I’m very late posting my March wrap-up as I went to visit my family in Ireland at the start of April and just arrived back yesterday. I’m not sure why but this has seemed a very busy month (maybe parents evenings, assessments, prep for next half term) so I haven’t got as much reading done as I normally would. However, I’m off work for just over another week so aim to get lots more reading and reviewing completed.

Books I’ve read:

I’ve read 11 books this month. My highlights were After and Serial Chillers: The Witch in the Woods (both children’s books) and Starling House (adult book).

NetGalley:

I have four books on my Netgalley shelf and have requested two books in March. My feedback ratio is at 97%.

Books sent by publishers:

I am grateful to have been sent 9 books by publishers this month.

Books Bought:

I’ve bought 3 books this month:

How has your reading month been? Have you read any of these? Have you any of them on your TBR?

Children in History is an absolutely fascinating, inspiring, illustrated hardback book that explores what daily life was like for children in different historical periods and in different places such as at home, school, play, work and in the world.

The section on homes through history explores types of homes, food, health and hygiene, sleep and bedtime and pets and animal helpers. I was absolutely fascinated by the hidden, underground city of Derinkuyu in Turkey which was used for thousands of years until the 1920s. I have no doubt that children will be fascinated by the many facts shared in this section: Did you know that European colonisers in North America used corn cobs (with the corn stripped off) to wipe their bums? Or that Queen Elizabeth’s childhood pet was a chameleon?

The section on children at school explores reading and writing, life in the classroom and languages. I loved the two-page spread on children of Nicaragua who developed the sign language ISN which is now an internationally recognised sign language. Children will enjoy being challenged to write their name in the hieroglyphic alphabet and their birthday using Maya numbers.

Children at play shares sections on toys through the ages, family entertainment, sports and games, celebrations and festivals including those that honour the dead or darkness. There is a wealth of information which I have no doubt will fascinate children and will encourage them to compare their lives with those of children throughout history. I think they’ll be particularly drawn to the section on lighting up the dark side of life where they will learn about some dark traditions such as the French-Canadian bogeyman who was said to steal children who refused to go to bed on time.

There is a shorter section on children at work which shares some of the jobs young children undertook from becoming warriors to working as chimney sweeps.

The final section, children in the world, shares some incredible information about children on the move, children as rulers, inspirational children and children growing up. I have no doubt that these will prove talking points for children, especially learning that children were posted to relatives via the postal service and discovering more about children such as Kim Ung-Yong who began working for NASA at eight and gymnast Nadia Comaneci who. at fourteen, won five Olympic medals.

This book is presented in an incredibly engaging and appealing way with short sections of information accompanied by gorgeous illustrations, often framed, which help young children understand the text. Each section is introduced with a series of images and a question or thinking point to encourage curiosity and individual thinking before finding out more in each section.

This is a wonderful book which will empower and inspire children as they learn about children in history across different parts of the world and is a book that will encourage them to think about their own history – and their future!

Thank you to Little Tiger for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Welcome to my stop on the Children’s Book Award Top Ten 2025 Blog Tour.

The Children’s Book Award is the only national award for children’s books that is voted for entirely by children. It is owned and coordinated by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups and is highly respected by teachers, parents and librarians. It has brought acclaim and strong sales to past winners such as J.K. Rowling, Patrick Ness, Andy Stanton, Malorie Blackman, Anthony Horowitz and Michael Morpurgo, who has won a record four times. The award has often been the first to recognise the future stars of children’s fiction and has the ability to turn popular authors into bestsellers.

As part of the CBA blog tour, we were given the opportunity to speak with Tom Percival, author of The Bridges, one of the ten shortlisted titles for this year’s Children’s Book Award. Tom has been under some tight deadlines recently and his publicist requested a phone interview, which was entirely exciting for Erin, our blog manager and Vice-Chair.

Knowing Tom’s work so well and being a fan of all his picture books and most recently, his middle grade, The Wrong Shoes, Erin was delighted to create a few questions for Tom. Erin has taken copious notes and shares Tom’s answers in today’s guest blog.

What do you think it is about The Bridges that won children over?

I think it’s the universality of books and stories. Anyone can relate to engaging with stories in any form. Reading broadens your mind and experiences and reading books can increase your empathy, inform you and educate you- all of which are worth celebrating.

There is also a feeling of escapism with reading- you can literally go to a place in a book that you might never be able to do in real life. This is so compelling for readers. 

What would you hope they take away from Mia’s story?

Children can really resonate with Mia and even those that can’t benefit from reading her story. The Bridges is an encouraging story on the power of reading and stories. It shows how we can benefit from reading and how accessible books are from libraries and schools.

Readers may find escapism or respite from challenges they are facing in their own lives.

Your picture books often hit to the heart of big emotions and tough situations, are these hard to write about? Are you impacted by your own experiences?

100% yes! We are a product of our own events and experiences and these impact who you will become. I want to help children to explore big and challenging emotions. These give a sense of how you are feeling in the moment and that you need to understand these as they determine a course of action. If you feel angry, you may react angry.

I was trying to communicate awareness of emotions to children.

How does it feel to be nominated for an award solely voted on by children at every stage of the process?

It feels amazing especially with The Bridges. There is often a thought that funny books are more important than those of a more serious nature but children need both in their lives. Sometimes they will want a funny book while at others, something like The Bridges can be a welcome escape and empathy builder.

I am really pleased that it resonated with readers.

Is there anything you would like to say to those children?

Thank you and KEEP READING!

Reading is the best way to grow as a person.

With books, the reader is doing a lot of creative work by interpreting the story and turning it into a reality for themselves. They are growing their mind, building empathy and understanding the world around them. Everyone’s interpretation of a story is different, and this is one reason why reading is so important.

 Tom and Erin chatted easily about his thoughts on reading for pleasure and of his processes when writing and illustrating his picture books. There is much more to it than first meets the eye and Erin was really impressed with Tom’s insights into his current work and that of his future- watch this space for more exciting books from Tom Percival.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and to Tom for sharing his thoughts, opinions and plans with Erin.

Children across the UK are encouraged to get involved. Copies of the books can be purchased at a discount from our partner supplier Heath Books here [link https://www.heathbooks.co.uk/federation-of-childrens-book-groups-childrens-book-award-2025/] and online voting will be opened at the conclusion of the blog tour. The deadline for voting is Friday 9th May and category winners and the overall winner of the most popular children’s book published in 2024 will be announced at a ceremony in Birmingham on 7th June, attended by representatives from all our local groups and livestreamed on the FCBG YouTube channel.

Thank you to Erin and the FCBG for inviting me to take part in the tour. Don’t forget to check out the other stops.

Let’s Play Rugby! is a brilliantly lively, exciting and energetic, hands-on interactive picture book, perfect both for young rugby fans and for those eager to learn more.

The book starts by inviting the reader to help their team win the trophy and then takes them through the stages they will need to follow to be successful including an energetic warm-up and match play. Young readers will be completely immersed in the game as they follow advice, enjoy encouragement and take on some BIG players to see if they can score the winning try and take the trophy.

What a wonderful book – and a perfect way to inspire imagination and active learning! I can just see the joy on the faces of young readers as they get fully involved in the action of this book. I can imagine the giggles of delight, the star jumps and jumps of joy as they win a tackle!

It’s also a great way to introduce young children to the game of rugby and the language of playing a game such as scrum, line-out and try. And using the book itself as they build up to scoring a try is brilliant and – yes – I did follow the instructions – such fun: woohoooooo!

The illustrations on each page are bright, bold and fizzing with energy and expression. The font and text layout will really encourage young readers to interact with the text and join in with saying the bold and capitalised instructions and commands.

An absolute winner of a book, taking young children into the centre of an exciting rugby game – a brilliant book for families to enjoy with their young children.

Thank you to Lorraine Keating and Little Island for sending me a copy to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

School of Doom is a hilarious and heart-warming monster-packed school adventure that kept me completely captivated throughout.

Eddie Harp enjoys munching on wheelie bins and guzzling paint but has to avoid these temptations as she lives in the human realm, a place where these culinary delights are to be avoided if you want to fit in, but Eddie is better at standing out than fitting in … a trait that earns her an unexpected 12^th birthday present.

Eddie receives a summons to enrol at the School of Doom in the Outer Realms as she is deemed unfit for school life in the human realm. This is not altogether a surprise to Eddie as she knows neither of her aunts are human and that she’s not fully human. But what is she?

When Eddie arrives at the School of Doom, she has already made some new friends, Doyden and Granville, aboard the ship which took them to their new school which is on a floating island in the sky. After meeting the Principal and her beastly staff, they learn that they are expected to live up to the school motto: Be the Worst – but also follow the school rules! This presents two problems for Eddie: she may be a monster, but she’s not evil; and, she is not exactly the obedient rule-following type …

It is not long before the new students discover that their school is under threat from a school inspector who seems intent on closing it down, but could there be an even greater danger hiding in plain sight, a danger that may put their lives at risk?

And so begins an action-packed, exciting and hilarious adventure as Eddie and her new friends immerse themselves in monster school life – re-potting baby Vipertike plants, avoiding eight-legged rats, taking part in food fights and drinking gothuccinos. But when the friends discover that someone may be intent on causing them harm, they decide to investigate, an investigation that leads to danger, risks and discoveries that kept me eagerly turning pages to discover the culprit. Will Eddie discover who she truly is? Can she protect her friends from impending doom? And, together, can these new friends save the School of Doom?

This story is set in a brilliantly imaginative world in which I loved being immersed. I loved the school itself with its temperamental, zany buildings, especially Bernard, the astronomy tower and The Lively Library which is utterly brilliant! The cast of beastly school teachers are marvellously monstrous, especially Principal Drazora and Dr Night Terror. And I just have to mention Crawkus, the demon dog, who is absolutely adorable – and ever so loyal, despite the chaos they bring.

Eddie is such a wonderful young monster who is kind-hearted, loyal and courageous, someone prepared to stand up for herself and others when she sees injustice, unfairness and danger. She is finding her place in the world, learning more about who she is, and discovering that having true friends brings her a sense of belonging. Although Eddie did not have friends in the human realm, she makes some wonderful friends at the School of Doom, friends who are loyal, supportive and fun. I really hope there are more adventures for them.

A terrifically thrilling, monster-filled school adventure brimming with humour and heart, perfect for readers of 9+.

Thank you to Laura Smythe PR and Chicken House for inviting me to be part of the Blog Tour and for providing me with a copy of School of Doom in exchange for my honest opinion.