. There, as you might expect, Little Mop is eager to play but Bumple is equally eager to return home so off they set, with the former in the lead. Before long Bumple realises Little Mop is still messing about and the two fall out. Only briefly however and fuelled by Little Mop’s secret stashes, the friends make their way towards Bumple’s cottage until they’re almost there. But first they need to cross a gorge.

Can Bumple take a brave leap she’d never even have contemplated at the start of the day?

A lovely, magical tale showing how stepping out of your comfort zone and discovering that letting yourself go and trying a bit of wildness can be a whole lot of fun. From endpaper to endpaper, the watercolour illustrations are a marvellous mix of playfulness and beauty. Share this with young children: I’m sure they’ll love visiting the wondrous Isle of Begg.

Moon Bear

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Moon Bear
Clare Helen Welsh and Carolina T. Godina
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Ettie is afraid of the dark, even keeping a torch under the bedclothes at bedtime. One night though, there’s no need for her torch; instead a surprise cascade of shimmering light enters her room through the gap between the curtains.

Rising from her bed, Ettie starts to interact with the lights, using them to paint patterns on the walls and dancing with them. She does so until the bedroom is a wondrous sight to behold. She then draws the curtains right back, smiles at the moon and begins to connect up the dots made by the glowing stars until she has created a bear. A bear that comes into her room in a burst of brightness. Together the pair spend the night playing

and having a wonderful time. Come the morning the bear has disappeared and so too have Ettie’s fears about the dark. Throughout the day the girl eagerly anticipates the return of her ursine friend and can hardly wait for her bedtime routine to be over . Will she have another visit?

Told almost without words, the delightful fantasy unfolds in different sized panels containing gouache and coloured pencil scenes, comic book style. Sparkling with gentle magic, this tale of a girl who doesn’t like the dark and a bear that doesn’t like bright light, leaves young children free to let their imaginations take flight in similar manner to the girl protagonist.

Destiny Ink: Sleepover Surprise

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Destiny Ink: Sleepover Surprise
Adeola Sokunbi
Nosy Crow

Destiny is one of life’s enthusiasts who finds every day an adventure. As the book opens she is excited to be going to the park to meet her best friend, Olivia. On the swings Olivia reminds her of tomorrow night’s sleepover when the two will be spending the night in a tent under the stars in Olivia’s back garden. Destiny’s tummy starts to feel a bit funny though she assures readers that it’s not because of the sleepover or the possibility of scary monsters. Her mum’s reassuring words “It’s going to be INKTASTIC” followed soon after by “It’s OK if you feel a bit nervous,” don’t completely allay her fears.

Back at home Destiny creates her own tent in her bedroom for a practice sleepover to prepare both herself and Fuzzy, her hamster. She plays in the tent but come bedtime, despite Dad’s brainwave of lending her his torch, she’s still wide awake at 01:28. Suddenly she becomes aware of something strange and the torch reveals an actual monster. A monster – Trog by name – that is clearly scared too and is accompanied by a pet named Furbs. Trog, she learns, is scared of being away from home so Destiny sets about showing her new friend that there’s nothing to be frightened of.

Come the morning with her own fears dissipated, she feels somewhat different. Is she now ready to enjoy her own sleepover at Olivia’s?

It’s great to see how Destiny uses her creativity in overcoming her apprehension and fearfulness.
Adele Sokunbi’s description of how, helped at one point by her Dad, Destiny uses a silk scarf to protect her hair in bed is a detail that will be new to many young readers/listeners, but equally important for those familiar with the practice to see themselves reflected in the story.

Look out for Talent Show Magic, the next sensitively written episode in the life of the delightful Destiny Ink coming this autumn.

Mabel and the Big Wide World

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Mabel and the Big Wide World
Paul Stewart and Jane Porter
Otter-Barry Books

Mabel mouse lives happily in a barn with her five siblings, Martin, Marjorie, Marcel, Max and Millicent and is perfectly content in this enclosed world. She has no intention of venturing into the big wide world when her brothers and sisters invite her to accompany them. She does though on occasion watch them frolicking with one another outside but despite it appearing fun, she stays put. The seasons come and go; the other mice tell her she’s missing so much but she’s put off by the possibilities of great big hairy things and teeny-weeny scary things.

One day however the sky is full of colour: a beautiful rainbow has appeared and having seen it,

Mabel slowly, slowly creeps outside to get a better view. WOW! An arc of colours stretches right across from hilltop to sea as the rain continues falling gently. This is a day Mabel doesn’t want to end as she frolics in the wet with her siblings enjoying every moment.

Then back in the barn, which now feels very small, Mabel creates an inside rainbow to remind her of the wonders beyond its confines. Seasons come and go but now Mabel makes the most of the great outdoors, taking in her stride whatever happens.

One night there’s a thunderstorm. It frightens all the other mice but not so Mabel: “It’s just the weather showing off,” she reassures them. Autumn brings fallen leaves to romp in and winter ’s snowfall provides plenty of snow from which to make a snowmouse.


Meanwhile in the barn exciting things have happened too: Mabel is no longer the smallest mouse: she has lots of new brothers and sisters including Marco. He might just need a bit of encouragement to go outside like his big sister did.

Young humans will immediately recognise those feelings of uncertainty and fear that Mabel experiences, feelings that little by little change into a self-confidence, which enables them to take delight in the freedom and opportunities the outdoors brings. Jane Porter’s distinctive richly coloured, collage style illustrations together with Paul Stewart’s storytelling written from Mabel’s viewpoint make for a reassuring book to share with young children at home and in an educational setting.

Toby and the Pixies: Worst King Ever!

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Toby and the Pixies: Worst King Ever!
James Turner and Andreas Schuster
David Fickling Books

Twelve year old Toby Cauldwell is desperately trying to fit in at Suburbiton High School, not very successfully though. Then there’s Mo who is in a similar situation and despite their differences the two become buddies.

Meanwhile deep in the undergrowth of Toby’s garden is a hidden kingdom of pixies ruled over by the evil King Thornprickle. Not for much longer however for having bid farewell to Mo, Toby kicks at a plaster gnome in his garden and the next thing he knows is that he’s being hailed as the new king of the pixies. Pixie law states that the ruler can do anything they want – not a prospect Toby relishes AT ALL. But perhaps the whole pixie thing is a dream; that’s what he tells his Dad who is completely obsessed with making the perfect piece of toast.

How wrong can the lad be though for the pixies just won’t leave him be. They come into his house, pop up in school and turn his life into a nightmare. Then Toby makes the biggest mistake thus far: he grants the pesky things freedom to become autonomous. Pretty soon the classrooms are awash with green sludge and mushrooms are springing up everywhere: it’s chaos. Time for a rethink decides Toby, but again it’s a case of the best laid plans. So the boy heads home with Mo to play Camel Calamity, a video game, but there’s no stopping those pixies. More crises occur with badgers in a bathtub and Mo morphing into a bird so Toby decides to take Mo into his confidence re the pixies.

Then, shock horror: state duty calls and his majesty is told he’s the groom at a royal wedding

and marrying Princess Persephone. How will he extricate himself from this one?
Maybe there will come a time when Toby decides that perhaps being the King of the Pixies isn’t really so bad after all – stranger things have happened.

All of this certainly goes to show that life is above all a journey of possibilities and to read of Toby et al is a deliciously fun way of demonstrating this.

Bird Boy

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Bird Boy
Catherine Bruton
Nosy Crow

Following the death of his mother, Will is sent to live with his Uncle Ian in a wild part of the Lake District. Will blames himself for the tragic accident that resulted in his mother’s death, but staying with her estranged brother is his only option while he waits for documents to be processed, after which he will move to Australia and live with his paternal grandparents. This new life couldn’t be more different from his enclosed, homeschooled life in a city tower-block where his mother had kept him cut off to ‘keep him safe’ so she said. Together they would spend time watching the birds and his mother had passed on her love of birds to her son, frequently telling him, “We will all come back as birds “.

Will feels overwhelmed as he battles with his grief and then two things happen: he meets Omar at a nature camp he attends during the day when his uncle is at work; and the boys discover an osprey nest with two tiny chicks in the mountains. It’s an amazing find as ospreys are one of the most endangered species in the country and haven’t been seen in this area.

The boys form a strong bond; Omar (a refugee from Afghanistan) shares Will’s passion for birds, while battling his own issues. Then Will rescues the chick that’s injured, unknowingly breaking the law and the friends devote themselves to caring for the little bird they name Whitecap, ‘the little one with the snow-tipped wings and forget-me-not blue eyes’, that reminds Will of his mum. However before long the boys realise that they have embarked upon way more than they can cope with; but dare they risk seeking help from someone else?

Little by little as the bird heals, so too does Will. Gradually he finds solace and even joy in his new life and his love for his well-meaning uncle grows. It’s hugely moving to see Will now able to support Omar in his grief, as Omar supported him, and with the help of the community both boys gradually face up to their loss.

This magnificent, profoundly moving story explores big themes including death, mental health, grief, depression and the lives of asylum seekers with huge sensitivity and optimism. showing how nature’s healing power, friendship, a sense of belonging and finding a family can provide the strength to rise above tragedy. Have a box of tissues to hand as you read.

Little Lion Girl

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Little Lion Girl
Olivia Hope and Fiona Woodcock
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Leonie and her mother are city bound when they board the train for a day’s adventure. As Leonie looks around her everyone she sees is somewhat extraordinary. This prompts her to become a brave little lion girl and swinging her tail, she roars, determined to make the most of all the sights and sounds the city has to offer.

“I’m a lion girl and I’m totally amazing!” she says as she views the exhibits in the museum gallery.

What wonders she sees all around and after some refreshments in a cafe, off dashes Leonie across the square and climbs right up to the very top of a fountain where she proclaims herself king of the city.
But when she sees a butterfly while her mum is chatting to a friend, Leonie forgets mum’s warning to take care and dashes off in pursuit.

Suddenly her surroundings seem to engulf her and that little lion girl discovers her roar has disappeared along with her pride. Huddling in the shadows she hears a very loud “Leonie!” Her fears begin to dissipate and as her mother embraces Leonie her roar starts to grow within once more. “I’m lion girl and I love you” she says giving her mum a tight hug.

This is such a lovely story of the power of the imagination and coming to understand the vital importance of having a loving someone to look out for us and help us become whatever we want. Told through Olivia Hope’s lyrical text and Fiona Woodcock’s vibrant, wonderfully expressive illustrations working in perfect harmony creating a roarsome story to share and discuss with young children at home or in an educational setting.

The Secret Hen House Theatre

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The Secret Hen House Theatre
Helen Peters
Nosy Crow

The author has drawn on her own childhood memories of life on a farm to create this exciting family story.

Since her mum died some ten years ago, eleven year old Hannah’s life has been pretty chaotic. Her dad is working as hard as he can to keep the family farm going but things get worse day by day and she and her siblings are called upon to do all they can to help. Hannah isn’t worried about having to search jumble sales for clothing or cook the family meals, finding refuge in her love of theatre and passion for acting although she has little time for so doing, especially as her Dad thinks it’s a waste of time. But then the landlord doubles the rent charged for the farm putting it in jeopardy and Dad’s money raising plans (he’s only a tenant farmer) are never going to raise enough, even those that work.

So, Hannah decides to enter a play competition with a first prize of £500 which she will give to her dad, should her play win. Her best friend Lottie and other family members (unbeknown to Dad) all help and together they set about turning an old disused hen house into a theatre and Hannah gets to work writing the play. Thus the secret theatre begins to flourish but things don’t go quite to plan. Friendships are tested to their limits; Hannah however is a determined character and she’s not prepared to give up without a fight. Raise money she must; but what will Dad say when he finds out what has been going on?

With a powerful plot, a splendid cast of characters and a setting that feels timeless, this story (first published over a decade ago) is totally absorbing and you won’t want to put it down till you reach the final page.

The same farm is under threat again in The Great Farm Rescue, to be published in August.

The Night Whale

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The Night Whale
Bryner Mackenzie and Gillian Eilidh O’Mara
Walker Books

A grandmother and granddaughter sit beneath the stars looking skywards at the patterns and hoping to see the Night Whale, a truly magical creature of the night that Nana hasn’t seen since she was a child.
Then lo and behold, swimming majestically amongst the stars she comes, greeting Nana like a long lost friend. Woman on the cliff and majestic whale in the sky dance, connected, despite it being winter, by a warming breeze.

With the Night Whale’s consent, the two mount on her back and with a whistle, whoosh! They ascend, travelling over seas and forest trees, towns and cities all a-twinkle, as far as the Northern Lights

keeping one another company all the while, until Nana whispers that it’s time to go home. Knowing that their stargazing and night sky painting adventure together is coming to an end, Nana and the child embrace as they look towards the beautiful hues above.

With Nana and the Night Whale’s reassurance that “Anything is possible” this tender, lyrically told tale with Gillian Elide O’Mara’s awesome illustrations offers readers much to ponder upon concerning the enormity of the universe, intergenerational relationships and farewells.

Freya’s Gold

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Freya’s Gold
Fiona Longmuir
Nosy Crow

This cracking adventure is set in Edge, the same sleepy seaside town as the author’s debut novel Looking for Emily.

Twelve year old Freya lives with her Granny Kate and together they run the popular B&B on the old boardwalk. This B&B is also their home and during the summer when the town is alive with activity, their home is full of happy holidaymakers. Now though it’s February and things feel totally different with sleety rain and sea mist replacing the crowds of people and Freya has much more time to spend with her best friend, Lin. The B&B is empty until a strange woman with a false smile and heavy suitcase arrives at reception and asks for a room. Something about her makes Freya feel ill at ease although her gran is only too happy to have Ms Oleander as a guest in the off-season.

One morning Freya and Lin are on the otherwise deserted beach using their jointly owned metal detector and hoping to find some treasure to help Granny Kate and they come upon a gold coin. Later that day Freya sees Ms Oleander talking to the mayor outside the town hall and almost immediately Freya senses someone else close at hand: it’s a boy but he disappears in a flash. It transpires that on account of Ms Oleander, the town is under serious threat; but why is the boy seemingly following this woman?

A few days later, determined not to let this unpleasant woman ruin their town, Freya and Lin head for the beach again with the metal detector and make for the caves, Freya’s courage rapidly evaporating as they enter the dark However, things don’t go to plan; the two girls have a row and part company. Meanwhile the clock is ticking. It’s time for Freya to face her fears, summon her inner strength and search the tunnels properly for the legendary pirates’ treasure. Can she do it? Perhaps, with the assistance of her bestie and Teddy, the boy she has now befriended, since that first fleeting sighting.

With its twisting, turning plot this fast-paced tale is full of suspense and mystery and will engulf readers like the sticky salt off the sea that coats the town in winter.

Luigi the Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten

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Luigi the Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten
Michelle Knudsen and Kevin Hawkes
Walker Books

If you think spiders can’t be cute you might find yourself changing your mind having read this story.
A big hairy spider on the lookout for a new home comes upon an old house that he’s sure will provide plenty of dark nooks and crannies. He weaves himself a splendid web in the dark space beneath an old sofa and falls fast asleep. The following morning Betty, the owner of the house discovers the arachnid, calls him a very unusual-looking kitten and names him Luigi.

Now this spider is sure he’s not called Luigi and even more sure he’s not a kitten. Nevertheless he accepts the woman’s offer of breakfast and finds the contents of the bowl placed before him perfectly acceptable. So too is the game they play together with a toy bug on a string for the remainder of the morning. Then replete with excitement Luigi retreats to his dark spot and goes to sleep.

Next day he’s up before the woman and so begins web spinning, all the while wondering where she is till he decides to take a walk and finds her in the kitchen offering to play again.

Not only does Luigi fancy playing, but he also wants some more of the same breakfast as the previous day. Why not go along with the kitten pretence, he decides and so he does. The woman even goes so far as to provide a cosy bed for him: who knew that kittens led ‘such magical lives’? Certainly not Luigi.

Come Friday, the woman announces that her friends will be coming later on for a games night. Suppose one of the friends reveals his true identity: time to disappear under the sofa, thinks Luigi but the inevitable happens. Out comes the woman’s hand, out comes Luigi and introduction is made

Eventually the pretence is over: he couldn’t fool those visitors but what about Betty?
Luigi beats a hasty retreat but next morning he receives a surprise declaration from her and an invitation that lifts his spirits.

Kevin Hawkes’ acrylic and pencil illustrations, be they large or small, portray Luigi’s kitten-ness with panache making him a delightful and endearing character and Michelle Knudsen’s longish text offers a sympathetic story of being yourself, trying out a new persona and companionship that works well as a read aloud or for confident solo readers to enjoy for themselves.

Pavlo Gets the Grumps / Two Birthdays

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Pavlo Gets the Grumps
Natalia Shaloshvili
Walker Books

There are days when we wake up and everything seems out of kilter: Pavlo is having one of those. Nothing his Mama suggests be it a visit to the park, a swim or a cinema outing, appeals to Pavlo. Why is that?

Mama suggests it’s an attack of the grumps and that he best treatment is to go out anyway, so they do, Pavlo somewhat reluctantly. However before long there’s a shout of ‘Pavlo! … Are you OK?” It’s his best friend, Mila who understands just how to respond to his “I’ve got the grumps”. Happily she also knows how to get get rid of grumps and off they all go for a good mood restoring whizzy slide followed by a tasty treat. I wonder what they’ll do next?

A comforting hug of a picture book that shows little ones (and reminds bigger ones) that sad feelings don’t last forever and friends are often the best remedy.
Both sad and funny at once, Natalia Shaloshvili’s soft focus smudgy illustrations are a wonderful reassurance that no matter what kind of day we’re having, even a grumpy one, there are family and friends who love and nurture us, and happier times are coming.

Two Birthdays
Tim Hopgood
Walker Books

Cedric the crocodile and Boo the elephant are the very best of friends. When Boo’s birthday comes, so do lots of cards, a very special extra long scarf specially knitted by Cedric and the two celebrate with enormous ice creams for tea. Boo declares it’s his best ever birthday.

Cedric’s birthday is a few weeks later; he too receives lots of cards and presents. However there’s nothing from Boo. He waits and waits and eventually calls his best pal but it’s clear to him that Boo has completely forgotten his birthday.

The following day the two meet in the park, Cedric riding his new birthday scooter.

Boo notices and asks about it and quickly realises he’s missed Cedric’s birthday. Is it too late or can he put things right and make his best pal feel happy again.

A simple story showing that true friendships can transcend accidental errors. As always Tim Hopgood’s bright, collage style illustrations are a visual delight, even the sad ones.
Share with preschoolers and I suspect they will have lots to say about this.

Alice Éclair Spy Extraordinaire: A Dash of Daring / The Summer Dolphin

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Alice Éclair Spy Extraordinaire: A Dash of Daring
Sarah Todd Taylor
Nosy Crow

This is the fourth and sadly, final story in the delicious series starring creative, kind, resourceful Alice Eclair.
Alice and her mum are anticipating a relaxing week in the mountains when they arrive at Hotel Anise. It’s not long though before Alice starts feeling disappointed: the atmosphere is far from exciting and she isn’t getting the opportunity to enjoy the hotel’s facilities. However Claude’s appearance on the scene, talking of a complex, ingenious cipher machine that can convert messages into unreadable code in seconds soon dispels her frustration. The problem is the machine has gone missing, along with its maker, Claude’s inventor friend, Jan.

Before long Alice is drawn into a mystery. Then her dastardly Uncle Robert appears on the scene: what is he doing in the hotel? Meanwhile, iJan’s daughter who is staying at the Olympic training camp on the outskirts of the city with her brother, has been receiving unpleasant messages as she prepares to compete in the cycling events to be held in Berlin.

Having persuaded her mother to let her go to the training camp, Alice begins working undercover while at the same time tackling the tricky issue of creating healthy but tasty desserts in the Olympic kitchens. Then to her surprise and delight, her friend Sophie, France’s most talented engineer appears and she offers to introduce Alice to the cyclist Adele and her brother, Hugo. Hugo in turn introduces her to his carrier pigeon. Determined to solve this case, Alice faces many challenges as she follows the numerous clues, some of which as you might expect, are red herrings, sets about working out who she can trust and cracking lots of codes along the way.

A tasty conclusion to the tale and the series: Alice emerges with some new friends including Hugo who happens to use a wheelchair. The author took advice from a fellow author and friend in her sensitive portrayal of this character.

The Summer Dolphin
Holly Webb, illustrated by David Dean
Little Tiger

Lillie and her family are having a fortnight’s holiday in the Gower, Wales, staying in Gran and Grandpa’s new home. Things get off to a disappointing start for Lillie who discovers that she’ll have to sleep on the attic floor between the beds of her older sister, Frankie and their cousin Lara.
Almost immediately the older girls gang up and Lillie is made to feel a baby, excluded from their activities but no one else appears to notice she’s lonely and upset.

Then during a boat trip around the harbour, the crew mate Alice, mentions a tidal island that’s a wild bird reserve during the summer months where they might see dolphins as well as seals and birds. Suddenly there in the water they spy a flicking tail, then more; it’s dolphins swimming alongside the boat. One of them in particular, it seems to Lillie, is happy and this makes her feel happy too. Surely that dolphin smiled at me, she thinks to herself.

Later, Frankie and Lara flatly refuse to let Lillie accompany them on a rock-pooling expedition. Instead she decides to go off by herself in the hopes of seeing the dolphins, especially the calf, again, something that when her parents discover where she is, troubles them considerably. However it doesn’t stop Lillie going off exploring alone again after Lara is particularly horrible to her. There’s a problem though, for Lillie doesn’t understand the tide at all and she’s lost track of time. Worse, is that with water up to her chest, she can’t remember any of the special ways to keep safe she’d been told of in school. Then she catches sight of a dolphin; could it be trying to help her?

Whether read by newly confident solo readers or aloud to a class, this mix of sister dynamics and adventure is a story that will be enjoyed by animal lovers especially. David Dean’s black and white illustrations underscore the characters’ feelings throughout the book.

Little People, Big Dreams: Rafa Nadal / Little People, Big Dreams: Usain Bolt

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Little People, Big Dreams: Rafa Nadal
Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara, illustrated by Ro Ledesma
Little People, Big Dreams: Usain Bolt
illustrated by Karen Crosbie
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

These sporting heroes are great additions to the series of mini biographies. Both are legends who have gone beyond their sporting successes and helped other people,.providing great role models for younger readers.

Rafa Nadal was born into a sporting family: one of his uncles passed on to the boy his love of football; another uncle gave him his first tennis lesson when the lad was just four years old. When he started winning tennis tournaments it wan’t only his innate ability but also his humility and determination to do well that made him such an outstanding player. How many others I wonder would turn up early to train and stay after everyone else to sweep the court and collect all the tennis balls. And how many others could continue playing with a very painful broken finger and win a tournament? That was just one of the many injuries Rafa sustained during his career and he never let them hold him back,

rather he increased his efforts determinedly wherever, whenever he played. His resolve also came to the fore again when Mallorca, his home, suffered devastating floods; Rafa was among the first people to help with the clean-up. Moreover through his charitable work he used sport and education to help future generations.
The book’s final timeline focuses on key highlights of his life and has further details of his story.

Usain Bolt’s first sporting interest was cricket; indeed it was his cricket coach who convinced the boy to join the track team and before long, having won a silver medal was offered the opportunity to move to Kingston and practice alongside other promising young athletes. At only fifteen, despite suffering pre-race nerves, he become the youngest ever World Junior champion. He learned an important lesson about dedication and discipline a few years later though: preferring to hang out with his friends rather than focus on running technique, he suffered an injury during the Athens Olympics and was eliminated. However a new coach made all the difference to what happened thereafter. Despite his scoliosis, his height and determination, Usain won two gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (one with a shoelace undone)

and earned the name ‘Lightning Bolt’. He went on to be the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012, and 2016). In so doing he found himself a place in the heart of every Jamaican. Even more so by starting a foundation to help other children follow their dreams.
Both books deserve a place in primary school collections.

Smelly Peggy

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Smelly Peggy
Helen Stephens
Walker Books

Young Pie has a rescue dog, Peggy, and she’s full of mischief, getting up to such naughtiness as disturbing the tranquility of Pie’s parents every morning. As they lie abed the pooch even makes off with Mum’s knickers. Then on walks, having got used to sticks, she thinks nothing of sending the entire family head over heels in the sand as she cavorts around with huge lumps of wood.

Super-smelly things are one of Peggy’s predilections, the worst of all being poop.

She’s not fussy what kind; so long as it pongs she’ll roll over and over in it. PHOAH! Imagine the mess and the stench when they get back home and she has another roll about; this time on the rug and Pie’s pjs.

As you might expect, Peggy detests having to have a shower and gets her own back by giving herself a very vigorous shake to get rid of the water once her paws are back on the floor.

Despite all her flaws and mischief, Pie and her parents cannot help but love their pet but there are times when the powerfully malodorous emanations from her rear end are well nigh unbearable.

Now I’m no pooch lover, in fact I’m a cynophobe but I can quite see how beguiling Pie’s Peggy is. Helen Stephens’ portrayal of this family pet is at once funny and tender and her tale is one that will endear Peggy to readers, rescue dog owners especially.

Natterjack Toad Can’t Believe It!

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Natterjack Toad Can’t Believe It!
Sean Taylor and Kathryn Durst
Walker Books

Most of us have a favourite snack and so it is with Natterjack Toad. As the story opens he’s languishing among the reeds in his hammock anticipating tucking into his packet of Chocolate Chunk Crunchy-Munch cookies. Mmm! they do sound delicious.

They’re mine! thinks Natterjack Toad, ‘And this hidey-hole is just the place for munching one up.’ Out comes a cookie, out comes NT’s tongue in preparation for a yummy taste but along comes a huge heron, beak at the ready. Now our Natterjack friend has no intention of becoming the heron’s next snack so back goes the cookie and off he goes at top speed.

His next stop is the meadow with its long grass and summery flowers: the perfect spot for a nibble. Out comes a cookie, open-mouthed, NT anticipates that choccy flavour but once again Natterjack Toad ‘CAN’T BELIEVE IT’. Right beside him is a whiskery weasel with mouth wide open.. Uh-oh! Back in the basket goes the cookie and away ‘quickety-whip’ goes Natterjack Toad destination the forest. Surely here in a cool hidey-hole he’ll be undisturbed. Or maybe not.

As he’s about to consume his treat, right beside him appear a mole and a vole. Will Natterjack Toad heed their words of warning regarding a huge hungry marauding animal? There comes that open mouth, that ready tongue and a mighty CRUNCH! Yikes! There before the three stands …

How will this tale end? Tasty treats for the large beastie or …

Deliciously playful, this dramatic tale is an absolute treat to read aloud. I’m not sure who will find it more tasty, the adult sharer or the young listeners who will be on the edge of their seats, joining in at every opportunity as the story unfolds. Sean’s patterned text combined with Kathryn Durst’s hilarious scenes are a confection too good to miss.

Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial

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Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial
Kieran Larwood and Joe Todd-Stanton
Nosy Crow

Set in the land of Zerb, as the story begins, Kit a gnorf – part gnome, part dwarf- is sitting in the local inn glued to a screen showing the finals of the Dungeon Runners, the favourites being Ultima Squad, winners for the four previous years. Commentator, Jenna the Giant, thinks it will be a close thing between them and the Night Beasts; all the latter need to do is defeat tonight’s monster or find the hidden treasure, either of which would mean extra points. Suddenly the other commentator, Dirk the Orc makes an unexpected announcement: one of the teams has had an accident with a frost dragon and that means there’s space for a brand-new Dungeon Runner team. The trials will be held in just two weeks.

Kit is excited but knows he stands little chance; but when Breg, the bullying troggle, kicks him out of the inn and then challenges him to enter the trials, he finds himself accepting. This he quickly regrets for he has no team, no skills and no weapon. Pretty much no chance at all of succeeding or worse still, getting through the trial alive. What does Grandfather Klot, an erstwhile Dungeon Rum champion, have to say other than he was much older than Kit when he won.

Feeling pretty down, Kit then meets another gnorf – Sandy Sanders – a mage in training.

Now with Kit as the ‘fighter’ and Sandy the ‘mage’, all that’s needed is a ‘healer’. Fortunately Sandy knows Thorn Darkblood, a vegan vampire, can you believe? These three form team Triple Trouble. By working together can they possibly overcome all the odds. Assuredly they face trials that test their problem-solving skills, resilience and nerves

but their positivity and teamwork might just be the key to success.

Team Kieran Larwood and Joe Todd-Stanton have co-created an exciting fantasy that is just right for newly independent readers who will delight in the weird and wonderful characters, be rooting for the underdogs throughout their adventure and be thrilled to learn that this is the first of a new series.

A Fairy Called Fred

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A Fairy Called Fred
Robert Tregoning and Stef Murphy
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Fred is a fairy who works in the Department of Dresses in the Wish Granting Plant where the fairies respond to countless requests for ball gowns from princesses. He loves the job but he too has a wish – he longs to find a wish-mail in his tray. Joshua Reed is a little boy who longs to got to his friend Claire’s party but it has a princess theme and Joshua doesn’t have a dress. Off goes his letter to the Wish Granting Plant where top designer Bella hands Joshua’s request to Fred. Can Fred help? He’ll need to get busy right away, which of course he does.

Meanwhile Josh waits in hope and then to his joy there comes a knock on his window. The transformation begins and ‘fashionably late’ he arrives at Claire’s house. Wow! There stands a smiling boy in his awesome attire and shortly after there stands Claire with something for Josh.

For Fred though, it’s late; time for him to leave the party and return from whence he came. There waiting for him is a very special award for his very special design.

Celebrating diversity and being yourself, this magical reworking of Cinderella is a joy to read aloud and Josh in his dress with its sparkles and spangles is a joy to behold.

Gordon the Meanest Goose on Earth

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Gordon the Meanest Goose on Earth
Alex Latimer
Oxford Children’s Books

Gordon the goose is thoroughly mean, way more mean than any of the other geese on the entire planet biting and snapping, shouting and imposing impossible tasks on his fellow geese and any other creature unlucky enough to encounter him. He even goes so far as to make lists of mean things to do before setting out each day to make life miserable for anyone and everyone in the seaside town of Grover Gardens.

On this particular day he heads first to the zoo where, having donned a zoo-keeper’s hat and shirt, sets about his mean activities. These he continues throughout the day until having departed the zoo, he makes for the promenade, there to scare the wits out of a baby. As he rehearses his nasty words he finds his path blocked by Anthony the Piglet, the very same piglet that he’d directed towards an open tiger’s cage earlier. In his trotter Anthony holds a flower; this he hands to a surprised Gordon.

With his chance at shouting at the baby gone, Gordon heads for home and having placed the flower in water, lies awake all night pondering upon having been given a kind gift.

Next morning he sallies forth determined to forget the flower and resume his mean acts, in particular punching a shark in the belly from within. The result is utter failure: could Anthony and that flower be the cause? Maybe a consultation with fellow members of the Meanest Goose Society will help. A plan is made and Gordon confronts Anthony demanding to know why he gave him the flower. How the piglet responds causes Gordon to set out for the beach again the following day, where a startling understanding suddenly dawns as he chats with Anthony.

Another day goes by with the writing of an invitation, another meeting with Anthony and the utterance of some words that the goose finds very difficult to say. Could saying ‘I’m sorry’ be the bravest thing Gordon has ever done in his entire life.? And could it mean a very different way of being for a certain goose?

This is picture book creator Alex Latimer’s first foray into books for new solo readers and with its numerous laugh-out-loud moments and comical, cartoon-style illustrations made with a few deft strokes of his pen, he’s got a winner here.

Betsy Buglove and the Brave Butterfly / Watch Them Grow!

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Betsy Buglove and the Brave Butterfly
Catherine Jacob and Lucy Fleming
Scholastic

Nature lover Betsy Buglove, she who saved the bees, returns for a new adventure. It begins as she and her best friend Stan are in the garden and a bee buzzes along with an urgent message about a butterfly that needs their help. They follow the bee next door and there discover the juice cups they left on the grass earlier and inside one a butterfly is trapped in the sticky dregs.

Having successfully extricated the butterfly, its wings soon dry and off it flies.

Shortly after a cry comes from Betsy’s dad. The leaves of his vegetables and flowers have been badly nibbled. Off goes Dad to get his bug spray leaving Betsy examining a thistle plant in the grass. Thereon, with the aid of her magnifying glass, she sees lots of caterpillars munching away its leaves. Caterpillars she and Stan soon find out, belong to the butterfly they’d rescued earlier on.

Can they persuade Betsy’s dad to leave a patch of thistle and other weeds for the caterpillars? Fortunately they can; but what happens thereafter?

Will it be another case of mission accomplished for team Betsy and Stan?

With Catherine’s jaunty rhythmic text where the rhyme doesn’t falter and Lucy’s scenes containing an abundance of flora and minibeasts, this is a book that’s just right for sharing with young nature enthusiasts, as well as to encourage those less keen (happily I’ve only ever encountered a few,) to find out what they’re missing. Everyone can do their bit to help insects.
At both ends of the book are fact pages about butterflies.

Watch Them Grow!
James Carter and James Munro
Graffeg

Author James Carter and artist James Munro have joined forces to present the life cycles of nine different animals starting with the Emperor Dragonfly and concluding with a human. Before these is an introductory poem inviting readers to ‘Watch them grow!’. Following the featured animals are a spread about baby animals names – young children will be amused to learn that it’s not only cows whose babies are called calves: so too are those of six other animals. And, the term hatchling can be applied to baby crocodiles, turtles, tadpoles and newts in addition to baby birds.
Then comes some straightforward information about axolotls; (these, unlike other amphibians never become adult; instead they retain their gills and remain in the water); and a paragraph explaining that male seahorses give birth to babies (fries, hundreds of them)

as well as some facts about parenting in emperor penguins, Australian marsupials and others.
All this James Munro has captured in his playful illustrations, each of which is a combination of reality and fun.

The Pinchers and the Dog Chase

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The Pinchers and the Dog Chase
Anders Sparring and Per Gustavsson (translated from the original Swedish by Julia Marshall)
Gecko Press

This is the second adventure of the Pinchers, a family of thieves, all except for young Theo, the son of Rob and Nic Pincher and sister of Ellen. Theo is the honest one . the star of this book, who unbeknown to the others, aspires to become a police officer like neighbour Paul Eessman.
There’s a new guy on the block, a second police officer and an extremely dictatorial one at that. On his first encounter with Theo he calls the lad a thief and demands to see the receipt for the Pincher family’s dog, Sherlock. Unless Theo can produce said receipt it’s likely that Sherlock will join the other pooches that this newbie officer Clive has already impounded at the police station. The thing is Stola Pincher, retired robber, currently serving time in jail was the person who acquired Sherlock, so it’s unlikely she’ll have an ownership receipt.

Things get even worse when Clive takes Ellen and Theo to the police station accusing them of stealing from a candy store. Another receipt is demanded, which of course Ellen doesn’t have.

Pretty soon the siblings learn the impounded pooches are destined to be sent to the North Pole. Pretty quickly coffee cups start flying, splashing hot coffee in Clive’s face and the children make a dash for it.
A decision is made to hide Sherlock with Gran aka Stola Pincher at the jail, so being Saturday Nic and the children pay her a visit and almost unbelievably, Gran produces a valid receipt for Pincher from none other than Ollie Bowser, dog thief. But where is this fellow now? In a new job perhaps? Hmm. Could he now be wearing a uniform and demanding receipts? Can Theo pull off a rescue plan and save not only their own dog but others too?

With the occasional chapter narrated by Sherlock himself, this zany chapter book for new solo readers will leave them hoping for another madcap Pinchers’ instalment. Those who didn’t read the first book may well want to go back and do so now.

100 Forest School Activities / Bird, Bee & Bug Houses

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100 Forest School Activities
Naomi & Dan Walmsley
Button Books

Team Naomi and Dan, who run Outback2Basics, bring their ardour for the outdoors to the pages of another book.

Forest School should be part and parcel of the curriculum for every primary school child and the activities herein offer a wide range of ways to get youngsters connecting with the natural world.
It’s divided into five main sections, the first being Connecting With Nature. I particularly like something I’ve not tried before – making a camouflage cape. It will involve some cutting and sewing so make sure you check the ‘You Will Need’ list before setting out.
Chapter two Fire, Food and Shelter has more than ten food-related suggestions including making feta rolls, which sound tasty and something I plan to try.
Decorating leaves as per the instructions for one of the Nature Crafts is a creative idea that has lots of potential and once decorated said leaves can then be used to make for instance, greetings cards, a mobile or leafy butterflies. Another leafy possibility is to mould a leaf bowl using air dry clay and it can be done during any season of the year.
It’s great to see that most of the Games in the section of the same name are designed to get children working co-operatively and who wouldn’t want to try creating a ‘twiggy owl’.

There’s a template given at the back of the book but children might like to create a much larger owl so they could start by drawing their own template. Equally delightful is the leaf bat also made from sticks and leaves. All members of your forest school group could then leave one leaf bat dangling somewhere to create a collaborative display.
Before the five chapters are an introductory spread, followed by some general practical information including safety preparation, basic knots and vital pages about knives and fire.

Teachers and others working with children, this latest book by the Walmsleys is well worth adding to your resources.

Bird, Bee & Bug Houses
Susie Behar illustrated by Esther Coombs
Button Books

Our local community-built forest play area for young children contains two bug hotels. Little humans and their carers who may be inspired to open heir own establishments would do well to get hold of a copy of this enticingly illustrated book. Therein are practical, clear instructions on how to do so, as well as a dozen or so other projects to help and encourage wild-life from birds to beetles, bats to butterflies.
Some projects such as making a bird box or a bat house

will need considerable adult involvement but others, a bird bath, a butterfly puddle area or a mini meadow for instance, require minimal adult intervention. Alongside the projects there are spreads with useful factual information relating to terminology and about some of the creatures likely to be encountered including owls, bats and frogs.
Esther Coombs supplies clear visual support and relevant illustrations of the animals. Backmatter includes a glossary and lists some conservation websites.

One Extra Sparkle: Ellie and the Marriage List

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One Extra Sparkle: Ellie and the Marriage List
Tricia Seabolt, illustrated by Lucy Rogers
Lantana

Ten-year-old Ellie Anderson (who has Down’s syndrome) anticipates having the best summer ever. She loves hanging with her big brother, 15-year-old Ben though of late he’s been paying her less attention on account of soccer and his stock-taking job. Now he’s become even more preoccupied with new neighbour, Sara, even inviting her on outings Ellie thought were special for her brother and herself – their nature hike and the Ability Centre (AC) dance, for instance. She feels like she’s losing Ben.

Things get even worse when her best friend, Ling, claims that according to her list Ben and Sara are getting married, That means they will move away forever. Ling’s list has six steps including hand-holding and kissing; Ben and Sara are working their way through these steps and when they reached step three, it’s panic stations. The two friends start operation stop Sara and Ben’s wedding at all costs, either that or Ben could end up as a Hawaii husband. It’s impossible not to be amused at what Ellie and Ling get up to as, list in hand, they track him.

They begin training to enable them to use the treehouse in Ellie’s garden to scare Sara so much she never comes near again. However Ellie finds herself carrying out the plan by herself, things go wrong, people’s feelings are hurt and Ellie herself feels terrible. Moreover she doesn’t even get to help Ben when he DJs at her AC dance, though she does help her magician Dad at the event.

But nothing else seems to work out right and Ellie ends up endangering the weeping willow tree in her garden she loves so much. With so much at stake, can she possibly find a way to rekindle her brother’s affection toward her as well as save her favourite tree from being cut down?

There is so much to love about this book: Ellie is such an endearing character with her extra sparkle: she is artistic and full of life despite having to cope with speech difficulties and ‘wobbly spaghetti’ muscles. Her family members, particularly Ben, are very supportive and her friendship with Ling is really heartwarming. Indeed the whole story, with Lucy Rogers’ superbly expressive illustrations, is one that deserves to be read widely.
At the back of the book author Tricia Seabolt gives information about Down’s syndrome and various therapies that enable people who are neurodivergent to flourish.

Gloria Goes For Gold / Albert and the Flood

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Gloria Goes For Gold
Marina Firth and Annabel Tempest
Oxford Children’s Books

Of all the unlikely animals to be called graceful it’s Gloria the hippo and her family members, a champion- winning team of synchronised swimmers that always comes away with gold at the Artistic Swimming Championships. However Gloria is not as happy as the others about this: she longs for a prize she doesn’t have to share. Then comes a letter about the upcoming Savannah Games and Gloria decides to find a sport she can win solo. Off she goes leaving the other hippos to practise their routine and before long bumps right into sprinter Cheetah going so speedily she fails to see Gloria. The hippo decides she’d like to try sprinting and Cheetah offers to coach her. Pretty soon Gloria realises that this sport isn’t for her and as she sits beneath a tree contemplating what next, down swings Monkey. He makes gymnastics appear great fun but Gloria quickly discovers that she’s not cut out for being a gymnast.

Nor does she take to distance swimming. In fact she decides that after all, she’d rather be part of the family team; but feels too ashamed to ask.

The next day sees the start of the Savanna Games and Gloria tucks herself away among those watching the artistic swimming.

While so doing she overhears something her brother says to their cousin. Is there a situation that needs saving? If so, what should she do?

Priceless pictures by Annabel Tempest are for me the real winners in this book. No matters whether one aspires to be a solo winner or part of a winning team, it’s important for children to see that it’s participation and doing one’s best that really count the most and Marina Firth’s telling shows this in a fun, non-didactic way.

Albert and the Flood
Ian Brown and Eoin Clarke
Graffeg

It’s a truly eventful day for Albert and his friends despite the sporting event Games Day being rained off. Actually that’s an understatement for it’s a thunder storm that is responsible for rescheduling of the Games, despite what the ant commander says as the rain starts. However the steady rain rapidly turns to a torrential downpour that causes severe flooding of many of the creatures’ homes. Fortunately Albert quickly starts leading a rescue mission, aided and abetted by Frog, a group of ants and some spiders.
Before long, Albert’s shell was packed with minibeasts, while others of the rescued found safety elsewhere.

Then suddenly the rain eases off and the storm clouds pass to reveal a glorious sight in the sky.
The ant commander makes an announcement that pleases most of the creatures; and then Albert too makes an announcement. Can you guess what he said: it concerned something of vital importance.

This is Albert’s seventh adventure created by team Ian and Eoin and it’s one that contains an important life lesson for young children. Eoin’s illustrations are very amusing and both adult readers aloud and their audiences will laugh at many of the scenes.

The Super Sunny Murder Club

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The Super Sunny Murder Club
ed. Serena Patel & Robin Stevens, illustrated by Harry Woodgate
Farshore

This follow up to The Very Merry Murder Club has thirteen tales written by almost the same authors as the previous book: Abiola Bello, Maisie Chan, Benjamin Dean, Roopa Farooki, Sharna Jackson, Patrice Lawrence, Elle McNicoll, E.L. Norry, Serena Patel, Annabelle Sami, Dominique Valente and Nizrana Farook, with Robin Stevens contributing one of his own.

With suspense aplenty, not all the stories involve a murder but each tells of a mysterious, disturbing happening, the perpetrator of which, young investigators set out to discover.

Robin Stevens’ offering is a murder mystery that takes place in a second-hand book shop called Mystery and Mayhem that the mother of Gracie, the story’s narrator visits to do some research of her own. It’s there young Gracie meets the shop owner’s offspring, Why, and three days later the two of them have to turn detective, Why clad in a trench coat and sporting dark glasses. It’s crucial they discover the real murderer of customer Mr Rustin because Gracie’s mother has been arrested for the crime.

In Roopa Farooki’s A Midsummer Night’s Murder Mystery, an awful lot of yogurt is consumed in the run up to the school play but there’s something not right about Yoglicious: people start getting stomach problems after eating it. Teacher Mr Ofu is concerned there won’t be any children left to act as they’re all stuck in the loo. But who is responsible for the dodgy yogurt? Ali and Tulip’s Nan-Nan is on the case: can she get to the bottom of what Ali calls ‘a proper medical mystery. A poison plot and a bad guy in disguise!’ ?

There’s a story that stands out as being very different from the others: Mistlight takes the form of a diary written by Jormun Jaegerson who is to turn twelve in just two months time. On that fateful day, so his grandma, Ska, tells him, he must leave the island and make a new life, forgetting all about his previous one. Either that or be turned into a sea serpent on account of a curse-bargain struck between the world of monsters and that of humans. But then Jormun finds a scale has grown on the back of his neck and soon after his sister Elowen notices it too. She though suggests it might be a feather. Does that mean that perhaps her brother could be the one to break that curse and what then?

There’s no need to read the stories in order; readers can just dip in and out of the book and almost immediately their little grey cells will be working overtime along with the young detectives’ in the stories. And make sure to take time to appreciate Harry Woodgate’s black and white illustrations; there’s one for each mystery.

Terrible True Tales: Romans / Terrible True Tales: Egyptians

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Terrible True Tales: Romans
Terrible True Tales: Egyptians
Terry Deary, illustrated by Helen Flook
Bloomsbury Education

Having watched his parents slain by the Romans, the boy narrator of the first tale The Captive Celt, is taken from Britannia to Rome as a slave, not to a Roman but to Celtic hero Caratacus.

There he learns vital fighting skills and three years later, his master frees him to return to his homeland.
With maternal death, human sacrifice, brutal corporal punishment, genocide, and child slavery this is pretty terrifying stuff but Terry Deary’s dark, wicked sense of humour shines through it all and children love it.
They will also enjoy the three other stories – The Fatal Fire, The Grim Ghost and The Goose Guards. The Fatal Fire gives a short account of the burning of Rome and of the Emperor Nero.
The Grim Ghost refers to the subject of a tale told to a young boy, Pertinax as he keeps the great Pliny company in the garden. The Goose Guards tells of a boy priest who is determined to get his revenge on fellow pupil Flavia for making him look stupid during a lesson with the head priest.
Each story has an afterword giving a factual historical summary, as well as a ‘You Try’ activity or two.

Egyptians too has four stories loosely based on real events. The Gold in the Grave is told from the viewpoint of Paneb a tavern owner’s son, renowned for his thieving skills. In the robbery he’s aided and abetted by Dalifa,

Both are tasked with getting the treasure out of Tutankhamen’s tomb after the funeral ceremony. You could say of some concerned with this thievery, greed comes before a fall.
The Plot on the Pyramid centres on the pyramid builders, with farmers being required to work for the Pharaoh building a pyramid during Akhet, the time of year when the river rises, flooding the surrounding fields. We read of the trials and tribulations of one farmer, Yenini, member of a gang working under the direction of the bullying Ahmes. With lots of gory details, many young readers will relish this.
In The Magic and the Mummy a father tells his young daughter Neria she’s to assist him in the House of Death where mummies are made. To her surprise she is asked to mummify the pharaoh’s cat so it can accompany him to the Afterlife. There’s a big problem however: this cat looks very like her own cat, Katkins so there’s no way she wants to kill and gut the creature. Is there any way she can save the cat and not get caught and punished for so doing?
The Phantom of the Nile sees Menses, a bit of a chatterbox, training to be a scribe in the local temple. In order to earn extra money to buy his father a much-needed new boat for fishing, he takes on another job, to help Maiarch get rid of the phantom that haunts her new house. When Menses visits the woman a second time he is accompanied by his friend Ahmose who quickly surmises that it’s no ghostly being that is alarming Maiarch. So who is it and what is the intruder’s purpose? Can Menses come up with a plan to expose him and even earn the money his family so badly needs? Greed and doing the right thing are at the heart of this story.

Irreverent and huge fun – the fun being added to by Helen Flook’s illustrations. Put both books in a primary classroom and children will be clamouring to read them.

A Hat Full of Sea

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A Hat Full of Sea
Maudie Smith and Jen Khatun
Lantana

Cora visits her Grandpa Jim during his stay in hospital; she wears the hat he’d given her every time she goes. His room there has only a small window, which Cora doesn’t feel is enough for him. She wants him to experience a variety of places and so using the hat, she sets out to help him.

First it’s the sea and with the help of her imagination, the girl catches ‘the cold-water ripples and the white foaming waves. … the softness of the sand and the seagull cries all wrapped up in the wind.’ Carefully she carries them to him and we see the water seemingly covering him like a blanket.

Next she takes him the countryside alive with flora and fauna,

then the thrills of a fairground and more including the beauties of a black velvet night sky.

Her best idea, Cora thinks, will be a journey but as she nears a train, she drops her hat. She’s heartbroken at not being able to find it , but when she visits the hospital again she can’t find her grandpa either; he’s not in the bed.

Happily though, he has recovered and is soon beside her telling Cora that it’s her, not the hat, that is special and cheered him up. Moreover he feels ready for a walk down to the sea.

I love the playfulness of Jen Khatun’s digitally created illustrations that are perfectly in keeping with Maudie Smith’s warm, equally playful text. A beautiful portrayal of inter-generational love that reminds us all how important it is to spend time with loved ones.

Beasts From the Deep

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Beasts From the Deep
Matt Ralphs illustrated by Kaley McKean
Nosy Crow

Many of the marine creatures featured in this large format book look like the stuff of nightmares, as you turn the pages that take readers through the five ocean layers. So take the plunge if you dare, down, down first into the twilight zone – a bright and busy area that gives a home to all manner of weird and wonderful creatures – some of the scariest of all. There’s the Atlantic Wolffish, possibly the size of a bath if fully grown, with sharp protruding teeth (hence the name) and a clever natural ‘antifreeze’ protein that allows the blood to flow even in the chilly waters of its North Atlantic home.

Equally alarming, perhaps even more so, is the black dragonfish. In addition to those horrific teeth, the female beasties use a barbel – long flexible tendril that protrudes from the chin and when lit up can attract potential prey towards its mouth.

With no sunlight penetrating, the midnight zone (1,000 – 4,000 metres) is one of constant dark save for the flashes from bioluminescent creatures. This zone is rich in different species of sharks including Greenland sharks that can live to be 500 years old; as well as some of the weirdest-looking monsters you could imagine, or rather couldn’t. There’s a fish – the Fangtooth -with teeth so long it cannot close its mouth.
I think I’d rather face some of those jellies that pulse, flash and glow in show-stopping colours like the Bloody-Belly Comb Jelly or the Halitrephes Jellyfish, both of which inhabit the midnight zone.

Dive even deeper and there’s the aptly named abyssal zone where the complete absence of light means it has no plant life. There are thought to be various creatures that have adapted themselves to survive, so we read ‘crushing pressure and near-freezing darkness.’ One is the Tripod fish that is able to stand on the seafloor using its specially evolved fins.

A monstrous menagerie indeed exists in our ocean waters, with new kinds of creatures being discovered all the time.

Kaley McKean’s awesome artwork and Matt Ralphs’ captivating text, created with input from biologists from the University of Cambridge, will certainly astonish and inspire young would-be marine biologists and other people fascinated by a largely unexplored world.

Bertha & Blink: Rumble in the Jungle

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Bertha & Blink: Rumble in the Jungle
Nicola Colton
Little Tiger

As a result of her BESTest friend, a fellow inventor, stealing the design for her latest invention when he was supposedly giving her feedback, Bertha has packed up and moved far away from her city home.
She now lives in a workshop hidden high up among the trees. It’s there she happily works away at new inventions especially the Garb-o-Guise, her current project, which is near to completion. As she is adding the finishing touches there comes loud THWACKing, BOOMing, THUDDING sounds. So distracting are the sounds that she goes outside to investigate but she can’t find anything out of the ordinary. Back she goes but almost immediately there comes a RUMBLE in the jungle that scatters the contents of her workshop every which way. Determined to put a stop to the hullabaloo once and for all, she gets out an invention she’d previously been working on. Then out on her terrace its beam picks out strange but unidentifiable shapes.

Suddenly in front of her there lands a bird who introduces herself as Mona the post bird before whizzing off on her rounds. This give Bertha a brainwave. She sets to work and creates a mechanical bird that she names Blink. Blink is highly excitable but also very biddable. Away whizzes Blink, thrilled to be out in the jungle. When she returns, more rattling sounds start and that prompts Bertha to summon up all her courage and sally forth with Blink.

Can Agents Bertha and Blink finally find out where that noise is coming from? If so, what then…
The final spreads neatly set the scene for their next adventure.

With speech bubbles aplenty and lots of noises off as the story unfolds, readers just starting to fly solo, will delight in the amalgam of words and pictures Nicola Colton (author/illustrator of the Jasper and Fluff books) has created in this series opener.

Can You Share Little Whale? / Zeki Eats Out

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Can You Share, Little Whale?
Jonny Lambert
Little Tiger

Little Whale doesn’t want to share: her place at the front of the pod has been taken despite Mum saying she can be the leader; then it seems that noisy gannets are taking all the silvery fish and leaving none for her to feed on. “It’s not fair!” complains Little Whale but then up swims her friend Blue offering to share a snack with her. This pleases her and she decides to search for something delicious to share with Blue. Down she swims towards to coral reef but is concerned in case she isn’t able to find a special something: suppose there isn’t sufficient, she worries. Happily though, Turtle helps her discover a reef burgeoning with treats aplenty,

more than enough for everyone and thanks to the reef’s inhabitants Little Whale is able to return to her pod with a juicy treat to share with Blue.

Again, however, Little Whale is upset for she finds Blue swimming alongside HER mum! “That’s my mum!” says Little Whale pushing her friend away. Mum scolds her, and reminds her offspring that “it’s always good to share.” Little Whale turns to Blue, confirming that there’s enough room for them both and together, they swim forward as friends.

It’s great to see Mum whale using gentle guidance rather than chastisement to help her little one learn the vital lesson about sharing. Jonny’s beautiful, detailed scenes of the coral reef are a particular delight and he captures so well the movement and textures of the whales and other marine fauna.
The life lesson Little Whale learns is an essential one for little humans to learn too: this story is an enjoyable way to make sure they realise that sharing is both important and brings mutual pleasure to those involved.

For slightly younger children:

Zeki Eats Out
Anna McQuinn and Ruth Hearson
Alanna Max

The adorable Zeki, is going out to have lunch at a restaurant with Daddy and Nana-G. Accompanying them is Zeki’s Mr Seahorse so the little boy gives him some tips on appropriate restaurant behaviour before they set out.
Having greeted Nana-G outside the venue, in they all go and Bruno their waiter is there to serve them. The three consult the menu and make their choices of what to eat and then Dad and Zeki head to the washroom to wash their hands before the food arrives. Clearly an enjoyable time is had by all.

Equally an enjoyable time will be had by adults and the little ones with whom they share this latest episode in the life of my favourite story book toddler. It’s simply told in Anna’s straightforward prose which leaves Ruth’s spreads to portray the warmth of the love between Zeki and his family members.

Waiting for the Stars

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Waiting for the Stars
Jonny Lambert
Little Tiger

Mouse is super excited: she’s staying up late to see the stars for the very first time. Fortunately, for the wait feels very long, her friends Owl, Firefly, and Squirrel are there too. To help pass the time Owl offers to tell them a story but she nods off leaving her exceedingly lengthy tale unfinished. No matter, Mouse has spotted a star, or rather, she hasn’t but the excitement has made her need a wee

and soon after, very sleepy, until hurrah! At last! There are the stars filling the sky with sparkles; but only briefly.

Along come thick clouds causing tears to start falling from Mouse’s eyes.
Happily however Firefly knows a way to fill the sky with magical sparkles once more …

Young listeners will surely recognise that eager anticipation felt by Mouse during the story, a story from which friendship shines forth throughout.

As always Jonny Lambert’s scenes provide visual delight at every turn of the page. The rich colours of the creatures and the surrounding vegetation really stand out against the night sky. A charming tale to share with young children at bedtime but also one to read aloud and talk about in a foundation stage setting.

The Great Henna Party

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The Great Henna Party
Humera Malik and Sonali Zohra
Lantana

It’s the eve of Noor’s cousin’s wedding and the women of the family have gathered to sing traditional songs and have henna (also called Mehndi in Urdu and Hindi) designs applied to their hands for the big day. Meanwhile Noor’s Baba (Dad) has been busy decorating the garden with lights and string of flowers. They shimmer like treasure, Noor thinks.

At the henna party Mama tells Noor about the ‘henna name game’ in which the henna artist hides the groom’s name in the intricate patterns she applies to the bride’s hand and the groom has to try and find it. Noor likes the idea of this henna game and asks her mother if she can hide someone’s name on her hands too.  Mama agrees but her daughter can’t decide which of her treasured family members to pick.  As the party proceeds Noor wonders if it should be one of her parents, her Nana or Dada (grandfather)

or perhaps her big sister. As the party draws towards its close, Noor suddenly has an innovative idea and when she sees the result of her choice, the girl declares. “It’s perfect!”

This is a truly delightful celebration of family and of culture that thanks to the details – verbal and visual – both author Humera Malik and illustrator Sonali Zohra have included, will be accessible to all children, not just those who are familiar with South Asian cultural traditions. I love the warm colour palette and richly patterned illustrations Sonali has used. (A final author’s note giving more information about henna is included.)

A lovely book to share with KS1 children. It’s sure to result in much discussion both about this story and perhaps weddings more generally.

The Invisible Story

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The Invisible Story
Jaime Gamboa and Wen Hsu Chen
Lantana

On a shelf, hidden away in a corner of a large library is a book that’s unlike all the rest. They would sometimes spend time arguing about which is most read, or best loved; but the ‘Invisible Story’ listening from the shadows has never been read. It longs to be colourful and popular like the others. “I’m just a ghost, nobody can see me.” it chants over and over.

Then, one day a young girl visits the library; she runs her fingertips over the spine of the ‘ghost’ book, discovers tiny raised dots. and announces … “I’m going to read.” The alarmed book begs her not to, saying that its pages are blank. However the girl’s gentle voice calms the book and it goes on to discover that it is in fact a very wonderful story indeed, a story written in braille, “the language you read with your fingertips’.

The invisible story now realises that no one story is better than any other, they are just different.
Translated from the original Spanish by Daniel Hahn, Jaime Gamboa’s inclusive tale is a reminder that not every book is intended to be read with the eyes. It also contains an important message about the power of a great story – the best books can be read over and over; they never really end.

Wen Hsu Chen’s watercolour and cut paper illustrations work in harmony with the text and are really effective, be they wholly white, predominately white with small splashes of colour or where the colour predominates.

For those readers who are blind, partially sighted (or dyslexic) the publishers have collaborated with the Royal National Institute for the Blind and accessible formats are available from RNIB Bookshare.

Outdoor Science

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Outdoor Science
Laura Minter & Tia Williams
Button Books

If you are looking for a resource of nature-related activities and crafts, to encourage children to develop their curiosity about the science of nature and natural phenomena, this could well fit the bill. The majority of materials they will need to do the thirty STEM projects herein are likely to be in your home already, or they can be found in close proximity to it.

Illustrated with photographs of a diverse group of child investigators, and with step-by-step instructions, the practical projects all begin with a needs list and conclude with a ‘science made simple’ explanation.
As a foundation stage/ primary teacher, most of the activities are not new to me but might be to parents of under elevens. I know from experience that youngsters are fascinated by shadow art and in this book Laura and Tia offer two ways of using shadows to create art.

Equally, most young children love watching tiny creatures so making an ant farm would appeal particularly for those who have more interest in fauna than flora. It’s a great way to encourage children to be observologists from an early age.

A wide variety of interesting, enjoyable activities to get youngsters interacting with the environment are presented from ‘Bubble Science’ to ‘Fractal Prints’ and ‘Scrap Vegetables’ (growing new veggies from leftovers) to a ‘Solar Still’.

This is a book for family collections, one to encourage children to set their screens aside and enjoy the outdoors especially now the longer days are here.

Tidemagic: The Many Faces of Ista Flit

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Tidemagic: The Many Faces of Ista Flit
Clare Harlow, illustrated by Karl James Mountford
Puffin Books

Since arriving in the curious town of Shelwich searching for her father who has gone missing, and been hoodwinked by one Alexo Rokis, Ista Flint has become familiar with its winding cobbled streets. Whereas most of the town’s residents are born with a magic gift – a Tide-blessing – of some kind, Ista is a face-changer with the magical ability to take on the appearance of anyone she encounters, something she makes use of for all manner of purposes.

As we read, ‘Amongst the cobbled streets of Shelwich, magic rises and falls with the tide.’, but something weird is happening; many townsfolk are mysteriously disappearing and it seems to be happening more often.

Then Issa meets Nat and Ruby, both of whom are on searches of their own but to save the town they need to work together and find out what is really going on. A perilous enterprise it turns out to be and one readers are quickly caught up in, desperate to uncover the truth along with the three child protagonists. as their quest takes numerous twists and turns.

With its richly imagined, immersive world building, enriched by Karl James Montford’s wonderful illustrations, dark magic aplenty and much uncertainty as to who is and who isn’t, a villain, the book ends in such a way that some things are left open for further adventures of Ista, that readers, including this reviewer, eagerly anticipate.

My Momo-la is a Museum

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My Momo-la is a Museum
Mamta Nainy and Violet Kim
Lantana

When Momo-la comes to visit every summer, she shares her precious mementoes and her life stories, one every night, with her granddaughter, the narrator of the book. When she asks Momo-la where all her stories come from, she responds, “Stories are everywhere,” and offers to show her granddaughter.


The following morning they head out into the city noticing such things as wildflowers and wormholes, things the child mostly misses. They visit first the Museum of Ancient History, which is full of artefacts, followed by the Museum of Art. There the girl points out that a painting depicts a woman wearing a jacket with a design like the one on Momo-la’s chuba (a traditional Tibetan apron).

In fact wherever they visit, the girl sees something that reminds her of Momo-la, who has a special story from her own experiences to tell about each one.

After a tiring but wonderful day the two return to the child’s home, where she stands her grandmother before a mirror and makes an announcement: the most important museum of all is there right before her eyes. …”A museum that will always feel like home.” And what a wonderful storyteller she is.

A memorable, heartwarming story of intergenerational love, family, culture, memories, treasures and most importantly, stories. It’s a powerful reminder that grandparents, parents and other family members are treasure chests of stories, stories that they love to share if we give them time to do so.
Indeed each of our lives is a story, or perhaps stories within a story. At the back of the book, the author, Mamta Nainy, has written a letter telling how her grandmother had a wooden box full of special objects that went everywhere with her; objects that told stories about her family and their migration to India after partition. She also talks of ways Tibetan refugees in a settlement in New Delhi try to keep stories of their home alive.

The book is beautifully illustrated by Violet Kim who brings the story of the girl and her Momo-la to life in densely coloured, detailed scenes. If you share this with a primary class, perhaps some of the children might ask their own grandparents in to share objects and associated stories from their lives.

Finding Alfie: A D-Day Story

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Finding Alfie: A D-Day Story
Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman
Scholastic

Created by two masters of children’s literature and published in collaboration with the Royal British Legion, to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day on 6th June 2024, this intensely moving story pays tribute to all those who served in the Second World War.

Author Michael Morpurgo’s journey is one he undertakes in search of the answer to what happened to the painter of a picture that he saw on the wall of Aunty Iris’s room in her nursing home every time he visited her and which now hangs on his own bedroom wall.

It was some years after her death that, having discovered a photo he’s sure is of Alfie, he set out to discover why the young soldier never returned despite promising to do so.. Telling his mother he’s going off sketching, he heads first to Bradwell in Essex and there comes upon an old man who gives him one piece of Alfie’s story. As a result of what he learns our narrator then crosses the Channel to Normandy.

There he finds Alfie’s grave and further pieces of the story and in so doing learns a powerful lesson about service to others be they from your own home country or another.

Both the written narrative and the illustrations are beautiful; together they make for a profound, powerful story, just one of so many that could be told of those who stood, determined and dedicated, against the threat of invasion in 1940, and played their part in the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy in 1944 and in the liberation of Europe from occupation and tyranny.

We owe it to them to keep their story alive and one way to do so is to share this book with children in school. Another is to buy a copy, a contribution of £1 from the sale will be given to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. (The historical background to the story is chronicled by Philippa Rawlinson, Director of Remembrance, Royal British Legion and includes photographs of the landings.)

The Rainbow Flamingo

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The Rainbow Flamingo
Catherine Emmett and Claire Powell
Simon & Schuster

Adele the flamingo is desperate to be like her pink contemporaries, indeed she appears pink from the outside but within are colours she has great difficulty hiding – rainbow colours. With the annual Flamboyance fast approaching, having without success upped her diet of shrimps, Adele is sick with worry. This year her class is to give a dance display and poor Adele is sure she won’t be able to hide all her colours inside. Making excuses to leave the practice, she goes home feeling totally alone. There she summons her courage and goes to find her mum; but mum flamingo is too busy with her culinary activities to pay heed to her daughter’s approach.

Off goes Adele in search of something to consume that might make those feathers turn pink. The outcome of her hunt is a colour change but now to Adele’s extreme concern, she is green all over.

Then she spies her mum and tries explaining but her tears speak louder than any words. However, once home again, she’s finally able to confide in her mum. No more hiding for Adele, especially the following day at the Flamboyance. With her eyes on mum’s proud face, the little flamingo joins the other dancers, breathes deeply and opens wide her wings, dancing and prancing in her full glory.

Who do you think is the winner of the crown? It turns out that some of Adele’s friends have hues of their own too.

With its empowering, motivating message, ‘don’t be afraid, wear your colours with pride.’ Catherine’s rhyming text and Claire’s suitably elegant illustrations convey Adele’s mounting anxiety splendidly. It takes lots of courage to be yourself, as the young flamingo finally did, but trying to be somebody you aren’t will never make you happy.

Definitely a book to share and discuss in KS1 classrooms as well as at home.

Croaky: Search for the Sasquatch

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Croaky: Search for the Sasquatch
Matty Long
Oxford Children’s Books

Young frog Croaky Hopper longs for adventure, wanting to be like his hero, TV adventurer Tennessee Toad. However, his Aunt Lilly dismisses his desire for riding rickety mine carts along rusty rails and hopping across crocodile-infested rivers and instead sends him off to join the Woggle Scouts. The sort of friends Croaky wants to make though aren’t the kind that tie knots and bake biscuits; rather he wants adventure-loving pals. All he finds when he arrives are clever-clogs mouse Sheena, intent only on acquiring badges, and Winston a rather old-looking puffin. Croaky is not impressed, nor does he believe that the other members of the group are out selling biscuits to old people.

However things change dramatically as a result of the newcomer deciding to ignore the ‘Ultimate Danger’ notice on the door beside the store cupboard. Down he tumbles into a secret adventuring museum full of bits and pieces from only Winston knows where. While down below Croaky also comes upon a map and come the weekend the three scouts embark on a camping expedition to Crystal Creek National Park. The hope is that they will track down the long lost Sasquatch.

Things don’t get off to a very good start though for the wind whisks the map right out of Winston’s wing. Lost in a huge forest sans map is not in the plan, a plan that quickly turns into a survival mission, especially when the compass is broken. Deciding sleep is their only option, they huddle round a fire and things start looking rather better until Winston disappears and operation search begins.

Endlessly enthusiastic, Croaky leads the two towards a mountain, one he climbs using his tongue while Sheena takes the longer route. What do they discover next? … And will they all make it safely back to base camp?

Madcap humour abounds and Matty Long’s new characters are a terrific trio. Long live the Woggle Scouts: this account of their adventuring is smashing fun for new solo readers.

To the End of the World, Far, Far Away

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To the End of the World, Far, Far Away
Ronda Armitage and Victoria Turnbull
Walker Books

An accidental spillage by little bear, Louis, makes Mum a bit cross. Louis cries and decides it’s time he headed off, far, far away right to the end of the world. With bag in hand, he pauses, turns to Mum and asks, “Will you be sad when I’ve gone away?” Mum then goes into dramatic mode, describing how her tears will create a great sea, wherein the waves will ask about her sadness and then transmit her words to the marine creatures.

She’ll then climb a tall mountain atop which she will beseech the wind to help her in her search. The forest trees she visits will carry her distressed message to the creatures there.

Will that exhaust all her sadness, Louis wants to know. But no, even his own toys will start to cry for nobody will be there to tuck them up and hold them tight at bedtime.

By now readers and listeners will have realised that Ronda Armitage’s dramatic “going away” tale is showing the depth and breadth of motherly love enacted in a kind of game that both parties thoroughly enjoy playing. Who better to illustrated this than Victoria Turnbull whose scenes are filled with wonderfully whimsical details at every turn of the page, while the changing expressions on the faces of the two characters are a delight.

Like this game that’s likely played over and over by its protagonists, the story too will be oft requested by young children and read aloud over and over by parents and other adults.

I Am Wolf

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I Am Wolf
Alastair Chisholm
Nosy Crow

I read this thrilling dystopian story in proof form but liked it so much that when a finished copy arrived I couldn’t resist reading it again.

Coll, the main character has two prosthetic limbs – a leg and an arm – more advanced that those currently available, as the author discovered when researching limb differences for the book. Like many of the people he met through the Limbo Foundation and Finding Your Feet, Coll’s limb difference is part of him, but does not define him.

When first we meet twelve year old Coll, having been used to living aboard Wolf, the gigantic construct that is almost always moving, he is finding standing on still ground weird. However he joins crewmate, Luna to salvage whatever useful bits and pieces they can, mostly lost by Hyena after the previous evening’s battle between the two massive machines, when their rival was defeated.
But shortly after the two have delivered their sacks of salvaged pieces Coll learns that senior crew member Alpha, who had promised him he could go on a mission he really wanted to, now won’t let him; Coll puts this down to his limb differences. Instead she, who is not proud of being his mother, suggests he accompany her into Scatter to speak to the Mayor.

While Alpha and Mayor Ruprecht talk, Coll wanders off and comes upon a child being attacked by a group of others. He intervenes and horrified by what he’s told, takes responsibility for the boy who had once been a member of Boar. “That child is your problem now”, Alpha insists. Coll renames the terrified child Fillan (little Wolf) so he can fit in aboard Wolf.

Then the others of Wolf crew return with a cache that had been hidden and it’s time to move on, but almost immediately there is an attack from an enemy construct. After rounds of fierce fighting and an accident that involved Rieka, she, Coll and Fillan find themselves left behind by Wolf. Not long after they come upon another stranded girl, named Brann.

Coll is Wolf, but he starts to question everything he believes himself to be and wants to be. Does his original family really have his best interests at heart? It’s time to confront uncomfortable truths, shed his preconceptions and learn that trust and new relationships are possible. Is Rieka right when she says, ‘perhaps I’ll find a better way to live.’ Maybe, as Brann suggests, ‘A Cub way’.

With awesome world building, perils aplenty, sack loads of suspense, some quiet contemplative moments and several terrific characters, this is a read that grips you tight. Moreover the ending leaves you dangling, eagerly awaiting the sequel, I Am Raven.

Does A Bear Wash Its Hair?

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Does A Bear Wash Its Hair?
Moira Butterfield and Adam Ming
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

In this sequel to Does a Monkey get Grumpy? author Moira Butterfield turns her attention to animals’ daily routines. You may well be surprised to read that many animals – certainly the fifteen featured in this book – devote a considerable amount of their time doing the same things we humans do, although they don’t go about them in the same way. They are nonetheless, creatures of habit.

Whereas we humans normally use soap and water to keep ourselves clean, brown bears lick their fur, slurping up whatever is attached to it, sometimes tasty bugs, so they get a reward as well as a wash. Certain fish including green moray eels visit coral reef cleaning stations where cleaner wrasse nibble off unwanted bugs and flaking scales: a win/win process.

Did you know that decorator crabs dress themselves up with bits and pieces from the ocean, these they stick onto tiny bristles on their shells, the intention being that so disguised they won’t be easily preyed upon by hungry enemies.

Young readers will be amused to discover that young meerkats have lessons – hunting lessons where they learn how to bite off a scorpion’s sting. Before swallowing a scorpion though, they roll it in the sand to rub off any poison.

Poo is a topic that seems to fascinate most young children and I suspect they will laugh at the thought of a sloth descending from its tree once a week to take a ‘big poo’ excreting a third of its body weight. Having made a poo pile, sloths then need to bury it to prevent enemies discovering where they live.

Tidying,

co-operating, making friends, teeth cleaning, eating meals and sleeping are habitually done by animals of various kinds.

All these are described in Moira’s bouncy rhythmic text (with additional factual snippets) and illustrated in Adam Ming’s amusing scenes making this a really fun way of teaching children the many similarities between humans and other animals..

Mega Robot Bros: Nemesis

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Mega Robot Bros: Nemesis
Neill Cameron
David Fickling Books

High octane adventuring for robot brothers Freddy and Alex Sharma unfolds in this the seventh in a graphic novel series and the stakes seem higher than ever before.
As the story opens, the brothers are on holiday with their parents having ‘some quality family time’ together at the seaside; but then on the pier Alex encounters a huge fan, Erin and her brother, the result being a visit to the robotic Steel Circus. This leads to an accidental but disastrous encounter with old adversaries whose existence the Bros had completely forgotten about.

Things become progressively more weird with a TV appearance and a protest by Humanity First at Tilbury Port that intensifies becoming a huge riot between the robots and humans with Freddy going crazy and things descending into chaos.


Things are exceedingly dark by the end of the book with Alex realising that he’s going to have to take desperate measures to stop his brother. But can he stop Freddy… and save him from the corrupting evil power of the villainous Robot 23? The last few scenes set up the entire saga for a dazzling final instalment that fans of this magnificent Mega series with its clever mix of excitement, humour and pathos will be eagerly awaiting.

Super Sausage Dog To The Rescue

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Super Sausage Dog To The Rescue
Rachel Morrisroe, illustrated by Jenny Taylor
Puffin

When this story starts – the first in a new series – Dottie, an adorable dachshund is residing at Doris Darling’s Home for Dogs. In order to find a forever home however, she is keeping under wraps the fact that this dachshund cross has super skills; she can fly and she can talk. Then into the rescue centre come Harry and his dad and before Dottie can say ‘treat’ she’s in a car heading for a new abode.

Once settled in, it’s not long before Dottie’s super skills are discovered by Harry and the pooch takes the risk of sharing her entire life history with the boy. Happily he thinks Dottie is amazing.
As the two are talking together, a squirrel appears at the window and using its breath and paws writes a message on the glass urging them to attend a meeting the following dawn. Dottie’s powers are urgently needed by Rebecca Refractor who runs Superpets, a secret organisation of superhero pets that keep the world safe from super villains.  How though can the superpets keep the world safe when they are being kidnapped by a supervillain intent on making them part of her collection? 

It’s up to ‘Super Sausage’ Dottie and Harry to stop the petnapping of the remaining superpets by Sparkletta Collector, either that or face being her next victims. Can the duo do it?

The two lead characters take turns to narrate their action-packed adventure giving readers a lot of laugh-out-loud moments: Dottie describes her farts thus, ‘My trumpets are louder than twenty trombones in an orchestra. Big, broccoli-scented bottom belches billow down into the room.’
More laugh-out-loud moments, including one of the Prime Minister glued to the wall wearing his polka-dot pants, are provided by Jenny Taylor’s drawings.

And who wouldn’t want to visit ‘The Factual History Museum’ – just one of Rachel Morrisroe’s splendidly playful phrases. I found myself giggling every couple of minutes as I read this zany tale and like its target audience of primary readers, will eagerly await book two.

The Legend of the Wild West Twins

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The Legend of the Wild West Twins
Jodie Lancet-Grant and Katie Cottle
Oxford Children’s Books

Imagine a Wild West where every one of the inhabitants is a child. That’s the setting for this cleverly written adventure starring twin sisters Buffalo Lil and Buffalo Jill. The former is said to be the hardest ridin’ … fastest knickerbocker glory-guzzlin’ gal in town; her sister, she of the sweetest smile is the sewer of the frilliest frocks and baker of the tastiest iced buns in the vicinity of Lone Ridge.

Lone Ridge’s claim to fame was its hosting of the wildest cowboy contest in the West: the Rip- Roarin’ Rumble and for the first time, Lil has decided to enter. What will happen when she comes up against Lone Town’s hero Yee-Haw Jack, he with a reputation for long distance lasso-ing feats, acrobatics in the saddle and bucking bronco saddle sitting that’s almost unbelievably long lasting?

Into town rides the young guy certain he’s about to win the Rumble once again but Lil isn’t going to let him do so without giving it her all. Moreover, Jill has her back and keeps her beady eyes on Jack from the off. Pretty soon her suspicions start to arise.

Come nightfall she goes out to investigate and it’s evident that Jack is no hero, he’s a ‘low-down cheatin’ rattlsnake.’

Is it possible that by co-operating, the twins can expose Jack and his dastardly ways.

High octane humour with a plot that twists hither and thither, celebrates difference and demonstrates that honesty and being true to yourself are what matters most, whomsoever you are. Katie Cottle’s pictures have a potency all of their own and provide the perfect complement to the text.

Fireborn: Starling and the Cavern of Light

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Fireborn: Starling and the Cavern of Light
Aisling Fowler, illustrated by Sophie Medvedeva
Harper Collins Children’s Books

Slightly darker than the previous books in the series, this concludes the trilogy. As the book opens, with the Master’s army converging and moving closer to Ember, the witches virtually destroyed and the whereabouts of her friends Six and Seven not known to her, Phoenix is feeling especially low. “We should have marched north, to rescue Six from Victory and the Master … And to find Seven,” she says to her pet squirrel Widge.

Moreover, Ember can only survive the imminent fight for survival if, rather than fighting among themselves, the clans join forces and defeat their common enemy. To bring this about an address by Phoenix will, it’s hoped, be instrumental. “I think they’ll actually listen to you, Hoarfrost insists.
She agrees and speaks to them that same evening, revealing in so doing that she’s an elemental. Responding to the question “What is this ‘Master’ she tells the crowd, “He controls all dark creatures, bends them to his will effortlessly. …I can promise you this, when you face the Master and his monstrous army, the differences between your clan and another will suddenly look very small indeed…. He has united the dark creatures; if we are to survive, we must at least be as united as they are.”

There is hope lying within the Cavern of Light in the form of a hidden weapon, but embarking on a journey filled with horrific beasts and peril like they’ve never before experienced is a choice that must be made. A final showdown looms but can Phoenix possibly defeat the Master and save her beloved friends.

The battle scenes, when they eventually take place, are the stuff of nightmares, with Phoenix taking a decision she may regret. To say this book is suspenseful is an understatement; a handy box of tissues close by is advisable as you draw near to the end with Phoenix’s past and present coming together and sacrifices being made by certain characters.

With amazing world-building, a gamut of emotions and occasional dramatic illustrations by Sophie Medvedeva, this is an awesome end to a brilliant series. As the Guardian says in the final chapter, “This world is full of marvels, Phoenix. Life and wonder and glorious possibility exist alongside the darkness.”

Greenwild: The City Beyond the Sea

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Greenwild: The City Beyond the Sea
Pari Thomson, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli
Macmillan Children’s Books

For me this sequel, is every bit as good as Greenwild: The World Behind the Door. Herein Daisy’s adventures alongside her Five O’Clock Club friends – animal whisperer Indigo, The Prof, Acorn and cat Napoleon, as well as new member of the cast, Max, a fugitive with a distinctive birthmark on his face and a past he is keeping hidden or doesn’t remember – continue apace.

Botanists are being found dead in the Amazon region and the adults likely have plans of their own, plans concerning what to do. As you’d expect, Daisy is very worried about the safety of her mother who has been taken captive in the area. Rescuing her from there is not possible as it means taking on the environment-destroying Grim Reapers; but could Daisy follow her mother’s wish and enlist help from the people of the Kingdom of Iffenwild, a place most don’t even believe exists? Maybe, though Iffenwild is somewhere that has cut itself off from the rest of the world for reasons unknown to Daisy et al.

In this book the author creates a backdrop that is powerfully intricate and fascinating; there’s Iffenwild and the Nautilus Theatre Company and its players that come to life as if before your very eyes as Daisy and friends have to evade or face ambushes from the evil Grim Reapers whose effect on the coral and seaweed is devastating. They also need to find out whether the Duchess of Iffenwild is to be trusted or not. All this as well as riding majestic wild water horses and rescuing rare creatures from an animal market, not to mention how to control their individual magical gifts and learning how to trust each other. Their aim is to put paid to the evil scheme of a regent and obtain the much needed assistance for the critical conflict that is to come.

Overflowing with magical happenings, places and otherworldly creatures, some of which are portrayed in Elisa Paganelli’s awesome illustrations,

Pari Thomson’s wondrous tale is totally gripping and not only that, it gently nudges readers into thinking about the vital importance and conservation of the natural world.

Bear vs Dragon

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Bear vs Dragon
Marcela Ferreira and Mark Chambers
Oxford Children’s Books

This is a rib-tickling tale of a stand off on a bridge, a very rickety bridge over a rapidly moving river. The two animals involved are both large and both are determined to be the first to cross to the other side. From the moment both Bear and Dragon are standing on the bridge, children (and adult sharers of the book) will notice the creaking and cracking sounds coming from the wooden construction indicating disaster for the foolhardy pair.

As their self-aggrandising dialogue proceeds, Mark Chambers’ splendidly droll illustrations capture to perfection the body language of the speakers until eventually, following a barrage of verbal insults,

the inevitable happens sending the protagonists hurtling downwards into the ravine and they SPLASH into the rushing water.

Happily they are not swept away; rather what follows is a highly precarious ascent to safety

and the forging of a powerful bond of friendship.

Young listeners will painlessly absorb the important messages about seeing something from another’s perspective and the power of co-operating.

A cracker of a book to read aloud and discuss in Foundation stage and KS1 classrooms and at home.

Magicalia: Race of Wonders

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Magicalia: Race of Wonders
Jennifer Bell, illustrated by David Wyatt
Walker Books

Bitsy’s life is pretty normal as she endeavours to find interesting events to cover in her attempt to follow in her journalist mother’s footsteps. She enjoys creating podcasts with her best friend, Kosh, but things are pretty dull in Oddington, until that is a raven-haired woman appears in her home accompanied by a magical beast. An argument about a book ensues and this is followed by the disappearance of her Dad (an astrophysicist), along with the woman and the purple hamstoceros beast. Not however before Dad has summoned a creature of his own, Quasar, and instructed it to protect Bitsy and Kosh.

Bitsy then decides to search for clues as to where her Dad might have been taken. She comes upon an old book entitled Magicalia wherein are lists of majicores and the emotions that conjure them. The two children must use this book both to locate Eric (Bitsy’s Dad) and to work out why he was taken. First stop the address atop a letter Bitsy has found, and.there she learns things about her parents, secrets that they’d been keeping from her..

With the help of the powerful Magicalia book what follows is an incredible adventure- a race against time – taking them across the globe to places as far apart as India’s Taj Mahal and Paris as they too become conjurors of majicores and follow the clues in the hope of rescuing Bitsy’s Dad from a mysterious enemy.

Building a world of majicore beasts created by emotions is an awesome achievement on Jennifer Bell’s part: her spellbinding tale wherein the importance of creativity and courage and the power of friendship are key, will grab you from the outset and hold you captive until the end. Part of the magic also lies in David Wyatt’s illustrations of the majicores that introduce each of the twenty six chapters. Happily though it isn’t quite the end; Race of Wonders is the first of a series.

The Ballad of Cactus Joe

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The Ballad of Cactus Joe
Lily Murray and Clive McFarland
Oxford Children’s Books

Cactus Joe is ‘lean ’n’ mean’, and every night he happily sings all alone in the desert. Until that is, along flies a woodpecker. Using its persuasive powers the woodpecker exhorts the cactus to let him live on one of his branches and a deal is struck. However, despite what Joe says to his lodger it does not remain ‘Just Woodie and me / till the day I die.’ All manner of birds start making overtures to the erstwhile loner: first it’s an owl,

then a hawk that nests, followed by more and more that flock to stay on Joe. By now our spiky plant has earned a great reputation as ‘the place to stay’ but Cactus Joe has had enough. “Go away!” comes his order and they all take flight leaving Joe on his lonesome once again.

Surprisingly to our protagonist, it’s lonely sans the companionable sounds of his chattering congregation. However that isn’t the only surprise; another is forthcoming thanks to Woodie et al.

This rhyming tale of adapting to different circumstances and being open hearted is, with its surprise ending, huge fun. Clive McFarland’s characterisation of the cactus is wonderful: I love his bright orange colour pops especially that hat and bandana.

The final spread gives information relating to Cactus Joe being a saguaro cactus, a kind only found in the Sonoran Desert of Southern Arizona and northern Mexico and the animals likely to be found near to such a cactus. Share with individuals or a class: there’s plenty to talk about.