Newest Confident Readers Reviews
Confident readers
Ash Mistry and the Savage Fortress by Sarwat Chadda
Heat, colour, smell and noise assail your senses as you join Ash and Lucky in Varanasi. They have travelled from England to visit their uncle and aunt during the holidays, and despite their Asian heritage they find the atmosphere as fascinating, frustrating and thrilling as any young person brought up in west London would do. The castles and markets are intriguing, but the poverty, the constant heat, the poor roads and the dust are beginning to take their toll. The food does not agree with Lucky, and although he loves the archaeology of the region, Ash is beginning to envy his friends back home as they go swimming and indulge in day-long gaming sessions. But right from the start the culture clash carries hints of danger and mystery, until the terrifying moment when the supernatural explodes into Ash's life and changes him utterly. Full review...
The Bliss Bakery Trilogy 1 - Bliss by Kathryn Littlewood
A town with a name as ominous as Calamity Falls cries out for a shop like the one run by the Bliss family. Even before you move there you just know that if something can go wrong then it certainly will, and that however much it may look like normal small-town America on the outside, nothing short of magic will make it a happy, fulfilled place. No surprise, then, that this is where Rose lives, along with her parents, two brothers and her baby sister. And although the townsfolk don't understand precisely what goes on in the kitchen of the Bliss Bakery, they return day after day for the most delicious pastries, muffins and cakes they have ever known with a vague conviction that life is better as long as they do so. Full review...
Itch by Simon Mayo
Itchingham Lofte - cool name, cool guy, but he's Itch to you and me - is an element-hunter. Like many kids, he's a collector-magpie, but football stickers and manga-style cards aren't his thing. Itch is a science geek and he is trying to collect a sample of all 118 elements. Itch lives in Cornwall, where he has recently arrived from London, and his element-hunting doesn't carry much kudos at his school, where he spends most time dodging the bullies. At home, Itch has a tendency to formulate disastrous experiments and the latest explosion not only removed his eyebrows but also got his collection banished to the shed. Full review...
Muncle Trogg by Janet Foxley
Muncle Trogg is the smallest giant in the world. He's fed up of being upside-downed by his bigger, but younger, brother, Gritt. At school, he always falls foul of the other pupils. The teachers don't treat him too much better. He simply doesn't fit in at all. With his school-leaving exams coming up, Muncle doesn't know what he's going to do with himself. However, Sir Biblos, the King's wise man, sees a spark in Muncle, and Muncle embarks on adventures that dabble in the edges of the Smalling world. Full review...
The Prince Who Walked with Lions by Elizabeth Laird
This book is closely based on the story of a real boy, Prince Alamayu of Abyssinia, whose short life was divided between his beloved African home and Britain, the country of the people who conquered his father's kingdom. In fact, his grave can still be seen at St George's Chapel, Windsor. For his first few years he was brought up surrounded by servants, luxury and power, with a loving mother and a fierce but adored warrior father. But the king, a despotic and, some would say, reckless man, challenged the might of the British Army by chaining up and imprisoning the European envoys sent to negotiate with him, simply because he found them irritating. This action led to the attack on his lands and consequently the downfall of the Abyssinian monarchy. Full review...
The Lying Carpet by David Lucas
There is a room in a big old house where nothing moves but the insects. An empty chair sits to one side, a stone statue of a girl called, and representing, Faith, the other. In between is a tiger rug. What potential is in that for the setting of a charming book? What potential indeed... Full review...
The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon
Tom Gates is your typical year 5 lad: frequently late for school and fond of reading comics and doodling in school when he should be paying attention. Things change slightly when he's moved to sit at the front of the class between Amy - a clever girl - and Marcus who's a bit of an idiot. Tom tells us the story of his daily life, his attempts to impress Amy Porter, his favourite band and all the excuses he uses to get our of doing homework - or PE - or swimming - or for being late. He puts so much effort into doing all this that you really wonder why he doesn't just do the schoolwork. But then that would be too simple, wouldn't it? And we wouldn't have such a great book to read. Full review...
Grk and the Phoney Macaroni by Joshua Doder
The last time we met Grk (he's the dog, by the way) he was in Australia, but don't worry if you haven't read any of the seven earlier books in this series - they all read well as stand-alones. This time it might seem as though it's going to be a very local adventure with Mrs Malt taking Tim, Natasha and Max to the Natural Science Museum whilst Grk says in the car. Things are not as they look, though - for Grk is going to be dog-napped from the local park and whisked off to Italy with Tim in pursuit. On the way he's going to encounter Giovanni Mascarpone, the thirteenth Duke of Macaroni, his vicious bodyguards and quite a lot of people whose names are going to put you in mind of Italian food. Full review...
Christopher's Caterpillars by Charlotte Middleton
Christopher Nibble, a charming little guinea pig, loves gardening with his friend Posie. When they find six munching caterpillars on their plants though they decide that they cannot stay and choose to keep them as pets instead. They make a list of the things that they think that the caterpillars will need such as woolly socks and mini hairbrushes. When they visit Mr Rosetti, who runs the local café, he puts them straight and suggests that they get some clean jars, juicy leaves, twigs, and make lids with holes in them instead. They now know exactly what to do in order to look after their new pets and they do – very carefully. Full review...
Burping Bertha by Michael Rosen
It all began very innocently and, well, quite accidentally. Bertha was lying in bed looking at Tiger, her cuddly toy, when she burped - and Tiger fell over. It was the precursor of a series of events which, at their peak, would make Bertha a 'multi-multi-mega-billionaire superstar' and all as a result of what was nothing more than a lot of hot air. But it's not what happens when she gets there that matters - it's the story of how she did it and it's a brilliant tale told with all the ingenuity of Michael Rosen and accompanied by the wonderful illustrations of Tony Ross. Full review...
The Quest In A Vest (Gordon the Goblin) by Tariq Kurd and Laura Robertson
Gordon the Goblin is more than a little fed up because he is so small and not big and tough like all of the other goblins. They are all fearless hunters and go off on exciting adventures whilst Gordon is left behind. He decides that there is nothing else for it but to set out on his very own quest even though he feels very nervous at the thought of it. He approaches the chief goblin who laughs at him, before deciding to send him off to capture a dragon – not for one moment thinking that Gordon will succeed. It does look like an impossible feat especially as Gordon does lack strength and muscles. Maybe though, he will be able to use his brains and charm rather than relying on brute force. Will Gordon be able to find a dragon and actually persuade him that he wants to be captured and what will happen if he does? Full review...
Pumpkin Pie by Jean Ure
There are three children in the Penny family. Petal is the eldest and she is gorgeous - long legs, long blond hair and pretty with it. Pip is the youngest and he's the one with brains and has to be surgically separated from his computer. In the middle is Pumpkin - well, her real name is Jenny, but she's Pumpkin to the family - and she's cuddly with curly hair. Mum's the breadwinner in the family, with Dad being at home during the day as house husband and working as a chef of an evening. He's got a relaxed attitude to the home and to what the kids do: his obsession is food. He loves making it - and Pumpkin loves eating it. She's conscious about her weight but it still comes as a shock when her father starts to call her Plumpkin. Full review...
Pendragon Legacy: Sword of Light by Katherine Roberts
From the very first pages of this book we are left in no doubt about the character of Rhianna Pendragon, daughter of King Arthur. As we watch her in a horse race through the woods with her elfin companions we see that she is brave to the point of foolhardiness, stoic in pain and an excellent rider. Furthermore, as the only human on Avalon she has had to endure teasing and even pity her whole life long for her inability to perform magic, not to mention her large size and clumsiness when compared with the slight, delicate Avalonians. The experience has not made her bitter or resentful, however, but rather a determined young woman who can stand up for herself and make her own decisions. Full review...
The Sewer Demon: The Roman Mystery Scrolls by Caroline Lawrence
Fans of Caroline Lawrence's earlier series of mysteries set in Ancient Rome have enjoyed both the thrilling adventures of the four young friends, and the authentic detail which brought those stories so vividly to life. And now, with the adventures of Threptus, readers from about six or seven years of age can enjoy the same delights. Full review...
The Poodle Problem by Anna Wilson
Mrs Fudge had a big house and was rather lonely, so she decided that she would turn part of it into a hairdressing salon where people were encouraged to bring their dogs and to sample her rather delicious home baking. She met Pippa Peppercorn, aged ten and a quarter and a very self-sufficient young lady who was perfectly capable of helping Mrs Fudge by taking coats, making tea and looking after the dogs, but not by being on the operating end of the scissors, much to her disappointment. All was going well until a newcomer to the village of Crumbly-under-Edge opened a beauty parlour and it wasn't long before the competition became, well, just a little bit unfair. Full review...
Katy's Champion Pony by Victoria Eveleigh
We first met Katy in Katy's Wild Foal when she found a newborn foal on her birthday. A real bond formed between the two and the foal is now about three years old and ready to be 'backed' - or to have a rider on his back. Away from the ponies Katy is learning that even friends can be a bit thoughtless at times, that old people are not necessarily past it and she finds that she has reserves of strength and determination when it really is a matter of life and death. Full review...
Agatha Parrot and the Mushroom Boy by Kjartan Poskitt and David Tazzyman
Agatha Parrot has problems with her elder brother, James. And this is not just normal 'problems with elder brother' which every girl knows about. This is serious trouble. Just as Agatha is settling down to watch the final of her second favourite television programme, Sing, Wiggle and Shine, James snatches the television remote control and switches channels to the adverts which come on before his football programme. Without going into too much detail (Agatha will fill you in, don't worry) the results of his actions involve a large and highly decorated cake, the school fete, a birthday party and James dressing up as a mushroom. When Agatha goes for revenge she doesn't hold back. Full review...
Talina in the Tower by Michelle Lovric
Nineteenth century Venice can seem a sinister place, full of secrets, misty forgotten islands and magic, both good and 'baddened'. It does, however, have its brighter, warmer side, with cosy, comforting grannies and delicious recipes, and Talina loves it dearly. But then the mangy, rabid Ravageurs arrive, creatures part-way between wolves and hyenas, and claim the city as their ancestral home. Men, women and children are stolen away in the night, as are cats and rats, but the inhabitants refuse to believe the full horror of what is happening, preferring instead to blame a neighbouring town. Full review...
Burning Issy by Melvin Burgess
It's the early 17th century and Issy is living in Lancashire with her foster father Nat and foster brother Ghyll. Nat is a cunning man - a herbalist and healer - and Issy keeps house while Nat plies his trade and teaches Ghyll how to follow in his footsteps. It's a hard life and there is little to spare. And the family live on the edge of suspicion. Convinced he's being plotted against by Scottish witches, the King has unleashed witch-hunts on a deeply superstitious and fearful country. Healers like Nat are working in the grey areas of persecution and are only ever an accusation away from torture and trial, while time is running out for self-professed witches like Demdyke and her family. Full review...
Swift by R J Anderson
Ivy lives in an abandoned Cornish tin mine with the rest of her piskie clan. The piskies live in fear of kidnapping spriggans and so it's a closed life, with the females of the clan rarely going above ground. It's just too dangerous. This weighs heavily on Ivy, who has an independent spirit and sense of wanderlust. And Ivy has other sadnesses: her mother disappeared years ago, taken by spriggans, and she was born without wings so cannot fly like the others. Full review...
Max and Molly's Guide to Trouble: How to Build an Abominable Snowman by Dominic Barker and Hannah Shaw
I'd like you to meet Max and Molly Pesker of Laburnum Avenue, Trull. They're twins, with red hair and bright, fun-loving natures to match and this time they have a real problem on their hands. Laburnum Avenue is snowed in and Mum can't get to the supermarket. Until the road is cleared they're going to have to live on the supply of EMERGENCY BEANS which their father has been storing in the cellar. There's also a humanitarian aspect to their problems. The Goodley children (could children ever have had a more appropriate surname?) from across the street eat tofu but have never tasted toffee! That can't be allowed to continue, now can it? Full review...
A Fairy Tale by Tony Ross
In Balaclava Street Bessie was bored. Even her book wasn't helping. It was about fairies and she didn't believe in them, obviously. And even if they did exist they'd have more sense than to live in the gloomy streets around the mill, wouldn't they? Playing with her ball in the back yard she encountered her next-door neighbour, Mrs Leaf and a strange friendship developed between the old woman and the young girl. It was difficult for Bessie to work out if Mrs Leaf actually believed in fairies, but it seemed strange that as Bessie got older, Mrs Leaf seemed to get younger. And who exactly was Mrs Leaf? Full review...
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
From the very beginning of this delightful book you are left in no doubt about the extraordinary and magical adventures you will experience with Peter Nimble and his friends. As a baby Peter is found floating in a basket across the sea. The magistrates give him a name, as the law requires, then leave him to fend for himself. He is raised for a while by a cat, then adopted by Mr Seamus, a beggarmonger who trains him to steal and beats him regularly to ensure he learns his lessons well. Full review...
Will Gallows and the Thunder Dragon's Roar by Derek Keilty
Because this series revisits traditional western genre stories, this volume concerns the problems caused by settlers muscling in and making demands on the land and resources of the natives. Because it is also a fantasy series, the settlers are humans fleeing an earthquake-raddled territory for new lives where elves live, and if the cavalry are summonsed to take sides they'll do it on flying horses. And because this is a very enjoyable series, the fix half-human, half-elf Will Gallows - who could also qualify as a young member of the sky cavalry - finds himself in is a most compelling plot. Full review...
Katy's Wild Foal by Victoria Eveleigh
It snowed on Katy's birthday but something even more magical was going to happen that day. When she went out onto Exmoor she discovered a tiny newborn foal and its dam. With wobbly steps the foal walked right up to her and she was spellbound. It wasn't easy but she persuaded her father that the mare and foal needed help and he got them some hay. Katy couldn't ride but she still longed for that foal. Katy's Wild Foal is the story of the next year in Katy's life - and the life of the foal - and what a roller coaster it was going to be. Full review...
The Donut Diaries: Revenge is Sweet: Book Two by Anthony McGowan
Only the other week I was reviewing and enjoying a book styled as a young lad's diary, where the greatest insult was to call someone a doughnut. Here, the hero of a book styled as a young lad's diary, calls himself Donut. He does eat a lot of them, for one, and as a result has a bit of a muffin-top going on. His schoolfriends call him Donut too - those few friends he could gather together into a gang of outcasts and oddments in the first book of this series. In this first sequel, covering a couple of months in his second term, there is a very nasty problem, as Donut is framed for leaving unsavoury messages about the school. Full review...
To Be A Cat by Matt Haig
Be careful what you wish for - it might actually come true!
If someone had said this to Barney Willow before he wished to be a cat, if someone had made him believe it, then he might have avoided a great deal of trouble. But if you want to find out what he'd also have missed out on, then you'll need to read this lively and tragi-comic body swap story. Full review...
A Horrid Factbook: Horrid Henry's Sports by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross
Horrid Henry is back with another book of freaky facts and random trivia. We loved his book about Bodies and this time the lovable lad (well, I'm sure that's what his mother said...) is back with a book about sport. And in the year of the London Olympic Games, what could be more suitable? It's not just a crammer for every sport in the Games or the background to the Games themselves. This is the book which swoops into the World Cow Poo Throwing Contest and delves into the Bog Snorkling Championships. Full review...
Casper Candlewacks in the Claws of Crime! by Ivan Brett
This is the second outing for Casper and his friend Lamp, who likes inventing things, but don't worry if you haven't read the first book: this one is fine as a stand-alone. Casper's village is chock-full of idiots, who spend their time doing such ridiculous things you wonder how most of them managed to survive to adulthood. But the idiocy in these books does not encourage the reader, or indeed the author, to sneer: rather, it is a fond and glorious celebration of eccentricity taken to such extremes that it almost seems a different form of sanity. And it seems little lasting damage is done, either. People fall down, over and into things regularly, but never seem to suffer anything worse than a few cuts and bruises. A poor old lady in a wheelchair is thumped over the head, but the next time we see her she's grinning at the crowd and slapping her head to demonstrate what happened. And Casper's mum is such a bad cook she doesn't even take food out of the tin before cooking it, but no one starves. All in all, reading and enjoying the antics of the inhabitants of Corne-on-the-Kobb requires a major suspension of disbelief, which is of course not going to be a problem for the majority of the confident readers these books are written for. Indeed, the only difficulty such readers are going to have is to get through a whole paragraph of the book without dashing off to find someone to read a choice expression or joke to. Full review...
Pushka by Stephen Mackey
The circus train is coming to town and little Pushka is asleep in the last wagon. Unfortunately, he topples out and wakes up in fright amongst the enchanted trees of the forest. He is scared by enormous thuds on the ground but then he spies a beautiful dancing girl and instantly falls in love. Little does he know that the lovely girl, Lulu, is a puppet and there is an evil giant controlling her strings and using her to lure Pushka to danger. He finds himself in a lot of trouble when he is enticed into the giant's oven with its fierce burning flames. Luckily, the giant does not reckon on the strength of the love that Lulu feels for her new friend, at it is the power of this that helps her to save him. Full review...
A Hen in the Wardrobe by Wendy Meddour
It was a quiet night in Cinnamon Grove, with all its residents settled in for a peaceful night's sleep. But all is not well with everyone. At number 32, there is a sudden crash and Ramzis’ dad is on the move… looking for a hen in the wardrobe! But that isn’t all. So far, Dad has been chasing frogs across the pantry floor, searching for a leopard in the back garden and sailing to the moon in the bathtub. Dad is sleep-walking again, because he is homesick. The only solution is for the family to take off for an extended visit to his home, a Berber village in the mountains of Algeria. While there, Ramzi encounters Boulelli (a giant spider in the forest), the Wise Man of the mountains and the native Tuareq in the desert in an effort to solve Dad’s problem for good. But will any of it work? Or will it be up to Ramzi and his secret plan to save the day? Full review...
Wonder by R J Palacio
August Pullman was born with a rare genetic defect that has caused extreme facial disfiguration. He has undergone 27 surgeries since he was born and has always been vulnerable to illness. In order to deal with his medical needs and to shield him from the staring and cruelty of the world, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents for his entire life. But Auggie is stronger now and all of that is about to change. Auggie is about to enter school for the first time – and he’s petrified. ‘Wonder’ is the story of Auggie’s first year at Beecher Prep and his first journey alone into the outside world. But can he confront the challenges that wait for him there and convince his classmates, new friends, family and himself that, underneath his unusual appearance, he is just the same as everybody else? Full review...
Claude at the Circus by Alex T Smith
It's no secret that I am a big fan of Alex T Smith. I first discovered him in Claude's first story, Claude in the City and fell in love with the little dog in the red beret and his best friend, Sir Bobblysock. I know, I can already sense some of you rolling your eyes at the thought of a story featuring a dog and a sock, but really you'd be doing yourself a favour to just stop being a grown up for fifteen minutes and let yourself revel in the pleasure of a highly enjoyable story! Full review...
Lolly Luck by Ellie Daines
Lolly really is called 'Luck'. Her first name is Lollyanna but everyone who knows her calls her Lolly or, just occasionally, Lollipop. And she really is lucky, winning magazine competitions, raffles and scratch card prizes - but all this changes on her eleventh birthday when she goes home from school expecting that the family is going to have a great evening at a local restaurant and hat she'll be given the bike she's been dreaming about. She gets the bike, but her dad has bad news. He's been made redundant. At first it's not too bad but then the reality of long-term unemployment kicks in and the family lose their home. Then Lolly overhears an argument between her parents and discovers something which will change her life. Full review...
Opal Moonbaby by Maudie Smith
Martha has decided that she will never have a friend again. She and Chloe used to be very close, but then Colette came along and suddenly Martha was out in the cold. If she doesn't do friendship than there is no way that she can be hurt again. Life isn't easy at home - it's just her, her mother and her younger brother, Robbie - as money is tight. Her mother has gone back to hairdressing (or head refurbishments as her employer calls it) and would like Martha to spend time with Chloe during the day. Martha has other calls on her time though. She's met an alien. Full review...
The Lunar Chronicles: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
This Cinderella does not have to sweep the grate and clean the dishes - she has to mend maglev vehicle tracks. This Cinders does not leave her shoe behind when invited to the ball, she has her entire foot fall off. This Cinder does not live in a realm of fairy queens and pumpkin carriages, but New Beijing, a massive city of just two and a half million, due to the Fourth World War. She's a cyborg - hence the foot, but she's still owned by a crotchety bigot of a step-mother, with two step-sisters. And this is a very different world, where a global plague is going to be brought too close to home... Full review...
Signs of Love: Love Match by Melody James
Gemma Stone’s ambition in life is to be a famous journalist – so when a school webzine is started, she jumps at the chance to take part. She quickly finds out, though, that things aren’t as glamorous in the media as she’d imagined, especially when she’s the youngest person involved and gets stuck with the job of writing horoscopes. Then a fluke prediction or two make her new column a must read, and she realises there’s the potential to set up her firend Treacle with the boy she’s been watching from afar… will the path of true love be lit up by the stars? Full review...
May Cause Irritation (The World of Norm) by Jonathan Meres
There's no need, it seems, to point out how unfair the world is to you when you're a twelve year old lad. Norm certainly knows that already - despite the lavatorial accidents in book one, his younger brothers are going to be bought a dog, the ultra-annoying perfect cousins are overloaded with opportunity and spanking new mobile phones, and the girl next door has just posted a photo of him, naked, on Facebook. Such causes for desperation require a very desperate fightback, and that's what Norm is going to give us... Full review...
