Friendship

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How to Save the World with a Chicken and an Egg by Emma Shevah and Kirsti Beautyman

I am delighted to say that this is one of a growing number of books that focuses on the world we live in and how we interact with the nature that surrounds us.  There has been an ever growing number of information books and television programmes that focus on the environment and it is so good to see so many young people becoming involved in raising the awareness of the situation.  This book provides a wonderful mix of adventure, nature and also the difficulties that people can have if they are perceived as being ‘different’ in any way.

Chicken House, 9781910655474

Nathaniel has grown up being looked after by his grandmother (although he attends a boarding school during term time).  When his grandmother dies, he was going to spend the holidays with his aunt and uncle, but then his mother, who has just returned from living in India decides that she wants to have him stay with her at the old family home at Southwold in Suffolk He finds living in such a chaotic surrounding a challenge and is on the verge of wanting to leave and go to the familiar surroundings of his other family.  A chance meeting a young girl called Ivy, who thinks she can communicate with animals of all kinds, gives him something to focus on; their common interest in the environment also helps both of them cope with a variety of issues. However, there is a secret from the past that is about to re-surface and the two Eco-warriors will have their work cut out to find a solution.
This is a beautiful story of two children who have had many issues in their lives. Nathaniel has Asperger’s syndrome and struggles to connect with others, while Ivy is living with very supportive foster parents but has undergone abusive treatment from her real father, who even sent her Thai mother back to Thailand. This moving tale shows how these two eventually begin to work together despite the major difference in the way that they interact with others. It also shows how they can connect with the adults in their lives, when the adults take the time to help them. It is a superb read for all children, whether they are aware of environmental issues or not.  I gradually became more engrossed by these seemingly eccentric characters and I would love to follow some more of their adventures; in fact I get the hint that there might be another real adventure in the offing.  Thank you Emma Shevah for such a fantastic read.

 

Emma Shevah is Thai and Irish and was born and raised in London. She is the author

Emma Shevah

of four Middle Grade novels published by Chicken House:Dream on Amber, Dara Palmer’s Major Drama (optioned by the BBC), and What Lexie Did and How to Save the World with a Chicken and an Egg, and an early reader for Bloomsbury: Hello Baby Mo! She has lived and travelled in many countries but now lives in Brighton with half of her four children. She is Head of Year at Roedean, where she teaches English and gazes at the sea, wishing she was in it.  (Chicken House Books)

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The Magician’s Map; a Hoarder Hill adventure, by Mikki Lish and Kelly Ngai

If you are a fan of magical adventures, mixed with some very quirky and funny characters, then this is the book for you.  There are hints of other familiar stories as we are introduced to a parallel world of magicians and mythical creatures, but linked to our own mundane world.

This is the second adventure featuring Hedy and her brother Spencer as they spend another holiday at their grandparents’ house; only this time they are accompanied by their cousins, Jelly and Max.  The house is very far from normal, being full of magical artifacts, as well as a talking Bearskin and Stag’s head (otherwise known as Doug and Stan), who are the epitome of a comic duo; they are absolutely fantastic .  In this story the children manage to persuade their grandfather and  his neighbour Mrs Pal, to take them to a magical convention and competition called the Fantastikhana.  Initially they said no, but eventually changed their minds as the adults want to find a magical artifact that allows people to manipulate time; and they want to  keep it out of the hands of those who intend to actually misuse it.    When Hedy is accidentally linked to a ‘living map’ that seeps under her skin, things get exciting, as the map is a way of retrieving items that it has been linked to.  Before we know it, Hedy and the rest of the group are on a quest to find the mysterious ‘Verdandi’s loom’, but can they trust everyone they meet?

This is a delightful escapade and I am so sorry that I had not read the first in the series, so I have just bought a copy to fill in the gaps.  The new story dives straight in with all of the characters and it takes a few pages to get everyone sorted in your mind, so reading book one is definitely to be recommended.  The authors have created a world and set of characters that we are easily able to relate to and there is a great sense of humour that balances the tensions created by the lurking villain.  Whilst the theme of family is very strong in this story, not every group has the same closeness and we get to see that there are different kinds of family relationships; not all of them are good.    However we do see how special friendship can be and  this helps the children in their quest.  I am desperately hoping that we are going to see further adventures for this feisty set of individuals, as they are an absolute joy, but until then I am going to settle down and read the first of their adventures.

 

About Mikki Lish & Kelly Ngai

Australian co-authors Mikki Lish and Kelly Ngai create worlds together, even though they don’t live on the same continent. This means that when they video call each other, it’s not unusual for someone to be in pyjamas.

Mikki has worked with many musicians and actors and now lives in America with her husband, dog and cats.

Kelly lives in Australia with her two sons and loves waking up to the wild story ideas that Mikki has sent during the night.

 

The House on Hoarder Hill is their second collaboration and is being developed for television with Sam Raimi’s Ghost House and Wiip.

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Amelia Fang and the Trouble with Toads by Laura Ellen Anderson

Amelia Fang is the wonderful vampire heroine of this series of books and I was so sad to hear that this is going to be the last of her adventures in Nocturnia.  I am consoling myself with the thought that ‘maybe’ in the future she might have adventures elsewhere;  after all it is just down to the phrasing of the information.  Amelia has a fantastic group of friends comprising of  Florence, who is a Yeti, Grimaldi, a reaper and Tangine, who is a vampire prince and not forgetting squashy, her pet pumpkin.  We have followed this team as they have lots of exciting and often funny adventures with their respective families and communities.

In this latest story we are introduced to Vincent, Amelia’s baby brother!  Anyone who has had children, or who has had younger siblings will probably have some idea of what this means. At the beginning of the story Amelia is looking forward to attending Grimaldi’s birthday party but when her parents go down with Frankenflu she ends up having to take Vincent with her and things go downhill after that.  Eventually the friends take Vincent for a walk to keep him quiet, which seems to work, until he disappears from his pram.  They track him to  a swampy area which leads to the ‘Pond Beyond’, where toads go when they are squished; so of course they have to follow him.  What follows is a great adventure as they meet new friends and find the missing Vincent.  The problem is that there is supposedly no way back to their world, so how are they going to get home?  You will have to read the story to find out if they succeed.

This series of stories with its lovable yet very quirky main characters has been a great hit with younger readers.  In this particular tale we have a very strong theme about being yourself and also loving people despite some of the things that can irritate us.  Both Amelia and some of the characters she meets in the Pond Beyond realize that the love they have for family member and friends transcends the  issues they face, such as snot, dirty nappies, tears and just being clumsy.  This is something that we as adults have learnt to realize, but for young children it is part of the learning process.We have been given a fabulous finale to this series, but I might just have to read them all over again.

Thank you to Egmont for a copy of the book and also for the image and information about the author.

 

About the Author
When she’s not trying to take over the
world or fighting sock-stealing
monsters, Laura Ellen Anderson is a
professional children’s book author and
illustrator, with an increasing addiction to
coffee.
She spends every waking hour creating
and drawing, and would quite like to live
on the moon when humans finally make it
possible. Laura is the official illustrator of
the 2020 Summer Reading Scheme and is
also the creator of EVIL EMPEROR
PENGUIN and illustrator of WITCH WARS,
THE FAMOUS FIVE, Terry Pratchett’s
TIFFANY ACHING novels as well as many
other children’s books. AMELIA FANG is
her first series as author-illustrator.
You can follow her on @Lillustrator

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Emily Knight: I am … Becoming by A Bello

This is an exciting and action packed series of books about a young girl called Emily Knight.  The title that we are
celebrating is actually the third book, of what I think is going to be a quartet; at least that is the impression I get from the end of the book.  I would however suggest that starting with the first title and working your way through is probably a very sensible option.  The complex plot and relationships mean that you need to understand the background and it is book one that gives you this information.

The series is set in a modern world; but it is one made up of ‘Mundanes’, who are people like us and the ‘Warriors’ who appear to have an assortment of special powers and act as protectors to the ordinary population.  Emily is the daughter of the most famous warrior, Thomas Knight, who had defeated the renegade warrior called Neci in a past battle.  She does not want to be the centre of attention and feels the pressure on her to be like her father and elder brother, Lox, both of whom have cult star status; having been star players in the seriously tough game called Dojo.  In books one and two  Emily’s brother is missing and her father is on a hunt to try and find him, leaving Emily at home with foster parents and friends.  By the start of book three the family have been reunited, but there are still many tensions and there is a move towards a war as Neci becomes more powerful and builds an army of followers.

This is definitely a series for those who love the idea of friendship groups involved in battling evil.  There are real echoes of other popular series from the past, but as always it is what the author does with the basic outline that is important. A Bello has produced something that although familiar in many ways has its own distinct story and characters.  Although we know that Neci is cast as the villain of the piece, I find myself wanting to know more about her back story.  We are told how she discovers her powers and develops her hatred of the warriors, but I feel there is more to the story and I hope that we will learn more about her motivation in the final story.  Emily herself  has all the anxieties and uncertainties of someone in their teens.  She feels the burden of leadership that is being placed on her and does not think that she can live up to the expectations.  She is also going through the normal ups and downs of adolescence and dealing with her attraction to two of the male students at her school.   With the reappearance of her father and brother she has to learn to cope with their personalities and to make them understand that she is an individual in hr own right.

It is good to see a series where there is a strong female central character and particularly one who is a person of colour.  There has been a lot of emphasis on diversity in literature this year, but this author has been writing such stories for several years and we can see from her author profile she is someone who is heavily involved in broadening the range of people and stories in children’s publishing.  I am delighted to have had the opportunity of reading these books and I look forward to the next title, when hopefully we will see the  finale of this exciting series

 

The Author

A. Bello is the award-winning author of the bestselling fantasy
series Emily Knight I am. . . and Emily Knight I am. . .
Awakened, which was nominated for the CILIP Carnegie
Medal 2019, Winner of London’s Big Read 2019, finalist for
A. Bello first began writing the Emily Knight saga at aged
12 with the intention of filling the gaping hole in children’s
fiction for an inspirational, strong, black female, young
protagonist.
A. Bello won the London Book Fair’s Trailblazer Award
2018. She is the founder of The Lil’ Author School, co-founder
of The Author School, Hashtag Press, Hashtag BLAK, The
Diverse Book Awards and ink!
Find out more at www.a-bello.com
Follow A. Bello on Twitter: @ABelloWrites
Instagram: @abiolabello @emilyknightiam
Facebook.com/EmilyKnightIAM
Facebook.com/A.BelloAuthor