I loved this book, whilst pitched at the YA market it's definitely one of those for adults too. Magical realism is one of my favourite genres so I was probably always going to enthuse, but I really feel Laura Ruby's done a great job here. I won't be encouraging my 11 year old to read it yet though....
Wednesday, 2 May 2018
Wednesday, 25 April 2018
Dirty Bertie by Alan MacDonald and David Roberts.
If your child isn't keen on reading, the prospect of reading about pants, poo, worms, bogeys and all manner of gross stuff that kids love, might be enough to tip the balance. One of my kids didn't pick up a book for pleasure until he was seven.
It's tough for him, he lives in a house with four bibliophiles,...
Thursday, 12 April 2018
Once Upon a Star
Once Upon a Star by James Carter and Mar Hernandez calls itself 'a poetic journey through space' and I love it.
A picture book written in narrative verse, all about how the universe formed and our world came to be? Beautiful artwork and eye-pleasing graphics? The Big Bang in a book for pre-schoolers?...
Friday, 6 April 2018
'My name is Leon' by Kit de Waal
'My name is Leon' is a wonderful story about a nine year old mixed-race child in the foster care system. It should be required reading for anyone who is thinking of fostering or supporting families who foster. We enter Leon's world as he's struggling to come to terms with his identity and almost...
Wednesday, 21 March 2018
Girl on a Plane By Miriam Mos
Based on the true story of a hijacking, this YA novel describes the reactions of a fifteen year old girl travelling on her own when her flight is boarded by Palestinian guerrillas.
The book is a nice easy read for young adults. In fact, it was a set text for my eldest child at 11, which...
Saturday, 17 March 2018
Re-reading treasured favourites
We've all been there. Reading the same material over and over to obsessed children. And it's always the book that bores, us, or has rubbish illustrations, or in some way drives you up the wall. When they are young, we tolerate it but as they age there seems to be a collective disgust at children...
Tuesday, 13 March 2018
Pinterest for Writers
I thought I would post some of my favourite writing tools here. One of my top 10 is Pinterest. For the uninitiated, it's basically an online cork board where you can pin images and articles that take your fancy. You can choose if you want to share your boards with others, a select few, or keep...
Flooded Cities and Future Worlds
Climate change is redrawing the map of the world. When UN climate change experts met up at the end of last year, it was to discuss a new three-degree future in which rising sea-levels will wipe numerous cities from existence. So today's writing inspiration is of the flooded city variety, courtesy of...
Monday, 12 March 2018
Glamorous Decay as a Lifestyle
Interesting read for writer types: The fantasy of the writer's lifestyle
I do love the whole glamorous decay trope when it comes to writing, both on and off the page. Sadly, I know of no one whose writer's lifestyle in anyway matches up with an Anthropologie catalogue. Maybe I need to remind myself...
Wednesday, 21 February 2018
The Aeronaut's Windlass
Best selling Author Jim Butcher has turned his hand to YA. The Aeronaut's Windlass is dominated by superb female characters, and he's ventured into the steam punk genre. Who would have thought? This book is gripping from start to finish.
If you like Jim Butcher (I'll admit I'm a fan of his adult...
Call to Abandon the Diagnosis of all Mental Health Problems
The release of the Power Threat and Meaning Framework in January 2018 was momentous. Hmm, I hear you responding. Why should I get excited about about the release of a new Psychological framework?
Okay, I’ll admit most psychological models won’t have the majority of the public jumping in the aisles...
Is it Okay?
I often get asked my opinion as a psychologist on suitable literature for children. Most things are okay. There are very few topics that are taboo. You can be sure that if it's in the children's or YA section, there will have been a lot of thought put in as to why, by the publisher.
It's no coincidence...
Wednesday, 14 February 2018
Little People, BIG DREAMS
If I’m entirely honest, I bought these books for myself. Little People, BIG DREAMS is a series of books about inspirational women from history. They’re beautifully illustrated and written in simple but truthful language, and tell the stories of amazing, full lives, all of which left a lasting mark...
Sunday, 11 February 2018
Women in Science Day. February 11th. Who knew?
I've always been a total sucker for a celebration. Any excuse to make a day more exciting for the kids and I'm there. This half-term we will be proudly flipping pancakes, throwing around love hearts and transitioning to the Year of the Dog. Now it seems, I get a whole new one. Not sure how I missed...
Tuesday, 6 February 2018
Gender Imbalance in Children's books
Back in 2011, A female professor reviewed over 6,000 children's books published from 1900-2000, and found a massive gender imbalance. Many more books had male characters than female ones. By 1990 this discrepancy was shrinking, but in the case of animal protagonists the gap was still huge. If you're...
Sunday, 28 January 2018
Psychologist Tips to Encourage Reluctant Readers
One of my children has a specific language impairment. Watching him read is painful. He's never been able to relax, and the level of concentration required is about as much as it would take me to understand a page of calculations in an astrophysicists notebook. Worse, he lives with a family of bibliophiles. All of us love it, or more to the point find it EASY. He loves stories too, and always has...
Thursday, 25 January 2018
Word Count Goals, MS WORD Version
Here’s a trick for writers who need a bit of word count motivation to keep them inspired.
In Microsoft Word, I like to display my current word count, the percentage of my final word count that I’ve completed, and how many words I have left to write. It stares at me from the header and 'inspires' me...
Wednesday, 10 January 2018
Birnbeck Pier
Creepy abandoned buildings are one of my top sources of inspiration for new novels, so I thought I'd share one of my current favourites here.
At the entrance to Birnbeck Pier, a sign reads 'Death lies this way' which, if you ask me, sounds more like a challenge than a warning. Crumbling buildings,...
Tiny - The Invisible World of Microbes
Today's science for kids book recommendation is 'Tiny - The Invisible World of Microbes' by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Emily Sutton. The drawings are just lovely and illustrate the wonders of the microbial world perfectly. I've bought it for my 3 year old in the hope that one day in the distant...
Hidden Universes
I grew up staring out at the stars through my parents’ antique telescopes; marvelling at the tiny pinpricks of twinkling light and how, on a clear night, the Milky Way streaked across the sky. There are more than 100 billion stars in our galaxy, and more than 1,000 billion galaxies in the universe....