What the Elephant Heard – Blog Tour

As someone who adores the majestic elephants that roam our planet I adored reading this book, as it tells you everything you could possibly want to know about them in a way that transforms you to the African plains alongside them, and all through rhyming verse too. The young elephant that features on the cover … Continue reading What the Elephant Heard – Blog Tour →

Cruel Castle – Blog Tour

Now I loved Savage Island and the author left so many unanswered questions, like what happened to the teenagers after they escaped the island. There were so many possible endings that the teenagers could have had. Luckily Bryony Pearce thought so too, so she wrote Cruel Castle as a follow up. We discover what has … Continue reading Cruel Castle – Blog Tour →

Brilliant Board Books to enjoy this October

A Peter Rabbit tale - Starting School by Beatrix Potter Published by PuffinRRP - £5.99 There is always something so incredibly soothing about the world of Beatrix Potter, and that is certainly true of this heart warming new title, intended for little ones. This story surrounding Peter Rabbit is one of his imminent start at … Continue reading Brilliant Board Books to enjoy this October →

Helen’s Middle Grade Must Reads – October Part Two

Keeper of Secrets by Sarah J Dodd Published by Firefly Press When Emily’s mum dies, her dad decides to up sticks and move, getting a job as the local vet. Emily discovers that a local wildlife charity has released Lynx’s into the wild. Not everyone is happy with this and will do anything to get … Continue reading Helen’s Middle Grade Must Reads – October Part Two →

Pip Murphy on writing 1920s children’s mystery, A Discovery Disappears

It’s no secret among my family and friends that I’m a big fan of mysteries, both reading and writing. In Spring 2020, one of those friends, Cecilia, told me that the publishing house she works for was looking for an author to commission to write a children’s mystery series. The series would be about two … Continue reading Pip Murphy on writing 1920s children’s mystery, A Discovery Disappears →

Picture Book Perfection – October Part Two

Daisy's Dragons - A Story about Feelings Written by Frances StickleyIllustrated by Annabel TempestPublished by Studio Press This gorgeously illustrated book tells of the emotions we feel, all depicted as dragons, who balance one another out in order for us to feel as though we are coping in our day to day. Daisy has six … Continue reading Picture Book Perfection – October Part Two →

Helen’s Middle Grade Must Reads – October Part One

Count by Melvin Burgess Illustrations by Chris Mould Published by Anderson Press on October 7th. We all know someone who boasts, it could be over anything, best lunch, best games console anything. Well the children at Todley junior school have Brandon, he’s always the best at everything. One day his best friend mentions how well he … Continue reading Helen’s Middle Grade Must Reads – October Part One →

True Adventures series from Pushkin Press

Pushkin press have published some amazing True Adventures books, these are short stories that will interest children of all ages and the best thing is that they are true. Here’s a round up of my favourites. The Fog of War, Martha Gellhorn at the D Day Landings. Written by Michelle Jabes Corpora In June 1944 aboard … Continue reading True Adventures series from Pushkin Press →

Locked Out Lily

Written by Nick Lake Illustrations by Emily Gravett Publishes on 30th September 2021 by Simon & Schuster I can remember what I was feeling when my younger brother was born, I was gutted, I wanted a sister. That was such a long time ago I never gave it much thought until my second child was born. … Continue reading Locked Out Lily →

Coming apart at the seams: developing characters by Mark Jones

In the twenty-something years since I studied criminology, I still have two beliefs concerning the subject. The first is that a lot of low-level crime is down to impulsive behaviour. The second is that solitary confinement does not reform offenders. These two core ideas were small parts of developing Ermington Snyde. He is one of … Continue reading Coming apart at the seams: developing characters by Mark Jones →