Here are the kids top reads for the month of June all scoring 4 or 5 stars.

• Scriveners Moons by Philip Reeve – a great finale to the fever crumb trilogy, written in a way that’s both humorous & emotional
• Arun shah by Roshani Choshki – a funny sequel incorporating ancient myths into modern life with plenty of adventure
• Goldfish boy by Lisa Thompson – this reminded of the Curious Dog in the Nightime and I found it interesting to see the world through Mathews perspective
• The Island & the End of Everything by Kiran Millwood Hargrave- this was an emotive story as well as a good adventure.

• Smile by Raina Telgemeier- funny graphic novel about a young girl & her life, I especially like it because it’s a true story
• Roller Girl by Victoria Jamison- a story about friendship and although they can be broken they can also be mended.
• Charlie Changes into a Chicken by Sam Copeland illustrated by Sarah Horne – a silly book with even sillier footnotes & I want to read it again and again.
• The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Raúfa illustrated by Pippa Curnick – story about a refugee boy & the how his friends come up with an amazing plan to help him

Some glorious picture books we have been enjoying recently

All The Ways To Be Smart by Davina Bell & Allison Colpoys published by Scribble

I was instantly attracted to this book with its striking palette of colours including the wonderful neon orange. A wonderful celebration of childhood & creativity. It is a beautiful reminder that being smart is not just about facts & figures it’s about being a fabulous person.

Grumpycorn by Sarah McIntyre published by Scholastic

We are always happy to discover another of Sarah’s books and she never disappoints in delivering a glorious story with the most joyous illustrations. In Grumpycorn we meet a unicorn who wants to write a fabulous story but interruptions from his friends aren’t helping his writing process. With a wonderful underwater cast of friends this fun story had us itching to get out pens out & write our own ‘fabulous stories’

Incredible You by Rhys Brisenden & Nathan Reed published by Tate

An uplifting mood busting book reminding you of just how amazing you are. The book starts by how sometimes you might wish to be ‘someone other than you’ but soon turns it around to all the glorious things that you can do. An energetic imaginative & colourful book that will brighten up your day

Here are the kids top reads for the month of May all scoring 4 or 5 stars.

Night Flights by Philip Reeve illustrated by Ian McQue – fabulous stories linking the books in the series beautifully

Ms Marvel (x4) – humorous witty comic full of adventure

Spies in St Petersburg by Katherine Woodfine illustrated by Karl James Mountford – as good as book 1, the perfect spy story

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott – great adventure full of magic & fantasy, want to read the next is the series

• Princess in Black: Takes a Holiday by Shannon & Dale Hale illustrated by LeUyen Pham- I liked seeing the see the Goat Avenger working with Princess in Black
• Mr Penguin & the Fortress of Secrets by Alex T Smith – loved it especially the big chase. I was awestruck by the pictures
• Railway Children by E Nesbit – you never knew where the story would take you
• Super Magic Frozen Forest by Matty Long- lots of funny things to look out for in the pictures.

The Dragon in the Library written by Louie Stowell & illustrated by a Davide Ortu.

Dragons & libraries the perfect combination for a great read especially when you add in an engaging group of young friends, a dastardly villain and the glorious creature, half dog half dragon, dogon.

We thoroughly enjoyed this read. From the moment Kit discovers her powers & uncovers the secrets of the library we were hooked. As always with power comes great responsibilities as well as an evil villain to defeat.

There was plenty of excitement and laughs as we followed Kits adventures, along with her friends & teacher, to save the day by saving the library.

One of those reads we were happy to dive right back into for a second time as it was so much fun, highly recommended.

Here are the kids top reads for the month of March all scoring 4 or 5 stars.

• Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve – a thrilling adventure that keeps you hooked at every word but beware the sad ending
• Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer
• Politics for Beginners by Alex Frith, Rosie Hore, Louie Stowell and Kellan Stover
• Amelia Fang & the Half-Moon Holiday by Lauren Ellen Anderson

Rosie Revere & the Raucous Riveteers by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts – an entertaining funny book all about never giving up even if things are going wrong.

Nightlights by Lorena Alvarez Gomez – has such amazing pictures and colours.

Little Bears Spring by Elli Woollard and Briony May Smith – I like it because when things seemed terrible there was light and the pictures are beautiful.

The Ice Monster by David Walliams and Tony Ross – is very funny & made me laugh out loud.

Here are the kids top reads for the month of February all scoring 4 or 5 stars. This month they got to read part 8 of a long running favourite graphic novel series and plenty of exciting stories.

Supernova by Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet Series Book 8) – a comic series full of adventure & twists & turns.

In The Hands of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce (Alanna Series Book 2) – is exciting to see what happens next to Alanna & in this book she meets a magical cat.

Ninja Kid: From Nerd to Ninja by Anh Do and Jeremy Ley – a funny book with a silly grandma who makes amazing inventions.

Pages & Co: Tilly & the Bookwanderers by Anna James – an exciting book with great literary recommendations

The Starspun Web by Sinead O’Hart – a super good science fiction book involving quantum dimensions.

Race to the Frozen North by Catherine Johnson illustrated by Katie Hickey – history that everyone should know about, the story about the first man to the North Pole, Matthew Henson forgotten about because of the colour of his skin.

Here are the kids top reads for the month of Jan all scoring 4 or 5 stars. It was the month they both discovered manga series they liked from the local library as well as re-reads of favourite series.

• Sea (Huntress Trilogy) by Sarah Driver – an exciting adventure book set in a complete fantasy world.
• Goblins by Philip Reeve – a funny read with a great adventure.
• The Stormkeeper’s Island by Catherine Doyle – a magical amazing read with heart (highly recommended)
• Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa – magic & wizardry 

• The Legend of Podkin One-Ear by Kieran Larwood & David Wyatt – its a great adventure series.
• Bunny vs Monkey by Jamie Smart – is really really funny.
• Splatoon vol 1 by Sankichi Hinodeya – liked the characters & their cool names.
• Harry Potter & the Philosophers Stone by J.K.Rowling & Jim Kay – thrilling & I wanted to know what happens next.

In Dec 2018 I created a mini bookish house/hotel/library/castle/zebra crossing etc. each day leading up to Christmas based on some of our fave reads. 

Luckily with such fantastic illustrated fiction it was easy to copy iconic buildings to hide an advent treat behind.  It was also a fun way to rediscover some glorious books & reminisce about why we enjoyed them so much.

Here are some close ups and pics of all the wonderful books that they were based on which we highly recommend.

Going from the top row –

And last but not least a series we discovered watching the Blue Peter book awards and has become a huge favourite. 

Booklist

Harry Potter series by JK Rowling (we also love the illustrated series by Jim Kay)

Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell

Riddle of the Runes Dr Janina Ramirez Illustrated By David Wyatt

Pugs of the Frozen North by Sarah McIntyre & Philip Reeve 

Witch Wars by Sibéal Pounder & illustrated by Laura Ellen Anderson

House on Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl illustrated by Quentin Blake

Ottoline series by Chris Riddell 

Uncle Stories by J.P Martin illustrated by Quentin Blake

Nothing to See Here Hotel by Steven Butler illustrated by Steven Lenton

Hilda by Luke Pearson

Wild Robot by Peter Brown

King Flashypants by Andy Riley

Dave Pigeon by Swapna Haddow illustrated by Sheena Dempsey

Beetle Boy series by M.G Leonard illustrated by Júlia Sardà

Bunny vs Monkey by Jamie Smart

The Murderer’s Ape by Jakob Wegelius

Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Sinclair’s Mysteries by Katherine Woodfine illustrated by Karl James Mountford 

Mango and Bambang by Polly Faber illustrated by Clara Vulliamy

The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig illustrates by Chris Mould

The Hobbit by J.R Tolkien

Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson 

Podkin One Ear by Keiran Larwood illustrated by David Wyatt

A couple of picture books that have had the kids rolling on the floor with laughter.Oi Duck-Billed Platypus by Kes Gray & Jim Field.

Cat, dog & frog are back for a fourth book and this time they face a ‘crowd of animals with impossible-to-rhyme-with names’. The only solution is to rhyme with their first names. 

Glorious brightly coloured pages of animals sitting on the absurd & wonderful rhymes to wrap your tongue around, comedy gold.

Going on a volcanco by Andy Stanton and Miguel Ordóñez

This book does what it says on the cover ‘So funny you’ll ERUPT with laughter’ and no matter how many times we read it (quiet a lot) it does not fail at making the kids laugh out loud.

A simple tale of Dwayne & Jane-o, going to the volcano told in repetitive rhyming couplets. Adding an -o to the end of words triggered endless chuckles, as did the funny characters including ‘Roger the incredible colour-changing cat’. 

The perfect silly read.