The Silent Tide by Rachel Hore

When Emily Gordon, editor at a London publishing house, commissions an account of great English novelist Hugh Morton, she finds herself steering a tricky path between Morton's formidable widow, Jacqueline, who's determined to protect his secrets, and the biographer, charming and ambitious Joel Richards. But someone is sending Emily mysterious missives about Hugh Morton's past and she discovers a buried story that simply has to be told… One winter's day in 1948, nineteen year old Isabel Barber arrives at her Aunt Penelope's house in Earl's Court having run away from home to follow her star. A chance meeting with an East European refugee poet leads to a job with his publisher, McKinnon & Holt, and a fascinating career beckons. But when she develops a close editorial relationship with charismatic young debut novelist Hugh Morton and the professional becomes passionately personal, not only are all her plans put to flight, but she finds herself in a struggle for her very survival. Rachel Hore's intriguing and suspenseful new novel magnificently evokes the milieux of London publishing past and present and connects the very different worlds of two young women, Emily and Isabel, who through their individual quests for truth, love and happiness become inextricably linked.

Mad About the Boy (Bridget Jones) by Helen Fielding

When Helen Fielding first wrote Bridget Jones' Diary, charting the life of a 30-something singleton in London in the 1990s, she introduced readers to one of the most beloved characters in modern literature. The book was published in 40 countries, sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, and spawned a best-selling sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. The two books were turned into major blockbuster films starring Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.

With her hotly anticipated third instalment, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Fielding introduces us to a whole new enticing phase of Bridget's life set in contemporary London, including the challenges of maintaining sex appeal as the years roll by and the nightmare of drunken texting, the skinny jean, the disastrous email cc, total lack of twitter followers, and TVs that need 90 buttons and three remotes to simply turn on.

An uproariously funny novel of modern life, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is a triumphant return of our favourite Everywoman.

Herman's Letter by Tom Percival

What do you do when your best friend in the whole wide world has to move a long way away? Promise to write to each other ALL the time and to stay best friends FOREVER, that's what. But it's easier said than done - especially when your best friend seems to be having much more fun than you are ...Join Herman the bear as he embarks upon one epic journey to deliver a very special letter and to ensure that his friendship with Henry the raccoon really is FOREVER.

I loved this book - Herman is an adorable character and his friend Henry the raccoon is fantastic friend. It bought back childhood memories to me because when I was in primary school, my best (boy)friend moved from the midlands to Scotland and we wrote to each other for years -on our favourite Mr Men writing paper. Nowadays though, children who have friends who have moved away will keep in contact via skype or email. If I suggest to my children to sit down and write a letter they don't know what to do. However this book really shows the importance of letters to bring news. I also really liked that the letters were stuck in the book - folded over for little hands to open. They also look like real letters - address and stamp on the outside and stamped as if delivered. 

It is a beautiful book to give as a gift this Christmas and hopefully will encourage lots of children to start letter writing and sending them to friends.

Thank you to the publishers, Bloomsbury, for sending me the book to review. 

Practical Child Law for Social Workers by Clare Seymour and Richard Seymour

The UK legal system in the area of social work with children and families can be bewildering and complex and it is vital therefore that any textbook on the subject uses case law, case studies and research to critically-engage social workers and students alike. This book does just that - by examining, and putting into clear practical context, the current law and policy relating to social work with children and families. A guide for both students on placement as well as Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs) entering their first roles within children and families teams, Practical Child Law for Social Workers is essential reading for a fast-paced and complex area of social work.

I work within the Children's Services sector of a county council and although I do not work within a social worker role, I am regularly in contact with children and their families and therefore need to be aware of Safeguarding policies and procedures. I am also currently studying at university towards a degree in Early Years Studies and therefore have found this book to be a very informative and interesting to read.

The book is split into sections: Rights; Responsibilities; Relationships; Participation; Support; Protection; Substitute Care; Permanence; Independence; and Cooperation. All topics which are regularly considered within the role of workers who work with children and are covered within courses and assignments.

I found the book to be well laid out, with each chapter having clearly identified and presented objectives at the start of the chapter. The chapters all contain activities and legal case studies which relate to the chapter contents, along with research summaries and suggested further reading for each subject. 

The chapters are well laid out, text being broken up with summaries or activities to make practitioners think and reflect upon what they have read. The case studies are well chosen to illustrate the law discussed and referenced for readers who want to look more in depth. 

I think that this is a great book for anyone who is working within the safeguarding of children, child protection, family support or social work sectors. It is also great for university students although I do think that more in depth texts may be needed - however great as a first point of call when researching or planning  assignments.

I received this book through The Amazon Vine Programme. 

Ella's Ktchen- The Cook Book - The Red One

Ella's Kitchen is the fastest growing brand in the UK baby food sector and this new title, Ella's Kitchen: The Cookbook: The Red One, is the first in a series of books aimed at creating nutritious, convenient food that kids (and their parents) will love. 100 yummy recipes to inspire big and little cooks, ranging from the easiest of snacks and light meals that can be rustled up in minutes to delicious and satisfying dinners. Interesting twists and clever shortcuts, such as salmon fillets baked in parcels and sweet and sour prawns, make life as easy as possible for busy parents. For weekends and holidays, when there is a bit more time available, there are leisurely breakfast recipes such as Blueberry Pancakes and more involved cooking projects such as a Pasta Weekend. With an emphasis on involving kids as much as possible, the book includes easy prep tasks throughout, as well as fun activities, from growing your own window-box plants to getting creative with vegetable prints. Colour-in pages and stickers also mean that kids will love it as much as their parents do.

Weaning and preparing food babies and young babies can be a minefield, one which first time mums can find a daunting and scary. There are so many different schools of thought - baby led weaning or the more traditional idea of introducing foods slowly, one at a time, with the consistency getting lumpier. However a parent decides to approach weaning, one thing is a necessity, a recipe book of inspiration - one which gives ideas of different tastes and textures to try, but that also offers inspiring presentation ideas; not endless bowls of mushed up food but also not one which makes shapes and pictures out of each meal.

The authors of the book, Alison and Paul Lindley, are the founders of Ella's Kitchen, who, over thirteen years ago, were parents to a baby, Ella, who, while watching their own child grow and become confident with food, left their jobs and created a range of foods for babies, toddlers and young children.

The book is well presented and layed out. It is brightly coloured and packed full of useful information and tasty recipes. As I have previously stated, there are differing thoughts to weaning and all parents should talk to their health visitors about current guidelines concerning weaning before deciding upon the road they will follow with their own child.

There is a great section on first foods for babies. It has lots of useful hints and tips - those tips that mothers find out by chance, written down ready for new mums, and lots of ideas for new tastes to try.  There is a section on going from mush to mash and also going on to 'proper' food. There are also hints and tips about allowing your baby to explore food and how to encourage them to try new things - making it look nice, interacting with your child at meal times and using all senses at meal time. 

The ingredients included in the recipes are all healthy and are easy to find in supermarkets and kitchen cupboards, something which is important when making up batches of food for the freezer. 

The book includes recipes for meals, but also snacks, which is often where new mums struggle for ideas.

Recipes are split into useful chapters: yummy lunches and speedy snacks; dee-licious dinners; perfect puds; scrummy treats; and hooray for the weekend. Each recipe has a 'what you need' section and also has quick and easy guides for: number of servings; prep time; and cooking time. There is a brief introduction to most recipes which describes the dish, along with suggestions for variations and suggestions for fussy eaters.  Some recipes have Ella's shortcuts, which mention Ella's Kitchen products which could be used to quicken prep time. There are also ideas in some recipes for steps which children could help with to encourage them to help prepare their own meals.

There is also a page at the back of the book of fantastic stickers for children. These are brightly coloured, as is the whole book. It is easy to follow and full of photographs of the food to help children choose what they would like to make.

I would definitely recommend this book as the perfect gift for new parents who are beginning to think about weaning. However, it is important to mention that parents should follow advice given by Health Professionals as recommendations can change (I know in the two years between my children weaning, recommendations did change). Although this book is by Ella's Kitchen it is not constantly pushing it's own products, only suggesting in some recipes, their own products for quickness, however instructions are always given for using fresh produce to make your own. It has lots of recipes and these will become firm favourites of children and can be used for years to come after weaning has been successful.

I received this book through the Amazon Vine Programme.

Puppy's First Christmas by Steve Smallman and Alison Edgson

"Something weird is happening," cries Puppy. "Mum's going bonkers in the kitchen, and there are socks on the wall and a huge tree INSIDE the house!" "Relax," says Cat. "It's Christmas Eve - it's like this every year!"

This is a great book for young children. It looks at Christmas and the run up through the eyes of a puppy. Why do they bring a tree inside and decorate it? Why do they hang socks up at night? It is a lighthearted book which children will enjoy looking at again and again. The story is written in rhyme and is perfect for story time.

The front cover has a beautiful picture on it and the hat is a soft touch insert, a luxurious addition to the book. There is also a couple of pictures of Father Christmas and a dog inside which has the same soft flock feel, making the book tactile which young children will like. 

This would make the perfect gift in the run up to Christmas for young pet lovers to enjoy.

Thank you to the publishers, Little Tiger Press, for sending me the book to review.

Guest Post - Rachel Hore - The Silent Tide

I am very pleased to welcome Rachel Hore to my blog today. Rachel has published a number of books and her latest book, The Silent Tide, was released last month. 

I asked Rachel where she gets inspiration for her books: 

A novelist’s inspiration 

As a novelist, I am often asked ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ Although I’m secretly tempted to answer ‘from the ideas shop, of course’, or ‘I forage for them in the woods’, I understand what the questioner is getting at.  A novel is, after all a complex castle in the air, that floats like ectoplasm from the writer’s imagination.  It’s perfectly reasonable for the reader to wonder what inspired the whole creation in the first place.

There are novelists such as J.K. Rowling, who famously tells us that the entire concept for the Harry Potter books came to her fully formed during the course of a train journey. Lucky her. There is though something about long journeys – the boredom, the repetitive rhythm of wheels or marching feet - that allows the mind to roam free.  I developed the whole plot of my first novel, The Dream House, whilst driving from Surrey to Norfolk on one luminous New Year’s afternoon, but I was only able to do so because I’d spent some months previous brooding on its themes and the characters to carry them, and had written a few practice paragraphs to see where they would take me. I suspect that most writers have similar experiences to me.

Ninety per cent of the ideas within a novel are the result of hard work: research and reading, scratching one’s head, writing, much crossing out and rewriting.  Occasionally there might come that flash-of-a-kingfisher moment of inspiration - what Henry James used to call a ‘donné’, a ‘gift’ of an idea – that every writer craves. In my experience these are rare, come from unexpected directions, and there’s no point in sitting around idly and waiting for them to show up. You need to get going first.  One kingfisher moment for The Dream House struck when I happened to read in our local paper about a house full of curiosities whose contents were being auctioned off.  A house of treasures became the central motif in my novel, but this inspiration came only after I’d started work on the book.

Writers view the world around them - and read the books of other writers - like magpies looking for shiny material, but each will alight on something different that represents some subject or theme of special interest to them.  In my case this is often simply a setting with a rich sense of history: an old house, perhaps, or a church or a particular landscape. Whichever, it has to be somewhere where I can begin to picture characters for the past and the present narratives that I like to combine.  In my new novel, The Silent Tide, I chose as my main settings two London publishing offices, one contemporary, the other from 1950.  It was then possible to muse on the very different worlds of Emily and Isabel, the women who worked in them, albeit seventy years apart, and to construct a story to link them. However, the whole framework of the novel only grew bit by bit, and frequently only during the actual writing process. One particularly exciting revelation came very late, when I was three-quarters of the way through the book.  It was clear that I needed to know my characters thoroughly first before I was ready to receive it.

The Silent Tide (Simon & Schuster) is published on 12 September 2013 in paperback and eBook.  Her website iswww.rachelhore.co.uk

Thank you Rachel for visiting my blog today.