Following Frankenstein

November 1, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Following Frankenstein
Catherine Bruton
Nosy Crow

This is a terrific book inspired by Mary Shelley’s gothic story. It begins in Victorian England and is narrated by Maggie the daughter of a Frankenstein obsessive Captain Robert Walton who has dedicated his entire life to tracking down the iconic monster created by Victor Frankenstein. Already this obsession has cost Maggie and her family dear – and now her father is staking all on one final voyage to the Arctic in search of the elusive monster that he considers his destiny.

Unbeknown to her father however, Maggie, accompanied by her pet mouse Victor, boards the ship, a whaler named Moby Dick.

It’s not long however before the girl is discovered by the Captain Ishmael but instead of throwing her off, he makes a pact with Maggie: “Between you and me we will see Captain Walton through the storm and bring him back to safe harbour once more.”

The journey takes them to the icy Arctic Tundra where a horrific revelation is made, then to New York, which couldn’t be more different, and for Maggie, separated from her father, on through America towards Canada. It’s a journey of adventures, terrors, of monsters and heroes and Maggie is a strong character, caring, kind and prepared to take enormous risks for those she loves.

Once again Catherine Bruton has created a gripping story with superb descriptions of the various landscapes but fundamentally this tale is about love, family, loyalty and friendship, accepting difference and looking for what’s good. It will enthral readers and listeners keeping them on the edge of their seats until the final page: unable to put it down, I read the book in a single sitting.

In a word – brilliant!

Dulcinea in the Forbidden Forest

October 29, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Dulcinea in the Forbidden Forest
Ole Könnecke (translated by Shelley Tanaka)
Gecko Press

Dulcinea lives happily with her father in a house on the edge of a large forest. They have a cow for milk, chickens for eggs, and grow much of their own food. Assuredly this is the stuff of fairytales;:all the more so when we read slightly further on that in the forest is a castle, wherein dwells a witch; a singing witch who sometimes roams in the forest. I guess she has no worries about being attacked by the monsters said to lurk in the moat surrounding her residence.

Now on the day of Dulcinea’s birthday, the girl’s chosen breakfast is blueberry pancakes; but oh woe! neither father nor daughter has remembered to buy blueberries at the market. Off goes her father but not as the girl thinks, to the market; rather he enters the forest where the desired berries grow in abundance.

Therein however, an encounter with the witch results in him being turned into a tree.

Now generally speaking, young Dulcinea is an obedient child, but fuelled by determination, the desire to celebrate her birthday with the specified pancakes (and one assumes, a love for her father), accompanied by her ever-present goose, she too enters the forest to look for her pa. There she (as will readers) instantly recognises him on account of his moustache, cap and basket.

Then it’s down to her wits to save her father,

herself and her birthday. Each of these she does with aplomb, in best fairy tale fashion.

Brilliantly comedic, both verbally (‘the witch always found young children exhausting’ … ‘besides nothing bad could happen to you on your birthday, could it?’) and visually -superb linework with minimal colour – and the contrast between the expressions of child and witch. In combination, these elements make this a neo-fairytale that will delight both solo readers and readers aloud.

When Fishes Flew

October 29, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

When Fishes Flew: the story of Elena’s war
Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by George Butler
Harper Collins Children’s Books

The first novel for a couple of years from storyteller extraordinaire Michael Morpurgo is well worth the wait. With three time settings and two locations, the stories of Ellie and Nandi weave together ancient history and myth, contemporary life and World War Two experiences.

As the story opens Nandi, who lives with her parents in Melbourne, Australia, thinks of herself as Greek. Her father’s family came from Ithaca, the Greek island that is still home to her beloved great aunt Ellie.

Until fairly recently Aunt Ellie was a regular visitor to Melbourne but now she’s become too old (and troubled by the impact of flying on global warming) to make the journey. Nandi misses her greatly, especially those wonderful tales from Greek history and mythology she’d tell whenever she visited. Now Nandi must do the visiting, she resolves.

So, as soon as she’s left school and saved sufficient money, Nandi travels to Ithaca; (what happens is told in the form of her journal called ‘My Odyssey’).

However, when she finally reaches her aunt’s home, Ellie isn’t there, hasn’t been seen for a month and nobody, not even her special friend Maria, knows where she’s gone. We readers can’t help but share Nandi’s sadness but as she sits writing her diary one day she ‘hears’ a voice. A voice that seems to be calling her, beckoning her to take the plunge and dive into shoals of fish that spin around the end of the jetty. One fish though, isn’t like the others, this one is a silver flying fish and needs saving, so Nandi must take the plunge. Into the water she goes and rescues the fish.

It’s through this creature, (Proteus in another form) with which she forms a friendship, that she learns the amazing, unimaginable story of her great aunt: ‘a modern Greek hero, a hero of today and yesterday and tomorrow’ as the fish tells her.

Truly that fish was right: I felt tears welling up as I read the last entry in Nandi’s journal written ten years on from the main part.

Totally gripping (I read it a single sitting) is this tale of love, courage and rescue, of personal discovery and belonging, that will remain with readers long after they’ve put the book down.
George Butler’s black and white illustrations too will stay in your mind; it’s amazing how he imbues them with the spirit of myth, of mystery and of love.

Clock of Stars: Beyond the Mountains

October 28, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Clock of Stars: Beyond the Mountains
Francesca Gibbons, illustrated by Chris Riddell
Harper Collins Children’s Books

Like the first story, sparkling with excitement is the second totally spellbinding adventure in the Clock of Stars series.

Herein Imogen and Marie, whose home life has changed due to their mum’s new man Mark, return through the door in the tree to the magical land of Yaroslav, where they find much has changed too. Miro has become king and hates it, while Anneshka is Queen no longer and is equally unhappy about it. So when she hears a prophecy that she will rule the Greatest Kingdom, she seizes Marie, believing her to be the key to its fulfilment, and heads off over the mountains pursued by Imogen who feels it’s her fault her sister is in this situation, and Miro. (Chris Ridell’s superb illustrations of the characters at the beginning of the book will remind readers of who’s who.)

As the story unfolds, unimaginable dangers are faced by both sisters and Imogen is beset by worry creatures that niggle at her feelings sometimes undermining her ability to function properly. Readers too feel frissons of fear at various points throughout (the very idea of those krootymosh be they real or not, is nightmarish as is the sight of that Yedleek) but the telling is funny too, as little by little, both sisters learn to navigate both the ups and downs of life in their own world and in Yaroslav.

Be prepared for an emotional roller-coaster as surprising events unfold and revelations are made both good and not so good, as inevitably both Imogen and Marie learn to look differently at things and in so doing undergo changes in themselves.

This particular adventure concludes satisfyingly but we know by what is said in the epilogue everything is not over quite yet. Bring on the third book say I.

The Super-secret Diary of Holly Hopkinson

October 27, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Super-secret Diary of Holly Hopkinson
Charlie P. Brooks, illustrated by Katy Riddell
Harper Collins Children’s Books

Having survived the move to the countryside following her Dad’s job loss, Holly (with volume 1 safely stashed in a time capsule) shares volume two of her memoirs with readers.

Four months have now passed. Mum is still commuting to her old PR job in London while Dad is busy with his Chequers bistro pub project that her Aunt Electra might or might not become general manager of, and her niece aka Holly is assisted by the magic pocket watch given to her as a 10th birthday present by said aunt. She’s just got to get the hang of how to use it properly and then all will be fine.

As the account opens the school Christmas holiday is a couple of days away and life for Holly promises to be hyper-hectic. First though she sneaks a preview look at the reports her class teacher has left in her desk drawer while she has a coffee break. Did I hear the word ‘tamper’ just then? Oops! magic pocket watch disaster number one.

Followed soon after by disaster number two and that one well and truly messes things up for her dad at Chequers. Maybe she can help Mum instead … sounds as though another disaster is imminent. Beware the cloud of doom.

Then there’s the formation of The Cool to deal with, followed shortly after by band management duties. Can she possibly cope with a stay-over visit from London bestie (ex?) Aleeshaa with all this, not to mention keeping an eye on what Grandpa is up to. Then there’s the arrival of a film director looking for a location for his next blockbuster. Talk about chaotic Christmas holiday.

Annoyingly, the chances of Holly getting that i-pad she so much wants seem to be diminishing.

Like this reviewer, readers will likely find themselves giggling at almost every turn of the page: try this for a taster: ‘My bum now looks like two raw steaks being marinated overnight and the way I’m walking you’d think I was auditioning for a cowboy film. I’ve even had to put the loo paper in the fridge.’ (entry following a fall from Declan as Holly prepares for the Chequers Xmas Pony race).

When countryside catastrophes are mixed with comical capers you can be sure Holly Hopkinson is involved one way or another in Charlie P. Brooks’ altogether different, fun family drama with highly appropriate visual jottings by Katy Riddell.

Roxy & Jones: The Curse of the Gingerbread witch

October 26, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Roxy & Jones: The Curse of the Gingerbread Witch
Angela Woolfe
Walker Books

We’re back in that wonderful world where witches and magic are real, and fairy stories are part of modern history, for another fairytale potpourri featuring Roxy Humperdink and (Cinderella) Jones. I challenge readers to find out how many traditional fairytale elements are found between the covers of this one.

Now Roxy has seen a sign concerning the return for a record launch, of her older half-brother, musician and leader of the band H-Bomb and the Missiles; and she hasn’t set eyes on him for five years.
She also receives the strangest seemingly senseless letter from someone signing it PM but she knows nobody with those initials: a coded message perhaps?

And so it is, from Jones of course, asking her to meet in a swanky department store wherein she’s currently residing. (It’s also the very same place where Hans Humperdinck’s record launch is to take place.) Thus begins another mission for the two, a search for the Missing, and Jones already has a clue.

Almost the next thing Roxy knows is that she (plus Mirror) is at a party in a nightclub, something at age thirteen she’s never done before; and then she discovers that Gretel is also there. Before you can say ‘awesome magic’ the two girls are whizzing up a giant beanstalk (we know which story that belongs in); but what in the world of fairy-tales is The Law of Sevens? And what is Magiscience?

It turns out that the children who followed the Pied Piper into the mountain some thirty years back are the Missing they seek, now trapped deep in a hidden mountain, completely forgotten thanks to enchantments.

This madcap adventure also takes the girls into the evil Deadwoods with the possibility that the deadly Gingerbread Witch still lurks somewhere deep therein. Her cottage is certainly there.

With frissons of fear throughout, and humour too, Angela Woolfe’s gripping thriller of a tale will hold readers in its enchantment till the final page, and leave them asking for more.

Wulfie Saves the Planet

October 25, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Wulfie Saves the Planet
Lindsay J Sedgwick, illustrated by Rosa Devine
Little Island

You can never be sure what might happen next when you have a best friend like Wulfie with those super powers of his. That’s how it is for Libby who in this third book has a rather challenging school project that requires thinking up some new fun ways to make people care about the environment. Moreover she has only three days to think of something amazing.

However what Libby lacks in ideas (she doesn’t have many but is desperate to make her stepmother Veronika proud and beat her annoying ‘sibling’ Rex) is in complete contrast to Wulfie. He is positively bursting with ways to save the planet – he could be a superhero no less and to that end the purple wulfen decides getting much bigger might be useful, along with adopting the name Wonderwulf, donning a red cape and wearing socks – on his ears – as well as adding one of Veronika’s sleep masks, or maybe not.

Later on, Libby is just settling down to tea, when something on the local news catches her eye, something that gets her heart all a-flutter. Surely it couldn’t be – or could it? Then come sightings of a purple bearded masked superhero …

Libby and her friend Nazim are hot on the trail.

Shall we say, the best laid plans of mice and men… or rather those of wulfen and girl – don’t work out exactly right. Time for Wulfie to employ that nose-tickling, sneeze-inducing feather he keeps behind his ear …

But is it too late for Libby to complete her winning school project and protect not only the planet but her very best purple eco-friend?

Let’s just cross our fingers and say, ‘WonderWulf: For All. For Ever’.

A madcap romp with Rosa Devine’s funny black and white illustrations that will make primary children giggle throughout, and at the same time remind them of the vital importance of doing all they can to protect our precious planet

No One Is Angry Today

October 24, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

No One is Angry Today
Toon Tellegen and Marc Boutavant
Gecko Press

Herein (translated from the original Dutch by David Colmer) are ten philosophical short stories – kind of fables but without the morals – illustrated by Marc Boutavant, that explore anger using a cast of animal characters whose emotions are more than a little similar to those of humans, with anger taking various forms – fury, sadness, ridiculousness for instance.

There’s a firebelly toad whose anger is expressed through inflicting pain on other creatures by attacking them viciously, arousing the recipients’ extreme fury – so he hopes.

Then there’s a squirrel, sad that his ant friend has gone away almost definitely not to return; squirrel can’t be angry but waits patiently for his friend— strangely however his anger is displaced, showing itself by means of the walls of his home.

With his birthday imminent, Cricket sends Bear a strange invitation letter listing all the annoying things Bear does on such occasions, but concluding that he’d like it very much if the ursine creature came along. perhaps Bear will feel some anger too …

When Squirrel agrees to dance with Elephant one summer’s evening the former is already contemplating the possibility of having his toes trodden on, but agrees not to get angry if it happens, and almost inevitably, it does and Squirrel feels the pain, but keeps his word. After a series of toe treadings and even getting bashed against a tree, Squirrel’s anger remains quiet while Elephant is ecstatic.

Each of the brief tales is a small piece of drama however the anger is expressed, and interestingly it tends to be the male animals whose anger is aggressive while females show theirs in other ways.

Marc Boutavant’s illustrations are superb in the way he captures each animal’s expressions – facial and body language – as well as the detail of the woodland settings of the tales.

I’d suggest using these as starting points for community of inquiry discussions with primary children.

Charlie & Mouse Lost and Found / Ghoulia and the Doomed Manor

October 21, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Charlie & Mouse Lost and Found
Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Emily Hughes
Chronicle Books

With four separate, interconnected stories amusingly illustrated by Emily Hughes, this is the fifth book in a series featuring two young siblings, that is just right for children just moving into chapter books.
In the first story it’s Mouse’s blanket that is lost and he’s feeling sad about it. Charlie offers to help him look in ‘all the somewhere’s” -all day if necessary. They search the house but Blanket isn’t there, nor is it in the garden, nor the playground. Blanket is nowhere, Mouse concludes but then Charlie from ‘Somewhere’ produces the lost object – hurrah!
While engaged in doing Errands with mum, the brothers discovery of a lost something they’ve always wanted, makes their day – and many more to come …

Story three sees the something recently found being called Silly and said Silly has now become a much loved part of their family although possibly not by their moggy, Kittenhead. A walk will give the feline some welcome respite but the outcome of the walk is less welcome when the children return home to discover they need to bid farewell to Silly.

In the final story, Boop, the siblings still sad at the departure of Silly, agree with their Dad that she was “a lot of dog” but the prospect of ice cream cheers them up somewhat. Then while consuming same, the boys see something considerably smaller that might just work as a replacement for Silly.

Silly but sweet, playful family tales, these are as delightful as ever.

Also huge fun for new solo readers, though with a rather more spooky feel is

Ghoulia and the Doomed Manor
Barbara Cantini
Amulet Books

The story starts with Auntie Departed, resident of Crumbling Manor, receiving a phone call from her sister Auntie Witch inviting her and Ghoulia et al from their abode, to spend their summer holiday at Fancy Manor where she resides with Cousin Dilbert on the shore of Lake Mystery. With mounting excitement, bags are packed and three days later driven by albino greyhound Tragedy, off they go.
They settle in well on arrival;

however they then discover a problem: on account of the run-down state of the Fancy Manor, the town council, thinking the property uninhabited, plan to auction it off, unless that is a living heir comes forward. Panic immediately breaks out but Dilbert comes up with a plan in the form of a Back-to-Life potion.
Then it’s down to Ghoulia and Dilbert to collect the required ingredients and once they have, to brew the potion, making it sufficiently powerful to ensure it lasts long enough for Auntie Witch to convince the town planner, not only of her identity but also that her house is fit for human habitation.

No pressure then!

Mock-scary comedic fun, appropriately weirdly populated, this 4th Ghoulia tale works both as a read aloud and a solo read that will delight monster-loving youngsters. Don’t miss the final ‘extra-special fun’ pages.

Pages & Co: The Book Smugglers

October 18, 2021jillrbennett 1 Comment

Pages & Co: The Book Smugglers
Anna James, illustrated by Marco Guadalupi
Harper Collins Children’s Books

As this 4th instalment of the wonderful series about Tilly Pages and her book wanderings opens, her grandfather Archibald unwraps a package from Italy and discovers an Italian edition of The Wizard of Oz;.But after handling it, looking at the card within, with its strange symbol, he falls fast asleep and two weeks later, still hasn’t woken from his deep slumbers.

Meanwhile Milo, who lives on board the Sesquipedalian, his Uncle Horatio’s magical train that uses the power of imagination to travel both through Story and the real world, book wanders into The Railway Children, meeting its three child protagonists and getting involved in the action therein. This happens while the train is en route to the Archive, from where his Uncle, who has undertaken a dangerous new job, wants to get his hands on some special Records that are in the care of Artemis, the Archive’s Bibliognost.

It’s there that Milo too ‘borrows’ a scrapbook of particular interest to himself. He also learns that his Uncle needs assistance from Tilly in securing the particular book he seeks: next stop Pages & Co, London. There, Horatio discovers that the reason Tilly’s grandfather is still asleep is that he’s been poisoned, something he can hopefully remedy but only in return for Tilly being allowed to go with him on her own. Moreover, the task she’s to perform is exceedingly dangerous. Next thing Milo knows is that having handled a copy of The Wizard of Oz, his Uncle too falls asleep.

Time to blow that whistle and get things moving. Amost immediately both Tilly and Milo are embarking on a desperate race against time to save two poisoned people.

Can they work out what on earth and in biblio-world, is going on? First comes hot chocolate,
then a journey that takes them to the Emerald City where they meet Dorothy.

Piece by piece they begin to assemble the puzzle that takes them ever closer to the Alchemist. Next stop on their mission is Venice.

Talk about stories within stories within … the story Anna James has woven is utterly enthralling. I love the wonderful booky comments in the exchanges between Milo and Tilly “that’s why all reading is magical’’ … “the books we read help us choose who we want to be” … “I guess we’re all built of stories”.
If this high drama doesn’t create even more young bibliophiles, then, along with some toasted marshmallows, I’ll eat my copy of The Book Smugglers, but then of course I’ve already devoured its contents.

Billie Swift Takes Flight

October 15, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Billie Swift Takes Flight
Iszi Lawrence
Bloomsbury Education

This story is set in 1942 and yes World War 2 is a period fairly often used in children’s fiction. but this is something altogether different.

Twelve-year old Billie Swift would much rather spend time in the company of her mum’s chickens than with other humans. She finds school boring, though she’s bright and a quick learner with an avid interest in planes.

One day when out cycling with her favourite chicken Susan, Billie suddenly sees a Spitfire crash in a field. Knowing better than to go close up and investigate in case of fire, she dashes home thinking to herself, “That is the second time you’ve murdered someone” and she’s not proud of herself. However she remains concerned about the fate of the pilot as well as her brother’s bike (which she needs to retrieve); but when she returns to the site, there’s no sign of the plane.

Before long she’s managed – not entirely honestly – to become a member of the ATA cadets, meeting lots of pilots – men and women – who against the odds, fly planes from factories to the front lines; and she too learns to fly. At the airfield she meets all kinds of people including the person she thinks was piloting the ‘crashed’ spitfire whom she begins to suspect is a Nazi spy.

On a mission to find out the truth and to clear her friend Nancy’s name,(accused of smuggling)) Billie finds herself in increasing danger and towards the end of the story there are some very frightening moments that left me with my heart in my mouth.

Truly inspiring, full of the spirit of the time and with so many real life people who were the inspiration for Iszi Lawrence’s characters, this is a book that brilliantly evokes a part of history where relatively little of the fictional focus has been on women. It helps to bring their contribution to the notice of today’s readers, many of whom won’t be much younger than Billie herself.

Definitely a book I recommend for anyone learning about WW2 at school, either as a class read aloud or a solo read; and for home reading by children who love an exciting tale.

The Boy Behind the Wall

October 14, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Boy Behind the Wall
Maximillian Jones
Welbeck Children’s Books

This story is the launch book for Welbeck Flame, a new fiction imprint of Welbeck Children’s and it’s published using the fictional author name Maximillian Jones (the copyright is Tibor Jones Studio Ltd).
It’s a fantastic read, set in Berlin in the 1960s with two main boy protagonists: Harry Rogers, son of an American diplomat who has recently moved with his parents to West Berlin; and Jakob Fiedler, the ‘adopted’ son of the very strict Hans Eberhardt, a powerful, high ranking Stasi officer and his wife Margot.

Shortly after moving to Berlin, Harry witnesses the shooting of a boy trying to escape over the Wall into the West.

Not long after he floats a helium balloon with a message attached and it’s found by Jakob who seizes the chance to reach out to him asking for help to find his real mother who is somewhere in the West. At first Harry had thought the message was blank but it smelled of lemon and then he remembers something he’s seen in a spy comic given to him by Dieter, owner of a comic-book store he visits as often as he can.

The boys continue their correspondence cleverly making it look as though they’re just two pen friends in order to get their letters past the watchful authorities. At the same time both Harry and Jakob have issues with their fathers in particular both of whom are challengingly manipulative and Harry’s father appears to be hiding something from his wife and son. In the meantime Jakob has made friends with Dana, a girl who introduces him to her musical group.

Both Harry and Jakob realise that with The Wall as the main obstacle, a hidden tunnel is the only possible way out. However, time is running out with the Stasi on their trail seemingly with eyes everywhere. With an atmosphere of fear and distrust all around, whom can they really trust? Each other? Parents? Other ‘friends’?

Full of tense moments, this is a riveting page-turner about a part of recent of history not often visited in children’s fiction. This adult reviewer couldn’t put it down.

Fairy Tales Gone Bad: Frankenstiltskin

October 13, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Fairy Tales Gone Bad: Frankenstiltskin
Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Freya Hartas
Walker Books

Delectably dark, this is the second classic fairy tale to which, with his rhyming magical touch, poet Joseph Coelho gives a new spin.

Here we meet young animal lover and stuffer of animal skins, taxidermist Bryony, and a King – King of all Mythica who, thanks to her father’s boasting of her supreme skills, carries Bryony away to his palace where he wants her to bring creatures back to life. The first is a wolf brought to her room by one Yeltsin Thorogood who announces himself as the Tongue of the King.

This is the first of three tasks – impossible ones – that the King issues to Bryony. There then appears through a door within a door, a hairy child-sized creature smiling mischievously and offering to help her. However his assistance doesn’t come without cost.

Not then, nor for the next two tasks, the first involving a polar bear,

the second of which is more unthinkable than ever; and guessing the creature’s name is the price demanded for this.

In the meantime though Bryony will achieve much as queen of a realm where animals and humans live side by side harmoniously; but then back comes the little creature, come to collect his happiness …

Totally brilliant, Joseph has seamlessly stitched together this tale with its two elements, Frankenstein and gold-spinning Rumpelstiltskin: I especially love that no matter what, Bryony stands up for what she believes, forcing the King to produce a vegan menu, as well as calling him a monster at one point. Superb too, at every turn of the page, are Freya Hartas’ black and white illustrations.

Lovers of fairytales, fractured and otherwise, will adore this book.

Theodora Hendrix and the Curious Case of the Cursed Beetle

October 12, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Theodora Hendrix and the Curious Case of the Cursed Beetle
Jordan Kopy, illustrated by Chris Jevons
Walker Books

Ten year old Theodora Hendrix the only human resident of the Monstrous League of Monsters )MLM) mansion returns in a second funny adventure that is surely bound to lead her into deadly danger. At present Theodora loves her life with her fiendish family and is pretty certain she can cope with anything; but can she handle an Egyptian-themed adventure. She thinks so until that is, she encounters the nasty Inspector Shelley and her even nastier pet rat.

(Mary) Shelley and Ratsputin have come to spy on the Monstrous League of Monsters, and are hell bent on shutting them down for an alleged breaching of the MLM charter – punishable by banishment to one of the darkest, dankest prisons in Transylvania or being sent to live with humans, perhaps.

Having demanded that the temperature of their room doesn’t go above four degrees Celsius, the foul pair prowl through the mansion, examining everything for evidence of rule-breaking. To have any hope of success, and prevent Inspector Shelley from becoming the new head of the London MLM, Theodora must enlist the help of her loyal friend and classmate Dexter Adebola (who has also had some difficulties with school). They have to stop her finding the Mummy’s true name and thus gaining control of her mind and that means tracking all her movements. Then Theodora makes a discovery of her own in The Ancient Curse Breaking Room: a cursed scarab beetle.

This she must destroy urgently and without attracting the inspector’s attention.

Then comes news that the school has been chosen to host upcoming Halloween celebrations; can they get rid of the inspector by then? With the friendship between Dexter and Theodora strengthening in this story, they form an unlikely alliance with trouble-making, bullying Billy; this they do in what they term S.R.R.T. (Stop Rumple’s Reign of Terror) – Rumple being the ghastly, fun-hating headteacher of Appleton Primary who does her utmost to make the children’s lives a misery.

What do Theodora’s torat cards have to say about all this? Will good triumph over evil? That’s the question throughout.

With their superb characterisation and quirky amalgam of horror and humour, team Jordan Kopy and Chris Jevons have another winner here.

Midnight Magic: Mirror Mischief / Skeleton Keys: The Wild Imaginings of Stanley Strange

October 11, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

These two books both from Little Tiger imprint Stripes Publishing are ideal for reading in these dark evenings – thanks to the publishers for sending them for review

Midnight Magic: Mirror Mischief
Michelle Harrison and Elissa Elwick

The second rhyming story starring Trixie and Midnight, her black moggy born at the stroke of midnight with a nose for trouble, along with Trixie’s Dad and her Nan. Once again the lovable kitten brings a sparkle of mischievous magical mayhem to a tale that is pitch perfect for youngsters at that stage between picture books and assured independent reading.

It all begins with a tampering with time by the moggy to allow more minutes together before Trixie has to leave for school. Time during which both Trixie and Midnight look in the mirror with surprising results that start a concatenation of chaos all through the house, as left to her own devices, Midnight unleashes double the trouble when a breakage occurs.

Is there any chance that Nan, just off to her yoga class – so she thinks – can step in and curtail the pandemonium,

perhaps even putting paid to that reflection’s rioting and placing it back where it ought to be?
Sparkling with excitement and humour, made even more so by Elissa Elwick’s wonderfully expressive illustrations of the drama, this tale is irresistible.

Skeleton Keys: The Wild Imaginings of Stanley Strange
Guy Bass, illustrated by Pete Williamson

The spooky narrator Skeleton Keys – he of the door-opening ‘fantabulant fingers’ is ready to regale readers with the fifth of his darkly comic ‘tall-but-true’ tales. This one features young unimaginary Lucky and when we first encounter him, he’s decidedly chilly and wandering alone on a hillside looking for his friend Stanley who has unaccountably disappeared. So desperate is Lucky that he’s even resorting to asking sheep if they’ve seen his pal, the actual human that imagined him.

Soon though, Skeleton Keys and his partner in problem-solving, Daisy discover Lucky and they’re determined to reunite the small creature with his human imaginer. The hunt is on but where can the vanished Stanley be?

Lucky mentions The Door to Nowhere as a place Stanley wanted too see and that sparks something in the mind of Skeleton Keys. Their search takes them first to said door and thence into the Kingdom – a hidden world for unimaginaries, the first rule of the place being ‘no human allowed’. So what in Kingdom’s name is Stanley doing thinking of entering. And what about Daisy? Nevertheless, SK is determined and in they go.

It’s a totally weird place full of unimaginaries brought there by SK himself – ‘a haven he calls it, ‘ a sort of retirement home for unimaginary friends.’ They scour the streets encountering trolls and other weird things before visiting Lady Byrd, in the hope she can help. Hmm. Maybe but maybe not.

The next encounter is with a dreadful dinosaur but once that’s been ‘disappeared’ there are robots on the rampage. YIKES! When is this all going to end – hopefully before the whole place becomes nothing but heaps of rubble. Surely we must all be dreaming – or maybe just somebody is …

Brilliantly imagined by author and illustrator, this is perfect reading for the longer evenings that are now upon us; yes it’s bursting with wild happenings but at the heart of the tale lies friendship, and finding your place.

Winnie And Wilbur:Winnie’s Best Friend / Barkus:The Most Fun

October 9, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Favourite characters return in these two books:

Winnie and Wilbur: Winnie’s Best Friend
Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
Oxford Children’s Books

After more than thirty years during which witch Winnie ’s original fans have likely introduced her to a new generation, we have a story that takes us right back to the time when she met her constant and faithful black moggy companion, Wilbur.

But even that’s getting a bit ahead of this story that starts with the newly qualified witch living in that black house with which we’re now so familiar, but she’s all alone until that is, she decides to invite her three sisters to come and stay to help. They certainly alleviate her loneliness but it’s not long before sisterly squabbles begin, soon followed by cat fights. Enough is enough for Winnie so off they go but then she’s lonely once again.

A wave of her wand results in a parrot but that’s a short-lived visitor and her next attempt brings forth a little dragon though obviously with it comes danger of the fiery kind.

Will Winnie ever find an ideal companion to share her home and her life? No prizes for guessing the answer to that one …

Delivered with their characteristic verve and humour, team Thomas and Paul have conjured forth another magical Winnie and Wilbur story that will delight readers young and not so young.

Barkus: The Most Fun
Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Marc Boutavant
Chronicle Books

The lively, lovable dog, Barkus, is back in a third sequence of four lively, entertaining episodes, along with his human family – the child narrator, her mum and dad plus little moggy, Baby.

In the first story, the family set off for a camping trip leaving Baby in the safe care of Miss Daley, or so they think. However, on arrival at the camp site it’s revealed that Barkus has been harbouring a secret – a tiny feline one – and to the surprise of the rest of the family, the stowaway appears to enjoy camping just as much as all the others.

The second episode – a springtime one – sees the entire family visiting grandfather Jess on his farm. Barkus seems drawn to the cows and they to him and is especially happy when a baby calf is born to Dora.

Autumn is a special time for Barkus on account of the fun he can have with the fallen leaves; he also steals the show at the annual parade.

The final adventure has a chilly, wintry feel as the family take a trip to their cabin for some skiing but a big storm keeps them snuggled up indoors enjoying some storytelling.

With its mix of humorous colour illustrations and engaging text this is just right for readers just starting to fly solo.

The Fabulous Cakes of Zinnia Jakes: The Super Spy / Sky

October 8, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

These are both additions to popular, established series: thanks to the publishers for sending them for review:

The Fabulous Cakes of Zinnia Jakes: The Super Spy
Brenda Gurr
New Frontier Publishing

With cooking programmes on TV as popular as ever, I’m sure there are many young aspiring Zinnia Jakes, aka Zoe who will relish this the third in the series about baking and the challenges it presents to nine-year-old Zoe, her best friend Addie, her Aunt Jam a musician, and Coco the seemingly magical cat that appears at specific times, some of which are exceedingly inconvenient.

In this story we find Zoe coping with the annoying shenanigans of the moggy especially when it invades lessons, the forthcoming school sleepover for Year 4 and the challenge of making a fabulous spy-themed Cake for the Parents’ Association party this coming weekend.

On receiving the cake request sent as usual to Zinnia Jakes, Zoe’s mind immediately goes into over-drive; but how will she manage delivering a cake in secret without revealing the identity of Zinna Jakes, especially as Aunt Jam will be otherwise engaged? Perhaps her dad might help as he’s going to be at home on the night of the sleepover, so he tells Zoe.

First though Zoe has to decide on a design for the cake and with suggestions from Jam, Addie, not to mention Coco, she finally settles on a combination of their ideas.

However, things begin to go downhill when she received news from her dad -he’s been delayed; and then she overhears one of the organiser’s mention of spy traps – supposed to be part of the fun but not of course for Zinnia. Is her identity after all, destined to be discovered?

Full of surprises, this tale of teamwork and friendship, determination and resilience will go down especially well with younger readers of chapter books; it would also make a good, short read-aloud for KS1 classes. Don’t miss the recipe for a ‘hidden secret cake’ at the end of the story.

Sky
Holly Webb, illustrated by Jo Anne Davies
Little Tiger

This is the latest in the author’s Winter Animal series that have a time slip and a creature linking the two periods.

When Lara and her parents arrive in the Scottish Highlands to spend the Christmas holidays with her grandparents, she’s surprised when Grandad tells her of a snowy owl he’s seen. Then both Lara and Grandad spot her again and despite the snow that’s fallen overnight, Lara insists on going out the next day in the hope of seeing the bird again; and see Sky as she names the white bird, she does. It leads her all the way to the Big House before disappearing but Lara notices that the Christmas tree in its window has real candles burning brightly.

The following morning, Lara is drawn back to the house and as she approaches, there at the edge of the driveway, she comes upon a sobbing girl in a long white dress lying on the snowy ground.

A girl from another era who says her name is Amelia and is surprised that Lara is dressed in, as she calls her trousers and jacket, ‘boys’ clothes’. Lara in turn is amazed at Amelia’s ‘old-fashioned, fancy clothes’ especially her underwear that she sees when Amelia takes her into her bedroom in the big house. Now Lara is convinced that, thanks to that magical owl, she’s gone back in time.

With lots of lovely black-and-white illustrations by Jo Anne Davies, this is a gorgeous wintry tale that primary readers, especially animal lovers will adore, either around Christmas, or really, at any time.

Count

October 7, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Count
Melvin Burgess, illustrated by Chris Mould
Andersen Press

This is award winning author Melvin Burgess’s first book for younger readers and what a hoot of a story it is.

Meet Brandon an inveterate boaster: strongest in his class, super at soccer, tops in every subject in class, in fact, according to him, he’s the best at everything. It’s only his younger sister who believes his claims, and his teacher, while approving of his having a wonderful imagination, points out that continuing with such wild pretences will result in people not accepting a word he says.

Then to go one (actually many many) better than his best pal Waris, Brandon announces that he can count to – wait for it – TEN MILLION!

Off he goes and to his surprise, once he starts counting he finds himself totally besotted with numbers, pretty much to the exclusion of everything else.

Even being sent to the headteacher, Miss Hexx who he flatly refuses to obey when she tells him to stop counting. A special staff meeting is called but oddly quite a few of the teachers actually find Brandon’s counting ‘rather beautiful’ or similar. The teacher part of me fell about to read Mr Wyke’s comment: “This is a school. You’re supposed to learn how to do things – you’re not supposed to actually start doing them yourself until you’re grown up.”

Calculations are made and the boy discovers that to reach his goal will take a whole year, so what about Christmas, which would involve his entire family?

Will this love affair between Brandon and numbers ever stop? Assuredly it’s having an effect on everyone at school and the boy’s fame is spreading far and wide.

Nobody quite knows what will happen next …

Brilliantly anarchic and pricelessly funny – made even more so by Chris Mould’s comical black-and-white illustrations, I envisage countless children reading this in a single sitting eager to know how the story ends; all I’ll say is that they’re in for a surprise. It would also make a smashing class read aloud, so long as KS2 teachers aren’t worried about putting ideas into the heads of their charges.

More for primary age readers please Melvin.

The Secret Garden

October 6, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Secret Garden
retold by Geraldine McCaughrean, illustrated by Margarita Kukhtina
Nosy Crow

If you’re looking for a beautifully designed gift edition of this Frances Hodgson Burnett classic, look no further than award-winning author Geraldine McCaughrean’s retelling with its gorgeous art work by Margarita Kukhtina.

I loved the story as a child and have continued to do so since; I’m sure this version will create a new generation of readers equally fond of the tale of Indian born Mary Lennox who is orphaned and sent to live with her uncle in England, to be brought up in Misselthwaite Manor, a disquietingly gloomy building.
There she meets housekeeper Mrs Medlock

and the kindly servant, Martha. There is a huge culture shock for the spoiled girl who’s more than a little angry at the situation she now finds herself in. She’s lonely too though, until she discovers a walled garden that has been kept secret for years.

In that garden, she meets Ben Weatherstaff, an elderly gardener and his friend Mr Robin. Later she unearths the key and with it unlocks the wonder that lies beyond the garden walls.

First though she finds the gentle Dickon who talks to animals and birds and the sickly Colin: through them she also discovers that making friends like these two can be every bit as life-enhancing as a magical garden.

With Geraldine McCaughrean’s supreme story-telling skill and totally captivating illustrations as rich as the text, this tale of light and darkness is destined to be the go-to way to introduce the story to children of today.

Tales from the Ocean

October 4, 2021jillrbennett 1 Comment

Tales from the Ocean
Chae Strathie, illustrated by Erin Brown
Little Tiger

With Erin Brown’s colour illustrations on every spread, this is a collection of twenty original short stories about sea creatures large and small by Chae Strathie.

The oceans are teeming with life whether it be in the tropical waters of the coral reefs, the coastal waters and shallows, tropical and temperate waters or those of the Arctic and polar regions, the four locations in which the author sets these tales.

First we meet a rather impatient young Giant Clam. He’s in a hurry to find a place to settle and grow his shell. Will he listen to the advice of others that have made far from perfect choices?
In the shallows, Hermit Crab too, needs a new home on account of a shell, but hers has become too tight; now she’s on the hunt for one that ‘feels just right’ and in so doing she helps two other crabs find something that’s ‘a better fit’.

Out in the warmer waters Ocean Sunfish is suffering from a bout of itchiness on account of not finding a cleaner wrasse to nibble off the irritating parasites tickling her skin.

Resigned to having to put up with the discomfort, she sets off jelly hunting and by late afternoon although her appetite is sated, her itchiness is worse. Another sunfish makes a suggestion but this fails to rid her of the wretched irritants. Maybe the seagull can help …

In the immense whiteness that is the Antarctic, living in a colony of Adelie penguins is Small Penguin. Despite his size compared with the Emperor penguins that live close by, Small Penguin has big ideas about himself and is more than ready to take up the challenge of one of the Emperors: ‘first penguin to catch a silverfish is the best’. Which penguin will be the victor?

It’s impossible to choose a favourite tale: that will depend on listeners and readers. Each one ends with a verse from the marine protagonist and with the author’s infusion of gentle humour and lots of incidental learning built in, as well as Erin Brown’s gorgeous illustrations this is ideal for sharing with younger children or for older ones to read independently. (The book concludes with two finals spreads with paragraphs of additional details about each of the twenty creatures featured.)

Earth Friends: Pet Protection / Magnificent Mabel and the Very Important Witch

October 1, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Both books are additions to popular Nosy Crow series – thanks to the publisher for sending them for review

Earth Friends: Pet Protection
Holly Webb

This is the fourth story about four friends who try to make the world a better place.

Emily longs for a pet of her own but her home doesn’t have sufficient room. Having explored various possibilities with her friends Poppy, Maya and Izzy, she decides to offer her services helping at the Appleby Animal Rescue centre nearby. With her Mum’s permission and approval of the person in charge, it’s agreed that Emily will help out at weekends. But then she learns that owing to lack of finance, the centre is under threat. Emily resolves not to let that happen and straightway starts thinking of ways to raise funds, starting with a tenth birthday party for the centre: no pressure there. First of all they need to find a suitable venue and that in itself is a tricky task.

Then there’s the question of Emily’s new dog walking business, certainly one way to get some cash but what will her Mum say about that?

However Emily is one determined girl and when her mind is set on a good cause, she’s not easily deterred. Can she and her friends ensure that the animals don’t finish up homeless? It’s certainly a challenge … Be prepared for a few surprises in this one.

With an additional focus on girls’ friendships, this is a heartwarming, inspiring story that will appeal especially to readers who want to make a difference.

Magnificent Mabel and the Very Important Witch
Ruth Quayle, illustrated by Julia Christians

I’m a big fan of Mabel Chase aka Magnificent Mabel who returns in three new funny as ever episodes. The first is set at Halloween, a time Mabel loves almost as much as Christmas especially with the opportunities it offers for free sweets. Others in the locality are similarly hit by Halloween fever. But then it seems that an urgent family matter might prevent her from trick or treating, unless that is, Great Aunt Bridget can be persuaded to participate in the festivities.

Next, Mabel’s school has a worry box in the playground. Sure that she’s seen aliens in the vicinity, Mabel posts a note about her concern at the possibility of an alien attack on the school. Having convinced herself that they’re homesick, she enlists the help of her understanding headteacher and the two of them build something to help said aliens go back from whence they came. But that’s only part of the story: the best is yet to come.

In the final episode Mabel has a monster living under her bed but despite that, Mabel’s parents continue to ignore her earnest pleas for that much-wanted ‘up-high’ bunk bed. So she decides to use her initiative and monster blocking skills: will those get Mabel what she wants? …

A chucklesome book with spirited black and white illustrations by Julia Christians that contribute to the drama which follows Mabel no matter where she goes. Share with foundation stage listeners, while slightly older children just flying solo could try reading it themselves.

New in the Bloomsbury Readers Series

September 29, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Scratch and Sniff
Margaret Ryan, illustrated by Nathan Reed
Wings of Icarus
Jenny Oldfield, illustrated by Bee Wiley
Sindhu and Jeet’s Detective Agency
Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Amberin Huq
Maggie and the Moonbird
Katya Balen, illustrated by Pham Quang Phuc
Bamba Beach
Pratima Mitchell, illustrated by David Dean
Ping and the Missing Ring
Emma Shevah, illustrated by Izzy Evans
Bloomsbury Education

These are additions to the Bloomsbury Readers series: banded book stories that aim to foster independent reading at KS2, all written by award-winning authors and illustrated in black and white and definitely worth offering to children for home or school reading.

The titular Scratch and Sniff are dogs belonging to PC Penny Penrose. Said constable frequently gets given the boring tasks and this is so on the day we meet her counting traffic cones outside the police station while her colleague Sergeant Snide is off investigating a burglary at the furniture store. However when her two faithful pooches learn of this, they decide it’s time for the ‘doggy Secret Service’ to get to work and they too head off to the scene of the crime. There, they decide to look around outside leaving the sergeant to do his detecting inside and that’s when they’re party to something highly suspicious in the form of two men struggling to carry a heavy sofa, something with a very valuable cushion, that they put into a van belonging to the department store and drive off. Time to use those cones and to alert Penny …
With plenty of funny drawings this is assuredly, a fun cops and robbers tale for those readers just beginning to fly solo.

Wings of Icarus is Jenny Oldfield retelling of the classic Greek myth about the daring boy Icarus, imprisoned with his dad Daedulus on the island of Crete by King Minos, but determined to make their escape – one way or another. When the sea proves too much for their first plan, Daedulus decides that while their captor might be Lord of Earth and Sea, he certainly isn’t ruler of the skies. Hence their only chance is to take to the air … While Icarus sleeps his father builds wings from feathers collected and next morning after warnings from his father, the boy is so excited he takes off alone … Compellingly told and enticingly illustrated.

As Sindhu and Jeet (along with Sindhu’s parents) leave Chennai bound for London the best friends have different agendas for the holiday. The pair have formed Sindhu and Jeet’s Detective Agency but all Jeet wants to do is relax and be a tourist whereas Sindhu has brought along her young detectives’ handbook – just in case. Before they’ve even boarded the plane Sindhu spots something she thinks is suspicious behaviour. Almost the next minute the two friends find themselves trapped between a wall and two baggage burglars. Time to try some of their Kabadi skills … Will the plane wait even if they can extricate themselves from this and the next very tricky situation?
Happily yes, but that’s only the start of their adventures: next stop the sights of London, first off The Tower of London itself. So begins another exciting investigation where again the friends’ ace powers of observation and a liberal sprinkling of imagination, along with determination are called into play.
Even then they’re not quite finished with detecting. After a day of rest, they visit the Natural History Museum where Mum has a special interest in the conch collection and one conch in particular. However when they get to the cabinet where it’s supposed to be, there’s a label saying the item has been ‘temporarily removed’.When next they look, there’s a conch back in the cabinet, but is it the right one? Mum doesn’t think so … This holiday is turning out to be anything but boring after all decides Sindhu. There are plenty of thrills and tension to keep readers turning the pages in this one.

Pratima Mitchell’s contemporary story Bamba Beach immediately transported me to some of the many wonderful holidays I’ve spend in Arpora, Goa just off the coast. The setting is a fishing village where young Hari lives with his family. Times are hard with almost no fish left in the bay on account of the tsunami and to catch those further out, the family needs a boat with a flat bottom and an outboard motor rather than their old dilapidated one made from coconut wood. Hari knows full well they can’t afford it but the good-hearted lad is desperate to do something to raise money for his family. He’s not a boy to give up even in the face of village superstitions and family feuds; and when he’s offered a bi-weekly job washing local headteacher, Brother Angelo’s car, it’s at least a start. From small beginnings … though even with several more customers Hari reckons it will take fifteen years to make the capital needed to set up a shop. What else can he do?
Seemingly plenty, for it’s not long before unexpected help comes from somebody Hari has helped. A highly engaging and interesting look at a culture most young readers will not be familiar with.

In the same reading band is Katya Balen’s magical moonlight adventure Maggie and the Moonbird featuring a girl who instead of going bird-watching with her dad as she really wants, has to visit the zoo with her aunt and two annoying little cousins. There she sees a bird that despite its information label, doesn’t match her own knowledge or the description of the Silverfinch in her bird book. Nonetheless she picks up one if its feathers and takes it home. That’s where, after she’s in bed with the feather tucked under her pillow, the magic takes flight … Altogether an enchanting and timeless fantasy read that will surely get readers’ imaginations soaring.

The most challenging story is another contemporary one, Ping and the Missing Ring. Ping the protagonist and her family are Thai and live in Bath. The custom is that Thai people are calm, composed and polite, which Ping sometimes finds tricky to maintain.
So when she’s invited to stay with her cousins in West London in a house full of traditional Thai furniture and crafts, she promises her mum to be on her best behaviour; definitely no adventures or mystery solving. But, after a visit from Isabelle who has money troubles and a sick husband, Aunty Lek’s engagement ring is missing. She thinks Isabelle has taken it but Ping thinks otherwise: she can’t stop herself going into detective mode. Exciting and with lots of interesting details about the traditional Thai way of life, this like all the others, is an engaging read though herein the illustrations act as chapter breaks, as do those in Bamba Beach.

Journey to the Last River

September 27, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Journey to the Last River
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Teddy Keen edits a spin-off from The Lost Book of Adventures, an Amazon adventure presented in the form of a scrap book journal belonging to ‘The Unknown Adventurer.’ Smudgy, apparently finger-marked pages and ‘handwritten’ text add authenticity.

Again the written account grips the reader from the start as you learn that the adventurers (the writer, and Bibi who grew up somewhere in the region) are staying in a wooden outhouse belonging to a local villager, preparing for their six week canoe trip into the rainforests. They’ve got the original map ‘borrowed’ from The Geographical Society to help them search for that Last River and discover its secret. The writer hasn’t mentioned this to his companion; instead he’s led her to believe that he’s an artist adventurer.

There’s certainly drama aplenty including an unexpected encounter with a man who draws the supposedly non-existent river in the sand with a stick and Bibi recognises a few of his words including ‘wait’, ’rains’ and ‘guide’ before disappearing again. The two travellers are heartened and eager to continue however.

Continue they do and just over two weeks into their journey they acquire a new crew member, a squirrel monkey that they name Nutkin.

The days pass and the two begin to despair of ever finding what they’re searching for; but then comes the lightning followed by torrential rain.

Suddenly a realisation dawns: perhaps their journey isn’t in vain after all …

Brilliantly illustrated with powerfully atmospheric scenes of the Amazon flora and fauna,

as well as the elemental spreads, there’s a lot to learn from this book with its important final conservation message. Readers will be enthralled by the detail included in both the words and visuals, as well as by seeing the transformative effect the trip has on the ‘writer’.

A superb book that offers huge potential to upper KS2 classes in particular.

Hattie + Olaf

September 23, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Hattie + Olaf
Frida Nilsson, illustrated by Stina Wirsén
Gecko Press

Hattie is now in her second year at school and since her very first day has been best friends with Linda. They’re both chatterboxes but whereas Hattie, like almost all the girls in her class, is totally horse mad, Linda thinks the whole horse fever stupid.

Told in the present tense, we discover that although Hattie wants a horse more than anything else in the entire world, what her father gets her is far less expensive, though it does have hooves and he brings it in a horse trailer: it’s a mangy old donkey named Olaf. That’s what happens when you wish on a ‘tired old longhorn beetle instead of a ladybird’ thinks Hattie.

Does Hattie rush into school and tell her classmates about the creature: no way! Instead she invents a tale about a new neighbour, owner of three white horses that she’s allowed to ride whenever she wants. Inevitably, she’s eventually found out and Hattie is ridiculed by her fellow horse enthusiasts. Moreover she has a punch up with Alfie getting her into BIG trouble,

and also falls out with Linda.

The days pass and by the time the Christmas holiday draws near, Hattie is anticipating a break without Olaf. But where has he gone and will he ever come back?

Splendidly funny, this quirky story showing how young Hattie navigates school and relationships, discovering what loyalty means, as well as those things that are of real importance, is a delight through and through; made all the more so by the scattering throughout of Stina Wirsén’s black and white illustrations.

It works equally well as a read aloud for those around Hattie’s age or, for slightly older, confident readers who will be amused by the protagonist’s innocent intensity.

Play Like Your Football Heroes

September 19, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Play Like Your Football Heroes
Seth Burkett and Matt Oldfield, illustrated by Tom Jennings
Walker Books

Former pro football player Seth Burkett co-authors this book with friend and writer Matt Oldfield. It’s broken down first into four parts with tips on how to: Train Smart, Think Smart, Live Smart and Play Smart, and then into chapters each featuring five or six star players. It’s great to see both men and women included, one of the latter being American icon and political activist Megan Rapinoe, winner of two World Cup winner’s medals as well as both the Golden Ball and Golden Boot trophies. But what makes her even more inspirational to this reviewer is her peace message: “We have to love more, hate less, listen more, talk less.’

Self belief is key if you’re to become a successful soccer player, or indeed succeed at pretty much anything: Kevin De Bruyne is a shining example of a player who believes in his ability, in his case to ‘pull off another amazing assist’. He started having to find the courage to step outside his comfort zone (a requisite if you’re to develop self confidence) age fourteen when he left his Drongen home and family to join the Genk academy 100 miles away. Just one of the incidences of his awesome self-belief.

Incredibly skilful ball dribbler, Messi, didn’t gain that outstanding ability in a vacuum; rather he needed to work on a whole lot of inter-linked skills to become the amazing ball master that he is. Training, training and more training in different conditions: constant, variable and random. Don’t worry if this sounds a bit technical; explanations are given in the very first chapter, featuring of course, Lionel Messi.

Another star who believed in himself, no matter what is Harry Kane who scored that crucial goal in the final minutes of the first group game against Tunisia in the 2018 World Cup. A real smart hero assuredly..

When it comes to playing smart, somebody who personifies the five ‘P’s – ‘proper preparation prevents poor performance’ is French midfielder N’Golo Kanté, he of outstanding stamina.

However, no matter where you open the book you’ll likely find something that will speak to you: and sometimes challenge you.

With both authors’ passion for the game shining through all that they’ve written in this inspiring, interactive book, as well as some 80 black and white illustrations by Tom Jennings, there’s lots in here for readers from around seven, be they enthusiastic watchers/team supporters of the game, or a young player and would be football star, .

The Hideaway

September 17, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Hideaway
Pam Smy
Pavilion Books

Thirteen year old Billy, a sensitive boy, just cannot cope with seeing his mother whom he loves deeply, in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend Jeff with whom they live. So with a few things in his backpack and doing his best not to be seen, he creeps out one night.

He makes for All Souls’ graveyard and the following morning he encounters an old man who wants to know what he’s doing there. Billy begs him not to tell anyone and the man strikes a deal with him: assistance with his clearing work in the overgrown graveyard for a few days in return for keeping quiet about the lad’s whereabouts.

The man turns out to be kind and thoughtful, which surprises the boy.

Meanwhile Grace (Billy’s mum) has discovered her son is missing and the story alternates between events relating to her and the home, and Billy (Different fonts are used for each). Grace decides she needs to ask for help outside and starts with her close neighbour and before long the police are also involved.

Billy meanwhile does not remain undiscovered: Izzie from his maths class finds him while she’s waiting for her mum.

The story offers the stark contrast between the harshness of Billy’s life with the supernatural happenings of All Souls’ Eve while at the same time weaving a thread of abiding love and hope through them both.

As the drama moves close to the night of All Souls’ Eve, a sequence of ten textured, powerfully atmospheric double spread illustrations replace the text

and thereafter, for a few pages, the words, set on grey paper take on a ghostly white appearance.

There’s another stark contrast too: that of the gentle, thoughtful and caring old man with Jeff whose toxic, controlling and abusive personality has driven Billy to run away.

For older readers through to adults, with its themes of domestic abuse, families, childhood, separation and reunion, this important book, recounts with enormous sensitivity and power a story that will haunt the reader long after the beautifully produced book has been set aside.

Jasper & Scruff: The Great Cat Cake-Off / Stink and the Hairy Scary Spider

September 11, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Jasper & Scruff: The Great Cat Cake-Off
Nicola Colton
Little Tiger

In case you’ve not met the two protagonists, cat Jasper loves cooking fancy food and dining in fancy restaurants. Puppy Scruff is fond of eating with a particular penchant for salted caramel. The two run their own cafe, its speciality being the Cheese Monsieur with customers coming from near and far to sample this delicacy.

One day though, there’s a distinct lack of visitors and on investigation they discover across the way a new establishment – The Sophisticafé – is opening up with Lady Catterly as head chef. Eager to learn what the signature dish is to be, Jasper and Scruff head over and try to enter the cafe doors, only to be rebuffed without the necessary invitation.

Back they go to their own diner to find that things are in a chaotic state but even worse, the recipe page for their signature dish has been removed from the book. Looks as though it’s the work of the Sophisticats AGAIN!

Time to find out exactly what is going on … Things don’t go quite to plan however but they do encounter famous food writer, Gaspard le Skunk sampling the fare. Now he’s the one to impress, decide Scruff and Jasper but that will entail some menu amendments.

Again things don’t quite go to plan as those dastardly Sophisticats have got wind of the critic’s visit. Sabotage is their way of doing things …

but who will win this battle?

Another tasty offering in this series, and with one or more of Nicola’s humorous illustrations on every spread, it’s ideal for those readers just starting to fly solo.

Stink and the Hairy Scary Spider
Megan McDonald, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Walker Books

Stink is Judy Moody’s little brother and now he’s battling with his arachnophobia, a fear of spiders having troubled him for quite a while.

Having fashioned an origami frog, he takes his creation to the backyard to test its hopping. The creature hops right out of sight but when Stink looks in the long grass there’s no sign of his frog. Instead he sees a ‘pink thingy’ or rather several and they’re attached to large hairy legs which in turn are attached to a larger hairy body and that is attached to a massive head of the hirsute kind. A head with a plethora of eyes, what’s more. YIKES! Readers will have no doubt what this thing is.

A fearful Stink dashes indoors to seek help in locating his frog from the one person he knows is actually quite fond of spiders, his sister Judy. A deal is struck but Judy goes beyond that and sets about trying to cure little brother of his phobia.

This is a fun, scientific episode in which Megan McDonald’s characters exhibit their delightful optimism and it’s brought out in Peter Reynolds’ amusing illustrations; love the spidery chapter headings. There are even instructions to make an origami jumping frog after the story.

A relatively easy read: early chapter book readers will thoroughly enjoy this spin on facing your fears.

Diary of an Accidental Witch

September 8, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

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

There’s a new magical school on the story map and it’s called Little Spellshire School of Extraordinary Arts. Little Spellshire is the sleepy town full of cats and magical children into which Bea Black and her weather scientist Dad have just moved; this book takes the form of eleven-year old Bea’s diary – her first ever.

But it’s a case of izzy fizzy, Dad was so busy and so dizzy that he’s gone and enrolled her not in the ordinary academy but the Extraordinary establishment in the forest intended for young local witches.

Unexpectedly Bea finds herself sitting through all kinds of strange and spellbinding lessons in the company of peculiar classmates

and tasked with homework that entails venturing into the forest in the middle of the night to find skeledrake roots for a potion – now what on earth are they?

Surely it’s not too much to remind her Dad to get her moved into the Academy ASAP.
It’s either that or dig deep and find her inner witch: with the Halloween ball fast approaching it would be useful to discover even the teeniest smidgen of a magical spark.

Then there’s the question of Excalibur

about which I’ll say no more except that the incident is just one of the many magical mishaps and untoward incidents to be found in Bea’s diary that is bound to have readers giggling and wriggling in delight.

However as well as frog minding, persevering with broomstick-riding, levitation, avoiding getting ExSPELLED, being Witch In Charge of Bat Bunting, which requires the cutting of 1200 paper bats, keeping Dad from finding out of what’s really going on, this spellbinding story is concerned with a girl trying her best to fit in at a new school, making the best of a tricky situation and trying her level best to make friends.

Full of heart, this is the first of four stories brewed by the Cargill team, aided and abetted by Katie Saunders who supplies liberal sprinklings of amusing illustrations (including a class photo and a map): an ideal concoction that simply effervesces with humour and heart. Youngsters will definitely be spellbound and eagerly anticipate diary number two; so too, this reviewer.

Polly Pecorino: The Girl Who Rescues Animals

September 7, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Polly Pecorino: The Girl Who Rescues Animals
Emma Chichester Clark
Walker Books

Absolutely full of charm, this is the debut novel of wonderful picture books creator Emma Chichester Clark and it stars Polly Pecorino, a seemingly ordinary schoolgirl but with a difference: Polly is an inveterate animal rescuer.

Notably, she is able to talk to animals and understand them though she doesn’t know from where this ability came, nor does she make it known outside her own family. They live (along with Crow, a wild creature Polly had rescued) in the small town of Abbeville overlooking Silent Water Lake beyond which in Wild Bear Woods lived actual wild bears.

These are feared by everyone living nearby including Polly. All of this gives something of a fairytale feeling. Danger lurks close by only kept at bay by a high protective wall surrounding the town. A story has it that an entire family got lost and were gobbled up by the bears, one by one.

Within the town walls on the opposite side to Wild Bear Woods is the somewhat neglected Happy Days Zoo and Polly spends much of her time there after school and during holidays helping her Uncle Stan care for the animals and doing what she can to keep them fed and happy.

In contrast the zoo’s unscrupulous owners, the Snells, care nothing for the animals but will do anything, anything at all, to make money and the more of it the better … They’ll even resort to stealing a tiny bear cub from the woods – that will surely make them a nice packet with a huge surge in ticket sales.

No matter their action will put the entire town in danger from the other bears in the form of the cub’s wild family that will come for him.

Polly realises that if she doesn’t act that is exactly what will happen. Yes, she’s brave but is she brave enough to go against the Snells, follow her heart and take little Booboo back to Wild Bear Woods?

Surely there has to be a way and if anyone can do it, that person is Polly with her ability to see things from the perspective of the animals.

Matters become increasingly tense as the dramatic events build … BooBoo simply must be returned to his parents …

Emma’s storytelling is brilliant – you really feel you’re scrambling through the tangles of creepers and brambles with Polly, damp air penetrating your skin, . Equally brilliant is her characterisation, especially of the girl; together, they give this book a real classic feel, helping to make it utterly grippingly unputdownable. In your haste to find out what happens though, make sure you slow down to enjoy the plethora of fantastic black and white illustrations.

Rainbow Grey

September 1, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Rainbow Grey
Laura Ellen Anderson
Farshore

Having hugely enjoyed Laura’s Amelia Fang series I couldn’t wait to get hold of her new story. and it certainly lived up to my expectations.

It’s set in the brilliantly imagined magical sky world of Weatherlands in the city of Celestia and features ten-year old Ray Grey. who lives with her family – mum Cloudia, Dad Haze and cloud-cat, Nim.

All the other Weatherlings have at their fingertips, amazing magical weather power – be it sun ( I love the glowing sunflower in the sky image giving light to Earth),

snow or rain, cloud or wind; not so Ray who like her mother, has no weather magic of any kind, though she longs for such magic to appear suddenly one morning so she’s more like her friends Droplet Dewbells and Snowden Everfreeze.

Rumour has it though that until they were all wiped out by the worst tornado in history, there were also Weatherlings who had Rainbow magic, – although most people don’t believe this .

When Ray attends her first festival for the Eclipse with her friends, it’s the start of an unlikely adventure triggered by a tatty old book. Adventure is something else Ray longs for, wanting to be like her hero, the famous, beautiful Earth Explorer La Blaze Delight whom she meets at the festival.

Young Ray is one determined character and so is prepared to be a rule breaker (hurrah!) leaving Celestia without a grown-up and setting off for earth on a ‘daring quest’ in search of treasures.

It’s a trip that changes her life: a transformation takes place making her not Ray Grey but Rainbow Grey. Now all that’s left to do is to gain control of her powers and save the earth from a mysterious, powerful destructive enemy.

Can she succeed? Perhaps, with the help of her best pals (and Nim) – surely that isn’t asking too much …

Laura’s storytelling weaves a spell around you from the outset; it’s totally gripping throughout with tension building as the end draws nigh, full of splendid humorous detail (the pigeon named Coo La La, for example) with sprinklings of silliness such as that highly explosive farting cloud cat, and the eat them quick before they erupt, rumblebuns.

This book has all you can ask for and more: teamwork, friendship, an environmental message, being something of an outsider, there’s even a mention of reading problems ( Ray talks of letters being jumbled on the page and later, reading from coloured paper is mentioned). Magicalicious – bring on the next adventure please!

Willow Wildthing and the Magic Spell

August 24, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Willow Wildthing and the Magic Spell
Gill Lewis, illustrated by Rebecca Bagley
Oxford Children’s Books

It’s great to see another adventure of Willow and her friends. Now they’re on a mission to save the Wilderness from the clutches of a dastardly property developer, one Lord Smog aka the money wizard, who it seems will stop at nothing to get his way. That means he intends to fell all the trees to make way for his housing development.

What Willow needs is to ‘out-spell’ him and there’s somebody the Wild Things know who can surely help them. Off they go to see their witch friend though even she isn’t very hopeful, initially at least. But after some discussion on the possibilities of what a spell might do they set about creating one – a spell written from the heart. That’s part one of the plan.

The second is to make their adults remember what it was like to be wild.

Can they do it? Anything is worth a try to save the wild green space wherein nature and magic meet, that they love so much.

At first I thought perhaps ash dieback might be the reason for the trees being marked and it was a relief to find it wasn’t so: even a powerful enchantment of the Willow kind wouldn’t work against that.

I really loved that Willow, her little brother Freddie, Bear, Fox, Mouse, Hare and Raven co-create the spell.

I’m sure Willow’s multitude of established fans will relish this smashing story spell-bindingly created by Gill Lewis and Rebecca Bagley; and the determined girl will doubtless add significantly to her fanbase too.

How to be a Human / Museum Kittens: The Treasure Map

August 23, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Two recent fiction titles from Little Tiger – thanks to the publisher for sending them for review

How to be a Human
Karen McCombie

When their home town is hit by unprecedented wild weather storms causing schools to close it seems something is badly wrong. Little Ty thinks he’s seen aliens in the sky and much to sister Kiki’s horror has even appeared on the news saying the freak weather was caused by strange beings in their spaceships. How will she face the embarrassment of such nonsensical talk when Riverside Academy reopens? Especially the taunts of Lola and the Popular Crew of which she wants to be part.

Someone else not thrilled with the school reopening is previously homeschooled newbie Wes, also in Y7 and an outsider (though the bullies have their eyes on him).

Then there is Star Boy, presently marooned on Earth about which he’s been taught some things relating to its inhabitants, as well as having taught himself some of its languages.

Both finding every day painful, Kiki and Wes start spending time together and soon realise they have things in common: they’re really struggling to settle in to the new school, they both have parents who have separated and then comes music.

Having observed their behaviour together, Star Boy decides he can learn much about human behaviour by watching and filming the duo so that once he returns to his own planet, the Master will consider him a ‘scientific hero’.

Then Wes and Kiki discover Star Boy. They start to learn things about one another but also about themselves and who they are; they learn what being human really means, about the importance of trust and of friendship. They also discover that sometimes what you really want is right there before you and that it’s possible to heal sadness.
With terrific characters Karen McCombie infuses her insightful story with warmth and gentle humour. She really seems to stand behind the heads of eleven/twelve year olds and their salient concerns.

Thoroughly recommended for those around the age of Kiki and Wes in particular.

for younger readers is

Museum Kittens: The Treasure Map
Holly Webb, illustrated by Sarah Lodge

The fourth tale of the kittens that get playful once all the visitors have left the museum begins up on the roof when Tasha declares that the cloud she’s seen in the sky is a dragon. Boris then decides it’s actually a ship which puts him in adventurous mood as he leads his fellow kittens off to see an actual ship, The Silver Lion, a four-hundred-year-old galleon in dry dock at the back of the museum.

No sooner have they gone aboard than they hear rats voices singing about treasure and they appear to have a map.

When Boris informs them that The Silver Lion was a pirate ship that once belonged to a pirate queen, his excitement rubs off on the other kittens. Grandpa Ivan gives them his blessings to follow the rats; they have to get hold of that map one way or another. But those rats are pretty tricky creatures … and is there really a treasure map, let alone any treasure?

Those familiar with the kittens and their escapades, illustrated by Sarah Lodge, will eagerly grab this; other new solo readers could start here and then likely will want to read what went before.

Petunia Perry and the Curse of the Ugly Pigeon

August 17, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Petunia Perry and the Curse of the Ugly Pigeon
Pamela Butchart, illustrated by Gemma Correll
Nosy Crow

I missed this the first time round so I’m please to meet twelve year old Petunia Perry aka Peri in this reissue. Now in her first term at secondary school, Petunia has decided to write her memoirs and is starting to do so from inside her wardrobe.

As the cool chapter headings indicate, she’s beset by problems and presently believes her best friend Cammy hates her and will never speak to her again. There’s also a pigeon of the unpleasant kind, the question of whether she’s the perpetrator of spoon crime, an unwelcome unicorn-obsessed suitor,

a mother who is totally embarrassing at parents’ evening, not to mention that she begins to have doubts about the boy she really likes. Then when The Spoons, the band she’s formed with the inclusion of Cammy’s cat Margaret as lead singer, looks set to hit the rocks, things really can’t get much worse and certainly not any more crazy.
Totally hilarious throughout, but also surprisingly credible. Peri and the other characters – be they classmates such as Smile Boy and Cara, parents, relations, teachers (I must mention Mr Phart of socks and sandals fame) are all wonderfully observed. I love Gemma Correll’s accompanying visuals.

Pamela Butchart has given Peri a strong voice that readers will quickly come to love; she’ll have you chortling thoughout: I certainly was; but there are some serious themes too: forbearance, empathy and kindness being key.
Anybody want a spoon or two, or a kitten perhaps?

Fox & Rabbit Celebrate

August 16, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Fox & Rabbit Celebrate
Beth Ferry and Gergely Dudás
Amulet Books

This graphic novel style series is terrific fun and it’s reached the third book. The focus for the five interconnected stories is celebration and there’s so much to love about them, not least being the alliterative story titles.

First Fix, Fuss & Flies takes place just before Sparrow’s birthday and begins with Fox announcing confusingly for his pal Rabbit that he’s decided to change the middle letter of his name to i and henceforward he’s to be called Fix not Fox or even better Fix-it Fox. Well maybe for that day only; but before it ends there are a number of jobs that need fixing and other animals wanting to be part of i day. So, Fred becomes Frid, and Rabbit gets dubbed Ribbit.

All ends happily with the work done but I do wonder what Tortoise might have been called had he not rocked up right at the day’s end in time for dinner, asking his usual ‘What’d I miss?’

In Party, Pizza & Plans Rabbit and Fox resolve to make Sparrow’s birthday (the next day) ‘super-trooper special’, the best ever and that entails making him the biggest, yummiest pizza in the world. As they have no idea how to make such a thing, they’ll need help, but from whom? Where will all the ingredients come from and how will they go about cooking so huge a thing?

Make way for a new and fiery character in the third story, the addressing of whom requires speaking another language – or perhaps not.

Said new character also appears in Birthdays, Best Days & Best Friends, where he’s introduced, performs a key task, becomes part of the team and a great time is had by all; but guess who almost misses the entire thing.

Wonder, Wish & Wow involves memories of the celebration, a lot of guessing and a considerable amount of hard work; but is it all worth the effort? Does Sparrow’s birthday wish come true?
Love the ending, love the new character and of course, I totally love Tortoise.

Dudás’ brightly coloured, splendidly expressive illustrations together with Beth Ferry’s terrific text, almost entirely in speech bubbles, make this perfect for those just moving to chapter books.

Seven Sisters

August 14, 2021jillrbennett 1 Comment

Seven Sisters
Ayisha Malik and Erika Meza
Little Tiger

Lola, Esher, Ayla, Zoha, Zayna, Amelia and Saffah all live in the Forest of Tremendous Trees. Each of them lives in a tree and despite being sisters, they’re very different characters with very different interests. Zayna is a writer, Lola is an artist, Saffah is the musical one, shy Ayla has a technological mind, Amelia loves gymnastics, Zoha particularly enjoys the natural world and Esher is an inventor. Despite being so different, they get along well largely because they have their own spaces wherein to hone their talents.

Suddenly one day they sense change is afoot and lo and behold a large tree appears before them and continues growing becoming the most beautiful in the entire forest.

That night the girls retire to their beds each thinking of the house they could build in the new tree.

Inevitably next morning they all make their way to the tree where each of them puts forward a case for ownership.

Arguments ensue and things get chaotic until they decide the only way to solve the issue is to hold a competition with their beloved aunt as judge.

Despite her reservations the competition is scheduled for the following day but none of them had expected the storm that blows up just as they arrive. Time to take refuge … together.

Could this perhaps be the best learning opportunity that nature could offer the seven sisters?

Read solo or read aloud: there are lessons aplenty in this engaging story that celebrates individual differences, creativity and the joys of community. Having recently enjoyed Ayisha’s adult novel This Green and Pleasant Land I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she also writes for children. Erika Mesa’s mixed media illustrations are wonderfully expressive, full of life and really bring out the girls differing personalities.

Myths, Monsters and Mayhem in Ancient Greece

August 12, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Myths, Monsters and Mayhem in Ancient Greece
James Davies
Big Picture Press

However famous the Greek myths might be, retellings of these ancient tales for youngsters can sometimes be pretty dull, turgid even; now here’s a book that makes them anything but.

In a dramatic comic book style James Davies presents half a dozen tales making them highly accessible to primary age readers wherein they will find bravery, loss, love,

greed and envy. Interspersed between the stories are thematic spreads on various topics that offer a broader look at such aspects of Greek mythology as the Greek gods and how the Greek myths explained the world; there’s a presentation of heroes and heroines including Atlanta, Achilles, Penthesilea and Odysseus. We also take a journey through the Greek underworld, a place that could be downright scary or delightful depending on your actions during your life.

James Davies’s bold graphic artistic style means that he manages to make even the most terrifying monsters such as the many-headed Scylla and the gigantic Hydra look amusing.

Right now I think we definitely need that tiny little shining insect that popped out of Pandora’s Box spreading light wherever there was darkness and hope wherever there was despair. Definitely now would not be a good time even to contemplate hiding away inside that ginormous wooden horse like those Greek soldiers did when Helen was rescued in The Trojan Horse story. However there’s much to learn from all six stories: that of Theseus and his quest to defeat the horrendous Minotaur,

the Twelve Labours of Heracles, Orpheus and Eurydice and Perseus and Medusa.

With Ancient Greece being one of the oft used topics in KS2 history, a couple of copies of this enthralling book would make a worthwhile, up to the minute addition to primary school topic resources as well as the school library.

Sona Sharma: Looking After Planet Earth / Leo’s Map of Monsters: The Frightmare

August 9, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Sona Sharma: Looking After Planet Earth
Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Jen Khatun
Walker Books

It’s great to have young Sona Sharma and her extended family back in another story. Now Sona is alarmed when she hears how much humans are doing to damage Planet Earth as her class talk about global warming, plastic pollution, deforestation and more and after the lessons she and her classmates all sign a pledge to do their bit to look after Planet Earth. Sona resolves to enlist the help of all her family members too, although once home she finds Paati (grandmother) is very preoccupied with perfecting her kolam designs in preparation for an upcoming competition.

Nonetheless, on Saturday Soma sets to work on her caring for the planet plan but her over-zealous electricity saving soon has other family members just a tad irritated, not to mention the disappearance of baby sister Minmini’s nappies.

Time for a family Panchayat as Sona’s grandfather calls it, to look at Sona’s list of changes to be made. There are some compromises but everyone seems satisfied with the outcome of the discussion and Sona goes to school clutching a plan she’s happy about on Monday morning.

That evening however, things happen that make her anything but happy and as a result some high drama ensues. The day ends well though but a new day brings another challenge for Sona when she resolves to get the use of chemicals, plastic and glitter banned in the kolam competition.

Will she succeed? It might just require a miracle …

I’m an even bigger fan of Sona after this story: she’s certainly a force to be reckoned with. Her enthusiasm and determination are admirable even if they do get her into some tricky situations. I love too the way Chitra has woven into her narrative an explanation from the Ramayana of why the Indian palm squirrel has three stripes.

Jen Khatun’s line drawings are a delight; it’s great to have one, (often containing fine detail) on every spread.

Leo’s Map of Monsters: The Frightmare
Kris Humphrey, illustrated by Pete Williamson
Oxford Children’s Books

Leo’s role as apprentice to the Guardian, Henrik, is to protect the village from any monsters that lurk in the encircling forest while keeping his job secret. Even if receiving a summons from Henrik means curtailing his enjoyment of the Spring Festival being celebrated as this story opens.

It’s as well he’s just demonstrated his target hitting prowess at the festival; he’s certainly going to need it in this assignment; but is the truth about his job in danger of being revealed when his close friend Jacob decides to help?

There’s only one thing to do according to The Guardian: Leo must urgently obtain a hair from one of the ghostly Frightmare’s tails before the end of the night. Not a problem then, except that these monsters haunt the higher mountain passes protecting their territory by breathing deadly blue fire from their nostrils.

Can Leo succeed? Perhaps with map in hand and the assistance of his Leatherwing friend, Starla.

However as he soon discovers, these Frightmares have an unexpected power that will make his task even more difficult: that and the fog. But as Leo tells himself, ‘failure just wasn’t an option’ …

Established fans of the series will eagerly join Leo in this new, splendidly written and illustrated adventure that’s packed with thrills, action and atmosphere. Newcomers will quickly find themselves sucked into the intriguing story too and also enjoy the map and concluding illustrated fact files.

Nikhil and Jay Save the Day / Nikhil and Jay The Birthday Star

August 6, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Nikhil and Jay Save the Day
Nikhil and Jay The Birthday Star
Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Soofiya
Otter-Barry Books

The main focus of these two delightful books of short stories is preschooler, Jay and his elder bother Nikhil. Jay finds it frustrating when he cannot do all that his brother can – climbing the apple tree in their garden and lifting up Nana’s heavy bag, for instance. However, when it comes to blowing out his birthday candles and cutting the cake, he’s ready to accept a bit of brotherly assistance, both of which enable him to adopt a ‘we do’ attitude. That story is in the first book.

There are also episodes telling of a visit to Grandpa and Nana’s home without the green story dragon that Grandpa bought for Jay; then comes the weekly pancake making day when Amma makes the dosa that the boys love so much. Again patience is needed on behalf of Jay whose eyes might prove to be bigger than his tummy. (At the back, Chitra has included a recipe for those, and chutney especially for those who fancy trying to make their own, ‘ the Chennai Granny way’).

The final story tells what happens when the boys make their regular Saturday visit to the library and discover it’s closed ‘forever’

– or is it? Perhaps not when the local community gets involved in a protest.

In The Star Birthday, there’s huge excitement in the household as Granny and Grandad from Chennai come to stay.

One of the first things they do is take the boys to the nearby Indian market to buy fruit and vegetables. Seemingly they ate the mangoes in similar fashion to the way my partner does (although he doesn’t sit in the bath) but he does suck the contents through the peel having made a hole in the top.

After Granny and Grandpa have stayed a week, it’s only one more before it’s time to celebrate Nikhil’s birthday. So why does Granny insist they celebrate on that particular Saturday, calling it a ‘Chennai birthday’ and not on the following week?

Then all four grandparents and the boys plan a visit to the park but first they have to make sure they have the right things to carry the food in – definitely no plastic; and the boys conclude that it’s the best picnic ever.

In the final story the boys prepare to bid farewell to their Chennai grandparents but there’s talk of them paying a visit to Chennai at Christmas. Perhaps this might be the topic of the next book – I hope so.

It’s lovely to see these books for newly independent readers (or for reading aloud) starring a British Asian family. Chitra draws on her own South Indian background and the stories are illustrated with gently humorous line drawings by Soofia on every page.

The Gingerbread Man/ Let’s Play, Daddy Bear!/ Manju’s Magic Muddle / Fizzy and the Party / A Hundred and One Daffodils

August 2, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

These are new additions to the Bloomsbury Education Young Readers series (one per band Turquoise, Purple, Gold, White, Lime) which aims to help children towards becoming independent readers. Thanks to the publishers for sending them for review:

The Gingerbread Man
Kandace Chimbiri, illustrated by Richy Sánchez Ayala
Let’s Play, Daddy Bear!
Dawn McNiff, illustrated by Andy Rowland
Manju’s Magic Muddle
Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Verónica Montoya
Fizzy and the Party
Sarah Crossan, illustrated by Nicola Colton
A Hundred and One Daffodils
Malachy Doyle, illustrated by Denise Hughes

In The Gingerbread Man, Kandace Chimbiri gives her lively telling a Caribbean flavour with this wonderfully aromatic character being chased by its old lady baker, an old man, a clutch of chickens, a horse, and a scary looking dog to the river’s edge. There however, it’s a monkey that beguiles the little fellow into accepting a lift across the water and ever closer to his mouth, but will the runaway end up being consumed?
Look closely at Richy Sánchez Ayala’s illustration showing what the baker of the runaway is holding.

Let’s Play, Daddy Bear! is a warm-hearted story with equally warm illustrations of a young bear that spends weekends at her father’s home where they play fun games like Monster Chase and Daddy-is-a-Big-Climbing Frame. But on this particular weekend Daddy Bear is so busy using his computer that his daughter becomes thoroughly bored with waiting for him to finish his work; and her ‘take notice of me’ tactics only serve to slow him down even more. Will he ever get to the end of his keyboard tap tapping and go outside to play with Little Bear?

There’s more boredom in Chitra’s second story featuring this little girl, Manju’s Magic Muddle. Again her protagonist again makes use of that lamp in her Grandmother’s wardrobe. Now when she summons the genie she learns that he is suffering from a terrible cold that’s having an adverse effect on his ability to grant people’s wishes correctly. Moggy, Cumin is against calling on said genie at the outset and although less than impressed at what he hears in this story feels sorry for the genie and his plight. Especially when it’s revealed that any more errors and the genie will be forever struck off the Genie Register. Can the two of them help sort things out when another call comes in on the Genie-O-Summoner? The genie is in no fit state to go it alone … With its theme of kindness, this is such a fun story with amusing genie mishearing outcomes to entertain youngsters along the way.

Slightly longer is Fizzy and the Party: Fizzy is certainly an apt name for the protagonist herein for she simply fizzes with energy even or perhaps especially at bedtime, which is when Mrs Crumbleboom is having her party.Despite Mum’s words to the contrary, young Fizzy dons her glitzy fairy gear and against Mum’s better judgement heads next door to her neighbour’s garden. Will she be allowed to stay and participate in the fun though? A good many young readers will recognise the bedtime delaying of persuasive Fizzy who provides not only a great rationale for being allowed to attend but continues to sway the situation her way throughout the story.

There are no humans in Malachi Doyle’s A Hundred and One Daffodils; rather it’s an enchanting story of Dusty the fox cub and her search for the appropriate number of daffodil flowers that will enable her and her friends that help her hunt, to enjoy a celebratory party for the first day of spring, just like Dad fox did year after year until he was a grown-up fox. Friendship and determination are key in this one.

All in all these short lively chapter books, with their carefully chosen words by popular authors, and attractive illustrations at every page turn, are certainly going to help a great many children on their way to solo reading. For adults guiding children on their reading journey, there’s a ‘Tips for Grown Ups’ inside the front cover and a ‘Fun Time’ for children at the end.

The Battle for Roar / A Super Weird! Mystery: My pencil case is a time machine

July 27, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Two recent fiction books from Farshore kindly sent for review

The Battle for Roar
Jenny McLachlan, illustrated by Ben Mantle

The superb Land of Roar fantasy series comes to a gripping conclusion in this utterly enchanting adventure that sees twins Rose and Arthur travelling to a group of islands far beyond everything they know: beyond The End.

There’s a storm, a shipwreck, you’ll meet fanged fairies, a possible dragon egg, there are secrets aplenty and prepare to be surprised, shocked even.

To say it’s action-packed is something of an understatement; it’s humorous in parts, pretty scary in others, a wonderful demonstration of the redemptive power of teamwork and a veritable ode to the power of the imagination.

Altogether an absolutely perfect ending to a brilliant trilogy. I gobbled it up in a single sitting, along with a few marshmallows (not magical ones) and a mug of hot chocolate.

A Super Weird! Mystery: My pencil case is a time machine
Jim Smith

Having coped with the Danger at Donut Diner and the Attack of the Haunted Lunch Box, Yoshi and his friends Melvin Pebble and Rhubarb Plonsky have another mystery to solve. If he can manage to tear himself away from his phone that is, for like most youngsters, Yoshi has of late, let his phone take up much of his time, particularly uploading his videos onto Donut Tube.

Enter Yoshi’s dad bringing a shoebox containing the ‘smelly eraser collection’ from his own childhood (we’ve all had them) and thus begin some seriously surreal happenings necessitating some serious sleuthing from the three young detectives.

But that’s getting a bit ahead of things so let’s go back to where the three are in HQ aka Brenda the Hut and Yoshi finds an ordinary non-smelly eraser on one of the shelves therein, names it Brenda too and adds it to other smelly erasers now in his pencil case. Then at Rhubarb’s behest he pulls out a dinosaur-shaped one for her to sniff. Uh-oh! Time slip alert!

Seems the pals have just whiffed themselves back to the age of the dinosaurs and that T-Rex doesn’t look too friendly.

All is not lost though for they’ve still got the rest of the smelly erasers. Perhaps one of those can get them back to their own time but then what? …

Well that would be telling, and I’ll leave Jim Smith’s young narrator to do that in his own inimitable way and merely say that what follows is seriously silly and huge fun especially with daft cartoon style drawings adorning every spread adding to the overall wackiness.

Aziza’s Secret Fairy Door / Mirabelle’s Bad Day

July 26, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

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

This is the first of a sparkly new series starring Aziza who is fanatical about all things fairy; she’s even named after a type of fairy creature from West African folklore.

On the day this tale unfolds, Aziza is celebrating her birthday and is especially excited by the mysterious parcel containing a fairy door with DIY instructions, that arrives from she knows not where.

The intrigue increases when having found a place to stand it (she’s a flat dweller so it’s not easy), Aziza lying in bed that evening hears a knocking sound seemingly coming from the other side of the decorated door. When she touches its knob, the door opens and she finds herself transported to Shimmerton where she soon makes friends with Princess Peri and nose-twitching shapeshifter Tiko.

Just the characters she needs to help her take on the Gigglers aka Kendra, Noon and Felly who take possession of the doorknob thus leaving Aziza trapped in Shimmerton without her only means of returning home. This threesome need to learn a few lessons, not least about taking things that don’t belong to them without asking and about kindness and fairness.

With the help of her new friends, will Aziza manage to make it back to her family?

By creative duo Tólá Okogwu and Jasmine Richards writing under the pen name Lola Morayo this is a thoroughly engaging magical story about perseverance and earning respect among other things, that’s just right for new solo readers. In their fantasy setting, they introduce readers to a diverse host of fascinating characters not least a curmudgeonly anthropomorphic clock and a talking unicorn shopkeeper.

Cory Reid’s black and white illustrations have an appropriate quirkiness about them and are a perfect complement for the text.

I’m sure the delightful Aziza will have youngsters eagerly awaiting her next adventure beyond that Secret Fairy Door.

More magic in

Mirabelle Has a Bad Day
Harriet Muncaster
Oxford Children’s Books

We all have days when everything seems to go wrong and so it is with half fairy, half witch Mirabelle. She’s actually set herself up for one the previous evening by not putting away her spell ingredients before going to bed, as well as forgetting to bring her broomstick in from outside.

The day in the title begins when she sees the state of her hair on waking and then at breakfast time learns that her brother has finished the rose petal fairy flakes leaving her no option but to have some of the batwing porridge her mum’s made instead. And as for her broomstick …

From then on things get even worse: she arrives at school late and sopping wet, her best friend is absent and she can’t join in the playground games on account of her over large borrowed attire.

Later, at home even bigger disasters are waiting to happen, in part due to the transformation potion Mirabelle made in class, a portion of which she was allowed to bottle up and take home;

that and the fact that her infuriating brother has gobbled every single one of the remaining chocolate biscuits and is playing with her pet dragon.

Will Mirabelle end up going to bed in a foul mood or will things get better before she closes her eyes?

This enchanting book with its dramatic illustrations ends with some magical Mirabelle extras including a recipe for witchy cakes.

Established fans will likely gobble this (not the cakes) in a single sitting and Mirabelle is sure to gain some new followers too.

Dark Peak / Lightning Strike

July 23, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

These are two additions to Oxford University Press Rollercoasters series published in association with Barrington Stoke designed to build confidence and foster a love of reading in the over 11s less inclined to pick up a book.

Dark Peak
Marcus Sedgwick

Award winning author Marcus Sedgwick has created a gripping amalgam of mystery and mythology (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight particularly) in this first person narrative.

A geography field trip one hot summer includes a visit to Lud’s Church. The pupils are instructed to meet back at a certain time and when that time arrives, everyone is there except Stephen and Stephanie.

Nobody gives credence to Miss Weston’s eight year old daughter who says she saw them being taken away by ‘the little white girl’.

Two of the class members including the narrator Porter are sent off to make a phone call and by the time they return to the group, Stephanie has mysteriously reappeared.

But why the delay in searching for Stephen, a quiet slightly strange individual? And next day back in school, why is nobody mentioning the boy? What has happened to him and will he ever be found?

An utterly enthralling, chilling unputdownable tale that examines notions of consciousness and time, as well as what friendship means.

Lightning Strike
Tanya Landman

With the constant danger of being struck by the dreaded phossy jaw disease like many other people working in the match factory, Eliza the fourteen year old narrator of the story is justifiably angry. Especially since every one of her family works all hours and still they struggle to pay their rent and never have enough to eat. Moreover, with the boss of the factory seldom putting in an appearance, denying the existence of the disease ever affecting his workers, and an unsympathetic foreman, it’s small wonder she’s inclined to rant and rage.

Then one Sunday something happens that changes young Eliza’s life for ever. In the park she hears a ‘posh’ woman making a speech about fairness, social justice and the rights of workers. Thus, much to her parents’ horror, begins her journey as an activist. Now though Eliza has somewhere to channel her anger and her energy.

Although Tanya Landman’s Eliza is a fictional character, her story set in London’s East End in the summer of 1888 is based on fact; and a gripping one it is. Readers will empathise with Eliza, her sister and the other young match factory workers and perhaps be inspired to find out more about the Match Girls’ Strike. That, or become activists for a 21st century cause they believe in: such is the power of this strikingly good story.

Edie and the Box of Flits

July 22, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Edie and the Box of Flits
Kate Wilkinson, illustrated by Joe Berger
Piccadilly Press

Eleven year old Edie Winter, a rather lonely girl, helps her dad with his job at London Underground’s lost property office where strange items often turn up. However, travelling to the office one day during half term she’s certainly not expecting to find a mysterious wooden box: a box that’s home to a family of tiny winged beings – The Flits.

It’s only people under thirteen who can see these magical little creatures, and Impy, Speckle and Nid need Edie’s help. Help that takes the form of food supplies including chocolate spread, raisins, digestive biscuits, rice crispies sunflower seeds and sugar sprinkles, somebody to look after them, but their brother, Jot, has run off looking in the Underground tunnels for Flum and other missing Flits, and Edie’s assistance is required to find him.

All manner of strange things are happening though, not least, sightings of strange sharp-eyed birds; there are complaints from passengers about missing jewellery or other small, expensive items after a journey.
Utterly intrigued by the tiny creatures Edie immerses herself in the Flits’ world, even hiding them in her school bag and they’re all determined to find the missing beings. But the Flits Edie is caring for are not easy to control; she has a tricky task to prevent them being discovered by the watchful magpin birds – a sinister lot – as well as the far from friendly Vera Creech, receptionist at the Lost Property Office who looks after a crow and is interested in the wooden box.

Kate Wilkinson has constructed the Flits’ small world brilliantly and it’s impossible not to be enthralled by her magical story of friendship, family and focussing on life’s little things. Joe Berger’s black and white illustrations are a delight be they whole page scenes, small or very small close ups.

A terrific class read aloud for older KS2 listeners as well as for individuals who like books with a touch of enchantment or a classic feel. I can’t wait for the next one in the series.

The House on the Edge / A Monster Ate My Packed Lunch

July 20, 2021July 20, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

These are two smashing books recently published by Nosy Crow – thanks for sending them for review

The House on the Edge
Alex Cotter

Faith’s dad has disappeared. What has happened to him and why has he left the family – mum (who’s now staying in bed all day), Faith the narrator, and her younger brother Noah – in an old house (the Lookout) perched atop a crumbling cliff?

When a crack appears on the cliffside Faith watches it growing larger day by day. She’s also trying her utmost to hold things together and that entails looking after her mum and staying out of trouble at school. Then, when Noah’s teacher asks to speak to their mother as she’s concerned about the boy, Faith fears things are about to come unravelled. She’s increasingly worried too about the boy’s talk of a sea ghost in the cellar searching for lost treasure; and to make things worse her Uncle keeps nosing around in the house.

Worse still is when Noah disappears causing Faith to have second thoughts about the possibility of ghosts. Is there any chance at all she can find her brother and bring her father back before all she cares about crashes into the sea down below.

Wonderfully written, with Faith’s gripping first person narrative encompassing feelings of exasperation and love, ordinary commonplace things, alarm and panic, with some humour too, this is a smashing book about families and what binds them together as well as an exciting mystery. Altogether a cracking debut for author Alex Cotter.

A Monster Ate My Packed Lunch
Pamela Butchart, illustrated by Thomas Flintham

Giggles guaranteed in this latest deliciously daft adventure from team Butchart and Flintham.

Now Izzy, her classmates and teachers are off on an activities school trip to Big Lake. The to-do list includes a nature walk, raft-building, a ropes course and a tug of war, but Gary Petrie is much more excited about the fact that the lodges they’re staying in have slippers and robes.

The lake itself is deep, dark and a tad scary, not least because Ranger Tam starts talking about the presence of a hundred year old monster therein – and he’s not joking!

Investigations are the order of the day among the children – or maybe that should be the order of the night. By all accounts said monster is hungry and on the lookout for food, food like their packed lunches – sandwiches and crisps in particular. Perhaps it even eats teachers?

Full of splendidly silly scenarios vividly imagined by Pamela Butchart with her brilliant knack of presenting things from the child’s perspective and their propensity to get carried away, along with a wealth of appropriately wacky illustrations by Thomas Flintham, this is perfect for solo readers who like a longish, highly illustrated story with plenty of melodrama.

Kids Fight Climate Change / So you want to be an Owl / My RSPB Sticker Activity Book: Rainforest

July 17, 2021jillrbennett 1 Comment

There are 3 recent Walker Books publications about various aspects of the environment – thanks to the publishers for sending them for review:

Kids Fight Climate Change
Martin Dorey, illustrated by Tim Wesson

Following on from Kids Fight Plastic, from the same team comes a second book containing sixty six ways in which children can become two minute superheroes.

There are sixteen major missions focussed on helping to save the planet and in particular on climate change, starting with powerful facts about global warming and the hugely harmful effects it’s having on ecosystems both large and small.

Many people will have heard about the terrible effects of the Canadian heatwave that has killed hundreds of people in the west of the country. There have also been huge numbers of wildfires putting both humans and wild life in danger in Australia especially. The latter as well as the other effects of climate change are presented around a world map early in this little book.

Then comes the first of the main missions, how to count your carbon footprint, that includes a bitesize ‘2 minute mission’ to compare inside and outside temperatures on a sunny day, as well as finding one small action you could do tomorrow to reduce your carbon footprint.

With the added interest of collecting points along the way youngsters must complete such challenges as using ‘an extra blanket on your bed instead of turning up the radiator’,

making a bee hotel in your garden or a reusable face mask from an old cotton T-shirt or persuading parents to let you use an airer or washing line for drying the wash rather than an electric drier.

This is a smashing, highly readable little book with lots of funky illustrations from Tim Wesson. It gives young eco-warriors plenty of information, incentive and inspiration to be active in their homes/gardens, schools and local community. Very much a book of our time and young followers of Greta Thunberg (I know a fair few of those) will love it. An empowering read likely to produce lots of young activists.

So you want to be an Owl
Jane Porter and Maddie Frost

Author Jane Porter places Professor Olaf Owl in the classroom to deliver a sequence of nine lessons and an initial assessment should readers (despite being a fair bit larger than the featured creatures.) want to consider the possibility of becoming an owl alongside the trainees.

There’s a strict code to live by: ‘Be alert! Be watchful! Be silent!’ Then come the questions that start each lesson: Can you fly? Can you merge into the background environment? What about seeing in the dark. What’s your hearing like? and so on before giving her assessment to each class member and whoo hoo! they’ve all gained a certificate.

Skillfully engaging readers by the aforementioned questions and others about hunting and feeding,

hooting, tree dwelling and chick rearing, Jane Porter imparts key facts to young readers with gentle, playful humour while Maddie Frost’s inviting and endearing illustrations further enhance that humour and the scientific information.

My RSPB Sticker Activity Book: Rainforest
Stephanie Fizer Coleman

With scenes of several rainforest locations in different parts of the world, youngsters can encounter some of the fauna and flora of these steamy habitats as they search for hidden animals, help a chimpanzee find her way to her friend, match up pairs of gorgeously patterned South American butterflies, add colours to some birds of paradise and to Amazon rainforest snakes. They can also use the 100 or more stickers to further adorn the various spreads and learn some amazing facts along the way.

The Way to Impossible Island

July 13, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Way to Impossible Island
Sophie Kirtley
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

This is a sequel to The Wild Way Home and features some of the same characters, in particular Dara who is now twelve years old and has been waiting for what feels like forever for the BIG heart operation he hopes will change his life.

In the meantime he has to put up with the challenges and frustrations of living life in the slow lane, feeling ill frequently and not being able to do things he so wants to, those things his parents say are ‘not a good idea’. In particular rowing out to Lathrin Island in search of the legendary Golden Hare.

When he learns that the op. promised for this summer has been postponed, good idea or not, Dara decides that it’s his life and that he’ll row out to the island. So off he sneaks.

What follows is a wondrous, totally enthralling, life-affirming tale of adventure and the fight for survival wherein two worlds collide for, hiding in the boat shed Dara meets a girl clad in animal skins. Can this Mothgirl really be from the Stone Age. She has a wolf, ByMySide, and like Dara (she’s of a similar age) faces challenges – an ailing father, a missing brother and expectations to become a person she most definitely doesn’t want to be.

Despite coming from different eras, the two understand one another and form a strong bond enabling them to confront tremendous dangers together.

Truly a tale of exceeding your own expectations, finding yourself and owning who you are. What and who is normal (‘nor-mill’ as Mothgirl calls it) are two of the questions Sophie Kirtley weaves into her narrative

Immensely powerful, indeed unputdownable: I just HAD to read the entire book in a sitting. It was so good to see that by the end both Dara and Mothgirl are ready to face the future and able to love themselves as they are.
I just can’t recommend this enough – utterly brilliant.

Dirty Bertie Tricks and Kicks / Mermaids Rock :The Emerald Maze

July 10, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Here are two recent Little Tiger fiction titles for primary readers – thanks to the publisher for sending them for review

Dirty Bertie: Tricks and Kicks
Alan MacDonald illustrated by David Roberts

This bumper volume brings together three books Mascot!, Spider! and Ouch! in the Dirty Bertie series so you can expect a wealth of comic chaos for your money.

First comes Mascot! wherein there are actually three self-contained stories featuring the boy that trouble seems to seek out. For starters having entered a ‘be junior match day mascot ‘ competition, Bertie proves to be the very best mascot for Pudsley Rovers soccer club despite sporting a lion costume (against strict instructions) and scoring a goal (accidentally).
Next is Swot Camp – the Bright Sparks camp that Bertie is sent to – ‘school for swots’ he calls it, doing his upmost to be sent home in disgrace. The third tale sees Bertie manage to get himself in the team for the inter-schools Junior Science Challenge and with his incredible robot, the fierce Bootosaurus,

surprisingly wins the contest, only to shock and somewhat displease, she who was the inspiration for his design.
All of that only takes in the first book.

Next is Spider! where it’s a case of is it or is it not a tarantula – enough said! An oversized, very late Christmas present – a sweater knitted by Gran is the star of the show next, followed by Bertie getting involved in a spot of metal detecting.

In the third book Bertie’s over enthusiastic hammering lands a trip to A&E; then his swimming lesson is a hugely embarrassing experience thanks in no small part to some borrowed and very saggy Speedos and finally, there’s the Inter-Schools Quiz in which guess who participates, much against his will.

Illustrated with David Roberts’ distinctive, wonderfully quirky drawings, with his clear love of life in the mischievous lane, Bertie is the naughty boy everyone loves to be vicariously.

Mermaids Rock:The Emerald Maze
Linda Chapman, illustrated by Mirelle Ortega

This is the fifth story featuring Marina Silverfin and her fellow Save the Sea Creatures gang members.

Now mysteriously, the magic whirlpool is malfunctioning and there’s a ban on using it. Nevertheless, Marina can’t resist swimming very close to it, so close that her seahorse, Sami, ends up accidentally getting flipped straight in. Without stopping to think, Marina dives in after Sami but having found him, she discovers that she’s not the only one in the dark depths she doesn’t recognise. Her friend Naya suggests it might be one of the underground rivers she’s read about.

Deciding to continue exploring, the river, caves and pools they make some amazing discoveries but then suddenly the whirlpool disappears leaving them stuck, stranded in a cave with no way out. Is it to be a case of cat-astrophe or can the friends muster all their skills, save the day and get themselves safely back home?

With Michelle Ortega’s black and white illustrations, this is another exciting, engaging tale for young mermaid enthusiasts and lovers of the natural world. (The book concludes with some information about cenotes and the associated animals.)

Let’s pay a visit to Noisy Village

July 8, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Children of Noisy Village
Happy Times in Noisy Village
Nothing But Fun in Noisy Village
Astrid Lindgren, illustrated by Mini Grey
Oxford Children’s Books

I was intrigued to learn of this series written many decades ago and now newly illustrated by Mini Grey who brings the village and its inhabitants to life for a new generation of readers. I seem to recall the first book from childhood but didn’t realise there were others.

The stories are narrated by one of the young characters, soon to be eight, Lisa and the first book introduces us to the village that comprises three farms side-by-side, set in the middle of the countryside. The village got its name on account of the six children who are exceedingly noisy: There’s Lisa and her two brothers Bosse and Lasse, from Middle Farmhouse, Ollie lives in South farmhouse and the third, North Farm is home to two sisters Anna and Britta. We share their adventures told in brief chapters, including Lisa’s birthday celebrations; being caught barefoot in a hail and thunderstorm resulting in frozen feet, a visit to an old lady named Kristin and a kitten a-piece for each of the three farmhouses.

The children’s Happy Times include Lasse skating close to a hole in the frozen lake and ending up falling backwards right in though happily not being ‘drownded’; a search for a water spirit and hunting for treasure.

By the third book Lisa is nine and the children are still having Nothing But Fun. Fun such s taking a lamb to school (that’s Lisa’s idea); the extraction of Ollie’s tooth; and the capture of a supposed prehistoric ox, and an adventure involving crayfish and the possibility of trolls.

The books are full of high-spirited fun, fuelled sometimes by some rather ridiculous ideas on behalf of one or other of the children, and just right for either solo reading or story sharing sessions.

Do Not Mess with the Mermaids

July 7, 2021jillrbennett Leave a comment

Do Not Mess with the Mermaids
Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Sharon Davey
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

There are rather a lot of ‘Do Nots’ in this the second tale set in Wondermere as readers will quickly discover if they peruse the contents page. There’s also a plethora of dragons (complete with poo), grumpy unicorns and as you might expect, mermaids.

Most particularly there’s young Princess Grace – ace rule breaker – which immediately endeared her to me. She’s already proved herself plucky and determined as a knight, Troll-o-Tournament champ. and undoubtedly the equal of any boy, earning herself the title Sir Grace.

Now Wondermere is to host a very important visitor, the Mermaid Queen of the Outer Ocean. For Grace and her sister that means frilly dresses being on your best behaviour and it goes without saying, No Rule Breaking (or even bending).

But before the arrival of Queen Jeen, while taking a quick swim in the moat, Grace discovers a purple dragon egg and she can’t resist ‘rescuing’ it. Before long she and her sister find themselves dragon sitting baby Dennis.

Something that proves no easy task especially when there’s the distinct possibility that the very lively little one might disturb the royal guests … MEEP!

Bursting with fun and laugh-out-loud moments, and smashing illustrations by Sharon Davey, this is a totally charming romp, strongly recommended for those with a soft spot for rule subverters (this reviewer included) and lovers of a bit of magical mischief and mayhem.

44 Tiny Chefs

July 6, 2021jillrbennett 1 Comment

44 Tiny Chefs
Sylvia Bishop and Ashley King
Little Tiger

Nobody can be more surprised than Betsy Bow-Linnet when her Great-Aunt Agatha turns up announcing, “I’ve bought you a bakery,”. Well perhaps Bertram, but that’s because Betsy and Grandad have been selling her father’s delicious cakes to raise money to buy dad a special present for his birthday and as her aunt says, ‘selling cakes from a street-corner stall, like an uncouth ragamuffin.”

The woman can certainly get things done when she wants and now she has. With instructions to choose a name she departs and leaves the others to follow her instructions. The establishment becomes THE Half-Moon Bakery, Dad decides he wants the opening ceremony to be held on his birthday just three days away and Betsy realises it’s going to entail a great deal of work.

That’s just the start of things though for at the party, one Alexander Papparell, Royal Taster of Fine Foods for Her Majesty the Queen, mightily impressed by what he’s sampled, asks Bertram to provide the cakes for a Royal Gala that very Sunday – only two days notice. Also attending is Chief Health and Safety Inspector, Vernon Brick.

‘Not-a-panic’ sets in with the arrival of the requirements list. Is it time for Betsy to reveal something about mouse assistance to her dad, and then to press him to allow her to call upon the help of the little creatures? If he agrees, is it a risk worth taking? …

The Bow-Linnets are a delight and this is another super, action-packed story with some especially tasty ingredients, not least the chocolate cakes – well maybe not every single one of them; then there’s the fantastic support the rest of the family show to Bernard when it’s his big chance, and as always, Ashley King’s two-colour illustrations are terrific fun.

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