Monthly Archives: June 2023

Book Review: Fablehouse

Title: Fablehouse

Written by: E. L. Norry

Chapter Illustrations by: Lola Idowu

Maps by: Thy Bui

Published by: Bloomsbury

Fablehouse is the first in a trilogy of another high quality Storymix innovation, beautifully written by Emma Norry. Set in 1954, it is full of Arthurian legend, folktales and Fae magic set at fictional Fable House foster home for ‘Britain’s brown babies’. That is the babies born to the British women during WWII who were left alone after the black American soldiers were recalled and shipped back to America. Many of these ‘white’ mothers were shamed into giving up their babies and the children were taken into foster homes.

Heather has been sent to several of the homes but keeps running away. She arrives at Fablehouse, which is run by Miss Isolde and finally feel she has found where she belongs. There is a great cast of characters – Lloyd who is reliable and likes to follow the rules, Arlene who loves to sing and excitable Nat who prides himself as being a magician and of course Heather who enjoys reading. Together they call themselves the Roamers as they like to explore the grounds of Fablehouse. Each of them feel as if something is missing from their lives.

The way these four friends treat it as their duty to protect and help each other really resonated with me. They go on one of their picnics to the mystical stones where they meet Palamedes, the Black Knight. He does not know who he is or where he came from. Slowly his memory returns and he warns them a great danger has escaped from the stones. When the staff and other children are replaced with changelings, Palamedes explains how they must enter the Fae underworld to find their friends and save everyone at Fablehouse, as well as the neighbouring village and ultimately the save the world.

Not only did I love the historical background of this novel but the links to the Arthurian legends captured my imagination. I have had a long fascination with the Arthurian legends so forgive me if I digress slightly to explain that in the Arthurian legend outlined in Thomas Malory’s le Morte D’arthur and also in the Post Vulgate Cycle and the Prose Tristan, Palamedes was a Saracen from the Middle East, known as the hunter of the questing beast – a fearsome creature with the head and neck of a snake, the body of a leopard, the haunches of a lion and the feet of a hart. He was in love with Lady Isolde who was married to King Mark of Ireland. Sir Tristram was also in love with Isolde and so declared Palamedes his arch-enemy.

Emma Norry has masterfully weaved this feud and emotional triangle into Fable House to produce a totally immersive middle grade adventure, encompassing the themes of friendship, truth and identity. Fable House champions the importance of not judging people by their appearances, being true to yourself and doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do.

I found myself totally immersed in Fable House and its surroundings. Emma’s lovely descriptions gave me a vivid picture of the fae underworld and how the fae had been manipulated. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

You can buy copies of Fablehouse by E.L. Norry from your local bookshop, or online at uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.

Book Review: Emba and the Beckoning Bones

Title: Emba Oak and the Beckoning Bones

Written by: Jenny Moore

Cover illustrated by: David Dean

Published by: Maverick Publishing

Wow! From the first page to the last Emba Oak and the Beckoning Bones is a marvel. I love this series and can’t wait to join Emba in the next book in the series, Emba Oak and the Screaming Sea. Jenny Moore’s writing is clever and flows perfectly, drawing the reader seamlessly from one well structured event to another. The cover illustration by David Dean with the dragon skull would entice any young fantasy reader to pick the book up and certainly made me excited to start reading.

Emba is a fantastic well-rounded character. Her dragon skills are beginning to emerge and she endeavours to control them. Throughout her adventure she is plagued by dreams of her dragon mother. She is constantly worried Necromalcolm will return as he still needs her blood to complete his spell.

I was pleased to see that Emba Oak and the Beckoning Bones continued with the ingenious chapter headings that I loved so much in the first book, Emba Oak and the Terrible Tomorrows. I was pleased to see the continuation in this book of using double chapters, as there are two chapter ones, one showing Emba’s hopes and dreams for what is going to happen, the second showing what really occurs. I also love the alliteration used in all the place names.

When they find their home is ransacked Emba, Odolf and Fred consult the Tome of Terrible Tomorrows, which suggests they travel to find the hidden crypt under the Ruinous Rocky Mountains for answers. Their journey takes them through the Perilous Peaks to see the Hushed Hermit of Hibbert’s Hill, to fight a giant killer scorpion with two tails and to fall into the clutches of the Sleep Sucking Swirl of Slumber. On the way, Emba reluctantly befriends a wasp snake and meets Merle who is eager to help them on their quest and despite her friends warnings, Emba still trusts.

The ending is a real twist and a half. My jaw literally dropped. Emba Oak and the Beckoning Bones is another exciting, well-written adventure, which I have come to expect from Maverick Publishing, ideal for KS2.

As previously mentioned, but is worth repeating… I loved it.

You can read my review of Emba Oak and the Terrible Tomorrows by Jenny Moore here: Book Review: Emba Oak and the Terrible Tomorrows.

You can buy copies of Jenny Moore’s books direct from the publisher Maverick Publishing, from your local bookshop, or you can also purchase copies online at uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.

I would like to thank Abi Reeves at Maverick for sending me a review copy of Emba Oak and the Terrible Tomorrows. Thank you.

Blog Tour – Toby and the Silver Blood Witches by Sally Doherty

For my stop on the Toby and the Silver Blood Witches blog tour I will be doing a spotlight of the book.

This book won first place in the BBNYA 2022. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner.  If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website http://www.bbnya.com or Twitter @bbnya_official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

The main character of, Toby and the Silver Blood Witches, is twelve year old Toby who has little time for friends or football since his mum fell ill. All he wants is to stay at home and keep an eye on her. But mysterious things are happening beyond his garden hedge. Who is the figure at the window behind the barbed wire fence? And why is there a strange woman in his attic with a broken broom and bothersome pet bat?

Toby becomes entangled in an adventure of flying dogs, sparking hiccups and dangerous escapes. An innocent, young witch has been captured by a secretive organisation which will stop at nothing to find out how magic works. Toby must rescue her and time is running out.

Toby and the Silver Blood Witches by Sally Doherty was also the winner of the Book Blogger Novel of the Year Award 2022 and Writeblend Award 2022. Finalist in The Wishing Shelf Awards 2021. Shortlisted for The Selfies Book Awards 2022 and Rubery Book Awards 2022. The book is illustrated by Sarah Jan Docker @sarahjdocker

Sally writes middle grade novels. Her debut novel Toby and the Silver Blood Witches was published in July 2021. She lives in Surrey, UK, with her husband and three-legged Labrador. When not resting in bed due to chronic M.E. she can be found writing, reading or editing, searching for a sunny spot in the garden or providing a good scratch behind the ears.

Sally writes articles about living with chronic illness which have been published by MSN, Yahoo News, Metro UK, The Mighty, ME Association and Action for ME.

She dabbles in flash fiction with pieces published by Reflex Fiction, Spelk Fiction, Funny Pearls and Ellipsis Zine. She has won Retreat West’s Micro Fiction competition four times. And she is WriteMentor’s flash fiction judge.

You can discover more about Sally Doherty and her books on Twitter @Sally_writes and Facebook @sallydohertywrites.

Blog Tour: Meet the Bears by Kate Peridot and Becca Hall

It is with great pleasure that I am joining the blog tour for Meet the Bears by Kate Peridot and Becca Hall.

Kate Peridot is a prolific writer who loves research. Her research skills were honed by a love of books, studying for an international business degree, working as a marketer for food companies and then as a freelance writer.

She writes wild and adventurous children’s fiction and non-fiction about animals, people and STEM that encourage a can-do spirit, a quest for knowledge and a sense of adventure. Meet the Bears certainly does capture this essence.

The illustrator, Becca Hall, has a thing for nature, which often finds its way into her artwork. 

She is constantly finding inspiration from the natural world around her. Over the years, she has worked on an array of projects, including illustrated maps, product and packaging illustrations, branding, book illustrations, website art, and even adorable pet portraits. She also has her own range of giftware. 

My stop on the tour will take the form of a book review:

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Title: Meet the Bears

Written by: Kate Peridot

Illustrated by: Becca Hall

Published by: Welbeck Publishing

Meet the Bears by Kate Peridot is the first in the series of enticing creative non-fiction books that focus on the different species of animals that can be found all over the world. This book concentrates, as the title would suggest, on bears.

It opens with a little girl and her teddy bears in her bedroom and her father telling her how ‘great’ bears are. They pack their bear spotting kit and set off on an adventure to discover the features of all the different species of bear so she can identify her own teddy bears family.

We learn there are eight different species of bear. We also discover that some animals people think are bears are not actually bears. It was a shock to read the koala is one of these animals.

Each species of bear has two beautiful double-page spreads full of facts on their general appearance, the food they eat, their fur, whether they hibernate and where in the world they live.

I was again surprised to find out how few bears actually hibernate. Meet thd Bears is full of interesting and thought-provoking facts like these. Proving this book is suitable for readers of all ages who wish to expand their knowledge of bears.

I enjoyed the addition of the girl’s reason why her own teddy cannot be each particular species using information found in the text and felt it was a satisfactory conclusion when she finally identified the species of her Teddy bear, which gave ghe book a lovely ahhhh factor.

Becca Hall’s illustrations capture the features of the different bears perfectly. One of my favourites is the black bear asleep in the tree. Becca also demonstrates a fantastic loving relationship between father and daughter. I particularly like the way the artwork bleeds to the edge of the page in each of the first spreads.

At the back of the book there is a map with a key of where each species is found and a table comparing the size of each bear. This is a useful and fascinating appendage that young children will love to study and assess. On the very last page there was also some interesting information on how to stay safe in bear country. I believe even children in the UK, where we do not have bears will be enthralled by this.

Meet the Bears would make the ideal gift for any child interested in nature and animal conservation. It can also be used in the classroom or home schooling to support work on animals and their environments and adaptations. As well as this it would provide and excellent springboard for children to research other animals and their different adaptations, such as apes, ducks, turtles, wild cats, etc. to name but a few.

Another exceptionally concise and informative illustrated non-fiction picture book from Kate Peridot, pitched perfectly at KS1 and lower KS2.

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To read my interview with Kate Peridot you can check out: Blog Tour – Caring Conservationists by Kate Peridot

To find out more about Kate Peridot and her books you can visit her website: www.kateperidot.com, or follow her on Twitter @kateperidot, Instagram @kateperidot and on Facebook @kate.peridot.7

To find out more about Becca Hall and her artwork you can visit her website: https://www.beccahallillustration.co.uk, or follow her on Instagram @beccahallillustration and Facebook @BeccaHallIllustration.

You can purchase a copy of Meet the Bears by Kate Peridot and Becca Hall from most independent booksellers or online from uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.

To take a look at the other stops on the tour check out the tour schedule:

I would like to thank Anna Cole from Hachette Books for sending me a hardback review copy of Meet the Bears to review on my blog.

And if you have got this far in the post I would like to end with a couple of bear jokes.

What did the teddy bear say after dinner? I’m stuffed.

What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear.

Please feel free to comment with your own bear jokes below, even if it is just to prove you’ve read the post.

Book review: Let’s Play Football!

Title: Let’s Play Football!

Written by: Ben Lerwill

Illustrated by: Marina Ruiz

Published by: Welbeck Publishing

One of the side effects of the pandemic has been people have become more isolated and many still prefer to work from home than to travel. I am beginning to see an increase in children’s books with a theme of how the human race are very social beings. Let’s Play Football! by Ben Lerwill and Marina Ruiz is one of these books.

A real celebration of football, this creative non-fiction picture book highlights the importance of football throughout the world as a means of bringing people together. Through his clear and tightly written text, Ben Lerwill, focuses on how football is a social activity everyone can enjoy no matter your age, gender, race of physical ability. The emphasise is on how accessible and enjoyable the game is and not on the rules, the big named football stars, football teams or competitive clubs.

Marian Ruiz’s soft pastel illustrations provide a sense of pleasure and movement. They successfully show how football is a diverse and  inclusive game for everyone. The overall message is football can be played and enjoyed by all, wherever you are. All you need is a ball or something that rolls.

Let’s Play Football is a great book advocating enjoying life as a community.

Book Review: The Jackal’s Graveyard

Title: The Jackal’s Graveyard

Written by: Saviour Pirotta

Illustrated by: Jo Lindley

Published by: Maverick Arts Publishing

The Jackal’s Graveyard is the third book in the Nile Adventure series we follow Renni, his brother Mahu and Balaal the undercover princess, daughter of a Fenkhu king, on another thrilling adventure across thirteenth century Egypt. The Visor has supposedly been defeated but we are introduced to an even more cunning and devious adversary, with impressive skills in disguise. We join the three friends very soon after The Crocodile Curse ended. Prince Khaem, the forth son of Ramesses the Great, has asked them to the Royal Palace to meet Master Khonsu, his long-term tutor.

As with the other books, The Jackal’s Graveyard, is written from the two very distinct points of view of the two brothers. This allows us to see what is happening in different places giving us a wider picture of events. The book has been divided into three acts and at the beginning of each act the reader learns more about the antagonist and how their schemes. I enjoyed being able to see events in this way from the antagonists point of view.

Master Khonsu invites them all to the magnificent City of Per Ramesses as he would like Renni to decorate his new home. He also give Balaal a scroll of spells to study and the Prince makes Mahu an apprentice sailor on his royal barge, taking orders directly from Captain Tefiki. On the way to Per Ramesses the friends discover a ring of spies who are plotting to kill the Prince. The three friends must solve the cryptic clues to save him.

This exciting adventure is full of twists and turns. The three children can never be sure who they can trust as anyone could be a spy. I was hooked to the end and eager for the next book, The Serpent’s Eclipse, as the identity of the Jackal is still unknown and another formidable villain joins the circle of spies at their new hideout.

I recommend this book for all lower KS2 children and it would be the ideal book to read to the class whilst studying the Ancient Egyptians. It provides a brilliant overview of the history and everyday life during this era. Jo Lindley’s illustrations adds to the atmosphere and captures the Ancient Egyptian era well. At the back of the book there is a glossary and really fascinating author notes about Per Ramessu.

A real page turner that grips the reader from the useful map at the start to the author notes at the end.

You can read my review of The Crocodile Curse by Saviour Pirotta and Jo Lindley here: Book Review: The Crocodile Curse.

You can buy copies of The Jackal’s Graveyard and the other books in the series, The Heart Scarab and the The Crocodile Curse by Saviour Pirotta and Jo Lindley direct from the publisher Maverick Publishing, from your local bookshop, or you can also purchase a copy online at uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.

I would like to thank Abi Reeves at Maverick for sending me a review copy of The Jackal’s Graveyard. Thank you.

Blog Tour – The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams by Victoria Williamson

It is my pleasure to announce that today is my stop of the blog tour for this brilliant middle grade novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams by Victoria Williamson.

Title: The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams

Written by: Victoria Williamson

Illustrated by: James Brown

Published by: Tiny Tree

Blurb

In a strange little village called Witchetty Hollow, eleven-year-old Florizel is the first to run into the curious visitors who’ve come to open a brand new Daydream Delicatessen and sack-baby factory.                                  

At first, it seems the daydream confection and cheap sack children are the best things that could have happened to the poor folk of the Hollow – after all, who has the money to rent their child from Storkhouse Services these days? But after a few weeks, Florizel starts to notice something odd happening to the adults of the town. First, they seem dreamy, then they lose all interest in their jobs and families. Soon they’re trading all their worldly goods in the newly-opened Pawnshop for money to buy daydreams. With no money for rent payments, the children of Witchetty Hollow are being reclaimed by Storkhouse Services at an alarming rate. Florizel needs to act.

A magical tale of intrigue and adventure from award-winning children’s author Victoria Williamson

Review

The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams is a very clever story. The intricate world of Witchetty Hollow has been well-thought out and the dynamics of the town clearly constructed to steer the course of events for the whole story. Every detail is interconnected to produce a very elaborate poverty stricken world where our hero Florizel and her hilarious sidekick Burble the sack-boy, have to prevent the three scheming siblings: Grimalkin, Griselda and Grendel Gobbelino from completing their devious plan and ultimately save the village and all its inhabitants.

Florizel, has been rented by Gammer Oakenshaw for eleven years and has to pretend to be uneducated as the rent is determined by her test results at school. She lives with the constant fear that if she does well in her tests her rent will increase and Gammer Oakenshaw will not be able to afford her, so she will be reclaimed by the Storkhouse Child Collectors and re-issued to another family.

She befriends Burble, a sack-boy who has escaped from recollection by the Gobbelinos, when they arrive to set up business in Witchetty Hollow. Florizel and Burble’s relationship is brilliant and kept you turning the pages. Together they use their detective skills to solve the mystery of the Gobbelino Corporation and save the village.

I found the elaborate world building fascinating and it drew me in from the start. The complex connections between the daydream delicatessen, the sack-baby factory, the pawnshop, people going missing and the fact no real babies had been born for over ten years creating a vicious circle that only lines the Gobbelino siblings’ pockets, were well crafted, creating an eerie suspense to this mystery adventure.

The dark undercurrents of the Witchetty Hollow world are a direct reflection of society, highlighting how people are motivated by greed and a lust for wealth with no thought to the consequences of others.

On the whole, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is an excellent, cinematic read with hints of Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

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About the Author

Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.

Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.

Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.

You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com

I would like to thank The Write Reads for inviting me to take part in this tour. Thank you.

Book Review: The Tiny Grain of Sand

Title: The Tiny Grain of Sand

Written by: Sylvian Alzial

Illustrated by: Benoit Tardif

Published by: Thames & Hudson

The Tiny Grain of Sand by Sylvian Alzial and Benoit Tardif was inspired by a Basque legend and traditional Asian folklore. The story encompasses the proverbs: ‘The grass is greener on the other side’, ‘You can be anything you want to be’ and ‘Be careful what you wish for’ and the fable ‘How can you be happy with life when there is so much temptation’.

It is about a tiny grain of sand who is bored of life on the beach with the other tiny grains of sand and wishes to be a pebble. The grain of sand’s wish comes true but soon it becomes bored of being a pebble and the wishes escalate, at one point it even becomes the sun floating around in space.

I particularly liked Sylvian Alzial’s use of a wide variety of onomatopoeic words each time it changed to something else. Children will love trying to make up the sounds and thinking of their own.

Benoit Tardif’s digitally produced illustrations consist of bold colour on a white background. These simple, colourful images are highly effective and will keep readers turning the pages. The children could produce some incredible art work of their own in the style of Benoit Tardif.  

A great book for discussing proverbs and fables and examining what they would like to be as they grow older.

This book was originally reviewed for Armadillo Magazine.

Special Guest: Q & A with Lorraine Gregory

I am thrilled to have Lorraine Gregory as a special guest on my blog today to celebrate the launch of her latest novel, Interdimensional Explorers.

Lorraine has had various jobs over the years including school dinner lady, chef and restaurant manager but she has always had a secret desire to be a writer. She writes middle grade fantasy, with zany characters, which zip off on adventures, fighting monsters and evil villains.

Interdimensional Explorers is the first in a brand-new sensationally spacey, action-packed adventure. Nothing exciting ever happens on twelve-year-old Danny’s estate. That is until he falls through a locker in his grandad’s workshop and finds himself in an Interdimensional Lost Property Office! And – even weirder – his new boss is a giant purple squid on a segway.

Now Danny, best mate Modge and annoying cousin Inaaya find themselves in charge of returning alien items to all corners of the universe. But someone – or something – is determined to stop them. And there’s NOTHING these evil aliens won’t stop at to achieve complete multi-dimensional domination, even trapping Danny and his friends on a planet a million light years away from Earth.

Now for the part you’ve all been waiting for… the interview.

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Hi Lorraine,

Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed on my blog on the day of Interdimensional Explorers release, Thursday 8th June 2023.

The multiverse has been something that has fascinated and inspired me since I used to watch Sliders as a child, so when I heard about your latest book Interdimensional Explorers I just had to learn more about it.

So to start, please tell us a little about yourself and the inspiration for your book, Interdimensional Explorers.

Hi Anita, thanks for inviting me on your blog. I’m a mixed race kid brought up on a council estate and I never saw myself in books growing up. I wanted to give kids like me a story – not an issue story – but an amazing sci fi adventure.

Why did you decide to write a book about the multiverse for children?

Having a multiverse gives me so many options and opportunities for different worlds and ideas. It allows me to play around with world building as much as I like which is what I love to do. At the same time I hope it will spark children’s imaginations and encourage them to explore more sci fi.

What comes first for you the plot, or the characters, and why?

It’s always characters for me. I have to find them first and the plot grows around them. It’s important to me that the characters drive the story because their motivations and reactions are key to making any story believable.

What are the underlying themes of your novel, Interdimensional Explorers?

I think there are a few, loyalty, friendship and learning to believe in yourself no matter where you come from or what other people might think.

How much research did you need to do for your book? 

Because the sci fi in my book is more fiction than science not a huge amount! I did read up on some theories about multiverse’s but everything is quite vague so I felt happy to just let my imagination go wild!

If you could be a character in any of your books, who would you be?

That’s quite a tricky question. I write quite a lot of evil villains and I’m mean to most of my main characters! I’d maybe be Tingle from Maker of Monsters because she has the confidence of all cats and I’d love a bit more of that!

What writing advice would you give to people aspiring to be a children’s book writer?

Read as much as you can! You can learn everything about story structure from reading, and then write as much as you can. Try different genres and styles until you find one that works for you, explore different ideas till you find one that you can’t ignore and then polish it as much as you can. Then  try and find a crit group – online or in person – and get people to read your work and give you feedback, then start editing your work. Repeat the process.

How did you celebrate when you finished writing Interdimensional Explorers?

Interdimensional explorers was written during Lockdown and opportunities to celebrate were limited so I treated the family to a takeaway and a movie for putting up with me writing all the time!

Thank you Lorraine for taking the time to answer my questions for my blog, Much To Do About Writing, I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Thank you for having me Anita and all the great questions. The next book will be heading to Earth in March 2024!

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You can find Lorraine on twitter @authorontheedge and you can check out her website Lorraine Gregory Author: www.lorrainegregoryauthor.co.uk

Lorraine recommends the independent bookshops like https://chickenandfrog.com and https://rocketshipbookshop.co.uk as two of the best places to purchase her books. You can also order online at at uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.

Book Review: Marvellous Maps

Title: Marvellous Maps: The World as you have never seen it before

Written by: Simon Kuestenmacher

Illustrated by: Margarida Esteves

Published by: Welbeck Publishing

Marvellous Maps: The World as you have never seen it before brings together a selection of Simon Kuestenmacher’s extraordinary maps, inspired by the incredible collection he posts regular to his Twitter account for his 257.2K followers: @simongerman600

These 40 extraordinary maps will encourage young curious and imaginative minds to explore the world in a unique and visually powerful way. There are wide variety of simple yet stimulating maps to delve into and analyse from The World is a Cat Playing with Australia to an impression of a NASA representation stitched from night satellite images to show a digital view of the world as The Black Marble.

A few of my favourites include The Epic Journey of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, which depicts the twelve years of fighting mythical beings outlined by the Greek poet Homer in his famous Odyssey poem; Where You Can See The Northern Lights, A World Designed By Dolphins and The Longest Straight Line You Can Walk, which is actually from Liberia to Eastern China.

Margarida Esteves digitally produced maps present often complex concepts in an uncomplicated, easy to understand way that would be ideal for encouraging reluctant readers to enjoy books.

This is a clever book that makes you think. Simon Kuestenmacher has packed it full of interesting facts such as, Australia is bigger than the dwarf planet Pluto, all the countries of the world fit into the Pacific Ocean, and in 1972, astronauts took a famous photo of earth called The Blue Marble.

At the back of the book is a bibliography containing more information about the inspiration and original maps which is an asset top the book and demonstrates the dedication and research that went into each map.

I would recommend this book for all inquisitive minds – children’s and adult’s.

You can buy copies of Marvellous Maps by Simon Kuestenmacher and Margarida Esteves from your local bookshop, or online at uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.