Superb! I devoured this book and then read it to my daughter. The Story Shop: Blast Off! by Tracey Corderoy and Tony Neal published by Little Tiger Press had me gripped from the start. It begins with Wilbur and Fred who own a Story Shop; not a book shop. This is a shop where adventure awaits you. It whisks you off to wherever in the world (or out of this world) you would like to go.
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The Story Shop: Blast Off! Synopsis
I adored the idea of there being a shop with draws stuffed full of settings and characters just ready and waiting for you. You pick out your perfect story ingredients. Then mix them together in a large pot and off you go on your very own adventure. What could be better! There are blank books ready for your story to be written in that eagerly await your adventure to be put to paper.
Fred the ferret is always on hand and goes with each story voyager into their story to keep them safe. However, even a seasoned story traveller like Fred may have bitten off more than he can chew when Mouse demands a story. There’s light peril at every corner in this hilarious story that has you unable to stop and put it down as you just can’t not turn the page!
Alice in Wonderland
I don’t want to give any spoilers but there is a section in the middle where on their second of three adventures into space they land in what can only be described as an alien Alice in Wonderland style setting. Here there’s a character very reminiscent of The Queen of Hearts. Oh and the alien caterpillars with all of their boots are brilliant! It’s an absolute feast of delight for those who love nothing better than to be swallowed whole into the world of fantasy.
Story Shop Quiz for You and Further Opportunities
There’s a cool little quiz that you can take at the end and depending upon your responses the Story Shop give you an adventure starting point that’s perfect for you. A lovely addition and a great spring board for children’s own adventure stories to develop.
For me this book is only the beginning. I defy any child to read this book and not want to gather together props to make their own shop. Whether at home or school it would be lovely to set up your own story shop for children to explore. A pot to mix your story ingredients together. It’s a great way to introduce the key elements needed to make a good story and you could pick these out of the book together.
Stories could be role played, filmed, story boarded or written to be able to preserve their ideas and allow others to enjoy the stories they have concocted. The possibilities are endless!
Early Chapter Books
Little Tiger Press do a great range of early chapter books. For me early chapter books are for those newly/ emergent independent readers who are just moving into the world of chapter books but need the scaffolding of illustrations to hold their interest and support their comprehension. This one is black and white illustrated and I love the daintiness of the drawings that are full of laugh out loud moments. Little Tiger Press also do a full colour range that are beautiful with a range of topics.
It’s a highly recommend from us for The Story Shop: Blast Off! Thank you #NetGalley and #LittleTigerPress for our eARC of #TheStoryShopBlastOff
A sequel to The Story Shop: Blast Off! is due out in Summer 2022 and we just can’t wait.
If you’re looking for a little non-fiction space fun then How To Teach Grown Ups About Pluto has caught my eye as a fun, interesting read. Fellow book blogger Jennie has been part of the book tour and I loved reading her blog post.
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