Tag Archives: picturebooks

More double trouble!

I promised two reviews from the same publisher. So after The Boy Who Breathed Underwater last week, as we head for festive season, here is the second.

First of all, I have to note that 10% of profits from this book are donated to Hospital Radio Plymouth. Love this! In fact the story was first read by Sue Crowhurst on the radio, and I’m sure the young listeners enjoyed it. I hope it will feature in this years festive line up too.

The next thing to note is the unusual font. It’s all in a very heavy sans serif in bold. My first reaction was it’s a bit “shouty” (like writing an email ALL IN CAPS but there is no explanation so I’m hoping it’s a dyslexia friendly font (would love that confirmed if anyone knows).

My favourite character was Broderick the bookworm (of course). And the idea of trying to trick the king with green and red snow made me giggle and opens the door for plenty of silly conversations. Thankfully there was no mention of yellow snow – eeeewwww – that could have created some interesting discussions! Actually I think there’s a missed opportunity to play with the white Christmas/ green Christmas here and add an eco layer to the plot.

Each page has crisp and cheerful illustrations by Michael S Kane. Annoyingly, again the publisher hasn’t provided any details on the illustrator, but at least he’s credited on the cover (it’s a pet hate of mine when the illustrator/ narrator are not credited).

Blurb

When lying in his bed, a boy is visited by a genie. He is given a week to try out different superhero powers. What adventures will King Mark is a higgledy-piggledy king and he gets into a pickle every day. “Do something, Bert!” he shouts, and Wizard Bert, and his sidekick, Broderick the bookworm, always save the day. When snow fell on Windy Hill Castle, everyone was delighted – except for King Mark! King Mark didn’t like snow and he started to sulk. Will Bert and Broderick save the day again? Will King Mark walk into trouble? Do the children of Windy Hill Village have the answer…?

About the author

Jocelyn’s writing career began when she was asked to write a story for a preschool magazine. That story was the first of many. Jocelyn became the writer/editor of several preschool magazines and continued in that role for 15 years. Writing one new story every month, plus rhymes and activities was a tough gig, but very exhilarating.

Time is the big difference between writing for a magazine and writing a book.  You see your work on the supermarket shelves within a few weeks of completion. A book takes longer – a lot longer. Jocelyn has to be patient now – not something she’s good at.

Before becoming a writer, Jocelyn work in higher education as International Students Officer. It was a rewarding and interesting job even though she was on call 24/7.

Jocelyn also trained as a counsellor and volunteered at drop-in centers. She never knew who would arrive for counselling and had to be prepared for anything. This work gave her insight into some of the darker corners of life.

Motor sport was one of Jocelyn’s early loves, she had spine tingling thrill of taking part in a 24-hour national rally as navigator – those were the days when rallies were held on public roads! Jocelyn work as an au pair in Paris in her teens. Having visited the city on a school trip, she fell in love with it, and always wanted to return.

Double trouble!

I’ve got two reviews from the same publisher – one today and one next week.

How could I pass by the opportunity to review a book by another REES? So, just incase you were wondering, Izzy Rees is no relation. I’ve never even met her. So this is just a coincidence. From the title, The Boy Who Breathed Underwater, I expected an underwater adventure. The book is actually a classic version of the ever popular “which super power would you choose?” debate.

Like most publishers and editors, I can be a bit wary of rhymes. Setting aside the limitations they place on foreign translations, they are very hard to get right without resorting to the occasional clunky grammar. These rhymes, however, just trip off the tongue. Such fun to read-aloud.

But all of a sudden,

he let out a sneeze …

He lost all control and

fell hard on his knees.

Each scenario is totally made by the fabulous illustrations by Sarah-Leigh Wills. Annoyingly, the publisher hasn’t provided any details on the illustrator, but at least she’s credited on the cover (it’s a pet hate of mine when the illustrator/ narrator are not credited).

Blurb

When lying in his bed, a boy is visited by a genie. He is given a week to try out different superhero powers. What adventures will he have, and which power will he choose to keep?

About the author

Izzy Rees was born in West London, but has spent the last thirty years living in Derby. Ten years ago, when her three girls were young, she began work on a series of rhyming picture books, created in snatched moments, and initially written on small scraps of paper or whatever was available. She always intended to revisit them, and Covid and lockdown presented the opportunity; unable to continue her work as a neurophysiotherapist, working with vulnerable patients, she decided it was now or never! She has written six books so far in the ‘The Boy Who’ series, The Boy Who Breathed Underwater being the first one. The others will be published in the near future.

Animal magic

Before I even opened Animalympics, I was blown away by the gorgeous, eye-catching, richly colourful, hardback cover. I can see kids being immediately drawn to this and pulling it from book boxes around the country. Huge thumbs up to the illustrator Sarah Lou.

There are pages dedicated to separate sports from the well known sprinting and gymnastics, to sports that the younger readers may not be familiar with like fencing, steeplechase, and water polo. This book could be read as a story, but it’s really too long for a bedtime read so I’d dip in and out using it as a spark for classroom activities. And of course, in an Olympics year, it’s going to be an obvious choice.

The other thing I love it is that there is a sport for absolutely everyone, irrespective of size or shape- my personal favourite pic is the sheep hockey team.

The final surprise is the last page. Trust me, this is not an Acknowledgements page to skip. Not only was the book was a fundraiser for UK zoos in 2020 😍, but look at the 🏅 team who were involved. Each name on this list inspires a whole project:

  • Katherine Grainger DBE – rower
  • Hannah Cockcroft MBE – wheelchair sprinter
  • Ali Jawa – paralympic powerlifter
  • and more!

My only grumble is that currently, it’s only an ebook unless you order via the authors website. I’m hoping that changes soon as the hardcover is divine.

Competition!

Win a signed copy of Animalympics, an Animalympics gold medal plus stickers and bookmarks (Open to UK only) 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494447/?

*Terms and Conditions –UK 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

Woodpecker Will presents the Animalympics! Whilst the humans stay indoors, the animal kingdom takes over to hold the sporting event of the century! Join the golfing ostriches, trampolining moles and weight-lifting gorillas (plus many more) in a fun rhyming adventure for all ages.

About the author

Josie Dom is a children’s author learning to embrace her individuality.

Join her in a world of imagination where anything could happen and the most important things are friendship and kindness.

Josie lives in the small town of Halstead in Essex with her husband Nic Phine (illustrator of the Lum books), their son and daughter, a mixed-up dog (LabLurchTrievOodle) Frank and a big fluffy ginger cat called Mittens.

Although Josie’s books are too young for her children now, it was their love of stories when they were little which inspired Josie to pick up her pen and create. 

After a lifetime in sensible office jobs, Josie is relishing the opportunity to explore her creative side.

Josie is passionate about supporting causes close to her heart.  Each year, Josie donates 15% of profit on book sales to a children’s charity.

In 2020, due to Covid-19, Josie penned an Animalympics which she used to raise funds for UK zoos.

Watership Down revisited

Cuteness overload with this book cover – as soon as it landed in my inbox I knew there was no way I could have turned down the opportunity to participate in this book tour!

That said, I’m still traumatised by being taken to the cinema to see Watership Down when I was pretty young, so when Grandpa’s whiskers started to twitch I automatically feared the worst! Thankfully this has a much more playful plot.

This is perfect book to open conversations about the weather, seasons, and also about animal habitats so can be adapted for various curriculum points. Although the author has some free colouring sheets, I’d love to see some teacher resources on their website (hint hint!).

It’s an obviously seasonal read, and I’m pleased that it is not Christmas themed making it ideal for a cold January evening or a frosty February morning.

The wonderful cute-as-a-button Beatrix Potter-esque illustrations by Becky Stout have to get a special mention.

And I absolutely love that the title The Whisker Twitchers was from a Year 3 pupil during an author visit to their school!

COMPETITION TIME!

If you’d like a chance to win one of two signed copies and are in the UK … http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494441/

Blurb

Grandad is up to something. When Bella wakes up to find him gone, she heads to the surface to look for him – but the world looks different. Can Bella conquer her hear of the unknown to find out what is going on? And where is Grandad?

Author Bio

Kathy is a children’s book author from Stoke-on-Trent, UK. Inspired by the books she was reading after the birth of her daughter in 2016, she wrote and published her first picture book, Nana Duck in 2017.

Writing is a relatively new part of my life. When I go to schools and am introduced as an author it is still a bit of a surprise to me! It was the birth of my daughter (in 2016) that changed everything. I had spent many years building up my career in accountancy, accumulating business qualifications and generally working hard in that one field. Spending time with my little girl and reading hundreds of different children’s stories really inspired me. My first book, Nana Duck, was published in 2017. It did well and I found that I enjoyed visiting schools and nurseries. There is nothing like reading your story and getting great reactions from a class full of eager little children. Now, I’m having ideas all of the time. I’m so looking forward to bringing more stories into the world, to seeing my characters come to life through the talented illustrators that I work with, and inspiring more children in my local area and beyond.

Fantastic Fin Faces his Fears

Last year we read Superheroes Don’t Get Scared by the talented Kate Thompson in our book club. It was a big hit, and has helped many children deal with their fears. But you can never have too many superhero books so I was thrilled to be invited to review Fantastic Fin Faces his Fears by Jessica Bowers as part of the book tour.

I really want to praise the wonderful vibrant artwork by Andrew Whitehead – it brings the story alive and each page sparkles with energy. I absolutely adore the strong colours and the scratchy text. This will really appeal to the slightly older superhero fan. Actually, I’m getting a strong Ben 10 vibe overall, and I’m a Ben 10 expert 🤣

The story covers a great range of every day scenarios and shows how the boy tackles them – this is super for starting conversations.

Overall, I had mixed feelings on the rhyming text. I loved the catch phrase “Then he though of something cool, his mind could be a useful tool”, but a few times the language felt slightly forced to fit. Rhyme is so hard to get right – I think this is one reason publishers can be reticent to look at rhyming picture books – I believe the other big reason is it’s a nightmare to translate). But I know it can help a reluctant reader and often makes it easier to read aloud.

There are a few support notes at the back of the book, and if you’d like more, there’s also a free 17 page resource pack at www.jessicabowers.co.uk.

Blurb

Come and join Fantastic Fin as he grows his courage by embodying various inspiring characters and animals to face his fears!

Teachers, Parents and Carers can access the free Fantastic Fin Teaching Resource Pack available from the author’s website.

This is the first book in a series supporting children’s mental health by well-being author and psychotherapist Jessica Bowers. Ideal for children age 4-7.

Author Bio

Jessica is a well-being writer with an extensive background in supporting both young people and adults with their emotional well-being and mental health. Jessica is a qualified Counsellor and Psychotherapist who trained at the Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute. Prior to this, she worked for over 10 years with young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Jessica consults with and writes for the wonderful Storytime Magazine, for their emotional well-being and mental health content. She has written a collection of well-being themed children’s picture books for 4-7 year olds, and Fantastic Fin Faces his Fears is her debut book. She has also developed some school workshops which offer emotional education aswell as offering author visits to read her books and poetry to EYFS and KS1 children. Jessica develops free activity and teaching resource packs around emotions and well-being themes which are available from her website.