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Early Reader Book Reviews
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A.F. Harrold’s Pocket Book of Pocket Poems
A. F. Harrold, illus. Jack Viant, Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Poetry in your pocket is what this book promises and delivers. Really, this book will fit in a pocket and very easily into a bag meaning you can take the joy of the poems A.F. Harrold is sharing, anywhere. That also means you can take giggles and outright belly laughs everywhere too though you might need to be careful of those, they can startle people!
Discover poetry as you have never seen it before. Every poem is short, some might say these are mini poems but they are each complete. Each shows how powerful poetry can be, how words can be used to the greatest effect and how much fun poems are. Find a penguin with a peanut allergy, a granny who (for reasons known only to her) has curtains on her glasses and learn why Dave really should stop naming things…!
Beastie Bros: The Cabbage Juice Crime
David O’Connell, pub. Scholastic
Have you ever had the pleasure of seeing a firefly? They are quite magical; they live up to their name by lighting up and usually come out at night. In Bugtown, a place teeming with minibeasts, lives Dash, a firefly. Whenever Dash is happy his bottom lights up. When he is hungry… Well, lets’ just say you might not want to meet him when he is hungry!
Dash’s adoptive brother, Dribble the snail likes food too, specifically cabbage. Dribble also likes to invent things so of course a robotic slug that makes cabbage juice is the perfect invention. But Roboslug is so good that it is stolen. Now the brothers, perhaps an unlikely pair but a great team, need to work together to foil a master criminal plot, defeat a crystal worm, and try to stay out of the dung heap… There may be custard too!
Bigfoot and the Wild Boys
Jenny Pearson, illus. Aleksei Bitskoff, pub. Barrington Stoke
Have you ever had the feeling that you want to be more than you are? That perhaps being normal, known as average and apparently easily forgettable, especially at school, has got tired and it is time to do something about it? You would not be alone for that is exactly how Joe feels. Then he hears a rumour. He hears that a Bigfoot-like beast has been spotted in nearby woods.
An idea forms. Would catching Bigfoot mean an opportunity? Would it mean that Joe would finally be someone, stand out from the crowd, make him popular? In short would it make his dreams come true. There is only one way to find out. Joe and best friend Tiago set off on a quest. They have no real plan, no survival skills but they will get some unexpected results! A wonderfully funny and relatable story.
Blue Jelly and Strawberries
Attie Lime, illus. Kate Sheppard, pub. Otter-Barry Books
Do you like to try new flavours, get your tastebuds tingling? It’s exciting and sometimes not everything will be wonderful or even nice but without dipping a toe in and trying how would we know? It is a little like that with poetry which is what makes Attie Lime’s collection of playful poems so much fun, you can try them out, see if you like any, get a taste…
There are questions and suggestions, there are playful words, silly foodie suggestions. All in one small book of poems that are perfect for younger readers. Find out if a T-Rex likes to be tickled (without the danger) or if under the ocean there are mercats chasing mermice. Perhaps your parents will let you try pingpong with peas and if not then just eat that blue jelly and those strawberries… Yum!
Call the Puffins!: Tiny and the Cave Ghost
Cath Howe, illus. Ella Okstad, pub. Welbeck Children’s Books
Have you visited the island of Egg recently? It is a fabulous place, full of puffins who love to and have fun. For Tiny and Muffin, when they have free time, they also enjoy hopping along the shoreline looking for anything interesting the sea may have washed up. And whenever Tiny is feeling lucky something unusual always finds them. Today is one of those days!
It is also the day that the Puffins need to put their rescue training into practice. A chick has gone missing and the trainees are all ready to help. But the chick could be in one of the island’s caves, the dark and spooky ones, the ones that might be haunted – that is what the legend says. Can Tiny and Muffin gather their courage, find the chick and lead the team to safety? I certainly hope so, we need more Puffins! stories…
Cat and Dumpling: Home Sweet Home
Nicola Kent, pub. Oxford Children’s Books
Cat and Dumpling are brand new characters in a brand new chapter book series, this is their first book, the first time we get to meet them, the first time they meet each other. It is going to be exciting and the story is going to set Cat and Dumpling up for some exciting adventures that I already know I want to make sure to follow.
Cat and Dumpling are as different, as opposite, as it is possible to be. Cat is impulsive, a dreamer and loves to knit. Dumpling is cautious, makes sure to plan and loves gardening. When they meet they are both searching for their perfect home but when they realise they have both fallen in love with the same place can they make sharing work or will their differences prove to be too much? The perfect stepping-stone book with a great story.
Croaky: Caverns of the Gemosaurus
Matty Long, pub. Oxford Children’s Books
Ready for a froggy adventure? Croaky is ready to take you on one! Croaky is a Woggle Scout and he wants to show you just how much fun that can be. Real life adventure? Check. Selling cookies? Nope. These Woggle Scouts are the perfect group for Croaky and this, their third adventure is every bit as exciting as you might imagine. Put your hard hat on, grab your torch and follow them underground…
Underground is where, apparently, the Gemosaurus lives. The Gemosaurus is a mythical creature but when did that ever get in the way of adventures? And a visit to the Crystal Caverns is certain to be fun either way. What none of them expect are the runaway mine carts, the deadly lava flows or the carnivorous plants… Is it worth dodging all this danger to find the Gemosaurus? Of course it is!
The Fantastic Intergalactic Hamster!
Rachel Morrisoe, illus. Jenny Taylor, pub. Puffin Books
I have never had a hamster as a pet though I know what they look like and I had always imagined that would be all I needed to know. Luckily for me, and you, there are some children who know a lot more about hamsters than I do and are able to spot aliens, specifically the ones who have just crash-landed and look remarkably like cute hamsters.
They have landed outside Rebecca Refractor’s school and she knows just who to call. Jack and his sidekick, Superpet, Hercules the Hamster. They are going to have to work hard and fast, these aliens want to turn earthlings into cracker-hunting zombies. Why do they want crackers and who is the Big Cheese leading this invasion? You’ll have to read this story to discover if Jack, Hercules and the Superpet crew can stop these cute aliens before it all goes to crackers…
Guardians of the New Moon. Ming and Miaow’s Great Race
Guardians of the New Moon. The Year of the Rat
Eric Huang, illus. Phúng Nguyên Quang, pub. Little Tiger
Miaow is a temple guardian, spending his days chasing mice until the Jade Emperor invited every creature on earth to compete in the Great Race. Miaow has to enter but not only is he reluctant he has to socialize. Ming is a shapeshifter and the complete opposite of Miaow yet she is determined they will become best friends, what she hadn’t counted on was Miaow making other friends. They will have to work together to make it to the finish line…
After the Great Race Miaow and Ming have become Guardians of the New Moon and they already looking for more adventure. Luckily they have a mission. Race winner, the rat Su, needs to be taken home and needs help preparing for the first ever Year of the Rat. But Su tricked Miaow during the race and the pair are now constantly arguing, if they want the New Year to start well they need to learn to get along…
Marty Moose: First Class Mischief
Claire Powell, pub. Walker Books
Starting off a brand new series is a story that is full of hijinks and heart, bravery, self-confidence, friendship, silliness and of course fun! This is the first story featuring Marty Moose, resident of Little Ditch. We meet him on his first day on the job as Postmaster. Buttons have been polished, whiskers combed, Marty is ready to go.
Marty looks like a mouse but there was an accident with his birth certificate, hence his name. But he has bigger things to worry about today. Whisker Warren and its twisty turny tunnels; avoiding being a snack for two angry toads who need a parcel; work out who the mailbag mischief is at the post office and make it home in time for jam sandwiches! It is going to be a busy first day for Marty, I hope you’re looking forward to finding out if he can get through it.
Tuck and Tina and the Lost Fortune
Jess Brallier, illus. Jack Keely, pub. Puffin
Are you ready to meet Tuck and Tina? I will give you some advance warning, they are the most unlikely of friends but they are both ready for adventure! Tina lives in a hole in the wall of room 123 at Boone School. No-one knows she is there but when she heard the teacher say a journal could be like a friend she decided to start one. She wants a friend.
It was very exciting for Tina when the school began on Monday, by Wednesday it is even better, the class in Room 123 have a class pet. A mouse. Named Tuck. Tuck never pays attention in class but he does love adventure, does that spell trouble for the pair? Possibly but first, they have to help find the rumoured hidden treasure so they can save the school! An absolutely brilliant caper and I for one hope there will be more.