It’s been a big news week for books this week with several longlists announced and the winners of the Lollies revealed.
I’m not going to add too much here on the longlists as Anne’s (A Library Lady) book news will cover these in her weekly news that she posts on a Saturday morning – link here.
My daughter has come home with her World Book Day voucher this week and she’s really excited to choose which book she is going to spend it on. If you’d like to find out a little more about each of the books click here. We got our badge and pin bade from Pawprint Badges. They also have a free activity download for World Book Day here.
This website contains affiliate links. As an affiliate I may earn money from qualifying purchases. As an Amazon Influencer/ Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. Thank you if you do use one of my links – it helps keep my website going. Please see affiliate link and disclaimer page for more information.
New Releases and Reviews
The stunning Hope the Whale by Laura Chamberlain was released on Thursday this week and I wrote a brief review in last week’s Bookworm Buzz here.
Sharing Hope the Whale’s book birthday was a book I have eagerly anticipated the arrival of my pre-order physical copies. One Camel Called Dough by Lu Fraser and Sarah Warburton is a delight and you can find my review here.
I Am Not A Prince by Rachael Davis and Beatrix Hatcher
I Am Not A Prince by Rachael Davis and Beatrix Hatcher was one of our Cureadosity books from our January subscription. It’s not at all what I was expecting and the end was a great surprise. My daughter an I particularly enjoyed the illustrations – vivid and funky.
New release My Own Way would be a great non-fiction book to read alongside this book and I’d highly recommend My Shadow is Pink also.
My First Book Of Microbes by Sheddad Kaid-Salah Ferrón and Eduard Altarriba
My First Book Of Microbes by Sheddad Kaid-Salah Ferrón and Eduard Altarriba is published by Button Books. The style of this book is quite reminiscent of a series of magazines I read as a child; they had actually been my Mom’s when she was younger – Understanding Science.
The layout and graphics are very appealing and I feel it’s a book that will catch the eye of juniors plus. As an adult I very much enjoyed reading and learnt lots! Full review can now be found here. Do check out the book trailer below for more information.
MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE! by Sean Taylor and Fred Benaglia
MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE! by Sean Taylor and Fred Benaglia is another book from our January Cureadosity subscription. It’s a hilarious romp of a book about a monster who is very hungry and trying so hard to order a take-away pizza! There’s a review for this book in The Guardian here.
Operation Ouch Magazine
Have you discovered Operation Ouch? I was introduced to it by my four year old nephew who is absolutely obsessed with it and makes everyone open their mouths wide so he can locate their epiglottis! Well the popular CBBC series now has a magazine.
I’ve got a blog post reviewing children’s magazines coming soon where there will be more about Operation Ouch!
Tonie Box Bundles
Just spotted that Tonies are now doing several great bundles. You can find the bundles on their website here. My daughter has been really enjoying her Creative Tonie characters this week, to find out more about Tonies check out my blog here.
If you’re interested in audio players you might like to check out my blog post on Tonie Boxes vs. Yoto Player here.
Books for the Diary
21st February Exploring Nature with Children Field Trip Week
Raising Little Shoots nature curriculum is heading into field trip week. You might like this link to the Natural History Museum virtual tours if you don’t have anything planned already.
From the 28th February it will be Nesting Birds – one of my favourite weeks. You’ll find bird ID cards in the resources section here or you can access them from the files in the Facebook Group here.
26th February Tell A Fairy Tale Day
It’s National Tell A Fairy Tale Day on 26th February each year. The National Literacy Trust have creative writing resources for the day which can be found here. Red Cat Reading have some great ideas for children of all ages here.
Fairy Tales are often some of the first stories our children hear from The Ugly Ducklings to Snow White. They are stories that they will learn inside out. Their first ‘own’ stories are likely to be imitations and innovations based on these stories.
Fairy Tales often have lots of subtle variations and there are many new takes on old classics. I particularly enjoy new Fairy Tales such as Frindleswylde by the incredible O’Hara sisters. Books for Keeps are in total agreement with me on how brilliant this book is and you can find their review here.
27th February International Polar Bear Day
For young children learning through play and the opportunity to share and read books is so important to help develop that love and understanding. You might like my polar animals ID cards for this day which can be found in the resources section here or you can access then from the files in the Facebook Group here.
A couple of favourite books of mine and my daughter are North Pole/ South Pole and You’re Snug With Me. North Pole/ South Pole is an incredible non-fiction text and You’re Snug With Me is a book that will touch your heart and fill your soul.
I did spot a new release this week – Amazing Animals by Sabrina Weiss and Paul Daviz that’s been getting great reviews such as this one here.
Thought Provoking Reading
If you don’t already read Book For Keeps I’d highly recommend it. It’s got a brilliant round up of insightful reads, interviews and reviews. The latest edition is available here and the editorial note is well worth reading.
As a parent it troubles me to read that anxiety was one of the top words for children last year. However, books for 2022 should be bringing us more ‘joy’. I always found Books For Keeps an incredible resource as a teacher; I feel it’s so important to have good book knowledge as an educator and to be able to engage in book talk with children.
What I’m Reading
I’ve often got quite a few books on the go as I’m review books. As I was growing up I very much believed you had to stay faithful to one book before moving onto the next. However, I now choose to have several books on the go depending upon how I’m feeling and what I’m looking for.
The above books are all on my radar right now either as they are in my immediate TBR pile, I’m reading, just finished reading or going to be reviewed. Click here if you want to find out more about the books in the image. Some have a little more info below.
A couple of the books were Toppsta giveaway wins and you can see my reviews on our family book profile here.
Leilong the Library Bus by Julia Liu and Bei Lynn
This fabulous book was part of the January subscription with VIP Reading. As a complete book lover I can’t help but love Leilong and his passion for storytime. The illustrations are so fun with oodles of things to spot in each spread. I love the expressions on the faces.
The Revelry by Katherine Webber
After listening to Nikki Gamble’s podcast interviewing Katherine Webber I had to read this one immediately! Isn’t there just something that totally draws you in when a book is set mainly in a woods. The Revelry is dark, suspenseful and a MUST read.
Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
I can be very determined to read books but equally disappear into another book if it tempts me. Aurora Burning had to be put on pause while I read The Revelry but I’m back!
Genie and Teeny Make a Wish by Steven Lenton
Genie and Teeny from VIP Reading is one that I am still reading to my daughter and niece. It’s lots of mad fun and we’re about to find our just what Lavinia has in store for poor Teeny with purplification!
Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S.Eliot
I’ve had a little trip down memory lane with my daily poetry this week and it’s been divine. Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S.Eliot was the poetry book that first got me enjoying poetry as a child. My Mom had a copy in her library collection with a very bold yellow and black cover and spine that made it almost jump off the bookshelf for me to read.
Thank you to one of my lovely newsletter subscribers who recommended Sing a Song of Seasons by Fiona Waters and Frann Preston-Gannon and Poetree by Shauna LaVoy Reynolds. Do let me know if you have any other poetry recommendations.
If you missed last week’s Bookworm Buzz be sure to check out my review for Colour and Me! by Michaela Dias-Hayes and published by Owlet Press that you can find here. I also reviewed the incredible middle grade book Fledgling by Lucy Hope, published by Nosy Crow – full review here. You’ll also find my review of Wolf Girl by Jo Loring-Fisher here.
What’s your favourite read of 2022 so far? Drop me an email or a comment and let me know. I’ll see you back here next week for more book news.
Lisa x