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[[Category:New Reviews|Confident Readers]] __NOTOC__<!-- Remove -->{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Mimi Thebo1836285493|title=Dreaming the BearThe Double Life of a Wheelchair User|author=Rob Keeley

|genre=Confident Readers |summary=DarcyWill is a keen player of video games, a conscientious student, a slightly annoying brother and a supportive friend. But most of all, he is an aspiring writer. English is his favourite lesson at his school, Marlowe Park, and one at which he excels. This hasn't gone unnoticed by his headteacher, Mrs Howarth, and she has suggested to Will and his mum that he spends a couple of afternoons a week at a different school, Station Road, where his ability might be better extended.}}{{Frontpage|isbn= 1836282028|title=The Fighting Spirit|author=Rob Keeley|rating=4|genre=Confident Readers|summary=''Would you like to adopt a ghost?'' ''Young spirit, born 1887, seeks kind home to haunt. Gentleman by birth. Good company. Gets on well with other children. Jokes and shocks a speciality.'' ''If interested, place outside your home three twigs, in the shape of an arrow, pointing to your front door...'' Hooray! Bookbag favourite Rob Keeley is celebrating a decade of his wonderfully entertaining [[Rob Keeley's ''Spirits'' series in Chronological Order|Spirits]] series with a typical teenager whose natural habitat new adventure that is both a reboot and a continuation. Just like Doctor Who, Edward Fitzberranger, our incorrigible Victorian ghost boy, has some new companions. Ruby and Jayden respond to this intriguing advertisement and Edward, who has broken the shopping mall rules as usual and absconded from his manor house home, is adopted by them and the multiplextakes up residence in.... a wardrobe!}}{{Frontpage|author=Rob Keeley|title=Childish Spirits: 10th anniversary special edition|rating=4|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Around here, we're big fans of children's author Rob Keeley. He's a ball of happy positivity, he understands children, and he writes for their pleasure and enjoyment, not to lecture or hector.  The ''Childish Spirits'' series is one of his greatest achievements. It'sa sequence of ghost stories centring on Ellie, thereforea stalwart young girl who can cope with anything the spirit world throws at her, not surprising that and Edward, a spoiled lordling and the first spirit Ellie encounters|isbn= 1783064617}}{{Frontpage|author=Max Boucherat|title=The Last Life of Lori Mills|rating=4.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=We meet Lori on the first evening she's finding it almost impossible got the house to adjust herself – no neighbour to living pop in, babysitter poorly, mother at work, just an avidly rule-breaking eleven year old, on her lonesome. What could possibly go wrong? Snuggled in a snowy wilderness without televisionblanket fort, she has one main intention, and that is to log on to Voxminer, the world-building, critter-collecting game that is a phone signal or wifihit in Lori's world. It But first Lori has a tiny inkling that this stormy night doesn't help that find herself entirely on her own, and then she finds something even more spooky. For the server sheand her bestie and nobody else should be able to enter shows signs of tampering. When malevolent eyes spark up on her phone screen, and her safe place in the game has been doctored – well, where is a girl to turn?|isbn=0008666482}}{{Frontpage|author=Kieran Larwood and Joe Todd-Stanton|title=Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial|rating=4|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Meet Kit. Like most of the people in his world, it seems, he is an avid fan of Dungeon Running – the sport where a team of warrior, mage and healer enter specially prepared, century-old, magical mazes, and race to the exit, perhaps bothering with the treasure or the big bad and the points they grant you along the way. Unfortunately for Kit, the only thing he's also recovering seen of the latest race on the inn TV equivalent is that one team has been retired, eaten, and a new trio of questors is needed. Possibly very unfortunately indeed for Kit, he has taken to the goading from pneumonia the token bully of his world and tires quicklystumbled into declaring he'll enter as a team. But What chance does this friendless, muscle-free-zone have in actually managing that, and how could he possibly hope to succeed?|isbn=1839945184}}{{Frontpage|author=James Sherwood Metts|title=Planet Storyland|rating=4.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary= Things have been a bit sticky for the Earthlings. AI and automation have been proceeding apace, often replacing jobs they're paid to do and other tasks that took time to accomplish. Just as they were beginning to get used to all this technological change and starting to think of other, new ways to spend time, along came an awful pandemic. Life was pretty much shut down and, along with it , all the many daily social interactions on which they depend so heavily.|isbn=1736128426}}{{Frontpage|author=Tom Percival|title=The Wrong Shoes|rating=5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Will's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways. He is this very weakness bullied because he has 'the wrong shoes', he has the wrong shoes because his dad can't work and doesn't have enough money for even the most basic of things like food, and his dad can't work because he lost his job at the college, was working a cash-in-hand job on a building site and had an accident. Throw into that mix the fact that changes her his mum and dad are separated, and Will's life whenseems bleak in every direction. And yet, exhaustedhe still has a tiny amount of hope. He is good at art, she stumbles into and clings to the shelter moments of joy when he is drawing, that feel like a cave and finds herself embraced by light at the end of a hibernating grizzly bearlong, dark tunnel. |amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>0192745883</amazonuk>1398527122

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Jennifer Gray1805141872|title=Atticus Claw Hears a RoarThe Teacher Who Knew Too Much|author=Rob Keeley

|summary=If you haven't already'Seventeen banks and a jeweller’s have been raided. The police are baffled, but only Ben knows the truth – his Maths teacher, Miss Judson, meet Atticus Claw. This is really a safecracker! With police and her gangster boyfriend Al on their trail, Miss Judson and Ben go on the seventh chance yourun. But Al needs them for one last job...''ve had Goodness me, may I mentionthat Miss Judson is a terror! How on earth did a nice teacher like her manage to get mixed up with a bad 'un like Al? We'll find out. He was an outstanding burglarLuckily for Miss Judson, but nowthe pupil who discovers her terrible secret is Ben, as he is 'owned' by the children son of a policeman, he famous magician who has come over ambitions to the light sidebe as good as his father some day, and who thinks Miss Judson is solving crimes worth saving}}{{Frontpage|author=Christopher Edge|title=Black Hole Cinema Club|rating=4|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Lucas and not causing them – which is especially important as no end his friends are all booked in for a movie marathon at their local cinema, a place that has the nickname of criminality has been going on'The Black Hole'. Chancing on a lost explorerAll big movie fans, they's lost treasure chestre looking forward to lots of exciting films, and many, many snacks! However, as the movie starts, they very quickly realise that something about this new film format is very different, mysterious clues and they are dropped swept up into an adventure they couldn't even imagine. But as they lurch from one film genre to lead both goodies and baddies the next, can they figure out what on earth is going on ? Will they ever get back to the trail of jaguar godscinema, once worshipped by the Maya – did they really take all and to their treasure real lives?|isbn=1839942738}}{{Frontpage|author=Adam Stower|title=Murray and Bun|rating=4.5|genre=Confident Readers |summary=Murray is supposed to be a hidden valley in a last-ditch attempt humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to appease their sacred spirits sleep and eat and eat and sleep and save their civilisation? How many , well, whatever takes his fancy next of the diverse characterstwo. But he's a bad magician's cat, including so his favourite bun has been turned into a gang of idiotic magpieshyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, are going to contrive to come along on not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure? and whiffs. And is one of This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a witch troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and if so, what does that make Atticus?he'll have to do…|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>057132178X</amazonuk>0008561249

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Ross WelfordAlex Bell and Tim McDonagh|title=Time Travelling with a HamsterThe Glorious Race of Magical Beasts

|summary=Meet Al ChaudhuryEli is a busy lad – by day an apprentice in the wondrous library we start by visiting with him, and in the evening a helper at the dessert cafe his gran owns and runs. He Eli liveswith his lovely gran, unknowingly, among too – for there is a generation missing in the family of time travellers. His grandfather has such a brilliant memory he can use a mind palace A few short years ago, Eli's parents were both lost to store anything and everything, and could tell you what happened on every day of his life, and take himself back with his thoughts. His father knows the starlight at night is years oldtitular race, and is a snapshot globe-trotting adventure where all entrants have to navigate the world in the company of a sun that is remote both in time and spacemagical beast. But even harder This has made the race anathema to the pair – but when a bad incident at the eatery leads to fathom is that Al's father is a real time travellerconfession from gran, and Eli knows his only hope is going to speak from beyond dare to enter what he most hates, with the sole aim the prize of magic at the end – the grave, and send Al on a true mission through time, one that will either only thing to possibly save his life, or completely ruin all Al's forevers, for, er, for evergran.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>000815631X</amazonuk>0571382231

{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Shane HegartyHelen Cooper|title= Darkmouth: Worlds ExplodeThe Taming of the Cat|rating= 43.5|genre= Confident Readers|summary= It was bad enough when Finn was being trained by his dad to hunt Once again, mice are pitched against cat. In this case, principally, we have Brie the monsters known as Legends: at least there was someone around to rescue him if he messed mouse, upagainst Gorgonzola the cat – and in case you're seeing a connection, they live in a cheese shop and therefore all the names used here seem to apologise to be the neighbours names of cheeses. Anyway, Brie is shunned, scorned and, if you must, mous-tracised, for the occasional dented car or broken window. And seeing as Finn isnway his habits don't anywhere close to being match the greatest hunter other mice he lives with. They nibble up paper wrapping from the world has ever seen (cheese for bedding – he'd much rather be a vet, not that anyone has ever asked his opinion displays it as art and makes stories based on the matter)visuals on it. And that story-telling will come in handy one night, therewhen he feels all alone and cast out. It's been lots of apologising almost as if there were another character from fable who had had to tell stories to dokeep themselves alive. Lots and lots and lots This makes Brie the top dog in the mouse community, though, as all the others had the chance to half-inch some cheese while the cat was distracted. But will the story have the successful sequel it needs when that cheese runs out?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>0007545673</amazonuk>0571376010

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Steven ButlerLauren St John|title=The Diary of Dennis the Menace: The Great EscapeFinding Wonder

|summary=Poor Dennis the Menace. He thinks heRoo's sorted his life out, and got rid of the Bum-Face wimp he loves to hate so muchhas become almost impossibly difficult. His schoolHer mum died when she was young, and now she finds herself awoken in the Bash Street, is giving middle of the winner of an exam they are holding night by the chance police banging on her door to upgrade tell her that her dad has dropped dead on his way to the snotty Posh Street equivalentcorner shop to buy a lottery ticket. When asked what other family she has, which is a nightmare full of books (and worse) and is actually a boarding school – yesshe can only name her aunt, Joni, one of those places for people who seriously want to ''live in a school'she knows her dad didn't think very highly of. Clearly the exam will only have But she has no one winner – said wimpelse, Walter the Softyand so off she goes to live with her unreliable aunt. But like I sayThings continue to get worse for Roo, Dennis only as when she and Joni leave London in Joni''thinks'' he has his life sorted – sometimes s old campervan, it can come round to bite him on breaks down in the bum, middle of nowhere and sort ''him'' out…then bursts into flames! Poor Roo!|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>0141355867</amazonuk>0571376169

{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Tamsin CookeAdam Baron and Benji Davies|title= Cat Burglar (The Scarlet Files)Oscar's Lion|rating= 53|genre= Confident Readers|summary= Scarlet We start incredibly bluntly, with Oscar hoping to have his mother – or father, but mother is thirteen. She goes more likely – read him his very favourite book a couple of times before he has to be ready for school. But when he enters his parents' bedroom, all he sees is a mahoosive male lion on their bed, looking sheepish, she does her homework and sheadmitting that he won's beginning to wonder about boys. So far, so normalt be hungry for another two days. But Scarlet doesn't make friendsthere are benefits to having a lion around – it can be shown as an unspoken threat to the bully that ruined a birthday party for Oscar the other month. She and her dad move house pretty often And it can shapeshift, and she always wears dull clothes so she he can fade into the background – unless you think a balaclava take it to school and night vision goggles it can be classed as get him out of a fashion statementproblem. And instead of surfing it's wonderful to have around the house – not limiting his biscuit intake, being much more lax about the web and downloading musicrules, she spends her free time scrambling over roofs and picking locksso on. Scarlet is OK, it can't work a dimmer switch but it can give Oscar a trainee burglarwonderful time.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>0192742590</amazonuk>0008596751

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Jennifer Gray and Hannah GeorgeJudith Eagle|title=Chicken Mission: Chaos in CluckbridgeThe Stolen Songbird

|summary=Chickens are not supposed Caro's mother, a world-famous whistler, has failed to live in citiesreturn home from her recent work trip abroad and is now missing. Her other mother, Ronnie, but they do because humans have got small coops in so many is having to go up North to take care of their gardensher sister who is unwell. Foxes So who is going to look after Caro? Sent to stay with Gam, someone Caro has heard her mother despises, she feels frustrated and confused and worried. All her summer holiday plans of building herself some equipment to practise her gymnastics are not supposed brought to live in citiesa halt whilst she is stuck inside this staid old Victorian lady's house, along with an orphan boy, Albie, but they have gone who is living there anyway in search of anything to eat – which can include the chickenstoo. Lethal, gigantic cobra snakes are not supposed to live But she soon finds herself caught up in citiesa mystery, but oneas she discovers a painting of a bird hidden away inside her mum's old suitcase, and all across London a fearsome gang called Cleopatra that has been a huge enemy to chicken-kind for years, has escaped from the city zoo Snakes are thieving artworks and is on the looseterrorising people. You might think that the Elite Chicken Squad could sort out Is the fox problem if they went painting somehow linked to town – after all, they have done so twice before now – but things would be a lot different if by some chance the wily foxes got into cahoots with the cobra… gang? And things would have a lot more urgency if Cleopatra what has happened to be ready to lay a large clutch of her eggs – which Caro's mother? Is she is…somehow involved in the mystery too?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>0571298311</amazonuk>0571363148

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Terry DearyTania Unsworth|title=Ghost for SaleNowhere Island

|genre=Dyslexia FriendlyConfident Readers|summary=When Mr Meet Gil. Just twelve, he is so determined to escape the care system – the system that constantly puts him in futureless places that are not homes – and Mrs Rundle see find a home for himself. He is en route to yet another fosterer, when he jumps into an advert anonymous car, and lets it ride him to his future. That future seems to be in jeopardy when someone steals his one bag of belongings – but that someone lives with his brother in a camp on an island between the paper two directions of a motorway, a place inaccessible and definitely ignored enough to provide for their safety and seclusion. Them, and a mute girl also finding a wardrobe for salehome there, albeit so much more successfully. Over a few weeks we see if their oddball destinies can combine, or if this is one place where life as we would want it just would not work…|isbn=1804540080}}{{Frontpage|author=Helen Peters|title=Friends and Traitors|rating=3|genre=Confident Readers|summary=England, WW2. Two young girls are new at the country pile called Stanbrook. One is Nancy, destined to be in service all her life it seems, complete with ghostlike the female generations before her. The other is Sidney, Mrs Rundle decides a girl from a hoity-toity Sussex boarding school that they absolutely ''must'' have it! has been removed there away from bomber flight-paths. They own The Dog girls are chalk and Duck Inn cheese, and Mrs Rundle feels if we hadn't guessed that addition of a ghost will add interest to then their behaviour with each other over their Inn first encounters would only prove it so. But something is amiss, and bring them customfirst separately and then in combination they realise the Lord Evesham must be a rum 'un. The arrival Midnight deliveries are received under cover of secrecy, talk is made of meetings with Germans, and not only that, a local Spitfire factory has been attacked. But surely the wardrobe certainly shakes things up for the Rundlesgirls are wrong, though perhaps not in and the way they'd imagined!upper class could never be so underhand?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>178112518X</amazonuk>1788004647

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Mary Hoffman and Christina BalitJamie Littler|title=Queen Guinevere and Other Stories from the Court of King ArthurArkspire

|summary=I always enjoy a story with a feisty heroineTwo sisters, Juniper and Elodie, born fifteen minutes apart, are growing to be chalk and cheese. Juniper is an eager hunter and trader in illicit magic, so including relics from prior major wars left out in the prospect Badlands. Elodie is intent on getting closer to power in one of a whole collection the religious districts of stories telling me about the women behind Arkspire, perhaps even to become the men child in the Arthurian legends definitely had an appeal line to me! Taking Malory's ''Le Morte D'Arthur'' for inspiration, as well as other historical texts depicting inherit the legends, Hoffman tells us her imagining power of what it was like to be married to Arthurthe Watcher, the other women connected closest to Lancelot and Sir Gawaina ruler the district has, and ultimately why one of the five major victors in said earlier war. Being trained in the fellowship magic that only five people can use would definitely change the status of the round table really fell apartwhole family. But in finding something oddly magical, Juniper might just be able to gain some power of her own – for good, or for very, very bad…|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>184780716X</amazonuk>0241586143

{{newreviewFrontpage|isbn=024162343X|title=Confessions of an Imaginary FriendStolen History|author=Michelle CuevasSathnam Sanghera

|summary=These are Meet Trixie. Forever getting into scrapes, larks and adventures involving flooding the memoirs school aircon with fart powder, she could almost be thought a young goddess of Jacques Papiernuisance. Jacques is not a popular boy. He But just when she's not being told that by her one-last to be picked in playground games-chance-giving headteacher, the world changes. He Suddenly, practically everything electronic stops working – a power-out, even of electric cars, hits not just the town the school's never picked at all! If he raises his hand in classbut the entire planet (apart from mobile phones, and all that powers the teacher never calls on himInternet, just for our convenience's sake). The school bus driver often forgets to stop and let him off Trixie, luckily, realises what has happened – the ancient Gods have taken the power of power from us. Sometimes And so she begins her epic quest, his mother even forgets to kiss him goodnight. If gather all the people that can steal it weren't for Fleurback – namely the characters from myth that have past form in stealing from the Gods, ie the semi-deities, his twin sistergiants, half-gods and so on known as the fabulous games they play together, Jacques would be very lonely indeedtricksters.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1471145506</amazonuk>178845295X

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Lauren ChildHannah Gold and Levi Pinfold|title=Pick Your Poison (Ruby Redfort Book 5)Finding Bear

|summary=''...the thing that you are forgetting here is that this isn't [[The Last Bear by Hannah Gold|Last time]], April had been on Bear Island, a thriller - this is real life.'' ''...if this was a book, who lot further north than many people would you most suspect of being the master criminal?'' ''Youventure,'' said Rubyand finding a ridiculously unexpected but delightful friendship with a polar bear – that she called Bear. Ruby Redfort is a teen who has it all: wealthy socialite parents Back home, things on the domestic and family front are a luxurious homebit advanced, great friendsbut not perfect for her, and so can easily be ignored when word comes through from the islands Bear was last left on. For a job at a topbear doing very Bear-secret spy agency y things has been shot and a seemingly unlimited supply of banana milkwounded. She Desperate to make sure he's smartOK, sassyshe and her father return to the Arctic and hope that in a world of very white and very dangerous things, witty she can find one specific white and surprisingly likeable for a rich kid. ''Pick Your Poison'' is book 5 in dangerous thing – and that the series; the penultimate book before the big finale which promises to be explosivefriendship can continue.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>0007334265</amazonuk>0008582017

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Gareth P JonesSimon Fox|title=Rise of the Slippery Sea Monster (Adventures of the Steampunk Pirates)Deadlock|rating=34.5

|summary=The thing about pirates and their treasure Late one night Graham Blake is that once they have won itlate back from his shift on the force, they and then have to keep control of it. Mutineerssuddenly rings Archie, enemy piratesdemanding he fetch something from a secret place, and those pesky good people, all step in with their say about what happens to itjoin him on the run. OhThey get together, and you can now add to that list a huge sea monster, that is capable of cutting its way through a perfectly circular porthole it makes in your treasure storage and helping itself. Is it any wonder that our heroic Steampunk Pirates need but barely begin to combine forces with a returning character (last met in [[Attack of smell the Giant Sea Spiders (Adventures whiff of Southern trains when the Steampunk Pirates) by Gareth P Jones|book two]]) to put paid to this new horror?|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847156649</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author= Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis|title= The Map to Everywhere: City of Thirst|rating= 4.5|genre= Confident Readers|summary= A delicate net for catching cloudsfather is arrested, a talking frog and a stop sign with a personally addressed warning on it: items which are ordinary enough leaving Archie on the Pirate Streamlate express to Brighton, but definitely not in boring old Arizona USA. Marrill is immediately on the alert: why are items from the other world washing up in toting a disused lot on the far edge of her neighbourhood? That can't happen, mustn't happen – she knows only too well tin his father was determined to keep away from her earlier adventure that it means something dreadful has happened there and that if the contact continueshis colleagues, it may just rip her world apart.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444010573</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author= Lou Kuenzler and Kyan Cheng|title= Bella Broomstick|rating= 5|genre= Confident Readers|summary=Bella Broomstick has dark brown eyes, chocolate curls, absolutely no warts on her nose, an ability to talk to animals, a caring nature and a talent for sketching. So not your average witch at all. Aunt Hemlock decides Bella will never get the hang of spells and banishes her to the world bearer of Persons where everyone is supposed to be stupid. But Bella discovers otherwise and soon finds herself loved and much wanted – and a style of magic all whole heap of her ownquestions.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1407157957</amazonuk>1839944420

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Peter Jay BlackCath Howe|title=Lockdown (Urban Outlaws)My Life on Fire

|genre= Confident Readers|summary= High-tech gadgets Ren's family home is destroyed in a fire. She, her parents, and gizmosher little brother lose everything. She doesn't have any of her clothes, feats or any of daring that will have you chewing your nails down to the elbow, villains who just love to gloather special little knick-knacks from her cupboard, and then (because this isnnow she is living at her grandmother's house where they can't any old kids-beat-touch anything, or do anything, or even eat the-baddies saga) foods they normally eat. When she goes back to school she discovers that the well-established tradition class are doing a special art project, creating boxes of Random Acts of Kindness – New York style. This may be the third sortie for Jack and his rag-tag teamtheir lives, but somehow the author still manages to surprise display things that are important to them and delight his readers by giving the characters even more complex back storiesshow who they are as a person. But Ren has nothing to put in a box, and by ratcheting up the tension so high you'll need she finds herself starting to nip outside and steal things. Small things, things that people might not really miss, not when they have a quick scream from time so much already. But what will happen to time.her if someone finds out what she is doing?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1408851474</amazonuk>1839942835

{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Keris StaintonRob Keeley|title= Lily The Boy Who Disappeared and the Christmas WishOther Stories|rating= 4.5|genre= Emerging Confident Readers|summary=I In the small town of Pinewood the people are busy preparing for Christmas. This year they are doing something special to celebrate. Each person will write down a secret wish and tie it to the Christmas tree in the town square. Although nine year old Lily likes this idea she Hooray! Bookbag favourite Rob Keeley is more than back with a little sceptical that wishes can come true, no matter how much you may want them return to. Then a strange storm blows in and scatters all the wishes across the town. Lily wakes up the following morning short story format! The Boy Who Disappeared treats us to discover that Bugeleven new tales, her pug puppy, can talk! That was not what Lily had wished for but maybe it was someone else's wish? The Christmas magic has definitely gone wrongeach as fun to read as his previous offerings. Can Lily, her younger brother Jimmy and, of course, Bug put things right before Christmas Day?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1471405125</amazonuk>B0BVW69N1G

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Jean UreLaura Noakes|title=My Dog DaisyCosima Unfortunate Steals a Star

|genre=Dyslexia FriendlyConfident Readers|summary=Lily did ''not'' want a goldfishMeet Number One. Or rather, Cosima Unfortunate. Nor did she want a hamster or a catOr rather, just Cos to her friends. She wanted a ''DOG'' and whilst The practice in the home she understood what Mum said about not being able lives in is for the girls to just be named by the number they correspond to have a dog in the 5th floor flat without a garden she still thought it was unfair. After allledger, when and they lived at Gran's house there was re all Unfortunates – young people with disabilities, uncommon mentalities or suchlike that Victorian society frowns greatly upon. But Cosima bears the tag as a garden and surname because nothing else seems to be known about where she could have had a dogcame from, as the first ever inmate, but then Mum and Gran had a row and they moved outunique in having no known family in the outside world. She hadn't even seen Gran for three months and During a daring escapade to steal some posh cakes from the kitchen one afternoon, she ''missed'' her. And discovers a plan involving said outside world – a devilish Lord Fitzroy seems to want to adopt all the dog which she couldn't havegirls for his Institute. Even KeriBut why, her best friend, though and what does that body entail? And could it possibly bring Cos closer to the past she was going on a bit about the whole thing.has so little link with?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1781124965</amazonuk>0008579059

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Mary Webb, Daniel Swift and Lauren O'NeillAlice M Ross|title=GulliverThe Nowhere Thief

|summary=Be careful what you wish At last there is new stock in the impoverished yet over-full antiques shop Elsbeth and her mother run in a seaside town. Elsbeth knows this because she has stolen it. She also knows she should be free from worries about being found out, because she has the ability to leave this world, and use an unworldly portal of kaleidoscope colours to enter other worlds, where the sea levels are rising dramatically and the buildings are generally empty of humans and ripe forplunder. Gulliver wants With eviction imminent, can Elsbeth nab anything to actually generate custom at the shop? Well yes, is the answer, but the fact a mysterious man knows exactly which items come from these different Somewheres only raises more questions…|isbn=1839943769}}{{Frontpage|author=Natasha Farrant|title=The Rescue of Ravenwood|rating=5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=This story is another excellent adventure – and boy is he going to get itfrom the author of ''Voyage of the Sparrowhawk''. His very first voyage ends in Ravenwood is an almighty stormold house, which ends in him being washed onto a shore alone – but the shores North of an island England, where he himself Bea and Raffy have been living for most of their lives. They are part of a complex, extended family arrangement, as Bea is almightythere with her Uncle Leo, compared to the inhabitantsand Raffy is there with his mum, and they are living together as a family. After being shot at with They have grown up swimming in the smallest of arrowscove, chained uproaming through the trees, made a spectacle completely at one with all of – the nature around the house and sorted out a problem loving every inch of etiquette most diplomatically – he tries againthe place. But now the house is under threat, only as Leo is under pressure from his other two brothers to sell the property to be stranded on a second island, completely in contrast developer as it's becoming more and more expensive to the first… maintain. Whether or The children find themselves worrying not you recognise the story from this summaryonly about where they're going to live, but if they'll even be relieved that this most perfectly conveys big ideas (together, and those of one big book in particular) for small people…if Ravenwood itself will be torn down.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1847176763</amazonuk>0571348785

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Anthea Bell Robin Birch and Anna MorgunovaJobe Anderson|title=Vasilisa the Beautiful (Russian Folktales)Secret Beast Club: The Unicorns of Silver Street

|genre=Emerging Confident Readers|summary=When I say to you the first response I had on picking up this Jayden's nose is forever in a book was 'Ooh, someone which means he knows their Klimt'a lot about mythological creatures – the phoenixes and unicorns of the world, for example. Aisha is addicted to her new tablet, and where she can see videos of anything that I thought I had seen Kandinsky in the art insidemight be out there. The problem, as their mothers see it tells you the aesthetic , is definitely to that they are never 'out there' themselves, exploring the fore hereoutside world of Hackney, London. (That latter claim was But when a narrowboat turns up carrying a science-minded, educational purpose, and with a bit false – but therepast involving Jayden's definitely cousin, they find a touch magical world they never knew existed. For many of Picassothose mythological creatures are real, including the one Aisha thinks she's seen on a bit of local footage.) Of course there is The crew of the boat, including a storyliving gargoyle, are tasked with saving the rare critters – and a more-than decent story it is toothe kids unknowingly have the magical sight needed to join in. Dare they side with Leila, but with the intriguingwoman on board, and her relative who lives as a figure in a painting, detailed and unusual artwork become saviours of Anna Morgunova, this picture book with many words really does come to life.the unseen?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>9888342517</amazonuk>0241573483

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn= Christopher William HillB09XWSXSKY|title= Tales from Schwartzgarten: Marius Maestro Orpheus and the Band of Blood|rating= 5|genre= Confident Readers|summary= Frankly, it's a surprise to discover there are still people left alive in the gloomy town of Schwartzgarten. In this story, the fourth in the series, creepy bad guys in masks roam the town after dark. The local kiddie catcher is determined to rid the streets of orphans by any means he can (quite a challenge, considering how high the death rate among parents is) and for some reason the chocolatiers of the town are being murdered in inventive and frequently sticky ways.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408331829</amazonuk>}}{{newreviewWorld Clock|author= David Walliams|title= Grandpa's Great Escape|rating= 4.5|genre= Confident Readers|summary= Most people don't really get Grandpa. He's old and set in his ways (apart from the fact that recently he's taken to going down to the shops in his brown checked slippers, whatever the weather), and he's definitely getting more Robert Penee and confused by the day. In fact, a lot of the time he thinks he's back in World War Two, flying his Spitfire out across the Channel to defeat the bad guys. Only his grandson Jack understands that the way to get through to him is to play along.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007494017</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author= E R Murray|title= The Book of LearningJoanne Grodzinski|rating= 4

|summary= An orphan with only her beloved grandpa for companyFrederick (or Fred, but never Freddy, Ebony Smartplease) couldn's world is turned upside down when t sleep. A tune, rather like the ticking of a clock was playing over and over in his mind. It happened every time he diescame to visit his grandfather. Sent He hadn't really wanted to Dublin come; after all, he's ten now and all those old clocks don't appeal to live with an Aunt she didnhim anymore. ''Who needs old clocks anyway? All they do is tell the time. And time isn't know existed, Ebony soon discovers good for anything...'' And that her new home, 23 Mercury Lane, is full of secretswas why he was looking at the clock beside the bed. Discovering that she is part of an ancient order of people who have It was nearly twelve o'clock but at midnight the power clock chimed only six times. There was nothing for it but to reincarnate, Ebony is soon under threat from a terrible evil that threatens to destroy their existence. With just her pet rat Winston, go and a mysterious book to help her, she must figure out find grandad - but where was he? And why her people are disappearing and how to save their souls, and her own, before time runs out…|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781173621</amazonuk>had all the clocks stopped at twelve o'clock?