Newest Confident Readers Reviews
Young Knights: Pendragon by Julia Golding
What's the best place to hide a bunch of unruly and somewhat excitable pixies on earth? How about the Notting Hill Carnival? Mischief and mayhem abound in a highly amusing scene as a group of changelings, stolen and taken to Avalon over centuries by the Fey, flee with their magical friends from the murderous clutches of Oberon and Morgan and make their way to twenty-first century Britain. In fact this second instalment of the gripping tale about the re-forming of the Round Table abounds with hilarious scenes (Fey royalty on an intercity train, anyone?) but it also has generous helpings of peril, exploits and thrills. Full review...
Blackberry Blue and Other Fairy Tales by Jamila Gavin
We never tire of fairy tales, do we? We dream of being carried off into one. We read them over and over. We love the old ones but they do need renewing and retelling every now and again. That's what makes them timeless. And in Blackberry Blue and Other Fairy Tales, the wonderful Jamila Gavin gives us her own take on wicked witches, enchanted forests, talking animals and heroes and heroines who triumph against adversity. Full review...
The Secret Kingdom: Leopards' Gold by Jenny Nimmo
Many years after the conclusion to Stones of Ravenglass, Timoken the Red King and his wife have settled down and live with their nine children in a castle which wizards Llyr and Eri turn invisible whenever danger approaches. When the castle bellman disappears and blood is found, though, the children realise that the danger could come from inside the majestic castle. Can brothers Petrello and Tolomeo solve the mystery of the disappearance and protect their family? Full review...
Horrid Henry's Royal Riot (Horrid Henry Early Reader) by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross
Horrid Henry has always been popular in our house. Horrid Henry's Early's Readers will always hold a special place in my heart as the books that gave my son the confidence to break into chapter books. The Early Readers have thicker pages, less text per page, more illustrations and the illustrations are in colour. But in many cases they are the exact same stories found in the older children's chapter books. Once my son gained confidence with the early readers, he was able to move up the chapter books, and then the whole world of reading was opened up to him. Full review...
Amber by Julie Sykes
Amber wakes up. And in a way, there is a case for that being all the plot summary I give you. So I'll be careful when I elaborate, and say she wakes up in a hospital, the day after a car crash, in a state where she remembers nothing. She can pick up emotions and so on, but she knows nothing about where the car was going, or who she is. And to be honest, my opening sentence is a lie. Because the girl has only two objects about her, and one is an amber necklace, she takes the word as her name – even that seems to be in the past. But she's not in the hospital for long, and even as she faces the blank slate of a new life, some things that might be deeply buried in her start to surface… Full review...
Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion : A New Case for Precious Ramotswe by Alexander McCall Smith
I had already previously enjoyed Precious and the Monkeys which is one of AMS' children's stories about his No.1 Ladies Detective Agency character, Precious Ramotswe, when she is a child. So I was looking forward to this one about a missing lion. I wasn't disappointed. Once again his gentle charm shines through, and this is a delightful book to read aloud or just enjoy by yourself, however old you may be! Full review...
ZOM-B Baby by Darren Shan
WARNING! If you haven't read the first book in this series, STOP READING NOW! NOW! Spoilers ahoy!
Gone? Good.
The story so far Full review...
Horrid Henry's World Records by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross
My son chose this book because he does like Horrid Henry, and he especially loves books with facts. As a parent, I have tried to supply my children with a wide choice of reading material, but I have to admit, I have leaned more towards fiction than non fiction simply because I mistakenly assumed it would be more fun. Girls do tend to prefer fiction, so I based my choices upon my own childhood reading habits. But when my sons began to beg for books a bout real things, I saw the error of my ways. Full review...
The River Singers by Tom Moorhouse
There is a rumour spreading along the length of the Great River. It warns of a new danger that will threaten them all. But for now life continues as normal for Sylvan and his brother and sisters on the riverbank. But sometimes rumours can be true and one dreadful day Sylvan and the others have no choice but to abandon their burrow and go in search of a safe, new home. Together the family of young water voles embark on an epic journey along the river during which they will encounter many dangers and challenges but discover friendship too. Full review...
Gabriel's Clock by Hilton Pashley
Jonathan is the only child ever, in the whole of creation, to be born to one angelic and one demonic parent. Having lived his life thus far in ignorance of the fact it comes as a nasty shock when the Corvidae (the most unpleasant denizens of hell) attack his family and try to capture him. Badly injured and suddenly bereft of his father, he is deposited by his mother in the village of Hobbes End in the care of the former Archangel Gabriel (his paternal grandfather) before she heads off to petition Lucifer for protection from the Archdemon Belial. Whether or not she’s successful we never find out, but Belial and the Corvidae find Jonathan and will stop at nothing to turn him into the weapon they want him to be. What they haven’t quite reckoned on is the opposition from the residents of Hobbes End (which is itself sentient), where all the weird, the wonderful and the well-intentioned but outright dangerous find refuge. Not to mention Jonathan himself. Full review...
The Twistrose Key by Tone Almhjell
Lin and her family are living in a rented house in the city because Lin's mother has been given her dream job as professor of traditional songs at the university. Lin's novelist father doesn't mind: he can write and play at riddling in the city as well as anywhere. But Lin hates it. She misses the farm where she was brought up and she misses playing at troll-hunting with her friend Niklas. But most of all, she misses her pet vole, Rufus, who is buried under a rosebush. Full review...
Home Sweet Horror Scary Tales 1 by James Preller and Iacopo Bruno
As far as Liam and his sister Kelly are concerned, things couldn't get any worse. Their mother died less than a year ago, and their father has decided they need a fresh start. He has packed them off to a falling-down house out in the country, away from all their friends. To make matters worse, no repair men will set foot in the house, the locals seem terrified of it, and one repairman even rings and warns them to get out. Not exactly the welcome they were looking for. At first only Liam can hear the strange voices or see messages left by an unseen hand such as mine, but when Kelly and her best friend try to call a spirit through the mirror - they get more than bargained for. Will anyone believe the children? Or will it be written off as homesickness? And even if their father does believe - will it be too late? Full review...
The Adventures of Shola by Bernardo Atxaga
You can approach Bernardo Atxaga, one of the most renowned Basque-language writers currently working, from two ways. Either start at the literate end, finding out if his voice is unique, his content exotic or universal enough for your tastes, and see if his Basque roots make him special in any way. Or you can just approach him as a wordsmith, and enjoy him enjoying himself, such as with these small children's stories put into this most handsome anthology. From the original, where the title character is spelled Xola, Atxaga has himself translated them into Spanish – even if the fourth is yet to appear there – and this is a fine English language version of all four tales. Full review...
How to Betray a Dragon's Hero (How To Train Your Dragon) by Cressida Cowell
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is on an impossible quest: He needs to be crowned King of the Wilderwest before the Doomsday of Yule, but has a plethora of obstacles to overcome before his mission is complete. He needs to collect together the Ten Lost Things, which have unfortunately fallen into the hands of the evil Alvin and his mother, the witch Excellinor. To do that, he will have to find out the location of their secret lair and overcome thousands of Alvinsmen guards. The Alvinsmen are not Hiccup’s only enemies, however. The dragons of the rebellion, headed by the formidable Dragon Furious are also seeking Viking blood. Hiccup’s obnoxious cousin Snotlout has also appeared on the scene, claiming to be a friend, but can he really be trusted? Full review...
A Slightly Jones Mystery: The Case of the Hidden City by Joan Lennon
Miss Slightly Jones is a thoroughly likeable young person. She is courageous and determined (although her Granny Tonic, who adopted her when her parents died, might use other, less charitable words like foolhardy, impulsive and stubborn) and her quick wit enables her to get out of many a difficult situation. Her hero, needless to say, is the celebrated Sherlock Holmes, and she often seeks inspiration from his cases when she is unable to decide what to do next. Full review...
100 People by Masayuki Sebe
If I told you this was a book in which every double page spread features exactly 100 people, and there’s no real story to go with it, you might be underwhelmed. You might wonder what the point would be. But I can tell you in one word: fun. Full review...
The Lost Journals of Benjamin Tooth by Mackenzie Crook
It's the 1760s, and young Benjamin is starting his diaries to record his path from a smart eleven year old to a noted scientist. It would, he thinks, be a very relevant document. And so it proves, in the light of what it eventually yields us. But before then there is his domestic matters to get over – the great-granddad who seems to have run out of words to say in this life, and his horrid mother and her frequently odd menus, and frequent, odder diseases. And the small matter of a harassing old/young man, Farley Cupstart, and his desperate search for something within Benjamin's household – something that looks a bit like a dragonfly, but just a bit more human… Full review...
Stick Dog Wants a Hot Dog by Tom Watson
Time magazine were very perceptive when they put Jeff Kinney on their most influential people lists. Many have been the people to take his snappy, over-illustrated young readers format and sense of humour to produce a franchise of witty, short novels about endearingly self-dismissive Average Joes. But with the signs that the whole thing has branched away from endearing Joes to hopefully endearing dogs, the message is getting clearer and clearer – just too many mimics are now on the shelf. Full review...
Penguin Pandemonium - Christmas Crackers (Awesome Animals) by Jeanne Willis
Penguins do not celebrate Christmas we learn from this book, so when Santa's Grotto turns up next door to the Zoo's penguin enclosure one particularly snowy Christmas, all that can occur is jealousy. Some of the many penguins are just too determined to enter into the spirit of, er, receiving things. And you can guess just how well that will go down in the moral universe of a primary school book… Full review...
Where's The Penguin? by Sophie Schrey
Where’s The Penguin? is a find-the-character book with a difference. The penguin family are fed up with living in the zoo so have plotted their escape and are now en route back to Antarctica. There are ten members of the gang, but they’re not entirely identical. Muffy has a wool hat, Brian has specs, Snowflake has a bow that wouldn’t be out of place on a Cheer floor, and Amelia is channeling her namesake, the Earhart, and has on flight goggles. It’s a good thing they have their own style, because in this book you’re not searching for one person, you’re searching for 10 across each double page spread. Full review...
Granddad Bracey and the Flight to Seven Seas by Michael Roll
Sally and her brother Peter are staying at their grandfather's house because their father has died in a car accident. Granddad Bracey (named after the accessories for trousers) is the perfect person for the grieving children at such an awful time. He's kindly and loving but also funny and entertaining - as a retired merchant navy captain, he has plenty of stories to tell. But then a second catastrophe occurs: their mother, Mary, decides to remarry. Sally distrusts her new stepfather, Ned, and his daughter, Mona, immediately. But even Sally doesn't realise the extent of their villainous intentions. Until, that is, Mary is rushed into hospital with a mysterious illness. Full review...
Happenings at Hookwood by Michael Roll
It all begins when a pair of newlyweds move into their first home, observed by the local wildlife with varying grades of alarm. But Startup the rabbit isn't alarmed. While his mother scarpers at her first glance of the ginger cat the couple have brought along and his father watches worriedly from deep cover, Startup finds it all very interesting and exciting. Startup has a lot to learn... Full review...
The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer
This sequel to The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell sees twins Alex and Conner Bailey once again magically transported to the fairy-tale realm, this time with the hope of rescuing their mother. She has been kidnapped by the evil Enchantress, the powerful and wicked entity who cursed Sleeping Beauty. The Enchantress is spreading a dark curse over all of the kingdoms and the fairies seem powerless to stop it. Will Alex and Conner find a way to stop her and save their mother before time runs out? Full review...
Ninja: First Mission (Ninja Trilogy) by Chris Bradford and Sonia Leong
If you are looking for adventure, Ninja First Mission will certain come up trumps. This book never has a slow moment. But even as the story races along at breakneck speed, there is plenty to think about as well. This book has as much to offer the deep thinker as the adrenaline junky. Tata, a young Ninja in training, is desperate to prove himself. He has failed the test for his black belt three times, but this was just a simple test. The sacred scrolls of his clan have been stolen, and all of the fully fledged Ninja but one are away on another mission. Tata faces another test, but this time the stakes are life and death, not only for himself, but for his clan. In order to succeed Tata must learn to find victory in failure. Most of all he must learn to believe in himself. Full review...
Football Crazy by Tony Bradman and Michael Broad
Football Crazy is about a group of friends who play on the worst team in the league. It can be difficult when your team loses every time you go on the pitch, but Danny, Jamil and Lewis love the sport and they stick with it - win or lose. They keep hoping the next game will be the game in which they finally win, or at least get on the scoreboard, but it never happens - not as long as Mr Perkins is coaching. When the coach finally packs it in - it looks like curtains for Rovers FC. But, luck seems to be on the children's side when a new coach, Jock Ramsay, with some history in the pro leagues is found. The new coach is tough, but he quickly gets the team into shape and the Rovers start climbing the league tables. Parents are delighted, the stands are full, but the children find they no longer love the sport. Everything is about winning. Things come to crisis point when Coach Ramsay orders Danny to take a dive. Full review...
