Latest Reviews
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Skyborn
Name: Jennifer Caddick
07 June 2021;Genre: Magical Realism
Young Bastjan is following in his late mother's footsteps, working in a circus troupe, under the instruction of his unpleasant, cruel stepfather and ringmaster, Cyrus Quinn. Forced to face his biggest fears to become a death defying aerialist as his mother was, Bastjan is desperate to gain acc...
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Tremendous Things
Name: Catherine Purcell
06 June 2021;Genre: Real life
A Susin Nielsen book is a real joy. A wry smiling, head nodding, frequent chuckling, joy. And that's not an easy thing to create. Susin Nielsen, you are terrific. Radiant. Some human being! Tremendous Things begins with Wil's Defining Moment, narrated by Wil; honestly it's a beauty and...
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Grandma's House of Rules
Name: Lizi Backhouse
06 June 2021;Genre: Picture Books
Grandma's house is full of rules, some of them make sense and some of the don't. But one is very clear: don't touch the big blue and white vase. When Grandma goes out, confusion happens and the vase gets broken! I'm not a great fan of this book; it feels very negative, even though Grand...
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100 Endangered Species
Name: Louisa Farrow
05 June 2021;Genre: Non Fiction
100 Endangered Species has the cute appeal of a gift book but an admirably serious purpose. Focusing on a hundred species that appear on the IUCN Red List, it aims to highlight their uniqueness, their plight and the efforts that are being made to conserve them. The grap...
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The Exploding Life of Scarlett Fife
Name: Megan Webb
05 June 2021;Genre: Funny Stories
Scarlett Fife has Big Feelings, which can sometimes get her in trouble. She had been working extra hard to control her anger so she could take the class hamster, Mr Nibbles, home. However, one Friday, William U is unfairly awarded eight Positivity Points, meaning that he is the one to take Mr...
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The Secret Detectives
Name: Benhur Age 10
05 June 2021;Genre: Mystery & Detective
I recommend The Secret Detectives to detective lovers aged 8-12 years old. It is about a girl named Isobel Petty who witnesses a horrific deed - someone being thrown off the S.S. Mariana. Isobel and her two new friends (Sam and Lettie) have a mission to find the culprit before...
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Big
Name: Emma O'Donovan
03 June 2021;Genre: Picture Books
BIG is an almost wordless picture book about a small boy with big dreams. After watching his brother having all the fun, a young boy wishes he was BIG. When his dream comes true, but he keeps getting BIGGER and BIGGER, he realises that sometimes it's good to be small. The image-lead nature of...
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Burning Sunlight
Name: Ruth Cornish
03 June 2021;Genre: Environment & Nature
Burning Sunlight is a brilliant read on many levels. Firstly, the author has caught the emotional mood swings of a teenager extremely well. As a parent, it almost made for uncomfortable reading but feels authentic and honest and offers the reader a fresh account of a teen stru...
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The Swallows' Flight
Name: Lucy Georgeson
03 June 2021;Genre: Historical Fiction
The Swallows' Flight is a companion novel to The Skylarks' War, which I would urge you to read first if you haven't already done so. The story alternates between Ruby, Kate, Dog (Pax) and friends Erik and Hans in Germany as they navigate the i...
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Hurricane Child
Name: Jane Rew
03 June 2021;Genre: Representation & Inclusion
We begin this story with 12 yr old Caroline Murphy living with her dad on Water Island in the Virgin Islands archipelago. Her mum left home 1 year 3 months ago, without explanation. How is an adolescent supposed to cope with that, how understand it? How can she possibly learn to live without h...
