Warning Cry by Kris Humphrey

Guardians of The Wild - Book 2

Review by The Mole

Nara, a farmer's daughter and Whisperer, has been summoned to Meridar to join with all the other Whisperers so that they can combine their powers to fight the demon army and defend the people of the Kingdom of Meridina. Nara's powers are resented by her family who expect their children to become farmers and help in the running of the farm. When the summons comes to go to Meridar, she says goodbye to her father and leaves to travel further than she has ever travelled - and alone - without a word to her mother or sister. She takes with her Flame, her leopard companion, and finds the journey anything but straightforward.

Book 1 was Whisper of Wolves which told the story of Alice and her companion wolf. In this book we meet a different Whisperer and while Alice may make a cameo appearance we aren't introduced to her.

So many of these young fantasy adventure series are based on one special person that can save the world single handedly and the problem with that is that if you don't like that character... well, it's obvious. In this series we follow a different character (or group of characters) in each story so the reader feels the overall plot expand as it progresses.

A very fast paced, hugely enjoyable, easy reader for the 9+ age group. Although all the lead characters are women or girls (of one age or another) I can see no reason why boys wouldn't enjoy these books as well.

Publisher - Stripes Publishing
Genre - 9+, Fantasy Adventure

Dirty Bertie - Aliens by David Roberts, written by Alan MacDonald

Review by The Mole

Dirty Bertie is back, once again, for the 26th collection of his mistakes and bloopers. For a boy with "nose pickingly disgusting habits" he is remarkably likeable by parents and children alike - but the problem with Bertie is that when he gets an idea in his head he pursues it until everything comes crashing down around his ears - and it will.

In "Aliens" he gets excited about beings from outer space so sets out to find some.

The second story is "Twitter" - Eugene (Bertie's friend) invites him to go birdwatching with his dad with promises of "lots to do in the woods". Bertie goes along and gets bored and .... well, needless to say things don't go well for everyone.

In "Report", the third story in the book, it's report time at school and Bertie is not happy about his mum and dad seeing his. Enough said - I'm sure you can imagine the kind of thing Bertie may get up to - but will he get away with it? He never gets away with anything does he?

With large print, simple vocabulary and lots of black and white cartoon style illustrations these books are great for getting children reading and, with 25 more to pick up, keep them reading. Bertie's antics are the kind of antics that end up with no real harm done so can be laughed at as children develop their reading skills.

Really great books for the young reader.

Publisher - Stripes Publishing
Genre - Children's early reader

A Brush with Danger (Fox Investigates) by Adam Frost

Illustrated by Emily Fox

Review by The Mole

Suzie La Pooch engages Wily Fox (private investigator) to find out why the people she bought a painting from are so desperate to buy it back again. Before Wily can start the investigation it is stolen and Wily knows who by.

With the aid of some rather clever gadgets Wily chases across Europe pursuing clues.

A glance at the cover leads you to expect a degree of silliness, a degree of impossibility, and a very large measure of fun and that is very much what you get with Wily Fox. Wily has help and support from Albert (a mole) who provides the inventions and Sybil Squirrel, who works for Julius Hound, a member of PSSST (a police force of sorts). With black and white illustrations on most every page the humour of the book is added to making this an excellent early reader for any child who loves mysteries or enjoys a laugh. And that surely encompasses most children.

Publisher - Stripes Publishing
Genre - Children's early reader, adventure, humour.

Phoenix Rising by Bryony Pearce

review by Maryom 

 Wanted in almost every port, Toby has rarely set foot on land but lives at sea with his father, captain of the pirate ship The Phoenix. With their fiercely loyal crew they make a precarious living salvaging from the masses of junk to be found floating at sea - for in this dystopian future world, the seas are packed with all sorts of rubbish; lorries, aeroplanes, you name it you'll find it floating somewhere out there! Somewhere out there, they believe there is an island where they could live freely - but to reach it, they first need to salvage enough solar panels to power The Phoenix out into open seas, and their rival The Banshee is also on the trail of them and will stoop to anything to get their hands on them.

Phoenix Rising is a non-stop action-packed adventure full of the 'normal' pirate-y sorts of things - sea-battles, escaping from dungeons, hand to hand combat - but against a bleak, post-apocalypse backdrop. Society as we know it has crumbled, the seas are so full of junk that an ice-breaker is necessary to carve a path through it and the water itself is contaminated from all the leaked acids and oils. The emphasis though is very much on the action, which cracks along at speed, with barely a break for Toby (and the rest of the crew) to catch breath.
It is a male-dominated world but the women in it are as tough and brave as the men (if not more-so) - so should appeal equally to both boys and girls looking for an original action adventure.

Maryom's review -  4 stars
Publisher - Stripes Publishing
Genre -pirate adventure, dystopian, early teens, 12+

The Winter Wolf by Holly Webb

Review by The Mole

Amelia is hiding from Freddie, Tom's rather large dog, as she has a fear of dogs, when she discovers a diary. The diary tells the story of Noah, a young boy in America, who is trying to keep a baby wolf safe from hunters.

Amelia falls asleep and when she awakes she has been transported into Noah's world to help him with saving the wolf.

A beautiful and gentle time shift story that brings to life, for the young reader, life in America during the frontier years.

The story is told in two parts that are interleaved. The narrator tells the story of Amelia while each chapter has an excerpt from Noah's diary that is in a handwritten font and told purely from his perspective.

Black and white illustrations abound throughout the book and the whole thing is an excellent and very easy read.

For readers in the 6-8 age group this book will delight.

Publisher - Stripes Publishing
Genre - Children's early reader

Dirty Bertie - Horror by David Roberts, written by Alan MacDonald

Review by The Mole

Bertie's books have now been published for over 10 years and I have to admit to not having met him yet - and there have been over two dozen of his books!

"Horror" is the name of the first of three stories in this book and it's one in which he learns that his granny is going on a date - something he must put a stop to. Granny's dating? Whatever next?

In the second he manages to soak a priceless painting with his water pistol and in the third he meets a fierce dog while trying to deliver papers.

Each of these stories is an easy read with plenty of black and white illustrations that enhance, but don't distract from, the story. Despite being around for eleven years old, Bertie is about seven and is just on the side of mischievous - enough to laugh at but not encourage. Any child who can read reasonably confidently is sure to love reading about his antics and will want more - well, there's plenty to go at!

A lovely character, in a lovely book that will amuse children from their first reading and they will be encouraged to read more.

Publisher - Stripes Publishing
Genre - Children's early reader

Frog the Barbarian by Guy Bass

Review by The Mole

In The Legend of Frog Frog managed to save the world from the Kroakans with the help of Rarewolf and his trusty steed Sheriff Explosion, but it looks like he's going to have to do it all again! Somehow General Kurg, from the first saving of the world, while imprisoned, has managed to raise the alarm and called for a new invasion force.

Can Frog pull off a second saving in the same planless way as the first time or are things going to be more challenging? In fact can Frog actually do it this time?

The Legend of Frog was zany and lots of fun but you were in no doubt that Frog would pull it off but here we see a more realistic Frog - a Frog that learns a bit of humility, a Frog that is defeated, a Frog that loses confidence in himself... well, maybe for a minute. Still oodles of fun, excessively zany but somehow a more complete and satisfying story. I don't really believe that I ever doubted Frog though - he's the natural hero. We also learn the secret of how Dragons fly - something that I had never thought about!

Has Frog's days of being a hero finished now or are there more challenges for this mighty warrior? I hope there is more to come.

One of the things about the first book was the amount of pages that were "hand written" by Frog where the spelling was appalling and I wondered if this was a good thing for such young readers. In this book the number of such pages seems to have been reduced and now feel more contextual rather than part of the story.

Aimed at the 8+ reader this book will have them needing to share some of the many zany moments (I did) and laugh out loud making others wonder about what is so funny. While it's possible to read this book stand alone, the reading of The Legend of Frog first will help a lot with understanding who Frog is and how he got there. A really good book for proficient young readers.

Publisher - Stripes Publishing
Genre - Children's 7+, Frogs, adventure, Dragons

The legend of Frog by Guy Bass

Review by The Mole

Frog lives on an island beyond the end of the world, with Buttercup. Buttercup saved Prince Frog when the end of the world came and now they live together on the island as the only things left alive. But Frog is bored - there's so little to do. There has to be more! He decides to run away and see the ended world for himself. Does that all make sense? Of course it doesn't!

This book is aimed at the younger reader - the 7+ age group - and making sense is perhaps the last thing needed in such a book. Catastrophe Pants though - they're important.

A story that is fun without being blindingly silly and adventure that will still capture the young reader and have them coming back for more. While the story does come to a logical ending it also leaves a big story to continue, leaving the reader knowing there is more to come and look forward to.

The story is also very heavily illustrated with black and white drawings and each page looking like a page from an old diary.

One thing that always bugs me is the younger reader doesn't stay young too long so sequels should not be too far apart but Frog The Barbarian is due out just six months after The Legend of Frog so the wait isn't too long in this case.

Publisher - Stripes Publishing
Genre - Children's 7+, Frogs, adventure

Undead Pets; Return of The Hungry Hamster by Sam Hay

illustrated by Simon Cooper

review by Maryom

When Joe's Uncle Charlie gives him an ancient Egyptian amulet capable of granting a single wish, Joe hopes for the thing he wants most in the world - a pet. The amulet must be totally confused or have a macabre sense of humour because, instead of a real live pet, a ghostly ravenous hamster appears! Dumpling the hamster met an untimely end - getting sucked up the vacuum cleaner - and feels his young owner will be feeling both distraught over his pet's death and guilty for leaving Dumpling's cage door open. Dumpling needs to set the record straight and put the blame where it firmly lies before he can move on to the hamster afterlife - and he needs Joe to help him.

The Return of the Hungry Hamster is a funny, rather than scary, ghost story. Being a ghost doesn't stop Dumpling causing all sorts of havoc, getting Joe into trouble at home and at school and eating everything in sight!  There's the right amount of grossness and ghoulishness to appeal to kids without going over the top. Illustrated throughout - and with some cartoon sections - it's sure to appeal to the younger but fairly confident reader - maybe 7 and up, though even I enjoyed it! A great Halloween read.

Maryom's review -  5 stars
Publisher - Stripes Publishing
Genre - Children's 7+, ghosts, fiction

Buy Return of the Hungry Hamster (Undead Pets) from Amazon

The Hex Factor by Harriet Goodwin

 
review by Maryom

Xanthe has just started back at school for a new term but is finding things hard going. Arch-rival  Kelly seems to be out to make trouble for Xanthe when-ever and where-ever she can. Soon Xanthe finds herself in all sorts of trouble at school and despite her protestations no one believes she is innocent.  Xanthe's 13th birthday is fast approaching but all her friends are dumping her as quickly as they can and soon no one will be left to come to her birthday party. Will the special gift that Gran has lined up be able to help? What is the secret she wants to share with Xanthe?

If I said this was an interesting and inventive story about witches set in a school you'd probably think it was a Harry Potter rip off - but it's far from it. The setting is a normal secondary school, the situations are ones which the reader can relate to and who hasn't dreamed of having a secret power to lash back at the world when things go wrong.
Readers are bound to sympathise as Xanthe is increasingly blamed for things she didn't do - and cheer as she ultimately vindicates herself!

There's a definite, scene-setting, first of a series feel to The Hex Factor but it's an excellent page-turning read and I'm sure it will quickly develop a fan following.  

Maryom's review -  4 stars

Publisher - Stripes Publishing
Genre - Children's 10+, Fantasy

Buy The Hex Factor from Amazon