Anita Loughrey's blog. This is my journal about my experiences and thoughts on writing. As well as news about me and my books, it includes writing tips, book reviews, author interviews and blog tours.
For more information about me and my books see my website: www.anitaloughrey.com. Follow me on Twitter @amloughrey, Facebook @anitaloughrey.author and on Instagram @anitaloughrey
The city roared like a jungle. Leonie roared back at the city. She shook her mane and swished her tail. She was a lion girl.
Leonie and her mother are off to the big city! Inspired by the people, sights and sounds, Leonie can’t wait to discover it all. Her mother tells her to stay close, but there’s SO much to see. And surely nothing can scare a brave lion girl, can it?
Review
This is a beautiful story, illustrated in bright smudgy pastels about a young girl, Leonie, visiting London with her mother. Leonie notices the people on the underground all look extraordinary and decides she will be extraordinary too by pretending to be Lion Girl.
This picture book will encourage some powerful discussion around feeling nervous and putting on a brave face. Young children will be able to identify with Leonie when she gets lost in the bustling crowd and her new found bravado escapes her. The ending is satisfying and reassuring to young children.
A great resource for a KS1 class to talk about feelings and what to do when they feel lost and afraid. There are themes of being brave and staying calm in a potentially overwhelming situation.
You can buy copies of Little Lion Girl by Olivia Hope and Fiona Woodcock from your local bookshop, or online at uk.bookshop.org which supports local, independent bookshops
Tulip loves being outside. She loves puddles and pinecones, flowers and feathers, and her pockets are full of nature’s treasure. But Tulip is desperate to know more about the things she sees and finds on her daily walk …
“What is this fruit… this plant… this seed?” “What is this tree… this leaf… this reed?”
So, when Tulip finds a nature trail drawn in chalk on the street outside her house, she is delighted to discover the names and uses of all her favourite trees, plants, and flowers. Then one day, she comes home to find a carefully wrapped present waiting on her doorstep … A book of nature from around the world.
Every day, Tulip learns more and more about nature, but who is creating the nature trail?
With names and facts given for every tree, plant and flower Tulip discovers, this beautifully illustrated book encourages children to stop, notice, name and celebrate the nature that can be found in their surroundings – and beyond. Because just outside your own front door, there is a whole world of nature to explore.
Review
The Wild Outside is the ideal educational picture book to encourage young children to explore nature and being outside away from TV and their games consoles. It will encourage children to foster a love of the great outdoors and their local environment even when it is raining.
This book displays how their curiosity can spark a wider interest in the plants and fauna found not only in their own gardens but worldwide, from the forest mangroves of Asia, the rainforests and grasslands of Africa, to the cold deserts of Antarctica.
There are some fun activities at the end of the book to inspire young children further. Who knows maybe they will even create their own nature trails, as well as helping them to extend their joy of books.
You can buy copies of The Wild Outside by Rachel Ip and Katie Hickey from your local bookshop, or online at uk.bookshop.org which supports local, independent bookshops.
Molly and the Pirate Cave is a heartwarming and educational picture book that delivers an important message about the changing tides. This is the seventh book in the Molly series, set on an island. The story offers an engaging narrative while encouraging discussions about personal safety, particularly around water.
In this adventure, Molly defies her parents’ warnings when her beloved dog, Gus, goes missing. After a restless night with no sign of him, she ventures into the ominous Pirate Cave, drawn by an unsettling noise. There, in the pitch-dark surroundings, she finds little Bo, paralyzed with fear after also searching for Gus. Offering him reassurance, Molly soon hears Gus barking from a ledge above. The dog’s heightened senses detect the approaching tide, signalling imminent danger. The children scramble to safety onto the ledge with Gus and attempt to make enough noise to attract help.
The beautiful animated illustrations by Andrew Whitson capture the children’s fear and determination as they navigate the perilous cave. The detailed double-page spreads effectively convey the cave’s claustrophobic darkness and the looming danger of the rising tide. The artwork also masterfully transitions to the book’s final, more uplifting moments, creating a compelling visual journey.
Beyond its engaging storytelling, Molly and the Pirate Cave serves as an excellent tool for educating young readers about the power and unpredictability of the sea. It reinforces the importance of respecting nature and heeding adult guidance in potentially dangerous situations.
Overall, this instalment stands as a captivating and meaningful addition to the Molly series, offering both an exciting adventure and a valuable lesson in water safety.
Another brilliant adventure by Cath Howe in the Call the Puffin series. This time our brave puffins Muffin and Tiny have to save a new recruit, Forti, when he wanders off and gets stuck in the rigging of a shipwreck.
The thing I particularly like about the Call the Puffin books is that each of the characters is easily identified by their little quirks, such as Tiny’s glasses and awkwardness, Muffins feet and quick-thinking, level headedness and even a new character to the team has the visual characteristic of a tuft of feathers that stick up on his head and a behavioural characteristic of being a thrill seeker who is easily distracted.
Again the third book in the series is an exciting read for young children and the reading level is gauged well as usual. It is pitched with just the right amount of danger to keep the children turning the pages but not to scare them.
It includes themes of friendship, comradery, teamwork and cooperation. Call the Puffins! Muffin and the Shipwreck has an underlying message of if they are told they can’t do something it is not to ruin their fun but because there is real danger. I also liked how it reinforced that they have to not only think of the safety of themselves but also the safety of their friends and colleagues.
Great example of how things are easier to achieve if they work together.
My Heart is Hurting by S. E. Reed, is a contemporary young adult novel and was the 14th place finalist in BBNYA 2024.
About BBNYA
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 (16 in 2024) and one overall winner.
If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.
My stop on the BBNYA blog tour to help celebrate the success of S. E. Reed takes the form of a book review:
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Title: My Heart is Hurting
Written by: S. E. Reed
Blurb
Jinny Buffett is lonely…
She’s never had the comfort of a white picket fence with a loving family. Her subsidized apartment in Hollywood Florida echoes with the void of her dead Daddy, and the nights drag long into twilight while her Mama works the block outside the Margaritaville resort.
It’s idealistic Ms. Fleming, who’s brave enough to come knocking first. She wants to see Jinny rise up and use her ace scores to escape the wheel of poverty, convincing Jinny to start a school book club, where she finds the friends and boyfriend she never knew she needed.
But when her Mama spirals out of control and threatens her entire existence, it’s Jinny’s Everglade ancestors who arrive in a mist of magic, bringing the swamp and hope with them.
Review
My Heart is Hurting is a compelling and fast-paced novel that immediately drew me in. The action starts from the very first page, and the book is well-written and well-edited, free from any distracting grammar or typo issues. The descriptions of the setting and supporting characters felt authentic and truly reflected the perspective of a young teenager.
One of the novel’s strengths is the engaging way it tells the story. The inclusion of different forms of communication, such as messages between friends, kept the pace lively and immersive. From the very start, we were inside Jinny’s head, experiencing her thoughts and emotions firsthand, which makes her a very vivid and relatable protagonist.
I found the chapter one heading particularly intriguing, immediately sparking my curiosity about what Jinny was being asked to do. I appreciated the question posed in the heading was clearly answered by the end of the chapter. While the plot initially seemed simple in that Jinny was asked by her teacher to start a club, it was engaging, with clear hints of the challenges ahead due to her circumstances and strong-willed personality. This set-up created a strong foundation for the story.
The introduction of mysterious spirit figures and Jinny’s dream added an intriguing supernatural element that kept me turning the pages. Jinny’s reactions and emotions felt authentic for her age, and I sympathized with her difficult family situation. However, by the halfway point, I found myself unsure whether her main goal was truly to communicate with her father, or if a deeper purpose would emerge. The idea of talking to her deceased father, which initially seemed important, faded into the background rather than remaining her clear driving force.
Jinny herself is a well-developed character, and her strong personality is instantly clear. The novel does an excellent job of showing how her family background has shaped her. She is both tough and vulnerable, making her a believable and emotionally engaging protagonist. Her struggles with accepting help felt particularly realistic, as I found myself both sympathizing with her and feeling frustrated in the same way an adult might when dealing with a headstrong teenager.
However, as the book progressed, the tone shifted quite dramatically. About three-quarters of the way through, the story took a much darker turn, which for me made it feel almost like a completely different book. While this unexpected change could be engaging for some readers, I found it a little jarring. Additionally, the ending required a significant amount of exposition to explain the twists, which left me feeling disconnected. Rather than allowing readers to piece things together through earlier clues, a lot of the explanation arrives all at once, which made the conclusion less satisfying.
While Jinny’s character remained strong throughout, her mother’s actions, especially moments like attempting to harm Jinny at the hospital, felt sudden and difficult to understand. At times, Jinny seemed to have little control over her circumstances, with events happening to her rather than her being the driving force behind the resolution.
I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of My Heart is Hurting, particularly the way it establishes Jinny’s character and her struggles. However, the latter half of the book left me feeling frustrated at times, which may have been the author’s intention. The ending, in particular, left me with lingering questions, as I didn’t feel a true sense of closure, or safety for Jinny.
Overall, My Heart is Hurting is an engaging and well-crafted novel with a strong protagonist and a compelling premise. While the tonal shift and ending left me wanting more clarity, it remains a thought-provoking read that explores deep emotions and complex relationships.
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You can read more reviews of My Heart is Hurting by S. E. Reed at:
Much To Do About Writing 