Author jillrbennett

The Story Shop: Dino Danger! / Little Rabbit’s Big Surprise

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The Story Shop: Dino Danger!
Tracey Corderoy, illustrated by Tony Neal
Little Tiger

It’s always a treat to enter the Puddletown High Street establishment run by Wilbur and his ferret assistant, Fred. This unusual place sells stories but it’s not a bookshop, rather it sells stories you can actually be in. Dino Danger is the third in Tracey’s – if my experience is anything to go by – very popular series and offers three adventures, together with suitable costumes and characters, that are just waiting for a scaredy Bear to participate in.

Somewhat surprisingly, Fred and Wilbur suggest he dons a dinosaur outfit as does Fred who will accompany Bear. Our ursine character will definitely have to find a whole lot of courage if he’s to face a lot of prehistoric beasties, starting with a T.Rex and companions -Stegosaurus, Diplodocus and Apatosaurus. Can he avoid ending up as lunch for the terrible tyrannosaurus? Perhaps if he can outplay Big T. in a game of crazy golf …

In the second episode Bear turns baby sitter for three mischievous little Triceratopses that are leading their teacher, not to mention Bear and Fred, on a merry dance, after which the latter need to make a hasty exit.

Story three sees the adventurers on the trail of the real Veggie Nibbler(s) with just three days to catch them or they could well end up popping endless amounts of pea pods at the dinos’ Famous Allotment Club.

With plenty of amusing black and white illustrations by Tony Neal to break up the text, these stories will please followers of the series and likely win lots of new fans for The Story Shop.

Also for newly independent readers and just out in paperback is:

Little Rabbit’s Big Surprise
Swapna Haddow and Alison Friend
Little Tiger

One of the first in the publisher’s short fiction series with full colour illustrations, the original hardcover was reviewed four years back on this blog.

Carry Me!

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Carry Me!
Georgie Birkett
Walker Books

It’s a while since Wilbur was an easy to carry, snuggly baby; he’s now considerably bigger and stronger. Nonetheless he still tries insisting, “Carry Me!” He loves piggybacks, shoulder rides and being pushed in his buggy regardless of the weather.

Unsurprisingly, all this effort eventually takes its toll on Wilbur’s Mummy and even when she suggests he should try walking, Wilbur is ready with an excuse or two.

One day however, when out with his mum, Wilbur drops his toy, Rabbit. Out of the buggy he leaps and off he hops to retrieve Rabbit.

On his return, who should be sitting in the buggy but his Mummy. I wonder what the little lad did next …

Thereafter, Wilbur and his Mummy can be seen walking home side by side, chatting happily and Wilbur’s chief want is no longer Carry Me! He’s replaced it with another request.

A smashing story for busy, weary grown-ups to share with their little ones. It would make a warm hug of a book to give a mum on Mother’s Day but equally it’s a great one to read to a nursery group or a small child at any time. Make sure you start reading from the front endpapers where. Georgie Birkett portrays Wilbur’s mum carrying her unborn child. The illustrations throughout show so much more than the straightforward narrative; you will definitely want to linger over every spread enjoying the humorous details and watching the changing expressions and body language of the two main characters.

A Passing On Of Shells

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A Passing On Of Shells
Simon Lamb, illustrated by Chris Riddell
Scallywag Press

It’s always exciting to discover new poets and Simon Lamb is a new voice on the poetry scene. For each of the fifty poems included here, he’s used just fifty words and, speaking volumes, every one of them is accompanied by an awesome illustration by the inimitable Chris Riddell.

The subjects of this cracking collection are wide-ranging and include family members, hope, nature’s wonders, growing up and the writing process. Those of us who write in any shape or form will recognise Simon’s playful words on the elusive ‘great idea’ in Searching for Ideas: ‘I glimpsed a glimmer of a great idea / just out of my eye but somewhere near / so I crept over quiet and I didn’t dare speak / … then readied my pen but alas that was when / the monster took flight once again!

I’m pretty sure too that many adults will from time to time find themselves having to emulate Macaroni Man, a brilliant chef or is he? ‘I love his macaroni! / Here’s the secret of his grub: / he cuts some slits into the lid, then microwaves the tub!’ 

Whatever your mood you’ll find something to enjoy here. I love the contemplative Still Earth: ‘Earth holding breath. / The sky a brilliance of blue, / its blush like newly polished brass. … No wind today. / Just stillness. / Stillness. / Just air and light and calm and earth. And in the absence of the words: / birds.’ Beautiful! So too is Chris’s accompanying illustration.

And, who wouldn’t want to have themselves described thus in the opening lines of What I Know About You: ‘You are a dazzling human, unique: a soup of swirling starlight wrapped in skin.’

Small, sparkling gems perfectly formed, every one: what better way to launch Scallywag Press’s new poetry list than this?

Kind Crocodile / Who’s Hiding? On The Farm

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Kind Crocodile
Leo Timmers
Gecko Press

Little does Crocodile know when he decides to leave his watery abode and go for a stroll that he’ll end up as an animal rescue service. First comes a mouse fleeing from a scary snake, closely followed by a warthog hotly pursued by a hyena; next is an impala chased by a cheetah and then a rhinoceros with a lion in pursuit. Crocodile sees off the chasers with some strategic and menacing GRRRRs and offers a safe haven to what becomes, with the addition of the heaviest animal, a surprised heap comprising rhino, impala, warthog and mouse each precariously balanced in a tower upon the kind croc’s back. This makes him let’s say, somewhat flattened, physically at least, as well as voiceless.

How will they see off that hungry lion now?

Happily teamwork comes to their rescue; but the last word (make that almost the last) is definitely that of Crocodile, which creates a moment of suspense before his final utterance. Then off they all go, the animal tower somewhat differently arranged.

With Timmers’ humorously expressive mixed media illustrations, simple patterned text and that fun plot twist, this a funny large-format board book to share with little ones.

Who’s Hiding? On The Farm
Pintachan
Little Tiger

When a little chick loses his mummy, he asks Pig to help him find her but they can’t do so without little readers’ assistance. Following Pig’s instructions, they can explore what’s hidden behind the flap on each spread. They will also discover several other little chicks that have tucked themselves away cheeping, and once located those too can help in the search.

With bright jolly art by Pintachan and cutaway pages of farm scenes with minibeasts too, a simple text that includes animal speech bubbles to join in with and a happy ending, there’s plenty to entertain little humans in this fun board book.

Meet The Weather

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Meet the Weather
Caryl Hart and Bethan Woollvin
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Team Hart and Woollvin follow their introductions to the planets and the oceans with an opportunity for young children to go adventuring a third time and find out about different kinds of weather. Meet the Weather sees a little girl and her canine companion soaring through the sky in a magical hot air balloon. On their journey they’ll meet shape-shifting clouds, wild whooping whooshing winds, lightning along with booming thunder, a destructive tornado that twirls and whirls sending everything in its path skywards. 

Then there’s the cold murky fog with its damp greyness; 

the snow that can transform the land into a carpet of white, the radiant sunshine that makes the world joyful; the vital rain to refresh the natural world and help it grow, and finally perhaps most beautiful of all, a glorious rainbow where the sun meets the raindrops.

Young children will love copying the various onomatopoeic sounds Caryl includes in her rhyming text and enjoy exploring the land- and sky-scapes presented in Bethan’s dramatic, vividly coloured illustrations in this book which provides a subtle STEM lesson woven into a fun story.

The Big Bad Bug

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The Big Bad Bug
Kate Read
Two Hoots

The Big Bad Bug is a self important beetle and on the beautiful morning when this story unfolds, he’s in a big bad mood that upsets all the other minibeasts in the garden. They’re especially aggrieved when the Big Bad Bug claims ownership of the splendid bug house intended for them all.

But then they come upon a ginormous, absolutely deliciously juicy-looking berry big enough for everyone. You can guess who wants it all for himself.

Now the other minibeasts stand their ground, demanding they all have a share. A tussle ensues and the outcome is one stuck bug, seemingly with more than merely his pride hurt.

Just when it looks as though the BBB is about to meet his doom with a dark shadow looming above, the caterpillar has a change of heart, so to speak, and the Big Baddie has a narrow escape. Instead of being squished out of existence, he is seized by a delighted child who lavishes kindness and care upon him for the rest of the morning.

Come lunchtime though, she releases the “sweet little bug’’ to find his friends and off he goes grumbling to himself till he comes face to face with the other bugs. A new one among their number might just be the one to stand up to selfish, bullying Big Bad Bug.
Will he never learn to share though? What do you think?

Kate Read’s richly coloured, detailed illustrations of all manner of minibeasts in their natural environment are infused with humour. Her text includes lots of dialogue, which allows adult readers aloud to create plenty of drama as they share the book with young children.

My Mummies Built a Treehouse / Amazing Mum

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My Mummies Built a Treehouse
Gareth Peter and Izzy Evans
Lantana

In a rhyming narrative the boy protagonist asks his two mummies to build him a treehouse. Both agree and each has different ideas and skills to bring to the project, but first they’re all three involved in the choice of the right tree. That done, the creation process gets underway with the drawing of a plan and as Mummy insists ‘very strong foundations’. Mum (a doctor) points out that trees are living things and so in order to give their tree room to grow, they should build around it.

Then it’s off to buy the wood and other materials needed for the construction and back at home the three spend the rest of the day working together. There are occasional mishaps and some adverse weather, but eventually a few days later, the narrator has the key in his hand and up, up, up the ladder he climbs to be met at the top with an amazing view of the countryside. ‘The perfect palace in the clouds for all my friends and me.’ The fulfilment of a dream and a perfect day to share it, first with his many pals and then come the evening, beneath the stars with “Mummy, Mum and Me’.

An uplifting tale that reads aloud well combined with detailed illustrations of the loving family and their activities. You’ll want to spend time enjoying each scene: the family moggy gets up to lots of antics; there’s small mammal activity underground, a plethora of potted plants and a family of birds and much more, to feast your eyes on in Izzy Evans’ richly hued illustrations.

Amazing Mum
Alison Brown
Farshore

Love and humour abound in Alison Brown’s celebration of mums and it seems likely that young children will find a character very like their own mum or mother figure in this exuberant celebration of their diverse talents and idiosyncrasies. They will encounter mums juggly, snuggly, those super at finding missing things, mums with an eye for the main chance when it comes to cake, supportive mums, fussy mums, those good at mending things and many others;

they’ll even find ‘Double mums’. No matter what, mums never run out of love. Finally, there’s the absolute best BIG hug sharer and that is everyone’s very own mum.

Inclusive and a delight to share with the very young: little ones will enjoy Alison’s simple rhyming text and find plenty to giggle at in her mum portrayals. There’s lots to talk about and with just the right amount of quirky detail, each one is endearing rather than overly cute.

Mums of all kinds will be very happy to receive this as a Mother’s Day present.

My Mummy Marches

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My Mummy Marches
Samantha Hawkins and Cory Reid
Lantana

The little girl herein talks about her mum and the various causes she marches for including protecting the environment and social justice. Crucially though she marches to fix the world’s problems, to say things that need saying and to remind people how to love. She marches no matter the season or the weather; she marches with lots of other people all supporting the same cause, but sometimes she’ll even march alone.

On occasion she feels sad, tears well up and then she marches quietly. She never stops marching however, just like her own mummy and grandmother did when they marched for equal rights and a better way of life.

With such a powerful advocate for social justice,

what does the little girl herself think? She’s clearly proud of her mother, telling readers, ‘She marches like the beat of a terrific, giant drum. She marches ferocious and tall, like lightning burning across the open sky … She marches proud and passionate with her face lit up in the biggest smile.’ It’s evident that our young narrator intends to follow in her mother’s footsteps – she’s already learning to march, we’re told: “I will march for freedom, for kindness and for love.’

In her straightforward narrative, Samantha Hawkins makes effective use of simile and metaphor as she presents her empowering theme and it is made even more compelling by Cory Reid’s dramatic, inclusive illustrations. A book that one hopes will galvanise young readers and listeners to stand up and march to make the world a kinder place for everyone.

Art and Joy: Best Friends Forever

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Art and Joy: Best Friends Forever
Danielle Krysa
Prestel

Meet best friends, Art and Joy. These two love creating things together, all kinds of things and they do so with minimal resources. From paper, a few pink crayons and a roll of tape they made Gumballio, a brand new planet; boxes were fashioned into a funky parade and their homes for magical creatures were desired by all the town’s fairies, though some had particular colour requirements.

Everything is going swingingly until one day, the Art Bully criticises their latest endeavour. Art in particular is affected by the negativity: no matter what the friends work on, despite Joy’s delight in their creations, the insidious Art Bully continues to hover nearby ready to pour scorn upon their work.

Art is bemused that Joy appears to be untroubled by that bullying voice and with Art Bully’s words always there, becomes more and more miserable. Now Art refuses to make anything unless it’s ‘serious, normal, tidy, and right’.

Will Art ever be able to get the better of that self-critical voice and rediscover the delights of creative expression? Happily yes, thanks to some time spent in the great outdoors.

This book’s creator really understands that many children, especially as they get older, are beset by their own inner critic that finds fault with their artistic endeavours. Her playfully humorous collage illustrations, wise words, and clever use of typography will surely help youngsters to overcome their own Art Bullies and find joy in both the creative process and product.

Winnie-the-Pooh and Me

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Winnie-the-Pooh and Me
Jeanne Willis and Mark Burgess
Macmillan Children’s Books

Inspired by A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard, author Jeanne Willis and artist Mark Burgess have created a new story featuring the favourite classic characters, the inspiration being Milne’s poem Us Two from Now We Are Six, which is printed before this book’s title page.

We join Pooh and Christopher Robin one fine day as they head off on a tricycle and endeavour to discover which of their friends – a ‘what’ or ‘who’ – is following them. It definitely isn’t Kanga and Roo; they are sailing a boat, bound for Timbuktu. Nor is it Rabbit – the maths doesn’t add up, so what about Owl? He’s certainly at home

and he does offer a couple of suggestions, one regarding possible followers and the other concerning Pooh’s favourite food.

Off they go again further into the Hundred Acre Wood, intent on getting rid of pursuers: but is that possible? Perhaps Eeyore has the answer …

Jean Willis’ rhyming narrative with repeat refrains, together with Mark Burgess’s delightful illustrations that include all of Winnie and Christopher’s friends in one way or another, make this sequel one that will captivate both adult readers aloud and young children to whom the characters may perhaps be new.

The Bear and the Wildcat

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The Bear and the Wildcat
Kazumi Yumoto and Komako Sakai
Gecko Press


‘One morning, Bear was crying. His best friend, a little bird, was dead.’ So begins this deeply moving, poignant story of friendship, loss, grief and finally, hope.

Bear fashions a small wooden box and gently places the bird inside. He carries the box everywhere showing it to other animals he meets. They admire its beauty but failing to understand why Bear takes the box around, tell him to forget his friend.

Bear returns home and shuts himself away for several days but one morning sunshine streaming through the window wakes him. This prompts him to venture outside and as he walks along the riverbank, he comes upon a wildcat dozing at the waterside; beside him are a battered rucksack and a strangely-shaped box.

The latter interests Bear who wants to know what’s inside. The wildcat agrees to show him on condition Bear opens his box too.
The wildcat listens as Bear tells his story, realising that he must miss the friend he’d loved deeply. It’s the first time anybody else has acknowledged this to Bear. In return wildcat opens his box, takes out his violin and offers to play a song for Bear’s friend. As he does so, Bear remembers some of the times he and Bird had spent happily together

and in so doing Bear’s sadness begins to lift and he starts to heal. He decides it’s time to bury his friend and with the wildcat’s help they create a final resting place for the little bird.

The wildcat invites Bear to accompany him on his travels, he gives him a well-used tambourine and together the two animals move on, travelling the world and making music.

Kazumi Yumoto’s text is lyrically and lovingly written; and is accompanied by Komako Sakai’s soft edged, smudgy black and white images, which become infused with touches of pink as Bear begins to recall the happy memories and accept his friend’s death.

A beautiful book to offer comfort to those experiencing loss, and an opportunity to talk about death and grief with younger children.

Cheeky Worries

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Cheeky Worries
Patrick Davey and Anna Smith, illustrated by Anne Wilson
Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Finn is just like other boys, fun loving and adventurous; he has worries, just like other boys but he doesn’t know this as the story starts.

His worries come upon him one day as he sits on the top deck of a bus right at the front, pretending to be the driver:suddenly a frightening thought pops into his head: suppose Mummy gets off without me. His heart beats faster and he gets butterflies in his tummy. Holding onto his mummy’s hand helps him forget his scary thought and all is well.

That night another scary thought arrives in his mind. So scared does Finn feel about the possibility of a monster lurking beneath his bed that he doesn’t want to snuggle down inside.

The following day he gets a scary thought about falling from the slide and off he gets.

Sitting dejectedly alone on a bench, he hears a whooshing sound and right beside him is an owl. Now this owl knows lots about scary thoughts and their effects as she’s seen many other people who have been similarly troubled. She calls the thoughts ‘cheeky worries’ on account of the way they creep uninvited into a person’s mind and by distorting the truth, prevent them doing what they want. Moreover the owl has several strategies Finn can use to dispel his worries before they get the better of him.

Having shared her wisdom, the owl gives Finn one of her ‘magic’ feathers. Then in answer to the boy’s question regarding the number of feathers the owl has missing, she bids him farewell with a parting, ‘Because, Finn, my brave little friend, everybody – however big or small – has cheeky worries’. Finn then starts noticing other people with strategically placed feathers.

With Anne Wilson’s bright, empathetic illustrations, this engaging, hugely reassuring story for young children was written by an NHS psychiatrist (Patrick Davey) and a clinical psychologist working in the NHS (Anna Smith). The book discusses anxiety in a child-friendly manner, giving young children the tools needed to deal with their fears.

One to add to classroom resources and family bookshelves.

Mind and Me / Barney the Horse

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Mind and Me
Sunita Chawdhary
Knights Of

This funny story is about much more than just losing your pet rabbit, which is what Maya, the girl narrator of this book does. 

When she wakes one morning she discovers her beloved Pooey is missing from his house beside her bed. Mysteriously it appears that the rabbit must have opened the door herself.

It’s also about lies and their consequences; determination, lots of poos (rabbit ones for the most part), identical twin cousins – the daughters of Maya’s favourite aunt who has a ‘way of sprinkling happiness over everyone’ – a warm, loving family and Mind. Mind is Maya’s own mind that acts as a kind of prompt, voice in the head alter ego. Into all this, author Sunita Chawdhary weaves occasional snippets of information about Indian customs and life in India, (Maya’s mother is from India), a few pearls of yoga wisdom, lots of humorous black and white illustrations and more.

Most of the book relates what happens when Maya, aided (sort of) and abetted by cousins Tanya and Anya search for Pooey, though it’s only Maya who knows what they’re actually looking for.

There’s plenty to delight younger solo readers in this, Sunita’s debut chapter book; this adult reviewer loved it too.

Barney the Horse
Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees
Harper Collins Children’s Books

This book contains three short stories set in turn at Nethercott farm, Treginnis and Wick Court which constitute the Farms for City Children Organisation set up by the author and his wife to give city children, (who come to stay along with their teachers), experience of such things as feeding sheep, milking cows, looking after horses and generally interacting with other animals and the natural world.

The first, Missing! is a little boy’s account of what happened when he and his classmates went to feed the sheep and discovered that one of the lambs wasn’t there. The farmer declares that the one who finds the errant lamb will be awarded the ‘farmer of the day’ badge. This results in the narrator straying a bit too far, just like the object of his search, in what turns out to be a very dramatic rescue.

In Bird Boy, story two, Matt is staying away from home for the first time. Despite enjoying the stories by the fire in the evenings, the berry picking, eating the beans he’s helped to gather, and the interactions with the animals, the boy feels homesick. It’s the wealth of birdlife though, that makes all the difference for Matt. He especially likes to observe the swallows that have nested in one of the barns and are rearing their young. 

What he doesn’t anticipate is that he will play an important role in the early life of one of the little chicks.

The third story is a retrospective one told by an adult narrator and contains an empowering message.. Go For It was the motto of the narrator’s Grandma and it was this catchphrase and her gran’s birthday gift that were responsible for the story teller going to stay at Wick Court with her primary school friends. She tells how her interactions with the horses there, especially Barney, completely changed the course of her life.

For younger readers, these gentle tales, accompanied by Guy Parker-Rees’ plentiful, spirited black and white illustrations, convey the lasting effects a stay on a child-friendly farm can have.

Juniper Mae: Knight of Tykotech City

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Juniper Mae: Knight of Tykotech City
Sarah Soh
Flying Eye Books

Juniper Mae, a young inventor, lives in Tykotech City, a wonderful place on account of its residents having their energy sourced from within by The Core, so that they have no need to venture into the deep dangerous forest surrounding the city to obtain resources. Now though unexplained problems with The Core have started causing power cuts.

One night when out testing her latest invention, the Juni Jet, (a high velocity jetpack with miniaturised hyperdrive), The Core’s power cuts out causing Juniper to crash land in the forest. Hearing a sound, she fears it heralds the approach of one of the terrible beasts the city folk talk of, but instead what appears is a tiny creature – a tama-tama – that looks rather endearing.
The creature introduces himself as Albie, offers his help to guide her home and accompanies Juniper in the hope that she’ll show him the city.

First though, Albie shows her his own village where she notices some unusual plant lights she’s told are sourced from kabbage seeds, and then in his hut, the artefact he’d mentioned that could help her. He also tells Juniper that this object had once belonged to the Guardian Knights, the ancient protectors of both humans and tama-tamas, thus giving both groups a shared antiquity. Albie gives his new friend both the ancient sword and an ancient map and they both go back to Juniper’s home.

Juniper investigates how the kabbage seeds work but just as she’s done so the city is invaded by metal monsters. Are they responsible for the power losses? Juniper is a determined character and with Albie’s assistance, together with the artefact and the newly discovered power source, she sets about saving the city and the forest. Can the spirit of those Guardian Knights supercharge her confidence.

Sarah Soh’s graphic style presentation of Juniper’s world is immediately immersive with its wealth of glowing images and lots of mechanical detail; there’s a gripping fast-paced plot that includes lots of dialogue and leaves readers satisfied with the resolution of one mystery but eager to meet Juniper and Albie again in the two further tales. I love the mix of technology and nature and that the main protagonist is passionate about STEM subjects.

My Heart is a Poem

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My Heart is a Poem
various authors, various illustrators
Little Tiger

Feelings come and go; most of us experience a plethora of them each day, some briefly, others are with us for longer. This collection of poems from twenty poets is an exploration of these emotions and the effects they have on us. Among the voices are those of Joseph Coelho, James Carter, Kate Wakeling, John Agard, Valerie Bloom and Coral Rumble. Some of the poems included are new to me, one such is Debjani Chatterjee’s No More … about finding a way to deal with a bully. It begins like this: ‘I knew the icy grip of fear, / I knew my heart beat like a drum, I felt a pounding in my ear / And courage crumbling in my tum.’ I suspect most of us have felt similarly troubled by fear of someone. The illustrator for this poem, Nabila Adani is also new to me.

No matter how you are feeling, as Elaine Laron says in No One Else, people can certainly tell you how to do almost anything; however you and only you own your feelings: ‘But no one else, no, no one else / Can tell you how you feel.’ Annalise Barber illustrated this one 

The boy in Nikki Grimes’ Stomp describes how having been subjected to a barrage of horrible words all day at school, ‘I Come home / feet about to bleed / from angry stomping. / “Boy!” says Mom. / “Quit making all that racket.” / But what does she expect / when, day after day, / haters sling words at me / like jagged stones / designed to split my skin’. He retreats to his room and takes up his journal, ‘and unload my hurt, my rage / ’til I can breathe again. / Letter by letter, / I rediscover / my power to decide / which words matter, / which words don’t, / and whose. / Calm, now, I remember: / I get to choose.’ Powerful for the boy; powerful too for the reader.

It’s interesting to consider the situations that cause a particular feeling to manifest itself and there are a wide variety presented in these poems. Coral Rumble’s Ache is the result of disappointment at never being picked to participate in a playground game: ‘But deep inside the pit of me, I ache an ache no one can see.’ So says the child who is always left alone standing by the fence.

Wherever you open the book, you are likely to find a poem that resonates with you and it will be illustrated by one of four fantastic artists whose visual images will be powerfully evocative of the emotion the poet has written about.

Brief biographies and photos of the featured poets and illustrators are presented at the end of the book, enabling the reader to feel connected with the creators.

A great book for the classroom but equally one for individuals to curl up with and ponder.

The Swing

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The Swing
Britta Teckentrup
Prestel

This is an absolute jewel of a book: a poetic reflection on the passage of time, at the centre of which is a swing.

The swing stands on a hill overlooking the sea. Said swing had always been there, the narrator tells us ‘… it invited everyone to take a seat.’ It’s a place for meeting, for being alone, a place of joy and laughter; it’s also a place for big decisions and perhaps change – beginnings and endings: somewhere anything and everything is possible. There are pensive moments, playful moments and pour your heart out moments. It’s a place to contemplate and dream about the future.

Friends meet there and so do lovers. It might be a place from which to take flight …

Seasons come and seasons go, bringing with them changes – in the natural world and also in relationships.
Mia and her grandmother would stop and counting carefully, have twenty swings on their daily walk to school and even now as a grown up with a daughter of her own, Mia recalls that swinging and her beloved gran. Precious memories stay with us always.

Little by little the swing grows ever more creaky, battered by storms, until eventually nobody uses it and nobody fixes it. But then, years later, a young man and his son walked by. Another change – a vital one – takes place as the man and other people start a joint restoration …
Childhood, friendship, love and loss are portrayed in Britta’s meditative, exquisitely illustrated collage style scenes. It’s amazing how she communicates so much in what at first appear to be relatively simple, yet quietly powerful, pictures and narrative.

The Emerald Forest

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The Emerald Forest
Catherine Ward and Karin Littlewood
Otter-Barry Books

A mother orangutan lives with her children in a green Sumatran forest that is teeming with wildlife. She teaches her little ones the vital life skills they need to survive but one day she hears a loud CRASH! that sends birds every which way and then she sees smoke starting to permeate the canopy. Orangutan moves her family away from the noise and smoke and for a time things are apparently back to normal.

Then again comes that terrible sound, raging like an enormous beast, accompanied by clouds of dark, dense smoke. Suddenly Orangutan and her tree are crashing earthwards.

At first it seems there’s no escaping the fires all around, but as the smoke starts to clear a smiling face and an outstretched hand appear. Help has come in the form of a woman who leads the orangutan mother and her family to a place of safety; a green, tree-filled place where they can live alongside other creatures.

The island of Sumatra has lost nearly half of its rainforest in the last thirty or so years but this poignant picture book is one of hope: the place where the fictional orangutan family found safety is based on the Bukit Tigapulu National Park on the island of Sumatra. (Notes inside the back cover give details of the Emerald Forest setting of the story as well as facts about the critically endangered orangutans.)

Author Catherine Ward’s passion for wildlife conservation is apparent in her compelling prose and Karin Littlewood’s pictures have a power and poignancy of their own that makes the book even more impactful.

Are You A Monster?

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Are You A Monster?
Guilherme Karsten
Happy Yak

Essentially this is a fun interactive challenge wherein the ‘really bad’, bespectacled, reptilian monster protagonist speaks directly to readers informing us that this beastie wants a monster buddy to participate in doing scary things. Said monster however isn’t making things easy. It has a fair few characteristics on its necessities list for a companion and won’t tolerate anyone that doesn’t come up to the mark. End of story. What! Part way through the book? Or maybe beneath that rough skin, there lies a heart that might just be ready to change.

Little ones will love romping and stomping,

growling and galumphing to prove their worth in front of this demanding monster and they will certainly enjoy the final reveal too.

Guilherme Karsten’s illustrations are great fun as well. His monster practically leaps off the page at times and despite not trying to be, the monstrous character is highly endearing. Add to that the way the presentation of his monologue breaks into appropriately monstrous size print in places offering adult sharers a great opportunity to let rip along with their young audiences, you’re in for a lively story session when you read this one.

Outside / Mole’s Quiet Place

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Inside and outside both feature large in these two Little Tiger picture books: thanks to the publisher for sending them for review.

Outside
Bee Chuck

Essentially this is a retrospective look at that happened to everyday life during the lockdowns and how it has affected our appreciation of the great outdoors.

It starts before we were instructed to stay indoors, life was frantic and the two narrators of the book never had a minute to pause and take notice of the natural world especially.
Then, the first day of the enforced period at home turned out to be fun with hours and hours to bake cakes, chat on the phone and play on-screen games. Quickly the weather and nature were forgotten. Quickly too, those indoor pursuits got more and more boring.

However, the spin off was that without the continual rushing around, there was time to stop and really take notice of what was happening outside. Through the windows could be seen nature growing and thriving in the city: so why not try to create outside, inside – or almost inside. We see the two protagonists imagining and then creating window boxes, dangling bird feeders from tree branches and making pictures of visiting minibeasts; they even made a camp in the kitchen.

In due course, in stages the restrictions were lifted: simple outdoor activities like feeding the ducks became the highlight of the day. People rediscovered the joys of chatting face to face instead of on the phone, cycling was preferable to sitting in a car and physical activities outdoors were far more fun that on screen gaming.

When finally people could spend as much time outdoors as they wanted, our narrators (along with most of the population I suspect) have decided that their priorities have changed: outside fun in all weathers is way more pleasurable than staying in. Furthermore with wildlife now much more abundant in cities, has come the realisation that rather than overly tame nature, we can enjoy a slightly slower life, a vital part of which is cherishing the natural world.

Author/illustrator Bee Chuck’s love of nature shines through in the child-like illustrations throughout the book. Let’s hope Outside will instil that love in youngsters and the adults who share it with them, be that at home or in the classroom.

Mole’s Quiet Place
Jane Chapman

Mole loves his treehouse home that he shares with his friend Beaver; best of all he enjoys their evenings together, a time when they can remember their old friend, Bear. However with its welcoming lights and welcoming atmosphere the two frequently have their peaceful evenings interrupted by visitors eager to enjoy their hospitality.

One evening as Beaver enthuses about being able to accommodate so many in their large space, the less enthusiastic Mole has, despite the heavy rain, decided to go down to the lake for some peaceful time alone.

Before long an understanding Beaver discovers the whereabouts of his friend and the following day, all the treehouse pals get busy working on a new project, just for Mole. It’s something that enables her to enjoy tranquility in watery surroundings and perhaps remember Bear; and from there she realises just how alluring their treehouse home is to the other animals.

A gentle, yet powerful tale of finding somewhere to be yourself. With her instantly recognisable illustrations, Jane Chapman’s heartfelt story will resonate with both children and adult readers aloud.

Finding Floss

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Finding Floss
Cara Matheson and Mirna Imamović
Owlet Press

Floss the cockapoo is an amazing pet: she can change colour and this of course makes her very hard to find. Her colour changing capacity came upon her one day while the family were picnicking. Suddenly a rainbow appeared in the sky bathing her in its light and seemingly making her vanish; then in a flash Floss was brown no longer; instead she was rainbow coloured.
Then starts her continual chameleon-like colour changing that depends upon where she is. At first Floss thinks it’s a great game, but she soon starts using her ability to get up to all kinds of mischief that upsets her family.
When the funfair arrives, the girl narrator is thrilled, but then her Mum says that they shouldn’t bring Floss. Before they wander around the attractions, Mum gives her daughter a wristband with her phone number on it just in case they get separated and off goes the girl to enjoy herself.

While so doing she realises that her grown-ups are nowhere in sight.

Then to her surprise her scooter begins to move, seemingly on its own,

stopping only when it reaches the lost children stand. A quick phone call leads to a joyful reunion; but was it down to the magic of the scooter or something else?


Cara Matheson’s rhyming narrative and Mirna Imamović’s spirited illustrations of what gran calls their “blended family” coping with a lively pet include an important ‘stranger danger’ message. There’s lots to engage readers in every scene.

The final page provides important advice for children about what to do should they get lost when out.

So You Want to be a Frog

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So You Want to Be a Frog
Jane Porter and Neil Clark
Walker Books

In her follow-up to So You Want to Be an Owl, author Jane Porter presents what it takes to be a frog. Should you decide to give it a try, you may be surprised to learn that it requires a considerable number of skills; so says Frog Club leader, Fabio Frog. Happily he is on hand to provide support and information via a set of rules..

First off, (remember there are several stages in your life-cycle) you will need to work on your wriggling. Then, once you’ve lost that tail, jumping is an important way of moving and your tongue becomes a vital part of your anatomy – it’s very useful for catching flies. Did you know, that should you manage to catch a fly, your eyeballs will push the food down your throat? Although if slugs are more appealing, they’re another live option (no self-respecting frog would eat anything already dead).

You’ll also need to be able both to breathe underwater (there’s a fuzzy-looking Hairy Frog’ that has hairs to help) and ‘drink through your skin’.

Colour is another consideration – not all frogs are green like Fabio, although there are a fair few green species in various parts of the world. Others though don’t even live in ponds: a few are desert dwellers, others high in the branches of tropical trees.

Quite a number are poisonous too, so beware.

As always Jane Porter’s love of nature shines through in her writing, which is highly engaging and fun for young readers. Cleverly integrated with the text are Neil Clark’s amusing, detailed illustrations. A considerable amount of verbal and visual information is to be found between the pages of this non-fiction picture book. One last word or several: croaking and ribbiting are not the only froggy sounds, but to discover other possibilities, you’ll need to get your own front limbs on a copy of Jane and Neil’s book.

Scientists in the Wild: Galápagos

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Scientists in the Wild: Galápagos
Helen Scales and Rômolo D’Hipólito
Flying Eye Books

Along with a team of seven scientists from around the world who have a variety of special interests and expertise, readers are invited aboard the research ship, Sula, the aim being to study the flora and fauna of the Galápagos Islands, especially those unique to the archipelago.

Their tasks will include counting penguins: high numbers indicate that the population is healthy, What they find on this first stop is that nearly half the penguins they see are juveniles; this is good for it means the adults are breeding well.

The next job, after measuring a tiger shark is to attach a satellite tag to the creature and then track its movements. On the same island is a cove: a good stopping point for some underwater filming of the sea lions with a focus on what fish they’re eating.
The islands are home to a large variety of iguana species, one of which is very rare and the team stop off on one to count the endangered Pink land iguanas. Much, much tinier are the microscopic phyto- and zooplankton that play a crucial part in feeding the marine life around the islands.

The richness of the subaquatic flora and fauna attracts huge animals to the Galápagos to feed including sperm whales and one of the team wants to try and discover what it is these whales are communicating to one another.

It’s impossible to mention all the team investigates in a short review but readers find out about such topics as climatic conditions, a successful breeding programme of almost extinct Espania tortoises; there are spreads about Darwin and how the islands inspired his On the Origin of Species; the underwater volcanoes and their ‘mysterious’ ecosystems; and the final spread presents on going work in the Galápagos islands.

Helen Scales, herself a marine biologist, writes in an engaging manner, holding the reader’s interest throughout. I was excited to find the spread on Blue-footed boobies having loved Rob Biddulph’s picture book that starred the bird.

Stylish, detailed illustrations by Rômolo D’Hipólito play an equal part in conveying the science and keeping readers absorbed.


Aziza’s Secret Fairy Door and the Magic Puppy / Star Friends: Mystic Forest

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Aziza’s Secret Fairy Door and the Magic Puppy
Lola Morayo, illustrated by Cory Reid
Macmillan Children’s Books

In her latest magical adventure it’s not just Aziza who goes through her magic door; her brother visits the world of Shimmerton too. It happens shortly after Otis has been pleading with their parents to get them a dog despite the ban on flat dwellers keeping such pets in their homes. Almost immediately Aziza goes to her bedroom and sees that her fairy door is making those ticking sounds again. Suddenly the door opens and Aziza passes through, closely followed by her big brother, also pulled through by its golden beam.

The siblings arrive in Shimmerton to find the village fete is in full swing. Encouraged by Aziza’s fairy friend Peri to have a turn at the giant roulette wheel, Otis learns he has chosen the winning number and selects for his prize a puppy – a magical one. But Hainu as he names the pup is not as easy to handle as he anticipated though like most pups this one loves sticks.

Suddenly the midday bell rings heralding the unveiling of the ancient clock, a clock that represents spring and growth, without which nothing will grow. Horror of horrors! The three hands of the clock are gone and thanks to a rash action by the Gigglers, all three have returned to their places of origin. Aziza, Otis, Peri and Tiko must find them and they only have till sunset to do so.

They need to fix the clock before it’s too late.

With an abundance of magic, friendship, teamwork and a generous sprinkling of mischief this inclusive tale, inspired like the previous one by fairies and creatures from world mythology, will enchant new solo readers. Cory Reid’s quirky illustrations are a delight and the perfect fit for Lola Morayo’s telling.

Star Friends: Mystic Forest
Linda Chapman, illustrated by Kim Barnes
Little Tiger

I’ve not previously met the Star Friends, Maia et al, a group of children with a special secret: they have magical animal friends who help them learn magic and fight evil, some of it from the Shades.

In this book, Maia’s human friends Sita, Ionie and Lottie are excited about spending half term at a forest camp. They are hoping to learn all kinds of survival skills but Mrs Coates who has a farm on the forest edge is not at all happy about the arrival of campers, fearing they will upset her free-range chickens. Then strange things start happening. 

First the boots belonging to all those sharing Maia’s tent disappear and are later found in the stream where the boys went to collect water. Then the four girls discover the den they’d spent so long building the previous day has been completely destroyed. 

Add to that various objects are being moved from one place to another. Surely somebody isn’t trying to sabotage the camp, are they? If so, is it Mrs Coates or is it some kind of bad magic? No matter what or who, Maia and her friends are absolutely determined to find out and stop their trip being spoiled completely.

The author’s mix of magic, talking animals, strong friendship and problem solving works well and with the addition of Kim Barnes’ black and white illustrations, this addition to the adventure series with a difference, will appeal strongly to many newly independent readers whether or not they’ve read previous Star Friends books.

That’s My Flower!

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That’s My Flower!
Alice Hemming and Nicola Slater
Scholastic

The rather possessive rodent and his feathered friend from The Leaf Thief return in a new story.

When Squirrel wakes one morning he’s excited to discover that the leaves are back on the trees: hurrah! it’s spring.

Suddenly Squirrel is surprised by unusual buzzing and cuckoo-ing sounds. Then a strange bird flies at his head. Fortunately Bird is close by to explain about spring’s arrival being heralded by a bumblebee, a cuckoo and a swallow.
Then Squirrel notices a small, yellow flower that reminds him of the sun: another sign of spring explains Bird. By now Squirrel has decided that he likes spring but goes on to claim ownership of the flower and starts trying to protect it.

It mustn’t get wet, nor be attacked by bees, he decides until Bird tells his pal that the flower needs rain and that visiting bees help flowers. Moreover, “Your flower is a wild flower … It’s there for everyone to enjoy,”

Still Squirrel continues his safekeeping activities by covering the flower with a bucket, with disastrous results, he later discovers.

Happily though, Bird persuades Squirrel just to leave the flower alone. The following morning, a wonderful surprise awaits when the two wake up.

Bird’s gentle lesson has been a success. Such a fun lesson it was too, for young readers and listeners certainly. They will be sure to laugh at Squirrel’s lack of understanding regarding the natural world, made all the funnier by Nicola Slater’s portrayal of Squirrel’s custodial antics and his friend’s reactions.

Let’s hope Alice Hemming’s story will encourage respect for the natural world in children.

Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum

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Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum
Alasdair Beckett-King, illustrated by Claire Powell
Walker Books

With a moustache and beret at the ready, there’s a new sleuth on the block; it’s ten-year-old Bonnie Montgomery aka Montgomery Bonbon, Widdlington’s best detective. He is always at the crime scene on the look out for likely suspects and searching for clues, usually accompanied by erstwhile ice-cream seller, Grampa Banks whose van comes in very useful for stake outs. Clever, easily ignored by adults and with excellent powers of observation, this unlikely crime-fighting duo are the stars of this first in a mystery series.

As the story starts, Bonnie and Grampa Banks are visiting the Hornville Museum – Widdlington’s oldest building. Suddenly there’s a frightful scream and they are plunged into darkness. A security guard has been murdered and a carved stone eagle has been stolen. On goes her disguise and transformation! There is Montgomery Bonbon, on the case in an instant. Quickly on the scene too is Inspector Sands; she is definitely not a fan of Montgomery Bobbon and in return Bonnie has a very low opinion of the detective.

A few clues are soon found and Bonbon is immediately on the trail of suspects, the thief and the appropriately named Blowpipe Killer. Could any of the museum staff have played any part in the murder or theft? I love the clever way illustrator Claire Powell provides readers with a look at Bonbon’s case notes throughout and her depictions of the characters are superb.

With some tricky red herrings, an interfering scarlet macaw, seagulls, crisps and scones along the way, can our determined young detective maintain her cover and solve the case before disaster strikes again?

Beckett-King has created some superb characters in his gently humorous, thought-provoking debut novel, not only team Bonnie and Grampa whose fondness for one another and their age difference are a big asset, but several others too including Bonnie’s new friend Dana Hornville. Youngsters will love meeting them and like this reviewer, eagerly anticipate more of Bonnie. Has she been perhaps taking lessons from a certain Belgian detective whose voice (or rather David Suchet’s) I caught echoes of as I read.

Batpig: Too Pig To Fail

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Batpig: Too Pig To Fail
Rob Harrell
Walker Books

Batpig, aka Gary, returns along with his pals Brooklyn (bat) and Carl (fish) in three further episodes.

In the first, The Class that Wouldn’t End, the three are stuck in what seems to be a never ending maths class: something is definitely wrong here – it’s apparent even to maths fan Brooklyn. It turns out that the slowness of time is on account of vengeful Time Guy (the name Timekeeper was already taken). Thanks to a ‘supernatural bolt of energy’ Time Guy is now able to control time and has gone rogue. Batpig must now figure out how to make time fly if they ever want to escape the monotony of endless fractions. 

Could fun be the answer? …

The (much shorter) middle story Aquarium Dreams features ‘fin socks’ – a scam by all accounts, or rather Carl’s – and bees – which he greatly fears. This sets things up nicely for episode three, Light, Camera, Chaos! This crazy comedy features a pair of space aliens, a torrent of stinky gym socks and a Bumblekitten intent on attacking Mrs Fishbol’s establishment. Can Gary et al. save the day again?

Supportive friendships are key in these super-hero scenarios.

Established fans will gobble up Too Pig To Fail; those new to the gang might be better to start with When Pigs Fly and then move on to this one.

Diary of an Accidental Witch: Unexpected Guests / Super Happy Magic Forest and the Distant Desert

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Diary of an Accidental Witch: Unexpected Guests
Perdita & Honor Cargill, illustrated by Katie Saunders
Little Tiger

It’s always a delight to be in the company of Bea Black and the first thing she does according this latest journal (after having a scrumptious tea out with her dad) is to attend the inaugural meeting of Finkelspark Club along with fellow founding members.

The following day though, the spring term at Little Spellshire School of Extraordinary Arts begins and Bea has other things on her mind: a history project, her allocated famous witch from the past being Minerva Moon; then there’s the visit from school inspectors who will not be impressed if they catch sight of anything at all magical going on. 

In addition, Bea has accidentally taken home what appears to be an ancient diary written by Minerva Moon, from Old Bertie’s bookshop and she can’t return it as the owner, Bertie, has gone away.

The good news is that Bea and her dad are going to stay in Little Spellshire but with all those things going on, one eleven year old witch has a lot to keep her busy, not least making sure her school isn’t closed down.

The series just gets better and better: this fourth book seems to have even more zany magical mayhem, humour and surprises than ever. It’s a sparkling delight for primary readers.

Super Happy Magic Forest and the Distant Desert
Matty Long
Oxford University Press

This fourth book in the Super Happy Magic Forest chapter series starts at the Gnome Tashwhisker exhibition where Tiddlywink the pixie accidentally gets trapped inside a cursed puzzle cube. Endeavours to free him are unsuccessful, leaving Blossom feeling more than a little guilty about fiddling with the cube. The only hope of freeing Tiddlywink, so says Gnome Tashwhisker’s Desert Diaries, is for the five heroes ie Herbert, Tiddlywink, Blossom, Twinkle and Trevor, to journey all the way to the Distant Desert and there to consult the all-knowing Almighty Oracle. This they must do before the sands of time run out. 

The journey, despite its length is the easy part, for when they reach the Oracle, it’s fast asleep. A Desert Diary entry tells them this: “only adventurers who have completed the Desert Trials and thus earned three trial gems are worthy of waking the Oracle.’ 

Is that a possibility for our heroes? Perhaps with help from the genie, if they can first reunite her with her magic lamp. Then there are still those particularly prickly cacti to contend with, 

as well as a recalcitrant magic carpet. This quest is certainly going to test the heroes to their limits

Super clever, super silly and super fun: as ever the madcap frolics of Matty Long’s forest dwelling characters are a treat for primary readers, not to mention this adult reviewer.

Nightspark

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Nightspark
Michael Mann
Hodder Children’s Books

In this Ghostcloud sequel, Luke, who escaped from Battersea Power Station, is back with his family and has started making a new life (in an alternative London). By day he’s an Apprentice Detective; by night he travels on his kite-cloud along with ghost friend Alma, helping lost souls make their final journeys.

However, Luke’s thoughts and dreams, or rather nightmares, are filled with his friend Ravi who was left behind. This makes Luke feel terribly guilty. He learns that Tabatha (the power station’s owner) has Ravi and many other child labourers, held prisoner.

On his first day working at the Detective Guild with his mentor, Inspector Oberdink, things don’t go well; he manages to cross the Inspector who tasks Luke with envelope-filling. While so doing he comes upon a witness statement referring to Tabatha; but when he questions Oberdink, the inspector dismisses it as an old tramp’s ramblings. Nevertheless, Luke slips it into his pocket.
That evening Luke and Alma take to the skies and when Alma hears about Luke’s nightmares, she suggests a visit to a ghost that can read dreams. Instead they first find themselves at a Ghost Council meeting where the council head shares the memories of a Battersea guard and they see the building being broken into and someone escaping with a case.

With an opportunity to discover what is really going on, Luke and Alma soon find themselves in terrible danger, not only from human enemies but ghostly ones too. Can the two, with some help from friend, Jess, discover who is behind that break-in and what the case contained. Most important: can Luke find where Ravi is and bring him home safely? With that strong sense of loyalty and love, as well as being very determined, Luke sometimes overlooks the threats to his family and friends. Apart from Alma, who can really be trusted?

Michael Mann draws readers in from the outset, taking them on a breathtaking adventure that includes superb descriptions, until we reach a satisfying and affecting conclusion. I couldn’t put it down.

Get Real, Mallory!

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Get Real, Mallory!
Daisy Hirst
Walker Books

Nomi loves drawing; her Dad makes positive comments about her dog depiction but her brother Stephen makes fun of her Mallory picture. “…why is your bear in the sky? … You’re better at drawing fish” he comments. However with a fish tank on the kitchen counter top that’s no surprise; if Nomi had a real dog, it would make dog drawing much easier, so she thinks. But nobody in their flats is allowed a dog so “HA! Get real, Nomi” is Stephen’s response.

That evening in frustration, Nomi scrunches up her picture and tosses it aside. Mallory’s smile don’t make the dog special; “Get real, Mallory!” she says. And Mallory does just that.

Somewhat conflicted: ‘I wanted to tell everyone. I didn’t want anyone to know.’ Nomi suggests heading to the park, which happens to be where her brother is going.

Dogs are banned from the playground but ever resourceful, Nomi provides Mallory with a disguise and adds occasional barks to his. No matter her brother ignores her, a wealth of opportunities keep the pair happily engaged for a long while,

until hunger pangs eventually cause her to head homewards.

What of Mallory come bedtime? Happily he’s not too far away …

Daisy Hirst has a great ear and eye for detail. With Nomi as narrator, her text is a delight read aloud and her images of the child and her imaginary dog capture the togetherness of the two with panache. There is SO much to enjoy about this book, especially the way it celebrates the power of the imagination.

Oh, Armadillo! This Party’s All Wrong!

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Oh, Armadillo! This Party’s All Wrong!
Ellie Irving and Robert Starling
Happy Yak

Kind, gentle Armadillo lives deep in the rainforest and longs to make friends: however he has a tendency to get everything wrong. One day he has an idea: perhaps if I throw a party I will make a few friends, after all everyone loves parties. Having made invitations off he goes to deliver them. The first goes to Jaguar who is hoping a large springy sponge cake will be on offer. Back home goes Armadillo, creating so he hopes, the perfect sponge cake.

Out he goes again, next stop the Apes: they want games especially musical chairs, pass the parcel and hide and seek. Armadillo rushes home and gets to work …

Then for the balloon loving Lemurs, Armadillo fashions what he hopes is the perfect balloon, sufficiently large for lots of passengers.

On party day our host eagerly awaits his guests and having welcomed them all, announces the fun and games. Seemingly though Armadillo’s ideas are rather different from what the other animals are anticipating: shock horror! He’s devastated by their reactions, so is this the end of his party and hoped-for friendships?

Happily not. An accidental trip that sends him hurtling onto the sponge cake and thence into the air and finally back to earth doesn’t just render the guests speechless but it makes Armadillo see things in a different light; he’s ready to acknowledge and even take pride in his divergent thinking and creativity.

Will he persuade the others to join him in some truly original ways of having fun? You bet … And as for finding friends, certainly, but Armadillo stays true to himself, muddled and different. Hurrah!

A smashing story to show children, especially those who like the protagonist think differently, that rather than a problem, it’s something to celebrate.

Out of the Blue

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Out of the Blue
Robert Tregoning and Stef Murphy
Bloomsbury Publishing

Imagine your reality is a dystopian one wherein those in power have decreed that everything must be the colour blue. Imagine too that you are a child who loves yellow growing up in such a place. That’s how it is for the boy protagonist in this powerful story and as a result he has become indoctrinated with the idea that to be a yellow-lover is bad, so much so that he dare not even tell his Dad about his secret.

One day when participating in a collection of all things not blue to await collection by the refuge disposal crew, the boy discovers a tiny yellow rubber duck. This he stashes in his school bag. Back home he hides the duck away in the cupboard with all his other yellow things and then sits down to dinner with his Dad. How he longs to tell Dad of his find. That night the boy retrieves his duck carefully and then in an act of brave defiance he liberates all his treasures …

When he hears footsteps approaching, the boy fears the worst, but his Dad’s reaction is both surprising and reassuring. Perhaps being a lover of yellow is acceptable. Thus begins a chain reaction and before too long, change is afoot until everyone feels safe to be true to themselves in a glorious rainbow coloured world.

Would that this were so throughout our own world so that everybody can be fearlessly proud of who they are.

Robert Tregoning’s powerful, sensitive rhyming story grew out of his own experience of growing up gay in the 1990s under Section 28 law, which didn’t disappear from the UK statute books until early this century. Stef Murphy’s equally powerful illustrations capture both the fear and the liberating feeling of joy, not only of the boy but also of the book’s diverse cast of characters.

Love yourself no matter who or what you love is a crucial message that children need as soon as possible. Sharing a special picture book such as this one is a great place to start.

The Time Tider

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The Time Tider
Sinéad O’Hart
Little Tiger

Time tiding – the art of locating and capturing a warp of unspent time lies at the heart of this fantastic book.

Constantly on the move, twelve year old Mara and her father Gabriel live in a battered old van, packed with glass vials and other strange items. This is how Mara’s life has always been, though she has never understood why. Her only bedroom is a bunk, she’s never been to school, or made any friends. It’s something to do with her father’s job, although Mara doesn’t know what that really is, though he often hurries off to secret meetings. On such occasions he returns with sufficient money for half a tank of petrol or a visit to a cafe; but what he’s traded she knows not. With their travelling lifestyle, often moving by night, the two are able to avoid those her father suspects are following them.

One morning having woken to find her father out, Mara comes across Gabriel in the middle of one of his meetings: the transaction she sees and what ensues immediately, trouble her deeply. She really HAS to know what her father actually does: after all, people ‘don’t just vanish do they?’ On his return she starts to question him but he tells her very little before their van is under attack. Telling his daughter to drive, Gabriel hastily gives her some instructions and jumps out.

Finding herself abandoned with his old bag in which is a handbook containing a strange set of instructions, ‘For the Attention of the Newly Appointed Time Tider’, it’s up to Mara to attempt to do as her father said, the first thing being to find someone called Lenny, of whom she has only a very vague recollection.

Then she encounters a boy called Jan who tells her that he knows Lenny but has bad news about the man and other things. The two become friends, Jan joins the search, which grows increasingly dangerous; but it’s hard to know who can be trusted so the pair rely largely on their instincts.

As the plot twists this way and that, the author poses a number of important questions for readers to consider about power and how it can corrupt, and the lengths one would go to for somebody you love. There’s also the issue of how isolating fear and grief can be with the result that your focus is on what you’ve lost at the expense of what you still have.

With Sinéad O’Hart’s skill at world building, the story is hugely exciting and compelling. Mara is such a credible character – hugely determined and despite her self-doubt, very capable.

I’ll say no more, rather I’ll leave you to ponder : If you could extend your life or that of a loved one, no matter how the possibility arose or the consequences for others, would you do so?

Beware the Blue Bagoo

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Beware the Blue Bagoo
Karl Newson and Andrea Stegmaier
Happy Yak

Rumours are rife about the Blue Bagoo: a mean marauding monster to be feared, that is for certain. But wait a minute: has anyone actually met or even seen this beastie that supposedly likes to dine on humans. Now there’s a young detective determined to uncover the truth. She roams the streets finding plenty of people ready to make statements about the monstrosity but what she discovers is something of a surprise.

Can she convince her fearful fellow townsfolk that they’ve got it all wrong? Or is it her that’s wrong after all …

Rumours are nasty things, they spread rapidly causing people to jump to conclusions about all kinds of things rather than finding the truth for themselves. Nobody should make a judgement about another person based on hearsay or appearance. With its cleverly executed twist, Karl’s rhyming account of the escalating rumours in the seaside community of Rumourville, and one person’s resolve to find the truth, contains a crucial message for us all. It’s one that’s particularly pertinent in our troubled times of misinformation. Andrea Stegmaier’s illustrations are terrific fun

and the way she varies the layout of her spreads keeps the visual impact high; there’s a smashing portrait style close up and a fair degree of quirkiness throughout.

Add this to your list of must reads.

Hop, Hop! / One Little Egg

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Both these titles are from Little Tiger: thanks to the publisher for sending them for review

Hop, Hop!
Isabel Otter and Sophie Ledesma

In this interactive ‘slide and seek’ board book little humans can follow Little Bunny through an entire day from sunrise to bedtime. In so doing they will meet Bunny’s forest friends, those that live in and on the river and goodness me, behind a large rock, not completely hidden so youngsters can guess what’s there, is something growly, furry and hungry.

After all that hopping and scurrying, Little Bunny needs to sleep, zzzz.

With sliders to move up and down, or in and out, flaps to open and a wheel to turn, young children will be developing their fine motor skills, enjoying a simple story and feeling involved in Bunny’s day. Then with a final spread that asks, ‘What did you spot on the way?’ showing ten labelled items, they can also develop their observation skills.

For older children, also with a nature theme, and lots of interactive elements is

One Little Egg
Becky Davies and Charlotte Pepper

This sturdy book is part of a non-fiction series that encourages children to use all their senses to actively engage with and explore in detail, the natural world.

Starting with eggs, Charlotte Pepper presents brightly-coloured spreads of birds’ nests, birdsong, feathers and birds in flight. There’s a spread devoted to bird spotting – you can do this without binoculars no matter where you are –

the food chain and urges youngsters to become involved in helping birds (and indirectly all wildlife), survive and thrive. The text presents a wealth of facts, some of which are hidden beneath flaps adding further reader involvement, and there are questions and activity suggestion boards that will stimulate discussion with young children.

A lively, engaging introduction to the wonders of the world of birds.

I Want To Be A Duck / I Want To Be A Bunny

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I Want To Be A Duck
I Want To Be A Bunny
illustrated by Pintachan
Oxford Children’s Books

These are the first titles in the publisher’s Move and Play series. Each comes with a mask to cut out from a flap inside the front cover and has a QR code which enables users to see and hear the movements of the featured characters.

The little duck starts by demonstrating his quacking and then invites little humans to emulate him. We then follow the duck as he waddles to the pond wiggling his bum and slapping his webbed feet against the ground.

Splash, he goes into the water and starts paddling those webbed feet. Feeling somewhat hungry, duck nibbles at various small water dwelling creatures. This he does by sticking his bottom up and bobbing his head beneath the surface. Along comes a dragonfly: paddle paddle goes duck in pursuit , duck flaps his wings and takes to the air, missing his prey and landing splash, back in the pond only to discover that the farmer has come to feed him. Gobble, gobble goes duck. Little humans are asked to try doing each action and making each sound during the simple story.

The Bunny story follows a similar pattern and this time there’s hopping, nose twitching, nibbling, digging , stretching up,

running, tail bobbing, hopping and snuggling down to sleep for youngsters to copy.

Both books end by putting the entire sequence together on a spread and asking ‘Do the …. Dance’.
Pintachan’s bright, dynamic illustrations are alluring and engaging and Kate Woolly’s words are pitched at just the right level to encourage the very young to get active.

Who Ate All The Bugs?

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Who Ate All The Bugs?
Matty Long
Oxford Children’s Books

Doing something rather different, though still in his trademark zany style, Matty Long, creator of the Super Happy Magic Forest series takes a look at the food chain, courtesy of his minibeast narrator, Snail. The mollusc is on the trail of a dastardly killer and is determined to track down whoever is destroying bugs all over the place and bring them to justice. No help is forthcoming from any of her buggy companions so she just has to go it alone.

Bird is quick to proclaim his innocence

so Snail moves on, stopping off in the cabbage patch for a bit of sustenance and to question the bugs she finds there.

Eschewing Grasshopper’s advice to “let it go’ she creeps through the grass to accuse her next suspect, Snake. Wrong again! However Snail isn’t giving up that easily so she heads next to the greenhouse to confront her final suspect.

The arachnid isn’t guilty though, so should Snail finally take notice of Glow-worm’s insistence that “You can’t fight the food chain.” Time for some serious thinking on Snail’s part.

That’s not quite the end of this scientific story but is it perhaps the end of our justice-seeker? She might just have found out the hard way … Try asking a certain amphibian.

A slice of scientific learning served up in a deliciously funny manner that will surely have both children and adults chortling. Make that two slices – the final double spread provides additional buggy facts and the bug hunt activity page will likely send youngsters back to the start to track down the minibeasts in various stages of their life cycles. For this adult reviewer Who Ate All The Bugs is perhaps my favourite of Matty’s picture books so far.

Lizzy and the Cloud

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Lizzy and the Cloud
The Fan Brothers
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

The Fan Brothers set their story in a bygone era when zeppelins hovered above the row of shops and people rode penny farthing cycles.

Every Saturday Lizzy and her parents go walking in the park. Most of the children visiting make straight for the roundabout or the puppet show but not Lizzy: despite clouds being ‘a bit out of fashion’ in those days, she makes for the Cloud Seller. From him she buys not one of the fancy animal clouds on a string, but an ordinary cloud. This she names Milo. (Naming your cloud was the first instruction in the accompanying manual.).

Lizzy takes great care of her cloud, following the instructions, watering it daily, taking it for walks and allowing it to go soaring out of her window while she held the string firmly in her hand.

Over the months, Milo grows … and grows until one day it covers the whole ceiling.

There’s no instruction in the book to help fix the growing problem, then one night there’s a thunderstorm. It’s this that steers her towards a vital realisation: Milo has outgrown her room; she can’t contain him any longer: her cloud needs a bigger sky. Lizzy must do what is best for Milo and so she sets it free.

This beautiful meditation on letting go is brilliantly imagined and by blending the ordinary everyday with the extraordinary, the Fan Brothers deliver a truly original fable. It gently shows children that sometimes one needs to allow somebody (or something) you love to move on and that in time, those raw memories will become something sweet to be cherished always.

The delicate, dreamy illustrations in soft greys and browns with muted colours, are perfect for showing the alternative reality in which the tale unfolds. Whimsical and wonderful.

Big Feelings

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Big Feelings
Rebekah Ballagh
Allen & Unwin

Author/illustrator Rebekah Ballagh has drawn on her skills as a counsellor to create a book to help develop children’s emotional literacy and better manage their feelings. Combining storytelling, illustration and child-friendly strategies, she uses fourteen child characters to help explore fourteen different emotions. Written in verse, each story introduces a character whose emotion has an effect on the body and then explains what to do about it.

For example, Charlie is feeling very anxious: reading in class scares him; he’s frightened of monsters and of getting into trouble. He has a sinking feeling in his tummy, but by breathing slowly and talking to his teddies, he gradually calms himself.

Chloe feels angry: she stamps and stomps, slams doors and shouts at her brother; her anger is showing her that something hasn’t gone her way or perhaps she’s feeling sad. That’s okay she needs to acknowledge the feeling and diffuse that anger. Chloe does, first by naming it and then actively; she might breathe slowly and count, or jump around and throw pillows at the wall.

With each character, the author not only helps expand children’s emotional vocabulary; she also empowers them by showing examples of how better to cope with these feelings in everyday life. She makes it clear though, it’s not about fixing feelings, it’s fine just to sit quietly and let them be. ‘Feelings are messages from the heart sent here to help you. So listen close and take a breath, they’ll show you what to do.’ If you know why, you’ll likely know what …

The second part of the book offers tools and resources to aid adults in supporting the mental wellbeing of youngsters.

Bright, expressive illustrations, including a bee to find on each spread, help ensure Rebekah’s wisdom and understanding enables both children and adults to get the most from the book. It’s one to use both at home and in primary classrooms.

Super Questers: The Case of the Missing Memory

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Super Questers: The Case of the Missing Memory
Lisa Moss and Dr Thomas Bernard, illustrated by Amy Willcox
Quest Friendz

Lilli, Bea and Leo return with a new problem. Bea’s toy robot is malfunctioning and to fix it they travel to the magical Questland.

On arrival they are greeted by the Queen who immediately asks for their help. The evil Lord Grumble is wreaking havoc with his new Memory Machine, stealing memories from everyone, including the Queen. The Superquesters are determined to solve the problem and find Lord Crumble’s Memory Machine before it’s too late for Questland.

To do so they have eight science,

mathematical and logic-themed quests to undertake with the help of the reader. Each quest has a different challenge: stars not shining as they should, planets not orbiting the sun, forgotten recipes,

and homing birds that have forgotten how to fly.

Adventure and enchantment await both readers and Superquesters as they work to restore a properly functioning memory to the Queen and her Questland subjects.

Cleverly constructed, this interactive book presents a different STEM aspect in each quest and it’s highly engaging. Much of the text is in the form of dialogue, there are rewards, stickers and terrific, inclusive illustrations by Amy Willcox as well as a glossary of STEM skills; and the solutions are given at the end. Playful learning of a high quality.

As Brave As A Lion

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As Brave As A Lion
Erika Meza
Walker Books

The little girl narrator and her lion have a special relationship, so says the child. No matter what she does, her brave lion friend stays close by. It helps her find the courage to use her voice and makes her feel safe in the dark.

One day they set out on an adventure together in the playground where a new ‘rocket-fast’ slide has been installed.

Up, up, up climbs the girl, with the lion following but just before she reaches the top she looks down. Confidence crisis! Both the narrator and her lion are stranded. Will they have to remain stuck up there forever, both too frightened to move either up or down?

No matter how fast I go, or where I end up, my brave lion sticks with me—my lion’s always there! So thinks the little girl to herself. Moreover he makes her feel as though she can do anything so maybe now it’s time to reverse roles. Can she summon the inner strength to be there for her large companion when he clearly needs her to?

Vibrantly illustrated, mostly in primary colours, Erika Mesa’s first person story really captures the little girl’s thoughts as it portrays an exceptional friendship showing how the child is enabled to find unforeseen courage thanks to her bond with an imaginary creature.

Share and talk about either at home or in the classroom: this is a book to empower young children.

High Top

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High Top
Tom Lacey
Little Tiger

Set in Shoe Town and starring a snazzy red trainer, dubbed the sneaker that just can’t stop, our hero is always on the lookout for fun in this lively romp. His unstoppability however, frequently ends in an upset, not for High Top, but for those he encounters as he hurls himself into the action wheresoever he finds it.
Having inadvertently discombobulated first Lorraine Boot, then the Shoezanne Ballerina and artist Vincent Van Toe,

High Top boings and whooshes his way to the park.

There, somewhat weary at last, he encounters Platoe, the most sagacious of shoes (and slippers). Platoe suggests High Top relaxes alongside him whereupon he cannot resist recounting to Platoe all the fun he’s had. What the wise one says in reply though, really does make High Top think hard about his actions.

Can he find it in himself to apologise and even think of a way to make amends to his fellow footwear for his ebullient actions. What would you do?

Laced with humour and soled with an important (maybe for some, a tad preachy) lesson for youngsters, this highly colourful, wacky tale with wordplay aplenty and a join-in chorus, was fashioned by Tom Lacey, which I discovered is – the ‘shoedonym’ of a group of creative ‘sole mates’ who have apparently written and illustrated a number of other books too.

Not Just Another 123 / Not Just Another abc

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Not Just Another 123
Not Just Another abc
illustrated by Jack Viant
Noodle Juice

All kinds of crazy shenanigans occur between the covers of these concept books; their creators clearly had both adult and child audiences in mind when they dreamed them up. Whether or not young children will understand the clever combinations of visual and verbal humour, I have yet to decide. However I certainly had a good laugh at for example, in 123 the chicken and egg conundrum, the flexible flamingos working on their yoga asanas

and the sheep endeavouring to emulate them and the not so elegant octopuses getting their tentacles in a twist as they do a repeat performance of the hokey cokey. After a tongue twister involving toucans, a representative of each animal group turns up on the final spread – a number line – to encourage little humans to count from one to ten.

The abc book uses three letters per spread (except for the y and z page), and the chosen words on each verso combined with the illustration on the recto, present a mini story as well as perhaps, a starting point for a longer tale co-created by adult and child. Facing the words ‘alligator before crocodile’ are two scaly creatures standing outside a door above which is the sign ‘Dr Smiles Dentist’ and via speech bubbles they discuss who should go in first. The possibilities are many here, but my favourite is this …

I suspect the dragon’s thought bubble will go way over the heads of young children though they can have great fun generating ideas as to what might happen next. The fairy is clutching a wand so maybe she can find a way to save herself …

Different parts of speech – adjective, verb, noun, preposition – comprise the word combinations used adding the possibility of an extra grammar lesson for older readers.

As the characters’ speech bubbles on the covers assert ‘Boredom-free guaranteed!’

Squeeze In Squirrel! / Take a Leap, Sheep!

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Squeeze In Squirrel!
Take a Leap, Sheep!
Tony Neal
Oxford Children’s Books

These two books introduce and explore maths topics for young children, the first presenting capacity, the second, position. As with the previous titles Tony Neal presents themes and vocabulary based on the Early Years Foundation Stage maths framework and using a group of animal characters, delves into them through funny scenarios that just might happen in real life.

Squeeze In Squirrel! begins with the Rabbit and Squirrel about to depart for a trip with Rabbit at the wheel of his rickshaw. However Squirrel suddenly realises he’s sans luggage. Off he dashes and as he struggles with his trunk, other animal friends turn up one by one, each wanting a ride and the accommodating driver agrees to them getting aboard the vehicle. Eventually with the auto seemingly full to capacity, Squirrel returns dragging that trunk and somehow manages to cram in too.
Off they go but almost immediately …

Is there a way they can still reach that beach destination?

In the second story Sheep points out a ferris wheel behind a wire fence and poses the question to his pals, ‘How can we get inside?’ Two of their number start to climb over the fence, pausing on top to ask, “Can you stretch up?’ By turn the remaining creatures find a way into the enclosure,

Sheep doing so in spectacular fashion. Up comes Elephant who points out the obvious, something his friends failed to notice …

With maths concepts woven into both pictures and text, these books promote children’s mathematical thinking and introduce fundamental maths concepts in an effortless and enjoyable manner. Not only that, they foster a love of story and offer opportunities for little ones to develop their language skills in tandem.

Don’t Be Silly!

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Don’t Be Silly!
Padmacandra
Scallywag Press

Bouncy Bo and Little Smudge live in a castle with their very serious-minded father, Mr Judge. All the adults they encounter are serious too and whenever the siblings try to enjoy themselves, all they hear is “Don’t be silly!”

After a consultation the two little ones decide that perhaps if they try to be grown up, their father will be impressed. They don what they consider appropriate clothing but their endeavours fail to impress.

One day their father instructs them to put on winter gear and implores them not to be silly as they’re off to visit their grandparents, who have just returned from a very long tour. A big surprise awaits Bo and Smudge when their Grandma and Grandpa greet them thus …

and proceed to carry out all kinds of unexpected and very energetic antics. This pair really do know how to enjoy life but what will be the reaction of their grandchildren?

Padmacandra’s tale, told through a jaunty rhyming text containing that oft repeated titular catchphrase and comical illustrations is a delight. There’s a wealth of detail in every picture, large or small, that provides additional stories for the observant. The message is a vital one: fun is a key ingredient if you are to live your life to the full.

How To Make A Story

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How To Make a Story
Naomi Jones and Ana Gomez
Oxford Children’s Books

When Milo asks his mum for a brand new story, she suggests he should make one up for himself. This presents a problem for the boy who worries about getting it wrong but Mum assures him that ‘you can’t get stories wrong’. She mentions the need for a beginning, middle and end, and supplies a prompt to get his ideas flowing.Having named his protagonist Wolf, Milo dashes into the garden in search of ideas and there he finds his Nana. She supplies the next prompt which really gets the boy’s creative juices flowing.

Then back indoors, Dad’s comment about the middle of a story sets him off again, conjuring forth tumbling rocks and hungry monsters.

Further ideas come and by now Milo thinks his story is amazing, but how to end it.

In his room once more, he puzzles over this, recapping and then starting to play with his bricks. Can this further stimulate his creative muse enabling him to come up with a really satisfying ending. It surely can and even better, he finds an audience with whom to share his story, ‘Wolf’s Big Adventure’.

Ana Gomez presents Milo’s tale complete with child-like art on the penultimate spread and the book ends with him finding a safe place to keep his book until next time, but is it quite as safe as he thinks …

What a lovely way to explore story-telling with young children. Naomi’s narrative together with Ana’s illustrations make a superb starting point for children’s own storying.

Let’s Stick Together

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Let’s Stick Together
Smriti Halls and Steve Small
Simon & Schuster

Best friends Bear and Squirrel return in story number three wherein Squirrel suggests they throw a party and Bear, somewhat reluctantly agrees, leaving Squirrel to take the lead in its organisation.

Immediately the bushy-tailed rodent sets about arranging furniture, baking lots of goodies to eat and setting up the music system. Already Bear is feeling less than enthusiastic about their plan but Squirrel reassures him all will be well and continues amassing the necessary items.

By now Bear is overcome with shyness and thinks about heading off up to bed. However, he has second thoughts and agrees to make a quick appearance.

Before long the party spirit engulfs him and he really lets himself go.

Suddenly though it seems that things aren’t quite as they should be: oh no! Squirrel is nowhere in sight: now someone else is having a crisis of confidence. Can Bear save the day, or rather the night?

The essential warmth and gentle humour of the previous Bear and Squirrel stories is evident from the outset. Smriti’s jaunty rhyming telling and Steve’s splendidly expressive illustrations, be they poignant or humorous are enormously appealing; like their characters, the co-creators continue their felicitous partnership..

Bear and Squirrel’s loyalty and friendship no matter what, leaves a warm glow inside the reader long after the book has been set aside. A must for early years settings and family collections.

Lost

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Lost
Mariajo Ilustrajo
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

When a polar bear finds himself in a bustling concrete city, he knows not how he got there but he does know that he is totally lost. His attempts to ask for help are ignored – everybody is too busy to take any notice, so Bear joins a queue. Rather than the help he’s hoping for Bear receives take away coffee and discovers it definitely isn’t to his taste.

All he gets from the help desk he tries next, is a tube map that’s thrust into his paw. His North Pole home isn’t marked thereon, so Bear boards an underground train and suddenly he hears a small voice greeting him with a friendly hello.

Bear follows the child and her mother when they leave the train and the little girl leads him into her home. She makes Bear feel welcome but despite the love shown, still he knows this can’t be his forever home.

Despairing that she has no idea where the North Pole is, Bear suddenly spies a book on the shelf, takes it down and shows his host pictures of where he’s from. Soon a plan is formed and equally quickly Bear is wrapped up and air-lifted

all that way back from whence he came. There a snuggly hug (if anything in such a chilly place can be called that ) from his fellow polar bears and he shows them something very special that he’s brought with him from his little human friend.

MariaJo’s story-telling style is a skilful synthesis of humour and touching emotion that conveys the comfort and support that a loving friendship can provide in a way that both children and adults can appreciate.

The book will certainly resonate with all of us concerned about the hostile environment that the UK is currently presenting to those who arrive on our shores feeling completely lost so far from home.

Press Start! Game On, Super Rabbit Boy! / Super Rabbit Powers Up!

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Press Start! Game On, Super Rabbit Boy!
Press Start!! Super Rabbit Powers Up!
Thomas Flintham
Nosy Crow

As the first story opens in this graphic novel series, Sunny, the boy protagonist starts playing his favourite video game – Super Rabbit Boy – and its that storyline which comprises most of the book. The setting is Animal Town, a peaceful place where the inhabitants are fun-loving animals, especially Singing Dog who loves to make others happy.

Enter fun-hating King Viking who aided and abetted by his army of robots dog-naps Singing Dog. Who can save the day? The best chance is to send Simon the Hedgehog, the fastest among the Animal Towners, to get help from Super Rabbit Boy; he who gained his powers by consuming a super magical carrot.

Subsequent chapters take Super Rabbit Boy through six increasingly hard levels each of which has classic, video game–style settings and enemies to defeat.

No matter what happens though, the game player protagonist must not give up. Nor of course must Super Rabbit. Can the latter save not only Singing Dog but Animal Town’s fun.

Two, brightly coloured artistic styles distinguish the two storylines, the human one ending with a “PLAY AGAIN?” to set things up for a new adventure.

In Super Rabbit Powers Up Sunny’s family can get involved in what’s going on in the adventure as the game console is connected to the television. Super Rabbit receives a letter from King Viking informing him that he intends to find the legendary Super Power Up. This is supposed to make the finder invincible.

The race is on to discover its whereabouts. First stop for Super Rabbit is to ask for assistance from Wisdom Tree whose help comes in the form of a map (only to be used in times of great need)

leading to the Secret Dungeon wherein the Super Power Up is hidden. Off he goes but can that Super Rabbit find the three keys and get inside that large door to discover that which he seeks? It might be possible with some help from a friendly ghost (so it says) named Plib the Plob. If so it will stop the dastardly king’s plan to gain immeasurable power.

Just right for those readers just starting to fly solo: paying tribute to the power of video games Thomas Flintham’s series is a treat which imparts the occasional life lesson as each pacy story unfolds.

Puppy Club: Coco Settles In / Dragon Storm: Erin and Rockhammer

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Puppy Club: Coco Settles In
Catherine Jacob, illustrated by Rachael Saunders
Little Tiger

The second of the series sees Elsa and her fellow Puppy Clubbers – Jaya, Arlo, Willow, Daniel and Harper – all coping with the ups and downs of life with a new puppy. Elsa especially is finding things tough with two cats in her home as well as her puppy Coco. The cats chase Coco all over the house, Coco chews everything left lying around and Mum seems stressed all the time.

Thank goodness Elsa has fellow club members ready with lots of useful suggestions for keeping Coco out of trouble and ideas for helping her bond with the moggies.

Meanwhile other things on the Clubbers’ minds are the imminent visit to the vets for the puppies’ injections and a class presentation related to an organisation that helps animals. No doubt readers will guess what Elsa et al choose as their subject. However with frequent disasters in Elsa’s home, she cannot help but feel anxious: suppose her mum has had second thoughts about keeping Coco.

With puppy love aplenty, strong supportive friendships, training advice and puppy facts and lots of Rachael Saunders’ black and white illustrations to break up the text, young solo readers with a liking for animals especially, will enjoy this.

Dragon Storm: Erin and Rockhammer
Alastair Chisholm, illustrated by Eric Deschamps
Nosy Crow

This is the sixth of the fantasy series set in the land of Draconis and it’s another exciting, action-packed page-turner that’s ideal for new solo readers. We’re plunged straight into the drama with Erin in the sand circle facing a number of opponents in some Dragonseer sword-fighting training. A training session it may be but Erin is determined to beat each of the other trainees and this she does. She’s less successful at summoning her own dragon, something that her fellow Dragonseer students seem to find easy – a click of the fingers is all they need do.

As a result Erin is somewhat lacking in self-confidence: she’s fearful of the feelings she experiences when trying to summon her dragon, Rockhammer despite the reassurance that Drun offers her. She becomes even more worried when Lady Berrin, Dragonseer Guild’s chancellor informs her there’s a place just outside the city she wants her to go to that might help with her panic attacks. Despite what she’s told, it seems to Erin that she’s being thrown out just like happened when she was in foster care.

Both Erin and fellow Dragonseer trainee, Connor (who Erin doesn’t get on with) are sent off to Stillness. Perhaps spending time here will help the two build a better relationship and maybe with Connor’s support Erin can succeed in summoning Rockhammer just when he’s most needed.

Courage, friendship and trust are key themes in this powerful tale which ends on a cliff-hanger.

Halle had a Hammer / No Pets Allowed! / Mischief on the Moors

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These are new publications in the colour banded Bloomsbury readers series – thanks to the publisher for sending them for review

Halle had a Hammer
Richard O’Neill and Michelle Russell, illustrated by Elijah Vardo
No Pets Allowed!
Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Fay Austin
Mischief on the Moors
Stephen Davies, illustrated by Maria Dorado
Bloomsbury Education

At ‘Lime Level’ Halle had a Hammer is a story about a Romani Traveller family whose truck is specially fitted out so that as well as a home, it’s a workshop that can move to wherever they have customers. The workshop is Halle’s favourite place and she’s had instilled in her the importance of putting things back where they belong after use. Having learned how to use tools, she is now teaching Henry, her younger brother tool using skills as they make a wooden box for his toy cars.
When their work takes the family back to the village of Trindle to make some new signs for a race, Halle discovers that her hammer isn’t in her toolbox and Henry was the last person to have used it. Happily though it turns up in time for her to play her part in the sign-making and Henry redeems himself by drawing a map that turns out to be particularly useful. The race is a great success and the following day the family move on to their next assignment.
Another story that provides an insight into an all too frequently misunderstood minority group written and illustrated by storytellers and an artist who are all members of Romani families.

At the same reading level, illustrated in black and white is Chitra Soundar’s No Pets Allowed! wherein we meet Keva and her family – Mum, Grandpa and Grandpa’s pet tortoise, Altas – who live above Grandpa’s pet adoption centre. Atlas goes everywhere with Grandpa until the day Grandpa has to spend time at the hospital for a series of check-ups. The trouble is the hospital has a ban on pets. Keva is determined to change the mind of the seemingly curmudgeonly hospital manager, Mr Sallow. Can she possibly succeed in winning him over?
A funny story that demonstrates the importance of family and of pet powers with humorous black and white illustrations by Fay Austin.

Stephen Davies’ tale is set on Dartmoor and inspired by folklore. Mischief in the Moors is the result of a mysterious creature that sisters Daisy and Liberty encounter when out riding their bikes. Could it perhaps be a pixie like those in the book of local folklore that once belonged to Gran. According to this book pixies play tricks on humans but they also respond positively to kindness.
Suddenly very strange things start happening and with their entries for the local fete to be prepared, that is the last thing any of the family needs. Impish mischief or something else? That is what the sisters need to work out as soon as possible.
A magical adventure imbued with humour and illustrated by Marta Dorado that will keep readers involved as the girls try to solve the mystery. (Grey book band)