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Andrea Reece - Editorial Expert
Andrea Reece has spent almost her entire working life in children’s books, first as publisher, latterly as consultant, project manager and critic.
She has reviewed for LoveReading4Kids since 2015, is editor of the leading children’s books review journal Books for Keeps and administrator of the Klaus Flugge Prize and Branford Boase Award.
She was children’s programme director of the FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival until 2023, spent three years as manager of National Poetry Day and works with CLPE on the CLiPPA (CLPE Children’s Poetry Prize) and with The Full English on the Poetry By Heart national competition. She has judged children’s prizes including the Costa Children’s Book Award and Alligator’s Mouth Award.
Latest Reviews By Andrea Reece
J.K. Rowling has said how much she admires Jim Kay’s illustrations for the Harry Potter books and no wonder: he’s the perfect artist for her stories, bringing the people, creatures and natural world of her imagination to life in such a way that they seem to spill out from the pages.
The Goblet of Fire is where things start to take a turn for the dark in the Harry Potter stories, and Kay is more than up to that. The book opens with a terrifying visit to the Riddle House, home to Lord Voldemort. Surrounded ... View Full Review
Every human has a body, managing the way we feel about it is often tricky, for every one of us. Molly Forbes’ accessible, practical book talks about this, her intention being to help readers learn to appreciate and respect their own body, and the bodies of those around them. That’s a big task, but her relaxed, friendly, conversational tone is exactly the right way to approach this.
She encourages us to focus on what our bodies can do and how to listen to them. It’s reassuring and helpful in lots of ways. Forbes also discusses ... View Full Review
Created with children with SEND in mind, the Stories for Your Senses series provides tactile reading experiences using items available in the home.
On this trip to the beach therefore, it suggests using a torch to create the sense of a warm sun shining in the sky, a glass or bowl of water can be used to recreate the sense of dipping toes in the ocean, and a tube of sunscreen allows us to experience some of the smells of a summer day out.
Added QR codes link to an audiobook and soundscape of a day at the beach while ... View Full Review
A reworking of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic, this has all the magic and colour of the original but with a thoroughly contemporary feel and focus.
Mary Lennox is now Mia Townsend. Orphaned when her wealthy socialite parents are killed in a helicopter crash, to the passing dismay of their Instagram followers, Mia is sent to live with her reserved Uncle James in his remote old house on the edge of Dartmoor.
Countryside, house, lifestyle are as far from Mia’s old life as it’s possible to get and, spoiled though neglected, as well as lost ... View Full Review
Eva’s a talented footballer and the girls at her new school are very keen for her to join their local team, the Lightmoor Lionesses. But despite her love of the game, there’s something holding Eva back: she suffers from psoriasis, a skin condition that causes painful flaky red patches. At her old school, she was picked on and bullied because of if, mean girls nastily calling her contagious; now she’s scared that if her new teammates see it, the same will happen again. Does she dare play the game she loves?
The story ... View Full Review
One excited little monkey wants to go on a bear hunt; one careful elephant aunty thinks that’s too scary. So, they set up a banana hunt instead.
How many bananas can little Bernado hide, and what unusual hiding places can he find? Lots is the answer! As Auntie Dot searches for the hidden bananas and gathers them all together, things get stickier and squishier, but when a scary bear arrives, they’re thankful for the bumper hoard.
The setting is a jungle, and the scenes are bright, bold and bursting with life with so much to spot. ... View Full Review
Forget Dennis the Menace, his cousin Minnie can match him in the mischief stakes, and she has lots of opportunities for behaving badly in this new illustrated adventure.
Her class are off on a weeklong school trip to Camp Griller. It’s not exactly luxurious, and as for the food … but who cares when you can tell scary stories, play pranks, and enjoy some special midnight feasts? Even when it turns out Camp Griller isn’t all it’s supposed to be, there’s a happy ending for this set of Bash Street Kids.
With ... View Full Review
Lesley Parr is one of the most notable new voices in historical fiction and her new story sends readers back to 1980.
The Jam were providing a soundtrack to the summer and people across the UK and beyond were protesting against nuclear weapons. The outside world, in the shape of Paul Weller at least, has infiltrated Marcus’ conscious, the CND movement less so; his main preoccupation is navigating school and home life safely.
The former is even less happy than it was since he fell out with his best friend, Jezza, and home is difficult for many reasons. His family ... View Full Review
This positive, empowering book turns accusations of running, throwing, catching ‘like a girl’ right around to give young women keen to participate in sports of any kind the confidence to go ahead and overcome any obstacles society or life might put in their way.
It does this by introducing fifty amazing and successful female athletes who’ve all followed their dreams, no matter how hard it was. There are trailblazers in fields as different as cricket, surfing, squash and open-water swimming; some of the names will be familiar, like Nicola Adams and Simone Biles, others probably less ... View Full Review
For all that it’s a book about loss, The Fun We Had is bursting with joy, a celebration of happiness, days out and shared memories.
A young girl visits her nana as the seasons pass, each time receiving a hug and a kiss, and together the two share memories of the happy times they’ve spent together. They remember sailing paper boats, splashing at the beach, making dens in the woods, and picnics in the garden.
These days Nana is poorly and when the child suggests ways to make her better, the answer is always the same: ... View Full Review
Based on a tragedy in the author’s own life, this moving picture book delivers an inspiring message about finding courage even when you can hear that voice in your head saying you’ll fail or just aren’t good enough.
Jennie Cashman Wilson met and fell in love with jazz musician Abram Wilson. She describes how his talent and determination to follow his heart inspired her to do the same, even after she lost him to cancer. He showed her the importance of living boldly, she says, and his story, told here, will show young people ... View Full Review
The distinctive vernacular of the north-east enriches this time-slip story which links present day challenges and grief with a 19th century tragedy.
Archie lives with his mum and grandad in Heaton, almost directly above the scene of a mining disaster that took the lives of 75 men and boys two hundred years ago. His own life is affected by the area’s industrial history too. His grandad is fighting for breath after a lifetime working in the pit, his dad has disappeared looking for work elsewhere, and life for him and his friends is tough.
The stories combine one terrible ... View Full Review
