Review: Ladybird Tales of Adventurous Girls: With an Introduction From Jacqueline Wilson

Ladybird Tales of Adventurous Girls: With an Introduction From Jacqueline Wilson by Ladybird
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love this time of year; the beautiful anthologies and collections start piling in, almost too many to read. This one I definitely made time for. Five folktales from around the world, each featuring a brave, clever girl who solves problems on her own.

You'll know Gretal and Hansel, of course, and probably the Snow Queen, but the others may be new to you. Each story is illustrated by a different artist, so there's plenty of styles to look at and enjoy. I love collections with stories I haven't read before, and this one certainly delivers on that.

Fantastic. Put this one on the Christmas lists.



"If she doesn't go, then neither do you," said their mother.
So off the three sisters went, down the long path to the sea.
"Don't you go anywhere without us," Tisha said to Tamasha, as she and Tosha rushed into the waves, laughing and splashing.
Tamasha sighed. I would much rather be searching for a tree to climb, she thought. But instead she paddled at the water's edge.

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Review: Magical Myths and Legends

Magical Myths and Legends by Michael Morpurgo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A beautiful collection of famous myths and legends. Each story is retold and illustrated by different people, so there's a wide variety of styles on offer. Children are sure to find something to enjoy in this collection.

I've taken a star off for two reasons; apart from one story these are all European in origin. How lovely to have a collection like this be truly international? And my other reason; John Dougherty, retelling the Irish story, used the English version of Finn MacCool rather than the proper Irish.

Those are relatively petty problems, though, and this is a fabulous book that should be under many trees this Christmas.


Robin was running, running, running for his life. Behind him a gang of burly men shouted. Robin glanced back. The soldiers were getting closer! They were going to catch him.
But robin was a quick thinker. He saw a clump of bushes and quick as a wink he leapt into it. He lay safely hidden in the leafy damp as the soldiers pounded by.
Robin lay as still as a stone, breathing as quietly as he could. 'Safe at last!' he thought.
It was then he saw that the leaves and bushes all around him were moving...they were moving towards him!

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Review: Vox

Vox by Christina Dalcher
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

A difficult one to review. I like the idea, and it was handled well, but I wish the enemy hadn't been regular Christians. A new sect would have been much easier to take.

I didn't follow a lot of the science...I really hope it's not that easy to create aphasia in someone...and there seemed to be a lot of lucky coincidences along the way. Sometimes life is like that, of course. I liked this, and I'll read more books by the author, but it's not one of my top books for the year.


Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.


The clock on the lab wall says five. I have less than forty eight hours to make what I know will be an irreversible decision.

My parents, this baby the size of an orange inside me, and Lorenzo balance on one side of the scale. Patrick and the kids, on the other. Two seemingly inevitable but different fates hang over each choice like a storm cloud. Stay and wait for Reverend Carl to rachet up his terrible game, or go and watch Europe crumble to its knees, close up, front row, best seats in the house.

Next to me, Lorenzo inches closer, enough so that our hands touch. It's a solid feeling, those fingers of his brushing mine.

But it's not enough.

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Review: Illustrated Stories for Bedtime, published by Usborne

The newest in Usborne's Illustrated Story Collections is a beautiful hardback aimed at children just beginning to read. The eight stories span from the well known - King Donkey Ears, The Enormous Turnip - to the slightly more obscure - The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Danny the Dragon. Each is beautifully illustrated. Your child will love reading the stories with you. A real treasure.


There was once a poor man named Wilf. He would travel from town to town looking for work, with only his dog, Scruff, and a very special stone.

One day, he came to a small cream cottage with a thatched roof. "Let's try here," he said to Scruff and rapped on the door.

It was opened by a woman who gave him a suspicious look. "Who are you?" she snapped. "What do you want?"

"Good morning ma'am," said Wilf. "I was wondering if you had any small jobs I could do, in return for some lunch?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have any jobs," said the woman, starting to close the door.

"I can make soup from a stone," Wilf said, quickly.

"Really?" said the woman. "That I'd like to see," and she invited him in.

Review: Illustrated Stories for Christmas, published by Usborne

Usborne's Christmas books are always beautiful and this one is no exception. Part of the Young Reading range, the stories range from classic Christams tales – 'Twas the Night before Christmas and The Snow Queen – to more modern stories – The Elf and the Toymaker and Santa's Day Off – to classic tales – East o'the Sun, West o'the Moon. Each is beautifully illustrated and written to appeal to children. Perfect to share with your young children on a snowy afternoon.


Wandering home that night, Kay gazed at the sparkling snowflakes drifitng down. As he stared, he noticed one that seemed to be growing. He gasped. The snowflake grew larger...

...until it became a beautiful woman. She was astonishing. Her shimmering white clothes were coated in snow and she herself was made entirely of ice.

'The Snow Queen!'

The woman turned her bright, cold eyes on Kay. He shook his head and she vanished. 'I must have imagined her,' he thought.

Review: Illustrated Grimm's Fairy Tales, published by Usborne

The Young Reading collections are always beautiful and the newest in the series is no exception. The fifteen stories are a mix between the well known - Snow White, The Elves and the Shoemaker - and the lesser known - The Bear and the Wren, King Thrushbeard. Each story is illustrated in a slightly different style, making for easy identification. The book is satisfyingly chunky, but the stories are simple enough for even the youngest children.

A perfect bedtime treat.

One winter's morning, the queen was sitting beside her window sewing when it began to snow. The snowflakes drifted like feathers down from the sky and settled on the window ledge.

As the queen watched them, her needle slipped and pricked her finger. Three drops of blood fell onto the snow.

'I wish I had a child,' she sighed, 'with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as the ebony wood of the window frame.'

Nine months later the queen's wish came true and she gave birth to a baby girl. The king was delighted. 'Let's call her Snow White,' he suggested.

But the king's happiness didn't last long. The queen became very ill and within a week she died. He and Snow White were all alone.