Tag Little Island Books

The Cloud Kingdom

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The Cloud Kingdom
Máire Zepf, illustrated by Andrew Whitson
Little Island Books

Nancy is a bibliophile and spends almost all her time reading. Then one summer’s day so engrossed was she in her book that she failed to notice a fox enter the garden with a faery on its back. The faery takes a cake from the plate beside Nancy and rides away into the woods. The following day a similar thing happens, but on the third day it’s her beloved cat, Pangur that is seized. Determined to retrieve her pet, Nancy gives chase and eventually comes upon the Faery King. Her initial requests for the return of Pangur are turned down but eventually she strikes a bargain with him and becomes the human storyteller to the Faery Kingdom.

What follows are seven further interconnecting tales featuring such wonders as Beyvinn, a dream-weaving giantess, a hat shop with magical hats crafted by wizards, a ghost dragon

and a mechanical jellyfish.

A charming combination of words and pictures: Máire Zepf’s inventive short tales that are perfectly pitched for reading aloud and Andrew Whitson’s illustrations which have an ethereal, whimsical look, make this an ideal pre-bedtime book or to share with a KS1 class over a couple of days. Great for stimulating children’s own imaginations.

The Experimenters: Luke and Ruby’s Scientific Sleepover

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The Experimenters: Luke and Ruby’s Scientific Sleepover
Dr Shane Bergin, illustrated by Sayani Mukherjee
Little Island Books

It’s the half-term holiday and Luke and Ruby are excited to be spending the week at their grandparents’ home, which is full of amazing treasures. Both grandparents had been scientists: Grandad studied animals and Nanny studied outer space, “We did all sorts of experiments along the way,” Grandad tells the siblings. Nanny explains the basics of scientific experiments and immediately the siblings are eager to start . There follow eight chapters that present different science topics the children do, the first being observations of birds in the garden.

Next they explore floating and sinking with a variety of objects when they are asked to predict first and then test, and a question from Ruby prompts Grandad to bring up density and how it makes something float or sink.

Thereafter they look at ways of making music; make telephones from two paper cups and some string, make and bake a sponge cake;

test reaction times; closely observe minibeasts and finally, plant some seeds in pots to take home so that they can watch them grow.

Throughout it’s evident that the children are thoroughly enjoying themselves; the grandparents in turn offer encouragement and sometimes make a suggestion but they never force, rather they allow the siblings to work things out for themselves.

Inserted into each experiment are pages called “You’re the Scientist’ wherein Dr Shane Bergin asks readers to do some scientific thinking too.

This is a fun, playful way of encouraging young children to be science learners and Sayani Mukherjee’s illustrations certainly show the characters enjoying their investigations.

One to add to both home and KS1 class collections.

Let’s Play Rugby!

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Let’s Play Rugby!
Gordon D’Arcy and Paul Howard, illustrated by Ashwin Chacko
Little Island

This interactive story is published to coincide with the Six Nations rugger tournament, which this year kicks off on 31st January. The aim herein is to help your team lift the trophy and once clad in your gear, like all players the first thing to do is some warming up exercises – jogging on the spot and star jumps – before the kick off.
Now it’s time for you to kick that ball you have in your hands right up high and it’s game on!
Wow! Some of your opponents are enormous so tackling someone with the ball can send them down really hard and win your team back that ball. Yeah!
As the story proceeds we learn more about the game of rugby – the scrum,

the line out and scoring a try, while following the instructions to shout loudly, push, rotate then shake the book, weave your finger through the defenders,

find the gap and touch the book down to score a try. Now it’s up to you to kick the conversion to win that trophy. WOOOO1 Hurrah! One last thing: lift the cup high above your head to show the crowd. What a game!

Co-authored by Irish rugger Gordon D’Arcy and writer Paul Howard, and robustly and dramatically illustrated by Ashwin Chacko, this action-packed picture book captures something of the excitement of the game. One hopes it will not only inspire young children to watch the Six Nations games but also to seek out one of the many rugby clubs that cater for primary school age children with mini-rugby sessions.

Wulfie Saves the Planet

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

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

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

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

Libby and her friend Nazim are hot on the trail.

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

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

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

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

Wigglesbottom Primary: Dino Chick / Wulfie: Beast in Show

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Wigglesbottom Primary: Dino Chick
Pamela Butchart, illustrated by Becka Moor
Nosy Crow

This contains three more episodes in the life of Class Two R and once again they’re in high spirits. At least that’s so in the first story when they learn from Miss Riley that she’s installed an incubator within which are four chicken eggs. They’re less excited to hear that the eggs will take several days to hatch especially when later in the day it comes to their notice that one egg has mysteriously changed colour. Miss Riley sits them down and tells everyone not to touch any of the eggs. Megan decides that the purple and green egg must contain a dinosaur. What a terrifying thought. Several days later three of the eggs have hatched and three fluffy chicks are in the incubator. Suddenly egg number four starts to crack … YIKES! what will emerge?

In the second story there’s a new girl in the class. Individuals take turns to show her parts of the school, including some that are strictly out of bounds. 

It’s an unlikely way to make somebody feel welcome but who gets the biggest surprise of all?

The final tale starts with the discovery that the school library is to close due to lack of funds. Can 2R come up with a plan to save it and keep Mr Hope in his job?

Another three wonderfully silly stories for new solo readers (or to read aloud) that show how easily children’s vivid imaginations can spiral into comedic craziness, a craziness that is echoed in Becka Moor’s lively illustrations.

Wulfie: Beast in Show
Lindsay J. Sedgwick, illustrated by Josephine Wolff
Little Island Books

Libby and her beloved purple fluffy best friend, Wulfie (Wolfgang Amadeus Rachmaninoff the Third) return in a second adventure. Libby’s unpleasant stepmother announces the imminent arrival of her older sister, Aunt Ilda. A fanatical dog breeder, she’s determined to win the SNOB prize in the forthcoming dog show to be shown live on TV. Concluding that her failure to win on previous occasions is due to not having a child assistant, she wants to enlist Libby’s awful, spoilt step-brother Rex.

Libby knows she must try to ensure that with Wulfie being so dog-like in appearance, he stays out of sight during the visit. No mean task as the wulfen’s behaviour is, let’s say, somewhat unpredictable and he can sometimes change size at the most inopportune times. 

Times such as his emergence from the washing machine right in front of Aunt Ilda who immediately decides that Wulfie must be her entry in the dog show. And if taking Libby as well as Wulfie and Rex away with her is what it takes, then so be it. 

What she doesn’t know however, is that in addition to his size changing and talking, Wulfie’s sneezes freeze time.

When Libby hears the words, “Your creature belongs to me now, runt, and he is going to make me more famous than any other famous person ever in the whole world.” she knows that Wulfie desperately needs to be rescued. 

But perhaps not before he’s had the chance to make Aunt Ilda look a complete fool on television.

Another fun, action-packed drama with some rather unpleasant characters, as well as the determined, lovable Libby and her equally lovable bestie, all splendidly illustrated by Josephine Wolff.

Wulfie Stage Fright

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Wulfie: Stage Fright
Lindsay J. Sedgwick, illustrated by Josephine Wolff
Little Island Books

Young Libby is something of a Cinderella character with an archetypal wicked step-mother who makes her life a misery while doting on her own son, Rex (a real meanie). Her father is too busy being a boffin to notice what’s going on, or even listen properly to most of what his daughter has to say.

Consequently Libby is excited to discover in an old trunk in her bedroom, a little purple wolf-like creature that she names Wulfie for short. Said creature has three tummies, the ability to grow and shrink pretty much at will and an aptitude for getting into trouble; he quickly becomes Libby’s best friend on account of his sweetness and loyalty.

When Libby’s teacher announces that she’s written a play to be performed by the pupils and entitled The Big Bad Wolf Learns his Lesson, she longs to star in it. However there seems little chance especially as Rex (also in her class) has drama lessons.

Nevertheless, her name is signed up on the auditions list

and thanks to Wulfie, she lands the part of her dreams.

Then comes the hard work but up steps Head Coach of Wolfing, aka Wulfie, to help her get to grips with the lupine moves and sounds she needs for a stellar performance, aided and abetted by her other new friend and classmate Nazim.

But come the big day, will Libby be able to produce a performance worthy of Ms Emily’s ‘Be spectacular’? And, can she finally get her own back on her brother?

Young readers will empathise with the long-suffering Libby who, despite everything remains determined and positive; and there’s plenty to laugh at too.

The other characters- pleasant or unpleasant – are also memorable, made all the more so through Josephine Wolff’s black and grey illustrations.