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Zoom!

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ZOOM!
Sam Usher
Templar Books

It’s great to see a new series featuring Boy and Grandad, this being the first of four stories wherein the two characters demonstrate the importance of reusing and recycling materials in their adventures. As always creativity and the imagination are key even on the hottest night of the year when this first adventure takes place.

At Grandad’s suggestion the two take the telescope and go up onto the roof where it’s cooler. When Sam tries the telescope the zoom doesn’t work properly, but resourceful Grandad fixes it and Sam sees a planet. Further adjustment enables him to see a space module and a couple of astronauts, whom the lad surmises are in trouble.

Back inside go Grandad and Boy to collect supplies and tools, which they take onto the roof. There they fashion a spacecraft

and off they go, destination the planet whereon the astronauts are stranded.
Happily the two are able to fix the broken module and the astronauts invite Grandad and Boy to have a nap inside their space station. Needless to say, the interior is so exciting that neither visitor gets a wink of sleep before it’s time for them to return home.

Ready for the off Boy realises they are sans a vital bit of equipment,

but happily this time the astronauts are able to offer just what’s needed for a safe landing back on earth – just in time for breakfast …

It’s always a delight to be in the company of these characters with their wonderful child-grandparent relationship. As always too, Sam Usher’s slightly quirky ink-and-watercolour vignettes and large scenes have plenty to explore and like Boy, children will revel in the interior of the space station, while the story subtly introduces both scientific and engineering information. What better way to spend a hot, sleepless night than this.

Last-Place Lin / Where Will the Sleepy Sheep Sleep?

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These are both recent Allen & Unwin titles: thanks to the publishers for sending them for review.

Last-Place Lin
Wai Chim and Freda Chiu

It’s young Lin’s first opportunity to participate in the school sports day and she’s in the red team. Dressed entirely in her team’s colour, she enters first the sack race and then the obstacle race, finding them anything but easy. Next she competes in the water balloon toss but finds it very hard. Unfortunately despite heaving with all her might, another child makes fun of her, calling out to her ‘Last-Place Lin’. Lin doesn’t give up though: she does the crab walk, the wheelbarrow race and the tug of war. Further name calling ensues but still she keeps trying, dropping the baton in the relay. 

Then comes the last race – a fun run – and a must compete for everyone so there’s no getting out of it by hiding. After encouragement off she runs, adopting the ‘Last-Place Lin’ as a kind of mantra that enables her feet to follow its rhythm as she puts one foot in front of the other encouraged by a friend and the cheering crowd … 

all the way to the finish line

The author Wai Chim’s experience of participating in an Australian TV show was the inspiration for this story. Essentially it’s a celebration of trying, endurance, doing the best you can and never giving up, no matter what. An important message for young children, who can all too easily get swept up in the ‘must win’ mentality that prevails in the sporting world. Freda Chiu’s expressive illustrations show so well how Lin gives the events her all and the difference a bit of encouragement makes to how she feels. Definitely a book to share and discuss with a KS1 class.

Where Will the Sleepy Sheep Sleep?
David Metzenthen and Jonathan Bentley

This is a bedtime tale of the tongue-twisting kind. A sleepy sheep is endeavouring to find a suitable spot for a night’s shuteye. But the places he tries are in turn ‘too deep, steep and stony’, ‘too dangerous’ (not to mention noisy), ‘too scary’, ‘too small, dark and damp’, ‘too cold and uncomfortable’, ‘too grimy and gritty’, 

or ‘too lonely’ . Having wandered hither and yon, it seems that luckless ovine is destined to have a miserable night but then … yes young listeners do eventually get an opportunity to bid ‘goodnight’ to the by now, exceedingly sleepy sheep.

Jonathan Bentley’s bold scenes show the sheep’s eyelids becoming heavier and heavier until his eyes are barely open at all as he stands in the corner of the great big paddock almost overcome by somnolence.

Young children love repetition and enjoy alliteration and this fun book has both; it’s just right for a bedtime story, but also, the repeat refrains mean that those in the early stages of reading will soon be taking over from the adult reader aloud.

Vlad the Fabulous Vampire

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Vlad the Fabulous Vampire
Flavia Z. Drago
Walker Books

Meet Vladislav Varnaby Roland Dragul aka Vlad. Vlad has a passion for fashion and consequently he is a stylish vampire. However he has a secret of the colourful sort: behind his black cape he hides rosy pink cheeks that make him look all too alive. Vlad longs to feel and look like any other vampire; he feels insecure with his rosiness and uncomfortable about concealing his real self. However, he starts designing and making his own gear, always covering his cheeks; but having strutted his stuff for a while, he realises that he’ll never be able to hide who he truly is. 

Off goes Vlad to be by himself but after a short time he is alerted to the fact that his vampire pal Shelley is in trouble. What he sees is that she too has a shockingly bright physical trait. This makes Vlad reveal his own secret and with their friendship firmly established and Shelley leading the way, the two venture beyond the Dark Woods for Shelley to share another secret, a sight never before seen by another vampire. 

It’s in this new place that Vlad starts to overcome his insecurity about who he is 

and that’s when his fashion passion really comes into its own. From then on, whenever insecurity raises its troublesome head, Vlad knows he has somebody to help him cope with his self-doubt.

Drawing on her Mexican heritage, Flavia Drago mixes folk art with cartoon style in her illustrations, adding brighter hues to her colour palette as Shelley leads Vlad towards self-affirmation.
Yes you might share this one at Halloween time, but its vital message is for all times.

Once Upon A Witch’s Broom

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Once Upon A Witch’s Broom
Beatrice Blue
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

From Beatrice Blue’s Once Upon A series comes this story of two future witches, best friends Lilly and Moira. Lilly is able to do everything, new learning comes easily to her but not Moira. Moira is shy, things don’t always seem to work for her, she struggles with what she considers her inadequacy and consequently feels very lonely at times. However she is hoping that her once in a witch’s life opportunity, when she receives a magical Relic, will fix her and make her able to do everything well.

On her big day though, Moira’s Relic is a big disappointment. All the other witches receive something that matches their personality but why has she been given a broom? Moira shares her disappointment with Lilly who encourages her friend by saying that their Relics will help them become better witches, no matter what powers they carry. Could Lilly perhaps be right, wonders Moira. She decides to give her broom another chance but nothing works and she ends up breaking the Relic.

She’s just on the point of hiding the useless object away forever when she sees Lilly watching her and asks her a question. The wise answer she receives makes Moira resolve to have one more try.

Could her friend’s kind words and advice make a difference? Can Moira finally learn to believe in herself and let her powers shine?

A heart-warming story, powerfully illustrated, with an important message for all young children that shows them, and reminds us all, that believing in ourselves can reveal the magic we hold within. Young listeners will love following all the froggy details as the tale unfolds.

A Jungle in Your Living Room

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A Jungle in Your Living Room
Michael Holland and Philip Giordana
Flying Eye Books

Despite being given many houseplants of various kinds over the years by pupils, friends and relations, I have never been any good at nurturing them for long, so I was interested to see the sub- title of this book – ‘A Guide to Creating Your Own Houseplant Collection’.

There are three main sections: All About House Plants, The World of Houseplants and Houseplant Care.
The first presents basic classification, discusses some reasons for growing plants in our homes, plants used in celebrations in the home, talks about how some plants have adapted in order to survive in specific habitats, the conditions under which they survive best in a home environment. There’s a look back to houseplants in ancient history, including the origins of growing miniature trees that most of us know as bonsai. I was fascinated to read of the invention of the Wardian Case and some if its outcomes;

sadly including the triggering of journeys to remote locations of plant hunters to collect exotic plants. Better to paint them in the wild as did Marianne North and later, Margaret Lee, both of whom are mentioned in this book.

The second section is the longest and introduces houseplants of different kinds – succulents, cacti, various crassulaceae, members of the asparagus family, philodendrons, ferns, palms, a number of carnivorous plants

and several others. Interspersed with these are some DIY projects such as creating a desert garden and bonsai for beginners.

Section three looks at houseplant care and there’s a final glossary and index.

Drawing on his wealth of experience in the field, expertise and knowledge, Michael Holland’s straightforward text provides all young readers and beginning indoor plant growers with all they need to know and much more. Each spread is eye-catchingly, sometimes playfully, illustrated in vibrant colours by Philip Giordana.

Winnie and Wilbur: The Witches’ Sports Day

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Winnie and Wilbur: The Witches’ Sports Day
Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
Oxford Children’s Books

Excitement is building at the prospect of a sports day for both witches and cats; Winnie has her eye on first prize for the main event, a broomstick obstacle race for witches and their moggies. To that end, she undertakes some serious training on the practice course she magics in her garden and is pretty confident about getting that all important prize.

Come sports day, there are ten contestants in the broomstick obstacle race which was to be a timed event with one witch at a time doing the course. Should any cat or witch fall off, the pair would be eliminated. This happens to two of the partnerships but who will be the fastest? Will it be the previous year’s winners Maryam and her moggie Malik or, Winnie and Wilbur?

As the riders await the announcement of the results, a strong gust of wind whips the paper bearing the times far away.

Feelings are mixed regarding the impossibility of declaring a winner, most contestants being satisfied with having thoroughly enjoyed participating and sports day ends with a delicious lunch for all. Now that’s an important notion for young humans to take on board and a great subject for discussion – winning isn’t everything.

As always Korky Paul’s illustrations are rich in delicious witchy detail and the sight of the witches in their sporting attire will take a lot of beating. My favourite Winnie and Wilbur story in a while.

By The Sea

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By The Sea
Judith Homoki and Martin Haake
Prestel

In this over-sized book the author invites readers to join her on a journey around the world’s coastlines.
Each double spread follows a similar format with much of the space being devoted to Martin Haakes’ elaborate, vibrant visual images, that include occasional detailed maps, while across the bottom an elongated text box contains written information. This encompasses physical and social geography including such things as the ebb and flow of the tide, a wealth of history both evolutionary and cultural,

there’s a mythological spread featuring all manner of sea monsters, another looking at the art of tattoos, several pages relating to fishing and fisherfolk and sailors. In travelling from Brighton to the Barrier Reef and the Brazilian coastal rainforest, and Senegal to Shanghai, we learn about coastal settlements, continent formation, the impact of civilisations and tourism; pirates, the whaling industry, the impact of climate change, and much more.

I was interested to see images of the Hindu deity, Ganesha and the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi featured on one spread; the tradition of immersing Ganesha murthis is one I’ve seen on many occasions when visiting different parts of India in August/ September when birthday celebrations culminate in the lowering of clay-based images into the sea where, supposedly they dissolve and so can return the following year. That is just one of several festivals mentioned on the ‘Traditions’ spread.

Bringing us right up to the present is the issue of climate change and its effects, and there’s a spread looking at how some coastal regions are affected. The final spread takes us to Hawaii where I discovered that it was there that surfing was invented.

Strongly recommended for upper KS2 readers, especially as a topic-related read.

Zeki Hikes With Daddy / Fiona on the Swings & Herbert Climbs to the Top

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Zeki Hikes With Daddy
Anna McQuinn and Ruth Hearson
Alanna Max

This latest Zeki story is so full of joy from the front cover illustration right through to Ruth Hearson’s final scene showing a blissfully slumbering infant being carried home on the back of his smiling father after their wonderful day together.

As they explore the great outdoors Zeki notices small details such as a tiny falling leaf, crisp footprints left by a bird in the squelchy mud beside the water, a delicate feather and a bumpy pine cone: what lovely rich descriptive language Anna uses in her verbal pictures of these natural objects and the others mentioned.

It’s great to see both father and son being excited by the natural world,

as well as spending quality time in each other’s company. Spending time in the company of Zeki and his family is always a delight for small children and their adult sharers; both audiences will surely cherish this shared time too.

Like all the others in the series, this book deserves to be part of the early experiences of every toddler. It’s pitch perfect for encouraging talk and new learning.

Fiona on the Swings
Herbert Climbs to the Top
Rilla Alexander
Hippo Park: Astra Books for Young Readers

Just like little humans, Herbert and Fiona Hippo love using the equipment in the park: Hippo Park is where they meet their friends including a frog, a mouse, and a turtle.

Fiona is eager to learn to swing though needs help to get herself up onto a swing seat but Herbert is on hand to assist and provide an initial push to give her some momentum. Following his instructions, she’s soon kicking and tucking her legs as she swings back and forth till Herbert too starts his swing and then it’s time to let their imaginations take flight …

The top referred to in the second title is that of the arched climbing ladder. Urged on by his pals, Herbert takes tentative steps gradually gaining confidence as he goes step, pull, step, pull right to the very highest part. Overcoming sudden wobbliness and the dropping of Teddy, back down he climbs and off into a flight of fancy with frog et al.

Endearing, cartoonish drawings of the activities at the park combined with simple, chatty storylines of friends at play will please the very youngest.

Good Night My Sweet Island / Fantastic Families

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Good Night My Sweet Island
Petrea Honychurch Seaman and Susanne Heitz
Papillote Press

Essentially this is a seductively illustrated lullaby that bids, ‘goodnight to all things we love’ on the Caribbean island of Waitukubuli (Dominica). In so doing it celebrates the lush natural world – the forest covered mountains and valleys, the rivers, the wind, the rain and thunderstorms, the rainforest trees, the birds, bees and water-living creatures,

the fruit trees with their luscious mangoes and guavas, breadfruit and the cinnamon trees. It’s also goodnight to the tasty food the child and family are eating, to the festive music and dance, the beaches, cliffs and ‘coral-filled bays.’

Words and pictures work in perfect harmony throughout making every turn of the page both a verbal and visual feast.

I love the patterns, textures and rich colours of the flora and fauna, the waters and sky, and the characters too: the more you look, the more you see in every one of Susanne Heitz’s illustrations. Adding further authenticity to the lyrical telling is the inclusion of some Kwéyòl (Creole) words, definitions of which are given on the final page of the book.

I’ve never visited any of the tropical Caribbean islands but this gorgeous portrayal of the one where the author was born and grew up has made me want to do so.

Fantastic Families
Omari McQueen and Sophia Green
Scholastic

Young vegan chef, Omari McQueen, celebrates the diversity of families in this picture book, which is inspired by his own large family. Herein he introduces his relatives telling readers, “Family love is like no other and having each other is all that matters.’ Size is unimportant, but the love you have for them all is what counts. He goes on to liken families to food, some are spicy, some savoury, some sweet, but ‘always the most delicious dish.’

Families provide togetherness, safety, comfort, empowerment, support …

and unforgettable shared experiences that make for treasured experiences, they make a house a home.

On the final double spread is one of Omari’s own recipes, cookie dough chocolate cups, which I intend to try soon; and the last page asks readers to think about their own family.

A real warmth emanates from the pages, in no small part on account of Sophia Green’s vibrant illustrations. A book for family bookshelves but also one to share in primary schools especially to open up a classroom theme about families.

Paws, Claws, Tails & Roars

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Paws, Claws, Tails & Roars
Brian Wildsmith, words by Deborah Sims
Oxford Children’s Books

Like Michael Rosen in his foreword to this sumptuous book, I recall that my first encounter with the work of Brian Wildsmith was in the Oxford Book of Children’s Poetry, which I still treasure to this day. His image for Blake’s The Tyger immediately springs to my mind when I close my eyes and visualise.
Wildsmith’s awe inspiring art was very much part of my early years as a teacher. Picture books were at the heart of my classroom practice as a foundation stage teacher and Wild Animals, Birds and Fish were among the first titles included in my book collection to share with the children as part of their visual education and to foster a love of books. One wishes that exposure to such beauty was possible for all young children.

Seemingly those early titles are no longer in print, so it’s wonderful to see this compilation that brings together the art from the three titles aforementioned. A double page spread is devoted to each animal and includes the collective noun for each .

The images are accompanied by Deborah Sims’ poetic descriptions of each of the forty plus creatures illustrated.

This is a book I’d like to see in every classroom from the foundation stage upwards as well as on family bookshelves. And, what a wonderful present it would make.

A Bad Day For Bear

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A Bad Day For Bear
Duncan Beedie
templar books

Duncan Beedie’s staring Bear returns for a third adventure. As he leaves his cave intent on the important job he has to do in preparation for the forest party to be held that very evening, Bear is in a good mood. However it’s not to last for the first piece of wood he picks up for the bonfire leaves a splinter in his paw. Into the forest he heads in search of some better wood only to be in the way of a falling log chopped by Beaver. The dam builder apologies and offers Bear some wood for the bonfire. No sooner has Bear begun dragging the logs along than down comes the rain. With three disasters he declares, “Today really is the worst day ever.”
Perhaps Frog can help make him feel better, thinks our ursine friend but as he heads towards Frog’s pond, Bear fails to notice a massive muddy puddle and …

Frog though, is a problem solver: can he solve not one but three problems for his miserable pal? Perhaps with some careful inspection and further consideration.

Come party time, thanks to an extra pair of feet, that important job of Bear’s is completed just in time

and as night falls the woodland animals enjoy a feast around the fire … until it starts to die down. It’s Badger who isn’t pleased at the sudden descent of darkness. However having learnt something from his froggy friend, it’s Bear’s turn to to offer a different perspective. Will it change the others’ viewpoints too?

We all have bad days from time to time and this book is the perfect one to share with young humans on such days to remind them that things aren’t necessarily as bad as they might think. As always Duncan’s text and pictures work in perfect harmony, the former is rich in descriptive language and the latter striking; Bear’s expressions are wonderful and sure to make young audiences both laugh and empathise with the sudden setbacks that befall him.

A Whole World of Art

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A Whole World of Art
Sarah Phillips and Dion MBD
Wide Eyed Editions

In this book readers are accompanied by two young friends, Alzena and Miles, who take them on a time-travel journey through the world of art wherein sculptors, architects and artists. are introduced. Encompassing nearly thirty works in all including a stained glass window, the journey begins in 1350 BCE in Giza where stands the bust of Nefertiti and finishes in Prague with the work of Ai Weiwei and his huge 2018 sculpture Law of the Journey.

At each stopping point there is a considerable amount of engagingly written information about the artist featured, their art, and some historical facts such as what inspired the work and where that artwork is currently on display. These take the form of short paragraphs strategically placed on the spread. One such explains that at 469 talents, the cost of building the Parthenon in Athens was more than that of an entire fleet of ships.

On some spreads there are also prompts for readers to look closer or go beyond the page; and there are occasional suggestions for art work, inspired by a particular work of art. One such relates to the Benin City spread and asks, “Can you design a shield that celebrates the ideas you think are important today’ perhaps, like the artists of Benin, including symbols and pattern to add to its effect. On the Tokyo spread where the key artist is Yahoo Kusama, we read: ‘If you like playful works like this, have a look at Akashi Murakami’s art. … See if you can spot the links to Anime (comics) and Magna (animated films) in his work.’

With such a variety of works being shown and discussed, this is a very useful book for older school primary children who will appreciate Dion Mehaga Bangun Djayasaputra’s lively images of the art and artists presented, integrated into which are small photos of the art being discussed.

(Backmatter includes a glossary and suggestions for further reading.)

Bompa’s Insect Expedition

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Bompa’s Insect Expedition
David Suzuki, Tanya Lloyd Kyi and Qin Leng
Greystone Kids

This book was inspired by author David Suzuki’s adventures with his own grandchildren and features twins Nakina and Kaoru who love having adventures with their grandpa. This adventure is a nature expedition and by the time Bompa arrives, the two have amassed everything they might need including Kaoru’s field journal.

As time is short on this particular day, their expedition is an insect search in the area right close to their home. Initially Kaoru is somewhat sceptical about discovering anything new, but there are plenty of surprises and new learning in store.

The two children are both inquisitive and imaginative in their approach as they encounter in turn, a bumblebee, dragonflies, caterpillars of the monarch butterfly, an ants’ nest,

mosquitoes and a lacewing. During their exploration, Bompa imparts a wealth of scientific information, much of it in response to what the twins say, taking every opportunity to encourage and deepen their thinking.

The story ends with the three enjoying a picnic and is followed by a page from Kaoru’s field journal, a peek at the contents of Sakina’s backpack and a final spread with some additional insect facts.

David Suzuki is a renowned scientist/environmentalist and this engaging book is published in partnership with the David Suzuki Institute; his co-author, Tanya Lloyd Kyi, has written numerous books for children. Qin Leng’s watercolour illustrations are a delight, bringing out the intergenerational love between the characters as well as showing details of the fauna and flora of the environment the three explore.

A First Book of Dinosaurs

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A First Book of Dinosaurs
Simon Mole and Matt Hunt
Walker Books

It surely is a case of ‘eat or be eaten’ in Simon Mole’s poetic presentation of dinosaurs in all shapes and sizes. The large format book dramatically illustrated in collage style by Matt Hunt is divided into four sections: ‘Meet the Dinosaurs’, ‘Eat or Be Eaten’, ‘Dinosaur Families’ and ‘The End. Or Is It?’ Readers/listeners will encounter some already established favourites such as Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus Rex (the first two featured), Stegosaurus and Diplodocus called herein Planet On Legs on account of the numerous small creatures that live on its back. There are many less well known creatures too including the dog-sized Eoraptor (new to this reviewer as is Baryonyx). I love Simon’s description of that one: ‘Swift-sprinter / Tail-flicker / River-watcher / Quick- dasher / Fish-grabber / Flesh-ripper // Best hunter / Gets dinner!’ together with Matt Hunt’s dynamic visual interpretation. A wealth of kennings in that.

Readers are introduced to a variety of poetic forms: Ankylosaurus, Sauropelta and Euoplocephalis are all described in a single acrostic entitled Tough! Tough! Tough!.

There’s a wealth of onomatopoeia, some similes and metaphors, a recipe and even a dialogue with a present-day chicken. To find out what said chicken is doing in a book about dinosaurs, you’ll need to get your own copy; so doing will make you popular with youngsters for sure.

After a look at the downfall of dinos and some fossil evidence, the book ends with a somewhat truncated dinosaur timeline.

A large-format, romping, stomping treasure, beautifully produced and one hopes, likely to turn a fair number of dinosaur-fanatic children into poetry enthusiasts too.

Two Ants Puzzled

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Two Ants Puzzled
Elizabeth Laird and Jenny Duke
Tiny Owl

In this charming interpretation of Rumi’s classic tale with its theme of looking at the bigger picture, Elizabeth Laird sets her tale, told from the ants’ perspective, in the house of a little girl. The title page shows the two ants out exploring, walking in through an open front door and turning the page we see them starting to explore by climbing up the table leg onto a large white sheet of paper whereon the child is drawing. They walk right along her pencil and what they focus on is the tip and the movement of that pencil in her fingers. 

So intently are they looking at the shapes and colours that they slither and slip hither and thither.
When the girl pauses and looks up, the ants start to retreat, ending up on the floor safe and sound – just! 

Unhurt they begin ascending the table leg once again. This time what they see before them is the entire finished picture and included in it are … two ants. Guess who is inspired to be creative now.

Jenny Duke chooses a variety of perspectives for her scenes making them especially effective and intensifying the small drama as it unfolds, and she cleverly imbues the ants with real personalities. Young listeners will also notice that there is a playful black cat watching the action throughout the story.

Books and the People Who Make Them

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Books and the People Who Make Them
Stéphanie Verne, illustrated by Camille de Cussac
Prestel

This book, translated from the original French by Paul Kelly, gives child readers a look at the stages in the life of a book from the starting point when the content is a germ of an idea in the mind of the author, 

right through to when it arrives in the hands and minds of readers. 

This encompasses visiting the world of authors who create manuscripts, the editors who read those manuscripts and decide whether or not a particular book should be published. The work of the latter also includes finding new talent be that of authors or illustrators. Much of the role is collaborative and involves not only working with the author but also, copy editors, graphic designers, proof readers and sometimes others too.

In a picture book, the illustrator is as important as the author and sometimes but not always, the two collaborate closely. However, the entire story can be told though illustrations so no writer is involved.

Once a book is printed, – there are several spreads about this process – 

it’s time to involve the sales representatives, the people who visit bookshops to show them what is about to be published in the hope of getting orders, They also collect feedback from booksellers.

Clearly the delivery of a book to a bookshop isn’t the end of the story. It’s part of a book-seller’s role to unpack and shelve books, check stock and perhaps organise a special launch event or a workshop for children; and of course they need to get to know what is on their shelves in order to offer advice to customers should it be required.

Many new books are also sent out by a publisher’s press officers, usually prior to publication day, to reviewers/critics who can play a key role in the success of a particular book.
Librarians in libraries also provide a link between books and readers; two double spreads are devoted to their work and on the final spread, it’s over to the readers.

I wonder how many young readers will be aware of all these jobs. They certainly should after a close look at the quirky visuals of Camille de Cussac whose diagrams and funky scenes surround the written text.

Peace on Earth

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Peace on Earth
Smriti Halls and David Litchfield
Walker Books

‘Peace on earth … GOOD WILL TO ALL!’ Surely this is something almost all of us long for and with on-going conflict in several parts of the world, this stunning, heartfelt book couldn’t be more timely.

Lyrically written by Smriti Halls and dramatically illustrated by David Litchfield, it presents a story wherein we follow a group of friends who embark on a journey together over land and sea. A journey that starts out full of joyful anticipation and happy camaraderie

but then, lost and afraid, angry words are spoken – hurtful words – that cause distress and pain.

Thereafter it’s hard for the group to -re-establish that former harmony, peace and light. Fortunately though with the will being there, as it is with the friends herein, they find the courage and the inner strength to be peacemakers. I love this scene showing one of the characters bringing an affirming flame towards the others.

Thus, the story ends with a reconciliation that reunites the characters and they go on to share their joy with others as lights shine forth all along the shore line.

With its combination of striking art and deeply felt words (inspired by Luke 2:14), this book needs to be shared and talked about as widely as possible in many different settings from the family to adult meeting places.

Kevin the Vampire / Victoria Stitch Dark and Sparkling

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Kevin the Vampire
Matt Brown, illustrated by Flavia Sorrentino
Nosy Crow

Having enjoyed the proof I couldn’t wait to see the published book with all the wonderfully entertaining illustrations by Flavia.
Star of this fangciful story is ten year old Kevin Aurelius, not quite the same as other boys his age for he has fangs and being a vampire he’s immortal. Kevin belongs to a family of travelling performers and as the tale begins they are supposed to be en route to Monstros city for the Festival of Fear but instead have wound up in Lower Drudging in the middle of Nowhere. Batnav failure maybe? With them are an assortment of other eccentric monster characters.

Nowhere is human territory and none of Kevin’s family has seen a human. However, a suggestion is made to put on a performance in Lower Drudging – an impromptu one in the hope of earning some gold that will enable them to get back on track to their original destination.

Also in Lower Drudging, suddenly awoken from her slumbers is a young human, Susie Cabbage who lives with two unpleasant aunts. She is eager to know the cause of her rude awakening so out she goes to investigate. Inevitably Kevin and Susie meet and a friendship develops between them.

Meanwhile shock horror: – the mayor and his council members have noticed the sign put up about the performance to be held that very evening. This is horrifying because nothing fun has happened in Lower Drudging for seventy five years on account of the ‘You-Know-What’ that lives inside Cold Mountain. Is this something that Kevin and Susie can investigate and discover the truth about? It might just save the town …

With its wealth of wordplay, this is a really funny start to a new series with some serious underlying themes about acceptance, friendship and not judging others by their looks. Add to all that a number of monster fact cards strategically placed throughout and a final monster themed alphabet and the result is a cracker. Bring on book two.

Victoria Stitch Dark and Sparkling
Harriet Muncaster
Oxford Children’s Books

Heavily laced with gothic glamour, is this third in the series starring the unstoppable young Victoria Stitch recently made co-Queen of Wiskling Wood along with her twin sister Celestine. As the story opens there’s also news of a soon to be born new royal baby. Fast forward eleven months and Princess Minnie Stitch, next in line to the throne, bursts forth from her crystal and in the blink of an eye is making Victoria Stitch’s heart glow.

With Wiskmas approaching, Victoria Stitch takes a trip to Spellbrooke where she encounters a pair of Sapphire Society members who are clearly far from pleased to see her. She then learns that the group meets regularly and being Victoria Stitch, she just can’t stop herself using some invisibility dust and going to listen in on their next get together. What she hears makes her think a plot is afoot.

Shortly afterwards Princess Minnie disappears, followed fairly soon by news of a prison breakout. That means two of Victoria Stitch’s greatest enemies are at large again and it’s likely that the two events are connected. Moreover, their destination is the human world. The police tell her to remain in the safety of the palace but feeling as though she’s inflicted a terrible wound upon herself, Victoria Stitch certainly has no intention of so doing.

With her sister’s blessing, off she goes over the magic boundary wall on operation rescue Princess Minnie and recover the stolen Book of Wiskling. The following morning she and her human friend, Naomi, set out, destination Pinks Rock. Can she pull off a very difficult task, or even two?

Another absolute delight despite the setbacks; Victoria’s character continues to develop interestingly the more challenges she faces and as always, the book explodes with magical images.
I know a lot of children will be jumping for joy at the chance to read this.

The Star Whale

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The Star Whale
Nicola Davies and Petr Horáček
Otter-Barry Books

What a truly beautiful celebration of some of the world’s natural beauty is this book containing forty poems penned by zoologist/ writer Nicola Davies, each one accompanied by a stunning painterly illustration by Petr Horáček.

It’s impossible for me to choose absolute favourites, such are the riches contained herein but one I was instantly drawn to today is Kingfisher, the opening and closing lines of which are: ‘A strike of turquoise lightning / Swallowed by its own reflection / … ‘And nothing matters in the world / But this small glint of wonder.’

It seems as though Nicola visited our re-wilded garden for her description of the kind of garden she loves – a place where ‘stems make a jungly chaos / and beetles prowl.’ … ‘Where wildflowers bloom to feed the butterflies / and bees.’ … ‘where neat and tidy are forgotten / and nature rules.’

As trees are my favourite thing in the natural world, I was also attracted to Mama Tree wherein the description of interconnectedness goes like this: ‘ Mama tree is talking to her children. / Through fungal fingers that wrap around her roots / she reaches out like any mother / to touch, to feed, to warn.’ If I sat beneath the tree Petr has painted for this poem, I don’t think I’d want to move. for a long time.

In this wonderful book you will also be able to fly on the back of a bat and ’learn all the star-scattered secrets of night,’ meet a morning raven, attempt to get your tongue around the moth alphabet, join the Earth in her seasonal dance around the sun; be enchanted by the colours of a dragonfly; you could even encounter a dinosaur or two.

A book to keep and a book to give.

50 Words About Nature: Plants / Birds & Science Words for Little People: Nature / Space

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These are all new titles from Oxford Children’s Books: thanks to the publisher for sending them for review.

50 Words About Nature: Plants
50 Words About Nature: Birds
Tara Pegley-Stanger and Debbie Powell

These are additions to the series wherein author, Tara Pegley-Stanger doesn’t believe in talking down to young children, instead she uses the correct scientific terms for processes such as photosynthesis, pollination and germinates as well as, in the first book, other plant-related words as she provides a look at the diversity of Earth’s plant life. I totally endorse this approach: children do assimilate ‘big’ words in context and love to impress grown-ups with their ever-growing vocabulary.

Young children sharing Plants with an adult will learn basic facts relating to flowers, seeds, fruits and growth as well as visiting various habitats including a tropical rainforest, a desert, an aquatic location, meeting a botanist at work and more.
Birds takes a similar approach introducing basic bird features, some specialisations such as those of waterfowl, the bee humming bird, the Asian peacock and raptors. There are examples of a migratory bird, flightless birds and there’s a spread about an ornithologist.
Both books are illustrated in a realistic style by Debbie Powell, whose images are carefully integrated with the text.

Science Words For Little People: Nature
Science Words For Little People: Space
Helen Mortimer and Cristina Trapanese

Engagingly written and visually attractive, both of these titles in a new series are worth adding to home bookshelves and early years collections.
Nature presents life cycles of an apple tree and a frog, as well as spreads on growing, senses, habitats, behaviour, rocks and soil and care of the natural world.
Space is introduced by the child characters who have become astronomers having a sleepover in their observatory. Subsequent spreads see them using a telescope, pretending to be astronauts, using fruits to make a solar system, discussing Earth’s rotation, introducing the phases of the moon, a space mission, star gazing, space probes and imagine alien possibilities.
Aimed at adult sharers, the final spread of each provides ten ideas for getting the most from the book.

Future Hero: Escape from the Clay City

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Future Hero: Escape from the Clay City
Remi Blackwood, illustrated by Alicia Robinson and Deise Lino
Scholastic

Jarell is the ancestor of an Ulfrikan warrior hero called Kundi.and as this third story opens, he is in his cousin’s South London barbershop, Fades undergoing training from barber Legsy to become a mighty warrior.. He’s eager to return to Ulfrika to find the rest of the Iron Animals and reassemble the staff of Kundi. Suddenly he hears the voice of Kimisi calling seemingly from Ulfrika but convincing Legsy of its importance takes some doing. Legsy tells Jarell his hair hasn’t regrown sufficiently to have another symbol shaved into it but on account of the urgency, Legsy agrees to use some special sacred paste instead; however, there is a time limit to how long this will last and without the symbol Jarell will be unable to return from Ulfrika.

Almost the next thing he knows, Jarell is back in the kingdom of his ancestors. There he’s greeted by a small boy, Bo-de, a member of Kimisi’s family who is determined to be in on the journey Jarrell and Kimisi are to undertake. A journey that takes them to Keesah, the underground city of clay. There deadly creatures, Asanbosams, await.

Again Jarrell and Kimisi must work closely together if they are to overcome those with evil intentions, reunite Iron Snake with the Staff of Kind, save the people of Keesah and enable Darrell to return home in time before his symbol wears off completely.

It’s possible to enjoy this as I did, without having read the previous books in the series, but young readers might do better to start with Race to the Mountain and Mission to the Shadow Sea. Black and white illustrations by Alicia Robinson and Deise Lino make it even more dramatic.

Mermedusa / The Stars Did Wander Darkling

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These are both Walker Books – thanks to the publisher for sending them for review

Mermedusa
Thomas Taylor

In this the fifth and final book in the Eerie-on-Sea mystery series, it’s midwinter once more and nigh on a year since Violet Parma appeared in Herbert Lemon’s Lost and Foundry at the Grand Nautilus Hotel. She had come searching for her parents but in so doing found Herbie, now a firm friend and herself, as Herbie tells her. The mystery of her parents’ disappearance remains unsolved however as the story begins.

I’ve not read any of the previous books in the series but that didn’t stop me quickly getting sucked into this wonderfully written, powerfully atmospheric, gripping tale with its truly memorable characters. Apart from Herbie and Violet, it would be impossible to forget the truly sinister Sebastian Eels, who keeps appearing in unexpected places as the two friends get ever closer to understanding the Deepest Secret of Eerie. New arrivals in town are three monster hunters cum hosts of the Anomalous Phenomena podcast, Professor Newts, Angela Song and sound-man, Fluffy Mike. Their aim is to discover the legend of the Malamander and share it with the whole world. There’s another monster too in the form of the titular Mermedusa.

What is the source of the “Eerie hum” that seems to be calling the Malamander from the deep and is making things to go wrong in town?

Action-packed, there are scary happenings aplenty, and some downright eerie ones in addition to that hum; a number of secrets are unravelled, some reunions take place and with Herbie being a ‘Lost and Founder’ there’s no doubt that whatever comes to light will be largely down to him – and Violet of course.

The Stars Did Wander Darkling
Colin Meloy

This decidedly eerie story is set in Oregon, in a small run-down coastal town called Seaham, where many streets and landmarks are named after the Langdons, a wealthy 19th-century fur-trading family. In this town live Archie, Oliver, Chris, and Athena. who are all looking forward to the summer break and going camping. Archie’s dad is in charge of a multimillion-dollar project to develop part of the headlands including the old Langdon house into a resort, upsetting many in the community, but it’s been paused since excavation revealed the promontory to be full of holes. Nobody will really tell the four friends anything so they take it upon themselves to do some investigating, especially after Archie sees: an elderly woman who mutters, “They shoulda left it hid,”.

But then strange happenings arise: Oliver gets some kind of ’episode’ that results in him being hospitalised. There he gets other more vivid visions as he calls them. As well as that there’s some strange behaviour from local adults with parents smelling decidedly odd and the arrival of three Shelley-quoting newcomers in old-fashioned clothes.

The friends decide to head to the local video shop, Movie Mayhem and there Randy, the proprietor, produces a box of photographs and old film from way back and also shares with them his local historic knowledge

Tension continues to build with the ever increasing weirdness and odd aroma of people, and events – why does Oliver keep seeing a zebra? Can some ancient evil be at the heart of all this? If so, can the four friends save their town?

Some of this gave me the feeling a horror movie was unfolding before my eyes, so creepy are the happenings. I’d say this is most appropriate for readers of eleven and over rather than 9+.

Who Let the Words Out?

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Who Let the Words Out?
Joshua Seigal, illustrated by Chris Piascik
Bloomsbury Education

Joshua Seigal keeps the mood light again with his latest assemblage of more than sixty poems. Many are on school-related topics including The Orange Table about being consigned to a group of less bright children in class. One verse goes like this: I’m not so hot at school work, / which means I’m not too smart / so I sit on the Orange Table / so I can be kept apart.’

Mistaken Identity refers to a happening I’ve been on the receiving end of numerous times although my gender doesn’t match that here: ‘I Called my teacher ‘Mummy’ / which, I’m sure you will concur, / was really rather stupid / as his real name is ‘Sir’. ‘

I particularly enjoyed Poem For Libraries: here’s the final verse. ‘Come to a place / that can sate your addiction / to rollicking rhymes / and fabulous fiction; / a place you can travel / through time at your leisure: / a library of pages / to savour and treasure.’ That could well be put on the door of every public library we’re lucky enough still to have, as well as on the wall of school libraries.

Cats, either large or small, as well as other animals, feature in several poems; you’ll also find one about a teacher acting very strangely, it’s called Going Feral and the final poem, also about a teacher, is one of the few sad ones: I Found It. I won’t quote any of that but hopefully it will whet your appetite and send you out to find a copy of this smashing new collection so you can read it in its entirety and enjoy Chris Piascik’s drawings too.

Imperfectly Perfect

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Imperfectly Perfect
Perry Emerson and Hoang Giang
Little Tiger

Maria’s day starts badly; she accidentally damages her brother’s favourite book as she’s turning the pages a tad too fast. Robbie is far from pleased, accusing his little sister of ruining the book and stomping off. Needless to say, Maria is upset and in comes a family friend, Bea, with a timely hug. This she follows with a story about the day a bowl she’d given to Maria’s mum broke and was repaired with love and golden glue, making it imperfectly perfect.
Maria remains upset so Bea suggests a cheering up walk. During their saunter Maria looks for other imperfectly perfect things around and about,

and by the time a thunder storm breaks, she’s starting to feel better. As well as seeing beauty in the stormy sky, she has an idea about her brother’s book.

Back at home, Maria and Bea then work together carefully making repairs to Robbie’s precious book.

How do you think he will react when Maria goes to his room with an apology and the book?

A sweet and important story about accepting and embracing imperfections, and making amends, engagingly told and illustrated. Hoang Giang’s illustrations underscore the author’s empowering message about discovering beauty in all manner of unexpected places.

The Most Famous Rhinoceros

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The Most Famous Rhinoceros
Dianne Hofmeyr and Simona Mulazzani
Otter-Barry Books

The inspiration for this moving story reimagined by Dianne Hofmeyr, was Albrecht Durer’s celebrated woodcut print of the rhinoceros sent from India to Portugal in 1515, the woodcut now being housed in the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

We read how Princess Beatrix and her sister receive a one-horned animal as a gift from the Sultan of Gujarat, a creature Beatrix hopes will be a unicorn. However she’s disappointed to see standing on the sea shore straight off the ship, a very large bulky beast with a small stubby horn on the tip of its nose. Genda, is what she names the gift. Her father informs her it is a rhinoceros and mounting his stallion, he leads the animal, along with a host of other creatures, the queen and her entourage through the crowds to the palace.

Beatrix has already formed a bond with the rhino and is horrified to hear the following day, the king announcing a fight between the rhino and an elephant to settle a squabble between her two brothers.
From then on she sleeps alongside Genda’s enclosure every night leading up to the combat, a matter she doesn’t tell her new friend about.

However, come the day of the contest, the two animals face one another but no fight ensues, no matter how much enticement the creatures receive.

What will be the fate of Genda? Her brother João demands he be sent away but Beatrix begs that the rhino is returned to India and given his freedom. Not long after a ship sets sail with Genda on board and Beatrix bids her friend a fond farewell but …

Animal lovers horrified at the treatment of creatures such as Genda in this story, sent over vast distances in return for favours from their recipients, will applaud Beatrix’s caring attitude and desire to get this gift sent back from whence he came. Simona Mulazzani’s richly ornate illustrations capture beautifully the period in which the events are set, making the telling even more poignant. They show the contrasting natural beauty of the rhino with the elaborate finery of the human characters and the adornments placed upon Genda for the parade and the fight.

Super Sports Stars Who Are Changing the Game

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Super Sports Stars Who Are Changing the Game
Rick Broadbent, illustrated by Alexander Mostov
Walker Books

I couldn’t help but feel rather insignificant when reading about the twenty sporting legends featured in this book. Each one is allocated a double spread, characteristics of which are a brief resumé recounting how the star got to be where they are, a ‘Fair Play’ paragraph, a ‘super sport power’ and an activity for the reader.

All these superstar legends have one thing in common: they’ve all had to overcome obstacles to be where they are at the top of their game, but in addition have spoken out about a cause they passionately believe in and in so doing, have changed not only their sport, but also the world, for the better.

Most of the names are familiar to me – Tom Daley, Marcus Rashford and Ellen MacArthur for instance, but several are new. One such – I’m well aware of his achievements, but not his name – is Ludwig Guttmann a German doctor. Because he was Jewish and therefore in great danger, he left Germany eventually coming to live in England. He set up Stoke Mandeville’s National Spinal Injuries Centre for wounded soldiers. A firm believer that sport was important in their treatment, he organised the first Stoke Mandeville Games and eventually in 1960, those games were staged alongside the Olympics in Rome. This first Paralympics featured 400 athletes from 23 countries and since then, they too take place every four years. 

Also new to me is Tesla Loroupe who grew up in Kenya, looked after cattle in the fields and ran ten miles to school every day. Her talent was spotted and in 1994 she became the first female African athlete to win the New York City Marathon. Wanting to give something back to her community, Tegla set up the Peace Marathon, a race that encouraged members of warring tribes to run together. She also works with refugees offering training to athletes in refugee camps, helping youngsters to continue their education. She is the founder of the Tesla Loropue Peace Foundation that aims to promote peace through sport and to highlight the suffering of refugees. Another of her achievements is the Olympic refugee team, which is the result of her petitioning the Olympic committee.

These are just two of the amazing men and women you’ll find in this inspiring book, the final spread of which issues a challenge to readers: identify something you would like to change and set about so doing: everyone has the power to make a difference is the vital message.

Count the Stars

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Count the Stars
Raewyn Caisley and Gabriel Evans
Walker Books

No matter what young Maddie sees or does, her everyday world is full of mathematical ideas; that’s just how she sees it, thinks about it and loves it. Perhaps it’s the early morning sunlight streaming through her bedroom blinds; then there are those fractions in her piano practice, the symmetry in flowers, the tessellating pattern in the pathway she and Dad make together,

the wealth of opportunities to count things in nature and much more besides.
Almost all the time Maddie is happy and comfortable in how she looks at the world, but very occasionally she notices that it makes her different from her friends – ‘an odd-shaped brick that didn’t fit into the pattern.’ This happens when some friends come to play: whereas Maddie focuses on the mathematical transformations involved in making hats for her dolls,, Grace and Olivia’s only interest is the dolls. Similar when they make cupcakes, her friends are interested in the decorations on the tops, Maddie in contrast, loves measuring out the ingredients.

One day in school when Maddie and her classmates are busy making paper snowflakes, she wishes there was somebody with whom she could share her love of geometry. She doesn’t notice that perhaps there is, in the shape of a new girl, Priya; and for the next few days Maddie feels downcast.

Fortunately though, her perceptive Dad has a surprise in store. That night he organises a night-time playdate with Priya and they pay a visit to the observatory. An unforgettable experience for sure and one that leaves Maddie thinking an absolutely massive, mathematical what if …

From cover to cover and endpaper to endpaper, this is a wonderful, multi-layered book. Apart from being a terrific, superbly illustrated story, it’s overflowing with classroom potential, starting perhaps with a discussion on ways of seeing. I love that it shows how the imagination and creative thinking, and a fascination with facts, can sit side by side, as well as demonstrating the vital importance of notions of what if … as the basis for all new discoveries.

Dream Weavers: Night of the Scary Fairies

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Dream Weavers: Night of the Scary Fairies
Annabelle Sami, illustrated by Forrest Burnett
Little Tiger

The night before going into Year 5 Tito starts having strange dreams. He’s on a clifftop in his Spiderman pyjamas to see a field full of strange tiny beings flitting about, one of which seems to take a chomp at his big toe.

The following morning, Tito’s teacher asks him to look after a new pupil, Neena, from Pakistan. Trying his best to engage her in conversation, Tito gets virtually nothing from her the entire day, though other members of his class start acting strangely At home he feels he’s failed in his task and researches the Chitral region of Pakistan, Neena’s erstwhile home, discovering that it’s rich in folklore.

Next day in school he tells Neena about his peculiar dreams and this gets her talking. She tells him about the jinn of her hometown – the paris – and on hearing this Tito says he’s seen something similar in his dreams. Neena asks him to draw whatever symbol comes into his head, first on paper and then before he goes to bed, on his hand. That night the two meet in Tito’s dream wherein he’s told they are both Dreamweavers.
For the next few nights Tito and Neena meet in their dreams, but during the day, Tito is tired and although his friends Tiffany and Murray begin to get friendly towards the new girl, he doesn’t
take much notice of what’s happening to them until he talks further with Neena. She suggests they try going into Tiffany and Murray’s dreams to find out what is wrong and so be able to help them.

Before long, the Dream Team as they call themselves, discover that the paris are playing tricks on Tiffany and Murray, changing their personalities.

At school they see that the rest of the pupils also have new identities. How is this possible?

In their dream travels, the two children encounter a scary man: Neena’s uncle, whom she says is a Dark Weaver, a power-hungry Dreamweaver gone rogue. Now a new plan is needed, first to undo the spell put on the paris, so they revert to their benevolent ways and then to return things to normal in the waking world.

The story ends with Neena introducing Tito to her family members, and a pact is made to put paid to the activities of Dark Weavers. That though, must wait for the next book.

Annabelle Sami certainly transports the reader to other worlds in this tale and despite some scary moments, she keeps things light so child readers are unlikely so have nightmares. I love the way Neena and Tito’s friendship develops and Forrest Burdett’s illustrations provide further details, especially of the characters’ feelings.

Betty and the Mysterious Visitor

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Betty and the Mysterious Visitor
Anne Twist and Emily Sutton
Walker Books

Every summer Betty visits her grandma in the village of Wobbly Bottom. She loves spending time in the Acorn Hollows, the garden shared by all the residents of Grandma’s terrace. There she delights in the abundance of flora and fauna; there too her gran cultivates various fruits and Betty helps her pick them, make jam and sell it in the local market.

Full of eager anticipation Betty wakes on market day only to discover that overnight the garden has become a muddy mess. However there’s no time to investigate properly before they leave for the market. 

There it’s full of people buying and selling and come teatime all grandma’s jam has been sold so they head home with Betty determined to find out how the Hollows was spoiled.

She watches through the window that night and in the moonlight she spots a large creature thrusting its nose under the fence but in a trice it’s gone.

The following morning Betty’s Grandma says it was probably a badger and that it’s likely to return. Sure enough, over the next few nights the badger comes back, wreaking havoc in the garden. Supposing it gets into Gran’s fruit cage? Time to get working on a creative solution, thinks Betty and she puts together a frightening monster, then lays a trail towards it. 

Wide awake that night, Betty watches and in comes the badger. However, such is the effect of a sudden wind on the monster, that the intruder hastily departs but not before, so Betty thinks, looking directly at her, as if saying farewell.

Grandma is pleased to hear her granddaughter’s account next morning and together the two sit beneath the trees and celebrate with hot chocolate.

Author, Anne Twist’s inspiration for this, her debut picture book, was her own country garden and what a lovely celebration of the natural world it is. It’s also a beautiful celebration of intergenerational love. How brilliantly Emily Sutton’s jewel-like illustrations bring the world of Wobbly Bottom to life; each re-reading will likely reveal fresh details to savour.

I Want A Dog

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I Want A Dog
Jon Agee
Scallywag Press

When a little girl visits Happydale Animal Shelter, she’s determined to come away with a dog. However, while agreeing that a dog is an excellent choice for a pet, the helpful man there has other ideas. He produces in turn, an anteater, a baby baboon, a python, a frog, a goldfish (dead, rather than playing dead). The little girl remains steadfast, and then he brings in what he says is a dog …

Of course, it won’t do and nor will the wombat, the kangaroo or the albatross. With her body language speaking volumes, the child asks ’Do you even have a dog?” Time to admit the truth, so out goes the girl – almost. The persistent man has one more try, asking what makes a dog so special. Having heard her response, he offers something that fulfils all her criteria, although he admits it’s not of the canine kind. Instead he produces Lucinda and it seems to be love at first sight.

Back home go girl and, balanced rather precariously on her pull-along cart, her new pet.

Evidently, as the final spread shows, her parents are happy to accommodate this new addition to the household.

The interaction between the girl and the man at the animal shelter is superb – signature Agee wry humour, coupled with watercolour illustrations rendered in subdued colours (apart from the thick black outlines) and a perfectly paced text that includes a hilarious final twist.

A winner with this reviewer and so will it be with young listeners and beginner readers who will soon be joining in with the girl’s part of the dialogue.

Albert and his Friends / Spooky Little Halloween / That’s How Much I Love You

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Albert and his Friends
Ian Brown and Eoin Clarke
Graffeg

Albert the Tortoise has already established himself as a popular character among children from around three and their adult sharers. Now he wants to introduce himself and his minibeast friends to the very youngest children. In this little book, with its simple text and close-up images, they will meet in turn, Butterfly with its gorgeous wings, then a pair of woodlice, wiggly worm pops its head up through the soil, Buzzy Bee alights on a flower just in time to say hello, Snail slithers up with its shiny shell, Ladybird gives a wave with one of its front legs, Spider proudly shows a newly spun web 

and the ants demonstrate their teamwork. On the final spread, Albert’s multitude of friends return the compliment, telling the tortoise what a good friend he is to all of them.
Just right for the under threes.

Spooky Little Halloween
Nick Sherratt and Sally Symes
Walker Books

Not really very spooky as the eight characters that almost leap from the pages of this vibrant ‘Finger Wiggle’ book are all smiling in a friendly manner. First comes a little witch riding her broom, arms outstretched; she’s followed by a little wolf singing to the moon, a spider wiggling its eight hairy feet, a little ghost, a rotund pumpkin, an upside down bat, a black cat and finally a little monster proudly showing his first tooth – albeit a very sharp one. On each spread that introduces Nick Sharratt’s endearing characters, Sally Symes’ simple rhyming text provides a ‘wiggle wiggle’ and a fun, sometimes onomatopoeic phrase to join in with.

That’s How Much I Love You
Julie A. Rudi and Tiphanie Beeke
Graffeg

One cannot help but bring to mind Sam McBratney’s Guess How Much I Love You when reading this first person rhyming tale wherein an adult racoon tells its cub just how much it is loved. The rhyme reads well aloud presenting in turn pairings such as a sock and a shoe, the sun and the moon, a bowl and a spoon; but it’s Tiphanie Beeke’s richly hued illustrations painted on textured paper showing the two racoons that steal the show, especially the final one wherein paw in paw, adult and cub walk in a woodland setting at sundown.
A gentle bedtime wind-down book to share with toddlers.

The Shade Tree / Rapunzel

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The Shade Tree
Suzy Lee (translated by Helen Mixter)
Greystone Kids

This is a re-telling of an old Korean folk tale wherein we see how a young traveller tricks a rich but heartless man into selling him the shade from the tree that grows on the latter’s land. The rich man considers he’s made some very easy cash but hasn’t considered the effects of the lengthening shadow of his house as the day progresses.Whatever the shade touches is thus owned by the traveller, and he can share it with whomever he wishes. Furthermore when the shade covers the rich man’s house, the traveller can enter that house, which he does,

eventually causing the wealthy one to move out. Once the house is vacant the traveller settles down and enjoys life as the new resident.

Much of the power of this thought-provoking telling lies in its simplicity, simple too is Suzy Lee’s art; it’s almost abstract in style and uses a limited colour palette to effect. With its dramatic gatefold, this is altogether an unusual book that feels at once both old-fashioned and contemporary. It would probably appeal most to older readers especially those with an interest in folk stories.

Rapunzel
Sarah Gibb
Harper Collins Children’s Books

Sarah Gibb has taken the original classic fairytale and turned it into a visual feast.with a mix of gorgeous silhouettes and delicate, detailed colour illustrations, without losing any of the essential elements of the plot in her simplified telling. We still have the drama: the witch discovering the young husband helping himself to the salad leaves from her garden to cure his ailing wife and his promising to give her the baby when born in return. And romance: the baby Rapunzel becoming a beautiful girl incarcerated in a tower, who is visited by a prince and the two eventually marrying.

Rapunzel’s tower is illustrated in true fairytale style, with turrets and weathervanes, vines and roses
and the contrasting silhouette style prince staggering through the forest having been seriously hurt as a result of his fall from the tower.

Recently reissued with a new cover, I suggest that if you are looking for a highly pictorial version of the fairytale, look no further than Sarah Gibb’s offering.

Sona Sharma: Wish Me Luck / The Feeling Good Club: Be Kind, Shazmin!

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Sona Sharma: Wish Me Luck
Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Jen Khatun
Walker Books

With its Tamil Nadu setting, the Sona Sharma series is one of my very favourites for younger readers. In this fourth story, Sona’s much-loved teacher is getting married and the entire class has been invited. This she learns on the last day before a mid-term break. So far so good, but then Sona sees on the invitation that Miss Rao’s husband to be comes from a place called Vijayawada that’s several hours away by train and by tradition the bride moves to live in her husband’s city. Definitely not good and Sona and her friends want to try and stop this happening so they start making a ‘lucky’ plan to keep Miss Rao as their teacher.

With this in mind, despite her list of things to do during the break, Sona is preoccupied with the possibility of having to bid farewell to her teacher. So. aided and abetted by Elephant, she begins to search for lucky charms . The night when her Amma hears about all of this, her response is, “Fortune favours the brave, Sona. … If you want something, go and make it happen.”

Sona’s way of doing so is to write a petition, get all her friends to sign it, as well as others at the wedding and then after the ceremony, hand it to their teacher. She puts a great deal of effort into this project; but what will be the outcome?

With its theme of embracing change, this enchanting story exudes warmth and family love throughout and as always, Chitra has woven several South Indian Hindu customs into her narrative including some details of the Kanyadaanam ceremony at the wedding

and Paatti’s story about Rudraksha beads, prompted by the seeds Sona’s friend Renu adds to their collection of lucky charms. Whether read aloud or alone, Jen Khatun’s illustrations add to the delights of the book.

The Feeling Good Club: Be Kind, Shazmin!
Kelly McKain, illustrated by Jenny Latham
Little Tiger

‘Sometimes I miss the old Charita so much it actually makes my stomach hurt.’ So writes her younger sister, Shazmin in her journal at the start of this third episode in the series wherein Bella, Archie and Shazmin help one another to face and cope with the things that worry them by means of supportive friendship and mindfulness activities.

Shazmin is upset that her elder sister, Charita, now a teenager, no longer wants to hang out with her. In a desperate attempt to impress Charita, she persuades Bella and Archie to participate in the making of a video with her, but she keeps the real reason for so doing to herself.

The three friends start working on the video but things keep going wrong, there are misunderstandings and squabbles and the project seems to be heading for the scrap heap.


Is there any way that what started out as a potential prize-winning video, can be rescued, even if that means it taking a rather different direction. And can harmonious relations be restored both in Shaman’s family and with her two Feeling Good Club buddies? Perhaps, but it will take some mindfulness by all concerned.

Children’s well-being has really come into focus since covid and Kelly McKain’s series of highly accessible stories with personable characters openly sharing their emotional ups and downs in situations that children can relate to, provides gently humorous, warm much-needed mentoring in book form.

Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf

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Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf
Craig Barr-Green and Francis Martin
Little Tiger

If you are a teacher, you are likely to realise from the start that Craig Barr-Green’s delightful protagonist and narrator, Gina Kaminstki is neurodivergent.

One morning in school, Gina is finding things a bit ‘rubbish’ and so her TA, Anya, takes her to the peace and quiet of the reading room, says she will read to Gina offering the choice of two books, Little Red Riding Hood or The Big Book of Wolves. Gina picks the former, Anya reads the story. Afterwards our narrator disagrees completely with the tale, declaring, “That girl and the wolf make three big mistakes,” These she decides to fix by paying a visit to fairy tale land.

Duly prepared with a backpack containing breadsticks, her cap and her teddybear, off she goes.into the fairytale. First stop is the home of the mum who duly produces a yummy-looking cake, which she tells Gina to deliver to Granny, giving an excess of information to the child. Then comes ‘Mistake One’ but that is easily rectified: what would you do with a cake? Avoiding making mistake two, she proceeds through the woods, followed by a scary-looking wolf. That’s when the breadsticks come in handy, allowing our protagonist to reach granny’s house, confirm her identity and give her three pieces of information before the lupine arrives on the scene.

When the creature does arrive, Gina tells him of her plan; the wolf acts as per instructions and before you can say, ‘here’s the woodcutter’, off goes Gina, back to the reading room

and thence her classroom. Then it’s a happy ending both for Gina and a certain wolf.

I absolutely loved this; both words and pictures are wonderful. The matter-of-fact telling works SO well – it’s really great for reading aloud – and Francis Martin’s illustrations perfectly capture Gina’s feelings throughout the book, showing so well her spirit of inquiry and propensity for gentle rebelliousness.

Apart from being a splendid story, the classroom potential is massive.

Millie’s Big Decision

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Millie’s Big Decision
Ian Eagleton and Max Rambaldi
Tate

Young Millie has long wanted a dog and as this story begins she’s visiting a dog shelter with her dads. However, each time she’s introduced to a dog she comes up with an excuse as to why it’s not suitable. Even when she sees one that appears to be a strong contender, she says no.

Then we learn that her grandmother has recently died and Millie fears the possibility of becoming attached to another person, or dog, and experiencing loss again. However her patient parents tell her of the wonderful adventures they and a dog could have together and Millie eventually admits what is holding her back. Once more the little girl thinks of the joy a dog could bring and finally, she takes her favourite into her arms

and decides he should be named Oscar; seemingly she’s already opened her heart. to him.
The following week, Oscar joins the family, ‘ready for a new adventure’.

Loss is never an easy subject to discuss with young children, but with Ian’s empathetic, sensitively written story together with Max Rambaldi’s expressive illustrations, this book offers an ideal starting point showing the importance of remembering those we have lost, but also of enjoying the present and looking forward to what the future might hold.

Strongly recommended for family collections and classroom bookshelves.

Wheels: The Big Fun Book of Vehicles

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Wheels: The Big Fun Book of Vehicles
Tom Schamp
Prestel

This book takes readers on both a historical and worldwide journey that explores everything you can think of with wheels and a whole lot more wheel-related ideas from the cycle of life to cheese; now that’s a pretty broad spectrum you might be thinking, but Tom Schamp’s spreads that begin in ‘Antiquity’ and go right through to the future, are absolutely crammed with captioned images and snippets of information. (A few ships have also managed to sneak their way in despite the “No Boats, Wheels Only!’ signs.) 

Schamp begins by stating that nobody knows when, where or by whom the wheel was invented but says that pottery and sculptures have taught us a great deal about wheels in ancient times.
Some forms of wheeled transport have a whole double spread devoted to them: there’s one on stagecoaches, then come carriages, steam-powered trains/trams, bicycles, 

one entitled Otto’s Autos (essentially early cars), motorcycles, ‘woodies’ so called, which were cars made partly from wood, family vehicles (the four-wheeled kind), wheeled machines used to build roads, emergency vehicles, race cars, race bikes, delivery trucks, buses, taxis, (watch out for the cheeky free-riding hay wagon passenger) and limousines. You will find jokes both verbal and visual, word play, as well as eight characters to search for on every spread.

A book to return to over and over – you’ll find new things to enjoy at every reading, – it’s immersive, great fun and with a wealth of learning potential. Did you know that the commercial 3 wheeler, the Piaggio Ape was named after the worker bee? I learned that from this zany large format book.

Include in primary class collections, and family bookshelves if you have children interested in vehicles.

Drew, Moo and Bunny, too

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Drew, Moo and Bunny, too
Owen Sheers and Helen Stephens
Walker Books

In this magical tale three endearing characters, a boy Drew and his companions Moo and Bunny take off on a red rug for an adventure that sees them travelling around the world. They find themselves aboard a pirate ship whereon they encounter Captain Jacqueline (Jack for short) and her piratical crew – a scary meeting if ever there was one.

When they’re confined to the space below deck they are astonished to discover all kinds of caged creatures; these so the captain informs them, have been captured thanks to her ‘rare-o-scope’, an instrument she produces and proceeds to demonstrate how it works. However instead of being impressed, Drew is horrified the animals have been removed from their natural habitats as trophies, ‘rarer than any of the jewels on Earth.’ and increasingly precious. When Drew goes on to mention that he and his friends too have something uniquely special, in the form of their flying rug, the Captain is eager to add it to her treasure collection and tries to take possession of the rug. In so doing she makes a startling discovery causing her to utter a word that’s never before passed her lips. ‘L_ _ E’.

This is a story that ends happily: Drew proffers some wonderfully wise words that have the desired effect on the pirate captain and her crew; and the three adventurers return to the warmth and safety of their bedroom.

With Owen Sheers’ longish poetic text and Helen Stephens’ richly imagined illustrations, this is a wonderful book to share over several bedtimes. The story was inspired by the true story of Drew Barker-Wright, who aged just four, lost his life to paediatric chordoma – a rare form of childhood cancer. Sales from this book go to raise funds for The Drew Barker-Wright Charity

Yippee! Rabbit / Uh-oh! Rabbit / Maisy’s Big Book of Kindness

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These are all Walker Books new titles: thanks to the publisher for sending them for review.

Yippee! Rabbit
Uh-oh! Rabbit
Jo Ham

If you think this rabbit character looks familiar it’s probably because you’ve seen it on merchandise such as mugs and now the same Rabbit stars in two small books for the very young.
Yippee! Rabbit sees the little creature running uphill, kite behind and the words, ‘Rabbit go’. Reaching the hilltop with kite flying, is celebrated by a ‘Yippee!’ However turn over and there’s Rabbit and kite both entangled with a tree.

Further sequences follow a similar pattern and see Rabbit swinging close to another rabbit that is digging veggies from the ground and loading them in a wheelbarrow, going for a scooter ride in the rain and finally in a pattern breaking dash, launching high into the air … bound we know not where.
The endpapers show Rabbit engaging in a range of other activities, some more risky than others. I suspect this will become a winner with little humans as will the companion book.
Uh-oh! Rabbit features two leporine and on the opening spread we first see them on a seesaw with the words ‘Rabbit down’. Turn over and there’s one ‘Rabbit up’, the other blissfully floating along on a blow up unicorn. The next page shows the rabbit from a diving board now in midair ‘Uh-oh!’ – where’s the landing place for ‘Rabbit down’? …

Other sequences show Rabbit ski jumping and then, using a slide, with the same prepositions used in each instance. However the final adventure has a twist and the sliding Rabbit, one assumes will land safely in the larger one’s outstretched paws.

Just right for sharing with the very youngest.

Maisy’s Big Book of Kindness
Lucy Cousins

Kindness makes the world a better place but what does this mean for Maisy and her friends Tallulah, Eddie elephant, Cyril, Charley, Dotty, Little Black Cat and Panda?

First are examples of sharing: Maisy shares her toys, allowing Tallulah to play with Panda; she also shares favourite places – her paddling pool on a hot day, her umbrella when it rains and a favourite book during story time .

Giving is another example and Cyril’s birthday provides the backdrop for lots of giving – Maisy makes him a card, Charley bakes him a cake and both are duly thanked for their kindness.

Caring comes next and we see Maisy and Eddie caring for the plants in the former’s garden; then Daisy and Tallulah co-create a bug hotel. Indeed Daisy cares for lots of farm animals too, making sure they all have sufficient to eat. Extra care is needed when Dotty is hurt by a tumble from her skateboard and helping is needed when Little Black Cat gets stuck in a tree and all the friends help make the barbecue lunch Maisy hosts a success, including finding a way to help the planet.

The final scenario is ‘playing together’ which is rich in opportunities be they a quiet game with turn taking or a riotous musical extravaganza.

Altogether a joyful celebration of kindness to share, talk about and one hopes act upon at home and in early years settings.

Factology: Bugs

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Factology: Bugs
Button Books

Absolutely brimming over with minibeast-related information, photographs and diagrams: spend a few hours with this book and you’ll surely come away knowing a lot more about creepy crawlers, fliers, hoppers, wrigglers and jumpers than before. Did you know for instance that it’s thought that 90% of our planet’s life forms and the most diverse group are bugs? Or that bugs have existed on Earth for 470 million years and predate dinosaurs. Wow!

Insects with their chitinous exoskeletons and three-section bodies, form the largest group of arthropods. There are spreads presenting life cycles, habitats; you can dive into a bee hive as well as learn about how honey is made, meet all sorts of beetles and find out why some are so important to the health of the planet.

Not insects but included in this buggy extravaganza are spiders, comprising around half of the arachnid species. You might be surprised to learn that unlike we humans, spiders have blue blood; this is on account of the oxygen being transported around their bodies by haemocyanin, a copper-containing protein. 

Watch out for tarantulas, several varieties of which are presented on one of the spreads in this book. So too are ten highly dangerous bugs that can cause serious damage to unwary or unfortunate humans.

In the chapter ‘Bugs and Us’ is a spread detailing how to build a bug hotel and another offering ways to create an insect-friendly garden and there’s a final quiz, should you want to test your acquired knowledge. Back-matter includes a glossary and index. 

Also available in this new series are Factology: The Human Body, Factology: Space and Factology: Ancient Egypt, each of which provides a pacy, highly illustrated introduction to the subject, 

so if you know children with a budding interest in human biology, space science/astronomy or ancient history, these are a good place to start. They’re ideal for school libraries too.

Lulu’s Nana Visits

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Lulu’s Nana Visits
Anna McQuinn and Rosalind Beardshaw
Alanna Max

The stories in the Lulu series presenting young children’s experiences are always beautifully done and so it is in this new one, with words and pictures working so well together as one has come to expect from Anna and Rosalind, who always pays careful attention to detail.
Lulu is very excited at the prospect of a visit from her Nana-Bibi and together the little girl and her parents make the necessary adaptions to their sleeping arrangements. When Nana-Bibi arrives, following a rest to revive herself after the long flight, family members share a special welcome dinner.

After this Nana-Bibi unpacks her bags: there’s a surprise present for everybody.


Plans have been made for the visit and the following morning it’s a shopping trip so Nana-Bibi can get some gifts for everyone back home. However, every day is exciting when Nana-Bibi’s around. There’s her cooking, a hair doing session

and more. I love the way cultural traditions are presented and you can almost feel the family’s joy as they share in them.

Perfect for sharing and discussing with preschool children.

One Little Leaf / All the Things a Tree Can Be / The Odd One Out

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One Little Leaf
Molly Littleboy and Bryony Clarkson
Little Tiger

Trees are my favourite thing in nature and I think it’s never too early to introduce young children to their delights. This chunky, large format board book does just that, starting with a spread showing fifteen named leaves from different trees.Four are depicted on flaps, which when lifted reveal a brief paragraph of information about the respective trees on which they grow

Other spreads are devoted to in turn, sensory exploration of the surroundings, 

the growth of a tree, the tree as habitat for other wildlife, some of the uses of tree parts, seasonal changes of a tree and finally, on ‘Happily Ever After’ readers are encouraged to plant a new tree and to explore the themes included further.

A chatty, engaging narrative runs through the whole book, comprising on each page an introductory paragraph and a suggestion encouraging children to become actively involved with the natural world.
With clear, naturalistic illustrations this is a good starting point on things arboreal, to share with children in their early years.

All the Things a Tree Can Be
James Carter and Nathalia Takeyama
Little Tiger

Presenting the wonderful things about trees is difficult in just six double spreads, but author James Carter includes the essentials in this little book. I love the description on the opening page, ‘Trees are ground-hugging / sky-nudging wonders!’ Indeed they are ,be they of the deciduous or evergreen kind, both of which are depicted in Nathalia Takeyama’s first illustration that also includes some woodland birds and animals, and humans.
Deciduous trees change with the seasons and this is the theme of the next spread, which has two flaps for little hands to lift and reveal simple sentences and a different visual.
The third spread takes us to visit a tropical rainforest, rich in both flora and fauna.

‘They are like nature’s tallest hotels!’ so we read on the spread depicting some of the animals that make their homes in trees, some of which benefit the trees in return. Continuing this idea, the final pages present some ways trees are vital to all manner of Earth’s life forms in that they provide food, shelter, warmth, wood, shade and most importantly, they clean the air that we all breathe.
With its integral moving parts, this is a simple introduction to a vast subject for adults and little ones to share.

The Odd One Out
Britta Teckentrup
Big Picture Press

This book offers a great opportunity for young children to develop their observation skills as they peruse the pages of this ‘spotting book’. The first fourteen spreads present all kinds of interesting animals, a different kind on each, including camels, bats, seals, tortoises, ostriches, pandas, monkeys, rhinos, flamingos, fish, lemurs, penguins and butterflies. In addition a pair of rhyming verses invite the reader to spot the difference on each spread, for example among the camel train, one of their number has a single hump, whereas all the others have two. Another spread asks, ‘Who gets the first fish? Can you spot the winner?’ and depicts a pod of hungry seals, ‘calling out for their dinner’, one of which depicted in the print-like pattern already has a fish in its mouth. 

Some of the puzzles are much harder to spot than others; this reviewer found herself going cross-eyed trying to find the cross-eyed lemur looking at its own nose. Young children will certainly be challenged and entertained by most of the spreads.

On the final spread, a new animal is hidden among the melee comprising several representatives from each of the previous spreads.

Whirly Twirly Me

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Whirly Twirly Me
Manjeet Mann and Amanda Quartrey
Harper Collins Children’s Books

Sometimes children get so overwhelmed by their feelings that they find them impossible to control: so it is for the little girl protagonist in the story Manjeet Mann tells.

From the moment she wakes up, the girl talks of feeling a ‘bit whirly, my insides a bit twirly. my stomach in a knot’ which results in a strop, then a flop and at breakfast time, her elder sister takes the last of her favourite cereal. Hmm! This tangled turmoil continues all the way to school despite Mum promising to replace the cereal but things get even worse. A boy takes her favourite pencil to use, friends play a new game, which she doesn’t understand,

Lola tells her, “You’re no fun” and refuses to play.

Back home, on hearing about their daughter’s anger at school, her parents tell her that it isn’t acceptable to get angry for no reason; but still that whirling twirling persists. Up in her bedroom our narrator is overwhelmed and unable to stop stomping until up comes Mum.

As the two sit together and talk, those knotty feelings begin to dissipate until, reassured by hearing that ‘It’s normal to feel all those feelings,’ … It’s all part of who she is, the child finds a smile, a hug and a way to move forward.

Amanda Quartrey’s illustrations immediately take hold of you, as you follow the progtagonist through her day of small upsetting dramas that mount up and up into something really big.
A good book to start a classroom discussion about emotions.

Albert and the Shed

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Albert and the Shed
Ian Brown and Eoin Clarke
Graffeg

While a thunderstorm rages, Albert decides to take refuge in a garden shed, but as he looks for a cosy place to settle the wind blows the door shut so the tortoise resorts to taking a snooze. When he’s woken by sun however, the door is still shut and he’s not happy. Suddenly he hears the voice of the ant commander telling him how untidy the place is and promising to get help with the door.

It’s not long before a rescue party arrives and with no real plan, a little worm finds itself flying up towards the window, which is also firmly closed. However, he does see Albert looking decidedly nervous on account of all the dangerous objects littering the floor. Meanwhile the ant commander decides he and his fellow ants should come under the door and attempt to open it from the inside: that is not a good idea.

Outside, other door-opening attempts including bombardment are being made,

albeit unsuccessfully; however, what none of the would-be rescuers know is that all the while a little caterpillar has been creeping up the door towards the latch.

Will Albert be free at last? And what about the ant brigade, still stuck fast, and they’re not the only things that remain stuck.

With some hilarious moments – from the reader’s viewpoint, though not the characters herein, this latest Albert story will delight, with its dramatic telling and arresting illustrations.

Ember Shadows and the Lost Desert of Time

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Ember Shadows and the Lost Desert of Time
Rebecca King, illustrated by Raquel Ochoa
Orion

Having saved her sister, taken down the Fate-Weaver and freed the future, Ember expected things in Everspring to be easier. However not everybody is happy. Ember herself is struggling with the consequences of her actions for there are people who don’t know how to live their lives without the Fate Cards telling them what to do. Then, she discovers something awful on Mount Never: someone has been cutting people’s Fate Threads. 

Convincing herself that this is her fault, Ember is determined to stop the Thread Cutter and so together with Hans, she sets off in search of clues, eventually realising that her only chance of preventing the Thread-Cutter from doing more harm is to go back in time to put a stop to it.

Following the strange signs S.E.C.R.E.T. lead Ember and the ever supportive Hans into an astonishing and unbelievably strange world. It is fortunate indeed that Hans is with her for Ember encounters several characters that she’s not sure she can trust, one being a boy named Falcon.

With time running out in which to find the Thread-cutter, can Ember work out who this is and even if she can’t change the past, can she help to forge the best future possible for Everspring residents.

The author has a special talent for both world-building and word play, which she uses to great effect in this inventive, hugely thought-provoking fantasy. Hans’ description of the boat they use at one point as ‘amaza-brillia-fabu-ling’ is terrific and the creation and naming of the underwater world of Emocean, where Ember finds herself, is ingenious. 

I love what Ember says as she addresses a meeting in the final chapter, “Most of all, you’ve got to believe in yourself, no matter what. because you can choose who to be now. So, make it someone good.” For that I add my applause to that which filled the meeting hall.

Raquel Ochoa’s black and white illustrations make the story even more exciting.

The Magic of Forests

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The Magic of Forests
Vicky Woodgate
Dorling Kindersley

In this book, written and illustrated by Vicky Woodgate, readers are taken on a fascinating journey around the world and through different kinds of forests and things foresty, guided by Mimi, the cat.
Gorgeously illustrated double page spreads explore the various kinds of forest, what a tree actually is (explaining the difference between angiosperms and gymnosperms), the subterranean communication network between tree roots and networks of tiny fungal threads and then looks at different kinds of leaf shapes.

Then comes a section entitled ‘History, folklores, fairy tales’. That includes a timeline going right back 470 million years to the first land plants; but it took another 181 million years for the ginkgos to begin to grow. It took way, way longer though for the wood from trees to become central to human life, to be used for making fires, tools, weapons and wheels, as well as being pulped and made into paper. I was astonished to read that 10, 000 sheets of paper can be produced from a single 14 metre tall pine tree. You’ll encounter some weird and wonderful beings on the next three spreads including the Leshy, a forest spirit from the Slavic regions that is said to defend trees and the animals that live therein. 

Super scary is the Jersey Devil, a creature said to bear some resemblance to a kangaroo, only it has a horselike head, horns, horrible claws and emits a blood-curdling, high-pitched scream: I don’t think I’ll go wandering in the Pine Barren Forests of New Jersey.

Next, readers are introduced to some of the environmentalists, activists and scientists who have done sterling work defending the world’s forests, and or, planting trees; some including Jadav Payeng aka the Forest Man of India and Marina Silva (a native Amazonian/politician) continue their work today.

We also visit different forest habitats such as a pine forest, a mangrove forest, a cloud forest, 

a rainforest and an underwater forest and meet some of the weird and wonderful animals that live in them and the final part of the book reminds us of the positive effects being in a foresty place has on how we feel.

Immerse yourself in this book with its facts, activities, quizzes and more, and enjoy the author’s illustrations too: You’re sure to find plenty to interest you; I certainly did.

The After School Crime Club / Sticky Pines: The Wrath of the Blob

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The After School Crime Club
Hayley Webster
Nosy Crow

Willow is a loner, she’s grieving for her beloved Nanna. Now she’s starting to feel a sense of isolation for no-one can fill the void left by Nanna who was a huge fan of 50s musical films especially Singing in the Rain, which is mentioned frequently throughout the story.

Then she joins an after school study group, at the local bookshop, The Book Box, and there all the other students are way more confident than she is; some are members of her year 6 class although they’ve never conversed. One is Tay Welding who intrigues Willow: she appears to be the school ‘bad girl’ but her nonchalant, I don’t care attitude rather appeals to Willow. She now begins to reflect on her social isolation and starts to feel she might just want to feel accepted and to fit in somewhere.

When some of the study group members take advantage of Willow, daring her to do things she knows in her heart are wrong, to gain membership of their club, she does so. However she keeps hearing Nanna’s voice questioning the choices she’s making and she feels increasingly conflicted.

Can she work out who her true self actually is? In so doing perhaps she can help her Mum process her own grief too.

Hayley Webster writes about the need for acceptance with sensitivity, honesty and empathy. I’ve not read any of her previous books but will certainly seek them out. This one is pitch perfect for older KS2 readers.

Sticky Pines: The Wrath of the Blob
Dashe Roberts
Future Human

This is the concluding story in the epic, action-packed, sci-fi adventure series: it’s at once wonderfully weird, funny and full of mystery, danger and risks.

Lucy Sladan races against time in an endeavour to save the world from total obliteration. Her friends, the Nagalons, are fighting to survive having been captured by Milo’s despotic father, largely because he considers them different and thus a potential threat, while Milo himself has been trapped in a huge impenetrable blob, which has been exposed following the draining of Black Hole Lake. Lucy though is an enormously brave, tenacious character who doesn’t stray from the path she believes to be the right one; she has some difficult decisions to make along the way and faces huge danger. As her friendship with Milo develops, the boy too has difficult decisions to make, for he’s conflicted between his father’s expectations of him and the feelings he has for Lucy

You will be on the edge of your seat from beginning to end of this thrilling series finale. You’ll find yourself thinking hard about some of the issues raised – particularly difference and acceptance, understanding and showing empathy – long after you’ve closed the book, but that’s what cracking writing like this should do to its readers.

I Can See Nature’s Rainbow

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I Can See Nature’s Rainbow
Vicky Woodgate
Scholastic


There’s a kaleidoscope of vibrant colours to be found in the natural world and that’s what author/artist Vicky Woodgate celebrates in this book.


Starting with blue, a spread is allocated to each of eleven different colours. Yes we all know that sometimes the sky is blue but did you know that there is a blue daisy and a blue starfish?
Thanks to chlorophyll, there is an abundance of green in nature’s flora; there are also lots of green insects, quite a few birds and animals. Among the snippets of fascinating information is the fact that ‘the world’s heaviest parrot (the kakapo) weighs as much as a brick. You probably won’t be surprised to discover that kakapos don’t fly.
Keep going through the book and you will come upon lots of other things of interest.


Have you ever thought about why there are so few purple animals? You will find the answer on the relevant spread as well as being introduced to several purple bugs, birds, flowers and a peculiar Indian frog that spends just two weeks above ground each year and clucks like a chicken: it’s not surprising I’ve never seen one on my frequent visits to India.


These are just a few of the delights you will encounter as you turn the pages towards the final spreads, one showing rocks and minerals, which explains how they get their unique colouring and the last pages explain what colour is and present some arty activities.

A visual feast for younger primary readers.

Deadly Deep

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Deadly Deep
Jennifer Killick
Farshore

This is the next instalment in Jennifer Killick’s Dread Wood horror-comedy series.

At the start of their first term in Y8, Club Loser are on a trip to the South of France to study wildlife and the Mediterranean coastline. They are on board the ship Melusine to witness the launch of some new wildlife research technology – ROVs – remotely operated vehicles – that Cyborgs (the tech company Colette’s mum works for) have been working on. These are subaquatic drone-like things that enable researchers to view sea creatures on the console up on deck.

When they depart, the gang members feel upbeat and confident of their safety as their dastardly enemies, the Latchitts are in prison in England, but with that couple, nothing is for certain.
The story is narrated by animal loving, Angelo, who is fascinated by the ROV and endeavours to learn as much as possible from its operator – useful knowledge, we later discover.

As the trip gets under way, it’s evident that an enormous shadowy creature lurks at the bottom of the ocean; add to that a decidedly creepy man on board ship who wants to talk with Colette. Perhaps the gang’s confidence in their safety was somewhat misplaced.

Indeed it certainly was for something suddenly smashes into the Melusine, the boat starts to sink, almost everyone else on the trip manages to board the lifeboats and escape but the Club Loser gang are trapped. So too somewhere, are Colette’s mum and Mr C. – he who firmly believes that hot choccie can solve any problem – and Captain Boyère. The realisation dawns: only Club Loser can save the day, either that or …

This is where Club Loser’s ability to stick together no matter what, while allowing each person to utilise their particular strength is crucial.

Prepare for some gory happenings in this action-packed, nail-biter; you may find yourself needing to pause and take a deep breath from time to time as you read.

Mrs Owl’s Forest School: The Very Big Den / Getting Ready for Autumn

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Mrs Owl’s Forest School: The Very Big Den
illustrated by Seb Braun, written by Ruth Symons
Templar Books

You never know what you will find, if you go down to the woods today, perhaps a forest school in progress.
Herein we join Mouse, Squirrel, Fox and Rabbit in a woodland setting beneath the trees where Mrs Owl holds her forest school. During the process of den building the animals use all their senses to learn about wildlife, both flora and fauna of the surrounding environment, as well as learning an important lesson about friendship and inclusivity. In addition they gain some useful skills such as how to tie knots and how to build a bug hotel. 

Written in consultation with Lizzie Noble, a forest childcare provider with a wealth of experience in running creative, play-based forest school sessions for families, this is a book that may well inspire youngsters to get out into the wild, wonderful world of nature. Seb Braun’s inviting, detailed, richly hued scenes help underscore some of the instructions woven into the narrative and should encourage young children to find and explore their local woodland places and perhaps try their hand at den-building. In my experience, children need little encouragement when it comes to the building of dens.

Getting Ready for Autumn
Kathryn Selbert
Nosy Crow

This seasonal sticker storybook is published in collaboration with the National Trust. Herein readers join a family and friends as they enjoy a range of early autumnal activities. Mum, Dad and two children walk in the woods where the trees now have their rich golden, orange foliage, and they keep their eyes open for woodland creatures such as deer, squirrels and birds. They also spend a fun afternoon apple picking in preparation for some baking and take advantage of windy days to fly kites. 

With the new term about to begin there are the inevitable getting ready activities as the siblings are starting school. On their first day, Grandma comes to meet them and they visit the park to hunt for conkers. As the chillier days arrive, it’s time to put up some bird feeders and with the approach of Halloween, some ripe pumpkins are ready and waiting to be picked. The book concludes with some Halloween activities.

After the narrative come two ‘can you spot’ pages that will send children back to each spread to find the items shown; there are also several pages containing 120+ stickers to add to the relevant spreads.
A useful, book to have to hand as summer ends, especially on a rainy day.

Can You See the Stars Tonight?

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Can You See the Stars Tonight?
Anna Terreros-Martin
David Fickling Books

Most of us are very aware of the need to rein in our use of energy in order to protect the planet, but I suspect that light pollution is not the first thing that springs to mind when the word pollution is mentioned. I live part of my life in a small village near Stroud in Gloucestershire and the other part in suburban outer London: the difference in the number of shining stars visible in the night sky is astounding. Apart from the houses, there are far more street lights, commercial premises lit at night, illuminated advertising etc. in TW12 than in rural Gloucestershire.

Nora the small girl protagonist in Anna Terreros-Martin’s story, enjoys using her telescope and looking at the stars from her bedroom window and she becomes aware that the stars are much less bright than those in her book. She’s remarking about it to Puffin when suddenly a baby puffin – a puffling – comes flying into her room, clearly in a panic. When she goes down to tell her dads, they tell her that it’s the tenth lost puffling that instead of flying out to sea for winter, has flown into the town that week. Why? Nora wants to know.
Dad and Papa suggest they spend the weekend camping on Puffin Island, return the puffing they have and see what is happening on the island.

Once there, with the help of her Papa and Dad, as well as Puffin, Nora learns that pufflings normally use the light of the moon and stars to help them find their way. Then as darkness falls and they sit together under the night sky, Nora realises that light pollution from the town is confusing the little birds.

Back home, determined to find a solution to the issue, she enlists her school friends to join her in making a difference to the amount of artificial light. They make sure all the electric lights are turned off, close the curtains and put up the light shields they’ve made. Now as they look out, it’s clear that the pufflings are flying out to sea, guided by the moon and stars, just as they should be.

An important book that highlights an issue that will be new to many young children. Nora is such an engaging character, let’s hope she is as successful in enlightening and galvanising readers as she is her friends at school.