Schools & Libraries Book Reviews

Name: Ashley Clayton
18 July 2023;

Genre: Mental Health & Wellbeing

Rhinos Don't Cry is a lovely picture book which I read to my reception class. It is a story that will help children to talk about their feelings, and to acknowledge that it is OK to cry. It has lovely colourful illustrations and a simple rhyming text, and I always love a story...

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Name: Linda Brown
17 July 2023;

Genre: Fantasy

If you love fairytales with a twist, then this dark, enchanting fantasy debut novel is just for you. The author has melded some of our childhood fairytale stereotypes into her plot, so you get a glimpse of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, a wicked witch and a handsome prince, a love/hate rela...

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Name: Emma Nelson
17 July 2023;

Genre: Myths & Legends

Yomi and the Fury of Ninki Nanka opens with Yumi and her brother Kayode preparing to go to bed. Outside a furious storm rages in the sky, just as their uncle appears in the room to read them a bedtime story. The two main characters are visiting The Gambia and they are fascinat...

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Name: Jessica Bunney
17 July 2023;

Genre: Baby & Toddler Books

Bizzy Bear: Nursery Time certainly is a busy book! My one-year-old and I are still discovering more and more stories to tell within the illustrations as we embark on our 5th read! This book fits perfectly to the well-known tune of 'Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around…'. With '...

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Name: Amanda Shipton
15 July 2023;

Genre: Environment & Nature

I Heard a Bird is the 4th book in Rob Ramsden's award-winning In The Garden series. It is a wonderful story about a little girl who notices that the bird she was listening to is frightened away by two cats fighting. As she searches for her bird, she encounters...

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Name: Elen Green
15 July 2023;

Genre: Adventure

Don't Disturb the Dragon is a fun picture book with lots to explore, great characters - and a map! The Princess's little brother has gone missing, and she must find him - without disturbing the dragon! But each time she starts to look, she gets a fright. Are those white pointy things dr...

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Name: Linda Brown
14 July 2023;

Genre: Fantasy

Belladonna follows 19-year-old Signa who was orphaned as a baby and who has been raised by a string of guardians, each of whom has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at the gloomy Thorn Grove estate, whose father mourns...

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Name: Sharon Porter
14 July 2023;

Genre: Environment & Nature

I had never heard of the Panna Reserve in India before reading The Tiger's Tale. It tells us about the tigers who live and are protected (mostly) by the rangers. Sadly, poaches are still killing tigers but the message of protecting the tigers comes roaring through the text lou...

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Name: Jo Thomas
14 July 2023;

Genre: Funny Stories

Never Ever Ever ask a Pirate to a Party is a fun, colourful book about ever-increasingly silly guests turning up for a little girl's party. The guests, including a pirate, a dragon, a unicorn and aliens, knock at the door and cause mischief and chaos, disrupting the perfect pa...

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Name: Lisa watkins
14 July 2023;

Genre: Historical Fiction

Call of the Titanic is one of the best books I have read about the infamous Titanic. It is a gripping adventure story of stowaway Clara who befriends an enormous dog - Rigel. The story tells the tale of the special friendship formed between the two when the Titanic collides wi...

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