Book cover for review: images shows a young Chinese girl in red holding a steaming bowl of liquid, in which there is the image of a landscape with a river, bridge, and traditional Chinese building. On either side of the girl is a blue Chinese dragon, wreathed in clouds. Down the edges on the sides are different dishes. At the top of the image, the title 'Chinese Menu' is written in gold.
Book Reviews

Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favourite Foods | Book Review

By Grace Lin (pub. Little, Brown and Company, 2023)

Almost all dishes on a Chinese menu have a story behind them. In a way, the menu at your Chinese restaurant is the table of contents for a feast of stories.

And this book is that feast.

Continue reading “Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favourite Foods | Book Review”
Covers for book recommendations January 2026
Book Reviews

Monthly Book Recommendations: January 2026

Welcome to our monthly book recommendations, and it’s our first post for 2026! Depending on where you are in the country, the weather has been pretty grim, so we believe the best thing to do is settle in with some fantastic reads. Here’s the ones that got us through January!

Continue reading “Monthly Book Recommendations: January 2026”
Book cover for book review. Image shows a young boy in a red t-shirt, sat in a boat on a turbulent sea. It's raining, and the boy is facing away from the viewer, towards the horizon, where the first light of dawn is beginning to show. Towards the bottom of the image, overlaid on the water, the title REFUGEE is written in red in all caps; in white underneath that it says 'The Graphic Novel'.
Book Reviews

Refugee: The Graphic Novel | Review

Written by Alan Gratz, illustrated by Syd Fini (pub. Scholastic Graphix, 2025)

I see it now, Chabela. All of it. The past, the present, the future.

All my life, I kept waiting for things to get better. For the bright promise of mañana.

But a funny thing happened while I waiting for the world to change. It didn’t. Because I didn’t change it.

I’m not going to make the same mistake twice.

Continue reading “Refugee: The Graphic Novel | Review”
Covers for book recommendations November 2025
Book Reviews

Monthly Book Recommendations: November 2025

Welcome to our monthly book recommendations, and our final recs post for 2025! Last month was “Non-Fiction November”, but you know us – we couldn’t just stop there! So here’s some fantastic books that cover all sorts of facts and stories in their own way, that we think would all make perfect gifts for this holiday season.

Continue reading “Monthly Book Recommendations: November 2025”
Book cover for review: image shows a blue background that turns into a skyline at the top of the picture. In the centre-left is an arched window, through which we can see three children climbing some stairs. The girl at the front is red-haired and holding a torch. Behind her is an Indian boy looking around cautiously, and behind him is a smaller girl with a blond ponytail. Vines are growing through and around the window. The title 'Murder at the Ivy Hotel' is in large across most of the image. The small middle words are on a silver tray being held up by an unseen waiter. In the 'o' of 'Hotel' is a suspicious silhouette of a person.
Book Reviews

Murder at the Ivy Hotel | Book Review

By Emily Hourican (pub. Scholastic, February 2026)

Bob’s words hung in the air. It could be murder.

And suddenly, the giddiness went out of everything they had discovered. A chill descended over them all, and the satisfaction of tracing clues and finding pieces of the puzzle vanished. If it ever had been, this was no longer a game. There was, Meredith realized with shock, a big difference between thinking something was murder, and knowing it truly could be.

Continue reading “Murder at the Ivy Hotel | Book Review”
Covers for book recommendations October 2025
Book Reviews

Monthly Book Recommendations: October 2025

Welcome to our monthly book recommendations post for October! We had a spooktacular time last month reading some hair-raising tales of fact and fiction. It may no longer be October, but don’t let that stop you checking out below what books we enjoyed last month!

Continue reading “Monthly Book Recommendations: October 2025”
Covers for book recommendations September 2025
Book Reviews

Monthly Book Recommendations: September 2025

Welcome to our monthly book recommendations post for September! The days are getting shorter now, and the grey weather gave us the perfect excuse to stay indoors and do some reading (well, except for a jaunt to some bookshops in Norfolk!). Check out below what books we enjoyed over last month.

Continue reading “Monthly Book Recommendations: September 2025”
Book cover for review: image shows four children - a black girl with blue hair on the front left, a blond-haired boy on the front right, a ginger girl in the back left, and a brown-haired boy back right - running in fear towards the camera through broken branches and vines. Behind them, chasing them, is a giant lizard surrounded by flames. The title 'Sin Bin Island' is at the top in bright blue; the A of Island has clawed feet, and the hole is shaped like a skull.
Book Reviews

Sin Bin Island | Book Review

By Doug Naylor (pub. David Fickling Books, 2025)

‘Read it out loud, then,’ Mr Menton prompted. Digs began.

My dear Digs, it’s very important you don’t read this note out loud.

‘Ah, best not to read it out loud, then,’ Mr Menton chortled.
Digs read the rest of the note to himself.

You’re about to embark on an incredible adventure. An enterprise so petrifyingly terrifying it would make most boys your age quake in terror if they knew what was ahead of them. Thankfully, you don’t, which is a HUGE bonus.

Continue reading “Sin Bin Island | Book Review”
Covers for book recommendations August 2025
Book Reviews

Monthly Book Recommendations: August 2025

Welcome to our monthly book recommendations post for August! We’re making our way into cooler weather now, but we still did a lot of reading over the last summery month. So check out what books we enjoyed during August below!

Continue reading “Monthly Book Recommendations: August 2025”
83 Days in Mariupol graphic novel cover for review. Image shows a family, mother in the middle holding hands with a child on each side, with their backs to the viewer. They are silhouetted against city buildings in the distance that are crumbling and burning. The image is mostly in shades of grey, with the fires in bright reds and oranges. The title is in dark red at the top.
Book Reviews

83 Days in Mariupol: A War Diary | Graphic Novel Review

By Don Brown (Clarion Books, imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, this format 2025)

Could Mariupol, and Ukraine, survive? As Russian rockets threatened the city, Ukrainians resisted, and with a heroic combination of sacrifice and bravery, the besieged city endured…for months. But it all came at a steep cost.

Continue reading “83 Days in Mariupol: A War Diary | Graphic Novel Review”