Got a messy sibling problem?

It’s my stop on this fabulous book tour today and I’m really excited! Why? My favourite poem to read when I do school visits is “Messy Room” by Shel Silverstein. I act it out and it’s always a huge hit. So this new picture book, How Messy, by Clare Helen Welsh and Olivier Tallec really appealed.

When I read it, what caught my attention was how the situation with the two characters, Dot and Duck, could be used to help siblings sharing a room with each other when one is very messy, and the other is not. This reminded me of sharing with my sister – I’m not going to tell you which one is me, but I bet you can guess!

It is a super simple story with very few words, so ideal for the youngest of pictures book readers – perhaps the older sibling could even read it to the younger sibling? I would have definitely read it to my sister (yes, I’m the older one, but I’m still not telling if I was the messier one!)

I have to comment on the lovely colours used in the illustrations – very traditional English beach holiday. And having rediscovered the staycation – I approve!

Blurb

Dot and Duck are best friends, but Dot hates mess and Duck hates tidy. Duck leaves the bed unmade, the cupboards open and breakfast everywhere. How messy!

In the morning, Duck makes Dot pancakes for breakfast, how kind! But Duck leaves a BIG mess! At the beach, Dot carefully lays out her towel and picnic… and Duck digs a big hole covering everything with sand! SO messy!

Characterful watercolour illustrations bring this story to life, and big font makes the story easy for young readers. How Messy! is a simple yet hilarious story with a touching ending and an important message about accepting differences and learning to compromise.

About the author and illustrator

Clare Helen Welsh is a children’s book author who lives in Devon with her husband and two children. In 2013 Clare won the The Margaret Carey Scholarship for Picture book Writers and in 2014 she received the silver medal at The Greenhouse Funny Prize for her debut picture book Aerodynamics of Biscuits. She teaches primary school and has over ten year’s experience in Early Years and Key Stage One education.

Olivier Tallec’s work has been called “sensitive”, “stunning”, “breathtaking”, and “beautiful”. Tallec was born in Brittany, France, in 1970. After graduating from the École Supérieure D’arts Graphiques in Paris, he worked in advertising as a graphic designer, after which he devoted himself to illustration. Since then he has illustrated more than sixty books

Looking for a new family cookbook

I’ve been looking forward to sharing this with you. And the middle of the school holidays seems the perfect time for a family cookbook. I’m really old school with my family cookbooks – i.e. Delia – and most of my books are more Ottolenghi-esque with 18 million ingredients and big flavours, so my nosy instinct kicked in to see what another family eat on a daily basis.

So any book that starts with pictures of Scotland and a section on casseroles is off to a good start in my opinion. Then the recipes dot around all over the place – we go straight from stews to noodles. I guess your taste buds will either love the variety or get very confused. It’s like one of those “pot luck” dinner parties that were all the rage in the 1970s – “do you want a bit of beef stroganoff to go with that greek salad?” Anyway, considering it is a hotch-potch of recipes, there isn’t a single one that I wouldn’t happily serve, and my family happily devour.

Blurb

Cook it Eat it Live it is written by Jo Kenny, food writer and owner of GirlEatsWorld.co.uk.
In this first publication, Jo offers readers a vibrant and varied collection of recipes inspired by both travel and family ties to the UK, Japan, Guyana, the Caribbean.

This delicious collection of every day recipes satisfies appetites for light bites, indulgent dinners, fresh sides and delicious desserts.You’ll find a spectrum of dishes from rich, earthy flavours to fresh aromatics giving you meals to enjoy year round. All recipes are firm favourites in Jo’s own household and cooked regularly. This is family style, every day inspiration to ensure no more boring dinners.

Recipes are punctuated with stories of travel, food inspirations and a personal philosophy of enjoying food unapologetically. Cook it Eat it Live it is about finding happiness in the little things and injecting some joy into every day life through wholesome, exciting meals.

About the author

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Jo is a food writer from Bedford, living with her husband Alex, newborn son and Kimchi the cat. Her website GirlEatsWorld.co.uk was founded in 2012. Starting out as a personal space to capture cooking and food adventures, it has evolved into a public hub for recipes, cooking guides and food inspiration. Jo is passionate about fresh ingredients eaten joyfully, intuitively and adventurously. 

Inspiration for a business?

I’m always looking at ways to use books for cross-curricular activities, and I reckon Molly Mack, Private Detective would be perfect to start a conversation about entrepreneurship, something I’m passionate about. Our school has a very popular after school club to encourage entrepreneurship and I could see myself using Mollie’s files to demonstrate the importance of systems, her backpack to demonstrate the tools needed, her fee structure for pricing etc.

But I digress, I’m supposed to be reviewing the book. This was pitched as MG/ YA, but to me the plot, simple language, and large print was much more suited to a younger age group – I’d say 7-9. It’s 215 pages long, but a quick read – I’d guess about 35k words. And for that age range, it’s a great fun read – reminded me of the Secret Seven books (and my first ever book club with my friends).

If this sounds good, you can win an ebook here

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494483/?

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Blurb

Mollie is excited! 

She has been a private detective for six months, and FINALLY a BIG case has landed on her desk. If she solves it, it will make the papers and make her agency famous. She needs to give it her full attention; but she already has three cases she is working on. And when she gets an unexpected lead in her oldest case, she HAS to run with it.

About the author

Linda Dobinson was born in Croydon but grew up in Barbados – endless sunshine and never to far from the beach. She has worked in fashion, the motor industry, and been a PA.

In the 90s she picked up her pen and started writing poetry. Her work has appeared in poetry magazines, and for two successive years she had poems selected for the anthologies Southern England and South-West England. Her second collection Encounter reached the top of Amazon’s poetry charts. Since then she has started writing middle grade novels and has discovered that immersing herself in a plot is a great distraction from a pandemic.

A modern day pilgrimage

You might have already spotted that this is not a kids book, but every now and then I sneak in a non-fiction book that inspires me as a writer and/or mum.

I love travel books and am going through a phase of reading extreme adventure travel books, but my gentle rambles always feel rather tame by comparison, so I was drawn to an Inner Trek: A Reluctant Pilgrim in the Himalayas and the idea of a businessman with no particular action credentials setting off on a pilgrimage. And as I recently published a kids book on mindfulness (BElieve in YOUrself) and the sequel is out soon, the contemplative aspect also caught my attention. From the blurb, I did wonder if the author might be a bit too introspective or self-absorbed for me, but I shouldn’t have worried. I was totally drawn in to his story from the very start with the “inciting incident” (the writer in me always looks for the trigger for any story, fact or fiction). And I loved the conversations with his wife – it all felt so authentic. It’s different to anything I’ve read before, and well-worth looking at, even if it’s not your usual genre.

Blurb

After being threatened by a Bangalore mob boss, retired Indian businessman in Mohan Ranga Rao makes a vow: if he somehow gets out of the situation, he will thank the gods by going on Kailash Mansarova, a holy mountain pilgrimage in Tibet. What starts out as merely a challenging high-altitude trek soon becomes a life-changing adventure. With a blend of humor, honesty and keen insight, Mohan journeys toward a deeper understanding of the world around him.

A memoir of a road less traveled and a true story of self-discovery at 18,000 feet.

Author Bio

Mohan Ranga Rao is an accomplished businessman, an avid traveller and a generous philanthropist. He has visited over thirty different countries and is drawn to places of natural beauty and physically-challenging trails. Mohan lives in Mysore with his wife Mamatha. They have two adult children. He plays tennis daily, takes frequent hikes and reads anything from scotch labels to quantum physics to Vedanta.

Sneak peek inside the new ‘Monster Max’ book

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’ll know I enjoy Robin Bennett’s books. I’ve previously reviewed The Hairy Hand (which I described as ‘when The Twits meet Rincewind’) and done an interview with him, so to mix it up, this time I’m pleased to be kicking off the book tour with an extract from his latest book, Monster Max and the Marmalade Ghost.

Monster Max and the marmalade ghost book cover

First, let’s set the scene …

Monster Max and his (joint) best friend Peregrine have been finding it hard ‘To Protect and do Good Stuff’ lately – not much seems to be going on in their quiet suburb. However, this doesn’t last long: strange and actually quite horrible things have been going on in the Old Folks Day Centre. In the toilets, to be precise. Max, Peregrine and Max’s cat (and joint best friend), Frankenstein, go and investigate. Is Max about to bite off more than he can chew?

It seems to have all the ingredients for a comedy. Let me know what you think.

——————————————————————————

They made their way the next morning to the day centre. Max had persuaded Frankenstein to come, too.

‘Retired people like cats,’ he explained, ‘probably even you.’

As they walked through the double doors, they were met by Reg and a horrible gurgling, belching, farty noise.

‘That’s not me,’ said Reg cheerfully, ‘we’ve been having some problems with the plumbing this morning. Mrs Dempsey dropped her false teeth down the toilet when she sneezed and since then the whole system seems to have a mind of its own!’

Max and Peregrine exchanged a look. They’d been right – there was probably loads of stuff they could do to help around here.

‘Ooh, what a beautiful-looking cat!’ exclaimed Reg, looking down. 

(Yes, thought Max, Reg really does need better glasses). 

Reg tickled Frankenstein behind the ear and he started to purr like an old chainsaw (the cat, not Reg). 

‘The residents would love to meet him,’ said Reg.

Blurb

Max and Peregrine are volunteering at an old people’s home, when strange things start to happen: one resident is walking on the ceiling; one is riding their wheelchair through walls; and Reggie says his marmalade is haunted (although no one listens). Can Max and his friends work out what’s happening to protect his family and the local community? Things aren’t looking good – the Marmalade Ghost is turning into a gloopy Godzilla, Max falls out with his (joint) best friend, and then, just when it can’t get any worse, someone kidnaps Max’s cat, Frankenstein… will they meet a sticky end? 

Time to ‘Protect and Do Good Stuff!’

Author Bio

Robin Bennett author photo

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 business- es (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.