WHEE TO THE MOON BY ARRON CHARMAN

Neil is a young boy who likes to scream “whee!” with excitement when he’s at the playground. Neil develops a love of flying. As he gets older, he learns how to fly aircraft that will take him on many different adventures. Even though he is now a grown up, Neil still excitedly screams “whee!” as he gets to fly all the way to the Moon!

Monty and the Ocean Rescue - A plastic disaster

Monty, Cookie and the spangles are back at the beach for the fifth book in this series of childrens books.

When Cookie sees a splash in the water her newfoundland instinct to rescue takes over and she immediately heads out to help. When she returns the dogs get a huge surprise as they hear a desperate plea.

What follows is an adventure that could turn out to be their biggest and most difficult so far.

This is a gentle introduction for children about the issues of plastic pollution in our oceans and even features Sir David Attenborough.

Links to purchase

Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1913071138/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_3KeXCbN7NYT1S

Signed and pawtagraphed copies are available worldwide via the website https://www.montydogge.com/bookstore

The book is also available via most online bookstores.


Review:

This is a wonderful picture book for children to learn the importance of looking after the environment. 

There is good rhythm in the text, it flows well and rhymes, which keeps the childs interest.

The story is about Monty a dog and his friends, who go on a mission to help save the animals in the sea, along the way, they meet many other animals who needs their help. When they save them they join the journey to help the others. 

Looking after the seas is such an important topic at the moment and this book really helps to educate children into putting their rubbish in the bin and using less plastic as it shows the effects it has on the animals in the sea. 

I really enjoyed reading this picture book and when my little one arrives very very soon, this will be a book I will like to share with him. 

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Author Bio

MT Sanders

MT Sanders is a writer, blogger and author of the children's book Monty and the Ocean Rescue.

An accidental career began after he took early retirement and began writing stories on social media about his five dogs. Life according to Monty Dogge soon attracted a huge following and led to invites to blog live from Crufts and other high-profile events.

In 2017 and 2018 Vuelio placed it in the top ten UK pet blogs and the still growing readership encouraged MT to write a book. I’m not a Pandacow was the debut children’s book released in 2017 and this has been quickly followed by four more to date.

MT and Monty spend the major part of their time touring schools across the country bringing the tales to life as children get to meet the star of the books.

The latest book is a real passion project for the author who is a huge supporter of conservation projects and a champion for animal welfare. It goes without saying that MT was delighted to receive a handwritten message of good luck from no other than Sir David Attenborough who features in the book.

Social media links

Life according to Monty Dogge and the Books of Monty Dogge on Facebook @montydogge on Twitter @monty_dogge on Instagram

We Won an Island by Charlotte Lo

We Won an Island by Charlotte Lo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Luna's family win an island, Luna thinks it will solve everything AND she can finally get a donkey! But things don't go entirely to plan - no one expects Luna's younger brother to win a Sheep Pageant, for example - and the secret festival they hold soon spirals out of control. But the island is beautiful, and the family are happy, and maybe Luna will get her donkey after all...


Luna and her family are facing eviction, they have not had an easy life and her dad is rather depressed. They decide to enter a competition on the radio to win an island, run by a billionaire who owns it, this would mean they would be able to relocate and have a home.

This story takes us through the ups and downs of moving to a new place, knowing no one and having to deal with the hand they have been given.

You can't help but fall in love with Luna, she is optimistic about everything and tries to always see the good in all situations.

This is a fun quick story, one that children will enjoy, it was engaging and fun throughout. I would recommend this to any child who loves an adventure and is on the lookout for something new.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

My Encyclopedia of Very Important Animals by DK Publishing

My Encyclopedia of Very Important Animals by DK Publishing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For little animal lovers who want to know everything. From birds and frogs to sharks and dogs, this book is perfect for the curious little animal lover in your life.

Mixing photography and charming illustration, kids will discover important facts about the wonderful world of animals - from what they eat and where they live, to why people are animals too.

My Encyclopedia of Very Important Animals is a friendly book that gets children learning, reading, and laughing!

This is a very beautiful book, it is slightly padded front and back, it is A4 in size and has high quality paper and ink.

This is very easy to follow and understand, perfect for when children want to research on their own. I was impressed with the variety of animals in this book, not all you would think of straight away.

Each page has many interesting facts on it, it is perfect for children to read alone but also a book you could share. This is a brilliant book for helping children understand non - fiction as the features are very clear for them to be able to use independently. This is also the type of book children would enjoy reading just before bed.

Taking this into school, my class got a lot of use and enjoyment out of it, it also helped to enhance their learning and made them realise that non fiction books can also be fun.

This is a book that I would recommend to children as there is so much they can learn from it, it would also keep them entertained for hours.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Dark to Light by Isabella Murphy blog tour

From Dark to Light by Isabella Murphy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Pumpker, a little boy pumpkin, desires nothing more than to be adopted by a family to make them happy. Planted as a slim white seed along with his sisters, Plumpalicious and Plumpilina, he finds his wish come true as he grows into a pumpkin.
This is a very sweet story about a pumpkin seed, who wishes he could be out in the light. Being planted alongside his two sisters, he is the outcast of the family, they think he is weird and tend to not include him. Pumpker is bought to life with his personality and you can feel the excitement he has for growing and wanting to belong to a family.

I thought it was a very interesting book and the personification of the pumpkins worked well, you also felt empathy with Pumpker as you read the book. I also loved that no matter how his sisters treated him, he was so glad that they were going to the same family, so he would still be with them, this really shows sibling love.

It was an enjoyable book with great illustrations, younger children may struggle to read this independently but it would be a great book to share around halloween time. I also couldn't believe it was written by a child, she is very talented!

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Sky Private Eye and the Case of the Missing Grandma: A Fairytale Mystery Starring Little Red Riding Hood by Jane Clarke

Sky Private Eye and the Case of the Missing Grandma: A Fairytale Mystery Starring Little Red Riding Hood by Jane Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A Fairytale Mystery starring Little Red Riding Hood, Grandma, the Wolf and Sky Private Eye.

Little Red Riding Hood is bereft - Grandma has gone missing! The Big Bad Wolf has left telltale hairs at Granny's house... Has the Big Bad Wolf gobbled her up, or did he follow her on her beach side holiday, waiting to fatten her up?

Sky Private Eye with her bag of detective tricks and Just-in-time cupcake recipes is sure to solve the mystery in no time at all.


This is a completely different take on Little Red Riding hood. Those who know the story well will enjoy this version of the story. It would be key that children have some knowledge of the story before they read this one as this is loosely based on the story but is almost more of a follow on.

I read this story to the whole of Key Stage 1 and Early Years during an assembly. All 300 ish children were engaged and were eager to see what was going to happen next. Although they knew the characters from the original tale, they were completely surprised with this 'adaptation'.

In this story we have a more modern twist to it, Little Red Riding Hood is worried about Grandma, she isn't in her house and she has a feeling the Big Bad Wolf would have got her, she decides to call Skye Private Eye and allow her to investigate where grandma has gone. When she turns up to quickly discovers that Grandma hasn't been eaten but has gone on holiday! Suspecting the worse as they discover clues they go in search for grandma.

Although miles away from the original story, this was enjoyable and the children were intrigued and wanted to find out what was going to happen. A lovely touch at the end of the story was the recipe in case you want to make the cupcakes which are mentioned in the story.

Although this is not going to take over from the original story of Little Red Riding Hood, this is a nice alternative that children enjoy. The illustrations are great and very colourful. I would be interested in reading others in the series to children.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

The adventures of the owl and the pussycat by Carol Rumble

Summary:
The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea, in a box on the living room floor. They sailed away for a year and a day and these are the things that they saw... Join two curious children on a quirky adventure, loosely based on the classic Edward Lear poem, The Owl and the Pussycat

​.​

Review:

This is a great book for younger children, we go on a journey with the owl and the pussycat. This is explored through verse accompanied with beautiful illustrations. This is a story that has been adapted from the original version but should be one everyone shares with their child.

This is a book I would recommend to others to share with their children as they will get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Information about the Book


Title: The Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat

Author: Coral Rumble

Illustrator: Charlotte Cooke

Release Date: 4th April 2017

Genre: Picture Book

Publisher: Wacky Bee Books

Format: Paperback 

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35051621-the-adventures-of-the-owl-and-the-pussycat
 Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adventure-Pussycat-Picture-Story-Book/dp/1472319885



Author Information

I have worked as a poet and performer for many years and I’m proud to have my work featured in Favourite Poets (Hodder). I have three published poetry collections of my own and have contributed to more than 150 anthologies. I am also one of the writers of the popular Cbeebies programmes ‘Poetry Pie’ and ‘The Rhyme Rocket’. I have given workshops in some fairly unusual venues as well…the grandest of which being Buckingham Palace!

Website: http://www.coralrumble.co.uk/

Ballerina Dreams by Michaela DePrince

Ballerina Dreams by Michaela DePrince
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


One windy day, a magazine blew down the road. I reached out and caught it. A pretty picture of a woman was on the front cover of the magazine. She wore a short pink dress that stuck out around her in a circle. She looked very happy.

At the age of three, Michaela DePrince found a photo of a ballerina that changed her life. She was living in an orphanage in Sierra Leone at the time, but was soon adopted by a family and brought to America. Michaela never forgot the photo of the dancer she once saw, and decided to make her dream of becoming a ballerina come true. She has been dancing ever since, and after a spell as a principal dancer in New York, now dances for the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam.

Beautifully and gently illustrated by Ella Okstad, Ballerina Dreams is the younger-reader edition of Michaela DePrince's highly moving memoir, Hope in a Ballet Shoe.


This is a nicely illustrated book, perfect for anyone who has a dream, however big or small and it identifies that it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from. You ambition and dreams can come true with a bit of determination and faith.

Reading this as an adult I feel gives a totally different opinion of the story and perhaps some of these thoughts and feelings may not be obvious to children. I think this would be an enjoyable book for adults and children alike.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Forest Life and Woodland Creatures by DK Publishing

Forest Life and Woodland Creatures by DK Publishing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Practical Facts Forest Life and Friendly Woodland Creatures introduces children to life in the forest through fun, educational activities.

Meet cheeping birds, winter wonders, brave bears and all their other forest friends in this fact-filled pre-school activity book. Children can learn how to make a bird feeder and create bear masks, all while learning about forest friends.

Perfect for supporting your little ones' development, Practical Facts Forest Life and Friendly Woodland Creatures engages young, curious minds with fun projects and facts.

This is a beautifully presented non- fiction book, it has been made with thick good quality pages, which have high ink and a protective hardback cover.

This is full of interesting facts about the forest and different creature found there. I particularly love the life cycle of the seed to tree page. This is an excellent educational resource and I love the 5 activities in the book. These are all beautifully presented and have instructions for children to read. These all do come with an advisory that an adult needs to be present when completing the activity.

The book is clear and easy to follow, which allow more confident readers to discover the facts for themselves. The book is made up of a mixture of illustrations and high quality photographs.

This is a great resource for schools or personal use if you have a small child. They would be able to learn a lot and having the added benefit of the activities may encourage those more reluctant readers to want to read this.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Annabelle has lived in Wolf Hollow all her life: a quiet place, still scarred by two world wars. But when cruel, manipulative Betty arrives in town, Annabelle's calm world is shattered, along with everything she's ever known about right and wrong.

When Betty disappears, suspicion falls on strange, gentle loner Toby. As Wolf Hollow turns against him, and tensions quickly mount, Annabelle must do everything in her power to protect Toby - and to find Betty, before it is too late.

Powerful, poignant and lyrical, Wolf Hollow is an unforgettable story.

I think this would be more suited to adult readers maybe to read with children as I'm sure the trauma of war on a veteran would need explaining. Well written it's set during WW11 and covers a period of awakening for Annabelle when her idyllic life and friendship with Toby the war veteran is tested by a rather nasty bully (Betty) who moves into Wolf Hollow.

Once Betty arrives in town she makes her presence known and quickly establishes herself as the school bully with Annabelle her main target. When Betty bullies Annabelle outside school Toby sees what is going on and warns her off. Betty then targets Toby and accuses him of a terrible crime. Toby is mistrusted because he is a loner and chooses to live in the woods hardly ever having contact with anyone but Annabelle knows he wouldn't have done what he is accused of and makes it her mission to find out the truth.

We don't get to understand why Betty behaves the way she does and I felt that this should have been covered, similarly with the character of Toby. Of course like all bullies Betty does pay a high price for her bullying and sadly the ending was bittersweet.

I liked Annabelle and how she changed over the course of the book having to grow up, face her fears and make choices that she knew were right.

If Lauren Wolk had just given more depth to the characters with some understanding of why they behaved the way they did I feel I could have given this a 4.5 star but without these 'missing' pieces of the puzzle I felt 3.5 was the best I could give it. It has been rounded up for Goodreads and Amazon.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Dr Hedgehog and the Post Box Rescue by Jerry Mushin

Dr Hedgehog and the Post Box Rescue by Jerry Mushin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Dr Hedgehog picture book series is intended to be read aloud to young children. Both the readers and the listeners will enjoy the stories. There are common characters, but each story can be read independently of the others. In most of the stories, Martin Mouse finds himself in awkward situations but Dr Hedgehog, usually with the help of other animals, is always able to assist. Children will recognise their mothers in Mavis Mouse, who worries about her son and is always greatly relieved when he arrives home safely. In this story, Mavis Mouse cannot find her son. Martin Mouse has fallen into a post-box and cannot climb out. How does Dr Hedgehog get him out?

I had never heard of 'Dr Hedgehog' before, I knew my class would enjoy it, as they always love a picture book so was pleased when this was sent to me for review.

Well, this book I thought was O.K, personally I am not keen on the illustrations or the plot, this was something that my class identified too. Dr Hedgehog should be giving animals medicine or making them better, however in this story he is on a mission to get a mouse out of a post box.

It was quite a sweet and short story that would be good for younger readers to attempt on their own. The text is relatively large and although a few tricky words, that they children probably wouldn't understand there is a lot they could access. The tricky words provide a discussion between the adult and the child which is nice.

I would recommend this to younger children, I read it to 6 and 7 year olds and although it did keep their attention I feel it would be better suited to 4 or 5 year olds.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Erica's Elephant blog tour, review and guest post

Blurb:

When Erica Perkins wakes up on the morning of her tenth birthday, the last thing she expects is to find a very confused elephant sitting on her doorstep. So begins an unlikely friendship. But can a small girl and a rather large elephant learn to live together in a tiny terraced house? And when the dastardly owner of the local zoo plots to steal the elephant, will Erica be able to outsmart him?

Information about the Book

Title: Erica’s Elephant

Author: Sylvia Bishop

Release Date: 2nd June 2016

Age Range: 6-8 year olds

Genre: MG Magical Realism

Publisher: Scholastic

Format: Hardback

Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29543381-erica-s-elephant

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ericas-Elephant-Sylvia-Bishop/dp/1407159682/

Author Information

Sylvia Bishop is 23 years old and has recently graduated from Oxford. She is one half of the brilliant improvised comedy duo Peablossom Cabaret (www.peablossomcabaret.com). ERICA’S ELEPHANT is her first book, and she intends it to be the first of many quirky stories for young readers.

Website: http://sylviabishopbooks.weebly.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sylviabishop

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sylvialining/



Review:

Erica's Elephant by Sylvia Bishop
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I was contacted in regarding reading and reviewing Erica's Elephant I jumped at the chance, after reading the blurb I knew this would be something my class would love and I would also enjoy reading to them. I wasn't wrong.

This is about a 10 year old girl called Erica, who one morning wakes up to find an elephant on her doorstep. Erica decides to take the elephant in and look after it, she has been living on her own since her Uncle went travelling around the world and left her some money. It's not long until Erica realises that keeping an elephant is going to be costly and she only has around £30 left and there is no sign her Uncle will be returning. Through a little thought Erica comes up with the perfect solution to make them some money and keep the elephant with her. That is until someone decides they want the elephant for themselves and seems they will stop at nothing until they get it.

The book has the perfect amount of challenging vocabulary in it for the children who it is aimed at could read independently. As a teacher sharing it with a class it provided some great discussion, the children really loved this book, whenever we had a spare 10 minutes the asked if we could continue reading Erica's Elephant. The illustrations are lovely too and the chapters are relatively short, which is brilliant for beginning readers.

I thought this was a great debut novel for children and the reaction from the children I read it to was a picture, they all really enjoyed it, it left them talking about it for days after. I would be keen to read other books to the children by Sylvia Bishop and I hope there are more to come.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.



Guest Post:

Bookish Inspirations



It is difficult to know where to start listing the books that have inspired me. They have all tangled up into one big world-of-books jungle in my head, and when I go exploring it, I lose track of which bits came from where. But with apologies to the hundreds of omissions, here are a few that stand out as being especially relevant to the stories I like to write:



(1) Diana Wynne Jones: Literally everything she ever wrote. This inspired me to read voraciously as a child – the kind of reading where you stay in bed all morning and consume the whole book in one go, or read it in the car even though you’re feeling really sick, or read it on school trips even though your friends get miffed. That kind of reading. I think she fills a really important cross-over territory, where books still need to be manageably short, but exciting.



(2) Frances Hodgson-Burnett - A Little Princess: I would put the Secret Garden here too, but I didn’t read it until adult life, so I think it was less formative. Frances Hodgson Burnett’s books suggest that the world is best understood as hopeful and earnest and in need of kindness, which gives her story-telling this sort-of glowing warmth. I would above all love to write things that capture that spirit.



(3) My dad’s stories. Is this cheating? They aren’t written down. But they were wonderfully witty, and taught me early on that story-telling is something we all do, and not just the sacred preserve of mysterious Authors.



(4) E B White - Charlotte’s Webb: I remember gobbling that up in one day in a caravan one summer. It’s the first book I remember reading that challenged me with an ambivalent ending, and suggested that the world wasn’t just divided into happy and sad.



(5) A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh: the most perfect and wonderful humour ever, ever, ever. I don’t have a favourite bit, but I was recently admiring this passage, so I’ll end by quoting at length. Because why not end with Winnie-the-Pooh, if you can?



They had come to a stream which twisted and tumbled between high rocky banks, and Christopher Robin saw at once how dangerous it was.



"It's just the place," he explained, "for an Ambush."



"What sort of bush?" whispered Pooh to Piglet. "A gorse-bush?"



"My dear Pooh," said Owl in his superior way, "don't you know what an Ambush is?"



"Owl," said Piglet, looking round at him severely, "Pooh's whisper was a perfectly private whisper, and there was no need----"



"An Ambush," said Owl, "is a sort of Surprise."



"So is a gorse-bush sometimes," said Pooh.



"An Ambush, as I was about to explain to Pooh," said Piglet, "is a sort of Surprise."



"If people jump out at you suddenly, that's an Ambush," said Owl.



"It's an Ambush, Pooh, when people jump at you suddenly," explained Piglet.



Pooh, who now knew what an Ambush was, said that a gorse-bush had sprung at him suddenly one day when he fell off a tree, and he had taken six days to get all the prickles out of himself.



"We are not talking about gorse-bushes," said Owl a little crossly.





"I am," said Pooh.