Difference between revisions of "Newest For Sharing Reviews"

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[[Category:For Sharing|*]]
 
[[Category:For Sharing|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|For Sharing]]
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[[Category:New Reviews|For Sharing]]__NOTOC__
==For sharing==
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{{Frontpage
__NOTOC__
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|author=Adam Stower
{{newreview
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|title=Murray and Bun
|author=Tamsyn Murray and Judi Abbot
 
|title=Snug as a Bug
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=When George looked out the window at the rain, he was a bit reluctant to go out. That was until his mum told him that they would be taking lots of extra cuddles that would keep him lovely and warm. In fact, he would be as 'snug as a bug rolled up in a rug'. Added to that he would be 'like two cosy bats in thick woolly hats' and even 'as hot as three pigs in big purple wigs'. This list of how snug he will be keeps being added to all the way up to ten when Mum tells George that he will be 'tucked up like... Ten toasty geese all sharing one fleece'.
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|summary=Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two. But he's a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffs. This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857071092</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0008561249
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1732898766
|author=Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
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|title=The Adventures of Birpus and Bulbus: Book One: The Sour Milk Dragon
|title=The Wind in the Wallows
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|author=Wynn Everett-Albanese, Michael Albanese and Indre Ta (Illustrator)
|rating=4.5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I'm always ready for a fun story when I see that [[:Category:Jeanne Willis|Jeanne Willis]] and [[:Category:Tony Ross|Tony Ross]] have come together to do another picture bookThis is a particularly fun one to share, especially with kids who enjoy anything to do with farts and stinkyness and, most importantly, the tussle over who is responsible for the terrible smell!
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|summary=When we first meet Birpus and Bulbus they're running for their lives in the Forest of Fine Repute.  Their greatest fear has come about: the Sour Milk Dragon is chasing them.  He's right behind them, spewing hot, sour milk from his nostrils.  (Please don't try this at home: it won't end well.) Fortunately, they were nearly at Nobby Lob-lolly - and when a ladder of moss and vines was lowered for them, they escaped.  They climbed up to the Tree Wee homes high up in the tangled woods where they lived with their Grand Wees, Nester Nook and Granny Cranny.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849394539</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B0CC9W7GLR
|author=Claire Freedman and Ben Cort
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|title=On the Beach: The Winter Visitor
|title=Pirates Love Underpants
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|author=Chris Green and Jenny Fionda
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Emerging Readers
 
|summary=The Black Bloomer and her crew of scurvy pirates are off in search of treasure, but this is no ordinary booty. These underwear-loving scoundrels are searching for the fabled Pants of Gold, which can be found in Big Knickers Bay. Following the route on their trusty treasure map, they lift anchor and set sail for the island. Unfortunately, when they arrive, it seems that another crew have beaten them to it!  Armed with a sharp cutlass and a wicked glint in his eye, the Captain has a plan to reclaim the Golden Underpants for himself... Don’t worry, this is a children’s book; you will have to read it to find out exactly what the Captain does with the cutlass...
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>085707265X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Jane Simmons
 
|title=Come On Daisy!
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Daisy the duckling is having too much fun exploring the riverbank to listen to Mamma Duck. Mamma has told her to stay close, but where is the fun in that? After all, there are lots of interesting creatures living in the river and Daisy wants to make friends with them. Then, of course, there are the giant lily pads. Daisy loves to bounce on the lily pads. ''Bouncy, bouncy bouncy. Bong bong!'' But when Daisy stops playing, she notices something. She is all alone.
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|summary=Kit and Teal were just beginning to wonder whether it was better to be at home, bored but warm, or frozen cold and building sand sculptures on a snowy beach when a large slab of silvery ice drifted onto the shoreline.  On top of the ice was a polar bear.  As the ice bumped onto the sand, the bear woke and with wobbly legs moved from the ice. Kit was all for making a run for it, but Teal knew that the bear was hungry and gave him one apple and then another. He obviously needed to be taken home on the bus and given a good meal and somewhere to sleep. What else would you do?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1843622726</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1913839656
|author=SAMI
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|title=Let's Celebrate Being Different
|title=Flip-A-Shape: Go!
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|author=Lainey Dee
|rating=4
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|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Packed into this sturdy sixteen-page board book you'll find a fun way for toddlers to develop colour and shape recognition.  In ''Go!'' the theme is transport and you'll see the yellow blade of the digger becomes the sail on a boat as the book is openedSimilarly a circle of a bicycle wheel becomes a balloon as the page is turned overThe blue square of a train cab becomes the purple body of a lorryThe yellow rectangle of a bus becomes the red body of a pull-truckI'm sure that you get the picture!
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|summary=Todd was excited about spending the weekend with his grandmother, not least because she made the best beetle juiceHe packed two pairs of dungarees and his favourite hat and then gathered together his button collection to show his grandmotherShe had promised to take him to the Friday Night Club at the local community centre and Todd was pleased about this as he wanted to make new friendsAt home, his only friend was his mum and he wondered why that could beGrandma thought that it might be because he looked different.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1609053389</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1529504775
|author=Katherine Lodge
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|title=The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories)
|title=Let's Find Mimi In the City
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Mimi the Mouse and her family are going on an adventure in the big city, visiting shops, cafes and parks along the way. Mimi wears a bright red bow on top of her head and a pair of pretty pink fairy wings on her back, so you would think she would stand out in a crowd. But does she?
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|summary=Elsie and her little brother David loved to go to the park and watch the red buses drive past.  Elsie would race the buses along the side of the park but David couldn't - he'd been born with cerebral palsy and even just standing up was very difficult. One day Elsie spotted a bus in the toy shop window which would help David - and was happy to use the coins from her money box to pay for it as cash was tight at home.  Gradually, David learned to stand up, use the bus for support, and walk behind it.  Many decades later, Elsie brought the bus, now damaged and rusted, to the Repair Shop, hoping that the experts there could make it so that her grandchildren could play with it.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444909711</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1529504767
|author=Simon Rickerty
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|title=The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories)
|title=Monkey Nut
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Two curious little spiders find a monkey nut lying on the ground. They don’t know what it is, but they do know that they both want it and that they don’t want to share. But what is this strange, knobbly object? Is it a chair? A musical instrument? Maybe a boat? Whatever it is, the two little spiders are not the only ones interested. A much bigger, hairier spider is lurking in the shadows, waiting for the chance to grab the monkey nut for himself, but will he succeed?
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|summary=Susan was very young when she was evacuated from London in 1939 and nervous about how she would be greeted when she got to her final destination.  She needn't have worried though as she went to the home of Mr and Mrs Russell, who couldn't have been kinder to her.  She even had her own room - all to herself. Gradually she relaxed and began to enjoy her life. She'd help Mrs Russell with the baking and when it came to Christmas Eve Susan and Mr Russell put the decorations on the Christmas tree. The best surprise happened the following morning.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857075764</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1916459943
|author=David McKee
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|title=Squeakily Baby
|title=Elmer and Aunt Zelda
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|author=Beth Webb
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Elmer the patchwork elephant was reminded by his cousin Wilbur that they had promised to visit Aunt Zelda, who is getting old and a little bit deafTheir visit is peppered with misheard words and misunderstandings but there’s an obvious affection between the two generationsAunt Zelda is very proud of the two youngsters, and Elmer and Wilbur just love Zelda for what she isThere’s never  hint of impatience or frustration, no matter how wrong Zelda hears what the two young elephants have to say.  But - just in case Elmer was feeling at all superior - he finds when he gets home that he’s been rather forgetful too.
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|summary=Much as mothers love their babies, there's something they all dread - a squeakily baby.  He's so tired but he can't - or won't - go to sleep: instead, he just lies on his blanket and ''wails''.  The sea offers to helpIt rocks Baby gently and the waves sing ''hush, hush''Think of gentle wavelets falling onto a sandy beach and you have the sound perfectly.  The mermaids join in - ''la lou, la lay...''  And for a moment it seems to have worked as Baby closes his eyesThen a seagull '''shouts''' and we know exactly what's going to happen next.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1842707515</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=140639131X
|author=Ole Konnecke
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|title=A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant
|title=Anton and the Battle
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|author=Briony May Smith
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=
 
Anyone who has spent any amount of time with small children will know of the 'well I'm taller than you!' arguments which seem to appear, all of a sudden, and carry on for years! Everything becomes a competition, and it's all about who is stronger or bigger or can eat more beans or can run the fastest or jump the highest or has the noisiest baby brother...This story captures the way these arguments begin, and escalate, as we meet Anton and his friend Luke and see them imagining bigger and bigger ways of being 'better' than each other!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1877579262</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Michel Van Zeveren
 
|title=That's Mine!
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I've come to look forward to picture books published by Gecko PressThey always seem to come up with something a bit different, and this book is no exceptionThis is the story of an egg, found by a small green frog who claims it for his ownBut then snake says it's his egg, and eagle says it's his egg. Just whose egg is it?!
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|summary=Philippa Pheasant was ''tired'' of nearly getting squished as she tried to cross the Old Oak Road.  She wrote to the mayor about the problem but didn't even get a replyPhilippa wasn't a bird to sit back on her tail feathers when there was a problem which needed solving: she saw the benefits of the lollipop lady at the school crossing and decided that she would set up something similar herselfHer uniform and lollipop stick were both a little amateur to start with but the benefits were obviousAll the animals used the crossing and Hedgehog was even trained up to provide a safe path overnight.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1877579270</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776574338
|author=Angela Banner
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|title=Leilong's Too Long!
|title=More and More Ant and Bee
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|author=Julia Liu and Bei Lynn
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Right at the beginning, when you're just starting to read books which have more words than pictures, you need a book that's structured to help you. You need a book which is comfy to hold in small hands and which has a firm cover so that everything keeps ''straight''You need to share the reading and to know which words you're going to read and you might perhaps appreciate a ''hint'' in the form of a picture which will help you to get the word all on your ownMost of all though, you need to have a proper story and a feeling that you've achieved something when you get to the end.  You need Ant and Bee.
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|summary=Every morning Leilong, the brontosaurus school bus, makes his way through the city, picking up children as he goes.  Children who live at the top of tower blocks don't even need to go downstairs – they simply climb out of the window and slide down his neck.  It's perfect, isn't it?  What could be a more fun way of going to school? There is a problem, thoughLeilong isn't happy in the city: he's always having to be careful about where he puts his feet and – because he's longer than a tennis court – he often causes damage without intending to and traffic regularly gets snarled upThe school decides that he can't be the bus anymore.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405266732</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776574028
|author=Johanne Mercier
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|title=Bumblebee Grumblebee
|title=Arthur and the Earthworms
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|author=David Elliott
|rating=3
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Arthur has got himself a new job. He might be only seven but a boy can never start too soon.  He's going to be selling earthworms from a table at the side of the road and the idea came when his pet duck started pulling up the wormsThey were his favourite food, you see and on a rainy day you could find a lot of them just near the surfaceHe and Grandad managed to get quite a few worms together, but trade wasn't very brisk on the first and the woman who was determined to buy his pet duck did rather scare him.  But the next day, trade picked up (although some of the customers did look suspiciously ''family'') and then the big order came in...
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|summary=I love a good board book! ''Bumblebee Grumblebee'' is aimed at quite a niche market: it's for the child who still enjoys board books (er, see my first sentence) but has mastered sufficient language skills to have realise that you can ''play'' with words and make something quite different from each oneWe have the elephant who dons a tutu - and becomes a ''balletphant''The buffalo who has had a bath (complete with yellow duck) and then dries off with a hair drier becomes a ''fluffalo''.  The rhinoceros who drops his ice cream cone is a ''crynoceros'' (think about it!) The pelican who sits on his potty changes into a ''sm.......''  OK, let's not go there  Some people are eating!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1907912177</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1838226834
|author=Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd
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|title=Carried Away With the Carnival
|title=I Love You
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|author=Ed Boxall
|rating=3.5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=This is the fourth ''I love …'' publication from the prolific Giles Andreae, this time partnered by illustrator Emma Dodd. Judging by the little trike the child rides, this book is aimed at one and two year old children.  It would be a good choice for a child not yet up for a simple story, since here, the language is the emotional narrativeRepetitive rhyming couplets explore familiar aspects of a young child’s world.  The best books for pre-language children at bedtime secure and settle, and the appeal of this book is in its predictable rhythmn and happy emotion, rather than a challenging vocabulary or exciting story line. 
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|summary=It was one of those memories we treasure from our childhoods: an outing with our grandparents. They're there to undo all the good that parents do, so the trips out were always so much funA young boy was going to the carnival with his Grandad, who told him:
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408324326</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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''It'll be brilliant, just remember, don't let go of my hand.''
|author=Hallfridur Olafsdottir and Porarinn Mar Baldursson
 
|title=Maximus Musicus Visits the Orchestra
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=One day Maxi wanders into a rehearsal of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, where he is entranced to hear Ravel’s Bolero.  He encounters most of the orchestral instruments and there’s a lot of whimsical humour as Maxi moves from instrument to instrument.  Eventually he falls asleep on the stage, tired out by the excitement of his adventures. He wakes to a loud booming noise as the beginning of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is played, and he finds that the orchestra is in concert.  He scuttles down into a packed auditorium.  At the end of the concert, Maximus joins in the standing ovation which precedes the stirring home-grown encore.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1937330176</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09MYXSRV4
|author=Tracey Corderoy and Joe Berger
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|title=Otter's Coat: The Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit: A Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare
|title=Whizz Pop, Granny Stop!
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|author=Cordellya Smith
|rating=4.5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=
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|summary=When the world was made, the animals were given gifts.  Bear was given strength so that he could become a protector.  Water Spider received a strong web that even fire could not burn.  Owl had excellent sight so that he could see the present ''and'' the future. Rabbit developed intelligence - but, unfortunately, not the ability to use it well. He liked to trick other animals. He was also jealous which was how he came to be in a race with Turtle. You might think that's not a fair contest but wait and see. Things are not always as they seem. I'll tell you how it came about.
Grannies come in for a lot of negative press. Absent-minded geriatric, witch with a black cat, spoiling the kids, always getting it wrong ... you know the stereotypes. Well I’m fighting back. I latched onto this book, of course, as a granny. And in this neatly rhyming story, Granny, as seen through the practical eyes of her small grand-daughter, is all these things as well as being notably peculiar. Tracey Corderoy has pretty much got us metaphorically taped!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857631314</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Rob Keeley
|author=Robert Burleigh and Mary Grandpre
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|title= Carrots Don’t Grow On Trees!
|title=Flight of the Last Dragon
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|rating= 4
|rating=3.5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Told in rhyme, this is the tale of the very last dragon on earth. He hides away, deep underground, remembering the times when the dragons ruled the earth until one day a voice from the heavens calls him, summons him, up and away, to fly far, far into the sky and leave this world behind. I rather like the idea of dragons.  They're one of those mythical creatures that I still sort of hope might actually be real! My daughter likes dragons too, although when she saw the title of this book she was prepared for a sad story, sensing that we weren't heading towards a happy ending.
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|summary= Lily loves eating fruit and vegetables. She likes carrots, broccoli, cabbage and aubergines. When her friends at school turn up their noses, Lily is keen to explain how good they are for you and how nice to eat. One day, poor Lily gets tricked by Jordan, who tells her that carrots grow on trees. Infuriated, Lily checks with the teacher, who explains that fruits grow on trees and vegetables, like carrots, grow in the ground. Jordan says, "I did try to tell her, Miss!" and everyone laughs at poor Lily.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0399252002</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09HHN541V
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09FFJF8YS
|author=Harriet Ziefert and Travis Foster
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|title=You Can't Wear Panties! (No More Nappies!)
|title=The Princess and the Peas and Carrots
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|author=Justine Avery and Kate Zhoidik
|rating=4
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|rating=3.5
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Rosebud is a good girl, for the most part, neat and tidy and a happy little girl, at which times her daddy calls her ''Good Princess Rosebud''.  But then sometimes things go a little bit wrong, or they aren't quite as Rosebud likes them, so perhaps there's a hole in her tights or snow in her boots or, heavens above, her peas are touching her carrots on the plate at dinner time! When this happens Rosebud becomes ''Princess Fussy'' and my, doesn't everyone know about it!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1609052501</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Allan Plenderleith
 
|title=The Silly Satsuma
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Once there was a boy called Eric Greenbogle.  I'd like to be able to tell you that he was a good boy, but that would be wrong.  Eric was a bad boy and we all know what happens to bad boys on Christmas morning, don't we?  Good boys (and girls) find lots of presents under the tree, but Father Christmas knows who has been good and who has been bad and Eric was about to be taught a lesson. There was just one present under the tree for Eric: a satsuma.  Oh, there was something else - there was a note from Father Christmas explaining why there were no presents.  Eric was furious.  Eric cried, but then...
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|summary=''For the big, grownup girls out there, the potty masters in training, "You Can't Wear Panties!" is a cry (the big-girl kind!) of toilet triumph and persevering panty pride.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1841613665</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
 
|author=Angela Banner
 
|title=Ant and Bee
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=When you learn to read it has to be fun.  You have to master the skill but it mustn't be ''too'' daunting or you're ''not'' going to enjoy it and - worst of all - you might be put off reading for life.  It's best if you can share the reading until you get to grips with decoding what's on the page, so if an adult could read most of the words but you read others to which you've already been introduced and which are in a different colour then that is going to be a help.  If the words are introduced with a nice big picture and if they appear in alphabetical order, then that's going to be fun, isn't it?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405266716</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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And so it is! This latest book from Justine Avery celebrates a little girl's final goodbye to nappies and pull-ups and graduation to "proper" pants by following her around as she proudly explains to her dog, her cat, her stuffed rabbit and her baby sibling that ''she'' can wear super-duper proper pants, while they cannot. Neither can the flowers, nor the fish, nor the birds. Boy's certainly can't. She's a big girl now and she wants everyone to know it!
|author=Chae Strathie and Ben Cort
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}}
|title=Jumblebum
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{{Frontpage
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|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
 +
|title=Everybody Toots! (Everybody Potties!)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Johnny McNess is a young boy whose bedroom is a decided mess!  He has clothes lying everywhere, and toys scattered around, food discarded in the strangest of places and it all stinks!  Disgusting!  But his mum has come in and just warned Johnny about the Jumblebum monster who she feels is sure to be attracted by all this rubbish. Can anything really get Johnny to tidy his room?
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|summary= Toots, trumps, farts. Whatever your word for them, find us a child that doesn't find them irresistibly funny. Funny to talk about and joke about, that is. But horribly embarrassing if you let one go at the wrong time. In class, say, when everyone will hear it and everyone will laugh. At you. Justine Avery's latest entry in her ''Everybody Potties!'' series takes aim at any shame associated with tooting and gently and calmly, with the familiar humour attached, explains that tooting is perfectly normal. Everybody does it: ''Everybody Toots''!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1407108018</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09C2RVJ2W
}}
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn= B09BG8V3Q6
|author=Michael Rosen and Tony Ross
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|title= Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! (Everybody Potties!)
|title=Fluff the Farting Fish
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|author= Justine Avery and Seema Amjad
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Elvie wanted a puppy but she was still rather surprised when her mother agreed.  Unfortunately what her mother brought home wasn’t a puppy but a goldfish.  Now it wasn’t just a pet to cuddle and play with that Elvie had been after - she’d wanted to train the dog.  Being a resourceful young lady she decided to train the goldfish instead.  ''Sit'' was always going to be rather more than a challenge, but Elvie discovered that much could be achieved with Fluff’s bubbles.  Go on - you know exactly what I mean!  Soon Fluff was doing mental arithmetic and finally singingBefore long he was in demand at pop concerts and for television appearances.
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|summary= ''Who Needs Nappies? Not Me!'' is the latest release in the ''Everybody Potties!'' series from Justine Avery. This series of fun picture books aims to take the pain out of potty training children and replace it with some fun. It's a worthy aim, as any frustrated parent will tell you.  .
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849395276</amazonuk>
 
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B07GZ81J7C
|author=Sue Hendra
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|title=When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended
|title=No-Bot, The Robot With No Bottom
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|author=Peter Cotton
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=The prospects look good for a story when you're already laughing at the front cover, never mind what's insideThere we have him, our little red robot, holding onto his bottom and giving a coy-looking smile to us as readersAlready we're wondering how he ends up with no bottom, and whether the inside of the story will be as funny as the outsideNo-Bot, happily, doesn't disappointYou can't go wrong, really, with a funny red robot who has lost his bottom can you? Just saying the word 'bottom' to small children usually reduces them to giggles!
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|summary=Meet Fred.  Well, actually, you're going to be meeting Fred-Fred for reasons which will become all too obvious very quickly.  But I'm getting ahead of myself: I'd better tell you a bit more about FredFred is a snake and even those of us who have a phobia about snakes are going to warm to himHe arrived as a present in a box with holes so that he could breathe and immediately became part of the family, to the extent that they would take Fred out with them when they went out for a walkAnd that was where the problem startedFred didn't have any road sense. Or brakes.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857074458</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|author=Alison Ritchie and Mike Byrne
+
|title= Everybody Pees! (Everybody Potties!)
|title=Jack's Mega Machines: The Dinosaur Digger
+
|rating=4
|rating=3.5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Jack the mechanic loves to repair broken vehicles in his workshop. But the magical Rally Road Workshop is no ordinary garage. Whenever Jack takes one of his vehicles on a test drive, he is wondrously transported to incredible locations or different time periods.
+
|summary= Can potty training ever be joyous? It often isn't, as any parent will tell you. But really, why shouldn't it be? We all have to learn about our bodily functions just as we have to learn about everything else when we are small. Why shouldn't potty training be as much fun as, say, learning about why the sun and the moon take turns in the sky?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857075683</amazonuk>
+
|isbn= B098BJZYHH
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|author=Lou Rhodes and Tori Elliott
+
|title=No, No, No!
|title=The Phlunk
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=What is a Phlunk?  I know that you're wondering. Well, wonder no more for this book will tell you all about the Phlunk, who lives on a planet shaped like a spoon, looks a bit like a cat but who has very, very large ears. Why, you're now asking, does he have such very large ears?  Well, it's all the better to hear you with, of course! And the Phlunk hears everything, from everybody, all over the world!
+
|summary=They say the best picture books are the simplest ones. And nothing could be truer of this latest from Justine Avery, a Bookbag favourite.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>095736900X</amazonuk>
+
 
}}
+
''No, No, No!'' is based around the simplest text imaginable.
 +
 
 +
''No, no, no! Okay, okay. Yes, you may.''
  
{{newreview
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That's it! But, like all the best picture books, this tiny snippet of text is a veritable tardis - so much bigger on the inside that it appears on the outside.
|author=Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Carolyn Leigh and Amy June Bates
+
|isbn=1638820457
|title=Flying to Neverland with Peter Pan
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=There's something perennially magical about the story of Peter Pan.  It's timeless, this story of a little boy who doesn't want to grow up, and who lives in a land full of pirates and fairies and mermaids and crocodiles.  It's one of those stories that stays with you, which is why it's a classic, I suppose!  In this version part of the story is told through the lyrics of two songs from the musical ''Peter Pan''.  The songs ''I'm Flying'' and ''Never Never Land'' are combined together to tell the story as far as the children flying to Neverland.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1609052498</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=194812467X
|author=Michael Buckley and Dan Santat
+
|title=The Farm Shop
|title=Kel Gilligan's Daredevil Stunt Show
+
|author=Devon Avery, Justine Avery and Ema Tepic
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Kel Gilligan is a daredevil. He... wait for it... eats BROCCOLI! He even does his poos on the potty. What a brave soul! What a hero! Kel faces all the traumas of childhood, with aplomb.
+
|summary=Kirelle and her best friend Sam the cat decide to go for a walk. Kirelle is dressed for all weathers in her bright yellow wellies and Sam is perfectly turned out as ever in his smart grey fur coat. As they walk to the top of the hill, they see a big barn with a sign outside. It's a farm shop! But this is a farm shop with a difference: all the stallholders and customers are farmyard animals. There are sheep and ducks and cows, goats and chickens, and even some mice. Excited, Kirelle and Sam go shopping.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>141970379X</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
What will they buy?
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=0995647895
|author=Tony Ross
+
|title=Sadie and the Sea Dogs
|title=I Want a Boyfriend!
+
|author=Maureen Duffy and Anita Joice
|rating=5
+
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=When the Little Princess sees the Maid picking a flower and handing it to the General, she demands to know why. It turns out that the General is the Maid’s boyfriend and he looks after her. Well, on hearing this, the Little Princess declares at the top of her voice:
+
|summary=Sadie's mother always said that she was a dreamer, her mind never on what she should be doing. She lives by the River Thames at Greenwich and she loves to spend hours at The Maritime Museum or gazing at Cutty Sark.
  
''I WANT A BOYFRIEND!''
+
''Her class had gone one rainy afternoon''<br>
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849394652</amazonuk>
+
''When all the houses cowered in the gloom,''<br>
 +
''To the Maritime Museum''.
 +
 +
Her imagination was fired.  She'd love to sail the oceans on an ancient sailing ship and went back regularly.  One day she fell asleep under a glass case (it's the one where Nelson's Trafalgar breeches are on show) and missed the closing bell and the attendant's warning shout.  When she woke (hard floors don't make comfy beds) she was in the midst of an adventure that she could never have imagined in a world of dolphins, pirates, mermaids and treasure.
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1782227741
|author=Daniel Postgate and Sam Childs
+
|title=Little Gold Ted
|title=Friends in the Snow
+
|author=Vanessa Wiercioch, Poppy Satha and Sasha Satha
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=When Lucy’s dad offers to paint her bedroom walls, she is adamant that she only wants them to be white. He is a little surprised by her choice thinking that just white is a little bit boring. However, Lucy jokes that it’s not just white because there is actually a white monster hiding in the white snow. Her dad agrees and before long she has a freshly painted bedroom. The only problem is that, when she tries to go to sleep, she wishes that she hadn’t mentioned the monster because he keeps her awake with his grunting and growling.
+
|summary=One day, Gold Ted falls into a puddle. It's quite a deep puddle and the water is swirling. Poor Ted starts to spin around and around and is sucked down a drain on the side of the street. Finding himself  down in the sewer, Ted starts to panic. ''OH HELP ME PLEASE'' he cries and alerts the attention of Reg the sewer rat, who plucks him out of the dirty water using his cane, which might look just a bit like an old cricket bat. Reg is a kind soul and he dries Ted off and warms him up with a nice bowl of broth.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1407115391</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=B08R7LXQ9S
|author=Neil Griffiths and Melanie Siegel
+
|title=Remy: A book about believing in yourself
|title=The Best Present Ever!
+
|author=Mayuri Naidoo and Caroline Siegal
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Long ago and far away lived a kind and generous King and Queen in a land where everyone was well treated and happy. One day the Queen tells her delighted husband that she is to have a baby. The King decides that his lovely wife deserves the very best present ever to mark the happy event. So begins a search by the King’s messengers throughout the country and across the world for the perfect gift for the Queen. Beautiful gifts are brought to the palace from all over the globe for the King to inspect. As he is about to select the ''best present ever'' a poor young fisherman arrives and incredibly the gift that he brings might be exactly what the King is looking for!
+
|summary=Remy is feeling miserable. He's let himself down ''again''. The school bully Jayden,  together with his sidekicks Ryan and Brandon, have been laughing at Remy, calling him names because he is short and has small eyes. They are mean but they are not stupid. They are careful to wind up Remy when nobody can see and then push him just that little bit further when the other kids are around. So, when Remy reacts, it looks as though he was the instigator. And then he gets into trouble at school and the teachers don't believe him when he tries to explain what happened.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908702060</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1471191303
|author=Nick Sharratt
+
|title=The Invisible
|title=Fancy Dress Christmas
+
|author=Tom Percival
|rating=4
+
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Who is who at the Christmas party?  All the animals have come in fancy dress, so can you guess who is inside each costume?  Someone is dressed as a snowman, someone is dressed as an angelSomeone is even dressed as a candle!  Can you tell who each one is?  Lift the flap and see...
+
|summary=This is the story of Isobel, a little girl who made a big differenceIsobel lived with her parents in a house - a very cold house, because her parents couldn't afford to put the heating on:
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1407115898</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
''Ice curled across the inside of the window and crept up the corner of the bedpost.''
|author=Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
 
|title=The Highway Rat
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=When you see a new book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler you know it's already set to be a best seller and that you're in for a treat!  Here Donaldson takes the refrain from ''The Highwayman'' by Alfred Noyes and weaves it into a story about a rather naughty rat who just can't stop stealing everyone else's food!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1407124382</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
The family didn't go to the cinema or on holidays but they had each other and they were happyThen the day came when they couldn't afford the rent for the house and they had to move to the far side of the cityThis part of the city was cold, sad and lonely and Isobel felt invisible.
|author=Rutu Modan
 
|title=Maya Makes a Mess
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=For once it is almost impossible to make a plot summary without giving almost the whole game away – such is the brevity of this bright and breezy book for those youngsters still reading with some supervisionMaya is at home and nothing she can do when eating lunch is to her parents' taste – her posture, her table manners or her use of the dog for leftoversBut lo and behold when they give the Queen as an example where she might need more decorum, there then comes a summons to dinner from the Queen – who would be more than surprised to see Maya in action…
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1935179179</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Nick Jones and Si Clark
|author=Jane Hissey
+
|title=One Night in Beartown
|title=Little Bear's Trousers
+
|rating=4
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=When Little Bear wakes up one sunny morning to discover that he has lost his trousers he feels sure that he will find them quickly with the help of his friends. However, although Old Bear, Camel, and the others have all seen Little Bear’s trousers no-one knows where they are now. So Little Bear sets off on a journey to visit all his friends in search of his missing trousers. What has happened to them? Will Little Bear and his trousers be reunited?
+
|summary= Many children have an obsession and Sandy Lane, who lives in Beartown, is obsessed with bears. She collects books about bears. Her favourite toy is Berisford, a teddy bear passed down by her grandmother. Every night, she looks out of her bedroom window and says goodnight to the bear statue outside. Every morning she says hello to Bee Bear, a colourful painted bear that lives at her school. She even has bears on her bedroom wallpaper!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908177837</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=B08NFH7H9X
}}
+
}}
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Newest General Fiction Reviews]]
|author=Jane Hissey
 
|title=Old Bear Stories
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=The Old Bear stories are delightful.  This collection brings together five stories into one book, introducing us to Old Bear, Little Bear, Jolly Tall and all the other toy friends.  The toys look like all those lovely old fashioned toys that children used to have, jointed teddy bears and fuzzy rabbits, and the stories too have a sweet, old fashioned appeal.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908759933</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=John Jackson and Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini
 
|title=Tales for Great Grandchildren
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|summary=
 
I love old folk tales and fables. The treasure chest of myth and legend contains universal stories, as relevant today as they were in the ancient communities in which they were first told. They speak of love, loss, jealousy, courage, cowardice and grief. They wonder about the world in which we live. They offer explanations, some magical, some plain common sense. They're joyful. They're sad. And sometimes they're frightening. They have all the light and shade that adds up to the human experience.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>095692123X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Anita Pouroulis and Jon Lycett-Smith
 
|title=Mum's Cronky Car
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Mum's car is, well, not the most recent model.  In fact it's falling apart and wouldn't even start if it didn't get a push from Dad.  The journey to school in this patchwork car held together by bits of string and willpower is full of uncertainty.  When they stop at the traffic lights will the car move again - and when it just dies in traffic what can they do?  Then one day something rather magical happens.  They're stalled in traffic, wondering what to do next, when the car drifts into the sky and flies them all to the school gates.  Suddenly this isn't an old wreck but an adventure.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0957308701</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 09:24, 2 December 2023

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Review of

Murray and Bun by Adam Stower

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two. But he's a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffs. This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do… Full Review

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Review of

The Adventures of Birpus and Bulbus: Book One: The Sour Milk Dragon by Wynn Everett-Albanese, Michael Albanese and Indre Ta (Illustrator)

4star.jpg For Sharing

When we first meet Birpus and Bulbus they're running for their lives in the Forest of Fine Repute. Their greatest fear has come about: the Sour Milk Dragon is chasing them. He's right behind them, spewing hot, sour milk from his nostrils. (Please don't try this at home: it won't end well.) Fortunately, they were nearly at Nobby Lob-lolly - and when a ladder of moss and vines was lowered for them, they escaped. They climbed up to the Tree Wee homes high up in the tangled woods where they lived with their Grand Wees, Nester Nook and Granny Cranny. Full Review

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Review of

On the Beach: The Winter Visitor by Chris Green and Jenny Fionda

5star.jpg For Sharing

Kit and Teal were just beginning to wonder whether it was better to be at home, bored but warm, or frozen cold and building sand sculptures on a snowy beach when a large slab of silvery ice drifted onto the shoreline. On top of the ice was a polar bear. As the ice bumped onto the sand, the bear woke and with wobbly legs moved from the ice. Kit was all for making a run for it, but Teal knew that the bear was hungry and gave him one apple and then another. He obviously needed to be taken home on the bus and given a good meal and somewhere to sleep. What else would you do? Full Review

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Review of

Let's Celebrate Being Different by Lainey Dee

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Todd was excited about spending the weekend with his grandmother, not least because she made the best beetle juice. He packed two pairs of dungarees and his favourite hat and then gathered together his button collection to show his grandmother. She had promised to take him to the Friday Night Club at the local community centre and Todd was pleased about this as he wanted to make new friends. At home, his only friend was his mum and he wondered why that could be. Grandma thought that it might be because he looked different. Full Review

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Review of

The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories) by Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey

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Elsie and her little brother David loved to go to the park and watch the red buses drive past. Elsie would race the buses along the side of the park but David couldn't - he'd been born with cerebral palsy and even just standing up was very difficult. One day Elsie spotted a bus in the toy shop window which would help David - and was happy to use the coins from her money box to pay for it as cash was tight at home. Gradually, David learned to stand up, use the bus for support, and walk behind it. Many decades later, Elsie brought the bus, now damaged and rusted, to the Repair Shop, hoping that the experts there could make it so that her grandchildren could play with it. Full Review

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Review of

The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories) by Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey

5star.jpg For Sharing

Susan was very young when she was evacuated from London in 1939 and nervous about how she would be greeted when she got to her final destination. She needn't have worried though as she went to the home of Mr and Mrs Russell, who couldn't have been kinder to her. She even had her own room - all to herself. Gradually she relaxed and began to enjoy her life. She'd help Mrs Russell with the baking and when it came to Christmas Eve Susan and Mr Russell put the decorations on the Christmas tree. The best surprise happened the following morning. Full Review

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Review of

Squeakily Baby by Beth Webb

4star.jpg For Sharing

Much as mothers love their babies, there's something they all dread - a squeakily baby. He's so tired but he can't - or won't - go to sleep: instead, he just lies on his blanket and wails. The sea offers to help. It rocks Baby gently and the waves sing hush, hush. Think of gentle wavelets falling onto a sandy beach and you have the sound perfectly. The mermaids join in - la lou, la lay... And for a moment it seems to have worked as Baby closes his eyes. Then a seagull shouts and we know exactly what's going to happen next. Full Review

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Review of

A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant by Briony May Smith

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Philippa Pheasant was tired of nearly getting squished as she tried to cross the Old Oak Road. She wrote to the mayor about the problem but didn't even get a reply. Philippa wasn't a bird to sit back on her tail feathers when there was a problem which needed solving: she saw the benefits of the lollipop lady at the school crossing and decided that she would set up something similar herself. Her uniform and lollipop stick were both a little amateur to start with but the benefits were obvious. All the animals used the crossing and Hedgehog was even trained up to provide a safe path overnight. Full Review

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Review of

Leilong's Too Long! by Julia Liu and Bei Lynn

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Every morning Leilong, the brontosaurus school bus, makes his way through the city, picking up children as he goes. Children who live at the top of tower blocks don't even need to go downstairs – they simply climb out of the window and slide down his neck. It's perfect, isn't it? What could be a more fun way of going to school? There is a problem, though. Leilong isn't happy in the city: he's always having to be careful about where he puts his feet and – because he's longer than a tennis court – he often causes damage without intending to and traffic regularly gets snarled up. The school decides that he can't be the bus anymore. Full Review

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Review of

Bumblebee Grumblebee by David Elliott

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I love a good board book! Bumblebee Grumblebee is aimed at quite a niche market: it's for the child who still enjoys board books (er, see my first sentence) but has mastered sufficient language skills to have realise that you can play with words and make something quite different from each one. We have the elephant who dons a tutu - and becomes a balletphant. The buffalo who has had a bath (complete with yellow duck) and then dries off with a hair drier becomes a fluffalo. The rhinoceros who drops his ice cream cone is a crynoceros (think about it!) The pelican who sits on his potty changes into a sm....... OK, let's not go there Some people are eating! Full Review

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Review of

Carried Away With the Carnival by Ed Boxall

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It was one of those memories we treasure from our childhoods: an outing with our grandparents. They're there to undo all the good that parents do, so the trips out were always so much fun. A young boy was going to the carnival with his Grandad, who told him:

It'll be brilliant, just remember, don't let go of my hand. Full Review

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Review of

Otter's Coat: The Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit: A Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare by Cordellya Smith

4star.jpg For Sharing

When the world was made, the animals were given gifts. Bear was given strength so that he could become a protector. Water Spider received a strong web that even fire could not burn. Owl had excellent sight so that he could see the present and the future. Rabbit developed intelligence - but, unfortunately, not the ability to use it well. He liked to trick other animals. He was also jealous which was how he came to be in a race with Turtle. You might think that's not a fair contest but wait and see. Things are not always as they seem. I'll tell you how it came about. Full Review

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Review of

Carrots Don’t Grow On Trees! by Rob Keeley

4star.jpg For Sharing

Lily loves eating fruit and vegetables. She likes carrots, broccoli, cabbage and aubergines. When her friends at school turn up their noses, Lily is keen to explain how good they are for you and how nice to eat. One day, poor Lily gets tricked by Jordan, who tells her that carrots grow on trees. Infuriated, Lily checks with the teacher, who explains that fruits grow on trees and vegetables, like carrots, grow in the ground. Jordan says, "I did try to tell her, Miss!" and everyone laughs at poor Lily. Full Review

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Review of

You Can't Wear Panties! (No More Nappies!) by Justine Avery and Kate Zhoidik

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

For the big, grownup girls out there, the potty masters in training, "You Can't Wear Panties!" is a cry (the big-girl kind!) of toilet triumph and persevering panty pride.


And so it is! This latest book from Justine Avery celebrates a little girl's final goodbye to nappies and pull-ups and graduation to "proper" pants by following her around as she proudly explains to her dog, her cat, her stuffed rabbit and her baby sibling that she can wear super-duper proper pants, while they cannot. Neither can the flowers, nor the fish, nor the birds. Boy's certainly can't. She's a big girl now and she wants everyone to know it! Full Review

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Review of

Everybody Toots! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

4star.jpg For Sharing

Toots, trumps, farts. Whatever your word for them, find us a child that doesn't find them irresistibly funny. Funny to talk about and joke about, that is. But horribly embarrassing if you let one go at the wrong time. In class, say, when everyone will hear it and everyone will laugh. At you. Justine Avery's latest entry in her Everybody Potties! series takes aim at any shame associated with tooting and gently and calmly, with the familiar humour attached, explains that tooting is perfectly normal. Everybody does it: Everybody Toots! Full Review

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Review of

Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Seema Amjad

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! is the latest release in the Everybody Potties! series from Justine Avery. This series of fun picture books aims to take the pain out of potty training children and replace it with some fun. It's a worthy aim, as any frustrated parent will tell you. . Full Review

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Review of

When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended by Peter Cotton

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Meet Fred. Well, actually, you're going to be meeting Fred-Fred for reasons which will become all too obvious very quickly. But I'm getting ahead of myself: I'd better tell you a bit more about Fred. Fred is a snake and even those of us who have a phobia about snakes are going to warm to him. He arrived as a present in a box with holes so that he could breathe and immediately became part of the family, to the extent that they would take Fred out with them when they went out for a walk. And that was where the problem started. Fred didn't have any road sense. Or brakes. Full Review

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Review of

Everybody Pees! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

4star.jpg For Sharing

Can potty training ever be joyous? It often isn't, as any parent will tell you. But really, why shouldn't it be? We all have to learn about our bodily functions just as we have to learn about everything else when we are small. Why shouldn't potty training be as much fun as, say, learning about why the sun and the moon take turns in the sky? Full Review

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Review of

No, No, No! by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

4star.jpg For Sharing

They say the best picture books are the simplest ones. And nothing could be truer of this latest from Justine Avery, a Bookbag favourite.

No, No, No! is based around the simplest text imaginable.

No, no, no! Okay, okay. Yes, you may.

That's it! But, like all the best picture books, this tiny snippet of text is a veritable tardis - so much bigger on the inside that it appears on the outside. Full Review

194812467X.jpg

Review of

The Farm Shop by Devon Avery, Justine Avery and Ema Tepic

4star.jpg For Sharing

Kirelle and her best friend Sam the cat decide to go for a walk. Kirelle is dressed for all weathers in her bright yellow wellies and Sam is perfectly turned out as ever in his smart grey fur coat. As they walk to the top of the hill, they see a big barn with a sign outside. It's a farm shop! But this is a farm shop with a difference: all the stallholders and customers are farmyard animals. There are sheep and ducks and cows, goats and chickens, and even some mice. Excited, Kirelle and Sam go shopping.

What will they buy? Full Review

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Review of

Sadie and the Sea Dogs by Maureen Duffy and Anita Joice

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

Sadie's mother always said that she was a dreamer, her mind never on what she should be doing. She lives by the River Thames at Greenwich and she loves to spend hours at The Maritime Museum or gazing at Cutty Sark.

Her class had gone one rainy afternoon
When all the houses cowered in the gloom,
To the Maritime Museum.

Her imagination was fired. She'd love to sail the oceans on an ancient sailing ship and went back regularly. One day she fell asleep under a glass case (it's the one where Nelson's Trafalgar breeches are on show) and missed the closing bell and the attendant's warning shout. When she woke (hard floors don't make comfy beds) she was in the midst of an adventure that she could never have imagined in a world of dolphins, pirates, mermaids and treasure. Full Review

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Review of

Little Gold Ted by Vanessa Wiercioch, Poppy Satha and Sasha Satha

4star.jpg For Sharing

One day, Gold Ted falls into a puddle. It's quite a deep puddle and the water is swirling. Poor Ted starts to spin around and around and is sucked down a drain on the side of the street. Finding himself down in the sewer, Ted starts to panic. OH HELP ME PLEASE he cries and alerts the attention of Reg the sewer rat, who plucks him out of the dirty water using his cane, which might look just a bit like an old cricket bat. Reg is a kind soul and he dries Ted off and warms him up with a nice bowl of broth. Full Review

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Review of

Remy: A book about believing in yourself by Mayuri Naidoo and Caroline Siegal

4star.jpg For Sharing

Remy is feeling miserable. He's let himself down again. The school bully Jayden, together with his sidekicks Ryan and Brandon, have been laughing at Remy, calling him names because he is short and has small eyes. They are mean but they are not stupid. They are careful to wind up Remy when nobody can see and then push him just that little bit further when the other kids are around. So, when Remy reacts, it looks as though he was the instigator. And then he gets into trouble at school and the teachers don't believe him when he tries to explain what happened. Full Review

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Review of

The Invisible by Tom Percival

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This is the story of Isobel, a little girl who made a big difference. Isobel lived with her parents in a house - a very cold house, because her parents couldn't afford to put the heating on:

Ice curled across the inside of the window and crept up the corner of the bedpost.

The family didn't go to the cinema or on holidays but they had each other and they were happy. Then the day came when they couldn't afford the rent for the house and they had to move to the far side of the city. This part of the city was cold, sad and lonely and Isobel felt invisible. Full Review

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Review of

One Night in Beartown by Nick Jones and Si Clark

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Many children have an obsession and Sandy Lane, who lives in Beartown, is obsessed with bears. She collects books about bears. Her favourite toy is Berisford, a teddy bear passed down by her grandmother. Every night, she looks out of her bedroom window and says goodnight to the bear statue outside. Every morning she says hello to Bee Bear, a colourful painted bear that lives at her school. She even has bears on her bedroom wallpaper! Full Review

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