Tag: adventure

The Clackity cover for book review - image shows a tall dark house in the background, with spindly arms reaching up around it. In the top window there is a ghostly figure, bathed in orange. In the foreground there is a girl with her orange hair tied up, holding a key. The outline of wings sprout from her back.
Book Reviews

The Clackity | Happy Halloween! Book Review

Kim

Written by Lora Senf, illustrations by Alfredo Cáceres (published by Atheneum Books, 2022)

In the far corner of the abattoir, on the other side of the back wall below the shaft, the shadows were unnaturally dark. And they shifted and churned. Something was there. Something else was in the abattoir with my aunt.

“Des!” I screamed it. “Get out!”

I couldn’t see her face, but the terror in my aunt’s voice told me everything I needed to know. She didn’t scream at me, or even yell. Instead her voice came out as a wailing sort of moan.

“Baby. Run.”

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The Song Walker book cover for review; a white ship faces us in the middle of a blue-green sea. Closer to us, a white whale leaps up on either side of the ship, while behind the mast rises a large snow tern, its wings reaching up into the dark green sky. The title is in gold, and flanked with gold lines forming a semi-circle. In the sky behind the ship, there is the shadow of a tiger's face.
Book Reviews

The Song That Sings Us | Book Review for Older Readers

Kim

By Nicola Davies (published by Firefly Press)

The sounds of hard breathing and the scrunch of footfalls enclose them as they run. There are shouts behind, voices yelling orders, more shots. Harlon gives Xeno and Ash a stream of small orders and encouragements to stop them thinking.

In Harlon’s head, her ma’s voice speaks.

When you are in danger, the most dangerous thing is to wish you weren’t. Accept the reality of danger, then you can survive it.

Climb, she tells herself. Get away.

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The Song Walker book cover for review shows an orange desert under a harsh sun. Two girls are walking - on the left, a white girl in a black dress carrying a metal case. On the right, a black girl in dungarees pointing off and leading the way. In the centre of the image is a green bird, with the book title around it in blue.
Book Reviews

The Song Walker | Book Review

Kim

By Zillah Bethell (published by Usborne Publishing, 2023)

The bottle is removed from my lips. I try calling out for it to be returned, but then a hand – wet with water – runs over my brow, cooling my forehead. It feels so good.

“Wait here,” the voice says. “I will be back soon. A few minutes. Don’t move.”

I hear feet scrunching against the dirt. Running. Away from me. I raise my arms in the air. Please don’t go, I try saying, but nothing comes out of my mouth. Please stay. Don’t leave me alone here.

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Stone Age Fiction review book covers
Book Reviews

Stone Age Fiction Review Round-Up

Lynda

Recently we’ve read three books with a Stone Age/Late Neolithic setting that we think would be ideal for adding fiction texts to your teaching topic, especially as fiction based in this time period is relatively rare. Each one focuses on journeys into unknown lands.

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The cover for the book Tyger for review, showing a close-up of the Tyger's face looking straight at the viewer with orange eyes, surrounded by orange, black and white striped fur.
Book Reviews

Tyger | Book Review

Kim

Written by S.F. Said, illustrated by Dave McKean (published by David Fickling Books)

‘Nothing is ordinary,’ said the tyger. ‘Everything is extraordinary. In all of infinity and eternity, that flower exists only in this world; this precise position in space and time. Everywhere else, there is a different flower, or no flower at all. And the same is true of you. Nothing special? You are miraculous beyond measure, both of you.’

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The Haunting of Tyrese Walker review book cover
Book Reviews

The Haunting of Tyrese Walker | Young Adult Book Review

Kim

By J.P. Rose (published by Andersen Press)

They began to walk back down the track but Tyrese glanced over his shoulder towards the trees on the mountainside. Even though it was hot and humid, he shivered, his skin tingling. Why couldn’t he shake off the feeling that something or…someone was watching him?

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Graphic Novels Autumn 2022 review book covers
Book Reviews

Graphic Novels for Autumn 2022 | Reviews

Lynda

Graphic novels are a great way to get reluctant readers to pick up a book; from Dog Man to Alex Rider, they have kick-started many reading journeys. So I decided to try a few I hadn’t read yet for our newest review selection.

All entries in this round-up are illustrated in full colour.

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Zeina Starborn Sky Whale review
Book Reviews

Zeina Starborn and the Sky Whale | Review

Lynda

By Hannah Durkan (published by Hachette Children’s Group)

‘Who … Who are you?’

This made Zeina bristle. He had seen her just as many times as she had seen him and yet he had no idea who she was. This was just like Aboves; people like Zeina were merely part of the scenery – completely forgettable.

‘Who am I? NOBODY, that’s who!’ She knew she could get into trouble for talking to him this way. After all, he was technically her father’s employer.

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The Mab book review map
Book Reviews

The Mab | Welsh Folklore Book Review

Kim

Edited by Matt Brown & Eloise Williams, illustrated by Max Low (published by Unbound, 2022)

But as well as being really, really old, the stories in The Mab are thrilling and funny and MAGIC. They speak of a time when the gates between the Real World and the Otherworld were occasionally left open. And sometimes, just sometimes, it was possible to step through. Trust me, you’re going to love them.

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