|summary=It's Cactus Annie's first day at cowgirl school, but she really struggles to fit in. Her teacher encourages her to believe in herself, but Annie's having a hard time doing that, especially as there are scary rat rustlers on the loose. When the cows go missing, Annie is secretly pleased, as it means she won't have to do any cowgirl things, but she's soon faced with an opportunity to prove herself.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340981415</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Adam Epstein and Andrew Jacobson
|title=The Familiars: Animal Wizardry
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Meet Aldwyn, Skylar and Gilbert, three familiars to three wizards in training. Aldwyn the cat is something of an impostor however, since unlike Skylar, a vision-casting bird, and Gilbert, a prophesying frog, he doesn't have any magical powers. He is just a cat-about-town, sneaking a fish here, dodging a meat cleaver there, and he fell into the role of familiar quite by accident whilst running into a pet shop to escape a bounty hunter. Still, when the boy wizard he works for, Jack, is kidnapped along with his friends, Aldwyn and the other familiars must find a way to track them down and rescue them before they are all killed.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007371772</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Paul Mathieu
|title=The Masters of Manton: From Alec Taylor to George Todd
|rating=4.5
|genre=History
|summary='Manton' is one of those iconic names in horse racing: the yard on the edge of the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire and currently the home of trainer Brian Meehan. But Paul Mathieu isn't looking at what's happening today, or even in the recent past; he's looking back at the men who made Manton a household name from when the yard was built in 1870 through to George Todd's death in 1974. The first master was Alec Taylor – generally known as 'Old Alec Taylor', who came to Manton from Fyfield with a string of classic winners to his name. He, his son, 'Young Alec', Joe Lawson and George Todd were the great names in just over a century at the yard.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0955389402</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Alex T Smith
|title=Egg
|rating=4
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Egg rolls up to the house of the wicked Foxy DuBois. Foxy invites Egg in - she's always very kind to strangers - but she's got a glint in her eye, and has devilish plans for what she's going to do to the little egg. The clues are there: recipe books, and pictures of fried eggs adorning her walls. Be careful, Egg!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340959851</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Penny Dolan
|title=A Boy Called M.O.U.S.E
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=There seem to be a lot of Victorian adventures around at the moment: the combination of neglect, poverty and fiercely-protected social divisions typical of the age allows evil and greed to flourish, and creates wonderful situations for adventure. And this book is an excellent example of the genre, with its wide range of characters both good and bad, and its child hero who must suffer and struggle as he travels through a multitude of colourful settings before reaching his goal.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408801388</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Ken Follett
|title=Fall of Giants
|rating=5
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=This is a thumping, great read at 850 pages. We meet a clutch of families who are all vastly different in terms of class, outlook, values etc. I have to admit at the outset that this is the first Ken Follett book I've read even although two of his previous books are in my ever-growing 'to read' pile. So although I know of him, my reading expectations were wide-open.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0230710077</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Ellen MacArthur
|title=Full Circle
|rating=4
|genre=Autobiography
|summary=
It's some years since I read [[Taking on the World by Ellen MacArthur|Taking on the World]] and – against all expectations thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not a sailor and don't have a great deal of interest in yacht racing – but what appealed to me immediately was the character of someone who was determined not to let ''anything'' stand in the way of her ambitions. My only disappointment came later as I felt that the book had been written too soon – I really wanted to know about '''that''' big race and what you do with the future when you've done everything. How lucky did I feel when ''Full Circle'' landed on my desk?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0718148630</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Anne Cottringer and Sarah McIntyre
|title=When Titus Took The Train
|rating=4.5
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Titus is going on a train journey all by himself. His mum and dad have given him his lunch, books and games, and seen him off at the station. The guard will keep an eye on him on the journey, and Uncle Henry will meet him at the other end. Nothing could possibly go wrong. ...Unless, of course, the train is attacked by bandits, chased by a Tyrannosaurus rex, has a boulder hurtling towards it, and then won't stop as it's approaching the station. Luckily, our Titus is a little bit of a hero.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>019272987X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Andrew Penman
|title=School Daze: Searching for a Decent State Education
|rating=3.5
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=As a teacher myself, I'm naturally well aware of most of the aspects of education that Andrew Penman discusses here and some of the stories he repeats are well-known to me but may be of news to some readers. Yes, people will really do just about anything to try and get their children into the school of their choice – even commit fraud! But how well does this book work as an insight into the type of measures some people will go to for those readers unaware of the desperation that
can set in at this time in a child’s life? It’s a good question…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906132976</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Geert Mak
|title=An Island in Time: The Biography of a Village
|rating=4
|genre=History
|summary=In the mid 1990s journalist and author Geert Mak returned to his native Friesland and took up residence in the village of Jorwert. His aim was to investigate the quiet revolution going on in the agrarian communities not just of Holland but of the whole of Europe.
This wasn't going to be an outsider's view. Mak grew up in the northern Dutch province; he spoke the language; he knew the games and understood the people. In a very real sense Mak was going home… and finding that it scarcely existed any more.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099546868</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Zarir Suntook
|title=Learning Accountancy: The Novel Way
|rating=4
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=If you're planning on learning how to prepare accounts the traditional method has what almost amounts to an initiation ceremony. You're introduced to double entry book-keeping, which is the equivalent of being asked to learn HTML without ever having seen a web page. Some people ''do'' take to it like ducks to water – they're usually the people who think that Sudoku is ridiculously easy – but most people find that the concepts are difficult to grasp and this isn't helped by not really understanding why they need to master it. Zarir Suntook hasn't quite stood the methods of teaching on their heads but he's taken a more logical approach which is gentler on the brain.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1443819484</amazonuk>
}}
