Month: February 2024

Another week, and another set of brilliant books leave the competition. Has your favourite been evicted this week?

What’s the Story? (Reception to Year 2) – Speak Up! by Nathan Bryon, illustrated by Dapo Adeola

Join the brilliantly passionate and instantly loveable Rocket as she organises a peaceful protest to save her local library!

Bookworm Rocket loves to collect new books on her weekly visit to the library, and to read all about inspirational figures like Rosa Parks. She is heartbroken when she discovers the library will be closing down! Can she use what she’s learnt from Rosa and speak up to save the day?

This empowering, heartwarming picture book is a love letter to libraries and the power of reading. And it shows the incredible power we ALL have when we find our voice and speak up about the things that matter.

Read more Rocket stories from award winning duo Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola – Look Up! andClean Up!

Telling Tales (Year 3 and 4) – Adventuremice: Otter Chaos by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre

The first book in a delightful new series full of friendship and adventure, from adored, award-winning author/illustrator duo Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre.

Meet Pedro. He’s tiny, but while looking for a BIG adventure he is rescued by the ADVENTUREMICE – a brave, determined team who keep all the Mouse Islands safe from harm.

Pedro’s dream is to show he’s heroic enough to join their ranks. And he soon gets the chance to prove himself, when a big scary otter starts causing trouble in the waters nearby…

If this was your favourite, you’ll be delighted to know there are two more books in the series out already!

Hooked On Books (Year 5 and 6) – The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell

The Song Walker is an extraordinary new story of friendship, discovery and courage.

“There are three questions that I need to find the answers to:

Where am I? What am I doing here? And… Who am I?”

When a young girl wakes up in the middle of the desert, she has no idea who she is. She’s wearing one shoe, a silky black dress, and she’s carrying a strange, heavy case.

She meets Tarni, who is on a mysterious quest of her own. Together, the two girls trek across the vast and ever-changing Australian Outback in search of answers. Except both are also hiding secrets…

If you love The Song Walker as much as I do, try Zillah’s other books, like the award winning The Shark Caller. Dive beneath the waves with this spell-binding adventure of friendship, forgiveness and bravery, set on the shores of Papua New Guinea, perfect for fans of Katherine Rundell and Eva Ibbotson.

“I want to be able to call the sharks. Teach me the magic and show me the ways.”

Blue Wing is desperate to become a shark caller, but instead she must befriend infuriating newcomer Maple, who arrives unexpectedly on Blue Wing’s island.

At first, the girls are too angry to share their secrets and become friends. But when the tide breathes the promise of treasure, they must journey together to the bottom of the ocean to brave the deadliest shark of them all…

Happy reading!

Another week sees three more fabulous books leave the competition. Has your favourite survived the second round of evictions?

What’s the Story? (Reception to Year 2) – Dodos Are Not Extinct by Paddy Donnelly

Dodos are extinct, right? WRONG!
They’re not! They’re just in disguise, and they’re not the only ones. This book reveals the secrets of the woolly mammoths, sabre-toothed tigers and even dinosaurs! These famous creatures are in disguise everywhere, so keep your eyes peeled! You never know who might be right under your nose …

From author-illustrator Paddy Donnelly comes a hilarious story that will keep kids giggling and guessing on every page.

If this was your favourite book, try Dogs In Disguise by Peter Bentley, a joyful peek into the crazy antics of all sorts of dogs in disguise! Dressing up in clothing they find at home, these adventurous pooches blend into the crowd at all the places dogs aren’t allowed, like the store, the cinema and the swimming pool! But not all of their disguises go quite to plan, with hilarious results…

From schnauzers in trousers to cosmonaut cockapoos, this jaunty rhyming text from hugely popular, award-winning author, Peter Bently, with brilliantly witty illustrations from John Bond, creator of the Mini Rabbit books, will have children howling with laughter!

Telling Tales (Year 3 and 4) – The Wishkeeper’s Apprentice by Rachel Chivers Khoo

Wanted! A wishkeeper’s apprentice.

When Felix makes a very special wish, he doesn’t expect to be offered a job as an apprentice to wishkeeper Rupus Beewinkle. Now Felix must save the town’s wishes from the wishsnatcher, who wants to destroy hopes and dreams everywhere. Beautiful black-and-white illustrations by Rachel Sanson accompany this magical story.

If this was your favourite, look out for Rachel’s new book, The Magician Next Door, which publishes on 7th March. Late one night a flying house crash-lands in ten-year-old Callie’s garden. It is the home of magician Winnifred and all of her magical artefacts. Winnifred asks for Callie’s help finding her lost Wanderdust – until she realizes it is Callie’s sadness that is causing her malfunctioning magic.

With Winnifred’s most precious magical possessions at risk from malicious pixies and dangerous giants, can Callie and her friend Sam find the Wanderdust in time to save the magician?

Hooked On Books (Year 5 and 6) – The Stories Grandma Forgot by Nadine Aisha Jassat

“Grandma Farida has Alzheimer’s – but I’m going to help her remember a huge secret…”

Twelve-year-old Nyla’s dad died when she was four, or that’s what she’s been told. So when Grandma Farida insists she saw him in the local supermarket, Nyla wonders if Grandma is simply “time travelling” again – the phrase she uses when Grandma forgets.

But Grandma is Nyla’s best friend and when she asks Nyla to find her dad and bring him home, Nyla decides to make a brand new promise to her Grandma: to find him. As Nyla turns detective and sets out on a journey through her family’s past to try and find the truth, she also hopes that uncovering important stories will help her understand who she is, and where she fits in the world…

If you loved this emotional tale told in vers, try The Way Of Dog by Zana Fraillon.

Be strong. Be fierce. Life is more than a concrete floor.

Scruffity is born into a harsh, grey world. What he yearns for most is Family. But no one wants him. Just as his chances of adoption grow thin, Scruffity is set free by a boy as unwanted as he is. He learns how to run, to dig, to howl and, biggest of all, to love. But then tragedy strikes… How does a dog find his way home when he never had one to begin with?

If you don’t want your favourite book to be evicted next week, make sure you keep voting!

Happy reading!

We’ve read, we’ve discussed, and we’ve voted, and now the weekly vote offs have started.

The first books to leave the competition are:

What’s the Story? (Reception to Year 2) – Anansi And The Golden Pot by Taiye Selas

“Allow me to introduce myself.”
But he needed no introduction. “Anansi the spider!” said Anansi the boy. “The tales were true!”
“Traditional tales are always true,” the spider answered, laughing. “Nothing lasts so long as truth, nor travels quite so far.”

Kweku has grown up hearing stories about the mischievous spider Anansi. He is given the nickname Anansi by his father because of his similarly cheeky ways. On a holiday to visit his beloved Grandma in Ghana, Anansi the spider and Anansi the boy meet, and discover a magical pot that can be filled with whatever they want. Anansi fills it again and again with his favourite red-red stew, and eats so much that he feels sick. Will he learn to share this wonderful gift?

This charming retelling of a West African story teaches readers about the dangers of greed, and the importance of being kind. Tinuke Fagborun’s colourful illustrations bring the magic and wonder of the tale to life. When you’ve finished sharing the story, you can also find out more about the origins of Anansi folktales. This beautiful storybook is one that children will treasure forever.

If this was your favourite, look out for other Anansi stories of which there are many to enjoy regardless how old you are.

Telling Tales (Year 3 and 4) – Granny Came Here On The Empire Windrush by Patrice Lawrence

This heart-warming and heartfelt debut picture book from multi-award-winning author, Patrice Lawrence, will help ensure that the struggles and achievements of the Windrush generation are never forgotten.

One day, Ava is asked to dress as an inspirational figure for assembly at school, but who should she choose? Granny suggests famous familiar figures such as Winifred Atwell, Mary Seacole and Rosa Parks, and tells Ava all about their fascinating histories, but Ava’s classmates have got there first – and she must choose someone else. But who?

And then Ava finds a mysterious old suitcase – Granny’s “grip” – and Granny begins to share her own history, and how she came to England on the Empire Windrush many years ago. She tells her story through the precious items that accompanied her on the original voyage, each one evoking a memory of home, and as Ava listens to how Granny built a life for herself in England, determined to stay against the odds and despite overwhelming homesickness, she realises that there is a hero very close to home that she wants to celebrate more than anyone – her very own brave and beloved granny.

If you’d like to find out more about the Windrush Generation, try The Place for Me: Stories About the Windrush Generation, with 12 moving tales of sacrifice and bravery, inspired by first-hand accounts,

Hooked On Books (Year 5 and 6) – Kingdom Over The Sea by Zohra Nabi

My own Yara, if you are reading this, then something terrible has happened, and you are on your own. To return to the city of Zehaira, you must read out the words on the back of this letter . . . Good luck, my brave girl.

When Yara’s mother passes away, she leaves behind a letter and a strange set of instructions. Yara must travel from the home she has always known to a place that is not on any map – Zehaira, a world of sorcerers, alchemists and simmering magic. But Zehaira is not the land it used to be. The practice of magic has been outlawed, the Sultan’s alchemists are plotting a sinister scheme – and the answers Yara is searching for seem to be out of reach.
Yara must summon all of her courage to discover the truth about her mother’s past and her own identity, and to find her place in this magical new world.

If this was your favourite, look out for the second book in the series, The City Beyond The Stars, which will be published in April.

If you don’t want your favourite book to be evicted next week, make sure you keep voting!

Happy reading!