Sarah Harris is a successful journalist who has now turned her hand to writing children’s books. We decided to find out a little more about her and these new books…:

What were your favourite childhood books?

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett; Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis and all the Enid Blyton, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books I could lay my hands on.

Prince Jasper’s first book is out this month, so please tell us a little about him and what he gets up to.

Prince Jasper loves helping people, but he’s often too helpful which gets him into lots of trouble such as the time he re-hung the chandeliers in the palace and they all fell down and he polished the floors until they were as slippery as ice rinks.  In the first book in the series, his father, King Monty, has had enough of Prince Jasper’s ‘helpfulness’ and suggests that he goes on a quest to find a princess who needs his advice. Before Prince Jasper leaves the palace, he accidentally helps some jewel thieves steal the Crown Jewels.

However, he meets his match when he eventually stumbles across grumpy Princess Miranda who doesn’t want to be rescued from her tower. She persuades him to help her build a catapult with sticky consequences! Later in the four-book series, Prince Jasper attempts to track down the jewel thieves who stole the Crown Jewels, encounters a dragon with poor personal hygiene and gets kidnapped by pirates. Will his helpfulness save the day? You’ll have to wait and see!

As well as Prince Jasper, we can look forward to a Pirate Secrets series, so what adventures can we expect and when are these books coming out?

Pirate Secrets is a four-book series about pirate brothers – Captains Blackbeard, Orangebeard, Yellowbeard and Redbeard – who each have a secret to hide. It’s being launched by Tick Tock in summer 2011. In the first book, Captain Orangebeard, the scariest pirate in the world, likes nothing better than making people walk the plank. However, he has terrible eyesight and needs to wear glasses -only he doesn’t think this is a very pirately thing to do. When he loses his parrot, Bert, his crew finally guess his secret and find a replacement bird – a pelican. Captain Orangebeard’s problems are only just beginning…

Which do you find more exciting – journalism or writing for children?

I enjoy both but they’re very different disciplines. I like the fast-paced nature of news and find it exciting that you never know what you will be writing about each day. I enjoy interviewing interesting people, particularly other children’s authors. However, writing for children is my real passion. I love the excitement of getting an idea, finding a ‘voice’ for a character and going on a journey with them. I get a real sense of satisfaction, working out a plot and seeing the pieces all fall into place by the end.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you be and why?

Princess Leia from Star Wars. I was obsessed with the film as a child and loved my Princess Leia notebook, which I used to write stories in. I liked her because she didn’t just stand on the sidelines and wait to be rescued. She was feisty and could look after herself, fighting her own corner. She also got to kiss Han Solo, which can’t be too bad. I remember seeing the film for the first time and crying when I came out of the cinema because I thought that life could never be as good as Star Wars.

Share 3 of your passions with us

My children, writing and eating good food!

Thanks, Sarah! Hope you all enjoyed finding out more about Sarah and her books? We’ll be bringing you our reviews of the Prince Jasper books here soon.

The Other Girl by Sarah Miller

Molly McGarry seems to have it all – she’s smart, she attends the prestigious Midvale Academy and she’s finally got the guy of her dreams, Gideon Rayburn. But now everything’s changing.

Molly and Gid got together in a very unusual way, when Molly mysteriously entered Gid’s mind and so could ‘guess’ exactly what he wanted. By a bizarre twist of fate, Molly suddenly leaves Gid’s mind and enters the mind of Pilar Benitez-Jones, possibly the hottest girl in the world. Pilar flirts with Gid. A lot. No longer inside her boyfriend’s head, Molly feels life is spiralling out of control. But she realises that being inside Pilar’s head has its advantages as she influences Pilar for her own schemes – with ensuing chaos.

The glamorous and sexy second Midvale Academy novel.

This novel tells the story of Molly McGarry, who attends posh boarding school, Midvale Academy. Being able to tell what you’re boyfriend is thinking seems good, right? Yes, that’s what Molly thinks. Until Molly stops being herself, and tries to make herself how she thinks Gid wants her to be. This leads to a break up, but then Molly somehow gets inside his new girlfriend’s mind. You’d think that would be bad, and it was at first…but it does have it advantages!

This was a very gripping novel, with other mysterious storylines weaved into it. It was an amazing book with a very unique storyline, but it wasn’t very realistic. Some of the things the teachers did weren’t what real ones would do at all! It was still a very enjoyable read, though, and I really, really, really hope there’s a sequel! There were a few faults to this novel, but other than that, it really is a novel worth reading.

I LOVE THE COVER! I wouldn’t change a thing! It’s quite simple, but that’s what makes it stand out. The real girl on the cover just adds to the brilliant-ness and she is just how I imagined Molly.

Some of this book’s content isn’t really suitable for younger readers, and there is a lot of sex and drugs in it, so I would recommend this book for 13+ although it depends what you’re used to reading/allowed to read. I give this awesome novel a rating of 5/5 stars!

Thanks, Amber, and thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s books for sending us a review copy. Hope you liked our review? If you’ve read it, tell us what you thought of it, too.

Just a short post to tell you what we’re up to…

We’re looking for 1000 fans, between the site, Twitter and Facebook. Once we have 1000, we’ll unlock a ‘Thank You!’ book giveaway, where all fans are automatically entered. The giveaway will include brand new books and some slightly thumbed by Bookbabblers (we do look after books here!), and are:

Granny – Anthony Horowitz

A Jiggy McCue Story: The Curse of the Poltergoose – Michael Lawrence

The Dragonfly Pool – Eva Ibbotson

I Coriander – Sally Gardner

Ondine – Ebony McKenna

Ginger Snaps – Cathy Cassidy

Just spread the word, retweet, suggest to people of Facebook. Once we have 1000, we’ll pick winners….

Thanks!!

Submitted by:     Inspectre Flhi Swift

Location:            Earthly Dimension

Mission:             Codename, DEMON STRIKE

Okay, I’ve been down on the Fleshie dimension for a few weeks now and I have a number of important questions. I daren’t bother the semi-tame fleshie Alannah Malarra; she’s far too busy stressing over finding her missing parents. And talking to young Wortley Flint is pointless; he just gazes up at me, all dewy eyed, and mumbles something about how pretty my wings look, or how I’ve got such a lovely halo. I’ve explained to him that they’re just pieces of A.N.G.E.L Patrol equipment, like my Ecto-Blaster and Combat Belt, but sometimes there’s no getting through to him. Is it a boy thing?

I need to gather some vital intelligence about this strange realm the natives call Earth, and I need to do it fast. I fear for the sanity of Commander Rage, and my Troopers Yell & Gloom if I don’t get some answers.

First question; what’s this stuff they call rain?

And why does it fall from the sky so often? Is it because fleshies are all so filthy and need to spend time under falling water to try to get clean? Trust me, it isn’t working. Fleshies stink! Especially the adults. I made the mistake recently of following one into a cubicle marked TOILET. Jeepers, that’s an error of judgement I won’t be making again. Urgh!!

Anyway, how can I make the rain stop? It’s making me and the other A.N.G.E.Ls moody and bad tempered. Is this why all fleshies look so miserable?

Second question; why do fleshies think they’re in charge down here when it’s clearly those four legged creatures called dogs that rule the roost.

I mean, they drag the hapless fleshies around on bits of role or chain. They make them pick up after them when they drop those horrible smelly brown pellets. And, they get ‘chesty rubs’ or ‘tummy tickles’ whenever they want them, just by rolling onto their backs.

You’d think fleshies would realise that dogs are laughing at them, but they don’t! Come on, think about it for a moment? Young fleshies have to go to something called school. And nearly every adult fleshie spends most of its daylight hours at something very unpleasant called work (how dumb is that?). Yet dogs, they just lay around at home in their fluffy baskets all day, sleeping or chewing stuff to bits. See what I mean?

Third question: why is all the worst fleshie food green?

Yuk, the stuff tastes disgusting, yet the stupid fleshies continue to eat it. Cabbage, lettuce, spinach, rocket, parsley, broccoli, runner beans; it’s all green. Oh, and something particularly foul tasting called a sprout; that’s green too. I made the mistake of letting Commander Rage gorge himself on a bowl full of the horrible little things. He farted almost non-stop for an entire week!!

Can fleshies really be that dumb? Hello, it’s all the same colour; GREEN!! It’s nature’s way of warning them that it tastes like flatulence. Yet they still keep shoving it down their throats. And get this; they blame global warming on burning fossil fuels. Wake up fleshies, it’s all that methane you keep bottom burping after eating all your green yak!! Will they ever learn?

Fourth question; why are they all obsessed with chasing a small round ball?

It’s pathetic! Small groups of them, usually eleven on each side (but sometimes less) and almost always the males (I guess the females are way too smart for this), gather on a small square patch of grass and chase a small white ball around for ninety minutes, or until they’re too tired to stand.

The objective appears to be to stick the ball into one of the large netted baskets at either end of the grass square, but few of them appear to have the skills to do this: why don’t they just give in?

Sometimes, thousands more gather together and watch this laughable spectacle. Or worse still – and you’ll be amazed at this – they sit in chairs in their dwellings and watch this strange happening on a small box they call a television.

Right now, some crazy festival is going on called the World Cup. The entire fleshie dimension appears to be gripped by what a male on the square box called ‘Football Fever’. They’ve got flags hanging from their dwelling windows, fluttering off the top of their wheeled vehicles, and even painted on their gormless fleshie faces. This is madness!!!

Alannah and Wortley have been caught up in the craziness, and so have Trooper’s Yell and Gloom. They’re all cheering for a particularly inept team called INGERLAND, and they’re convinced that this team is going to win the entire tournament. I haven’t the heart to tell them this, but I watched one of these strange games and INGERLAND didn’t appear to be that good; some guy called Plain Looney (at least I think that was his name) kept giving the ball to the other team.

I’ve got a hundred and one more questions but I’ll have to log off for the moment; Commander Rage has acquired some face paint and seems determined to daub a large red cross onto my face. Fleshie traditions are so weird!!!

Inspectre Flhi Swift out.

You can read more about A.N.G.E.L Patrol Inspectre Flhi Swift, including her seat-of-the-pants ghost busting adventures on planet Earth, in the new book Demon Strike by Andrew Newbound.

Demon Strike is in our shop now. We’ll be receiving more Patrol Field reports here soon….

We’ve now got a Bookbabbler review panel for baby books through to books for 6/7 year olds. Our brilliant parent panel is made up of Helen, Keris and Vicki – welcome all! This means we’ll be working on our ‘For Little Ones’ page, bringing you reviews, new releases and old favourites for younger readers. If there are other parents out there who would like to get involved with this, then do drop us a line.

We strongly believe that the earlier you can get a child interested in books, the more likely it will become a habit that sticks with them. It’s a fine line between encouraging a love of reading and forcing a reading time that then becomes an unwanted routine of the day. Start reading to your child when he/she is just a baby or toddler, so that books become a fun part of every day life. Read our tips to encourage readers here.

We can’t think of a better way to kick this off than sharing some of our all time favourites with you. We’ve asked for some Bookbabbler input on this, too, and we thought about what we would put in a top 10 list for a first time parent wanting to know which books to get for their child – here’s what we would recommend…

The Tiger Who Came To Tea – Judith Kerr

Mr Men books – Roger Hargreaves

Mog the Forgetful Cat – Judith Kerr

The Jolly Postman – Janet & Allan Ahlberg

Room on the Broom – Julia Donaldson

We’re Going On  A Bear Hunt – Michael Rosen & Helen Oxbury

Funny Bones – Janet & Allan Ahlberg

The Gruffalo – Julia Donaldson

We’ve picked just 10 out there, but the list could go on and on. A few others worth a mention, that Bookbabblers have reminded us about – the That’s Not My…books, Where The Wild Things Are, Dear Zoo, Guess How Much I Love You and on and on. Check out our Facebook page for a few more ideas from the babble! We’ve added a new section to our shop – For Little Ones – where you can find our favourites there, along with more information about each of them. We’ll also add in to that section any future reviewed or featured titles. We are reviewing some books now, so we’ll be bringing you more For Little Ones soon..

Today we’re bringing you our interview with The Karma Club’s author, Jessica Brody:

How did you come up with the idea for The Karma Club?

This was definitely one of those ideas that just “came” to me. A friend of mine had told me some horrendous story about how a boy dumped her (I don’t even remember the story, I just remember it was infuriating!) and the entire time she was talking, I kept thinking, “Someone needs to do that right back to him. He can’t just get away with that. He needs a taste of Karma!” And then boom, the idea hit me! A secret society of girls who help each other out, dosing out Karma to those who deserve it when the universe is slow to do it on its own. And thus THE KARMA CLUB was born. Of course, as soon as the idea came to me, I also knew that my characters would never be able to get away with it. Karma is a tricky thing. And you definitely don’t want to meddle with the universe!

Do you believe in Karma?

Absolutely! I’m a big believer in Karma. But I also don’t think it’s as easy as doing a good deed and then the next day you’ll wake up with millions in your bank account. The universe works in mysterious ways and sometimes it takes a little searching and a little time for those ways to reveal themselves. But I love giving back and helping people and animals and the planet (even if I don’t get anything in return). Sometimes the “karmic payback” is that warm gooey feeling you get from knowing you made a difference in the world. That’s why I started TheKarmaClub.org. So I could share that feeling with the world.

You’ve written adult novels, too, so what attracted you to writing YA novels?

I really didn’t plan it at all. When I came up with the idea for THE KARMA CLUB (see question above!) at first I tried to plot it out as an adult novel and it felt all wrong to me. Then I started to think about it as a story about teens and suddenly it all started to fall into place. Of course, I had no idea how to write a teen novel. So I started reading a bunch of YA fiction to get a feel for the genre. The first book I read was KISS AND BLOG by Alyson Noël and I fell in LOVE with it. (She and I are now very good friends.) I then wrote out 50 pages of the story, showed my agent and asked, “Am I even close to the mark here?” She read it, liked it and told me to keep going with it. She said I had a “natural YA voice.” I think that’s code for “you’re still 17 at heart” (which I still feel!). Writing THE KARMA CLUB was so much fun I decided to stay in the genre. I have two more YA novels coming out in the next two years and a new YA series in the works too!

Tell us about your next YA book, My Life Undecided?

I’m SO excited about the next book. I think it actually might be my favourite yet (but don’t tell any of my other books that!) My Life Undecided is about a fifteen year-old girl who is notorious for making terrible choices and so she decides from now on, she’s going to post every decision she comes across on an anonymous blog with a poll for readers to vote on what they think she should do. And she vows to do whatever the poll result may be. Obviously problems and hilarity ensue! It was a blast to write. Brooklyn Pierce, the main character, became very near and dear to my heart as I wrote it. I’m excited to introduce her to the world.

What are your favourite books from your childhood?

I was a HUGE fan of Judy Blume. I read all her books. She taught me how to be a girl. I’ll never forget the first time I read, Just as Long as We’re Together. Her books made me feel like I was normal. And that’s a big deal when you’re thirteen!

If you could live if any fictional place, where would it be and why?

Edward Cullen’s bedroom. LOL. Just kidding…sort of. Um, I’d probably choose Hogwart’s Castle. I’d love to have my mail delivered by owl.

In the real world, you live in LA, so what’s the best thing about living and working there? (we are jealous – all that sunshine and The Grove shopping!)

Haha! You know what’s funny, I hardly go to the Grove! I guess it’s one of those things. When it’s right there, you don’t to go! But I do love living in LA. The best thing about living here (apart from the weather) is the fact that it’s a city of dreamers. Everyone here is following a dream. And they come from all over the world to do it. Actors, screenwriters, producers, models, directors, entrepreneurs. Some make it, some don’t, but that’s not the point. Everyone here has stepped out of their comfort zone to pursue something that makes them happy and I love being around that energy. Oh, and the beach is nice too!

Thanks so much for doing this interview! It was really fun!

Thanks, Jessica – it’s a pleasure having you with us. Look out for our review of The Karma Club coming soon, and we’re now eager to read My Life Undecided, too! The Karma Club’s been added to our shop for you now, too.

Find out more about Jessica here and you can follow her on Twitter here.

We told you about a new title out this month, The Oldmoor Orphans and the Rodents’ Revenge, by Simon B. Nicholson. Since discovering it ourselves, we’ve delved a little deeper to find out more about the book and the author, so thought we’d share our findings and our chat with you.

Simon has written lots and lots of children’s television, from BOB THE BUILDER to TRACY BEAKER to TIMMYTIME. Recently, he’s been writing books, and his new series of novels for children, THE OLDMOOR ORPHANS, is published from June 2010. It’s about two children called Ernest and Daisy who have been left in charge of an old hotel. Assisted only by an insane parrot, they must look after the peculiar grown-up Guests who come to stay…

Our Review:

“Before long, this hotel will be squirrel-free. Our Guest will be safe. All you need to do is go back to the lobby, stand by the front door, wait for every single squirrel to come racing towards you, chased by a bald-headed eagle. Open the door, then close it when they’ve left. Understand? Good.”

Ernest, and sister Daisy, one day awoke to find the woman they believed was their grandmother, as this woman helped these two related orphans, had left. She’d left a message, saying, “I may be away some time. Take charge of the hotel. Look after the Guests. Ernest to be Manager-in-Chief. Daisy, Head Housekeeper. Any questions, ask Samson.” (Samson was the rather annoying parrot, who was addicted to pratical jokes).

Ernest and Daisy, on a very boring day, after being tricked by Samson YET AGAIN, heard the doorbell which was very rarely used being rung. Yes, it was the hotel’s VERY FIRST guest. The very first guest was named Elsie Tulip. She was very mysterious, which Daisy knew automatically, yet took some time for Ernest to understand. This women apparently had an ‘allergy’ to fur. In fact, she was recovering from Rabbit’s Fur she caught last week. Anyway, when Ernest offered to take her bags to her room, she instantly rejected this offer, while clutching on to her suitcase. But, what was mysterious, was that squirrels kept appearing in the hotel as soon as she arrived…

Our Q&A with Simon:

How did you come up with the Oldmoor Orphans?

I found a Victorian photograph of a boy working as a porter at a grand London hotel. He was staring in a mirror, adjusting his uniform, and smoothing down his hair. So he was Ernest, my main character. The rest just took a bit of filling-in.

Tell us about the main characters, Ernest and Daisy.

Ernest is the Manager-in-Chief of the hotel. He is twelve years old, perfectly neat, highly efficient and almost as clever as he thinks he is. Daisy is his younger sister and works as the hotel’s Head Housekeeper. An utter mess in every way, Ernest thinks she is extremely annoying; but she’s actually rather BRILLIANT.

Rodents’ Revenge features lots of squirrels, so what’s your favourite rodent and why?

My favourite type of rodent would be a chinchilla, due to their speed and extreme fluffiness. The most amazing individual rodent I’ve encountered would be the rat that turned up in my house one day and tried to hide in the piano. As I tried to chase it out it kept bouncing against the strings, with the result that it played an actual tune. Quite a good one too.

As this is the first of a six part series, what else can we expect?

In each book, new Guests turn up at the hotel. In Book One we grapple with Elsie Tulip and her terrible squirrel-allergy. Book Two introduces the Brothers Gym, two ninety-five year old athletes who are obsessed with defeating each other at sport, and choose the hotel as the site of their final showdown. Book Three features the rather sinister Lucy Brittle, who is addicted to bedtime stories. The Guests after that, I’m still thinking up. One thing I know: they’re even odder.

What are your favourite children’s books?

I loved a completely-forgotten book called BOTTERSNIKES AND GUMBLES, by S. A. Wakefield. It was about nasty little monsters playing horrible tricks on each other in the Australian out-back. I also read lots and lots of DOCTOR WHO books – pretty much all of them, I think. Almost my favourite evening of my childhood was going to the theatre to see Roald Dahl read aloud from The Twits. I’ve still got the signed copy of the book I bought, though unfortunately the actual page that was signed fell out and got lost long ago.

Thanks, Simon. Looking forward to reading more about the Oldmoor Orphans and, just so we all know, we’d pick rabbits as our favourite rodents – what about everyone else? Tick Tock books have also arranged for us to have a signed copy of the book to giveaway to a Bookbabbler – lucky us! All you need to do to enter is, comment on this post, Facebook ‘like’ it or retweet it.

You can follow Simon on Twitter here and find out more about Simon and his books here, and we’re sure he’ll be updating it with news of his next books as he’s writing them. Buy this book from our shop now, or just click on the link below.

Ondine – Ebony McKenna

One girl. One boy. One spell to be broken. Ondine de Groot is a normal fifteen-year-old who lives with her family in the European country of Brugel. She has a pet ferret called Shambles. But Shambles is no ordinary ferret… He’s Hamish McPhee, a boy cursed by a witch. A witch who happens to be related to Ondine.

When Shambles turns back into Hamish temporarily, Ondine knows that she has to help him break the spell. He is the most gorgeous boy she has ever met and her one true love! He just can’t remain a ferret forever. Can he?

This book has a fairytale feel to it, being set in the fictional country of Brugel, with a talking ferret, witches, dukes and Psychic Summercamp. The cover itself, with shiny lettering and flowing images, conveys this very well. I found it quite an easy book to get into, as it was fun, light hearted and moved at a good pace. I warmed easily to Ondine and Shambles – it’s not common to have a ferret as a main character, but it worked really well! Shambles provides most of the humour throughout the book, along with Ondine’s overprotective father, or ‘Da’, a parent which I suspect many teenage girls will recognise.

The book has footnotes on most pages, something I found quite irritating initially (even though they are pretty funny). However, after a couple of chapters, I found myself turning each page and being a little disappointed if there weren’t any! Many of them translate Shambles’ phrases for us and others give us extra background about Brugel and Ondine’s family life. All add to the humour of the tale and help us to better understand Ondine.

The ending, though a little predictable, was good. It did feel as though the book ended where another adventure should start, so I was pleased to find that there are going to be other books in the Ondine series – looking forward to the next one! An easy and enjoyable summer read.

Thanks to Egmont books for sending us a copy of this. Ondine is in our shop now and you can find out more about it and the author on Ebony McKenna’s website here.

Today, we’re delighted to have an exclusive interview with Harriet Houdini, celebrity rabbit and star of the brand new book Stunt Bunny: Showbiz Sensation

So, Harriet, tell us about yourself:

You mean you don’t already know? Where have you been? I’m a small grey bunny with a big dream, a rabbit with star quality. I live with the Wilson family and Stunt Bunny : Showbiz Sensation is the story of how I hopped out of my hutch and auditioned to become the star of Saturday night television show Superpets. Oh, and I love carrots. Did someone say they were whisking me up a carrot juice?

Describe a typical day in the life of a VIP:

I’m usually awake first but I don’t get up until my owner, Susie, brings me my morning carrot. Then I have a quick hop around the living room and nibble on Susie’s dad’s slippers. After that, I might read my fan mail or get my nails done. Once Susie gets home from school, she puts me through my paces with the tinkly ball and, after a bit of TV, I catch up on my beauty sleep.

What’s it like living with the Wilson family?

Susie is my favourite person in the world – she’s great. Her mum isn’t bad either but I try to keep away from her naughty little sister, Lily. For a five year old, she’s got a wicked streak. The worst of the lot is their dad, Evil Edward. He’s never liked me and blames me for everything that goes wrong around the house.

What’s the deal with Superpets?

Superpets is a TV show featuring talented pets from all over Britain. Imagine what Britain’s Got Talent would be like if all the contestants were animals – that’s exactly what the Superpets Search for a Superstar competition is like. So there’s an opera singing poodle, a hula-hooping monkey and a counting kitten. The winner of the contest gets to appear on Superpets every Saturday night.

Any gossip about your Superpets co-stars?

Most of them are really great but that poodle is a pain in the fluffy tail. She really thinks she’s got what it takes to win but I’m determined to show her that I’m not just a pretty face. The hedgehog dance troupe, Spike-tacular are a great bunch, though. I think they’ll make it big one day.

What’s next for Harriet Houdini?

I’m going on tour! Superpets Live! will be appearing at a stadium near you early next year and you can read all about our adventures in Stunt Bunny: Tour Troubles in February 2011. Now, where’s that carrot juice you promised me?

You can find out all about Harriet Houdini and her Superpets co-stars at www.tamsynmurray.co.uk There’s a Stunt Bunny word-search to print off and even a Stunt Bunny puppet to make!

We have also added the book to our shop now, but we thought we’d go one better than that and sneak a couple of signed copies for a Bookbabbler giveaway. To enter, just comment on this post, retweet it or Facebook ‘like’ it (UK only).

The Littlest Detective in London & The Littlest Detective in Paris – Suzy Brownlee

These stories are about a nine-year-old girl called Clementine Cordelia Bird, Clemmy for short, who has lost her Mummy, and as well as that an outrageously evil (and pretty) daughter of  a crime lord, Natasha Commonov, is after her!

Clemmy decides that she needs to find her missing Mummy and in these books she begins to search for her, first in London and then in Paris.  The only information she has is a copy of her favourite poem which her Mummy wrote some things on just before she disappeared and Clemmy needs to piece together the different clues contained in the poem and the writing.  She also has some friends: Mrs Mac who is her babysitter – and a retired spy! – and Origami Pete, a policeman from Japan who is trying to escape from Eunice who wants to marry him. They both help her with her search, although they don’t believe that Natasha is trying to catch up with Clemmy but think that she is in a boarding school in Slakistan.

Where is Clemmy’s Mummy being hidden and how long will it be before she is found?  Will Natasha be able to get her father out of prison?  Will Mrs Mac ever stop eating?

The story is exciting because Clemmy is beginning to collect information which fits with the clues in her poem but Natasha is always getting in her way so you never know what will happen.  There are also some bits which made me laugh a lot like the names that Eunice uses for Pete.  My favourite character is Clemmy because she does some clever and funny things, like pouring sticky glue into a lock to stop Natasha helping her father escape!  I enjoyed these books because they are so interesting I didn’t want them to end and I’m looking forward to book 3, The Littlest Detective in Tokyo, so I can find out what happens when Pete has to return to Japan. I expect that Clemmy and the others will go there too and continue looking for her Mummy.

Thanks, Bethan – sounds like you enjoyed these books, courtesy of Prospera publishing. They are both available in our shop now.

There are more and more books we want to find out about, so this can only mean that we need a few more on our review panel. If you’re interested, send in a review of any book, along with your name, age and what you like reading.