Tag Archives: Books

The Best Books For Children This Christmas

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the-taleofsquirrelnutkinby-beatrixpotterspecial-edition thetaleoftomkittenspecialdeditionby-beatrixpotterBeatrix Potter Fashion Designer Collection

Five of Beatrix Potter’s best-loved tales with new covers, notes and endpapers from influential fashion designers including Henry Holland, Preen and Orla Kiely. The perfect stocking-filler.

The Tales of: Squirrel Nutkin, Peter Rabbit, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, Tom Kitten and Jemima Puddle-Duck
£6.99 each

We particularly loved The Tale of Tom Kitten, designed by The Rodnik Band and The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, designed by Preen. Gorgeous covers and classic stories. 

The Tale Of Squirrel Nutkin and the other Beatrix Potter Designer Editions are available here.)

#beatrix150

myencyclopediaofveryimportantthings

My Encyclopaedia of Very Important Things. For little learners who want to know everything. 

A really wonderful book that entertains and educates in equal measure. Perfect for inquisitive children, it has great photography and illustrations. It also supports the KS1 National Curriculum. Divided into six sections: my planet, places, animals, people, me and other very important things. A great book.

My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things is available here.

legostarwarsbuildyourownadventure

Lego Star Wars Build Your Own Adventure 

A real treat for the over-8s. Lego Star Wars Build Your Own Adventure includes a rebel pilot mini figure and exclusive Y-wing Star Fighter. It also has tips and ideas on how to build other LEGO Star Wars models. It has over 50 building ideas. Will make your child’s eyes light up on Christmas day.

LEGO Star Wars Build Your Own Adventure is available here.

howtobeacat

How to be a Cat by Lisa Swerling & Ralph Lazar

Children can be a lot like cats. They love milk, always sit in boxes and love playing with string. This a fun and happy book. Great illustrations and observations. From the super successful husband and wife team Lisa Swerling & Ralph Lazar.

How to be a Cat: The Definitive Guide is available here.

 

Christmas Gift List For The Family

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Great gifts to bring the family together.

Lucky Voice Karaoke Kit

luckyvoicekaraokekit

This brilliant kit turns your home computer into the ultimate karaoke machine with access to thousands of songs. We love the gold microphone too.

Lucky Voice is ramping up the festive spirit this Christmas, with an array of at-home Karaoke Kits, perfect for kick-starting everyone’s party mood.

The karaoke lovers have even given the kits a special twist this year, launching a limited edition range of Christmas-jumper inspired microphones, available to buy exclusively from shop.luckyvoice.com from Tuesday 1st November. Festive fun aside, all Kits come in a host of fun colours (from hot pink to electric blue) and are priced from £50 (£60 for the Gold and Festive versions).

Lucky Voice’s at-home kits are a stress-free addition to the Christmas shopping list, being available to buy everywhere from QVC.co.uk and Amazon.co.uk to Urban Outfitters, Selfridges, Toys R Us and Maplin. They’re also easy to use (no midnight assembling for tired parents here); simply connect the laptop and speakers to the kit, create an account and get singing.

This is also a gift that avoids the need for expensive CDs or downloads, you just stream directly from Lucky Voice Online Karaoke (luckyvoicekaraoke.com) and pick from over 8,000 songs. Users can search for favourite artists and tunes, build playlists or simply click the ‘I Feel Lucky’ button and let Lucky Voice do the work.

As if that isn’t enough seasonal cheer, Lucky Voice has also created the ultimate karaoke app for iPhone and iPad, allowing users to party like it’s Christmas, wherever they are. This is free to download from the app store for iPhone and iPad, and allows users to stream all their favourite songs instantly. The 7-day free trial leads to a £1.49/week subscription fee.

Charlie Elek, Head of Digital at Lucky Voice says, “We absolutely love Christmas at Lucky Voice – what can be more fun than letting your hair down with a good old festive singsong? This is why we’ll be hosting karaoke sessions at Hamleys in London and Fenwick and Bentalls nationwide, free for anyone to join. Help us get the Christmas party started, see www.luckyvoicekaraoke.com for more information.”

Lucky Voice Karaoke Machine is available here.

 

Mary Berry Cooks The Perfect Step By Step

maryberrycookstheperfectbook

We love this book from national treasure Mary Berry. It even comes with a free tote bag.

Mary Berry Cooks The Perfect is available here.

 

Mr & Mrs Family Edition

mrandmrsfamilyedition

A great way for the family to get to know each other more.

Mr & Mrs Family Edition Box Game is available here.

 

Where to go When. The World’s Best Destinations

wheretogowhen

Perfect for the family to plan their next trip. This book tells you where to go at the right time.

Where To Go When: The World’s Best Destinations is available here.

 

Vegetarian Food For Healthy Kids

vegetarianfoodforhealhykids

Over 100 quick and easy vegetarian recipes for healthy kids. A great book for healthy family meals.

Vegetarian Food for Healthy Kids: Over 100 Quick and Easy Nutrient Packed Recipes is available here.

 

In the Mood for Quick Family Food

inthemoodforquickfamilyfood

Tasty and stress-free food for busy parents. A great book.

In the Mood for Quick Family Food: Simple, Fast and Delicious Recipes for Every Family is available here.

 

The World in My Kitchen

theworldiinmykitchen

This smart book lets the family cook recipes from around the globe. All while educating your child and broadening their horizon. Wonderful.

The World in My Kitchen: Global Recipes for Kids to Discover and Cook is available here.

 

Cookie Crumbles Baking Kits

cookiecrumbleskits muffins brownie

These baking kits are perfect for busy parents. Many parent want to bake with their children but it is too time-consuming and exhausting. With these kits you just mix, bake and then enjoy. They have lots of great baking kits for Christmas.

www.cookiecrumbles.co.uk

Muffin Mix Kit is available here.

 

Johanna’s Christmas: A Festive Colouring Book

johannaschristmas

A great, creative colouring book. From one of the best illustrators out there, Johanna Basford. Great designs for hours of entertainment.

Johanna’s Christmas: A Festive Colouring Book is available here.

 

Sisters At War by Milly Adams Book Review

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Sisters At War is the second book by Milly Adams and it is yet another brilliant piece of historical fiction. Sisters at War is like a  Sunday Afternoon. It is like one of those great BBC dramas that you watch with your family that are both entertaining but also filling. They teach you something: entertainment with substance. Warm and life-affirming; it is hard for younger people to fathom wartime. Lucky us, but the previous generations suffered, fought and sacrificed.

Sisters at War is about two sisters. Selfish Hannah and selfless Byrony. Hannah is irritating. You really want to slap her. I think we all have a Hannah in our life. Byrony is the best of humanity. A person of decency and morals. Hannah only cares about herself and stays in Jersey. Bryony is happiest amongst her family and loved ones  and stays at Combe Lodge where everyone is pitching in. The family home has filled with evacuees and Bryony has joined the ATA, helping to ferry planes across the country, whatever the risk.

Sister at War is a wonderful book. A hard to put down book which fills the soul.

 

A compelling new Second World War novel. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Ellie Dean.

Bryony and Hannah are sisters, but they couldn’t be more different, and war has brought even more of a rift between them. Bryony is happiest where her family and loved ones are – at Combe Lodge, the family home – and these uncertain times have brought them all closer together. But Hannah is young and headstrong. No one will stop her from doing what she wants – and this time she’s decided to flee to Jersey.

Even though Hannah has left, at Combe Lodge, everyone else is pitching in with the war effort. The family home fills with evacuees and Bryony is doing her bit, flying planes at the nearby Combe Lodge Airlines.

But despite all that is going on with war, Bryony knows that above everything she needs to reach out to Hannah. Only she will be able to keep her flighty younger sister’s feet on the ground. But is Bryony too late to help her? Will Hannah ever come home?

Sisters at War is available here.

 

Because of You by Helene Fermont Book Review

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Exclusive Because of You by Helene Fermont Extract 1

When Because of You first arrived I wondered when I would find the time to get through this door-stopper of a book. It is a sprawling and ambitious novel which spans over thirty years and two countries. It tells the story of Hannah Stein, a Swedish teenager who arrives in London. It is well written and engaging, drawing you into the characters lives and leaves you impatient to learn what happens next. I greatly enjoyed this debut novel from Helene Fermont. Her characters are vivid and well-rounded, and the story has intrigue and glamour that brings you in. I particularly loved the parts about London and following thirty years in someones life. The scenes were brought out so well. Because of You is an ambitious triumph.

Because of You spans 36 years in the life of Hannah Stein, a Swedish teenager who arrives in London, at the tail end of the disco era, for a gap year before embarking on a teaching career. The people she meets change the course of her life irrevocably and the novel charts her changing personal and professional fortunes over the next three decades. Because of You is about love, coming of age, friendship, bereavement, stillbirth and rape. Its themes include redemption, acceptance, fidelity and family. Because of You is a story that every woman can relate to. Because of You is the deeply moving debut novel by Scandinavian writer Helene Fermont. It’s a gripping work of modern women’s fiction with a distinct ‘Scandi’ feel and a psychological twist. Scandinavian noir has firmly established itself as a bestselling genre in the UK. Because of You takes the elements that make this style of writing so compelling – the realism and dark, morally complex mood – and combines it with women’s fiction. This is a dark, morally complex and cross-generational story of enduring love, fate and destiny and will appeal to readers who appreciate an emotive, uncompromising and fulfilling read driven by character and circumstance.

Because Of You by Hélene Fermont (Fridhem Publishing) is out now, priced £9.99 in paperback and £3.99 as an eBook. Visit www.HeleneFermont.com

Because of You is available here.

We have an exclusive Because of You extract for you here.

 

Despite the Falling Snow by Shamim Sarif Review by Frances Colville

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despite the following snow book reviewDespite the Falling Snow by Shamim Sarif was first published in 2010 but has recently been reissued by John Blake to coincide with the release of the film (starring Charles Dance and Rebecca Ferguson) written and directed by Sarif herself.  Two previous books, I Can’t Think Straight and The World Unseen have also been made into films.

 

Set partly during the Cold War in the post-Stalinist Moscow of the 1950s and partly in Boston forty years later, this is a vivid portrayal of love, life and loss.  It’s a very visual book, made to be filmed, and at the same time a gripping read with some interesting twists and turns.  A thriller with a difference, in fact.

 

But what I really like about this book is that it is essentially a love story with a spy story background, rather than – as is so often the case – the other way around.  And although the main character, the central character, is a man, we are drawn from the beginning into the lives of the women in the story and much of the story is told through their eyes rather than Alexander’s.  This might sound confusing, but in fact it makes for a clever, well-plotted and well-written novel which works on several different levels.  I think it will make an excellent film and it’s certainly a good read.

 

Despite the Falling Snow by Shamim Sarif pub.   John Blake. £7.99

 

The Inheritance by Katie Agnew Review by Frances Colville

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Pic 1 If you like a good story with a variety of locations and some interesting characters, you'll love this new novel from Katie Agnew, whose first novel Drop Dead Gorgeous won a WH Smith Fresh Talent Award. The Inheritance is essentially the story of Sophia Beaumont-Brown who used to be an IT girl, but is currently single, cut off from her family and reduced to sofa-surfing. An appeal for help from her dying grandmother offers her the opportunity to turn her life around and to make sense of the past. Can she unravel the stories of her family's history and find what her grandmother wants her to find before it is too late? But The Inheritance is not just Sophia's story. Several different threads draw us into the lives of other characters in the book with settings ranging from pearl diving communities in Japan through pre-war and wartime England to 21st century London and New York. The plot is well handled and you'll be kept guessing until the last chapters as to exactly how it is all going to work out. An easy-to-read but fascinating story with some intriguing twists. The Inheritance by Katie Agnew was published in trade paperback by Orion on 21 July 2016 priced at £13.99.If you like a good story with a variety of locations and some interesting characters, you’ll love this new novel from Katie Agnew, whose first novel Drop Dead Gorgeous won a WH Smith Fresh Talent Award.

 

The Inheritance is essentially the story of Sophia Beaumont-Brown who used to be an IT girl, but is currently single, cut off from her family and reduced to sofa-surfing.  An appeal for help from her dying grandmother offers her the opportunity to turn her life around and to make sense of the past. Can she unravel the stories of her family’s history and find what her grandmother wants her to find before it is too late?

 

But The Inheritance is not just Sophia’s story.  Several different threads draw us into the lives of other characters in the book with settings ranging from pearl diving communities in Japan through pre-war and wartime England to 21st century London and New York.  The plot is well handled and you’ll be kept guessing until the last chapters as to exactly how it is all going to work out.  An easy-to-read but fascinating story with some intriguing twists.

 

The Inheritance by Katie Agnew was published in trade paperback by Orion on 21 July 2016 priced at £13.99.

 

 

The Cockney Sparrow By Dilly Court Review by Jan Speedie

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book reviews

An enthralling and gritty saga which highlights the poverty and deprivation seen in London at the turn-of-the-century.

Clemency Skinner is gifted with a beautiful voice which will help her leave behind the appalling life she leads with her mother and crippled brother. Abandoned by her father the family exist in a damp hovel in Stew Street paid for by working on the streets. Each day Todd Hardiman, an evil, unscrupulous pimp, threatens their daily existence. Escape to a better life comes for Clemency when she joins Augustus Throop and his troupe of street buskers and through her singing is asked to join the cast at the Strand Theatre – stardom beckons.  Life is looking up for Clemency and her family but then Jared Stone enters her life and everything changes but maybe not for the better…

Dilly Court is a well published author of 20 titles – her research into the setting of the story and the depth of her characters makes this an interesting and enjoyable read.

Dilly Court began her career writing commercial scripts for television. She grew up in North East London but now lives in Dorset with her husband and Archie, a large yellow Labrador. She has two grown up children and three grandchildren.

Published by Arrow on 8th September 2016, £5.99

 

 

The Ice Beneath Her by Camilla Grebe Review by Margaret Graham

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the-ice-beneath-her-by-camilla-grebe-review-by-margaret-graham
Does anyone out there enjoy the plethora of Scandinavian noir on the television? Or is enjoy the wrong word?  After all, noir is not an idle threat. If you do, or even if you don’t, you should try this novel.

Grebe has been compared with Jo Nesbo – you know the thing ‘if you like Jo Nesbo you’ll love this’. Well, I think that Swedish Camilla Grebe stands alone.

With The Ice Beneath Her,  we have a craftswoman at work. Camilla Grebe’s clarity of language  reminds me of my friend Nikki Gemmell’s writing, who reworks, and reworks  to present a vivid empathy that is almost too inclusive, because all that happens to her characters, happens to the reader. I use her regularly as an example of an author for those aspiring to write. I think I will now add Grebe.

Now, I’m not comparing Grebe with Nikki but I am saying that I felt her writing to be   as finely tuned as Nikki’s. Perhaps while waxing lyrical I should include Elizabeth Clark Wessel, who translated the novel from Swedish to English, and in so doing, faithfully stayed as close as anyone could, to the  author’s vision.

So, what is this vision? What is this novel about, the one that is already making waves with film rights sold to Warner Brothers’ New Line Cinema, and international rights that have already sold in 20 territories?

A thriller, or perhaps crime novel, that introduces us to Emma, a mousey sales assistant who is swept off her feet by a charismatic CEO and whose life is opened up to love. But life ceases to be peachy after her lover runs off (perhaps). It is then that  the mouse transforms into a welter of furies. A murder is then lobbed into the mix, the detectives use a brilliant criminal profiler who is in the early stages of dementia. Soon Emma, the transformed mouse and the detectives are on the heels of the mystery man and it is clear their paths will cross.

I know, I know, I’m not making this easy to follow, but it isn’t. It’s complex, and as you read it, it is hard to even guess at what’s going on under the surface. This isn’t a weakness, it’s just a puzzle, and the power of the writing. plotting and general structure is such that you more than stick with it, sure the writer is leading you somewhere. It was disturbing, and exercises the grey matter, but was unputdownable. I didn’t read it before I needed to go to sleep. BEcause I would be tossing, turning, and fretting.

A must read book about obsession, betrayal and of course, love.  Highly recommended.

Published on 8th September  by Zaffre at £12.99  E-book available.

Next week, Camilla Grebe will be telling us of A Day in her Life. Make a date to be with us.