Ivy's Library - Page 3 of 79 - Bite-Sized Book Reviews for Kids

Thu
27 ^th

Bad Apple
by Huw Lewis Jones & Ben Sanders

Hands up if you have a child with a dark sense of humour!

In most respects Ivy is a sensitive little soul but she loves stories which feature a shady character or an unexpected plot twist. As soon as I picked up this book – Bad Apple by Huw Lewis Jones and Ben Sanders – I knew it was going to be a hit with her.

Apple is not a very nice character. He steals Pear’s chair. He drinks Pea’s tea. He steals Cat’s hat. He even pushes Spud in the mud. He seems to enjoy making life miserable for those around him and he shows absolutely no remorse. As we move from page to page Apple’s behaviour gets worse and worse, but eventually he makes a mistake by underestimating Snake. Will he get the comeuppance he deserves?

Wed
26 ^th

When A Dragon Meets A Baby
by Caryl Hart & Rosalind Beardshaw

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The prospect of a new sibling is very exciting but most children struggle with the sudden shift in the family dynamic when a baby actually arrives. This beautifully illustrated book is perfect for reading in those final months of pregnancy, to help your little one process the changes that might lie ahead.

Dragons, much like toddlers, tend to have an air of mischief about them and this story plays on their ‘naughty’ reputation to great effect. How would you expect a little dragon to behave when they are no longer the centre of attention? Surely they will stomp their feet, huff and puff and breathe some fire, right? Well no. It turns out that little dragons now exactly how to behave around a new baby and they have lots of great advice to share. Children will want to align themselves with the dragon’s positive behaviour because she’s such a cute and kind character.

Thu
20 ^th

Interview: Kate Dalgleish,
Author of ‘Edmund The Elephant Who Forgot’

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Hello Kate! Thank you so much for chatting to me about your new book ‘Edmund The Elephant Who Forgot’. Could you give us a quick overview of what the book is about?

Edmund is a little different from other elephants in that he’s quite forgetful. And so, when his mother sends him to the shop to collect things for his brother’s birthday party, his ears wiggle with worry. Equipped with a little memory song to sing, he makes his way around town with hilariously disastrous results. There is a hidden message that good can come from even the trickiest of situations!

What inspired you to write this story?

I’m a big collector of notebooks! And whenever an idea, be it a title, funny word, or character’s name pops into my head, I have to scribble it down there and then. One day I think I was joking about elephants never forgetting and Edmund’s little memory song just popped in my head; the story just unfolded from there.

Sat
08 ^th

Meet the Publisher: Formy Books

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Established in early 2020, Formy Books is an independent family-run publisher, with a passion for own voices children’s books. Formy Books is dedicated to delivering striking children’s books by Black creators from across the diaspora.

Here, Co-Founder Ebony Lyon reflects on the importance of accurate representation in children’s books and tells us how Formy Books seeks to positively depict the richness of Black culture in the stories which they publish.

“Children need to see themselves reflected back from the books they read, yes. However we must ensure that the reflections are accurate, not distorted.

In her seminal essay, Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Doors, Rudine Sims Bishop Stated “When children cannot find themselves reflected in the books they read, or when the images are distorted, negative, or laughable, they learn a valuable lesson about how they are devalued in the society of which they are a part.”

Fri
30 ^th

The Whale Who Wanted More
by Rachel Bright & Jim Field

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Humphrey the whale is never quite satisfied. He glides through the ocean with his many possessions strapped to his back, always on the look out for the next new thing to capture his attention. However, no matter how many treasures he amasses, he always wants more.

Driven by his desire to consume, Humphrey lives a lonely and dissatisfied life until one day he spots a reef which is bursting with colour and life. There are so many shiny, fun things – surely this is what he has been looking for? He circles above, constructing a plan.

Unbeknownst to him, the creatures who live below are also unhappy. Instead of seeing the beauty of their magical surroundings they bicker and shout at each other, jostling for space amongst the coral. They’re too busy being grumpy to notice the covetous whale start to swim down towards them…

Thu
29 ^th

What Happened To You?
by James Catchpole & Karen George

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On an ordinary day, in an ordinary park, a little boy called Joe is playing pirates. As he leans over the edge of his ship and waves his trusty sword in the faces of imaginary (moustached!) sharks, he is interrupted by a shout from another child. “YOU’VE ONLY GOT ONE LEG!” she yells – and just like that, Joe’s game is ruined.

It’s clear that the girl hasn’t seen anyone with a missing limb before and she has a lot of questions. She wants to know where the leg is and she’s determined to get some answers. Soon other children join in and they each try to guess what has happened to Joe. Did his leg fall off? Was it stolen by a burglar? Was it eaten by a lion?

For the group of children, the fact that Joe has one leg seems extraordinary, but for Joe this is his everyday reality. He’s perfectly aware he only has one leg but he doesn’t want to talk about it all the time and he certainly doesn’t want to talk about it in the middle of a game of pirates. There are sharks to defeat and crocodiles to vanquish!

Wed
14 ^th

Sonny Says Mine!
by Caryl Hart & Zachariah Ohora

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When Sonny finds a pink bunny in the sandpit he is beyond excited. A new toy just for him! He gives it a snuggle and names it Bun-Bun. Sonny likes the bunny so much he is completely consumed by it. He feeds it sand, reads it a story and swings it around with joy.

However in his excitement Sonny has forgotten all about the friends he came to the park to see. Mid-game he looks up and sees his pals Honey and Suki walking towards him. Suki is crying because she has lost her favourite pink bunny – the exact same bunny that Sonny has been playing with. Sonny panics that his new toy will be taken away and quickly hides it under a bucket. He even lies when Honey asks him directly is he has seen it.

Wed
14 ^th

Isobel Lundie: How To Draw Edmund The Elephant Who Forgot

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We recently shared a review of ‘Edmund The Elephant Who Forgot‘ and it was very popular indeed!

Ivy and I were extremely fortunate to get the opportunity to do a Q&A with author Kate Dalgleish (which you can read here) and the wonderful Isobel Lundie has created us our very own step-by-step guide to drawing lovely Edmund.

So what are you waiting for? Grab your kids and your colouring pencils and dive in!

Download the step-by-step guide now

We would love to see your creations. Make sure you post them on instagram and tag us @ivylibrary . We’ll share the best ones in our stories!

Mon
12 ^th

It’s So Quiet
by Sherri Duskey Rinker & Tony Fucile

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It’s nighttime at the farm but little Mouse can’t sleep because it’s just too quiet. He tosses and turns in his bed until his mother comes to sit with him. She suggests that he snuggles down and lets the soft noises of the night carry him into slumber.

The mouse listens carefully and soon his little ears pick up the sounds of a bullfrog croaking nearby and some crickets chirping in the long grass. The old screen door bangs, the wind whistles through the trees and somewhere in the distance a coyote howls.

Alarmed the Mouse gets out of bed and opens the window. Where once it had all semed quiet, now he can hear nothing but pure noise. Owls, dogs, snoring, creaking, tapping – where is all this noise coming from and how on earth is he supposed to get to sleep?

Sat
10 ^th

Interview: Hannah Carmona,
Author of ‘Anita and the Dragons’

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Hello Hannah! Thank you so much for chatting to me about your new book ‘Anita and the Dragons’. Could you give us a quick overview of what the book is about?

Hi Shelley and Ivy, wonderful to chat with you! Anita and the Dragons is about a young girl named Anita who lives in the Dominican Republic. She watches the planes come and go from her island, which she refers to as dragons. One day the time comes for her to face the dragons and leave the island she loves. It’s a story of bravery and finding the power within.

What inspired you to write this story?

It was inspired by my mom’s immigration story from the Dominican Republic to America when she was a child. I admire her courage to make that transition so young. She’s always led by example in showing us how to face our fears and take big steps in life.

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