Newest Confident Readers Reviews
Shrinking Violet is Totally Famous by Lou Kuenzler
In this latest installment of the popular 'Shrinking Violet' series, we find our eponymous heroine all in a flutter because her favourite TV star, Stella Lightfoot, is in town. An excited Violet and her best friend Nisha rush to the local book shop in the hope of meeting Stella, but we know what happens when Violet gets too excited... Full review...
Magnificat by Marilyn Edwards
Ben is most definitely a dog person. He would love his own pet dog, but mum keeps refusing. He has the next best thing, an online cyberdog called Shadow, but what he really wants is a living, breathing, loyal canine companion to call his own. His best friend has a dog. Why can’t he? It seems like it is never the right time to approach mum about it, as she is always tired, teary and depressed since dad left. Full review...
Heart-shaped by Siobhan Parkinson
Ok. Before I even start reviewing, I need to explain just how much I loved this book. It's the companion to an earlier story from Siobhan Parkinson, Bruised, over the same timeframe, and following a supporting character whose story is intimately connected. Before I'd read to the end of the first chapter of Heart-shaped, which is all of two-and-a-half pages long, I'd fallen in love with Annie. And I knew I couldn't bear to read her story without reading Jono's, in Bruised, first. So I rushed orff to Amazon and downloaded it to my Kindle. You might not find that particularly surprising, but it is. I review books. I hardly ever buy books because I have a pile of advance copies shouting My turn! My turn! whenever I look their way. Full review...
Oliver Fibbs 2: The Giant Boy-Munching Bugs by Steve Hartley
Oliver Tibbs is an average child in a very above average family. His mother is a brain surgeon, his father a famous architect, his sisters are the stars of the National Ballet Academy and his little brother is a genius with a talent for maths and a chess champion. Oliver's parents are desperate to find some as of yet undiscovered talent for their ordinary son, but so far it looks likes Oliver's only talents are reading comics, making up fibs, and eating pizza. I think Oliver did have his own genius though, as most children do, and while his parents desperately searched for something he could excel at, his hidden talent was right under their noses the whole time. Full review...
The Taming of the Tights by Louise Rennison
Tallulah has secretly done Number 6 with the Dark Black Crow of Heckmondwhite, if you don't know. What that means is that she has had a lip-lock with a Yorkshire boy who's all dark and moody and mean-seeming, and she shouldn't perhaps have snogged him because she likes another boy, and another, older boy – with a girlfriend – seems to like her a lot. What that means is that we are firmly in Louise Rennison territory. Full review...
The Grunts All At Sea by Philip Ardagh and Axel Scheffler
Mr and Mrs Grunt are a rather despicable couple. They are dirty and violent and always throwing things at each other. They eat things like dead badger scraped off the roadside, and like using very rude words. But as disgusting and depraved as they are, they are not evil. They are more like overgrown, badly behaved toddlers who haven't seen a bath in years. They fight and throw things, but honestly seem to care about each other as well on some level. They live with their adopted, or more accurately kidnapped son, who doesn't seem to notice that wearing dresses is unusual for a boy, and Mrs Grump has taken the trouble to dye them blue. Rather than a house they live in a caravan that looks like a cross between a camping caravan and an outhouse, and is pulled by a large elephant, with two donkeys riding in their own trailer behind. Full review...
The Year of Big Dreams by Karen McCombie
Flo Brown's mum is in the final of a huge TV talent show! Millions of viewers want to see her give a life-changing performance - but they aren't expecting what they see. What will happen to Flo, her mum, and her gran Olive after the show is complete? Full review...
Sam's Spitfire Summer by Ian MacDonald and Charlie Clough
'Sam's Spitfire Summer' is billed as a thrilling WW2 adventure. In my opinion it is not. This is not a high octane adventure. Instead it is the story of a rather ordinary boy, homesick, terribly frightened and unsure of himself after being evacuated from London. This book describes the life of a child during WW2 with such realism that I honestly wonder if it might have some basis in fact. It describes Sam's loneliness, and fear, being separated from his parents as his father goes away to fight the Germans, and his Mother remains in London, with the risk of bombing. This book really gives a good glimpse at how Sam feels being evacuated. He misses his home desperately and is frightened by the large animals in the country - such as cows. Full review...
Anton and Piranha by Milena Baisch and Chantal Wright
Anton just can't understand his grandparents. He was looking forward to a camping holiday, but only because he expected a pool. The campground his grandparents chose has a lake instead of a pool and Anton is terrified of the dark water and creeping aquatic vegetation. What's worse his grandparents want him to swim in it. There are fish in the water, and snails and all sorts of slimy things. So Anton watches the other children have fun and gets nasty because he is left out. He isn't happy with his grandparents other ideas either. They want him to play board games instead of watch the telly at night, and they even want him to make friends. Not the internet sort, he has plenty of those. They want him to make friends with real children. How positively uncivilised of them. But when Grandpa takes him fishing, he does make a friend, a very close friend, even if it is a fish. Full review...
The Smallest Horse in the World by Jeremy Strong and Scoular Anderson
Bella despises the new girl at school, Swan. Swan is always bragging about her rich father, her fancy house, their Ferrari etc... And to make matters worse, she is rude, bossy and much bigger than Bella. Bella has problems at home too. Her parents have split up and she misses her father; her mother is always working and she doesn't seem to have any close friends. Things look pretty dismal after an argument with Bella, but every thing changes when Bella's favourite picture breaks and out steps a real live horse. A very tiny horse, but a horse all the same, and a talking one at that. Bella would love to keep the little horse, Astra, but the horse is desperate to be reunited with her true master, Rufus. Full review...
Joe and the Lightning Pony by Victoria Eveleigh
Joe has discovered that his pony, Lightning, is brilliant at mounted games - you know that ones we see kids and their ponies playing at the Horse of the Year Show. What we see is the competition for the Prince Phillip Cup and Joe can't wait for him and Lightning to try out for the local Pony Club team. He adores Lightning - the pony we heard so much about in Joe and the Hidden Horseshoe - but he knows that he'll soon be too big for the her. Other children might worry about how they would get another pony to ride but Joe is worried about Lightning. Joe and his family brought her back to health - but would that continue if the pony was sold on? Full review...
My Friend the Enemy by Dan Smith
It's 1941. Peter wishes the war away every single day. His father is away fighting. They rarely hear from him. Mr flipping Bennett is always at his house. Making sure he and his mother are managing, apparently. That's not what the other children are saying. They say Peter's mother is Mr Bennett's fancy woman. And they bully Peter about it. Despite farms lying all around, there isn't much food. Everything is rationed. Full review...
Out Of This World by Ali Sparkes
The best thing about being a book reviewer is the sheer variety of reading material you get access to. In the last few weeks alone I’ve been immersed in blasphemous hilarity, paranormal mystery and even the landscapes of deepest darkest Transylvania. This book, however, is the first one I’ve read in ages that dragged me right out the door on an adventure. Full review...
Time Hunters: Gladiator Clash by Chris Blake
Time Hunters is a new series of six books featuring a young Egyptian princess and a modern-day schoolboy who team up to locate six hidden amulets, scattered in a variety of dangerous historical locations. Gladiator Clash is the first book in the series and sees the duo magically transported to ancient Rome, where they train with gladiators and compete for a chance to fight in the arena with the most feared gladiator of all, Hilarus, who is currently unbeaten and just happens to possess the lost amulet. Full review...
Oksa Pollock: The Last Hope by Anne Plichota and Cendrine Wolf
Oksa is a French girl whose family has just moved to London to open a restaurant with the parents of her best friend Gus. She is a determined (some might say headstrong) and energetic thirteen-year-old whose lively imagination often leads her to see herself as a ninja warrior. But the truth is far more astonishing. She and her family come from a magical hidden land called Edefia, and she is soon to discover that she has a unique and terrifying destiny, one which will put her and everyone she holds dear in serious danger. Full review...
Invisible Girl by Kate Maryon
The day that it happened, that everything changed for Gabriella had felt the same as any other. If she had realised that she would not sleep in her own bed again she may have snuggled down for a little longer. If she had known how very hungry she would get she would have made time for an extra piece of toast that morning. If Gabriella had known what was going to happen she may have begged her Dad to change his mind. However in the space of twenty four hours Gabriella was to lose her home, her Dad, her school and her best friend. She finds herself totally alone and stakes everything on being able to find her brother, Beckett, whom she has not seen for several years. She believes if she can find Beckett she will have found a home and a family. Full review...
Joe and the Hidden Horseshoe by Victoria Eveleigh
Joe did not want to move. Birmingham suited him just fine. It was where his friends were and his school - and he'd got life sorted quite nicely. But his father had got his dream job as head of a group of village primary schools and the family - Mum, Dad, Joe and his younger sister Emily - moved to a farmhouse in Devon. His Mum was determined that she and Emily would have ponies to ride and not being prone to thinking things through before acting it wasn't long before Lady and Lightning arrived in a horsebox. Mum should have made checks on the ponies before deciding to buy them and she should have been even more wary when the ponies were delivered with little ceremony. But she wasn't. Full review...
Chuckle Bob's Great Escape by Jeremy Strong and Scoular Anderson
Chuckle Bob looks positively wicked in the first illustration of this book, but then who can blame him for feeling a bit cranky? He wants to swing in the trees and run in the grass, not sit in a cage all day. When he sees a chance to escape, he takes it, causing all sorts of mayhem in the process. Once out of his cage he turns the entire pet shop into a disaster zone. He lets the parrot loose, but it falls into the fish tank. Fish get knocked everywhere, including down the pet store assistant's top, and then he lets out the gerbils and rabbits as well. While Mr Rush, the pet store owner and his assistant Maya try to deal with all the mischief he has caused, an unsuspecting customer enters the door, and Chuckle Bob makes his escape, with just a bit more mayhem of course. Full review...
Horrid Henry's Nightmare by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross
Horrid Henry was the first chapter book my son ever read alone. It was quickly followed by a succession of books in the series and my son's confidence in reading grew by leaps and bounds with this engaging series that gets young children reading and keeps them reading. The simple fact is, with such a large number of books in the series, any child who reads through the whole lot will improve their reading skills. As he has grown older, his tastes in books have changed, but as I sat down to read 'Horrid Henry's Nightmare' to my four year old he was happy to listen in as well and we all enjoyed sharing this book as a family. Full review...
Hagurosan by Darren Shan
The story begins with a young child, living in a small village at the foot of a holy mountain. When he is told to take a small cake as an offering to the spirits of the shrine, he is disappointed as he would rather play with his friends, but he does as he is told. It is a long walk though and he soon grows hungry. Surely the gods will not mind if he has just a tiny nibble at the cake? But one nibble leads to another and by the time Hagurosan arrives at the shrine, he has eaten the whole cake. All children make mistakes, but what Hagurosan has done is a terrible offense in the culture he lives in. Full review...
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
Sophie has waited her whole life for this night - the night that two children will be taken from her village of Gavaldon to the School for Good and Evil. Sophie has been doing Good Deeds and practising her beauty regime especially. Unlike the other children in the village - who cut their hair and try to be rude if they're good, or hastily says some prayers and do kind things if they're bad in an effort to avoid being chosen - Sophie just knows she's going to be taken for Good, and she can't wait. Full review...
Jinx, the Wizard's Apprentice by Sage Blackwood
Everybody knows you don't stray off the path when you're deep in the woods. And everybody knows, too, that stepparents usually want you out of the way — permanently. So poor Jinx has no difficulty in understanding, even at the tender age of six, that things are not going well for him. Rescued by a wizard, he spends much of the next few years quietly helping out round the house. It's not a bad life: Simon Magus is gruff to the point of rudeness, but the house is warm and the food is tasty and plentiful. Full review...
How Brave Is That? by Anne Fine and Vicki Gausden
All Tom has ever wanted to do is join the army, but the odds seem stacked against him. Schoolwork doesn't come easily for Tom, and without a lot of work, he'll never pass his exams. Tom is determined and with enough determination we can overcome huge obstacles. It's a good thing too - because Tom is going to have major obstacles thrown in his path. Any child with younger siblings will be able to laugh at the disasters that befall Tom as he tries to prepare for the most important day of his life - the exam that will determine his future. If he passes he can join the army. If not - his dreams are over. Full review...
The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
As a child, I read The Grey King, book 4 in Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising Sequence. I loved the book so much it topped my Christmas list for years, but sadly Santa never delivered. As an adult I finally bought the entire sequence for myself. This book is intended as a child's book, and it is brilliant as book for children, but it is also well loved by many adults, whether as a cherished memory of their own childhood or as a book discovered as an adult. I'll admit that as child, this can book can completely draw into other worlds in a manner not possible for an adult, but this is still an excellent read, whatever age you may be. Full review...
The Child's Elephant by Rachel Campbell-Johnston
Bat, a young herdsman living on the African savannah, witnesses the killing of an elephant by poachers and then takes her orphaned baby back to his village and cares for her. Gradually the two become inseparable and Meja, the baby elephant, becomes part of village life, loved by all the villagers but especially by Bat and his best friend, Mukah. As time passes Bat’s grandmother warns the two children that the elephant will have to return to the wild and the herd to which she belongs. Reluctantly the two friends learn to accept this truth but they have no idea that their bond with this animal will be strong enough to survive both distance and terrifying events. Full review...
The Daring Escape of Beatrice and Peabody by Kimblerly Newton Fusco
This is the story of Beatrice (Bee) Hockenberry, the girl with a diamond on her cheek. Orphaned at a young age, Bee lives in the hauling truck of a travelling fair with Pauline who runs the hotdog stand. Daily, she suffers staring, ridicule and worse torments because of the prominent birthmark on her cheek. The story really starts when first Pauline and then Bobby the pig-man, the only people who have ever been kind to her, leave the fair. With no one left to protect her from the show owner who wants to put her in the freakshow booth, she takes her dog Peabody (as much of a stray as she) and Cordelia, the runt from the piglet race and runs away. Taken in by two mysterious old ladies, Bee starts school and embarks on a whole new life which has troubles of its own. Full review...
Twerp by Mark Goldblatt
Julian Twerski did something bad. So bad, that it got him suspended from school. When he returns, his English teacher asks him to write a journal about it, in exchange for getting out of doing a report on Shakespeare. Julian reluctantly accepts - but would rather be writing about sending love letters for a friend, blowing up fireworks, or pretty much anything else except telling Mr Selkirk about what he wants to hear. Full review...
Just Peachy by Jean Ure
It's always been said that it's difficult being the middle child in a family and Peaches McBride regularly feels as though she doesn't belong. Her elder brother, Coop and sister, Charlie are clever and outgoing - and after Peachy came the twins, Flora and Fergus who are full of each other and full of just being them. Add to this the fact that her father is a radio presenter, renowned for his abrasive personality and you might come to the conclusion that the best description of the McBride family is LOUD - well, except for Peachy. She's quiet, unassuming - and not entirely certain about who she is or what she wants. She does make a stand though - she really doesn't want to go to Summerfield - the school her father went to and where Coop and Charlie are in the limelight, She wants to go to a school where no one knows who she is. Full review...
Monsters and Legends by Davide Cali and Gabrriella Giandelli
My sons love stories of unsolved mysteries, monsters and mythical creatures. Like many boys, my oldest has a very strong leaning towards the non-fiction side of things. This book is for children who want to know how the legends were born, if any of the creatures could be real, and what the science behind the story is. I do feel this book is better suited to older children seeking a more rational explanation to the old stories, but my youngest did enjoy it as well. It might be useful for a child with a slight fear of monsters to get a more realistic view of them, but I would use caution with a child who is truly terrified of monsters as it might just give them more things to be afraid of. Full review...
Chasing the Dark by Sam Hepburn
Sam Hepburn's book begins, intriguingly, by echoing several well-known tales. There is the orphan foisted on an unwilling aunt and uncle, for example, and then the boy who is forced by a frightening, filthy old convict into bringing him food — not to mention a whole slew of stories about young people who find themselves in dangerous situations because they trespass in private property while attempting to retrieve their less-than-obedient pets. But the plot soon gathers a momentum all its own and all the themes hinted at in the opening pages suddenly merge into a new story which is both exciting and scary. Full review...
