Our third entry in our Booky Advent Calendar is the first and definitely not the last entry from super-talented and hugely prolific author Holly Webb, who has an absolute knack and talent for producing some of the most gorgeous and atmospheric winter and christmas stories.

"Star (Winter Animal Stories)" by Holly Webb begins when Anna borrows a tiny wooden tiger from her Russian grandmother's mantelpiece.

Our Chapter Book of the Week this week is a series that's already well established. We're kicking ourselves that we haven't come across "The Hounds of Penhallow Hall" before now...

Come and celebrate Holly Webb's 30th awesome animal book with us!

We're still not quite sure how we managed it but we've crammed in a mammoth animal book reading session over the last month or so. What better reason to pledge to read at least 30 animal stories (other than absolutely loving animal books) than to celebrate the 30th title released in Holly Webb's brilliant "Animal Stories" for Stripes / Little Tiger.

"The Secret Kitten" by Holly Webb.

Could we really read 30 animal or animal-related books? Tough challenge? Naw, not tough at all for us - so over the past month or so, here's our list of titles which we've read (and in most cases reviewed) to help celebrate Holly's momentous achievement! In no particular order:

1) "The Special Guest" by Steve Smallman (QED Publishing)
2) "The Perfect Job for an Elephant" by Jodie Parachini and Caroline Pedler (QED Publishing)
3) "Jules and Nina Dine Out" by Anita Pouroulis and Agata Krawczyk (Digital Leaf)
4) "Cheep Cheep Pop Up Fun" (Little Tiger Press)
5) "Lily and Bear" by Lisa Stubbs (Boxer Books)
6) "Rabbits Don't Lay Eggs" by Paula Metcalf and Cally Johnson-Isaacs (Macmillan Children's Books)
7) "Catkin the Fairy Kitten" by Clare Bevan and Cally Johnson-Isaacs (Macmillan Children's Books)
8) "Chicken Mission - The Curse of Fogsham Farm" by Jennifer Gray and Hannah George (Faber and Faber)
9) "Hungry Roscoe" by David Plant (Flying Eye Books)
10) "Harry and Lil, The Hog, The Shrew and the Hullaballoo" by Julia Copus and Eunyoung Seo (Faber and Faber)
11) "Mister Mistofelees the Conjuring Cat" by T.S. Eliot and Arthur Robins (Faber and Faber)
12) "Tim and Towser" by Edward Ardizzone (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
13) "You Can't Take an Elephant on the Bus" by Patricia Cleveland-Peck and David Tazzyman (Bloomsbury Publishing)
14) "Squishy McFluff Meets Mad Nana Dot" by Pip Jones and Ella Okstad (Faber and Faber)
15) "Beautiful Beasts" by Camilla De Le Bedoiyere (QED Publishing)
16) "Ice in the Jungle" by Ariane Hofmann-Maniyar (Child's Play)
17) "The Secret Kitten" by Holly Webb (Stripes)
18) "Fuzz McFlops" by Eva Funari (Pushkin Children's Books)
19) "I Need a Wee!" by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet (Simon and Schuster)
20) "Felicity Fly Meets the Dragon Fruit and Friends" by Christina Gabbitas and Ric Lumb (Poems and Pictures)
21) "Missing Jack" by Rebecca Elliott (Lion Publishing)
22) "Deadly Creatures" (Usborne Publishing)
23) "Those Pesky Rabbits" by Clara Flood (Templar Publishing)
24) "The Great Cheese Robbery" by Tim Warnes (Little Tiger Press)
25) "The Dog Detectives in an American Adventure" by Zoa and Monika Suska (Maverick Publishing)
26) "Never Tickle a Tiger" by Pamela Butchart and Marc Boutavant (Bloomsbury Publishing)
27) "The Hide and Scare Bear" by Ivan Bates (Templar Publishing)
28) "Lemur Dreamer" by Courtney Dicmas (Templar Publishing)
29) "Tales from Acorn Wood - Rabbit's Nap" by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (Macmillan Children's Books)
30) "Don't Chew on the Royal Slipper" by Kate Leake (Alison Green Books)

PHEW! That's quite some reading list, and I am sure there were more - but when you read 3 or 4 (or sometimes more) books a day, it's very easy to lose count.

Lucy the Poorly Puppy - Another huge favourite of Charlotte and her classmates at school.

Holly Webb's 30th Animal title "The Secret Kitten" is out now from Stripes / Little Tiger and you can find out more about Holly's "Animal Stories" range on the Little Tiger website.

"Claude on Holiday" by Alex T. Smith (Hodder Childrens Books)

Welcome to our March edition rounding up some of the amazing and awesome chapter books and early chapter readers we've been casting our eyes across over the last few weeks. And we're starting off with a long-time blog favourite penned by an awesome booktastic chap! Alex T. Smith's "Claude" series has been a favourite of Charlotte's for quite some time now and she constantly talks about the time she met Alex and got her copy of "Claude in the Spotlight" signed.

We've been catching up with the series courtesy of Hodder and join Claude on Holiday and Claude in the City in two further adventures, accompanied by his Tardis-like beret and his ever-faithful and dapper companion Sir Bobblysock.

In "Claude on Holiday" Claude and Sir Bobblysock are off for some desperately needed R & R to a lovely seaside resort. Strictly no adventures and no crazy antics, just sun, sea and sandcastles! Of course things don't always go according to plan for Claude and Sir! Excitement and adventure are never far behind, and as Claude settles in for a well earned rest, nefarious ne'er do well pirates seem set to scupper their hols! EGAD! Claude may be a little dog, slightly on the plump side, but he's a brave soul and so dive in to find out whether sharp-witted Claude and Sir Bobblysock can outwit those dimwit salty coves! Yo ho!

"Claude in the City" by Alex T. Smith (Hodder Children's Books)

"Claude in the City" returns Claude to slightly more cosmopolitan climes as Mr and Mrs Shinyshoes disappear to work for the day as usual, leaving Claude and Sir Bobblysock to plan their next grand adventure. Claude rather fancies hitting the town in fine style, visiting the sights, stopping by a cafe for a much needed sticky bun and a cup of Earl Grey but as seasoned Claude fans will know, excitement and adventure are usually around the next corner. There's a terrible robbery in progress and Claude ends up hopelessly mixed up in the caper! Smart doggies like Claude aren't foiled by gruff robbers though so it's time to swing into action!

It's easy to see why Charlotte loves these stories so. Alex has a keen wit (anyone who has ever followed him on Twitter can't help to hoot with laughter at his commentaries on popular TV shows as they air, particularly Downton Abbey!), his illustrations are utterly brilliant and the Claude stories achieve the perfect balance between picture book fun and chapter book depth. We love them to bits!!

Who could possibly follow an act as classy as Claude?

"Matilda" by Roald Dahl (Puffin Books)

Only one of the world's most best loved children's books. Matilda has been around since I was a wee whippersnapper but now Charlotte is getting her teeth into more wordy fare as she reads to herself at bedtime, she's ready to jump headfirst into the amazing book worlds of Roald Dahl. What better place to start than with the story of Matilda, a little girl with a huge intellect and a deep love of books.

Matilda's family don't share her enthusiasm for literature (in fact her parents are downright boorish). Despite this, Matilda finds her way to her local library and falls in love with all the books she finds there, rapidly working her way through the children's section before discovering the delights of The Secret Garden and Charles Dickens!

Matilda's rotten parents eventually send her off to school, and she meets the wonderful Miss Honey - a big hearted teacher who realises Matilda's potential, and also shares her love of books. Unfortunately the school's headmistress is one of the most terrifying characters ever created in children's literature. The huge, the hulking, the temperamental Miss Trunchbull - Ex-Olympic shot-putter and all round big fat horrendous bully.

Can Matilda's sharp intellect and quick wits help solve a mystery from Miss Honey's past? Will Matilda ever be free of her annoying parents and brother?

You'll have to read on and find out. It was quite something to see three girls in Charlotte's cloakroom at school drop-off all reading their own copy of Matilda the other day, testament to just how brilliant Dahl's books are and this book in particular! What a great place to start a life-long love affair with Mr Dahl's fantastic work!

One more before we go? Oh there's always room for one more....!

"The Secret Kitten" by Holly Webb (Stripes Publishing)

You'll have to wait a couple of weeks till you can enjoy "The Secret Kitten" by Holly Webb, but this is the amazing 30th book (30 BOOKS! 30!) in her wonderful animal stories series. Centred around a young girl named Lucy who goes to live with her Gran, it's a touching tale of a lonely little girl who finds solace in an unexpected friend. Gran doesn't like animals but Lucy can't help but fall in love with an adorable stray kitten she rescues and begins to look after in secret. Will Lucy's annoying brother find out? What will Gran say!

Holly Webb's animal stories are perfect for Charlotte's age group (and like Matilda, we've seen lots of kids toting books from the animal stories series at drop off and pickup times at home). Charlotte read through the story fairly quickly and gave it a huge thumbs up, wanting to track down more of Holly's astonishing collection so we'll be looking out for them very soon! "The Secret Kitten" is out on 6th April 2015 from Stripes (Little Tiger) and you can find out more about Holly's brilliant books on the Little Tiger / Stripes Website.

That's a wrap, tune in next month for more chapter book goodies in April's roundup!

We've become huge fans of Holly Webb's gorgeous seasonal books, released in good time for stuffing into christmas stockings and coming with all the chilly but welcome atmosphere of a crisp snowy day.

"The Winter Wolf" is the latest book from Holly to get you in the mood for the first flurries of snow and we've been reading it for the last few days, dipping into Holly's newly created bookworld.

It tells the story of a young girl who is a little bit shy and sometimes a bit of an outsider. Uprooted from her comfy home to a dusty old house for family christmas, Amelia discovers an ancient journal kept by a boy who once stayed there.

Weaving an air of mystery and talking of times past when the boy raised a wolf from a cub, Amelia finds herself drawn into the journal's heady world of winter and wonder.

Holly has a real knack for creating brilliant girl characters that little girls (like Charlotte) instantly identify with and love to read about. Within the space of a few paragraphs, Holly draws you in until you find yourself four chapters later wondering if you're ever going to be able to put the book down!

Fans of "The Reindeer Girl" will love this new wolfish adventure, it's another christmassy classic set to melt your heart.

Charlotte's best bit: Amelia's first meeting with the big scary (but rather sweet) family dog.

Daddy's Favourite bit: Full of atmospherer, christmassyness and making us yearn for the first snows, Holly has once again woven a convincing and well-researched bookworld that will completely draw you in.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Stripes / Little Tiger Press)

Frankie's Magic Football - Frankie Saves Christmas (Frank Lampard / Mick Jackson / L & B Kids)

"The Rescue Princesses - The Ice Diamond" by Paula Harrison (Nosy Crow)

A Treasury of Animal Stories by Holly Webb (Stripes Publishing)

"A Tiger Tale" by Holly Webb (illustrated by Catherine Rayner) - Out now from Scholastic Children's Books

We're handing over the blog today to an author we've admired (and read an awful lot of books by!) Holly is one of the most prolific children's authors and her latest book "A Tiger Tale" deals expertly and in child-friendly terms with the tricky subjects of grief and loss.

Over to you Holly!

I’m not surprised that you wanted to know why I chose to write A Tiger Tale! I’ve tried to describe to a couple of people recently, and it does sound very sad. 

I didn’t set out to write a sad book at all. I’d noticed over the last few years of picking up my children from school, how many of their school friends were being looked after by their grandparents, as their parents were working. Both my own sets of grandparents lived a long way away, so we didn’t see them very frequently. My own children’s grandparents are the same, although they visit often. So this very close grandparent and child relationship was intriguing – a whole different family dynamic. I’d been thinking about that for a while, and then it struck me that a grandparent who was so close, and so much part of a child’s life, would be a terrible loss.

I wanted to write about the importance of a toy, too. I had (still have) a toy polar bear that I was given aged about four. I traumatically lost my first polar bear, and my poor parents had to find a replacement identical one…I imagined a whole life history for that original bear (I used to get really worried when I saw bears on the front of dustbin lorries, thinking that might have happened to Polar One.) 

We invest so much love in special toys. Secret lives, languages, friendships (and rivalries) with other toys… It didn’t seem a huge leap for a grieving, exhausted child to think that a toy could become real. 

One of my favourite books was The Velveteen Rabbit, where the boy’s much loved rabbit has to be taken away as he’s infected with scarlet fever, but he’s turned into a real rabbit instead. Real (with a definite capital letter) is only for the most loved toys. 

The two themes came together, but I wasn’t quite sure how the story would end until a reader sent me a photo of her beautiful tabby cat. He was huge, with a tigery ruff around his neck…

I loved writing this book, but it was very emotional (I’ve been accused of making several editors at Scholastic cry…). I’m a bit worried it might be sad for readers too, but I’m hoping that it will inspire the sort of conversations I always seem to have with my children (particularly my eight-year-old twins, at the moment) on the way to school. This is such a hard subject to talk about – and to experience, obviously. I wanted to explore it, and give children a way in to thinking about something so very difficult.

Holly Webb (Photo credit © Nigel Bird)

"A Tiger Tale", with illustrations by Catherine Rayner, is out now from Scholastic Children's Books.

Holly Webb is definitely one of our favourite authors and it's brilliant to see her making her picture book debut so that younger readers can experience her fantastic stories. We're completely head over heels in love with her "Maisie Hitchins" books at the moment (Charlotte tucks herself into bed and reads four pages of the latest Maisie adventures before settling down to sleep). But let's meet "Little Puppy Lost".

Evie has a new little puppy called Harry, who is adorable and mischievous - and taking his first few steps out into the wide world. While playing with Evie at a local park, poor little Harry ends up getting lost - and soon finds that the world is a huge place full of adventure and danger.

Poor Evie can't find him anywhere, so reluctantly heads for home - leaving Harry to fend for himself and somehow find his way back to his distraught owner. Can a very special feline friend help reunite Harry with Evie?

Needless to say, Charlotte loved Harry as she's got an extremely soft spot for cute puppies and kitties. Though the story is aimed at slightly younger readers than Charlotte, Holly's knack of injecting stories with excitement and tension, even in picture book form, really comes to the fore. Aided by fantastic fluffy and colourful illustrations from Rebecca Harry, this is sure to be a book that your little ones will demand again and again. A great picture book debut and we can't wait to see what Holly comes up with next, she must be one of the busiest and most prolific children's writers around!

Charlotte's best bit: A showdown with a rather nasty moggy shows just how brave Harry can be!

Daddy's Favourite bit: An awesome picture book debut from an author who has delighted and thrilled us with her early readers and chapter books already. Brilliant illustrations from Rebecca Harry too. Sure to be a huge hit with your little ones!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Little Tiger Press)

It's Maisie Hitchins Blog Tour Time! We've already introduced you to Holly Webb's brilliant new girl detective Maisie Hitchins. We scurried away with a copy of the first book and have been chipping away at it over the space of a week or so (we love reading chapter books but it does take us a wee while to get through them compared to picture books, I'm sure you'll understand!)

We've been drawn to Maisie Hitchins for so many reasons. Of course one of the main reasons is Holly's knack of coming up with scintillating characters and settings that just grab our attention (in this case, setting a girl detective story in victorian times is like catnip for Charlotte!)

We love the design and feel of the books, they're early chapter books but are lovingly illustrated throughout with awesome black and white drawings by Marion Lindsay.

Most of all though we're back to the writing - and the stories which are page-turningly addictive and have us clamouring for more now we've polished off the first.

So what happens in "Maisie Hitchins - The Case of the Stolen Sixpence"? We won't spoil things for you too much but of course as the first novel you're introduced to Maisie herself, who lives in a boarding house with her grandmother and a housemaid. Maisie thrills to the adventures of Gilbert Carrington, the famous detective as he solves huge complex cases in his own inimitable style. Maisie feels that they have a common link, a knack for observation and solving mysteries - and before long Maisie is drawn into a case (or two) of her very own.

At the start of this thrilling adventure, she meets her sidekick Eddie the puppy, who she rescues from a sack thrown into the canal. Maisie and Eddie become inseparable, and Maisie vows to solve the mystery of who would do such a cruel thing to a dear little wonky-eared puppy like Eddie.

But Maisie is soon drawn into another case, the titular "Case of the Stolen Sixpence" when a butcher boy who tussles with Eddie over a string of sausages, is wrongly accused of theft and sacked on the spot. Maisie feels guilty for George's dismissal and knows that he was not the guilty culprit. But she has to prove it!

To say that Charlotte is now Maisie's biggest fan is a bit of an understatement. Normally we struggle to engage with chapter books because my impatient little miss hasn't quite got used to the relatively longer experience of reading and reviewing chapter books. The ones that make it through our fine-meshed net though are the ones that she engages with from the very start, and that was definitely the case with this first Maisie Hitchins adventure.

As the story reaches a brilliant climax, we were already eyeing the two other Maisie Hitchins books that Stripes were kind enough to send us, and also wondering when the other books we haven't yet got were due to be published as we'll be picking them up as soon as they hit the shelves.

If your little girl or boy love a thrilling detective adventure, and love the idea of a girl detective series taking its cues from the brilliance of the Sherlock Holmes stories but setting out its table in a child-friendly and wholly immersive way, you really need to get to know Maisie Hitchins, we've a feeling you'll become huge fans like we already are.


Charlotte's best bit: There's a wonderfully bittersweet moment with Eddie and his mum that is Holly's favourite bit as well as Charlotte's. Have tissues ready!

Daddy's Favourite bit: The first book introduces a fabulous cast of characters and wraps you in the atmosphere of Victorian times, with many a mystery afoot. Love the subtle nods to Sherlock Holmes novels. A book that has really caught Charlotte's attention and spurred her imagination in wonderful ways. 

(Kindly sent to us for review by Little Tiger Press)

Holly Webb, author of the new "Maisie Hitchins" series for Little Tiger Press

Welcome to the magical Maisie Hitchins Blog Tour! We were very fortunate to be asked to join in with a celebration of Holly Webb's awesome new girl detective series, and so we racked our brains to think of some tricky questions for Holly. Here goes!


ReadItDaddy (Daddy): Hi Holly and thanks for spending some time answering our tricky blogger questions. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your books.

Holly Webb: I’ve been writing books for the last ten years. I used to be an editor at a children’s publisher, working with some amazing authors, but I came up with a book idea I loved, and swapped sides! Since then I’ve written (scarily) more than eighty books.

ReadItDaddy (Daddy): Maisie Hitchins is a brilliant creation and Charlotte is already a huge fan. What made you want to write a girl detective series set in Victorian times (which is, by the way, a completely genius idea!)

Holly Webb: I’m so glad Charlotte likes Maisie! I love her as a character, she’s huge fun to write. Maisie came out of my love for Sherlock Holmes – I discovered the stories aged about 10 and was obsessed with them for ages. But I wanted a strong girl character, and I loved the idea that Maisie would solve crimes partly because no one would think she was a detective, as she was a very unimportant child…

ReadItDaddy (Daddy): You’re so prolific, and it looks like you have lots of plans for more Maisie Hitchins adventures, do you have any super-secret methods you can share with us for writing success and keeping up the impetus?

Holly Webb: Er, no… I wish I did… Lots of coffee? I suppose my only secret method is that I really enjoy writing (most of the time). And because I do write lots of different books, often at the same time, if I get stuck on one, I can often do something else. By the time I come back to the first book I’ve usually unstuck myself, if you see what I mean.

ReadItDaddy (Daddy): We’ve been huge fans of your wonderful festive books, any plans for Christmas 2014 or are you sworn to secrecy?

Holly Webb: Ah ha! No one has actually sworn me to anything, so I think I’m allowed to say that there is a wolf book! It’s been brilliant for me to write, as it’s set in backwoods America, and it meant I absolutely had to reread all of the “Little House” books. For research purposes only, of course.

ReadItDaddy (Daddy): Maisie is the sort of character we’d imagine would work superbly as a children’s picture book (we love Marion Lindsay’s covers and inside illustrations for the series). Any thoughts on that idea?

Holly Webb: Oooh, well, not till you suggested it. I love Marion Lindsay’s illustrations. When I was working on the first Maisie book, she did an amazing set of sample ideas, which I have up on my wall, they helped so much!

Maisie Hitchins and her trusty doggie sidekick Eddie! On the case!

From Charlotte:

ReadItDaddy (Charlotte): Can Eddie have his own adventure please? (I think she’d rather love to see Eddie get his own doggie detective book for younger readers)

Holly Webb: What a brilliant idea! (I am getting an awful lot of good ideas out of this interview. Hmmm.) I loved writing the part of The Stolen Sixpence where Eddie sees his old owner and his mother. It was one of those moments when I almost made myself cry (very silly).

ReadItDaddy (Charlotte): Who is your favourite (Disney or fairytale) princess?

Holly Webb: Cinderella. The film was re-released in cinemas when I was (I think) about 8, and I saw it three times. I can sing the mice’s dressmaking song! But I’ve recently seen Tangled and Frozen with my own children, and I really like the way that in the newer Disney films the princesses are in charge of their own stories. They don’t just sit around waiting to be rescued!

ReadItDaddy (Charlotte): How would I become an author? What should I concentrate on in school?

Holly Webb: I never planned to be an author at all. I just wanted to be a librarian, because I loved to read, and then I became an editor because it meant working with books. But that was fab training for being an author, because it meant that I read loads, and I thought carefully about what I read. So I would say read, read and read! And then try and work out why you liked a book, or why you got a bit bored halfway through. (Some spelling might be useful too, but actually, authors have lovely editors to help with all of that!)

Huge thanks to Holly for spending some time with us (and we can't wait to see what happens next with Maisie!)

Don't miss our review of Maisie Hitchins' first case - "The Case of the Stolen Sixpence".

As an extra treat from Stripes / Holly and Marion, here are some fantastic Maisie Hitchins Colouring Sheets for you to print out and colour

Sheet 1

Sheet 2

Do not miss Maisie Hitchins by Holly Webb and Marion Linsday, in her fantastic book series available from Little Tiger Press

Holly Webb's gorgeous snowy stories have become well-loved books for us, but when we found out that Holly had been burning the pencil at both ends to write a fantastic series of books based on a victorian girl detective, we couldn't resist finding out more.

Meet Maisie Hitchins, a plucky girl with flame red hair and green eyes, who is curious and inquisitive. Along with her sidekick Eddie (a rather frenetic and energetic little dog) they embark on a series of adventures and mysteries - starting with the first book in the series, "The Case of the Stolen Sixpence"

Maisie Hitchins - The Case of the Stolen Sixpence by Holly Webb

Today is publishing day for book one, but we've been fortunate enough to take a look at two more books in the series too!

Maisie Hitchins - The Case of the Secret Tunnel by Holly Webb (Release Date: 6th May 2014)

Maisie Hitchins - The Case of the Feathered Mask (Release date: 6th May 2014

One of the things we find hard is to find really great books that have adventure, excitement and mystery in them - but have strong 'girl' appeal. Though the Maisie Hitchins books work equally well for girls and boys, it's a series that has instantly caught Charlotte's attention (and will probably fill our bedtime reading slot for quite some time to come!) A perfect combination of setting (Anything "Victorian" is always a huge hit with Charlotte), an air of mystery and supernatural suspense, and more than a nod to fabulous detective mysteries like Sherlock Holmes make this a truly unmissable series for our very own little girl detective! Fantastic covers and illustrations by Marion Lindsay (we love love LOVE the house drawing at the start of each tale) really make this series a brilliant transition for children who are moving on from picture books into early chapter readers.

Two more books in the Maisie Hitchins series, "The Case of the Missing Emerald" and "The Case of the Phantom Cat" will closely follow.

We'll be catching up with Holly really soon on the blog and will keep you up to date with all things Maisie, rest assured!


Charlotte's best bit: So far we're reading through "The Case of the Stolen Sixpence" and it's instantly grabbed Charlotte's attention and peaked her curiosity. Fabulous stuff!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A fantastic character, a brilliant setting, tons of atmosphere and suspense, Maisie is set to become an instant hit with girls and boys who love a detective mystery or two.

(Maisie Hitchins books kindly supplied to us for preview by Stripes Publishing. Look out for full reviews soon!)

A fabulous lineup of authors, some sumptuous illustrations by Alison Edgson, and a wondrous collection of stories that are absolutely perfect as the temperatures plummet and you need something snuggly and warm to cuddle up with before bedtime.

"Moonlight Tales" gathers together talented folk like Penny Dolan, Holly Webb and Michael Broad to tell a collection of short but wonderfully sweet tales featuring children's favourite animals as they all prepare for winter.

The beauty of anthologies is that for early readers, or children who are just moving on from picture books to chapter books, you can read a story or two each night before bed and slowly work through this wonderful book.

If you're looking for something wintry and wonderful to stick in a stocking this christmas, this is definitely worth investigating!


Charlotte's best bit: The Brave little Beaver story!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A superb little collection, perfect for yuletide storytelling!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Little Tiger Press)

We absolutely adored Holly Webb's "The Snow Bear" last Christmas, a fabulous and atmospheric snowy book to read a chapter from every night in the run up to the yuletide season. This year Holly has again come up trumps with an equally atmospheric and wonderful story, let's meet "The Reindeer Girl".

Set in the snowy landscapes of Norway, a young girl, Lotta, goes to stay with her Grandmother - who lives amongst the tribes of Reindeer herders. Lotta is introduced to their ways and customs, and of course the utterly beautiful reindeer that are a vital staple for food and transport amongst the folk who look after them.

When a baby reindeer goes missing, it's up to Lotta to embark on a perilous adventure to find the reindeer before the cold claims it. Can Lotta follow in the footsteps of her forefathers and learn their ways?

This is a book to snuggle up with as the cold weather sets in, and the dark nights return. The book is aimed at older children than Charlotte but it's been lovely to dip into, soaking up that wonderful wintry yuletide atmosphere and also learning a lot more about the indigenous tribes who tend deer using ancient methods, even to this day.
A fabulous stocking filler that's sure to be a huge christmassy hit!

Charlotte's best bit: Imagining what it must feel like to be pulled along in a sled by reindeer!

Daddy's Favourite bit: There's some great explanations of the terms and customs that reindeer tribes use, and some fabulous information to use to put together more investigations and activities into those tribes and how they lived / live today.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Stripes / Little Tiger)

It's difficult to imagine how beautiful our locale looks when covered with a thick blanket of snow. At the moment we're surrounded by water, and the skies are grey and horrible but Holly Webb's "The Snow Bear" cuts through all that, instantly putting us in the mood for snuggling up in front of a log fire, mulled wine (or in Charlotte's case, hot chocolate with marshmallows) in hand, with a really good book.

"The Snow Bear" is a chapter book and it usually takes us a little longer to work through these but it was worth it. Setting such an atmospheric story out, it's the tale of a young girl called Sara who builds an igloo and a snowy little polar bear in her garden with her grandad as the first christmas snows fall.

As darkness falls, Sara settles down to sleep but is woken in the middle of the night. She looks out of the window to find that the garden has completely transformed into an icy landscape, the igloo has gone and her snow polar bear has come to life!

Nothing is as it seems as Sara embarks on a journey to find her way home, with polar bear cub in tow...

We really loved the illustrations in the book and these just add to the wonderful wintry atmosphere. If your child is just getting into chapter books, progressing from children's picture books then Holly Webb is definitely one of the most important authors producing work like this.

A book to take your time with, snuggle up and enjoy even if the snow hasn't quite arrived yet!

Charlotte's best bit: The way Sara loves her grandad as much as Charlotte loves all her grandparents (who are all awesome by the way, just in case they're reading this!)

Daddy's favourite bit: Holly Webb's luscious descriptive prose is superb, love the atmosphere of this book - akin to christmassy greats like The Snowman. Perfect for this time of year

(Kindly supplied to us for review by Little Tiger Press)