Today, we have a book for little ones, reviewed by Helen and Erin…

Fairy School: Flying High – Titania Woods

The Glitterwings Academy series of books, written by Lee Weatherly under the pseudonym of Titania Woods, is being reissued as Fairy School.  I’m not sure why this is happening, especially as there is at least one other Fairy School series on the market with those words in the name, so I’d have thought the Glitterwings tag would have lent some distinction.  There are currently 14 titles in the series (not sure if any more are planned) and the reissue begins in July 2011 with the first four.

After reviewing the latest book in the series, Fairy in Danger, Erin decided she would like to read more of the books and spent some of her birthday money on a set of about ten.  Flying High being the first one chronologically, we read this one next and although we have read and enjoyed some others since then I think this was the one which made the biggest impression on Erin.

The story centres on Twink, a young fairy who is just starting out at Glitterwings Academy, which is a boarding school which holds great renown within the fairy world (as I said in my review of Fairy in Danger there are strong parallels with Malory Towers and other school story series – one reviewer on Amazon has even gone as far as to state which Malory Towers character each fairy corresponds to!).  Twink is understandably nervous and excited about what is to come and the first few chapters concern the exploring of the “building” (a large oak tree), the settling into the dormitories and the making of friends, including the usual dilemma of choosing between the quiet and sensible friend and the wacky and apparently more fun, but irresponsible, one, as well as encountering less friendly types. However, the main theme of the book is about the beginning of flying lessons and the fact that, despite having longed to start it for years, Twink isn’t able to master flying as easily as she thought she was.  Erin was really captivated by the unfolding of the story, of Twink’s inability to control her flying and the ultimate humiliation of having to take a walking part in the end-of-term flying display which all the parents will be coming to watch.  It will come as no surprise to parents that the story ends happily but the twists and turns along the way will keep children fascinated as the fairies come up with various plans to get Twink off the ground so she no longer has to fly around on a bird.

I think part of the attraction with this book was that Erin had recently started school herself and had experienced the same situations of getting to know teachers, pupils and buildings and not wanting to stand out as “different” in any way.  The fairies’ ages aren’t mentioned which means that although they are older (there’s a reference to Twink having attended primary school beforehand) their situations are universal enough to appeal to children (probably girls mostly) of varying ages and experiences, and the fairy world puts an extra layer of distance between the child and the characters to make it feel “safer”, although there is no real peril involved making it suitable for ages of about 4+.

Having looked at the reissued Fairy School edition there doesn’t seem to be much difference – the cover illustration remains the almost the same although it now appears in a circle on a largely pink background, which I gather will be a different colour on each title.  The lovely hardback copies I raved about in the last review don’t seem to be available in the new editions, which is a shame, but the paperback versions are slightly cheaper.

I would recommend this series – it’s different from other fairy series on the market and the author has an impressive track record in Young Adult fiction (recently acclaimed for the first in her new series Angel).  We are looking forward to more for younger readers from her.

Thanks, Helen, and thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Books for sending us a copy. It’s here for you to buy now..

Today we bring you something a little different. Wendy has been reviewing a children’s rock opera for us…

Rockford’s Rock Opera: An Adventure in Sound- lyrics and sounds written, arranged and produced by Matthew Sweetapple and script by Steve Punt and Matthew Sweetapple

Rockford’s Rock Opera is described as a unique ecological audio story with clear narration, characters, wonderful songs and animated videos for children of all ages. It is in a triple CD pack. Each enhanced CD features an animated video bringing the story to life and comes with a 24 page illustrated booklet featuring the song lyrics. These are illustrated with CGI type cartoon drawings. There is also a website where you can learn more about the characters, download and access other materials.

The story is based around Rockford and about a land far away, called Sea of Tranquillity where the Island of Infinity lies. The Island of Tranquillity is home to the last one of every extinct animal species. The story starts in Battersea and Rockford and friends support Battersea Dogs and Cats Home as well as Buglife. Rockford travels, by mistake, to the land of Infinity, the final home of all extinct animals, with devastating results. Only Moog, his young owner can save Rockford and all dogs from extinction.

The underlying message is about the environment and about the tragedy of extinction. There is a great verse in the song ‘The Tale of the Cocklebur Ick’ that illustrates how people can misuse animals .. ‘He captured the Cocklebur Icks Used their fur for fastening his bits Coz the coat of the Cocklebur Ick Was cheaper than buttons and zips! So the Tale of the Cocklebur Ick Is a tale that’ll make you feel sick! Coz people are twits! You’ll never see Cocklebur Icks.

Given the nature of the tale, some parts of the story can be quite dark and my 4 year old did get a little frightened but he wanted to continue to listen to it. My 6 year old, who loves dancing and music, absolutely loved it and was soon dancing and singing along with it.

It is a great tale with memorable rock music and fantastical creatures. My partner and I both really enjoyed it and were as keen to listen to it as the kids which makes a great change. At 2 ½ hours long it is a good length for car journeys and we will certainly be taking it when we go on holiday.

Thanks, Wendy. Sounds like it could be worth getting in for that long holiday drive then?! It’s here for you to buy now..

Today we introduce you to the world of the Candle Man, with a guest post, review of the latest book and a fab giveaway…

I am Candle Man – Glenn Dakin

I expect you’re wondering what I’m doing in this sewer. If you look down the nearest drain you might see my eyes looking up. Well, if you see an eye down there it had better be mine – otherwise you’re in trouble.

The crelp are on the move.

Perhaps I should explain. In fact, according to my Guide to Good Manners I really should introduce myself. My name is Theo Wickland, and I’m a teenager with an unusual problem.

No – don’t think of it as a problem, think of it as a rich inheritance. You see, back in Victorian times there was a character called the Candle Man. Some called him a hero of the night. Others called him a nightmare.

He solved mysteries in the murky underworld of London, battled sinister creatures, survived the Slaughter of the Gargoyles and even outwitted the diabolical Dodo.

You might be wondering why you’ve never heard of the Candle Man. Here’s the answer: his deeds were so terrible, all record of his existence has been removed from the world. To put it bluntly: he melted people.  Oh, and his body glowed in the presence of danger.

Just like mine. As I said, I am Theo Wickland, the great, great, great, great grandson of the original. After a hundred years of apparent extinction, his power has finally rekindled in me.

Being Candle Man has some advantages. There is a cool group of people whose job it is to watch over me. They’re called the Society of Unrelenting Vigilance. They tell me rumours, give me places to hide and occasionally supply me with cake.

I also inherited a mansion in London, an enormous place containing butlers and secret passages. It’s called Empire Hall. Unfortunately I spend so much time on the run, or facing peril, I rarely get to spend a night there.

I also inherited a guardian angel. Except this angel is bigger than a man, has pointed, curled horns and bat-like wings. You would not want to get on the wrong side of him.

I also get to use the Network – which is where I’m standing now. It’s a labyrinth of tunnels under the London streets. I use it to get around the city and protect you from dark forces.

Like the crelp.

No-one has yet seen a crelp properly. We know they have eyes – in fact they have more eyes than we do. When they move it sounds a bit like someone squeezing jelly over cobbles. They have stinging tentacles that can pull people underground.

I’ve seen that happen.

I’d like to tell you more but as the Society of Unrelenting Vigilance say: The mysteries must be respected. I’d better go now, I’m halfway through what lucky people tucked up cosily in bed with a book would call my adventures.

Don’t worry about me – remember the stuff I inherited from my scary ancestor. I’m the new Candle Man, and I can melt people too…

Thanks, Glenn! So now we’ve heard from the Candle Man himself, we share our review of the latest book, by Luke…

Candleman: The Society of Dread – Glenn Dakin

When Theo defeated his guardian in a fierce, fiery battle he thought the bad old days were over. But now crelp are slithering up from below ground to harvest people’s bones. While deep beneath London, twisted, faceless Dr Pyre is getting ready to put a terrible plan into action that will destroy the city.

To fight his deadly foe, Theo must ally with old enemies, to form the society of Dread. His partners are a sneaky smoglodyte and the grotesque Dodo.

But will they be in time to snuff out the plan?

Well, this book certainly started with an action packed first chapter, however as I had not read the first candleman book I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of characters and different societies which were introduced in the first few chapters. A very fast paced book which I initially struggled to follow. However after re reading the first few chapters I was able to comprehend better the characters and really enjoyed the ensuing story.

The story follows Theo Wickland who is now the candleman and can melt away his enemies with the power in his fingertips. Bones are being removed from the graves in the cemetery and with the help of his allies and enemies he fights to save the city and his friend Chloe from his deadly foe Dr Pyre.

The book is very fast paced throughout with a really great ending. In fact, by the time the ending came, I was so engrossed by the characters I find myself waiting for the next book. Very well written and very descriptive. Just wished I had read the first book The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance before this, and I recommend that anyone who hasn’t does.

Thanks, Luke!

We’ve heard from the Candle Man himself and shared our review of the new, second book in the series. Intrigued? You can find out more by vising the author’s website here. We’re also excited to be able to offer FIVE lucky Bookbabblers a set of the two books, thanks to Egmont Books! To be entered into this great giveaway, simply comment on this post, ‘like’ it on Facebook, or retweet it. We’ll be picking 5 winners at 7pm on Monday (UK only) – good luck all!

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Daisy…

Penny Dreadful is a Magnet for Disaster – Joanna Nadin

My name is not actually Penny Dreadful. It is Penelope Jones. The ‘Dreadful’ bit is my dad’s JOKE. But I do not see the funny side. Plus it is not even true that I am dreadful. It’s just that sometimes my BRILLIANT IDEAS don’t work out completely brilliantly. Like, I didn’t mean for my cousin to end up bald and covered in superglue, and I also didn’t mean to steal our neighbour’s dog and make him speak Russian… It is not my fault. I can’t help it – I’m just a Magnet for Disaster.

These are stories about Penelope Jones, but everyone calls her Penny Dreadful. Each chapter is a different story, she becomes a hairdresser, meets a school inspector and gets into a lot of trouble. In the book her best friend is called Cosmo and he is lovely!

I think this book is great! My Mummy read it to me and it made her snort. I like books that make me laugh, I want to read more about Penny Dreadful and wish I had a friend like her.

Thanks, Daisy, and thanks to Usborne Children’s Books for sending us a copy. The author, Joanna Nadin, wrote a guest post for us all about Penny Dreadful, that you can find here.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Emily…

No Passengers Beyond This Point – Gennifer Choldenko

After losing their house to foreclosure, three siblings – India, Finn and Mouse – have less than twenty-four hours to pack their belongings and fly, without their mother, to stay with an uncle in Colorado. But when they land, a mysterious driver meets them at the airport in a pink car adorned with feathers. He has never heard of their Uncle Red. Like Dorothy in “Oz”, they find themselves in an unknown place, with no idea of how to get home. Time is running out …

No Passengers Beyond This Point is a brilliant book. It is exciting, and I could not put it down. The characters were realistic, but the storyline was quite hard to believe. So I would say it was a fantasy book, with some realistic parts.

There is a strange man called Sparky, and he seems know everything about the main characters (India, Finn, and Mouse) and what they like and what they don’t like. He is very creepy, knowing all about them, when they have nothing to do with him at all!

One of my favourite parts was when they had their own massive rooms. Their rooms had EVERYTHING they liked in it, for example, India, Mouse, and Finn had all types of food they loved to eat, and a parent who they thought of as : “My cool Mom!”, or “My cool Dad!”.

It is an interesting nice book, and I definitely recommend it! Out of 5, this was 4. It was a good book, just like it was made for me. Gennifer Choldenko is exceptionally good at writing books for 11-14 year olds, either for girls or boys! I would read this again, definitely. This book, and this author, rocks!

Thanks, Emily, and thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Books for sending us a copy.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Henry…

Euuugh! Eyeball Stew – Alan MacDonald

Iggy discovers a young member of the Henna tribe lost in the jungle (Henna, so-named for their fiery red hair and penchant for covering their faces in mud). The girl is wearing some rare and precious firestones, which mesmerise the Urks, especially Borg, who devises a new and devious plot to become Chief Urk. Iggy must embark on a dangerous journey to return the Henna girl safely to her tribe in the Cloud Mountains. But when he gets there, the welcome is not exactly what he had in mind. Time for a very cunning plan.

This book is about a caveboy called Iggy the Urk. He finds a girl from another tribe called Osha. He decides to take her back to her tribe, but on the way they encounter more than they bargained for! She is a member of the Henna tribe a tribe of cannibals! He is joined on his adventure by his friend Hubba and a grumpy old man called Snark.

I really liked this book, as it was exciting and funny. It’s packed full of adventure and you want to keep reading to find out how it ends. I have read Dirty Bertie by the same author and this makes me want to read all of his Iggy the Urk books.

Thanks, Henry, and thanks to Bloomsburys Children’s Books for sending us a copy. It’s here for you now…

Keris Stainton’s with us this month, so we put a few of our questions to her….

A little intro to Keris, please?

Hello! My second novel Jessie Hearts NYC has just come out. My first – Della Says: OMG! – came out last year. I live in Lancashire with my husband and two sons. I’m a Twitterholic.

How did you ‘become’ a writer?

I think I was always a writer, really – I’ve loved writing for as long as I can remember – but it didn’t occur to me to try to write a novel until I was in my mid-twenties. And as soon as I thought of it, I couldn’t believe it hadn’t occurred to me sooner. It still took me ten years to finish a novel though.

Whose books do you like to read?

My favourite teen author is Meg Cabot – I think the Princess Diaries series is just pure joy. I’ve just started reading Summer in the City, the second book in Candace Bushnell’s “Carrie Diaries” series and I’m loving it so far. I also read a lot of picture books to my children and I’m mad about Mo Willems’ books. We didn’t think he could beat the Pigeon books, but I think the Elephant & Piggie books are even better.

Tell us about Jessie Hearts NYC

A reviewer has just described it as “a love letter to New York” and that really is how I see it. But apart from that, it’s about Jessie, who goes to spend summer in New York with her mother who moved out there after Jessie’s parents divorced, and American Finn, who thinks he’s in love with his best friend’s girlfriend. I started writing it for National Novel Writing Month and Jessie and Finn were only supposed to have a chapter each, but I couldn’t stop thinking about them so I scrapped all the other characters and wrote Jessie and Finn’s stories instead.

What are you working on now?

I’m not actually writing anything at the moment. I’m doing a bit of research for what I hope will be my next book and trying not to get sucked in to researching the book after that!

Share with us 3 of your passions

My main passion at the moment is a US TV show called Friday Night Lights. It’s about American football so I didn’t think it would be my kind of thing at all, but I’m obsessed with it. I’m basically just getting through each day to get to the next episode.

I’m passionate about my children. They’re incredibly sweet and funny and inspiring and they both love books, which is great news. It does, however, mean that I buy too many and we’re running out of room.

Twitter. I was a very early adopter, which is most unlike me, and I just love it. There’s such a wide variety of people all up for chatting on pretty much any topic you can think of. It’s brilliant for watching terrible TV shows with (it makes The Apprentice almost bearable), plus it’s educational, inspiring and great for book research. I’d be lost without it, quite honestly.

Thanks, Keris! You can find Keris on Twitter here, and her website’s here. You can buy her books here now..

Today we are rounding off the Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour blog tour, with a review from Aly and a giveaway…

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour – Morgan Matson

Amy Curry is having a terrible year. Her mother has decided to move all the way across the country and needs Amy to drive their car from California to the East Coast. There’s just one problem: since the death of her father, Amy hasn’t been able to get behind the wheel of a car. Enter Roger, the son of an old family friend, who turns out to be unexpectedly cute…and dealing with some baggage of his own. Meeting new people and coming to terms with her father’s death were not part of Amy’s plans for the road trip. But then neither was driving on the Loneliest Road in America, seeing the Colorado Mountains, visiting diners, dingy motels and Graceland. But as they drive, and she grows closer to Roger, Amy finds that the people you least expected are the ones you need the most – - and that sometimes you have to get lost in order to find your way home.

Amy isn’t just dealing with grief, but with actual guilt. We know from our reading and life experiences how much grief can affect you, but when guilt is involved it can be disastrous.

Ever since the accident all she can think about is that day. She has started avoiding her friends including her best friend Julia, and can’t stand the thought of driving anymore, so much so, that she hasn’t driven a car since. Her mother refuses to talk about the day and spends her time doing mindless tasks – her twin brother Charlie is always out late and is continuing his bad habits. Guilt surrounds everyone. Charlie escapes the voices in his head and uses other substances to block them: the mother no longer knows her children and Amy has become a shadow of her former self. Lost is the humorous girl she once was, the girl who liked to have fun, was in a relationship, and had great friends. Now she spends her days trying her best to blend in.

Until her mother announces they are moving that is. Her mother leaves early — her brother is still in rehab which leaves her with the car: the car that she can’t drive. Fortunately her mother has called on a son of a old family friend called Roger. Soon enough they are stuck together in a car for days to come, neither know each other, and both are hiding secrets of their own. What originally was supposed to be a certain route drawn up by her mother that they were to take, on an impulse of rebelliousness it is thrown to the curb and Amy decides that she needs this. She needs a fresh start and maybe this new detour of theirs could lead to the perfect answer.

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour is a book that I have been anticipating to read for well over a year now – ever since it came out in the US, which is why I was so thrilled when I received my own copy. At first I expected a very emotional read. Something that would leave me a blubbering mess of some sort — however, I was told not to expect such a thing, that this book did include some romance but largely it’s about the journey that these two individuals take together: they were right. The book alternates between the present and the past. The past leading up to the crash:  the present about how all *particularly Amy* are dealing with life after the crash.

I noticed that the book flowed at a slightly slow pace which didn’t bother me too much because overall the book was worth it.

The romance in the book isn’t really all that important, in my opinion. I mean, sure, it’s nice, but it wasn’t exactly one of the highlights for me. To be a little clearer on this, I don’t think I fell particularly in love with Amy or Roger although I appreciated that they took their time in getting to know each other. That they gelled well and seemed like genuine close friends over time until things progressed towards a different path. I just didn’t really connect with them, and I don’t think I mind too much, surprisingly. The book was a lot more about the journey itself and it was this aspect of the book that I loved. It was so refreshing to read Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour because I have never read a book about a journey of self discovery, much less literally a journey itself, which included: the people they met on the way, through time how Amy and Roger got to know each other, her issues with her mother and brother, her anger and guilt over her father’s death were all portrayed very, very realistically. That is what made the book for me.

I need to add that I genuinely think that Amy’s mother is partly to blame for the changed Amy. I understand that she was grieving too, but she could have at least spent a day and sat down with her children and told them that it wasn’t their fault, that there was nothing Amy could have done, and that she would be there for Charlie and support him. If she had done this they both wouldn’t have had to suffer alone. After his death they expected their mother to hold them and cry with them, tell them that everything would be okay, instead she went upstairs and shortly after sold the house. I’m sorry but that is not what I call a good mother. So, I don’t blame Amy for not finding her mother her most favourite person because I wouldn’t either.

Furthermore, her mother just didn’t seem to understand her children, she didn’t seem to think that like her they too were hurting. And was I the only one who noticed that their father obviously preferred Amy over Charlie, that she was basically his favourite? It’s obvious that this hurts Charlie and I can’t help but think that the route he took might have been a cry for help and attention, and so when his father died he just completely went downhill. Also it aggravated me how Amy covered up for Charlie because not only was it incredibly stupid but it really didn’t do anyone any favours, in fact, it made things worse!  Ultimately what I gathered from all this is that to all they might have seemed like the perfect family, but there were obviously a lot of unsolved issues beneath the surface which over time turned into anger, bitterness, and low self esteem: his death only served as a catalyst in my opinion. That, I suppose, is what happens when you have lack of communication and a dysfunctional family that doesn’t come together and TALK. In their case see that their son had a problem — an addiction and instead of doing something about it chose rather to ignore it and pretend that it wasn’t happening. Sorry, but my anger overrules all sympathy in such cases. Take it as you may, but these were just some observations that I made. I could be wrong.

There were some things that I absolutely loved about the book. The fantastic quotes that I found myself furiously bookmarking with bits of tissue, the quotes in every chapter, the obvious love for Elvis, the lovely illustrations inside. I adored how Amy made notes, wrote down facts, and took pictures at every place they stopped by and mentioned. It made the journey not only for Amy, but also for the reader a little more memorable. The play list was another thing that I enjoyed. It was great to see what the two of them were listening to throughout their journey.

Don’t go into Amy and Rogers Epic Detour expecting a fast, emotional read because that is not what it’s about. It’s about how these two people who are complete strangers to each other start this journey with a certain purpose, with issues of their own, and how towards the end they are completely changed. Not only changed but matured. The transition is remarkable and makes the reader believe that sometimes having that time to yourself, or that one person you can trust, even a stranger with a good heart – might be the key to giving you the happiness and fresh start that you deserve.

Thanks, Aly, and thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending us a copy. We do have a copy of Amy & Roger’s Epic detour up for grabs, so to be entered into the draw to win it, comment on this post, ‘like’ it on Facebook, or retweet it. We’ll be picking a winner on Tuesday evening at 7pm (UK only) – good luck all!

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Helen…

Now you see me, now you…, I don’t want an avocado for an Uncle and The Humpback’s Wail: poetry by Chrissie Gittins

Erin and I have spent several occasions reading various poems in these three books and it makes an interesting change from reading stories. The poems come in almost every form imaginable from the more traditional stanzas with a definite rhyme-scheme, to more free-form collections of poetic and descriptive language, via limericks, clerihews and shape poems.  Whenever we sit down to read them, Erin flicks through the book to find something which catches her interest, which could either be a title, an illustration or the way the text is arranged on the page.  She has her particular favourites which include Sam, Sam, quite contrary and I don’t want an avocado for an Uncle but generally she enjoys listening to the words being read aloud in whatever poems we choose to read.

The poems vary enormously in theme which make the books attractive to children whose thought-processes and imagination take the same leaps and twists.  Some of the poems are humerous, such as I don’t want an avocado for an Uncle and Iris Upsidaisy (about someone who has long corkscrew curls with a mind of their own – a bit like an exaggerated version of Erin’s own hair!), others are sad or wistful, e.g. The way he used to be and I wish I was Gillian Costigan and some are simply everyday thoughts and ideas which explore the use and sound of language as they are described, such as Food Sense which discusses the way we can respond to food using each of our senses.  Some of the poems might have a different significance to adults than to children – Erin found Lou’s Pyjama Uniform, about a girl who wears her school uniform under her nightie because her bedroom is too cold and her mother is never around to notice, very amusing, whereas I found it quite sad and thought-provoking.  Often they are conversations starters for different reasons, either to discuss the language or the themes behind them which are not fully explained.

These books have been useful to us in several ways – firstly because as our children become more confident at reading they are keen to read for themselves which can mean less time spent reading together unless we make the effort to continue it (usually at bedtime at the moment), but poetry really needs to be read aloud, which requires an audience and encourages reading together and we have found time to do this at different times of the day.  The poems can be dipped into at any time so we’ve had time to read a few and talk about them when it wouldn’t be possible to read a story or a chapter of a book.  Also, the poetry – whilst being very accessible for young children in terms of theme – uses some new words and challenging language which leads to conversations about the themes and ideas afterwards, for example the Birds poems which use various collective nouns for individual birds that, strung together, create a piece which almost has a double meaning and led to us talking not only about collective nouns but how language can be used to mean different things at different times.

We have really enjoyed reading these collections together and no doubt will continue to do so in the future.

Thanks, Helen, and thanks to Chrissie for sending us copies to review. You can buy them here now..

Today we have a review for little ones from Wendy…

Hector – Mark Barry 

A story book about a dog called Hector who was a dreamer, he dreamed of faraway places, sandy beaches and blue skies. He drew his dreams and in it he reached them in a big bright red car. He shared his picture of the big bright red car with his friends and they decided to help him build it. Once it was finished they counted down to the day when Hector would leave but he realised the faraway places would be no fun without his friends so he drew more pictures including trees, seaside and a yellow sun and they all left for the faraway place together.

This is a lovely simple tale of friendship and how adventures are much more fun when your friends are with you. It also led to great discussions with my children of what their faraway places would look like.

The book is beautifully illustrated by Sarah Aspinall with a mixture of vibrant coloured pictures and Hector’s drawings. My children loved looking at the pictures as they are so detailed they kept spotting something new.

Thanks, Wendy, and thanks to Templar Publishing for sending us a copy. It’s here for you to buy now..