Book Review: Worry Boots by Lisa Thompson & Aysha Awwad

With the start of the new school year creeping up for us here in the UK, I thought this was the perfect time to review this picture book which focuses on that first-day-at-school feeling.

This book - Worry Boots - is described as a "first-day-at-school picture book like no other" and "a gentle, encouraging book for parents to help their children" with school anxiety.

My YA Summer Reads

 I thought I would do a follow-up to My Middle Grade Summer Reads post almost a fortnight ago, sharing some of the YA books that I've been reading/want to read this summer.

Now, I'm very aware that the summer is coming to an end as we approach September, but 10 middle-grade books and 10 YA books over one summer was always a bit of a stretch for me. In the past, that would have been easier for me but with other responsibilities and events, I was never going to read them all in my six-week summer.

Either way, here are the ten books I have started reading or will be reading soon...

I'm Loving: WRD Magazines

It's obviously no secret that I love books, especially when it comes to books for younger readers - from picture books to YA. So imagine my excitement when I discovered there is an amazing magazine dedicated to sharing children's books!

WRD magazines are for children aged 8-13+ (these are spread across two separate magazines, which I will talk about in more detail later in the post). The company rebranded as WRD in 2013, after previously being known as tBkmag. They really are the best source of up-to-date releases and what is happening in the world of children's books. The magazines include interviews, special feature pieces and - my personal favourite - extracts from new releases so you can have a sneak peek at some new books.

Book Review: The Little Gardener's Handbook by Michael Holland & Maria Dek

I think it's clear to see by now that I love a children's picture book. Not even because I'm a teacher and love to share them in school with the children - I just think picture books are one of the greatest things on this planet.

Usually, I will reach for a fictional picture book, often with some kind of moral or message, but today I am going to be reviewing a lovely non-fiction picture book all about gardening.

So, let's look at The Little Gardener's Handbook: A Beginner's Guide to Gardening...

Summer holiday 2024: Alcúdia, Mallorca

Cameron and I recently got back from a week away in Alcúdia on the island of Mallorca (Majorca to some). This blog is very much a book blog, especially after my post clearout, but I also want to scrapbook/document special occasions like this.

So, if you're interested, read on to see what our holiday was like and browse our photos.

Book Review: Magic Pickle and the Roots of Doom by Scott Morse

Now, this is a slightly different book for me to be reading and reviewing but I am very aware of the ever-growing popularity of graphic novels for younger readers. Over the past two years, I have really noticed a love of graphic novels growing in school. This has been especially noticeable in Years 5 and 6.  In fact, in the class I just finished the year with there were at least five children who spent the year working through my personal and school collection of graphic novels, swapping them amongst themselves when they'd read a good one and having a chat about them during our "book blather" sessions. Some of them even took them outside at lunchtime because they wanted to keep reading. I love that!

This new graphic novel, which was released two weeks ago, was kindly gifted to me by Scholastic.

This book was written and illustrated by the incredible Scott Morse. He has created other amazing books but I was amazed to find out he works as a story supervisor at Pixar. Scott Morse has worked on films including Ratatouille, Cars and - a personal favourite - Wall-E. He has also worked for Cartoon Network, Disney and Nickelodeon. What a resume!

So, let's take a look at this graphic novel: Magic Pickle and the Roots of Doom...

Book Review: My Body, My Rules by Nicki Esler Gill & Dasha Riley

I love an empowering, informative message portrayed through picture books for young children. It doesn't need to be heavy or too deep but it's great to see good values and behaviours demonstrated through the joy of reading.

Today, I am reviewing My Body, My Rules - a picture book that aims to introduce younger readers to body boundaries and consent in a lighter manner.

My Middle Grade Summer Reads

Despite being in my thirties, I love a middle-grade book. I try to read a good amount of them for my job because I can then recommend them to the children I work with and be in the loop with new releases and what's of interest, but overall I just love reading them for myself.

This summer, there is a good selection of general books that I want to read - six of which I read while on holiday in Mallorca last week - but many of them are middle-grade books. So, here are ten middle-grade books that I want to try and read this summer (with two of them being ones I read next to the pool!)

Book Review: A Boy Called Book by Vincent Ralph & Aaron Cushley

Yesterday was National Book Lovers Day, so I decided to delve into my TBR pile and find a book to review that felt like a good fit for this lovely day. Step forward, A Boy Called Book - a beautiful picture book with a lovely story and stunning illustrations.

Once there was a boy called Book...

A Fresh Start for the Blog

Hello everyone!

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, I am announcing a fresh start for my blog.

My little blog will be ten years old in just over six months and, with me wanting to get back into it more, it felt a bit disjointed and like I was building on something I didn't want as part of my public story.