Difference between revisions of "Newest Dyslexia Friendly Reviews"

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[[Category:Dyslexia Friendly|*]]
 
[[Category:Dyslexia Friendly|*]]
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{{newreview
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|author=Malorie Blackman
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<!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->
|title=Peace Maker
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{{Frontpage
|rating=4.5
+
|isbn=1800901232
 +
|title=Stitched Up
 +
|author=Steve Cole
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Michela Corbin is something of a rebel, but even she understands that everyone must wear a Peace Maker Device all the time and that it must never be tampered with, as non-aggression is their society's founding principleThe Peace Maker is the means by which this is enforced, but Michela wants to experience the full range of human emotions and the Peace Maker stops that. When her mother captains their ship into enemy airspace and they come under attack it seems that Michela's freedom from the constraints of the Peace Maker might be the only thing that can save them.
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|summary=Twelve-year-old Hanh wanted to be a fashion designer.  Life in the rural village where she lived with her family was happy, if not prosperous, so when the smartly-dressed man and woman came to the village to offer Hahn a job in Hanoi it was an opportunity not to be missed.  Some money changed hands and Hanh was on the mini-bus to HanoiOnly, Hanh and the other girls were not going to work in a shop, they were to work in virtual slavery in an illegal garment factory.  You know those jeans you really wanted: the ones with intricate embroidery and beading on the legs? The ones with the artfully-placed rips and distressed seams that felt so soft when you touched them?  It's quite possible that Hanh and her co-workers made them.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781125619</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Tony Bradman and Tom Morgan-Jones
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|author=Marcus Sedgwick
|title= The Boy and the Globe
+
|title=Wrath
|rating= 4
+
|rating=4.5
|genre= Dyslexia Friendly
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|genre=Teens
|summary= This lively and enjoyable story is set in early seventeenth century London where young orphan Toby Cuffe is living on the streets where life is hard. In order to survive, the resourceful Toby joins the gang of boys who work for Moll Cut-Purse as thieves. Moll sends Toby to the Globe Theatre to do some pickpocketing where Toby becomes so engrossed in the play being performed that he forgets about his own safety. Caught by the theatre's owners Toby meets the writer of the play he has just seen performed, the famous playwright William Shakespeare. Then our young hero is given an opportunity that he had not expected. Toby is full of enthusiasm for the theatre and rekindles the Bard's enthusiasm too so that together they team up to save the threatened theatre.
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|summary=Meet Fitz, a young Scottish lad full of frustration at himself. Lockdown is only just over, and he should be free to do what he wants, to go where he wants and with whom he wants, but he cannot stop himself from putting his foot in it when he talks to his best friend, Cassie. They were half of a desultory school band, but Cassie was also one hundred per cent the enigmatic – saying she could hear a subhuman hum coming from the earth. Is this connected with one of her eco-warrior parents saying the end of the world is already a done deal? Is it some spooky new kind of music she's dreaming of? Is she just bonkers? And can Fitz find out the truth? Well, not when Cassie has gone missing he can't...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781125031</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1800900899
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Ian Beck
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|author=Lucy Strange and Pam Smy
|title=Grey Island Red Boat
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|title=The Mermaid in the Millpond
|rating=5
+
|rating=4.5
|genre=Emerging Readers
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Princess Opal lived with her father, the king, on the Island of Ashes. It was a grey island, set in a grey sea and Opal lived in a grey castle surrounded by a cold grey moat.  The gardens were grey and so were the trees and flowers.  Princess Opal even sat on a grey granite throne in a grey granite room - and she wished that her life could be different.  She couldn't help but think that something was missing.
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|summary=There is no mermaid in the millpond. That at least is what Bess is telling herself. Neither will there be a friend for her in amongst all the other kids, who have had their entire childhoods sold to the mill-owners by the London workhouse they used to call home. Bess knows there is no time for friendship in a hand-to-mouth, every man for himself kind of existence. But despite herself Bess does find a bit of a kindred spirit in the slight little Dot, and despite everything that life has taught her about betrayal and how befriending people only leads to harm, there might be a glimmer of companionship in the tired-out mill workers. But surely that doesn't mean there is any truth in the existence of the mermaid?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178112521X</amazonuk>
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|isbn=180090049X
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Michael Morpurgo and Sam Usher
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|author=Keith Gray
|title=We Are Not FROGS!
+
|title=The Climbers
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
+
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=After the storm the frogs and the toads all came out onto the lawn to play long jump. This was the frogs' choice as they could jump further and the toads just wanted an easy life. But - through a series of unfortunate incidents involving lorries, dogs, children, a cart and an ice cream container, first the toads ended up in the ice cream container and after they sold the frogs down the river in exchange for being put into a muddy ditch, the frogs - all twenty two of them - were in the same prison and it was only thanks to Mutt the dog that they escaped.
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|summary=Sully is the best tree climber in the village. He has what's known amongst the kids as 'reach'. But what happens when a new kid shows up in town? A new kid, called Nottingham, who clambers up some of the hardest trees with ease? Suddenly Sully is worried that his status is being threatened, and not only that, that his chance to name the final, unnamed big tree in the park by being the first to conquer it, might be snatched from his hands. How can Sully stop Nottingham? And will it cost him his best friend, or maybe even all of his friends, to do so?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781125120</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1781129991
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Lisa Thompson
 +
|title=The Small Things
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Confident Readers
 +
|summary=Although Anna has friends at school, she feels like she never really fits in. Her family don't have enough money to let her do after school activities, and so she feels like her life at home is boring in comparison to theirs. When a new girl joins her class, Anna is asked to partner her, but things are complicated because the new girl, Ellie, is unwell and so can't attend school in person. Instead, she joins in with the class by using a robot. Can Anna overcome the challenge of making friends with someone through a robot, and is she even interesting enough to be a good friend to Ellie?
 +
|isbn=1781129649
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Caroline Lawrence
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|author=Emma Carroll and Kaja Kajfez
|title=Queen of the Silver Arrow
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|title=The Ghost Garden
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
+
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=King Metabus had not been a good king and his escape from his kingdom was hurried and pursuedWhen he reached the river he had to make a decision and he thought first of the safety of the baby daughter he carried in his arms and tied her to his javelin, which he threw across the torrent, pledging as he did so that he would serve the Goddess DianaCamilla should have grown up as a Princess but instead she lived in a cave with her father and ran wild in the forestIn nearby Laurentum, Acca had grown up hearing the story of how Camilla giggled as she swung on the javelin embedded in the ground and dreamed of meeting her, but this didn't happen until after the death of Camilla's father, when the girls became firm friends.
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|summary=Fran, the gardener's daughter at a posh country house, is worried.  She's just cracked her garden fork through quite a grim discovery - a large bone, buried under the potatoes.  But she's even more worried when she learns that that event coincided with Leo, the older child of the house, breaking his leg while playing cricket on the lawnShe is due to get even more worried when she finds something else that also seems to foretell a surprise.  Tasked with shoving Leo around the grounds in his bathchair, she might have reason to be out of her mind with fear, when she learns what he is seeking - a long-forgotten burial chamber.  But surely that won't act as a premonition to anything - not here in the sultry, summery days of 1914?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781125260</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1781129002
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Alex Wheatle
 +
|title=The Humiliations of Welton Blake
 +
|rating=2.5
 +
|genre=Confident Readers
 +
|summary=We meet Welton Blake at the worst of times – only they should be the best of timesHe should be getting a text from the most bae-worthy girl in school in regards to a cinema date, but his phone has packed up, he's chundered last night's meal and his breakfast over another girl in class, who's duffed him up in response, and the wanna-bae seems to actually be with someone else anyway.  On a bigger scale he's living with his mother and not much income now that the dad has left the picture – yes, things are so bad they're resorting to having cabbage for dinnerI know, right?  But surely this is just a blip, a day at school to forget, and everything (like his vomit) will all come out in the wash?  This can't be the start of a most nightmarish time for young Welton?
 +
|isbn=1781129495
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Mary Hooper
+
|isbn=178112938X
|title=A Dark Trade
+
|title=Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission
|rating=4
+
|author=David Long and Stefano Tambellini (illustrator)
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Georgina Friday, known to everyone as Gina, grew up in an orphanage and when she was sixteen went to be a servant is a big house in central London.  There were seven members of the family and twelve servants - and Gina was the one at the bottom who had to run about after everyone and who was the butt of practical jokes.  She could cope with that, but what she couldn't cope with was the attentions of one of the young men of the familyShe'd already heard the stories of what had happened to another young maid who'd caught his eye - thrown out on the streets to fend for herself and her baby - and could see no way of escape from ''him'' other than to run away.
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|summary=It's fifty years since the Apollo 13 mission was launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, but the story of that journey remains one of the greatest survival stories of all time.  ''Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission'' is a brilliant retelling of what happened.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781125163</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Terry Deary
+
|isbn=1781129312
|title=Ghost for Sale
+
|title=Sequin and Stitch
|rating=4.5
+
|author=Laura Dockrill and Sara Ogilvie (illustrator)
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=When Mr and Mrs Rundle see an advert in the paper for a wardrobe for sale, complete with ghost, Mrs Rundle decides that they absolutely ''must'' have it! They own The Dog and Duck Inn and Mrs Rundle feels that addition of a ghost will add interest to their Inn and bring them customThe arrival of the wardrobe certainly shakes things up for the Rundles, though perhaps not in the way they'd imagined!
+
|summary=Sequin loved her mum to bits, but sometimes she got very cross with her.  It wasn't that mum wouldn't go outside their flat - Sequin coped with that - it was because she never pushed to get credit for what she did. Mum is a seamstress and she makes the sort of clothes that you see on red carpets or at important weddings.  She's not the designer - they're the people who make a lot of money from the clothesMum is the person who actually ''makes'' the garments and she's really talented, but when people talk about the dress or the suit, they talk about the designer.  The seamstress is never mentioned.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178112518X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Julian Gough and Jim Field
+
|author=Tanya Landman
|title=Rabbit and Bear: Rabbit's Bad Habbits
+
|title=Jane Eyre: a Retelling
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=5
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=When Bear wakes up early from her hibernation, she decides that if she can't sleep then she might as well do something which she's always wanted to do - build a snowman.  It's whilst she's doing this that she meets Rabbit, who tells her that he's an Expert in Gravity.  Whatever he is, it doesn't seem to make him particularly happy as he never smiles and isn't exactly big on fun.  But there are avalanches around as well as hungry wolves and Rabbit soon comes to the conclusion that it's good to have a friend on your side - even if you have just stolen their food.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444929313</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Jean Ure
 
|title=My Dog Daisy
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Lily did ''not'' want a goldfish.  Nor did she want a hamster or a cat.  She wanted a ''DOG'' and whilst she understood what Mum said about not being able to have a dog in the 5th floor flat without a garden she still thought it was unfairAfter all, when they lived at Gran's house there was a garden and she could have had a dog, but then Mum and Gran had a row and they moved out.  She hadn't even seen Gran for three months and she ''missed'' herAnd the dog which she couldn't have.  Even Keri, her best friend, though that she was going on a bit about the whole thing.
+
|summary=A young woman, fresh from living with horrid relatives who could care less about her, and years in a dreary school, moves into Thornfield Hall with only one intent – to have something like the life she wants – and with only one job, to tutor a young half-French girl, whose father is almost always absentWhen he does turn up he seems to be dark, brooding and troubled – but that's nothing compared to the darker, more broody and even more troubling secret in the houseYes, if you know Jane Eyre then you know the rest – but if you don't, for whatever reason, this is a wonderful book to turn to.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781124965</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1781129126
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Eoin Colfer and Victor Ambrus
+
|isbn=1781128952
|title=The Seal's Fate (Colour Conker)
+
|title=The Starlight Watchmaker
 +
|author=Lauren James
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Bobby Parrish was reluctant to admit that the seal was cute, even to himself. That sort of thing was for girls and he was here to club the seal. Seals were affecting his father's livelihood as a fisherman and there was a bounty of a £1 for a seal's flipper: in those days that was good money and even one of the girls had collected the cash.  Still, somehow he couldn't quite bring himself to attack the defenceless cub, all big, black, round eyes and obviously unworried by his presence. What would the other lads say though?  More to the point, what would his father say?
+
|summary=This is a dyslexia-friendly, science fiction novella for young adults. It tells the tale of Hugo, an unwanted and rather lonely android, who makes a living for himself mending time-travel watches. When one of his clients demands that his broken watch be mended, Hugo realises there is a mystery to be solved and is only too ready to help. An exciting journey of discovery unfolds, which takes Hugo out of his drab attic workroom and into a scary adventure with some amazing new friends, exploring regions of the planet never before known to exist.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781124310</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Michael Morpurgo and Catherine Rayner
+
|isbn=1781128693
|title=Clare and Her Captain (Colour Conker)
+
|title=Special Delivery
 +
|author=Jonathan Meres
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Clare didn't enjoy the journey down to Devon.  Her parents always argued and it was usually because Mum had lost her way or got caught in a traffic jam and this time she'd done both.  It was a little better when they got to Aunt Dora's house, but Aunt Dora wasn't exactly a peacemaker and tended to stick up for Dad against everybody else.  The holiday improved when Clare got out for a walk on her own and discovered a stray lamb on the road.  She took it to the nearest house and Mr Jones was delighted: Clare had just saved half his flockClare got on with the old man - and with his horse, Captain.
+
|summary=How do you explain to children about dementia? Injuries or illnesses are obvious, but when the problem is the brain which isn't functioning quite as it used to it isn't as easy to graspFrank was a normal nine-year-old and like many nine-year-olds what he wanted was a new bikeHe'd had his for about seventy-eight years and he didn't want to raise the seat any more.  Mum pointed out that it wasn't his birthday or Christmas any time soon and bikes cost a lot of money, which didn't grow on treesHis sister Lottie had a solution: Frank could help her with her paper round. Frank agreed despite thinking that it would take him a thousand years to save up the money for a bike AND he had to get up at six o'clock in the morning.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781124353</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Michael Rosen and Richard Watson
 
|title=Mad in the Back
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Mum is setting off on a long car journey with two kids in the back - did I hear you groan?  Mum groaned too because she ''knew'' what was going to happenShe told the kids before she set off that they had to behave because she couldn't drive properly if the kids were going ''mad in the back''.  The kids told her not to worry - and off they went.  Then the kids started ''The Moaning''.  Every parent will know exactly what this means: requests for drink, food, windows open...  Then the squabbling starts: accusations that ''HE'' has got my book, ears are bitten by ''HER''.  Mum tries diversionary tactics:  ''look out of the window - there's a lamp-post''.  (Yes MUm - we know desperation when we hear it.) And it gets worse.  And worse.  Then Mum snaps.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781125090</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Karen McCombie
 
|title=Honey and Me
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|summary=Most girls starting out Brook City School are hoping for something new and different, but Kirsten just wants things to be ''normal''.  Even good things seem to come with a sting in the tail and worst of all, Mum and Dad are really not getting on.  In fact Kirsten is happiest at school and does all the after-school activities she can manage just to keep away from home for as long as she can.  Her elder brother, Finn, who's at sixth form college, is struggling too: what used to be thought of as ''cheeky'' at school has turned into ''disruptive''.  When things get really bad Kirsten is suddenly reminded of her old friend Honey and wonders if she can get in touch with her.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781124752</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Michelle Magorian and Sam Usher
 
|title= Smile
 
|rating= 5
 
|genre= Dyslexia Friendly
 
|summary= Josh is tired, fed up and feeling put out and ignored. No, he isn't having a tantrum – something big has happened (well, two things actually) and his world has turned upside down. You see ''The Howler'' has arrived and everything has changed and not, so far, for the better. Baby brother Charlie is just seventeen days old and is not only taking up all of his parents' time, but also stopping everyone in the house from getting enough sleep with his constant howling. Will the crying 'ever' stop? And there's worse because the really terrible thing is the baby's arrival meant a very special event had to be cancelled.  
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781125007</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Tom Palmer
+
|isbn=1781128707
|title=Rugby Academy: Deadlocked
+
|title=The Spectacular Revenge of Suzi Sims
 +
|author=Vivian French
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=It's the third story in the ''Rugby Academy'' series and so far we've heard from Woody in [[Rugby Academy: Combat Zone by Tom Palmer|Combat Zone]] and Rory in [[Rugby Academy: Surface to Air by Tom Palmer|Surface to Air]].  In this, the final book in this brilliant series, we hear from OwenWe left the team at the end of ''Surface to Air'' when Borderlands had got through to the World Championship in New ZealandDespite the elation of doing so Owen isn't entirely comfortable with Jesse, the team captain.  He has no doubts that he was a brilliant player - the best on the team - but he can't respect him as a person.
+
|summary=Suzi Simms loved running and it was her ambition to win the 100 metres race on sports day at the end of term - and that was next week.  We're going to read about what happened in her diary, although there's a warning that we really shouldn't be reading it, particularly as it's about Barbie MeekTo say that the two girls don't get on at all well is a bit of an understatementSuzi wouldn't actually do anything about it, but Barbie is a troublemaker and she wants to win the 100 metres race too - by fair means or foul.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781123993</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Cathy Hopkins
+
|isbn=1949471004
|title=Mum Never Did Learn to Knock
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|title=Dog on a Log Chapter Books: Step 1
 +
|author=Pamela Brookes
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=#People are worrying about Emily: her Dad and the staff at school are all worried that she's spending a lot of time talking to her Mum. You might think that there's nothing wrong with that - in fact that it's entirely commendable and young people ought to spend more time talking to their parents - but Emily's Mum died a few months agoEmily has reached the stage of ''hiding'' the fact that Mum appears to her in very real form, perhaps just a little bit ''ghostly'', but then you wouldn't expect her to look just like she was when she was alive, now would you? At school she's sent to see a counsellor, but it doesn't go quite the way that the counsellor was expecting... particularly when Emily asked where people go when they die and the ultimate 'what comes after space?'
+
|summary=What do you do when your child has dyslexia and you need books which will help them to achieve the wonder that is reading? You can risk buying early readers, but the sounds in the book might not be the ones you've been working on and encountering words which are just too challenging can have more of a negative effect on the young dyslexic than a child without that problemYou need to be able to buy books at a reasonable price which concentrate on what you've been working on, without anything else being thrown into the mix.  You need a story which engages the young mind and you need stages which progress steadily through the learning process without there being any large jumps.  Some online support and games wouldn't go amiss, either. Reading - and ''learning'' to read - should be a pleasure. It should be ''fun''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781124957</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Melvin Burgess
+
|isbn=1781128510
|title=Persist
+
|title=One Shot
|rating=5
+
|author=Tanya Landman
 +
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=When we first meet Marianne she's confused. People keep coming and looking at her, but they don't seem to see ''her''. She wonders if she's something shiny, such as a mirror.  Her family are desperate: Marianne has been in a coma for so long that even her mother is beginning to doubt that she can surface from wherever she is.  The doctors are sure that there's no hope for the girl and they're talking about switching off the machines which are keeping her alive, allowing her to fade away painlessly...  It all comes to a head on Marianne's fifteenth birthday.
+
|summary=''Pa and I understood each other. Our souls were cut from the same cloth.'' But Pa has since died, leaving Maggie very much alone in her family. She was the only one of three children who looked like him, and none of the others acted like him, and certainly, his wife didn't seem to fully understand him. Maggie might as well be reliving the Cinderella story, stuck with two siblings and mother that are fully against her. But at least she can sneak out at night, and shoot some game to stop them from starving? Well, no, not where her mother is concerned – the very idea of a female shooting things, when they could be preparing for a life of unhappy married drudgery, is just scandalous.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781124949</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Chris Priestley and Vladimir Stankovic
+
|isbn=178112843X
|title=The Wickford Doom
+
|title=Lark
 +
|author=Anthony McGowan
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Confident Readers
+
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Following Harry’s father’s death in the war, he and his mother learn that they’ve inherited a bequest from a relative. When they arrive to claim it, though, they find that they’ve been the victims of a dying man’s last cruel prank. But there are local tales of missing children and a strange painting called the Doom, and Harry quickly learns that there may be something far more evil than a nasty joke to worry about. Can he fight back against it?
+
|summary=I'll warn you first.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781124094</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
This is the fourth and last story about Nicky and Kenny. Try not to cry before you've even read the first page.
 +
 
 +
Things have got tense at home - again - for Nicky and his learning-disabled brother Kenny. Their mum is coming to visit - the mum who abandoned them a long time ago. They haven't seen her for years and the impending visit is stirring up a lot of uncomfortable feelings. And Nicky's girlfriend has ended things. To take their minds off it all, Nicky and Kenny plan a day out, trekking across the moors. But it doesn't go to plan and an accident puts both boys - and their dog, Tina, in terrible danger.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Malorie Blackman
+
|isbn=1786697173
|title=Robot Girl
+
|title=Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Blue Moon
 +
|author=Sally Gardner
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Claire is excited and she's ''nagging'' her mother to tell her what her father has been doing in his laboratory, but her mother is no wiser than she is and tells Claire that she will simply have to wait until her father is ready to show her what he's been doing. He's a famous inventor and Claire knows that whatever it is will be exciting.  For now all she can do is to tell her pen friend - and be patient.
+
|summary=Betsy K Glory lives a rather wonderful life on a peaceful island where nothing horrible ever happens. Her father, Alonso, makes the most wonderful ice cream in every flavour you could imagine. Her mother, Myrtle, is a mermaid and comes to visit regularly, although she still lives in the sea. Betsy dreams of two things: firstly, about the circus owned by a tiger and whether it would ever come to her island and secondly, about a magical ice cream made from the berries of the Gongalong bush. One scoop of this ice cream can make wishes come true.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781124590</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
And then Mr Tiger and his circus arrive. And a journey is planned...
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Tom Palmer
+
|isbn=1781128286
|title=Rugby Academy: Surface to Air
+
|title=Run Wild
 +
|author=Gill Lewis
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=We first met Rory in [[Rugby Academy: Combat Zone by Tom Palmer|Combat Zone]] when circumstances forced him to go to Broadlands Boarding School when both his parents were posted abroad by the RAF. It wasn't his choice - I mean they played ''rugby'' rather than his beloved football - but it wasn't long before he discovered that not only did he enjoy rugby, he was rather good at it.  It was also something of a relief to be at a school where there were other boys in a similar situation to himself. By the time that we meet Rory again time has moved on and he's on his way to Toulon to play in an international schools rugby tournament.
+
|summary=Meet Izzy and Asha. Bullied away from the local attempt at a skatepark, they find a huge waste ground in the shadow of a derelict gasometer to practise on, which they duly do, even though they have to drag Izzy's younger brother with them. The following day they all want to return, as does the brother's schoolfriend, despite – and of course because of – there is a huge wolf living in the site. Can the children survive living in the urban wilderness, alongside such obvious dangers?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781123985</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Barbro Lindgren and Eva Eriksson
+
|isbn=Jennings Different
|title=Max's Wagon
+
|title=A Different Dog
|rating=5
+
|author=Paul Jennings and Geoff Kelly
|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 other.  Then he added his cookie and Dog began to look just the tiniest bit ''distracted'' and bear fell out.  Dog 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...
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1776570014</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Frank Cottrell Boyce
 
|title=Desirable
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Poor George. He knows that he is not popular but when even his own Grandad doesn't want to stay around for his birthday party he realises that things are even worse than he thought. However this was before he discovered the contents of the present from his Grandad and experienced the dramatic impact on his life an aged bottle of aftershave would bring. Although George tries to think himself invisible in order to cope today he is not invisible. In fact he is not only visible but desirable too!
+
|summary=Our hero is a boy, whose name we never learn. We know what he wants in life – with his mother exceedingly poor, and even his bed burnt to keep the two of them warm, he wants the prize offered by a down-a-mountain-and-back-up-and-down-again foot race. Winning the race and the large purse would also give him more status in the eyes of those kids that bully him, and it might even give him a voice – for he is almost mute. We quickly learn he never talks back to anyone, whatever the motivation, and can only speak aloud to himself – and, so it turns out, to a dog he rescues from a bad road accident he finds on his way up the hill to the start line…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781124248</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=Good Dog Lion (Little Gems)
+
|isbn=Dawson_Grave
|author=Alexander McCall Smith
+
|title=Grave Matter
|rating=5
+
|author=Juno Dawson and Alex T Smith
 +
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
 
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Being a firm fan of Alexander McCall Smith's novels for adults, I wasn't surprised to find that I thoroughly enjoyed this children's story. Written with the same gentle understanding of human nature, and so very deftly told, I read this story with a great deal of pleasure. Although the story behind Timo's life is rather sad, with his father leaving him and his mother when Timo is only young, and his mother then struggling to find enough money to raise both of them, it never descends into tragedy but remains positive and upbeat.  It's a story of strength, and bravery, and I'm not just talking about Timo and his mother.
+
|summary=Since Eliza died, since the night of the car crash that took her life, Sam is a broken soul. He is lost without the girl he loves, feeling as though a part of him died that night too. But he is desperate and he cannot live without Eliza. He remembers his estranged Aunt Marie and her peculiar healing powers and wonders if she might be able to help him. However, finding his Aunt Marie leads him to discover the Milk Man, which causes Sam in his grieving state to make a pact with forces he doesn't understand. Things soon turn complicated as supernatural powers start to change Sam's life in more ways than he bargained for.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781123721</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
Move on to [[Newest Dystopian Fiction Reviews]]

Latest revision as of 15:30, 13 May 2022


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Review of

Stitched Up by Steve Cole

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Twelve-year-old Hanh wanted to be a fashion designer. Life in the rural village where she lived with her family was happy, if not prosperous, so when the smartly-dressed man and woman came to the village to offer Hahn a job in Hanoi it was an opportunity not to be missed. Some money changed hands and Hanh was on the mini-bus to Hanoi. Only, Hanh and the other girls were not going to work in a shop, they were to work in virtual slavery in an illegal garment factory. You know those jeans you really wanted: the ones with intricate embroidery and beading on the legs? The ones with the artfully-placed rips and distressed seams that felt so soft when you touched them? It's quite possible that Hanh and her co-workers made them. Full Review

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Review of

Wrath by Marcus Sedgwick

4.5star.jpg Teens

Meet Fitz, a young Scottish lad full of frustration at himself. Lockdown is only just over, and he should be free to do what he wants, to go where he wants and with whom he wants, but he cannot stop himself from putting his foot in it when he talks to his best friend, Cassie. They were half of a desultory school band, but Cassie was also one hundred per cent the enigmatic – saying she could hear a subhuman hum coming from the earth. Is this connected with one of her eco-warrior parents saying the end of the world is already a done deal? Is it some spooky new kind of music she's dreaming of? Is she just bonkers? And can Fitz find out the truth? Well, not when Cassie has gone missing he can't... Full Review

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Review of

The Mermaid in the Millpond by Lucy Strange and Pam Smy

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

There is no mermaid in the millpond. That at least is what Bess is telling herself. Neither will there be a friend for her in amongst all the other kids, who have had their entire childhoods sold to the mill-owners by the London workhouse they used to call home. Bess knows there is no time for friendship in a hand-to-mouth, every man for himself kind of existence. But despite herself Bess does find a bit of a kindred spirit in the slight little Dot, and despite everything that life has taught her about betrayal and how befriending people only leads to harm, there might be a glimmer of companionship in the tired-out mill workers. But surely that doesn't mean there is any truth in the existence of the mermaid? Full Review

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Review of

The Climbers by Keith Gray

4star.jpg Confident Readers

Sully is the best tree climber in the village. He has what's known amongst the kids as 'reach'. But what happens when a new kid shows up in town? A new kid, called Nottingham, who clambers up some of the hardest trees with ease? Suddenly Sully is worried that his status is being threatened, and not only that, that his chance to name the final, unnamed big tree in the park by being the first to conquer it, might be snatched from his hands. How can Sully stop Nottingham? And will it cost him his best friend, or maybe even all of his friends, to do so? Full Review

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Review of

The Small Things by Lisa Thompson

5star.jpg Confident Readers

Although Anna has friends at school, she feels like she never really fits in. Her family don't have enough money to let her do after school activities, and so she feels like her life at home is boring in comparison to theirs. When a new girl joins her class, Anna is asked to partner her, but things are complicated because the new girl, Ellie, is unwell and so can't attend school in person. Instead, she joins in with the class by using a robot. Can Anna overcome the challenge of making friends with someone through a robot, and is she even interesting enough to be a good friend to Ellie? Full Review

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Review of

The Ghost Garden by Emma Carroll and Kaja Kajfez

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

Fran, the gardener's daughter at a posh country house, is worried. She's just cracked her garden fork through quite a grim discovery - a large bone, buried under the potatoes. But she's even more worried when she learns that that event coincided with Leo, the older child of the house, breaking his leg while playing cricket on the lawn. She is due to get even more worried when she finds something else that also seems to foretell a surprise. Tasked with shoving Leo around the grounds in his bathchair, she might have reason to be out of her mind with fear, when she learns what he is seeking - a long-forgotten burial chamber. But surely that won't act as a premonition to anything - not here in the sultry, summery days of 1914? Full Review

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Review of

The Humiliations of Welton Blake by Alex Wheatle

2.5star.jpg Confident Readers

We meet Welton Blake at the worst of times – only they should be the best of times. He should be getting a text from the most bae-worthy girl in school in regards to a cinema date, but his phone has packed up, he's chundered last night's meal and his breakfast over another girl in class, who's duffed him up in response, and the wanna-bae seems to actually be with someone else anyway. On a bigger scale he's living with his mother and not much income now that the dad has left the picture – yes, things are so bad they're resorting to having cabbage for dinner. I know, right? But surely this is just a blip, a day at school to forget, and everything (like his vomit) will all come out in the wash? This can't be the start of a most nightmarish time for young Welton? Full Review

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Review of

Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission by David Long and Stefano Tambellini (illustrator)

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

It's fifty years since the Apollo 13 mission was launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, but the story of that journey remains one of the greatest survival stories of all time. Survival in Space: The Apollo 13 Mission is a brilliant retelling of what happened. Full Review

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Review of

Sequin and Stitch by Laura Dockrill and Sara Ogilvie (illustrator)

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Sequin loved her mum to bits, but sometimes she got very cross with her. It wasn't that mum wouldn't go outside their flat - Sequin coped with that - it was because she never pushed to get credit for what she did. Mum is a seamstress and she makes the sort of clothes that you see on red carpets or at important weddings. She's not the designer - they're the people who make a lot of money from the clothes. Mum is the person who actually makes the garments and she's really talented, but when people talk about the dress or the suit, they talk about the designer. The seamstress is never mentioned. Full Review

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Review of

Jane Eyre: a Retelling by Tanya Landman

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

A young woman, fresh from living with horrid relatives who could care less about her, and years in a dreary school, moves into Thornfield Hall with only one intent – to have something like the life she wants – and with only one job, to tutor a young half-French girl, whose father is almost always absent. When he does turn up he seems to be dark, brooding and troubled – but that's nothing compared to the darker, more broody and even more troubling secret in the house. Yes, if you know Jane Eyre then you know the rest – but if you don't, for whatever reason, this is a wonderful book to turn to. Full Review

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Review of

The Starlight Watchmaker by Lauren James

4star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

This is a dyslexia-friendly, science fiction novella for young adults. It tells the tale of Hugo, an unwanted and rather lonely android, who makes a living for himself mending time-travel watches. When one of his clients demands that his broken watch be mended, Hugo realises there is a mystery to be solved and is only too ready to help. An exciting journey of discovery unfolds, which takes Hugo out of his drab attic workroom and into a scary adventure with some amazing new friends, exploring regions of the planet never before known to exist. Full Review

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Review of

Special Delivery by Jonathan Meres

4star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

How do you explain to children about dementia? Injuries or illnesses are obvious, but when the problem is the brain which isn't functioning quite as it used to it isn't as easy to grasp. Frank was a normal nine-year-old and like many nine-year-olds what he wanted was a new bike. He'd had his for about seventy-eight years and he didn't want to raise the seat any more. Mum pointed out that it wasn't his birthday or Christmas any time soon and bikes cost a lot of money, which didn't grow on trees. His sister Lottie had a solution: Frank could help her with her paper round. Frank agreed despite thinking that it would take him a thousand years to save up the money for a bike AND he had to get up at six o'clock in the morning. Full Review

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Review of

The Spectacular Revenge of Suzi Sims by Vivian French

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Suzi Simms loved running and it was her ambition to win the 100 metres race on sports day at the end of term - and that was next week. We're going to read about what happened in her diary, although there's a warning that we really shouldn't be reading it, particularly as it's about Barbie Meek. To say that the two girls don't get on at all well is a bit of an understatement. Suzi wouldn't actually do anything about it, but Barbie is a troublemaker and she wants to win the 100 metres race too - by fair means or foul. Full Review

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Review of

Dog on a Log Chapter Books: Step 1 by Pamela Brookes

4star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

What do you do when your child has dyslexia and you need books which will help them to achieve the wonder that is reading? You can risk buying early readers, but the sounds in the book might not be the ones you've been working on and encountering words which are just too challenging can have more of a negative effect on the young dyslexic than a child without that problem. You need to be able to buy books at a reasonable price which concentrate on what you've been working on, without anything else being thrown into the mix. You need a story which engages the young mind and you need stages which progress steadily through the learning process without there being any large jumps. Some online support and games wouldn't go amiss, either. Reading - and learning to read - should be a pleasure. It should be fun. Full Review

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Review of

One Shot by Tanya Landman

4.5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Pa and I understood each other. Our souls were cut from the same cloth. But Pa has since died, leaving Maggie very much alone in her family. She was the only one of three children who looked like him, and none of the others acted like him, and certainly, his wife didn't seem to fully understand him. Maggie might as well be reliving the Cinderella story, stuck with two siblings and mother that are fully against her. But at least she can sneak out at night, and shoot some game to stop them from starving? Well, no, not where her mother is concerned – the very idea of a female shooting things, when they could be preparing for a life of unhappy married drudgery, is just scandalous. Full Review

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Review of

Lark by Anthony McGowan

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

I'll warn you first.

This is the fourth and last story about Nicky and Kenny. Try not to cry before you've even read the first page.

Things have got tense at home - again - for Nicky and his learning-disabled brother Kenny. Their mum is coming to visit - the mum who abandoned them a long time ago. They haven't seen her for years and the impending visit is stirring up a lot of uncomfortable feelings. And Nicky's girlfriend has ended things. To take their minds off it all, Nicky and Kenny plan a day out, trekking across the moors. But it doesn't go to plan and an accident puts both boys - and their dog, Tina, in terrible danger. Full Review

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Review of

Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Blue Moon by Sally Gardner

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Betsy K Glory lives a rather wonderful life on a peaceful island where nothing horrible ever happens. Her father, Alonso, makes the most wonderful ice cream in every flavour you could imagine. Her mother, Myrtle, is a mermaid and comes to visit regularly, although she still lives in the sea. Betsy dreams of two things: firstly, about the circus owned by a tiger and whether it would ever come to her island and secondly, about a magical ice cream made from the berries of the Gongalong bush. One scoop of this ice cream can make wishes come true.

And then Mr Tiger and his circus arrive. And a journey is planned... Full Review

1781128286.jpg

Review of

Run Wild by Gill Lewis

5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Meet Izzy and Asha. Bullied away from the local attempt at a skatepark, they find a huge waste ground in the shadow of a derelict gasometer to practise on, which they duly do, even though they have to drag Izzy's younger brother with them. The following day they all want to return, as does the brother's schoolfriend, despite – and of course because of – there is a huge wolf living in the site. Can the children survive living in the urban wilderness, alongside such obvious dangers? Full Review

link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/Jennings Different/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21

Review of

A Different Dog by Paul Jennings and Geoff Kelly

4.5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Our hero is a boy, whose name we never learn. We know what he wants in life – with his mother exceedingly poor, and even his bed burnt to keep the two of them warm, he wants the prize offered by a down-a-mountain-and-back-up-and-down-again foot race. Winning the race and the large purse would also give him more status in the eyes of those kids that bully him, and it might even give him a voice – for he is almost mute. We quickly learn he never talks back to anyone, whatever the motivation, and can only speak aloud to himself – and, so it turns out, to a dog he rescues from a bad road accident he finds on his way up the hill to the start line… Full Review

Dawson Grave.jpg

Review of

Grave Matter by Juno Dawson and Alex T Smith

4.5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Since Eliza died, since the night of the car crash that took her life, Sam is a broken soul. He is lost without the girl he loves, feeling as though a part of him died that night too. But he is desperate and he cannot live without Eliza. He remembers his estranged Aunt Marie and her peculiar healing powers and wonders if she might be able to help him. However, finding his Aunt Marie leads him to discover the Milk Man, which causes Sam in his grieving state to make a pact with forces he doesn't understand. Things soon turn complicated as supernatural powers start to change Sam's life in more ways than he bargained for. Full Review

Move on to Newest Dystopian Fiction Reviews