Children Book Reviews

Name: Jane Rew
17 April 2023;

Genre: Representation & Inclusion

This second volume, Young, Gifted and Black Too, is just as attractive as the first (Young, Gifted and Black). Indeed, in hardback, its striking blue cover and jazzy opening pages instantly...

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Name: Sue Wilsher
17 April 2023;

Genre: Poetry

A Passing on of Shells is a collection of 50 poems, each written using fifty words. There is much to enjoy here as Simon Lamb uses a variety of poetic styles and techniques, offering an ingenious selection of work on many themes. The collection opens with 'How to Start...

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Name: Lisa Watkins
17 April 2023;

Genre: Magical Realism

Billy and his friends have been warned about Waterfall Woods, it is an area that must stay away from as unexplained things have happened there. Nobody has ventured into the woods for many years and villagers are too afraid to enter. Until one day, Billy and his friends discover a gate which le...

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Name: Louisa Farrow
14 April 2023;

Genre: Funny Stories

In Small Bites Back, Ten-year-old Harvey Small and his giant best friend, Walloping Toenail, return for another hilariously rambunctious adventure - to save their friends from the Unspeakable Circus. This time, they have to venture further through the Stinking Sinking Swamp an...

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Name: Lauren Maidman
14 April 2023;

Genre: Fantasy

Connor and Lightspirit is the seventh book in the Dragon Storm series.  Connor is a dragon seer living in secret in the land of Draconis; it is up to him to help save Draconis from a war that is brewing. Connor is a good mathematician and code breaker, and whe...

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Name: Jennifer Caddick
13 April 2023;

Genre: Historical Fiction

"I want to tell you the story of Billy Shaman, because if I don't tell it, nobody else will." I absolutely loved this intriguing, quirky and stylishly written adventure story. From that opening line to the starkly compelling black and white illustrated front cover and inside images, I was hook...

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Name: Beverley Somerset
13 April 2023;

Genre: Mystery & Detective

In Clutch, avid birdwatcher and nature lover Twitch is devastated when peregrine falcon eggs are stolen from a nest on Passerine Pike. The police are involved, but Twitch and his fellow Twitchers Jack, Ozuru, Ava, Terry, Tara and Tippi are determined to solve the crime themsel...

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Name: Jane Rew
12 April 2023;

Genre: Adventure

That this book found a reader as soon as I was spotted reading it in the playground testifies to the power of its subject (dinosaurs) and the eye-catching cover. Delve beyond the cover, and one enters a world populated by a cast of characters including Eleri, Agostron (his brother and heir to...

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Name: Sue Wilsher
12 April 2023;

Genre: Family & Home

When disaster strikes and Ren's family lose their home in a fire, they feel lucky to be alive. But soon, having lost everything and having to live a very different life at her grandmother's, Ren starts to feel resentful that others have lovely things whilst she and her family have…nothing. Hav...

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Name: Sam Phillips
12 April 2023;

Genre: Friends and family

Taking the words from Julia Donaldson’s poem; 'I opened the book and in I strode', is exactly what happened for me with this fabulous story of family and friendships by Sophie Cameron. Away with Words is a stunning account of the unlikely friendship between two young girls. Ga...

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