Schools & Libraries Book Reviews

Name: Sue Wilsher
10 October 2025;

Genre: Mental Health & Wellbeing

Squirrel and Bird are very different. Squirrel is really loud, confident and always busy whereas Bird is really quiet, shy and prefers to sit and do nothing. Yes, they are really different…or are they? This delightful picture book challenges readers to consider how they view oth...

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Name: Rachel Bolton
10 October 2025;

Genre: Horror

Make Me a Monster is not for the faint-hearted. Set in a funeral home with graphic descriptions and explanations about preparing a body for burial, Kalynn Bayron’s first horror story requires a strong stomach. 17-year-old Meka lives and works with her parents in a funer...

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Name: Sue Wilsher
10 October 2025;

Genre: Poetry

Compiled by Traci N. Todd, This is Not a Small Voice is a stunning anthology of poems which focuses on Black culture and experiences. Bursting with vibrant illustrations, it is beautifully presented and sure to appeal to a wide audience. The anthology includes poems fro...

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Name: Linda Brown
10 October 2025;

Genre: Fantasy

When Christopher Forrester is unexpectedly woken by Jacques, a miniature dragon, chewing on his face, his heart leaps for joy. For months he's dreamed of returning to the Archipelago - the secret islands where all the creatures of myth still live . . . In this wonderful, magical sequel...

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Name: Sue Wilsher
10 October 2025;

Genre: Fairy Tales & Folk Tales

With each story retold and illustrated by James Mayhew, My Book of Classic Nursery Tales would make the perfect gift for any little (or not so little) one! There are eight wonderful stories to enjoy in this delightful collection, including perennial favourites such as 'Goldilo...

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Name: Rachel Bolton
10 October 2025;

Genre: Suspense & Thrillers

Taut, tense and captivating, I found this new title from Cynthia Murphy to be completely addictive. Set in a private school that has been set up for poorer teens to make their way in the world, it tells the story through the eyes of Chloe as she returns to school for her final...

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Name: Logan Age 12
10 October 2025;

Genre: Science Fiction

Last Gamer Standing is so good, so kid friendly and a great story overall showing how people can be so sexist at times - but people will always come through. This book is so awesome, 5 stars = I would rate it higher If I could!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Name: Lucy Hopkins
07 October 2025;

Genre: Animals

I am Big, I am Small is all about opposites and uses animals to demonstrate each of these. For example, the first double page spread includes a ginormous octopus illustration with pictures of tiny seahorses. I like how it includes lots of other facts about each species as well...

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Name: Sue Wilsher
06 October 2025;

Genre: Adventure

When Jack Winston Claremont Digby - Digs to his friends - finds himself with the family solicitor after the death of his mum, stepfather and sister, he has no idea how strange things are about to become. He has been left a set of Russian nesting dolls and discovers that, instead of being taken...

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Name: Clair Bossons
06 October 2025;

Genre: Horror

Empty Heaven is a truly terrifying supernatural horror which contains themes that are suited to a young adult reader. It is set in a creepy small town of Kesuquosh, New England, where all seems perfect on the surface. Darian Sabine Arden spends her summers there with friends a...

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