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Shadow Thieves

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Shadow Thieves
Peter Burns
Farshore

Born in a desolate workhouse, Tom Morgan has managed to escape and since then by using his wits, observation skills and fleet of foot, he’s survived on the London streets. When his friends from the street are taken by child snatchers, Tom promises himself that he’ll rescue them. He meanwhile, is approached by the Corsair, a man who offers him an opportunity not merely to survive but to thrive. Tom accepts and is taken to become a student at Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts or Thieves School, an elite international boarding school shrouded in secrecy.

From the outset he faces challenges – bullies, the amount of work he has to catch up with having joined mid year and making new friends. He learns about the Shadow League, which comprises four guilds – spies, thieves, assassins and politicos – that supposedly keep the balance in the world, and he’s taught to scam, practice deception and tackle tricky obstacles of the physical kind. In so doing he keeps alert, realises that not everyone is to be trusted and puts together some vital clues that will help his friends new and old.

Then, when he goes to the International Shadow Cup with the Corsair, Tom’s skills are tested to the limit.
What exactly is the threat that is constantly lurking as the plot twists this way and that?

Set in an alternative world where the major powers are la Grande République de France, the Japanese Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, with action aplenty, an amazing brave, quick-witted protagonist in Tom and superb world building, this splendid story is one where you keep telling yourself, I’ll just read one more chapter before I stop and then you find you’ve finished the whole book. Now I’m eagerly awaiting the second in the series coming next year.

Betty and the Yeti: Friends at First Fart / Blue, Barry & Pancakes: Escape from Balloonia

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Betty and the Yeti: Friends at First Fart
Hugh Raine
Farshore

This book features Beano characters Betty and Yeti; there are four parts, one for each season of the year., all of which contain appropriate seasonal happenings. Betty is a quick thinker which is just as well; how else would she be able to keep a stray yeti in her suburban home, despite having parents who grew up in Nepal. And how on earth will she keep the presence of this Yeti (discovered by Dennis the Menace eating slops from the school bins) a secret from them? She’s also a smart talker which proves a great asset both for readers and the story characters.
It’s no surprise that it’s an exceedingly challenging task what with Yeti’s massive build and its exceedingly whiffy emanations.

Children will delight in the escapades herein and have fun trying the games and puzzles at the end of each section.

Blue, Barry & Pancakes: Escape from Balloonia
Daniel Rajai Abdo and Jason Linwood Patterson]
One World Publications

If you’ve not met them before Blue, Barry and Pancakes are a trio of tree-dwelling, fun-loving friends but their idea of fun isn’t the same. Bookworm Blue’s favourite activity is reading, frog Barry especially enjoys building models and then there’s adventurous Pancakes. Just as Blue and Barry have settled down to their peaceful pastimes in bursts Pancakes. She’s just made a balloon rocket and wants her pals to join her on a trip to Balloonia (a balloon planet). After some hair-raising situations, they find themselves in the stomach of Balloon Kong, the biggest, meanest Balloonian of all. How can they get themselves out of that?

A zany tale that explores themes of friendship and individuality; with much of the story told through the wacky artwork, it’s especially suitable for readers whose preference is for highly visual storytelling.

Betty Steady and the Queen’s Orb

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Betty Steady and the Queen’s Orb
Nicky Smith-Dale, illustrated by Sarah Horne
Farshore

Unlike Dave Schoolboy writer of the fan letter to author Salvador Catflap that appears in the opening chapter of this book, I haven’t read the first story. However, I have read this sequel also starring ‘Right Tough Nut’ Betty Steady, aka the Guardian of Wobbly Rock, and like Dave I laughed a lot. Diminutive in stature, twelve year old Betty is, as the story begins, having a sleepover with her besties, the Crossword Crew, and about to fall asleep when she hears a noise. Outside a figure on a horse is approaching the castle door. It’s one calling himself Andy Underarm, personal messenger of the queen of Upper Crust with a message for King Nutmeg; an invitation to the Turnip Festival, a celebration Betty has long yearned to attend.

The following morning, the delighted King Nutmeg tells Betty that her usual role as Royal Bodyguard has been changed to ‘undercover spy’.Reluctantly, she accepts the offer and off she sets upon her steed Simon Andersen clad in his tiger-print cycling shorts and two pairs of cowboy boots.
After an eventful start, and a two day journey they reach their destination and what a squeaky clean place it is and as for the turnips – wow-ee! King Nutmeg receives a cordial welcome and a reminder from Queen McNiff that he’s a competitor in the Royal Turnip Tournament, something he’d forgotten all about.

On Turnip Day itself, following a night in unsatisfactory accommodation, Betty wakes in a bad mood and as she looks out at the sunrise, she notices a small sprite hovering just outside the window.

Having introduced herself as Misty Jamjar she listens to Betty’s tale of woe about the spell she’s under that’s made her so tiny. Misty invites Betty to a gathering of sprites and pixies later in the day. While there Misty offers to help her get back to her original size but can she really reverse the Toad Witch’s spell? However this offer comes at a price: Betty must steal the queen’s Orb of Ogg. Nonetheless this sounds a straightforward plan and nothing can go wrong surely?

As the tale draws to a close, Betty is given a choice: stay with the queen in Upper Crust and become her full height or return in her tiny form to Wobbly Rock with King Nutmeg. What do you think she chooses?

Turnipferous fun from start to finish with magical mayhem and bonkers behaviour, plus a generous sprinkling of comical characters illustrated in style by Sarah Horne, Nicky Smith-Dale’s second Betty Steady adventure is an absolute hoot.

Revenge of the Killer Worm / Terror Tower

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Revenge of the Killer Worm
Kathryn Foxfield, illustrated by Robin Boyden
Scholastic

Eleven year old Milo is looking forward to the summer holidays: it’s to be our summer of adventure, so he tells his three friends who are also going camping at Stourmouth. His interest isn’t in the upcoming StourFest: the intention is to spend time playing video games in the dilapidated arcade, eat lots of doughnuts on the wasteland of a beach and generally getting up to mischief with Danny, Nora and Grace. It’s especially important as Milo and his mum are moving very soon and life will be very different then.
Currently Milo (a brilliant story teller who has dyslexia) is obsessed with a game called Worm Attack invented in the 1990s and despite being ace at video games he’s never made it past the giant killer worm and always gets eaten up.
From the start of the holiday the children notice weird things: the town’s mayor seems to be stealing huge trays of raw chicken; then Beth the arcade owner falls off the helter skelter roof shouting ‘He’ll come for you too’ and is taken away in an ambulance. Moreover Milo insists something was chasing them in the underground tunnel they’re investigating under the adventure golf course. Surely this story about the killer worm can’t be real – or can it? Convinced that the answer is to be found in the game, Milo persuades his friends to join him on a nightmarish investigation.

This is where I’ll leave them and merely say a life-threatening situation occurs, Milo comes to accept that change is inevitable and that this holiday is one he and his friends will not easily forget. Kathryn Foxfield’s blend of monsters and mayhem, scariness and humour, with occasional pictorial frights from Robin Boyden, will keep readers around Milo’s age on the edge of their seats till the final page.

Terror Tower
Jennifer Killick
Farshore

This is the sixth and final story in the Dread Wood creepy horror series and creepy it most definitely is. We start with Angelo and Gus wandering in the woods reminiscing about how they and three others formed Club Loser, when they come upon Kaya. Following an exchange of the meaty kind, she’s suddenly bitten by hundreds of little caterpillars and ends up in hospital. It turns out these are no ordinary caterpillars; they’re a sub-species of oak processionary caterpillars, so the announcement in assembly informs everyone, going on to remind them all about the meat-free month project the school has taken on.
There’s a strong possibility that the dastardly Latchitts have something to do with this alarming infestation. Then there’s the issue that caterpillars transform into something else which could be even more deadly. It’s time for Club Loser to investigate in the woods even if it means first having a Saturday detention with Mr C. who immediately has suspicions about why they are there.
Once in the woods the friends are suspicious of a masked stranger who watches them from behind a tree. Things go completely downhill when Collette disappears, the other club members are attacked by some sort of poison and end up flat on their backs in hospital; then Mr C is taken away by the police.

At this stage we’re only half way through the book but to learn how this super-scary tale ends, you’ll need to get your hands on a copy and read on, preferably while sipping a cup of Mr C’s favourite ‘hot choccie’.

Colin’s Castle

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Colin’s Castle
Holly Swain
Farshore

Colin is a vampire, an extremely happy one as it’s the day he moves into his new abode – his very own castle with space aplenty and fabulous views. There’s a snag though, a duck shaped one. Said duck is determined to maintain her squatter’s rights. No matter what Colin does, be it indoors or out in the grounds, the duck pops up, even doing so when Colin is in the bathroom having a dump.

So furious is the vampire that he chases the duck out of the castle and then locks and bolts the castle doors. Hurrah! Peace and quiet at last he thinks, but no; the dastardly bird has somehow managed to find a way in again.

Colin devises a clever ruse

and eventually, pretty exhausted from the day’s events and desperately in need of peace and quiet, retires to bed. But his dreams are disturbed by a loud, “Quack”. It can’t possibly be, can it? …
Well, yes and no, for there’s a hilarious final twist that will have young children and adult sharers in fits of giggles

Fearsome fun and full of witty visual details: I especially love the Newton’s cradle and the ultra high factor sunblock.

Amari and the Despicable Wonders

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Amari and the Despicable Wonders
B.B. Alston
Farshore

In the previous story, Amari and the Great Game, Amari had to concede defeat in a contest with Dylan Van Helsing and was left without her magical powers. Now with the League of Magicians and the rival organisation, the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs heading for a decisive showdown, the powerless Amari faces her greatest ever challenge.

As the war intensifies, Quinton, Amari’s elder brother and superstar agent now back on the scene and others from the Bureau are intent on keeping her out of harms way, leaving him to undertake missions. Meanwhile her erstwhile friend and former partner, now her nemesis, Dylan Van Helsing has become head of the League and seems able to outsmart her no matter what she tries. However, Amari is one determined girl and even with the odds against her, she and her loyal group of friends set out to locate their only hope of preventing Dylan from unleashing a new destructive power that would render him invincible. What they need to find is the only source of anti-majik, ancient inventions called Wonders.

The tale twists and turns this way and that to its denouement, which is both poignant and uplifting. And for Amari, it affirms her place in the community she loves. For me as a reader, one of her thoughts near the end particularly resonated: ‘And it makes me hopeful that people might start giving others a chance before judging who they are.’

If you’ve not met Amari et al before, then start with Amari and the Night Brothers and move on to Amari and the Great Game before reading this one.

Billie’s Buzz

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Billie’s Buzz
Alison Brown
Farshore

If it didn’t sound so ridiculous to call a bee adorable I would do so with regard to Billie. When she drops into a little boy’s life she’s searching for a someone who wants a pet: Billie has decided to enter the pet show in the town’s Festival of Talents. As luck would have it, the boy has been looking for a pet though he warns the bee that to enter will mean hard work. Nonetheless the two start getting ready for the events. .

When the big day arrives the boy warns Billie to keep her wings tucked in and make sure she doesn’t buzz. What incredible entries there are for some of the events but then comes the much anticipated pet show. Billie is entered as a ‘miniature, long-eared, yellow-striped fluff-bean.’

With two rounds under her fluff Billie faces the agility round. Her boy issues a reminder to Billie before she sets off and things are going well until the final obstacle – a high wall. After one failure Billie prepares for her second chance and uh-oh! You can guess what she does; and what happens next.

Up steps Billie’s boy; he speaks out for his ‘pet’ and decides to leave. As you might expect, Billie is disqualified but that’s not quite the end of the story.

Following Billie’s adventure is a factual page giving some of the reasons why bees are such an important part of the natural world.

A fun book a-buzz with an abundance of humorous detail on every spread and vital messages about being true to yourself and the importance of friendship.

The Super Sunny Murder Club

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pirates of Darksea / Interdimensional Explorers: Alien Apocalypse

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Pirates of Darksea
Catherine Doyle
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

One night Christopher writes a letter to Captain O’Malley, legendary pirate and ruler of Darksea, a secret kingdom deep in the Atlantic Ocean, begging for adventure for himself and his younger brother Max, but he receives no response. Two years later a parrot appears at Max’s bedroom window with a letter for Christopher – a letter from Captain O’Malley who is to embark on a perilous quest. But Christopher is now ill in hospital fighting for his life. What would you do if there was a possibility of a job with a reward that could help cure your brother? Max joins the parrot in a rowing boat heading for a rendezvous on the Stolen Sunrise.

Imagine the boy’s surprise when he discovers that the captain is a Pirate Queen. She offers him a deal if he’s willing to take the risk and join the crew right away, destination Darksea before the ‘Rogue Wave’ a powerful enemy comes. Of course, Max agrees. However it turns out that the Captain hasn’t told him the whole truth: the magic has dwindled drastically, this monstrous enemy is gobbling up the Darksea island of Maremaris, and the Captain needs a particular sword – the Curse Cutter. A bargain is struck: if Max helps the Captain acquire the sword, he can take some magic for his brother. A perilous task awaits.

What follows is a gripping adventure with mutiny, wraiths, fleeing mermaids and a monstrous shark man. Max’s bravery and love for his brother is the fuel that keeps him going as he faces at times, seemingly impossible challenges. After all he puts himself through though, is it even possible to save his Christopher? I just couldn’t put this down until I found out and I suspect many child readers will do the same. I love how Catherine Doyle ( a new writer to me) weaves humour and the importance of camaraderie into this thoughtful tale; the characters she’s created – human and otherwise – are truly memorable.

Interdimensional Explorers: Alien Apocalypse
Lorraine Gregory, illustrated by Jo Lindley
Farshore

At the start of this second adventure Danny’s Grandad does two things: he announces that he’s going on a cruise with Maureen, his ‘fancy woman’ as Danny’s Mum calls her. He also hands Danny a small package containing a key that means he’s now an official Apprentice Caretaker of the secret Interdimensional Lost Property Office.

Off goes Grandad leaving Danny, his best friend Modge and cousin Inaaya to cope with Returns Day in his absence. Very soon they discover that a very special star has been stolen from the vaults, it’s up to Danny and his team to expose a conspiracy and hopefully, save the whole universe. To do so they have to contend with Goregotha hordes and weird cult members: are they up to it? And who can be trusted? As this quirky intergalactic adventure twists and turns it will surely keep readers riveted as they are sucked into the fantastic world that Lorraine Gregory has created and Jo Lindley illustrated. What I enjoyed most though, was the strong bond between Danny, Inaaya and Modge who have each others’ backs no matter what.
Highly recommended.

Fairy vs Wizard

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Fairy vs. Wizard
Jenny McLachlan
Farshore

Eleven year old Danny, has just started at a new school and, so he writes in his diary, he’s desperate for people there to think he’s cool and funny. The problem is that when he opens his lunch box what does he discover inside but fairy, Stink. She says she’s returned to the Humanyworld for a short break and will go home the following day.She does so but only briefly; next day when Danny returns from school there she is sitting on his bed crying. Danny decides to let her stay till the weekend and so begins another spectacularly silly story.

With an agreement by Stink to keep three simple rules, off go Danny, his friend Kabir and Stink to school next morning and almost immediately on arrival Stink breaks one of the rules causing embarrassment to Danny. Then comes news from Danny’s teacher, Miss Nichol, that his form group is to do an assembly and she has written a play for them to perform. It’s called Nelly the Element and the Wizard of Doom and everybody wants to be the wizard.

However a Stink initiated disaster happens in a different assembly and Danny gets labelled as Disco Danny by his classmates, as well as a lot of others when a video of his dance goes viral. As compensation, Miss Nicol tells Danny he’s to play the wizard and by so doing earn a new title, Danny the Wizard. Then comes an announcement from Stink: her good deed is to invite her wizard friend Rufus Nobeard, to come and give Danny wizarding lessons.

With the revelation that Rufus has changed, and on account of crimes committed is now a wanted wizard, things get increasingly chaotic. (I won’t spoil things and reveal what happens thereafter.) Amazingly though, everything ends happily, but I hope, not, ever after, as the series is such fun. I found myself giggling at every turn of the page and so will primary school readers of this second hilarious book of daft diary entries liberally sprinkled with author Jenny’s comical black and white illustrations.

Marnie Midnight and the Moon Mystery

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Marnie Midnight and the Moon Mystery
Laura Ellen Anderson
Farshore

Having loved both of Laura’s Amelia Fang and Rainbow Grey series, I was probably predisposed to like this, the first in her magical new series set in a world of minibeasts. It most certainly lives up to my expectations.

Meet Marnie Midnight; she’s just metamorphosed into a moth and is mega excited about going to Minibeast Academy for the first time, especially as her hero, Lunora Wingheart is, or possibly was, an alumna. On the journey to school she meets not quite a bee, Floyd (an A not a bee, so he tells Marnie). Marnie is eager to learn about the moon and especially the moon magic in the book of Moon Spells that Lunora told the world about before her disappearance.

However when she asks her form teacher, Mr Atlas, whether the moon is in the first year curriculum she receives the response. “There will be no talk of the moon in this school.” She soon finds that other teachers and many pupils don’t believe in moon magic. Why? Marnie wonders.

Another of the first year pupils is Star Vonstrosity, an ant princess who snubs Marnie initially. During their lunch break while Marnie and Floyd are exploring, they come upon first an old tunnel entrance with the words ‘Entry For Den’ and then a no-longer used area with a sign saying Moon Club on the door. When they enter, there is Star and a new friendship develops.

Very soon Marnie senses that something extremely weird is going on and she’s determined to discover what. With her two allies, Marnie begins a thrilling quest, a quest that before long, leads them to a realisation that Mr Atlas has destructive plans where the moon is concerned. Can the three friends pull off Operation save the moon?

This is a fast moving story told with humour (“Never trust an earthworm with a jetpack” is a line I won’t forget), a degree of tension, and lots of charm. With her unique imagination Laura has created another fabulous world with a cast of wonderful characters: Marnie is determined, brave, loyal and not afraid to say what she thinks; Star is full of surprises and Floyd a dapper delight. The illustrations are brilliant with lots of fun details. Seamlessly woven into this wonderful world are real life minibeast details and facts. What more can any young reader want? A happy ending maybe – we have that too.

Seven Days / Dread Wood: Fright Bite

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Seven Days
Rebeka Shaid
Walker Books

The author’s debut young adult novel about families and grief is set in Bristol and takes place over seven days ((apart from an epilogue one year on). The book is told from the viewpoints of Noori and Aamir, both of whom have recently lost those closest to them. Noori’s older cousin and best friend died while in Lahore and Aamir’s mother has died eight months ago and he has fallen out with his father. In a few days despite her own father’s disapproval, Noori plans to fly off to spend some time in Pakistan, staying with her aunt in the hope of getting some kind of closure .The seemingly more troubled Aamir has just been beaten up and robbed while on a train from Cardiff to see his older brother Bilal.

Their first encounter is on a park bench and Noori mistakes the boy for a university student as he’s holding a book of Rumi’s poems. The following day, she heads to the park and there lying on the bench is Aamir. Is he homeless after all, she wonders. They start talking and Noori offers him chai. He accepts her offer and rather than taking him to a cafe, Noori takes him to her home. She also calls her disapproving friend and neighbour, Mai, to join them and tells her mother that Aamir is a cousin of Mai’s.

Strangely, Noori feels drawn to him and their meetings continue. Aamir, meanwhile keeps going to his brother’s home but nobody ever answers the door so he is forced to sleep on the bench. Gradually the two reveal things to one another that they won’t share with anybody else.

But then the day before Noori is due to fly off to Lahore, an ailing Aamir has a fall and is rushed to hospital and into intensive care and may well not survive.

I won’t reveal how the book ends but I was swept up in the story of these two teenagers – a story of first love – as I’m sure many readers of around Noori’s age will be. I look forward to more from Rebeka Shaid; this is an intensely moving debut novel.

Dread Wood: Fright Bite
Jennifer Killick
Farshore

When Club Loser members learn of the plan Colette’s mum and Mr C have set in motion for the gang to celebrate Colette’s thirteenth birthday, which includes a kitty for ‘noms and spends’ it seems that they’re about to experience the best night ever. Neon Perch, here they come. Nothing can possibly go wrong, can it? After all the dastardly Latchitts are in prison so it’s safe to say the friends can enjoy Battle Karts, pizzas at Uccellino’s and, highlight of the excursion, the Project Z escape room experience.

Highlight it definitely isn’t however. With such things as scritchy scratchy, slime dripping creatures on the prowl, and the reappearance of their arch enemies, it would appear that the escape room knows the greatest fear of each player. Assuredly this is one birthday Colette won’t forget in a hurry.

At once scary and funny, older readers will find themselves gripped by Jennifer Killick’s fast-paced, twisting narrative, ticking clock, gigantic poisonous rats and all.

An Animal A Day

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An Animal A Day
Miranda Smith, illustrated by Kaja Kajfež, Santiago Calle, Mateo Markov & Max Rambaldo
Red Shed

Following A Dinosaur a Day, author Miranda Smith turns her attention to wild creatures of all shapes and sizes.

My first port of call was the date this book arrived in the post – 27th October – where the featured creature was the Eastern Water-Holding Frog found in eastern Australia. This small carnivorous amphibian, I discovered, ‘aestivates’ when it becomes too hot and dry … burrowing underground and making itself a water-conserving cocoon from mucus, only breaking out when it rains, which could be several years later. This frog shares a double spread with five other animals, each of which exhibits a form of hibernation, another type of dormancy.

A number of double spreads are thematic, whereas others are devoted to a single animal. One such is Red Deer (16th November). This date is during the two month rutting season and the sound of stags bellowing and clashing antlers with rival males is one I frequently hear in Bushy Park.


I was surprised to meet one of the world’s biggest tortoises, Española giant tortoise, a resident of Española island off the coast of Ecuador. This herbivorous shelled reptile can be as much as a metre long and weigh 70kg, and may spend as much as two thirds of each day at rest. Sadly this tortoise is among the critically endangered animals.

No matter where you open the book (one suggestion given is that you start on your birthday), you will find something of interest as you visit our planet’s amazing ecosystems and habitats and discover how the native animals are able to thrive, or at least survive. Each one is strikingly illustrated by one of the named artists.
Readers concerned especially with conservation of the threatened species, will find information about how we can all contribute to their survival. Back matter includes a quiz, glossary and index.

Catch! / Hello Winter

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Catch!
Trish Cooke and Ken Wilson-Max
Alanna Max

This is a delightful story wherein we join Kiona and her Mum playing catch one sunny afternoon. When the little girl finds her ball too big, they try all kinds of other objects such as a berry and an apple

but nothing works for Kiona. Back indoors, Mum offers Kiona an ice cream, but you can guess where it ends up;

even the bubbles at bath time elude the child. Happily though, Mum knows the perfect thing that assuredly her daughter can catch; it’s something that stays with Kiona for ever: what could it be?

A lovely read aloud for preschoolers; it has everything you could ask for: repetition, opportunities to encourage mathematical thinking that can be taken up again when playing outdoors, as well as Ken Wilson-Max’s vibrant illustrations that show Kiona’s changing feelings so clearly.

Yet another example of Alanna Max’s pitch perfect picture books for under fives.

Hello Winter
Jo Lindley
Farshore

The fourth in the Best Friends With Big Feelings series wherein each title is set in the natural world of Season Isle and features four magical friends, the focus being on a different seasonal character.each time. Now it’s time for Autumn to pass the weather crown to Winter but instead he gives it to Spring, saying that the others don’t like playing her frosty, freezing games. Upset, Winter walks off to play snowy games by herself. Solo play isn’t fun though, and the bunnies she tries to involve are not interested.

However, her three pals soon start feeling troubled about what they’ve done and decide to search for their friend. It’s a really chilly journey they make but can they find Winter and put things right between them once more? Maybe, but Spring, Summer and Autumn will need to feel warm if that crown is to be bestowed upon its rightful wearer.

In this, the series concluder, the life lessons the friends share with young children are about the importance of turn taking and empathy

Deadly Deep

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Deadly Deep
Jennifer Killick
Farshore

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pick A Story: A Superhero + Mermaid + Dragon Adventure

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Pick A Story: A Superhero + Mermaid + Dragon Adventure
Sarah Coyle and Adam Walker-Parker
Farshore

This is the third in the interactive picture book series that encourages children to read in a different way, inviting them to use their imagination and direct the route the story takes. Herein Sarah Coyle and Adam Walker-Parker have integrated a superhero, mermaids and dragons into a tale to recover an important drawing of a bicycle.

It begins as Davy is on his way to school proudly clutching his best ever picture for Show and Tell when suddenly the picture vanishes. Was the taker a superhero stuck for creative inspiration, a fiery dragon, marauding mermaids perhaps; and can any of these be of assistance in Davy’s search for the missing article?

Along with enjoying Sarah’s lively text with its word play aplenty and choosing the narrative direction, readers are invited to give thought to a number of questions that relate to the text and Adam Walker-Parker’s zany, eye-catching scenes: ‘What would you buy if you had five sea gems to spend?, ’What’s your super-cool handshake?’

and ‘What’s your favourite thing to do with a friend?’

Decision making is an important skill for children to learn and this story and the previous ones are a super way to foster this; with a diverse cast of characters, the book will appeal to a lot of readers. Add to family bookshelves and KS1 class collections – I wonder what might happen if two children read the book together?

Barry Loser Double Trouble!

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Barry Loser Double Trouble!
Jim Smith
Farshore

Here we have three more supremely silly episodes in the life of the boy with an unfortunate surname and his entourage.

The first, Doppelbärry, sees complete consternation among those on their way to school, when they are summoned to Mogden Square to receive an announcement from the owner of Fronkle Corp regarding the substitution of their favourite drink Fronke with a new, and so the company would have it believe, improved version. Moreover, any remaining cans of the original have been destroyed. Surely things can’t get any worse.

Actually, they can ,for when they arrive at school, their teacher announces the arrival of a newbie in the class, one Harry Doozer, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Barry.

Harry and his family have just moved into the neighbourhood.
From then on the day goes from awful to atrocious ,with some temporary hairlessness, until that is, the gang members pay a visit to a recently opened antique shop, after which things begin to look a whole lot better …

Episode two has Barry judging The short story telling competition during which some pretty terrible tales are told, one starring Bogey and Poopoo with an ending that leaves one of the two characters devastated.

Think Big, episode three, involves these letters DEENTH – gigantic ones at that – and the strong possibility of being stuck inside Darren Darrenofski’s brain forever. Clearly that can’t happen or we’d have no more totally ridunkulous stories featuring Barry et al. – no the adjective I just used is not a misprint, but my made up word, invented long before a very similar one that occurs herein.

Nonsensical surreal absurdity that will be a winner for the countless, already established fans of Barry and no doubt bag him a fair few new followers too.

Smugglers’ Fox

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Smugglers’ Fox
Susanna Bailey
Farshore


It took just a few minutes for Susanna Bailey’s wonderful word weaving to engulf me in a cocoon, unwilling to emerge until this story, with Keith Robinson’s splendid cover illustration, reached its conclusion.


Johan (nearly eleven) considers it is his role to look after his four year old brother Rio, especially after an incident on the beach, following which their Mam disappears and the social workers say she isn’t coming back this time.


It’s not long before Johan learns that the two of them are to be split up and he is to go and live with long-term foster carer, Mimi, in a little house at Robin Hood’s Bay. ‘I need a plan … me and Rio are stitched together like threads in a jumper . If they pull us apart , we’ll both unravel, and we won’t be Rio or Jonah any more. We won’t be anything,’ he tells readers, going on to call himself ‘Bad-Luck Jonah,’ Nevertheless move he has to, but not before making an unbreakable pinkie-promise to Rio that he has a plan.

At Mimi’s Johan spends a lot of his time making a book of illustrated stories for his brother to show he’s not forgotten him and because it’s part of his three part plan. The second part is being co-operative and helpful to Mimi and the third is trying not to worry about the sea. It’s far from easy when Mimi takes him for a walk to buy something tasty for a treat and while they’re out, a fox suddenly appears, a hungry-looking one, which Johan can’t help but feed. So begins the building of a bond between boy and fox.


Then Mimi shows Johan Grandpa Ted’s secret box containing what might be a treasure map: could this help him keep this promise to Rio? But then things get too much for the boy; he runs off and as a result meets Freddie in what he learns is his Dad’s allotment. Freddie is also familiar with the fox and it turns out that Mimi knows Freddie too. The more time Johan spends with his new friend, the more he’s convinced that Freddie is hiding something.and eventually he shares his troubles with Johan.


A few days later, Johan finds himself in a very dangerous situation and as he says, ‘Digging for Rio, For my friend Freddie. Digging for my life.’


Sometimes the way Johan describes his feelings is so poignant I felt raw inside, but this book ends with the boy accepting things he never thought he could because ‘whatever happens, we’re always part of one another. Jonah, Rio, Freddie. And the smugglers’ fox.’ That is because this haunting story comes from the heart, not only Jonah’s but that of Susanna Bailey too, for she was once a fostering and adoption social worker.

Squishy McFluff’s Camping Adventure / Hello Summer

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Squishy McFluff’s Camping Adventure
Pip Jones and Ella Okstad
Faber

Ava and her Dad, plus of course Squishy McFluff, Ava’s invisible cat, are off on a weekend camping trip. They appear to have packed the car with everything but the kitchen sink, so how have they managed to leave the tent behind? Apparently Ava was aware of the omission but decided to keep quiet so they would end up having to build a den to sleep in.

This she starts to do as soon as they reach the campsite. While collecting leaves and branches, she encounters a boy who introduces himself as Idris; his dog is Farida and they so they say, are ace den builders. Ava challenges Idris to see who can build the best den and off they go, amassing the materials;

it looks as if it’s going to be a fierce competition, though Idris does his best to be friendly. Ava however has a trick up her sleeve.

What will the outcome be? Could the two rivals perhaps join forces and even become friends?

Author Pip Jones’ rhythmic, rhyming text is fun and reads aloud well and Ella Okstad’s scenes of the very visible action, and the mischief on Ava’s part, are the perfect accompaniment to the words.

Hello Summer
Jo Lindley
Farshore

This is the third in the Best Friends With Big Feelings series wherein the seasons of the year have taken on human form and are best friends. When the season changes, the crown is passed from one friend to another and the crown wearer leads their games.

All four Little Seasons are excited as they gather ‘neath the Tick Tock Tree for Spring to pass the weather crown to Summer. With the long days and bright sun, the friends decide to visit the beach so they load up their cart with summery supplies and head off. The journey proves to be rather eventful; the four try to look on the bright side when plans start going haywire, but eventually tempers fray.

Once at their destination, everybody’s mood is upbeat again and Winter suggests they build a sandcastle. What a splendid one they make but once again, disaster strikes and the result is a very angry Summer.

Time once again to use that calming technique, Spring has shown him.

Before long Summer is ready to apologise to his understanding friends and the day ends happily.
Demonstrating the importance of having empathetic, supportive, friends especially when angry feelings arise, this is a fun summery story to share and talk about with young children, either at home or in the classroom.

Captain Looroll

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Captain Looroll
Matt Carr
Farshore

She’s ready for anything, so Captain Looroll declares on the day of her birth but she probably hadn’t anticipated a mundane existence such as the one she finds herself faced with, stuck on a holder hanging on the wall in the toilet under the stairs, of all boring places.

Equally bored are her close chums Ray the spray and Barbara Bogbrush. Victoria Sponge however remains more upbeat, frequently stating that ‘something’s bound to happen.’ and happen it does in the form of ToiletTROLL from the upstairs bathroom.

Word of a mission comes from above via the downpipe and after something of a struggle the downstairs buddies make it up to the scene of the chaotic bathroom where something green and cylindrical, aka TT, is creating complete havoc. Indeed he’s fast turning the entire house into a powerfully pooey, gooey viridescent residence.

As things unroll at a rapid rate, it’s evident that one of the two rolls is so much more than mere tissue; as well as heart and soul, she’s quick-thinking and super-resourceful.

Can she and her crew see off that dastardly supervillain once and for all: you bet! However there’s still a considerable amount of wiping that requires doing.

Replete with bum-clenchingly excruciating puns this is a hilarious read aloud that will have children wriggling on their bottoms in delight as they cheer for the hero and her gang and giggle at Matt Carr’s vibrant, action-packed scenes. Bathroom visits will never seem the same once you’ve met the cast of this crazy book: this is toilet humour of the first order. Roll on the next adventure.

My Mummies Built a Treehouse / Amazing Mum

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My Mummies Built a Treehouse
Gareth Peter and Izzy Evans
Lantana

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

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

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

Amazing Mum
Alison Brown
Farshore

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

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

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

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

Monster Hunting: Monsters Bite Back

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Monster Hunting: Monsters Bite Back
Ian Mark, illustrated by Louis Ghibault
Farshore

In this second of the zany adventure series, Jack, his best friend Nancy and grumpy, 200-year-old monster hunter Stoop, head off to Scotland where certain monsters are misbehaving.If you’ve read Monster Hunting for Beginners you will know that when monsters start doing that, it’s the job of monster hunters to sort them out.

The monsters in Scotland are causing trouble and making life extremely difficult for the Sisters of Perpetual Misery, the nuns who reside in the ancient Muckle Abbey.

Said nuns have such apt names as Nun the Wiser, Nun Whatsoever, None of This, None of That, Nun of the Above (what fun the author must have had inventing those and others). If they move from their home, which just happens to be above the underworld, it will be THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT.

This task is fraught with obstacles including discontented ghosts, fog goblins, strange loch monsters (maybe they’ll even encounter Nessie) and a newly established and hence rival, hunting agency, which Nancy may or may not join. Not to mention dodgy bowls of cabbage.

Can our favourite monster hunters save the day and hence, the nuns? I truly wish them the beast of Loch with this challenge.

Enormous, or rather monstrous, fun, which is added to by Louis Ghibault’s hilarious illustrations, plus the intermittent lessons about monsters provided throughout the story.

Pick A Story: A Dinosaur + Unicorn + Robot Adventure

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Pick A Story: A Dinosaur + Unicorn + Robot Adventure
Sarah Coyle and Adam Walker-Parker
Farshore

The second in this interactive picture book choose your own adventure series offers another array of possibilities.

It’s Gwen’s birthday and Dad has made a cake; not the train shape she’d hoped for but it looked pretty tasty all the same. However with the party about to begin, said cake vanishes. Now what? Readers have three crazy starting points for the birthday girl’s search: could the thief be a unicorn from up in the clouds, a confection-loving robot in robot city

or perhaps a ravenous dinosaur roaming on a savannah?

Sarah’s super-lively text contains alliteration aplenty, a sprinkling of onomatopoeia and generous helpings of other playful language. And, in addition to choosing how the narrative plays out, readers are invited to consider various questions that feed into the action:’What amazing robot ability would you like to have?’; ‘Which cloud cake would you like to nibble?’;

Which ballistic bake would you eat? (in dino-land).
Adam Walker-Parker’s humorous illustrations are equally energetic, full of comical characters and decisions to make on every spread.
Another dead cert winner of a book that gives and gives and keeps on giving as it sends readers backwards and forwards through its pages. And what of the cake? Will Gwen find that which she seeks? I wonder …

Johnny Ball International Football Genius / The Naughtiest Unicorn and the Firework Festival

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Johnny Ball International Football Genius
Matt Oldfield, illustrated by Tim Wesson
Walker Books

In this third title in the hugely funny Johnny Ball series, the nine year old football manager has perhaps his biggest challenge yet: to take the Tissbury Tigers all the way to becoming winners of the WORLDIES (aka the World Youth Championships). Just imagine the headlines in the local paper. There’s a big problem though, Johhny’s elder brother, the mega-talented striker Daniel has been injured – a broken tibia – and has been instructed to rest for two months. 

However, with their victory in the play-off match, the Tigers are on their way to Capdevila in Spain. Next comes organising their coaching team and after that, the players. With four needed to make the squad complete, it’s time for a team trial. Job done, and with packing also complete, the journey begins.

Arrival means that Johnny’s brain must go into overdrive as the matches get under way. With three results in the group table, the Tigers reach the semi-finals and after a day of rest, must play the Lions. 

What happens thereafter, I will leave readers to find out and just assure them that so doing is definitely worth it.

Full of hilarious moments and some nail-biting ones, this story, with Tim Wesson’s rib-tickling black and white illustrations, will most certainly be a winner with young soccer enthusiasts.

The Naughtiest Unicorn and the Firework Festival
Pip Bird, illustrated by David O’Connell
Farshore

Having missed the Diwali extravaganza, Mira is really excited about the forthcoming firework festival at Unicorn School, especially as she’ll be watching with her unicorn Dave. Once there though, Mira finds out something upsetting: there are to be no fireworks. Surely that can’t be right?

Step forward DI Mira Desai to try and solve this mystery. It doesn’t help matters that Dave has already managed to get himself covered in sticky caramel after immersing himself in the toffee apple mixture in the cauldron; but the investigation must go ahead no matter what. That means Mira and Dave must track down the ‘Lightning Bugs’ that live in the Fearsome Forest. Said creatures love to put on magical light shows with their glowing bums and the key to getting the bugs to perform is to make them laugh. Off go Red Class plus unicorns into the forest … 

But what will make those bugs laugh? It’s certainly not going to be straightforward.

With a considerable number of rear end emanations from Dave, this latest episode starring Mira and Dave will provide plenty of fizzing fun and frolics for fans of the series whenever they read it.

Snow White and other Grimms’ Fairytales / A Fairytale for Everyone

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Snow White and other Grimms’ Fairytales
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by MinaLima
Harper 360

Twenty fairy tales are given the design team, MinaLima (Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima) treatment in this glorious collection. What this means in short is wonderfully imaginative artwork exquisitely detailed and engaging design with interactive elements (nine herein), bring to life timeless stories including, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood (Little Red-Cap),The Frog Prince and The Elves and the Shoemaker.

You will delight in such surprises as the awesomely intricate thicket surrounding the castle the prince must deal with to release Sleeping Beauty from her slumbers, a pop up tower that climbs right out of the book in Rapunzel, with a prince you can make climb up her golden hair – possibly my favourite.

A close contender though, is the pop-out house in Hansel and Gretel that opens into a diorama of the interior with a kitchen and a wicked witch waiting to lure the two children inside.
It’s good to see that ethnicity has also been a consideration in the portrayal of the characters, some of whom have brown or black skin: Red Riding Hood is shown as black, for example.

With vividly coloured illustrations, both large and small throughout, this book is one for keeping and for giving. With the festive season fast approaching, it would make a magical Christmas present.

A Fairytale for Everyone
edited by Boldizsár M. Nagy, illustrated by Lilla Bölecz
Farshore

This groundbreaking collection of seventeen re-imagined traditional stories was highly controversial when originally published in Hungary on account of its inclusive nature. However because LGBTQ+ characters are featured it rapidly became a symbol in the fight for equality and against discrimination in Hungary and received a great deal of support both in the country and outside.

You’ll find stories that push back the boundaries of traditional gender roles showing how heroes can be any shape or size, princesses enormously powerful such as Margaret the Giant Slayer. In the final story written in rhyme, a prince finds true love, not with the blonde princess presented to him, but with her equally fair brother.

I loved the reworking of the Thumbelina tale of Little Lina who discovers what being big really means when she meets a fairy prince, small in stature like herself.

A true celebration of diversity that will likely appeal most to those with an interest in traditional tales.

I Did See A Mammoth! / The Grizzled Grist Does Not Exist!

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I Did See A Mammoth!
Alex Willmore
Farshore

A research team – three adults and a child – are in the Antarctic exploring. The adults are looking for penguins; not so the child narrator who insists: ‘But I’m going to see a MAMMOTH.’

Setting out alone the little protagonist comes upon a skateboarding mammoth. ‘Mammoths are extinct. And I’m pretty sure they’re not even from around here.’ is the response of one of the researchers. ‘Are you sure it wasn’t a wonderful … penguin?’
More determined than ever to prove it was a mammoth, the child sallies forth again and sees in turn the mammoth skateboarding wearing a frilly pink tutu doing ballet and the mammoth sporting a scuba mask submerged underwater.

Still no one believes the child and a shouting match ensues. Followed soon after by a full on tantrum by the youngster. This results in the ice cracking, an avalanche and a surprise revelation for some of the party. The final twist is huge fun and the book concludes with a brief note about both mammoths and penguins. Adult readers aloud will love sharing this humorous tale and listeners will relish shouting ‘Mammoth’ at every opportunity, as the child’s indignation turns to anger. Alex’s illustrations are superbly expressive, especially the penguins every one of which is a visual treat.

A super wintry book.

The Grizzled Grist Does Not Exist!
Juliette Maclver and Sarah Davis
Gecko Press

Ms Whiskersniff, Ms Whisk for short, having assessed her pupils’ forest skills, takes her class trekking up the Dismal Hills. When shy Liam announces that he’s good at hiding, he’s told, “You can’t call that a skill”. Really? Soon the group pass a sign announcing the Grizzled Grist; Liam attempts to draw Ms Whisk’s attention to it and is immediately given the titular response, “The Grizzled Grist does not exist.”

So what has made the very large footprints that Hider, Liam (now camouflaged) urges his teacher to take notice of? You can guess what he’s told, in no uncertain terms. Lunchtime comes and goes with the occasional near disaster and eventually after trudging for much of the day it’s time to think about wending their way back. Liam meanwhile has gone into hiding up a tree and from this vantage point he spots something alarming. Yet again, the teacher will have none of it and back they continue to trek until …

Catastrophe! Thank goodness Liam is so good at hiding; but can one small boy possibly save all of 2B and Ms Whisk from the clutches of the gruesome Grizzled Grist?

Juliette MacIver’s rhythmic rhyming text tells a witty, playful tale that is humorously illustrated in scenes that show much more than the words say, especially regarding the characters. I love the endpapers.

Narwhal’s School of Awesomeness / The Lola Bee Bop / The Snotty Dribbler

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Narwhal’s School of Awesomeness
Ben Clanton
Farshore

School has never been so much fun as it is when having followed the fishy pupils (love their names) of the Aquatic Academy to their place of learning, Narwhal and Jelly find that lessons are cancelled on account of staff sickness and volunteer to become substitute educators – Narwhal as Professor Knowell and Jelly as his ‘sort of super teacher’.

The first subject the best friends offer is Wafflematics – a tasty way of learning about basic addition if you’re a fish

(and a splendid incidental vocabulary lesson for readers of this sixth Jelly and Narwhal book). Next up is a spot of science, which takes the form of a fact-finding scavenger hunt with the class split into two teams and a yummy surprise for the winners.

Break is spent playing a game of Tag and then, when it’s a toss up between Jelly’s art and Narwhal’s writing as the next lesson, what better way to settle their difference of opinion than with a comic, co-created by teachers and class members – a new episode of the Super Waffle and Strawberry Sidekick Comic series involving a teacher-eating mucus monster. Everybody has so much fun that the day whizzes by in the flash of a fin: assuredly the teaching is unconventional (something that often works well if you happen to be doing a bit of supply in an unknown school); and of course, each lesson is taught with Jelly and Narwhal’s own brand of humour and positivity (further requisites of supply teaching, I suggest). I wonder what grade Narwhal receives from his teacher – that you’ll have to find out from this fun-packed, fact-filled book.

Some of the fun comes from the way that when one fish says something, each of the others responds with a synonym or variation on the word – incidental learning of the memorable kind for young readers. A gigglesome delight from start to FIN!

The Lola Bee Bop
John Dougherty, illustrated by Pauline Gregory
The Snotty Dribbler
Effua Gleed, illustrated by Kamala Nair
Bloomsbury Education

These are additions to the Bloomsbury Young Readers series.
Told in rhyme the engaging jaunty The Lola Bee Bop tells of Lola, a bee that just can’t resist waggling her bottom in bee bop time as she works hard among the flowers. When distaster strikes in the form of their favourite flowers being mown, at the queen’s behest Lola joins her fellow bees in search of more blooms from which to collect nectar and pollen. Eventually they find just the ideal field, collect the necessary and return to the hive. But how will they ever find the way back to those flowers again?

Could this be where Lola’s waggling really comes into its own?

Lots of fun, some gentle scientific learning and splendidly expressive illustrations by Pauline Gregory.

The Snotty Dribbler is seven year old Blay’s name for his baby sister who at fifteen months old frequently annoys her brother intensely especially with her snot, dribbles and fits of crying just when it’s his TV watching time. Oh how Blay wishes for some time apart from this little person. But then when something happens causing baby Bethany to need to spend the night in hospital with his mother, he really starts to miss her; clearly he doesn’t mind her as much as he’d first thought.

A new sibling story, sweetly and simply related with Blay’s emotions evident throughout, made all the more so through Kamala Nair’s bold illustrations.

That’s Nice Love / Dare We Be Dragons?

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That’s Nice, Love
Owen Gent
Book Island

We’ve all seen it many times and probably on occasion been guilty of what the adult in this book does when she accompanies her small child to the park. So distracted is the parent by her mobile that she fails to take a single scrap of notice of anything the excited child says about climbing the big tree.
As the boy ascends he has the most amazing adventures – or perhaps flights of fancy. First a multitude of butterflies dance before him as he gazes skywards; then comes an orchestral recital by a group of squirrels,

followed by a scary moment with snakes. To compensate for that though, a troop of monkeys crowns him king, he helps a super-sleek leopard and becomes its friend and finally, he flies with a bird. As he excitedly informs his parent of each event the child receives merely the response, ‘That’s nice, love.’

On the way home, the boy tells the parent that he sometimes feels distant despite their physical closeness and when the two eventually reach home, the child seems to have got through to the adult by revealing a few items he’s collected.
He’s then invited to regale the entire adventure again. Will that parent do what is promised on future excursions; I hope so …

Portable screens may seem amazing but are no match for the richness of a child’s imagination, stimulated by the wonders of the natural world that may be found in the branches of a single tree.
Owen Gent gives his imagination full rein in a series of sublime sequences that explore and expand the spare verbal narrative.

Also celebrating the imagination is

Dare We Be Dragons?
Barry Falls
Farshore

As a father prepares to bid his daughter goodnight, he embarks on an exciting sequence of flights of fancy, each of which arises out of seemingly ordinary everyday things or events. For when these two go adventuring together even such things as a grassy hill walk becomes a huge erupting volcano, tree trunks morph into giants’ legs and a playground swing is the means for launching them on a moon flight and a sandy shore becomes a place whereon lions play.

There’s a sequence of spreads where Barry Falls splits each one into two : the verso shows the everyday reality and the recto, a show-stoppingly imagined fantasy that occupies the entire page drawing the reader right into the adventure.

Along with a wealth of wonderful worlds to explore so vividly shown, there is a more understated portrayal of the loving bond between parent and child. For this is a playful, supportive father who promises always to be there through the years that constitute that wonderful adventure called life; and so he says in the rhyming narrative that complements those splendidly spirited illustrations.

An Unexpected Thing / Hello Autumn

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An Unexpected Thing
Ashling Lindsay
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Little Fred is a fearful child. Unlike most of us who feel frightened from time to time, Fred is fearful almost always, so he spends his days and nights in fear of such things as unexpected loud noises and shadowy shapes
Surprisingly one day a spot appears and unsurprisingly Fred hides himself away, too afraid to look directly at it. Coco also sees the same spot when standing close by in the garden, but her reaction is quite different for what she sees is totally different.

She decides that she can help Fred by trying to get him to see things from her viewpoint. For instance if Fred sees a moon blasted from its orbit whereas Coco sees it as a wind born bubble bobbing along: Fred sees a catastrophic comet, Coco a balloon bearing a birthday wish. Eventually after some discussion, fearful Fred and fearless Coco agree that the spherical object could have been anything.

As a result Fred now feels ready to face his fear.
When something else unknown comes along Fred is able to do something he’d never have done without Coco’s support: he joins her in a voyage of discovery. A friend can make all the difference when it comes to facing things that make us feel unsure or frightened.

This smashing story about finding the courage to go out and explore the world is touching and empowering. Ashling’s use of different perspectives for her beautiful scenes underscores the different viewpoints of the two characters.

On a similar theme is

Hello Autumn
Jo Lindley
Farshore

This story (the second in a sequence) features four friends – the Little Seasons – Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter in human form. As the book opens they realise that Summer must hand the weather crown to Autumn so the new season can begin. Doing so triggers changes such as the appearance of a chill mist and the heavens turning from green to golden yellow; the friends feel the call of adventure.
Some fun games ensue on the way to the Tick Tock Tree for a leaf romp but the sighting of ripe juicy blackberries causes them to pause and three friends start feasting. Not so Autumn: he worries about such possibilities as pricking a finger, or becoming entangled in the brambles.

A similar thing happens each time one of the others suggests trying something new: what his friends see as fun games, Autumn sees as worrying situations. His weather crown weighs heavy.
When the four reach the Tick Tock Tree with its abundance of fallen leaves, Autumn’s fear mounts even higher as a cascade of terrifying ‘what-ifs’ invade his thoughts. Suddenly there’s a cry for help. Summer is stuck on a branch. What happens after that involves teamwork, resulting in a jumbled tumble and a fear-releasing realisation for Autumn. What a relief; now he’s ready to face the world.

Vibrantly coloured scenes accompany an important message about facing your fears with the support of friends. A cute story and also some gentle learning about seasonal change that’s just right for sharing with foundation stage children.

Sona Sharma: A Friend Indeed / Barry Loser Worst School Trip Ever

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Sona Sharma: A Friend Indeed
Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Jen Khatun
Walker Books

Sona is in a state of emotional turmoil. Her family is busy planning a first birthday celebration for her little sister Minmini causing Sona to feel left out and her class teacher has just announced an election for their class leader. Sona puts herself forward to stand as she wants to prevent Pradeep from becoming their leader but this has caused her to be at odds with both of her best friends. Joy has also put herself up as a candidate and Renu seems to be taking her side. This is one of those instances when Sona has acted before thinking things through and now she must face fighting against her best friend whom she knows would be a great class leader.

Can her beloved stuffed toy Elephant and the President (Sona’s other grandmother) help her decide what to do so that the rift between the three girls can be healed allowing them all to enjoy doing something special for Minmini’s birthday?

Set in Tamil Nadu, as always with these stories warmth, loving relationships and gentle humour are key ingredients, and readers also learn something of the traditions and foods of Sona’s Hindu family. A delightful addition to this series of illustrated chapter books for younger readers.

Barry Loser Worst School Trip Ever
Jim Smith
Farshore

The Barry Loser series reaches its stupendously silly ninth book with this one. Now with baby brother Desmond most decidedly ruling the household at breakfast time, Barry sets out for school anticipating a dreadfully boring visit to a museum with his classmates; the aim being to find out about the history of television.

It seems as though Barry’s worst fears about the trip will be realised unless he and his mates can pull off their plan; the intention being to sneak out of the museum and onto the set of Future Ratboy

What unfolds is not quite what Barry hopes but there’s a plethora of daft pranks, one involving a gathering of grannies in a loo queue, a grossness of egg and cress sandwiches of the minuscule kind and a large spattering of jokes about bodily functions, as well as a crazy cartoonish drawing on each page, all of which fans of the stories will love.

Amari and the Great Game

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Amari and the Great Game
B.B. Alston
Farshore

In this second book starring Amari Peters, the young magician turned thirteen and almost a year has passed since she proved that magicians can be good. Now as a Junior Agent at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, excited to be there for her summer internship, she has another mystery to solve. Following a time freeze that’s over in a moment, the Supernatural World Congress is trapped in time as are many of Georgia’s schools. Who can be responsible for such a terrible happening – a powerful magician? That is definitely the belief of the new temporary heads of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs.

Turning to the secret League of Magicians in the hope of receiving help, Amari receives instead the
offer of the Crown of Count Vladimir. However she doesn’t feel ready to accept the powers that come with this and so turns it down. This allows another to step forward, someone with very dangerous plans. Nevertheless, in a determined attempt to save her brother from the curse he is under and to prevent war between the League and the Bureau, she agrees to face the other challenger in the Great Game, the winner of which takes the crown. So begins the deadly competition. Fortunately for Amari, her best friend Elsie (who, she has just learned, is heading off to Oxford for a year) and some other allies are there to help her save the world again.

Combining magic and realism, B.B. Alston’s superbly crafted first person narrative is a terrific sequel, adroitly interweaving magic with real-world issues of discrimination and mis-information. Exciting and hugely satisfying, this is a truly immersive read with some wonderful characters.

You need To Chill! / I Believe in Me

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You Need to Chill!
Juno Dawson and Laura Hughes
Farshore

The narrator of this upbeat rhyming picture book has an older brother, Bill; but her friends haven’t seen him for a while and want to know what has happened: where is he? They put forward all manner of possibilities that could account for his absence but from our narrator come denials that all end “And, hun you need to chill.”

However these friends are persistent, caring and determined, till finally comes the revelation, “… The truth is that my brother Bill … is now my sister Lily.’ Yes it may have been something of a shock initially but despite her new name and looks, much remains the same: she’s still as kind, funny and clever as ever; her family all love her.

Both Juno Dawson’s words and Laura Hughes’ pictures are full of warmth and a gentle humour: with its themes of identity, kinship and acceptance this inclusive story beautifully conveys its message in a manner that allows young children to take what they need and ask questions if they want further explanations. Fiction books such as this one are a very good way of opening discussion with primary children in PSHE sessions: such discussions help children learn that differences make the world a much more interesting place.

I Believe In Me
Emma Dodd
Templar Books

In conversation as the two swim together through the swampy landscape, a little crocodile speaks of the self belief the Mother crocodile has instilled in her offspring. Knowing one can do anything if only you try; the importance of never giving up if something goes wrong, as well as telling yourself that those dark days are always followed by brighter ones if you keep reaching for the sky, are key for little humans as well as little crocodiles. That way keeps the entire world open for you to forge your path through life, optimistic and confident in yourself. So says this inspiring little book through Emma’s simple rhyming text and bold digital illustrations, some with gold foil, that perfectly capture the little croc’s sentiments. 

The Odd Fish / How to Spot a Dinosaur

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Introducing two recent Farshore picture books – thanks to the publishers for sending them for review.

The Odd Fish
Naomi Jones and James Jones

The inspiration for this eco-tale came from the author and illustrator’s then two year old son watching Blue Planet 11 and being unable to differentiate between the real fish and the plastic floating in the ocean. Equally unable to do so is the helpful Little Fish out swimming with her family who comes upon Odd Fish bob, bobbing along alone and assumes that he’s become separated from his family and must be lonely. She suggests she and her shoal help find them and while searching they come upon a seashorse who says that if they follow the current they will find others like Odd Fish. They swim on and come upon and untangle Octopus caught up in a fishing net, have a narrow escape, come to the aid of a turtle endeavouring to eat a plastic bag

and finally there in front of Little Fish is a whole school of odd fish of various shapes, sizes and colours: ‘There’s too many odd fish to count! Where did they all come from?’

The placing of text and images ensures this gentle story flows along beautifully and it’s impossible to avoid the fact that sadly we humans have to take responsibility for what Little Fish encounters – a huge mass of plastic that is a constant danger to the creatures of our oceans. Naomi reminds readers of this on a final spread stating that around 12,000,000 tonnes of plastic finds its way into the ocean every year and asks everyone at home and in school to help reduce this terrible, potentially deadly, pollution.

How to Spot a Dinosaur
Suzy Senior and Dan Taylor

In Suzy Senior’s bouncy rhyming tale of dinosaur hunting in the park we join two dino-enthusiasts, a sister, and her brother who acts as narrator,. Armed with a book of dino-facts and binoculars, the siblings are sure they’re going to find a fair few of these stomping, roarsome creatures. However after several incidences of mistaken identity,

their enthusiasm turns to disappointment and despair; but then the snack man suggests another location to try. Off they go again until they reach a huge building and lo and behold …

Suddenly a fearsome “ROAAAARRRR!” sends them fleeing for their lives, so they think, but perhaps this too is a case of mistaken identity that can only be relieved by slices of cake and cold drinks. Perhaps then the siblings could be persuaded to take another look inside that large building they dashed from.
After an exciting day it’s time to head for home, safe in the knowledge that there’s no need to bother looking out for dinosaurs as they died out long, long ago …

There’s a gentle nod to We’re Going on a Bear Hunt in this lively quest for prehistoric reptiles that continue to be many young children’s favourite storybook creatures. Such dino-fans will definitely love the various misidentifications shown in Dan Taylor’s humorous scenes of the determined dinosaur seekers.

Dead Good Detectives / The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Drama and Danger

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These are exciting detective stories recently published by Farshore – thanks to the publisher for sending them for review.

Dead Good Detectives
Jenny McLachlan, illustrated by Chloe Dominique

Here is something completely different from the author of the fabulous ROAR series and it’s way more than ‘dead good’, this is dead fantastic. It features twelve year old Sid Jones who lives with her dad who runs the miniatures museum in the the town of Fathom. Sid has a terrific imagination, a liking for maps and spends a lot of time hanging out in the graveyard with her best friend, the clever, eccentric Zen. Sometimes though she gets embarrassed by his behaviour and slowly starts to avoid his company particularly when she accidentally calls forth a 300-year-old pirate ghost, Bones, by means of a Crunchie bar and a red gel pen as her town prepares for its annual Pirate Day extravaganza.

Bones starts to follow her around, calling her magical for releasing him from his imprisonment in Halfway House, and irritatingly talking of his lost treasure. The peculiar establishment is full of lost souls in limbo trapped by landlord Old Scratch, a truly menacing character and now Sid’s help is required to assist Bones in his search for the treasure, thus allowing him to leave the world of the living at long last.
Time is running out: can Sid and Zen help Ezekiel ‘Bones’ Kittow before it’s too late.

A super piratical adventure – in the words of Bones, ‘a rollicking caper’ it certainly is, but it’s also a tale of being strong enough to be your true self as you grow up, however unconventional that may be. The dead good news is that there’s more to come of the DGD soon, meanwhile chips with curry sauce are the order of the day.

The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Drama and Danger
J.T.Williams, illustrated by Simone Douglas

Set in London towards the end of the eighteenth century, this is a riveting tale from author J.T. Williams who is new to me,. It’s particularly unusual as the two main protagonists are black girls, Lizzie Sancho, age twelve, and her new friend from an aristocratic family, Dido Belle. We follow the girls as they try to discover who attempted to murder Lizzie’s father, Ignatius, as he was about to make his debut as Othello at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. (Both Dido Belle and Ignatius Sancho were real people.)

There’s high drama indeed as people they know start disappearing; it’s difficult for the girls to know who to trust but they do know there’s a tall shadowy figure lurking and watching them. There are surprises for Lizzie when she discovers things about some of her own family members she wasn’t previously aware of.

Through these enormously likeable, determined people we learn something of the experiences of Black British people in the 18th century, the British slave trade and how some people were striving towards the total emancipation of people of African descent.

A vivid, superbly told historical adventure that is fast paced, unpredictable and filled with genuine peril. With super black and white illustrations by Simone Douglas, I definitely recommend it for older primary readers and beyond. At the end of the book something happens that sets the scene for Lizzie and Belle’s next adventure: I look forward to it eagerly.

A Flash of Fireflies / Space Blasters: Suzie Saves the Universe

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Two recent fiction titles from Farshore – thank you to the publisher for sending them for review.

A Flash of Fireflies
Aisha Bushby

We join twelve year old Hazel Al-Otaibi as she travels from Kuwait to England to stay with her great aunt (Grant as she calls her) in her fairy tale cottage in a village until her parents join her. She also has to attend summer school three days a week. Adjusting to her new, strange-seeming life triggers the return of Hazel’s fireflies that had constantly troubled her with demands and challenges when she was younger, leading her once again into compulsive, repetitive behaviours.

At summer school the project is fairytales and the teacher talks of the themes and typical tropes that go along with these popular tales and Hazel and her friend Ruby start their research into the deep dark forests, curses and enchantments contained therein. Hazel feels herself drawn into a frightening adventure of her own where she needs to fulfil increasingly challenging tasks and quests.

Adult readers see that this is the author’s brilliant and sensitive way of presenting what it’s like to live with the despair and compulsions of OCD, while younger readers are given the space to interpret what they are ready for as Hazel’s real and fantasy worlds intertwine. Hazel herself has support from Ruby, her teacher and Grant, who has ways of her own to deal with similar challenges.

By delving into the fairy tale world and exploring its tropes and patterns through new lenses, Hazel feels able to begin to take control and change her narrative: finding the inner strength to share her own story with Ruby and Grant is a vital step to challenging the hold the fireflies have on her.

Thought-provoking, magical, totally original and utterly compelling.

Space Blasters: Suzie Saves the Universe
Katie & Kevin Tsang, illustrated by Amy Nguyen

Meet young Suzie Wen with her head absolutely bursting with amazing ideas but feeling down because her best friend has recently moved right away and with a ban or supposed ban on building any new inventions, she is certainly not enjoying the school holidays. To liven things up she starts watching Space Blasters, her favourite TV series but before you can say ‘Super 3-D TV Gizmo’ she finds herself actually in the series aboard an actual spacecraft, TUBS. A surprise for Suzie but equally for the crew, Captain Jane, Spaceman Jack and Five-Eyed Frank the green alien. However they welcome her, with the exception of Frank who seems put out by the unexpected arrival of a small human, calling her a spy.

Before long though Suzie is feeling part of that crew and on an exciting mission, for it transpires that three moons have gone missing. This enables her to visit three planets, each with weird inhabitants. Then a situation occurs that means Suzie has to step up as Jack and Jane are unavailable for action, perhaps now she can win over Frank at last and play a vital part in finding those moons and saving the universe.

As the story concludes Suzie receives an invitation to remain aboard the spaceship for one more universe saving mission, which nicely sets us up for the next book.

Emphasising Suzie’s inventive talents, this is a fun story sprinkled with Amy Nguyen otherworldly black and white illustrations and with fact boxes of science information to spark readers’ interest.

Monster Hunting for Beginners

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Monster Hunting for Beginners
Ian Mark, illustrated by Louis Ghibault
Farshore

Monster hunting is far from easy, so says Jack and he’s in a position to know, for a scary green ogre has appeared in his garden intent on eating his Aunt Prudence. Jack is no fan of this mean woman who has turned up telling the lad that his highly protective dad has gone off on a round-the-world voyage and asked her to look after him till he returns. Very suspicious and entirely out of character for his risk-averse dad. Hmm. However, Jack seemingly kills said ogre and then looking down as instructed by a sudden voice, finds it belongs to a tiny bearded man who introduces himself as Stoop, a monster hunter of two hundred years standing. This grumpy man hands him a strange book thus making Jack his apprentice, which is far from what Jack wants; he needs to find his father not go hunting monsters. 

Nonetheless he accepts the role, is kitted out and before you can say ‘King’s Nooze’ he’s off to Cornwall where there’s a ‘Category Four ‘ emergency. Now all he has to help is that Monster Hunting for Beginners book, his wits and his catapult. Is he the hero they’re all eagerly waiting for? Perhaps young Nancy can help and Humbert the bear – he may or may not have a magic harp.

With a fair amount of burping, flatulence and delicious silliness, author Ian Mark’s debut novel is packed with danger, mayhem, marvellous beasties such as crusted hairy snot nibblers, ogres galore, wonderful characters especially Jack who is essentially just a normal kid, plus its sprinkling of traditional fairytale twists, surprises too, and Louis Ghibault’s suitably outlandish illustrations, it’s not since Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels starring Tiffany Aching that I have loved a fantasy story so much. Book two can’t come soon enough.

The Last Monster / Dennis & Gnasher: Super Slime Spectacular

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The Last Monster
Dan Walker
uclan publishing

When it comes to fighting monsters there are none better than the Light Hunters’ young Squad Juno. Lux, who is the Squad’s healer has stopped using his light-hunter powers to heal his teammates in case he accidentally hurts someone again with his strange purple light, a terrible twilight energy that comes from within.

When the team is sent on a new mission to gather information from a professor who is a former light-hunter, they are drawn into a dangerous adventure that is crucial for the fate of the entire world. If killing Monsters is the wrong approach to these creatures, it might mean that the war against them can end. However, their mission is under a terrible threat from Demios who has his own destructive ideas that are in total conflict with those of Luke and the squad. Fortunately though the Light Hunters make new allies as they strive to unearth an ancient secret that might be the key to stopping further monster attacks. So, can they succeed? And what of Luke’s power: after the journey he goes on – physical and mental -will be heal again?

It’s great to return to the Light Hunters’ world for this second adventure. Like the first, the story unfolds at a fast pace with lots of twists and turns, tension aplenty, great danger, dilemmas too; but the emphasis is on friendship, teamwork and trust.

Dennis & Gnasher: Super Slime Spectacular
I.P. Daley, Craig Graham and Mike Sterling, illustrated by Nigel Parkinson
Farshore

Little does class 3C’s teacher Miss Mistry realise just what she is about to unleash when she announces on the Thursday before the end of term that her pupils haven’t done their science module and consequently must do so on a science-related school trip the very next day,

On said outing Dennis and his partner Khadija, aka Sketch, decide to make their slime recipe one thousand times better than everybody else’s. What in the name of science experimentation could possibly go wrong?

The very next day sludgy slimy goop is ‘pranking’ the whole of Beanotown and in Dennis’s own words . ’at the same time it’s making endless fart noises. It’s like the Attack of the Fifty-Foot Whoopee Cushion!’ But is this all the doing of Dennis et al or could the town’s mayor Wilbur Brown have anything to do with mucous mayhem.

Delicious daftness in novel form that fans of the comic will relish as will chapter book readers who have a fondness for crazy capers.

Pick A Story / The Book that Kibo Wrote

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Pick A Story
Sarah Coyle and Adam Walker-Parker
Farshore

Involving younger readers in the decision making in stories is a great way to get them interested in reading and to keep that interest, but whereas there are plenty of interactive choose your own adventure stories for the over eights, there are relatively few pick a path picture books. The creators of this Pirate + Alien + Jungle adventure put the reader firmly in the navigator’s seat in their picture book starring Vincent and his dog, appropriately named Trouble.

It all begins in the park where the two are enjoying a stroll when all of a sudden Trouble disappears; where has she gone? Now Vincent needs the help of the reader to help him find his pooch: there are three possibilities in the first instance. The first will lead Tom to a stinky pirate galleon; the second will send him to the depths of the jungle and if he chooses the third option, he’ll find himself on board an alien spaceship. The problem is none of these actually help in the search for the missing Trouble.
With judging a talent show,

exploding asteroids, sea monsters and whirlpools to contend with, not to mention a dozen pirates brandishing swords and the possibility of a pursuing zombie, 

Vincent has a tough time of it, but will he find the trophy and more importantly will he and the elusive Trouble ever be reunited?

Sarah Coyle plunges her protagonist and the reader headlong into an adventure with an abundance of possibilities shown in Adam Walker-Parker’s energetic, comic illustrations with their plethora of funny characters and decisions to be made on every spread.

The Book that Kibo Wrote
Mariana Ruiz Johnson
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

This book contains the story of a story that begins one evening under the setting sun of a warm savannah with Kibo a rhino who wants to capture the beauty of his surroundings. Before he knows it, Rhino has written a whole book under the watchful eye of Naki the crane who has read every word. She uses her beak to sew the written pages between two strong covers making a sturdy book.

Next morning, bidding farewell to Kibo, off she flies over land and sea, eventually dropping the book in a city. 

There it’s discovered by Camilo the lion and reading the book gives him a strong nostalgic longing for his savannah birthplace. Camilo passes the yellow book on to a friend and it passes from friend to friend until Kibo’s story of the African savanna has travelled all the way to the Arctic and into the paws of a resident polar bear. 

As night descends on the North Pole, polar bear Nanuk feels warmed by the savannah heat as he completes his reading of the book from a distant land.

The open-ended nature of the narrative encourages readers to become participants in the story and I love the use of patterning in the vivid illustrations, which creates a folklorish feeling about the tale. (translated by Lawrence Schimel).

Lifesize: Baby Animals / My First Book of Minibeasts

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Lifesize: Baby Animals
Sophy Henn
Farshore

This is the third of Sophy Henn’s ingenious Lifesize series and right from the cover image, this slightly oversize book draws you in. The focus is on some of the world’s most amazing baby animals. We start by staring right into the eye of a baby blue whale, the world’s biggest baby, that when born is astonishingly about the same size as an ambulance and grows to be as long as two buses.

That’s just one of the wow moments Sophy provides along with the interesting facts and fun questions. Here’s an example relating to the baby flamingo: “What colour would you be if you turned the same colour as your favourite food?’ (not that humans are born grey like baby flamingoes)

Such questions are one of the interactive features of the book.

I had to look twice to spot the baby zebra seashores that at first glance looked like musical notes emanating from the adult’s pouch. Did you know it’s the male seahorses that give birth and there can be as many as 2000 born at one time. Alongside a wealth of other marine fauna including green turtles, these creatures live on Australia’s coral reefs.

An adorable-looking baby black bear stares straight at readers from another spread. Imagine a human baby growing to three times its birth size in three months – that’s something to consider. These bears are mostly found in the mountain forests of North America, a terrain they occupy along with wolves and raccoons.

Readers will also meet red panda cubs with their super-long tails, clouded leopards, golden snub-nosed monkey babies and then when they open a double spread showing an African waterhole and turn the book through 90% they’ll meet a baby African elephant that is likely to be taller than some younger child readers.

The final interactive element involves measurement: you can see, when measured in Lifesize books how large some of the babies are at birth and when fully grown. Readers are then invited to do the same kind of measurement with their own family members.

Cleverly designed, with stunning images at every page turn, this is a book to read and delight in over and over.

My First Book of Minibeasts
illustrated by Zoë Ingram
Walker Books


This new addition to the My First Book of series is, like its predecessors, a great place to start exploring the topic. Herein Zoē Ingram strikingly portrays twenty minibeasts, one per double spread. Each illustration is accompanied by a fact box containing its scientific name, lifespan, diet and habitat, another presents its size in silhouette form and in millimetres; there’s also a ‘did you know’ feature and a main paragraph giving basic facts.

Youngsters will meet the shade-loving garden snail and the gorgeous glow worm – did you know it’s only the females that have bioluminescent tail lights? There are among others, bluebottles, black garden ants that live in colonies,

the emperor dragonfly and the Red-tailed bumblebee. (0nce called a dumbledore, interestingly.)

An ideal book to share with young children before going out exploring be that in the garden, the park or further afield.

Rainbow Grey: Eye of the Storm / Princess Minna: The Unicorn Mix-Up

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Rainbow Grey: Eye of the Storm
Laura Ellen Anderson
Farshore

Writing a sequel that’s as brilliant as the magical Rainbow Grey is no mean feat but Laura Ellen Anderson pulls it off and I think, out-dazzles the first of the series.

With those magical powers at her fingertips – more or less – Ray is now fairly used to her life as Rainbow Grey but she can’t resist a little bit of showing off, which is NOT a good idea. Especially when one of her little cousins asks her to demonstrate her rainbow magic to a friend. It’s baby Cloudiculus’ first birthday, which means a puff pod party is being held. Soon, things spiral out of control: the puff pods are all empty, so the infant can’t bond with a cloud-creature. Who or what is responsible for the disappearance of the cloud creatures, one of which is Rainbow’s own much loved cloud cat, Nim? Disaster.

Ray and her friends now have a mystery to solve; Ray is convinced dark magic is behind the vanishings: she really needs to work out this puzzle and clear her name before cloud magic is forever lost.

With a degree of turbulence, brilliant world-building, a superb cast of characters (some new),

Ray’s indomitable spirit and resilience, and an abundance of magic, along with loyal friendship and the importance of team work in the community, not forgetting wonderfully whimsical illustrations all expertly woven together, this is a shimmering triumph.

Princess Minna: The Unicorn Mix-Up
Kirsty Applebaum, illustrated by Sahar Haghgoo
Nosy Crow

With its vibrant colour illustrations, this new Princess Minna adventure will I know be eagerly devoured by many new solo readers, especially those who have read the first book in the funny and enchanting series.

After sleeping badly, (not she thinks on account of peas under her mattress) Minna wakes to screeching squawking seagull sounds she now knows signify all is not well in the kingdom. She dashes down the long windy staircase to report this to her parents who are already having breakfast. The queen is especially anxious her daughter can sort out whatever the problem is as she and the king are expecting guests that very afternoon.

Minna rushes from the castle, soon hearing a cry for help from the T shop. It’s little Tommy Turrett announcing a unicorn emergency, (pause for some amusing wordplay). Said unicorn is apparently trampling through the T shop presumably leaving a trail of trash in its wake. Conveniently, taming unicorns just happens to be one of Minna’s special talents. But with her trusty sword in her hand, things don’t go quite to plan and by now the young princess is terribly tired.

The next thing she hears is a ribbet, followed swiftly by a shout of ‘frog emergency’. It’s fortunate that another of Minna’s special skills is kissing frogs. Unfortunately though, her extreme tiredness leads to a mix-up, swiftly followed by yet another emergency. Where will all this lead?

Happily, this time the princess’s prowess wins her a friend for life;

but that’s not quite the end of the story. Let’s just say there’s not just one, but a plethora of peas awaiting Minna as she finally returns to the castle, peas that provide a reassuring answer to her sleepiness mix-ups and the means of helping to put everything back to rights in the entire kingdom.

Barry Loser Total Winner! / Dennis & Gnasher Attack of the Evil Veg

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Barry Loser Total Winner!
Jim Smith
Farshore

In this latest of the graphic novel series starring Jim Smith’s ‘keel’ character, Barry Loser is full of the joys of spring as he walks to school in the first episode at least. Therein too are all kinds of Barryish shenanigans concerning his ‘ex-best friends’ Bunky and Nancy’s joint party, resulting in Barry declaring loud and clear that he’ll never speak to either again. There are also a fair few arachnids of the biting kind involved.

The next episode sees Barry with a new bestie, Snozzy, behaving even more weirdly than ever. It involves a dog poo incident, a damaged facial feature and further sniggersome scenes.

Episode three takes us to the supermarket along with Barry and Bunky and Nancy to make it less boring. It’s certainly anything but that on account of some walkie talkies and a sudden epidemic of yawning. 

I’ll say no more on that topic and move swiftly on to the Granny’s handbag episode at the start of which Barry receives from said grandparent, a new and terrible toy – one that kind of comes and goes. 

In the final incident (or several) Barry oversteps the mark when it comes to the ‘twiddler’ leaf-blowing game; is asked to try mindfulness in class, which is not an overwhelming success at the time, there’s a temporarily distraught Dad, not forgetting the odd surprise. And, it’s interesting to see the new character in the shape of French Fries.

Masses of mayhem and mischief, cringe making moments, and lots of the rolling about kind of laughs are assured when individuals embark on this tenth anniversary offering. Perhaps they’ll even discover that Barry isn’t always such a loser.

Dennis & Gnasher Attack of the Evil Veg
I.P. Daley, Craig Graham, Mike Stirling, illustrated by Nigel Parkinson
Farshore

Dennis’ pals have been bitten by the gardening bug and are now spending pretty much all their time at Beanotown’s allotments. Then comes an announcement from the town’s mayor: The Great Beanotown Grow Off and there’s to be a large money prize – a very large one – for the grower of the biggest, tastiest vegetable. No prizes though for guessing who has his eyes set on that: the problem is Dennis knows absolutely nothing about cultivating veggies. 

Dennis however, is not the only one intent on bagging the prize but he’s so desperate so to do that he visits Professor Von Screwtop who tells him of his own failed experiments when trying to make super-growth serums. “One day I’ll look into it again. Until that day, those three failed experiments will sit safely on that shelf by the door.”

No sooner has he uttered this than Dennis is out the door with them, endeavouring to make them work. They don’t, or rather he thinks they don’t until he returns to the allotments at night and sees a giant, evil veg (strictly speaking a fruit) destroying the place. The trouble is almost nobody believes his story and now Dennis is accused of being the culprit. Determined to prove his innocence, he embarks on a mission to do so. 

With a little assistance from Minnie and Gnasher, they’re determined to root out the army of mutant veggies before they take over the entire town.

Fast-moving silliness, full of jokes, with guest appearances from several Beano characters including Calamity James that will satisfy the comic lovers as well as lovers of chapter books of the zany kind. Don’t miss the fun facts, extra veggie jokes and further daftness at the end of the story.

The Enormous Morning

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The Enormous Morning
Louise Greig and Lizzy Stewart
Farshore

‘Inside Day was Morning. It was a small morning. There was not much in it.’ However, there was Pia. And Rabbit.’ And Pia’s papa. But then after they’ve shared a morning enlarging breakfast, Morning keeps on getting bigger.

We accompany Pia and her father on a walk that is absolutely filled with wonder as we witness the glorious sights, sounds, shapes and colours that burst forth into young Pia’s quiet, small world. They cross a wheat field and notice a leaping hare

and from atop a hill, Pia is able to see ‘a whole garden,’ ‘a whole elephant with an elephant’s thought and an elephant’s wish.’ – what a wonderful lyrical and truly original narrative Louise Greig has created as she tells of toys, butterflies, cloud shapes in the blue sky, boats and ships in the sea far below.

Richly layered and richly described is this walk. But it’s not all walking: they stop for a picnic

before continuing their journey, Pia with her senses fully alive to all the amazing experiences and her imagination soaring. Like all mornings though, this one turns to afternoon and then to evening, this one that has become so filled with meaningful experience – just like the little girl’s heart that is full, full of love and a sense of being loved. ‘Inside Day was Morning. It was an enormous morning. There was everything in it. … And inside Pia and inside Pia’s papa was a world of love.’

Just as exquisite as Louise’s words are Lizzy Stewart’s joyful, idyllic scenes with their rich, jewel colours.
Louise and Lizzy’s creation, is wonderfully different: author and artist have captured one child’s delight in the world around, truly making this a book to remind us all to slow down, open our minds, our hearts and our senses and savour our world every Enormous Morning.

Llama on Holiday

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Llama on Holiday
Annabelle Sami, illustrated by Allen Fatimaharan
Farshore

This is the third Llama extravaganza starring Yasmin and her toy best friend, Levi, as well as Yasmin’s human bestie, Ezra. It’s the May half-term holiday, an ideal time to have a break from Guardian Llama responsibilities especially when a week’s visit to the seaside is in the offing. The only snag is it means having to share a bedroom with cousin Omar who is let’s say, not at all their favourite person and exceedingly unwelcoming.

At breakfast on the first morning of their Whitehove stay there comes a beeping on the llama landline: it’s a message from Mama Llama regarding a new mission, the only other information being, it’s called Help Omar. Is it at all possible to get the boy to lighten up and have some fun? Team Yasmin, Levi and Ezra need to find out what is troubling Omar. A good place to start is the funfair but that proves to be a dodgem disaster.

So what about a beach party with all the activities Omar likes? That too ends in disaster in more ways that one. It now appears that what at first seemed like an easy mission might be turning into Yasmin and Levi’s toughest challenge so far, especially when the two fall out.

Could a visit to the arcade on the pier be a better bet?

Can Omar start to believe in himself and could it be that at the end of the day, being a bit weird is something to be celebrated.

I suspect a lot of primary school readers, along with this adult reviewer, will be sad that this story with its terrific black and white illustrations by Allen Fatimaharan, concludes the super series during which Yasmin has grown hugely in self-confidence, and happily as she transitions to secondary school with Ezra, she’s determined not to let go of all the fun and magic in her life.

Snowy White

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Snowy White
Gareth P. Jones and Loretta Schauer
Farshore

This third twist on a classic fairy tale from the partnership of Gareth P. Jones and Loretta Schauer is set in Purry Tale Lane where, up on a roof top, is a cat kingdom ruled over by ginger tom, Kingsley.
He is the proud owner of a crystal ball, so the object says. It also responds to Kingsley’s nightly, “who’s the finest cat of all?” with an assurance, “Kingsley is the best of all, / as sure as I am a crystal ball … / And honestly, I am / a crystal ball.”

One night however, a newcomer, one Snowy White by name, zooms into town and Kingsley is horrified when he hears the Crystal Ball giving a different reply to his usual question. Needless to say he resolves to get rid of his rival, resorting to graffiti and bombardment to let her know she’s unwelcome.

As she flees, Snowy runs headlong into a litter-collecting mouse sending her rubbish bag flying. The mouse, surprised by Snowy’s offer to help pick up the contents of the sack, introduces herself as leader of the Mouse Cleaning Service. While Snowy spends the night with Penny and her crew collecting and sorting the rubbish, the cats continue with their mindless mess making.

At the end of the night, Kingsley is shocked to hear the Crystal Ball declaring Snowy White the finest once again and is more determined than ever to get rid of her. However he accidentally knocks the Crystal Ball off the wall and it splashes into a pond below.

This results in a face to face meeting of the rival cats, after which, something said by the Crystal Ball causes a big change, first in Kingsey and then in his cat pals. Said spherical object also makes a surprise revelation.

There’s a vital message, or several, in Gareth’s tale that, with its occasional breaks into rhyme, is a super read aloud. Equally super are Loretta’s dramatic, detailed illustrations that exude humour and energy at every turn of the page.

Monster Doughnuts: Cyclops on a Mission / Real Pigeons Nest Hard

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Monster Doughnuts: Cyclops on a Mission
Gianna Pollero, illustrated by Sarah Horne
Piccadilly Press

The sequel to Monster Doughnuts sees crotchety cyclops, Mr Harris, back for another delectably daft mission with ten year old Grace and her family from Cake Hunters bakery.
(In case you haven’t read about fearless Grace in the first book, her special monster-destroying technique involves baking cakes with a large sprinkling of an explosive kind of baking powder.)
The 360 year old cyclops has become Grace’s partner in crime on this new assignment from the Secret Service – to rid the city of the dastardly Bottom Biter that is creating let’s say, extreme discomfort in the nether regions of anybody unfortunate enough to become its victim.

It’s possible that the one-eyed member of the team could be an asset but during training sessions all that Mr H seems interested in doing is consuming not only monsters but doughnuts from the bakery and any other delicacies he can lay his hands on too. He does however appear to have quite an aptitude for baking but then as well as gobbling up his own fairy cakes, his passion for the sweet stuff causes him to visit Monster World where a potentially useful encounter takes place and some ‘valuable evidence’ is acquired.
Time to head off to the Natural History Museum …

Then from HQ comes news of another development concerning those the BB has attacked. Catching the creature has just become even more crucial.

KS2 readers looking for something wacky, witty and wonderfully wild with lashings of laugh-out-loud moments need look no further. Once again Sarah Horne has done a smashing job illustrating the various monsters and there’s further fun provided in the monster glossary that follows Gianna Pollero’s tasty tale.

Real Pigeons Nest Hard
Andrew McDonald, illustrated by Ben Wood
Farshore

The city-protecting crime fighting pigeons Rock, Frillback, Grandpouter, Tumbler and Homey return in a third set of loosely linked cases.
First, Beardy Vulture persuades them to take on the search for his missing extra large nest, which he claims has been stolen by humans; it’s either that or, so they think, risk getting cursed by the bone eating bird. Disguises are definitely required for this.
Episode two sees Rock et al discovering a beastly human child but why is she roaming in the park without her humans? According to the little one she’s escaping from a horrible monster. Now all they need to do is to return Kid X to her family – almost all anyway.

Awoken by their rumbly tummies, our crime-busting birdies learn that Homey’s family is being held hostage – It’s a case of bird-knapping! Heroic as ever, the pigeons resolve to find the relations he’s not seen since he was a baby. Thus begins another rescue mission and it’s not long before they discover some of their previous adversaries.
Episode three of this fun book that’s ideal for new solo readers, ends on a cliff hanger that paves the way for book 4 so there’s more to look forward to.

Bursting with humour, and with a great cast of characters (COO-l and otherwise) brought to life in Ben Wood’s zany visuals that also up the pace, this graphic novel/ picture book hybrid is huge fun. The book concludes with some words of ecological wisdom and a couple of drawing activities.

Nursery? Not Today!

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Nursery? Not Today!
Rebecca Patterson and Nikki Dyson
Farshore

Rosa starts nursery, so she tells us, on a Monday. Everything goes wonderfully well: she paints an ace picture, sings without any shouting, enjoys lunch and plays without any rough stuff.
At the end of the day, her teacher Miss Lewis deems her ‘an absolute star!” Seemingly Miss Lewis wasn’t quite as observant as she could have been.

Assuredly the newbie enjoyed the plentiful action the nursery offered and she’s even prepared to share her new song with her younger sibling on the way home.

However, come Tuesday, Ruby has other plans that keep her more than a tad busy. Daddy is not impressed, especially when the young narrator suggests sending little brother Alby in her place and even less so when she suggests if he won’t do, perhaps Bernard (the pet gerbil) might stand in.

Is there anything that might persuade Rosa to don her coat and shoes and set out? I wonder …

Well observed, Rebecca Patterson’s funny story with Nikki Dyson’s bold, splendidly expressive, illustrations will appeal both to preschoolers and adult sharers though for different reasons. Youngsters will love exploring the wealth of detail in the illustrations as well as Rosa’s antics whereas adults will particularly appreciate the child/father interactions.

A smashing story to share with those about to start nursery and those already happily settled in a preschool setting.

Dinosaurs on Kitten Island

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Dinosaurs on Kitten Island
Michael Slack
Farshore

Despite there apparently being plenty to amuse them on their own island, the dinosaurs are bored with sandcastle construction, skeleton reassembling and the other possibilities at home, and so they decide to pay a visit to Kitten Island. After all those kittens look like friendly creatures so despite what the narrator says about them, the prehistoric creatures are having none of it and potential catastrophes notwithstanding, off they go.

Game 1 is Launch the Lizards (courtesy of a geyser) but was that sudden flight and soaking really what the visitors came for? Lesson learned: surely that’s enough. It doesn’t appear so and nor does the second game ‘Deflate the airship’.

However apparently undaunted, the dinos are daft enough to participate in some ‘hairball floaty’ racing. Hmm! this could be their worst experience to date … Or not?

Seemingly these three friends revel in a high level of risk taking or else they’ve left their dino-brains at home for even after another unsettling outcome they precede to game 4, Fall-o meow that begins with them plunging into a dark chasm.

However it ends with them all in Tiny Baby Kitty Playroom, which is absolutely full of even tinier kittens. Now this looks a pretty safe place where both kittens and dinosaurs can play happily together.

Um …

With its brightly hued scenes, this is huge fun and hugely silly. It’s sure to go down well with the countless young dinosaur story enthusiasts out there who will definitely relish joining the prehistoric creatures in some loud RAWR, RAW-ing at each opportunity.

Classic Inspirations: Once There Was a Bear / The Little Prince

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Once There Was a Bear
Jane Riordan, illustrated by Mark Burgess
Farshore

To celebrate the 95th anniversary of A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, having previously written two standalone Pooh books, Jane Riordan has created a prequel collection of ten stories, again in the style of Milne. It takes readers back to where it all began, when Pooh was bought in Harrods as a gift for baby Christopher Robin. Using a similar style to that of E.H. Shepard, Mark Burgess illustrates each episode with panache depicting Pooh and his friends Eeyore, Rabbit, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Owl and Tigger.
The original Pooh books have an enduring appeal for those who met them first as children; however this one has a charm of its own with many of the adventures taking place outside of Hundred Acre Wood. I loved the museum outing wherein dinosaur skeletons with their ‘bothersome long words’ for names prove unusual ladders for a bear to climb upon.

This is definitely worth getting hold of if, like this reviewer, you’re a fan of Pooh et al.

The Little Prince
Louise Greig and Sara Massini
Farshore

Award-winning author and poet Louise Greig has adapted Antoine de Saint- Exupéry’s classic as a picture book for a younger audience than the original novella: it’s illustrated by Sara Massini who has also won many awards. The result is a thing of beauty, mysterious and poetic both verbally and visually.

I’m not sure whether the stranded pilot’s encounter with a little prince who visits neighbouring planets will appeal to children; its enigmatic nature will certainly provoke much thought and lots of questions for, as the author says, ‘What is hidden is beautiful.’ That in itself is well worth exploring.

The Twelve Green Days of Christmas

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The Twelve Green Days of Christmas
Barry Timms and Siân Roberts
Farshore

The sentiments are great but I did find when reading this timely rhyming story aloud that it didn’t always quite scan; though if you sing the words using the popular seasonal tune, it works fine, beginning on the first day of Christmas with Santa coming upon ‘A star that had broken in three.’

On the next four days, as we see in Siân Roberts’ humorous, wintry illustrations, he comes upon worn-out wings (five), four party hats,/ three crushed cups, / two tattered gloves ‘ and that shattered star. What a careless lot those forest creatures are.

On the sixth day an unhappy Santa decides something has to be done. He puts up a sign urging the forest dwellers to start recycling.


Day seven brings a snowstorm which results in his sign getting blown away and Santa catching such a bad chill that he has to take to his bed, the result being the rubbish continues to spread and accumulate in piles.

Will Santa ever get his wish for a green Christmas before the big day arrives?

Happily yes, for Owl catches the flying sign, spreads the word spurring the animals to take action and on the eleventh day Santa receives something in the mail that lifts his spirits.

Next day he ventures forth and finds …

as well as five new recycling bins and lots of the animals busily restoring the broken star and putting it where it should be – right at the top of the tree. A Merry Green Christmas at last!

The Christmas Carrolls

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The Christmas Carrolls
Mel Taylor-Bessent, illustrated by Selom Sunu
Farshore

Nine year old Holly, daughter of Christmas crazy parents Nick and Snow Carroll has been home schooled until a house suddenly becomes available on Sleigh Ride Avenue. Thrilled to bits her parents decide to move the family there and she is enrolled at the local primary school.

However, when Holly goes to Lockerton Primary with the Backpack of Cheer her dad’s given her and first day Christmas cards (in hot September!), for her year five classmates she realises not everyone shares her enthusiasm for spreading seasonal cheer; and, there are all those school rules and regulations to contend with too. She desperately wants a friend.


Then she hears some of the things that have been said about her: ‘from another planet’, ‘weird’, ‘eccentric’ or was it ‘electric’, ‘that I didn’t know how to dress myself’. How much worse can things get?

Seemingly Holly is on a downward spiral. However, the new unChristmassy approach she tries doesn’t feel right either: her cheerometer rating plummets to zero and she tells her parents, “Nobody wants us here … Nobody wants to celebrate Christmas all year round … And I don’t think I want to either.”

But, could her burgeoning friendship with Archer (which has also taken a turn for the worse) help her out and restore that feel good factor, and not only for herself? Perhaps – for when she learns of some children who really need help, Holly decides that nothing is impossible when it comes to spreading good cheer.

Now I’m somebody who is anything but filled with festive delight when I see the Christmas lights put up and turned on early in November, so initially I wasn’t sure about Holly and her family. However, Mel Taylor-Bessent’s debut story, for all its seasonal trappings, is about so much more that Christmas. For Holly it’s a steep learning journey and one whereon she discovers the importance of real friendship, that not everyone lives in the same way, as well as that her mum hasn’t always had it good.
What emerges loud and clear from this wonderfully warm, humorous tale is that the essentials of Christmas are hope, inclusion and community; and these should be for every day of the year rather than being restricted to just a short time. The author has created some smashing characters (illustrated by Selom Sunu) that certainly will linger in the minds of readers and listeners. This would make a terrific KS2 class read aloud.