How To Survive Without Grown-Ups By Larry Hayes

We received How To Survive Without Grown-Ups by Larry Hayes to review. This comedy sci-fi adventure book is aimed at children 8+ and is full of fantastic illustrations by Katie Abey.

How to survive without grown-ups
Front cover of How to Survive without Grown-ups By Larry Hayes

How To Survive Without Grown-Ups

Mum and Dad have left – gone to Mars, and they’re never coming back…

But this isn’t one of Dad’s weird jokes; it’s REAL. It’s up to ten-year-old Eliza and her genius little brother, Johnnie to find out what’s going on and launch a rescue.

Can they handle vampire squids, a suspicious villain, a secret island full of traps, and a trip into space? And – more importantly – will they ever get their parents back?

Larry Hayes

Larry Hayes has a day job running an investment fund, a part-time one as financial director of a homeless charity and on Fridays he home schools his two kids letting them decide what to study. How To Survive Without Grown-Ups is his debut novel.

Katie Abey

Katie Abey is an illustrator who lives in a teeny hobbit-like house in Derbyshire with a cat, a hedgehog, a small human, and a rainbow-haired husband. Her work often features sarcastic-looking animals, and she likes using a lot of colour: she is allergic to Magnolia.

Eva’s Thoughts

How to survive without parents is a witty, family-friendly book, where readers go into the world of fiction in the year 2053! I loved all of the many characters in the book! My absolute favourite is  Myrt, The lemon family’s Cocker spaniel, whose nemesis is all things orange! 

Jonnie and Eliza Lemon’s parents are going to Mars forever! Luckily, the confident and brainy siblings come up with a plan to get to their parents and make them not want to go to Mars. So they pack their stuff, and set off across the ocean, and run into many obstacles and advantages along the way.

They run into robot animals and many more things along their travel path. They soon meet the mischievous Noah, who tricks them into staying and he pretends to help save their parents. He actually doesn’t help and instead sends high technology robots to go into their brains so he can hack them too.! Luckily, they avoid this and finds out Noah’s true ways…. 

After this, he locks them in a treehouse and sends the robots to go after them! I won’t spoil the ending for you but this is such an enjoyable read with lots of action and interesting characters.

The Adventures of Bella Cutie and Buttons

Izzy received The Adventures of Bella Cutie and Buttons to read and review a few weeks ago. She has read it a few times alone, with Eva and with me as she absolutely loves the book!

The Adventures of Bella Cutie and Buttons’ is a funny and truly endearing story about the friendship between a little girl and a fox cub. Bella is a happy child who is curious about the world. Meeting the talkative fox cub Buttons opens her eyes to the beautiful natural world and amazing wildlife on her doorstep. The two friends get up to many funny escapades and the occasional bit of trouble, all portrayed in a charming and light-hearted way. This feel-good book is sure to bring a smile to both children`s and parents` faces.

Desi Cloete

Desi Cloete lives in the picturesque Surrey Hills with her husband and six-year-old daughter. A keen reader from a young age, she discovered a passion for writing and illustrating short stories. Desi hopes her book will inspire children to value nature and develop an interest in wildlife conservation.

Izzy’s Thoughts

Izzy said the book makes her feel like humans come closer to nature with Bella Cutie meeting and making friends with Buttons. She really enjoyed them having fun exploring the beautiful nature around them. It made her feel really happy reading about their adventures and would love to read more!

My Thoughts

This beautifully written story is a great bedtime story with its feel good vibes as Bella Cutie and Buttons become great friends and have so much fun together. Izzy sat smiling and giggling the whole way through.

The Three Hares – The Jade Dragonball Book Review

We received The Three Hares – The Jade Dragonball by Scott Lauder & David Ross. This children’s quest fantasy is packed full of action and adventure!

The Three Hares -The Jade Dragonball by Scott Lauder and David Scott Ross

The Three Hares – The Jade Dragonball

Sara Livingstone’s school trip to the Beijing Palace Museum takes a terrifying turn when an encounter with the ancient Qingming Scroll thrusts her a thousand years into China’s past. With secrets in the shadows and danger around every corner, Sara must take her place in a cosmic battle and find the courage to face an unworldly ancient magic.

Scott Lauder

Scott Lauder Author Picture

Scott Lauder was born in Ayrshire, Scotland. Having taught in Greece, Japan, and England, he now lives with his wife and four cats in the UAE where he teaches English. In his free time, he enjoys hiking and drinking good coffee. His other books include The Right Thing, A Single Shot, and The Boy-King Tutankhamun.

David Scott Ross

David Scott Ross has traveled and taught throughout Asia since he first moved there in 1987. He currently teaches in upstate NY, where he lives with his wife and two sons. When David is not writing or teaching, he dreams about becoming a chef, a rock star, maybe an actor, but probably not all at once. At present, he is wrapping up two projects: Pastimes, encounters with a Stone Age people, and Dim, a detective novel.

Eva’s Thoughts

I really enjoyed the book because it reminded me that we have forgotten how to make and build things without using machines to help us. When Sara Livingstone visited the museum she saw a vision of a strange person talking about the QingMing Scroll which I loved. When Sara visited ancient China she used her wits and Granny Tang’s stories to survive which was amazing! I think everyone will enjoy The Three Hares – The Jade Dragonball just as much as I have, it’s packed full of adventure and magic a bit like Harry Potter.

The Purple-Bellied Parrot By William Fagus

I received The Purple-Bellied Parrot By William Fagus to review as part of the Random Things Blog Tours. This children’s action and adventure book follows The Purple-Bellied Parrot on his quest to live his would-be life.

The Purple-Bellied Parrot by William Fagus

The Purple-Bellied Parrot

Discover…

The power of the ‘HhhuuuUUUUTTT!’

Ever feel you are living the wrong life?

Ever feel another life, your should-be life, is out there waiting for oi, if only you had the courage to…

Have you answered yes to any of those questions?

Then follow the Purple-Bellied Parrot on a rip-roaring globe-spanning adventure packed with unforgettable characters. His quest to live his should-be life.

It Begins: In the sterile apartment of a city executive with unruly nasal hair where the Purple-Bellied parrot cannot even do the very thing he was born to do.

It Ends: On the shores of a distant land after an epic journey which tests his courage, his ingenuity and the bonds of friendship – to the limit.

The Purple-Bellied Parrot Blurb

William Fagus

William Fagus Author Picture

The publicity-shy William Fagus live in a remote location in an upturned fishing smack with a parrot and sundry antique musical instruments and carpentry tools.

The redoubtable Mrs Lush, his cleaning lady and confidant, is his most frequent visitor.

Our Thoughts

Eva and I both read The Purple-Bellied Parrot and really enjoyed it. The Purple-Bellied Parrot finds himself remembering a time before being stuck in a cage looking up at nostril hair. He decides he needs to live his would be life and has quite an adventure doing so. You can’t help but laugh and cry while reading this book. Humour and sadness are weaved cleverly into this beautiful story as the Purple-Bellied Parrot learns about the world around him.

Overall we both think children from around 7 to 8 years and adults will love this book. It’s perfect for reading aloud to all the family. With characters such as the Spuggies, Sergeant Troggers and Millie, the Purple-Bellied Parrots adventure will have you hooked!

The Lost Fairy Tales – Fearless Girls Around The World

Eva received The Lost Fairy Tales – Fearless Girls Around The World to review from Little Tiger. Written by Isabel Otter and illustrated beautifully by Ana Senderthroughout, this book is perfect for ages 7 to 11 years.

The Lost Fairy Tales - Fearless Girls Around The World

The Lost Fairy Tales

An enchanting anthology of 20 overlooked and forgotten fairy tales has been collected from different cultures around the world to create this book. Every story features a female heroine, who approaches life with humour, wit, cunning and bravery. None of these heroines need rescuing!

Story Map

Ana Sender’s magical illustrations bring these tales to life, and a handy map shows the origin of the stories from around the world. The Lost Fairy Tales is the perfect gift to inspire and uplift young readers.

Isabel Otter

Isabel is a children’s book editor and writer. She grew up in rural Herefordshire and spent much of her childhood in trees. Isabel loves weaving stories and writing about the world around her. She currently lives in London.

Ana Sender

Ana was born in Terrassa (Barcelona). As a child, she loved to draw, write and imagine all sorts of stories. She studied painting and illustrations in Massana art school in Barcelona. Her work has appeared in newspapers, books and also fashion (as a pattern designer for the Spanish brand La Casita de Wendy). Ana has written and illustrated children’s books The Orchid Hunter and The Cottingley Fairies, her last book Onironiro is a picture book about the adventures or situations she lives in her dreams. She likes werewolves, surrealism and swampy places.

Our Thoughts

We love The Lost Fairy Tales, each story really is unique in showing how women, all around the world are heroines too. The majority of fairy tales often portray prim princesses as damsels in distress but not in this book.

Goddess of the sun

Eva’s favourite story was Goddess of the Sun, set in Mexico. She likes how the message behind the story is that men aren’t always the strongest or bravest and that girls can be the heroine of the story.

Goddess Of The Sun Image

The beautiful illustrations throughout the book help the stories come alive. Fairy tales are often retold of written by men, about men. It’s lovely to discover so many fairy tales where that is simply not the case. I absolutely love this book and so does Eva, the stories really show that girls can be just as brave, strong and clever as men and can save the day too.

Do you enjoy books with strong female characters too?

Star In Your Own Story Personalised Books

Izzy received Star In Your Own Story personalised books from Little Tiger to review this month. Every child loves to be the star in the story and they can with these 4 new fun titles. These fun books let you add multiple names too!

Izzy Personalising 'Saves the day'

Star In Your Own Story

Star in your own story: Saves the day

Saves The Day

Written by Georgiana Deutsch and illustrated by Vicki Gausden, Saves the day is perfect for superhero fans! This book comes with a sheet of stickers for children to add their name to the book. Great for children aged 3 to 6 years.

Star in your own story: Drives a digger

Drives A Digger

Written by Danielle McLean and illustrated by Kathryn Selbert, this book is perfect for little ones who love things that go! This book comes with a sheet of stickers to add their name to the book too. Aimed at children aged 3 to 6 years.

Star In Your Own Story: The Firefighter

The Firefighter

Written by Danielle McLean and illustrated by Sebastien Braun, this book is perfect for firefighter fans everywhere. Simply pull out the slot-in card, write your child’s name on both sides and slot it back in. You can add up to 3 names too. Perfect for children aged 1 to 3 years.

Star In your own story: The Ballerina

The Ballerina

Written by Danielle Mclean and Sebastien Braun, this book will have all little ballerinas twirling in delight. As with The Firefighter, pull out the slot-in card, write your child’s name and slot it back in to enjoy the story. Perfect for little ones aged 1 to 3 years.

Izzy’s Thoughts

As all children do, Izzy loved the idea of starring in her own stories and couldn’t wait to personalise them and get reading! She found she was able to read The Firefighter and The Ballerina mostly by herself making it perfect for younger readers with a short attention span aswell as those beginning to read alone.

Izzy loved adding the stickers to Saves the day and Drives a digger, even more so because she could add emojis! She loves all 4 books and has taken them to bed every night since we got them which says a lot.

Does your child enjoy personalised stories too?

IGIST By L.S Larson – Book And App Review

We received IGIST by L.S Larson to review, an innovative new immersive children’s reading experience. The IGIST book and augmented reality app work together to create an entirely believable and compelling new universe.

IGIST front cover

A story aimed at children and teens 10+ that champion science, curiosity and exploration. Encouraging children to find out more about the amazing world of science and technology through a new reading experience.

IGIST

IGIST Back Cover

According to the one teacher on Earth who believed in her, Emi had a chance. The space academy of her dreams was more than a reach. The Intergalactic Institute of Science and Technology (IGIST) hadn’t admitted and earthling in decades. The bygones left on Earth would lead a boring existence if, and only if, they were lucky enough to evade the plague.

IGIST app screenshot

Emi always thought she was different, not because her only friend growing up in Rockland was a drone named Sadee, but because she was very determined to become a revered scientist like her late mother. But even a passion for science and good old-fashioned grit could not prepare Emi for the challenges that await in a wide, strange galaxy under the auspices of the Star League.

Our Thoughts

We really enjoyed IGIST, Emi’s character is so determined to reach her dreams. Whilst my phone doesn’t work with the AR, we can still use the app. As you read the book the app awards points and badges. Eva has really enjoyed reading IGIST and using the app. She thinks there should be more books with apps like this.

A great read for STEM-interested girls and boys. The main character, Emi is driven by her desire to break barriers and get into the most renowned science academy in the universe. IGIST does for science what Hogwarts did for magic.

You can either read the book on its own or with the app.

The Boy Who Couldn’t By Rachel Coverdale

We received The Boy Who Couldn’t by Rachel Coverdale to review. Both Eva and I read the book and love the message behind it as well as the addition of animals.

The Boy Who Couldn't

The Boy Who Couldn’t

A stirring action-packed adventure story following two very different boys who are forced to create an uneasy friendship when their paths cross unexpectedly.

Illustration from The boy who couldn't

When James and Greg stumble upon a badger baiting plot by dangerous criminals, their tenuous relationship is tested to breaking point. Can they overcome their differences and fears to help each other and save the badgers?

A heartbreaking yet uplifting story about becoming the person you can be, not the person you are expected to be.

Woods - The boy who couldn't

James’ life has had a big change, as has Gregs. This leads to James’ dad becoming a stay at home dad while Gregs’ family life falls apart. James and his dad discover a badgers sett in the woods. Badgers are highly endangered so they agree to keep them a secret.

The secret of the badgers is soon shared when James, his dad and Ahmed come across Gregg injured in the woods. Gregg agrees to keep the badgers secret too, fascinated by their habits and happy to escape his unhappy home. It doesn’t take long for the boys to uncover dangerous criminals badger baiting. Can they work together to save the badgers?

Our Thoughts

Eva read The boy who couldn’t first and said she really enjoyed reading from both boys perspectives. The story is fast-paced and full of action with a twist at the end.

Rachel Coverdale

Rachel Coverdale was born and bred in the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside in North East England. Raised with copious amounts of animals, and without the distraction of a modern TV set, she turned to bookers and her own imagination for entertainment. Animals were and still are a huge part of her life and inevitably they made their way into her stories. She is keen to promote animal welfare and wishes to raise awareness about the vulnerability of British wildlife, particularly badgers.

As an adult, Rachel has worked with many troubled children and is passionate about highlighting their plights and encouraging people to see the damaged child hiding behind the poor behaviour.

Rachel also writes books for younger children. Believing strongly in fresh air, nature and outdoor play to give children a sense of fun and freedom, she uses her books to encourage children to venture into the countryside.

Lets Find The Tiger – Children’s Book Review

We received Let’s Find The Tiger to review, beautifully illustrated by Alex Wilmore. Published by Little Tiger and aimed at children aged 0-3 years, who will love finding the Tiger.

Let's Find The Tiger

Let’s Find The Tiger

This colourful peek through the pages and lift the touchy-feely felt flap book encourages little ones to look for the tiger. Curious children will love exploring the leafy jungle to find the tiger in this stylish touch and feel book.

Inside spread of Let's find the Tiger

This tactile exploratory wonder of a board book will keep children engaged in their search to find the tiger. With little hints of hiding animals on each spread, little ones with love hunting for the tiger. The final reveal includes a satisfying flocked image on the final spread.

With a repeated refrain that encourages the development of word recognition and an introduction to a whole host of jungle animals, little ones will learn whilst having fun. With plenty of colour filling every page and playful illustrations provided by Alex Willmore, this is a fun book for every tiny future explorer!

Lift the flap book

Alex Willmore

Alex Willmore is an illustrator who just loves drawing fun, cute characters. He lives in rural Northamptonshire with his wife, two sons and two cats. When not drawing, Alex can mostly be found eating outrageous amounts of biscuits and enjoying a nice drive or walk around the countryside.

Coming Soon!

Get ready to go searching again with the second title in this series, Let’s Find The Penguin, due for publication in September 2019!

Do you know a little one who would love this book too?

I Love My Llamacorn – Book Review

We received I Love My Llamacorn to review by Prisca Le Tande. Published by Little Tiger and aimed at children aged 2 to 5 years, this gorgeously glittery book is perfect for fans of llamas, unicorns and everything magical!

I Love My Llamacorn

I Love My Llamacorn

A loveable llamacorn will steal your heart in this beautifully sparkly board book. Full of bright, colourful illustrations, fun peep-holes and die-cut concentric hearts penetrating from the cover right through every page, this little book for children proves just how deep love goes.

I Love my Llamacorn

I Love My Llamacorn is a celebration of unconditional love in board book form. With gentle rhyming on each spread, children will stay engaged on their journey through the book. Tiny book lovers who tend to flick forwards, backwards and skip pages when first engaging with board books will still be able to receive the full message regardless of reading order thanks to the self-contained rhymes on each spread.

Inside - I love my Llamacorn

Prisca Le Tandé

Prisca Le Tandé is a child of the disco era – so dancing queens and grooving cats are right up her street. She sees the world of illustration as a dessert trolley laden with your favourite things. Why no taste everything – you can always go to the dentist afterwards. After studying Applied Art at school, she enrolled in a film studio degree and embarked on an adventure in the into the world of animation. She is still living the adventure, as the author and artistic director of the animated series “Grosha and Mr B”. When she was young, Prisca adored the craft craze scoubidou. It’s that same simple creativity that gives her such joy now that she’s creating books for children.

Izzy’s Thoughts

Izzy enjoyed this book so much. She is absolutely obsessed with unicorns, llamas and anything magical so she has been reading this tgo her Llama’s! This is definitely a perfect book for little ones who love the That’s Not My Series which Izzy adores too. Izzy loved the sparkly pages and brightly coloured, cute animations. Eva has been asked to read this several times as Izzy loves the way she reads the rhymes throughout.

Do you know a little reader who would love this too?