Difference between revisions of "Newest For Sharing Reviews"

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[[Category:For Sharing|*]]
 
[[Category:For Sharing|*]]
[[image:lumplump.jpg|center|link=https://books.google.com/books?id=dDc9DQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=lump+lump+and+the+blanket+of+dreams&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiz47visd3QAhVT_WMKHQ8CA8UQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=lump%20lump%20and%20the%20blanket%20of%20dreams&f=false]]
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[[Category:New Reviews|For Sharing]]__NOTOC__
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{{Frontpage
[[Category:New Reviews|For Sharing]] __NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->
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|author=Adam Stower
{{newreview
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|title=Murray and Bun
|author=Julian Gough and Jim Field
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|rating=4.5
|title=Rabbit and Bear: The Pest in the Nest
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|genre=Confident Readers
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|summary=Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two.  But he's a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffs.  This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do…
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|isbn=0008561249
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1732898766
 +
|title=The Adventures of Birpus and Bulbus: Book One: The Sour Milk Dragon
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|author=Wynn Everett-Albanese, Michael Albanese and Indre Ta (Illustrator)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Emerging Readers
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|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Rabbit was struggling.  There he was having a nice, peaceful sleep in his friend Bear's cave when a terrible noise woke himWas it thunder?  No, it was Bear snoringVery loudly.  Rabbit tried putting his paws over his ears although that's not very successful when you have small paws and very big earsBut there was something good: when Rabbit went outside the cave he realised that spring had sprung.  Suddenly he felt ''strong''.  After a winter spent in his friend Bear's cave it was time to go home to his burrowOnly there was a surprise lurking there - and it looked suspiciously like a snake.
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|summary=When we first meet Birpus and Bulbus they're running for their lives in the Forest of Fine ReputeTheir greatest fear has come about: the Sour Milk Dragon is chasing themHe's right behind them, spewing hot, sour milk from his nostrils(Please don't try this at home: it won't end well.) Fortunately, they were nearly at Nobby Lob-lolly - and when a ladder of moss and vines was lowered for them, they escapedThey climbed up to the Tree Wee homes high up in the tangled woods where they lived with their Grand Wees, Nester Nook and Granny Cranny.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444934260</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Jodie Parachini and Daniel Rieley
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|isbn=B0CC9W7GLR
|title= This is a Serious Book
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|title=On the Beach: The Winter Visitor
|rating= 4
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|author=Chris Green and Jenny Fionda
|genre= For Sharing
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|rating=5
|summary= If you want a silly book, this is not the one for you. This is, as the title says, a ''serious book''. And just so there's no doubt, it shows you all the things you won't find in this book (because they are silly and this is serious). So we see pictures of donkeys pulling silly faces and doing backflips but only as a warning. They are examples to show us what we ''won't'' find in this book. For they are silly things (yuck).
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|genre=For Sharing
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571329462</amazonuk>
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|summary=Kit and Teal were just beginning to wonder whether it was better to be at home, bored but warm, or frozen cold and building sand sculptures on a snowy beach when a large slab of silvery ice drifted onto the shoreline. On top of the ice was a polar bear. As the ice bumped onto the sand, the bear woke and with wobbly legs moved from the ice.  Kit was all for making a run for it, but Teal knew that the bear was hungry and gave him one apple and then another. He obviously needed to be taken home on the bus and given a good meal and somewhere to sleep. What else would you do?
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Simon Philip and Ella Bailey
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|isbn=1913839656
|title=I Don't Know What to Call My Cat
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|title=Let's Celebrate Being Different
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|author=Lainey Dee
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Getting a new pet is rife with things that you have to doWhere will they sleep?  What will they eat?  And, of course, what on Earth are you going to call them? Giving a pet the right name when they are tiny can be an issue in itself – a cute fluffy dog can grow into a massive hound called Fluffy, or you could call your male cat ClairePerhaps it would help if the animal itself could tell you what name they want?
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|summary=Todd was excited about spending the weekend with his grandmother, not least because she made the best beetle juiceHe packed two pairs of dungarees and his favourite hat and then gathered together his button collection to show his grandmother. She had promised to take him to the Friday Night Club at the local community centre and Todd was pleased about this as he wanted to make new friends.  At home, his only friend was his mum and he wondered why that could beGrandma thought that it might be because he looked different.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1471124134</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Ariane Hofmann-Maniyar
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|isbn=1529504775
|title=That's Not How You Do It!
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|title=The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories)
|rating=4
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=For Sharing
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|summary=Elsie and her little brother David loved to go to the park and watch the red buses drive past.  Elsie would race the buses along the side of the park but David couldn't - he'd been born with cerebral palsy and even just standing up was very difficult.  One day Elsie spotted a bus in the toy shop window which would help David - and was happy to use the coins from her money box to pay for it as cash was tight at home.  Gradually, David learned to stand up, use the bus for support, and walk behind it.  Many decades later, Elsie brought the bus, now damaged and rusted, to the Repair Shop, hoping that the experts there could make it so that her grandchildren could play with it.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1529504767
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|title=The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories)
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Lucy the cat knows how to do everythingYes, she is one of those dreadful know-it-alls who can build a tower, play the xylophone, eat with a knife and fork...you name it, she can do it! Everyone knows that she's the best at all of these things, so she's the one they go to if they need helpOne day, however, there's a new panda in town, Toshi, and Lucy watches him and sees that he doesn't know how to do anything right at all! His music is strange, and he eats differently to everyone else, and he can't make paper stars, only some weird-looking bird! Lucy finds this more and more frustrating until she suddenly can't contain herself any longer and she tells Toshi that he's doing everything wrong…
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|summary=Susan was very young when she was evacuated from London in 1939 and nervous about how she would be greeted when she got to her final destinationShe needn't have worried though as she went to the home of Mr and Mrs Russell, who couldn't have been kinder to herShe even had her own room - all to herselfGradually she relaxed and began to enjoy her life. She'd help Mrs Russell with the baking and when it came to Christmas Eve Susan and Mr Russell put the decorations on the Christmas tree. The best surprise happened the following morning.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846439280</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Rebecca Lisle and Richard Watson
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|isbn=1916459943
|title=Stone Underpants
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|title=Squeakily Baby
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|author=Beth Webb
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Poor Pod has a chilly bottom! His leafy clothing is just not cutting it, and he needs to find an alternativeBut what can he use to make himself some pants? This is a madcap story that will see Pod wearing everything from stone pants to feather pants, to even, in desperation I suspect, some pants made from spider's webs! Will he ever manage to find something suitable to make his pants from?
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|summary=Much as mothers love their babies, there's something they all dread - a squeakily baby. He's so tired but he can't - or won't - go to sleep: instead, he just lies on his blanket and ''wails''.  The sea offers to helpIt rocks Baby gently and the waves sing ''hush, hush''. Think of gentle wavelets falling onto a sandy beach and you have the sound perfectly.  The mermaids join in - ''la lou, la lay...'And for a moment it seems to have worked as Baby closes his eyes.  Then a seagull '''shouts''' and we know exactly what's going to happen next.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848862210</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Kyo Maclear and Julia Sarda
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|isbn=140639131X
|title=The Liszts
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|title=A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant
|rating=3
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|author=Briony May Smith
|genre=Emerging Readers
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|rating=4.5
|summary=When you read enough children's books you start to be able to pick up patterns in the genreThere are books that are aimed at the child alone and alienate the adult and there are those that cater for both.  Perhaps the oddest grouping is those children's books that are seemingly designed for adults to enjoy and do not appeal to children.
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|genre=For Sharing
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783445157</amazonuk>
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|summary=Philippa Pheasant was ''tired'' of nearly getting squished as she tried to cross the Old Oak Road.  She wrote to the mayor about the problem but didn't even get a replyPhilippa wasn't a bird to sit back on her tail feathers when there was a problem which needed solving: she saw the benefits of the lollipop lady at the school crossing and decided that she would set up something similar herself.  Her uniform and lollipop stick were both a little amateur to start with but the benefits were obviousAll the animals used the crossing and Hedgehog was even trained up to provide a safe path overnight.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Kurt Vonnegut and Ivan Chermayeff
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|isbn=1776574338
|title= Sun Moon Star
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|title=Leilong's Too Long!
|rating= 4.5
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|author=Julia Liu and Bei Lynn
|genre= For Sharing
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|rating=4
|summary= In his own delightfully imaginative way Kurt Vonnegut tells the story of the birth of Christ in this unique and long out of print children's book. Told from the perspective of the new born infant in his first hours of birth, this charming little story feels different to other children's Christmas books whilst at the same time goes back to the basics in exploring the true nature of Christmas.
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|genre=For Sharing
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1609807243</amazonuk>
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|summary=Every morning Leilong, the brontosaurus school bus, makes his way through the city, picking up children as he goes.  Children who live at the top of tower blocks don't even need to go downstairs – they simply climb out of the window and slide down his neck.  It's perfect, isn't it?  What could be a more fun way of going to school?  There is a problem, though. Leilong isn't happy in the city: he's always having to be careful about where he puts his feet and – because he's longer than a tennis court – he often causes damage without intending to and traffic regularly gets snarled up.  The school decides that he can't be the bus anymore.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Gwen Jackson and Lissa Calvert
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|isbn=1776574028
|title=Lump Lump and the Blanket of Dreams: Inspired by Navajo Culture and Folklore
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|title=Bumblebee Grumblebee
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|author=David Elliott
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=In the fir tree in the forest there were two holes: in the small hole at the top Blue Bird lived, but the big hole, in the ground below the fir tree was the home of Mother Bear and her little bear, Lump LumpIt was coming to the time when bears should be hibernating, but Lump Lump wanted to run in the forest and eat more honeySomehow he didn't think that sleeping could be ''that'' much fun. Blue Bird sang him a song about a blanket of dreams and Lump Lump ''had'' to have one. There was a snag though - before the blanket could be woven Lump Lump had to collect the white light of morning, the red light of evening, the falling rain and the rainbow for Spider Woman to weave into his blanket.
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|summary=I love a good board book!  ''Bumblebee Grumblebee'' is aimed at quite a niche market: it's for the child who still enjoys board books (er, see my first sentence) but has mastered sufficient language skills to have realise that you can ''play'' with words and make something quite different from each oneWe have the elephant who dons a tutu - and becomes a ''balletphant''The buffalo who has had a bath (complete with yellow duck) and then dries off with a hair drier becomes a ''fluffalo''.   The rhinoceros who drops his ice cream cone is a ''crynoceros'' (think about it!)  The pelican who sits on his potty changes into a ''sm.......''  OK, let's not go there  Some people are eating!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1460299299</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Gary Sheppard and Tim Budgen
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|isbn=1838226834
|title=As Nice as Pie
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|title=Carried Away With the Carnival
|rating=5
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|author=Ed Boxall
 +
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=The day that you build that bird table and set out some nuts you are unwittingly creating a millstone for your own neckFrom now on your inner voice is going to keep telling you to keep the food topped up.  What will happen to those poor little birdies should they go without, will you be to blame for their hunger?  Worse than the voice in your head is if the birds themselves started to demand more food. Could you deal with a cheeky chaffinch or a rabid robin? 
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|summary=It was one of those memories we treasure from our childhoods: an outing with our grandparents. They're there to undo all the good that parents do, so the trips out were always so much funA young boy was going to the carnival with his Grandad, who told him:
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848862229</amazonuk>
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 +
''It'll be brilliant, just remember, don't let go of my hand.''
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Lina Sunderland and Daniel Egneus
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|isbn=B09MYXSRV4
|title= Raven Child and the Snow Witch
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|title=Otter's Coat: The Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit: A Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare
|rating= 5
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|author=Cordellya Smith
|genre= For Sharing
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|rating=4
|summary= A beautiful story of hope, family and loveIn the frozen north and safe away from the icy wilderness, young Anya lives a happy care-free life in the Snow GardenShe plays, she is at one with the animals and she dreamsOn one day, no different from any other, Anya’s mother sets off on a journey to the glacier to collect a special flower to plant in the Snow GardenAnya waits for her mother’s return and keeps busy throughout the dayAfter a long while of waiting Anya falls asleep and dreams of a terrible event involving the most dreadful enchantress of them all – the Snow WitchFrom here on, Anya becomes determined to find and save her mother but she has no idea what lies aheadCan Anya pit her wills against the frozen wilderness, the wild wolves and ultimately the Snow Witch herself?
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|genre=For Sharing
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783704187</amazonuk>
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|summary=When the world was made, the animals were given gifts.  Bear was given strength so that he could become a protectorWater Spider received a strong web that even fire could not burnOwl had excellent sight so that he could see the present ''and'' the futureRabbit developed intelligence - but, unfortunately, not the ability to use it well.  He liked to trick other animalsHe was also jealous which was how he came to be in a race with TurtleYou might think that's not a fair contest but wait and seeThings are not always as they seemI'll tell you how it came about.
 
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}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Surya Sajnani
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|author=Rob Keeley
|title= Farm
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|title= Carrots Don’t Grow On Trees!
 
|rating= 4
 
|rating= 4
|genre= For Sharing
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|genre=For Sharing
|summary= In this sturdy, interactive board book little ones have clues to animals you might find on the farm, and can then slide the pieces of picture round on the facing page to uncover the answer.
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|summary= Lily loves eating fruit and vegetables. She likes carrots, broccoli, cabbage and aubergines. When her friends at school turn up their noses, Lily is keen to explain how good they are for you and how nice to eat. One day, poor Lily gets tricked by Jordan, who tells her that carrots grow on trees. Infuriated, Lily checks with the teacher, who explains that fruits grow on trees and vegetables, like carrots, grow in the ground. Jordan says, "I did try to tell her, Miss!" and everyone laughs at poor Lily.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178493660X</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09HHN541V
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Surya Sajnani
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|isbn=B09FFJF8YS
|title= Hush...Little Bear is Sleeping
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|title=You Can't Wear Panties! (No More Nappies!)
|rating= 4
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|author=Justine Avery and Kate Zhoidik
|genre= For Sharing
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|rating=3.5
|summary= In this somewhat ironic interactive board book, Baby Bear is trying to sleep but other animals around him keep making a noise. I say ironic because this would otherwise be a perfect bedtime story, but because it's a ''press and listen'' book with sound effects on every page, it's far too much fun and more likely to get them engaged and playing than carefully drifting off to slumber.
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|genre=For Sharing
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784936626</amazonuk>
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|summary=''For the big, grownup girls out there, the potty masters in training, "You Can't Wear Panties!" is a cry (the big-girl kind!) of toilet triumph and persevering panty pride.''
}}
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{{newreview
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|author=Eoin Colfer and Oliver Jeffers
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And so it is! This latest book from Justine Avery celebrates a little girl's final goodbye to nappies and pull-ups and graduation to "proper" pants by following her around as she proudly explains to her dog, her cat, her stuffed rabbit and her baby sibling that ''she'' can wear super-duper proper pants, while they cannot. Neither can the flowers, nor the fish, nor the birds. Boy's certainly can't. She's a big girl now and she wants everyone to know it!
|title=Imaginary Fred
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}}  
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{{Frontpage
 +
|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
 +
|title=Everybody Toots! (Everybody Potties!)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Fred is an imaginary friend. He really loves being an imaginary friend, and he throws himself into his role wholeheartedly whenever he is 'summoned' by a child. The problem is that his children always end up finding a real friend, and then they don't need him, and slowly he fades away until the wind whisks him away into the clouds where he waits until he is summoned once more. When he becomes Sam's friend he thinks that all his dreams have come true - they like the same things, they have so much fun together, but Fred has a funny feeling in his imaginary tummy that one day, Sam won't need him any more either…
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|summary= Toots, trumps, farts. Whatever your word for them, find us a child that doesn't find them irresistibly funny. Funny to talk about and joke about, that is. But horribly embarrassing if you let one go at the wrong time. In class, say, when everyone will hear it and everyone will laugh. At you. Justine Avery's latest entry in her ''Everybody Potties!'' series takes aim at any shame associated with tooting and gently and calmly, with the familiar humour attached, explains that tooting is perfectly normal. Everybody does it: ''Everybody Toots''!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>000812616X</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09C2RVJ2W
}}
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}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Yuval Zommer
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|isbn= B09BG8V3Q6
|title=One Hundred Sausages
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|title= Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! (Everybody Potties!)
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|author= Justine Avery and Seema Amjad
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Mmm, sausages! Everyone knows that dogs have special hearing when it comes to the discussion of what's for dinner, especially when it comes to sausages.  My mum used to hide the worming tablets in sausages as our dog would eat the sausage so fast he wouldn't notice the tablet.  Well, most times! Anyway, this book is all about one particular dog's love of sausages, and what happens when he is falsely accused of stealing all of the town's sausages!
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|summary= ''Who Needs Nappies? Not Me!'' is the latest release in the ''Everybody Potties!'' series from Justine Avery. This series of fun picture books aims to take the pain out of potty training children and replace it with some fun. It's a worthy aim, as any frustrated parent will tell you.  .
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783705752</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet
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|isbn=B07GZ81J7C
|title=Gordon's Great Escape
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|title=When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended
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|author=Peter Cotton
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=The life of the humble balloon is one full of fear and dangersImagine going out of the house each day and all that protects your vulnerable self is a thin sheet of taut rubberEven if you do get to survive into your dotage, this is not a long timeWho has not left a balloon alone for a week or so, it starts to sag and go wrinkly until it is nothing more than a floppy bagDepressing as this may be, Gordon the balloon looks on the bright side of life and is determined to enjoy every moment he has.
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|summary=Meet FredWell, actually, you're going to be meeting Fred-Fred for reasons which will become all too obvious very quickly.  But I'm getting ahead of myself: I'd better tell you a bit more about FredFred is a snake and even those of us who have a phobia about snakes are going to warm to himHe arrived as a present in a box with holes so that he could breathe and immediately became part of the family, to the extent that they would take Fred out with them when they went out for a walkAnd that was where the problem started.  Fred didn't have any road sense.  Or brakes.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1471143635</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Caryl Hart and Ed Eaves
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|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|title= How to Save a Superhero
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|title= Everybody Pees! (Everybody Potties!)
|rating= 5
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|rating=4
|genre= For Sharing
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|genre=For Sharing
|summary= It's just an ordinary day for Albie – he's playing with his toys just like any little boy. However little does he know that his day is going to be super in more ways than one.  This is another fantastic adventure in the next in the series of books by Carol Hart and Ed Eaves.
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|summary= Can potty training ever be joyous? It often isn't, as any parent will tell you. But really, why shouldn't it be? We all have to learn about our bodily functions just as we have to learn about everything else when we are small. Why shouldn't potty training be as much fun as, say, learning about why the sun and the moon take turns in the sky?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>147114478X</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B098BJZYHH
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
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|author=Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|title=Winnie and Wilbur Meet Santa
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|title=No, No, No!
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Winnie and Wilbur are writing their letters to Santa. Wilbur wants lots of things including a wind up mouse, tins of sardines, and a cuddly blanket. Winnie, however, just wants a lovely surprise. When Christmas Eve arrives that is what she gets – but it's not exactly the surprise that Santa had in mind. He gets stuck in their chimney for so long that he might not have time to deliver all the presents. Luckily Winnie and Wilbur find him in time and, for once, Winnie's magic seems to be working.
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|summary=They say the best picture books are the simplest ones. And nothing could be truer of this latest from Justine Avery, a Bookbag favourite.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192747371</amazonuk>
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''No, No, No!'' is based around the simplest text imaginable.
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''No, no, no! Okay, okay. Yes, you may.''
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That's it! But, like all the best picture books, this tiny snippet of text is a veritable tardis - so much bigger on the inside that it appears on the outside.
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|isbn=1638820457
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=David Walliams and Tony Ross
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|isbn=194812467X
|title=There's a Snake in My School!
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|title=The Farm Shop
|rating=5
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|author=Devon Avery, Justine Avery and Ema Tepic
|genre=For Sharing  
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|rating=4
|summary=Miranda loves to be different so no one is really surprised when she arrives at school on Bring-your-pet-to-school Day riding on the back of an enormous slithery python called Penelope. But they are a bit frightened. After all, pythons EAT people. Miranda, however, soon convinces her classmates that Penelope is both friendly and lots of fun to play with. It looks like it's going to be the best day of school EVER. But that's before Miss Bloat, the headmistress, intervenes and locks up all the pets. Luckily Penelope has a special talent that will save the day.
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|genre=For Sharing
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0008172706</amazonuk>
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|summary=Kirelle and her best friend Sam the cat decide to go for a walk. Kirelle is dressed for all weathers in her bright yellow wellies and Sam is perfectly turned out as ever in his smart grey fur coat. As they walk to the top of the hill, they see a big barn with a sign outside. It's a farm shop! But this is a farm shop with a difference: all the stallholders and customers are farmyard animals. There are sheep and ducks and cows, goats and chickens, and even some mice. Excited, Kirelle and Sam go shopping.
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What will they buy?
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Juliette MacIver and Sarah Davis
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|isbn=0995647895
|title=That's Not a Hippopotamus!
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|title=Sadie and the Sea Dogs
 +
|author=Maureen Duffy and Anita Joice
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=With the onset of TV, the internet and colourful books we take for granted that we know what different animals look likeA giraffe has a long neck, a lion has big teeth and a Dodo does not look like much anymore. However, imagine a time before all this technology, the closest you would get to an exotic animal might be the assorted stuffed creatures in a local Natural History Museum.  Perhaps the children of Juliette MacIver and Sarah Davis' ''That's Not a Hippopotamus!'' learned from some poor taxidermy, as they sure don't know what a Hippo looks like.
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|summary=Sadie's mother always said that she was a dreamer, her mind never on what she should be doingShe lives by the River Thames at Greenwich and she loves to spend hours at The Maritime Museum or gazing at Cutty Sark.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1927271967</amazonuk>
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''Her class had gone one rainy afternoon''<br>
 +
''When all the houses cowered in the gloom,''<br>
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''To the Maritime Museum''.
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Her imagination was firedShe'd love to sail the oceans on an ancient sailing ship and went back regularly.  One day she fell asleep under a glass case (it's the one where Nelson's Trafalgar breeches are on show) and missed the closing bell and the attendant's warning shout.  When she woke (hard floors don't make comfy beds) she was in the midst of an adventure that she could never have imagined in a world of dolphins, pirates, mermaids and treasure.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Alice Pattullo
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|isbn=1782227741
|title=An Animal ABC
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|title=Little Gold Ted
|rating=4.5
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|author=Vanessa Wiercioch, Poppy Satha and Sasha Satha
 +
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary= If you have ever tried to print a design using traditional methods such as screen printing or block printing, you will know how tricky a feat this is. Making a simple black and white design is tough enough as you try and spread the paint evenly and avoid bleeding, but multicolours are even more complex. You have to remove your screen and add another, then make sure the new colour sits exactly where it shouldWhen it goes wrong it looks amateurish and you have to start again. Do it right and it can look as wonderful as ''An Animal ABC'' by Alice Pattullo.
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|summary=One day, Gold Ted falls into a puddle. It's quite a deep puddle and the water is swirling. Poor Ted starts to spin around and around and is sucked down a drain on the side of the street. Finding himself down in the sewer, Ted starts to panic. ''OH HELP ME PLEASE'' he cries and alerts the attention of Reg the sewer rat, who plucks him out of the dirty water using his cane, which might look just a bit like an old cricket bat. Reg is a kind soul and he dries Ted off and warms him up with a nice bowl of broth.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1843653133</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Steve Antony
 
|title= The Queen's Present
 
|rating= 4.5
 
|genre= For Sharing
 
|summary= We join the story on Christmas Eve. The Queen hasn't finished her shopping yet, which is probably unlikely for a grandmother and great grandmother, but then I suppose most people in that position don't have a job ruling the country so she can be forgiven. She's shopping for the little prince and princess, but in a surprisingly unpatriotic moment she realises the UK just won't do, and she needs to venture further afield. If only there was someone with access to airborne transport who could whisk her away to the likes of France and Egypt and Italy and China at the drop of a hat (or the tug of a reign).
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444925636</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Michael Morpurgo (Editor)
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|isbn=B08R7LXQ9S
|title= Greatest Animal Stories
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|title=Remy: A book about believing in yourself
|rating= 5
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|author=Mayuri Naidoo and Caroline Siegal
|genre= For Sharing
 
|summary= We all know of Aesop and his animal fables: the hare and the tortoise, the boy who cried wolf or the ant and the grasshopper.  In this stunning collection of animal stories, Michael Morpurgo has collated well-known and much-loved animal stories in a beautifully presented book.  In the introduction he writes that we often first meet animals in stories before we meet them in real life and this collection is selected from his favourite childhood animal tales.  Within his own stories, Morpurgo favours the inclusion of animals as the central character and these are all well received by children.  As a primary school teacher, I value the fact that such a well-known author has collected these valuable animal-centred stories which can be used not only to engage children with tales from different cultures but also in providing life lessons.  Each is beautifully illustrated and individual in style to each story.  Prefacing each tale is a short paragraph giving information on the origin of the story and often a question or two to promote thought and discussion within the story.  The stories originate from across the globe: Iceland, Africa, China and North America to name a few.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192748629</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Felix Bernard, Richard Smith and Tim Hopgood
 
|title= Walking in a Winter Wonderland
 
|rating= 4.5
 
|genre= For Sharing
 
|summary= It’s the end of October – almost November – and the embers of Christmas are just being brought back to life now.  The weather is changing, the leaves are falling and it’s dark before six o’clock.  No matter how much we try not to, our thoughts are turning to Christmas.  Now, I absolutely love Christmas.  However, what I love more than Christmas is the idea of Christmas.  Walking in a Winter Wonderland paints the idea of Christmas better than anything else.  It is a Christmas card in words and although it may be 13 degrees on Christmas day with grey skies, in our hearts sleigh bells are ringing, snow is glistening, Mister snowmen are being built and we all conspire as we dream by the fire.  What a fantastic way to epitomise Christmas by using this great song, made famous by Peggy Lee and originally written in 1934, as a story book for children.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192743759</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Caryl Hart and Sarah Warburton
 
|title=The Princess and the Christmas Rescue
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Christmas can be an awesome time surrounded by friends, but if you don't have many, it can also be a rather lonely time.  One way you could get more friends is to socialise a little and perhaps join a hobby group or two.  What is unlikely to help is locking yourself up in a workshop and inventing things on your own all the time.  This is exactly how Princess Eliza spends her time, but what caused her to have a lacks in friends may help her when a Christmas crisis occurs.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>085763707X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Madeleine Cook and Samara Hardy
 
|title= The Mouse that Cancelled Christmas
 
|rating= 5
 
|genre= For Sharing
 
|summary= When you think there can't possibly be a different way to tell a Christmas story for children, along comes Madeleine Cook and Samara Hardy with a tale of a mouse who was once injured at Christmas time.  A falling bauble hit poor mouse and that was enough to convince mouse that Christmas meant danger.  Mouse dons his hard-hat and high-visibility jacket to inspect the animal's village Christmas preparations.  In true health and safety style, nothing is up to scratch: the star is too pointy; the tree too tall and the lights are too bright on the tree, not to even mention the spikiness of the pine needles.  Quite frankly, Christmas is jolly well too dangerous, so mouse wants it cancelled.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192744291</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Alex T Smith
 
|title=Santa Claude
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Ah Claude!  He is such an endearing little dog.  He's back on an adventure with Sir Bobblysock and this time it is a Christmas adventure.  There are baubles and trees and carols and reindeer and, of course, there's trouble!  For who else but Claude would accidentally handcuff Santa to an armchair on Christmas Eve, and then need to deliver all the presents himself?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444926497</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Henning Lohlein
 
|title=Ludwig the Space Dog
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Before there was Neil Armstrong and before there was Yuri Gagarin, there was another explorer of Space – Laika. This was no man however, but a dog. Laika was one of the first animals to explore space; the less said about her fate the better, but surely her adventures would encourage other canines to explore the great beyond?  Ludwig is one such Mutt and although we may not have a rocket ship to help him with his adventures, we do have a set of 3D glasses.
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|summary=Remy is feeling miserable. He's let himself down ''again''. The school bully Jayden,  together with his sidekicks Ryan and Brandon, have been laughing at Remy, calling him names because he is short and has small eyes. They are mean but they are not stupid. They are careful to wind up Remy when nobody can see and then push him just that little bit further when the other kids are around. So, when Remy reacts, it looks as though he was the instigator. And then he gets into trouble at school and the teachers don't believe him when he tries to explain what happened.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178370389X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Mick Inkpen and Chloe Inkpen
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|isbn=1471191303
|title=Fred
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|title=The Invisible
 +
|author=Tom Percival
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=It's tricky being a puppyThere are so many things to try to understand, like sit, and stay, and fetch!  Whilst the pup in this story has learned all of these tricky commands, and is doing very well at being a good boy, he is having some issues around the word 'Fred'...what on earth does everyone mean when they keep shouting it at him?
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|summary=This is the story of Isobel, a little girl who made a big differenceIsobel lived with her parents in a house - a very cold house, because her parents couldn't afford to put the heating on:
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444929526</amazonuk>
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''Ice curled across the inside of the window and crept up the corner of the bedpost.''
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The family didn't go to the cinema or on holidays but they had each other and they were happy. Then the day came when they couldn't afford the rent for the house and they had to move to the far side of the city. This part of the city was cold, sad and lonely and Isobel felt invisible.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Benji Davies
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|author=Nick Jones and Si Clark
|title= The Storm Whale in Winter
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|title=One Night in Beartown
|rating= 4.5
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|rating=4
|genre= For Sharing
 
|summary= The Storm Whale in Winter is a sequel to the highly popular The Storm Whale.  Noi's father embarks on one last fishing trip before the Arctic Winter sets in.  All alone, with his six cats, Noi patiently waits for his father's return.  As night sets and the sea begins to freeze, Noi starts to worry and believes he can see his Dad's boat from his bedroom window.  Full of courage, he sets off out in the snow to find his Dad.  Getting lost in the blizzard, Noi is in need of help which comes in the form of his old friend.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>147111998X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Mick Inkpen
 
|title= Threadbear
 
|rating= 5
 
|genre= For Sharing
 
|summary= We have all had a special teddy, the teddy which is not perfect, the one that would never be classed as beautiful but the one that is loved more than any other.  Threadbear is that very teddy.  The man who made him put so much stuffing in him that his arms and legs were too hard.  Sadly, because of all the extra stuffing, the squeaker in his stomach has never squeaked.  Not once. Ever.  Threadbear feels he is letting his Ben down, so he embarks on a mission to fix his squeaker.  He tries and tries but fails, until he decides that there is one special person he must meet and maybe this will be the only person who can fix his squeaker.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444924052</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Ross Montgomery and David Litchfield
 
|title=The Building Boy
 
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=This is the story of a boy and his Grandma. An award-wining architect, Grandma promises to build the boy a special house on a hill over the horizon, over a city and beyond the sea. But Grandma is getting old – too old to make houses. And, one day, she is gone. Without Grandma, the house is empty. It’s just rooms. But the boy has an idea – it requires a lot of work but the result is totally magical.
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|summary= Many children have an obsession and Sandy Lane, who lives in Beartown, is obsessed with bears. She collects books about bears. Her favourite toy is Berisford, a teddy bear passed down by her grandmother. Every night, she looks out of her bedroom window and says goodnight to the bear statue outside. Every morning she says hello to Bee Bear, a colourful painted bear that lives at her school. She even has bears on her bedroom wallpaper!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571314104</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=B08NFH7H9X
}}
+
}}
{{newreview
 
|author= Helen Peters and Ellie Snowdon
 
|title= A Piglet Called Truffle
 
|rating= 5
 
|genre= For Sharing
 
|summary= Living on a farm, with her father who works as a farmer and a mother who is a farm-vet, Jasmine has spent all her young life learning how to care for animals.  On a visit to a neighbouring farm, Jasmine is excited to see the new baby piglets. Expecting to see eleven piglets, she is stunned to find one extra - a tiny little runt hiding in the corner.  Being smaller than her hand, the farmer has no sympathy and expects it to die by the end of the day.   Of course, Jasmine can't allow this to happen.  The story is then set for a struggle to save the smallest piglet, called Truffle.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857637738</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Newest General Fiction Reviews]]
|author= Julia Donaldson and Sebastien Braun
 
|title= Spinderella
 
|rating= 4.5
 
|genre= For Sharing
 
|summary= From high above the classroom, Spinderella watches in fascination the classroom activities at Scuttleton Primary School.  She wants to be able to do two things: play football and count.  However, her family of spiders are only interested in flies, flies and flies.  They also have no desire to learn how to count ''Down with numbers'' they all cry.  Unperturbed by their lack of enthusiasm, Spinderella goes in search of numbers and playing football.  Along the way she meets a familiar wish granting character (no spoilers here) and her journey begins.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>140528272X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Lou Treleaven
 
|title= Letter to Pluto
 
|rating= 5
 
|genre= For Sharing
 
|summary= Letter to Pluto is a story told through an inter-planetary pen-pal friendship.  Set in the year 2317, writing with a pen and sending letters has certainly become a dying art-form.  However, Jon’s teacher, Mrs Hall, decides it is important to keep the art of letter writing alive.  The only difference is that Jon’s pen-pal lives a long way away.  75 billion km to be precise.  On Pluto.  At first the idea of writing at all is bad enough, but when Jon finds out that his pen-pal is a girl he nearly quits the programme.  Encouraged by his teacher’s bribes of merit awards for his best writing, Jon soon learns that Pluto is not as boring, small and smelly as he first thought.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848862318</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 09:24, 2 December 2023

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Review of

Murray and Bun by Adam Stower

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two. But he's a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffs. This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do… Full Review

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Review of

The Adventures of Birpus and Bulbus: Book One: The Sour Milk Dragon by Wynn Everett-Albanese, Michael Albanese and Indre Ta (Illustrator)

4star.jpg For Sharing

When we first meet Birpus and Bulbus they're running for their lives in the Forest of Fine Repute. Their greatest fear has come about: the Sour Milk Dragon is chasing them. He's right behind them, spewing hot, sour milk from his nostrils. (Please don't try this at home: it won't end well.) Fortunately, they were nearly at Nobby Lob-lolly - and when a ladder of moss and vines was lowered for them, they escaped. They climbed up to the Tree Wee homes high up in the tangled woods where they lived with their Grand Wees, Nester Nook and Granny Cranny. Full Review

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Review of

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

5star.jpg For Sharing

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

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Review of

Let's Celebrate Being Different by Lainey Dee

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

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

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Review of

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

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

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Review of

The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories) by Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey

5star.jpg For Sharing

Susan was very young when she was evacuated from London in 1939 and nervous about how she would be greeted when she got to her final destination. She needn't have worried though as she went to the home of Mr and Mrs Russell, who couldn't have been kinder to her. She even had her own room - all to herself. Gradually she relaxed and began to enjoy her life. She'd help Mrs Russell with the baking and when it came to Christmas Eve Susan and Mr Russell put the decorations on the Christmas tree. The best surprise happened the following morning. Full Review

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Review of

Squeakily Baby by Beth Webb

4star.jpg For Sharing

Much as mothers love their babies, there's something they all dread - a squeakily baby. He's so tired but he can't - or won't - go to sleep: instead, he just lies on his blanket and wails. The sea offers to help. It rocks Baby gently and the waves sing hush, hush. Think of gentle wavelets falling onto a sandy beach and you have the sound perfectly. The mermaids join in - la lou, la lay... And for a moment it seems to have worked as Baby closes his eyes. Then a seagull shouts and we know exactly what's going to happen next. Full Review

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Review of

A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant by Briony May Smith

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Philippa Pheasant was tired of nearly getting squished as she tried to cross the Old Oak Road. She wrote to the mayor about the problem but didn't even get a reply. Philippa wasn't a bird to sit back on her tail feathers when there was a problem which needed solving: she saw the benefits of the lollipop lady at the school crossing and decided that she would set up something similar herself. Her uniform and lollipop stick were both a little amateur to start with but the benefits were obvious. All the animals used the crossing and Hedgehog was even trained up to provide a safe path overnight. Full Review

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Review of

Leilong's Too Long! by Julia Liu and Bei Lynn

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Every morning Leilong, the brontosaurus school bus, makes his way through the city, picking up children as he goes. Children who live at the top of tower blocks don't even need to go downstairs – they simply climb out of the window and slide down his neck. It's perfect, isn't it? What could be a more fun way of going to school? There is a problem, though. Leilong isn't happy in the city: he's always having to be careful about where he puts his feet and – because he's longer than a tennis court – he often causes damage without intending to and traffic regularly gets snarled up. The school decides that he can't be the bus anymore. Full Review

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Review of

Bumblebee Grumblebee by David Elliott

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I love a good board book! Bumblebee Grumblebee is aimed at quite a niche market: it's for the child who still enjoys board books (er, see my first sentence) but has mastered sufficient language skills to have realise that you can play with words and make something quite different from each one. We have the elephant who dons a tutu - and becomes a balletphant. The buffalo who has had a bath (complete with yellow duck) and then dries off with a hair drier becomes a fluffalo. The rhinoceros who drops his ice cream cone is a crynoceros (think about it!) The pelican who sits on his potty changes into a sm....... OK, let's not go there Some people are eating! Full Review

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Review of

Carried Away With the Carnival by Ed Boxall

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

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

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Review of

Otter's Coat: The Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit: A Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare by Cordellya Smith

4star.jpg For Sharing

When the world was made, the animals were given gifts. Bear was given strength so that he could become a protector. Water Spider received a strong web that even fire could not burn. Owl had excellent sight so that he could see the present and the future. Rabbit developed intelligence - but, unfortunately, not the ability to use it well. He liked to trick other animals. He was also jealous which was how he came to be in a race with Turtle. You might think that's not a fair contest but wait and see. Things are not always as they seem. I'll tell you how it came about. Full Review

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Review of

Carrots Don’t Grow On Trees! by Rob Keeley

4star.jpg For Sharing

Lily loves eating fruit and vegetables. She likes carrots, broccoli, cabbage and aubergines. When her friends at school turn up their noses, Lily is keen to explain how good they are for you and how nice to eat. One day, poor Lily gets tricked by Jordan, who tells her that carrots grow on trees. Infuriated, Lily checks with the teacher, who explains that fruits grow on trees and vegetables, like carrots, grow in the ground. Jordan says, "I did try to tell her, Miss!" and everyone laughs at poor Lily. Full Review

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Review of

You Can't Wear Panties! (No More Nappies!) by Justine Avery and Kate Zhoidik

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

For the big, grownup girls out there, the potty masters in training, "You Can't Wear Panties!" is a cry (the big-girl kind!) of toilet triumph and persevering panty pride.


And so it is! This latest book from Justine Avery celebrates a little girl's final goodbye to nappies and pull-ups and graduation to "proper" pants by following her around as she proudly explains to her dog, her cat, her stuffed rabbit and her baby sibling that she can wear super-duper proper pants, while they cannot. Neither can the flowers, nor the fish, nor the birds. Boy's certainly can't. She's a big girl now and she wants everyone to know it! Full Review

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Review of

Everybody Toots! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

4star.jpg For Sharing

Toots, trumps, farts. Whatever your word for them, find us a child that doesn't find them irresistibly funny. Funny to talk about and joke about, that is. But horribly embarrassing if you let one go at the wrong time. In class, say, when everyone will hear it and everyone will laugh. At you. Justine Avery's latest entry in her Everybody Potties! series takes aim at any shame associated with tooting and gently and calmly, with the familiar humour attached, explains that tooting is perfectly normal. Everybody does it: Everybody Toots! Full Review

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Review of

Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Seema Amjad

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! is the latest release in the Everybody Potties! series from Justine Avery. This series of fun picture books aims to take the pain out of potty training children and replace it with some fun. It's a worthy aim, as any frustrated parent will tell you. . Full Review

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Review of

When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended by Peter Cotton

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Meet Fred. Well, actually, you're going to be meeting Fred-Fred for reasons which will become all too obvious very quickly. But I'm getting ahead of myself: I'd better tell you a bit more about Fred. Fred is a snake and even those of us who have a phobia about snakes are going to warm to him. He arrived as a present in a box with holes so that he could breathe and immediately became part of the family, to the extent that they would take Fred out with them when they went out for a walk. And that was where the problem started. Fred didn't have any road sense. Or brakes. Full Review

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Review of

Everybody Pees! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

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Can potty training ever be joyous? It often isn't, as any parent will tell you. But really, why shouldn't it be? We all have to learn about our bodily functions just as we have to learn about everything else when we are small. Why shouldn't potty training be as much fun as, say, learning about why the sun and the moon take turns in the sky? Full Review

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Review of

No, No, No! by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

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They say the best picture books are the simplest ones. And nothing could be truer of this latest from Justine Avery, a Bookbag favourite.

No, No, No! is based around the simplest text imaginable.

No, no, no! Okay, okay. Yes, you may.

That's it! But, like all the best picture books, this tiny snippet of text is a veritable tardis - so much bigger on the inside that it appears on the outside. Full Review

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Review of

The Farm Shop by Devon Avery, Justine Avery and Ema Tepic

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Kirelle and her best friend Sam the cat decide to go for a walk. Kirelle is dressed for all weathers in her bright yellow wellies and Sam is perfectly turned out as ever in his smart grey fur coat. As they walk to the top of the hill, they see a big barn with a sign outside. It's a farm shop! But this is a farm shop with a difference: all the stallholders and customers are farmyard animals. There are sheep and ducks and cows, goats and chickens, and even some mice. Excited, Kirelle and Sam go shopping.

What will they buy? Full Review

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Review of

Sadie and the Sea Dogs by Maureen Duffy and Anita Joice

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

Sadie's mother always said that she was a dreamer, her mind never on what she should be doing. She lives by the River Thames at Greenwich and she loves to spend hours at The Maritime Museum or gazing at Cutty Sark.

Her class had gone one rainy afternoon
When all the houses cowered in the gloom,
To the Maritime Museum.

Her imagination was fired. She'd love to sail the oceans on an ancient sailing ship and went back regularly. One day she fell asleep under a glass case (it's the one where Nelson's Trafalgar breeches are on show) and missed the closing bell and the attendant's warning shout. When she woke (hard floors don't make comfy beds) she was in the midst of an adventure that she could never have imagined in a world of dolphins, pirates, mermaids and treasure. Full Review

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Review of

Little Gold Ted by Vanessa Wiercioch, Poppy Satha and Sasha Satha

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One day, Gold Ted falls into a puddle. It's quite a deep puddle and the water is swirling. Poor Ted starts to spin around and around and is sucked down a drain on the side of the street. Finding himself down in the sewer, Ted starts to panic. OH HELP ME PLEASE he cries and alerts the attention of Reg the sewer rat, who plucks him out of the dirty water using his cane, which might look just a bit like an old cricket bat. Reg is a kind soul and he dries Ted off and warms him up with a nice bowl of broth. Full Review

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Review of

Remy: A book about believing in yourself by Mayuri Naidoo and Caroline Siegal

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Remy is feeling miserable. He's let himself down again. The school bully Jayden, together with his sidekicks Ryan and Brandon, have been laughing at Remy, calling him names because he is short and has small eyes. They are mean but they are not stupid. They are careful to wind up Remy when nobody can see and then push him just that little bit further when the other kids are around. So, when Remy reacts, it looks as though he was the instigator. And then he gets into trouble at school and the teachers don't believe him when he tries to explain what happened. Full Review

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Review of

The Invisible by Tom Percival

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This is the story of Isobel, a little girl who made a big difference. Isobel lived with her parents in a house - a very cold house, because her parents couldn't afford to put the heating on:

Ice curled across the inside of the window and crept up the corner of the bedpost.

The family didn't go to the cinema or on holidays but they had each other and they were happy. Then the day came when they couldn't afford the rent for the house and they had to move to the far side of the city. This part of the city was cold, sad and lonely and Isobel felt invisible. Full Review

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Review of

One Night in Beartown by Nick Jones and Si Clark

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Many children have an obsession and Sandy Lane, who lives in Beartown, is obsessed with bears. She collects books about bears. Her favourite toy is Berisford, a teddy bear passed down by her grandmother. Every night, she looks out of her bedroom window and says goodnight to the bear statue outside. Every morning she says hello to Bee Bear, a colourful painted bear that lives at her school. She even has bears on her bedroom wallpaper! Full Review

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