Reviews

Hello again!

Today I’m part of the Random Things Tour for this absolutely glorious book – Bright Stars of Black British History by J.T. Williams and Angela Vives.

I’ve been so lucky this year, having been given so many wonderful books to review. And the stories have all been fantastic, and I’ve really enjoyed reading outside of my usual comfort zone, BUT as a pure object of bookish loveliness, this one stands out miles above the rest.

It’s a sumptuous tome – the gold on the cover is inviting, and the artwork inside is friendly and warm. And on top of the all-round loveliness of it, its a really great read.

As someone studying archaeology and up to my eyeballs in isotopic analysis most days, I already knew a bit about the hitherto invisible Black population of Britain post-Roman and pre-Tudor. And Miranda Kaufmann’s book Black Tudors had filled some of the gaps from there. That said, even despite my (albeit sketchy) prior knowledge, I found myself learning something new on every page.

Youngest child – almost-9 – said that they most enjoyed learning about football player and soldier, Walter Tull. Eldest – 12- highlighted the greater depth of information that this book held about Mary Seacole than other books on nursing that we’d seen.

This is a reference book that every school library should have – it’s accessible without being condescending, informative without being dry, and easy to read aloud from. Despite the relatively big age-gap between my children, we’ve read this together on multiple occasions and no one has come away from the session feeling too young, or too old for the content.

I mean, look at those pages! Who wouldn’t want to spend an evening in artwork that beautiful.

We’re obviously keeping this copy of the book, to sit alongside the other scrummy living-room books (for example Lots, and Maps), but I’ll be buying copies to give as gifts this festive season too.

If you’re interested, you can pick up a copy from here, as well as your usual online/in-person bookshop.

What are you favourite history books, or books for older children? I’d love to seek them out!

Much love

Fran ❤

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I’ve set up a ‘bookshop‘ of sorts, over on Bookshop.org, so that I can point you to somewhere to buy that isn’t Amazon. I get a small commission for any sales made there. This helps to support me running this blog. If you’d like to get your copy of Bright Stars of Black British History this way, please just click here. Thank you for your support.

Don’t be Grumpy, Monkey! is a sweet little book by Snezana Danilovic and Sandy Thornton that I’m lucky enough to review as part of an LBT blog tour.

Monkey is having a bad day. He couldn’t find his teddy, the swings were busy, and now Dog is in his place in yoga class. Monkey does not want to do yoga, and he does not want to work with Dog. Monkey is grumpy!… But then, something magical happens. Happy Panda suggests a special song, Sa Ta Na Ma. The gentle singing and chanting shifts Monkey’s grumpy mood making him feel calmer and more centred. Yoga is the best but making up with friends is even better!

An entertaining and humorous story about yoga, friendship and mindfulness.

‘Don’t Be Grumpy, Monkey!’ is the second book in the series and features Sa Ta Na Ma meditation and chanting.

Children can join in singing and chanting the Sa Ta Na Ma meditation at home (just scan the QR code in the book).

Don’t Be Grumpy Monkey by Snezana Danilovic and Sandy Thornton

The narrative is simple and satisfying – Monkey arrives late for Yoga class and, rather than joining in, proceeds to disrupt the session for the other animals. Happy Panda – the class instructor – is patient and kind, and teaches Monkey a calming chant which helps his mood. The other animals are forgiving when Monkey approaches them apologetically.

I really liked the acceptance and resolution of conflict in this book. No one tried to change Monkey, or chastise him for his choices. He was given space to be grumpy, but also made very welcome within the group when he decided to stop taking his frustrations out on his peers. I can imagine that this would be a wonderful book to keep in any early-years setting, or amongst siblings.

The illustrations are absolutely adorable and the colours are vibrant and fun. The artwork actually puts me in mind of Curious George – there’s an almost delicate quality to the work which makes it seem very approachable. I especially liked the drawings of the different yoga poses in combination with the narrative.

For those interested, I’ve added the author/illustrator information below:

Snezana Danilovic – author

Snezana Danilovic is a children’s author and an experienced children’s and teen’s yoga teacher. Her mission is to bring yoga to children through her passion for storytelling. Snezana specialises in teaching yoga in nurseries, primary schools, and secondary schools. She is a founder of Happy Panda Children’s Yoga which, over the past three years, has successfully brought yoga to many schools in and around Windsor and shared the power and joy of yoga with hundreds of children, teachers and families. 

She has spent the last 30 years writing and working in theatre and children’s TV, creating an array of characters for pre-school and early years. When she is not writing books and teaching yoga, she entertains children with and balloon modelling and balloon art! She is in fact is one of the most loved balloon modelling entertainers in London!

Snezana lives in Royal Windsor with her husband, two children and a hamster. She loves hugging trees, and her house is full of balloons and musical instruments! 

She is also a fabulous gardener, her front garden winning a first prize in Windsor for “Gardens in Bloom 2023!” 

Author’s Website: www.snezanadanilovic.co.uk

Sandy Thornton – illustrator

Sandy Thornton is a picture book maker with over 20 years’ experience in early years, creative play, running her own children’s art and craft classes, and providing creative ideas and content for children’s TV, including Cbeebies’ Mr Maker. 

Whilst working as a nanny for many years, Sandy came to realise the power of art and imagination. Allowing the children in her care the safe space for unabashed creativity, she found herself further inspired to create her own stories, exploring scenarios and narratives through the playful use of art materials. This provided the opportunity to follow her passion for sketching, creating dynamic, colourful characters, using a combination of traditional and digital art. 

From an early age, Sandy snipped, sketched, glued, and stapled her own little books and magazines, influenced at the time by Herge’s Tintin and Jansson’s Moomins. Sandy lives in North London, with her family, their dog Winston and cat Finnie.

Illustrator’s Website: www.sandythornton.co.uk

Happy Panda Children’s Yoga is a mindfulness resource for children 3–11 years old, providing yoga, picture books, yoga music, and creativity (arts and crafts), nourishing children’s imaginations and empowering their wellbeing. 

We are best known for our book series, which includes ‘Yaks Can Do Yoga!’ and now ‘Don’t Be Grumpy, Monkey!’

We are proud to support and work closely with local school sports partnerships and networks delivering our wellbeing programs to local schools.

Website : www.happypandachildrensyoga.com

Another Write Reads blog tour from me, and it’s another Victoria Williamson book. Hooray!

Feast of Ashes is Williamson’s first novel for young adults, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t initially thrown by the change in age range,

Williamson has such a distinctive way of making her characters easy to empathise with, so I think that having recently come from Norah’s Ark and Whistlers in The Dark , I expected a similar tone to this story.

I was very, very wrong.

…which I guess makes ‘now’ the perfect time to drop this book’s blurb:

The Earth’s ecosystems have collapsed and only ashes remain. Is one girl’s courage enough to keep hope alive in the wastelands?
It’s the year 2123, and sixteen-year-old Adina has just accidentally killed fourteen thousand seven hundred and fifty-six people. Raised in the eco-bubble of Eden Five, Adina has always believed that the Amonston Corporation’s giant greenhouse would keep her safe forever. But when her own careless mistake leads to an explosion that incinerates Eden Five, she and a small group of survivors must brave the barren wastelands outside the ruined Dome to reach the Sanctuary before their biofilters give out and their DNA threatens to mutate in the toxic air.
They soon discover that the outside isn’t as deserted as they were made to believe, and the truth is unearthed on their dangerous expedition. As time runs out, Adina must tackle her guilty conscience and find the courage to get everyone to safety. Will she make it alive, or will the Nomalies get to her first?

Feast of Ashes, Victoria Williamson

As with Whistlers in the Dark, Williamson’s world-building is natural and integrated within the prose. Though this is speculative fiction, there are no heavy descriptive sections which, as someone with A Lot going on right now, meant that the book didn’t feel inaccessible or ‘too hard’.

And to be honest, I think that’s a big issue with YA genre fiction – a lot of examples that I’ve read feel needlessly heavy. But when you take into account that the target demographic for these books are sitting exams and navigating often-complicated new relationships, ease-of-reading is a massive selling point. Especially in this case, where the readability didn’t detract at all from the plot or characterisation.

As I touched on above, the themes of this story are somewhat darker than Williamson’s other works. There’s a description quite early in the novel, for example, of the main character cutting another character’s hair, which I found to be quite difficult reading, even as an adult. I don’t think this detracted from the work – rather it served to really separate this book from Williamson’s others. And generally speaking, I really loved this departure from Middle Grade – genre fiction was always my favourite growing up, and I can absolutely imagine teenage me gobbling this novel up with gusto.

Some points of note: the book was set in ‘Africa’, though I don’t recall seeing where specifically. Africa is not a country, it’s a continent. As someone who lives between Scotland and Denmark, I can tell you how acutely different these countries-which-share-a-continent are. Morocco is vastly different for Egypt, or from Kenya, or from South Africa, for example, and I think it would have helped with the setting to know where The Dome was in slightly more specific terms. This isn’t a complaint of mine unique to this book, though.

As someone who also blogs about the ‘fluff’ of environmentalism (remember your reusable water bottles, kids), I liked the underlying message of this work, but I am starting to wonder if an approach more similar to Becky Chambers’ ‘The Monk and The Robot’ books isn’t what we need now. Again, that’s not to detract from this novel – there is so much to like here and this is more of a general musing while we’re here – but I feel as though as a society, we need a future to aim for, rather than away from. Even prior to the explosion that Adina causes, life in Eden Five isn’t something I want. I want to see futures to aspire to and hope for, and though this book is beautifully crafted, it’s very much a future to steer clear of.

But like I said, in my younger, slightly-less-in-need-of-coddling days, I think the challenge of a setting like this would have really worked for me. And as with Scareground, I’m not the target demographic.

Reading back over my thoughts so far, I sound ambivalent, but I’m really not – I think these wider thoughts are just evidence of how much this book has got me thinking and that’s an absolute gift. I can definitely see this book sparking discussions in classrooms and amongst peers.

Or amongst internetters? I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this, or any of the other books I’ve reviewed. Leave your comments below or come and find me on Twitter or Blue Sky.

— Fran ❤
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I’ve set up a ‘bookshop‘ of sorts, over on Bookshop.org, so that I can point you to somewhere to buy that isn’t Amazon. I get a small commission for any sales made there. This helps to support me running this blog. If you’d like to get your copy of Feast of Ashes this way, please just click here. Thank you for your support.

Your Rainbow by Lynn How and Jennifer Jamieson is a sweet little picture book which highlights the bonds formed at bedtime.

Another blog tour post from me – hooray!

I was excited for this book anyway, given the historical subject matter and the fact that I’m an archaeology nerd, but after reading Norah’s Ark, I actually couldn’t wait to get stuck in here!

The Whistlers In The Dark by Victoria Williamson follows two protagonists during the Roman occupation of the Antonine Wall. Jinny – a native Briton – and Felix – an aspiring Roman soldier – narrate the aftermath of an accident involving Jinny’s brother and Felix’s friend, Bram. Jinny blames Bram’s accident on Felix and is hungry for vengeance, so tricks Felix into the tribe’s sacred stone circle, inadvertently awakening the ancient stones as she does so.

The rest of the book unfolds as a result of this encounter, though it is one of a relatively few instances in which both narrators are in the same place at the same time, particularly at the beginning of the novel. I actually really liked this – it served to make the reader feel like an active part of the story. We had all the information about the situation, and at the risk of spoilering parts of the tale, we could figure out why the tribespeople were going missing before the characters in the story did.

That sense of willing both Felix and Jinny to follow a certain path to the book’s ending really helped to keep the characters relatable – we want them to reach the same conclusions we have. Equally, the reader is able see similarities between the two narrators which they don’t – certainly initially – see themselves. They are both grieving – Felix for his parents, and Jinny for the dog she raised, and the life she had envisioned for her brother. They are both outcasts – Felix as a Roman Soldier’s child with a Damnonii woman, and Jinny as a girl denied the right to leave her childhood behind in the tribe’s coming-of-age ceremony. They both straddle two worlds – Felix, suspended between the Romans and the Damnonii, and Jinny, trapped between childhood and adulthood.

I imaging that reading this as someone entering their teen years, Jinny’s position as neither child nor adult makes her a remarkably relatable character.

That sense of being between states really helps with the atmosphere of the setting. It highlights the vulnerability of the fort on the Antonine Wall – that desolate spot at the edge of an empire where civilisation falls away. And the whole story takes place around Samhain (the modern equivalent being Hallowe’en) so the veil between worlds is thin.

I think the liminality of this book is what I loved most about it – nothing was quite as it seemed and everything was more than it first appeared.

Are you a fan of historical fiction? Are there any middle grade historical fantasy books you would recommend? I’d love to hear what you think!

Blurb

Scotland, 158 AD, is a divided country.

On one side of the Antonine Wall, thirteen-year-old Felix is trying to become a good Roman soldier like his father. On the other, twelve-year old Jinny is vowing revenge on the ‘metal men’ who have invaded her Damnonii tribe’s homeland. At the Damnonii’s sacred circle of standing stones, her planned attack on Felix goes badly wrong, awakening a legend that threatens to bring fire and destruction down on them all.

Can Jinny and Felix overcome their differences and soothe the stones back to sleep before it’s too late?

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

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I’ve set up a ‘bookshop‘ of sorts, over on Bookshop.org, so that I can point you to somewhere to buy that isn’t Amazon. I get a small commission for any sales made there. This helps to support me running this blog. If you’d like to get your copy of Whistlers in the Dark this way, please just click here. Thank you for your support.