Category Archives: Uncategorized

New review: The Wooden Camel by Wanuri Kahiu illustrated by Manuela Adreani

A stunning new picture book, The Wooden Camel is out today from Lantana Publishing written by Wanuri Kahiu and illustrated by Manuela Adreani. Born in Nairobi, Wanuri Kahiu is a hugely successful African filmmaker. Her films have received international acclaim and have screened in over 100 film festivals around the world. The Wooden Camel is her first picture book. Manuela Adreani lives in Turin, Italy. After taking a diploma in Illustration, she worked as a graphic artist and then animator. She was one of the winners of the illustration contest organised for the 130th anniversary of the creation of Pinocchio.

The Wooden Camel by Wanuri Kahiu, illustrated by Manuela Adreani.

For those who keep on believing, even when it seems impossible….Etabo dreams of being a camel racer. One day he might even beat his older brother when they race. But with the price of water rising, Etabo’s father must sell the camels. What will Etabo do now?

Etabo’s heart’s desire is to be a camel racer and he dreams every day of winning camel races. Sadly his family have to sell their herd of camels but Etabo doesn’t stop dreaming. Along with his brother and sister, he helps looks after the family’s farm animals – and even tries to race on them, without success! Etabo prays to the Sky God Akuj, who whispers to him “Your dreams are enough”. And one day, he discovers with the help of his older sister, that his dreams are indeed enough.

I loved this story. Beautifully told with a gentle narrative, it’s a simple tale of a young boy and his dream. Set against the backdrop of the Turkana people in North Africa, who farm the land and care for their livestock; a sometimes difficult life. All the family help to earn a living and make the best of what they have – a lesson we can all learn from. Their day to day life is not so different from our own; we all experience moments of worry, sibling rivalry and changes in circumstances. And we all have dreams.

When Etabo turns to his faith to help him, we see that through the love of family and the talents people are blessed with, you can achieve even your dreams. The stunning illustrations evoke the spirit of the tale, and beautifully bring to life the Turkana people and the landscape they live in. I particularly love the depiction of Etabo’s sister making him his gift; a beautiful portrayal of kindness and showing that our dreams are often achieved in a totally unexpected way.

The Wooden Camel is an inspiring story of the power of dreams, belief and holding on to hope even when something seems impossible. The reader is uplifted by the wonderful messages portrayed by the narrative and the gentle humour throughout. I would highly recommend The Wooden Camel as an insight into a different culture but also to demonstrate that wherever and whoever we are in the world, we all have hopes and dreams.

Find out more at www.lantanapublishing.com. With thanks to Lantana for sending me a copy of this book to review.

Author Interview: Rachel Hickman

Today Rachel Hickman, author of One Silver Summer joins us on the blog. Rachel is also co-founder of Chicken House children’s books publishers and is talking to us about her new novel and how different it is being on the ‘other side of the fence’!

Tell us about the inspiration behind One Silver Summer. One Silver Summer was inspired by so many things, some of which I didn’t realise until the book was finished. It’s inspired by my time spent in Cornwall with my family where the weather has its own moods; it’s inspired by the horses I’ve loved my whole life, and a small, badly behaved black terrier at home who came from Dog’s Trust. I grew up abroad so my heroine isn’t English; and Alex is a little like my son in character. First novels are like pockets filled with everything in the author’s head, or certainly, mine is.

The story really reminded me of some of the romance sagas I read when I was a teenager. What books did you enjoy in your teens and how have they influenced your writing? It was inspired by my own love of reading to escape, set in wild and romantic settings. I loved everything by Daphne Du Maurier especially Frenchman’s Creek; Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle, and just about any horse story I could lay my hands on, most especially KM Peyton’s Flambards, or Patricia Leitch’s A Devil to Ride. I would have loved Lauren St John’s novels to read and when my daughter and I were looking for a name for our new young horse, I was unbelievably touched when she suggested we name her Storm.

6a010536b33b69970b019b026cebd0970c-320wi

In One Silver Summer Saskia has recently lost her mother and is going through the painful process of grieving. It must have been difficult to write the moments where she is in turmoil; how did you research this? I’m an overly emotional person who can never hide things well, with a tendency to read too much into almost anything. It wasn’t hard to draw on my own personal stuff: the what ifs, the tough stuff of life that makes you stronger in the end, but hurts so much when it’s happening. Grief isn’t always about death and you can’t get to my age without experiencing it first-hand. I think books can prepare you, or help comfort when it comes.

You’ve worked in children’s publishing for many years. How has your insight into publishing helped you as an author and what advice would you give to anyone in a similar position? I have been shocked at how different it feels on the other side of the fence. I love my job and I get to see the overall picture which is something an author never does. I just want to enjoy the moment, reach readers, and hopefully keep writing if time allows. My work has taught me to temper my authorial expectations and to know that everyone will have an opinion – good or bad, or hmm – on something I wrote from the heart. If you put it out there, you take the rough with the love! Also, my background in publishing tells me that there is an enormous ocean of books for readers to swim in and not all of them will float. It’s nothing to do with what’s good or bad, but opportunity and luck. Publishing is the most glorious random thing; no one really knows what will be ‘the next big thing’!

Are you working on a new project and if so, will it be a similar genre? Or perhaps a sequel! Or maybe even a prequel – I’d love to hear more about Alex’s Grandmother and her secret wartime romance! I have got a sequel in my head, and I would love to write your prequel, but the advice I always give authors is to have something new and different worked out. Right now, I’m deep on Dartmoor in winter with a modern-day highwayman, but I am thinking about taking it younger. See ‘the job’ is poking its nose in after all!

Rachel Hickman

Thank you Rachel for participating today and we wish you every success with

One Silver Summer.

Read my review of One Silver Summer. Follow Rachel Hickman @hickman_rachel. With thanks to Old Barn Books and Liz Scott for their support with this interview!

Just in time for Spring: One Silver Summer by Rachel Hickman

1 Reply

Rachel Hickman wanted to work in children’s books since joining the Puffin Club as a child! She achieved her dream and has been working in children’s publishing for over 25 years and is a founding director of Chicken House Books. One Silver Summer is Rachel’s debut novel, to be published in May by Old Barn Books.

One Silver Summer by Rachel Hickman

After losing her mother in an accident, Sass is sent to live with her uncle in England. Far from her native Brooklyn, the rocky shores and crumbling castles of Cornwall seem like the perfect place to hide her grief. And when she stumbles across a silver horse in a sunlit meadow, Sass feels a surprising sense of peace….only to have it broken by a boy. A novel that explores the ache of loss as beautifully as it captures the breathless excitement of first love.

Saskia may be thousands of miles from her hometown, but her heart cannot escape the pain and sadness of leaving her old life when her mother is killed in a tragic accident. Even the beautiful landscape of the Cornish hills doesn’t seem to ease her suffering, that is until she stumbles across a beautiful horse, and then its owner, Alexander. He too is suffering and finds himself drawn to this girl who treats him how he is desperate to be treated: like a normal person. Alex and Sass connect with each other in a way they haven’t with anyone before and through their shared love of horses, their feelings grow. However, as often is the case, the path of true love never runs smooth and their blossoming, hidden romance seems blighted by outside forces. Whether it be Sass’ inability to forgive herself for her mother’s death or Alex’s secret identity, they cannot prevent the inevitable intrusions. With secrets all around, can they find their way to true happiness?

One Silver Summer is told in the style of a sweeping old-fashioned romance (think Maeve Binchy or Rosamunde Pilcher) brought up to date with a backdrop of modern day celebrity (think OK magazine!). Sass’ identity has been wrenched from her through the death of her mother, the loss of her home and leaving her friends behind. She’s got to rediscover herself in a new home, with a ‘new’ family. And Alex is in the same position – only he is trying to preserve his own identity whilst keeping up a very royal appearance. Many readers will empathise with the roller-coaster of emotions felt when you cannot control what is happening around you. But even in the midst of the chaos, you can still fall in love. Who wouldn’t enjoy the idea of meeting a prince on a windswept hillside and taking romantic horse rides through the surf?!

The Cornish setting and lovely descriptions of the landscapes are the perfect backdrop and there all the elements you’d want to see in a modern-day romance. Animal lovers will enjoy the horses that feature in the novel and all will appreciate the idea that animals can provide such comfort in times of distress. I particularly enjoyed the plot twists (no spoilers!) and would have liked to seen more of certain story lines. Interest is added through the wider cast of characters: Alex’s regal Grandmother, Helena, who has had her own secret romance; Sass’ Uncle trying to come to terms with the loss of his sister as well as now being a father; the somewhat vile scheming Plum, desperate to make Alex her Prince. For readers aged 11+, who are just discovering romance sagas, this is a great place to start.

Follow Rachel Hickman on Twitter @hickman_rachel

With thanks to Old Barn Books for sending me a proof copy to review. Lookout for our author interview with Rachel coming soon!

Just in time for Spring: The Book of Me by Adam Frost illustrated by Sarah Ray

The Book of Me by Adam Frost, illustrated by Sarah Ray

If you ran your school what would your rules be? What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you? Would you rather talk to animals or speak every language in the world? Answer these questions and much much more, with real life comparisons – how do you compare to an animal, another human, or even your parents? Collect your own data and enjoy ridiculous facts, hilarious quizzes and scribbling activities?

From the winner of the Best Book with Facts in the Blue Peter Book Award, comes this fantastically fun activity book. The Book of Me is much more than your average activity book; it gets the reader thinking about all sorts of things from fame to superpowers, from school to what kind of dad dancing goes on at home! With loads of facts about life on Earth, the universe and the ideal holiday destination (did you know 22.5 million people visit Niagara Falls every year?!) readers will learn all about the world around them – and best of all, it encourages them to think about how they feel about it too.

The book is full of quirky and often funny illustrations which are the ideal accompaniment to the text. With so many jokes and funny ideas, it’s sure to be a hit. It’s also a great way to get even the most reluctant reader on board with books. I have to say I laughed out loud at the bad dad jokes (for example: “Two goldfish are in a tank. One says to the other: Do you know how to drive this thing?!”). There’s opportunities for colouring, drawing and testing your knowledge with quizzes and is a great book to keep kids entertained on the go, so very well-timed for the Easter holidays. But watch out – with a Dad quiz test and a method of measuring how embarrassing mums are, parents will be kept on their toes too! The Book of Me is published today by Bloomsbury.

Find out more at www.adam-frost.com and www.sarahray.co.uk.

With thanks to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy to review.

Just in time for spring: it’s a publishing day!

There are some great authors celebrating their book birthdays today – just in time for spring! Have a look at these and you may just find you want to add to your TBR shelf!

A Berlin Love Song by Sarah Matthias (YA)

Max is a German schoolboy, when he first meets Lili, a trapeze artist from a travelling circus that performs every year in Berlin. Lili is a Romani and her life and customs are very different from those of Max and his family. Their friendship turns into love, but love between a German and a Romani is definitely forbidden. As Max is conscripted into the SS and war tears them apart, can their love survive?

Set against the backdrop of the Second World War, this is a love story of passion, unexpected friendship, despair, loss and hope.

Having thoroughly enjoyed a sampler of A Berlin Love Song, I can’t wait to read the novel. I love the idea of a circus as the setting for a novel – there’s something very romantic about it. And what a gorgeous cover! Described as ‘beautifully written and meticulously researched’, this story also reflects on what has been referred to as the ‘forgotten Holocaust’ – Hitler’s persecution of the Roma people. Forbidden love is a theme often seen in YA novels; from the extract I’ve enjoyed, A Berlin Love Song speaks with a passionate voice.

Published by Troika Books, MD Martin West says of Sarah Matthias: “Like the best writers of historical fiction, Sarah brings the past vividly to life. A celebration of the Romani way of life, and the powerful, moving story of two individuals caught up in history, this is one of the most compelling and moving stories you will read all year.”

With thanks to Troika Books for my copy of A Berlin Love Song.

Royce Rolls by Margaret Stohl (YA)

Sixteen-year-old Bentley Royce has it all: a hit reality show about her family, a mansion, adoring paparazzi, and everything else that comes with the red-carpet ride of a true LA star. But after five seasons on ‘Rolling with the Royces’ – and OMG dealing with her narcissistic sister Porsche, a media-obsessed mother Mercedes and gambling addicted brother Maybach – Bentley wants out.

Luckily for her, without a hook for season six, cancellation is looming and freedom is on the horizon. But as Bentley’s family starts to crumble one thing becomes startlingly clear: without the show, there is no family. Then things starts to get real. Really real, like, not reality-show real.

Margaret Stohl is the co-author of the New York Times bestselling Beautiful Creatures series. She grew-up in the shadow of Hollywood so was well-placed to be inspired in all things fame and celebrity! In an age where reality TV consumes the channels, I expect this novel will be very well-received by its intended teen audience. Out in paperback today published by Bloomsbury, Royce Rolls promises to be a “laugh-out-loud funny romp with a twist of mystery”. With all those crazy names, I think it will be!

Thank you to Bloomsbury for my copy of Royce Rolls.

Dragon’s Green by Scarlett Thomas (Age 9+)

Effie Truelove is a pupil at the Tusitala School for the Gifted, Troubled and Strange. When her grandfather is brutally attacked, Effie promises to look after his magical books. But then shady book-collector Leonard Levar gets hold of them and Efiie has to embark on the most dangerous adventure of her life…

I am very excited about reading this story! Not only are the initial pre-publication reviews impressive (‘The most exciting debut in children’s fiction since Harry Potter’ Joanne Harris; ‘An enthralling tale, set in a sprawling world that swallowed me whole’ Kiran Millwood Hargrave), the story includes evil publishers, ominous booksellers, magical worlds and secret powers. A pretty enticing combination for a book-ish person! Aimed at 9-12 year olds, this story promises to ‘remind you of the joyous power of reading and the adventures that await’.

Published in hardback today by Canongate, this is the first book for children by Scarlett Thomas, who has also written great books for adults.

With thanks to Catherine Ward for arranging my copy of Dragon’s Green.

Gaslight by Eloise Williams (Age 9+)

1899. All Nansi knows is that her mother disappeared on the day she was fished out of the docks. She can’t remember anything else. Now, with no family to turn to, she works for Sid at the Empire Theatre, sometimes legally, sometimes thieving, trying to earn enough money to hire a detective to search for her mother.

Everything changes when Constance and Violet join the theatre. Nansi is forced to be part of Violet’s crooked psychic act. But it’s Constance who is keeping real secrets. Nansi is about to learn that her world is even more dangerous that she realised. Can she save her mother? Can she save herself?

Gaslight is Eloise William’s second novel, aimed at 9-12 year olds. The beautiful cover is inviting enough, but add to this the mystery, historical setting and backdrop of a theatre, it sounds fantastic. Described as a ‘darkly delicious romp’ and ‘gorgeously raw and Dickensian’ and with a heroine who sounds suitably brave, I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy it. Gaslight is published today by Firefly Press, who suggest that fans of Emma Carroll and Katherine Woodfine will love it!

With thanks to Firefly Press for my copy of this book.

I think I’ve got some reading to do…..!

Happy Book Birthday!