Hello!

For all it’s no where near Halloween, I’ve read a few books recently featuring spooky characters: zombies, vampires and even Bigfoot! I thought rather than not share reviews of these books, I would share mini reviews so you can all hear how bloody brilliant they all are and go out and read them yourselves!!

Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Zombies – Katie and Kevin Tsang

“There’s hardly anything that Sam Wu is afraid of. Unless you count ghosts, sharks, the dark and maybe even spiders. But definitely NOT zombies. Except for actual real ones maybe. So when Sam’s arch nemesis, Ralph Zinkerman the Third announces that he has zombie werewolves living in his basement, for the first time ever, Sam really isn’t sure if he wants to be the one to save the day. Ralph has always been pretty mean to him and, well, just one little nibble from the zombie werewolves wouldn’t hurt that much, would it? Common childhood fears dealt with in a hilarious, sensitive and accessible way”

I am a massive fan of these books and this one is another brilliantly fun book in the series. These books never fail to make me smile! Sam and his gang have to work together to overcome their meanest opposition yet: scary zombies. When Sam and co think there’s a zombie hiding in the basement of Ralph’s house, he definitely isn’t afraid of it… until he has to do something about it! I loved the plans they came up with! The children all thought they were going to be eaten by the zombies and they had to work together. I love that these books show the importance of friendship and everyone being different. Plus, as ever, the illustrations by Nathan Reed make me so bloody happy!

Amelia Fang and the Naughty Caticorns – Laura Ellen Anderson

“Amelia Fang’s mum has a baby vampire on the way! But with the Fang household completely focussed on the new arrival, no one is paying Amelia any attention. Until she is asked to look after three very mischievous caticorns who make it their business to get Amelia in a world of trouble. Now EVERYONE is watching. And not in a good way!”

Another series I am a massive fan of. Amelia and her friends are always getting up to some kind of fun and in this book they are learning what it’s like to look after things… especially when those things don’t want to listen. When Amelia and her friends just want to be helpful, they learn that looking after caticorns is a lot more trouble than they thought it would be! This book is a whole load of fun with brilliant messages about Amelia becoming a big sister. The caticorns get up to some sheer nonsense and all Amelia wants to do is a good job looking after them. The illustrations, as always by Laura Ellen Anderson her very self, are gorgeous and add so much to the story!

The Bigwoof Conspiracy – Dashe Roberts 

“When twelve-year-old, UFO-obsessed, Lucy Sladan sneaks out in the middle of a thunderstorm to investigate the unexplained disappearances in her hometown of Sticky Pines, she finds more than she bargained for: a huge hairy creature, a thirteen-year-old stranger named Milo Fisher and a deep-rooted secret. Together, Lucy and Milo become entwined in a mystery that threatens to engulf the whole town of Sticky Pines and its weird and wonderful residents.”

I don’t get to read books about conspiracies very often, so when this showed up I was MOST intrigued. And my gosh this was a whole lot of fun. A small little town that’s being taken over by Bigfoot type monsters, a little girl who refuses to accept that the adults don’t have the answers. She comes up against a factory owner who is plying the town with sugar and begins to get suspicious. When she makes herself an unlikely ally, the two of them work together to get to the bottom of what is happening to the town she lives in and some of the people she loves most. This was gorgeously paced with some brilliant humour thrown in. I don’t think I’d like to visit… but I’d love to be Lucy’s friend! A great sci fi mystery!

Amelia Fang and the Bookworm Gang – Laura Ellen Anderson

“Amelia Fang is feeling anxious. Everyone in her class has to write their own stories and read them out loud to the class – but for the first time ever, Amelia has run out of ideas! And she doesn’t feel like she can ask for help. So she decides to gets some inspiration from one of the many books in Loose Limb Library. But when Amelia and her friends get there, the gang discovers big bite marks in every book! Bookworms have invaded and they chomp through EVERYTHING and EVERYONE in their path. How will Amelia save all the books – and her friends – before it’s too late?”

The second entry for Amelia Fang into this post and it’s a testament to this series! This is a special World Book Day 2020 book and I was so glad to see an Amelia Fang book on the list. As soon as I knew I could buy it, I dashed out to buy a copy for myself. This was really cute! A brilliant way to explore writers block using Amelia and some helpful bookworms! I loved the messages about asking for help and that not being a bad thing! I love this series and to have it as a WBD book makes me so happy! Plus, you can’t beat these illustrations!

And that’s it for now! Thanks for stopping by! Let me know if you’ve read any of these books, or any you’d like to read! 

S x