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| + | |summary=A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… Well, ours, last year, really… A film came along that seriously impressed lots of mature audience members who had very valid reasons to doubt it, and that made goggle-eyed popcorn munchers of a lot of youngsters. It had rollicking spacecraft dog-fights, it had emotional revisits for well-loved characters, and had a sting in its tail that lasted at least a couple of days before being leaked to the wider world. I know there is a DVD and Blu-Ray of it coming within days of me writing this, but I can only assume the reason the junior books about the film are being released now and not in time with its cinematic release is down to the chatter of the young and their rampant ability to say what they shouldn't – which includes what happens about eighteen pages before the end of the story here. | ||
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|summary=I've always been fascinated by Penguins: I think it's because they look so ''smart'' and striking, yet survive in extreme conditions, so the opportunity to review a book which contains fifty penguins and other seabirds was too good to miss. Just the pictures would have been enough - the minimalist watercolours of street artist and ornithologist Matt Sewell - but Sewell's whimsical wit and ability to teach without being preachy makes this a book to treasure. | |summary=I've always been fascinated by Penguins: I think it's because they look so ''smart'' and striking, yet survive in extreme conditions, so the opportunity to review a book which contains fifty penguins and other seabirds was too good to miss. Just the pictures would have been enough - the minimalist watercolours of street artist and ornithologist Matt Sewell - but Sewell's whimsical wit and ability to teach without being preachy makes this a book to treasure. | ||
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Revision as of 10:44, 30 March 2016
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.
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Star Wars The Force Awakens Illustrated Storybook by Elizabeth Schaefer and Brian Rood
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… Well, ours, last year, really… A film came along that seriously impressed lots of mature audience members who had very valid reasons to doubt it, and that made goggle-eyed popcorn munchers of a lot of youngsters. It had rollicking spacecraft dog-fights, it had emotional revisits for well-loved characters, and had a sting in its tail that lasted at least a couple of days before being leaked to the wider world. I know there is a DVD and Blu-Ray of it coming within days of me writing this, but I can only assume the reason the junior books about the film are being released now and not in time with its cinematic release is down to the chatter of the young and their rampant ability to say what they shouldn't – which includes what happens about eighteen pages before the end of the story here. Full review...
Star Wars The Force Awakens Novel by Michael Kogge
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… Actually, it was any place on this planet you care to mention. Adults took their children along to see a proper time machine – one that would take the parents back to a future-seeming science fantasy action film, and would transport children to an ideal place where derring-do did, where spacecraft never bothered with taking fourteen parsecs to do the Kessel Run when they could do it in twelve, and where high-octane action was to be had. The time machine was called The Force Awakens, the seventh film in the enduring series. But when they got home there were no books suitable for the young readers to use to engage with what they'd just seen. The Alan Dean Foster adaptation of the script was for adults – it was a lot longer and more wordy than they were used to. They had to wait months for a book telling the story their way. But now it’s arrived. Full review...
Ace of Spiders by Stefan Mohamed
Stanly is frustrated. Having set himself up as London's protector, he's finding that the everyday practicalities of superheroism are challenging at best, and downright tedious at worst. So it's almost a relief when an attempt is made on his life and Stanly finds himself rushing headlong into a twisted adventure, with enemies new and old coming out of the woodwork. However, even with his friends and his ever-increasing power behind him, he may have bitten off more than he can chew this time. The monsters are coming… and nothing will ever be the same! Full review...
Claude Going for Gold! by Alex T Smith
I've been a fan of Claude from the beginning. He charmed me from the start, with his plump tummy, little legs, red jumper and rather fetching beret. I can't help but love a dog who wears a beret! He also has a charming best friend, Sir Bobblysock, (who is indeed a woolly sock) who always makes me laugh. In this particular book they are off on another hunt for an adventure, and although it seems for a while that there is simply no fun to be had outside of the house they finally fall, literally, into a Very Exciting Sports Competition! Full review...
Keep Me Posted by Lisa Beazley
'Keep me Posted' is written in a light-hearted, informal style, narrated by a young mother called Cassie who lives in New York. She and her husband Leo have twin toddlers, and her life is busy, full of technology and fast food. Her older sister Sid is more laid back, and something of a technophobe; although they used to be close, they haven't really been in touch much since Sid and her family moved to Singapore. Full review...
Do You Remember? by Helen Docherty and Mark Beech
We have various picture books in our house that have a tendency to leave me a little blurry eyed, whilst my children remain entirely nonplussed! Aimed at sparking some parental emotion, the stories behind them are often a little lacking. This book, however, works for both children and grown ups, in a really lovely way. Beginning with a small child's cry of I can't do it! the mum in the story reminisces about all the many different (and funny) things that her child has learned to do over the years, encouraging her that she has always got there in the end. Full review...
What Will Danny Do Today? by Pippa Goodhart and Sam Usher
Every day we face a multitude of choices, from what to wear and what to eat to what to do when we get home in the evening. This book is all about making decisions, but in a very simple and fun way that encourages discussion with your toddler. The character we are deciding for is a little boy called Danny, and we follow him through the course of one day, thinking about what he will decide on each page. Full review...
The Boy and the Globe by Tony Bradman and Tom Morgan-Jones
This lively and enjoyable story is set in early seventeenth century London where young orphan Toby Cuffe is living on the streets where life is hard. In order to survive, the resourceful Toby joins the gang of boys who work for Moll Cut-Purse as thieves. Moll sends Toby to the Globe Theatre to do some pickpocketing where Toby becomes so engrossed in the play being performed that he forgets about his own safety. Caught by the theatre's owners Toby meets the writer of the play he has just seen performed, the famous playwright William Shakespeare. Then our young hero is given an opportunity that he had not expected. Toby is full of enthusiasm for the theatre and rekindles the Bard's enthusiasm too so that together they team up to save the threatened theatre. Full review...
The Brilliant and Forever by Kevin MacNeil
You know sometimes when someone tells a joke, everyone else laughs, and you're sat there wondering what was so funny? Full review...
Chasing the Stars by Malorie Blackman
Olivia - Vee - and her brother Aidan are trying to get back to Earth after a mystery virus killed everyone, including their parents, on their ship. It's been a lonely three years and a dangerous one, too, as they've tried to avoid the dangerous and xenophobic Mazons. But sometimes the Mazons can't be avoided and this is one of them: when dozens of human beings are being attacked and only Vee and Aidan close enough to launch a rescue mission. Full review...
The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild
It's set to be the sale of the century: Russian oligarchs, Arab sheikhs, rappers and heiresses are all lined up to bid for The Improbability of Love, a small Antoine Watteau oil painting depicting a courting couple overlooked by a clown. The painting was missing until six months ago, when Annie McDee bought it from a junk shop for £75 as a birthday present for an incompatible fellow she met through Internet dating. When he didn't show for dinner and the junk shop mysteriously burnt down so that she couldn't ask for a refund, the painting became hers. Thirty-year-old Annie had been in a rut: after a painful break-up from Desmond, with whom she ran a cheese shop and café in Devon, she moved to London and was working as a PA to randy Italian film director Carlo Spinetti. She also acquired an unwanted roommate: her alcoholic mother, Evie. Full review...
Mutable Passions: Charlotte Bronte: A Disquieting Affair by Philip Dent
As the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Brontë's birth approaches, it is a perfect time for reading about her. Philip Dent's second novel chooses a lesser known period of her life to dramatize. All her siblings are now dead; during a hard winter when she is unable to visit her best friend, Ellen Nussey, Charlotte spends her time finishing Villette, her final novel. The family servant, Tabby, ribs Charlotte about her romantic prospects – including Patrick Brontë's curate, Arthur Bell Nicholls. Charlotte responds with indignation: 'I could no more kiss the lips of a man with a beard as big as rooks' nests than I could yours, Tabby.' Full review...
The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson
Summer 1914: Beatrice Nash arrives in Rye following the death of her father, hoping to earn a living as a Latin tutor. Despite being the sort of woman with ideas of her own, she has allies in the family of local pillar of the community Lady Agatha. Agatha may not have realised just how modern Beatrice is but she'll stand by her after having been her sponsor for the post initially. Meanwhile Agatha's nephew, medical student Hugh soon warms to Beatrice but his heart belongs to Lucy, his surgeon professor's daughter. Soon, though, the events of a small town summer will fade in importance; the Balkans will explode and Europe is thrown into a war that's far from the swift, romantic, consequence-free conflict of which summer daydreams are made. Full review...
The Exclusives: No One Can Hurt You More Than a Friend by Rebecca Thornton
Josephine is a successful archaeologist on a dig in Amman when she gets the email she never expected: Freya wants to meet up with her. The reason isn’t such a surprise though. In 1996 Freya and Josephine were best friends at boarding school till the aftermath of a night out clubbing. Freya desperately wants to talk to Jo about the events that ripped their friendship apart, the events that Josephine has avoided speaking or thinking about in more than a decade. Full review...
The Genius Factor: How to Capture an Invisible Cat by Paul Tobin
Delphine is quite a normal 6th grader, if with a few eccentric traits. She has dozens of friends, argues with her siblings, misbehaves in class but not too much, disobeys her parents but not too seriously, and earns extra pocket money by dog-walking. She spends this money on cake. Mostly. Nate is not like Delphine. He has no friends and mostly goes under the radar of 6th grade society. But Delphine has noticed him and for good reason: Nate is a genius. He's so clever that he's even been studied by foreign academics. Not that this gains him much currency with his peers. Full review...
Snakewood by Adrian Selby
Kailen's Twenty are an elite; the type of mercenaries that live on in legend. It therefore stands to reason that the authorities want them dead but they aren't the only ones. As the guerrilla war between rebels and governing classes rages on, a lone assassin, as elite as the Twenty, unknown even to those on the same side is on their trail. Who is he and why the vendetta? The answer will be revealed one day to those still alive to hear it. Full review...
The Lady and the Generals: Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's Struggle for Freedom by Peter Popham
On 13 November 2010, Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest after spending 15 of the previous 21 years as a prisoner of Burma's military junta. Political reforms soon followed, culminating with Suu (as she prefers to be known) being elected to parliament. The West rejoiced; leaders, business men, and tourists poured in; and Suu entered the pantheon of modern-day political heroes. Burma was a burgeoning democracy, and Suu was a saint. In reality, as Peter Popham argues in 'The Lady and the Generals', the situation was far more complex. Full review...
Bryant and May: Strange Tide by Christopher Fowler
The thirteenth outing for Bryant and May is looking very much like it will be their last. Arthur Bryant is on compassionate leave whilst tests are continuing, which are likely to confirm that he is suffering from Alzheimer's. His condition is worsening almost by the day, memory lapses are morphing into full-scale hallucinations. Full review...
A Seven-Letter Word by Kim Slater
Finlay has got more than one PROBLEM. He lives alone with his father, who chain-smokes in between trips out to do odd jobs for people, and seems to have reduced his worth to just one recipe since his wife, Finlay's mother, vanished two years ago. Things are still bitter with him – he says she might as well be dead – but the issue manifests itself badly with Finlay, and he has grown into suffering quite a severe STUTTER, which leads to no end of TEASING at school. His one way out, it seems, is for a change an eight-letter word, SCRABBLE – he can hide away from the mismanagement of words that his speaking implies he has over a set of tiles and can play a decent game. But what happens when he is contacted online by a mysterious Alex – is this possibly a way to combine his love of the word game with his quest for the truth about his mother's ABSENCE? Full review...
The Very Grumpy Day by Stella J Jones and Alison Edgson
Happiness is contagious, but did you ever consider that grumpiness might be too? If you look at Bear, it's quite plain to see. He's not having a good day, and when he takes it out on Mole, it spreads quickly through the forest, with Hedgehog and Fox and the squirrels and the owls all getting a taste. What a horrible, grumpy day for everyone. Full review...
Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too? by Eric Carle
Babies have mothers, mothers who may well be reading these books with them. And their mothers have mothers, or they used to at any rate. But what about other animals. Does a kangaroo have a mother? How about lions and dolphins? Full review...
Bookshelf (Object Lessons) by Lydia Pyne
Could you imagine a whole book dedicated to a single lump of wood, or a few sections of metal? I can't assume it would be great – with or without said item being an object with physical, historical and psychological components. But shove some distorted tree by-products on to said wood or metal, and lo and behold you have a bookshelf. Now you're talking – but could you even now imagine a whole book dedicated to it? Full review...
Little Red by Bethan Woolvin
We all know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, yes? Like many fairy tales, it's a little dark, so when you hear of a version that reimagines the story, your mind starts to wonder how they may have done this. Maybe a happy ending? That would be nice. Full review...
The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly by Luis Sepulveda, Satoshi Kitamura and Margaret Sayers Peden (translator)
In the world of this book, danger brings people together, but adversity brings them together even more firmly. On the one hand we have Zorba, the big fat black cat, who was once swallowed by a pelican as a kitten, and now has been abandoned – well, temporarily, as his human child owner is away for a long time. But we also have a seagull, busy fishing when the alarm rings out and therefore left alone to be swamped by an oil slick. Trying to take her last flight, she crashlands on Zorba's balcony, and promptly delivers an egg – and with her dying breath procures the promise of the cat to look after the hatchling until Zorba can teach it to fly. But surely a lesson in flight from a cat is beyond even the binds of adversity? Full review...
Stork Mountain by Miroslav Penkov
A young man, his grandfather and a stork with a broken wing are the company of rebels at the heart of this lively tale set in Bulgaria's Strandja Mountains. The storks that return to the mountains each spring are migrants, like so many of the people that have passed through the region over the centuries. The young narrator is also in transit, born in Bulgaria, but raised and educated in America. The story opens with his return to Bulgaria in search of his grandfather who has broken off contact with his family in America. But the young man's motives are not as clear cut as first appears. Full review...
On the Trail of the Yorks by Kristie Dean
Just when you wondered whether there was room on your shelves for another book on the Yorkist dynasty, here comes a very enterprising addition. Part biography, part travel guide, this is a guidebook comprising a tour of various places at home and abroad associated with the major figures. Full review...
The Ancient Greeks: Ten Ways They Shaped the Modern World by Edith Hall
Reading Edith Hall's book on the Ancient Greeks, develops a deep respect for the power of poetry. No poet was more effective in this regard than Homer recounting the sea adventures contained in the The Odyssey. It shaped the self-definition of a nation and engendered self-confidence. The mariners set out in their beautiful ships across the Aegean and established colonies to the West, in the Mediterranean as far as the Pillars of Hercules, to the East as far as the Levant and built trading cities in natural harbours along the fertile edges of the Black Sea. They were, as Plato wrote in the Phaedo, around the sea, like frogs and ants around a pond. They were encouraged by Delphic oracles and inspired by the company of diving dolphins. Full review...
After Birth by Elisa Albert
This book is definitely not for anyone who has a rosy picture of new motherhood. In fact, I would probably avoid it if you are contemplating giving birth in the near future. For any woman who has ever struggled through the first few months of motherhood, however, or a partner of somebody who is going through it, it is an astounding and revelatory read. Never before have I read a more searing, honest and open discussion of the emotional upheaval a woman often goes through after giving birth. Full review...
Outstanding by Kathryn Flett
Ivy House is a preparatory school with an 'outstanding' Ofsted report. Eve Sturridge is the head teacher and she puts heart and soul into making certain that it's the best that it can possibly be - well, as far as she's allowed to by the owner. But it looks as though she's getting into the big time when Stefan and Anette Sorensen (A-list billionaires) choose Ivy House for their son and daughter. There's another bonus too: the Sorensens run a hedge fund and Eve's seventeen-year-old daughter Zoe is keen to have a career in finance. What could be more natural than that some work experience could be on offer? Full review...
The Ugly Duckling by Mara Alperin and Sue Eastland
There are certain fairy tales that you need to know as a child, not only because they are fun stories themselves, but because they inform other stories too. How are you going to know what is happening in future books when they play off a classic; unless you know the classic? Therefore, before embarking on Meta novels that reimagine old stories, get the basics down pat first. How about the story of an unfortunate duckling who was incredibly ugly? Full review...
Eeyore Loses a Tail (Winnie the Pooh Classics) by A A Milne and E H Shepard
Eeyore, the Old Grey Donkey stood in the thistly corner of the forest and thought about things. He was quite a philosopher in his own way, but his most profound thought occured when Winnie-the-Pooh came along and enquired as to how he was.
Not very how, he said. I don't seem to have felt at all how for a long time. Full review...
When We Collided by Emery Lord
Jonah's father died. His mother has locked herself away in grief, leaving Jonah and his two older siblings to not only run their own lives but also take care of their three younger siblings. It's a lot and Jonah is grieving, too. Unsurprisingly, he has fallen into the fog of depression. And then Vivi comes along. Vivi and her artist mother are spending the summer in Jonah's town. And Vivi is bright and beautiful and vivid and amazing and ever-so-slightly eccentric. She bursts into Jonah's life like a shower of meteors and changes everything. But Vivi has her own problems... Full review...
Penguins and Other Sea Birds by Matt Sewell
I've always been fascinated by Penguins: I think it's because they look so smart and striking, yet survive in extreme conditions, so the opportunity to review a book which contains fifty penguins and other seabirds was too good to miss. Just the pictures would have been enough - the minimalist watercolours of street artist and ornithologist Matt Sewell - but Sewell's whimsical wit and ability to teach without being preachy makes this a book to treasure. Full review...
