Adventure with a undercurrent of challenging historical experience. The Steam Whistle Theatre Company has shades of hope and dark comedy as the grinding poverty and shadow of the workhouse looms behind the fun and frolic of the children and the madcap machinations of their parents to make their ventures work and to survive. The desperate … Continue reading The Steam Whistle Theatre Company – Vivian French
Unicorns are still a huge trend, embraced by both girls and boys and showing no signs of stopping. We do enjoy the magical and mystical and love the fact that it’s become very mainstream and accessible in children’s books so this was certainly on target for us. This is such a gorgeous book from DK, … Continue reading POP up Peekaboo Unicorn-DK Books
To say I loved this book is an understatement. This gold dusted book designed by Melissa Castrillon with royal blue edges (if you are lucky to get a Waterstones exclusive edition) holds so much within it; magic, courage, sisterhood, coming of age and kindness within a story that evokes flavours of the 3 Musketeers with … Continue reading A Pinch of Magic- Michelle Harrison
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book blogging initiative hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl with new themes each week. As a new blogger I've seen quite a few blogs participating in the Top Ten Tuesday and although I'm loathe to look like I'm copying others as I wholly respect so many awesome bloggers and … Continue reading Top Ten Tuesday
In the past I’ve not particularly been a sci-fi reader but the premise of Sharon Cohen’s Halo Moon was too good to miss. The novel makes it clear this story falls within that particular brand of sci-fi that is firmly embedded in the current world around us, that it is as much a work of … Continue reading Halo moon – Sharon Cohen
The Turnaway Girls is something quite different in the world of Middle grade fantasy, an intensely lyrical first person present tense narrative of heartbreaking longing juxtaposed with the fear of punishment for acting on said desires. A mature and poetic yet accessible consideration of the inner emotional price it takes to be safe or to … Continue reading The Turnaway Girls- Hayley Chewins
A frequent voice of frustration in the world of children's books in particular is #PicturesmeanBusiness and how illustrators and other visual artists don't get the proper credit for the contribution their work makes to a book. That's why is so great here to see the illustrator Katie Halford on the cover as this is a … Continue reading Around the World in 80 Ways: illustrated by Katie Halford
Lily and the Fae 