Hallowed is the sequel to Cynthia Hand’s novel Unearthly and will be published in January. Look out for a review from us next month and in the meantime here is a trailer for the book.

When Katie, her sister Sorcha, her brother Hamish, her mum and her dad move from their home Holly Cottage into Cloudberry Castle Katie gets two things that she really wants, a big bedroom that she can practice ballet in every day and a ballet school owned by her! But when spoilt brat Leo arrives Katie isn’t sure it’s going to be happily ever after. Also there is a ghostly presence which leads the girls to discover secrets about the castle they never knew before…

This book is one of the Cloudberry Castle series and if I am ever offered one of them again I shall definitely say yes because they are really good books.

My favourite character is Tilda Katie’s friend because she is a daredevil.

This book made me feel excited because it was always twisting and turning and making you concentrate to keep up with it.

I would recommend this book to children aged 8-10, especially if they like the Princess Poppy books by the same author for slightly younger children.

Thank you Bethan for your review and thanks to Floris Books for sending us a copy to review.

Something lives deep in the forest… something that has not been seen on Callum’s farm for over a hundred years.

The pact they make will change lives forever.

Gill Lewis’ debut novel is a captivating story. I sat down to read a couple of chapters and stayed glued to the sofa until I had finished reading the entire novel.

The novel follows the story of Iris the Osprey as she migrates from the Highlands of Scotland to the Gambia in Africa. Callum and Iona become friends when they make a pact on Callum’s farm after finding an osprey. A firm friendship is soon struck up between the two, but it will be their pact that will push the limits of their friendship and lead Callum to a new world.

This is a fast paced novel with lots of unexpected twists and turns. Friendship plays a huge part and we see how new technology means friendships can be struck up all over the world. I also loved learning about Osprey’s – something I knew little about.

Lewis has written a timeless tale and made it into a modern story that today’s readers will be able to relate to. I particularly liked the inclusion of google earth.

This is a fantastic read and I would recommend it for children and adults alike, the characters felt so real, almost as if I actually knew them. It centres on many prominent childhood issues, such as friendship, bullying, loss and hope.

Sky Hawk has been shortlisted for the Red House Children’s Book Award. To vote visit www.redhousechildrensbookaward.co.uk
Nominations are open until 20th January 2012

We have three sets of the books shortlisted for the Red House Children’s Book Award. To enter visit our twitter page: @Bookbabblers

Tell us a little bit about yourself

Hello. I’m Gill Lewis. I live in the depths of Somerset, surrounded by dairy farms and cider orchards. My husband and I are both vets and we have three children 13, 11 and 8. We have an ever increasing menagerie of pets, many of which are rescued animals. Our latest addition is a huge pup with a taste for mince pies and Christmas cards. I’ve always been fascinated by animals. As a child, I could be found in the garden looking for bugs and beetles or catching newts from a neighbour’s pond. It seemed natural that I went on to study to become a vet after leaving school. I was lucky to be able to work as a vet in many different countries, although it was always the wildlife that I was drawn to. I think it was this, and the stories of the people who live alongside these animals that inspired Sky Hawk.

Tell us about your debut novel Sky Hawk

I had the idea for Sky Hawk on a freezing New Year’s Day while looking at an empty swallows’ nest in the eaves of our garden shed. I wondered where the swallows were? Were they swooping in African skies? Could children in Africa see the swallows that my own children had watched all through the summer? I began to research about bird migration and I became fascinated by websites following ospreys fitted with satellite transmitters. I began to wonder if an osprey could connect children across different continents. And so the idea for Sky Hawk was born. The story follows two Scottish children, Callum and Iona, who forge a deep bond of friendship after discovering a pair of ospreys nesting on Callum’s farm. Their friendship is challenged by prejudice against Iona and her family from the local community. But when Callum and Iona find one of the ospreys injured, they do all they can to save it and keep it safe. Events take a tragic turn and it is the journey of the osprey that brings communities together, challenges prejudices and changes Callum’s world forever.

How did you begin writing?

At school I was a real daydreamer and loved writing stories, but my handwriting was very messy and my spelling was so shocking that I never even thought I could be a real writer. It wasn’t until after my children were born that I rediscovered writing. I used to tell my children stories on long car journeys and make up bedtime stories. I loved creating characters and worlds in my head. I wrote several picture books and stories. I had one picture book published, but found it very difficult to find a publisher for my other work. I eventually went on a writing course where I really learned to craft my writing and shape a rather baggy first draft into a novel.

How long did Sky Hawk take to complete?

Sky Hawk took nine months from thinking of the idea to the complete manuscript. The actual writing time was much shorter. I spent much time researching about ospreys and Gambia and learned an awful lot about fly-fishing too.

What are you working on now?

I’ve just finished White Dolphin, my second novel, which comes out next May 2012. There is an environmental theme running through this book too, about the fragility of the marine life around our coastline. But the heart of the story is about a girl called Kara who is desperate to find news of her missing mother. When an injured dolphin is washed up on the beach, it seems to hold the clues Kara is looking for. Researching this story was great fun. I got to go out on boats looking for dolphins and also learn to sail a dinghy in rough Cornish seas.

What do you like to do outside of writing?

Our family holidays are often centered in wild places where we look out for wildlife. Last summer, we were very fortunate to be able to travel to Scotland to see Roy Dennis, (the UK osprey expert) fit a satellite transmitter to an osprey sponsored by the UK, US and foreign publishers of Sky Hawk. You can follow Ozwold’s incredible journey on the osprey diary on my website; gilllewis.com

I also love swimming. I mull over my story ideas as I swim. It’s a great way to relax. I have a secret desire to swim the English Channel, but I’ve heard it’s a bit chilly and I’m put off by the thought of huge tankers and meeting a Portuguese man-o-war.

Thanks Gill for this great interview!

Sky Hawk has been shortlisted for the Red House Children’s Book Award. To vote, visit www.redhousechildrensbookaward.co.uk

You can find Gill Lewis on twitter: @GillLewis and at her website: www.gilllewis.com

Sky Hawk is out now to purchase..

Emerald St. John is in trouble. She has been condemned to marry a man she hates. Her enemies are conspiring to have her pet bear Molly torn apart in the baiting pits, and the man she loves is far away on the high seas. And she has stumbled into a web of spies with a plot to poison Queen Elizabeth I. To save herself and the kingdom, she must beat the spies at their own game – which means transforming herself from a country girl into a Court lady. Can she do it in time?

Emerald is an historical romance novel set during the reign of Elizabeth I. I was instantly drawn to the stunning cover, which I think is one of my favourites of the year.

Sixteen year old Emerald St John is happy at the home of her guardians in the Welsh countryside where she was sent aged only seven with her older brother Richard when their father died. Richard is sent to sea and Emerald bonds well with her Aunt Frances, although not quite so well with Arabella her cousin who longs for a life a court.

Things begin to turn sour for Emerald when her mother arranges for her to marry Lord Suckley, a horrible character and definitely not what she had in mind. Emerald soon senses a plot and realises that she herself is unwittingly involved, even her pet bear Molly is drawn into the centre of the fray.

I love historical fiction and this novel really does not disappoint. It is fast paced with lots of twists and turns, as well as a couple of surprises that I hadn’t been expecting. I sat down and read this over two evenings, as I did not want to put it down!

Emerald is a fantastic heroine, she is beautiful, clever and extremely loyal. This is the first novel by Karen Wallace that I have read and I will definitely be looking out for more of her work.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending us a copy to review.

Today we here from Bookbabbler Pamela…

Told in narrative rhyme, Faerytale is the story of two sisters – Ellie and her older sister Lucy. While Ellie loves make-believe and fairy tales, Lucy has long since grown out of those fanciful things. But when a game of hide and seek has disastrous consequences, Lucy must remember the old forgotten tales of her childhood, and keep her wits about her.

Ellie fell down a rabbit hole into a world of dark and twisted creatures where the wolf will certainly eat you and Rapunzel’s prince isn’t nearly as charming as he should be. But can Lucy find her in time, before it’s too late for both of them…?

Children and adults alike will devour this book, picking out their favourite tales from childhood and urging Lucy on her quest. Definitely one for under the Christmas tree!

Thank you Pamela and thanks to Safkhet Publishing for sending us a copy to review.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Helen…

We were delighted to receive this beautiful book for review.  I enjoyed reading the Wombles books and watching the TV series as a child but I hadn’t realised the books were back in print, so it was lovely to be able to share these stories with Erin for the first time.

The book contains thirteen stories, all quite long – each is about 15 pages with small colour illustrations set into the paragraphs on every page.  We managed to read some of them in one bedtime but, as we often don’t have loads of time, we read most of them over two nights.  Each story stands alone although there are loose themes which run through which means it’s better to read them in order.  Erin enjoyed looking over my shoulder and pointing out when we got to the bits of the story shown in the pictures.  She found the Wombles’ antics funny, but she was also interested in the uses they find for the rubbish they collect.  Our favourite story is probably the Christmas one in which Great Uncle Bulgaria meets an old man who ends up coming to the Wombles’ Christmas party.

In addition to the stories there are some extras in the form of a preface from Elizabeth Beresford, written a few months before she died, a note from Great Uncle Bulgaria, a Who’s Who which gives information about some of the more significant characters and a page of Womble Facts, as well as a map which appears inside the front and back covers.  Inside the back cover there is also a CD in a plastic wallet on which three of the stories are read by Bernard Cribbins.  It’s very useful for a long car journey as it lasts about an hour and we all enjoyed it.  Bernard Cribbins, of course, narrated the original Wombles TV series so it was lovely to hear him again performing all the same voices.

This book is a large format hardback book and would make a lovely present.  Although the stories date back to the 1960s they haven’t dated a huge amount and the theme of recycling is very relevant to children today.  I’d recommend this for children of about 4 years plus, although a reasonable attention span is required given the length of the stories.

Thank you Helen and thank you to Bloomsbury for sending us a copy to review.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Helen…

This is the third book in the Seahorse Stars series which follows Cammie, a young seahorse, as she progresses through the Pearlies (a seahorse version of Brownies or Rainbows).  By completing tasks and challenges she is gradually collecting the six pearls she needs to become a Seahorse Star.  (See my review of book one, The First Pearl, for more background information!)

In this story Cammie is aiming to pass her “Wave Wanderer” challenge, which requires her to learn how to read a map and use a compass.  She finds this difficult, however, and is worried that she will fail where the others succeed.   Corinetta, who has been conceited and unfriendly up until now, offers to help her but Cammie is unsure whether or not she should trust her!

The books in this series have an on-going plot-thread but despite this can be read as stand-alone stories without too much trouble.  We went straight from book one to book three and there is enough information about the characters and situation to be able to follow easily.  The stories are quite obviously aimed at little girls of about 5-7 and the plots developments might seem rather predictable for older children or parent readers but it wasn’t the sort of book that I found a chore to read each evening.  There are seven chapters which are relatively short – about 10 pages of fairly large writing interspersed with black and white illustrations on about every other page, making the books suitable for newly-confident readers to read alone as well.  As with the others in the series, the book also includes a map of Rainbow Reef and a guide to the main characters.

We would definitely recommend this series as a good bedtime read for children who are moving on from picture books to chapter books.

Thank you Helen and thank you to Usborne Publishing for sending us a copy to review.