Bookish - Pottymouth and Stoopid

Hiya Book Lovers,

I hope you've been enjoying the week of reviews for children's books.

Pottymouth and Stupid by James Patterson is a book designed especially for readers who have a sense of humour, at least one great friend and who know what it's like not to be the cool-kid.

Highly readable and filled with illustrations to support the text it's the perfect novel for the 10+ category of 'I can read, but not always enthusiastically'.

David and Michael have spent a life time with nicknames they didn't choose or like and now here they are at the front of the whole school assembly telling their story - right from the beginning. How did two rejects end up here and what has prompted this situation? Read on to find out.

A funny, silly and a little bit naughty tale with some bite. A commentary on bullying told without any of the approach we might be used to.

A great read for fans of fiction that doesn't take itself too seriously. Perfect for the middle school age group. (10-13 years).

Details - Penguin Random House - Young Arrow, June 2017 RRP $19.99 

love you more than an unexpected celebrity status xxx

Bookish - I Love Dad and Sky High

Heya Bookworms,

Today I'm back with a couple of very special picture books.

I Love Dad by Eric Carle who of course brought the world The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

There is something about Carle's illustrative style that is instantly recognisable and enduringly appealing. This small and simple book uses some of the lovely cast of animals Carle is so famous for.

It's a child's love letter to Dad - describing the characteristics of a Dad. A perfect book for a first father's day or a little person who loves to read with their papa.

Details - Penguin Random House, August 2017 RRP $15.99 HB

Sky High: Jean Batten's Incredible Flying Adventures by David Hill and Phoebe Morris is the next in a very welcome series (I hope!) about Key New Zealanders and their stories.

The combination of Hill and Morris is a good one the illustrations really enhance the text and make it a great book to read. First to the Top, published in 2016 documented Sir Edmund Hillary's journey and this one is about Jean Batten.

Jean Batten is a wonderful example of tenacity and paradigm breaking. This book is a great introduction to her. I especially like that there is a timeline of her life in the back. The story is very readable and contains some wonderful titbits about her life. A gorgeous book.

Recently I was reading a with a student and the story was about Edmund Hillary and I was surprised to discover she had not heard of him. These kind of books are important for New Zealand children to read - we have a wonderful list of characters who have played on the world stage and beautiful books help our children to meet them, be inspired by them and carry on their legacy to us.

Details - Penguin Random House - Picture Puffin, August 2017 RRP $25.00

love you more than a woman who flies right through glass ceilings xxx

Bookish - Chase

Hey Thrill Seekers,

Chase by Linwood Barclay is a thriller for 9-12 year olds. I just finished reading this one aloud to my boys (8 and 11) and they LOVED it.

The action centres around the dog Chipper - a souped up dog from The Institute who has been fitted with all kinds of technology to create the ultimate spy. But Chipper isn't happy and he escapes from The Institute to pursue an orphan Jeff Conway who has no idea that Chipper or The Institute even exist.

Will he get to Jeff and give him the message?
Will The Institute get Chipper back, harvest the technology and put him down?

The chase is on.

There are plenty of suspenseful moments in the narrative and we were broken hearted when we realised that the book is part of series/ trilogy... and we have to wait until June next year to find out what happens next.

Flip (11) put the book straight into his school bag as soon as I finished it to take it to share with his classmates and Bounce (8) asked if we could read it again.

High praise from these book lovers.

Details - Hachette NZ, June 2017 RRP $17.99

Bookish - Where Is Grandma

Hi Book Enthusiasts,

A few years ago Grandad bought us a copy of My First Car was Red which is a truly different picture book from any (of the very many) we own. When I saw Gecko had published another, Where is Grandma, by the same author Peter Schossow I was really eager to read it.

Schossow both writes and illustrates his books, we'll try not to hate him for being so talented! and he is a master at both. The text reads like a continual inner monologue as Henry waits and waits for his young nanny to get off the phone so that they can go and find grandma in the hospital.

Finally Henry takes matters into his own hands - how hard can it be to find grandma? and sets off. For anyone who has ever visited anyone in hospital you can imagine just how hard that turns out to be!

The book manages to capture the truly dizzying complexity of a modern hospital - all those doors - without ever feeling stressful or overwhelming in a negative sense. The narrative feels absolutely genuine and rather charming in an effortless sense.

A wonderful read for anyone who loves detailed illustrations and is in touch with their own inner monologue.

Details - Gecko Press, July 2017, RRP $29.99 HB - follow the link for an inside peak at some of the illustrations.

love you more than a bird on a window sill xxx

Bookish - Danny McGee Drinks the Sea and Look Out, Pink Piglet

Hiya readers,

We're three days into a week-ish of reviewing recent reads in the children's book field.

When I receive parcels with books in them there are always delighted noises when said parcels contain books for child readers. Although my boys are both competent readers we also (especially the 8 year old and me!) have a very soft spot for picture books.

Danny McGee Drinks the Sea by Andy Stanton and Neal Layton was a fast hit with Mr 8.

The cover was instantly appealing to him with a mix of cartoon and collage style. He read the book to himself, laughed uproariously at the ending and made me sit and read it myself immediately. Then he continued to 'share' the joke with me again and again.

The book has a solid rhyme scheme and it's the right amount of fantastical and fun. A perfect book for sharing with children who have a great sense of humour.

Details - Hachette NZ, July 2017, RRP $19.99

Look Out, Pink Piglet by Phil Cummings and Sarah Davis.

We discovered Phil Cummings books while we were living in Australia and Bounce (Mr 8) chose one to buy at the writers festival. This gorgeous offering is perfect for the very young reader. It follows brave and curious Pink Piglet as he confronts a monster that has the rest of the farmyard in fear. Turns out Pink Piglet and the monster have a lot in common! Perfect for any little person who's received a sibling.

The illustrations are very sweet - the colours and the ways the animals are portrayed are uber cute.

Details - Hachette NZ, June 2017 RRP $19.99

Bookish - Twice Upon a Time

Kia ora,

A week-ish of reviewing recent reads in the children's book field.

Twice Upon a Time - A very good very bad story by James Norcliffe is a riddle of a story or maybe a riddle in a story.

When I started reading this book I was immediately reminded of The Faraway Tree stories. It has that same kind of magical jumbled up feel and the same kinds of extremely quirky characters. The story is all about the interplay of Ginny's real world problems and the parallel world of Digger Dagger and his problems.

This book will have high appeal to children who like the parallel world, language play and magic in the 'real world' kind of style.

Details - Penguin Random House - Puffin, May 2017, RRP $16.99

Bookish - Wave Me Goodbye

Heya friends,

School holidays have been over for a week now and I made up a large portion of them with my nose in a book. I also did some reading to the boys. Reading aloud to my children is one of the parts that I love SO much about parenthood. So you can expect a load of reviews coming your way. This week I am going to focus on books for children.

First off the pile was Jacqueline Wilson's offering Wave Me Goodbye.

Wilson is obviously a very well known and published author but I must confess I haven't actually picked up her books before. I think she was garnering a lot of popularity while I was at home changing nappies and if I'm honest I've always looked at the cover art of her books and assumed the'd be fairly light and fluffy.

Not that there is anything wrong with light and easy to read. It is actually a really good thing for emerging readers but it's not usually what I am likely to pick up for myself or for reading aloud to children.

Wave Me Goodbye is centred around the action of the evacuation of children from London in WW2. It follows ten year-old Shirley as she is sent to a small village with all the other children from her school and others around.

The story is lovely. It is easy to read and there are a good number of illustrations to help the narrative flow. Shirley is a likeable, if quirky, character and I think a lot of children would relate to her. She ends up being put in a house with 2 boys from her school. There are adventures, friendships, failures and misunderstandings along the way. The two women who run the household are their own kind of quirky and there are some truly touching moments in the story.

I really enjoyed this book. I can see why Wilson has such a following and I think she does justice to the historical events of the novel while delivering a book with a timeless feel. Perfect for any reader who likes to escape into their own world.

Details - Penguin Random House - Doubleday, May 2017 RRP $30

love you more than being a brilliant dancer, in my imagination xxx