Together with fellow outcast Bronwyn, he heads North with hope they might find water, villagers or even the fabled ‘Kingdom’ where life is rumoured to still flourish. After a storm, Ash wakes to find that the village's water and all the other villagers have disappeared and the Priestess left dead. Ash lives with the Priestess of Last Village since his father left. This should most definitely be an instant classic – an overused term but one that is truly meant here.Īuthor: Mitch Johnson Format: Paperback Release Date: Ī grim vision of a future world starved of water, where humanity has descended into a mediaeval hand to mouth existence and with a warped belief system extolling the Ancestors who had in fact created this awful world through selfish excess. All the characters are well drawn – even the adults, who in some books end up more like ciphers than people. Ed is fiercely independent, and hates being discussed by others – which feels very authentic. I was particularly pleased to see the way Evans writes the fact Ed is in a wheelchair as he has a condition which makes it hard for him to walk – the way this is handled makes a refreshing change.
Each person discovers a great deal about themselves, and about their friends as they explore, but have fun and laughter along the way.
Written for dyslexia specialist Barrington Stoke, the book is accessible to all readers and for many it is likely to prove unputdownable.Īuthor: Lissa Evans Format: Hardback Release Date: Įd and his sister Roo face an awful half term break when they unexpectedly must be looked after by their neighbour Miss Filey and her extremely smelly old cat! Nothing, it appears can save their break until they find some very old birthday candles which they and their new friend Willard decide to light and make wishes – like everyone does on birthday cakes! It turns out, though, that the wishes they get are not entirely their own and they must work together – including the smelly cat Attlee – who it turns out can talk – to solve the situations they find themselves in!Īll the elements are here for a series of adventures where our trio discover a huge amount about themselves – and Miss Filey – whilst surviving amazing escapades. As often in Palmer’s books, this is inspired by a real person and somehow the story of this couragous young girl is even more remarkable when he reveals in the concluding pages that Edda van Heemstra grew up to be Audrey Hepburn, one of the most famous of all the Hollywood stars, though also a longtime ambassador for UNICEF.
With typical economy and directness, Tom Palmer tells her story brilliantly, describing Edda’s heroism plus the fear and misery experienced every day by all those trying to live their lives as war rages around them with the same eye-level detail and insight. Young as she is, she is already risking her life working for the resistance, delivering newsletters and, more dangerous still, helping US airmen stranded behind German lines. This is the work of two masters of their arts – both can create wonderful reading experiences but joining them together makes for an unforgettable book that will find its way into many small hands now and long into the future.Īuthor: Tom Palmer Format: Paperback Release Date: Īugust 2022 Book of the Month | Interest Age 8+ Reading Age 8 | 1t’s 1943, Edda is 14 and living in Velp in the Netherlands under German occupation. Gravett has used shadow and greyscale to create the wonderful characters, and an atmosphere that just oozes off the page as we read. The story is supported and enhanced with Gravett’s dark illustrations the writing is so visual the illustrations would be hugely missed. Written with reference to our folk tale past – where talking animals often represent elements of human character, this is a delightful story you want to devour again and again.
In this she is helped by some fascinating animal companions – Mouse, Mole, Crow and Snake have a wonderful humour, as well as providing the magic needed in every child’s story. Lily has one night to defeat the replacements and find her parents again – and make everything ‘right’. Lily will not stay – and runs back home to find her parents have been replaced. This is complicated by the fact that Lily’s parents are just about to have another baby, so Lily is sent to her grandmothers to live whilst the baby arrives. Author: Nick Lake Format: Paperback Release Date: Īugust 2022 Book of the Month | Lily, our heroine, got sick a while ago, and now she just wants things to go back to how they were.