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
|author=Claire Freedman and Kate Hindley
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|author=Adam Stower
|title=Oliver and Patch
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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=Moving house is never easy, especially when you're a childOliver has moved from the countryside to the city, and he finds that not only is he having to adapt to his new surroundings, but he's also dealing with terrible loneliness, as he misses all his friends dreadfullyOne day, when Oliver can't bear being shut up inside any longer, he ventures out into the big city...will he manage to find a friend?
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|summary=When we first meet Birpus and Bulbus they're running for their lives in the Forest of Fine ReputeTheir 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>0857079549</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Tatyana Feeney
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|isbn=B0CC9W7GLR
|title=Small Elephant's Bath Time
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|title=On the Beach: The Winter Visitor
|rating=4.5
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|author=Chris Green and Jenny Fionda
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|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Water is the funnest, and Small Elephant knows it. But the one time he’s not the biggest fan of aqua is when it’s bath time. Ewww. Bor-ring. He will do anything to avoid having to get into the tub and Mummy has to take drastic measures.
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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>0192737376</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Rob Biddulph
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|isbn=1913839656
|title=Blown Away
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|title=Let's Celebrate Being Different
|rating=5
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|author=Lainey Dee
 +
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=If you thought penguins didn’t fly, think again. Penguin Blue is up in the sky but it’s not what you might think – thanks to a fun kite and a cheeky gust of wind, he’s soaring up, up and away from the home, and as his friends try to help they get pulled up and away too. Uh oh. Where will the wind take these South Pole creatures? The answer, in this amazingly fun book, is to a lush, tropical island. It’s full of friendly creatures and wondrous green foliage like none they’ve ever seen before. But it’s rather hot and far from 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>0007593821</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=David Walliams and Tony Ross
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|isbn=1529504775
|title=The Queen's Orang-Utan
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|title=The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories)
|rating=5
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=The Queen felt trapped in the palace with all those stuffed animals which she has been given on foreign toursThere are mountains of them and every night she would dream of escaping. When her birthday drew near the family dutifully asked her what she would like as a presentThe Prince was thinking of a gold, diamond encrusted stairlift whilst the Duke was considering a great big bottle of brandyThe Royal Baby had some decorated thimbles in mind, but the Queen became just a little snappish as she explained that what she really wanted was 'One's own orang-utan'.  And she didn't mean a stuffed one, either.
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|summary=Elsie and her little brother David loved to go to the park and watch the red buses drive pastElsie 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 homeGradually, David learned to stand up, use the bus for support, and walk behind itMany 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>0008135134</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Steve Jenkins
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|isbn=1529504767
|title=Actual Size
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|title=The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories)
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=For Sharing
|summary=There’s an enormous disembodied eye staring at me. At 30cm it’s as big as a dinner plate and it’s in my living room. Which is no bad thing because if I met it in the sea then I’d really be in trouble. Fortunately the eye is contained on page four of the intriguing and really rather splendid, book 'Actual Size'.
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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>1847805949</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1916459943
|author=Kate Leake
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|title=Squeakily Baby
|title=Don't Chew the Royal Shoe
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|author=Beth Webb
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Dogs, love ‘em or loath ‘em, they get underfoot and have a tendency to chew on things that are left around the houseOne set of dogs that you would expect are better trained are the Royal Corgis, they wouldn’t dare chew on a royal shoeIt turns out that they might not, but that won’t stop Chips, the other royal dog and he likes nothing better than getting his gnashers round a boot or two.
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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 eyesThen a seagull '''shouts''' and we know exactly what's going to happen next.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1407139355</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=140639131X
|author=Laura Vaccaro Seeger
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|title=A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant
|title=Bully
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|author=Briony May Smith
|rating=5
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=He's a bit of a... well, a bully, really. The farm animals want to play with him, but he just calls them names. He proceeds to insult each one until a brave little goat stands up to him and calls HIM a bully. How will Bully react to that?
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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>1783442131</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776574338
|author=Sophy Henn
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|title=Leilong's Too Long!
|title=Pom Pom Gets the Grumps
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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=Uh oh. Pom Pom is in a BAD MOOD. Nothing is going right today, the world is against him, and everyone is just rubbing him up the wrong way. Harrumph!
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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>0723294763</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776574028
|author=Barbro Lindgren and Eva Eriksson
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|title=Bumblebee Grumblebee
|title=Max's Wagon
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|author=David Elliott
|rating=5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Max had a wagon and he began putting his treasures into it. First it was his bear, then the dog, who was asleep on the chair and looking decidedly disinterested in what was going on, but he played his part.  Then it was Max's ball and the contents begin to seem just a little ''precarious'' and were even more so when Max's car was added to the pile, but bear sat astride Dog and Max pushed the wagon whilst holding the car on top of the ball with the otherThen he added his cookie and Dog began to look just the tiniest bit ''distracted'' and bear fell outDog got bear and brought him back and he did the same when the car and the ball fell off the wagon (in the literal sense of the phrase). Then the cookie fell out...
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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 oneWe 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>1776570014</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1838226834
|author=Timothy Knapman and Rosie Reeve
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|title=Carried Away With the Carnival
|title=Mighty Small
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|author=Ed Boxall
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Max the mouse has a secret. He is a superhero!  He can't run super fast, or jump really high, or do anything particular 'super' but still, he has a cape and he likes to wear his underpants over his trousers, if his mum isn't looking!  He is sure that if he just tries hard enough he will figure out what his super power must be.
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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>0192737228</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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''It'll be brilliant, just remember, don't let go of my hand.''
|author=Michael Rosen and Gillian Tyler
 
|title=The Bus Is for Us
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=As a child of the 80s I sometimes yearn for an era free from [[Aliens In Underpants Save The World by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort|Aliens in Underpants]] or rough [[The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson|Gruffalos]].  An era of Alan and Janet Ahlberg telling [[Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet Ahlberg and Allan Ahlberg|gentle stories]] that had an old fashioned feel, but were still great for the modern kid.  Thankfully, I am not the only person out there that craves this as some books are still being produced that describe the simple pleasures such as riding the bus.  However, I think that these kids have obviously never tried to catch the Number 9 at rush hour.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406337145</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09MYXSRV4
|author=Kylie Westaway and Tom Jellett
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|title=Otter's Coat: The Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit: A Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare
|title=Whale in the Bath
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|author=Cordellya Smith
|rating=5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=It’s bath time, which is often not a favourite time of day. Really, it’s a sign that the fun is over and it’s time for bath, maybe a story, and then bed, at least for the little ones. The grown ups get to stay up later. Hmpf. But Bruno is not moaning too much about getting in the bath, though you get the impression that’s a battle he’s had, and lost, in the past. The problem is…there’s a whale in the bath. And whales are pretty big so there’s not much room for Bruno to hop in beside him.
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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>1743318588</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Rob Keeley
|author=Margaret McAllister and Holly Sterling
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|title= Carrots Don’t Grow On Trees!
|title=15 Things Not to Do with a Baby
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|rating= 4
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=There’s a new arrival at home. A foreigner. An imposter. An alien. A BABY. What on Earth should you do with it?
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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>184780506X</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09HHN541V
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Quentin Blake
 
|title=Tell me a Picture - Adventures in Looking at Art
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=When did you last read a children's book that absolutely flummoxed you in the way it showed or told you something you didn't know?  (And please be an adult when you answer that, or else it won't be quite so impressive.)  Back in 2001, Quentin Blake wasn't a Knight yet – he hadn't even got his CBE – but he did get allowed to put on his own show at the National Gallery, with other people's pictures that contain oddities, stories, unexpected detail – sparks on canvas and paper that would inspire anyone looking, of whatever age, to piece things together, work things out, ''form a narrative''. The pictures came with no major labelling, no context – just what they held, and some typically scratched Blake characters discussing the images as a lead-in.  They were simply hung in alphabetical order, and probably could not have been more different.  This then is a picture book of the most literal kind, with 26 stories.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847806422</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09FFJF8YS
|author=Danielle Wright (editor) and Mique Moriuchi (illustrator)
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|title=You Can't Wear Panties! (No More Nappies!)
|title=My Village: Rhymes from Around the World
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|author=Justine Avery and Kate Zhoidik
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Rhymes and Verse
 
|summary=I'm thinking that of all the kinds of books that have ability to surprise, high up on the list are poetry books.  You can generally see the style, idea or genre of a novel from the cover, and beyond a few shocks and twists nothing changes.  But take poetry on board, and there are surprises on each page – the concentrated form of the literature surely gives the author more chance to bedazzle, to pull the rug over the readers' eyes and to generally give something the audience didn't expect.  And so it is with this book, for while [[:Category:Michael Rosen|Michael Rosen's]] introduction spoke to us of nursery rhymes, I had already flicked through and still was not expecting a spread of them.  Even when he itemised the various kinds I didn't foresee finding them all on the pages, although that is what I got.  Who would have thought that such a small, succinct and varied little volume would have that much capacity to surprise?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847806279</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Valentina Mendicino
 
|title=The Really Abominable Snowman
 
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=The Really Abominable Snowman, it turns out, is just a little yeti called Milo. He’s not even abominable, never mind really abominable! But that isn't what everybody else thinks, they're all terrified of him, even though all he wants is a friend to share his favourite cupcakes with…
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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>1406355844</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
 
|author=Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
 
|title=Charlie Cook's Favourite Book
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=As a parent, you’re always in search of it. That one, elusive thing; the perfect bedtime story. Well, in Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book, I think we quite possibly have it. This ten year anniversary edition of the book will hopefully bring it to slightly wider attention than some of Donaldson’s more well known titles, as it is a completely charming and timeless book.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1447276787</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{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=Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
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}}
|title=The Pet Person
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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=Children's stories often turn a familiar idea on its head. In this story it is that of pets, for the main characters in the story are a family of dogs, and one of them would very much like his own pet person! Will Rex succeed in persuading his parents to get him a person?  And if so, will it be everything he ever dreamed of?
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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>1783442425</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09C2RVJ2W
}}
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn= B09BG8V3Q6
|author=Max Velthuijs
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|title= Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! (Everybody Potties!)
|title=Frog in Love
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|author= Justine Avery and Seema Amjad
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Frog has been feeling a little strange. He finds himself wanting to laugh and cry at the same time, and his heart is beating strangely. Pig declares that Frog must have a cold, but Hare suggests that perhaps Frog is in loveBut who can Frog possibly be in love with?
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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>1783441453</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B07GZ81J7C
|author=Tony Ross
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|title=When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended
|title=I Feel Sick! (Little Princess)
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|author=Peter Cotton
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I should think most parents of small children are familiar with fake sicknesses, in an attempt to get out of nursery/school/the dentist or whatever other trauma you are heartlessly inflicting on them. I remember my daughter aged about three trying to convince me that she had a broken leg, pointing to the broken one and then limping on the other! Here we see the Little Princess insisting that she is terribly, dreadfully sick. Especially when she has been asked to do something she doesn't want to do. Then she feels really terrible!
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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>1783441151</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|author=Algy Craig Hall and Ali Pye
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|title= Everybody Pees! (Everybody Potties!)
|title=The Deep Dark Wood
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|rating=4
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Children love a fairytale. Forests, monsters, Little Red Riding Hood. They open up a world of possible adventures, wonder and mystery. The Deep Dark Wood taps into that format brilliantly, taking ideas and myths already deeply ingrained into our culture and creating a really fun story for children (and adults) to engage with.
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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>1408325152</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B098BJZYHH
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|author=Neil Griffiths and Janette Louden
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|title=No, No, No!
|title=The Jolly Dodgers! Pirates Who Pretended
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I’ll get started with this point; the layout of this book is utterly wonderful. It’s got a great subject matter, pirates are always popular both with adults and children, and the story of a group of pirates who don’t really want to be pirates but who are being forced into it by their pushy wives, is a terribly entertaining one. But it is the layout, style and all the extras which are working the hardest in this book's favour.
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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>1908702125</amazonuk>
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}}
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''No, No, No!'' is based around the simplest text imaginable.
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''No, no, no! Okay, okay. Yes, you may.''
  
{{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.
|author=Walter de la Mare
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|isbn=1638820457
|title=Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=Children's Rhymes and Verse
 
|summary=It was a surprise for me to read online that Walter de la Mare spent so much of his life in and around London – born at least in what is now the borough of Greenwich, passing away in Twickenham. The reason I say this is that out of the copious poems collected here, it's as if cities don't exist. Hardly anything of the subjects is manmade. The concentration is fully on the idyllic and pastoral, and in following on so closely in the footsteps of his debut collection, 'Songs of Childhood' from 1902, still very, very much Victorian.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571313892</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=194812467X
 +
|title=The Farm Shop
 +
|author=Devon Avery, Justine Avery and Ema Tepic
 +
|rating=4
 +
|genre=For Sharing
 +
|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.
  
{{newreview
+
What will they buy?
|author=Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
 
|title=Tales from Acorn Wood: Hide-and-Seek Pig
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Pig and Hen decide to play hide-and-seek and whilst Pig counts to ten, Hen goes off to hide.  Pig thinks that she's found Hen straight away when she spots a yellow beak behind the gate, but when we lift the gate flap we discover that the yellow beak belongs to Blackbird, who happily joins in the hunt for Hen.  Could that be Hen hiding in a tent? There's a long brown ear peeping out from behind the flap, but when it's lifted, we discover Rabbit, who joins the two hunters.  She was having a drink when she was found, but she brings her mug along with her.  Before Hen is eventually found we've collected quite a few seekers!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1447273435</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0995647895
|author=Jenny Offill and Chris Appelhans
+
|title=Sadie and the Sea Dogs
|title=Sparky!
+
|author=Maureen Duffy and Anita Joice
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=There are so many books about unusual pets, that I was a little wary when first opening this book. On one hand, it’s a subject which I think works really well and is always popular. On the other hand, is it over done? I needn’t have worried, this book is really ever so slightly different. It’s aimed at an older reader, I’d say primary school age, and in the end it makes for a pretty poignant read.
+
|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>1444014862</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
''Her class had gone one rainy afternoon''<br>
|author=Margaret Wild and Deborah Niland
+
''When all the houses cowered in the gloom,''<br>
|title=This Little Piggy Went Dancing
+
''To the Maritime Museum''.
|rating=3
+
|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 shoutWhen 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=There are classics of the nursery rhyme oeuvre and This Little Piggy is certainly one of themWho doesn't remember someone ticking of each of their fingers or toes as they explained the whereabouts of our porcine pals, only to be tickled at the end?  However, this is 2014 and there must be a way to improve the rhyme; perhaps the pigs are eating something different or like a different activity?  Or perhaps we should just leave well alone?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1743315112</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1782227741
|author=Kim Kane and Sara Acton
+
|title=Little Gold Ted
|title=Esther's Rainbow
+
|author=Vanessa Wiercioch, Poppy Satha and Sasha Satha
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=There's something rather magical about rainbows.  Even now I find I get a little bit excited when I see one and will rush over to the window to see how big it is, and where the pot of gold might be! In this rainbow story, Esther spies a rainbow on the floorWhen she touches it, it's soft and warm and smells slightly like honey.  After the rainbow goes away she finds herself noticing, throughout the week, the different rainbow colours in her every day life.
+
|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>1743313705</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=B08R7LXQ9S
|author=B J Novak
+
|title=Remy: A book about believing in yourself
|title=The Book With No Pictures
+
|author=Mayuri Naidoo and Caroline Siegal
|rating=5
+
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=My favourite moments of reviewing books are ones just like this; when I decide to take a chance on a book that I have no idea about but which looks like it might be just a little bit interesting, and it turns out they are. The Book With No Pictures by B J Novak isn't just a little bit interesting, it is staggeringly original and so much fun.
+
|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>0803741715</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1471191303
|author=Emily Gravett
+
|title=The Invisible
|title=Bear and Hare: Snow!
+
|author=Tom Percival
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Emily Gravett is, let's face it, always good. There are books upon books which are well written and well thought out for the preschool market, but I can't help but feel like very young tots are often an after thought. Gravett, however, takes her sweet and witty style and gives it to just this market, and she is repeatedly excellent at it. There is just as much thought in her work as with any picture book for a slightly older reader, but it speaks to small ones in particular and I cannot do anything other than applaud her for that.
+
|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>1447273230</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
''Ice curled across the inside of the window and crept up the corner of the bedpost.''
|author=Dylan Thomas and Peter Bailey
 
|title=A Child’s Christmas in Wales
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=Christmas time growing up in a Welsh seaside town was magical for Dylan Thomas, always snowy and full of adventure. From attempting to extinguish house fires with snowballs to hippo footprints in the snow his childhood in the snow was a time of wonder and pure joy.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444013467</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.
|author=Kelly L Bingham and Paul O Zelinsky
 
|title=Circle, Square, Moose
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=If you have children you have no doubt read loads of books about shapes; the circle, the square, the dodecahedron.  They are all variations of the same things – this wheel is round like a circle, this bread reminds me of a square, what on earth is a dodecahedron?  Why not spice the book up by throwing in a moose, but not just any moose.  This is a moose that brings chaos to everything he touches and must be chased from the book!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783441860</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Nick Jones and Si Clark
|author=Nicki Greenberg
+
|title=One Night in Beartown
|title=The Naughtiest Reindeer
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=If you made all of Father Christmas’s reindeer line up, you would find it pretty tricky to find the naughtiest one among them as they are so well behaved.  However, there is one reindeer who is so naughty that she does not get asked to pull the sleigh very often. On certain occasions needs must and when Rudolf is ill on Christmas Eve, the only help comes in the form of his little sister Ruby – dear oh deer.
+
|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>1743313047</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=B08NFH7H9X
}}
+
}}
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Kristina Stephenson
 
|title=Sir Charlie Stinky Socks: The Pirate's Curse
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Sir Charlie Stinky Socks: the Pirate's Curse passed the grandchild test. The oldest granddaughter, aged 7, chose it for the teatime read as she'd already enjoyed another in this series. She took the lead in turning the pages, opening the giant flaps and pointing out details of the plot and jokes. The varied typefaces and sizes made it easy for her beginner reader brother to join in and the lively story line frequently attracted the attention of the third child who was sitting on the other side of the table absorbed in a project of her own.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405268093</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Newest General Fiction Reviews]]
|author=Evangeline Lilly and Johnny Fraser-Allen
 
|title=The Squickerwonkers
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Rhymes and Verse
 
|summary=Selma is a young girl who finds a strange attraction on the edge of a fair – a large gypsy caravan-styled contraption, which she enters, alone but for her shiny red balloon.  She appears to be alone, until nine marionette puppets suddenly appear on the stage within, and a disembodied voice introduces them all to her.  They are the Squickerwonkers, and as we are about to see, they can reveal someone's entire character with the simplest of actions…
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783295457</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Tom Moorhouse and David Roberts
 
|title=The Adventures of Mr Toad
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Poop poop! Here comes Mr. Toad! The irrepressible Mr. Toad returns, accompanied, of course, by Ratty, Mole and Badger in this cheerful picture book version of The Wind in the Willows. The well-known highlights of the classic tale; the yellow caravan, the beautiful car, the shame of Toad's prison stay and his daring escape plus The Weasels and The Stoats are all included and, accompanied by charming illustrations, this is a wonderful way to introduce young children to a classic.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192738674</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

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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

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

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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

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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

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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