by Susan Barnes | 23 Jun 2023 | Book Reviews
Max is dismayed when he learns his school is participating in the Duke of Wellington challenge which involves three nights of camping. The principal expects his attendance. Fortunately, his three friends Joe, Lucy and Charlie (a nickname for Charlotte) are also...
by Susan Barnes | 9 Jun 2023 | Book Reviews
One hot summer, Dan has to endure the holidays alone with his mother in Somerset. His mother is an archaeologist and much to her delight, a 1000-year-old gravestone and some bones are found in the process of draining the local dam. Dan’s mother meets Cat, a local...
by Susan Barnes | 12 May 2023 | Book Reviews
Leila and the Blue Fox begins with Leila, a young teenager, catching a plane by herself to Tromso, Norway. Leila is going to see her mother, Amani, who she hasn’t seen for six years. Amani is unable to meet her at the airport due to her work commitments and sends her...
by Susan Barnes | 23 Sep 2022 | Book Reviews
This post is further to my book review, Rita’s Revenge, which you can read here, Please note this post contains spoilers. Rita lives in a town called, Little Dismal. She has disgraced herself at the recent Talent Show because she recited one of her poems. Poetry...
by Susan Barnes | 16 Sep 2022 | Book Reviews
Rita’s Revenge by Lian Tanner is a sequel to A Clue for Clara and written with the same humourous context of farmyard animals solving crimes. While Clara is a chicken who can write notes, Rita is a duck who can also write but struggles with spelling. Nevertheless,...
by Susan Barnes | 19 Aug 2022 | Book Reviews
Angel by Zoe Daniel is part of the, Through my eyes natural disaster zones, series which are fictional stories about young people who live through real disasters. Angel is almost thirteen-years-old and lives near Tacloban City in the Philippines which was hit by super...
by Susan Barnes | 12 Aug 2022 | Book Reviews
I came across, Let the Balloon Go by Ivan Southall, the other day in the library. I read it as a teenager but found it slow and tedious. I thought I would read it again from the perspective of an adult since Southall has won many awards as a children’s author and the...
by Susan Barnes | 5 Aug 2022 | Book Reviews
River Rescue is the second book in the Earth Friends books by Holly Webb. The series contains strong themes about helping the environment and friendship. The books involve four friends, Maya, Poppy, Emily and Izzy, who undertake environmental projects and have fun...