#Review By Lou of Rebel Girls – Climate Change Warriors #RebelGirls #MiddleGrade #NonFiction #ChildrensNonFiction #ChildrensBook #Climate #Summer #Outdoors #Nature

Rebel Girls – Climate Change Warriors

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This middle-grade book was gifted by the people behind the Rebel Girls series, so I thank them.
I’m no stranger to these books having reviewed one and then continually been gifted them thereafter in exchange of an honest review. You can find out more in the blurb and my review below.

Blurb

With fairytale-like stories about Greta Thunberg, Autumn Peltier, and Rachel Carson, Rebel Girls Climate Warriors: 25 Tales of Environmental Allies spotlights the world-changing work of women on the frontlines of the fight for climate justice. Meet conservationists, activists, water protectors, philanthropists, authors, and other women from all over the world who have stood up to polluters and used their amazing talents to protect the planet. Climate Warriors is part of the award-winning Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series.

Join Greta Thunberg for a climate strike. Plant a tree with Wangari Maathai. Stand with water protector Autumn Peltier. And turn trash into profits and independence with Isatou Ceesay. Rebel Girls Climate Warriors tells the stories of the ingenuity and commitment of these women and more, including Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei, Indigenous Ecuadorian leader Nemonte Nenquimo, and Thai landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom.

This collection of 25 stories follows in the footsteps of the New York Times best-selling series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. It is illustrated by female and nonbinary artists from around the world.

Review

The book follows the format of the others of a brief description and then a picture of the person it is referring to in illustration form. This time it focuses on those who have featured on the news and other mediums, but that’s not to say that whatever you do, however big and small doesn’t count, it does. This is often where these books fall down slightly. In saying that, the book ends with a small and useful bit (although by no means exhaustive list) about what people can feasibly do to help.

The people who are chosen have been chosen well because it isn’t always the most obvious people like Greta Thunberg or water activists etc, there are people from places you may not expect, who have shown care for the environment, such as people from politics and journalism and authors too. It is these people that make this book stand out more than it otherwise perhaps would, just because it is perhaps not what you think of first.

The information provided is short and to the point, covering a bit about what they do, who they are and their care about the environment and climate change and will capture the imagination of children and is a good talking point. The layout and tone as ever is well-pitched for the age group most likely to read this ever-growing series.

#Review By Lou of Meet The Grubblers By Sarah Louise, Illustrated By Amy Ashworth @sarahlouise_novels @thegrubblers @Random T Tours #BlogTour #ChildrensBooks #MeetTheGrubblers

Meet The Grubblers
By Sarah Louise
Illustrated By Amy Ashworth

Meet the Grubblers has cake, creatures and a magical world to explore in this positive adventure.
Discover more in the blurb and my review below.
Thanks to Random T. Tours for inviting me to review as part of the blog tour.

Review

Meet the Grubblers is set against the pandemic, but also delves into a fantastic adventure. Emily is fed up of Ipad’s and calls over the internet and opens her curtains one day and is magically whisked on an adventure with a mysterious girl called Lucy, who in turn introduces her to The Grubblers, who are up to all sorts of antics… They are curious characters who bring humour and take readers further into a fantastical land, which is brilliant for escapism. Amongst the humour and cake, that features in the book, is mild trepidation as someone has captured Ada and it is up to Emily and Lucy, in this different land, to find her.
This is a positive story with an excellent ending.

You may never open your curtains in the same way after reading this story… There are perhaps more adventures than meets the eye for the imaginative readers…

On, perhaps an even more serious note, I think this is great, considering at the time of writing, Covid-19 has not totally disappeared and for the future as things move onwards, it’s an important reminder of its existence. The book, although set in a magical world for the most part, is also very relatable for children for what had happened in the world, as well as managing to be highly entertaining.

I highly recommend this very fun, entertaining book.

#BookReview By Lou of Otter’s Coat: Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit By Cordellya Smith #OttersCoat @cordellyasmithauthor @RandomTTours #ChildrensBook

Otter’s Coat: Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit
Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare

By Cordellya Smith

Illustrated By Blueberry Illustrations

Today I am on the blog tour for Otter’s Coat. It is a sweet, fun and engaging story, suitable for 5-7 year olds. Thanks to Random T Tours for organising the tour and a copy of the book. Discover more about the book in the blurb and review below, as well as the author.

Blurb

When Rabbit hears the animals talking abut what a beautiful coat Otter has, he becomes jealous and tricks Otter totake it for himself.

Follow along as Turtle races Rabbit to the top of the Black Mountain to win back Otter’s coat and make sure it is returned.

Review

Instantly the book is recognisable as a take on Aesop’s famous fable – The Hare and the Tortoise, so it mixes something a bit new with a timeless classic and a lovely story is told once again that will be engaging for 5-7 year olds.

Throughout the story is a game of hide and seek, whereby children have to hunt out the chipmunk along the way to the end.

The book nicely takes children to a nut moon festival and then sneakily into the rabbit’s trick with the otter in its bright bold illustrated pages, in what unfolds into a fast-paced chapter book. It is great for those lessons on fables and their outcomes for schools or for reading for pleasure and is well-designed for its targeted age group, as well as being engaging, with themes that are familiar that create a fun story, which can also be used as discussion pieces, like you would with Aesop’s Fables, which this book could be easily paired up with.

At the end, there is a note for parents that explains what a Cherolachian is, which is added interest and adds roots.

About The Author

Originally from the mountains of Kentucky, Cordellya Smith is a storyteller who loves to share stories that provide children with versions of beloved tales that reflect her Cherokee and Appalachian roots. A first generation college graduate, Cordellya works to promote literacy and a lifetime love of reading.

#BookReview By Lou of Trains, Trains, Trains! By Donna David and Nina Pirhonen @DonnaMDavid @MacmillanKidsUK #ChildrensBooks #KidsBooks #Kidlit #PictureBooks #Trains #TrainsTrainsTrains #Parents #Carers #Families #Transport #Libraries #Nursery

Trains, Trains, Trains
By Donna David and Nina Pirhonen

Today I have a review of a bright, fun picture book, with a fun game for those young children who love trains. It’s short and an exciting book to add to the picture book category. It is one that is great for reading together and lends itself perfectly for interactive fun. Find out what else I think about it in my review. First of all, a thanks to MacMillan Children’s Books for gifting me an e-book copy, and take a look at the fun, eye-catching cover and the blurb too.

Trains Trains Trains cover

Blurb

Big trains, small trains, short trains, long trains . . . which do you like best? Follow fifty colourful trains as they whizz along tracks and through tunnels – up, down, around and back again! Can you find your favourite?
Full of spotting and counting fun, with five trains to find on each page and an exciting fold-out race at the end, this rhyming preschool picture book from Donna David and Nina Pirhonen has been specially developed to encourage pre-reading skills and expand language and vocabulary. With a super-shiny foil cover and fun read-aloud text, Trains Trains Trains! is just the ticket for any transport-obsessed toddler!

Review

Trains, Trains, Trains….. says a lot in the title doesn’t it? It’s about…. you guessed it! Trains!
This is a seriously fun book with short, snappy sentences about each sort of train within the story. There’s much fun that can be had. It is written in a way that can be read to the movement of a train if you’re on one, and even if you are not. That certain rhythm can be found in the text.

Each page is brightly coloured and each has a plethora of trains of varying lengths and speeds, daytime, night time, going through a tunnel time, ones that are a bit bumpy, others that are smooth and so much more… There is also plenty of humour to be discovered too.

Trains, Trains, Trains is a book where much enjoyment can be gained over and over again. It’s also going to be great in extending vocabulary and observation skills. Whether your child is a few months old or 4/5 years old, there’s much to be gained in this entrancing, interactive book, that is best read aloud for full-effect and maximum fun!

There’s lots you can do with the book, besides reading it. You can have fun with the rhyme and you can use it to count trains and carriages etc, see what other things you can spot in the pictures. There’s a game that encourages this at the back. There’s a great section at the very end as a guide to “Reading Together – Tips for Parents and Carers”, with all sorts of ideas about what you can do and talk about.

#BookReview By Lou The Wild Before By Piers Torday @PiersTorday @QuercusKids #MiddleGrade #NaturalWorld #ClimateStory #ChildrensBook

The Wild Before
By Piers Torday

The Wild Before is a great story that encompasses animals in the natural world and the climate. It is suitable for older middle-grade readers.
Thanks to Quercus Kids publisher for gifting me the book to review. Discover more in the blurb and rest of my review below and the eye-catching cover.

Blurb

Can one hare alone change the world? The captivating animal adventure destined to be loved by readers of all ages. A stunning hardback edition from the bestselling, much-loved author, Piers Torday.

One stormy, snowy night, a pure silver calf is born on an ordinary muddy farm by the light of the moon. This is the legendary Mooncalf, whose arrival has been foretold since the dawn of time.

According to a dream passed down from animal to animal, if the calf dies, a great Terribleness will come – rising seas, a plague, skies raining down fire, the end of all things… and Little Hare vows to persuade all the animals to protect Mooncalf, whatever the cost.

But it’s easier said than done, and soon Little Hare realises that he is the only one who can save the world…

A stunning prequel to the award-winning, bestselling The Last Wild trilogy, touching on timely themes of climate change, friendship, and above all, hope.
‘Piers Torday is the new master of books for children’ The Times

Review

The Wild Before starts off illustrating different sorts of moon for the whole year. A different name per month. There’s also a glossary so children can totally understand the animals.

Readers get to know Little Hare first, who runs ever so fast to find where Dandelion Hill was. From the start you can tell there is something not right. Little Hare is on a mission to find the wild and to pass on an urgent message. Wildeness is in charge, but he encounters wolves who claim to be guardians of Wildeness in the north…. The book then goes onto the first chapter and beyond. It’s absolutely beautifully written and captivating by the tension created and trepidation. In an instant you care about Little Hare and what she has to say and hope he survives. There is also Bite-Hare, Sist-Hare and Run-Hare.
The book is cute in its storytelling and in its illustrations, but also shows some of the hardships that wildlife has. There are also dogs and humans to fear and to watch out for as the hares try to leave the farm they are on to go to try and travel northwards to get to speak with Wildeness. They also comes across Brock who is a badger and a harvest mouse, who has lots of songs. The mission also means trying to find a specific flower and that may require a human as the race is on to stop a virus.

The book highlights climate change and the sea levels rising and the hardships humans and animals have. The book also shows the natural world in action in all its magnificence and also the life and death within it and that concern animals have that their prey may capture them that day. The book also shows heirarchy in animals and Wildeness being at the top.

The Wild Before is like today’s Animal’s of Farthing Wood and Watership Down. It fits very well with these books in its themes and desire to read about the natural world and to care about it. It may be an emotional read for children, but one that they’ll find compelling to say the least.
It has, amongst the adventure and all the dangers, an important message to convey to readers too.
Classes in schools are already reading this. There’s much to read and discuss, but in saying that, it can also be read for pleasure at home too as middle grade readers will like being swept up in the storytelling and the adventure of it all.

#BookReview by Lou Fantastic Fin Faces His Fears by Jessica Bowers It’s a book with #ClassroomResources @rararesources #JessicaBowers #ChildrensBook #KS1 #KS2 #FacingFears #ChildrensWellbeing

Fantastic Fin Faces His Fears
by Jessica Bowers

Fantastic Fin Faces His Fears is suitable for 4-7 year olds. It has a pages at the back for parents and teachers to support children through this story. There are also resources available for the classroom. Thanks to Rachel Random Resources for inviting me to the blog tour and for gifting me the book. Find out more in the blurb and my review.

Blurb

Come and join Fantastic Fin as he grows his courage by embodying various inspiring characters and animals to face his fears!

Teachers, Parents and Carers can access the free Fantastic Fin Teaching Resource Pack available from the author’s website.

This is the first book in a series supporting children’s mental health by well-being author and psychotherapist Jessica Bowers. Ideal for children age 4-7.

Review

Fantastic Fin Faces His Fears tells the story, in rhyme, of a boy called Fin, or rather Fantastic Fin. He is a shy and anxious boy who finds a lot of life challenging. He then imagines he is different things like t-rex, a spy, a shark and many more to help him feel brave and overcome these life challenges he is experiencing. The pictures are big and bold with a hint of humour around the hope they provide as Fantastic Fin transforms and feels braver to confront his fears with all his might. At the end of the story there is a page of “Fantastic Fin’s Factfile”. It gives children some practical tips and there is also a page they can draw on themselves, to show how they feel when they face their fears and perhaps conquering them.

The book provides positivity and enough story that can also be woven into a greater conversation and topic of wellbeing or positivity. It can also be used as a conversation opener to find out what your children fear most and how they may face them and overcome them in a fun way. It can, as the story is also fun, be a way of also bonding and finding out more about your child and their emotions in a gentle manner.

About The Author

Jessica is a well-being writer with an extensive background in supporting both young people and adults with their emotional well-being and mental health. Jessica is a qualified Counsellor and Psychotherapist who trained at the Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute. Prior to this, she worked for over 10 years with young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Jessica consults with and writes for the wonderful Storytime Magazine, for their emotional well-being and mental health content. She has written a collection of well-being themed children’s picture books for 4-7 year olds, and Fantastic Fin Faces his Fears is her debut book. She has also developed some school workshops which offer emotional education aswell as offering author visits to read her books and poetry to EYFS and KS1 children. Jessica develops free activity and teaching resource packs around emotions and well-being themes which are available from her website at www.jessicabowers.co.uk .