A lovely lyrical story combined with stunning atmospheric illustrations which explores themes of discovering nature in all environments even built up city areas. The child in the story moves from the countryside to the city and is saddened by the grey buildings and rainy streets. Her spirit continues to sink as she believes she has lost her connection with nature, but then a bird calls to her from the sky and leads her through the city streets to the river where she discovers natural sights that take her breath away.

Reviewed by Zeena Ark on 8th May 2025

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This fascinating and diverse book collects a range of lesser-known stories of heroism from the Second World War. Ranging from medics to spies to soldiers, the stories are thrillingly told and supported by plenty of contextual information. Ideal for supporting study and demonstrating the truly global nature of the conflict, the book also works as an enjoyable leisure read full of tales of bravery and courage. 

Reviewed by Katie Merrick on 7th May 2025

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A joyful collection of life affirming stories with plenty of activities to inspire readers.  The contributors are varied and they give fascinating overviews of things that they love.  It's a great browser that's full of surprises and shows the breadth of passions that are out there to be had, whether it's watching old films, creating comics or learning new swimming techniques.  The illustrations are bright and appealing and the layout is pleasing.  This is a book to be savoured in special moments to revive spirits and learn something new.  A great addition to collections.

Reviewed by Emma McElwee on 1st May 2025

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A lovely story about making the walk home from school imaginative and exciting.  The children really just want to get home quickly, but then Uncle Jerome unexpectedly picks them up and persuades them to walk the long way home.  Uncle Jerome is fabulous and motivating, the kind of uncle that every child wishes for.  He understands how to pique the interest of a child and help them to open their eyes to the world around them, and then open their eyes wider to see the potential for magic and games.  The illustrations and bold and colourful and it's a perfect book for sharing.  This is the walk home we all must try to recapture to brighten our days! 

Reviewed by Emma McElwee on 29th April 2025

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This boldly illustrated book may appeal to those children who like something a little different and collect strange and wonderful things themselves. The interactive elements will amuse some readers and encourage them to be proud of their collections. 

Reviewed by Dawn Franklin on 24th April 2025

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Eye-catching illustrations with a lovely colour pallet and a sweet tale of overcoming fears make this an ideal book to share with little ones and especially good for school discussions around values. Izzy is a very sweet and relatable character who overcomes her very real fears by helping others. A very cosy book to share.

Reviewed by Lucy McConnell on 15th April 2025

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Following her parents' divorce, teenager Maaryah has to leave her lavish lifestyle behind in Dubai and start a new life in Essex. She experiences a whole new exciting world of house parties and boys but also encounters racism and the isolating reality of being the only hijabi in a massive school.

This has a good plot with an engaging main character, whose authentic voice comes through strongly, and her struggles will be relatable to many young people. This could work well for discussion in teen book groups although it's quite long. Definitely worth having a copy

Reviewed by Natalie Wise on 15th April 2025

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A simple heartfelt poem with beautiful and expressive illustrations.  A wonderful read and perfect for sharing to inspire an appreciation of nature and trees and the important things in life.  It's a powerful and enjoyable book and would fit well in picture book, poetry or nature collections.  A great addition to library shelves.

Reviewed by Emma McElwee on 10th April 2025

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A fun filled story that will have children guessing what or who will appear next! A good lesson for Nana and Gramps to learn too!  Sometimes we are all just too involved in the little things in life and miss the bigger picture! The colourful and bold illustrations add charm to this story. Worth including in picture book collections.

Reviewed by Dawn Franklin on 9th April 2025

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A wonderful picture book with fabulous illustrations and hilarious text!  It gives the impression of being a non-fiction title until it reaches the fish!  The writer clearly has a grudge against fish and at the end of the book, the reader understands why!  It's vibrant and enjoyable and great for sharing.  The pages are bright and full of humour.  A perfect story to bring a smile to the grumpiest of faces.  A great read!

Reviewed by Emma McElwee on 2nd April 2025

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A lovely book with wonderful illustrations and lots of information about animals and their nests and dens.  It's written like a picture book and takes the reader on a memorable journey, discovering who lives in a hive, a tunnel and lots of other interesting places.  The animals talk in first person about their homes and the eye-catching illustrations bring them all to life.  It's memorable and enjoyable, a real treat to share and great to capture the imaginations of children.

Reviewed by Emma McElwee on 26th March 2025

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A funny, bright and colourful graphic that's perfect for younger children.  The characters are suitably silly and the plot is amusing: there is a mystery to solve when the wobbly rainbow announces a surprise behind the uncertain curtain!  The reader knows that everyone is going to press the button that they are not supposed to press!  It's lovely stuff for this age group and makes the reader laugh out loud.  Let's all gaze at the clouds of joy and eat fruit strings!  

Reviewed by Emma McElwee on 26th March 2025

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A delightful and unpredictable comedy that touches on the familiar frustrations of work obsessed parents, summer holiday ennui, grown-ups not listening, and the classic childhood experience of buying a broken robot from a mad scientist at a car boot sale and accidentally bringing it to life by feeding it coffee. A giddy, engaging read that's sure to please.

Reviewed by Lucy Forrester on 24th March 2025

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A more hopeful and uplifting tone in this new title from Anthony McGowan in contrast to some of his previous books such as Lark. Kyle has to stay with his slightly odd grandad one afternoon, and is introduced to the beck - the stream - near his house. It had been polluted and ugly, but was now thriving and as Kyle learns more about the wildlife in the beck, and his relationship with his grandad blossoms, he finds a new love and appreciation for the natural world.

There are some great flashes of humour - look out for grandad's Elvis impersonator wig! Friendships are made, relationships forged and made stronger, and when the beck is threatened by a potential new warehouse development, Kyle finds inner strength to stand up for what he believes is right. It's a quick read, but there's a lot of depth and the potential for discussion and thoughtful book chat is high, which would make is an ideal class read. Very good.

Reviewed by Lucy McConnell on 21st March 2025

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A sweet and funny read and the growing friendship between the girl and the monster is a delight. Accompanied by gorgeous illustrations, with lots of details to look at - and the choice of paper for the monster is a funny touch! With letters flying back and forth between the two this would also be good for literacy. A great book for any library

Reviewed by Natalie Wise on 19th March 2025

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