Can't You Sleep Little Bear? - Martin Waddell

Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? by Martin Waddell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

'Little Bear can't sleep. There is dark all around him in the Bear Cave. Not even Big Bear's biggest lantern can light up the darkness of the night outside. But then Big Bear finds the perfect way to reassure Little Bear and help him fall fast asleep...'



I bought this book to use as a topic for my class, to learn about light and dark and narrative.

The children loved this story and so did I, it is about a little bear who cannot go to sleep because he is afraid of the dark. The story is about big bear trying to solve this problem until eventually he falls asleep.

The book is beautifully illustrated and the language is good in the story. I also used this book to introduce the children to questions and how we know what they are and when someone is asking a question. From an educational point of view this book offers a lot.

The book also made the children laugh and they identified the repetition which they enjoyed joining in with. The children were glued to the book as it was being read and were interested in finding out what was going to happen to help little bear fall asleep.

Some children identified with the story as they found the dark scary. This also helped them to see that there is nothing to be frightened of, and reassured them.

I love this book as it is brilliant for combining literacy with the science topic light and dark.

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Correspondence by John Julius Norwich

 The Twelve Days of Christmas: Correspondence. John Julius Norwich by John Julius Norwich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

'A delightful spoof of the old favourite carol ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ which records the daily thank-you letters from one increasingly bemused young lady to her unseen admirer: from initial gracious gratitude for the delightful partridge in the sweet little pear tree through to dismay and distress and a final threatening solicitor’s letter as a bacchanalia of pipers, scantily clad dancers and the full percussion section of the Liverpool Philharmonic create mayhem outside her door. The witty full colour drawings by Quentin Blake are a perfect accompaniment to the irrepressible humour of this sparkling little book. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.'



When I received this copy to review I couldn't wait to share it with my class. They all know the song the 12 days of Christmas and felt they could join in with parts of the book.

They loved the illustrations by the wonderful Quentin Blake, they are familiar with his drawings from reading other stories with his illustrations in.

This is a very funny version of the song and we follow Emily and what she receives from her admirer,in letter versions. The children found it very funny to imagine actually getting the gifts from the song. They were giggling throughout the story and I also found it funny.

I think this is a great little book in the run up to Christmas as a stocking filler or as a gift to yourself. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to have a little chuckle and this should be a firm book on everyone's bookshelf to share around this time of year!

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this copy.

The Illustrated Christmas Cracker - John Julius Norwich

 The Illustrated Christmas Cracker by John Julius Norwich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

'For over forty years, John Julius Norwich has been sending out his Christmas Crackers - a personal collection of quirky quotes and literary odds and ends - to his friends instead of a Christmas card. In The Illustrated Christmas Cracker Quentin Blake has made his own selection of favourite pieces and has illustrated them in his own trademark style. From curious dictionary definitions ('Carphology. Delirious fumbling with the bedclothes,' Concise Oxford Dictionary) and tortuous palindromes ('Live dirt up a side-track carted is a putrid evil') to eighteenth-century accounts of drunken pigs and Benjamin Franklin's account of inventing bifocals, this cracker is stuffed with surprising, offbeat, often hilarious gems. Enlivened by Quentin Blake's witty illustrations, this book is the perfect stocking-filler for the discerning customer.'



When I was sent this book from the publisher I was excited about sharing it with my class of children, this however I found was not possible. The text is way too advanced for them and they didn't understand it, also some of the text was not suitable for them.

This is a book that have been compiled of John Norwich's 'Christmas Crackers' he sends to his family and friends at Christmas time, instead of a Christmas card. The book is made up of poetry and prose that he has found amusing.

The illustrations in the book are wonderful, to be honest I expected nothing less from Quentin Blake! They are humorous and fit well with the text.

Some of the quotes I found very funny and others not so, I do feel though that my expectations of the book did not follow with what I actually got. I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to share it with my class as it quickly became apparent this was an adults book.

This is a nice 'coffee table' book as it can be flicked through and you can get a snip of enjoyment from it.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this copy.

Christmas at Rosie Hopkin's Sweetshop - Jenny Colgan

Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop by Jenny Colgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

'Rosie Hopkins is looking forward to Christmas in the little Derbyshire village of Lipton buried under a thick blanket of snow. Her sweetshop is festooned with striped candy canes large tempting piles of Turkish Delight crinkling selection boxes and happy sticky children. She's going to be spending it with her boyfriend Stephen and her family flying in from Australia. She can't wait. 

But when a tragedy strikes at the heart of their little community all of Rosie's plans for the future seem to be blown apart. Can she build a life in Lipton? And is what's best for the sweetshop also what's best for Rosie? 


Treat yourself and your sweet-toothed friends to Jenny Colgan's heart-warming new novel. The irresistibly delicious recipes are guaranteed to get you into the festive spirit and will warm up your Christmas celebrations.'




This was the first book I have read by Jenny Colgan, but had heard great things about her and really was keen to read her festive book.

I love the cover of the book, it is so Christmasy and really puts you in the festive mood. I also love the recipes at the back of the book, this is a nice edition to a holiday read.

To be honest I found it difficult to get into the book, I felt really down about this as I was looking forward to it so much. I have come up with one reason why I found it so hard and this is because I have not read Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop. It does state that this is a stand alone book as well as a sequel, however I think it helps if you have read the story before as you will get background info on the characters, this is something that I felt was lacking in this book. But if you have read the first one, you wouldn't want background info again.

Once into the story I began to get some connection with the characters and really enjoyed the story. This is a story about Lucy, she owns a sweet shop in the village of Lipton, Derbyshire. She is living happily with her boyfriend Stephen who is a primary school teacher at the village school. One day a tragedy hits the village, which could potentially cause the sweet shop to close. The story sees Rosie trying to save the village, one she is not originally from, however she now feels part of. You find yourself crossing everything you have that Rosie and the villagers will be able to save their village.

Meanwhile Rosie's family spring on her that they will be over from Australia to see her this Christmas. Rosie is thrilled, however not so thrilled at the prospect of telling Stephen, he has a lot on at the moment and their relationship is not the best that it has been. All the while when her family are in Lipton, Rosie is considering a move to Australia back with her family, this seems like the best option and could be great for her.

I found Jenny Colgan's writing well rounded, there were times in the book where I was laughing and other times I actually felt quite sad. I feel this is a strength that Jenny has and is very skilled at creating many emotions in her book.

I would recommend anyone who wants to read this book to read Sweet shop of Dreams first as I think you may have a better connection with the characters from early on. This is something I wish I had done.

Since reading this book, I have bought other books by Jenny Colgan. I did enjoy this book and think that it is a nice Christmas read, the ending is just perfect. 

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this copy to review.

A Cinderella Christmas - Holly Kingston

A CINDERELLA CHRISTMAS BY HOLLY KINGSTON

(Publishing 19th November 2013: Novelicious Books)

Lucy Tilley dreams of a career in show business. But this isn’t quite what she had in mind …

This year’s Cinderella pantomime is the hottest production in town. What’s more, Lucy is starring alongside Ryan Aspall: famous TV actor, sex symbol and potential love of her entire life. One teeny problem – Lucy is tripping the light fantastic as … the back end of the comedy cow. Surely nothing kills a flirty moment quite like wearing a massive set of udders? At least she has the support of glamorous (if potentially flammable) Charmaine; a reality star diva of a Cinderella, who Lucy is completely fascinated by. But behind the fame and beauty, Charmaine is not all she seems. With more drama off the stage than on it, and everyone wanting to be star of the show, will Lucy find the confidence to make it out of the cow suit and into the spotlight this Christmas?

My 5* Review:

This is a fab debut novella from Holly, and it really is fab! I was sent the copy late on Friday night, but only realised I had it on Saturday morning. I sat in bed and began to read. It came apparent very quickly that this would be a book that I would not be putting down. And within a few hours I had finished it. It is just such a brilliant Christmas novella, it had me laughing out loud and routing for characters. I feel so honored I was among the select few to read this before publication day. 

This story is based on Lucy, she is an aspiring actress, however she has never had a lead role, this is down to her lack of confidence. She is in Cinderella this year with some really famous people. Charmaine plays Cinderella and is currently the celebrity in vogue. When Lucy begins spending time with her she feels she has died and gone to heaven. She ends up being her unofficial PA and Lucy feels this is a real honor to be asked. Lucy has a crush on the lead male role, Ryan. Lucy is hoping that the more time they spend together he also will realise that he loves her. There is a slight problem though, that is Lucy is the back end of a cow...

This is a brilliant Christmas novella, Lucy is likable and I felt I could connect to her straight away. The story is funny and the pace is good. I began to develop hate for Charmaine and wanted her to get her comeuppance. Holly has written this novella very well, there is so much happening in it, it's hard to believe that it is so short. It feels like a novel to read and it also is not rushed at the end, this is something I feel that does happen in novellas. Holly ties things up nicely and the story is very smooth. I was only disappointed to come to the end. 

I am glad I have had the opportunity to read something by Holly and she is going to be an author to watch. Her writing is brilliant and she connects to her audience well. This novella has really got me in the mood for Christmas, and I now desperately want to go and see a pantomime this year. 

This is one to read to get you into the Christmas mood, I recommend everyone to read it!

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this review copy.

ABOUT HOLLY KINGSTON:

Holly started her life as a child. When she grew substantially taller and learnt how to read, she decided that she’d jolly well like to write books. Whilst at college, Holly had a slight change in her career focus and decided to become a marine biologist. On discovering that she sucked at science and that her future job was unlikely to involve monitoring anything larger than sea plankton, Holly went back to the drawing board and got a Bsc in Psychology instead. She studied with Script writing North and wrote her first film, along with a number of shorts and a sitcom pilot. After several years of writing, rewriting, and hiding stuff for posterity on her hard drive, she sent her first novel to The Marsh Agency where she is now represented by Hannah Ferguson. She is currently working on her second full length novel and wondering how to lose the weight she’s put on whilst writing her last book. Her first book, A Cinderella Christmas, is out this November.

Fortunately, the Milk - Neil Gaiman

Fortunately, the Milk . . . by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

'You know what it’s like when your mum goes away on a business trip and Dad’s in charge. She leaves a really, really long list of what he’s got to do. And the most important thing is DON’T FORGET TO GET THE MILK. Unfortunately, Dad forgets. So the next morning, before breakfast, he has to go to the corner shop, and this is the story of why it takes him a very, very long time to get back.


Featuring: Professor Steg (a time-travelling dinosaur), some green globby things, the Queen of the Pirates, the famed jewel that is the Eye of Splod, some wumpires, and a perfectly normal but very important carton of milk.'





I won this as part of the Goodreads, first reads.

I entered this giveaway as I am always on the look out to expose my class of children to new books and authors.

The book itself is a chapter type book and we shared it together as a class over a period of days at the end of the day. The children first commented on the fact that the pictures were black and white, this was something they were not expecting as most books they are exposed to have colour images. Once explained that they could pretend and make up the colours in their head they seemed happy.

The story is about dad, getting the children ready for school but they run out of milk for their breakfast. Dad offers to go to the shop to get them some. The story is about dad's journey to get milk and all the encounters he has.

This story was read to a class of 5 year olds and I must say some of the language they found hard to understand, and for this reason I would read it to older children in the future.

The children did enjoy the adventure he went on and could recall parts of the story, aliens, dinosaurs, vampires etc. They didn't get the story until right at the end.

Their favourite part was in the middle, where there is a wonderful surprise that kept their interest.

I would like to thank Goodreads for sending me this copy and although I thought the book was a little old for the audience, they enjoyed it.

Conditional Love - Cathy Bramley

Conditional Love by Cathy Bramley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

'Meet Sophie Stone, a thirty-something serial procrastinator. Tesco knickers, Take That and tea with two sugars is about as exciting as it gets. Sophie’s life is safe and predictable, which is just the way she likes it, thank you very much. 
But when her boyfriend dumps her on Valentine’s Day and a mysterious benefactor leaves her an inheritance, even Sophie has to accept that change is afoot. There is a catch: in order to inherit, Sophie must agree to meet the father she has never seen. 
Not a fan of surprises, Sophie would rather not; why not let sleeping dads lie? Besides, her mother would kill her. 
With interference from an evil boss, bickering flat mates, warring parents and a sexy ex-boyfriend, Sophie has plenty to contend with without an architect who puts his foot in it every time he opens his mouth. 

But it soon becomes clear that she will have to face the past and learn some uncomfortable home truths before she can finally build a future on her own terms.'





When I got the opportunity to read Cathy Bramley's debut novel I couldn't wait, it sounded just like something I would like to read.

So much happens in the story and it is nicely written, warm believable characters with any easy pace to the novel. The main character Sophie Stone is funny and easy to identify with, she is moving along with her relatively unremarkable life living with her two flat mates who are sisters when an unexpected letter from a solicitor has the potential to change her life forever.

Through events that happen we meet Nick the architect and I liked how his character brings an element of mystery to the storyline. It had some laugh out aloud moments especially Sophie 's boardroom debut.

All in all a good light read, somewhat predictable in its ending but overall an enjoyable summer by the beach read. I would give this a rating of four stars, worth reading and would be good to have a sequel as I feel the lack of the epilogue would have helped to tell me what happens next.

I would like to thank Cathy for sending me a copy of her great book to read, I am only sorry it took me so long to get round to read it!