Families Book Reviews

Name: Lizi Coombs
25 October 2015;

Genre: Adventure

I'm not sure how I feel about this book; initially I felt that it would be great for reluctant readers; every page is fast paced with dynamic pictures and the story has an exciting plot that follows Pablo and Jane as they go off to explore 'The Old House on the Hill', stumbling upon a 'hot air c...

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Name: ReadingZone
22 October 2015;

Genre: Adventure

Fans of series including Alex Rider and TimeRiders will thoroughly enjoy these fast-paced, gadget-laden stories in which a group of highly talented and motivated teenagers - the 'Urban Outlaws' of the piece - grapple with computer viruses, shadowy mentors and some very bad guys. Lockdown is the t...

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Name: Lucy Russell
21 October 2015;

Genre: Adventure

Oliver's best friend is a troll, and together they run a cafe in the woods, where trolls come to eat Oliver's delicious cakes, instead of children. But when his little sister Dolly goes missing one day, Oliver and Troll must head to Munch Mountain to find her before Grumbug, the biggest hungriest...

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Name: Alison Kelly
20 October 2015;

Genre: Adventure

Nick Sharratt's unique illustrations will entice children into his first collection of poetry. They dominate the pages providing a wonderful scaffold into the poems themselves. Populated by a host of appealing characters (including the Vikings of the title, a mermaid, pirate, vampire bat and a ro...

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Name: Alison Kelly
20 October 2015;

Genre: Adventure

What a treat! This great BIG book of poems comes from the work of not one, but two children's laureates and is a delight from start to finish. There is everything that you could possibly ask for in a collection of poetry for young children: Rosen's beautifully judged poems set alongside and in am...

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Name: Karen Poolton
20 October 2015;

Genre: Fantasy

Ellie Morgan lives with her mother in a remote farmhouse on Mount Snowdon. We meet Ellie on Christmas Day with Snowdon in the grip of a severe snowstorm. There is no power and Ellie and her Mum are called out by the Mountain Rescue team to help rescue a girl who has gone missing on the mountai...

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Name: Katie Lancaster
20 October 2015;

Genre: Adventure

I was hooked from the start, stumbling into a world so unlike my own it was both daunting and intriguing. This novel begins sixty feet in the air in the middle of a circus ring, with Remy, the star act revealing her aptitude for heights. Remy's talents in the circus tent also make her an integral...

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Name: Katie Lancaster
20 October 2015;

Genre: Adventure

Set in the American south during the American civil war, this book is about a boy who believes very much that he is being guided by the hand of God even when he is lead into a path of slavery and hardship. Although not altogether unlike other books set during this period, what is compelling about...

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Name: Victoria Dilly
20 October 2015;

Genre: Friends and family

The opening few pages of the book had me thinking was this going to be another maudlin, teenage story that made me feel depressed. I say that because much of YA fiction today seems to be full of misery and pain, but this was actually not the case. Yes there was sadness and frustration and some...

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Name: j.Hambleton
19 October 2015;

Genre: Adventure

The Boy at the Top of the Mountain is another fascinating story from the pen of John Boyne. Set before and during the Second World War, it traces the path of orphaned Pierrot, from his home in Paris via the orphanage to the Berghof, the retreat of Hitler high in the Bavarian Alps. It is during...

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