#Review By Lou of The Secret School Invasion by Pamela Butchart @Pamela_Butchart @NosyCrow #ChildrensFiction #Humour #MiddleGrade

The Secret School Invasion
By Pamela Butchart

Pamela Butchart has written this as part of the laugh-out-loud series and readers 7 plus are in for a treat. She is known for writing so many children’s books including the Wigglesbottom primary and many more, always with a sense of humour that children appreciate and adults can have fun reading along or to them.

Blurb

The twelfth book in the laugh-out-loud series from Blue Peter Best Story Award winners Pamela Butchart and Thomas Flintham, perfect for 7+ readers!

Izzy’s school is being merged with St Bartholomew’s Primary, their GREATEST RIVALS! What will happen when the new kids join, in their too-shiny shoes and with their too-loud singing? And what if they’ve got a secret mission and that mission is a BAD mission? Only Izzy and her friends can discover the truth, even if they must go SO DEEP UNDERCOVER that they might not come back…

Hilarious, pitch-perfect stories where everyday school life becomes completely extraordinary, with laughs on every page!

Review

Humour and laugh out loud, this book most definitely is. Children are going to love it! There’s even a mystery thrown in. This is better than any normal school day because it is extraordinary and will make children wishing days were more like these, in some ways. Oh, but hang on, will they come back from their mission? You have to read the book for that.

The writing is exquisite in a very fun way for children to just relax and it’s one to gather friends around and have a laugh. Pleasure will most certainly come with reading this zany book.

I can see why the author is a Blue Peter Best Story Award Winner. Her many books have that humorous quality, whether it is for younger children with books such as ‘Never Tickle A Tiger’ or Middle Grade such as this one. This is a book to watch out for.

#Review By Lou of – If You Read This By Kereen Getten @kereengetten @PushkinPress #ChildrensFiction #MiddleGrade #MiddleGradeFiction #YAFiction #IfYouReadThis

If You Read This
By Kereen Getten

If You Read This is a book I do highly recommend you read. It is endearing and tackles big subject matters incredibly well for readers of middle-grade and those moving onto YA. Find out more below in my blurb and my review below…
Thanks firstly to Pushkin Press for a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.

Blurb

A tender, warmly moving story of grief and self-discovery by the celebrated author of When Life Gives You Mangoes.

When Brie was younger, her mama used to surprise her with treasure hunts around their island town. After she died three years ago, these became Brie’s most cherished memories.

Now, on her twelfth birthday, her mama has another surprise: a series of letters leading Brie on one last treasure hunt.

The first letter guides Brie to a special place.

The next urges her to unlock a secret.

And the last letter will change her life forever.

Review

I think this is a fantastic book for children who are going through grief or want to know more so they can empathise with their friends.

The book gives children hope and some positivity through dark times and the main character – Brie is written so well into what is a challenging theme. She is utterly relatable to any child. She treasures the memories of her mama and the treasure hunts she used to create around where their home island. This is a sensible and mature way of showing that there will always be memories to be cherished and in a way, keep her mama alive in a sense. This isn’t to say Brie, nor the other characters are perfect, they aren’t and this makes the book even more endearing. It shows how things can be messed up and how so much can change. It is great to see how the relationships within the rest of the surviving family also change. It really does give a rounded perspective on the impact on everyone, that a death has on a family.

The letters left behind for Brie to discover, sends her off on quite the twisty adventure of discovery of secrets.

This is a MiddleGrade book I highly recommend!

#Review of Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire! A Recipe for Trouble by Sarah Todd Taylor @scraphamster @NosyCrow #ChildrensBook #MiddleGrade #Mystery

Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire! A Recipe for Trouble
by Sarah Todd Taylor

Thanks to Nosy Crow, I have had the opportunity to review Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire. It’s a wonderful play on words and will take children of 9 years plus on an adventurous mystery. Find out more below in the blurb and review below.

Prepare to be whisked away on a scrumptious adventure as France’s newest spy sets off on her first mission!

Alice Éclair, genius baker by day and talented spy by night, is on a dangerous mission aboard France’s most glamorous train, the Sapphire Express. Alice must sneak on board disguised as a pastry chef and discover which passenger is a duplicitous enemy agent. But everyone on the train seems to be hiding something…
Armed with only her wits, her whisk and her will to succeed, the pressure is on for Alice to crack the case!

Packed with pastry-fuelled peril and a pinch of Parisian glamour, A Recipe for Trouble launches a delectable new series for 9+ readers from Sarah Todd Taylor, the author of Max the Detective Cat.

I once saw Sarah Todd Taylor do a talk about Max the Detective Cat and just knew it would be fantastic for children, so I was delighted to see I could review her latest book, also for middle-grade readers of 9 years plus – Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire! A Recipe for Trouble.

Alice is in a perfect position to be trained as a spy, even though she is 13. She is astounding customers at a Parisian patisserie, so she certainly gets to see much of life as she creates and serves her delightful sweet treats of pastries and croissants.

Alice’s mission is to infiltrate a society gathering in a mansion to retrieve information. Clues then lead her to getting onboard a luxury train (all very Agatha Christie for kids and it works) to complete her mission.

There is the great setting for its pre-war time and enough jeopardy to keep young readers intrigued and to keep those pages turning, with the twists and turns.

It is great to enthral children as they embark on their own holidays and adventures.

#Article By Lou – Celebrating Actors and Authors Series -Clive Mantle @MantleClive #CliveMantle #WishYouWereDead #Grace #Casualty #FreddieMaloneSeries #TV #Theatre #Books #Reviews #Article #EduTwitter #SchoolReading #ChildrensBooks #Books #Audiobooks #paperback #ThePeoplesBookPrizeWinnerAward #CelebratingAuthorsAndActorsSeries

My blog will be 5 years old in September. For those just joining this series of blog posts, I am celebrating certain authors and actors between now and September, when my blog turns 5. This time, I am celebrating actor and author – Clive Mantle. Discover some of his works below on tv, screen and stage, as well as about his children’s books (suitable for 9/10 years upwards). He is a People’s Book Prize Winner!

Clive Mantle is known for acting on tv and theatre for many years as well as writing children’s books. He is probably best known for being Little John in Robin of Sherwood, Mike Barratt in Casualty, Simon Horton in The Vicar of Dibley. He has also starred in Doctors, Midsummer Murders, Still Open All Hours, Heartbeat, Birds of a Feather and more…
He also appeared on The Chase spin-off – Beat The Chasers and won a phenomenal amount of money for his choice of charity, showing he has a wide range of knowledge he can quickly recall.
He has also voiced Thomas the Tank Engine, many audiobooks and video games as well as attend comic-cons.

On stage, he is currently on tour in the UK until at least 25th July with the play Wish You Were Dead, based on the book of the same name, by Peter James. Tickets are still available now! I highly recommend this Grace mystery that also has another former Casualty actor – George Rainsford as Roy Grace and Giovanna Fletcher. It is a compelling, eerie crime thriller, with terrific acting. It takes place with Grace on holiday. It’s supposed to be time away from the job, but things change and he and all who are with him are in mortal danger. George Rainsford and Clive Mantle, in-particular, own the stage, entrancing the audience in a twisty thriller.

Did you know he is a kind and very clever gentleman, who is an avid reader, who has a passion for Mount Everest and also writes amazing children’s books?
There are 3 in the Freddie Malone series so far. I bought, read and reviewed them some time ago. They are more than worthy of being read by children and to being in school libraries and on reading lists. Each fast-paced, action-packed adventure books tells a story featuring Freddie Malone. They include some time-travel from the UK to different parts of the world (they include maps). They also deal with issues ant school.
Each book then has a couple of pages or so of factual information about what you’ve just read. They are compelling and memorable for children, who will also learn something new as well as being entertained.

He was inspired to write the Freddie Malone adventures during a trek to the Everest Base Camp for the charity Hope and Homes for Children. Discover a bit about these books below:

The Treasure At The Top Of The World is book 1 in A Freddie Malone Adventure. There are 3 in total, follow down for the rest.

This first one takes place on Freddie Malone’s birthday. He gets a mirror, which happens to have magical properties. This is useful for escaping the school bullies he endures each day. He inadvertently ends up in Nepal, meets a Sherpa around Mount Everest and sees a Bazaar (of which there is a photo of in the book).

It is an excellent introduction to Freddie and his friends, as well as his foes. It deals with many issues children face today, as well as being entertaining throughout on a grand adventure.

Find out more about the actor and book, including the blurb in the link:

The Treasure At The Top of the World

A Jewel In The Sands of Time takes Freddie back through the mirror, now he has a taste for exploration. He lands in Egypt and meets a Collector, studying a mysterious gemstone. The Collector wants to turn back time to steal a priceless artifact and a precious, legendary elixir to prolong his life.

Freddie goes back in time to meet Tutankhamun and learns how he became King at a young age and he discovers more about The Valley of the Kings.

Back home, he is reunited with his friends, but still, the school bullies are around too.

It is another action-packed adventure with lots to get your teeth stuck into.

Find out more and the blurb in the link:

A Jewel In The Sands of Time

In The City of Fortune and Flames takes Freddie to London and to the time of The Great Fire of London. Prior to this, there is the mystery as to why the map, so directionally and pertinently, took him to meet Pepys, and also why he got to know something of King Charles II and the plague on Drury Lane.

It is another fascinating, Must Read book, full of adventure, excitement and jeopardy.

Find out more in the link, including the blurb.

In The City of Fortune and Flames

#BookReview By Lou of #MiddleGrade #ChildrensBook Libby and The Highland Heist By Jo Clarke Illustrated By Becka Moor @bookloverJo @FireflyPress #Kidslit #Mystery #Adventure #ScottishCastle

Libby and The Highland Heist
By Jo Clarke
Illustrated By Becka Moore

Libby and The Highland Heist is a middle-grade book for ages 8-12, set in the Highlands of Scotland and its capital city – Edinburgh. Thanks to Firefly Press, I have been able to write a review on my blog. First, steal yourselves down to the blurb and then my review below.

Blurb

After a tumultuous term in Paris, Libby and Connie are looking forward to a quiet holiday at Connie’s family home. But before long they find themselves caught up in another mystery, this time set against the dramatic backdrop of the Highlands and Edinburgh.

Review

Not having read and reviewed the first in the series, I don’t think it matters too much if children jump in on this second in the series or read from the start. Middle-grade readers will soon get to know Libby and Connie and how they travel on adventures.

It’s mysteriously atmospheric with a Scottish castle that holds secret passageways and priceless paintings, that are stolen, which in-turn gives the two very good friends a mystery to solve. The book is full of friendship, puzzle-solving and mystery.

There’s plenty of entertainment for young armchair detectives to let their imaginations go wild within, aided by mystical illustrations and the fun cover.

About the Author

Jo Clarke is an award-winning book blogger and primary school librarian. Her blog, BookloverJo, enables her to indulge her love of reading children’s books. She is actively involved in the children’s book community and has been a judge for both the British Book Awards and Alligator’s Mouth Book Awards.

Growing up she liked nothing better than reading mystery and boarding school stories by torchlight, when she should have been fast asleep.

She lives in Hampshire with her husband, two daughters and three cats.

Becka has been illustrating children’s books since 2012 and has over 60 books published. She has a real passion for design, and reading as many books as she can get her greedy hands on.

She lived in Wales for a time studying Illustration for Children’s Publishing at Glyndwr University, before returning to Manchester where she currently lives with her partner and two cats.

#BookReview by Lou – Tilda Tries Again by Tom Percival @TomPercivalsays @KidsBloomsbury #ChildrensBook #Parents #Families #Preschool #CBeebies #CBeebiesBedtimeStory @Rob7Burrow

Tilda Tries Again
By Tom Percival

Entertaining, fabulously illustrated well-told positive story that is great for pre-school, reception and primary 1 classes and for parents/carers etc to read and have fun with their children; as well as it having a deeper message that promotes positive wellbeing. This is a book worth getting excited about. Find out more in the blurb and my review.
Thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Books for gifting me this book.

Some time ago I was privileged to review Tilda Tries Again and now I am republishing this review as it has been chosen as a CBeebies Bedtime Story. It will be read by Rob Burrow.

Blurb

Be open, be honest, be you! Big Bright Feelings for little people.

Tilda’s world is just as she likes it . . . until one day, it turns completely UPSIDE DOWN. All of a sudden, everything is topsy-turvy, and nothing feels right. Things that were once easy now seem incredibly challenging.

Can Tilda discover a new way to approach her problems and believe in herself?

Bold, bright and empowering, this is an inspiring story about coping with difficult situations. It’s the ideal book for helping children to build resilience and embrace a ‘can do’ approach to life.

Tom Percival’s Big Bright Feelings series is the perfect springboard for conversations about mental and emotional health, positive self-image, building self-confidence and managing feelings.

Review

It’s bright, bold and greatly positive for young children. Not every day is going to be just as your children would want it to go, it isn’t possible and Tilda shows not only that, but that they can overcome that bad day and things can become brighter again. Tilda has her friends and toys and all is well with her world, but suddenly nothing feels right and for her, her whole world is turned upside down (literally, in the depiction). The pictures are all terrifically illustrated. They illustrate the narrative perfectly as children can follow both and it is a real attention grabber. The use in dramatic pictures and draining the colour out of the time when she is having a bad day, and bringing it back into full colour, when things get better only further, visually helps with the understanding of how she is feeling, when she is sad and happy. It captures children and their moods and interests very well.

It is positive, entertaining and such a well-written story that children will relate to. What is so good is that Tilda brushes herself down and decides to try again. It also refrains from it being a sob story or self-centred story. It does in a fun way, promote resilience and that there will be a better day. It could also have a positive impact on children in a way that may just make them feel good inside and out and ready to try again, as Tilda does. It promotes the idea of not giving up.

It’s well written for young children, with short sharp sentences, perfect for preschool and reception or primary 1 classes as fun and discussions can come out of this book. Parents/carers etc can also have so much fun reading this to their children and whatsmore is that it is properly positive and can also be used as a bedtime story, or just curling up having a quiet time together.