The Book of Chaos by Jessica Renwick

2023 

Jessica Nuthatch lives with her aunt and cousin after her parents and her uncle were killed.  Jessica and her Aunt Moira both have magic but have to keep it hidden.

A strange book appears on Jessica’s bookshelf. It swallows her cousin and Jessica manages to jump into it and follow him. She finds herself in the world of Starfell, a magical place where she can freely use her powers.

She is received kindly by everyone there and eventually finds out what has happened to her cousin Tommy.  He and many other people have been trapped by the powerful witch Endora in picture frames. Endora is actually Jessica’s great-grandmother.

Jessica manages to free a knight from his picture frame and he in turn helps her to trap Endroa herself in a frame. Tommy is released and Jessica and Tommy are reunited with Aunt Moira who has been summoned by the Fey Witch, Fedilmed Coot.

Many readers may be glad to know that Fedilmed, although male, is a witch and he lives happily with this husband Algar.

The paperback is 258 pages long and the language is about reading age 9.     

At the end of the book there is a glossary of names and terms, information about the author, an invitation to find out more about how Starfell works and an excerpt from the second book in the series.       

Find your copy here  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.  

Sigrid is Unique by Lotta Lundh and Nils Melander

2024           

Sigrid is indeed unique but she needs to work out why

She likes her room in a certain order. She finds it difficult to sit still in class.  She likes to read on her own. She’s good at drawing. There are only a few places she feels comfortable visiting. She doesn’t cope with noise well.  She isn’t all that comfortable with other people. There are only certain foods she likes. She needs help with many tasks that other people find easy. Her own thoughts bother her sometimes. She is very kind.

Is it any one of these qualities that makes her unique or is it all of them?

This book goes to great lengths to describe Sigrid’s predicament.

The illustrations work here as they would in a picture book for younger children: they show more of the story.

The text is set ragged right which makes it easier for an emergent reader. It also uses a font that resembles print and has simple ‘a’s and ‘g’s.   

There is information at the end of the book about the writer and the Illustrator.      

 

Find in our online store 

 

Afterwards by K M Kendrick

 

2024 

upper secondary  Key Stage 4, ages 14 -17, Kendrick Karen,  afterlife, dystopia, teen pregnancy,     

Girl is dead.

She knows she is dead because she remembers dying. The afterlife is not what she had expected – she has awoken into a nightmare, in which everything seems hell-bent on killing her all over again. She is the only one who remembers what life was like before death and she has no idea why.

Also, Girl is pregnant and that shouldn’t be in this setting. The birth of the baby will change everything about this world. It may end it. 

The only way to beat the game is to keep moving forwards, even if it means the end of the world.

We get to the end of the novel. The baby is born. The world changes but doesn’t end. There may be a sequel.

Boy is ordered to kill her but in the end he doesn’t want to. Ali becomes at once her friend and her protégé. His presence in the novel shows a softer side of Girl.      

Grim in places, Karen Kendrick’s Afterwards is also fast-paced and emotionally challenging. It is a larger font novel with 296 pages.  

 

Find your copy here 

Looking for Lucie by Amanda Addison

 2024  

 

upper secondary  Key Stage 4, ages 14 -17, Addison Amanda, identity, arranged marriages, partition,  nature  / nurture debate,   

Lucie doesn’t know who her father is. She is dark-skinned and doesn’t look like the rest of her family: Mum Tori, sister Maisie and step-dad Steve.  She cannot answer the question “Where are you from originally?” Or even the kinder question “Where are you from?”   Mum Tori is keeping a secret. Tori is a professional photographer. Lucie is good at art.

Nav is brilliant at maths, taking after his mother Maryam. His dad is a GP.  Mum and Uncle Nabeel share a secret.

Lucie and Nav collide in a corridor on the day A-Level results come out.  Lucie’s phone is broken. Nav offers to get it mended. Lucie is anxious as she has sent off a DNA test and needs the phone for two-step authentication. Fortunately Nav has this covered.

And then the coincidences that we forgive in all stories begin. Maryam has set up a site where people can register their DNA for free and Nav loads up Lucie’s result. They find a match; it is Maryam.  She is in fact Lucie’s aunt. Now that that is out in the open Tori, Maryam and Nabeel have to come clean about the secrets they’re holding.  Lucie’s father was Hanif, Maryam and Nabeel’s brother. Hanif too was good at art. Tori thought Hanif had deserted her but if fact he died in an accident as he was running away from having to face an arranged marriage. The shock of this made the family more understanding when Maryam wishes to marry Maneer who was of lower status than herself – though there was some respect for him being a doctor. To save the honour of the girl who had been supposed to marry Hanif, Nabeel married her. The readers, Tori and Lucie are surprised at how well that has worked.       

Lucie and Nav are cousins and remain firm friends as they both go through university.

The book is 259 pages long in blocked serif text. There is a family tree at the end of the book which does provide a bit of a spoiler.  There is a postscript from the author about how she came to write the book.         

Find your copy here  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.  

                

A Celebration of Beatrix Potter, Arts and Letters

 

2002 

In this volume are the responses in art and words by thirty artists to the life and work of Beatris Potter.

Excerpts of: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tailor of Gloucester, The Tale of Two Bad Mice, The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan, The Tale of Jeremy Fisher, the Tale of Jemina Puddleduck and The Tale of Mr Tod are reproduced with Beatrix Potter’s original illustrations.

The artists’ responses include a few words about their reaction to the story and what they know about Potter.

Artists are: Jon Agee, Jen Corace, Pat Cummings, Tomie dePaola, Tony DiTerlizzi, Matthew Forsythe, Stephanie Graegin, Chuck Groenink, Chris Haughton, Brian Karas, Jarrett Krosoczka, Betsy Lewin, E. B. Lewis, Renata Liwska, Wendell Minor, Kelly Murphy, Brian Pinkney, Peggy Rathmann, Chris Raschka, Peter Reynolds, Dan Santat, Judy Schachner, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, David Soman, David Ezra Stein, Melissa Sweet, Rosemary Wells, Brendan Wenzel, David Wiesner, Pamela Zagarenski, and Paul Zelinsky

Many of the artists recognise as I do that much of Potter’s work isn’t just about cute little animals; there is a darker side to nature.

This is a picture book, 110 pages long. Potter’s work is presented ragged right as it was originally but the texts form the artists are blocked. It uses a serif font with difficult ‘a’s and ‘g’s but this is large and double-spaced.

This is certainly a special edition but it is also packed with information.  It would also be useful for project work on Potter. 

 

Find your copy here 

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.   

The Taexali Game by Nancy Jardine

2019 

Twins Brian and Fianna, and their friend Aron take part in the twins’ father’s experiment.  We are talking about the most sophisticated of computer games.

They are propelled back to the AD250, the time when the Celts are invaded by the Romans under the Emporer Severus. Aran knows his history well and is perceived by both the Celts and the Romans as some sort to soothsayer.

The three young people take quite a few risks. There is an ‘ejector seat’ and they can all finish the game if they agree.

They keep going and find out a lot about the time they are visiting. Fianna begins to take an interest in all of the handsome young men she encounters. She also discovers that her twin brother is far more caring than she’d thought.

They all learn a new respect for Callum, the twins’ father and also the computer expert.

The video game here is quite sophisticated not just because it takes them to a past that feels very realistic. It is also way ahead of what we know already. Or perhaps  Nancy Jardine has recognised something that is  just around the corner?

The text is 250 pages long. I read the book on Kindle so the font may vary. The text is blocked.

There is information about the author and her research at the end of the book.  

Find your copy here 

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.   

 

Keedie by Elle McNicholl

 

2024   

teen, lower secondary, upper primary   key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, ages 9-11, ages 10 -13, McNicoll Elle,

Keedie and her twin Nina become fourteen years old during the course of the story and are facing challenges that being that age brings.  They have grown apart. Keedie is a little different from most girls her age. And then there is their younger sister Adeline (Addie).

Both Keedie and Adeline are autistic. So is Keedie’s friend  Bonnie.

There are bullies at the Keedie’s school and she finds a way of dealing with them that is far more effective than anything the school faculty offers.  Keedie actually makes some money by offering her services to fellow students who are being bullied. She aims to do this in a none-violent way.    

Sadly the money is not enough to put down a deposit to send Addie to a very special private school.

She realises anyhow that even though the way she worked with the bullies was very effective, she shouldn’t have taken money for the service.

Keddie is also completely honest about the village’s ancestor, Duncan Juniper. She uncovers the truth about him in the public speaking competition. He was in involved in slavery, he had a negative attitude towards the poor and he called for the execution of any Scots who rebelled. He was, in fact, yet another bully.    

There is tension throughout between her and Nina. Nina’s new circle of friends don’t approve of Keedie.  Yet a strong bond remains between the siblings and both of them adore Addie.

Despite her social awkwardness, Keedie has some good friends, her family and a couple of the more enlightened teachers are on her side.  

There are notes about the author, the book cover illustrator and the publishing company at the end of the book.

The book is 207 pages long and uses a blocked text and an adult serif with difficult   ‘a’s and ‘g’s.   Some of Keedie’s own language is quite sophisticated. The text is double spaced. 

 

See on Amazon  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.