Children Book Reviews

Name: Louisa Farrow
27 January 2022;

Genre: Bereavement

Jasper is feeling lost and anxious. His parents have been preoccupied with work since starting their own business and now they seem tired and upset too. His big sister Rosie hasn't come back from university to see him, even though she promised she would; apparently she has gone to a 'better pl...

More

Name: Elen Green
26 January 2022;

Genre: Bereavement

The Hunt for the Nightingale is a book that stays with you for a long time, as you connect so completely with the child narrator, Jasper, as he sets out on a quest to find a nightingale and his missing sister, and on the way discovers new friends and the courage he didn't thin...

More

Name: Nicola Mansfield Niemi
25 January 2022;

Genre: Magical Realism

Bea Black is back! (see book 1, Diary of an Accidental Witch). Bea Black is settling into life as a witch, she is finally mastering some spells and shows real skill at looking after animals, especially frogs, but life isn't all rosy. Unable to tell her best (non-magical) friend Ash about her n...

More

Name: Elen Green
25 January 2022;

Genre: Funny Stories

It was so much fun to return to the island of Brutalia and to get another glimpse into the (brutal!) lives of its inhabitants. Mort the Meek and the Monstrous Quest is, if anything, even more anarchic than book 1 (Mort the Meek and the Raven's Revenge), with the citizens of Br...

More

Name: Liz Webb
25 January 2022;

Genre: Young fiction

I loved the sense of fun and camaraderie in the relationship between Jada and her Granny Jinks, and this relationship lies at the heart of The Marvellous Granny Jinks and Me.  As her father focuses on his work, Jada and Granny Jinks are left to enjoy each other's company in fu...

More

Name: Elen Green
25 January 2022;

Genre: Fantasy

Can you imagine being able to summon a dragon from the ether into the real world? A small number of children in this medieval world are able to do just that and, once they have summoned their dragon, they form a unbreakable bond with it. So begins a regime of training and bonding at the specia...

More

Name: Natalie J. McChrystal Plimmer
24 January 2022;

Genre: Funny Stories

What's New Harper Drew? begins a new series that follows the humorous stream-of-consciousness illustrated diary format that seems to be currently very popular, such as Tom Gates, Scarlet Fife and so on (I suppose they are the new generation of Adrian Mole characters). Plus, di...

More

Name: Sharon Porter
22 January 2022;

Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels

'Barb in Barb the Brave is amazing, she can do anything and isn't afraid to try. I think I'd quite like to be a bit braver, like her, and try things I haven't done before. Barb shows us that people who we don't expect to, can turn out to be really good friends. She is so cool....

More

Name: Wendy Kelly
21 January 2022;

Genre: Non Fiction

Part of the incredibly popular Little People, Big Dreams series, this beautiful book tells the story of Pablo Picasso who spent his life trying to master the art of painting like a child. His path to becoming the visionary artist he is now regarded as is told from his early da...

More

Name: Sharon Porter
20 January 2022;

Genre: Non Fiction

'I loved this book. When my teacher gave it to me, she said I should just dip into the book and read the things I was interested in. I didn't expect to read all of it, but I did. I think she knew I'd really like it.' D aged 10 This is the first time we had come across this series of "Co...

More