Today marks the publication day of the new picture book edition of The Velveteen Rabbit, beautifully illustrated by David Litchfield, and it is something truly special.
This is a story many will already hold close to their hearts and this new edition feels like a beautiful reintroduction to the classic, ready to be discovered by a new generation of readers.
It feels strange to be writing this after such a long gap, but here we are. I’ve been a little quiet on the blog since August 2025, simply because life has been busy in the way it so often is. Between teaching, everyday commitments and everything else that fills the weeks, writing took a bit of a back seat. That said, I’m finally catching up on some posts I’ve been meaning to share, and I wanted to start by saying that I’m still very much here and still just as passionate about sharing great children’s books - starting with this one.
This is the perfect book to share with you the week before most pupils in the UK start the new school year. As a teacher, I love seeing the new picture books that come out over the summer, ready for September. I especially like seeing the new books that focus on children having their first-ever day at school. This book - How to Train Your Teacher by Bethany Walker - is exactly that.
I am very proud - and very privileged - to be bringing you this blog post today as part of the Shevolution blog tour!
It has been a while (almost eight months, in fact) since I last shared a blog post or book review here. As a Year 6 teacher, I don't have as much free time to read and blog as I would like. I wrote and scheduled a few back in September, when the new school year started, but I have struggled to sit down and write things like this. I am trying to be better but I also need to be kind to myself.
Anyway, today I am here to talk about this incredible new non-fiction book - Shevolution - and, as part of the blog tour, I am going to focus on one incredible woman from this book who deserves to be part of women's history.
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.
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...
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...
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.
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...
I am so excited to be talking about this book on my blog today!
I was kindly gifted this book at the start of the month ahead of its release yesterday. First of all: WHAT A COVER! Secondly, I read this entire graphic novel in one sitting and it is brilliant.
Let me tell you more...
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