When it gets closer to the Summer I always find it difficult to keep up with longer-length reviews due to other commitments. To counter that this year, I thought I’d post a ‘short review’ round-up, as it would be such a shame not to share some really good books that I’ve read recently. I’m going…
I’ve long been a fan of Christopher Edge: he has a real knack for making complex scientific concepts interesting and accessible to a younger audience, weaving them into fascinating middle-grade storylines. In the past, asking which one of his previous 3 books I loved the most was like asking me to choose my favourite child.…
I seem to have focussed on adventure stories recently, and so it’s time for a bit more variety. I read Charlie Changes into a Chicken, the first in a new series by Sam Copeland, a couple of months ago and always meant to blog about it, but for some reason I just didn’t find the…
I’ve been a bit slow on the blog lately, predominantly due to it being one of the busiest times of the year on the allotment (my other passion aside from reading). However, today’s rain is a double bonus: I don’t need to water all the veggies I’ve recently planted and, as it’s too wet to…
Released at the beginning of the month, The Secret Starling is the debut Middle Grade (age 8-12) book by Judith Eagle. There’s been lots of excitement about it on Twitter, so I was keen to read it as soon as it was released. Clara lives with her mean uncle in a crumbling, old manor house,…
This is a very quick review as I’m a tad short on time at the moment; however, I wanted to make sure that I recorded my thoughts on this new book by Fleur Hitchcock, an established and accomplished writer whom some of you will know due to her dark thrillers for older children. Clifftoppers: The…
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,…
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…
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…
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…