|summary=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 [[May Contain Nuts (The World of Norm) by Jonathan Meres|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...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408313049</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Gary Crew and Shaun Tan
|title=The Viewer
|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=The story concerns a young lad who loves scavenging and exploring. Finding a Hellraiser-styled box of tricks contains a Viewmaster-type machine, he puts it to his eyes and sees something a lot more serious than, say, a Thunderbirds episode in thirty 3D images, which was all I ever saw in mine. Instead, Tristan sees nothing but death and destruction, and a compelling sense of - well, something.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0734411898</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Deirdre Madden
|title=Jasper and the Green Marvel
|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Have you read [[Snakes' Elbows by Deirdre Madden|Snakes' Elbows]] yet? If not, you really should. And although you can follow this story without having read the first one it's much nicer to know all about everyone really, isn't it? So, let's carry on as if you have read ''Snakes' Elbows'' so you know all about the little town of Woodford and a certain millionaire who lives there called Jasper Jellit. He's a rather nasty piece of work, and it was with great relief at the end of the first book that we saw him get locked up in prison. However, he's served his time and he's just been released back into the community, which can only mean more trouble for Woodford...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571260071</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Robert Swindells
|title=A Skull in Shadows Lane
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=The war has ended but life is still pretty dour Josh and Jinty. Rationing is still in place and it's difficult to get enough to eat, let alone anything that's nice to eat. Most of the Yanks have gone home. And they're about to head into one of the coldest winters on record. Kicking around looking for some excitement, the siblings decide to explore the deserted cottage in Shadows Lane. Even though rumours say the house is haunted, they don't really expect to find anything. So the discovery of a human tooth in lane is rather more than they had bargained for. And when a skeletal face appears at the window, they hot foot it just as quickly as they can...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0552564095</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Deirdre Madden
|title=Snakes' Elbows
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Barney Barrington, the millionaire pianist, is returning to live in his home town of Woodford, but the current local millionaire, Jasper Jellit, doesn't like it one little bit. Jasper revels in parading around town as the most extravagant millionaire, throwing ridiculous parties to show off his riches, and he resents the entrance of a competitor to the town. Barney, however, lives a quiet, reclusive life and wants no part in Jasper's shenanigans. But when a rare, beautiful painting comes up for sale they both decide they want it. Jasper, much like a spoilt child, will stop at nothing to get his way, but he may have a fight on his hands since there are a few animals who intend to save the day...!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>057127336X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Karen McCombie
|title=You Me and Thing: The Dreaded Noodle-doodles
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=We first met Thing in [[You, Me and Thing: The Curse of the Jelly Babies by Karen McCombie|You, Me and Thing: The Curse of the Jelly Babies]] where he caused rather a lot of chaos with a large number of jelly babies. He's back again, and this time he really, really wants to go to school with Ruby and Jackson... it can only end in disaster!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571272592</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Francesca Simon
|title=Horrid Henry's A - Z of Everything Horrid
|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Francesca Simon's Horrid Henry is a very popular little boy, although you might have a different opinion if you actually had to put up with his antics yourself. A slightly modernised embodiment of 'slugs and snails and puppy dogs' tails' concept of boyhood, Henry is naughtiness personified, combining irreverence for authority with a huge dose of gross-out crude humour that really appeals to the target readership of early primary school children. Add a somewhat nostalgic, timeless feel, trademark alliterations, subtle (and not so subtle) digs at family dynamics, sibling rivalry and particularly at modern middle-class manners and sensibilities and you have a winning character and a base for a very successful edutainment franchise.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444002260</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Alan Gibbons
|title=Street of Tall People
|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=It's the East End of London, and it's 1936, and it's a time of fighting. Jewish lad Benny, and Jimmy, who's rather more C-of-E, are going to become firm friends through having a boxing bout against each other. Benny is fighting against the more extreme anti-Goyim sentiments of his neighbour Yaro. Jimmy has to fight, it seems, against life, what with his father dieing and his mother having found a new boyfriend, putting a sense of social outcast on the lad. And all through this is the fight to come, around the corner, against Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1907869239</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Frank Cottrell Boyce
|title=The Unforgotten Coat
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Julie lives in Bootle and is in her last year of primary school. She's like every little girl, hoping to be invited to her friends' houses for tea and just beginning to think about boys. She's never thought much about the world outside Bootle but the arrival of Chingis and his younger brother Nergui is about to change all that. The two boys are nomads from Mongolia and they arrive at school on a hot summer's day, wearing traditional Mongolian furry coats and hats. Taking a shine to Julie, Chingis appoints her his Good Guide to the UK. And in return he tells her stories of horsemen and eagles and shows her Polaroid photos of a land far away.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406333859</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Alan Early
|title=Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent (The Father of Lies Chronicles)
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=When Joe Quinn is offered a great job working on the new Metro tunnels, within just a few days, he and his son Arthur have packed up and moved from a peaceful life in Kerry across country to central Dublin.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1856358275</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Melanie Welsh
|title=Heart of Stone
|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=We're back in the coastal town of Wellow to catch up with Verity Gallant and her pals. Verity has had a marvellous summer spent sailing with Henry but we all know peaceful times are unlikely to last...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0385617674</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Dave Shelton
|title=A Boy and a Bear in a Boat
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=''A boy and a bear go to sea, equipped with a suitcase, a comic book and ukulele. They are only travelling a short distance and it really shouldn't take too long. But then their boat encounters "unforeseeable anomalies"... Faced with turbulent stormy seas, a terrifying sea monster and the rank remains of The Very Last Sandwich, the odds soon become pitted against our unlikely heroes.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0385618964</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Adele Geras, Anne Fine, Henrietta Branford, Jacqueline Wilson, Malorie Blackman, Philip Pullman, Tony Mitton, Alan Garner, Berlie Doherty, Gillian Cross, Kit Wright, Michael Morpurgo, Susan Gates and Linda Newbery
|title=Magic Beans
|rating=4
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I was attracted to this book because it features stories from [[:Category:Jacqueline Wilson|Jacqueline Wilson]], [[:Category:Philip Pullman|Philip Pullman]], [[:Category:Michael Morpurgo|Michael Morpurgo]], [[:Category:Alan Garner|Alan Garner]] and many other prominent children's writers. I thought it might make a great Christmas or birthday present (and it would). There's a selection of stories from traditional sources such as Hans Christian Andersen, and Aesop, and I imagine that the authors were inveigled into writing for publisher David Fickling with a free choice of original stories. So don't expect a collection or compendium, but rather an anthology of tales that have entranced and inspired these writers in their own childhoods – magic beans indeed.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857560433</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Steve Backshall
|title=Predators
|rating=4
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Many readers would probably know that on the simple count of humans they helped to dispatch, mosquitoes may be the most deadly animals ever. But did you know that if you take into account the success rate of hunts, diversity and spread, ladybirds are more successful predators than tigers?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444004174</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Nicola Pierce
|title=Spirit of the Titanic
|rating=5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Samuel Joseph Scott was fifteen years old when he landed a job in the Belfast shipyards. But when Sam plunges to his death while working on construction of the magnificent Titanic, he doesn't leave her behind. Sam becomes a spirit on board, realising his dream of sailing away with his beloved Titanic on her first... and, of course final voyage. Sam roams freely throughout the ship, from the luxurious first class all the way down to the engine room. He observes the lives of the people on board, become privy to their hopes, dreams and fears. Sam takes particular interest in one third-class family, Jim, Isobel and their children, as they sail away to their new and better life in America. But when disaster threatens the lives of all on board, can Sam find a way to lead the family to safety? And what will become of Sam as the Titanic sinks to the ocean's bed?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847171907</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Garrett Carr
|title=Deep Deep Down
|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Ewan can see monsters, wherever he is. That's not because he has any special abilities - unlike his friend May, who can telepathically talk to the animals, or Andrew, who starts this book a sub-human, with a Hellboy-type mutated and very mighty arm, and demons writhing inside him sending him berserk. No, Ewan can see monsters everywhere he looks because life is like that - especially adults. So when May decides a fabled pool of magical water is what can cure Andrew, they go and find an idyllic place of long life, peace and Utopia. And still Ewan can see monsters. But which side is of more danger to the other?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847386008</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Cat Clarke
|title=Torn
|rating=4
|genre=Teens
|summary=
A week in the Scottish Wilderness doesn't exactly sound fun, not to Alice King, but that's what she's about to embark on. Her and her classmates are off on an activity holiday together – walking, climbing, caving. Alice is fortunately put in a cabin with her best friend Cass, so things can't be too bad. But, then Tara Chambers, the popular girl, gets put in their cabin too - things definitely just got worse. Tara, though beautiful is powerful, mean and likes nothing more than putting people down.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857382055</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Mary Norton
|title=The Borrowers: The Borrowers and The Borrowers Afield
|rating=5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=
Most people will be aware of the story of the Borrowers. First published in 1952, it has been dramatised several times, most recently as Arrietty, the beautiful Studio Ghibli animated film. A little girl called Kate is told a story by an elderly lady, Mrs May, who lodges with her parents. Her brother was sent as a small boy to stay with an elderly great-aunt in a large house near Leighton Buzzard, a market town in the Home Counties. He is recovering from a serious illness. The house is an ideal place for the Clock family, tiny people who survive by 'borrowing' from humans (even their names - Pod, Homily and Arrietty - sound as though they're repurposed from human names. However, the boy spots Arrietty, and this leads to disaster for the Borrowers.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444005812</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Cathy MacPhail
|title=Out of the Depths
|rating=5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=It must be cool to have some superpower, right? Be able to fly, or hold your breath for an hour underwater, or see dead people? Hmm . . . not so much. Tyler isn't at all impressed when she suddenly starts to see people who really shouldn't be there, and neither are her classmates. In fact, they think she's either lying to get attention, or she's insane. And Tyler is beginning to wonder if they're right.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0747599092</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Chris Barnardo
|title=Dragonolia
|rating=4
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=
This book is, first of all, a rather beautiful book to behold. The red cloth hardback cover with the curled-up golden dragon on the front immediately make you want to pick it up and look inside! It's also a rather unusual book, being a mix of both fiction and non-fiction, so when you begin it you're initially not quite sure what you're looking at. As you read on you discover that there's a story running throughout by Sir Richard Barons, a famous dragon hunter, and with each story he tells there is also a craft project of something related to make!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1904967248</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Joan Aiken and Jan Pienkowski
|title=The Kingdom Under the Sea
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=I do like a good collection of fairytales, and by that I mean the rather more menacing, edgy versions, rather than the sanitised re-tellings that we often see. Here Joan Aiken is retelling some European fairytales and they are full of dragons and mermaids and goblins and witches. It's exactly the sort of more unusual collection of stories that would have kept me happy and quiet on a dull, rainy afternoon as a child and it has the added attraction of many atmospheric and beautiful illustrations by Pienkowski.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857550098</amazonuk>
}}
