The latest in a series of books about Little Owl (Little Owl's Bedtime, Little Owl's Egg), this title will resonate with parents and children alike. Adults will recognise the battle to get children into and then out of (!) the bath and young listener's will identify with Little's Owl's bathtime blues and imaginative adventures. Alison Brown's (SnowBear, You Make Me Happy) gorgeously sweet illustrations seem to jump right off the page, perfectly portraying Little Owl's pizzazz and spunky attitude and bringing the characters to life.
Little Owl is a master of imaginative play and is guarding a castle when Mummy Owl says it is bath time. A predictable response from Little Owl ("NO, NO, NO, NO!" and some foot stomping) is met with mum entering the play space in order to negotiate. "Perhaps Puffle could guard the castle while you have your bath", she says. Her entreatment to find the bath toys in the "foamy foothills of Bubble Mountain" is enticing, as is the marshmallow reward for capturing every one but Little Owl is still not sure. Mum meets every protest or attempt at procrastination with an imaginative solution but ultimately Little Owl wants to keep playing...baths are boring. Finally Mummy Owl's creativity gets Little Owl in the bath where he has so much fun (of course, there is water all over the bathroom) that he doesn't want to get out.
This is a beautiful reminder to parents of positive ways to deal with everyday bathtime battles and encourages them to approach the problem from the child's point of view. Perhaps it will even spark the imagination of young readers (and parents), giving them a new perspective on boring bathtimes.
Thorkild Aske is employed by Milla Lind a successful Norwegian author, to find two missing girls. The ex-police officer, Robert Riverholt, that Milla once used was shot in the head by his wife, who then suicided. Not the most auspicious beginning for Thorkild.
Aske is ex-police as well but has a multitude of issues: his ex-wife, his dead girl friend as well as his failed suicide attempt and his current dependence on prescription drugs! He is unsure why he has been chosen. Milla's explanation that it is to help with the plot of her final novel begins to lose traction after a while. The story that the missing girls, Siv and Olivia, have run off from a home to Ibiza also fails to hold water when Asked discovers they willingly got into a car at a bus stop, presumably because they knew the driver. Police do have an investigation on the runaways Iver Isaksen and Kenneth Abrahamsen and seem to know about their history and their previous Ibiza adventure.
Aske begins to think the girls may have been murdered which is confirmed with the discovery of other bodies that show similarities especially having mobile phones held to their ears. He finds they also have high levels of potassium chloride B in their blood which implies being injected probably by someone they were familiar with.
The investigation takes a different turn when Millar reveals to Aske that Olivia is her daughter. She wants to have a relationship with her after coming to terms with the emotional trauma of Olivia's conception and early life and not being able to cope and giving her up when she was three years old. Aske also believes there are other complications. He is deliberately targeted in a hit run attempt which leads him to doubt if Riverholt's murder was committed by his wife. He begins to suspect Svein Borg of the murders of several people who in the past have been identified as suicides and he may have taken Siv and Olivia.
Bakkeid has woven a narrative in which the landscapes of Norway play a significant role. The complicated characters of Milla and Aske and their tortured relationship add to the unorthodox story line. The revelations in the end reveal several damaged characters, Svein Borg and the unnatural relationship with his mother and Askes need for his "happy pills" to keep him functioning and able to relate to those around him. Eventually truths are revealed and these free Thorkild Aske to return to his bedsit and a different future.
We have all seen the pictures of Michelle and Barack Obama – seemingly the perfect presidential couple, and the image of a loving family with their two daughters. But as Michelle Obama reveals in her autobiography, it wasn't always easy. She and Barack had very different personalities but their common values united them and saw them through the difficult times in their life together. This edition is adapted for younger readers and seeks to provide an inspiration for girls and young women, particularly black women, to believe in themselves and strive to achieve their dreams.
The hardback edition, with over 400 pages, may seem a bit of a challenge for the intended younger readership, but the three sections, 'Becoming me', 'Becoming us', and 'Becoming more' are broken up with an attractive collection of colour photographs that draws us into her life. As the titles suggest, the first section is about her childhood in a working class family in Chicago, then her relationship with Obama and his political campaign, and then their time in the White House trying to achieve their vision for the nation.
Michelle Obama was not always the confident woman she now appears; as a girl she was often plagued with doubts about whether she was ever good enough. But she was blessed with hardworking parents that wanted the best for her, and always encouraged her. That and her own competitive spirit meant that she pushed herself to study and achieve the best she could, ultimately graduating from Princeton with a law degree.
Her relationship with Barack was one of opposites: she was meticulous, organised and driven, whist he, though a serious thinker, had a more easy-going calm approach to life. It is fascinating to read of how they complemented each other to become a team, united to meet the challenge of balancing family and political life.
As First Lady, Michelle Obama implemented a range of projects aimed at empowering girls, and encouraging all children to lead more healthy lives, and it is good to read about her achievements while in the White House, but I think the part that will connect with most readers is the early school years trying to break past the low expectations of her teachers and prove that she could do anything if she put her mind to it.
Themes Autobiography, Women, Self empowerment, Determination, U.S. politics.
Helen Eddy
Pizazz vs the new kid by Sophy Henn
Simon & Schuster, 2021. ISBN: 9781471194153. (Age:7+)
Pizazz vs the new kid is the second instalment in the Pizazz series by UK author and illustrator Sophy Henn. It's a cheeky, witty story told in first person by the chief protagonist Pizazz. Pizazz is a schoolgirl who is trying to fit in to her new school but this is a little difficult for her because she happens to be a superhero. She comes from a family of superheroes and it is such a nuisance to her because they are routinely called out to perform superhero feats and it just gets in the way of leading a normal life. Pizazz comes up against the "popular" girl group at school and they set her up in competition with another new "kid" at school who also happens to be a superhero. In the process, Pizazz learns about what is important and how to negotiate the "Serenas" of the world.
The message is good. The scenarios are relatable. The narrative is accompanied by graphic style illustrations and at times breaks into pure graphic comic style. The book is densely illustrated; the typography very, very much a standout feature. This means that the reluctant reader may be encouraged to read this book. Any child who is into graphic novels like Diary of a wimpy kid and Dog man could be interested in the Pizazz series.
The language in this text is chatty and very much like it is straight out of the mouth of a sassy primary aged child. Sophy Henn has captured the vernacular and the energy. The sentence structure is frequently run on so this is not the book that will encourage correct writing of English. It is chat not literature but it has its place in encouragement of the struggling reader. The message also is useful. At the end, the class photo shows that the "good kids" actually do get chosen to take leadership roles in the school and the cool girls end up with roles such as "school princess, "cutest cupcake" and "Bonny Baby." Probably the irony of that will escape the younger reader.
Pizazz vs the new kid is a fun romp and another light addition to a graphic novel or hybrid graphic/ prose collection. An easy read for young students in the primary years.
Themes Super heroes, Fitting in, School life, Mean schoolgirls, Family.
Wendy Jeffrey
Antiracist baby by Ibram X. Kendi. Illus. by Ashley Lukashevsky
Penguin, 2021. ISBN: 9780241512388. (Age:8+)
Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi will be an important read for sharing at any times but is made even more crucial by the "Black Lives Matter" movement. The book begins with the statement 'Antiracist baby is bred, not born' and is therefore taught to be racist from an early age by the adults in their lives. The reader is then presented with nine steps to make 'equity a reality':
1. Open your eyes to all skin colours. 2. Use your words to talk about race. 3. Point at policies as the problem, not people. 4. Shout, "There's nothing wrong with the people!" 5. Celebrate all our differences. 6. Knock down the stack of cultural blocks. 7. Confess when being racist. 8. Grow to be an antiracist. 9. Believe we shall overcome racism.
Under each step is clever rhyming prose to expand on what is being discussed. Some of the language used is quite complex for younger readers and the glossary at the end is a welcome addition. The illustrations are bright, colourful and depict a range of different cultural and social identities. As well as a further reading section there are some ideas for parents and care givers to begin this necessary conversation about racism.
Themes Anti-Racism, Young Children, Values.
Kathryn Beilby
His only wife by Peace Adzo Medie
One World, 2021. ISBN: 9780861540723. (Age:Adult) Recommended.
A wedding without a groom! Apparently it is possible in a Ghanian traditional wedding. When Eli's business commitments prevent him from attending his own wedding, his younger brother is able to be his stand-in. The family of Afi, the bride, prepare the celebrations, and Eli's family pay the bride price in presents. There are photographs and videos so that Eli can catch up on his wedding afterwards.
It doesn't seem a very auspicious start, and Afi has concerns, because the whole thing has been arranged by the wealthy businesswoman known as Aunty, Eli's mother, in a calculated plan to draw him away from the despised Liberian woman he has become involved with. For Afi, agreeing to marry a man she hardly knows is the opportunity to lift herself and her widowed mother out of poverty, study at a fashion school . . . and everybody says that Eli is a good man.
This intriguing start to the story quickly draws the reader in; and the varied personalities and customs of the families in Ho, a village in Ghana, are described with humour, so it becomes hard to put the book down. As events unfold, Afi develops from a shy and compliant village girl to become more assertive about her expectations of life as a married woman.
It is Afi who provides the narrative voice, so we do not meet the 'other woman'; we only know what Afi has been told, and we share her fears and prejudices. As the story progressed I did find it a bit troubling that in a story about female empowerment, no sympathy was given to the Liberian woman, even though her situation is not unlike that of another woman that Afi befriends.
For the most part Medie's novel presents as an interesting and warmly humorous take on a Cinderella story, with fascinating scenes of Ghanian life, but the twist at the end gives it a punch that lifts it to another level and provides food for further reflection and discussion.
A mother is a house is written by French author Aurore Petit and has been translated into English. It is a smaller picture book which would be perfect for sharing with younger children. It covers all aspects of a mother's role in the life of her baby and toddler with simple rhyming text and vividly coloured illustrations. A mother is many things to her young child and this book very clearly encompasses many of these important attributes. While the title feels rather bland and unappealing, the sentiments expressed in the book will resonate with both children and mothers alike.
An interesting gift for a new mother or Mother's Day.
Wolfboy is hungry, very hungry and as the pages proceed he becomes very hungry indeed. He stomps around in the woods beneath the full moon yelling for rabbits. He searches through the murky creek, now huffy as well as hungry. He climbs up the creaky old oak still needing rabbits. He is now hungry and huffy and drooly, but no rabbits can be found. He becomes hungry and huffy, drolly and growly in his search for the rabbits, but even as he goes through the soggy bog, he cannot find them.
Each double page tell us where Wolfboy is looking for the rabbits, and repeats the words describing his emotional state as he cannot find them. But the readers can find them, they will see them on each page and call out for Wolfboy to turn around or look under the tree or under the lily pad. Readers will have a great time with this funny book, following Wolfboy’s obsession with finding rabbits to curb his appetite.
A neat solution rounds off this engrossing book, enabling the rabbits to survive the suspected onslaught of a hungry Wolfboy.
The illustrations are engrossing and details about how they were created appears on the publication page. It is worth reading to the kids as it will encourage them to look more closely at each image on every page, seeing how each of the pieces was built from clay, and then photographed. A video clip of Harkness showing how he created the images is available.
This book is a wonderful read aloud, encouraging adult and listener to put on voices, to stomp around the floor, to call out the words describing his hunger and then his eating of the moonberries, while participating in the reading and asking for it to be read again.
A promotion for the book making it come to life can be found here.
In a world where 'cute' rules, Sammy the Sloth is planning a surprise sleepover. The World of Super Cute is full of bizarre cuteness - talking skateboards, a marshmallow canyon, fruit salad forests - only some of the strangeness dressed in cute fantasy attire. So, a sleepover planned with funsies dressed in onesies is sure to be intriguing! Unfortunately, there is an interloper who is not as cute and fluffy as some.
This is a book that is designed for the age-group that still likes fantasy to have lollies, sprinkles and magical bursts of flavour, with only a little bit of magical poo! Interspersed into the simple story are puns, rhyme and alliteration as word play amongst the playful characters. Written for the independent reader aged 5+, this is a very light-hearted burst of magical narrative.
Themes Fantasy, Friendship, Sleepovers.
Carolyn Hull
Chain of iron by Cassandra Clare
Last Hours : Book 2. Walker Books, 2021. ISBN: 9781529500776. Recommended for fans of the series.
Chain of iron follows directly on from Chain of gold and sees Cordelia Carstairs engaged to James Herondale. She is secretly in love with him, but their marriage is a sham: James is in love with Grace Blackthorn and the pair agree to divorce after a year. Meanwhile there is a serial killer on the loose in London and the Merry Thieves, James' gang of friends, are on a desperate quest to find who is killing their fellow Shadowhunters.
Although Chain of iron is another large tome of 592 pages, Clare's flowing prose and exciting tension make it an easy read, especially for fans who are comfortable with her characters and setting. After reading Chain of gold and Tess and Will’s adventures in The infernal devices it was easy to settle into reading another familiar adventure fantasy, set in Edwardian England and full of twists and turns and danger. Cordelia's quest to settle the strangeness of Cortana, her beloved sword, brings some surprises, while James is still battling with the darkness that is his grandfather.
Fans will be happy to learn more about Matthew and the dark secret that he harbours, and Grace Blackthorn, although an unlikeable character, has moments when the reader is sympathetic with her life. Lucie's attempts to bring the ghost Jesse Blackthorn back to life bring another strong plotline to keep the reader engaged. And of course, Clare is an expert at writing romance and descriptions of Anna and Adrienne's romance and Cordelia and James' feelings for each other ramp up a notch.
And that cliff-hanger ending will have readers begging for the next book.
The Hatmakers is Tamzin Merchant's first book and has launched a fresh and engaging fantasy adventure series for Middle Primary readers. Twelve-year-old Cordelia is the main character living with her extended family in Georgian London. She is the youngest in a family of magical milliners who create hats that have the power to transform their wearers. The family is part of a group of special makers who have served the Ruler of the Kingdom for many years, making cloaks, boots, gloves, watches, hats and canes to protect the monarch from his enemies.
At the beginning of the book Cordelia's father has been lost at sea during a quest to collect hat ingredients and Dilly's focus becomes to find a boat to try to rescue him. Her family are not on the same page and have problems of their own trying to produce a special hat to rescue the King from his ailment and keep peace with France. Although the Maker families are estranged from each other Cordelia has a secret friend called Goose who is a Bootmaker. The story gathers pace as it becomes an enthralling battle for Cordelia, Goose and their new friend Sam (a very grubby London newsboy) to find out who is behind the scheme to create mayhem in the Kingdom.
The author has created a magical world for her memorable characters that will be a delight to follow in subsequent books. Included in the back of the book is a Glossary of useful ingredients for the Apprentice Hatmaker, a warning about using ingredients that can do harm and space to write ingredients used by the book owner, all of which will encourage some creativity and delight its young readers.
The Dragon and her boy by Penny Chrimes follows the magical Tiger Heartand is set in the same world of the streetkids (Gutterlings) of Georgian/Victorian London. Stick, our main character, bridges both books. He lives and survives on the streets with his friends by performing gymnastic feats for money, by stealing and by dodging authority. The children survive in harsh conditions, sleeping rough and living and working together in a loyal group. The reality of childhood diseases, possibly rickets and uncorrected disabilities like crossed eyes (Strabismus) is rife but the joy of the bonds between the children and the substitute for family that they provide each other is heart-warming.
Chrimes uses the street vernacular very effectively and provides a glossary at the back of the terms that are used. The banter between the children and the chatter of the street market stall holders is lively and irreverent, in some cases downright rude but seemingly authentic. Stick has a natural authority amongst the other children and from the outset there are hints of a different birth and early experience. He has had a dark past and manages the pain by compartmentalising his thoughts. Flashes of memory are triggered and emerge, leading to an unavoidable journey to recapture his rightful heritage and avenge wrongs. In this process he is accompanied by the dragon who he discovers living under the cobbled streets of the meat markets of Smithfield. A wonderful friendship develops and the reader is dragged through the underground history of London and out into the countryside.
I loved this book and would have highly recommended it. Though all is avenged in the end, I wrestle with the appropriateness of euthanasia. Possibly this book is a metaphor for growing up and getting rid of childhood things but I question the resolution of this story. It is possibly so shocking that it prevents me from recommending this book to children younger than 12 which is a shame because the story was so much fun up until the last chapter.
Themes Euthanasia, Dragons, Friendship, Loyalty, Street kids of Victorian/ Georgian London.
Wendy Jeffrey
Three o'clock in the morning by Gianrico Carofiglio
Text Publishing, 2021. ISBN: 9781922268792. (Age:15+) Highly recommended.
This is an unusual novel, with essentially only two characters, a father and son, who must stay awake for 2 days and nights, as ordered by a medical team who want to track the boy's response to not having any sleep in order to find out if he is suffering from epilepsy or if his episodes might end. In one sense, the non-sleeping is difficult, yet it is a wonderful experience for both father and son, talking and moving around the famous port city of Marseilles. Both of them find out so much about the other, finding out, also, what they have in common and, ultimately discovering how much they admire, appreciate and love each other.
Warm-hearted, vibrant, fascinating and revelatory, the narrative draws us into their world and keeps us there, in the vibrancy and interesting nature of this famous old city of France. Their conversations, their investigations, their enjoyment of each other’s company, allow them to get to know one another as few parents and children would do in such a fashion. I would highly recommend this novel for readers of all ages, from adolescents through to grandparents, as Gianrico Carofiglio has constructed such a gloriously unusual story that takes place within the bounds of such a short period of time. This narrative feels rather more like a film, one that captivates, entrances, and enables a most delightful joy in being a witness to the loving care and joy that the couple experience in their short time together.
I would highly recommended this novel for adult and young adolescent readers.
Themes Family, Illness and disability caused by illness, Resilience, Loving family support, Kindness and Understanding.
Elizabeth Bondar
Dream big, little mole by Tom Percival. Illus. by Christine Pym
The little mole looks out from her home and surveys the surrounding countryside. She watches the birds in the sky, the ducks in the water, the grasshopper leaping, the squirrel climbing. She wishes she could do those things too, but an owl looking down tells her that she must be herself and dream big. So she tries out many things: playing the piano, writing and cooking, all with out much success. But she remembers that the owl said to be herself, and as her skills are to dig, she does just that.
This charming tale is about being yourself, about concentrating on your good points, and not worrying about things you cannot do. Percival, the author of Ruby's worry, has garnered much attention with his focus on metal health, encouraging children through a well told story of being themselves, of being happy with who they are, of self belief, of kindness both to yourself and others.
The little mole decides to dig the biggest hole ever. In digging furiously she makes a few mistakes; she burrows into a fox's den, and digs in the hedgehog's garden, while above ground, things go awry for Rabbit as his kite flies away into the trees. But in digging into the pond, Mole cleverly solves a few problems and helps those whose environment she upset.
She has used her abilities to their best advantage, had belief in herself, and dreamt big.
Told in rhyming stanzas, the lines call out for children to predict the last word of each line, to learn some of the lines to repeat when the story is read again, and to wonder at the positive abilities shown by Mole.
Brimming with a deep sense of affirmation, the story will be read and reread, as children in the younger grades learn that they are special, their attributes are unique to themselves. The story will add bounce to their early steps, and along with the charming illustrations full of detail about the English countryside, will be a story sought after for a read out loud.
Princess at heart is the fourth and final installment of the enthralling Rosewood chronicles. The series was introduced by Undercover Princess in which Lottie took on the role of Princess of Maradova so that Ellie, an interesting and rebellious Princess, could be shielded from the Public eye while she is at Boarding school. It continued with Princess in Practice and The lost Princess. Jamie is the Princess' Partizan (bodyguard) and there is excellent tension between these three characters in all three books and their complex relationships are brought to a head in this ending. The Rosewood Chronicles have been described as a mixture of the Princess diaries and Harry Potter as they contain a blend of defiant princess and long-lost family mysteries to be solved.
In this part of the story the Princess (Lottie) is presented with a series of secret clues sent by Claude, a banished Uncle of the Princess and leader of Leviathan. Leviathan is the organization that has been trying to capture the Princess through each of the books. But none of the clues seem to make any sense to her and she cannot discuss them with anyone without putting all the people around her at risk. Lottie is so used to getting help from Ellie and Jamie with any of the problems she has faced in the past that the secrecy surrounding this task almost breaks her and leads her to question many of the choices about family she has made throughout the story. This book is a powerful and complex end to a captivating story which will appeal to a wide variety of readers.
