Families Book Reviews

Name: Alison Kelly
23 April 2018;

Genre: Adventure

It's not often that I get to review poetry collections written by a dog. It feels like no time ago that I was chuckling over Moses' and Stevens' Waggiest Dogs anthology and now the delightful Thinker has arrived. This unusual collection (Pub: Tiny Owl) opens with 'Naming me' in which a new puppy...

More

Name: Alison Kelly
23 April 2018;

Genre: Adventure

Wild World (Wide Eyed Editions). A trainee teacher recently asked me if I had any recommendations for good cross-curricular poetry. There are, of course, many such poems to be found in different anthologies. However, it was a delight to meet this gloriously illustrated collection of poems by Ang...

More

Name: Alison Kelly
23 April 2018;

Genre: Adventure

Firecrackers (Troika Books) is a magical and generous new collection of poems, stories and plays. It's beautifully presented and designed with Jo Riddell's wonderful illustrations enhancing the rich array of texts that Zaro Weil has composed. The hefty hardback book opens with 'Long ages ago' (...

More

Name: Lizi Backhouse
23 April 2018;

Genre: Adventure

Monty and Sylvester are a pair of every day animals who become superheroes. Their phone rings, and they rush off to help someone in trouble until an evil rat tries to stop them! Armed with their trusty vacuum, this story is entertaining and would be a good story for reluctant readers, and I thi...

More

Name: Ruby B
23 April 2018;

Genre: Science Fiction

Amy is too young to die. When danger calls, Amy is scared. I don't blame her. Especially when aliens are abducting teenagers from all over the world. She is one of them. Will Amy have to face the threat before it is to late? Join Amy as she embarks on a thrilling journey through space. Read her...

More

Name: Ruby B
23 April 2018;

Genre: School Stories

Izzy, Zach, Maisie and Jodi go to a normal school, in a normal county, in a normal country, but with a not so normal Lollipop man! When Jack the Lollipop Man is replaced with a new Lollipop Lady, the group get suspicious. Maisie is sure that he's in Rome, but the others just won't believe it. And...

More

Name: Dawn Woods
23 April 2018;

Genre: Animals

The third adventure of Pug with his owner, the child Lady Miranda. Again Pug finds himself in strange situations without quite knowing how he got there. After a nightmare one night, Lady Miranda passes the blame onto Pug and announces Pug needs to face his fear of lions and go on safari. Pug h...

More

Name: Fiona Collins
20 April 2018;

Genre: Adventure

This is another sympathetic story from Jeanne Willis in which a little girl has a close relationship with a lion who lives in her bedroom. The lion, Rory, cannot sleep without a bedtime story so the little girl tells him stories linked to her life: her first day at nursery and the birth of her ba...

More

Name: Emily Marcuccilli
19 April 2018;

Genre: Adventure

In this fantastic addition to the inspirational 'Little People, Big Dreams' series, the author and the illustrator transport the reader into the world of 1930s and '40s New York where we meet a young Ella Fitzgerald who, despite a difficult start in life, goes on to become one of the world's most...

More

Name: Emily Marcuccilli
19 April 2018;

Genre: Adventure

I am a huge fan of the terrific 'Little People, Big Dreams' series. Celebrating the lives of extraordinary women, they inspire and empower young readers (girls and boys alike) to dream big. This particular title transports us into the world of Ada Lovelace, whose fascination with mathematics an...

More