Book Reviews
See our latest book reviews and search for all previous reviews. We’ll be adding more over the coming months, so check back to see if your favourite book has been reviewed by us.
You’re snug with me
Chitra Soundar, illus. Poonam Mistry
“You’re snug with me” whispers mother polar to her two little cubs as outside the Arctic winter reigns. The seasons move, and the little cubs have questions as they gradually move out of their den to explore and mother bear answers but always ends with the reassuring words ”You’re snug with me”.
The elephant in the room
James Thorp, illus. Angus Mackinnon
Oh dear someone has broken the china elephant in the room – Father Giant is not happy. Who is the culprit?
Somewhere there is still a sun
Michael Gruenbaum, with Todd Hasak-Lowy
This is Michael Gruenbaum (Misha)’s own story, recalling the events eighty years ago, when he was a nine-year-old Jewish boy living with his family in Prague and Nazi troops invaded Czechoslovakia, his country.
Pebble
Julia Jones, illus. Claudia Myatt
Liam is rising ten and feeling increasingly isolated from family life, like "a single pebble on a shingle beach".
Peace and Me
Ali Winter, illus. Mickaël El Fathi
Peace and Me focuses on 12 women and men who received the Nobel Peace Prize, describes their stories and explains the reasons behind their nomination.
Tomorrow
Nadine Kaadan
This picture book focuses on the isolating impact of war on Syrian children, who are forced to always stay at home because the once safe and fun world outside has changed to a place of danger.
The King of Nothing
Raúl Nieto Guridi, transl. Saul Endor
The King of Nothing is about abstract concepts: stubbornness, imagination and the very nature of existence. With its witty text and beguiling illustrations, this picture book honours the absurd in a way that marks it as a true one-off.
The colours of history
Clive Gifford, illus. Marc-Etienne Peintre
A fascinating illustrated introduction to aspects of the role of colour in history.
Grandad Mandela
Zazi Ziwelene and Zindzi Mandela, illus. Sean Qualls
A story told in sounds and pictures from a versatile Italian illustrator. The mellow colours of the crayon illustrations bring reassurance and comfort as little croc goes to playgroup for the first time.
What does the crocodile say?
Eva Montanari
A story told in sounds and pictures from a versatile Italian illustrator. The mellow colours of the crayon illustrations bring reassurance and comfort as little croc goes to playgroup for the first time.
Thinker: My Puppy Poet and Me
Eloise Greenfield, illus. Ehsan Abdollahi
Pleasant poems about young Jace and his dog Thinker, which thread their way between fantasy and reality.
The Curious Lobster
Richard Warren Hatch, illus. Marion Freeman Wakeman
Once again the New York Review of Books Children’s Collection widens our horizons! The latest addition to their dozen or so titles is a collection of all of Richard W. Hatch’s Mr Lobster stories, originally published in the US in two books in 1935 and 1939, and here complete with the distinctive illustrations which Marion Freeman Wakeman created for them.