An ovedue reading roundup!

Having a passion for anything can sometimes lead to disappointment, particularly if you have set your hopes on it and so it can be with reading.  I have a passion for reading; I want to read every book that comes my way, I then want to share the joy that I have experienced.  Rarely is there a book that I do not enjoy and because I am reading for myself as well as to share with others I am conscious of the fact that even if I did not enjoy the book others will, it may just be that it was not quite the book for me.  This happens.  Very rarely am I ever truly disappointed by a book.  Very often I love a book and the books take me by surprise with their enjoyability!

And so it is, as someone with a passion for books and reading that I read A LOT!  Usually a book a night, thus with a train journey into and out of London this week I had the chance to read more …

From Usborne and Tamsyn Murray came Tanglewood Animal Park: Baby Zebra Rescue a delightful story that is perfect for animal lovers.  Zoe and her little brother have grown up around zoo’s – that is where their parents work and now they are about to live in their own zoo, but all is not well, with poorly and injured animals, a physical structure in need of repair and a very moody vet’s son to contend with will the zoo open on time and will everything be in place?  This is a charming story for those who love animals yet at the same time also a story about friendship, understanding and learning to give and take.

Sedric and the Roman Holiday Rampage by Angie Morgan, Egmont, continues the medieval adventures of Sedric and the gang, this time trying to undo all the trouble caused by Baron Dennis’ rather unpleasant son.  Packed with humour and delightfully illustrated by the author this is a wonderful addition to the series and will have readers laughing with every turn of the page.

Moving up the age groups I came to Magrit by Lee Battersby (Walker Books).  This is a sparse and haunting tale, appropriately set in an abandoned cemetery where Magrit lives with her friend Master Puppet.  They live happily and peacefully until a passing stork drops a bundle and despite his best efforts to dissuade her Master Puppet sees Magrit growing ever closer to the new addition with unfortunate consequences.  A masterful and moving story, delicately and beautifully told.

Then the book that truly took me by surprise, Songs About a Girl by Chris Russell (Hodder Children’s Books).  As a book about a boy band and a young girl I am sure you can imagine where I thought this was going … but it didn’t.  This is an honest and truthful story about the trials and tribulations of fame, about understanding people and friends, how they work and why.  Charlie is a great character the true geek yet hiding a streak of rebellion whilst Melissa, the archetypal best friend may not be all that she seems and the same applies to the boyband.  With a rollercoaster ride of emotions this book is packed with page-turning elements and is a really good read.

Father’s Day was last Sunday and what better way to celebrate that by asking dad to read you a story about … Dad’s?

If your dad is new to his role then you could start off with School for Dads by Charlotte Guillain and illustrated by Ada Grey (Egmont) through which your dad will learn about how not to be late for pick up, how to pay attention to you and not his phone and how sometimes the children just need to take charge!  Dad’s will learn an lot from this delightful book, children will love the action in the pictures and it will have created a wonderful sharing experience too.

The Best Bit of Daddy’s Day by Claire Alexander (Egmont) anthropomorphises the roles of father and son into Daddy and Bertie, two dogs, both delightful and appealing to small children.   Bertie’s daddy is a driver of wonderful trucks and diggers and of course Bertie would love to do this too so when he discovers a special surprise waiting for him at school it seems that their days may well be just the same.  This is a lovely, simple story, about understanding, overcoming anxiety and sharing experiences.

Amazing Daddy by Rachel Bright (Orchard Books) features two pandas, Daddy Panda and Little Panda sharing a day together all their special moments.  Celebrating the special relationship between father and son this is a warm, loving book and the perfect title for father’s day.