Schools & Libraries Book Reviews

Name: Jane Rew
05 January 2018;

Genre: Friends and family

A brilliant book. It's well-written and totally believable. The author manages to portray teenagers both accurately and sensitively without being disparaging. (Perhaps she has studied child psychology?) I was gripped right from the start, not least because we're kept guessing at the truth b...

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Name: Jacqueline Harris
04 January 2018;

Genre: Adventure

These books are a nicely presented package of activity and non-fiction. They are in soft colours and really attractively designed and illustrated by Vicky Barker, the text being written by different authors for the different subject matter. These are three of a set of six, the others being Scienc...

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Name: June Hughes
02 January 2018;

Genre: Adventure

Jess has a serious allergy to the sun which means she cannot go out during the day without all-encompassing protective clothing (which she and her mother refer to as 'full hat'). This restriction means that she does not attend school and consequently has few opportunities to make friends. Most of...

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Name: Sue Wilsher
26 December 2017;

Genre: Adventure

Sky Chasers is a wonderful adventure story, set against the backdrop of France at the time of Louis XVI. A colourful cast of characters - human and animal - tell the story of the Montgolfier family and their race to be the first to fly a hot air balloon. Magpie - a pickpocket - and her rooster fi...

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Name: Aidan Severs
26 December 2017;

Genre: Adventure

Publishers Big Picture Press do not disappoint: they produce very big books full of wonderful pictures and this one by Vicky Woodgate is no exception. Urban Jungle is an oversized non-fiction book which explores the fauna of the world's major cities. Did you know that Spinybacked orbweavers can...

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Name: Aidan Severs
26 December 2017;

Genre: Adventure

This surprising and striking book appears to stand alone in today's picturebook market - there certainly aren't many books like it, illustrated in an psychedelic style reminiscent of the Beatle's Yellow Submarine film but with an even trippier colour pallete. This is a book which aesthetically st...

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Name: Lorraine Ansell
22 December 2017;

Genre: Adventure

Escape from the Tower is the second book in the Royal Rabbits series. Having not read the first book, I wondered how the authors would introduce the characters and whether the plot would work as a standalone. The book very easily introduces us to Shylo, a small timid rabbit who has been accepte...

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Name: Lesley Earnshaw
20 December 2017;

Genre: Adventure

My class loved this story and it ended our Christmas week perfectly. Many of them had read other 'Supertato' adventures but that wasn't really necessary to enjoy this festive fun. They really liked the heroic potato battling against the evil pea and we could link this to so many other stories w...

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Name: Kyle Matravers
19 December 2017;

Genre: Adventure

This book allows you to travel the world as you learn the folk tales and origins behind some of the animals that inhabit the each country. Accompanied by beautiful illiustrations, these short tales are easy to follow and understand, even for children as young as five. The mixture of well known...

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Name: Lynnette Voisey
12 December 2017;

Genre: Adventure

When Noah goes Christmas shopping with his mum, he takes his toy elephant Oliver with him and enjoys playing 'hide and seek' - but disaster strikes when Oliver goes missing in the very large department store... This picture book has such lovely illustrations. The story is full of charming rhymes...

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