Who Will You Meet on Halloween Street?
ISBN 9781471199431 by Gareth Peter. Illustrated by Tim Budgen
Simon & Schuster Ltd
There’s a full moon on Halloween Street, get ready to meet the ghoulish characters who live there! ‘The creepiest creatures lurk outside each door .. but they’re here for the spook-fest! Come on, let’s explore..’ Once you’ve met all of the spooky creatures there is one last house to explore, I wonder who could live there? The perfect Halloween picture book for ages 2+
How to Survive Anywhere: Staying Alive in the World’s Most Extreme Places
ISBN 9781788008129 by Ben Lerwill. Illustrated by Daniel Long
Nosy Crow Ltd
Travel around the world and discover survival tips and tricks in this adventurer’s survival guide. Discover how to build an igloo in the Arctic Circle and how to make a fire to keep warm when there are no trees. Learn how to find water in the Amazon Rainforest and what to do if a lion charges at you in the African Savannah! As well as teaching survival skills, this book is filled with lots of brilliant facts and stories of survival for adventure lovers to enjoy. Recommended for 7+ adventurers.
The Little Match Girl Strikes Back
Guest book review by Imogen Jeffrey (age 10)
ISBN 9781398512818 By Emma Carroll. Illustrated by Lauren Child
Simon & Schuster Ltd
The Little Match Girl Strikes Back is a book about matches, magic and taking control of your life! It is an excellent twist on ‘The Little Match Girl’ by Hans Christian Andersen. Bridie, a little match girl, works hard to feed her family, even if it means coming home battered and bruised. After an unfortunate accident leaves her with only three remaining matches, Bridie strikes them against the wall and after wishing into the flame, she can view anything she desires. With the realisation she can change her own future, Bridie leads the match workers on a strike to change history. Incredible real life photographs of the match workers from the Victorian age can be found at the back of this book, with a wonderful description by the author herself.
A twisted historical fiction tale highly recommended for 8+ readers.
October, October
ISBN 9781526601933 By Katya Balen. Illustrated by Angela Harding
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal 2022. October is wild and she is free. She lives in the woods with her dad where she is happy and they are self sufficient. But on the day October turns eleven, everything changes. The woman who calls herself October’s mother is back and nothing will be the same again. After her dad has an accident, October has to live with her mother, but not in the woods where she can be wild but in the city where the noises are too loud and the children don’t look or behave like her. October longs to be free again but her dad is in hospital and will be for some time. Over time October finds herself gradually adjusting to her new surroundings, but isn’t ever able to forget about the place that she calls home. Could she find a way to accept both the wildness of the wood and the bustle of the city, and finally allow her mother to become a part of her life again?
October, October is a beautifully written story to be enjoyed by both children (9+) and adults alike.
