Dark, mysterious, captivating… The Vanishing Trick pulled me in from the very first moment Leander spotted the strange, black carriage and met the eerie Madame Pinchbeck. “It wasn’t a sin to steal if you only took forgotten things” and this lost, forgotten, empty boy needs nothing more than to belong – to someone, to something.… Continue reading The Vanishing Trick by Jenni Spangler & illustrated by Chris Mould
In April 2019, I went to Waterstones for an Easter holiday treat. I chose The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf. I picked it up because the plain cover had all the writing on the back of a boy’s rucksack. When I turned it over and read the blurb, I… Continue reading The Day We Met the Queen by Onjali Q Rauf – Book Review by Lucy, age 10
Reading this, I felt like I had travelled back in time to when I first read and loved Austen in high school. The writing is so similar in style - Lucy Worsley has really captured the essence of Austen and what her stories were all about. The charm of the characters jumps off the page… Continue reading The Austen Girls by Lucy Worsley
The Wild Way Home is a captivating story of self-discovery and realising what is truly important in life. In the stillness of the forest, twelve-year-old Charlie and her friends explore the ancient paths and walk where many people have come before. When Charlie discovers a special deer tooth, she has no idea to whom it… Continue reading The Wild Way Home by Sophie Kirtley
Get ready to be carried away on a heart-stopping adventure of secrets, airships, maps, stolen jewels and pirates! Sky Pirates by Alex English joins the ranks of Brightstorm (Vashti Hardy) and Cogheart (Peter Bunzl) as a brilliant science fiction airship adventure with a strong, clever girl at its centre. Eleven-year-old Echo lives in the palace… Continue reading Sky Pirates: Echo Quickthorn and the Great Beyond by Alex English
Fierce, Fearless and Free is a wonderful collection of powerful girls in myths and legends from around the world. From Armenia to Lithuania to Scotland to Mexico to China to Siberia, heroines in thirteen tales from across the globe will inspire children with their strength and wit. There is something for everyone and plenty to… Continue reading Fierce, Fearless and Free by Lari Don & illustrated by Eilidh Muldoon
I first fell in love with the mysteries of Venice many, many years ago. As a child, I listened to the audio book “Vivaldi’s Ring of Mysteries” with gondolas, masks, music and the Island of the Dead. In 2017, I was so fortunate to visit this floating city myself. I was enchanted by the maze-like… Continue reading The Mask of Aribella by Anna Hoghton
The end of Year 6 is supposed to be exciting - the start of a new adventure - but for Freddie Yates, a sudden turn of events causes him to question everything he knows. For someone who loves facts, this is very unsettling. He decides to set off on his greatest adventure to find a… Continue reading The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates by Jenny Pearson
Take yourself back in time to Edwardian Cambridge: a city of learning and invention as well as hardship and loss. It’s 1905 and Helena finds herself moving to a strange house full of all kinds of clocks. The owner, Mr Westcott, is obsessed with keeping these clocks ticking. They must never stop. Helena’s father is… Continue reading The House of One Hundred Clocks by A.M. Howell
Like Shakespeare, the language of Charles Dickens is an enormous part of our lexicon and everyday life. A familiarity with his stories is a key part of a well-rounded general knowledge about British literature, history and culture. Dickens’ links to the Industrial Revolution and Victorian Britain also make him an important part of the Key… Continue reading A World Full of Dickens Stories by Angela McAllister
Scope for Imagination 