Schools & Libraries Book Reviews

Name: Elen Green
28 March 2025;

Genre: Animals

I loved this story of a group of children finding their way as 'apprentice vets' at an animal rescue centre. The children's love of the animals shines through every mishap and gentle misadventure, as ferrets go missing, their pets go astray and the children's plans to rehome the animals at the...

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Name: Donna Ritchie
27 March 2025;

Genre: Adventure

I love a book that has a little bit of real history entwined within the story. Deep Dark is such a book. Cassia Thorne is the main character; a patterer (a child singer who sings songs - that tell a story - on the streets of early 19th century London), but who also teaches pia...

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Name: Wendy Kelly
27 March 2025;

Genre: Environment & Nature

Nicola O'Byrne does it again with another lovely book about Rabbit and his unique take on everyday problems that children can relate to. Last time we saw him finding out about the dark with the help of a biscuit tin; this time he risks having his glorious fishing trip ruined by a rain cloud. W...

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Name: Beverley Somerset
21 March 2025;

Genre: Adventure

Bo Delafort is a mudlarker. She lives in London with her mother and her older brother Harry, who has just left home to fight in the First World War. When she meets the orphan Billy River on the banks of the Thames they instantly form a bond. Then Bo finds a fabulous jewel in the mud of the riv...

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Name: Donna Burkert
20 March 2025;

Genre: Funny Stories

When Melanda Notwitch meets Mitch the Witch and is encouraged to 'Join the Witches', things start to change. Up until now, Melanda has led a miserable life with her three aunts where she can never do anything right. To make matters worse, Melanda loves to write stories but wha...

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Name: Jacqueline Harris
17 March 2025;

Genre: Funny Stories

Eddie doesn't feel she belongs in her school. Eating wheelie bins can make you stand out. So she gets sent to a school in another realm, where everyone is a monster of some sort and the motto is 'Be the worst'. Finally, Eddie can make friends, except the very existence of the school is in jeop...

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Name: Clare Wilkins
14 March 2025;

Genre: Romance & Relationships

With graduation looming and the prospect of leaving home provoking both fear and excitement, school president and all round Grade A student Grace Barbour decides a day of skipping school is just the tonic she and her friends need. The only problems being the schism between her...

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Name: Ruth Cornish
13 March 2025;

Genre: Romance & Relationships

I really enjoyed reading Every Borrowed Beat by Erin Stewart. You might rightly expect this book to be extremely sad but the author has crafted the main character, Sydney Wells, as a pragmatic young person coming to terms with terminal illness, only for an unexpected emergency...

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Name: Sue Wilsher
13 March 2025;

Genre: Poetry

Having received one of A F Harrold's postcard poems, I know that children love his short poems! Indeed, despite the fact that we enjoyed plenty of poetry in class, many were fascinated by the idea that something so short was a poem as well as being charmed by the novelty of getting something h...

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Name: Amanda Shipton
12 March 2025;

Genre: Adventure

Mice, Camera, Action is the fantastic new book in the AdventureMice Series. This sixth book will excite all early chapter book readers as, like the previous five, every page is packed with adventure, colour and cheeky characters. Reader...

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