Regular visitors to the blog will know that I love Lisa Thompson’s stories – no one quite does magical realism the way she does. And this new book is no exception. Tabby is not having the best of times. Everything is changing around her: her ailing grandad has come to stay and the house has…
I saw this lovely, lovely book on Instagram recently and I’m so glad that I got hold of a copy. It’s the perfect book for connecting with children: reinforcing what you love about them and how much you care, building their self-esteem, encouraging them to reach for their dreams and reminding them to love, respect…
Today’s my stop on the blog tour for The Tigers in the Tower, a brilliant, historical adventure for readers aged 8+, which is written by Julia Golding. Before I talk about this superb story, though, can I just take a minute to appreciate the amazing cover art created by Keith Robinson? It really is stunning…
You know when you give your kids a few pounds in a gift shop and tell them that they can spend it on whatever they want, but then find yourself trying to talk them out of buying whatever tat they select? Well, you might want to learn from my experience… About a year ago, I…
This fabulous book has only been here less than a day and I’m already a little bit (OK, a lot…) in love with it! Gertie, the littlest yak, is desperate to be just like the big yaks and does everything she can to speed up the growing process. Being small has its advantages, though, and…
A big thank you to the lovely Fern at Lion Hudson for inviting me to join the blog tour for Tigers in the Tower, a historical adventure for readers aged around 8 – 12, written by the award-winning Julia Golding. I’m up on Saturday 26th September and I can’t wait to share my thoughts on…
I’ve just got time for a quick post to tell you about Kate Poels’ latest story, which I enjoyed reading last night. It’s a madcap mystery adventure, aimed at children aged 8+, that will have readers intrigued from the first page. There are strange things happening to the children in Mima’s neighbourhood. Blue mouths, webbed…
This is our final reading roundup of the Summer break, which means that the children are about to return to school. I don’t know about you, but I’m really looking forward to a little peace and quiet and the ability to catch up on my reading pile! First up today are these superb, illustrated Austen…
The UK long school break is now in its final stretch, so it won’t be long ’til the blog is back to full power! Just one more reading roundup after this and then normal service will be resumed once the new school year begins (anyone else counting down the days?!). Talking of the new school…
Mixed weather here in the UK at the moment, but I hope that it isn’t spoiling your Summer break. Here’s another quick roundup of books we’ve read and enjoyed over the last couple of weeks. First up is A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll, which is a captivating and empathic read that completely blew…