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Advantages: Great rhyme and fabulous multi-cultural links.
Disadvantages: None

◊◊◊ The book ◊◊◊ I have used this book with Nursery and Reception children, 3 - 5 year olds. The book is based on an Indian counting rhyme and deals with numbers from 1 to 10. It begins with an invitation to the reader 'to step aboard the number engines and let's travel together through the far away land of India..' 'Engine, engine number ONE setting off in the midday sun.' Turn the page and you are once again ...
...TWO. Past the temple of Vishnu.' 'Engine, engine number THREE. Women wearing bright sari.' And so on with references to Delhi, the desert, monkeys, the Himalayas, Bombay and the Ganges. All rhyming with the number that is being looked at. The book ends with… ' The journey's finished, our fun is done. To travel again, go back to ONE.' ∆∆∆ Style, Format and Illustrations ∆∆∆ Each number is given a double page ... Read review

Advantages: Wonderful plot
Disadvantages: Leaves you wanting more!

'Rebel Angels' is the second book in a trilogy by Libba Bray, continuing the story begun in 'A Great and Terrible Beauty'. The book tells the tale of sixteen-year-old Gemma Doyle, an ordinary-seeming girl, with an extraordinary power. The story begins in Victorian London, and you're immediately pulled into the hustle and bustle of the 1800's. The mystery starts to unfold when Gemma steps from the train and sees a mysterious figure shrouded in a ...
...taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and adventures, as we discover the power of The Order and the secretive Rakshana. For Gemma has a special power, a power that enables her to travel into 'The Realms', a place of magic and immense beauty, that also has a darker, more sinister side. Gemma, along with her friends Felicity and Ann, must find a way of binding the magic of The Realms, whilst trying to keep the evil Circe from taking the magic ... Read review

Advantages: Tells the story with beautiful illustrations
Disadvantages: Too difficult for young children to read alone.

The Tallest Candle Oh yes, Christmas is upon is, and every day in the classroom I am reading stories relating to Christmas and winter… since this story telling happens several times a day, however tenuous the link to the theme, I have to take it! This book however, links in perfectly, and I have read it to children of different ages. It's a handy book for the classroom because it is available in big book format so we can read it during the Literacy ...
...The inside front cover of the book gives some information about advent candles, and explains what each of the 5 candles represent. I thought at first that this was a bit strange, but it does explain that on some of the pages, there is an advent ring hidden for the children to find. There is an explanation of the main events of the nativity story as told in the four Gospels, and the author explains that whilst every attempt has been made to keep ... Read review

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I borrowed this book, Angela and Diabola, off my friend. The main storyline is about two twin girls(Angela and Diabola). Angela is perfect in every way and people beam with joy when they see her but Diabola is evil and people run in horror when they see her. The book starts off very boring but once you get past the first couple of chapters it gets hard to put down. This book has a wonderful mixture of humour and horror. I think the author has ... Read review

Advantages: Lovely way to start to count
Disadvantages: None

Count On Goz by Steve Weatherill A great way for very young children to be introduced to counting up to 5 and to learn about number formation. Children do tend to enjoy lift the flap books, so it's almost certainly going to be a winner. Many children will already be familiar with Goz, the appealing yellow gosling. This time, we meet Goz in the early morning, near the river when everything is quiet. A little yellow goose is bottoms up... "Who's ...
...as developing an ability to count and recognise numbers to 5. The simple text means that it is suitable for National Curriculum Reading, because children can easily see and be encouraged to point out capital letters, full stops and question marks. Because the animals are easily distinguishable, even if they can't read the words, they can be encouraged to use picture clues. A useful book for very young children who are beginning to count. Thanks ... Read review