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.
Who Are Refugees and Migrants?
Michael Rosen & Annemarie Young
In Who Are Refugees and Migrants? Rosen and Young describe the suffering of migrants whether they are in flight from conflict or from economic hardship – from starvation and disease.
The Milk of Dreams
Leonora Carrington
This slim book contains some of the stories, poems and illustrations that the painter Leonora Carrington created for her two sons. Carrington was a surrealist, born in England and who spent most of her life in Mexico.
The Doorman’s Repose
Chris Raschka
These tales of life in a ‘spiffy’ New York apartment house are by an author best known in the United States for his picture books, two of which have received Caldecott Medals.
Little People, Big Dreams
Lisbeth Kaiser, Isabel Sánchez Vegara, illus. Ana Sanfelippo, Amaia Arrazola & Marta Antelo
The following three books are in the series Little People, Big Dreams, which presents simplified biographies of women from history.
The Waggiest Tails
Brian Moses and Roger Stevens, illus. Ed Boxall
In this book in Barry-Otter Book’s poetry series to encourage children to read and enjoy poetry, we have two very well-known poets, Brian Moses and Roger Stevens.
Whose Eyes Are These?
Virginie Gobert-Martin , illus. Madeline Peirsman
A pair of animal eyes is pictured on one page, while the opposing page asks, “Whose eyes are these?” Turn over the page, and the animal is identified and characterised in a few short lines of poetic and somewhat whimsical prose on one page and depicted on the other in the same style as the eyes had been.
This Way, That Way
Antonio Ladrillo
For an adult like me, who isn’t given to idly, or even purposefully, folding paper into different shapes, this is a challenging book. There are pages of different shapes in bright colours, some of them cut horizontally, with two goggle eyes and a smile appearing in different places on the pages.
Ella, Queen of Jazz
Helen Hancocks
This is a picture book introduction to the singing career of Ella Fitzgerald and her friendship with Marilyn Monroe. It is also about the discrimination against black musicians in the States in the 1950s and early 1960s and focuses on an episode in which Marilyn’s intervention helped Ella secure a gig at a night club which didn’t hire African-American artists.
Tug of War
Naomi Howarth
Who are the biggest and the best in the jungle? Elephant and Hippo certainly think they qualify and they are sure that to be friends with Tortoise, slow, ugly tortoise, is beneath them. But brains will always trump beauty – and Tortoise proves this emphatically.
Bronze and Sunflower
Cao Wenxuan
This book was the winner of the Marsh Award 2017 and Cao Wenxuan was the winner of the 2016 Hans Andersen author award. This book was included in the Hans Andersen citation.
Translating Children’s Literature
Gillian Lathey
The series Translation Practices Explained has been enriched with Gillian Lathey’s book Translating Children’s Literature, the first practical guide to address various aspects of the translation of literature for children.
Global Conflict
A Wayland Book Series
When so many countries in Africa and the Middle East are in turmoil, the status of refugees and migrants seeking homes in developed countries is a matter of grave importance and considerable controversy.