New and recommended books for children

PICTURE BOOKS

Granny McFlitter: A Country Yarn. Heather Haylock
Granny McFlitter is a first class knitter of vegetables. On the day of the long-awaited A and P show she is one of the first to place her entries on the table in the ‘Best Vegetable Knitter” tent before she explores the rest of the show. When one of the prize bulls escapes from the show-ring and creates chaos it is Granny McFlitter that saves the day.   Written in rhyme and full of wonderful illustrations, this is an entertaining story with a New Zealand flavour.

Heather Haylock is a guest at Ignition Children's Book Festival 7th-10th November - Join her to hear her read stories from Granny McFlitter and learn how to knit your own designs at our special family Book Day on Saturday 9th November.

Maddie’s First Day. Penny Matthew
One’s first day at school is always full of mixed emotions and Maddie’s is no different.  She loves her uniform and enjoys packing her backpack with all the necessities of school life.  She even includes her blanky and later regrets this decision when she is teased about it by her new classmates. However her friend Charlie quietly confesses to her that he also brought his blanky to school. After that Maddie’s day turns out to be one of the best days she’s ever had.

FICTION 7-9

Shona, Word Detective.  John Agard
Shona loves words. She collects them and finds out what they mean so she can share them with others. She wants to be a lexicographer.  When she hears that there is a political party (LLTB – Less Languages the Better) intent on getting rid of languages she is very confused and works hard to stop this happening.  Full of interesting facts,  this is a great book for young readers.

Bumpfizzle:  the Best on Planet Earth. Patricia Forde
Bumpfizzle is an alien who has come to earth, taken on the identity of a young boy and joined a family.  His reports back to the Great Master make good reading as he makes sense of this new and very different world.  As the days go by he learns that he shouldn’t eat cat food and the rules of hide and seek do not mean locking the finder in a room for half an hour. This is a humorous and engaging story for young readers.

Fiction 10+

The Magic Misfits. Neil Harris
This story begins with an action-packed chase and an escape on a very fast train and the pace never slows down. After his parents disappeared from his life when Carter was very young he was taken in by a distant relative, Uncle Sly. Carter doesn’t steal but his uncle is a con artist and thief who demands that his young ward helps him during his acts of dishonesty. When Uncle Sly steals a necklace from an elderly woman it is too much for Carter to bear. He opts to run away and start a new life on his own. This is an exciting and enjoyable read.

The Sands of Shark Island. Alexander McCall Smith
A group of friends meet on board the School Ship Tobermory and form a strong bond.  When they return from their summer holidays the crew find that their destination is the Caribbean Sea. They dream of swimming in the warm ocean and eating fresh coconuts. The reality is a little different as the group deal with a missing map, a shipmate jumping ship and many frightening dangers.