Celebrating Two Million pageviews

Yesterday was World Book Day - a celebration in the UK and on that day my little blog, which began in 2008, tipped over to 2 million pageviews! To celebrate I visited a bookshop and picked up even more books for my huge 'to read' pile. I imagine you are not surprised that I went book shopping!

March Reading pile:

Bravepaw and the Clawstone of Rotwood Mire by L.M. Wilkinson

I gave the first installment of this series five stars and I was absolutely certain Bravepaw would be a CBCA Notable Younger Readers title for 2025 but alas that didn't happen.

Publisher blurb for book two: Titch and Huckleberry are on an epic quest. They have followed their hearts ... right into the path of a terrifying swamp monster, and a village full of brainwashed squirrels! Maybe their hearts aren't to be trusted? Maybe Titch is just an ordinary little mouse and not Bravepaw after all ...? But Bravepaw or not, Titch is not about to give up. Can she defeat the greedy turtle controlling the squirrels, and discover what his glowing green gem has to do with the legend of Bravepaw and her quest to save Alluria?

Small Acts by Kate Gordon and Kate Foster

This book has been listed as a CBCA Younger Readers Notable title for 2025. I have had it on my shopping list for a while. I really like the cover. Kate Gordon won our IBBY Ena Noel award for new writers in 2016. Her book The Letterbox Tree has just been selected for the USBBY Outstanding International Books list.

Publisher blurb: Josh wants a friend but he doesn’t know how to find somewhere to belong … Ollie wants to express herself but doesn’t want to be noticed … Small Acts introduces two kids with great hearts who know that helping others can start with one small act of kindness. Josh has a plan to start with just that. So does Ollie. What Josh and Ollie don’t know yet is that they need each other to make their plans work.

Oscar's Lion by Adam Brown illustrated by Benji Davies

I am a huge fan of illustrator Benji Davies which is why I picked this book up in a bookstore last week. 

Publisher blurb: Oscar is a little terrified to find that a lion is going to be looking after him for the weekend. But when the lion lets him eat as many biscuits as he wants, and reads him his favourite story ten times, Oscar realises he might be on to something good. Soon, Oscar discovers that the lion can change into different animals and the pair find themselves having all kinds of adventures! But before the lion has to go, might he have one more amazing transformation up his sleeve?

Dragonkeeper by Carole Wilkinson

I won the movie tie-in of this book. I did previously read Dragonkeeper when it was first published.

Blurb from author page: Ancient China, Han Dynasty. A slave girl saves the life of an ageing dragon and escapes her brutal master. Pursued by a ruthless dragon hunter, the girl and the dragon make an epic journey across China carrying a mysterious stone that must be protected. This is the story of a young slave girl who believes she is not worthy of a name but finds within herself the strength and courage to make this perilous journey — and do what must be done.

Jed Greenleaf by Kieran Larwood illustrated by David Wyatt

Thanks to a local bookseller - Three Sparrows - for alerting me to this new book by Kieran Larwood. I am a huge fan of his Podkin One-ear series.

Publisher blurb: Albion city is governed by a puppet queen, secretly controlled by Lord Cromwell, and strange magic is afoot as six Guilds all compete to rule it. Although the Leaf Guild is the weakest, no one has reckoned with newcomer Jed Greenleaf’s extraordinary ability to transform into a half-tree, covered over with bark . . . he just needs to learn how to harness that power. Could he be the hero that the Guild needs to win at the Punchbowl tournament? It just might be that this year Jed can turn over a new leaf in the history books, and bring glory to the decaying Guild and peace to Albion . . .

How to sail to Somewhere by Ashleigh Barton

Ashleigh Barton talked about her newest book at the NSW CBCA Night of the Notables. Ashleigh read the first chapter of her book and the large audience were captivated.  I previously read several of her books - pop her name in my side bar.

Here is the blurb: Beatrice Glass - Bea - lives in a tiny fishing village that's sleepy all year until the summertime, when the tourists flock in and most of the locals leave. But summer is also when Bea's favourite person in the entire world, her fun and hilarious uncle, Byron, comes to stay. On their last day together the previous summer, Byron had given Bea an intriguing antique book containing a map of Somewhere, a mysterious island off the coast, and promised that next summer they'd sail to Somewhere together for their best adventure yet. That was last year. Now summer has arrived, but Byron hasn't. And now it looks like he never will.

Something like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango

I've had this verse novel on my shopping list for a while. I adore verse novels and this book has several star reviews.

Author blurb: Laura Rodríguez Colón has a plan: no matter what the grown-ups say, she will live with her parents again. Can you blame her? It’s tough to make friends as the new kid at school. And while staying at her aunt’s house is okay, it just isn’t the same as being in her own space. So when Laura finds a puppy, it seems like fate. If she can train the puppy to become a therapy dog, then maybe she’ll be allowed to visit her parents. Maybe the dog will help them get better and things will finally go back to the way they should be. After all, how do you explain to others that you’re technically a foster kid, even though you live with your aunt? And most importantly . . . how do you explain that you’re not where you belong, and you just want to go home?

Just under the clouds by Melissa Sarno

I am collecting books to share at a library conference later this year. I need titles that bridge upper primary grades through to lower high school.

Blurb: To climb a tree, always think in threes and you'll never fall. "Two feet, one hand. Two hands, one foot," Cora's father told her when she was a little girl. Now Cora is in middle school, her father is gone, her family is homeless, and Cora has to look after her younger sister, Adare, who needs a lot of looking after. When their room at the shelter is ransacked, Cora's mother brings them to an old friend's apartment, and Cora hopes this will be a place she can finally call home. When doubt seeps in, Cora makes an escape of her own and discovers something that will change how she sees her family and her place within it.

Our Sister Again by Sophie Cameron

As I mentioned I am collecting books for a presentation to a group of Teacher-Librarians. Part of my focus will be on books from other countries where they speak English - we are so lucky to be able to read the best books from Canada, UK, USA and New Zealand. This book comes from the UK.

Bookseller blurb: On a small island off the Scottish coast, Isla and her family are grieving the loss of her older sister Flora, who died three years ago. Then they're offered the chance to be part of a top-secret trial, which revives loved ones as fully lifelike AI robots using their digital footprint. Isla has her doubts about Second Chances, but they evaporate the moment the 'new' Flora arrives. This girl is not some uncanny close likeness; she is Flora - a perfect replica. But not everyone on their island feels the same. And as the threats to Flora mount, she grows distant and more secretive. Will Isla be able to protect the new Flora and bring the community back together?

Giraffe Island by Sofia Chanfreau and Amanda Chanfreau translated by Julia Marshall

I am always on the hunt for books that have been translated into English and Gecko Press always deliver fabulous titles. This is a book from Finland. I picked this up at Three Sparrows. 

Gecko Press blurb: Far away in the middle of the sea there is an island shaped like a giraffe. Nine-year-old Vega lives there with her father and grandfather—a gardener and former ringmaster. Their shed—the Paraphenalium—is filled with every possible thing you didn’t know you needed. Vega’s bathroom is home to a gray bear with shampoo-lathered fur, and every day she talks with the asphalt beaver and crosswalk zebra on the way to school. Her best friend is Nelson, who observes things others don’t notice and keeps a notebook of mysteries and facts. Vega and Nelson set out to save Vega’s father and find her mother in a search that leads them to a unique circus and unexpected answers.

Stitched up by Steve Cole and Little House by Katya Balen

These are both from the Barrington Stoke book series. They have titles for very young readers right up to books like these for readers aged 10+ (Little House) and 12+ (Stitched up).

Stitched up blurb: When twelve-year-old Hanh is offered a job as a shop assistant in Hanoi, she sees it as a chance to earn money to send back to her family living in poverty in rural Vietnam. But on her arrival in the city, she soon learns that the job offer was a lie and finds herself working in virtual slavery in an illegal garment factory. Life in this sweatshop is a daily hell of long hours, little rest, poor food and regular violence. Hanh is desperate to escape, but when an opportunity arises will she be able to find the courage to take a dangerous chance?

Little House blurb: Juno’s furious about being sent to stay with her grandfather for the summer. She’ll miss all the fun she and her friends had planned for the holidays. She’ll also miss her mum, but it’s her mum’s fault for leaving anyway. Then Juno discovers a long-forgotten little family in her grandfather’s attic. As she works to carefully craft a new home for them, can she learn to forgive her mum and understand her reasons for going away?