From Costa Award-shortlisted author Nicholas Bowling comes a tale of adventure, myth and music to make your heart sing … ‘Nicholas Bowling is a thrilling writer.’ THE TELEGRAPH
Oran lives on Little Drum, where music is everything. Every islander has a birth instrument and a life song – and the ancestors, called ghasts, linger to hear the music.
But when the Duchess arrives from the mainland bringing orders of silence, she threatens the ghasts’ existence, the very soul of the community.
When Oran hears of a mythical instrument with the power to manipulate hearts, she brings her ghast best friend, Alick, on a quest to find it, play it, and change the Duchess’s mind …
From the author of the Costa Children’s Book Award-shortlisted In the Shadow of the Heroes comes a thrilling Celtic-inspired fantasy adventure.
The adventure and magic of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust with a Hebridean-inspired fantasy setting and lovable characters reminiscent of Pixar’s Brave.
A story about how music has the power to reveal, to inspire, and to bind people together.
Pax Journey Home is a beautiful story about the bond between a fox and a boy. This is the sequel to Pax, which tells the story of how the boy met the fox. In this book, after being separated for a long time, the boy and the fox are drawn back towards each other.
Peter the boy is a bit lost after his tragic back story and Pax the fox is enjoying the births of his new family. At the beginning, I found this book quite hard to get into, partly because I haven’t read the first book (though you don’t really need to have read it ). Once I did get going, I found their friendship amazing and touching. I loved the ending and found it really moving. Overall, I really liked this book, especially the way it takes it in turns to tell the boy’s side and the fox’s side of things. Â
I think if you enjoy stories about the bonds between animals and humans and feel like you’re getting too old for pet stories like the Holly Webb animal books, then this is the perfect book as it’s a little bit more grown-up.Â
Jude is 10 and lives in Brighton. Jude is a keen nature enthusiast and doesn’t just like the cute animals. He likes loads of authors and especially loves J.R.R Tolkien, David Walliams, Roald Dahl, Ross Montgomery , Derek Landy , Michel Rosen , Katie & Kevin Tsang , J.K Rowling , Tim Tilley and SF Said. Jude really loves exciting adventure stories but in real life, rather than being slaughtered by goblins, he would rather live in the One Hundred Acre Woods with Winnie the Pooh. The character he would least like to be stuck in a lift with is ChildChewer from The BFG.
From bestselling and award-winning author Sara Pennypacker comes the long-awaited sequel to Pax; gorgeously crafted, utterly compelling with stunning illustrations by award-winning author and illustrator Jon Klassen.
It’s been a year since Peter and his pet fox, Pax, have seen each other. Once inseparable, they now lead very different lives. Pax must protect his litter of kits in a dangerous world. Meanwhile Peter, orphaned after the war, has left his adopted home and joined the Water Warriors, a group determined to heal the land from the scars of the war.
When one of Pax’s kits falls desperately ill, he turns to the one human he knows he can trust. And no matter how hard Peter tries to harden his broken heart, love keeps finding a way in. Now both boy and fox find themselves on journeys toward home, healing – and each other. A breathtaking novel about chosen families and the healing power of love.
Earth Friends River Rescue is an interesting story about caring for the environment. It is about a girl called Izzy who is new at the school. When her friend Poppy has Izzy over to her house for a playdate, they then walked Poppy’s dog, Billy. However Billy fell in a river that was full of rubbish and got his paw stuck in an old bike that someone had dumped in there. Izzy then has the epic idea to clean up the river!
I am a big fan of Holly Webb books but I especially liked this one because it is full of nature, friendship and fun! My favourite part is when Izzy’s enemy Ali pushed Izzy in the river and then there’s a big surprise that follows!!! It is very satisfying because usually Ali gets away with murder!
Although I didn’t find it tricky, this book is a bit more grown up than the other Holly Webb books like The Secret Puppy and The Lost Kitten.
Aletha is 7 and three-quarters. She lives in Brighton and has a guinea pig called Bella. Her favourite authors are Jacqueline Wilson, Roald Dahl, Jill Murphy and J.K Rowling. The fictional world she would most like to live in is the Land of Roar and the character she would most like to be is Evie from the book Evie and the Animals. The character she would least to be stuck in a lift with is Draco Malfoy.
The second fantastic book in the series about four friends who want to make the world a better place.
Izzy and Poppy are being taken for a walk along the river by Poppy’s boisterous dog, Billy, when he decides to chase after a water-rat. Both animals land in the river, which is so choked with rubbish that Billy can’t get out. His paw is stuck in an old bike wheel and the girls must work to free him. The adventure gives Izzy a great idea for their next project, though, and it’s a very very muddy one…
A brilliant series about the small changes that make a big difference, with themes of environmentalism and friendship. Written by Holly Webb, bestselling author of the Pet Rescue Adventure series.
With cover illustration by Owen Gildersleeve.
Look out for the other books in the Earth Friends series: Fair Fashion, Green Garden, Pet ProtectionOriginally published as Izzy’s Rescue, this edition of the book comes with a brilliant new cover!
The mask of Aribella- I was really interested when I read that it would have magic, adventure and Venice in this book-The mask of Aribella – three things I like. I wasn’t disappointed.
There was lots of heart-racing and spine-chilling moments that made the book irresistible for me.
The detail of life in Venice at the time there were Doges -in Venice- was one of the many things I enjoyed about this story. Some things are still the same now!
A few things you will read about if you decide to try it are: the island of the dead, a powerful mask, a hidden painting and a black cat.
The setting, Venice, caused it to be even better, with the canals and intricate masks, the characters even travelled by gondola!
I thought the characters were really well imagined, especially the evil one whose part in the story I found really fascinating.
4.8/5 stars from me.
Now one of my favourite books, I would recommend it to people who like the harry potter books.
I hope Anna Hoghton (the author) writes a sequel!
My name is Leontine, I’m 10 years old and I live in Hove with my French mum, my Italian dad and my annoying little brother, who is 7 years old. I love reading books especially books about adventure, magic, myths and mysteries. I also enjoy reading comics with my brother.
Aribella lives in Venice, the daughter of an impoverished lace-maker. But she has a deadly secret: when angered, sparks shoot from her fingertips. Unable to keep her power hidden, she flees – but when dark spectres rise from the lagoon, the fire in her hands saves her life. A stranger witnesses the attack – and through him, Aribella leaves her old life behind and discovers the world of the Cannovacci, magical warriors sworn to defeat the strange spectres menacing the city …WINNER of the North Somerset Teachers’ Quality Fiction Award 2020
I Ioved Wave Riders because it kept me on my toes, as I didn’t know who I could trust. The characters were so relatable, especially when they were at the party, and the story was so realistic I felt I could go inside it. There was also a mystery character, so I was always guessing who it was. However, when it was (finally) revealed I was really surprised because there was NO WAY I would have guessed!
Wave Riders is about orphaned twins, Jess and Jude, who are living the dream sailing around the world. But when their guardian, Gabe, goes missing they are thrown into a world of mystery where nothing is as it seems. As the back of the book says: “How do you solve a mystery when that mystery is you?”
Hi, I’m Alma and I live by the sea with my Mum, Dad, sister and tortoise. I love Harry Potter and anything dragon. I am passionate about the environment and want to be a marine biologist when I grow up. I love art and drawing, but more than anything I love writing and reading stories. I like fantasy or contemporary books but love to read almost anything.
“A summer holiday in a book… unforgettably exciting.” Piers Torday
“Lauren St John at her very best… a gripping adventure across stormy seas, stately homes and boarding schools, with a fabulous plotted mystery at its core. I couldn’t put it down.” Abi Elphinstone
A storm is coming. What will it take to survive? An exciting adventure set at sea, from the bestselling author of the Laura Marlin Mysteries and Kat Wolfe Investigates .
Twins Jess and Jude Carter live a dream life sailing from one exotic destination to the next with their guardian, Gabriel. But after Gabe vanishes and a storm smashes up their lives, they’re left penniless and alone. When a wealthy, glamorous family offer them a home, everybody tells them they’re the luckiest children in the world. But the Blakeneys’ stately mansion is full of secrets – secrets that seem entangled with the twins’ own fate. As they race to uncover the truth, Jess and Jude must confront their deepest fears.
How do you solve a mystery when that mystery is you?
Wave Riders from Lauren St John is an exciting and compelling middle-grade tale of sailing, family and identity.
Queenie is a very good book especially if you like cats. The main character is Queenie who is the cat at Blyton ward where Elsie, the second main character, goes to get her tuberculosis fixed. She goes to a hospital called Miltree Orthopaedic Hospital and her best friend there is a boy called Angus. Queenie helps Elsie settle into the hospital when she first arrives because she has been separated from her adored nan.
The book is set in 1953 when the queen is having her coronation. I like that lots of Jacqueline Wilson’s books are set in Victorian times but actually this one is set quite a bit after. The pictures at the start of every chapter are good and they are by Nick Sharratt. He works with Jacqueline Wilson a lot and he illustrates quite a few of her books. I would recommend this book for children 7+ and I would give it four out of five stars. If you enjoy it you should probably try out the Hetty Feather series which is set in the Victorian era.Â
I like animals, playing with my sister, and all types of books. I also love playing football, going on walks and identifying birds. My favourite species of bird is a firecrest because I love the orange stripe on their heads.
About the book
It’s 1953, the year Elizabeth is to be crowned Queen of England. Elsie Kettle can’t wait to go to London to see the celebrations on Coronation Day. Elsie lives with her Nan – her mum works as a showgirl, so she’s not around very often. Spirited and imaginative, but often lonely, Elsie longs for a best friend. Luckily, she and Nan are very close; Elsie just wishes she was allowed a cat to keep her company sometimes.
Then tragedy strikes. Nan and Elsie both fall ill with tuberculosis, and Elsie finds herself whisked away to the children’s ward of the hospital. Confined to bed for months on end, Elsie finds it very hard to adapt to the hospital’s strict regime. But she invents astonishing ways of entertaining the other children on the ward, and for the first time finds herself surrounded by true friends – including Queenie, the hospital’s majestic white cat.
Finally, Elsie is well enough to leave hospital. But before she does, she has one very special, very unexpected visitor…
Something I said is an amazing book and has everything you would look for in a good story: depth, drama, and most importantly, humour! I would recommend this book to anyone from the age of 9-15, as even some adults would find it funny! I love the style of comedy that the author has chosen and hopefully we will see a sequel in the near future.
My name is Riley and I am 11 years old. I enjoy videogames, music, playing outside, food and most importantly, reading! I love all types of books but my favourite is humour. My top three authors are Jeff Kinney, David Walliams and Liz Pichon. I once got my own short story published in a competition!
From comedian, actor, rapper and screenwriter Ben Bailey Smith comes a blazingly funny, big-hearted story about family, friendship and how far one boy will go to get a laugh. Perfect for fans of David Baddiel and Frank Cottrell-Boyce.
For thirteen-year-old Carmichael Taylor, life is one big joke – in a good way.
He just can’t understand why no one else seems to find everything as funny as he does. When Car is filmed stumbling into performing a piece of hilarious stand-up at the school talent show – targeting his family, school and friends – the footage ends up creating international infamy. But with the promise of fame and fortune comes trouble, and it’s up to Car to decide what or who he’s willing to risk to chase his comedy dream.
Get ready to laugh at life with this heart-warming, unashamedly honest and hilarious look at family, friendship and what really matters.
Book Nook Review Crew member Lara was so taken by How To Be Brave that she couldn’t bear to be parted from the book. Here she is posing some very impressive questions to author Daisy May Johnson.
Lara: What inspired you to write about ducks?
DMJ: I knew I wanted one of my characters to be really smart and knowledgeable about something, but I was never quite sure what that something was going to be. It had to be something that wasn’t already being done in children’s books, because I wanted How To Be Brave to be very different. I also wanted it to be funny and interesting and relatable for people to read about. For a while, I thought that Elizabeth might know a lot about mushrooms or nuclear physics, but I really wasn’t confident in making either of them work! I thought then about ducks and realised that I felt confident enough to write about them and that I could make it funny. And that was it! I’d found the right thing.Â
Lara: Did you go to boarding school when you were younger and if not did you want to?
DMJ: I didn’t! And also, I don’t think I really wanted to – I read a lot of classic boarding school stories and there was a lot of people almost drowning, falling off mountains, being lost in snow and sometimes doing all of this at the same time. It was all amazing to read about, but the thought of experiencing it in person was a little bit terrifying. Plus everybody in those books always had a cold shower first thing in the morning and that was NOT one of the things I wanted to experience.
Lara: What is your favourite biscuit and what is your favourite cake?
DMJ: Honestly, these are EXCELLENT questions! I am very fond of a pink wafer because if you need to, you can stack them up and make tiny pink wafer forts out of them. And for cake, I think it’s got to be either a cupcake with a substantial amount of icing on it – or a chocolate cake (with absolutely NO jam whatsoever…).Â
Lara: How did you come up with your characters especially Calla?
DMJ: I get a lot of inspiration from film. I’m always interested in the characters who are on the sidelines as the great dramatic event happens in front of them – the people who see Captain America run past, or watch Spiderman swing by. What are they thinking? What’s going on in their lives? What’s their story? And so with Calla, I kind of wanted to think about those girls who aren’t necessarily the big and dramatic characters in the world – they’re the quiet ones who are just trying to figure out how to survive…
Lara: What tips would you give to budding authors?
DMJ: It will take time and patience to become the writer that you’re destined to be so don’t ever give up. Tell the stories that you want to tell, tell them how you want to tell them, and make sure you believe in yourself every inch of the way.Â
Lara: Are you going to write a sequel? (I hope so)
DMJ: I am! Book two is called How To Be True and it’s all about Edie. And then, hopefully, there’s going to be another book after that (but we won’t spoil who that’s about just yet…).Â
Lara: I liked reading about Calla’s mum at the school, how important was this to the story?
DMJ: It was so important! I think it’s vital to present adults as real people, and to talk about how they’re just trying to figure things out as much as younger people are. It’s very easy to view adults as kind of two-dimensional characters who just magically pop into the world as adults and they’re not. Elizabeth’s time at school is vital because it helps her become the woman that she is – and that’s somebody who Calla loves very much.Â
Lara: What’s your favourite song?
DMJ: I LOVE A MUSICAL. Right now, I’m playing a lot of Six because it is everything! I will also stop everything to listen to Keala Settle sing ‘This Is Me’ from The Greatest Showman and Amber Riley singing ‘And I Am Telling You’ from Dreamgirls. I can also do a very convincing one woman rendition of Les Miserables – I’m not saying it’s musical but it is Quite Heartfelt.Â
Huge thank yous and high fives to Lara and Daisy May Johnson for such a fab author interview. Out July 1st, you can pre-order a copy of this stunner of a book here:
Hi my name is Lara and I’m nearly 9. My favourite things in the world are books, sloths, musicals, drawing – especially designing clothes and writing though I’ve never got past the beginning. My parents own The Book Nook which means I’m lucky enough to get sneak previews of many new books. My bedroom is overflowing with books though my life motto is ‘there’s no such thing as too many books’. I am a major fan of Harry Potter and I’m a Ravenclaw. Some of my favourite authors are Sophie Anderson, Maria Kunzar (The Ship of Shadows is one of the BEST books ever), Sophy Henn, Vashti Hardy and Jenny McLachlan.Â
Calla’s mum has never been normal. She’s been known to go out in a lab coat and slippers and often forgets to perform basic tasks because she’s been thinking about ducks. When a job offer arrives to study her beloved birds in the Amazon rainforest, Calla knows her mum has to go.
Nervously, she agrees to go to boarding school. She quickly learns that trouble is afoot in this odd convent school. A mean new headmistress is imposing horrible rules and making everyone eat Brussels sprout cake, and the students are itching to revolt.
As Calla makes new friends and gets drawn into their rebellious plot, she keeps waiting for her mum to call. She will, won’t she?
Exuberantly funny and brimming with heart, How to Be Brave is a riotous celebration of the power of resourceful girls, stories and the right biscuit at the right time.
Anna’s anxious when she’s picked to befriend the new girl in her class. For a start, Ellie is ill and can’t come to school herself. So Anna has to communicate with her through a new kind of robot.
But Anna is also worried that her life’s too small and boring to be of interest to her new friend. Compared to the other girls, she doesn’t have anything exciting to talk about and so when Ellie asks her a question, a little white lie pops out. Then another and another.
When Ellie finds out the truth, can their friendship survive …?
Inspired by a true story, a groundbreaking robot helps friendship blossom in this poignant and uplifting dyslexia-friendly novella from bestseller Lisa Thompson.
‘Harklights’, by Tim Tilley, is about an orphan named Wick and all of his adventures. At the start of the book, Wick longs to escape from his horrible orphanage, which is also a match factory in which he’s forced to work long hours and eat only porridge. When Wick finds a tiny baby in an acorn cradle, his whole world turns upside-down as he discovers the magical world of the Hobs. Wick has to try to intertwine his old life at the orphanage with his friends, and his new life exploring and helping the forest with the Hobs.
‘Harklights’ is a book that really pulls you in and is almost impossible to put down. You get so wrapped up in Wick’s story and really feel anxious for him and his friends. It has so many unexpected twists and turns that really take you by surprise! They make the whole read even more enjoyable and exciting, and make you want to read on and on.
The book also has a really important message about looking after our planet’s environment and stopping deforestation. Wick has to help protect the Hobs and their forest from the ‘monster’ that is eating it. This moral is more critical than ever before in our real world, and it adds a really great extra layer to the book.
Another thing I loved about ‘Harklights’ is the illustrations, also by Tim Tilley. In a way, they’re very simple pictures, made of layers of silhouettes. But I really liked this, because it meant I could fill in the details using my own imagination. I felt a bit like Wick, who has to use his imagination to picture what life is like outside of the factory.
Overall, ‘Harklights’ is an amazing book and I would definitely recommend it for children aged 8 and up, and even adults. If you’ve read and enjoyed JK Rowling’s ‘The Ickabog’ then you would absolutely love ‘Harklights.’ I hope Tim Tilley writes a follow-up book soon! ***** 5 stars!
Hi, I’m Evie and I live in Maidstone with my mum, dad and little sister, Freya. I’m 10 years old and my favourite things are reading, drawing, pandas and doughnuts! I’m the illustrator for my school book club newspaper, and I’m rarely found without a book in my hand – my absolute favourite is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I’m not sure how many books I have read in my life but my favourites are all the Harry Potters and The cursed child – I loved it !!! , The boy at the back of the class, The star outside my window , Evie and the Animals.I’m so excited to be part of The Book Nook Review Crew and I can’t wait to get reading and reviewing! Love Evie x
“A charming fairytale adventure with an enduring ecological message.” Peter Bunzl, author of Cogheart
Wick has always lived in the dark and dreadful Harklights Match Factory and Orphanage, working tirelessly for greedy Old Ma Bogey. He only dreams of escaping, until one day a bird drops something impossible and magical at his feet – a tiny baby in an acorn cradle… As midnight chimes, Wick is visited by the Hobs, miniature protectors of the forest.
Grateful for the kindness shown to their stolen child, they offer Wick the chance of a lifetime – escape from Harklights and begin a new life with them in the wild… Winner of the Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize, Harklights is a magical story celebrating family, friendship and the natural world, filled with a message of hope for our times.
