I loved The Brontës, which was the inaugural title for Anna Doherty’s series Fantastically Feminist series and was really pleased to find out that there was to be a new volume on Michelle Obama: The Fantastically Feminist (and Totally True) Story of the Inspirational Activist and Campaigner (Wren & Rook). You don’t really get more empowering and inspiring …
Five Fabulous Books About People (or Fish) Who Are in Big Trouble by Jon Agee
Today, some very lucky children in Ipswich will be taking part in an event with Jon Agee as part of the The Children’s Book Show. Jon Agee is the author and illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including ALA Notable Books Little Santa, Terrific, Milo’s Hat Trick, Nothing, The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau, and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor winner It’s Only …
BLOG TOUR: My Pet Star
Corrinne Averiss (text) & Rosalind Beardshaw (artwork) (Orchard Books) When a little girl finds a fallen star underneath a tree, she decides to nurse him back to health with kindness and care. The two become firm friends but Star doesn’t feel quite at home in the hut. So the little girl decides to do what …
BLOG TOUR: “A Planet Full of Plastic” by Neal Layton
In A Planet Full of Plastic (Wren & Rook) Neal Layton introduces children to the current and vital topic of plastic pollution. The book covers many topics within the theme, from the history of the creation of plastic, to biodegradation and to what we can do to reverse the problem. It is extremely informative, detailed yet simple enough for young …
Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise
Katherine Rundell (Bloomsbury) Fellow children’s literature appreciators have all experienced the following, when stepping out of their echo chambers: the slight bewilderment of others when they learn that you read children’s literature. That bewildered expression often turns to aghast when you confess that you have studied it, or worse, that you read /study picturebooks. Yes, yes, those people …
Read for Empathy Blog Tour: Louise Greig
Today I am hosting the Read for Empathy blog tour, which celebrates books that help develop empathy, in the build-up to Empathy Day which takes place on June 11th. Empathy Day was founded in 2017 by not-for-profit EmpathyLab. It aims to drive a new empathy movement, inspired by research showing that humans are not born with …
Picture Book of the Week monthly recap: May 2019
SEA: A World Beneath the Waves Patricia Hegarty & Britta Teckentrup (Little Tiger Press) Following the huge success of Tree, Bee and Moon, this wonderful creative duo are back with a new peek-through picturebook focusing on the natural world, this time on the world underneath our seas. This is a fabulous theme to showcase Teckentrup’s …
Picture Book of the Week monthly recap: April 2019
Norm Sylvia Liang (Thames & Hudson) Norm (short for Normal) lives in a world where everything is the same. Him and his friends go round with rules making sure everything is the right size, the right shape, etc. But when Norm across Odette (Odd for short), she introduces him to a whole different world, one …
Five Fabulous Books that inspire me to look at the world in a different way by Fifi Kuo
Panda and Penguin live together and share everything, including the beloved tatty old sofa they love to sit on. They decide to go and buy a new one, but none feels quite right, and for good reasons. Fifi Kuo’s The Perfect Sofa (Boxer Books) is absolutely delightful; its succinct text is teamed with bold colourful double-spreads and …