Difference between revisions of "Book Reviews From The Bookbag"
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| + | |title=My Gentle Barn: where animals heal and children learn to hope | ||
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| + | |summary=As a child Ellie Laks was abused, but not only did she suffer at the hands of her abuser, she also had to endure parental indifference to what was happening to her. Her only relief came through animals - and even then she had to cope when the animals were taken from her. As an adult she discovered that she had a real talent for healing animals - and that they helped her to heal too. In a brilliant leap of intuition she realised that if the animals could help her to heal they could do the same for others and so the Gentle Barn was born - a place where animals were brought as a place of safety and where disadvantaged children and special needs groups could use as therapy. | ||
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|summary=When I was younger I dreamed of going to Paris and visiting the fashion houses. Now I would love to go to visit Maison Sajou, the haberdasher who seems to have everything that someone who works with material could want, so when I saw The Maison Sajou Sewing Book there was no way that I could resist it. It's a confection of twenty projects, the very essence of French chic, with something for everyone. | |summary=When I was younger I dreamed of going to Paris and visiting the fashion houses. Now I would love to go to visit Maison Sajou, the haberdasher who seems to have everything that someone who works with material could want, so when I saw The Maison Sajou Sewing Book there was no way that I could resist it. It's a confection of twenty projects, the very essence of French chic, with something for everyone. | ||
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Revision as of 10:51, 28 July 2014
The Bookbag
Hello from The Bookbag, a book review site, featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - fiction, biography, crime, cookery and anything else that takes our fancy. At Bookbag Towers the bookbag sits at the side of the desk. It's the bag we take to the library and the bookshop. Sometimes it holds the latest releases, but at other times there'll be old favourites, books for the children, books for the home. They're sometimes our own books or books from the local library. They're often books sent to us by publishers and we promise to tell you exactly what we think about them. You might not want to read through a full review, so we'll give you a quick review which summarises what we felt about the book and tells you whether or not we think you should buy or borrow it. There are also lots of author interviews, and all sorts of top tens - all of which you can find on our features page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the recommendations page.
There are currently 16,121 reviews at TheBookbag.
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My Gentle Barn: where animals heal and children learn to hope by Ellie Laks
As a child Ellie Laks was abused, but not only did she suffer at the hands of her abuser, she also had to endure parental indifference to what was happening to her. Her only relief came through animals - and even then she had to cope when the animals were taken from her. As an adult she discovered that she had a real talent for healing animals - and that they helped her to heal too. In a brilliant leap of intuition she realised that if the animals could help her to heal they could do the same for others and so the Gentle Barn was born - a place where animals were brought as a place of safety and where disadvantaged children and special needs groups could use as therapy. Full review...
The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir who got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe by Romain Puertolas
Ajastashatru Oghash Rathod is an Indian fakir or an Indian conman, depending on your viewpoint. The day he decides to buy a new bed of nails he does what any of us would do: jumps on a plane from the Indian sub-continent to Paris with some misappropriated money in order to shop at Ikea. His nefarious means will only go so far, therefore he decides to sleep in the store overnight. What’s the problem? Ikea has bedrooms and everything. However, Ikea also has security which is how Ajatashatru gets to travel around Europe in a less than conventional way chased by a homicidal taxi driver. That's the sort of thing that could happen to anyone though, isn't it? Full review...
Explore and Draw Patterns: An Art Activity Book by Owen Davey and Georgia Amson-Bradshaw
Explore and Draw Patterns is a beautifully presented interactive workbook designed to spark creativity and imagination. The appeal of the subject matter is universal; everyone loves to doodle, so the book would be equally enjoyable for adults or children. Full review...
Hummingbirds: A Life-Size Guide to Every Species by Michael Fogden, Marianne Taylor and Sheri L Williamson
I've always been fascinated by hummingbirds - delicate, colourful, beautifully and brilliantly adapted to extract nectar from flowers. Perhaps most of all for me it's their acrobatic flight - the ability to hover and manoeuvre which has me hooked: I could watch them for hours, amazed that birds whose weight can only meaningfully be given in ounces can do so much. I was drawn to this book as soon as I saw it, for a number of reasons. Full review...
The Dinosaurs are Having a Party! by Gareth P Jones and Garry Parsons
You've hired the clown, there appears to be enough food and goodie bags for everyone, but have you made one fatal mistake? Is the venue big enough, this is after all a party for dinosaurs. 'The Dinosaurs are Having a Party!’ tells of one such party fully populated by our extinct friends; apart from one small boy and his dog. Everything at the party appears to be fine, but where is the food? Full review...
Mungo Monkey Goes to School by Lydia Monks
Going to school is a huge milestone for any child, and it can be scary. This book works hard to stop it seeming so daunting, pitching itself really well to make school feel fun, exciting and like a very appealing adventure. Full review...
Mine! by Jerome Keane and Susana de Dios
Horse and Fox are really bored. Nothing had happened for ages, until the egg arrived. In this lovely book, they are forced to try and share, but they aren't particularly good at it. I really love the style of this book, it uses bold, different colour schemes to make it instantly eye catching and engaging. The text has an immediately obvious sense of humour whilst still managing to be simple enough for early readers to grasp. Full review...
Without You by Saskia Sarginson
Eva is 17 years old and missing following a sailing disaster. Most people presume she died at sea, but her sister Faith has, well, faith. And in fact, Eva is not dead, but she’s not safe either. Held captive on an island just off the coast, she is so near and yet so far from home, and with every day, week, month that passes, her desperation grows. Full review...
Firefly by Janette Jenkins
I read Firefly wanting to be charmed. Sat at home, wishing I was in Jamaica, idly humming 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen'. Full review...
The Deaths by Mark Lawson
In an idyllic enclave in Buckinghamshire, within spitting distance of Milton Keynes, there are four houses. You might even call them mansions, as they are not the sort of homes to which most people can aspire. But the residents are not most people - they are rich and the lives they lead are different. They're not the old aristocracy for whom the houses were built, but the new elite - barristers, business tycoons, bankers, magistrates, doctors. One of their number runs a security business, so they're all protected by expensive security systems and when they leave their little haven it's usually to travel first class to London or on their way to catch a flight. The Eight seem to lead charmed lives - but the financial world is changing and there isn't the money around that there used to be. Full review...
The Shadow of War by Stewart Binns
'The Shadow of War' is the first book in a sprawling series with a new book being released once a year for each year of the First World War. Binns writes about five British communities, all very different – an aristocratic Scottish family, a family of working class Welshfolk, a group of friends in a Lancashire factory town, a pair of Cockney soldiers, and Winston Churchill, alongside his wife Clemmie and various government figures. The groups interact at various points in the book, which leads to some very genuine and touching relationships forming, in particular the one between Margaret, a nurse, and Bronwyn, youngest daughter of the Welsh community. Full review...
Depth Charging Ice Planet Goth by Andrez Bergen
16 year old Mina lives in Nede (that's 'Needy' out loud), a suburb of the Australian state of Victoria where she's in the final throes of school. However she feels very much an outsider, especially after the recent death of her mother. Mina's alienated further by her bullying elder brother and her father's attempts to move on with his life before Mina is ready. She has friends that she spends time with in a disinterested Goth way, the friend who understands her most being Animeid. Animeid is even more different than Mina, being half-girl, half-bird, but neither of them seems to mind. It doesn't affect anyone else after all – Mina's the only person who can see her. Full review...
Strictly Shale: Circling British Speedway by Jeff Scott and Rachael Adams
When I was young I remember Speedway being a regular item on Saturday sport programmes on television. My father was an aficionado and loved the noise, the risk and the sheer energy of the sport - my mother less so and she quoted the noise and the strong possibility of there being 'a nasty accident' when the riders slid their motorcycles sideways. It is still on television but I'll confess to not having watched for many years and it was for this reason that Jeff Scott's Strictly Shale achieved the unusual feat of both being an eye opener and bringing back long-forgotten memories. Full review...
Tower Lord: Book 2 of Raven's Shadow by Anthony Ryan
Reva, young adherent to the True World Faith, has a mission: murdering Lord Vaelin Al Sorna. Frentis (one time Sixth Order Brother to Vaelin) also has murder on his mind but can't help it as he works through the deathly wish-list of the mysterious woman who binds his will. Lyrna's brother Malcius now rules as King of the Unified Realm and she's happy to remain princess. However someone else thinks differently; she's summoned to a meeting that will prepare her for an uncertain future. Meanwhile the greatest threat the Realm has ever known advances. Friend or foe? The difference may be indiscernible but differentiating means survival. Full review...
The Clown Service by Guy Adams
If British Secret Intelligence Service operative Toby Greene worked for MacDonald's he'd be sacked for ineptitude. Unfortunately for the nation he cost thousands of pounds more to train than your average burger-flipper so he's off to Section 37 instead. The Section's label mentions anti-terrorism but, as his former boss told Toby If the security service is the circus, then Section 37 us where we keep the clowns. Meanwhile an old school Russian spy is coming to the UK with enough power to destroy London. This may only be Toby's first job for 37 and will include a touch of astral projection but what could possibly go wrong? Full review...
Death Sentence by Montynero and Mike Dowling
It's AIDS, Jim, but not as we know it. G+ is the new sexually transmitted disease sweeping the nation's reckless youth, and it has even further-reaching consequences. It boosts your brain activity, and makes you a stronger and more promiscuous carrier of the virus – so you can be beating a supercomputer at chess one moment and rolling around a bed with a host of ladies the next. But either way, it kills you within six months. Here it affects three people with more cerebral, supernatural powers – a young female artist in need of confirmation, an egotistical junkie rock star, and a certain highly-rated comic with Russell Brand's hair and Kasabian's wardrobe designer. It's a combination of the three people and their own G+ that will make sure the world is most certainly aware of their activities – death sentence or no death sentence… Full review...
The Remaining: Aftermath by D J Molles
A week is a long time in politics, but it feels infinitely longer in a zombie apocalypse. The Remaining started a new series of books that followed trained military expert Captain Lee Harden and his mission to rebuild America should the undead hit the fan. As an introduction, The Remaining did a great job in creating the world and exploring Harden’s tenacity to stick to the mission, but it ended so abruptly. The Remaining: Aftermath picks up moments later and continues the tale, but does it still deliver a week into his mission? Full review...
The Art of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughan
Eaden and Son is looking for the next Mrs Eaden. The original Mrs Eaden, Kathleen, has recently died and in her honour the upmarket grocery store is running a baking competition to find someone to advise the store on its baking products; to write a monthly magazine column; and to front Eaden’s advertising campaign. It’s an extremely appealing prospect and attracts many willing contestants that are eventually whittled down to five who will take part in weekly bake-offs in order to showcase their talents in all aspects of baking. Full review...
Jelly Baby by Jean Ure
Flora, who is generally called 'Bitsy' and sometimes 'Jelly Baby' because she's well rounded, doesn't really know what it's like to have a mother. Mum died when she was two and only her elder sister, Emily, who's thirteen, has any real memory of her. Since then the girls have lived happily with Dad - the rather absent-minded Professor - and Aunt Cass. They've not really bothered about keeping the house tidy and things do get rather scruffy but it doesn't seem important until they're told that their father is bringing a girlfriend home. The girls are delighted. They want their father to be happy. Full review...
Wild Boy and the Black Terror by Rob Lloyd Jones
In Victorian London, the city has been plunged into shock and confusion by a poisoner who strikes without trace, driving victims insane before killing them. Wild Boy and Clarissa, still hated and feared by much of the population, must try to avoid detection as they aim to solve the case and free the capital from the terror. Full review...
Sew Quick, Sew Cute: 30 Simple, Speedy Projects by Fiona Goble
I have a patchwork quilt on the go at the moment and it will take me months to complete. But sometimes you want to have the satisfaction of making something which might take hours or a weekend and which is more relaxing and fun. Sometimes you want a project which you can do with the kids which will encourage them to feel that they can be creative - and which produces something which is relaevant to their lives. I was 'encouraged' to knit tea cosies as a child. It didn't cut the mustard even then... I think I might have found the answer. Full review...
Buckle and Squash and the Monstrous Moat-Dragon by Sarah Courtauld
In this story we have two sisters. There is Eliza, who dreams of being a swashbuckling hero, whilst her sister Lavender spends her time mooning over pictures of princes, hoping to become a real princess. One day Lavender gets kidnapped out in the forest by a rather dreadful villain, Mordmont. Will poor Lavender ever escape? Will Eliza get to be the hero? And what about these monstrous moat dragons?! Full review...
My New Home by Marta Altes
We moved house a lot when I was a child. I became an accomplished letter writer in a desperate attempt to keep in touch with old friends. I wish I had had a book like this one. It's hard moving home as a child, and as much as grown ups can tell you it's exciting and wonderful and won't it be marvellous to have a new pink bedroom it actually leaves you feeling very lost and scared and alone. This story introduces us to a little raccoon who has moved house and who is struggling a little bit with missing her old friends and making new ones. Full review...
Noggin by John Corey Whaley
'Listen. I was alive once and then I wasn't. Simple as that. Now I'm alive again. The in-between part is still a little fuzzy, but I can tell you that, at some point or another, my head got chopped off and shoved into a freezer in Denver, Colorado.'
Erk! That's how Noggin begins and I defy you not to want to read on. Travis Coates was terminally ill. In a last ditch Hail Mary, he consented to cryogenic preservation. And now, he's back, his head grafted onto a donor body. Of all the original volunteers, Travis is one of only two patients successfully brought back to life. It's a cause for celebration, right? Full review...
Freddy and the Pig by Charlie Higson and Mark Chambers
When Freddy send a pig to school in his place, wearing his school uniform and not looking entirely dissimilar to him, he thinks he's hit upon the perfect plan! The pig can work all day in school whilst he stays at home and plays his console game and eats and eats, and no one will ever know! Full review...
Top 10 of Everything 2015 by Paul Terry
The Top 10 of Everything 2015 is, as the title implies, a compilation of 'top ten' lists covering a wide variety of topics including the natural world, pop culture, sport and technology. The style of the book will appeal to its target audience of pre-teens with its use of bright colours, vibrant images, fun facts, puzzles and quizzes. Full review...
The Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer
My house is a mess, the laundry is piling up around me, my poor children haven't been fed and I lay the blame squarely at the feet of Chris Colfer. From the moment I opened the cover of his latest book, I have been spirited away to a magical land of fairies, elves, dragons and trolls and I'm afraid all of my mundane, everyday tasks and responsibilities have been sadly neglected ever since. Full review...
Treat Petite: 42 Sweet and Savoury Miniature Bakes by Fiona Pearce
I know that they're not good for me, but I do love cakes. There's always so much of them though - and I'm not going to let them go to waste, am I? I love making them too, but no matter how hard I try they always seem to end up more Little Chef than Masterchef. When I found Treat Petite it seemed that I just might have found the answer to my prayers. It's a book of forty two recipes for tiny petit fours, little sponge cakes, jewel-like macaroons and gorgeous savouries. They're all mere morsels - just big enough to pop into your mouth. Full review...
The Classic Adventures of Paddington by Michael Bond
Some characters have stood the test of time and few would deny that accolade to Paddington, the bear from darkest Peru who now lives with the Browns at 32 Windsor Gardens, London. We've enjoyed him for over fifty years now and to celebrate the occasion eleven of the classic books have been collected in one, slipcase volume. All the stories are unabridged and accompanied by the gorgeous illustrations by Peggy Fortnum. Full review...
The Maison Sajou Sewing Book: 20 projects from the famous French haberdashery by Lucinda Ganderton
When I was younger I dreamed of going to Paris and visiting the fashion houses. Now I would love to go to visit Maison Sajou, the haberdasher who seems to have everything that someone who works with material could want, so when I saw The Maison Sajou Sewing Book there was no way that I could resist it. It's a confection of twenty projects, the very essence of French chic, with something for everyone. Full review...
