Difference between revisions of "Newest For Sharing Reviews"

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[[Category:For Sharing|*]]
 
[[Category:For Sharing|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|For Sharing]] __NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->
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[[Category:New Reviews|For Sharing]]__NOTOC__
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=Jolly Snowmen
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|author=Adam Stower
|author=Ned Taylor
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|title=Murray and Bun
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Confident Readers
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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 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…
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|isbn=0008561249
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1732898766
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|title=The Adventures of Birpus and Bulbus: Book One: The Sour Milk Dragon
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|author=Wynn Everett-Albanese, Michael Albanese and Indre Ta (Illustrator)
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Snowmen are universally adored. Everyone I know who picked up this book, young and old, went ''Oooh, snowmen!'' There’s something so cheerful about this precious, somewhat rare creature, and the likes of Frozen have cemented this in the minds of the latest generation. A book about two balls of icy snow doesn't sound much, but add a scarf, coal eyes and a carrot nose, and the transformation is astonishing.
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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>184857424X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B0CC9W7GLR
|title=Tin
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|title=On the Beach: The Winter Visitor
|author=Chris Judge
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|author=Chris Green and Jenny Fionda
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=When Tin agrees to look after Nickel for the afternoon, you can tell he really just wants her to play peacefully while he reads his comic. But little sisters have a habit of not doing what you want, and before he knows it, Tin is up off his sun lounger and racing after Nickel to keep her from danger. As he and Zinc the dog chase after her, they find themselves in an adventure of their own in the big city.
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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>1783440406</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1913839656
|title=It's an Orange Aadvark!
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|title=Let's Celebrate Being Different
|author=Michael Hall
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|author=Lainey Dee
|rating=4.5
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|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A group of ants decide to drill through their tree stump in order to give themselves a window to the outside world. The more they drill, the more colours they find, and the more whacky and wild ideas they come up with for what they mind find outside the safety of their 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 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1910277045</amazonuk>
 
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1529504775
|title=Yuck! Said the Yak
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|title=The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories)
|author=Alex English and Emma Levey
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Yuck! Said the Yak is a great, fun book for young listeners. Alfie is trying desperately to find something which his hungry Yak friend will want to eat, but he doesn’t really think about what a Yak will want, and so all the Yak can say is ''Yuck!''
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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>1848861141</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|title=The Twelve Days of Christmas
 
|author=Britta Teckentrup
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Rhymes and Verse
 
|summary=You know the song already, but this peep-through book recreates the magic of the ''Twelve Days of Christmas'' in a beautiful and special way.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848958862</amazonuk>
 
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1529504767
|title=Surprise
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|title=The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories)
|author=Jonathan Litton and Fhiona Galloway
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Pass the Parcel is a timeless classic for any occasion, be it a birthday or, as in this book, Christmas time. But have you ever played it in a book before? No? Keep reading.
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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>1848959079</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1916459943
|title=Your Hand in My Hand
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|title=Squeakily Baby
|author=Mark Sperring and Britta Teckentrup
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|author=Beth Webb
|rating=3.5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=When I was young my Mum always wanted me to come over for a lean or hold her hand if we were walkingI would be asked how much I loved her and I would reply, ''This Much'' whilst stretching out my arms as far as they would goIt seems that my Mum was quite a sentimental person, so this book would have been perfect for her to read to me before bed.
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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 helpIt 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>1408333163</amazonuk>
 
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=140639131X
|title=Baker Cat
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|title=A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant
|author=Posy Simmonds
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|author=Briony May Smith
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Poor cat! All day long he works for the mean baker and his equally unpleasant wife in the bakery, mixing, baking, chopping, slicing and sweeping while the baker grumbles. Then at night the exhausted cat, without any supper, is expected to catch the mice that run riot in the storeroom. Unfortunately he is not a particularly successful mouse catcher. Eventually the poor cat, denied even a name by his miserable owners, becomes thin, sad and weepy and slumps in despair. It is then that the mice take pity on him and concoct a clever plan to help him.
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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>1783441054</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776574338
|title=Hooray for Hat
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|title=Leilong's Too Long!
|author=Brian Won
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|author=Julia Liu and Bei Lynn
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Helping someone is a great way to make them feel good and what better way to do this than providing a novelty hatI can think of a few things myself, but for Elephant, Zebra, Turtle and the rest of their pals; hat-giving is the joy de jour.
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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 schoolThere 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>1783441763</amazonuk>
 
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776574028
|title=The Oxford Treasury of Nursery Rhymes
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|title=Bumblebee Grumblebee
|author=Sarah Williams and Karen King
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|author=David Elliott
|rating=3.5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=When it comes to nursery rhymes, what you learn at your Mother’s knee as a baby is gospel. Recently I have expanded my repertoire courtesy of Cheshire libraries excellent rhyme time activities, but at heart I still can't quite come to terms with the librarian saying 'washed ''the spider'' out as opposed to my mum’s washed ''poor Incey'' out'.  Sadly, Williams’ and King’s compendium ''The Oxford Treasury of Nursery Rhymes'' doesn’t take my Mum’s side in this.
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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>0192738666</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1838226834
|title=Snow
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|title=Carried Away With the Carnival
|author=Walter de la Mare
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|author=Ed Boxall
|rating=4.5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=This is a classic poem which has been brought to life in a lovely picture book which is perfect for the run up to Christmas and close after. It captures perfectly the sense of joy around Christmas for young children.
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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:
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571305571</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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''It'll be brilliant, just remember, don't let go of my hand.''
|title=Dinosaur Poo!
 
|author=Christyan Fox and Diane Fox
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=There are two things that I find are always popular topics when it comes to young children; dinosaurs, and poo. This book takes that very much to the next level in this rhyming book all about dinosaur poo. It does what it says on the tin.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1910277029</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09MYXSRV4
|title=Winnie's Big Bad Robot
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|title=Otter's Coat: The Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit: A Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare
|author=Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
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|author=Cordellya Smith
|rating=4.5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Winnie the Witch is something of an institution in children’s literature these days, and with good reason. From the very first book in the series Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul managed to capture a wonderful sense of fun, mischief and adventure. This addition to the series is no exception.
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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>0192738720</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Rob Keeley
|title=On Sudden Hill
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|title= Carrots Don’t Grow On Trees!
|author=Linda Sarah and Benji Davies (Illustrator)
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|rating= 4
|rating=5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Birt and Etho are best friends. They spend hours together playing on Sudden Hill. Usually they play with large cardboard boxes imagining that they are pirates, or soldiers or maybe kings but always they are the best of friends. Then one day another little boy, Shu, brings his box to Sudden Hill and asks if he can play too. The three boys sit in their boxes together and imagine that they are dragon slayers or skyscraper dancers but Birt feels strange. He misses the two-by-two rhythm he had shared with Etho. Can the boys make a friendship of two become three?
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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>1471119289</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09HHN541V
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09FFJF8YS
|author=Zanib Mian and Laura Ewing Ferrer
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|title=You Can't Wear Panties! (No More Nappies!)
|title=Never too Small
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|author=Justine Avery and Kate Zhoidik
|rating=4
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|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=There was once a young boy who didn't try to do things because he felt that he was too small, but he was lucky.  He had a good friend and that friend wrote him a letter to tell him that people are never too small, or too big, or too old to try something new.  There was also a little girl and she was afraid of the dark.  It was her brother who wrote her a letter to tell her that he would always be there for her.  There was the boy who wouldn't try new things to eat, the young girl who was afraid of heights, a boy who was terrified about going to school and a girl who was frightened of spiders. They all had that special someone who took the time to write them the letter which gave them the confidence to overcome their fears.
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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>0956419658</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|title=Bing: Make Music
 
|author=Ted Dewan
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=''Round the corner, Not far away…'' These are the words I hear in my living room most afternoons followed by 6 minutes and 30 seconds of silence from my boy. I could take advantage and get on with some urgent tasks but, truth be told, I’m happy to snuggle up and drink in the rich artwork that is Bing Bunny brought to life on CBeebies. Unusually, Bing on the box was born out of Bing the book. Also, unusually, my local library have no Bing books so ''Bing: Make Music'' was my first experience of the Bingster (as he is known to his fans) confined to paper. There on the first page, just like on CBeebies, were the magic opening words followed by… ''Bing’s been bongo- ing all day''.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007515421</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!
|author=Quentin Blake
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}}
|title=The Five of Us
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{{Frontpage
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|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
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|title=Everybody Toots! (Everybody Potties!)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Five friends set off on an outing, complete with yellow bus and sandwiches. There was Angie who could see a sparrow from five miles away. Ollie could hear it sneeze. Simona and Mario were so strong that they could lift anything.  They were all amazing. Then there was Eric, but Eric wasn't quite certain if he excelled at anything. Big Eddie was driving the bus and after they had eaten their sandwiches Big Eddie suddenly took a funny turn. What were The Five to do?  Well, they set off with Simona and Mario carrying Eddie (and, by gosh, he is big) but suddenly they came to the banks of a big river - and this was when Eric discovered exactly why he is amazing.
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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>1849763046</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09C2RVJ2W
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn= B09BG8V3Q6
|title=Foxy and Egg
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|title= Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! (Everybody Potties!)
|author=Alex T Smith
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|author= Justine Avery and Seema Amjad
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Long-time lovers of thebookbag.co.uk may find something familiar about the tale of Foxy DeBois who invites a young egg into her house for a meal. What can this sense of déjà vu be?  More than likely you read the earlier review by our own Keith Dudhnath on [[Egg by Alex T Smith|Egg]].  With the success of Foxy in the intervening years, the book has been renamed and re-released, but does it remain as fun?
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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>1444920928</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B07GZ81J7C
|title=You Can Do It, Bert!
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|title=When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended
|author=Ole Konnecke
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|author=Peter Cotton
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=It's very rare that I get my hands on a Gecko Press picture book and find I don't like itThey seem to publish lots of unusual, entertaining books that become firm favourites on our bookshelvesThis one is no exceptionBert is a plump little birdie, standing on a branch, facing his big dayCan he?  Will he?  Should he jump?
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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 FredFred 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 walkAnd that was where the problem startedFred didn't have any road senseOr brakes.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1927271037</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|title=Betty Goes Bananas
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|title= Everybody Pees! (Everybody Potties!)
|author=Steve Antony
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=This is a simple, repetitive book with a circular tale: Betty wants something, she doesn’t get it and so she cries and kicks and screams until someone helps her. If that makes you think that tantrums are being rewarded, in a way you’d be right, but Mr Toucan, her repeated saviour, is keen to show her how to do things rather than just do them for her. Teach a man to fish and he’ll never go hungry, teach a chimp to peel a banana and she’ll be happy, for a while at least.
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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>0192738151</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B098BJZYHH
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
 +
|title=No, No, No!
 +
|rating=4
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|genre=For Sharing
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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.
  
{{newreview
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''No, No, No!'' is based around the simplest text imaginable.
|title=The New Small Person
 
|author=Lauren Child
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Elmore Green is an only child, and very happy about it he is too, thank you very much. And then a small person arrives in his house and everything is just wrong. What is he supposed to do?! The small person gets bigger, and Elmore just isn’t sure how he is supposed to deal with it.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0723293619</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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''No, no, no! Okay, okay. Yes, you may.''
|title=This Book Just Ate My Dog
 
|author=Richard Byrne
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Bella decides to take her dog for a walk across the page of this very naughty book, when what does the book do? It eats her dog! The cheek! Various people and vehicles go in after it, but none of them come back out again! There's nothing for it, Bella will just have to sort it out herself...
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192737287</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{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=Where Bear?
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|isbn=1638820457
|author=Sophy Henn
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Where Bear? is a delightful picture book that is sure to charm. A bear and a boy live happily together but both baby bears and baby boys grow up, and over time the bear grows too big for the human-sized house. Sad to lose his friend, but determined to find a nice new home for him, the boy offers up suggestion after suggestion. Some bears live in zoos, or forests or perform in a circus. What about one of those places? With each ''No'' from the bear comes a defeated response from our boy ''Then where bear?''
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0723288917</amazonuk>
 
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=194812467X
|title=You Are (Not) Small
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|title=The Farm Shop
|author=Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant
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|author=Devon Avery, Justine Avery and Ema Tepic
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Meet little purple critter. He is small. Big orange critter tells him so. And indeed, he is smaller than big orange critter, just a fraction of his size. But wait. What if he’s not small, but big orange critter is the weirdo? What is he’s big? Did you ever think of that, Mr big orange critter?
+
|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>1444918303</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|title=The Something
 
|author=Rebecca Cobb
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=''The Something'' is one of those great books which instantly captures your imagination with a very simple idea. The premise is that a boy loses his ball when it falls down a small hole underneath the cherry tree in his back garden. What could be inside the hole? He asks his friends and family and they all come up with lots of different suggestions, but will he ever find out what it actually is?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0230764827</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
What will they buy?
|title=Digby Dog Delivers: A Search and Find Book
 
|author=Tor Freeman
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Digby Dog is off on his rounds, delivering the post. But he might need some help finding the people his parcels are for, can you help him?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0230770886</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=0995647895
|title=Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons
+
|title=Sadie and the Sea Dogs
|author=Eric Litwin and James Dean
+
|author=Maureen Duffy and Anita Joice
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Pete the Cat has put his favourite shirt on, you know the one, with four groovy buttons? And he loves it. But what happens when those buttons start to fall off one by one?
+
|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>0007553676</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
''Her class had gone one rainy afternoon''<br>
|title=Smelly Louie
+
''When all the houses cowered in the gloom,''<br>
|author=Catherine Rayner
+
''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=Louie is a smelly dog, until his owner gives him a bath. Suddenly everything is wrong and Louie doesn't smell like himself any more. Will he be able to find his own smell again? Let's hope so!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0230742505</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1782227741
|title=The Scarecrows' Wedding
+
|title=Little Gold Ted
|author=Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
+
|author=Vanessa Wiercioch, Poppy Satha and Sasha Satha
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Betty O'Barley and Harry O'Hay are going to get married, in fact they're going to have the best wedding yet, the wedding that no one will ever forget. So they make a wedding list and set off around the farm to find the things they need. Harry goes off on his own to find pink flowers, but the question is will he be back in time for the wedding?
+
|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>1407144413</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=B08R7LXQ9S
|title=Bear and Bee: Too Busy
+
|title=Remy: A book about believing in yourself
|author=Sergio Ruzzier
+
|author=Mayuri Naidoo and Caroline Siegal
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Bear is trying to do lots of fun things, but they'd all be much more fun if only his friend, Bee, would join in. Bee, however, has other ideas and is just too busy to roll down hills or climb up trees. When Bee is finished and wants to play with Bear, Bear is trying to sleep!
+
|summary=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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1423159616</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1471191303
|title=Ten Little Princesses
+
|title=The Invisible
|author=Mike Brownlow and Simon Rickerty
+
|author=Tom Percival
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Ten little princesses are going to a ball, but not all of them may get there. There are lots of distractions between the castle and the dance floor. Some of them are less than pleasant, like the scary monsters or the poison apple, not to mention the huffing, puffing big bad wolf (can see a familiar theme emerging?) Others are much more enticing, like a frog just begging to be kissed or a charming prince (on a skateboard, no less).
+
|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>1408330105</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
''Ice curled across the inside of the window and crept up the corner of the bedpost.''
|title=Wolfman
 
|author=Michael Rosen and Chris Mould
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=People are panicking. The police are afraid. The army have run away. Who or what could possibly be so scary? It’s Wolf Man. And he’s on the loose.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781123748</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
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.
|title=Lord of the Forest
 
|author=Caroline Pitcher and Jackie Morris
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Everything in the forest is exciting and new for little tiger as he explores the world around him. His mother has told him of The Lord of the Forest and so he watches, listens and waits in the hope of discovering who this mysterious animal may be. As time passes he grows puzzled and starts to ask the other animals such as the Rhino, the Elephant and the Peacock who The Lord of the Forest is and each in turn claims that it is he. The tiger does not believe them and continues his search. It is not until the tiger is fully grown with a mate and cubs of his own that he finally discovers the identity of the beast he has been searching for.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847805469</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Nick Jones and Si Clark
|title=I Heart Holidays
+
|title=One Night in Beartown
|author=Clara Vulliamy
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Martha and her bunny brothers are going on holiday to the seaside and it's charming. They’re in a vintage camper van, and while a traffic jam holds them up a bit, they're soon on the beach and ready to swim. Well, Martha is. But the boys don't want to so instead they have sandcastle building competitions, and a picnic and a paddle and some ice creams. Every time Martha mentions the sea, a new plan emerges. Will anyone ever go in the water with her?
+
|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>000741921X</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=B08NFH7H9X
}}
+
}}
 +
 
 +
Move on to [[Newest General Fiction Reviews]]

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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