New titles – Page 3 – Bookmonitor – news from around the world

Maya Angelou – Little People, Big Dreams

Maya Angelou, is a remarkable story of the woman and the girl.

Born in St Louis, Missouri, she faced much unfairness about the colour of her skin. At eight years of age she was attacked by her mother’s boyfriend and stopped speaking for 5 years!

She became many things… dancer, singer, writer, producer, teacher and an activist for civil rights, as well as a mother and grandmother. She wrote a book called I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, with memories from her childhood. She read from her collection of poems at both the White House and United Nations and she is remembered for her message of hope for all people.

The book, Maya Angelou, is written by Lisbeth Kaiser and illustrated by Leire Salaberria. It is part of the Little People, Big Dreams series from Frances Lincoln, part of QuartoKnows, discovers the lives of outstanding people,from designers and artists to scientists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream.

Other books we have featured in this great series: Agatha Christie and Marie Curie…read more here

Beautiful hard back books, written in a highly illustrated copy, to engage readers of all ages and for children who want to find out more and explore without thousands of words. Good for older children with ESOL too.

Sue Martin

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Taking Flight by Adam Hancher

Taking Flight cover image and purchase link — Buy this book from BgW here…

Take Flight is the courageous and true story of the Wright brothers, the pioneers of flight!

Two brothers of humble origins who never gave up their childhood dream of being able to fly. In Dayton, Ohio in 1878, two boys stood in their backyard, mesmerised by their new toy; a helicopter that can hover in the air. “One day, I’m going to fly like that,” they agreed.

Written by Adam Hancher, an illustrator from London, Taking Flight tells in detail in words and images how two people followed their dream and managed to conquer problems and create a new way of travel. The book is a real insight into discovery, and although many years ago, this new experience is now part of so many peoples lives.

It is the first title in a new biographical series on inspirational figures called Dare to Dream, published by Frances Lincoln Children’s Publishers. The series will be dedicated to inspirational figures throughout history who can teach children that with courage and determination you can make dreams a reality.

We thoroughly recommend this book for children, especially for ages 6-9 years.

Sue Martin

Adelaide’s Secret World by Elise Hurst

Adelaide's Secret World - cover image and purchase link — Buy this book from BgW here…

A very special book, a tale of love, loneliness, longing and dreaming. Adelaide’s Secret World is inspirational. It is a beautifully illustrated book about how the world changes around you and how sometimes it’s hard to change yourself.

Each page has a wonderful illustration of a world beyond Adelaide’s little shop, and into finding herself back in the city. The hustle and bustle which she was used to may have gone but there is still life out there.

From her favourite place on the roof of the little old shop with the red curtains she watches the sun rise and fall, she tries to write stories, but there is always something missing.

One day she finds a book left near a puddle, and in the rain and growing storm she finds its owner and a surprising companion, well surprising for a rabbit!

Adelaide’s Secret World has been short listed for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards in Australia. Published by Allen and Unwin on 9th March 2017, it would be a lovely book to share across the world, the illustrations are so evocative that the words could be made up in any language.

Elise Hurst is an illustrator and author of childrens’ books as well as a traditional artist. She lives in Melbourne, Australia and has illustrated over 50 books.

Allen and Unwin are publishers based in Australia with some brilliant titles and an ethos and committment to their authors and readers, which is inspirational.

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‘Highly recommended book’

Sue Martin

Walking on Water & Lost and Found by Mary Hoffman and Jackie Morris

Walking on Water

Mary Hoffman retells nine stories of the wonders Jesus worked, when he overturned the laws of nature and humanity. The atmospheric illustrations by Jackie Morris give enormous depth to the story with passion and involvement.

They include aspects of the days, such as the camels and donkeys patiently laden with goods, the people’s sense of awe and wonder at the miracles performed.

The books have been published in hard back by OtterBarry Books and will be an excellent reflection of the value on how to use exceptional authors and illustrators in the production of a Christian message.

On each page there is a title, a few questions to relate to our own lives and then the story as taken from the Bible. At the end of the book there is a page with full details of the references in the Gospels in the Bible giving full accounts of the stories.

The page, The Biggest Picnic in the World, is the story about the loaves and fishes that were fed to 5,000 people who had gathered to hear Jesus speak on the shores of Lake Galilee. No cafes or vans and stalls of food at that time, but there was one boy with 5 loaves and 2 fishes, and that did the trick!

Lost and Found is a book with the Parables that Jesus told, in the same style as Walking on Water.

Mary Hoffman and Jackie Morris have made a wonderful shared vision of the stories. They are both highly successful authors and there is a huge amount of material in their websites.

Lost and Found cover image — View, review or purchase this title here…

My favourite parable in the book is Lost and Found, the story of the Lost Sheep. Have you ever lost anything so precious that you will leave all behind to find the one thing you have lost?

Parables are stories that enable us to understand how truths can be seen in our lives.

These are wonderful books to have and we recommend them to children, parents and schools.

Sue Martin

Books Go Walkabout

Adventivity House 25 projects and materials for Advent

Adventivity House cover image — Review or purchase this title from Amazon.co.uk here…

Adventivity House is an Advent Calendar and activity book rolled into one.

QED Publishing produced a very successful Adventivity title in 2014 . Instead of just opening a window on the Advent Calendar this book has a really good activity for each day of the Advent season.

There are some beautiful ideas including a sleigh from a match box with an elf on top, a Christmas wreath, and many others finishing with a spectacular day 25 Christmas carousel with reindeers, snowmen and angels.

Adventivity House QR code image — Buy this book direct from your mobile device…

Everything you need for making the activities is included in the book with push out designs, stencils and card, or you could use your own materials and ideas based on the activity, depends how creative you are feeling! Each door reveals a a surprise and it will make a beautiful calendar and chance to get ready for Christmas.

Advent is a season for getting ready and being prepared. In all the preparations for presents and for eating and sharing together it is wonderful to have something that is creative and will give time to reflect on preparation for the true meaning of Christmas.

Sue Martin

The Dragon’s Hoard by Lari Don and Cate James

Dragons are looming large in our blogs this month!

The Dragon’s Hoard has eleven amazing stories from Viking Sagas, and it’s packed with warriors, battles, Berserkers, monsters and zombies. A really good book for story time as the nights get longer and darker in the northern hemisphere.

Lari Don is the author and Cate James is the illustrator in this recently published book from Frances Lincoln Children’s Books. As a team the production of this book is brilliant, it brings mythical and historical characters to life through the excellent stories and wonderful illustrations.

It can be used as a good resource for Key Stage 2 National Curriculum work on the Vikings. It is a very creative and inspiring read on the Viking period of history from long ago. It is a good book to have in the library and also at home as the short stories are easy to share together and will bring some magic to stories around the fire or at bedtime.

Lari Don was born in Chile and has lived in Scotland for a long while, a keen interest in Scottish Landscapes and myths and fables. She has written many books including the award winning YA novel Mind Blind.

Cate James lives in Sydney and has many successful books including the Lollipop and Grandpa series. She also is a volunteer visiting artist at the Sydney Children’s Hospital.

And as for the dragon’s tales… maybe we can find some more to add to this months collection of dragons good and bad, friendly and fierce.

Sue Martin

Dare to Care: Pet Dragon

If you too have ever wanted to have a pet dragon, then this is the book for you!

A spectacular and fun spoof pet-care guide to dragons with everything you would ever need; taking your dragon to the vets, how to groom your dragon, teaching it to fly.

Written by Sally Symes and illustrated by M.P Robertson, published by Frances Lincoln it is now available in paper back at £6.99 or for a gift in hardback at £11.99.

There are pages of fun facts, such as what to give your dragon to eat and what is not so good, brussel sprouts for instance are a complete No!

The Dragon Snatcher cover image — See more…

When it comes to grooming the illustrations are really good and include a tiler fixing the scales, a chimney sweep for the fire and smoke places and much more.

Great team work on this book and makes an excellent book for children aged from 5 and above. It’s part of a series about dragons and includes The Egg and the Dragon Snatcher.

Sue Martin

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Dreamer, Saving our Wild World
by Brian Moses and Bee Willey

Dreamer, published by OtterBarry Books — Dreamer by Brian Moses and Bee Willey, buy from Amazon.co.uk

A beautifully written and illustrated picture book about a world where we all care for each other, for animals, plants and places. It will be inspirational for young children and for adults as they see just how the world is changing.

Each page has a scene which has amazing colours and images, including the child dreamer, lots to see, and lots of ways into discussions and questions.

Brian Moses and Bee Willey are an excellent duo, they both have so much experience and good books to their names. Brian is one of Britain’s favourite children’s poets and he is featured on the National Poetry Archive with over 200 books published and 2000 schools visited.

Bee spent her childhood in France and now lives in Suffolk, her books include, The Wooden Dragon by Joan Aiken and How to be a Princess by Caitlin Matthews.

Otter-Barry Books are new publishers this year and have included Dreamer in their new titles, a great edition and a clear direction for their books, which will make a difference.

Sue Martin

Books across the World!

Adder, Bluebell, Lobster
Wild Poems by Chrissie Gittins

Adder, Bluebell, Lobster - book cover image — Review or buy from Amazon.co.uk here…

There is more to this Wild Book of Poems from Otter-Barry Books than meets the eye!

From Adder to Wren, forty fantastic poems celebrate forty amazing animals, birds and plants and their beautiful names – names which you can help poet Chrissie Gittins save from EXTINCTION!

They are all words which have been left out of the latest Oxford Junior Dictionary. Join authors such as Michael Morpurgo and Margaret Atwood, who along with 28 other authors, protested against Oxford Junior Dictionary’s replacement of natural words with 21st century terms.

The poems are brilliant, each page has a poem from Chrissie and illustration from Paul Bommer such as. Harry the Hamster…

‘Harry the hamster, in his ball

rolled round the bedroom,

rolled round the hall.

He rolled to the bathroom,

he rolled to the stairs

where a huge teddy bear

took him clean unawares’.

We recommend for ages 6+ and for all ages.

Sue Martin

Spot the Bird on the Building Site by Sarah Khan

Spot the Bird on the Building Site is a new book in this series of Spot the… by Sarah Khan and illustrated by Moreno Chiacchiera. It is published by Quarto Kids, QED.

A wonderful choice for Summer Holidays reads, they are packed with images of activities, around for instance, a building site. Trying to find the image amongst an array of pictures gets everyone searching, reading, looking and learning too. They are great fun!

These titles are part of the QED publishing for children’s books, which are excellently produced in style, content and feel. They are books to have and to read,which will linger on the table and the shelves.

Spot the Bird on the Building Site shows some major building projects, like cranes on buildings in London. There are facts on every page,such as, ‘ The world’s tallest crane is also the strongest. It can lift a load the weight of 12 blue whales over 50 storeys high.’

My favourite in the series is Spot the Seal around the World. It’s a tour around the continents of the world and images and a few facts to remember, such as, ‘ Oceania is made up of lots of islands- the biggest one is Australia.

Spot the Seal around the World cover image — Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk

Spot the Mummy in the Museum cover image — But this title from Amazon.co.uk

Spot the Mummy in the Museum has a curious mummy figure in bandages with two wide open eyes as it finds its way around the museum; the collections of dinosaurs, masks, buried treasures, Ancient Greeks and Romans , great to follow and acquire more information as you go over the pages.

We would recommend these books for a wide age group, as they will be easily delved into by 9 and 10 year olds, as well as exploring with 5/6 year olds along with parents and teachers.

Have fun reading, exploring and finding out…

Sue Martin

Dolphin Booksellers and Books Go Walkabout