I Read, Therefore I Blog

The Blurb On The Back:

Discover more about you with the Mr Men and Little Miss

A new series to encourage children to understand more about their own emotions and how to manage them with the help of the Mr Men and Little Miss.

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The Verdict:

Roger Hargreaves and Elizabeth Kilbey’s picture book (part of the DISCOVER MORE ABOUT YOU SERIES) is a clever guide for young readers about sharing that also shows how sharing is not just about giving but also accepting and how there are some situations where people don’t have to share. I liked how the book combines silliness with a serious message and explains its theme in an easy to understand way.

MR MEN LITTLE MISS - SHARING was released in the United Kingdom on 30th March 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

The new king is visiting the MR MEN and LITTLE MISS on his ROYAL TOUR and everyone is very excited.

In HAPPYLAND, Mr Happy and Little Miss Sunshine have planted a special flower display, while in LOUDLAND, Mr Noisy and his band have been practising day and night!

But will everything go to plan and what will be in store for the NEW KING in Nonsenseland?

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The Verdict:

Based on his father Roger Hargreaves’s LITTLE MISS and MR MEN SERIES, Adam Hargreaves’s self-illustrated picture book is a fun tie in with the coronation of King Charles III (even if the king in the book is never named) with the Mr Men and Little Miss doing their usual silly antics. It’s particularly fun to see the various Mr Men and Little Miss lands and I think the king would enjoy seeing himself having fun with them all.

MR MEN LITTLE MISS - THE NEW KING was released in the United Kingdom on 13th April 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Agents of history. Partners in mystery. Sisters in solving crime!

Lizzie Sancho and Dido Belle have formed a detective agency … and it’s time for their toughest challenge yet!

Georgian London is plagued by a series of mysterious thefts and sinister poisonings. Lizzie and Belle must use all their daring detective skills to find out who is behind the crimes and bring them to justice. The clock is ticking …

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The Verdict:

The second in J. T. Williams’s historical mystery series for readers aged 8+ sees Dido narrate another solid central mystery with a wide array of suspects set against the background of the Abolitionist struggle. Simone Douglas’s illustrations atmosphere and I liked the incorporation of actual people from history (including Jane Harry) but the use of Dido and Lizzie themselves still makes me uneasy, especially as the sense of period drops at times.

THE LIZZIE AND BELLE MYSTERIES - PORTRAITS AND POISON was released in the United Kingdom on 30th March 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

The streets of Georgian London can be dangerous. Not everyone is what they seem …

Lizzie Sancho and Dido Belle live very different lives.

Lizzie works at her family’s buzzing Westminster tea shop, while Belle leads a quieter life at the majestic Kenwood House. Their worlds collide when disaster strikes at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and Lizzie’s father’s life is put under threat.

Why is someone after Ignatius Sancho?

And who is the shadowy figure on the theatre balcony?

Friendship, a fight for freedom and a race against time to solve the mystery before danger strikes again!

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The Verdict:

J. T. Williams’s historical mystery novel for readers aged 8+ (the first in a series) has a solid central mystery combining suspense and a wide array of suspects whose motives are seen through a Shakespearean lense while Simone Douglas’s illustrations bring atmosphere. However, there is little sense of period here and I’m uncomfortable with the use of two real life historical people because it risks doing a disservice to their actual story.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Nothing has happened. Not yet, anyway. This is how all things begin.

Welcome to Apex City, formerly Bangalore, where everything is decided by the mathematically perfect Bell Curve.

With the right image, values and opinions you can ascend to the glittering heights of the Twenty Percent - the Virtual elite - and have the world at your feet. Without, you risk falling to the precarious Ten Percent, and deportation to the ranks of the Analogs, with no access to electricity, running water - even your own humanity.

The system has no flaws. Until the elusive “Ten Percent Thief” steals a single jacaranda seed from the Virtual city and plants a revolution in the barren soil of the Analog world.

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The Verdict:

Originally published as ANALOGUE/VIRTUAL, Lavanya Lakshminarayan’s debut SF novel is an ambitious read that examines its corporate owned, techno-state through interconnected short stories rather than following a single protagonist. That won’t be to everyone’s tastes and it is a little heavy-handed at the beginning, but this is a refreshing take on the genre with a sharp satirical eye and I look forward to reading Lakshminarayan’s next book.

THE TEN PERCENT THIEF was released in the United States on 28th March 2023 and in the United Kingdom on 30th March 2023. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Why do people fight wars?

- Why do people go to war?
- Is it ever right to kill another person?
- Can we solve problems without fighting about them?

This book looks at wars past and present and the reasons behind why people fight. Find out how wars start, and what happens to soldiers and to ordinary people who are caught up in them. Discover more about the history of peacekeeping organisations and the ways in which conflicts may be resolved without violence.

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The Verdict:

Ali Brownlie is a former humanities teacher who has written numerous books for children. Alex Woolf specialises in 20th century history and political books for children. This book for readers aged 9+ deals with the difficult topic of war and conflict but while there are some useful sections here, the way it deals with some major conflicts is superficial and I think risks being misunderstood by younger readers.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Have you ever had a secret?
The sort you lie awake at night thinking about?
I have.

A couple of years ago, I told my friends my secret. About me not being a girl or a boy. About me being non-binary. It was a little weird at first, but now things are pretty good.

Or at least, things were pretty good.

Until we started Year Six. Until we had to start thinking about secondary schools. Until I realised there was one school for boys, and one for girls, but no place for me.

That was when everything went wrong

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The Verdict:

L. D. Lapinski’s LGBTQ+ friendly novel for readers aged 9+ is a compelling and entertaining look at what it means to be non-binary and to campaign for what you believe in. Lapinski does a great job of explaining what being non-binary means and includes definitions of the various terms used. I particularly admired how they show how allies can find it difficult to understand what it means to be non-binary and pressure non-binary people to conform.

JAMIE was released in the United Kingdom on 30th March 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Every good pooperhero needs a SOLID sidekick …

Superpoop has been single-handedly tackling the town’s TOILET TROUBLE. But with the DIRTY WORK piling up, he decides it’s finally time to share the HEAVY LOAD.

Is Superpoop’s biggest fan, Wonda Wype, up to the challenge?

Join Superpoop on his hunt for the perfect NUMBER TWO in this TOOT-ally hilarious, action-packed toilet tale.

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The Verdict:

Sam Harper and Chris Jevons’s picture book sequel is a pun-tastic take on toilet humour with plenty of poo jokes to keep any young reader entertained but also a decent story for them to follow. Wonda is a spirited and determined sidekick and I enjoyed her attempts to prove herself to a skeptical Superpoop while Jevons’s energetic illustrations have a lot of fun with all the toilet imagery and add further visual jokes.

SUPERPOOP NEEDS A NUMBER TWO was released in the United Kingdom on 30th March 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Here’s what you need to know about me: I’m seventeen and a comedy god … in waiting. TBC and all that. But I know I’m pretty funny. I have two and a half terms left before going to uni, so if I want to try stand-up, it’s now or never

More than anything in the world, Madhu wants to be a stand-up comedian, but her parents are rooting for her to do something sensible that involves uni and a law degree.

Just as she thinks they’re probably right, a clip of Madhu goes viral and a comedy legend offers her the chance of a lifetime. It feels like all her dreams are coming true … until Madhu becomes the punchline.

Can Madhu stand up for what she believes is right and keep everyone she loves laughing?

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The Verdict:

Nikesh Shukla’s contemporary YA novel has a sharp-tongued female main character who makes interesting points about race and sexism, including among the British Asian community. Although the book makes the most of its Bristol setting, the plot is predictable and strains credibility but the big issue is that the comedy routines are flat and unfunny, with Madhu coming across as gobby and mean-spirited, which makes it hard to root for her.

STAND UP was released in the United Kingdom on 2nd March 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

A young boy and his older sister have left home to play a game. To win, she tells him, they need to travel across endless lands together and make it to the finish line.

He can be brave like a tiger. She’ll be fast like a rabbit.

But the journey is difficult, and the monsters are more real than they imagined. And when it no longer feels like a game, the two children must still find a way to forge ahead and reach the other side.

A powerful, timely and beautifully illustrated story exploring the journey of two young refugee children in search of safety.

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The Verdict:

Erika Meza’s self-illustrated picture book is a clever, subtle and gorgeously drawn look at the plight of children crossing the US border. The relationship between brother and sister is central to the story and beautifully done and Meza is smart in her use of colour is fabulous. This is a book for adults to read with younger readers as each will get something from it and Meza stresses how the struggle does not finish when the journey ends.

TO THE OTHER SIDE was released in the United Kingdom on 14th March 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.