Newest Confident Readers Reviews
Confident readers
Wumbers by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld
Wumbers mixes - as you might have guessed - words and numbers. Think text speak that doesn't horrify stuffy parents. Each page takes in a different scene, with a speech bubble along the lines of Look at his 2can ta2!"" It takes a little bit of decoding for its young readers (and rapidly ageing reviewers) but look upon it as a bit of a game, and it's good fun. Full review...
The Treasure House by Linda Newbery
Linda Newbery says she once helped out in a charity shop, and felt it was a perfect place to find material for stories. Each item had a history, whether sad or happy, and Second-Hand Rose, the shop owned by Nina's eccentric great-aunts, is full of vintage clothes and other fascinating things, including a big green toy crocodile which is bought and returned so many times it becomes the shop mascot. But finding things there she is sure her absent mother would never willingly give away, Nina is puzzled, distressed and, eventually, determined to find out what made her mother leave—and whether she intends to come back home one day. Full review...
Dead End In Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Meet Jack Gantos. Grounded for the summer after an accident with a Japanese rifle, Jack expected his holiday to be spent doing chores and reading his history books. So when the old people in his off-kilter town suddenly start dropping like flies, he jumps at the chance to be an assistant to Miss Volker, one of the Norvelt originals and a personification of the town's old-fashioned ideals and reverence to history. While faithfully typing up the unique and flavoured obituaries that Miss Volker orates, Jack finds himself learning a lot about the origins of his dying town, about the history of America, about a lot of things in fact, while simultaneously being drawn into the oddest of murder mysteries. Full review...
North Child by Edith Pattou
Superstition says that children born facing north will travel far from home and Rose's mother is terrified that Rose, a north child, will face a lonely, icy death if she follows her destiny. Full review...
Raven Boy and Elf Girl by Marcus Sedgwick
Raven Boy and Elf Girl are on a mission. An ogre has been trampling and crashing around the place, pulling up all the trees and destroying people's homes. Many of the forest creatures have fled, and poor Elf Girl has somehow managed to lose her parents. What's more, she doesn't really believe Raven Boy when he says he can talk to the animals, mostly because all they seem to say is RUN! Full review...
Outlaw: The Story of Robin Hood by Michael Morpurgo
Have you heard of Robin Hood? Of course you have. Have you heard of Michael Morpurgo? I’m guessing the answer to that one is yes as well. This new version of one of England’s most famous legends, told by one of the country’s most popular authors, is surely a can’t miss prospect, isn’t it? Full review...
Creepover: Truth or Dare by P J Night
When playing Truth or Dare with her friends at a party, Abby Miller tells them she has a crush on Jake Chilson. When she gets a text in the middle of the night warning her to stay away from him, or else, she can't believe it would be any of them - but nobody else knows. Could it really be the ghost of Jake's ex-girlfriend Sara, who was tragically killed when a car hit her? As more and more strange things start happening to her, Abby wonders whether she believes in ghosts or not... Full review...
A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge
It would be hard to imagine any book by Frances Hardinge being anything but excellent. She has a knack for creating bizarre characters whose actions, somehow, make sense because they live in utterly fantastic but well-structured worlds. If you then add to the mix, as she does, a determined and thoroughly endearing young heroine for whom you simply have to stand up and cheer, then you are guaranteed a pleasurable and thought-provoking read. Full review...
Shrinking Violet by Lou Kuenzler
Violet is very excited. She has finally grown sufficiently to be eligible for a scary ride called Plunger at her family's local theme park. She persuades her parents to take her there, accompanied reluctantly by her teenage sister... then, just as they are about to get on the ride, the fulfillment of Violet's dreams, she starts to shrink. And finds herself staring face-to-face with a worm. Full review...
Fizzlebert Stump: The Boy Who Ran Away from the Circus (and Joined the Library) by A F Harrold
The number of times the fictional cliche of the boy who ran away to the circus has been used are beyond count. Here though is the boy who appears, from his clown mother and strongman father's point of view, to have run away FROM the circus. The truth, of course, is more unusual. In trying to return a dropped library book, Fizz gets enamoured of the opportunity at his local branch, but this captivation leads to a captivity of a more physical kind... Full review...
Paddington Races Ahead by Michael Bond
Far be it from me to suggest that a bear we all know and love is cashing in on the London Olympics AND the Jubilee, but here he is on the front of a rather splendid book, racing along - and waving a Union Jack. He's a bear of good intentions, but somehow they seem to get him into difficult situations which are always of his own making. There was the matter of the shaving cream which it should have been possible to get back into the tube - and for something which cleans it shouldn't make such a mess. We won't even discuss why the London bus had to be evacuated or what happened when Paddington was mistaken for a Peruvian hurdler. Full review...
Big Change for Stuart by Lissa Evans
In Stuart's previous adventure we saw him discovering his Uncle's magical secrets. Now that Tony Horten's tricks have been found, Stuart is able to investigate how they actually work. During these investigations he discovers that they are rather more magical than you might initially think, but the magic of each item lasts for only one adventure each...will Stuart and April be able to uncover all of the secrets of the tricks and discover who their rightful owner is? Full review...
Secret Breakers: The Power of Three by H L Dennis
The back cover of this book says it is the 'Da Vinci Code for kids' and that's not a bad description. Secret messages, codes, helter-skelter journeys to well-known places, and baddies lurking round every corner . . . plenty of action and adventure, mixed in with generous dollops of facts and information which will definitely appeal to readers who enjoy having their brains challenged as well as their imaginations. The legend of King Arthur, the house where the famous Enigma code was cracked and a fabulous sea-side building created for a prince are only a few of the clues the three teenagers will encounter on their journey towards the truth. Full review...
Titanic: Death on the Water by Tom Bradman and Tony Bradman
I'll let you in on the end of this story - she sinks. Of course it would be a travesty if she didn't, and insulting to the 1,517 who died in the disaster. But this is a story of some historical characters, and some invented ones, and of course there's high drama in seeing who is destined to survive. The main invented character is young Billy, who joins up as a bellboy to abandon an apprenticeship at the same shipyards where his own dad died. He's too conscientious, too polite and too brave for one of his more rough 'n' ready colleagues, but when push comes to shove, is it enough? Full review...
The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
A year after the defeat of the Horned King, Taran the Assistant Pig-Boy has returned to Caer Dallben. The time has come, however, for a brave band of allies to try to stop the birth of the Cauldron-Born warriors by destroying the infamous Black Cauldron. Gwydion calls allies to a council held by Dallben, and forges a team of companions to go on this perilous quest. In addition to Taran's friends from the first book, he's joined by Adaon, son of the chief bard, and Ellidyr, a brave but arrogant prince. Can they overcome terrible danger to triumph against all odds? Full review...
Five on a Treasure Island - Famous Five by Enid Blyton
Julian, Dick and Anne can't go on their usual holiday this summer and to make matters worse their mother tells them that their father wants her to go on holiday to Scotland with him and without the children. (No. Don't say it. Please.) She's no idea what she's going to do with the children until their father has the idea of sending them to their Aunt and Uncle at Kirrin Bay. Apparently the Aunt and Uncle need the money and they have a daughter, Georgina, who doesn't have many friends a refer to be known as George. In fact - she won't answer to anything else. Surprisingly the children are excited and the family sets off on the long journey from London. Full review...
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg
Meet Harris Burdick - not that many people ever did. He was a fictional entity, produced by Chris Van Allsburg, and in the 1980s his output was a dozen odd but beautiful pictures with, for each, a single caption and the name of the story they were designed to illustrate. Burdick, allegedly, disappeared - but his pictures stuck around to inspire a Stephen King short story. Now we get a lavish, yummy hardback of all the pictures, and now, through the agency of a great editor, they all have their appropriate short story. Full review...
Lizard Loopy by Ali Sparkes
There has been a SWITCH. In the first season of these books, it was Josh and not Danny who preferred to turn into other animals, even though they were mostly creepy-crawlies and bugs. Josh likes that kind of animal, as much as all wildlife, and however many times they nearly got eaten, or ate something revolting themselves, or suffered loss of control of their brain, or did something slimey and disgusting, or even changed sex, Josh was more up for it. Here, however, Danny is more keen - now the science has evolved so they can become reptiles, he can't wait to be a cool-dude alligator Full review...
September has grown tired of life in her parents’ boring Nebraska home. She is twelve years old, somewhat grown and somewhat heartless and she is dreaming of adventure. So when a friendly Green Wind and a flying Leopard of Little Breezes blow past one morning, inviting her to Fairyland, of course she accepts. Upon arriving, September finds that Fairyland is under the iron rule of the cruel and relentless Marquess. But September is bright and bold and fearless; and she has certainly read enough books to know what a girl on a quest must do. September must fix things, and put everything back the way it should be. September makes her way across the strange and wonderful (and dangerous) Fairyland-scape with a book-loving Wyvern (a Wyverary) and a Marid boy named Saturday. Making new and very odd friends, many, many mistakes, losing both her shoes and her shadow, September wends her way with courage, adventure, a very special spoon and a key that never loses sight of her… And she finds so much more besides… Full review...
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
Taran has always sought adventure, but is worried he’ll remain an Assistant Pig Keeper all his life. But when the magical pig Hen Wen disappears, he sets out to save her from the evil Horned King, and ends up on a quest alongside a ragtag bunch of companions. Full review...
The Party Animal and Don't Look Under the Bed (Deadly Tales) by Roy Apps
Bored with sleeping soundly? Fed up with sweet dreams? Well this is the book for you! Deadly Tales features two nightmare urban legends that you'll pray aren't true. Full review...
The Railway Children by E Nesbit
Few people can be unaware of The Railway Children. It's a story which has stood the test of time not least because of the wonderful images of steam trains which it evokes for today's readers. Roberta (Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis (Phil) have to leave their London home when their father goes away unexpectedly and they move to a cottage in the countryside which is near the local railway station. They make friends with the porter, Albert Perks and the 'Old Gentleman' who is regularly on the 9.15 train. There's fun and they have adventures but they still wonder if their father is ever going to come home. Full review...
My Big Fat Teen Crisis by Jenny Smith
Sam’s left alone when her best friend moves to the Outer Hebrides. Can she take this opportunity to reinvent herself as a cooler, more sophisticated person? And will she manage to win the heart of the new boy at school, David? Aided by her childhood friend Cat, who’s just returned to the area, she’ll do her best – as long as the nasty Tania doesn’t get in the way. Full review...
Butterfly Summer by Anne-Marie Conway
Becky isn't best pleased to be moved from her home in the city, where she has friends and a place, to the countryside where her mother grew up. There's a whole secret past that Becky feels on the verge of discovering - starting with friends her mother never mentioned, friends who drop unintentional hints about the father Becky has never met, and ending with the photo she finds of her mother with a baby - dated 12 years before she was born. Full review...
Me, the Queen and Christopher by Giles Andreae and Tony Ross
Freya, who is seven years old, received a very important letter. On the back of the envelope it said Buckingham Palace and it was from the Queen, inviting her to tea. It looked as though the day was going to be a disaster as Freya curtsied - and managed to knock the Queen over. But the Queen is nothing if not resilient and up she got and off they went to her private quarters where she and Freya made themselves baked beans on toast and mugs of tea ('always dip your tea bag exactly twenty-seven times' is the Queen's advice for a good cuppa) and really it's rather like being in Freya's Gran's flat. Full review...
The Traitors by Tom Becker
What's the saying - sin in haste, repent at leisure? Well Adam is going to be the embodiment of that. One moment where he plants a kiss on his best mate's girl's lips, even though they seem to have split up - at least temporarily - and lo and behold he's snatched by a passing dirigible, and shipped across the universe, to a place outside of time, where the idea is he has three hundred years in prison as penance, after which he will be inserted into the very instance he leaves, remembering only that he should behave a bit more diplomatically in future. Of course, Adam has other ideas... Full review...
Secret of the Shadows by Cathy MacPhail
If there's one thing, more than any other, which strikes you about the Tyler Lawless books, it's how ordinary and everyday the heroine is. She could easily be the girl up the road, or the one who sits next to you in geography: solid, real, utterly normal. And that is Cathy Macphail's skill: she can create characters who are absolutely convincing and lifelike, who live in the same reality as us, liking the same clothes and food and music. And yet, Tyler sees ghosts. Full review...
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren and Tony Ross
Pippi Longstocking lives the life of every girl's dream. Her mother is dead and her father was blown off his ship. Pippi believes that he's away being the King of the Cannibals (and that she's therefore a Princess of the Cannibals) and in the meantime she lives on her own - well except for a horse, a monkey and a suitcase full of gold - and with NO grown-ups to tell her what to do. Well, a few do try, but Pippi always gives them short shrift and gets on with living her life the way that she wants to live it. Full review...
Rubbish Town Hero by Nicola Davies
What is most striking about this excellent little book is the utterly matter-of-fact way it is recounted. Violence, near-slavery, starvation and disease are as familiar to the children we meet in this story as television and homework are to its readers. The story is told through the eyes of Chipo, a young boy who can neither read nor write but who willingly took over responsibility for his little sister Gentle when the bombs killed the rest of his family. Gentle has a cleft palate and finds it hard to swallow or speak, but she dreams of a place she calls Happy Split-face Land, where people like her can be healed. She saves up for the trip by washing old plastic bags (she is paid a penny for every hundred), and although Chipo does not believe such a place exists the big brother in him will do nothing to take away her hope. There is no self-pity, no jealousy or resentment evident in either child for the things they do not have, simply a determination to survive and make enough money to stave off hunger and disease. The result is a cracking good story, full of heart-stopping danger and wild escapes, extraordinary encounters and heart-breaking generosity. Full review...
Apocalypse Moon (The Joshua Files) by M G Harris
Well, I didn't see this coming. After four lurid, neon plastic covers to these books, the fifth and final one is stark black. The hero, Josh Garcia, probably didn't predict this, either - that every step he seems to have gone towards understanding and preventing the end of the world in December 2012, is looking to have been in vain. And even having seen so much throughout the series, even he hasn't seen anything as galling, disappointing and hellish as earth, after the end event, as foreseen so long ago by the Mayans. That black is very appropriate. Full review...
Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder: The End of the World. Maybe. by Jo Nesbo
If you put authors you least expect to diversify from more literary to children's works on a scale of one to ten, Jeanette Winterson must be a four, Ian McEwan a high eight, and Jo Nesbo, Nordic crime sensation de nos jours at least eleven. But this is now the third in the series of youthful, frivolous adventures, and this time the titular professor, diminutive smart Alec Nilly and Lisa (and their seven-legged spider) have to save the world. Full review...
Twelve Minutes to Midnight by Christopher Edge
The year is 1899. Each night at twelve minutes to midnight, the inmates of Bedlam (London's Bethlehem Hospital for the Insane) rise up from their sleep and begin scribbling strange words and messages everywhere they can... scraps of paper, the walls, scraps from their clothes, even on their own skin. These insane ramblings seem to depict the impossible and hint at the future. Thirteen year old Penelope Tredwell, orphan heiress and writer of best-selling magazine The Penny Dreadful, is intrigued. Hiding behind an actor hired to play the noted author of the Penny Dreadful mysteries, Penny drags him unwillingly into a macabre investigation. As she seeks to discover the meaning of insane ramblings of these unfortunate inmates, and turn them into what would be her best-selling and most famous story ever, Penny finds that she's uncovered a sinister plot controlled by a very real, very evil, very unlikely villain, and she may well be the next victim. Full review...
Goblins by Philip Reeve
Poor Skarper. He's such a loser. In the violent and bloodthirsty goblin world where fighting and eating and taking other people's loot are all-time-favourite, number-one activities, he has a terrible handicap. He thinks. In fact, he's pretty clever, for a goblin, to the extent that he uses the goblins' bumwipe heaps for . . . reading. Yup, you heard me. Reading. The foolish hatchling works out that the black squiggles on the mouldering heaps of soft and crinkly stuff left, long ago, by the ancient inhabitants of the tower, are written words, and instead of going out raiding like any sensible goblin, he creeps off to a quiet corner to work out what they mean. Silly, eh? Full review...
Black Arts by Andrew Prentice and Jonathan Weil
London, 1592. Jack successfully completes a test with a local crime family and becomes a "nipper" or cutpurse thief. But Jack's first victim accidentally brings him into contact with a London even more dangerous than the one he already knows - one where magic is real and the fight between good and evil can have fatal consequences. Jack returns home to find his mother murdered by Nicholas Webb, a charismatic Puritan preacher currently whipping up the London crowds against demons and witches. Full review...
Grimm's Fairy Tales: Rumplestiltskin by Saviour Pirotta and Cecilia Johansson
Rumpelstiltskin is one of the better known of the tales from the Brothers Grimm and a perennial favourite. The poor miller shows off in front of the king about the abilities of his beautiful daughter - she can apparently spin straw into gold. The king insists that the girl be sent to the palace and when she arrives tells her to get a load of straw spun into gold - or suffer the (fatal) consequences. The girl is saved by the appearance of a dwarf who works his magic in return for the girl's necklace; on the second night it's her ring she gives up and on the third it's the promise of her first-born child. Full review...
