Books We've Been Reading | January 2021 | Plus WIN! A MYSTERY BOOK BUNDLE!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read. It's something I've always enjoyed and I think it's so important that we grow and nurture a love of reading for future generations. We are really missing our trips to the library but thankfully we have a rather hefty children's book collection and I've been making the most of our libraries online ebook loan service to keep my kindle well stocked with reading material. Here's what we've been reading this month....

Bella The Story Teller By Adam & Charlotte Guillain 

Bella loves to tell stories, morning, noon and night. She talks all the time, even when people don't really want her too! What would happen if Bella lost her voice? Surely it would be a disaster or would it perhaps lead to some interesting discoveries?

This is a really simple and enjoyable story all about talking too much (something children know a lot about!). It helps children to understand the importance of listening to others and the value that can be gained from allowing others to speak. It emphasizes turn taking and is a good introduction to discovering how to communicate effectively.

The illustrations are chunky, bold and colourful and would be attractive to younger audiences that may not yet grasp the concept of the story. It would be an ideal book to read with siblings of different ages.

 

The Night Watch Ninjas By Lily Roscoe, Lisa & Damien Barlow

A peaceful night around the midnight snack table is destroyed by news of a prison break. The stink meister has escaped from his cell and intends on reeking (😉) havoc. Can The Night Watch Ninjas catch the smelly skunk before he unleashes his mega bombs of stank???

I love this story. It's so incredibly funny. The tried and tested formula of good versus evil works so well here. There are some truly genius lines within the book, "to the bat cave" being one of my favourites. The illustrations are bold and colourful with a heavy dose of neon brightness. The book captures the feel of a traditional comic book and translates it to a younger audience very effectively. It's a wonderful story to read when you need a little giggle, no matter what your age.

Cub's First Summer By Rebecca Elliott

Join an inquisitive little fox cub as he makes his way through a glorious summer's day side by side with his mummy. The little cub is understandably full of questions about everything. 'Why do the birds sing?', 'Why is it so hot?' and as all mummies do she responds in a creative (and surprisingly patient) manner. As the summers day draws to a close the sky turns thunderous- will little cub make it home in time?

This is a wonderful bedtime story that discusses the season of summer and all the wonderful things that occur in nature during this season. The story line is simple and repetitive but in a soothing manner rather than an annoying one. The imagery is quite muted compared to some of the other books we have but it is well suited to this gentle paced story. The illustrations have a hand drawn water colour effect.

Whilst it's a very relaxing book to read but it lacks a sense of adventure and is therefore less engaging than other books we own. It's a great book to discover the seasons together and would be a great book to go alongside a summer themed activity but the story line is perhaps a little too simple to encourage a child to enthusiastically choose this book to read.

Lies by T. M Logan

The Holiday by T. M Logan featured as one of my five stars reads of 2020. It was clever, engaging and satisfyingly unpredictable. This book took all that to the next level.The story follows Joe and his family as secrets unravel, mysterious circumstances evolve and lies become indiscernible from truth. The book has an incredible pace, I flew through it- eager to know more. I couldn't put it down. It's full of twists and turns that kept me guessing and the ending was jaw dropping. I'll definitely be keeping and eye out for more T. M Logan books.

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Thanks For Reading,

 Do you love to read? Is there a must have book that you can't wait to share? Why not link your blog review posts up to my Books We've Been Reading blog link up? 

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