I first discovered the work of H S Norup when I was asked to review her last book “The Hungry ghost”, so I was
particularly excited when I was asked to join in with this blog tour. I have to say that her writing just keeps getting better , with its ability to immerse the reader in the scenery and atmosphere of the surroundings.
When Alfred moves to stay with his Granny, it is because his father (a civil engineer) is involved in building a road tunnel under the local hill. As with so many projects like this, there is a lot of local disagreement , mainly around the themes of environment; however there might be some other reasons for not wanting this destruction of the hill area. Alfred has spent most of his childhood moving to different countries with his father’s work, because his mother had died when he was young. Returning to his Granny’s home, after a gap of five years, he is surrounded by feelings of darkness and has the disturbing thought that he can see small faerie type creatures. It is only when he meets his neighbour, Saga, that he discovers that they can both see these creatures and he begins to understand what a road tunnel could mean to the magical inhabitants of the area. The children find themselves becoming heavily involved in the fight to prevent the building, but at the same time they are having to deal with the magical world and the dangers that it could bring to their families.
This really is a fabulous story about the meeting of two worlds; one of them is our own and the other is the magical world of folk lore and myths. The author has set the action in a scenario that many of us can understand; my own village is due to start on the building of a new bypass after a wait of over 50 years since it was first mooted, luckily our own ‘faerie’ hill is not affected, but I can really understand the issues that people would worry about. However the thing that really comes across is the need to understand and cherish the nature that surrounds us. The world is changing at a rate that could only be imagined (as a nightmare possibly) when I was a child, however, we need to understand that nature is something that we all need for our physical and mental well-being.
Beyond all of this, it is the story of a young boy who desperately wants to understand what has happened to his mother. As the story unfolds, he discovers that he has not been told the whole truth and that the reality is stranger than he could imagine. This really is a very special book and one that will totally enthrall the reader, with its mix of magic and reality. Thank you so much for allowing me to join in the celebration of this launch and I know that it will be a firm favourite. A great five-star start to the year.
Author bio:
H. S. Norup is the author of The Hungry Ghost and The Missing Barbegazi—a Sunday Times Book of the Year in 
2018. Originally from Denmark, she has lived in six different countries and now resides in Switzerland with her husband and two teenage sons. She has a Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration and sixteen years’ experience in corporate marketing strategy and communications. When she’s not writing or reading, she spends her time outdoors either skiing, hiking, walking, golfing or taking photos.
Thank you to the author for the author information and the photograph that she has made available on her website https://www.hsnorup.com/
writers have a variety of stories they want to tell. I did enjoy being released from detailed factual research and building the world of the highly anthropomorphised Dockland Rats.
Tilbury’s world, following him on his adventures, the twists and turns of the story happening organically as I wrote. I think I needed a change from my usual stories that are based in the real world, and to travel to new unexplored worlds. The infinite realms of the imagination were my portals out of reality. Lockdown also made me feel a little institutionalised, and anxious to venture out when Lockdown was lifted. A trip to London seemed a huge undertaking. I really felt I understood Tilbury’s paradoxical desires for adventure and yet to stay at home and never leave.
turn up before dark or for tea. I think parents are more worried by stranger danger and dangerous traffic on roads these days. But also sadly, a problem of modern life, especially in urban areas is that are fewer places to play outside as many places may be developed for housing. My own children grew up in a rural area, but the small roads were so busy, and used as cut-throughs for local traffic, that cycling and walking were not very safe. Like all mothers, Tilbury’s Ma wants to protect her little son as much as she can, but of course, she cannot protect him forever. She must be brave and let him begin to find his way in the world, letting him test his own boundaries. Even Tilbury’s Pa must remind Ma that they were young rats once in search of adventure. But Ma will always there for Tilbury with a hot dinner and a warm bed if he should need it.
Ancient Egypt. When Sophie moves to Egypt, she is surprised to find a dog in her bedroom, but this is a talking dog who gives her a quest to find and return four lost amulets to the tomb of King Nebra. It is full of action and humour and will appeal to all KS1 children. The illustrations are excellent, with some great ‘lift-the-flap’ elements.
intrigue and tomb robbery, in which two children are able to foil the robbers and bring them to justice. It highlights the importance of reading the hieroglyphs and also the respect that was given to the dead, by the Egyptians.
British Museum and looks at the various forms of mummification found around the world. Egypt is only one of those places, but the chapter in this book looks at the methods used and at some famous examples such as Tutankhamun and Ramses II. The book makes for a fascinating read.
“King Tutankhamun tells all” by Chris Naunton and Guilherme Karsten is written by one of our most well-known and knowledgeable Egyptologists. The illustrations are cartoon style and full of colour and is written in the form of a memoir by the dead Pharaoh. There is a great deal of humour in the way that it is written, but it is still full of information about the king and also Ancient Egypt itself.
British Museum and is a fascinating look at the various processes that a mummy underwent; asking many of the questions that young people want to know.. The illustrations are bright clear and have elements of humour, which really adds to the enjoyment. The cover is gold, which will add to the attraction for the intended audience.
“Egyptology” by Dugald Steer is the first in a series of truly sumptuous books, full of illustrations, lift the flaps, added artifacts and information about a range of topics. this book has a gold cover and really gives the reader a sense of the grandeur that was found in Egyptian tombs. Whilst this is not a new title, it is one that should be the basis of anyone’s collection about Egypt.
“Egyptian diary: The Journal of Nakht” by Richard Platt and David Parkins is the story of a young boy living in Memphis with his family and how he helps foil a gang of tomb robbers and eventually get to meet the Pharaoh Hatshepsut, only to discover that they are a woman (one of very few female pharaohs). this is a large size book with some fabulous illustrations. Since its publication in 2005 it has become a staple of all school libraries.
“Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx” by Joe Todd Stanton is the second tale in the “Brownstone’s Mythical collection” series and follows the adventures of Marcy, the daughter of the original hero Arthur, as she attempts to save her father from the clutches of the Great Sphinx. Children will love the graphic novel format and the fast pace of the action.
audiences. It is based on the fact that a young boy was involved in finding the stairs which led to the tomb discovery. it is full of action, villains and of course introduces the audience to Howard Carter and his patron Lord Caernarvon.
information on how to find them. That is why National Non-fiction November is so valuable and we should all be very grateful to the Federation of Children’s Book Groups, for all of the work they do in promoting this event.
heard of an Acoustic Biologist before? The book is laid out in a very clear way, with each profession getting a double page spread. The book is based on the idea of a child asking their parent about scientists and what they do, with the mother then talking through a wide range of subjects that are being studied today. The illustrations are in variably sized boxes ( as with graphic novels and comics), so that it is easy to follow and most children will be familiar with the format. The illustrations are brightly coloured and almost cartoon like in their simplicity, but this makes it easy for the very young reader to understand what is going on. The text is also very simple and whilst many children will read this with an adult, it is also suitable for them to read for themselves, especially with the support of the graphics.
lived at different periods in our history. There are many that I have not heard of before, as well as some that have become more prominent in the last few years; thanks to the growth of biographies in the children’s book world. People like David Attenborough are world famous, but I was happy to see another scientist that I became aware of as a child. At the end of the 1950s, before Jacques Cousteau came on the scene , we were introduced to the wonders of the ocean by the divers, Hans and Lotte Hass, so it is lovely to see a mention of Hans in this book. For the young readers reading and listening to the content of this book, these details can act as a springboard towards discovering more about these, often pioneering, scientists.
November and secondly to commemorate the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter and Lord Caernarvon. Of course I was absolutely delighted to do so, mainly because I love Ancient Egypt and as a child in the 1960s I had ambitions to be an Egyptologist. This year also sees the bicentenary of Champollion’s first work which opened a window on how we understand hieroglyphs, so all told this is a very important year for understanding and celebrating the wonder that is Egypt. This led to an explosion in interest from museums and collectors in Europe and then the USA What this really shows is how items have been transported across the world in the last two hundred years, finding homes from the USA to Europe, but also thankfully being cared for in Egypt itself. The new Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo is scheduled to open in November 2022, to coincide with the centenary commemoration. It will be the largest archaeological museum in the world and I would love to go back to Egypt and visit it.
many of the images date from that dynasty and the following one, there are also beautiful artifacts from 800 years earlier and also much later. One of the objects that I am particularly fond of is a small statue of a seated scribe, which although it is nearly 4500 years old is stunningly modeled and gives a feeling of great calm and character. It seems strange that whilst Egyptian wall carvings and paintings appear very flat, the sculptures are far more lifelike, even at this early stage of the civilization.
Another set of images that are really stunning are the set of three inter-stacking coffins for a princess Henettawy. She lived about 400 years after Tutankhamun and as a member of the royal family she served as an important priestess of Amun-Ra. In order to find out more about this lady, I visited the website of the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 
am happy to say that I have actually seen it when we visited Egypt in the early 1990s. The throne of Tutankhamun is absolutely exquisite from all angles; however, it is the back rest that really draws everyone’s’ attention. The image of the young pharaoh and his wife is so beautifully portrayed, with a real sense of the close relationship that they appeared to have. Whilst this type of imagery became quite normal during the reign of his father Akhenaten, it is far less formal than is usually found in most Egyptian art work and definitely when portraying royalty.
Why did you write The Gita for Children, and what age is it aimed at?
difficult time, but for children, whether very small or older, it has been even more difficult as they were only just beginning to learn how to integrate with other children; both at nursery and then at primary school. For those ho are just that little bit older, it can be even more of an issue. After all, they had just got used to school and having new friends and then suddenly they were cut off from this contact and often restricted to a very small space as well; those living in small flats would have had a particularly difficult time. This charming little book follows Little Squirrel as he gradually learns to renew his contact with the world around him and finds that the other animals are friendly and caring and want to help him get used to the wood he lives in.
nervous about going outside again after such a long time tucked up in his nest. The more Little Squirrel thinks about venturing down to the forest floor, the more he worries about the unknown and what might be waiting for him….The past few years have certainly had an impact on everyone’s wellbeing and mental health, with research identifying that anxiety in children ages 3-17 have increased over the last five years.
follows him on his adventures through the forest. As little squirrel encounters new friends on his journey we learn valuable strategies to equip us with skills that will benefit us our whole lives. We engage with anxiety psychoeducation*, helping the reader to understand anxiety what it is and how it can physically present. Distraction techniques that helps to take your mind off worried thoughts. Coping strategies, relaxation techniques and CBT** Thought challenging skills. These complex issues are told gently in a child like way and through the engagement of the characters in the forest that little squirrel meets. The tale invites the reader to meet Wren and Snuffly Hedgehog, Grey Rabbit to Mister Fox and from Old Badger to Great Stag. All these techniques can be useful in helping children manage any worried thoughts and feelings they may be having. It is the perfect book for a parent and child to sit down together and to use as a springboard for difficult conversation. Its also a great resource for teachers to use in the classroom to help children learn mindful techniques which can support them through the rest of their lives.
subject really takes me out of my comfort zone. Football has always been at the periphery of my life, starting with having to keep track of the football results on a Saturday afternoon for one of my aunts. Going to library school in Manchester also had an impact as everyone seemed to support United or City. When I lived in Scotland I was aware of the teams but did not really know them and so my slight links to the sport carried on. Over the years we have had a large number of books about football, but they tend to be about fictional clubs and players; this is different as it is based around one of the most iconic clubs in the UK.
who tells him that “it is never over”. The story follows Robbie as he starts the long road to recovery, with the help of his friend Jamie (a girl) and a mysterious figure who shows him ways to train and improve his strength and stamina. The setting is Glasgow and Robbie is a tremendous fan of Celtic football club, so it is not difficult to believe that it is the spirit of Patsy Gallacher, on of the team’s greatest ever players, who is helping Robbie achieve his dream.