The Language of Flowers - Book Giveaway

A month ago I was luck enough to review Vanessa Diffenbaugh's début novel The Language of Flowers and the publishers, Pan Macmillan have offered me two copies of the book to be given away on my blog.


One of the main reasons I loved this book was the ancient art of saying things with flowers! I was aware that some flowers were sent in particular circumstances and I always remember my nan taking flowers to my granddad in hospital from his garden and telling me not to pick red and white as hospitals didn't like them as they represented blood and bandages however I was unaware of the many flowers and their meanings.


Pan Macmillan has launched a website to mark the publication of the book on 18th August and enables you to send a virtual bouquet to one of your friends. What's your message

To be in with a chance of winning a copy:

1. become a follower of my blog and comment on this post only (1 entry)
2. tweet about the competition (1 entry) (please include me in the tweet @sbroadhurst) and add a link to the comment below.

This is a UK only Giveaway, sorry for international followers of my blog.


Winners will be drawn at 6pm on Tuesday 16th August 2011 and the books will be posted out by the publisher.

‘I’m part of the Transworld Book Group!’

Back by popular demand Transworld have reinstated the Transworld Book Group Reading Challenge!With a new set of completely fabulous titles. More details can be found here.

I am taking part and have chosen my four books to review. They are: 

• Nothing but trouble by Rachel Gibson
• The Bomber by Liza Markluna
• The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark
• The Secret between us by Louise Douglas

I have received my first book, The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark and will be reviewing it on here soon.

Will you be taking part in the challenge?

The Great Big Book of Magic Tricks by Joe Fullman

Learn how to perform even more fantastic tricks with this second bumper book of magic. With illustrations and step-by-step instructions, you'll be able to astonish friends in no time. 'Top Tip' boxes and profiles of famous magicians and their tricks will captivate reluctant readers, encouraging them to learn and perform. This title contains: clear, explanatory text accompanied by illustrations; fun panels and profiles; and, fascinating information about famous magicians and their tricks.


Another fantastic book from QED Publishing for children. Spiral bound so that the book can lie flat on the table, leaving both hands free to try the magic. 


The book starts with an important 'how to use this book section and also a list of props needed for the tricks in the book. The rest of the book is filled with many magic tricks to try.


The tricks are all laid out on double page spreads, with each trick being given a difficulty rating (1-7), with the tricks getting harder as you progress through the book. When a new skill is taught, an explanation is given as to the new skill to be learnt. Each trick also has a skills needed list, some skills are taught in the easier tricks at the start of the book. The tricks are split into a number of steps, usually 5-6 steps and have both hand drawn pictures, along with easy to follow instructions.  Top tips are also highlighted on some tricks. 


There are card tricks,coin and rope tricks, sleight of hand tricks and mind tricks.


Some pages also include the history of magic, some modern day magicians and also great tricks performed.


This is a good book for children to try magic, although I would recommend it for an older child (9+). Younger children will need a lot of assistance and support from older siblings, friends or family. Some of the difficult tricks look very difficult and I am unsure if I could do them, although we all know what practice makes!


I would recommend this as a good gift for an older child or a book that could be got out on a rainy day, when a trick could be learnt as a group.


Thank you to WED Publishing for sending me the book to review.

Bubbling Biology by Steve Parker (Science Crackers)

This exciting new series will satisfy the most enquiring young scientific minds! With a back-to-basics approach to the core topics, these books investigate science in a clear and concise way. Simple practical activities will help children understand how science is relevant to their everyday world. This title features bright, contemporary design and fantastic photographs. It is presented with exciting hands-on science activities. Series covers all key science topics for this age group. It is written by award-winning science authors. Humorous cartoon characters will engage readers.


This is a fantastic book for young budding scientists! With bite size information on a number of topics, this is a great introduction for children into 
biology of the human and animal world.


The main topics covered in the book are:  the bio world; green and growing (plants); fancy flowers, super seeds; look and listen; optical illusions; on the move; reflexes; bite and swallow; pant and pump; making more animals; and look out danger.


The book is filled with pictures, photographs and cartoon style drawings. There are also a number of experiments included within the book, including; growing a bean seed; making a camouflage picture; testing your reactions and testing fitness (measuring pulse rates).


The book is a great dip into biology, enough to get children interested in an area before finding books more in depth on that subject.


Thank you to QED Publishing for sending me the book to review.


The book even includes a glossary at the back of the book of some of the more difficult words within the text.

Rock Your Style by Laura Torres

From funky ways to customize party treats to cool suggestions on how to style up your room, clothes or school stuff, this imaginative bindup will appeal to all creative kids. Craft rocks! This title offers: step-by-step instructions; handy craft tips; and, fun, alternative ideas for each project.


Full of fantastic crafting projects for girls everywhere who love glitz, glam and colour! Plenty of ideas to jazz up their rooms, school stuff, clothing or party accessories. 


Many of the activities within the book can be carried out using items that would be found in any home and none appear to use anything that is expensive or difficult to find. There are also many activities which children would be able to complete on their own too.


The book is spiral bound, allowing it to be opened fully flat on a work surface, ensuring no one needs to put messy hands on it to keep it open.


The activities are all on a double page spread, with a list of what you need at the start of the page. They are also broken down into about 5 easy steps with big photographs at each stage along with details in easy to follow language. There are also usually at least two finished examples shown on each page.


This is a great idea as a gift for girls who love to craft or as a stand by for a rainy day activity idea. I would suggest this book would be appropriate for children aged 7+.

Thank you to QED Publishing for sending me this book to review.

The Eddie Dickens Trilogy by Philip Ardagh

"Awful End": When both of Eddie Dickens' parents catch a disease that makes them turn yellow, go a bit crinkly round the edges and smell of hot water bottles, it's agreed he should go and stay with relatives at their house Awful End. Unfortunately for Eddie, those relatives are Mad Uncle Jack and Even-Madder Aunt Maud, and it doesn't look as if the three of them are ever going to reach their destination..."Dreadful Acts": Eddie Dickens narrowly avoids an explosion, a hot-air balloon and arrest, only to find himself falling head-over heels for a girl with a face like a camel's, and into the hands of a murderous gang of escaped convicts who have 'one little job for him to do'. "Terrible Times": Eddie had been given the task of travelling to America to look after his family's interests there. But his life is never that simple; especially with a potential stowaway in his trunk, and Lady Constance Bustle at his side. She's a professional 'travelling companion', whose previous employers seem to have died under the most remarkable and unfortunate circumstances...


What a fantastic book for children and adults alike. I think this book has something for everyone with humour and information, facts and history included within the stories.


The book includes three books which have been previously released singly and together make a great gift for someone to cheer them up, make them laugh out loud while gaining little known facts on a range of topics.


The author begins book one, Awful End, with a note explaining that Awful end was originally written in a series of letters to his nephew, Ben, while at boarding school. These letters were called 'episodes' and, later found out by Ardagh, to have been read out loud by the house master and house mistress to amuse Ben's fellow house mates. When reading Awful End I had this in the back of my mind and could imagine everyone looking forward to Ben's latest letter being received from Uncle Philip.


The stories or 'episodes' are written in an unique style. I have seen Philip Ardagh on television on a number of occasions, talking about children's fiction and I think that these are written in the same manner that Ardagh speaks. In descriptive language where at any point, he can digress, and include an important fact, explaining why something is the way it is, or why something has happened, linking back to history. There are also comments by him, little aside comments, within the text too.


The characters are all, well to put it bluntly, mad. There is Eddie, a young boy, his mother and father, along with Mad Uncle Jack, who lives in a tree house and Even Madder Maud, who lives in a huge cow, Marjorie,which Eddie had used to rescue the boys from the orphanage in Awful End, who is constantly with Malcolm, a stuffed Stoat. 


There are also, throughout the book, many brilliant pencil sketches which accompany the story, again in a similar style to the story telling and relates to the chaotic and fast pace of the story. There is a brilliant sketch of the author included alongside his message from the author.


The book is laugh a minute and perfect to cheer up any child stuck inside on a miserable summer holiday or as an incentive to get a reluctant child to read. 


I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a laugh, both young and old.


Thank you to Faber Faber Kids for sending me this book to review.

The Accident by Linwood Barclay

Glen Barber isn't the only person in the small town of Milford with things on his mind. The recession has been bad for his construction business, especially after a mysterious fire destroys one of his buildings. But everyone else in Milford seems to have problems too, as the financial pressures begin to pinch. Glen's troubles, however, are about to escalate to a whole new level. His wife Sheila has her own plans for getting them out of their financial jam, but these come to an abrupt halt when her car is found at the scene of a drunk-driving accident that took three lives. Not only is she dead, but it appears she was the cause of the accident. Suddenly Glen has to deal with a potent mixture of emotions: grief at the loss of his wife, along with anger at her reckless behaviour that leaves their young daughter motherless. If only he could convince himself that Sheila wasn't responsible for the tragedy - but as he looks deeper into the circumstances and begins to realise just how many secrets 
lurk behind Milford's idyllic facade, he may have to face something much, much worse...


Linwood Barclay is another of those authors who I look forward to each year releasing a new novel. He is a brilliant author and is able to write crime fiction full of twists and turns and always finishes his books with a twist that hits the reader with a shock!


The Accident is his latest book, released 1 September 2011. It tells the story of Glen Barber, owner of a construction business, who is facing financial difficulties after a mysterious fire burnt his latest build down. There is also the sudden and unexpected death of his wife following a car accident where tests show she was drunk when driving, something which was completely out of character. The mystery continues when his daughter's best friend's mum also dies in suspicious circumstances.


The book is, as ever in Linwood Barclay's books, excellent written, where the readers are lead through the story at a fast pace, gaining pieces of information along the way.  There is plenty of mystery, intrigue and despair within the book. The characters are all every day people, with the main male characters all having decent jobs, however the women are trying to earn a few extra pennies to supplement their husbands income - however there are consequences to this. The characters are all people you would find in any community and I really felt for Glen, worrying about his dead wife and also his daughter who is affected by both the death of her mum, but  also the death of her best friends mum too. All the characters suffer a full range of emotions throughout this book and I, as the reader, also felt much anger, frustration and confusion throughout the book as Glen Barber tries to uncover what happened to his wife before she died in the accident.


I would definitely recommend this book to crime lovers of all ages. Linwood Barclay has many fans but I think that with this book many more people will become fans. 


I received this book through the Amazon Vine program.