Difference between revisions of "Newest For Sharing Reviews"

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[[Category:For Sharing|*]]
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[[Category:New Reviews|For Sharing]]__NOTOC__
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=Supertato
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|author=Adam Stower
|author=Sue Hendra
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|title=Murray and Bun
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Oh my goodness, whatever can we do? There's an evil pea on the loose in the supermarket, causing havoc wherever he goes!  He has sticky-plastered poor carrot to the conveyor belt, and drawn a mustache and glasses on broccoli, and poor old cucumber has been mummified with a bandage!  Still, try to calm your frayed nerves because, never fear, Supertato is here to save the day!
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|summary=Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two. But he's a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffsThis time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857074474</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0008561249
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{{newreview
 
|title=Chicken Clicking
 
|author=Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Chick has a problem.  Every night, when the farmer and his wife are asleep, she sneaks into their house and goes online on their computer to order thingsShe starts with a teapot, and a motorbike!  Soon she's buying diamond watches and a hundred handbags, for which the farmer blames his wife - she, of course, gets angry and blames his dodgy software since she certainly didn't order those things!  Chick starts to buy gifts for all her farm animal friends, but all too soon she realises she's alone on the farm and in need of a friend.  Can she find one online?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178344052X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1732898766
|title=The Secret Dinosaur: Giants Awake
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|title=The Adventures of Birpus and Bulbus: Book One: The Sour Milk Dragon
|author=N S Blackman
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|author=Wynn Everett-Albanese, Michael Albanese and Indre Ta (Illustrator)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=When Marlin Maxton goes on a school visit to the local museum, he is looking forward to seeing Protos - the dinosaur that his Uncle Gus remembers so fondly. But Protos is nowhere to be seen and the museum's Mr Grubbler seems to be doing his utmost to take all the fun out of the school visit Marlin had been anticipating with such excitement. So Marlin sneaks off to explore by himself...
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|summary=When we first meet Birpus and Bulbus they're running for their lives in the Forest of Fine Repute.  Their greatest fear has come about: the Sour Milk Dragon is chasing them. He's right behind them, spewing hot, sour milk from his nostrils.  (Please don't try this at home: it won't end well.)  Fortunately, they were nearly at Nobby Lob-lolly - and when a ladder of moss and vines was lowered for them, they escaped.  They climbed up to the Tree Wee homes high up in the tangled woods where they lived with their Grand Wees, Nester Nook and Granny Cranny.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0992752507</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B0CC9W7GLR
|title=Light-Fingered Larry
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|title=On the Beach: The Winter Visitor
|author=Jan Fearnley
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|author=Chris Green and Jenny Fionda
|rating=4
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|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Larry the Octopus has eight tentacles, and each and every one is used to half inch other people's stuff. As he travels through Bottlenose Bay, he fills his net with more and more loot until everyone has just had enough. Officer Pavani comes to the rescue, but will Larry manage to escape?
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|summary=Kit and Teal were just beginning to wonder whether it was better to be at home, bored but warm, or frozen cold and building sand sculptures on a snowy beach when a large slab of silvery ice drifted onto the shoreline.  On top of the ice was a polar bear. As the ice bumped onto the sand, the bear woke and with wobbly legs moved from the ice.  Kit was all for making a run for it, but Teal knew that the bear was hungry and gave him one apple and then another. He obviously needed to be taken home on the bus and given a good meal and somewhere to sleep.  What else would you do?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405265388</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1913839656
|title=The Lazy Friend
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|title=Let's Celebrate Being Different
|author=Ronan Badel
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|author=Lainey Dee
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=In a remote jungle, near the top of the forest canopy, Sloth, Snake, Frog and Bird hang out together.  Whilst his pals play cards, Sloth does what he does best, sleep. When a lumberjack fells the tree that they are sitting in, three of the friends make a hasty escape but Sloth just carries on snoozing. Luckily Snake acts fast and slithers aboard the truck carrying their tree trunk away with Sloth still in it. Can Snake save the day and get them both back home?
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|summary=Todd was excited about spending the weekend with his grandmother, not least because she made the best beetle juice.  He packed two pairs of dungarees and his favourite hat and then gathered together his button collection to show his grandmotherShe had promised to take him to the Friday Night Club at the local community centre and Todd was pleased about this as he wanted to make new friends. At home, his only friend was his mum and he wondered why that could be.  Grandma thought that it might be because he looked different.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>192727141X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1529504775
|title=Hogs Hate Hugs
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|title=The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories)
|author=Tiziana Bendall-Brunello and John Bendall-Brunello
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
|rating=3
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Little Hog is the cutest little thing you ever did see. And that’s a bad thing. Because he never gets peace. Everyone wants to hug him ALL THE TIME. What’s a poor, over-hugged hog to do? Well, in this case, Little Hog has a solution. He makes a bold sign and hangs it on the tree. ''HOGS HAT HUGS!'' it reads. And that’s that.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0745965148</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|title=My Teacher is a Monster! (No, I Am Not.)
 
|author=Peter Brown
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=School can be a difficult place for children, especially if your teacher is a stomping, roaring monster like Miss Kirby. Bobby spends most of his time worrying about what to do about his monster of a teacher, and the best place for him to think about it is in the park. He goes there one day to contemplate the situation, but who does he meet? Miss Kirby! She isn't stomping or roaring though, she is feeding the ducks.
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|summary=Elsie and her little brother David loved to go to the park and watch the red buses drive past.  Elsie would race the buses along the side of the park but David couldn't - he'd been born with cerebral palsy and even just standing up was very difficult.  One day Elsie spotted a bus in the toy shop window which would help David - and was happy to use the coins from her money box to pay for it as cash was tight at home.  Gradually, David learned to stand up, use the bus for support, and walk behind it.  Many decades later, Elsie brought the bus, now damaged and rusted, to the Repair Shop, hoping that the experts there could make it so that her grandchildren could play with it.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1447257472</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
 
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|isbn=1529504767
{{newreview
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|title=The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories)
|title=Greek Myths: Stories of Sun, Stone and Sea
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
|author=Sally Pomme Clayton
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=University Challenge questions frequently have me stumped, but it’s ones on Greek mythology that highlight a gap in my knowledge and make me yearn for the classical education that I never had. Who or what is Erato? Should I be concerned if I meet Kerberos? And why did a delivery company decide to call itself Hermes? Consequently, I had high hopes for ''Greek Myths: Stories of Sun, Stone and Sea'', a collection of ten myths retold for children.
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|summary=Susan was very young when she was evacuated from London in 1939 and nervous about how she would be greeted when she got to her final destination.  She needn't have worried though as she went to the home of Mr and Mrs Russell, who couldn't have been kinder to her.  She even had her own room - all to herself.  Gradually she relaxed and began to enjoy her life.  She'd help Mrs Russell with the baking and when it came to Christmas Eve Susan and Mr Russell put the decorations on the Christmas tree.  The best surprise happened the following morning.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847805086</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1916459943
|title=Sir Scallywag and the Deadly Dragon Poo
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|title=Squeakily Baby
|author=Giles Andreae and Korky Paul
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|author=Beth Webb
|rating=5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=King Colin has spent his fortune on a giant sweet machine, which he guzzles from each and every day. The entire kingdom has grown fat and lazy, except for Sir Scallywag. It's lucky somebody in the castle still has their wits about them, because Baron Greedyguts has heard all about their sweet machine, and he's coming to get it!
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|summary=Much as mothers love their babies, there's something they all dread - a squeakily baby.  He's so tired but he can't - or won't - go to sleep: instead, he just lies on his blanket and ''wails''. The sea offers to help.  It rocks Baby gently and the waves sing ''hush, hush''.  Think of gentle wavelets falling onto a sandy beach and you have the sound perfectly.  The mermaids join in - ''la lou, la lay...''  And for a moment it seems to have worked as Baby closes his eyes. Then a seagull '''shouts''' and we know exactly what's going to happen next.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0718197364</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=140639131X
|title=Bob and Rob
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|title=A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant
|author=Sue Pickford
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|author=Briony May Smith
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Rob is a burglar who is very, very bad. Bob is his dog, who is very, very good. Well, as good as a dog whose owner is a burglar can be...
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|summary=Philippa Pheasant was ''tired'' of nearly getting squished as she tried to cross the Old Oak Road.  She wrote to the mayor about the problem but didn't even get a reply. Philippa wasn't a bird to sit back on her tail feathers when there was a problem which needed solving: she saw the benefits of the lollipop lady at the school crossing and decided that she would set up something similar herself. Her uniform and lollipop stick were both a little amateur to start with but the benefits were obvious. All the animals used the crossing and Hedgehog was even trained up to provide a safe path overnight.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847804098</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776574338
|title=Cantankerous King Colin
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|title=Leilong's Too Long!
|author=Phil Allcock and Steve Stone
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|author=Julia Liu and Bei Lynn
|rating=5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=King Colin definitely got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. He’s being very crotchety and rude, but whenever anyone tells him off he ignores them. After all, a king can do what he wants.
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|summary=Every morning Leilong, the brontosaurus school bus, makes his way through the city, picking up children as he goes.  Children who live at the top of tower blocks don't even need to go downstairs – they simply climb out of the window and slide down his neck.  It's perfect, isn't it?  What could be a more fun way of going to school?  There is a problem, though.  Leilong isn't happy in the city: he's always having to be careful about where he puts his feet and – because he's longer than a tennis court – he often causes damage without intending to and traffic regularly gets snarled up. The school decides that he can't be the bus anymore.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848861133</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776574028
|title=Hocus Pocus Diplodocus
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|title=Bumblebee Grumblebee
|author=Steve Howson and Kate Daubney
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|author=David Elliott
|rating=5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Magic is a lot of fun, but did you ever think about how it started? Pre-David Blaine? Pre-Dynamo? Pre-Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee? You need to look much further back than the 80s to find the answer, you know, because the first magician was in the days of the dinosaurs. Meet Hocus Pocus Diplodocus.
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|summary=I love a good board book!  ''Bumblebee Grumblebee'' is aimed at quite a niche market: it's for the child who still enjoys board books (er, see my first sentence) but has mastered sufficient language skills to have realise that you can ''play'' with words and make something quite different from each one.  We have the elephant who dons a tutu - and becomes a ''balletphant''.  The buffalo who has had a bath (complete with yellow duck) and then dries off with a hair drier becomes a ''fluffalo''.  The rhinoceros who drops his ice cream cone is a ''crynoceros'' (think about it!)  The pelican who sits on his potty changes into a ''sm.......''  OK, let's not go there  Some people are eating!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848861125</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1838226834
 +
|title=Carried Away With the Carnival
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|author=Ed Boxall
 +
|rating=4
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|genre=For Sharing
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|summary=It was one of those memories we treasure from our childhoods: an outing with our grandparents. They're there to undo all the good that parents do, so the trips out were always so much fun.  A young boy was going to the carnival with his Grandad, who told him:
  
{{newreview
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''It'll be brilliant, just remember, don't let go of my hand.''
|title=Nine Words Max
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}}
|author=Dan Bar-El and David Huyck
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{{Frontpage
|rating=5
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|isbn=B09MYXSRV4
 +
|title=Otter's Coat: The Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit: A Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare
 +
|author=Cordellya Smith
 +
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Some children talk lots and some talk quite little. Some jabber away incessantly, while others prefer contemplative reflection. It’s the same the world over, and it’s true whoever you are, from an average Joe to a member of the Royal Family. Prince Max is a talker, full of fun, interesting facts and observations he’s keen to share with everyone around him. His brothers, on the other hand, are boys of fewer words, and don’t have much time for Max’s waffling on.
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|summary=When the world was made, the animals were given gifts.  Bear was given strength so that he could become a protector. Water Spider received a strong web that even fire could not burn. Owl had excellent sight so that he could see the present ''and'' the future.  Rabbit developed intelligence - but, unfortunately, not the ability to use it well.  He liked to trick other animals.  He was also jealous which was how he came to be in a race with Turtle. You might think that's not a fair contest but wait and see. Things are not always as they seem.  I'll tell you how it came about.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1770495622</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Rob Keeley
|title=None The Number (The Hueys)
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|title= Carrots Don’t Grow On Trees!
|author=Oliver Jeffers
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|rating= 4
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=''A Counting Adventure!'' the subtitle of this book boasts. How exciting! I love numbers and counting, and so does a little boy I know. This one’s a bit old for him just yet – he’s the wrong side of 24 months – but I can’t wait to share it with him in the future. The item of question here is whether 0 is a number. After all, a number is something you can count. And if there’s 1 of something and you take 1 away, you’re left with a different number: 0
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|summary= Lily loves eating fruit and vegetables. She likes carrots, broccoli, cabbage and aubergines. When her friends at school turn up their noses, Lily is keen to explain how good they are for you and how nice to eat. One day, poor Lily gets tricked by Jordan, who tells her that carrots grow on trees. Infuriated, Lily checks with the teacher, who explains that fruits grow on trees and vegetables, like carrots, grow in the ground. Jordan says, "I did try to tell her, Miss!" and everyone laughs at poor Lily.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007420692</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09HHN541V
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09FFJF8YS
|title=The Very Noisy House
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|title=You Can't Wear Panties! (No More Nappies!)
|author=Julie Rhodes and Korky Paul
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|author=Justine Avery and Kate Zhoidik
|rating=5
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|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I might live in the middle of the country now, with nothing but pheasants and the odd wild turkey for neighbours, but I remember well what it’s like to live in the hustle and bustle. In fact, unless you too have lived on the main artery of Mexico City in a single glazed apartment, you’re going to come 2nd in the ''Who’s lived in a noisier house?'' competition. Well, it would have been second, but after reading this, I think we’d both have to bump down a spot, because nothing, and I mean nothing, compares to this house.
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|summary=''For the big, grownup girls out there, the potty masters in training, "You Can't Wear Panties!" is a cry (the big-girl kind!) of toilet triumph and persevering panty pride.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847805345</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|title=Betsy Goes To School
 
|author=Helen Stephens
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=What a lovely book! Betsy is a big grown up girl so it’s time to start school, but that’s a scary thing to do. There are so many other boys and girls there, and she doesn't know any of them. Will she make it through the first day with no tears?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405268239</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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And so it is! This latest book from Justine Avery celebrates a little girl's final goodbye to nappies and pull-ups and graduation to "proper" pants by following her around as she proudly explains to her dog, her cat, her stuffed rabbit and her baby sibling that ''she'' can wear super-duper proper pants, while they cannot. Neither can the flowers, nor the fish, nor the birds. Boy's certainly can't. She's a big girl now and she wants everyone to know it!
|title=Dylan's Amazing Dinosaurs - the Tyrannosaurus Rex
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}}
|author=E T Harper and Dan Taylor
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{{Frontpage
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|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
 +
|title=Everybody Toots! (Everybody Potties!)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Everyone love dinosaurs, that is as long as they stay millions of years in the past and don’t suddenly turn up in the park next time I am having a picnic.  Dylan is a character who certainly loves dinosaurs, enough so that he is able to travel back in time to answer any questions he may have about their existence. Seems a little dangerous to me, especially when he comes up against the king of lizards in E T Harper and Dan Taylor’s, ‘Dylan's Amazing Dinosaurs - the Tyrannosaurus Rex’.
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|summary= Toots, trumps, farts. Whatever your word for them, find us a child that doesn't find them irresistibly funny. Funny to talk about and joke about, that is. But horribly embarrassing if you let one go at the wrong time. In class, say, when everyone will hear it and everyone will laugh. At you. Justine Avery's latest entry in her ''Everybody Potties!'' series takes aim at any shame associated with tooting and gently and calmly, with the familiar humour attached, explains that tooting is perfectly normal. Everybody does it: ''Everybody Toots''!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1471119343</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09C2RVJ2W
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn= B09BG8V3Q6
|title=Children are Naughty
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|title= Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! (Everybody Potties!)
|author=Vincent Cuvellier and Aurelie Guillerey
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|author= Justine Avery and Seema Amjad
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Children are naughty.  You don't have to tell me that. I have two monsters, one of whom I found this very morning standing on top of the toilet and putting nappy cream all over himself (fully clothed, of course!)  I only left the bathroom for a moment!  Anyway, this story tells you all about the naughty antics that children can get up to, with everything from biting to throwing food on the floor! Prepare yourself, things could get messy...!
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|summary= ''Who Needs Nappies? Not Me!'' is the latest release in the ''Everybody Potties!'' series from Justine Avery. This series of fun picture books aims to take the pain out of potty training children and replace it with some fun. It's a worthy aim, as any frustrated parent will tell you. .
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909263265</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B07GZ81J7C
|title=Have You Seen My Dragon?
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|title=When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended
|author=Steve Light
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|author=Peter Cotton
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=You’d think a dragon would be hard to lose. This one is bright green and hiding in the city streets. A little boy sets out to find him. Visiting all the dragon’s favourite haunts, the boy counts objects, from one to twenty, as he goes. Follow his route, enjoy the journey and practise your counting skills.
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|summary=Meet Fred.  Well, actually, you're going to be meeting Fred-Fred for reasons which will become all too obvious very quickly.  But I'm getting ahead of myself: I'd better tell you a bit more about Fred. Fred is a snake and even those of us who have a phobia about snakes are going to warm to him. He arrived as a present in a box with holes so that he could breathe and immediately became part of the family, to the extent that they would take Fred out with them when they went out for a walk. And that was where the problem started.  Fred didn't have any road sense.  Or brakes.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406353817</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|title=The Short Giraffe
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|title= Everybody Pees! (Everybody Potties!)
|author=Neil Flory and Mark Cleary
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Anyone who has ever been to a Wedding and saw the photographer trying to wrangle the bride and groom’s families together for a group shot will know all about the perils of mass photography. Neil Flory’s new children’s book, ‘The Short Giraffe’ suggests that the issue is not only human based, but also happens in the animal kingdom.
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|summary= Can potty training ever be joyous? It often isn't, as any parent will tell you. But really, why shouldn't it be? We all have to learn about our bodily functions just as we have to learn about everything else when we are small. Why shouldn't potty training be as much fun as, say, learning about why the sun and the moon take turns in the sky?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1743361564</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B098BJZYHH
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|title=Two Giants
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|title=No, No, No!
|author=Michael Foreman
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=In this reissue of a book first published in 1967, the Two Giants live in a nice world where things are lovely and they get along brilliantly. What fun it must be to have your best friend around all the time. Until, that is, they have a fight. Before they can think about reconciling, they are separated and forced to live apart. Their animosity grows. Will it be possible for them to ever be friends again? Could something as simple and insignificant as sharing a pair of socks make it all ok?
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|summary=They say the best picture books are the simplest ones. And nothing could be truer of this latest from Justine Avery, a Bookbag favourite.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406351768</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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''No, No, No!'' is based around the simplest text imaginable.
|title=Teddy Bedtime
 
|author=Georgie Birkett
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=I haven’t much hands on experience with young children and bedtime, but from various alleys and avenues of my family I have a seen a few do and do nots.  One thing I have learnt is that routine can be a vital tool in getting a child to bed.  Whilst one set of Nephews come up to you and ask to go to bed at 7pm, the other are bouncing off the walls at 1am.  Children’s books can be a great way to entertain and teach younger children a bedtime routine and ''Teddy'' ''Bedtime'' by Georgie Birkett may just be the best example I have seen.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783440414</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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''No, no, no! Okay, okay. Yes, you may.''
|title=Hilda and the Black Hound
 
|author=Luke Pearson
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Graphic Novels
 
|summary=Hilda and the Black Hound is the fourth book in the “Hildafolk” series, each of which is a self-contained tale about a highly inquisitive little girl and her adventures. This time Hilda joins the Sparrow Scouts and befriends a house spirit whilst in the meantime a mysterious beast stalks the town of Trolberg.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909263184</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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That's it! But, like all the best picture books, this tiny snippet of text is a veritable tardis - so much bigger on the inside that it appears on the outside.
|title=Baby's Got The Blues
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|isbn=1638820457
|author=Carol Diggory Shields
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been toting my baby in my arms, pushing him in his buggy or carrying him in his baby back pack and strangers have remarked ''ooh – lovely!  I wish I was a baby!''  Well, do you think babies have it easy? Really? Well, listen up because the apple cheeked, down in the mouth hero of ''Baby’s Got The Blues'' is going to set you right.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406351547</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=194812467X
|title=Little Frog's Tadpole Trouble
+
|title=The Farm Shop
|author=Tatyana Feeney
+
|author=Devon Avery, Justine Avery and Ema Tepic
|rating=3
+
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I’m the little sister. I never had to deal with the threat of an impending arrival to unsettle my world, but I can’t imagine it’s always fun. There are, of course, lots of books on the subject, seeing as it’s a big topic that affects lots of families every day, but here’s a new book on the market. Can it add anything to the existing stack of ''Becoming a big sibling'' books?
+
|summary=Kirelle and her best friend Sam the cat decide to go for a walk. Kirelle is dressed for all weathers in her bright yellow wellies and Sam is perfectly turned out as ever in his smart grey fur coat. As they walk to the top of the hill, they see a big barn with a sign outside. It's a farm shop! But this is a farm shop with a difference: all the stallholders and customers are farmyard animals. There are sheep and ducks and cows, goats and chickens, and even some mice. Excited, Kirelle and Sam go shopping.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192735543</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
What will they buy?
|title=Macavity,the Mystery Cat
 
|author=T S Eliot and Arthur Robins
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=There’s nothing my little boy likes more than to sit down with a tome of good poetry. Currently he is reading T.S. Eliot. Well, that’s what I will be telling them down at playgroup anyway. No need to add that it’s not ‘The Wasteland’. The poem in this volume is actually just one from ‘Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats’ and features the inimitable scoundrel of the title, ''Macavity''.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571308139</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=0995647895
|title=The Queen's Hat
+
|title=Sadie and the Sea Dogs
|author=Steve Antony
+
|author=Maureen Duffy and Anita Joice
|rating=5
+
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A naughty gust of wind comes along and blows the Queen’s hat right off her head. Her Majesty simply cannot be seen bare headed, and so she follows it in hot pursuit.
+
|summary=Sadie's mother always said that she was a dreamer, her mind never on what she should be doing. She lives by the River Thames at Greenwich and she loves to spend hours at The Maritime Museum or gazing at Cutty Sark.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444919148</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
''Her class had gone one rainy afternoon''<br>
|title=The Farmer's Away! Baa! Neigh!
+
''When all the houses cowered in the gloom,''<br>
|author=Anne Vittur Kennedy
+
''To the Maritime Museum''.
|rating=5
+
|genre=For Sharing
+
Her imagination was fired. She'd love to sail the oceans on an ancient sailing ship and went back regularly.  One day she fell asleep under a glass case (it's the one where Nelson's Trafalgar breeches are on show) and missed the closing bell and the attendant's warning shout.  When she woke (hard floors don't make comfy beds) she was in the midst of an adventure that she could never have imagined in a world of dolphins, pirates, mermaids and treasure.
|summary=Flobba dob. Eh-oh. Or should I just stop the words completely and communicate with a swanee whistle?  From the Flowerpot Men to the Teletubbies via the Clangers, the substitution of ‘real’ words with made up language and sounds has always been controversial. So I’ll level with you straight away and spoil the ‘surprise’ of ''The Farmer’s Away! Baa! Neigh!''  by revealing that, bar the title, there are no proper words in this book.  When this book is described as being told ''in the animals’ own words'' it means quite literally that.  Barks. Hisses. Neighs. Cheeps. And lots of them. For 32 pages.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406356530</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1782227741
|title=Eric the Boy Who Lost His Gravity
+
|title=Little Gold Ted
|author=Jenni Desmond
+
|author=Vanessa Wiercioch, Poppy Satha and Sasha Satha
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Everyone gets angry sometimesMaybe all it takes is someone queue-jumping, or in the case of my toddler, all it takes is the wrong colour cup, or someone playing with the one toy in the world that he wants right at that moment!  The challenge for children growing up (and for adults too sometimes!) is how to deal with that anger.  This story is about what happens when a little boy called Eric gets angry.
+
|summary=One day, Gold Ted falls into a puddle. It's quite a deep puddle and the water is swirling. Poor Ted starts to spin around and around and is sucked down a drain on the side of the street. Finding himself down in the sewer, Ted starts to panic. ''OH HELP ME PLEASE'' he cries and alerts the attention of Reg the sewer rat, who plucks him out of the dirty water using his cane, which might look just a bit like an old cricket bat. Reg is a kind soul and he dries Ted off and warms him up with a nice bowl of broth.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1609053486</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=B08R7LXQ9S
|title=How to Catch a Star
+
|title=Remy: A book about believing in yourself
|author=Oliver Jeffers
+
|author=Mayuri Naidoo and Caroline Siegal
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=The boy makes various attempts to catch his star. He spends most of the day waiting for a star to appear, and when one finally does he tries climbing a tree, or dragging his father's lifebelt to lasso the star down. Each attempt, however, fails. Finally, down by the shore, he sees a star that has fallen into the sea. He walks along the beach, hoping that the star will wash up on the sand and, finally, it does!  They boy and the star walk away together, hand in hand.
+
|summary=Remy is feeling miserable. He's let himself down ''again''. The school bully Jaydentogether with his sidekicks Ryan and Brandon, have been laughing at Remy, calling him names because he is short and has small eyes. They are mean but they are not stupid. They are careful to wind up Remy when nobody can see and then push him just that little bit further when the other kids are around. So, when Remy reacts, it looks as though he was the instigator. And then he gets into trouble at school and the teachers don't believe him when he tries to explain what happened.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007536593</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1471191303
|title=Rex
+
|title=The Invisible
|author=Simon James
+
|author=Tom Percival
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Tyrannosaurus Rex is the scariest dinosaur around. He can pull whole trees out of the ground, crush boulders with his bare claws and chase away the other dinosaurs with his mighty roar! Everything changes one night when he finds an abandoned egg in a cave. A baby dinosaur pops out and decides that T.Rex is his ''Dadda''.
+
|summary=This is the story of Isobel, a little girl who made a big difference.  Isobel lived with her parents in a house - a very cold house, because her parents couldn't afford to put the heating on:
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406348228</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
''Ice curled across the inside of the window and crept up the corner of the bedpost.''
|title=The Big Splash!
 
|author=A H Benjamin and Jon Lycett-Smith
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=The forest animals are all quietly minding their own business when:
 
  
DA-DUMP! DA-DUMP! DA-DUMP!
+
The family didn't go to the cinema or on holidays but they had each other and they were happy.  Then the day came when they couldn't afford the rent for the house and they had to move to the far side of the city. This part of the city was cold, sad and lonely and Isobel felt invisible.
 
 
Something big causes the ground to shake, the trees to tremble and the rocks to rattle. It was a terrible noise!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909428310</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Nick Jones and Si Clark
|title=When Angus Met Alvin
+
|title=One Night in Beartown
|author=Sue Pickford
+
|rating=4
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Angus is not like other aliens. He is a peace-loving little fellow, who likes nothing better than sitting in his garden watching the flowers grow and sipping a nice cup of tea. Unfortunately, one day, a strange spaceship crash lands in his garden and out pops a cheeky, hyperactive green alien called Alvin who is rather a show-off. It’s time for Angus to teach Alvin a lesson about manners. Can the two aliens put their differences aside and become friends in the end?
+
|summary= Many children have an obsession and Sandy Lane, who lives in Beartown, is obsessed with bears. She collects books about bears. Her favourite toy is Berisford, a teddy bear passed down by her grandmother. Every night, she looks out of her bedroom window and says goodnight to the bear statue outside. Every morning she says hello to Bee Bear, a colourful painted bear that lives at her school. She even has bears on her bedroom wallpaper!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847803040</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=B08NFH7H9X
}}
+
}}
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Newest General Fiction Reviews]]
|title=Secrets of the Seashore
 
|author=Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=This book starts in a rock pool. It’s not a boring, quiet, calm place, though, it’s bustling with life, and with every page that turns we learn more about the mysterious creatures that live within it. You might not see them at first, but with a hint of magic they appear.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782401105</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 09:24, 2 December 2023

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Review of

Murray and Bun by Adam Stower

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two. But he's a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffs. This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do… Full Review

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Review of

The Adventures of Birpus and Bulbus: Book One: The Sour Milk Dragon by Wynn Everett-Albanese, Michael Albanese and Indre Ta (Illustrator)

4star.jpg For Sharing

When we first meet Birpus and Bulbus they're running for their lives in the Forest of Fine Repute. Their greatest fear has come about: the Sour Milk Dragon is chasing them. He's right behind them, spewing hot, sour milk from his nostrils. (Please don't try this at home: it won't end well.) Fortunately, they were nearly at Nobby Lob-lolly - and when a ladder of moss and vines was lowered for them, they escaped. They climbed up to the Tree Wee homes high up in the tangled woods where they lived with their Grand Wees, Nester Nook and Granny Cranny. Full Review

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Review of

On the Beach: The Winter Visitor by Chris Green and Jenny Fionda

5star.jpg For Sharing

Kit and Teal were just beginning to wonder whether it was better to be at home, bored but warm, or frozen cold and building sand sculptures on a snowy beach when a large slab of silvery ice drifted onto the shoreline. On top of the ice was a polar bear. As the ice bumped onto the sand, the bear woke and with wobbly legs moved from the ice. Kit was all for making a run for it, but Teal knew that the bear was hungry and gave him one apple and then another. He obviously needed to be taken home on the bus and given a good meal and somewhere to sleep. What else would you do? Full Review

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Review of

Let's Celebrate Being Different by Lainey Dee

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

Todd was excited about spending the weekend with his grandmother, not least because she made the best beetle juice. He packed two pairs of dungarees and his favourite hat and then gathered together his button collection to show his grandmother. She had promised to take him to the Friday Night Club at the local community centre and Todd was pleased about this as he wanted to make new friends. At home, his only friend was his mum and he wondered why that could be. Grandma thought that it might be because he looked different. Full Review

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Review of

The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories) by Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Elsie and her little brother David loved to go to the park and watch the red buses drive past. Elsie would race the buses along the side of the park but David couldn't - he'd been born with cerebral palsy and even just standing up was very difficult. One day Elsie spotted a bus in the toy shop window which would help David - and was happy to use the coins from her money box to pay for it as cash was tight at home. Gradually, David learned to stand up, use the bus for support, and walk behind it. Many decades later, Elsie brought the bus, now damaged and rusted, to the Repair Shop, hoping that the experts there could make it so that her grandchildren could play with it. Full Review

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Review of

The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories) by Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey

5star.jpg For Sharing

Susan was very young when she was evacuated from London in 1939 and nervous about how she would be greeted when she got to her final destination. She needn't have worried though as she went to the home of Mr and Mrs Russell, who couldn't have been kinder to her. She even had her own room - all to herself. Gradually she relaxed and began to enjoy her life. She'd help Mrs Russell with the baking and when it came to Christmas Eve Susan and Mr Russell put the decorations on the Christmas tree. The best surprise happened the following morning. Full Review

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Review of

Squeakily Baby by Beth Webb

4star.jpg For Sharing

Much as mothers love their babies, there's something they all dread - a squeakily baby. He's so tired but he can't - or won't - go to sleep: instead, he just lies on his blanket and wails. The sea offers to help. It rocks Baby gently and the waves sing hush, hush. Think of gentle wavelets falling onto a sandy beach and you have the sound perfectly. The mermaids join in - la lou, la lay... And for a moment it seems to have worked as Baby closes his eyes. Then a seagull shouts and we know exactly what's going to happen next. Full Review

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Review of

A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant by Briony May Smith

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Philippa Pheasant was tired of nearly getting squished as she tried to cross the Old Oak Road. She wrote to the mayor about the problem but didn't even get a reply. Philippa wasn't a bird to sit back on her tail feathers when there was a problem which needed solving: she saw the benefits of the lollipop lady at the school crossing and decided that she would set up something similar herself. Her uniform and lollipop stick were both a little amateur to start with but the benefits were obvious. All the animals used the crossing and Hedgehog was even trained up to provide a safe path overnight. Full Review

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Review of

Leilong's Too Long! by Julia Liu and Bei Lynn

4star.jpg For Sharing

Every morning Leilong, the brontosaurus school bus, makes his way through the city, picking up children as he goes. Children who live at the top of tower blocks don't even need to go downstairs – they simply climb out of the window and slide down his neck. It's perfect, isn't it? What could be a more fun way of going to school? There is a problem, though. Leilong isn't happy in the city: he's always having to be careful about where he puts his feet and – because he's longer than a tennis court – he often causes damage without intending to and traffic regularly gets snarled up. The school decides that he can't be the bus anymore. Full Review

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Review of

Bumblebee Grumblebee by David Elliott

4star.jpg For Sharing

I love a good board book! Bumblebee Grumblebee is aimed at quite a niche market: it's for the child who still enjoys board books (er, see my first sentence) but has mastered sufficient language skills to have realise that you can play with words and make something quite different from each one. We have the elephant who dons a tutu - and becomes a balletphant. The buffalo who has had a bath (complete with yellow duck) and then dries off with a hair drier becomes a fluffalo. The rhinoceros who drops his ice cream cone is a crynoceros (think about it!) The pelican who sits on his potty changes into a sm....... OK, let's not go there Some people are eating! Full Review

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Review of

Carried Away With the Carnival by Ed Boxall

4star.jpg For Sharing

It was one of those memories we treasure from our childhoods: an outing with our grandparents. They're there to undo all the good that parents do, so the trips out were always so much fun. A young boy was going to the carnival with his Grandad, who told him:

It'll be brilliant, just remember, don't let go of my hand. Full Review

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Review of

Otter's Coat: The Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit: A Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare by Cordellya Smith

4star.jpg For Sharing

When the world was made, the animals were given gifts. Bear was given strength so that he could become a protector. Water Spider received a strong web that even fire could not burn. Owl had excellent sight so that he could see the present and the future. Rabbit developed intelligence - but, unfortunately, not the ability to use it well. He liked to trick other animals. He was also jealous which was how he came to be in a race with Turtle. You might think that's not a fair contest but wait and see. Things are not always as they seem. I'll tell you how it came about. Full Review

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Review of

Carrots Don’t Grow On Trees! by Rob Keeley

4star.jpg For Sharing

Lily loves eating fruit and vegetables. She likes carrots, broccoli, cabbage and aubergines. When her friends at school turn up their noses, Lily is keen to explain how good they are for you and how nice to eat. One day, poor Lily gets tricked by Jordan, who tells her that carrots grow on trees. Infuriated, Lily checks with the teacher, who explains that fruits grow on trees and vegetables, like carrots, grow in the ground. Jordan says, "I did try to tell her, Miss!" and everyone laughs at poor Lily. Full Review

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Review of

You Can't Wear Panties! (No More Nappies!) by Justine Avery and Kate Zhoidik

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

For the big, grownup girls out there, the potty masters in training, "You Can't Wear Panties!" is a cry (the big-girl kind!) of toilet triumph and persevering panty pride.


And so it is! This latest book from Justine Avery celebrates a little girl's final goodbye to nappies and pull-ups and graduation to "proper" pants by following her around as she proudly explains to her dog, her cat, her stuffed rabbit and her baby sibling that she can wear super-duper proper pants, while they cannot. Neither can the flowers, nor the fish, nor the birds. Boy's certainly can't. She's a big girl now and she wants everyone to know it! Full Review

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Review of

Everybody Toots! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

4star.jpg For Sharing

Toots, trumps, farts. Whatever your word for them, find us a child that doesn't find them irresistibly funny. Funny to talk about and joke about, that is. But horribly embarrassing if you let one go at the wrong time. In class, say, when everyone will hear it and everyone will laugh. At you. Justine Avery's latest entry in her Everybody Potties! series takes aim at any shame associated with tooting and gently and calmly, with the familiar humour attached, explains that tooting is perfectly normal. Everybody does it: Everybody Toots! Full Review

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Review of

Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Seema Amjad

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! is the latest release in the Everybody Potties! series from Justine Avery. This series of fun picture books aims to take the pain out of potty training children and replace it with some fun. It's a worthy aim, as any frustrated parent will tell you. . Full Review

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Review of

When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended by Peter Cotton

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Meet Fred. Well, actually, you're going to be meeting Fred-Fred for reasons which will become all too obvious very quickly. But I'm getting ahead of myself: I'd better tell you a bit more about Fred. Fred is a snake and even those of us who have a phobia about snakes are going to warm to him. He arrived as a present in a box with holes so that he could breathe and immediately became part of the family, to the extent that they would take Fred out with them when they went out for a walk. And that was where the problem started. Fred didn't have any road sense. Or brakes. Full Review

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Review of

Everybody Pees! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

4star.jpg For Sharing

Can potty training ever be joyous? It often isn't, as any parent will tell you. But really, why shouldn't it be? We all have to learn about our bodily functions just as we have to learn about everything else when we are small. Why shouldn't potty training be as much fun as, say, learning about why the sun and the moon take turns in the sky? Full Review

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Review of

No, No, No! by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

4star.jpg For Sharing

They say the best picture books are the simplest ones. And nothing could be truer of this latest from Justine Avery, a Bookbag favourite.

No, No, No! is based around the simplest text imaginable.

No, no, no! Okay, okay. Yes, you may.

That's it! But, like all the best picture books, this tiny snippet of text is a veritable tardis - so much bigger on the inside that it appears on the outside. Full Review

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Review of

The Farm Shop by Devon Avery, Justine Avery and Ema Tepic

4star.jpg For Sharing

Kirelle and her best friend Sam the cat decide to go for a walk. Kirelle is dressed for all weathers in her bright yellow wellies and Sam is perfectly turned out as ever in his smart grey fur coat. As they walk to the top of the hill, they see a big barn with a sign outside. It's a farm shop! But this is a farm shop with a difference: all the stallholders and customers are farmyard animals. There are sheep and ducks and cows, goats and chickens, and even some mice. Excited, Kirelle and Sam go shopping.

What will they buy? Full Review

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Review of

Sadie and the Sea Dogs by Maureen Duffy and Anita Joice

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

Sadie's mother always said that she was a dreamer, her mind never on what she should be doing. She lives by the River Thames at Greenwich and she loves to spend hours at The Maritime Museum or gazing at Cutty Sark.

Her class had gone one rainy afternoon
When all the houses cowered in the gloom,
To the Maritime Museum.

Her imagination was fired. She'd love to sail the oceans on an ancient sailing ship and went back regularly. One day she fell asleep under a glass case (it's the one where Nelson's Trafalgar breeches are on show) and missed the closing bell and the attendant's warning shout. When she woke (hard floors don't make comfy beds) she was in the midst of an adventure that she could never have imagined in a world of dolphins, pirates, mermaids and treasure. Full Review

1782227741.jpg

Review of

Little Gold Ted by Vanessa Wiercioch, Poppy Satha and Sasha Satha

4star.jpg For Sharing

One day, Gold Ted falls into a puddle. It's quite a deep puddle and the water is swirling. Poor Ted starts to spin around and around and is sucked down a drain on the side of the street. Finding himself down in the sewer, Ted starts to panic. OH HELP ME PLEASE he cries and alerts the attention of Reg the sewer rat, who plucks him out of the dirty water using his cane, which might look just a bit like an old cricket bat. Reg is a kind soul and he dries Ted off and warms him up with a nice bowl of broth. Full Review

B08R7LXQ9S.jpg

Review of

Remy: A book about believing in yourself by Mayuri Naidoo and Caroline Siegal

4star.jpg For Sharing

Remy is feeling miserable. He's let himself down again. The school bully Jayden, together with his sidekicks Ryan and Brandon, have been laughing at Remy, calling him names because he is short and has small eyes. They are mean but they are not stupid. They are careful to wind up Remy when nobody can see and then push him just that little bit further when the other kids are around. So, when Remy reacts, it looks as though he was the instigator. And then he gets into trouble at school and the teachers don't believe him when he tries to explain what happened. Full Review

1471191303.jpg

Review of

The Invisible by Tom Percival

5star.jpg For Sharing

This is the story of Isobel, a little girl who made a big difference. Isobel lived with her parents in a house - a very cold house, because her parents couldn't afford to put the heating on:

Ice curled across the inside of the window and crept up the corner of the bedpost.

The family didn't go to the cinema or on holidays but they had each other and they were happy. Then the day came when they couldn't afford the rent for the house and they had to move to the far side of the city. This part of the city was cold, sad and lonely and Isobel felt invisible. Full Review

B08NFH7H9X.jpg

Review of

One Night in Beartown by Nick Jones and Si Clark

4star.jpg For Sharing

Many children have an obsession and Sandy Lane, who lives in Beartown, is obsessed with bears. She collects books about bears. Her favourite toy is Berisford, a teddy bear passed down by her grandmother. Every night, she looks out of her bedroom window and says goodnight to the bear statue outside. Every morning she says hello to Bee Bear, a colourful painted bear that lives at her school. She even has bears on her bedroom wallpaper! Full Review

Move on to Newest General Fiction Reviews