Children Book Reviews
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Puppet
Name: Louisa Farrow
07 July 2024;Genre: Magical Realism
Poignant, reflective and, ultimately, hopeful, David Almond's Puppet is, like his other books, a one-off original. As the story begins, it's impossible not to think of Pinocchio; it reads like a simply told traditional tale. Late one night, Silvester, a weary old puppet master...
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Huxley and FlapJack: Trouble at Sea
Name: Jemma Jeffrey
05 July 2024;Genre: Adventure
Huxley and Flapjack: Trouble at Sea is jam-packed with fun and is such a joy to read! Being the second book in the series, Huxley - a super-excitable koala, and Flapjack - a rather timid penguin, are familiar characters to my daughter and I. We love them both, but particularly...
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The Piano at the Station
Name: Louisa Farrow
05 July 2024;Genre: Personal Growth
Lacey Layton exasperates her teachers. There is no doubt that she is clever, but she struggles to control her tongue and actually prefers the isolation room to lessons. As she puts it, 'family's more important, and having a laugh, than algebra'. When she is sent to lunch-time music lessons to...
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The Houdini Inheritance
Name: Louisa Farrow
02 July 2024;Genre: Historical Fiction
The Houdini Inheritance is a thrill-tingler of a read! Emma Carroll captures all the fun of the rackety world of variety entertainment a hundred years ago. With a rambunctious cast of characters and brimming with surprises, the narrative has all the energy of a vaudeville show...
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Amir and the Jinn Princess
Name: Hayley Summerfield
02 July 2024;Genre: Fantasy
Amir and the Jinn Princess by M. T. Khan is a beautiful, enchanting story that takes the reader into the secret realm of the jinn. Everything in Amir's life is planned out. He is the third child of a wealthy businessman in Pakistan. Although he has the best of everythin...
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I Am Rebel
Name: Jacqueline Harris
01 July 2024;Genre: Adventure
Tom is Rebel's dog. Rebel would do anything for Tom. Living happily on a farm, Rebel has no desire to do anything else. But one day soldiers come to the house and everything changes. Rebel must leave the farm and find Tom, because Tom is his boy and he loves him. Set in an indeterminate...
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The Cheat Book (1): Can Kamal cheat his way on to the cool table?
Name: Elen Green
01 July 2024;Genre: School Stories
Kamal is languishing at the bottom of the social heap at school, but is desperate to find out how to rise up the ranks to join the students at the top table. Then he finds the Cheat Book, which offers him a glimpse of hope in achieving his dreams.... However, the Cheat Book's advice doesn't al...
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The River Spirit
Name: Ruth Cornish
01 July 2024;Genre: Supernatural
Lucy Strange's The River Spirit is poignant, examining the reality of life for poverty-stricken children in Victorian Britain. The characters encourage much empathy in the reader as the work of a child chimney sweep is described honestly and clearly. The cruelty of child labou...
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Destiny Ink: Sleepover Surprise
Name: Elen Green
01 July 2024;Genre: Friends and family
I was so glad to come across this little gem of a story Destiny Ink: Sleepover Surprise, about a young girl who is anxious about a planned sleepover with her friend in the garden. Sleepovers - especially for the first time - are something that children might look forward to,...
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Darwin's Super Pooping Worm Spectacular
Name: Wendy Kelly
01 July 2024;Genre: Non Fiction
Darwin's Super Pooping Worm Spectacular - now available in paperback - is a very niche book, which will appeal to a very particular group of children. It tells the story of Charles Darwin's fascination with earthworms, particularly their poo, which he worked out was the key to...
