The Good Hawk- Joseph Elliott

Joseph Elliott has been delighting young children for years as an entertainer particularly beloved as Cook on CBeebies Swashbuckle and taking part in many CBeebies Pantos too, in fact if you are around young children who have since Christmas been wiggling and giggling ‘Biscuit Bottoms!’ its partly down to Joseph in a life sized gingerbread …

Thrills and Scares for Halloween!

Ok there’s no shortage of horror books out there but these are just a few from MG to YA I have enjoyed and are deliciously creepy or in a few cases scare your knickers off terrifying. For someone who wants to think along with their horror The Maker of Monsters- Lorraine GregoryAlthough a tad more …

Spooky, Kooky but not Scary Books for Halloween

Here is a selection of recommended reads for children who want to get in the Halloween Spirit but not be scared witless. They range from the highly illustrated early reader up to teen to suit different personalities and styles for a great Halloween read. For a full colour early reader experience with an Addams Family …

Jelly- Clare Rees

Wow this is such a boldly interesting story from Clare Rees exploring the struggles of living on a jellyfish-like creature after an apocalyptic event. It’s not quite a traditional Young Adult book even though the dangers are darker than middle grade, for me it’s perfectly pitched for that Teen gap thanks to its characters’ beautiful …

Event: Sophie Anderson in Conversation with Candy Gourlay- Blackwells Oxford.

Ok last weekend I was absolutely in tatters, I was in a quandary, in Oxford one of my favourite authors was going to be in conversation with another author whose work I have been very interested in. And it would be possible for me to go. Eeep. You may not know this about me but …

Chinglish- Sue Cheung

My goodness, this is such a different and interesting teen book, perfectly placed in that awkward inbetweeny years of not really knowing oneself but hoping for meaning. Taking the diary format as an outlet of adolescent frustrations and aspirations it will remind adult readers of the younger diaries of Adrian Mole, and younger readers of …

What Magic Is This? Holly Bourne

I really loved What Magic is This? By Holly Bourne from Barrington Stoke which seeks out popular authors to create accessible yet not patronising texts for reluctant or struggling readers and dyslexics of different ages with age appropriate themes and characters but careful vocabulary, pacing and typesetting. Holly Bourne is a super popular author for …