Horrid Henry's Fearsome Four by Francesca Simon

Full colour bind-up gift book of four Horrid Henry Early Reader stories - including Horrid Henry's Birthday Party, Horrid Henry's Underpants, Horrid Henry's Nits and Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend. Early Readers - your child's stepping stone from picture books to reading books.

My children have always loved Horrid Henry and we have the whole series of book and seen the television programmes many times. When my son began to want to read independently, he wanted to try the Horrid Henry book but, at the time, were too complicated for him. I then found the Early Readers series of Horrid Henry books which have been brought down a reading level and are perfect for children wanting to read more 'grown up' books (with chapters). Many of the early reader books in the past have been uninspiring and boring for children, outdated and poor stories, however these books are fantastic! My son loves reading them and even though he reads the original books, he still likes to come back to the Early Readers,

This book contains four Early Reader titles: Horrid Henry's Birthday Party, Horrid Henry's Underpants; Horrid Henry's Nits and Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend. Each of these stories have been included in the original Horrid Henry books but have been revamped for Early Readers. They are still accompanied by Tony Ross's fantastic illustrations which are in colour and are the perfect accompaniment to the stories, giving children a 'hint' on the story while they are reading.

I would highly recommend this book as a fantastic gift for any Horrid Henry fan who is beginning to gain confidence in reading or for younger children who enjoy sharing a story.

Thank you to the publishers, Orion Children's Books, for sending me the book to review.

Horrid Henry's Annual 2013 - Francesca Simon

Horrid Henry's most action-packed Annual yet. Featuring brand new material from Francesca Simon, this is a fun-packed compilation of quizzes, puzzles, jokes, activities, extracts, and much more. All delivered with Henry's hallmark humour and Tony Ross' distinctive illustrations. A perfectly horrid gift!

Horrid Henry is the world's greatest zombie vampire werewolf hunter and he is back with his 2013 annual, full of puzzles, stories and games to keep other hunters entertained for hours!

I would say that this book is suitable for the older Horrid Henry fans, due to the theme, however the puzzles and quizzes are more suitable for the younger fans. The stories are all taken from the very popular series of books written by Francesca Simon - unfortunately there was no new material which would of been the icing on the cake for this annual!

This book will keep Horrid Henry fans occupied for some time however the older HH fans will probably skip through it seeing material they have seen in previous publications.

Thank you to the publishers, Orion Children's Books, for sending me the book to review.

Deadly 60 2013 annual

A year packed full of adventure in the first ever DEADLY Annual! Containing brand new material from Steve Backshall, this is a fierce, fun and fact-filled compilation of quizzes, puzzles and activities featuring deadly animals from around the world.

This is the first annual for Deadly 60 fans and it has been definitely worth waiting for. It is packed full of photographs, quizzes and puzzles,  and has some great 'how to draw' step by step instructions.

It has lots of facts and figures about some of the 60 deadly animals that Steve Backshall and his team travel the world to see and will ensure your child is top of the class when they get back to school because I am sure that it is a book which a child will keep picking up and dipping into over the festive period.

I received this book from the publishers, Orion Children's Books, for review.

Deadly Diaries - Steve Backshall (Deadly 60)

In his first ever Deadly Diaries Steve Backshall shares what it means to him to film the world's most endangered species. Learn how it feels to have a blue whale silently power past you in crystal clear Indian Ocean waters or to dangle beneath a helicopter in order to be dropped onto a crocodile nest while the mother crocodile is still there! The book will be broken down programme by programme, starting with a globe from the Deadly graphics highlighting the location and including facts, pictures, experiences and extended diary pieces. This is Deadly 60 as you've never seen it before.

The book promises an incredible and unique personal insight into life on location with the Deadly team and the book definitely delivers this. Regular viewers of the popular Deadly 60 programme will be able to 'hear' Steve Backshall throughout this book as he takes readers through many of the challenges and triumphs he has experienced while trying to 'visit' 60 deadly animals from around the world. 

The book follows Steve and his team through Ethiopia, Alaska, Great Britain, South Africa, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Florida. Each country has its own chapter and is packed full of facts. The chapters are full of animals which live in that country and is a fantastic book for these facts alone - the facts are all written with children in mind and in a way that is easy to understand, to use in school projects or to use as a starting point for researching an animal. However, there are also Steve's diary entries with descriptions of the happenings in that country on his search, what he has seen, what the team did and who, if any, was invited along to help with the research (experts etc). 

The book also gives away some of the secrets of the show, with insight into the technology used to film the animals and also the challenges faced by the team when they visit each continent of the world - each very different and all having their own difficulties to throw at the team.

This is a fantastic book for animal lovers of all ages and I am sure it will be popular with children, teenagers and also many adults who want to learn more about these animals. It would make a perfect gift but would also be a great addition to any school library - primary or secondary.

Thank you to the publishers, Orion Children's  Books, for sending me the book to review.

Guest Post - Carole Matthews

Today I am host to Carole Matthews on her blog tour for her new release With Love at Christmas, a fantastic read by Matthew's which focuses on a topic which I am sure is a headache suffered in many households over the festive period, family gatherings! Carole has given a further insight into her thoughts on this subject and I am delighted to welcome her to my blog:

Keeping Everyone Happy at Christmas

Not everyone is as mad on Christmas as the heroine of my latest book, With Love at Christmas. Juliet Joyce is Christmas crazy and all she wants is for her family to be happy and to be around her for the festive holiday.

      But, as Juliet discovers, it’s just not that easy. I think it’s something that every woman will empathise with. We all knock ourselves out trying to hold everything together while whipping up the perfect Christmas for everyone.

      But it’s tricky, isn’t it? At Christmas emotions seem to be amplified and spending time hot-housed with family members who you might not normally see for such undiluted periods of time can certainly be challenging!

      It’s also difficult to accommodate changing roles and relationships in a family. Who goes where for Christmas is always a thorny issue. If you’re married with children of your own, do you insist on Christmas day at home or do you split your time between in-laws? It’s easier if everyone appreciates that the family has to evolve. Sometimes we get set into Christmas rituals that are really hard to break without upsetting someone.

      If parents have split, it’s a terrible time of year for carving up time with the children. The squabble about who gets the kids on Christmas day can go on all year round if you’re not careful!

      Just remember that it’s supposed to be a fun, relaxing time. No, really, it is! You can’t keep everyone happy, just accept that and you won’t get too frazzled. You can’t possibly cater for all generations and both young and old will probably appreciate some time on their own. Perhaps take the youngsters out for a bike ride while the grandparents have a snooze. Or give in and let the teens lock themselves away with the computer for an hour.

      Factor in some ‘me’ time before Christmas. Take five minutes to curl up with a book, a nice glass of something and some ‘Mum’s Only’ chocolate, so that you’re less stressed when the big day arrives.  There are some great Christmassy reads around to get you in the mood. Plus you must make sure that you read, With Love at Christmas, then whatever Christmas throws at your family, you can be safe in the knowledge that it won’t ever be as bad as the Joyces’! At least I hope not!

Thank you Carole for including me within your blog tour and I hope that your Christmas is a calm and relaxed occasion and that your book is in many people's stocking on Christmas day. With Love at Christmas is a fantastic read and I will be reviewing it on this blog very soon.

101+ things to do with glitter by Momtaz Begum-Hussain

There is something magical about glitter. It reminds one of fairy dust or of disco balls, or of the dazzling dresses worn by film stars. Glitter comes in a rainbow of colours and types from the classic glitter well-loved by children to glittery fabrics to spray-on glitter and edible glitter! This book contains over 101 projects that you can create: shimmery fashion, glistening items for the home, shiny gifts and even twinkling food! Not only will you learn a little about how glitter is made and the many types of glitter, but the author also offers tips and techniques for using glitter - and cleaning it up! Projects created by the author and contributors from across the world will inspire readers to add their own touches and release that creative urge that lurks somewhere within us all. The projects range from t-shirts, shoes and tote-bags to lipgloss, bath salts and soaps, to chocolate truffles, glittery jam and iced biscuits and so many more. All, of course, using the right glitter for the job! A book for all ages.

I love crafting and you can always tell when I have been 'playing' as there is glitter everywhere! Therefore when I saw this book I knew it was one I needed.

The book is published by Vivays Publishers and having seen a number of Vivay's books I am really impressed with their style. The photographs play a big part within the book and they are often full page pictures which show the finished project at its best.

The book begins with a look at the nation's love affair with glitter through the ages, dating back to ancient Greece, Egypt and the Romans, through to the present day and a look into the future. It also includes an interesting look into what glitter actually is and how it is made and also the types of glitter available on the market today. The book lists 24 different types of glitter. There is a useful section entitled Glitter SOS which includes great advice on how to apply glitter and also how to tidy glitter away - one that I will be reading, digesting and utilising in the run up to the festive period and all those cards to make!

There is also a section entitled 'Capturing Inspiration' which would be perfect for any budding fashionistas or students, giving ideas about keeping a sketchbook for inspiration or samples as well as mood boards or virtual images. There is a double on basic materials in a craft stash and another on special materials.There are a number of master it! pages which break down, into easy, manageable steps which talk you through each stage of basic techniques which are used in many of the projects used later on in the book. These include techniques such as making your own glitter card and foam, using Angelina fibres, clay, applique, decoupage to name but a few.

The rest of the book includes many project ideas which are categorised into sections entitled: Fashion and Accessories; Homes and Interiors; Gifts and Food; and Card and Papercraft. The projects are accompanied by fantastic photographs which show them at their best. Each project has a list of 'ingredients' needed from Crafty Stash, along with the type of glitter suited best to the project. The project is split into easy step by step instructions which are simple to follow and comprehensible while also being complete, leaving nothing to 'guess'. There are top tips for ways to adapt the project using different or reclaimed materials, ways to decorate your home using the finished pieces or alternatives to the finished project shown. There is also a note on each page called 'Glitter 101+' which give additional help or guidance on a part of the technique. The book finishes off with lots of templates which are used in the projects in the book.

I really enjoyed looking through the book and I think that this book includes gift ideas for just about any occasion and anybody. There are ideas which the children could do, with some supervision, and make their own gifts for others. Other projects could be inspiration for crafty ideas to while away the long winter nights.  The book will make you look at anything you see in a different light - with a sparkle of glitter things can be turned from the dull and boring to the sparkly and fantastic!!

This would make a great gift for a crafter of any age - I am considering giving this to my daughter for Christmas, she is only 10 years old, but is a budding crafter and loves glitter. However, I would also feel able to buy this book for some of my friends as glitter is loved by (most) women!

I received this book from the publishers, Vivays Publishers, in return for an honest review.

The Midwife's Here by Linda Farley

The Sunday Times bestseller 'Delivering my first baby is a memory that will stay with me forever. Just feeling the warmth of a newborn head in your hands, that new life, there's honestly nothing like it...I've since brought more than 2,200 babies into the world, and I still tingle with excitement every time.' It's the summer of 1968 and St Mary's Maternity Hospital in Manchester is a place from a bygone age. It is filled with starched white hats and full skirts, steaming laundries and milk kitchens, strict curfews and bellowed commands. It is a time of homebirths, swaddling and dangerous anaesthetics. It was this world that Linda Fairley entered as a trainee midwife aged just 19 years old. From the moment Linda delivered her first baby - racing across rain-splattered Manchester street on her trusty moped in the dead of night - Linda knew she'd found her vocation. 'The midwife's here!' they always exclaimed, joined in their joyful chorus by relieved husbands, mothers, grandmothers and whoever else had found themselves in close proximity to a woman about to give birth. Under the strict supervision of community midwife Mrs Tattershall, Linda's gruellingly long days were spent on overcrowded wards pinning Terry nappies, making up bottles and sterilizing bedpans - and above all helping women in need. Her life was a succession of emergencies, successes and tragedies: a never-ending chain of actions which made all the difference between life and death. There was Mrs Petty who gave birth in heartbreaking poverty; Mrs Drew who confided to Linda that the triplets she was carrying were not in fact her husband's; and Muriel Turner, whose dangerously premature baby boy survived - against all the odds. Forty years later Linda's passion for midwifery burns as bright as ever as she is now celebrated as one of Britain's longest-serving midwives, still holding the lives of mothers and children in her own two hands. Rich in period detail and told with a good dose of Manchester humour, The Midwife's Here! is the extraordinary, heartwarming tale of a truly inspiring woman.

I really enjoyed this book. There seems to have been an influx of midwife and nurse true stories into the market this year, and I for one, have enjoyed reading them all. This book is no exception. Linda Fairley starts on her nursing journey and through a number of events begins to doubt that nursing is for her, however an opportunity to work in the maternity department arrives and she has found her vocation in life!
The book has times of sadness, many times of happiness and also times of humour - especially when a young father gets upset when a male daughter examines his pregnant wife and Linda realises that he has no idea how this baby will be bought into the world!
This book is a great read for social historians as it charts the social history of young families but also the changes in maternity life - mums would give birth at home, the move to birthing in hospital, the discouragement to breast feed, husbands being shut out of the delivery room to name but a few.
I really enjoyed this book and I hope that Linda Fairley writes a second book to tell more about her midwife journey - this book finishes not long after she has qualified and I am sure she has plenty more stories to tell.

I received this book through the Amazon Vine Programme.