From the author/illustrator of Ten on a Twig comes an interactive picture book for toddlers that counts down a school of fish, colour by colour, perfect for fans of Eric Carle books. View Full Review
Bonehead offers to become the look-out for the terrifying Gigantosaurus that is roaming near their home, but then he cries wolf to his friends once too often he finds his friends take no notice and he finds himself in lots of bother.
A cautionary tale that tricking and lying is not the answer but does Bonehead survive to tell the tale and learn the error of his ways. The rhyming text, some in speech bubbles, makes this a great book to share with toddlers and young children. View Full Review
Girl, Goddess, Queen is a feminist, fierce and fresh YA fantasy retelling of the classic Greek myth of Hades and Persephone with a hefty dose of steamy romance. Fitzgerald’s reimagining shifts the power dynamic and repositions Persephone as a heroine with agency to control her own narrative, with extraordinarily fun results. View Full Review
Perfect for children going to school or nursery for the first time or anyone starting a new school, The Shy Book is an interactive picture book by award-winning author Howard Pearlstein which features the book itself as the main character. The book is shy, so thinks the reader will find it boring, but as the book starts asking the reader questions, it becomes braver and gains confidence. View Full Review
Full of funny mix-ups and comic misunderstandings, as well as genuine warmth and affection, these four stories are the start of an irresistibly charming new chapter book series from award-winning creator Jarvis. View Full Review
Share in fifty years of a really remarkable cat… Mog is everyone’s favourite family cat! Join her in this warm-hearted and funny escapade about Mog’s first meeting with a baby… View Full Review
Tia must show visitors to Gull Haven Island how to respect the environment and protect the animals who live there. Gill Lewis draws from her first-hand experience working as a vet to skilfully combine adventure, animals and family in this touching tale. This is the second in Gill Lewis’ charming new series for the 7+ audience, following closely on the heels of The Island Vet: Pirates & Sea Monsters. View Full Review
This beautifully produced anthology for 9+ readers is a celebration of hope from some of our most talented Black writers. With contributors including Malorie Blackman, Alex Wheatle, Faridah Abike-Iyimide, Sharna Jackson and Dorothy Koomson, this perfect package curated by British Book Awards Illustrator of the Year Dapo Adeola with a foreword by the award-winning Patrice Lawrence is a book to be treasured. With an invitation for the reader to join in with their own story in the final few pages, this is a joy for readers of all ages. View Full Review
It's twenty four years since Alan de Boton wrote Consolations of Philosophy. Back then - before the swell of the 'wellbeing' movement and the cascade of podcasts and online communities about living lives aligned to Stocism and Eastern philosophies - this was somewhat of a trailblazer. In it, the Cambridge and Harvard-educated historian and philosopher condensed the seemingly abstract teachings of various philosophers into applicable self-help for life's very real problems. What can we learn from Socrates about being unpopular, for example, or from Epicurus on feeling cash-poor?
Subsequent to the book's success, de Boton co-founded the School of Life, ... View Full Review
Playtime! is a book that turns tummy time into playtime. Like our bestselling book, Tummy Time! it folds out and stands up in front of newborns during the all-important tummy time – a practice encouraged by healthcare professionals to prevent flat spots on the back of the head, and to strengthen muscles in their necks and upper bodies.
These early months are also when a baby’s brain is developing faster than at any other time in their lives. View Full Review
As well as being a huge football fan, Tom Palmer has an international reputation in reader development. He is a coordinator of the Reading Partners consortium, works with The Reading Agency, Booktrust and the National Literacy Trust, and has been the official writer for the Premier League Reading Stars scheme for five years.
He also teaches annually for the Arvon Foundation, and has travelled around the world to train librarians and teachers in techniques to encourage boys to read.
He is the bestselling author of Football Academy and The Foul Play series, in which the first book was nominated for ... View Full Review
Chosen by Tom Palmer, Guest Editor for April 2024.
I’d like to recommend Top Thorn Farm by Denise Clarke as my book for this month. I read it recently and was struck by how the author – a former school librarian – chose to write it because the students at her secondary school wanted books that featured farming and tractors. But there were very few books that dealt with rural communities.
How was she going to encourage them to read for pleasure? She decided to write Top Thorn Farm. To fill that gap. To represent ... View Full Review
