BfK 8 – 10 Junior/Middle New Talent Little Bits of Sky HHHHH


S.E.Durrant, illus Katie Harnett, Nosy Crow, 978-0-8576-3399-6, 205p, £7.99 pbk


Ira (real name Miracle) and Zac (short for Zackery) are ‘children in care and have been in this situation for a long time. Will they ever find a family of their own? Ira starts her diary as they arrive in yet another home - Skilly House. She records her hopes, her fears, her dreams - and the events of their daily life, as she and Zac wait for that little bit of blue sky. This is not a misery memoir for


KS2 readers. There are moments of tragedy and there is no hiding the loneliness and displacement felt by children who have had to be taken into care. However, the author does not dwell on this to the exclusion of all else. Rather she writes very much in the tradition of authors such as L.M. Montgomery, Hodgson


Burnett, Streatfeild or


nearer in time, Hilary McKay and Michelle Magorian. So there is a happy ending, adults are not


all


horrible. Set in the late ‘80s against the background of the Poll Tax riot it is distanced enough to ensure the diary format really does work,


The Curiositree Natural World: A Visual Compendium of Wonders from Nature


HHHHH


Amanda Wood & Mike Jolley & Owen Davey (ill.), Wide Eyed Editions, 112pp, 978-1-8478-0751- 9, £17.99, hbk


What a splendid idea to begin this journey of discovery with a quotation from Albert Einstein: ‘I have


special talents. I am only passionately curious’. Thus this large format and visually magnificent book of sixty seven wall charts about the natural world encourages an investigative approach from the outset. There are some specific questions for readers to consider: ‘Why do animals migrate?’, ‘How do bees make honey?’ and ‘How do plants reproduce?’


move through the book, there are some ‘big


that young readers are helped to acquire - not least why plants and animals have a particular appearance and


ways in which different plants and animals adapt to survive. So young learners are presented with a broad and exciting canvass. And they are given every help with their journey of discovery. The charts are colour-coded to indicate their subject matter: yellow for information about habitats, orange for facts about particular species


behave as they do, and the shape’ understandings But, as they no


while yet retaining a familiarity. Both children are very real, and readers will warm to Ira’s voice while the rest of the cast seen through her eyes are flesh and blood. The events of her everyday life will be instantly recognisable.


While adult readers


may quibble at some elements of the plot, this is that rare book that is perfect for young readers who want a proper story , real characters and situations without being harrowed and where there is the warmth of optimism. This is the author’s debut and to be highly commended; a new voice to welcome.


FH


and grey for explanation about the adaptations that make it possible for living things to survive. Each chart is a small masterpiece of design: some are presented in landscape format, often to suggest the movement of creatures across space. This is the case in ‘Life at the end of the earth’ which has a subtle palette suggesting the colours of the creatures in the seas of the Antarctic while ‘Life in tropical Rain Forests’ is in portrait format to show effectively the different levels - forest floor, understory and canopy – at which the plants and creatures live. Chart number 3 shows how animals and plants are grouped: a basic organisation of plants, for example, is into flowering and non-flowering kinds while animals can be broadly assigned to either an invertebrate (having no backbone) or vertebrate (having a backbone) group.


there are further divisions within each group - into sponges and crustaceans and


so on. Other charts explain world habitats and how creatures fight for survival. Many of the charts inform about particular plants and creatures and show the sheer diversity of life on earth: some huge creatures are included - for example ‘The blue whale’ as well as tiny ‘Micro-creatures’. There are


creatures and plants - ‘Bewildering beetles’ for example in chart 23 and


26 Books for Keeps No.219 July 2016 some charts about intriguing reptiles and mammals and Then


bombing the churchyard in order to liven the place up. This is a story that will be loved by those who already know and love Robin Jarvis’s work but it will also bring him a new audience; little do they know about the wonders that await them as they discover his other works.


King Flashypants and the Evil Emperor


HHHH


Andy Riley, Ill. Andy Riley, Hodder Children’s Books, 200pp, 978-1-4449-2959-1, £6.99 pbk


‘The secret life of plants’ in chart 30. Particular features- ‘Skeletons and skulls’ and ‘Food chains and webs’ are the focus of some charts. However, the mood changes in the final chart, ‘The Changing Planet’, which shows a landscape filled with pollutants of air, land and water which threaten the survival of many species and warns that if we want to justify our name – ‘homo sapiens’ which of course means ‘wise person’ - we must find ways of protecting this ‘wonderful world we call home’ for future generations. This would be an excellent resource to use in school or a hugely enjoyable book to have in a child’s home collection .


MM The Power of Dark HHHH


Robin Jarvis, Egmont, 255pp, 978- 1-4058-023-5, £6.99 pbk


This is the first in a new series of magical thrillers set in the town of Whitby and featuring the witches that guard it. However this is not the first series by Robin Jarvis to feature this town and the forthcoming series is an extension to the wonderful books that have become classics of their genre. The main characters are Lil and Verne and they are gradually becoming aware that something sinister is happening in the town.


acquaintance of Cherry Cerise, the last witch in Whitby, who is aware of ancient evil stirring. Things become really scary when Lil and Verne are possessed by the spirits of long dead ex-lovers who still want revenge for perceived wrongs. Robin Jarvis is a consummate


Then they make the


This children’s comedy is the first in a new series set in Edwinland. The peasants of Edwinland are very satisfied in indeed. This is largely due to King Edwin’s policy of distributing barrow-loads of chocolate each Friday – and some Saturdays. Sadly, every kind, generous king has an evil nemesis, and there are none more evil than Emperor Nurbison. His castle is teeming with vultures, bats and bottomless pits. When Edwinland’s chocolate supply


unexpectedly runs short, Nurbison is able to instigate a fiendish coup – ‘because


chocolate like they need air.’ Even though King Edwin’s army fight with inflatable hammers, and his fiercest ally is an mild-mannered administrator called Jill, readers will be confident that Edwin’s kind heart and good nature will overcome evil in the end. The characterisations of hero and villain are described hilariously, with precise comic timing and repetition for effect. Nurbison removes spikey heels to replace them with even spikier heels when walking on peasants and has a malicious habit of squeezing fruit! In contrast, Edwin has nothing but love for his subjects – even when they are revolting against him. Riley’s sense of humour is silly enough to engage a young audience and clever enough to get parents giggling, too. Though the


shamelessly contrived to make way for inevitable sequels, readers will be eager to return to Edwinland – a much more fun place than the neighbouring Grey Cardigan Land, Vegetable Land and Homework Land. They will also enjoy the extra gift at the end - the sheet music for Emperor Nurbison’s Striding Theme, complete with lyrics and guitar chords!


SD


exponent of the art of fantasy writing. The characters really come alive and you build a connection to them and what they are going through in this fast paced, exciting and at times very dark tale of magic and murder. The story is told in the third person and moves between the main protagonists in a simple and very fluid way. The style of writing is natural and the language is modern, without being ‘over the top’. The story will be just as readable in 20 years as it is now.


author obviously knows Whitby extremely well and his descriptions really add to the atmosphere that we feel when reading. His thoughts about the ‘Goth’ weekend and the ‘witch’ culture are quite interesting and I love the idea of yarn-


The Rent a Bridesmaid HHHHH


Jacqueline Wilson, Nick Sharratt (ill), Doubleday, 361pp. 978-0-8575-3272-5 £12.99 hbk


Matilda has a best friend, also called Matilda. She would dearly


parents to get married, but her Mum has left home and Matilda has no idea where to find her. When her friend gives Matilda a bridesmaid dress as present, she decides to advertise herself to be a bridesmaid for somebody. In the process, she exasperates her long- suffering Dad, makes some new and unexpected friends, and finally finds her Mum. But the story doesn’t end


love her ending is rather boys and girls need MP


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32