LJ's beautiful books

By Katherine Rundell Published by Bloomsbury Ages 9 + Once upon a time, magical creatures such as unicorns, dragons, lavellans (the description of lavellans in the bestiary made me laugh out loud btw) and ratatoskas wandered the whole earth. Now they live in Archipelago, part of our world that is hidden by magic. But they are dying. Mal, from the Archipelago and Christopher, staying in Scotland, meet and unite both to save Mal from a murderer (!) and to find out what is happening to the creatures in the magical world... As an animal lover I felt an immediate connection to Christopher who attracts animals wherever he goes: 'his allegiance was to wild and living things.' and I loved this feature. The unicorns are beautifully described: 'like a cluster of ambulant stars' in varieties of silver and white. And the Sphinxes 'yellow-gold winged cats: cats that stood ten feet high' are so wonderfully proud and all-knowing. I like Jacques the tiny dragon.  The chases a

Published by DFB Ages 9 upwards 'You must open the doors of perception, and go through to the other side.'  Tyger is a beautiful, poignant story about empathy and equality, creativity and potential. This story is set in an alternate, dystopian London within a British Empire where classes and races are segregated and animals are nearly completely extinct. Adam and Sadie find a wise, other-worldly Tyger who encourages them to see themselves and the world beyond what they are living in.  I adored the references to William Blake both in actual words and in the physical animals of the lamb and tyger. The book reminds me of Northern Lights by Phillip  Pullman and The Giver by Lois Lowry and joins them in being unforgettable.  The bold, timeless illustrations by Dave McKean add to the themes of art and history. I love the Tyger swimming in the water. At the heart of this story for me and what I loved, is the message, power of imagination: ' You can see possibilities, and turn them

Katie and Kevin Tsang  Published by Farshore Ages 5-8 The Space Blasters crew (now with Moon Bug included) are back for their third adventure!  This story features gobbling galaxies, a crying comet, bouncing pengoos, alien polar bears and a special monkey! We learn lots of cool new space facts, as well as Five-Eyed Frank's uncovered star skills and there's a HUGE reveal at the end! This book also explores feelings in an intergalactic way and Suzie is inspiring as always by both coming up with inventions and not being afraid to ask questions. As Captain Jane says of Suzie: "We all need more curiousity and cheer."

Published by Puffin Books Ages 9+ An entertaining, eerie, unputdownable story! Arkspire is utterly brilliant - I couldn't put it down. What world-building and characters! I love Cinder so much! Moments from Juni, Thea, Everard and Cinder had me laughing out loud.  'When the world gives you an empty bag, it's your job to fill it.'  An under-dog tale with mysterious magic, humour and vivid illustrations, Littler is talented indeed. I get asked almost daily by parents what do their kids read next having finished Harry Potter. I will be directing them to Arkspire. 'You would be a change for good... you are someone who would remember the little guy for once.'

Cursed Crowns By Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber Published by Electric Monkey Ages 13 + 'After all, everything came at a price...' After loving book 1 and it's swashbuckling humour, I was so excited to get Cursed Crowns (thank you Harper and Electric Monkey) and was excited every time I picked it up to read!  We meet new characters in book 2, and visit different parts of the world only mentioned in book 1, but even in different settings, with Wren in Gevra and Rose in the Sunkissed Kingdom - we get the tantalizing dual, split voice and character arcs much loved in Twin Crowns. I love that this format stayed the same - it works so well.  BUT there is a magical, mirror-induced way in this book that the twins communicate and experience each other's drama and honestly these chapters are brilliant - both strategic and surprising and always hilarious with comic situation. (Rose staring at dead mice and Wren throwing a fruit bowl both made me laugh...) This also leads to

Moonflight by Gill Lewis Illustrated by Pippa Curnick Published by DFB Ages 9+  'Warriors come in all shapes and sizes.'  With witty prose and rats in clothes, I knew I'd enjoy this book from the first page. It's a story involving danger and diamonds and a small but very clever rat, Tilbury. I adore the illustration of the family of rats in outfits.  I really like the character of Marfaire, Keeper of the diamond because she believes in Tilbury and the plot twist involving her was one of my favourite moments!  I love Tilbury's friendly relationship with Marmalade the cat - and how this helps when he meets the tiger later on in the adventure. There are varying dynamics between rats and cats throughout the book (including baddies) but the image of a tiger carrying little rats is delightful and reminiscent of Aesop.  This is an epic, colourful, well-told adventure story with so many different kinds of rats and lots of danger but it keeps you guessing and Tilbury is very