Today, we are delighted to be the final stop of the Blog Tour for the fabulous ‘The Uprising: Mapmakers in Cruxcia’ by Eirlys Hunter. In this post, Eirlys offers a glimpse into how she ‘borrows’ the landscapes and places she so vividly describes in her stories. Borrowed Places I’m a geography nerd. I love maps, and I love imagining the settings of my stories, rearranging the globe to suit myself. When people ask, ‘Where are the book set?’ I say, ‘Nowhere particular.’ But, although the journeys the Santanders make can’t be found in any atlas, almost everywhere they go is actually somewhere ve ..read more

The North Somerset Teachers’ Book Awards were started in 2015 with the intention of supporting colleagues with choosing books to use in their classes. Since then, there have been seven award ceremonies, many meetings and many, many books reviewed. Sadly, the time has come for the awards to end. As they have grown, so has the associated workload and this has become unmanageable whilst teaching full time. Anyone involved in teaching knows the nature of the job and how all consuming it can become, leaving little time for anything else. Although reading continues to be as necessary as breathing ..read more

We are delighted to be taking part in the ‘Are You Ready for Clementine Florentine?’ Blog Tour! Today, author, Tasha Harrison , tells us why she thinks funny stories are so important for children. When I was seventeen, I wrote in my diary about a particularly disastrous weekend which involved me, my brother and my newly divorced (and emotionally raw) parents attending my aunt’s wedding. All manner of things went wrong that weekend, resulting in my mum being the most stressed I’d ever seen her. I wrote it all up, from traffic jams to forgotten luggage to grumpy wedding guests to unexpected far ..read more

We were delighted to be the final stop of the blog tour for ‘The World Book’, a book which would make a brilliant Christmas present for any curious mind- whatever their age! Fascinating and accessible, there is so much to enjoy and explore in these pages. In his introduction, the author discusses what a country is and how there are differing views on how that term should be defined. The reader is also introduced to the idea of non-country territories, including Antarctica. Arranged by continent, the contents page asks, ‘Where in the world would you like to go today?’ and then leads you on a t ..read more

‘That’s Life!’ is a completely fascinating book that’s full of…well, life! Sherlock Ohms, and his two rodent companions, accompany the reader on a brilliant biological quest searching for signs of life everywhere and revealing the incredible range of organisms which surround them. The introduction starts by considering the seven signs of life before exploring the biggest mystery of all- how life began. Sherlock Ohms then investigates cells- the building blocks of life- and the role they play in life! The text then focuses on ‘the tree of life’ and the seven kingdoms all living things are div ..read more

On a trip to London Zoo, the Stewart family notice one little penguin in particular. Imogen and Arthur, the children, ask if they can keep it and their mother, keen to leave the zoo as it is closing time, invites the penguin to stay whenever it likes. To their surprise, it arrives at their door later that evening with a small blue rucksack on its back. The rucksack has a label with the name Einstein written on it and the Stewart family invite him to stay for the night, sure that they will be able to return him to the zoo the following morning. But no one has heard of Einstein or misses him fr ..read more

This classic poem is a much loved festive treat, shared every Christmas and this edition, beautifully illustrated by P J Lynch, would make a perfect gift. The book opens on snowy scenes of a sleepy village, seen from the sky, with hints of a sleigh and reindeer antlers peeking into the scene. The illustration above is one of my favourites with these sweet mice, peacefully sleeping in their mousehole. Each spread is so beautifully captured with incredible attention to detail. The fireside scene shows five stockings hanging above the glowing embers of the fire whilst a gingerbread house stands ..read more

Once upon a silent night, a stable stood. A star shone bright. Inspired by the medieval Christmas carol, ‘The Friendly Beasts’, ‘Once Upon a Silent Night’ is a beautiful re-telling of the Christmas story. Dressed in contemporary clothing, a heavily pregnant woman and her husband arrive at an inn. Having been told that there is no room for them, the mother wonders who will welcome her child. Her desperate plea is answered by the stable animals and others as the story unfolds. A wonderful addition to the wealth of Christmas stories available, ‘Once Upon a Silent Night’ offers a perfect story ..read more

Whatever your feelings, there is a poem which can help! There are poems which can lighten your mood, poems to calm you down, those which entertain and those which inspire. ‘Everyone Sang’ is a fabulous collection which really has something for everyone and every emotion. Gathered into four sections, the poems have been selected to help support different moods and capture how the reader is feeling. In his introduction, William Sieghart says, ‘There is a special magic in the perfect poem…’ and there is plenty of magic in these pages. There are plenty of classics- Wordsworth’s ‘Daffodils’, John ..read more

So if you 'ave business with Faber - or Faber - I'll give you this tip, and it's worth a lot more: You'll save yourself time, and you'll spare yourself labour If jist you make friends with the Cat at the door. Cat Morgan, The Pirate Cat- T S Eliot Based on the true story of a little cat who made the offices of Faber and Faber his home during the Second World War, ‘The Book Cat’ is a purr-fectly adorable delight! Born on a platform at Piccadilly Station on the Underground on the same night as the start of the enemy bombing of London, Morgan lives on the streets with his mother and sister, Mae ..read more