Author jillrbennett

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.

Michael the Incredible Super-Sleuth Sausage Dog

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Michael the Incredible Super-Sleuth Sausage Dog
Terrie Chilvers, illustrated by Tim Budgen
Firefly Press

In this second Michael story, the sausage dog decides that in addition to being a celebrity mind-reading expert, he wants to be a detective mastermind. The reason being Susan the Chocolate Labrador has gone missing. Could it be a case of dognapping as Police Detective Wrinkles suspects: if so that will mean the filming of Michael’s TV show featuring said Labrador will have to be halted. However, when a ransom note is discovered signed by DogX and Associates, there’s no doubt in Michael’s mind: a detective he must be. That way he can surely boost his TV ratings, which have recently nose-dived.

Time to use your talent and charm to your advantage, Michael and you’d better be quick about it. There’s just two days to drive to Three Paw Creek, meet the villainous kidnapper, be a su-paw hero and rescue Susan, then get back in time to restore your show to the top of the ratings chart.


Things don’t go exactly to plan however. To say the overnight accommodation – Dog House Motel – is substandard is being generous, especially as Detective Wrinkles has booked herself in at the vastly superior Bouncy Ball Hotel.

Far worse is to come though, for Michael’s plan goes completely off the rails when he too is dognapped. With Pamela calling the shots, this is cheesily catastrophic . How on earth is Michael going to extricate himself, not to mention Stanley and Susan from their place of incarceration? And what of that all important show?

A witty tail wagging, twisty turning delight for KS2 readers especially the dog-loving kind. Tim Budgen’s illustrations add to the zestiness of the tale so make sure you paws and look at them properly.

Wowzers!

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Wowzers!
Lou Carter and Magda Brol
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Rabbit has been saving up to buy a new car. When he finally has the money, off he goes to the garage and there purchases a snazzy blue sports car. Away he zooms to show it to his pals, the first being Bear. But within minutes our lapine character is suffering from digger jealousy, fire-engine envy,

sailing boat begrudgement and more. Each time he sets eyes on a means of transport he considers superior to his own, back home he goes and adds something extra before setting out again to show off his ‘perfect’ car . Seemingly though he’s thwarted at every turn of the steering wheel.

Eventually considering himself the proud owner of the BEST vehicle around, Rabbit zips through the countryside

eventually reaching a bridge where his friends call to him to stop and assist with a rescue. What will Rabbit do, whizz past completely ignoring the pleas of his pals or will friendship prevail?

Young children will love joining in with the ‘WOWZERS’ and ‘VROOMs of Lou Carter’s rhyming narrative as they follow the zany modifications Rabbit makes in his endeavours to impress, which Magda Brol depicts in her zany scenes. With important messages about learning to be content with what you have and friendship being way more important and satisfying than belongings, this is a story to share and talk about with foundation stage/KS1 children.

HELP! Ralfy Rabbit and the Great Library Rescue

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HELP! Ralfy Rabbit and the Great Library Rescue
Emily Mackenzie
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

This is Ralfy’s third adventure and he has a mission. When he and his little brother Rodney visit the library, their favourite place, they are devastated to discover that everything has been cleared away. Miss Page the librarian tells them that because there aren’t enough people using the library nowadays, it is to close the following day. “It would take a magic dragon to save it now,” she says sadly.

Taking her words literally the rabbit brothers round up all their book-loving friends and before long they’ve got all they need for their dragon search.

Off they go, first stop the zoo where they speak to zoo-keeper Mr Dung, who on hearing the news , realises how much he needs the library. So too do all the other people Ralfy and Rodney talk to: the doctor,

the sweet shop owner, and many others are horrified at the imminent loss of the invaluable resource.

Back home go Ralfy et al feeling utterly dejected and next morning they walk, equally sadly, to say goodbye to the librarian. What do you think they find?

Emily’s illustrations are full of details that will make both young children and adults smile and the characters’ expressions speak volumes. Together with its vital messages about the importance of a library in the community and the role everyone can play to bring about change, this is a story to share at home, in the classroom and of course in libraries – long may they survive and flourish.

How To Stop The End of the World

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How To Stop The End of the World
Tom Mitchell
Harper Collins Children’s Books

Col Coleridge is facing a boring summer holiday especially as his parents are far from happy about the time he spends on his Xbox; time they think he should be spending keeping himself fit, especially as he’s just messed up a relay race his family were running in. Then Col notices some strange chalk markings on the pavement close to his home, followed shortly by the appearance of strangers acting suspiciously who claim to be to do with installing super fast broadband in the locality. Could they be burglars perhaps? Col decides to dial 999. However the police and his parents, who are both solicitors, are not at all impressed.

Having had a somewhat strange conversation about strangers in his garden with his young golf fanatic neighbour Noah, Col goes out and formulates a plan, the first part being to further investigate the strange markings. While so doing he encounters Lucy who has only recently moved to the area; she too is intrigued by the markings and is sure they are not to do with broadband. They are runes she informs Col, Anglo Saxon runes.

Another strange thing is that having put up special cameras given him by Lucy, Noah and his dad become convinced they are to spy on Noah’s golfing shots and come a-knocking on the Coleridge’s door to complain. Of course Col doesn’t tell them the real purpose is to watch for the strangers but says he’s bird-watching.

Things get progressively crazier as both Col and Lucy embark on a quest that involves combat re-enactment, an ancient mythical sword, a curse and a mission to save the world.

The writing is bursting with droll humour as the pacy plot twists hither and thither towards the dramatic denouement. A book that will work well as a KS2 class read aloud and for individual readers.

Lily Halfmoon and the Witches’ Council

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Lily Halfmoon and the Witches’ Council
Xavier Bonet
Allen & Unwin

This is the second in the magical graphic novel series featuring nine year old secret witch Lily Halfmoon and her friends Mai and Gigi who live in Piedraville and help keep the town safe; Lily with her animal guardian and magical moonstone.

It’s the most important time of the year for witches, Samhain when the Witches’ Council holds its annual assembly. It’s when magic is at its strongest, and this year is Piedraville’s turn to host the activities: for three days and nights the Library will be filled with magic from all over the world as witches come together to introduce their gems and guardians, to dance and to learn new skills.

But on the second night of the celebrations Lily is accused of reckless use of her magic gemstone; it’s confiscated and she is forbidden to use her magic powers until she’s told otherwise. Who is the mystery figure that’s making problems for her? With the help of her friends can Lily solve the mystery and rescue the situation?

Eye-catchingly illustrated, this story, with themes of friendship, caring and resilience, is essentially about fighting for what you believe in and Lily surely does that. As the drama draws to a close she’s told she’s “a witch who advocates for the good of all” … “who cares about people.”

Bonet’s occasional pages giving more detailed information relating to the world he’s created such as the witches’ lunar calendar, the wheel of the year, a glossary of magical creatures as well as myths and legends about dragons and kelpies will appeal especially to readers with an interest in gemstones as well as fantastic happenings.

Ranger Hamza’s Eco Quest / Brown Bears

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Ranger Hamza’s Eco Quest
illustrated by Kate Kronreif
Ivy Kids

It’s great to be back in the company of Ranger Hamza and here he takes three children and readers on an important learning journey to discover how nature’s everyday heroes from the smallest seed to the tallest tree play a crucial role in our ecosystem, and how we also have a vital role to play. It’s not difficult and Ranger Hamza explains in straightforward steps some ways to help the planet, starting with the making of a mini water butt.
I loved the adjectives used to describe lichen, of which there are three types. In addition to providing food and shelter to tiny creatures, lichen acts as an indicator of the air quality in an area: lots of lichen indicates the likelihood of low pollution, so next time you walk with children keep a watch too see how much is growing.

One thing virtually everybody will notice is dandelions; rather that pulling them up (even from your garden), leave a place where some can grow. In so doing you will be helping several kinds of insects. I know from experience that children love to plant sunflower seeds and watch them grow: this is a great way to provide food for birds, so long as you keep the heads, let them dry out and then put them somewhere birds can access.
These are just some of the suggestions in this thoroughly engaging, inclusive book. It’s never too soon to start teaching children about ways they can help nature thrive so I suggest adding a copy to your family bookshelves, and foundation stage/ KS1 teachers, you need one in your classroom: it offers an abundance of forest school activities.
Another highly effective narrative non-fiction book is

Brown Bears
Dr Nick Crumpton, illustrated by Colleen Larmour
Walker Books

Set in Alaska, USA, this tells the story of a mother brown bear and her two cubs, one male, one female that we follow through a year in the forest. Therein lie dangers aplenty so, almost as soon as they are born, the mother bear starts teaching her offspring survival skills in order that they will be able to live and thrive alone in the wilderness.
The cubs learn to climb, to leave scents to inform other bears where they’ve been and to remove bugs from their skin. It’s dangerous for bears to stay too long in locations where people have left discarded food, as this can endanger both humans and the bears that have followed their noses. Much better is picking berries and foraging for nuts in the meadows and forest areas, which is what the cubs do come the autumn to build up a layer of fat to help protect them through the winter when hibernation prevents them from eating.

Come the snowfall, mother bear builds a new den wherein they will all spend the winter, in the warmth trapped by the tree branches covering the tunnel’s entrance.
After a whole seven months the mother wakens as do the cubs, the light hurting their eyes after so long. Then it’s out into the melting snow to start feeding again and come the summer part of their food will be salmon that have come to lay eggs in the gravelly rivers. Danger isn’t over however; indeed it comes in the form of a massive, very hungry male brown bear; but thanks to the cubs’ climbing skills and their mother’s warning sounds, the three remain safe and as autumn approaches again, the male cub will leave his family and go in search of a new home
Beautifully illustrated and captivatingly written, (with paragraphs of additional information to enjoy either during or after reading the main narrative), this is perfectly pitched for KS1 children.

Pages & Co: The Last Bookwanderer

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Pages & Co: The Last Bookwanderer
Anna James, illustrated by Marco Guadalupe
Harper Collins Children’s Books

All good things must come to an end: that oft used sentence is now sadly applied to the wondrous and wonderful Pages & Co. series. Sadly for its countless followers, but not necessarily so for Tilly, Milo, Oskar and Alessia as you will discover herein. They are still endeavouring to stop the Alchemist carrying out his final plan, as well as finding a way to untangle what he’s done thus far and to save Pages & Co and indeed save bookwandering and the imagination for everyone.

To begin with they venture into Arthurian legend to find the first bookwanderer, the wizard Merlin, keeper of The Book of Books. To succeed in this final quest and get everything they require and discover all they need to know, Milo and Alessia then have to separate from Oskar and Tilly as they travel into different aspects of stories and mythologies. By so doing, can they succeed and receive the help they require?

Milo and Alessia travel into Norse mythology to try and make a deal with Loki. Tilly and Oskar travel into Greek mythology and meet the Muses

Tilly and Oskar meet Calliope, chief of the muses

and the Fates: it’s through information thus acquired that Oskar asks Lachesis, “Bookwandering isn’t as old as imagination?” “Certainly not as you understand it,” comes her reply.

So, Bookwandering is not what they understood it to be ‘. but neither is it what some people desire it to be; Moreover, one character they meet is not what he leads the children to believe either.

The narrative twists and turns so many times that it’s well nigh impossible to recount all that happens but that would surely spoil the book for those who have long awaited its arrival.Let me reassure you though, that there’s a thrilling, satisfying finale, with friendship, imagination and the power of story being key throughout. Who could ask for more; certainly not this reviewer.

Beti and the Little Round House

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Beti and the Little Round House
Atinuke, illustrated by Emily Hughes
Walker Books

Beti and baby Jac live in a cosy little round house built by their Mam and Tad in the woods beneath the mountains in Wales. Living close by are Mr Crouch; his house is a tumbledown round one, and in a ferny house live Beti’s friend, Billie, and her mother Fern.
The book follows Beti and the adventures she has presented in four stories, one for each season, starting in the spring when Beti celebrates her birthday with a party and receives a surprise present in the form of a goat to provide her with milk every day; make that a double surprise for along with the mother goat comes a tiny little baby one. Beti names them Goat and Naughty.

When summer comes, Beti enjoys collecting food from the garden – peas and strawberries but she’s not the only one eager to gobble them up: Naughty has her eyes on them too. Back indoors, the little girl has problems amusing her little brother so Tad sends her out and she goes to visit Billie and together the two friends, aided by another friend, Blue, spend the rest of the day endeavouring to fill up an enormous jar with water from the nearby waterfall.

Unsurprisingly there are spills aplenty but also magical seeming dragonflies to assist – fairies, so Beti tells Mam and Tad.

Autumn brings dark evenings and lots of berries to pick and make into pies before the birds gobble them all. There’s also fierce stormy weather that reminds Beti of a dragon with its roaring sounds and she falls asleep somewhere that isn’t her snuggly bed in the little round house. The day ends well though, with huge helpings of Mam’s delicious pie.

With winter comes the ice and snow, a poorly Mam, escaped horses and Beti overcomes her fear of the dark.

Sheer delight from cover to cover. With its gentle humour, Atinuke’s gorgeous descriptions of the natural world and Emily Hughes’ wonderful colour or black and white illustrations on every spread, and themes of family love, friendship and the power of believing in oneself, this is a lovely book to read aloud to foundation stage children. For most of them the portrayal of a simple way of life will be something entirely new.

No. 5 Bubblegum Street

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No. 5 Bubblegum Street
Mikolaj Pa and Gosia Herba
Greystone Kids

Translated from the original Polish by Scotia Gilroy, this picture book takes readers inside the apartment building at No. 5 Bubblegum Street. It’s five pm we’re told by our tiny, friendly insect narrator, who lives in the top floor apartment, number 11.

One by one, we are introduced to the residents of each floor, the first being Mouse, a famous rapper preparing to go out. Mouse is frantically searching for his hat to complete his outfit. Apartment two is home to some monkeys and we join them in their kitchen as they bake a delicious “speckled orange orangutan cake” Apartment three, owl’s residence is currently empty; all we see is evidence that Owl enjoys games of different kinds.

There’s also Cat, lover of birdsong; Panther who is mad about house plants, a family of spiders, musicians all, a slumbering Hippo,

frogs, a sculptor dog and Bat ready and willing to share a twenty one move dance routine.

Come 6pm all these neighbours meet on the rooftop terrace where they each contribute their particular talent to a party and a great time is had by all.

This will appeal to children who enjoy poring over detailed illustrations, especially of the quirky kind. Full of movement and joyfulness, Gosia Herba’s, executed in bright pencil colours, are certainly that.

The Bravest Word / The Feeling Good Club: Believe in Yourself, Bella!

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The Bravest Word
Kate Foster
Walker Books

A powerful story of trust and love between a boy and a dog that addresses depression in youngsters, it will surely help readers who are struggling to recognise the symptoms in themselves. It will also reassure those readers that they aren’t alone and however confused and scared they might feel, there are ways to cope, so long as they seek help from somebody.

Eleven year old Matt, a soccer star is suddenly beset with thoughts of “I can’t do this” especially when it comes to playing his favourite game and he feels tired all the time. He’s way too scared to talk to his mum who clearly cares but puts his troubles down to hormones, and he won’t say anything to his dad for fear of upsetting him

Then, as he’s out walking with his dad, they come across an abandoned dog that has clearly been very badly treated. Matt is determined to save the creature and decides to call him Cliff after his grandad. He also finds a scrap of paper with the words UGLY, SAD DOG. HE’S YOURS close by. Off they go to the emergency vet and having followed the required procedures, and persuaded Mum, Cliff finally goes to live with the Brown family.

As Matt cares for the newcomer, we see that boy and dog exhibit similar emotions: Cliff recovers physically but remains withdrawn and anxious while Matt remains determined to restore the pooch’s faith in human beings as well as restoring his own zest for life. It’s an arduous slow process, the highs and lows of which Matt shares with his new canine buddy.

In doing so, Matt perceives his own situation with increasing clarity. Bit by bit, the boy begins to open up, sharing, his despair, his sickness, his hopes, through Cliff’s social media presence, which soon becomes viral. There’s enormous on-line support for the dog and by association Matt, from virtual strangers, which finally forces the boy to find the courage to ask for help. “I think I might be depressed,” he tells his Dad. Dad’s response is enormously understanding; he’s clearly proud of his son and feels great empathy towards him. Matt then discovers that he’s not the only person who has problems with their mental health. Then surrounded by love and support, he is allowed to rest and begin to heal.

A hugely important, beautifully written, honest book that shows children they are not alone in their struggles, and that as Matt’s Dad tells his son, asking for help is the bravest thing.

The Feeling Good Club: Believe in Yourself, Bella!
Kelly McCain, illustrated by Jenny Latham
Little Tiger

Bella, Archie and Shazmin are three friends who set up a mindfulness club to help them understand and handle their feelings. This has really boosted Bella’s self-confidence, until the three decide to enter the Muddy Assault Course Challenge in the hope of winning £50, which they intend donating to WaterWorks (a charity). They call themselves Ace Team but they’re one person short. Billy, a rather loud, over-confident boy offers not only to join their team but also to coach them. Training begins in earnest that weekend and after one session Bella wants to pull out of the event.

Things go from bad to terrible when the team hold a training session in Bella’s garden and end up wrecking Mum’s favourite plant pots and making a whacking great hole in Dad’s new fence panel and the only one who doesn’t straightway apologise to Bella’s parents is Billy.
Somehow Bella needs to find the courage to talk with Archie and Shazmin, Billy too, about how she really feels. Can she do so and set Ace Team back on the road to enjoying preparing for and participating in, that challenge?
She’s fortunate to have Jess, her older sister, to discuss everything with; among other things that really helps her get her feelings about Billy out in the open, though as events unfold she ends up with a much greater understanding of why he behaves in ways she doesn’t like and ends up calling him a friend.

This is Bella’s second turn of sharing her diary with readers: I wonder who will be next in this very enjoyable series. Make sure you check out the mindfulness activities at the end of the book.

Adnan

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Adnan
Mark Arrigo and Steven Chatterton, illustrated by Diala Brisly
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Ten year old Adnan and his mother had to flee their home country of Syria and are now safe in a new home in the UK. However, following the trauma, with both his Dad and sister having lost their lives in the war, Adnan’s mother is struggling with depression . Now though the boy embarks on a different kind of journey: to help his mother remember their lost loved ones and in so doing, gradually heal and start to build a happy new life together. He’s hopeful his plan will work as he begins collecting discarded materials from around the city and using them to recreate some of both the happiest and heartbreaking memories from their previous life – essentially story telling in three dimensions.

It’s not an easy undertaking but Adnan perseveres.

As he builds we learn of the traumatic boat crossing the two made and how his brave mother saved Adnan’s life when he tumbled overboard. We also perceive how much she means to him through the everyday things he dreams will soon become realities: all these things he puts in his notebook. A notebook that becomes a turning point for Adnan’s mother: a place from which to begin their life’s new adventure in a new home with a new purpose.

This is wonderfully portrayed in Diala Brisly’s illustrations.

I found this book particularly poignant as my partner and I befriended a family of refugees from Syria a few years back and then others from different parts of the world; but it’s equally pertinent now in the current climate with ever more people seeking refuge in our country and the less than positive reception many are sadly receiving. Happily however there are amazing people like the authors of this book who have given so much time, energy and love to helping refugees and other children lacking resources.

This story will one hopes, spark discussion and help to change negative attitudes towards asylum seekers. For every copy sold a donation of the book’s cover price will go to the charity Choose Love and the authors are both donating half of their royalties to the same charity.

Pearl and her Bunch

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Pearl and her Bunch
Momoko Abe
Orchard Books

Pearl is a member of a very large family of grapes so she thinks, but one day a passing child stops and what he says, precipitates a revelation from Mama and Papa Grape. No, Pearl is not a grape, she’s a pea, albeit a much loved one, but what she’s been told makes her feel as if the grapes aren’t her real family; she’s the odd one out. Shock horror!

Off she dashes, tumbling to the floor where she finds Carlos carrot, her best friend who asks her what is wrong. As the two talk, there comes a loud sobbing and it’s coming from a large yellow fruit. Thinking Big Yellow Fruit must be lost, the friends take her to look for her family.

They hunt high and low till there comes a call, “Grace! Grace!” It’s her mama but to Pearl’s surprise Grace does not look like the others in her family.

Carlos then takes Pearl to meet his family and there, thanks to his responses when she’s astonished by their appearance, she reconsiders her ideas about what it means to be part of a family. “You don’t have to look the same … you can just feel it when you’re with family.”

Those were Carlos’s words but now they are ones that she too would endorse, especially when she receives a very special group hug from the Grapes on her return to ‘her bunch.”

Light-hearted in approach yes, but identity and celebrating family, the topics Momoko Abe explores are topics most of us feel deeply about.

Knowing the Score

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Knowing the Score
Ros Roberts
Little Tiger

Gemma knows very little about her family members other than her mum with whom she has lived for as long as she can remember. However despite their closeness, Gemma is keen to find out about the others – Gran and Uncle Jo(e) – whom she has included in her special people mind map drawn during the year six residential from which she’s just returned. She’s aware that following her return from the USA, Mum fell out with Gran and since then they seldom see one another. She also has hazy memories of visiting Gran’s house and her Uncle’s disastrous wedding, after which all contact stopped.

Then Mum is invited to join Terry and two other friends on a month long, adults only Caribbean cruise. With some persuasion, she agrees to let Gemma stay with Gran, something the girl sees as an opportunity to start healing the family rift. At the last minute though comes news that Gran has fallen and broken her hip. Mum’s initial reaction is to cancel her plans but finally she allows her daughter to stay with Uncle Joe instead.

It’s evident to his niece from the start that he’s friendly, fun and generous, clearly with much more money that Gemma’s mum, though it’s his qualities not his wealth that Gemma values. When she learns that Uncle Joe has work commitments during the first part of her stay and that he has enrolled her in a tennis camp, she’s more than a little worried, but agrees to give it a try. It’s thanks to the camp that Gemma eventually discovers a vital secret about her mum; she also finds that she’s a quick learner when it comes to tennis and has a lot of potential as a player. Now all she needs to do is to bring her fractured family back together. Can she do that without upsetting anyone?

Embracing some of the harsher realities of life, this sensitively written story of a complex family
with its themes of forgiveness, new beginnings, healing and risk taking will be especially enjoyed by older KS2 readers.

North and the Only One

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North and the Only One
Vashti Hardy
Scholastic

Having woken fourteen days ago from a seemingly endless sleep, twelve year old Rose, has no memory of any life before, not even her name. What caused the scar on her head? Why does she feel lost in her own home? These are just two of the many questions she has. The only thing that feels familiar is North, her puppy. Yes, the woman she lives with, says she is Rose’s mother but despite the pleasant life the three have together, as the days pass something feels wrong. Fragments of her past come to Rose in dreams. She’s walking among the trees – there’s a forest: home perhaps? Nothing like the place she now finds herself in. Then one night Rose makes an unsettling discovery about this ‘Mother’ of hers and it drives her to leave the house, with North beside her. She runs towards the only thing that feels real to her – the forest: surely there she can find other humans.

What Rose finds is that she’s on a frightening journey through a city with a political set up based on control and fear wherein her very existence is both a threat and threatened; and where she doesn’t know whom to trust: the tour guide mouse or the charming fox and rabbit droids working for a travelling theatre. A journey that makes readers feel they’re part of the girl’s search for the truth.
Probably THE most important thing of all Rose discovers is the power of stories; stories that help us make sense of things, that connect us both to the past and one another. Stories make us human and reveal our truth.

With its STEM and environmental references, this is a compelling story for older readers that is highly thought-provoking, exploring as it does, what being human means and what makes a family.

Excuse Me, Are You a T-Rex?

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Excuse Me, Are You a T-Rex?
illustrated by Clare Elsom
Scholastic

Rather than a case of ‘Look out, he’s behind you, this is an instance of ‘Look out, it is you.’

Soon after a little dinosaur emerges from its egg, it meets a host of other tiny dinosaurs all huddled together. “Have you heard? There’s a T-Rex in town!” shouts one. Unlike most of the other little dinos. this one is not scared at all. Rather, it embarks on endeavouring to find this bus sized creature with its vicious jaws and claws.

How to go about this is not difficult; it merely requires asking anyone and everyone you meet: “Excuse me, are you a T-Rex?” This question is directed first at what we discover is a Chindesaurus.

Having asked almost a dozen others politely,

including one standing atop an enormous pile of poop,

and journeyed through millions of years, our determined little dinosaur still hasn’t met that which it seeks.
Why could that possibly be, I wonder.

In my experience, small humans can never have too many dinosaur books. Using a narrative non-fiction mode this one is cleverly and amusingly done, with delicious dino. expressions and timelines, and will surely appeal to young children. A fun read aloud that gently informs.

How It Works: Shark / Don’t Ever Laugh at a Ladybird

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These are two new novelty board books from Little Tiger: thanks to the publisher for sending them for review.

How It Works: Shark
Molly Littleboy, illustrated by David Semple

Cleverly designed with strategically placed peep through parts of every page, this serves well as an introduction to sharks for preschoolers. They will be fascinated to learn that these powerful predators have super-strong tails that enable them to swim faster than a motorboat can move. They may well be surprised to hear that sharks were around before dinosaurs existed. I’m sure humans young and not so young are pleased not to have 300 teeth to clean, the number some sharks possess and having learned that, in contrast to humans, sharks very seldom sleep, young children might try that as an excuse not to go to bed at the proper time.
Playful, fun learning in bite-sized portions, with clearly labelled body parts and “Did you know? interjections from a deep-sea diving mouse that swims up on every spread.

Don’t Ever Laugh at a Ladybird
Harriet Evans, illustrated by Michael Slack

You will probably decide to heed the titular warning of the furious faced ladybird, as well as the rhyming ones concerning the other four irate minibeast kinds that fly, spin forth, leap or slither from the pop-ups on Michael Slack’s wacky brightly coloured spreads. If not, you might easily end up in a honey covered mess after baking with a bee, dizzy from trying to out dance a disco crazy spider, lose your voice while endeavouring to emulate a ribbiting frog, or smothered in slime should you hug a shell-loving snail.
Minibeast madness to read aloud with the very young

Christopher’s Caterpillars / Maisy Goes for an Eye Test

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Christopher’s Caterpillars
Charlotte Middleton
Graffeg

While working in the garden with Posie, his best friend and fellow football lover, Christopher Nibble hears a strange munching crunching sound coming from his dandelions. It’s six hairy caterpillars feasting on his prize plants. What should he do? Certainly not let them continue eating his plants. Posie suggests they keep them as pets.They compile a list of possible needs and off they go to visit Mr Rosetti at his café. He amends the list and gives them some caterpillar keeping advice. The caterpillars munch and grow bigger and bigger until they’re no longer in their container.

The friends make some “LOST! ‘ posters and paste them all over Dandeville but nobody has seen the caterpillars. Then comes an email from Mr Rosetti, telling them to bring the jars that had housed the caterpillars to his cafe for inspection.

What do you think they discovered in those jars? Is it time to make some new celebratory posters.

With some lovely descriptions, this delightful story captures the wonder of nature and a life cycle especially well. Children who have already experienced the joys of keeping caterpillars may wonder why Christopher and Posie failed to notice the chrysalises in their jars.

The book concludes with two spreads of relevant information – Caterpillar Facts and How to Care for Caterpillars. If you missed it the first time around, (or if your original copy has been read to pieces) this book with its funky mixed media illustrations is one for sharing with young children either at home or in a foundation stage setting.

Maisy Goes for an Eye Test
Lucy Cousins
Walker Books

In this 23rd Maisy First Experiences story, young children join Maisy and her friend Ella when they attend the opticians to have their eyes tested for the first time. The reason for the visit is that Ella has trouble reading the number symbols written on the nursery blackboard. On arrival they sit in the waiting room until Flamingo, the optometrist is ready: Maisy goes first and is able to see everything whichever eye she uses. Not so Ella though; the optometrist uses her special machine to look right inside Ella’s eyes and promises to make some specs that will be just right for her eyes. Then with Maisy’s help Ella chooses some frames, the lenses are inserted, and she’s given a case to keep them in. Maisy selects a pair of sunglasses to wear in bright sunshine and with a promise to return for a check-up in a year, off they go , both sporting their new glasses.
This upbeat, reassuring story will help prepare little ones for their first visit to the optician.

Supersaurus: Total Tricera-Flop!

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Supersaurus: Total Tricera-Flop!
Angela Woolfe and Mark Chambers
Little Tiger

Supersaurus is something of a disaster when it comes to saving the day. Smalltown’s ice cream seller, Dan’s residence catches fire during the jamboree and with the assistance of his sidekick, Hatch, Supersaurus hurls the fossil-flinger at the roof extinguishing the flames but wrecking the roof. The duo then notice moggy, Mr Tiddles stuck in a tree. Chaos ensues as they rescue the cat but flatten Dan’s ice-cream van, leaving its contents wide open to thievery in the form of Burglar Gran.

Supersauarus attacks the burglar with his T.rex trap causing cake to fly every which way and ice cream from Dan’s van to squirt forth all over the place super speedily. Just as Supersaurus is about to clear up the mess with his Bronto-Broom, the town’s mayor calls a halt and sends the duo packing. Only Hatch is aware of the impending fate of Dan’s van but he’s caught in a torrent of ice cream.

Can Supersaurus finally save this whole sorry situation once and for all?

Totally daft, Angela Woolfe’s funny rhyming saga of a muddlesome dinosaur and his disasters, is illustrated in suitably silly scenes of the inept superhero at large in the community. With its combination of two of young children’s favourite topics – superheroes and dinosaurs – team Woolfe and Chambers are surely onto a winner with this one.

Dino Dad

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Dino Dad
Andy Day, illustrated by Steven Lenton
Puffin Books

Dinosaur daftness to delight comes in the form of a Dino-Dad-Day spent with six year old narrator, Ruby Thumb, her little sister Indiana (Little Indie for short) and their dad, who is a dinosaur expert. Mum, a rare animal photographer, is at work. The adventure takes place on a Saturday and is precipitated by Indie consuming some of Dad’s ‘prehistoric’ porridge then going into his study during a game of hide-and-seek and roaring while they waited for him to clear up a gooey porridgy mess.

When Ruby gives chase, she discovers that her little sibling has vanished. As a result Dad then reveals something he’s always kept quiet about : Ruby is a POOPA – A Protector Of Our Prehistoric Allies – so too are Dad, Mum and Indie. Dad suspects Indie touched his magical ammonite shell when in his study and has accidentally been transported to Dinnotropolis.

Time for Dad and Ruby to use their special POOPA powers and go to her rescue. So begins a madcap chase to discover Indie’s whereabouts before she creates too much havoc on that secret island

and get her safely home before Mum returns in the evening.

Penned by CBeebies host Andy Day, with terrific black and white illustrations by Steven Lenton at almost every turn of the page, this is ideal for younger newly confident readers as well as a fast moving read aloud for those around Ruby’s age.

Ferris

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Ferris
Kate DiCamillo
Walker Books

This story, set I think in the late 20th century, unfolds around ten year old Ferris (Emma Phineas Wilkey), so called because she was born beneath a ferris wheel at the fairground. Ferris is sensitive, serious and a lover of words, the last thanks to her 4th grade teacher.

It’s an eventful summer for certain. It was then that a ghost appeared to her grandmother Charisse, that Ferris’s six year old sister, Pinky, decided to become an outlaw and that her Uncle Ted left Aunt Shirley, his wife to live in the basemen of Ferris’s home, hoping to paint a masterpiece. Oh yes and it was the summer that Dad declared there was a racoon in the attic; moreover Charisse said she was unwell and agreed to see a doctor.

Add to the mix Ferris’s best friend, Billy Jackson a pianist who hears music in his head all the time, Boomer the dog, teacher Mrs Mielk, Billy’s dad Big Billy Jackson and Charisse’s oft quoted assertion that “every good story is a love story” and you realise that those words definitely apply to Kate DiCamillo’s moving, memorable, quirky tale. Assuredly there’s love in abundance, but there’s also reunion, plenty of humour supplied mainly due to Pinky’s misdemeanours, as well as loss and birth.

Until You Find The Sun

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Until You Find The Sun
Maryam Hassan and Anna Wilson
Hodder Children’s Books

Debut author Maryam Hassan was inspired by her own experience and children she has taught to write this poignant, affecting story.

Aminah’s life is a happy one, made especially so by the evenings she spends with her grandfather, Da, who while snuggled together on his charpai, tells her tales of adventurers who visited new lands and made exciting discoveries. Then one day her parents tell her that they too are going to set off on an adventure. At first Aminah is excited but then Da tells her that he isn’t going with them.
Saying goodbye to her beloved grandfather, brings Aminah to the brink of tears as she urges him again to join then. “I am always with you. You will find sunshine wherever you go,” he tells his granddaughter.

When their plane lands at their destination though, there’s no brightness, only grey skies and rain. The next few days continue to be sunless, bitterly cold and despite wrapping in several layers, Aminah still feels numb both inside and out. She feels out of place in her new school too

and despite her parents’ best efforts to cheer her up, the only warmth she feels is when talking to Da on the phone. How she longs to go back. Understanding Da reminds his granddaughter that her adventure is just beginning and promises to light her way until she finds some sun once more.

That seems more unlikely than ever as the days grow even colder, but then as she trudges along clutching her Mama’s hand, she suddenly spots something bright mango yellow that reminds her of home. Mama and Aminah go and make a special purchase, one that brightens up the day considerably.


The following morning Aminah opens her curtains onto a sight that seems to herald that adventure Da had promised her. Outside in the snow she meets a new friend and at last the cold doesn’t have that same dismalness. When next she talks with Da on the phone, he knows that Aminah has at last found her sunshine once more.

Having spend most of my teaching life in schools close to Heathrow Airport, this beautiful story resonates powerfully with me. The author captures perfectly those feelings of overwhelming grey so many children are beset by when they first arrive from parts of the world so different from the UK. Anna Wilson’s scenes in the early part of the book radiate warmth – interpersonal and climatic – as well as portraying the contrasting grey dreariness of Aminah’s new environment where she’s never experienced such cold. An important story to share with KS1 classes especially.

Jawsome: Licence to Rock

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Jawsome: Licence to Rock
R.J. Timmis
Allen & Unwin

There’s not one but two stories in this action-packed volume, the first being the titular Licence to Rock. Let me now introduce, as he says himself. ‘Finley – supernormal shark kid by day, totally famous rock star by night.’ His fellow band members are his best friends Hunter (Harriet Heartens), Gilleon (Greyson Glitter) and Gnash (Gnarly Nelson). Adult readers will find themselves smiling at these punning names,
As the first story opens the band are preparing to head off to participate in the Euro-fishin competition in Shellbania but then at the last minute Gnash fails to show up.

With just two days before the contest the clock is ticking if the other three are to find him in time. Off they go to Gnash’s home to look for a lead and there find a card with a fish symbol that sends them rushing to the Business District. Having managed to get themselves into FISH HQ, they learn that not only is Gnash there but that using his talent for rhythm, he’s helping a super-secret spy agency track down the evil organisation, A.B.B.A (Alliance of Brutally Bad Anglerfish)

and stop them from shrinking the sun; and it transpires, from taking over the entire ocean. Can Gnash crack the vital code and with his friends prevent ABBA causing crab-tastrophe? If so, is there any way that Jawsome can get to that competition in time to compete in Euro-fishin.

In the second adventure Zombie Sharks Attack! Finley is fearful about playing wrong notes in the Rhythm and Chews festival and becoming a laughing stock. The big problem though is the sudden arrival on the music scene of The Killer Wails, they’re even top of the popularity polls, stealing audiences from Jawsome by the minute. Come festival day, the four arrive on stage and find that they have no audience at all. Cancellations follow, but also something extremely seaspicious: the school is empty save for Principal Flotsam who has turned into a zombie. In fact every shark in Chumville is zombified. It seems that this is down to the sinister doings of Killer Wails. The only ones not under the mind control of the new group are Jawsome. They need to investigate pronto. Ear muffs on guys, if you’re to stand any chance of overcoming the dastardly Killer Wails; followed quickly by Jawsome’s performance of their lives.

The power of friendship and determination are crucial here, and Jawsome have those in abundance though none is flawless. For KS2 readers, liberally illustrated, this is super silly, fast paced punning fun with elements borrowed from tv shows and films. I wonder how many they will identify.

The Magic Garden Frog

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The Magic Garden Frog
Shann Jones and Hannah Rounding
Graffeg

Mamgu has a Magic Garden that she tends carefully. It’s a place her three grandchildren, Isabella, Elis and Macsen love to visit, especially enjoying all the different things that are round shaped.

One day while exploring, they find something new in the fountain; it’s a frog they name Suki. As the children watch her, the frog suddenly sticks out her long tongue and flicks it three times making something unexpected happen. The three children shrink and fall into the pond with a splash. The next thing they know is that they’ve become wiggly tadpoles, able to breathe under the water.

So begins a magical adventure during which as a seeming metamorphosis takes place, they learn lots of interesting facts about frogs, their lifecycle and their habitat, and sadly that frog numbers are declining.
After the story is a spread encouraging children to go outside and look carefully at the nature that is all around and perhaps create their own ‘Magic Garden’. It’s never too soon to start introducing young children to the wonders of the great outdoors and this story offers a good starting point.

Both the author and illustrator feel the book is a very personal project. The Magic Garden author Shann Jones writes about, is based on her own garden in Wales and the grandchildren characters are based on her own grandchildren, whose names she used for the story. Illustrator Hannah Rounding visited Shann’s garden and met the real Isabella, Elis and Macsen several times while creating her beautiful mixed media, layered artwork for the book.

Let’s hope their timely tale, seen in part from a frog’s perspective, encourages youngsters to become environmental activists in whatever way feels right for them.
(A proportion of the royalties from sales of the book will be given to the charity Froglife.)

Elf Dog and Owl Head

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Elf Dog and Owl Head
T.M. Anderson, illustrated by Junyi Wu
Walker Books

This weird magical novel is set during a covid lockdown. Clay O’Brian is tired of the virus that has forced him to stay home away from his friends. All he has to play with is a frisbee but nonetheless he enjoys the time he spends in the forest exploring, it’s far better than being cooped up indoors with his siblings. As he goes to retrieve his frisbee a dog suddenly bursts out of the bushes, a strange-looking dog with long ears, red inside – an elf-hound, Clay calls her. The creature – Clay thinks she’s saved him from a bear – follows him home and decides to stay.

Next day out walking with the dog, Clay overhears that her collar has a name, Elphinore, and that the two men speaking to one another think she’s a royal hunting dog belonging to the People Under the Mountain.

Time passes, the school term ends and Clay has even more time to spend with Elphinore, more time rambling in the forest. Allowed to lead the way, she takes Clay ‘on one of the paths that led through crooked elfin ways up the flank of the mountain.’ It’s thus that he meets the owl-head people, in particular an Owl Boy, Amos from a village full of such people.

One afternoon a while later after a strange incident with a shaker that Clay has acquired, his sisters decide to follow him and find out from where he got it. They creep after their brother and the dog, steered by the latter, so they stay on the right path. Along that same path, DiRossi (Clay’s angsty elder sister) also forms a strange friendship with a miserable giant Vud, that her brother accidentally woke from a deep sleep. Somehow her mood seems to improve as this happens. Clay meanwhile is having to spend time helping his Dad.

Come New Year’s Eve, the absorbing tale builds to a dramatic climax with an event – ‘a party between the worlds’ – on the slopes of Mount Norumbega, after which comes a final resolution with Clay having to decide where he, Amos and Elphinore really belong.

A brilliantly clever amalgam of fantasy and the everyday world, equally brilliantly illustrated with Junyi Wu’s black and white pencil art. A book that will leave readers with a feeling of wonderment.

A Better Best Friend

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A Better Best Friend
Olivier Tallec
Gecko Press

A red squirrel is thrilled to find a best friend while out for a walk in the woods one morning; it’s a mushroom named Pock and has a ‘real best friend face’. Despite not saying much, said mushroom seems willing to comply with the squirrel narrator’s desire to show him “things you wouldn’t show anyone except a best friend” : things such as puddles reflecting the sunlight and clearings with tall grass. Autumn and winter pass and the two stay close to one another doing seasonal things, but with the spring comes Moo.

Moo is a fly, a fly that knows some even better parts of the forest and now the three spend their time together, with Squirrel wondering whether perhaps Moo is a better best friend than Pock.
Now Squirrel has a dilemma. ‘I want ONE best friend. Not two!’ he declares. Then one morning along with the sun, Gunther (a mouse) appears. Again it’s a while before much is said.

I’m pretty sure a lot of thinking is going on though, especially by Squirrel before the declaration of ‘The (Better) End’ – I wonder: what do you think? It certainly works for playing cards as the final page shows but for a bestie? Hmm.

Translated from the French by Anthony Shugaar, Tallec’s playful, slightly surreal quirkiness, is evident in his scenes of the characters in this tale which is likely to leave many readers, including this reviewer pondering upon its open-ended nature – or perhaps that’s the creator’s intention.

Frida the Rock-and-Roll Moth

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Frida the Rock-and-Roll Moth
Kim Hillyard
Ladybird Books

Frida is a moth: with her prowess at playing loud music on her purple guitar and her pointy boots she exudes funkiness. Despite constant encouragement from Auntie Edna, her number one fan, there comes a day when Frida feels anything but shiny. She even begins to think of giving up playing her purple guitar,

then suddenly there appears a big bright light and she sees a host of rock-and-roll moths that are dancing, singing and rocking. Eager to join them, Frida begins to approach them but as she gets closer, she starts to feel smaller. They all seem so much sparklier than her. Why can’t I be more like them, she thinks to herself.

Back in her room, Frida decides change is needed: boots, songs and purple guitar are all replaced. The following night at the Big Bright Light, Frida moves forwards again, but the same feelings start to worry her until she hears Auntie Edna’s words, “Go, Frida! You can do it! Your best self is always inside you!” So, she begins to play but to no avail: still nothing feels right. Alone again in the dark, she feels inadequate once more.

Returning to her bedroom, she is determined to change again and gives several possibilities careful consideration. Along comes Auntie Edna with a hug and some vital words of wisdom. Are those what is needed to empower Frida next time she visits the Big Bright Light?

With it’s delightfully quirky illustrations that show so well Frida’s feelings, and vital message about believing in yourself, Kim Hillyard’s tale will surely encourage young children to find their inner light and let it shine forth no matter what challenges they face: self belief is key.

Bad United: Just For Kicks

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Bad United: Just For Kicks
Louise Forshaw
Little Tiger

Delivered in graphic novel form, this must surely be soccer at its silliest. It’s also great fun.
Meet Hoof the unicorn who desperately wants to be part of a team, but his previous club, unable to appreciate his talents, has just kicked him out. Wither next he wonders, and then he spots a notice for BAD UNITED. Off he trots in the hope of being given an opportunity to show his prowess to mermaid manager cum coach, Serena Winmer and become part of the squad.

Having been accepted, it’s time to meet his new teammates: captain Bones, a skeleton who isn’t always able to keep her head on, ROARsome Rex, dino. defender, striker Bolt the cheetah who brings the thunder and lightning, Tinkerball the definitely not sweet fairy with her dazzling moves, and Annette the super-large arachnid goalie. All these, so their previous teams have deemed, are sub-standard soccer players.

After some pretty intensive training, team Bad United enter their first tournament. They’re up against The Blazing Dragons – a formidable bunch with some very nifty moves.

But can the newbies sporting brand new kits, with their combination of strength, speed and skill. not to mention some aromatic assistance, remember coach’s spirit lifting words, get their act together, surprise the commentators and emerge victorious, even when they’re 0-5 down at half time?

An enjoyable read, especially for those who prefer stories where the visuals are dominant.