Difference between revisions of "Newest Emerging Readers Reviews"

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[[Category:Emerging Readers|*]]
 
[[Category:Emerging Readers|*]]
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Alan MacDonald and David Roberts
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|author=Nigel Baines
|title=Aliens! (Dirty Bertie)
+
|title=A Tricky Kind of Magic
|rating=4
+
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Emerging Readers
 
|genre=Emerging Readers
|summary=For my sins I have never met Bertie before now – something that from the merits of this book I now think should have been corrected a long time agoHe's a friendly young chap, and we meet him in friendly, short episodes.  Here are three of them, which I have to assume is the normOne shows him quite gullible if well-meaning, the next has him stuck in a situation he dislikes where he still gets the upper hand, and the third is a sustained look at what happens when he starts a hole for himself with a simple, poor decisionHe's a lad such as you probably have close by you, he's amiable, he's not too smart, and he's really quite likeable – even if he does apparently have a very snotty nose…
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|summary=Cooper loves to perform magic tricksHis father was a magician, and named Cooper after the great Tommy CooperBut sadly Cooper's father died suddenly, and now Cooper doesn't quite know who to be, or how to beAnd when his dad's prop rabbit starts talking to him, he ''really'' doesn't know what's going on anymore!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184715512X</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1444960261
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Tony Ross and Wendy Finney
+
|author=Jane Lightbourne
|title= Where's Gilbert? The Not So Little Princess
+
|title= My Cat Called Red
|rating= 3.5
+
|rating= 4
|genre= Emerging Readers
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|genre=Emerging Readers
|summary=This title is part of a new series which develops Tony Ross's unforgettable Little Princess for older children reading on their own.  
+
|summary= Robin has red hair. He hates it, and the freckles that go along with it. He's been bullied and mocked at school because of it. ''Ginger Minger! Carrots!'' Kids are mean.  But red hair is not Robin's only misery in life. He's already lost his dad to a mountaineering accident when his mum gets ill and is taken into hospital. She doesn't come home again.
The Not So Little Princess hasn't really grown out of her teddy bear, Gilbert, but she's old enough to have become self-conscious when her friend Ollie finds her telling stories to the teddy in the garden. She denies and abandons Gilbert.  
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|isbn= 1838216812
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783443049</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Margaret Mahy and Jonathan Allen
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|author=Francesca Simon and Steve May
|title=The Great White Man-Eating Shark
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|title=Two Terrible Vikings
|rating=5
+
|rating=4
 
|genre=Emerging Readers
 
|genre=Emerging Readers
|summary=This is the story of Norvin who was ''a good actor but rather plain. In fact he looked like a shark…'' There were not many parts in the world of theatre for boys who looked like sharks so Norvin took up swimming. Soon he was able to shoot through the water ''like a silver arrow'' but he found it tedious having to share the delightful space of Caramel Cove with all the other swimmers. Almost every young reader will be able to guess what Norvin did next – but they might not anticipate the way in which his plan goes wrong.
+
|summary=In a small Viking village there live two twins, Hack and Whack, who are eager to be the very worst Vikings ever!  Nothing can stop their mad marauding, as they cause havoc at a birthday party, chaos whilst tracking a troll, and undertake a grand journey to raid Bad Island with their friends!  They get up to all kinds of mischief and naughty behaviour, along with their wolf-cub Bitey-Bitey, and their crazy cast of friends.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444014382</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0571349498
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Michelle Magorian and Sam Usher
+
|isbn=1838593187
|title= Smile
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|title=Guess What I Found in the Playground!
|rating= 5
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|author=Victoria Thompson
|genre= Dyslexia Friendly
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|rating=4.5
|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.  
+
|genre=For Sharing
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781125007</amazonuk>
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|summary=Tilly is excited.  She's just come dashing out of the classroom, pigtails flapping behind her and a big grin on her face.  Dad's come to collect her and her brother and he ''has'' to try to guess what she found in the playground today, although she concedes that he will never guess. Dad wants to know how school was, but ''obviously'' that's not important.  Could Tilly have found more collectable things for her scrap box?  (Isn't that so much more sensible than a scrap ''book''?)  Well, actually, Tilly did find exciting stuff. There are sequins, glittered paper and all sorts of other things in her pocket, but that's not what she wants Dad to guess.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Mandi Kujawa and Claude St Aubin
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|author=Innosanto Nagara
|title=Jacqueline the Singing Crow
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|title=M is for Movement
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Emerging Readers
 
|genre=Emerging Readers
|summary=Meet Jacqueline the crow.  She's perfectly happy up in Canada, with a whole forest of trees to choose from, enough to eat, and a whole sky into which she can thrust her birdsong in celebration.  She has, in fact, a lot to crow about.  Until she hears humans talk of her as drably black, dumb, and ugly to both look at and to hear.  What she chooses to do as a response is a surprise worth discovering in this large format picture book.
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|summary=Set in Indonesia, in the not too distant past, this is a story about social changeDealing with some difficult issues, such as political corruption and nepotism, the book is neither boring nor preachy. It educates gently, with vibrant, challenging illustrations, and it portrays how social movements need people who will try, even when it seems that they will failThe message is a positive one; that in an increasingly uncertain world, we do still have the power to instigate change.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0992150876</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1609809351
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Jenny Broom and Kristjana S Williams
 
|title=The Wonder Garden: Wander through the world's wildest habitats and discover more than 80 amazing animals
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=Is it any wonder that this book calls the outside world The Wonder Garden? I know things in fiction books, on TV and in games can be fabulous, but can they compete – really – with what nature has presented?  You only need a gate through which to go, and a willingness to explore.  This book provides those gates – there they are, shining luxuriously on the cover of this jumbo-sized hardbackAnd in five easy-to-take steps, the rest of the book provides for that exploration, taking us down south in Amazonia, down below the waters of the Great Barrier Reef, and up – to deserts and mountains, via Germany's own Black Forest.  And the trip is nothing if not spectacular to look at.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847806473</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Martin Haake and Georgia Cherry
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|isbn=1949471004
|title=City Atlas: Discover the world with 30 city maps
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|title=Dog on a Log Chapter Books: Step 1
 +
|author=Pamela Brookes
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=It's not every time I mention the feel of the book I'm reviewing, but this time it's worth a mentionThis volume has been lavishly presented in a roughened card cover, as opposed to the gloss of others in this format from this publisher, and so looks and feels like an old stamp catalogueThe title image is indeed a stamp, stuck on the centre of the coverAnd just as all stamps the world over are practically the same yet completely different in design, so are the world's citiesThe point of this book is to bring the common elements as well as the unique features of all the world's capitals to the fore, to show that while a city may be a city is a city, their constant variety is what makes each and every one worth a visit. With that being on the costly side, this is a decent enough substitute.
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|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 mixYou need a story which engages the young mind and you need stages which progress steadily through the learning process without there being any large jumpsSome online support and games wouldn't go amiss, eitherReading - and ''learning'' to read - should be a pleasure. It should be ''fun''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847806481</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Shannon Hale, Dean Hale and LeUyen Pham
+
|isbn=099334030X
|title=The Princess in Black
+
|title=Can You Draw the Dragosaur?
 +
|author=Peter Lynas and Charlie Roberts
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Emerging Readers
+
|genre=Crafts
|summary=Princess Magnolia has a double lifeOn one hand she has a perfectly prim, proper and pink castle turret to live in, on the other she has a secret escape tunnelOn her head she has a tiara, on her finger a monster alarmHer life is also full of threats – on one side a horrid, blue, goat-eating beastie, on the other a prim and proper visitor intent on finding out if the perfect Princess has any secretsWell we know she has, but will they be discovered – and which is the greater threat?
+
|summary=You're going to get a hint of what this book's about very quicklyWhen you see the title page, you'll find out what the book's called and that it's been written by Peter Lynas.  Then we move on to who has done the illustration - and there's a gap''You'' are going to put your name thereIt's ''your'' responsibility to provide the pictures for this book about one of the largest creatures ever to roam the earthThere's some help available, but your name is on the title page - and you have work to do!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0763678880</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Joan Aiken and Quentin Blake
+
|isbn=1609809335
|title=Mortimer and the Sword Excalibur
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|title=The Lizard
|rating=4.5
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|author= Jose Saramago, J Borges, Nick Caistor (translator) and Lucia Caistor (translator)
|genre=For Sharing
+
|rating=2
|summary=If you think about all the many unsuitable items that Mortimer the raven has eaten, from staircases to bowler hats, it's surprising that he's still in as good a shape as he is.  This time, Mortimer finds himself left alone with Mrs Jones' sewing machineI'm still not sure why Mrs Jones ever lets him out of her sight, since he has an unerring capacity for trouble, yet here we find him, gobbling down the pink material that is intended for Arabel's new dress, swiftly followed by the needle!  When Mortimer eventually discovers the foot pedal that makes the sewing machine go he and Arabel are turfed out of the house and allowed to go across the road to the park where a crowd has gathered around an interesting find in a large hole…
+
|genre=Emerging Readers
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847806929</amazonuk>
+
|summary=One day a giant lizard appears in the city.  We don't even get told how it arrived, but it certainly appeared.  People took against it, and if they weren't shrugging it off as a hallucination brought on by tiredness just as they fled it, they wanted something done about itCan something be done about it, though?
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Joan Aiken and Quentin Blake
+
|isbn=1789016320
|title=The Spiral Stair
+
|title=Tadcaster and the Bullies
|rating=5
+
|author=Richard Rutherford
|genre=For Sharing
+
|rating=4
|summary=I'm rather fond of Arabel and MortimerI like the outlandish situations that they find themselves in, and the way Joan Aiken wrote the stories without speaking down to her readers in any way, inserting humour for the grown ups reading them too.  Here our terrible twosome have been sent to Uncle Urk at the zoo whilst Mr Jones is in hospitalAunt Effie, however, has little patience for a noisy ravenWill Mortimer land them both in trouble?  Or will they somehow manage to save the zoo from a scurrilous animal-stealing plot?
+
|genre=Emerging Readers
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847806945</amazonuk>
+
|summary=In some ways it was a gentler time: video games were around, but children usually went outside to enjoy themselves.  They flew kites and went sledging if there was snow aroundTim and Mary's great-grandfather started a business in 1899 so our story is probably set in the nineteen seventiesSomething which hasn't changed, unfortunately, is bullying and two lads are making life miserable not just for Tim and Mary but for other children who gather in the playgroundTim's probably about ten - just at the stage where he's beginning to feel responsible for his younger sister, who's two years younger than him, but he's not yet at the stage where he knows how to deal with bullies.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Benedict Blathwayt
+
|isbn=B01N0OZQOD
|title=The Little House by the Sea
+
|title=Nickerbacher
 +
|author=Terry John Barto
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=For Sharing
+
|genre=Emerging Readers
|summary=By the sea, on the Isle of Mull, there was a ruined cottage, but it wasn't entirely uninhabited. The roof had fallen in and the windows were empty but that didn't stop the mice finding snug and dry homes in the walls. Rabbits enjoyed the weeds in the garden and the doorway to the cottage was used as a shelter by the sheep when it rained.  Sparrows nested under the roof and a stray cat slept in the pile of leaves in the fireplace.  Then one day Finn came along.  He was a fisherman and he began to repair the house. He worked too - catching fish and taking tourists to see the seals and Fingal's cave. But what about the birds and animals who had lived in the cottage before Finn came along?
+
|summary=Nickerbacher is doing his dragonly duty as all dragons do. That dragonly duty is, of course, princess-guarding. That's what dragons are for, after all. But Gwendolyn isn't any princess. She finds the whole princessing thing quite boring really and she is much less interested in fairy tales than she is in watching comedy on ''The Late Knight Show''. Nickerbacher likes ''The Late Knight Show'' too - in fact, it's his favourite TV show because he wants to be a stand-up comedian himself. He tries out his jokes on Princess Gwendolyn but they don't always come off quite as Nickerbacher intended.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780273142</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Catherine Storr
+
|isbn=0008265836
|title= Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf
+
|title=Rory Branagan Detective
|rating= 5
+
|author=Andrew Clover and Ralph Lazar
|genre= Emerging Readers
 
|summary= Polly opens the door one day to find a large black wolf standing on the doorstep. With no preamble whatsoever, not even a cursory hello, the wolf informs Polly that he intends to eat her up. Incredibly Polly invites the wolf into her home and even into the kitchen! What can she be thinking of? Well, young Polly is clever, resourceful, independent and charming. The wolf is a wolf of very little brain. Therefore it is not long before she is able to outwit the wolf and send him packing. This first story is very short but sets the scene for the ongoing battle of wits between Polly and the wolf that will continue for the remaining twelve short stories in this charming and entertaining book.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141360232</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Julian Clary and David Roberts
 
|title= The Bolds
 
|rating= 5
 
|genre= Confident Readers
 
|summary= The Bolds, Mr and Mrs and their two small children, live in an ordinary semi-detached house in suburban Teddington. They have jobs; Mrs Bold designs and sells flamboyant hats and Mr Bold writes jokes for Christmas crackers. But they are most definitely not an ordinary family. Oh no! They are in fact hyenas. So far they have managed to successfully pretend to be human beings. Although very hairy and prone to laughing a lot they have kept the truth (and their tails!) a secret from everyone.  But their grumpy next door neighbour, Mr McNumpty, is growing suspicious and then a trip to the local safari park has repercussions. Will the Bolds' carefully long kept secret be revealed?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783443057</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Rose Lagercrantz and Eva Eriksson
 
|title=When I Am Happiest
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Emerging Readers
+
|genre=Emerging Readers  
|summary=If Dani leaves her school for the summer holidays with one souvenir, it will either be the memories of the fabulous friendship she formed with Ella, who struck a chord in [[My Happy Life by Rose Lagercrantz and Eva Eriksson|book one]] then moved away, or it will be a book she has written and compiled to remind her of all the happiness she has encountered along the way.  That is not quite finished, for the following day is to be the great end of year party, and her classroom decorations are complete and her dress has been bought new specially.  But not all of life is happiness and jollity and Dani is removed from the classroom to face very bad news.  What ending is in store, for her book and for ours?
+
|summary=Ten-year-old Rory Branagan isn't just a normal kid. He's a detective and he has a mystery to solve why did his dad disappear when he was three? Rory doesn't know where to start but, then, Cassidy moves in next door and he discovers he has an accomplice who is full of ideas. This is just as well as they soon discover a very serious crime: Corner Boy's dad has been poisoned and is at risk of dying but no-one else will believe he's in danger. It's up to Rory and Cassidy to uncover the truth and save a life.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1927271894</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Alex T Smith
 
|title=Claude: Lights!  Camera!  Action!
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Ah, Claude!  How I do enjoy reading these funny little stories about this sweet doggy!  This time Claude finds himself embroiled in shenanigans on a film set, helping with wigs and make up and a film star gorilla!  Claude is as endearing as ever, and Mr Bobblysock continues to enchant us with his hot flushes and requirements for a little lie down.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444926470</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Cheeky Charlie
 
|author=Mat Waugh
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|summary=
 
''My book is about all the naughty things that my brother Charlie has done. Some of it is funny, some of it is a bit sad, and lots of it is disgusting, because that's what Charlie can be. It might even make you be sick, so get ready.''
 
 
 
You know what? That's about the size of it. After Harry has introduced herself - she's almost seven years old, she doesn't like her freckles, she's used to people thinking that someone called Harry ought to be a boy, and she has a younger brother, who is three and called Charlie. This is Harry's book about Charlie. Charlie is a cheeky chappie. He never shuts up. He likes to push his luck. And, having pushed his luck once, he likes to push it again. And again. And again. This is much to Harry's exasperation, as she explains by dint of a book full of anecdotes... |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1508910510</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Astrid Desbordes and Pauline Martin
 
|title=Travels of an Extraordinary Hamster
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Emerging Readers
 
|summary=Meet Hamster.  He's a bit curt with his so-called friends, the other animals in the Clearing – Mole, Snail, Ant, Bear, Hedgehog, Rabbit and Squirrel. He demands one of them build him a spaceship.  He is far too dismissive of another's attempts at writing a thousand-page novel.  But considering he doesn't really get on with anything and anyone, there is no chance of him joining in when they all go to meet the Bear's Arctic cousin, is there?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1927271835</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Christopher Myers
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|isbn=0192758748
|title=My Pen
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|title=Horace & Harriet Take on the Town
 +
|author=Clare Elsom
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Emerging Readers
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|genre=Emerging Readers  
|summary=How long does it take you to read a picture book?  Don't worry counting the number of words, forget totalling the pages, and ignore how many times you may return to bring it off the shelf. What matters so much more than how long it takes to scan a page can be how long it lies in the memory, and what it can lead to. This example, for instance, can be perused in seconds, but creates a vivid and long-standing mental image, and will if it hits the right buttons lead to untold future activities.  You can't judge something like this on the value of time.
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|summary=When Harriet, aged seven and a quarter, decides to go to Princes Park to practise 'Going to the Park on Her Own' (i.e. with her Grandad walking at least thirty steps behind) she can't believe her eyes. The statue of Lord Commander Horatio Fredrick Wallington Nincompoop Maximus Pimpleberry the Third (or Horace for short) starts to move. He not only moves but stamps his foot, shouts something that would get him in serious trouble with Harriet's mum, and climbs down from his pillar. Understandably Harriet can't resist following and quickly finds herself dragged all around the town as Horace searches for a new – and more suitable – home. His sights are firmly set on the Mayor's mansion and it, therefore, falls to Harriet to persuade him that there must be a better alternative. Sadly, Horace's visits to the museum, cinema, train station, playground, bank and library all cause mayhem. Luckily, however, a competition in the park reveals the perfect answer.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1423103718</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Linda Chapman and Kate Hindley
+
|isbn=Saulles_Bee
|title=Best Friends’ Bakery: Birthdays and Biscuits
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|title=Bee Boy: Clash of the Killer Queens
 +
|author=Tony De Saulles
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
+
|genre=Emerging Readers  
|summary=In this, the fourth story in the Best Friends’ Bakery series, Hannah is recovering from her sadness at being thrown off the Junior Baker show on TV. Fortunately there’s plenty going on in her town and at her mum’s bakery to keep her busy.  There’s a new beauty shop opening to bake for, a doggy rescue centre in trouble, and a new girl who seems intent on stopping anyone from befriending her. How will Hannah get on with these new challenges in her life?
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|summary=Young Mel's friend has left and the beehive is now his to look after. Unfortunately, Mel lives in a tower block and not all of his neighbours agree that it is the correct place for a hive. Things change when Mel suddenly realises he has an amazing superpower; he can become a bee.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444011944</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Sarah Garland
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|isbn=Davidson_Night
|title=Eddie's Tent and How to go Camping
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|title=Night Zookeeper: The Giraffes of Whispering Wood
 +
|author=Joshua Davidson
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=For Sharing
+
|genre=Emerging Readers
|summary=Mum, Tom, Tilly, Lily and Eddie wanted to go on holiday and camping seemed like the ideal way to go. Lily 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 chair. It'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.
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|summary=A straight-laced student makes one defiant act of creativity and has a world of magic and imagination opened up for him. Will is the new Night Zookeeper and his tenure in the role of protector to a magical world starts with the repulsion of a dangerous invasion.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184780408X</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
Joshua Davidson has written about the Night Zookeeper before and there are online cartoons devoted to the character but this marks a new launch and a new series. This is not just a book but a whole online event with huge educational tie-ins and a push to get children using their own imagination. The story itself mirrors what the author is trying to achieve in real life; the power of the imagination makes everything better.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=W Awdry
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|isbn=Seuss_Read
|title=Thomas the Tank Engine 70th Anniversary Slipcase
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|title=I Can Read With My Eyes Shut
|rating=5
+
|author=Dr Seuss
|genre=Confident Readers
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|rating=4.5
|summary=Thomas, if you don't know, is a little Tank Engine, who is very quick to build up a head of steam and move his coaches and trucks around the train yards and networks he works on.  That does mean that he has to be shown up by the larger, slower engines when he continually blows his whistle to disturb their rest, and can even forget to bring any carriages with him when he's pulling a train, but he does mean well. He's a warm, feisty little character, and was probably always bound to become a bit of a favourite with warm, feisty young readers, especially those brought up with an eye to the romance of the railways. But he wasn't the first we met in the series that in public shorthand at least bears his name.
+
|genre=Emerging Readers  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405277270</amazonuk>
+
|summary=''The more that you read,''<br>
 +
''The more things you will know.''<br>
 +
''The more that you learn,''<br>
 +
''The more places you'll go.''
 +
 
 +
This is a classic Dr Seuss quote from this book, and one that I painstakingly stickered onto the wall of my children's school library! The book is very silly, as Dr Seuss always is, but is also a good rhyming ode to the joys of reading.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Francesca Simon and Tony Ross
+
|isbn=Neal_Words
|title=Horrid Henry and the Comfy Black Chair
+
|title=Words and Your Heart
 +
|author=Kate Jane Neal
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Emerging Readers
+
|genre=Emerging Readers  
|summary= Horrid Henry just can’t catch a break. Perfect Peter has been interfering with his weekend morning television watching, but mum and dad are clear it’s first come first served. So Horrid Henry hatches a plan to get up a bit earlier than usual and be the first one downstairs, gaining full uninterrupted access to the remote control in the process. It seems like Perfect Peter has the same idea, though, and however early Henry gets up, Peter’s already down there, beating him to it. Week after week he’s thwarted. Can he pull out a signature, and horrid, trick to finally get his own way?
+
|summary=Trolling, bullying, cyber-shaming, whatever-it's-called-this-week-ing – all act as proof that the adage about sticks and stones is actually a lot of piffle. In a world where we all have hearts, we should have a heart that what we say to other people is positive. We can examine our world and the sound it makes through communication, we can make each other smile, laugh, sing and be happy together, and bit by bit the world can be a better place. And hang the 'no, after you' attitude some people would have in response. There, I've given the entire plot of this book away in my summary, but that's not really an issue.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>144400882X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Francesca Simon and Tony Ross
+
|isbn=Tavares_Red
|title=Horrid Henry's Mothers Day
+
|title=Red and Lulu
|rating=5
+
|author=Matt Tavares
|genre=Emerging Readers
+
|rating=4.5
|summary=Horrid Henry isn’t always horrid. Did you know that? Sometimes he tries hard but someone still comes along to out-do him. Like goody two shoes Perfect Peter. With Mothers’ Day around the corner, Horrid Henry is determined to up his game, shame his brother and show he’s the best son. Yeah, I know. Even when he’s trying to be nice he’s being a little horrid, really, but still. It’s the thought that counts.
+
|genre=Emerging Readers  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444014757</amazonuk>
+
|summary=Meet Red and Lulu. They're a committed couple of cardinals and they have lived for some time in someone's garden, safely in an evergreen tree. It seems to them that every year people mention their home in a lovely song, which tells the tree thy leaves are so unchanging. But one year, just as the seasons turn for the cold of winter, the tree vanishes, taking Lulu with it…
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Aby King and Sam Usher
+
|isbn=Dickens_Search
|title=Lupo and the Secret of Windsor Castle
+
|title=Search and Find A Christmas Carol
|rating=4
+
|author=Charles Dickens, Sarah Powell and Louise Pigott
|genre=Confident Readers
+
|rating=3.5
|summary=Based on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's real dog, this is Lupo's story, and although it uses the real Royals it is, of course, a fictional story as you soon realise with the talking mice from MI5 and the evil villain in the form of one of the Queen's Dorgi's (a cross between a corgi and a Dachshund). If you're looking for a fantasy animal adventure, with plenty of action, then look no further.
+
|genre=Emerging Readers  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444921444</amazonuk>
+
|summary=Recently I got to applaud a book that branched away from the Where's Wally? style volume, and taught the explorer about a non-fiction subject as they went a-searching. Well, it seems tweaking the form is going to be a big thing, for this book tries yet another different approach – to teach us about a fictional story. They've started at the deep end, with a book hastening towards being two centuries old, and one that has been adapted countless times before now, yet always has people returning to it at a certain time of the year for its ageless lesson. But does the rich content of Dickens, even at his most populist, survive this quirky variation?
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Linda Chapman and Kate Hindley
+
|isbn=Seuss_Eggs
|title=Best Friends' Bakery: Cupcakes and Contests
+
|title=Scrambled Eggs Super
|rating=4
+
|author=Dr Seuss
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|summary=Hannah's favourite TV show is Junior Brilliant Baker, and when she hears that they are auditioning for new contestants for the show she simply can't wait to apply.  She rushes to tell her best friend, Mia, about the competition as she's also a fan, but then what will happen if only one of them gets on the show?  And what would they bake for the auditions?  And would the show live up to everything they've imagined?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444011928</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Ulf Stark and Eva Eriksson
 
|title=When Dad Showed Me the Universe
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Emerging Readers
+
|genre=Emerging Readers  
|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…
+
|summary=Peter T. Hooper doesn't mean to show off, but he is ''very'' good at cooking. Some would say he is ''The Best'' capital T, capital B. And his signature dish is scrambled eggs. You might think that's quite an easy dish, one with which it's a little hard to showcase one's prowess, but not so. For Peter T. Hooper, what makes his scrambled eggs so super is the choice of the egg itself, and he will go out of his way to procure the best of the best from whatever nest.
|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>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
Move on to [[Newest Entertainment Reviews]]

Latest revision as of 13:05, 8 December 2022

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Review of

A Tricky Kind of Magic by Nigel Baines

4.5star.jpg Emerging Readers

Cooper loves to perform magic tricks. His father was a magician, and named Cooper after the great Tommy Cooper. But sadly Cooper's father died suddenly, and now Cooper doesn't quite know who to be, or how to be. And when his dad's prop rabbit starts talking to him, he really doesn't know what's going on anymore! Full Review

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Review of

My Cat Called Red by Jane Lightbourne

4star.jpg Emerging Readers

Robin has red hair. He hates it, and the freckles that go along with it. He's been bullied and mocked at school because of it. Ginger Minger! Carrots! Kids are mean. But red hair is not Robin's only misery in life. He's already lost his dad to a mountaineering accident when his mum gets ill and is taken into hospital. She doesn't come home again. Full Review

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Review of

Two Terrible Vikings by Francesca Simon and Steve May

4star.jpg Emerging Readers

In a small Viking village there live two twins, Hack and Whack, who are eager to be the very worst Vikings ever! Nothing can stop their mad marauding, as they cause havoc at a birthday party, chaos whilst tracking a troll, and undertake a grand journey to raid Bad Island with their friends! They get up to all kinds of mischief and naughty behaviour, along with their wolf-cub Bitey-Bitey, and their crazy cast of friends. Full Review

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Review of

Guess What I Found in the Playground! by Victoria Thompson

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Tilly is excited. She's just come dashing out of the classroom, pigtails flapping behind her and a big grin on her face. Dad's come to collect her and her brother and he has to try to guess what she found in the playground today, although she concedes that he will never guess. Dad wants to know how school was, but obviously that's not important. Could Tilly have found more collectable things for her scrap box? (Isn't that so much more sensible than a scrap book?) Well, actually, Tilly did find exciting stuff. There are sequins, glittered paper and all sorts of other things in her pocket, but that's not what she wants Dad to guess. Full Review

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Review of

M is for Movement by Innosanto Nagara

4star.jpg Emerging Readers

Set in Indonesia, in the not too distant past, this is a story about social change. Dealing with some difficult issues, such as political corruption and nepotism, the book is neither boring nor preachy. It educates gently, with vibrant, challenging illustrations, and it portrays how social movements need people who will try, even when it seems that they will fail. The message is a positive one; that in an increasingly uncertain world, we do still have the power to instigate change. 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

Can You Draw the Dragosaur? by Peter Lynas and Charlie Roberts

4.5star.jpg Crafts

You're going to get a hint of what this book's about very quickly. When you see the title page, you'll find out what the book's called and that it's been written by Peter Lynas. Then we move on to who has done the illustration - and there's a gap. You are going to put your name there. It's your responsibility to provide the pictures for this book about one of the largest creatures ever to roam the earth. There's some help available, but your name is on the title page - and you have work to do! Full Review

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Review of

The Lizard by Jose Saramago, J Borges, Nick Caistor (translator) and Lucia Caistor (translator)

2star.jpg Emerging Readers

One day a giant lizard appears in the city. We don't even get told how it arrived, but it certainly appeared. People took against it, and if they weren't shrugging it off as a hallucination brought on by tiredness just as they fled it, they wanted something done about it. Can something be done about it, though? Full Review

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Review of

Tadcaster and the Bullies by Richard Rutherford

4star.jpg Emerging Readers

In some ways it was a gentler time: video games were around, but children usually went outside to enjoy themselves. They flew kites and went sledging if there was snow around. Tim and Mary's great-grandfather started a business in 1899 so our story is probably set in the nineteen seventies. Something which hasn't changed, unfortunately, is bullying and two lads are making life miserable not just for Tim and Mary but for other children who gather in the playground. Tim's probably about ten - just at the stage where he's beginning to feel responsible for his younger sister, who's two years younger than him, but he's not yet at the stage where he knows how to deal with bullies. Full Review

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Review of

Nickerbacher by Terry John Barto

4star.jpg Emerging Readers

Nickerbacher is doing his dragonly duty as all dragons do. That dragonly duty is, of course, princess-guarding. That's what dragons are for, after all. But Gwendolyn isn't any princess. She finds the whole princessing thing quite boring really and she is much less interested in fairy tales than she is in watching comedy on The Late Knight Show. Nickerbacher likes The Late Knight Show too - in fact, it's his favourite TV show because he wants to be a stand-up comedian himself. He tries out his jokes on Princess Gwendolyn but they don't always come off quite as Nickerbacher intended. Full Review

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Review of

Rory Branagan Detective by Andrew Clover and Ralph Lazar

5star.jpg Emerging Readers

Ten-year-old Rory Branagan isn't just a normal kid. He's a detective and he has a mystery to solve – why did his dad disappear when he was three? Rory doesn't know where to start but, then, Cassidy moves in next door and he discovers he has an accomplice who is full of ideas. This is just as well as they soon discover a very serious crime: Corner Boy's dad has been poisoned and is at risk of dying but no-one else will believe he's in danger. It's up to Rory and Cassidy to uncover the truth and save a life. Full Review

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Review of

Horace & Harriet Take on the Town by Clare Elsom

4star.jpg Emerging Readers

When Harriet, aged seven and a quarter, decides to go to Princes Park to practise 'Going to the Park on Her Own' (i.e. with her Grandad walking at least thirty steps behind) she can't believe her eyes. The statue of Lord Commander Horatio Fredrick Wallington Nincompoop Maximus Pimpleberry the Third (or Horace for short) starts to move. He not only moves but stamps his foot, shouts something that would get him in serious trouble with Harriet's mum, and climbs down from his pillar. Understandably Harriet can't resist following and quickly finds herself dragged all around the town as Horace searches for a new – and more suitable – home. His sights are firmly set on the Mayor's mansion and it, therefore, falls to Harriet to persuade him that there must be a better alternative. Sadly, Horace's visits to the museum, cinema, train station, playground, bank and library all cause mayhem. Luckily, however, a competition in the park reveals the perfect answer. Full Review

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Review of

Bee Boy: Clash of the Killer Queens by Tony De Saulles

4.5star.jpg Emerging Readers

Young Mel's friend has left and the beehive is now his to look after. Unfortunately, Mel lives in a tower block and not all of his neighbours agree that it is the correct place for a hive. Things change when Mel suddenly realises he has an amazing superpower; he can become a bee. Full Review

Davidson Night.jpg

Review of

Night Zookeeper: The Giraffes of Whispering Wood by Joshua Davidson

5star.jpg Emerging Readers

A straight-laced student makes one defiant act of creativity and has a world of magic and imagination opened up for him. Will is the new Night Zookeeper and his tenure in the role of protector to a magical world starts with the repulsion of a dangerous invasion.

Joshua Davidson has written about the Night Zookeeper before and there are online cartoons devoted to the character but this marks a new launch and a new series. This is not just a book but a whole online event with huge educational tie-ins and a push to get children using their own imagination. The story itself mirrors what the author is trying to achieve in real life; the power of the imagination makes everything better. Full Review

Seuss Read.jpg

Review of

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut by Dr Seuss

4.5star.jpg Emerging Readers

The more that you read,
The more things you will know.
The more that you learn,
The more places you'll go.

This is a classic Dr Seuss quote from this book, and one that I painstakingly stickered onto the wall of my children's school library! The book is very silly, as Dr Seuss always is, but is also a good rhyming ode to the joys of reading. Full Review

Neal Words.jpg

Review of

Words and Your Heart by Kate Jane Neal

4star.jpg Emerging Readers

Trolling, bullying, cyber-shaming, whatever-it's-called-this-week-ing – all act as proof that the adage about sticks and stones is actually a lot of piffle. In a world where we all have hearts, we should have a heart that what we say to other people is positive. We can examine our world and the sound it makes through communication, we can make each other smile, laugh, sing and be happy together, and bit by bit the world can be a better place. And hang the 'no, after you' attitude some people would have in response. There, I've given the entire plot of this book away in my summary, but that's not really an issue. Full Review

Tavares Red.jpg

Review of

Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares

4.5star.jpg Emerging Readers

Meet Red and Lulu. They're a committed couple of cardinals and they have lived for some time in someone's garden, safely in an evergreen tree. It seems to them that every year people mention their home in a lovely song, which tells the tree thy leaves are so unchanging. But one year, just as the seasons turn for the cold of winter, the tree vanishes, taking Lulu with it… Full Review

Dickens Search.jpg

Review of

Search and Find A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Sarah Powell and Louise Pigott

3.5star.jpg Emerging Readers

Recently I got to applaud a book that branched away from the Where's Wally? style volume, and taught the explorer about a non-fiction subject as they went a-searching. Well, it seems tweaking the form is going to be a big thing, for this book tries yet another different approach – to teach us about a fictional story. They've started at the deep end, with a book hastening towards being two centuries old, and one that has been adapted countless times before now, yet always has people returning to it at a certain time of the year for its ageless lesson. But does the rich content of Dickens, even at his most populist, survive this quirky variation? Full Review

Seuss Eggs.jpg

Review of

Scrambled Eggs Super by Dr Seuss

4.5star.jpg Emerging Readers

Peter T. Hooper doesn't mean to show off, but he is very good at cooking. Some would say he is The Best capital T, capital B. And his signature dish is scrambled eggs. You might think that's quite an easy dish, one with which it's a little hard to showcase one's prowess, but not so. For Peter T. Hooper, what makes his scrambled eggs so super is the choice of the egg itself, and he will go out of his way to procure the best of the best from whatever nest. Full Review

Move on to Newest Entertainment Reviews