Children's Books > P Children's Books > S

Advantages: Fun plotlines, with a deeper edge.
Disadvantages: Not for teenage readers, slightly childish style

...18 years older, and so beyond the age of "child" kept me gripped and after I had finished I went out immedietely to buy the next books in the Twig saga. The story was fun and exciting, with brilliant illustrations to add to the reading experience. That is what reading this book was like. It opens up a whole new world of fantasy for the reader, and whilst the book is rich with description and information, it leaves just enough tantalising space for ...
...fulfilling journey. The main character and hero of the story, Twig, brought up by the woodtroll Spelda, is a young boy in the first book of the Edge Chronicles. He goes on an exciting adventure when sent away by his woodtroll "Mother" (he does not realise he isadopted) to stay with his cousin Snetterbark, because he is in danger. On the way, he strays from the path and meets many weird magical creatures, both his friends and foes, such as the bloodoak ... Read review

Advantages: Age appropriate amount of information
Disadvantages: None

Pop up sharks Sharks seem to be something which fascinate young children , and recently Little Miss has been a tad obsessed with dinosaurs, so we bought this. The link? She read somewhere that when dinosaurs died out some of the sea creatures who could live in very cold waters lived, and started asking me questions about marine life. Not being an expert, something had to be done. I have always liked usborne books, and this was simple enough for ...
...and life. These are: About Sharks (naturally enough); Hungry Hunters; Baby sharks; Whale sharks; Hammerheads; Speedy sharks; Strange sharks. Each section is “set” in the ocean, with blue background, and the sharks and other sea creatures and plant life being part of the background. Any information is given in small bite size pieces, small enough for children to read without getting bored, and containing facts they will be interested in – for example, ... Read review

Advantages: Funny and entertaining
Disadvantages: ?

...irritating marketing devices, there was Bug Muldoon - and Bug could teach Hollywood a few things about wit and character development. Bug Muldoon, logically enough, is a 'Bug' living in the mad, bad world of minibeasts that inhabits the garden of a human house. Bug makes his living as private detective in the style of 30s and 40s movies - or perhaps more recently, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. With a surly manner and a taste for puns, Bug is just about ... Read review

Advantages: Great book
Disadvantages: none

...from around 10 years. The monkeys who live in the safari park have their own culture, their own mythology and perhaps most importantly, their own social hierarchy. Our hero is one of the younger members of the group who aspires to create his own place in the world, but for the moment is happy playing with the other youngsters, having fun and eating the food brought by the revered humans who 'protect' the monkeys from the outside world. The insular ...
...leads our hero out into the wider world to see what's really out there, and eventually reveals the secret of his own uniquely unhappy relationship with the human race. The journey to the final revelation is a thrilling adventure with lots of humour and plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing. Read it! ... Read review

Advantages: A fantasy book with a difference, (makes a nice change).
Disadvantages: Wish I'd read it ages ago.

...Firstly there's the title - Muddle Earth, and secondly the artwork. We're presented with a strange looking bunch of characters; including a boy with a saucepan on his head, a three eyed ogre, and a dragon that looks as if it's seen better days. It intrigued me enough to want to check out the first few pages and what I saw made me realise that I was going to enjoy this book and I still hadn't read the back cover yet! Before you even get to the first ...
...line It begins on Muddle Earth, when the three moons are rising in the sky, one purple (like a batbird), one yellow (like an ogre's underpants on washday) and one rather reluctant to appear green moon. Randalf the Wise is preparing to cast a spell; the three moons are aligned, he has the pointed hat, the scroll for the spell to summon a warrier hero (well, most of it anyway) and Veronica, the bossy budgie wittering on at him! Enter Joe Jefferson, ... Read review