|summary=Ever since reading ''The Enchanted Wood'' as I child, I always enjoyed stories about children who had the freedom to explore the world and go off finding adventures, unencumbered by the protective restrictions that most children face. Fantasy indeed, but this kind of world without limits often produces the most imaginative and memorable childhood tales.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857560344</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Terry Deary
|title=Rotten Romans (Horrible Histories)
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=
'History with all the nasty bits left in' is the catch phrase for Terry Deary's Horrible Histories series. Deary hasn't just left the nasty bits in, he has built a whole series around them. His stories are gruesome, revolting, vile and disgusting at times. That is precisely why the children love them. But underneath all of the nasty bits, there is quite a lot of history as well. Rotten Romans covers an area of history I am fairly well versed in. Even so, I learned a few things myself. At ages 4 and 8, my sons certainly learned a lot more. This book is equally enjoyable for young children with no prior knowledge of Roman history - or an adult who has actively studied this period.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1407135775</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Mollie Moran
|title=Aprons and Silver Spoons
|rating=5
|genre=Autobiography
|summary=At the tender age of 14, young Mollie Browne was forced to put her idyllic childhood behind her and embark on the world of work. Rebellious and strong-willed, young Mollie had no intentions of working in her grandmother’s shop as her parents had planned and sought to escape her small-town life in rural Norfolk. Fortunately for Mollie, a position was available for a scullery maid in a townhouse in Kensington. Would this free spirit manage to make the transition from carefree days climbing trees to working 15 hour sessions of repetitive, back-breaking toil?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0718159993</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Simon Mayo
|title=Itch Rocks
|rating=4
|genre=Teens
|summary=Itchingham Lofte, we are told, is the most protected boy in the world. While I hadn't read the [[Itch by Simon Mayo|first book]] about him, we are snappily and easily informed that he has previously been involved in an adventure regarding a very rare chemical – element 126 – and the various people that would control it. While it's obvious to all those in his Cornish village and at his school that something major happened, due to him disappearing for a couple of months of specialised medical care, and returning with an MI5 armed guard constantly at watch over him and his family, only those few people (mum, dad, sister, tomboy cousin, and his various guards) have any idea of what has happened. Oh, and of course a couple of enemies resilient enough to turn up for the sequel…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857531328</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Chris Higgins
|title=The Day I Met Suzie
|rating=4
|genre=Teens
|summary=Everyone takes an instant dislike to Suzie Grey, the new girl at college. There's just something about her that makes people's skin crawl. Everyone, that is, save Indie. Indie is a soft touch. She just can't help herself. She's a sucker for a sob story and most of her hard-earned wages from her part-time job at the salon go on bailing out her boyfriend's many disasters. Indie feels sorry for Suzie, this mousy, hard-done-by girl, and she takes her under her wing.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340997028</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Anne O'Brien
|title=The Forbidden Queen
|rating=4.5
|genre=Historical Fiction
|summary=Katherine de Valois is the young and innocent girl betrothed to Henry V of England. While Henry doesn't love her, she thinks she can be happy with him. Unfortunately, though, she quickly finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage, then finds an even worse fate in store as Henry is killed and she is left a lonely young widow. With political machinations dogging her every step as men like Edmund Beaufort and Owen Tudor catch her eye. Can she be happy with one of them, or will those people at court who don't want to see any man gain the power that would come with marrying the mother of the young king foil her hopes?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848452152</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Naomi Schillinger
|title=Veg Street: Grow Your Own Community
|rating=4.5
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=As a child Naomi Schillinger helped her parents to grow fruit and vegetables in their South London garden and the urge to grow resurfaced when she had her own property. It wasn't just the ''growing'' which she remembered, but the ''sharing'' of the produce and sense of community which went with it. Soon after starting to grow food for herself she was a prime mover in getting whole streets involved in growing fruit and vegetables in their front gardens, making the most of recycled materials and free seeds and compost. When we're constantly urged to reduce food miles what could be better than growing your food (quite literally) on your own doorstep?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780721129</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Dave Cousins
|title=Waiting For Gonzo
|rating=4
|genre=Teens
|summary=Oz is newly arrived in the sleepy village of Slowleigh. At first, he wishes life there was more exciting, but drawing a moustache on a photo of schoolmate Isobel Skinner - nicknamed Psycho - might bring him the wrong sort of excitement. Someone else who's wishing her life was rather less exciting is his sister Meg, who's hiding a secret which Oz knows but her parents don't - can he survive Psycho and help his sister?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192745468</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Sheila Rance
|title=Sun Catcher
|rating=5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=The Bronze Age is an intriguing time, where the fight for survival and the harshness of greed and war co-exist seamlessly with the fabrication of beautiful artefacts and a profound belief in occult mysteries tied to the seasons and the natural world. Tareth, the crippled weaver, earns his keep in the community which rescued him and his daughter from the sea by making and dying brightly coloured cloths to sell at the annual Gather. But he has another, more secret skill. While Maia sleeps he spends his nights, almost against his own will, weaving an extraordinary silken garment for her, one which whispers to her of her far-away home and her dark destiny. For she is no ordinary girl but a princess of the Eagle People and the chosen heir to the sun stone. This stone is a revered and powerful crystal which is needed to channel the sun and use it to warm the land at the end of each winter, and without it famine and cold reign eternally. At the same time, it extracts a terrible price from the Catcher, causing her intense pain and eventually blinding her. In a bid to protect the infant Maia from her fate Tareth stole and hid the stone, and fled with her across the sea.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444006207</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Tammara Webber
|title=Between The Lines
|rating=4
|genre=Teens
|summary=Emma is a seventeen year old actress, thrust into the spotlight in a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice with a co-star who half of America's teens are drooling over. Reid is a Hollywood heartthrob with an ego the size of Los Angeles and a reputation as a player. When the two meet, sparks fly - but can Emma trust the superstar, or would she be better off going for the less-exciting but more sensible Graham?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141347465</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Charlotte Middleton
|title=Christopher's Bicycle
|rating=3.5
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Something is going on in the shed! Christopher Nibble (the guinea pig) wonders what his dad is doing in there, banging and crashing about. And his mum too has some secret sewing project going on. What on earth could they be up to? Worry not, for all is revealed when Christopher is presented with his very own brand new recycled bicycle!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192758357</amazonuk>
}}
