Hello everyone!

I hope you are all well!

I’m stopping by your timelines today to share 3 ORANGE books that I read and loved recently!

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The Last Firefox – Lee Newberry

Between bullies at school and changes at home, Charlie Challinor finds life a bit scary. And when he’s made guardian of a furry fox cub called Cadno, things get a whole lot scarier. Because Cadno isn’t just any fox: he’s a firefox – the only one of his kind – and a sinister hunter from another world is on his trail. Swept up into an unexpected adventure to protect his flammable friend, Charlie’s going to need to find the bravery he never thought he had, if he’s going to save the last firefox…

I sat and raced through this in one night – I genuinely couldn’t put it down! The brilliant humans of Puffin sent me an early copy and I just adored it! This was cute, pacey and brilliantly written. The Last Firefox is a gorgeous story of bravery, finding your inner fire, friendship and family. You get the chance to meet a brilliant, young boy, a Firefox and a beast… which is a brilliant combination in my eyes! This is such an original idea too – gave me total Pokémon vibes (as a total Pokémon child, I was all about it!) I loved the queer representation in this too – Charlie has 2 dads – it’s not a big deal; it’s just normal and I need this in my life! On top of this, there’s also some brilliant representation around adoption too – which I totally think we need a lot more in kids books. Plus… Cadno is the cutest.

Loki: A Bad God’s Guide To Being Good

After one prank too many, trickster god Loki has been banished to live as a kid on Earth. If he can show moral improvement within one month, he can return to Asgard. If he can’t? Eternity in a pit of angry snakes. Rude! To keep track of Loki’s progress, King Odin (a bossy poo-poo head) gives him this magical diary in which Loki is forced to confess the truth, even when that truth is as ugly as a naked mole rat. To make matters worse, Loki has to put up with an eleven-year-old Thor tagging along and making him look bad. Loki is not even allowed to use his awesome godly powers! As Loki suffers the misery of school lunch, discovers the magic of internet videos, and keeps watch for frost giant spies, will he finally learn to tell good from bad, trust from tricks, and friends from enemies.

This is proper riotous fun! I read this at a time when I had just finished the Loki TV show and it was just a brilliant set of timing from me I’d say! This book is a perfect imagining of what happens when Loki, the trickster we all know and love, is sent to earth to deal with our mortal problems? You get much laughter, a hilariously wise diary and Loki dealing with school. I honestly find it so hard to choose a favourite bit, but the bits when Loki is at school and dealing with school might just tip it for me! I loved all of the illustrations and cartoon spreads throughout – they added so much to the story and I think kids are going to love seeing all the bits in the story through picture! 11 year old, mortal Loki is just as witty and menacing as the god we all know!!

The Ship of Cloud and Stars – Amy Raphael

Nico Cloud desperately wants to be an explorer, but her parents think adventures aren’t for girls. Fate intervenes when Nico chases a kitten on board a ship . . . and then the ship sails out to sea!

I proper enjoyed this! This is a gorgeous story about a plucky young girl who wants to be a scientist. She ends up aboard a ship with a female scientist on board! I loved Nico as a main character, and every ship needs a cat, right? You’ve got a lovely story about friendship, bravery and kindness… all wrapped in some gorgeous science! I loved the illustrations too!! Women absolutely deserve their places in the world as much as men do – in universities, in ships, EVERYWHERE. I can tell this is going to go down with my class!

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A massive thanks to the publishers for sending me these orange books!

Have you read any of these books?
Is there a god you’d love to read as a mortal?
What have you been reading recently?

And that’s it for now! Thanks so much for stopping by! Let me know if you’ve read any of these books!

S x