Back to the blog after a short break over the Easter holidays – we hope the Easter Bunny was kind to you all! This Is How We Do It is an informative and interesting picture book which allows us to live a day in each of 7 children’s lives from around the world. We can…
The Dragon in the Library by Louie Stowell
I’ve been quite envious seeing proofs of Louie Stowell’s debut book being reviewed on Twitter, so I was completely thrilled to win a signed copy of The Dragon in the Library in a Nosy Crow competition recently. After a bit of a tussle with my daughter to determine who was going to read it first,…
Little Bird Flies by Karen McCombie
I first found out about Little Bird Flies while reading an interview with Karen McCombie in the latest edition of Carousel magazine. I’m a big fan of historical fiction and the idea of a 2-part series detailing the life of Bridie – aka Little Bird – intrigued me. Little Bird Flies – the first book…
The Boy Who Flew by Fleur Hitchcock
Fleur Hitchcock is such a versatile writer: contemporary crime, a newly published traditional adventure series (Clifftoppers), and now this historical, grimy drama, which I couldn’t wait to get started on. Athan Wilde finds himself in an impossibly dangerous situation. The man who is helping him build a top secret flying machine is murdered and Athan…
Kind by Alison Green
Wow, this beautifully written and illustrated book socked me right between the eyes when it arrived last week. As you might guess by its title, Kind is a book about kindness. It has been published to help raise money for Three Peas, a charity that provides vital, practical help to those who have had to…
When the Stars Come Out by Nicola Edwards and Lucy Cartwright
I bought this after catching the title on Twitter, thinking it was about the night sky which my son is really into at the moment. However, I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived to find out that it’s so much more than that – it’s effectively a celebration of night time, which makes for a…
Two Sides by Polly Ho-Yen and Binny Talib
Some of you will know that I am a huge advocate of reading for pleasure, so even though my daughter has been a ‘free reader’ for nearly a year now, I still love to find her books that she will enjoy, as opposed to her reading primarily for academic purposes. Anna loves stories with lots…
Ghost by Jason Reynolds
I have been a member of Twitter’s #PrimarySchoolBookClub since its inception last year and Ghost is its current read. I actually hadn’t heard of the book until I found out it had been crowned ‘March’s pick’ in the vote at the end of February. However, I was aware of the publisher – Knights Of –…
Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) by Swapna Haddow and Sheena Dempsey
We are HUGE Dave Pigeon fans in our house and so World Book Day came around with much excitement. Not because the children could go to school in fancy dress (albeit my daughter did indeed go as DP himself!), but because it meant that the fourth book in the Dave Pigeon series – Royal Coo!…
All The Ways to be Smart by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys
‘Every hour of every day, we’re smart in our own special way.’ I picked this book up recently in an independent book shop in Oakham, Rutland. It was advertised as the Independent Booksellers’ Children’s Book of the Month for February, and on reading it, I can completely understand why. This is such a beautifully-executed, inclusive…