Category Archives: Book reviews by Lexi

Reviews by Lexi Rees of a wide range of newly released children’s books.

The monster, the puppy, and the mix-up

I do love a Robin Bennett book and have previously reviewed several of his books on here as well as joining him for a chat where he shared his five (and a half) writing tips. So I was always going to say “yes” to reviewing his latest book in the Monster Max series, This Time it’s Sirius.

This has all the essential ingredients: a logo (“Protect and do good stuff”), secret clubhouses, monsters, werewolves, and the cutest puppy. I’m a sucker for a cute puppy with a hidden backstory – check out my exclusive interview with Claire Fayers about her book Stormhound if you don’t believe me.

Anyway, back to Sirius. As a grown-up, the plot was entirely predictable, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable. This is a perfect fun read for the last week of the school holidays, and doubly perfect given the full moon on the 30th August is both a supermoon and an extremely rare blue moon (hence the phrase “once in a blue moon”). I think we should get practising our werewolf howls, although I’m gutted to discover the moon won’t actually turn blue.

Blurb

Max can turn into a huge monster just by BURPING, and back again when he SNEEZES. Now Max and his best friend Peregrine realise that a dangerous pack of werewolves from Max’s home country of Krit are closing in on him and his family. But Max hasn’t told anyone about Sirius the tiny werewolf cub he found, smuggled home, and decided to keep…

About the author

When Robin grew up he thought he wanted to be a cavalry officer until everyone else realised that putting him in charge of a tank was a very bad idea. He then became an assistant gravedigger in London. After that he had a career frantically starting businesses (everything from dog-sitting to cigars, tuition to translation)… until finally settling down to write improbable stories to keep his children from killing each other on long car journeys.

What happens when Oliver Twist meets Harry Potter?

I’ve always loved the boarding school scenario from my first adventures at Mallory Towers to Hogwarts so I was excited to visit Crookhaven – a secret school for crooks. Given the plethora of boarding school books out there, I know it’s not easy to create a unique world and the tropes can be overdone, but this series totally nails it.

  • Secret boarding school ✔️
  • Quirky lessons ✔️
  • Fun challenges ✔️
  • Loveable rogues ✔️
  • Robin Hood ethics ✔️

This series had me reading under the covers in the middle of the night. I haven’t done that since I was ten! I literally couldn’t put it down. When is book 3 coming out? I need it now!

It does lean on some scenes from Hogwarts – e.g. there is a river crossing with the first years (“crooklings”) to get to the school and a sorting ceremony into houses – but it is really well done. Good messages on teamwork and kindness, as well as the importance of practising skills (in fact it was nice to see this applied to lessons as I always tell students that writing is a skill and you can get better at it if you practice, just like you can get better at football if you practice).

My only complaint about the books is that there are a few references to playing/ walking on railway lines and this is NOT OK. I really don’t see why this is included – it’s not critical to the plot, and certainly not something we should in any way encourage.

Blurb: Crookhaven series

Book 1: The school for thieves

The first book in the ‘criminally good’ Crookhaven series, the secret school where students are taught to do wrong, so that one day, they can put the world to rights.

“So this is really a school for criminals.” It was meant as a question, though it came out more as an accusation.

“We are so much more than that,” Caspian said, sitting in a plush leather chair and gesturing for Gabriel to sit in a similar one across the table. “We are a home for the forgotten, a sanctuary for the lost and … yes, a training ground for the greatest crooks of the future.”

13-year-old Gabriel is a brilliant pickpocket, a skill which he uses to keep his often empty belly not quite so empty. And then one day, he’s caught.

But instead of being arrested, he is invited by the mysterious Caspian Crook to attend Crookhaven – a school for thieves. At Crookhaven, students are trained in lock-picking, forgery and ‘crim-nastics’, all with the intention of doing good out in the world, by conning the bad and giving back to the innocent.

But … can you ever really trust a thief?

With a school wide competition to be crowned Top Crook and many mysteries to uncover, Gabriel’s first year at Crookhaven will be one to remember… 

Book 2: The forgotten maze

It’s Gabriel’s second year at Crookhaven School for Thieves. And with a tricky Break-In challenge to the teacher’s section of the library to attempt, plus a new class called Reclamation, his Miscreant year is already off to a busy start. 

Then Gabriel and his friends learn about Maravel’s Maze. Hidden deep beneath the lake, forgotten about by the school, it’s a labyrinth of obstacles. Each tests a crook-related skill – and all are nearly impossible. 

But the impossible has never stopped Gabriel’s crew before, especially not when there’s something at the heart of the maze that they all desperately want…

#crookhavenschoolforthieves #netgalley

Bus book stop time (again!)

I remember play buses from my childhood so I’ve always had a soft spot for the play bus book series (Jay-Jay and his friends) by Sue Wickstead and have featured several of them over the years.

Sue is in my local writing group and is a primary school teacher as well as an author. Her latest book, Daisy Daydream Bus Rhymes and Jokes, is slightly different as although it refers to the real Daisy Daydream bus JJK 261, it is a collection (obviously, given the title) of bus themed rhymes and jokes rather than a story. I was pleased to see a page on the history still included though.

Sue’s writing style is usually more text dense than a traditional picture book, making them read aloud stories rather than independent reads, but given this is in short snippets so a young bus fan can dip into it themselves. As for the jokes – well, I particularly loved this one

What is red, runs on wheels, and eats grass?
A bus – I lied about the grass!

Blurb

Some well known nursery rhymes, rewritten, with a bus twist. Come and sing along and share a bus joke too. A special collection for Daisy Daydream

Author Bio

Sue Wickstead lives in West Sussex, UK and writes children’s picture story books. 

Her stories relate to both her experiences as a teacher as well as her play-work adventures with a bus.

The Playbus was a real double-decker bus full of toys, arts and crafts, as well as a lot of fun to play on. Sue wrote a photographic social history book about the project which led to her story telling and her writing. All of Sue’s books do have a bus included in them somewhere. Daisy Daydream was the bus that Sue painted and the start of her Playbus and writing journey. 

When not writing Sue builds models with Lego (especially for her grandson), she loves spending quality time with her young grandson and enjoys creating models to share with him on his visits. 

Her grandson features in the book ‘Barty Barton; the bear that was loved too much’ which was published in 2020. He also helps his Nanny Sue to sing along with a few of the rhymes sue has written.

Many of Sue’s books have been entered and shortlisted in ‘The Wishing Shelf Book Awards’, the book ‘A Spooky Tale’ was a silver medal winner in 2019. The story was written with her class in school. 

Championing Change: A must-read Book for fighting racism and prejudice

If you’ve seen my activity book, The Fashion Fix, you’ll know I’m passionate about incorporating sustainability into my clothing choices whilst my mindfulness books, BElieve in YOUrself and Be More You, provide a science-led approach to mindfulness. So it’s not going to surprise anyone that one of my mantras is how making lots of these small changes all add up. And today, I’m excited to be sharing an an educational/ activity book on this theme that I REALLY wish I’d written: Everyday Action, Everyday Change by Natalie and Naomi Evans published by Hachette. This book focuses on helping readers identify and address racism and prejudice, and it’s both absolutely brilliant and (sadly) still very necessary.

Book cover for Everyday action, everyday change

The challenge with a book like this which tackles big, important topics (race, religion, gender, equality/ equity, sexual orientation) is to make it fun and non-preachy. Mission accomplished. As well as addressing each topic clearly and fairly, there are questions to ask yourself, a handy glossary at the end, and useful links to further reference materials.

This is a must have for every home, and every school library. I’m going to finish with a quote from the end of the book: 

“We are so proud of you for reading this book, for thinking about and writing down the everyday action plans and for doing the everyday mindsets, and we are so proud of you for being YOU! And remember,ber: be compassionate and kind to others, be kind to yourself, be OK with getting things wrong and keep learning from others, especially those who have different lived experiences to you. Together we can all be CHANGEMAKERS.”

Everyday action, Everyday change

Blurb

Making changes that help make the world a fairer place can feel overwhelming.

Where do you even start? Well . . .

Small actions really can make a big difference!

In this inspiring guide, changemakers, sisters and founders of Everyday Racism, Natalie and Naomi Evans, give readers empowering advice for dealing with the issues we see, hear about and face every day, from racism and sexism to homophobia and ableism, providing you with achievable everyday actions to create change!

Tips for practising positive everyday mindsets and self-care before things get stressful make this a go-to book for feeling informed, positive and motivated too.

Join us on our journey to creating sustainable change, one small step at a time.

#EverydayActionEverydayChange #NetGalley

A picture book about swingers?

OK. I confess I’m finally watching the “Benidorm” TV series so when I saw this, I may have accidentally misread the book title as “Swingers Island Band” and thought of Donald and Jacqueline. Thankfully, on closer inspection, this is “The Palm Tree Swingers Island Band”, with perhaps just an unfortunate font layout?

Anyway, with that cleared up, I loved the bright energetic cover, and the illustrations throughout are equally strong.

This is a simple picture book for young children which provides a good introduction to some more unusual musical instruments – harmonica, trombone, and harp – as well as some singing terminology like “soprano”, which makes it a perfect start to a music session encouraging children to explore different instruments and sounds, and play as a group.

I loved the line “You didn’t have to be there, you could hear it all at home” (and can imagine chaos in the classroom as we try to recreate the story) but was disappointed to discover the final message was the band was famous. Music should be about fun not fame, and certainly not when you’re 3. But I don’t suppose the young readers will notice that.

Blurb

Take a tiger, an orangutan, an elephant, an eagle, a rhino, a dragon, a spider, and a turtle. Mix with music till loud – you might want to stand back.

About the author

Lily Lawson is a poet and fiction writer living in the UK. She has poetry, short stories, and creative non-fiction published in anthologies and online in addition to her poetry books.