It's been a while since we've written about Bullying in the "ReadItTorial" slot but recent events got me once again thinking about the different levels and subtle nuances of what constitutes bullying, both in the eyes of school and in the eyes of parents.

Recently it feels like things have got worse, as I expected, at C's school. At an age where kids have already drawn up their own cliques and boundaries, once kids get into the difficult "Tween" years (yep, before they're going through even more massive physical, situational and hormonal changes later on) it's like a slippery slope for some kids who end up on the receiving end of forms of bullying that (in our opinion) just aren't taken seriously enough.

These include (but are not exclusively limited to):

• Verbal intimidation. Again, this is quite often not picked up on or it's ignored completely as schools and parents fall back on the good old "Oh for goodness sake, develop a thicker skin, snowflake!" attitude. We've heard this time and time again, and fair enough C is a sensitive kid who takes comments and criticism to heart but in the eyes of the bully, they know exactly why they are doing what they're doing - and their aim is clearly to cause upset or anxiety. 

• Exclusion. This can take many different forms too, everything from certain kids being 'left out' whenever any class-wide or group-wide activities are planned, left out from social circles they may have once been included in, or even more stupidly, excluded whenever they take part in any group activities, sports or lessons in actual school time. Something else we've seen happen again and again, and something that we get a fairly 'light touch' response on when raised directly. 

• Physical bullying. This is the one that usually concerns me the most. Kids are clumsy, kids aren't always careful with what they're doing but when you hear that the same kid has pushed, knocked over, or hit your child again and again you start to wonder if it's just accidental, or whether there's something nastier going on. Again like the previous two examples, it's very difficult for schools and parents to respond to this without falling back on the horrid cliched "Kids will be kids" excuse. 

• Boys hitting / intimidating / undermining girls. For all the steps being taken in the wider world to ensure that girls and boys are treated equally, some boys have obviously been brought up or have inherited the view that they are the "stronger" sex, and will do things in school to assert this utter bullcrap opinion. I couldn't believe hearing about instances of things happening at school that you'd expect to hear grown-up mysogenists carrying out on a daily basis but you don't expect to hear boys doing the same type of things in school at an age where they should definitely not be using sexist / suggestive / downright insidious language or physical behaviour to girls. 

"Wait, isn't this just 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea' with a few tweaks?"

An 11 year old's critique can be withering at times, and that's pretty much how our review of "Big Cat" by Emma Lazell began.

In fact, "Big Cat" might bear a tiny resemblance to the aforementioned classic, heck it even rather cheekily references that very book (with a tiny tweak or two to avoid any copyright issues) within the story of a little girl called Isobel who is rather surprised to find her beloved Grandmother taking a rather large moggy under her wing.

You see, the delightful old dear has lost her glasses and she can't see a thing without them.

Big cat with a giraffe-like neck!

Cheeky reference, all things considered!

Out today, and full of positivity, energy and loads of fun, it's "Happy to be Me" by Emma Dodd.

If there's one thing that kids really enjoy above everything else, it's finding a picture book that they can really relate to and identify with, perhaps even find 'themselves' in.

We hear this again and again from authors and illustrators, who look to reflect the diversity and amazing individuality of kids in their books.

"Happy to be me" captures this perfectly in a ticklish funny rhyming book celebrating bodies of all kinds.

Emma Dodd, famous for her brilliant "I love My" series of books has come up with a really lovely heartfelt story for kids of all kinds, with a truly lovely pay-off at the end.

A fab book for building positivity, confidence and self-esteem.

"Happy to be me" by Emma Dodd is out today, published by Orchard Books (kindly supplied for review). 

I wonder what it is about penguins that makes them the perfect characters to sum up what it feels like to be an outsider, struggling for acceptance in a newly adopted country.

We recently reviewed "Polar Bear Island" by Lindsay Bonilla and Cinta Villalobos which also featured Penguins moving into the aforementioned idyllic snowy destination.

Now in "Meet the Penguins" by Mike Brownlow we once again find out that "different isn't always bad" - and the core message, though very similar to Polar Bear Island, is delivered in a slightly different way.

So let's meet those penguins! They really want to make some new friends. But does anyone want to play? 

More awesomeness from Scallywag Press, who are becoming a publisher to watch.

"Me and my Sister" by Rose Robbins is a hugely impressive debut, a story of sibling relationships but much, much more than that too.

The two main characters spend most of their day together. They eat together, they play together - but life isn't always easy when your sister has Autism. Life, in fact, can be extremely tough and challenging. 

Poor dads really do get a rough time in picture books. We can count on the fingers of one hand the amount of picture book dad characters that come out glowing and worthy of praise at the end of each story.

So initially we got a bit grumpy about "Daddy Fartypants" by Emer Stamp and Matt Hunt.

This time the dad is a bear, and he just cannot control his parpy trumpy bottom.

No matter what he does, no matter what he eats, Daddy Bear is a rootin' tootin' hot mess and his family really don't like being  around him, particularly his long suffering son.

Like most dads, Daddy Fartypants always finds someone else to blame his guffs on - until he finally meets his match, his son's new teacher Miss Lovelybear who really is lovely - until she lets off a real rip-snorting trouser cough - and blames Dad for it! ARGHH!

This simple action is the catalyst for Daddy Fartypants realising just how unreasonable he's been in trying to blame others for his troublesome tummy squeaks. So a change of heart is definitely needed!

I say that we were initally really grumpy about this book being about a trumping dad (rather than a mum - the mum character is strangely absent throughout the book) but then C fixed me with a steely gaze. "But it IS always you that cracks off the loudest at home, Daddy!" she said.

So I've wound my neck in. Emer ("Secret Diary of Pig") Stamp's hilarious picture book with Matt Hunt's superb illustrations might change a champion window rattler into a more apologetic soul after all.

Sum this book up in one sentence: A rip-roaring trouser-snorting pant-patootling trump-filled windy-woo gufftastic guffaw of a story with a neat little moral at its heart, POOOOOOT!

"Daddy Fartypants" by Emer Stamp and Matt Hunt is out on the 4th April 2019, published by Orchard Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Meet a wonderful snail who happens to share his name with a truly fabulous artist.

"Matisse's Magical Trail" by Tim Hopgood and Sam Boughton is a truly inspirational little story book to encourage kids to look at their world in a different way.

After all, that's what Matisse does as he makes his way slowly around, taking time to savour the finer things in life, and examine his surroundings in great detail.

As Matisse is so creative, he loves nothing better than to create beautiful drawings with his trail. 

Cassava Republic continue to publish some truly interesting and diverse titles, and we're lucky enough to take an early look at a new book from their Spring range before it hits the shelves in a few weeks time.

"Hair, it's a Family Affair" by Mylo Freeman is a superb BAME / POC celebration of natural hair in all its shapes, colours and styles.

The story opens up as we visit a family with vibrant and varied hairstyles, with a tale that trips off the tongue pleasingly when read aloud, almost lyrical and singsong - absolutely perfect for younger kids of any race or gender. 

We've been taking a look at Little Tiger Press's brilliant range of new titles arriving this spring.

Kicking off with a true feast of glorious natural history facts and figures, curated by Libby Walden and featuring the work of ten amazing illustrators who truly bring the subject to life.

"In Focus: Forests" is a book packed with amazing animals, glorious greenery and all the things that call the forest "Home".

The book talks about some of the most famous forests on the planet such as the Black Forest in South-West Germany, on the border with France. This vast area is a truly amazing biodiverse environment that is protected, and thus is full of life from the forest floor right to the tips of the tall spruce and fir trees that stretch into the sky.

Grace Easton draws an amazing picture of The Black Forest and in turn, other artists examine the Rainforests (Suzanne Washington), The Anatomy of Trees (Julie Colombet), National Parks (Sol Linero), Forest mythology (Irene Montano), Peoples of the Forest (Alessandra Santelli), Produce and Preservation (Jenny Wren), Mangrove Forests (Aaron Cushley), the Amazon Rainforest (Marc Pattenden) and Kelp Forests (Stephanie Fizer-Coleman).

As you can see, this one really does cover a lot of ground and is a nice hefty book to dig into, with great fold-out spreads.

"In Focus: Forests" curated by Libby Walden is out on the 4th April, published by 360 Degrees Publishing. 

Next is a really fun way to take a step back in time with "Wilfred and Olbert's Epic Prehistoric Adventure" by the rather amusingly named Lomp.

Wilfred and Olbert are our time-travelling guides on a trip back to the very dawn of time, as the dynamic duo discover a mysterious artefact that allows them to nip through a portal back to any period in history.

By presenting a really cool comic-like story but also seeding the story with amazing and incredible facts about prehistoric life, this is a really excellent approach to helping kids cross over from stories into non-fiction with ease.

With characterful and brilliant illustrations, and a whole host of facts all about prehistoric times, from life that began under the sea, to gigantic creatures that later stalked the earth and soared through the sky, this is a real winner and we absolutely love this approach. Let's hope there are more adventures for Wilfred and Olbert soon!

"Wilfred and Olbert's Epic Prehistoric Adventure" by Lomp is out on the 4th April 2019, published by Little Tiger. 

A truly out-of-this-world treat for younger readers now, with the perfect introduction to outer space in "The Big Beyond" by James Carter and Aaron Cushley.

James specialises in interesting and absorbing books on the subject of space, and this is no exception as we learn a little more about humankind's efforts to move beyond our home planet out into the inky blackness of space.

Learn all about space shuttles, rockets, and the International Space Station in this beautifully illustrated and presented guide that will give tiny tiddlers a real head start when it comes to learning more about space science and space exploration.

Really brilliant this. We never get tired of space books!

"The Big Beyond" by James Carter and Aaron Cushley is out on 4th April 2019, from Caterpillar Books

"When the Bees Buzzed Off" by Lula Bell and Stephen Bennett is our final book from Little Tiger's spring selection and carries one of the most important eco-messages relevant to our lives at the moment.

Bee numbers are in decline. For most people this doesn't feel like it's a big deal but bees are a truly vital part of our ecosystem, our pollinators that make sure that all our amazing plant life - and of course our food - can grow and flourish.

The rest of the minibeasts realise the bees have disappeared, so it's up to them to join together and find out what has happened to their buzzy friends.

This is beautifully presented, with engaging "lift the flap" bits to enhance a story that is a great introduction to the importance of bees and other insect life that lives on our planet.

"When the Bees Buzzed off" by Lula Bell and Stephen Bennett is out on 4th April 2019, published by Little Tiger Press.

(All books kindly supplied for review)

Cities are amazing places. Perhaps you live in or near one, or perhaps you travel in by bus, car or train to visit your nearest urban metropolis.

In "My City" by Joanne Liu, a young boy called Max is asked to mail a letter for his mother.

As he walks through his neighborhood in search of a mailbox, he encounters all sorts of interesting things like falling leaves dancing in the wind, skyscrapers towering in the distance, and junk being piled into a garbage truck.

All around him adults hurry on their various errands, too busy to appreciate these wondrous details. Life in the city happens at an amazing pace, but sometimes it takes a child's eyes to really appreciate what's going on and what keeps cities buzzing and moving.


Max's walk through the city eventually leads him to discover that the mailbox is actually right next door to his own house but in his walk around the place, he's learned a lot more about what makes cities tick.




Perfect for younger inquisitive children who love exploring, they will enjoy following Max on his adventure and seeing things from his perspective as they explore Joanne Liu's colorful celebration of everyday life in a busy city.

Sum this book up in a sentence: An amazing journey of discovery for one little boy as he makes his way across town to post a letter, and a book that will give kids an amazing introduction to all the ways our cities buzz and tick from day to day.

"My City" by Joanne Liu is out on 8th April 2019, published by Prestel (kindly supplied for review).