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Advantages: Great book, that intices you and makes you read on
Disadvantages: not suited to everyone

A spoonful of Jam is a great book that looks at how a young girl survives post wartime Britain, and the changes in her family. It features the main themes of social class and family. It tells of a young girl called Elsie, who has an interest in the theatre, and a feeling of not belonging elsewhere. The story follows her over the summer holidays, as she embarks on her own adventure, working in the theatre, finding a place where she does belong and ...
...interacting with his daugther. As a parellel to the main story, Elsie's will to please her father and make him proud is a realistic battle and again keeps the reader inthrawled. It is written in an amazing way, in which Michelle Magorian draws the reader in, and uses humour to keep the tale moving. a good read for anyone. ... Read review

Advantages: Delights of experiencing first love, and discovering yourself
Disadvantages: Discovering the social attitudes and restraints of the war era

...life, Rose is prepared for a 3 month adventure in the quiet seaside town of Salmouth, and to finally re-discover her passion for reading and writing. It is 1943, and the war is still violently raging on throughout the world, so Rose and Diana's mother, an actress has decided to leave the girls to the care of Miss Hutchinson, in order to entertain the troops and provide them with some level of morale. Unfortunately Miss Hutchinson has also been called ...
...that this summer will be a journey of self-discovery. For both girls the summer is eventful, passionate, entertaining, educational and joyful, but it is especially so for young Rose who unearths a love story set in an earlier war, a story that becomes more lifelike as she falls in love herself. Each character in "A Little Love Song" is well described, and detailed throughout the novel. Diana and Rose, the beautiful swan and her ugly duckling are ... Read review

Advantages: An interesting insight into the world of post war Britain.
Disadvantages: None at all!

...and consequently review, the sequel After the War Was Over. I had really enjoyed War Boy, so tackled the follow on book with enthusiasm. I wasn't disappointed either! THE AUTHOR Michael Foreman was born in Suffolk in 1938 ~ in the village of Pakefield near Lowestoft. From being a small boy he drew pictures and wrote stories and eventually ended up getting an MA from the Royal College of Art! Foreman is now a professional illustrator and writer ...
...adults. THE PLOT After the War Was Over follows on from Foreman's semi-autobiographical account of a boy's life in a small village during the Second World War. The story in this book takes place (not surprisingly from the title) during the period following the end of the war. It shows the changes that are occurring in the country and way the young boy must adapt to these alterations in his life. The Victory celebrations give way to a clear ... Read review

Advantages: imaginative, speaks volumes about who we are and why, and the emaning of family, doesn't talk down
Disadvantages: Child should be a proficient reader with a good vocabulary before attempting this book

...Meg's mother is brilliant as a scientist, but deluded that her husband is coming back. They all say he ran off and abandoned his family. And no wonder, his daughter Meg is dull witted and stubborn as well as disruptive, his twins full of mischief, and his youngest, Charles Wallace is obviously defective as he never speaks (not in front of non family anyway). That is how the townspeople see the family. The reality is quite different. Meg is a very ...
...very obvious. Charles Wallace is a child genius, possibly on the autistic spectrum, and though a genius, he is still a child and misses his father very much. The truth about their father is that he did not run off at all; his wife hopes he will someday return from the secret Tesseract project he was working on. The children learn all about the truth of his disappearance one day when they meet a very unusual being who explains what happened to their ... Read review

Advantages: Great pictures and an atmospheric story.
Disadvantages: Some of the pictures are a little scary for really young children.

...the other day I saw a book that reminded me of Man on the Moon and it came as no surprise to discover that it had also been illustrated by Simon Bartram. This book is written by Marcus Sedgwick and is called A Christmas Wish (strangely enough it can also be purchased under the title of A Winter’s Tale too. I have no idea why, although I presume one may be an American title and one for release in the UK!) ~~~THE PLOT. A Christmas Wish is all about ...
...Christmas time, but it is a mild winter and there is no sign that it will snow in time for Christmas morning. The boy, who incidentally is never named, has a lovely round snow globe on a wooden base. He shakes the globe and wishes that it would snow outside in the same magical way that it does inside the glass. It is then that the magic starts to work and a snow storm, unlike any that has ever been seen before, begins. When morning comes the boy ... Read review