BOOK BLOG: Illustrated chapter books round up!

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Hello there!

How are you today? 

Do you want to know a little secret? On Saturday, I read 6 books and it was JOYOUS. They were all short, illustrated chapter books and I had such a wonderful few hours just indulging in books.

I thought it would be LUSH to share with your a little round up of these books because I enjoyed them all SO MUCH. I can’t wait to take them all in to the kids at school who are just growing their reading stamina!

Isadora Moon Puts On A Show – Harriet Muncaster

“It’s almost time for the vampire ball, and Isadora can’t wait! There’s just one problem: she’s got to compete in a talent show with the other vampire children. Isadora’s talents aren’t very vampire-y, what if the audience laugh at her? The show must go on, but will Isadora be brave enough to perform…?”

I love the Isadora Moon books: they’re a perfect starting point for readers who are just taking on chapter books. They’re beautifully illustrated and Isadora is a brilliant main character. In this book, she has to take on something scary: performing in front of people! She doesn’t want to do it because the thing she loves the most isn’t a very vampire-y thing to love! When she meets a new friend, she realises that being yourself and showing people what you love is more powerful than pretending to love something else. A lush message to deliver to kids and a really bloody wonderfully illustrated book!

Kitty and the Moonlight Rescue/Kitty and the Tiger Treasure – Paula Harrison

“MEET KITTY! Girl by day. Cat by night. Ready for Adventure. Kitty’s family has a secret. Her mom is a hero with catlike superpowers, and Kitty knows that one day she’ll have special powers and the chance to use them, too. That day comes sooner than expected, when a friendly black cat named Figaro comes to Kitty’s bedroom window to ask for help. Is Kitty brave enough to step out into the darkness for a thrilling moonlight adventure?”

“Kitty can’t wait to see the priceless Golden Tiger statue with her own eyes. Kitty and her cat, Pumpkin, decide to sneak into the museum to see the statue at night, when no one else is around. But disaster strikes when the statue is stolen right in front of them! Can Kitty find the thief and return the precious statue before sunrise?”

I had seen these on Twitter and was delighted to receive copies. They tell the story of Kitty. At night, she becomes a cat-like superhero. I actually read these two books the wrong way around, but it didn’t really matter! I love when a series does that. These are really fun and beautifully illustrated by Jenny Lovlie. Kitty and her cat friends have to go on adventures to save the day: a missing tiger statue and a cat stuck at the top of a tall tower. Delivering wonderful messages about why it’s important to be brave, these books are sure to be quick hits at school!

Jasper and Scruff: Hunt for the Golden Bone by Nicola Colton

“As Jasper and Scruff prepare for a day in their new bookshop, a mysterious package is delivered, containing a rare book written by the great seafaring cat herself, Black Whiskers. Inside, they discover a treasure map, and together the friends set out on a quest to find the legendary golden bone. But little do they realize that their old enemies, the Sophisticats, might have a paw in things…”

Jasper and Scruff are two lush characters to have in a book because they’re SO different, but they are the best of friends AND they own a bookshop. I mean who wouldn’t want to see what adventures they get up to? In this book, they have to hunt a missing golden bone, but their attempts may be thwarted by the ever menacing baddies, the Sophisticats. I loved this. It’s just proper fun. This book would make a lush read aloud!  

Speedy Monkey by Jeanne Willis

“Deep in the rainforest all is peaceful, all is calm… Until Speedy Monkey comes along! Speedy can’t keep still – all day long he whoops and swoops, prances and dances. The other animals are tired of Speedy’s crazy capers and long for some peace and quiet. Then danger strikes and the animals have to act fast. But where is Speedy when they need him?”

With the beautifully illustrations from Chantelle and Burgen Thorne, this is story about a monkey who is loud and gets in his friend’s faces. He loves to play, joke and chat, while all around him his friends aren’t quite so energetic. This makes him feel like he doesn’t fit in and when one of his friends tricks him, he knows that something isn’t right. Despite all of this, when a storm comes Speedy Monkey uses his talents and saves the day! I loved that this book, as well as being really gorgeous to look at, had a great story and message too.

A Sea of Stories by Sylvia Bishop

“Whenever Roo visits Grandpa, she loves exploring the seaside cove near his cottage. But on her latest stay, Grandpa explains that he can’t go down there any more. Instead Grandpa tells Roo the stories behind the many objects that fill his house. All of Grandpa’s stories feature the cove and Roo realizes that now, even though they’re so close to the sea, Grandpa is cut off from it. Is there anything she can do to bring Grandpa to the place he loves the most?”

I bloody love a Sylvia Bishop book (if you haven’t read Erica’s Elephant or The Bookshop Girl then please get on it because they’re wonderful), so when I saw who wrote this I was PROPER over the moon. I love a good book surprise! This book is just as gorgeous as I was hoping for with the illustrations from Paddy Donnelly adding so much to the story. It tells the story of Roo and her Grandpa and how by just doing one little thing, you can change someone’s life. I loved that this book explored the importance of stories and how Grandpa shared his life with Roo through the things he’d collected through the years. 

And there you go! The 6 books I devoured on Saturday afternoon. These books would be perfect for emerging readers of like 5 or 6, or less confident readers who are slightly older. They’re going to be a total hit when I put them in the school library.

A massive thank you to the publishers OUP and Little Tiger for these review copies! We are very grateful and I can’t wait to get reviews from my own reading crew!

Can you recommend me any illustrated chapter books?
What’s your favourite kind of adventure to go on?

Speak to me! I’d love to know what you thought!

S x

A-Z of Back to School (Part 1)

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Hello there! Friends, teachers, non-teachers, educators, non-educators, readers and everyone!

Today, I’m coming to you with something a bit different. Something a bit serious, a bit fun and a dive into the world of teaching. As you may know (if you’re new around here, hello, come say hello to me!), I’m a teacher and as it’s September, it’s back to school season. Yes, we’re 2 weeks into the term now, but hey ho, this post is better late than never, right?

I stole this idea from someone on twitter (I don’t remember who it was! If it was you, let me know) and it was great fun trying to fill in the A-Z of back to school while I was flapping on a train a few weeks back. So here goes…

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A – Anxiety

Being off for 6 weeks and then going back to work is a scary thought. I can’t lie and tell you that I wasn’t anxious about going back to work because I was. I’ve had a few ridiculously anxious days since being back too.

B – Bye Bye NQT Year!

When you qualify as a teacher, you have to get through your NQT year (Newly Qualified Teacher). It’s a good year where you get loads of extra support and more time than “regular teachers” out of class to use to help you keep progressing as a teacher. It’s a scary year being an NQT, but it’s a great learning curve! I passed my NQT year which was a PROPER lush feeling!

C – Chatting about Summer

YEP. That first week that’s all you talk about: what you got up to, what you didn’t get up to, how your Summer went. To be honest, after the first 3 conversations, I’m over it hah!

D – Deleting emails

This might sound like a funny one, but deleting the emails you’re sent over the Summer from companies is a proper delight. I love a good clear out!

E – Excitement

Along with the anxiety, there’s a whole load of excitement. A new bunch of kids, a whole new bunch of responsibilities and a new outlook on things. Sometimes you need to step back to see the wonderful things and then dive back in. We also got a library over the holidays which is WONDERFUL.

F – Friendships

Working in a school is like working in a microcosm of the real world – there’s people you’re really close to, there’s people you only speak to at certain times, there’s people you don’t really speak to. One of the things that keeps me going is the friends I have at school. I’m really bloody lucky to have the colleagues I have. Some of my best friends in the world are the people I work with. Friendships make my job so much easier!

G – Getting to know a whole new crew

Having a whole new 30 children to get to know is a daunting prospect. If I think of how well I knew my class from last year, I think to myself “there is no way I’ll know a class that well” but I will. I know I will. I can’t wait to get to know this new class – they’re very different from my class last year!

H – Having routine back in my life

You all know that I love a bit of routine in my life. I talked about it in a blog post during the Summer. Having the holidays and there being no routine messes with my head, so having routine back in my life is SO SO lush. As much as getting up when it’s dark is SHITTY, it’s nice to be back into a routine.

I – Imposter syndrome

I could go on about this for words and words. I think imposter syndrome is something most people feel at some time in their lives. I have days where I think I feel like I’m just “playing” teachers and someone is going to come along and take this all away from me. Or when someone emails me and I’m the one who is in charge of that thing… like… CLEARLY A FAKER HERE. Ha.

J – Juggling 72934745639 things at once

Teachers have many hats that they wear during the week and it’s sometimes hard to keep all of those things afloat at once! There’s SO MANY THINGS that need to be done and prioritising is SO BLOODY important! I’ve learned that and I’m learning that some things don’t NEED to be done.

K – Knowing I’m chasing my dream

Many many moons ago, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I think I was about 8 when I knew I wanted to be a teacher. It took me an awfully long time to get there, but it was something I never gave up on, even when I went off path slightly. I think if you’ve got a dream you want to follow bad enough, you’ll get there. Never give up on that. Knowing that I’m living out the one thing that I’ve wanted for all of these years is still quite surreal.

L – Lost PE kits/jumpers

THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE LBR. Please label everything ever. This makes it so much easier to give it back to the rightful owner. “Miss, I’ve lost my jumper/PE kit/pencil” is one of my least favourite things to hear ha!

M – Mourning the departure of Summer

I can love my job but also be SAD that the Summer holidays is over. Getting up when my body is ready, making plans with my friends to see them DURING THE DAY and just reading all of the books is SUCH a lovely way to spend my time that not being able to do that anymore is SAD TIMES. But also, I love my job.

OK. Well we’ve made it to the middle of the alphabet! Come back next week for the rest of the alphabet!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of “A-Z of Back to School.” It was certainly a lot of fun to write! Share your thoughts in the comments: I’d love to know what you thought!

See you tomorrow!

S x

S4S – Fictional schools

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Hola #SixforSunday pals!

How are you all doing? What’s happening on this Sunday afternoon? I’ve just been doing a bit of work ready for next week and now I’m sitting down to do next week’s blog posts…

Today I’m interpreting the #SixforSunday prompt a little differently to how I would normally… we’re talking

Schools you’d love to go to

And I’m going to go down the route of THINGS I’d like to learn in my ideal fictional school (because why not?? I’m the boss and I can do what I want!)

  1. Spell casting
    If I could go to a fictional school and learn how to cast spells, I would be there. I’d only cast them in good ways though. None of this bad spell casting for me. No love potions against people’s wills.
  2. Astrology
    There’s something fascianting about the stars and I’d love to be able to look at the sky and go “that’s such and such a constellation” (I realise this is something I could teach myself, but shush.
  3. A school with a swimming pool
    There was always a rumour circulating in my school that there was a door that led to a swimming pool under the school. I love swimming an awful lot and I’d love to have gone to a school with a swimming pool.
  4. Some kind of self defence PE thing 
    Let’s be honest, fictional me is a kick-ass magician who can swim well, but I’d love to have compulsory classes where you do kick-boxing or jiu-jitsu or something. I think that would be SUPER COOL.
  5. Something creative as compulsory
    Painting, blogging, knitting, drawing… whatever “creative” means to you, I think in my ideal school day there would be time for it. I think it’s important that we’re taught that looking after yourself and doing things you enjoy is as important as learning the actual academics of the world
  6. A massive fuck off library
    BEST TIL LAST. Think the Beast’s library from BATB. Think any book you want in the world. Think an unlimited budget for books. Think connecting with authors and readers. Think book clubs aplenty. That’s what my fictional school would have.

Man. I wanna work at/be at this school now. Fictional school me would be ALL OVER THIS SCHOOL. (I already was a proper goody two shoes, so THIS me would be unbearable).

Talk to me! I’d love to know what your ideal school would teach you!

I hope you enjoyed my rebelling for this week’s #SixforSunday!

S x

Autumn book tag

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Happy Thursday everyone! How are you all doing?

Have you got your jumpers out? Are you all wrapped up warm? Since it’s technically Autumn now (right?), I thought I’d dedicate this here Thursday Tag to The Autumn Book Tag which I found over on The Quirky Book Nerd’s blog! It feels only right that I said goodbye to Summer last week, so I say hello to Autumn this week!

What is your favourite thing about Autumn?

Ugh. I am not really a big Autumn fan… it’s cold, getting dark earlier. However, I do LOVE that it’s a great excuse to curl up in bed and read! Also, you can’t fault the changing colours of the leaves – they’re always gorgeous to look at!

What book reminds you of your school days?

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We read Nineteen Eighty-Four for GCSE English and I absolutely loved it. I thought it was FASCINATING. I think it helped that I had an amazing English teacher too! I’d love to reread this book some day soon!

What cover reminds you of Autumn?

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I don’t think you can get any more autumnal than Leaf Man – it’s all of the autumnal colours. A brilliant picture book that I’d LOVE to use in school some time!

What is your favourite horror or Halloween story?

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LOL. This is not the genre for me nor is it something I can ever give recommendations for! However, if I had to choose a book because it was creepy, I’d have to go for A Place Called Perfect. It’s a BLOODY BRILLIANT spooky/creepy MG book (1st in a series) and it would be a great introduction to slightly scarier content.

What is your favourite horror or Halloween film?

Again, not really a thing in my life! I wouldn’t know where to start. I’m just not very good at these things haha. Give me Sabrina the Teenage Witch or Charmed and I’m good though!

What fall book release are you looking forward to?

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Hmmm… this is a GOOD question! I think I’m excited for everyone to finally read The Places I’ve Cried in Public by Holly Bourne. I was lucky to read a proof copy and I really enjoyed it! I’m not really sure what else is out in this last bit of the year to be excited about though, so let me know if there’s something I should be excited about between now and the end of the year!

What autumn movie releases are you anticipating?

AGAIN… I have no idea? I don’t think I’ve been to the cinema AT ALL this year. Or, if I have, it’s been with my goddaughters for Kids Club. I’m just not the biggest movie buff. I’m always excited by the prospect of new movies, but I just never bother getting round to going to the cinema. Maybe I should do something about that!

What are the three books you plan to read this Autumn?

I don’t really PLAN to read anything haha. I am pretty terrible like that. I read very much what I’m in the MOOD to read. I’ve got The Battle for Perfect to finish and then I’ll see what else catches my fancy! I’ve got the new Adam Kay book and Jonathan Van Ness’ autobiography on order, so they’ll be read AS SOON as I get them!

And that’s it! If you fancy doing this, go for it! If you wanna recommend me some scary (but not too scary) books, I’d love your recommendations!

S x

What we’re reading!

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Hello!

How are you all?

Today, I thought I would share some pictures of the books my class are reading… cause they’re all reading some absolute corkers.

Starting this academic year, I really wanted to get my kids excited about books and about reading. I’m such an advocate for reading for pleasure that I want my kids to know that they can enjoy reading and that it doesn’t always have to be something they’re tested on… they just get to enjoy what they’re reading.

We did a whole hour about our reading habits and our reading identities where they got to tell me about their own reading preferences, which I found really interesting. Learning so much about these new little people of mine really gave me the chance to recommend books that I knew would be right for them!

I was DELIGHTED with the range of books that they chose from my shelves. There’s some of my absolute favourite books of recent years in these piles. There’s all sorts of representation in these books. There’s stories these children might never have come across. A lot of these books are my own copies (as in they don’t belong in the school library) and it gives me such joy to know that I’ve read these books and that I can talk to the kids about these books if they want to.

I love that there’s such a mix of books in these piles. There’s well known authors and there’s indie authors. There’s an anthology of stories among some incredible stand alones. There’s 2 children starting off the Perfect series (which is a series that I adore) and there’s some books I’ve wanted to give to children in so so long. There’s a non-fiction book in among fiction books (which fills me with delight!)

My classroom is definitely the “reading classroom”. It’s where you’ll find all of the books (except the library). That’s something I’m really proud of. I’m a reader through and through and if I can help just one child find their love of reading then I’ve done my job!

Our class reader, which was voted for by the children on transition day is The Dreamsnatcher by Abi Elphinstone. As I have an audible account, we’re actually listening to it on audiobook and I’m really enjoying that! It’s read so brilliantly by the narrator and it’s giving me an extra bit of time to enjoy reading and listening alongside them.

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As well as general reading, I always try and theme my Writing lessons around a book (I just think it gives everything a lot more purpose). We started the year with a letter to ourselves, so I thought we would continue with letter writing in a fun way. We’re going for letters to complain and using the amazing The Day The Crayons Quit as our model text/inspiration. A lot of people will frown at me using this text in Year 5, but I think it is PERFECT.

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I could ramble on for hours about the love I have for reading and the importance of reading for pleasure, but I won’t ramble on (if you’d like me to, then by all means let me know in the comments because that’s something I can talk about for words and words… it’s what I did my dissertation on!)

Let me know if you’d like any more tales from the classroom and I could probably make it into a series! Leave me some questions if you have any!

Speak soon,

S x

BOOK BLOG: Recent reads!

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Hello there! 

How are you all today? 

I’m here with some mini reviews of some of my recent reads. I read a LOT during the Summer holidays and am going to find it near impossible to write full reviews for everything, so I’m going to do a mixture of mini reviews and full reviews of things over the next few weeks. My reading will slow way down now that I’m back to school so it should give me time to catch up on things I’ve not reveiwed yet on my blog! 

Today I’m going to review 3 books.
3 books that I read pretty close together.
3 books with quite similar themes!

Let’s get on with it! 

Stolen – Lucy Christopher

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“IT HAPPENED LIKE THIS.
I was stolen from an airport. Kidnapped. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Imprisoned by sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him.
This is my story. A letter to my captor.”

This has been sat on my shelf for like 2 years (I’m sure I picked it up at YALC 2 years ago) and I totally forgot about it because it was on one of my 2 deep shelves. It’s the story of Gemma, a young girl who is kidnapped from an airport one day. She’s taken away from everyone she’s ever known, everything she’s ever known and is suddenly in a strange house in the middle of nowhere in Australia with a man who she has never met before. 

I loved this. It was SO BLOODY COMPELLING. I needed to know what was going to happen next. The whole premise was fascinating to me. This book is written as one long letter (so there’s no chapters which I initially found jarring but it worked for this book so well) from Gemma to her captor. She goes through everything that happened to her in the time she spent with him. She talks about how she felt and the things that happened to her. I think because it was written as a letter there were times where I found her captor Ty slightly human, but man, I hated that guy. So so much. He’s not an OK person. 

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly – Stephanie Oakes

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“The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust. And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too. Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it’s clear that Minnow knows something—but she’s not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of—if she’s willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past.”

Sacred Lies tells the story of Minnow, a young girl who was part of a cult. The cult has recently lost their prophet and there was a fire at the complex. Minnow has the chance to be free from everything: the cult, their way of life, her secrets, their control over her. She’s just got to be willing to tell someone the secrets she’s held so dearly on to. 

As you know if you’ve been here for a while, I bloody love a cult book – I think they’re fascinating. My friend Kelly has been ranting and raving about this book for months, but I’ve just never managed to pick it up. I found it for cheap and I decided that now was the time and my lord, it did not disappoint. It was everything I wanted from a cult book: lies, deception, secrecy, isolation, family, friends, twisting of the truth. Minnow goes through A LOT. An awful lot. There’s some fascinating threads of what the world is compared to what Minnow thinks of the world throughout this book and it kept me hooked. I read this book within a few hours and now I am mourning the loss of another cult book (if you can recommend me any, yes I’ve read After the Fire, then please shout)

The Girls

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“Evie Boyd is fourteen and desperate to be noticed. It’s the summer of 1969 and restless, empty days stretch ahead of her. Until she sees them. The girls. Hair long and uncombed, jewelry catching the sun. And at their centre, Suzanne, black-haired and beautiful. If not for Suzanne, she might not have gone. But, intoxicated by her and the life she promises, Evie follows the girls back to the decaying ranch where they live. Was there a warning? A sign of what was coming? Or did Evie know already that there was no way back?”

The Girls tells the story of Evie, a young girl who is kind of lured into this group of drug smoking, free living and free loving group one day after she some what falls in love with the ever so enchanting Suzanne. What happens when Evie gets there isn’t what she was expecting and Evie risks a lot in her life to stay on the right side of her new bunch of friends… who might not actually be that great underneath the surface.

This book is not the traditional age range I normally read: this is definitely not YA, so I was a bit out of my comfort zone here. Despite that fact, I enjoyed this book, but when I finished it left me needing a bit of closure. I had so so many questions left that needed to be answered. This book is fascinating in parts… I needed to keep reading at many points becuase there were so many things which kept me hooked. A bit like Evie, I was hooked and curious about this new group of friends she’d made. Told in flashbacks and Evie’s life as it currently is, I found that I was more bothered in the actual story of the “cult” than I was in Evie’s life now. 

And there we go! 3 books with very similar themes that I read on the trot… there were moments where I got all 3 of them jumbled, but that’s OK! It’ll teach me not to read such similar books together again haha!

Have you read any books like these recently?
Can you recommend me any cult books?
What have you read recently that you’d recommend?

Talk to me in the comments! 

S x 

S4S – Books set in school

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Hello there everyone!

How are we all today? It’s another Sunday! We are back again for more #SixforSunday does Back To School Realness. (The realness of back to school is THERE. I am EXHAUSTED, but this is a good thing!!) This week’s #SixforSunday post sees us taking on:

Books set in schools

I think I’ve read a few books set in schools recently, but here’s the first 6 that popped into my mind…

  1. Dead Popular – Sue Wallman
    Boarding school mysteries afoot. I really enjoyed this!
  2. The Truth Pixie Goes to School – Matt Haig
    I loved this. The importance of being who you are.
  3. Scars Like Wings – Erin Stewart
    Friends, the theatre and not hiding who you are. 
  4. Jemima Small versus the Universe – Tamsin Winter
    Be your bright, brainy self!
  5. Gangster School – Kate Wiseman
    Take yourself off to criminal mastermind school!
  6. Goodbye Perfect – Sara Barnard
    LOL. This one teacher doesn’t make SUCH a great choice…

And there we go! 6 books set in school. There’s quite a bunch more (and I didn’t want to mention Harry Potter cause EVERYONE else will!)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See you next week for more #SixforSunday does Back to School realness!

S x

 

Summer Book Tag

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It’s finally time to say goodbye to the Summer… so I thought I would do ONE LAST tag all about the Summer! (What can I say? I’m holding on as long as I can!!) I saw this gorgeous little tag on Rosie’s blog and I just knew it was the perfect thing to say goodbye to Summer with!

summer book tag

What book cover makes you think of Summer?

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You know what? Any time I see Sara Barnard covers, I think of Summer. I dunno if it’s the gold or what… but they always make me think of Summer (particularly Goodbye Perfect)

Which book has brightened your day?

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I read I,Cosmo over the Summer and it filled me with delight, hope and joy. It is an amazing story with a doggo as the main character (he doesn’t die, I promise!). It’s just a gorgeous story about friendship, family, bravery and love.

Find a book with a yellow cover:

This was one of the #SixforSunday prompts recently, so here’s LOADS!!

 

What is your favourite Summer beach read?

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I reckon Alex in Wonderland would be a proper fun beach read. As it’s set at the beach, I think it would be proper apt to read… plus we all need a bit of light entertainment when we’re relaxing at the seaside!

Which action book had you running for the ice cream man?

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For all it disappointed me… the ending of Two Can Keep A Secret had me FLABBERGASTED. That last line though. 

Which book has left you with a bad an/or painful ending?

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Guys. I can’t tell you how much A Pocketful of Stars BROKE ME. Like, IN HALF. Aisha Bushby has a lot to answer for. 

Sunset: Which book gave you the happiest feelings when it ended?

I’m going to cheat and mention 2. No Big Deal by Bethany Rutter because I needed that book in my life and the ending is like a big F YOU to the world (Emily is an absolute wonder characters and she needs more love); Song of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury because the ending NOT WHAT I EXPECTED but EVERYTHING I NEEDED. The ending of that duology is SO BLOODY SPOT ON. Man. I miss Sorrow and Luvian. (Luvian tho)

Which book cover reminds you of a sunset?

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Purely based on the colours, The Radleys by Matt Haig is perfect for this. It’s also a BRILLIANT story. (I don’t think he’s written a bad book so far!)

What is one book or series you hope to read this Summer?

Well, I’m going to say one that I hope to read NEXT Summer because Summer is over *weeps*

I’m gonna be predictable AF here and say State of Sorrow and Song of Sorrow by Queen Melinda Salisbury. For so so many reasons. If you don’t know what they are then are you even a reader of this blog? If you haven’t read them yet, can you please do that because Mel deserves all of the love and all of the praise. 

And there we go.. this tag, just like Summer, is officially over!! BOOHOO. 

If you fancy doing this tag, go for it. If you have a tag you think I’d be interested in, please let me know… I love a Thursday tag!

S x

 

August in books!

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Hello there everyone!

How are we doing? Happy September to everyone! Happy back to school week to all of my teacher friends and parent friends! I hope you’ve all had a lovely Summer holiday. I tell you what, I did a LOT of reading! 

I’m here today to share the books I got reading in August! 

In August, I:

Enjoyed the Summer holidays.
Spent a lot of time eating delicious breakfasts and drinking yummy tea.
Saw a lot of my favourite people.
Daydreamed about a lot of holidays.
Did a lot of manual labour at school.
FINALLY created a real library in school (with the help of our amazing facilities manager).
Enjoyed a lot of laughing and chilling.
Went to the Lakes with my mam, auntie and uncle.
Had one of the best breakfast dates with my cousin.
Read 25 (!) books!

Let’s start with MG

august mg 2019

What a delicious mix of books here! From doggos who want to save their family (I, Cosmo), to a brilliant young girl living in Africa (The Girl Savage), to a GEORDIE CHARACTER (The Frozen Sea), there’s something here for everyone! I’ve really loved reading MG books this month because I read quite a lot of book 2 in series (Patina, Lost Tide Warriors, Under Earth, Truth Pixie Goes to School and The Frozen Sea) so I got to revisit some of my favourite worlds that I’ve come across AND meet some new characters and some new worlds!

Now the YA books!

august ya 2019

Look at that host of YA books!! I didn’t realise I’d read so many YA books until I put them all together and I counted them! 12 YA books in one month… I am FLABBERGASTED! But also pretty chuffed. I’ve read some absolute corkers this month. From life on a jellyfish (Jelly, obv), to a young girl stolen from her parents in an airport (Stolen), to the book that’s made me the angriest this year (I Hold Your Heart), these books have taken me to brand new worlds, helped me revisit some worlds and introduced me to some of the most wonderful chracters I know. Just like my MG books, I’ve read sequels (Demon World, The Curses), a series starter (Three Dark Crowns) and a whole host of standalones! Just how I like it!

And finally… (I know… you’re thinking, but Steph, you don’t read anything else…)

BOOKS FOR ADULTS

I know, it’s OK. I’m still the same old Steph you know and love, I promise!

august adult 2019

This month is the month I’ve branched out the most (I say that and there’s only 4 books on this list ha!). This is quite a range of books even within the 4. I wanna shout about all of these books because they’re SO BLOODY GOOD. They all serve an amazing purpose in the world and more people need to read them. From witchy happenings in a sleepy town (sanctuary), to the story of a doctor in our beloved NHS (This Is Going To Hurt), a short essay about why kids books are mint (Why You Should Read Children’s Books…), this little pile of books is EXCEPTIONAL pals. 

And there we have it… all the books I read in August! I know there is NO WAY September is going to be this productive, but I’m hoping to keep to reading every/most days so I maybe have double figures over the month.  

HOW AM I DOING FOR MY BOOK CHALLENGES?

GOODREADS CHALLENGE: 105/52
#52BOOKS CHALLENGE (JUST KIDS BOOKS): 50/52

Thanks for stopping by! Talk to me in the comments!

How did you do with your reading in August? 
What were your stand out books from last month?
What are you still dying to read from this year?
What would you recommend me from your 2019 reading list?

Speak to you all soon, 

S x 

BLOG TOUR: Gangster School 3

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Gangster School 3: Gruffles and the Killer Sheep – laughter, humour and just a bit of criminal activity!

“It’s Crimicon – the annual meeting for promising young criminals – and this year it’s being held at Crumley’s, the dreaded School for Career Criminals, who also happen to be Blaggard’s bitterest rivals. Can Milly and Charlie keep their school’s reputation as the best school for criminals, steer clear of Dr BL Zeebub, Crumley’s evil Head Teacher as well as keeping Gruffles out of harm’s way? Why does the animal-hating Zeebub allow a flock of weirdly large sheep to roam Crumley’s grounds? And since when have sheep been CARNIVOROUS? Milly and Charlie must use all their skills to find their way through the maze of traps and problems awaiting them at Crumley’s, to save Blaggard’s reputation and protect Gruffles from the Killer Sheep.”

Gruffles and the Killer Sheep is book 3 in the Gangster School series which sees the students of Blaggards’s school learn how to become master criminals. You follow the students in their escapades battling all kinds of funny, weird and mind-boggling things! (I’d love to think I could be a master criminal, but let’s be honest… I would be TERRIBLE!) The other 2 books in this series have been a lot of fun, so when I was invited to be part of the blog tour to review this third installment, I was over the moon!

In book 3, we are once again following the story of our mini-criminals. We follow Milly, Charlie, Gruffles and the rest of the gang in their escapades at Crimicon. They are chosen to represent the school and they must uphold the school’s reputation as being the BEST around. At Crimicon, they are set a near-impossible task of foiling the plan of an evil genius as well as fitting in many of the other tasks they are given while they are there. Fitting in taking down an evil genius can’t be easy, especially not when you have activities like ‘Creative Criminality’, ‘What makes a good stooge?’ and ‘Cooking Up Trouble – 10 quick poisonous meals anyone can prepare’ to attend. 

Let’s also not forget that there are a crazy set of sheep also running around on school grounds JUST TO MAKE THINGS HARDER!

These books are an awful lot of fun with there being mishaps and adventures all around. With the brilliant setting that is a school for criminals, it’s hard not to fall for this series of books. There’s funny characters, incredibly well thought-out plot twists and lots and lots of laughter to be had. This book, like the previous two, are sure to get kids laughing and gripped to the book. (I know I found it hard at times to put down!)

This is a series which builds really nicely as you get to know the characters really well and we all know that once you’re invested in characters, you’re sure to want to keep reading. If I were just new to this series, I would be sure to hunt out book 1! There’s plenty of intrigue and joy to be had in this series and there’s some pretty unique characters, settings and plot twists to be had: perfect for those kids who love something with a bit of dark humour.

Massive thank you to the publishers, Zuntold, for sending me a review copy of this book and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour. Why not check out the rest of the blog tour to see what others thought? 

GS3 blog tour

S x