Difference between revisions of "Newest For Sharing Reviews"

From TheBookbag
Jump to navigationJump to search
 
(513 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
[[Category:For Sharing|*]]
 
[[Category:For Sharing|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|For Sharing]] __NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->
+
[[Category:New Reviews|For Sharing]]__NOTOC__
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Paula Metcalf and Cally Johnson-Isaacs
+
|author=Adam Stower
|title=Rabbits Don’t Lay Eggs!
+
|title=Murray and Bun
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Confident Readers
 +
|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…
 +
|isbn=0008561249
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=1732898766
 +
|title=The Adventures of Birpus and Bulbus: Book One: The Sour Milk Dragon
 +
|author=Wynn Everett-Albanese, Michael Albanese and Indre Ta (Illustrator)
 +
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary= Life’s boring in the burrow so Rupert rabbit decides to tunnel over to the neighbouring farm. There he meets a very bossy duck, Dora, who tells him that only animals who can do a job can live on this farm. What can a rabbit do?
+
|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>1447282779</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Cerrie Burnell and Laura Ellen Anderson
+
|isbn=B0CC9W7GLR
|title=Mermaid
+
|title=On the Beach: The Winter Visitor
|rating=3
+
|author=Chris Green and Jenny Fionda
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Bringing important issues such as race and disability to a child’s attention is a vital thing for any parent to do if they want their child to understand the world better.  Why does that person look different and should I be scared?  The answer is obviously no, but how is a child supposed to know this?  Books are a great way of explaining diversity without making the lesson too preachy or obviousPerhaps a story about a mermaid who, when out of the water, is in a wheelchair?
+
|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 shorelineOn 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>1407145932</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Jory John and Benji Davies
+
|isbn=1913839656
|title=Goodnight Already
+
|title=Let's Celebrate Being Different
|rating=4
+
|author=Lainey Dee
 +
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=If you list all of my favourite things you may be surprised what one of my top choices is – sleepLovely, blessed sleepy sleep. There is nothing quite like the feeling of waking up at the usual time, only to roll over and go back to Slumberville as there is no work todayIf you wake me up too early, I have been described as looking somewhat like a grumpy bear, but what do you expect if you try to stop someone who is hibernating? Will you learn the lesson of this little duck who would not let a sleeping bear lie?
+
|summary=Todd was excited about spending the weekend with his grandmother, not least because she made the best beetle juice.  He packed two pairs of dungarees and his favourite hat and then gathered together his button collection to show his grandmotherShe had promised to take him to the Friday Night Club at the local community centre and Todd was pleased about this as he wanted to make new friendsAt 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>0008101353</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Pip Jones and Laura Hughes
+
|isbn=1529504775
|title=Daddy's Sandwich
+
|title=The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories)
 +
|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=One day, a little girl decides to make her daddy a sandwichIt starts out well, with two slices of bread, but things soon slip and slide from there into culinary chaos as she searches through the house for all of his favourite things, like biscuits dunked in tea, and his favourite slippers, and even the remote control!
+
|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 homeGradually, 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>0571311830</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author= Adam Guillain, Charlotte Guillain and Lee Wildish
+
|isbn=1529504767
|title=Pizza for Pirates
+
|title=The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories)
|rating=4.5
+
|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary= George has been exploring before. He’s taken spaghetti to the Yeti, marshmallows for the Martians, and doughnuts for Dragons. In his fourth adventure, he’s off in search of a pirate crew and he’s again armed with a tasty snack. Pizza!
+
|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>1405273615</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Ella Bailey
+
|isbn=1916459943
|title=At The Animal Ball
+
|title=Squeakily Baby
 +
|author=Beth Webb
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary= The animals are having a ball. Join them as they 'dance and
+
|summary=Much as mothers love their babies, there's something they all dread - a squeakily baby. He's so tired but he can't - or won't - go to sleep: instead, he just lies on his blanket and ''wails''. The sea offers to help.  It rocks Baby gently and the waves sing ''hush, hush''. Think of gentle wavelets falling onto a sandy beach and you have the sound perfectly. The mermaids join in - ''la lou, la lay...''  And for a moment it seems to have worked as Baby closes his eyes.  Then a seagull '''shouts''' and we know exactly what's going to happen next.
roar', 'flutter a fan' then 'tap your toes on the floor'. This is flip
 
flap fun in the parlour game tradition of 'heads, bodies, tails'. On
 
Midsummer's Eve a veritable menagerie of very cute animals in what
 
appear to be a range of national costumes, are assembling to bounce,
 
shimmy, swagger and stroll. You can mix the animals up by flipping the
 
flaps but watch out! Moving the pages out of sequence also mixes up
 
the dance moves. Join in and keep up!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782402306</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
+
|isbn=140639131X
|title=Slug Needs a Hug
+
|title=A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant
|rating=4
+
|author=Briony May Smith
 +
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Growing up, my experience with slugs mainly revolved around spotting them in the garden and being sent out with the pot of salt to send them to a salty (and frankly, disgusting) death! My mum was forever waging war on these creatures that were hell-bent on eating everything in her garden that she loved bestSince those happy childhood moments, I have had other difficult moments with slugs including the one who dared to come into our house, into the lounge, and who I trod on in the dark one night. Yuck! All of which means that, to be honest, I wasn’t sure this book would be very enjoyable for me!  Still, I’m never one to say no to something illustrated by Tony Ross, and he and Jeanne Willis make a reliably good team, so I put my salt pot away and sat down to read.
+
|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 herselfHer 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>1783441194</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Sarah Garland
+
|isbn=1776574338
|title=Azzi in Between
+
|title=Leilong's Too Long!
|rating=5
+
|author=Julia Liu and Bei Lynn
 +
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Our story begins in a country at warUnfortunately you could probably put a name to it (although it isn't named) as it happens all too regularlyOur heroine is Azzi, a young girl whose life was not ''too'' affected by the war, but every day it came a little closer. Her father still worked as a doctor and her mother made beautiful clothesHer grandmother wove warm blankets.  Then the day came when they had to run, for their lives, and escape was by boat and they became refugees.  The three of them - for Grandma had been left behind - had been luckier than most for they were accepted on a temporary basis into another country (again it's not named) and they had a home, although it was just one room.
+
|summary=Every morning Leilong, the brontosaurus school bus, makes his way through the city, picking up children as he goesChildren 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 neckIt's perfect, isn't it?  What could be a more fun way of going to school? There is a problem, thoughLeilong 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>1847806511</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Sarah Garland
+
|isbn=1776574028
|title=Eddie's Tent and How to go Camping
+
|title=Bumblebee Grumblebee
|rating=5
+
|author=David Elliott
 +
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Mum, Tom, Tilly, Lily and Eddie wanted to go on holiday and camping seemed like the ideal way to goLily and Tilly thought it was a brilliant idea and they had some experience, although their 'tent' did look just a little bit like a duvet over a chairIt's surprising what you need for a holiday, but Lily and Tilly had to be told to start again when Mum saw what they'd packed! But finally, Tom began to load the car and off they went.
+
|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>184780408X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=David J Plant
+
|isbn=1838226834
|title=Hungry Roscoe
+
|title=Carried Away With the Carnival
 +
|author=Ed Boxall
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary= Roscoe is hungry. He dreams of eating fresh fruit and fish rather than the rotten scraps he scavenges from the bins in the park where he lives. When his friend Benjy tells him that the animals in the Zoo get fresh food every day, Roscoe has to go. But he quickly finds that there’s no way the bad-tempered Zoo Keeper will let Roscoe anywhere near the food. Determined not to give up, Roscoe tries to disguise himself as a tortoise and then as a penguin. When that doesn’t work, the monkeys suggest an alternative idea with devastating consequences for the poor Zoo Keeper.  
+
|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>1909263532</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
''It'll be brilliant, just remember, don't let go of my hand.''
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Clare Bevan and Cally Johnson-Isaacs
+
|isbn=B09MYXSRV4
|title=Mimi's Magical Fairy Friends Catkin the Fairy Kitten
+
|title=Otter's Coat: The Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit: A Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare
|rating=2.5
+
|author=Cordellya Smith
 +
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Children’s books are wonderful things to read full of vibrant colours and flights of fancy, but they can also be sickly sweetDesigning a book for a young girl does not mean it that has to be bright pink and float into the room on the wings of a PegasusIt seems that this fact has not stopped countless authors trying to do just thisSome girls may indeed love fairies, mermaids or ponies, but this does not mean that they hate concepts such as rounded characters, plots that make sense, or feelings of empowermentEven a magical fairy kitten is not enough to disguise a book with no plot.
+
|summary=When the world was made, the animals were given giftsBear 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 TurtleYou might think that's not a fair contest but wait and seeThings are not always as they seemI'll tell you how it came about.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1447277015</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Rob Keeley
|author= Mike Brownlow and Simon Rickerty
+
|title= Carrots Don’t Grow On Trees!
|title=Ten Little Dinosaurs
+
|rating= 4
|rating=5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=When I was a child it was ten green bottles standing on the wall. Since then Mike Brownlow and Simon Rickerty have brought us the exploits of ''Ten Little Princesses'' and ''Ten Little Pirates''. Now they invite us to explore the prehistoric world of ''Ten Little Dinosaurs''.
+
|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>1408334003</amazonuk>
+
|isbn= B09HHN541V
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Jeanne Willis and Adrian Reynolds
+
|isbn=B09FFJF8YS
|title=Ready, Steady, Jump
+
|title=You Can't Wear Panties! (No More Nappies!)
 +
|author=Justine Avery and Kate Zhoidik
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=If children’s books are a great way of introducing the varied world of the animal kingdom. There are books on lions, kangaroos, monkeys, aardvarks, ostriches and so many others.  However, children’s books since the days of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘‘Just So Stories’’ have also been confusing kids with animal facts that just aren’t true. Are we to believe that an elephant got its trunk by having it pulled on by a crocodile?  To compound the issue, author Jeanne Willis is now suggesting that not only do elephants have an elongated nose, but they are also unable to jump – how silly!
+
|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>1783440392</amazonuk>
+
 
}}
+
 
{{newreview
+
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=David Lucas
+
}}  
|title=This is My Rock
+
{{Frontpage
 +
|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
 +
|title=Everybody Toots! (Everybody Potties!)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Once you have claimed something as your own, the temptation to not share it is enormous, whether you’re three years old or thirty three!  In this story we are introduced to a little goat who has climbed to the top of a mountain, claimed it as his own, and is unwilling to allow anyone else up there with him.
+
|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>1909263508</amazonuk>
+
|isbn= B09C2RVJ2W
}}
+
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Patricia Hegarty and Fhiona Galloway
+
|isbn= B09BG8V3Q6
|title=Please: A First Book of Manners
+
|title= Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! (Everybody Potties!)
|rating=4.5
+
|author= Justine Avery and Seema Amjad
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Ah, that age old battle, of how to teach your children to be polite. I had a teacher who had magic hands, and she would only release what she was holding if you remembered to say please and thank you to her! This board book introduces the word please in a lovely way, right from a very early age!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184869055X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Elli Woollard and Benji Davies
 
|title=The Giant of Jum
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=The Giant of Jum is hungry and it’s making him grumpy. Luckily he remembers his brother telling him a story about a beanstalk and a boy called Jack and this leads the Giant to set off to find his own Jack. The boy will, he decides, make a very tasty snack. But things don’t work out as he plans. Instead of eating the children he meets along the way he ends up helping them, using his extra height to fetch a lost ball and rescue a cat from a tree. When he finally finds Jack will he really be able to eat Jack up? And if he doesn’t eat Jack, how will he fill his rumbling tummy? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1447254740</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Bob Staake
 
|title=My Pet Book
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I have a deep regard for books; they led to my love of reading and later my career as a Librarian.  Over the years I have had some books that I have read many times and are firm favourites, but would I go so far as to call them my pets?  I don’t keep them in a little book house (unless that’s how you describe your bookshelf) and I don’t walk around the street with them on a lead.  Who on Earth would do that?
+
|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>178344231X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Barroux
 
|title=Where's the Elephant?
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=We've all had great fun with books such as ''Where's Wally'',  haven't we? They appeal to children and adults and everyone who has seen ''Where's the Elephant?'' has jumped in with great enthusiasm, keen to show just how observant they are.  We start off with a forest - actually it's the Amazon Rainforest - full of glorious colours and our three friends, who are hiding in there. Elephant is probably the easiest to spot, but Snake and Parrot are in there too and with a little concentration you'll find them.  When you turn the page you'll scan the trees again and discover their hiding places.  You even wonder if it might get a little ''boring'' if it goes on like this.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405271388</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Anna Kovecses
 
|title=One Thousand Things
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=When you are just short of two years old there’s a whole lifetime of learning ahead. Where to begin? Well, you could do a lot worse than get Mum or Dad to buy a copy of Anna Kovecses’ ''One Thousand Things''. Don’t believe the mouse on the front cover holding a balloon saying ''learn your first words''. To bill this book as a ‘vocabulary builder’ is to woefully underplay its hand. Study hard and this book will see you safely through nursery and in to reception as an assured four year old who can hold their own in the cut and thrust of classroom debate.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847806074</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Judi Abbot
 
|title=Train
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Kids nowadays have far too many toys to play with; whilst I had to make do with a piece of string tied around a rock, today’s youth have rooms filled with more plastic contraptions than an aging Hollywood Starlet’s cheeks.  Even with all this stuff at hand most parents will tell you that their child will still gravitate more to a few of their favourite things, ignoring a lot of the other offerings availablePerhaps they have a toy train that they are obsessed by?  Train!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1589255429</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Carron Brown and Bee Johnson
+
|isbn=B07GZ81J7C
|title=On the Train
+
|title=When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended
|rating=4
+
|author=Peter Cotton
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=There’s nothing me and the little ‘un like more than a good transport themed book. Tractors remain top of my toddler’s pops but trains run a close second. One glimpse of the cover of ''On the Train'' and his little feet did the happy dance. He hunkered down and the journey began.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178240242X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Aino-Maija Metsola
 
|title=Colours
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Lift the flaps books are very popular in my house, though I seldom use that term to describe them. Rip the flaps is more apt. I imagine fellow parents reading this review will wince and nod at this point whilst librarians will perspire and reach reflexively for the sellotape. 'Colours' by Aino-Maija Metsola is a lift the flaps book for the very young. As the title suggests, this edition aims to teach the concept of colour with the added spice of extra pictures hidden behind flaps.
+
|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>1847806090</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Sally Sutton and Brian Lovelock
+
|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|title=Construction
+
|title= Everybody Pees! (Everybody Potties!)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I live near what is currently a pretty massive building site and I don’t think there is anything particularly magical about the noise and mess that a bunch of huge vehicles make, but try telling that to a three year old. The bright yellow colours and obvious power of these machines can spark a child’s imagination. So, a book that evokes all this building and construction is hypnotically powerful to the right child.
+
|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>1922077305</amazonuk>
+
|isbn= B098BJZYHH
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Ella Burfoot
+
|author=Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|title=Recipe For A Story
+
|title=No, No, No!
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I’m sure you love reading, but have you ever wanted to write a book? Would you even know where to start? In this delightful, whimsical look at the topic, we learn that writing a story could be like baking a cake, with lots of ingredients mixed together in just the right way for a wonderful creation.
+
|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>0230753035</amazonuk>
+
 
}}
+
''No, No, No!'' is based around the simplest text imaginable.
{{newreview
+
 
|author=Anthony Browne and Hanne Bartholin
+
''No, no, no! Okay, okay. Yes, you may.''
|title=Frida and Bear
+
 
|rating=4.5
+
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.
|genre=For Sharing
+
|isbn=1638820457
|summary=Frida, the elephant, and Bear, the, um, bear, are great friends who love to play together. This book teaches us one of their favourite games and it stems from their mutual love of drawing. If you didn’t think that was a two-player activity think again.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>140635399X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet
+
|isbn=194812467X
|title=I Need a Wee!
+
|title=The Farm Shop
 +
|author=Devon Avery, Justine Avery and Ema Tepic
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Is there anyone who looks forward to the potty training stage? No, I didn't think so. I'm there again at the moment with my little boy. Everyone delights in telling me how boys are a lot harder to train than girls. So far they're right! I was hopeful that this book might help things along a little but, sadly, it succeeded only in making all of us laugh (and left us hoping that our small boy didn't get any naughty ideas from it!)
+
|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>1471120872</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
What will they buy?
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Emma Chichester Clark
+
|isbn=0995647895
|title=Bears Don't Read
+
|title=Sadie and the Sea Dogs
|rating=4.5
+
|author=Maureen Duffy and Anita Joice
 +
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=You might think a picture of a bear reading a book, on the cover of a book itself called ''Bears Don’t Read'' is confusing, but it quickly becomes clear. George is a bear doing bear things with his friends and family but he’s getting a bit bored of the same old, same old. So when he finds a book some poor human type person has dropped he’s a bit excited. The only thing is, he doesn’t know how to read it, so he can’t release the exciting adventure that’s cooped up inside. With his fellow bears showing little interest in his find, he sets off for the town to try to locate someone who can help.
+
|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>0007425198</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Mary Hoffman and Ros Asquith
 
|title=The Great Big Book of Families
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Dolce and Gabbana would not like this book, that much I’m sure of. I think it’s ace, though.
 
  
Families are no longer 2.4 children with a mummy and a daddy. To be fair, that wasn’t even the case 30 years ago when I was a toddler, but most books at the time hadn’t clocked the change yet so in literature at least that’s what a family was. Not any more. This book, not the first of its kind, I’m sure, but a very welcome addition to the market, highlights and celebrates the diversity of family life in Britain today.
+
''Her class had gone one rainy afternoon''<br>
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847805876</amazonuk>
+
''When all the houses cowered in the gloom,''<br>
 +
''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.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Ulf Stark and Eva Eriksson
+
|isbn=1782227741
|title=When Dad Showed Me the Universe
+
|title=Little Gold Ted
|rating=4.5
+
|author=Vanessa Wiercioch, Poppy Satha and Sasha Satha
|genre=Emerging Readers
+
|rating=4
|summary=Dads are wonderful, aren't they?  One minute they can be working as a dentist, the next they can be showing you the universe, and even tell you how cold it is.  Mind you, mothers can be fabulous too, making sure you're going to be warm enough if you go out to see the universe.  But dads are best – they even make sure you get chewing gum as provisions when you're exploring the universe.  And what a universe it is – from what's right under your feet to what's right out in the furthest reaches of the night sky…
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1927271819</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Heinz Janisch and Wolf Erlbruch
 
|title=The King and the Sea
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=Emerging Readers
 
|summary=Meet the King.  He's a very good King – or is he?  He has to be taught by a cat that there is more to worship – the sun's rays, for one.  He is so powerful yet he cannot get a trumpet to play without him being its servant, and giving it his air; he cannot persuade a cloud to stay and enjoy his kingdom; and even he is resigned to a shadow that turns his petite, glistening gold crown into a large grey shape on the floor.  No, the King might think he has it all, but he hasn't.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1877579947</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Michael Bond and R W Alley
 
|title=Paddington at the Zoo
 
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Cast your mind back to the weeks before the ''Paddington'' movie enchanted the world.  There was a lot of press at the time about how the film had such mild peril and sexual innuendo that it was a PG-rated movie, and not a U. It became headlines due to the unassailable fact that Paddington just never seems to carry any threat to the audience, and to not have a single daunting bone in his body.  But those larger books can easily be daunting to the very young people in which you wish to instil love of the character, which is where the picture book range of stories comes inThey're a lot smaller than the chapters in the main novels, and while those main books were still being produced as well they were quite uncommon occurrences, but with the [[Michael Bond's Original Paddington Bear Books in Chronological Order|'proper']] books out the way, these were pretty much all Michael Bond was producing as regards our favourite bear. Which can only mean one thing – they're equally brilliant.
+
|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>0006647448</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Mick Inkpen
+
|isbn=B08R7LXQ9S
|title=Kipper's Toybox
+
|title=Remy: A book about believing in yourself
|rating=4.5
+
|author=Mayuri Naidoo and Caroline Siegal
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=There are things in life that make you feel old; when the last Premiership footballer born the same year as you retires, or when their arresting officer looks like they don’t even shave.  The fact that Kipper is over 25 years old makes me feel my age; this collection of books always felt a little ageless and classic.  The new 25 year anniversary releases look to cement this.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444923773</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Zurine Aguirre
 
|title=Sardines of Love
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=This is a love story about Lolo and Lola, and grandfather and grandmother whose lives revolve around sardines (stay with me!)  Lolo goes out fishing for sardines, and loves to eat sardines, whilst Lola his wife runs a shop selling sardines. Lola doesn't like to eat sardines, but she happily cooks them for her husband, albeit with a peg on her nose because of the smell!  But one day, the unthinkable happens, and Lola finds that she has run out of sardines for Lolo. What will she do?
+
|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>1846437261</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Tim Warnes
+
|isbn=1471191303
|title=I Love You to the Moon and Back
+
|title=The Invisible
 +
|author=Tom Percival
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I do love a good bear story, and the bears in this one are wonderfully appealingSweetly drawn, in a gentle, loving story, this is a perfect 'winding-down' story.  It's loaded with sentiment (I'm sure I'd be crying if I were pregnant!) and is just very sweet to share with small, snuggly, just out of the bath toddlers
+
|summary=This is the story of Isobel, a little girl who made a big differenceIsobel lived with her parents in a house - a very cold house, because her parents couldn't afford to put the heating on:
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184869069X</amazonuk>
+
 
}}
+
''Ice curled across the inside of the window and crept up the corner of the bedpost.''
{{newreview
+
 
|author=Sean Taylor and Jean Jullien
+
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=Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=As quick as a shooting star, like a wolf in the air, who could it be? It’s Hoot Owl! And Hoot Owl is hungry. Owls are well known for being wise, but what people don’t know is that Hoot Owl is also the Master of Disguise; a skill which he’s going to use to use to get himself some dinner. The question is, will it work? And what will he be eating for dinner? I don’t think you’ll be able to guess...
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406348414</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Julia Copus and Eunyoung Seo
+
|author=Nick Jones and Si Clark
|title=The Hog, the Shrew and the Hullabaloo (A Harry and Lil Story)
+
|title=One Night in Beartown
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Harry the hog is just trying to get to sleep, when he hears a terrifying noise outside. It frightens him so much that he has to call his best friend Lil the shrew over to try and help him find out what the noise was. As the night goes on, they hear many a wild thing, but none of the noises are what Harry heard. Will they ever find out what it was? Will they ever get any sleep? You’ll just have to read and see for yourself!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571316964</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Eric Litwin and James Dean
 
|title=Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=My love of Pete the Cat is well documented here at The Bookbag, as I’ve previously reviewed two of his adventures. This latest title, Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes hasn’t let me down, and I think it’s great. Pete is going to school, which can be a bit scary, especially when you’re having to do lots of new things, like go to the library or eat in the lunch room. Is Pete scared? Goodness no, he’s rocking, reading and eating in his school shoes.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>000755365X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Julie Fulton and Elina Ellis
 
|title=Daniel O'Dowd Was Ever So Loud
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Daniel O’Dowd is ever so loud, which shouldn’t come as a shock to any of you given that the book is called Daniel O’Dowd was Ever So Loud. Much to his teacher’s dismay, Daniel never listens to a word she says because he’s too busy being loud!
+
|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>1848861184</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=B08NFH7H9X
}}
+
}}
 +
 
 +
Move on to [[Newest General Fiction Reviews]]

Latest revision as of 09:24, 2 December 2023

0008561249.jpg

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

1732898766.jpg

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

B0CC9W7GLR.jpg

Review of

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

5star.jpg For Sharing

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

1913839656.jpg

Review of

Let's Celebrate Being Different by Lainey Dee

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

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

1529504775.jpg

Review of

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

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

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

1529504767.jpg

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

1916459943.jpg

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

140639131X.jpg

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

1776574338.jpg

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

1776574028.jpg

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

1838226834.jpg

Review of

Carried Away With the Carnival by Ed Boxall

4star.jpg For Sharing

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

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

B09MYXSRV4.jpg

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

B09HHN541V.jpg

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

B09FFJF8YS.jpg

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

B09C2RVJ2W.jpg

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

B09BG8V3Q6.jpg

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

B07GZ81J7C.jpg

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

B098BJZYHH.jpg

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

1638820457.jpg

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

194812467X.jpg

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

0995647895.jpg

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