#SixforSunday – Devious Characters

September 27, 2020August 25, 2020 The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

This is the final instalment in our monthly Characters Ahoy theme this week. Who doesn’t love a Devious Character right?! They normally add lots of different creative elements to a tale and some even provide the humour in the story too! I think this was definitely the easiest and most fun list to think about this month!

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot. Steph also hosts a Twitter chat for Six For Sunday each Sunday evening around 6pm but I never seem to make it as I’m always busy at that time! Maybe this month…?! 🤔

Devious Characters

Celaena Sardothian – Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J Maas
When it comes to being the most wiley and cunning, Celaena absolutely gives this off in droves. The way she plots and schemes o play various people off against one another is definitely one of the more entertaining aspects of the whole series for me.

Thomas Cromwell – Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
I finally got around to starting this trilogy off during lockdown and I am so glad I did. It’s a pretty hefty read but it was really gripping. Mantel has portrayed her main character as an absolute masterclass of strategy and wit. Cromwell knows exactly what he wants and makes no shame in doing whatever he needs to do to accomplish his goals. A very devious individual indeed!

Cardan – The Folk of the Air Series by Holly Black
Cardan…Oh Wicked King Cardan… So devious and dastardly that there were so many times during this series when my brain kept flipping between whether Cardan was really a good guy or bad guy.

Alessandra – The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
Snarky yet sophisticated, cunning yet feminine – Alessandra put the ‘diva’ in ‘devious’. I absolutely loved this book and it was great to see a female main character taking that kind of lead for a change.

Gollum/Smeagol – The Hobbit / Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Wicked, tricksy, false – Gollum is definitely a prime candidate for the devious characters list. The way he manoeuvres Frodo in getting him exactly where he wants whilst all the time focussing on ‘the Precious’. Such a great character!

Amy Dunne – Gone Girl by Gillian Flynne
I devoured this book in very little time at all and when flicking through my Goodreads shelf and landing on this, I knew Amazing Amy would be the one to finalise my devious characters list. I was one of those readers that got completely sucked in by this book and didn’t guess any of the ‘big reveals’ towards the end which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. Anyone who has read the book or even seen the film will know exactly why sweet little Amy is here.

Who are your favourite devious characters? Do you think every good book deserves one?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Brave Characters

September 20, 2020August 25, 2020 The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

Characters Ahoy continues this week in Six For Sunday and now we’re thinking about Brave Characters.

Bravery seems to be a “must-have” trait in all SFF books. If characters don’t start out with it, then they usually always have to pluck some up Cowardly-Lion-style before the final battle at the end of the book – at least, I haven’t seen a MC back out yet! 😂

Brave Characters

Severus Snape – Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Anyone who knows me properly will absolutely know that I can’t think about brave fictional characters not discuss Severus Snape. I don’t care what canon says, he’ll always be a true hero (albeit a flawed one) in my eyes!

Katniss Everdeen – The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I think Katniss epitomises the ‘brave warrior’ style main character for me. I like the way how she shows although she’s a bad-ass, she’s also very human too and never loses her integrity and compassion no matter what is put in her path.

Jesper – Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Jesper is one of my favourite characters in Six of Crows. I could also have put Nina in here alongside him but I keep thinking back to just one of Jesper’s scenes when he is with Wylan. I won’t spoil it here, but Jesper shows a different kind of bravery which comes from having the courage to be your true self in front of someone else – that’s why he made this list this week.

Arya Stark – Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
I haven’t read all of the GoT books yet, or even finished watching the TV series but Arya is definitely a character that I think when it comes to being brave. She may be short in stature but she is mighty in her courage and ferocity to face her toughest opponents.

Circe – Circe by Madeline Miller
Circe’s bravery isn’t so much physical as it is mental. The types of things she faced whilst on her island exile and the ways she battled to try and fight her way out of exile showed a remarkable inner strength which she wouldn’t have been able to carry off without a little bravery.

Daniel – The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
I am a huge fan of all Zafón’s work and the way he crafts his characters. Daniel is brave in the way that he persistently searches for the truth and doesn’t get deterred even when things start to take more sinister, dark turns.

What do you determine as a brave character? Who would make your list of the bravest characters in fiction?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Role Models

September 13, 2020August 25, 2020 The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

We’re continuing the Characters Ahoy theme this week in Six For Sunday and this week is all about Role Models. This was probably the hardest category of all four prompts this month to write for.

Role Models are so personal to each person based on what motivates them so the characters here are all on this list because they have a quality which I deemed admirable. I’ll explain more for each individual character below.

Role Models

Samwise Gamgee – Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Role Model Qualities: Friendship and Loyalty
Sam was the first person who came to mind when I thought of a fictional role-model. The way he cares for Frodo and sticks by him through the good times and the bad inspire me to want to be the kind of Samwise friend to all of my own friends.

Kady Grant – The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristof
Role Model Qualities: Determination and Justice
Kady’s relentless attitude and ‘never-give-up’ motivation is what gave her a place on my role models list. I love the way that she isn’t afraid to fight for what she believes in and pursues that goal right up until the very end. In today’s world of campaigns and activism for a better, more equal future for every single person on this planet regardless of race, wealth or gender, I think Kady’s character is a great role model for standing up for what is right.

Nastya – Romanov by Nadine Brandes
Role Model Qualities: Love and Resilience
Nastya’s character in Romanov was so powerful that tears were rolling down my cheeks by the final page. She is on my role models list purely because of her massive capacity for love and resilience. Brandes did a truly wonderful job of writing this character and making her come to life on the page.

Lou – Me Before You Series by Jojo Moyes
Role Model Qualities: Caring and Selflessness
Moving away from the SFF genres, Lou is the type of character that exists in our real-world lives everyday. Somewhere out there is a Lou right now, putting their own needs aside to try and better the life of someone who isn’t as lucky as the rest of us – even if it breaks their heart a little more every day. To be that caring and selfless to put another’s needs entirely before your own… what greater role model is there than that?

Yrene Towers – Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas
Role Model Qualities: Devotion and Inner Strength
I know some people didn’t like the Tower of Dawn element of the Throne of Glass series but I absolutely loved it. Yrene Towers is one of those peripheral characters who ends up making a monumental contribution. Her devotion to her partner (spoiler removed!) and the inner strength she shows throughout her time as a healer but also in her commitment to helping out with ‘the cause’ makes me think she’s a brilliant role model and definitely someone you’d want on your team.

Lia Mara – A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
Role Model Qualities: Integrity and Courage
Lia Mara’s character was a really welcome surprise for me in the second part of the Cursebreakers series. I wasn’t expecting to like her as much as I did considering she was an entirely new character. The way Lia Mara fought for what she truly believed in, regardless of who she was up against showed true integrity and courage, making her a character you come to admire and trust.

Six role models – all inspiring for various different qualities and traits.

Do you have any real-world or fictional role models? Who would have made your list?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Clever Characters

September 6, 2020August 25, 2020 The Biblioshelf6 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

There’s a brand new theme for this month’s Six For Sunday lists and I’m so excited to get stuck in to Characters Ahoy! I think we can really underestimate at times just how important some characters are to stories and the way that we as readers interact with them – particularly those side-kick, lesser-known, periphery characters who can be a tiny cog in the big machine of a story yet crucial to making the whole thing tick.

As I kept filling out these lists each week, I became glaring aware of the fact that my choices of characters/novels seem to be limited to my ‘God-tier’ kind of books – I could literally fill each prompt with characters from my favourite worlds (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Throne of Glass) but then I keep getting bored of picking the same well-known fictional people over and over again. So this month, I’m trying to be a little more diverse in my selections of characters and although I can’t cut out some of my favourites completely, hopefully you’ll start to see a wider range of influences from all across my reading pile!

This week is all about Clever Characters. For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot. Steph also hosts a Twitter chat for Six For Sunday each Sunday evening around 6pm but I never seem to make it as I’m always busy! Maybe this month…?! 🤔

Clever Characters

I find ‘clever’ such a tricky bracket to put characters into. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines ‘clever’ as “having or showing the ability to learn and understand things quickly and easily”. The main problem, is that being clever can sometimes be heavily stereotyped, and not always in a positive way. Clever characters are often the bespectacled book-swots, straight A students who don’t have many friends, or plain characters merely exist to retain a lot of information.

So often, we forget about the other definitions of ‘clever’ such as “skilful” or for an object, “something well-designed”. Being a teacher, I think clever characters are important representatives in today’s fiction. We encourage our students to perform their best in a system rigged with exams and gradings when actually, all of us has an ability to be clever in some element of our life and not all of us fit the education-style mould when it comes to proving our cleverness.

So here’s to my six clever characters who, despite being invariably different, are all shining beacons in being their own kind of clever.

Hermione Granger – Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Dubbed ‘the brightest witch of her age’, Hermione’s character maintains all of the ‘cleverness’ tropes: exam success, homework always completed (her own AND Harry’s and Ron’s), good grades, can often be found in the Library, avid reader etc… She even starts of the whole series being lonely and having very few friends. But towards the end, being part of the golden trio and masterminding part of the downfall of one of the greatest villains in fiction, Hermione’s cleverness is celebrated by all – and let’s face it, Ron and Harry wouldn’t have made it through their first year at Hogwarts without her!

Wade Watts – Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
I have so much love for this novel! Wade Watts makes it onto this list for his extensive ‘cleverness’ knowledge of James Halliday, 80s pop culture and his brilliant problem-solving mind. I can’t say much else without blurting out spoilers to the whole book, but his ability to try and figure out the reality from the virtual reality, spot the red herrings in a challenge riddled with easter eggs, and try to crack the mind of one of the greatest inventors in the Ready Player One world – he truly deserves his place on my clever characters list.

Magnus Bane – The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare
For me, Magnus Bane is the saving grace of the The Mortal Instruments series. I love his quirkiness and the cool edge he brings to the Shadowhunters’ world. What gave him a spot on my Clever Characters list is the fact that he always seemed to know exactly what to do whenever anyone came to him for help. He’s a mightily powerful warlock and I definitely wouldn’t want to be pissing him off!

Gandalf – Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Where do we start with Gandalf’s cleverness? His extensive range of magical abilities, his skills as a tactician, his knowledge of the routes, passes and ways of Middle Earth, his sharp, quick-thinking when in danger… Everyone looks to him as a leader because he is often able to give guidance and counsel – that’s definitely earned him a place on my list.

Robert Langdon – The Dan Brown novels
Similarly to Wade Watts, Robert Langdon is an expert in his field has a vast knowledge of history related to conspiracy theories and organisations around the world. His photographic memory also helps him to quickly solve puzzles and outsmart the antagonists and rivals he’s often working against.

Don Tillman – The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
As a Professor of Genetics, there’s no doubting that Don Tillman is clever. But what I find endearing about Don’s character is that he’s one of those ‘clever people’ who knows everything there is to know about his speciality but really has no idea how to navigate human existence at times – especially when it comes to Rosie!

There we go. Six clever characters, each showing cleverness in different ways and positive lights, but all of them being comfortable and confident with who they are deep down inside.

Which clever characters would make your list? What traits do you think define cleverness?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Friday 56 – To Best The Boys

April 26, 2019April 22, 2019 The Biblioshelf3 Comments

Happy Friday Bibliofriends!

The weekend is here! I love short working weeks, who on Earth suggested only two days for a weekend…?

Hosted by Freda’s Voice, the Friday 56 is a weekly bookish prompt. It’s quite easy to do and could cover no end of different books and genres so seems great if you’re looking for a quick snippet to discover something new!

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that’s ok.)
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it)
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post here in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url.
*It’s that simple.

This week I’ve been reading To Best The Boys by Mary Weber which came in FairyLoot’s 3 Year Anniversary ‘Favourites’ Box in March. This exclusive FairyLoot edition is signed by the author, has exclusive grey sprayed edges and when I turn the pages, I can hear them separating from each other – it gives me that brand-new-book feeling! It is my Herbology exam for the OWLs Magical Readathon (read more about that here) as it features trees on the cover. It’s such a fun read!

Synopsis from Goodreads
Every year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port receive a mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. Every year, the poorer residents look to see that their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s microscope.
In the province of Caldon, where women are trained in wifely duties and men are encouraged into collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her Mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.
With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone’s ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the maze.

“Light and music splash over us. A waltz is being played on a harpsichord that, from my assessment, sounds as perfectly tuned as the guests’ nerves look. I start to smile until I spot her mum, my aunt Sara, standing behind Seleni and peering from beneath a pile of brown curls that seem to be set in some type of hair topiary.”

I can’t wait to find out what happens next!

Have you read To Best the Boys? Is it on your TBR pile? Drop me a comment to chat!

Enjoy your weekend,
T xx

Friday 56 – Stardust by Neil Gaiman

April 19, 2019April 18, 2019 The Biblioshelf1 Comment

Happy Friday Bibliofriends!

It’s Easter weekend! What are you all up to? I hope you’re doing something fun and enjoy a little extra reading time.

Rules:

Yesterday I posted my update for how I’m getting on with the OWLs Magical Readathon and most of my reads this month have been geared towards that. You can read about that here.

I’m currently trying to complete my Astronomy exam where the prompt was to read a book with ‘star’ in the title. I didn’t really have anything on my shelves to complete this so I decided to re-read Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I’m really enjoying it this second time around. Gaiman is such a masterful storyteller and he has a really unique way of blending original fairytales and folklore into fresh narratives.

“He stared up at the stars: and it seemed to him then that they were dancers, stately and graceful, performing a dance almost infinite in its complexity. He imagined he could see the very faces of the stars; pale, they were, and smiling gently, as if they had spent so much time above the world, watching the scrambling and the joy and the pain of the people below them, that they could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the centre of its world, as each of us does.”

Have you read Stardust or seen the movie? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Six for Sunday – Books from my Childhood

April 14, 2019 The Biblioshelf8 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends!

What a busy weekend it’s been! I’ve been to a wedding, a rugby match, an evening watching my friend’s band play at one of the bars in our local town and later I’m off to the cinema! I’ll be posting more about where I’m up to with my April TBR and the OWLs Magical Readathon in a mid-month update later this week. But for now, back to Six for Sunday!

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is a weekly list-based meme created by Steph @ALittleButALot and has a different weekly prompt based on a monthly theme. April is all about children’s literature and as a primary school teacher I am definitely ready for ‘Kids Lit Represent’!

This Sunday, we are discussing books from my childhood. There are so, so many books that could go on this list, and they’d pretty much be the same as last week’s Six for Sunday; so this is essentially another six books from my childhood that I love!

A Collection of Woodland Tales by Beryl Johnson, illustrated by Dorothea King

I rescued this book from our garage a few years back and it now sits safely on the ‘children’s books’ section of my bookshelves. The illustrations in this book are absolutely delightful and the tales about fairies having balls and drinking rainbows out of acorn cups are adorable! I used to love reading it as a child.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

A staple of any young child’s reading library. I think my copy had holes in the fruit to show you where he’d been eating. It also used to give you a clue as to what was coming on the next page. The teacher from my very first training placement even bought me a mug with this on.

My Annette Mills Gift Book 1954

This is a vintage book I had from my Nan and Grandad along with some other classics like the old Rupert the Bear annuals. I used to love looking at all the old pictures. I’d read the stories sat on a roll of carpet in their back garden. It’s books like these that bring that have really fond childhood memories attached to them.

1940s Cinderella by Trelleck

Another one of my rescues from my Grandparent’s house. This book is practically falling apart now so I keep it wedged flat between two other books and treat it with a lot of care. I’ve scoured it many times for a publication date but there doesn’t seem to be one and the only ones I’ve found for resale online say it was published in the 1940s. It’s quite worn and I’m sure my Nan even drew in it as a child so it probably isn’t worth as much as the proper vintage ones but it still has a special place on my shelf.

The Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann / Buzz Books

As a child I used to love watching The Animals of Farthing Wood as an animated series on TV. They accompanied the TV programme with a set of 16 little hardback books by Buzz Books which were practically in the same style as Ladybird Books. I used to have the whole set all neatly ordered on the bookshelves in my bedroom. Now as an adult I also own the original Colin Dann book which is at an indefinable place on my ever-growing TBR pile.

The Tales of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter

These books were the absolute cutest! We used to travel to Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds very often when I was child. It is a beautifully picturesque place with the River Windrush running through it, where they sometimes play football in the river during the Summer months. They had a shop dedicated to Beatrix Potter andcentredaround the story of The Tailor of Gloucester. Every time we would visit I would come away with another one of those little books to add to my collection. I think Jemima Puddleduck and Benjamin Bunny were amongst my favourites!

What are some books from your childhood? Do you have still have them sat on your shelves at home today? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

Enjoy your Sunday Bibliofriends!

T xx

Friday 56 – Circle of Shadows

April 12, 2019April 10, 2019 The BiblioshelfLeave a comment

Happy Friday Bibliofriends,

Rules:

I recently finished Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye which came in the January Unbreakable Bonds Fairyloot box. It was such a stunning read. Admittedly I was supposed to be reading it as part of a readalong, however I just had to steam along and finish it. I’m hoping to get a review up fairly soon!

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Sora can move as silently as a ghost and hurl throwing stars with lethal accuracy. Her gemina, Daemon, can win any physical fight blindfolded and with an arm tied around his back. They are apprentice warriors of the Society of Taigas—marked by the gods to be trained in magic and the fighting arts to protect the kingdom of Kichona.
As their graduation approaches, Sora and Daemon look forward to proving themselves worthy of belonging in the elite group—but in a kingdom free of violence since the Blood Rift Rebellion many years ago, it’s been difficult to make their mark.
So when Sora and Daemon encounter a strange camp of mysterious soldiers while on a standard scouting mission, they decide the only thing to do to help their kingdom is to infiltrate the group. Taking this risk will change Sora’s life forever—and lead her on a mission of deception that may fool everyone she’s ever loved.
Love, spies, and adventure abound as Sora and Daemon unravel a complex web of magic and secrets that might tear them—and the entire kingdom—apart forever.

“The whole room seemed to pitch. Aki gripped the arm-rest of her chair. The last time Kichona had pitted magic against magic – The Blood Rift – was still raw in her memory. Aki had barely won that time, and she’d known it was coming because it was her brother she’d faced. But now? She couldn’t prevail if she didn’t know her enemy or what they were capable of.”

Thrown right into the action, there’s quite a lot going on which makes for a fast-paced read, a lot of it involves travelling around the world of Kichona, but Skye has created a beautiful Tiger-themed world so I was completely absorbed.

Have you read Circle of Shadows yet? Did you like it as much as I did? Drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Six for Sunday – Children’s Books I Love

April 7, 2019April 7, 2019 The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends!

A new month brings a new bookish prompt in Six for Sunday world.

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is a weekly list-based meme created by Steph @ALittleButALot and has a different weekly prompt based on a monthly theme. April is all about children’s literature and as a primary school teacher I am definitely ready for ‘Kids Lit Represent’!

This Sunday, we are discussing children’s books we love. This was quite a difficult topic in many ways; not because I can’t think of any books I loved…but because as a child, I would always have my nose in a book. Many of them have a place in my heart for multiple reasons that I could probably write a Sixty for Sunday instead. I also feel that the meanings of books, or the reasons why you fell in love with them changes as you get older and the morals and messages translated within them also take on new life as society changes and adapts to our modern world. To me, this is why children’s literature is so fascinating; you could read it at different times or stages of your life and still take away something new.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

Now… yes, I talk about this series a lot; yes, it features in nearly, but not every, list I write about books; yes, I am positive this comes under the umbrella of children’s books which is why it’s here!

Not only did this book keep my love for reading alive, even through those teenage years when “reading wasn’t cool unless you were reading Cosmo or one of your Nan’s Mills & Boon novels” (you can’t see me air-quoting and eye-rolling but believe me, I am…), it has also inspired so many children I have taught to actually pick up a book by choice rather than their Xbox or Nintendo and start to enjoy reading. That’s just one reason why I love it and why it’s here.

Wizziwig the Witch by Geraldine McCaughrean

When I was at primary school, my Mum was doing a course which involved going to the library a lot to use the computers; this was the 90s after all and we didn’t have one at home yet. When I went with her after-school, I would have the entire run of the Kids’ section, which was huge to a 7 year old. It was filled with squashy beanbags in reading nooks and was decorated with brightly painted animals on the walls. It really was a special place. Whilst there I read so many books, but one set that stood out was a set all about Wizziwig the Witch by Geraldine McCaughrean. I’ve mentioned them in a previous post but I never see these books anymore so they’re probably out of print. I’d hire them out of the library multiple times just to reread them. There was one with a crazy cooker, a singing car, a sweet machine and I’m sure there was another one with either a washing machine…or it could have been a time machine! Either way, I loved these books so much that I wanted to grow up and BE Wizziwig!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

This was my first ever Roald Dahl book and it was a prize won from cereal tokens. I remember collecting the tokens, sending them off, then sitting on the stairs every morning waiting for my book to come in the post. When it did…😍Roald Dahl really is a staple in any children’s literature list; his storytelling is amazing and his books just seem to have an edge that others didn’t. Perhaps it was because he made up words such as ‘snozzcumber’, or perhaps it was because he created a plethora of amazing characters which were either talking animals, dream-eating giants or witches who hated children. I could have included any of his books here, but the whole pretense of waiting for a book to arrive in the post – let’s face it, this was my first ever book mail – and then finding out it’s all about a boy who inherits a chocolate factory…what kid wouldn’t love that!

Heckedy Peg by Audrey Wood

As a child this book scared me slightly, however I used to know the words off by heart as it had lines which were repeated at certain points throughout the story and the plot was so cleverly constructed. Heckedy Peg is a witch who lures away a Mother’s children whilst she is out at the market. She turns them into items of food and their Mother, after she has tracked down Heckedy Peg, has to guess which of her children is which to break the spell and get them back. For children it’s a pretty frightening story which shows you what can happen if you disobey your parents and let strangers into your house. The illustrations were fantastic and highly detailed too.

The Red Herring Mystery by Paul Adshead

Part story, part activity book I loved trying to solve the mystery of who stole the ruby red herring. You had to use the text and the pictures to solve the clues and work out who the thief was. In true crime novel style, all of the characters had a hidden motive and backstory which attempted to catch you out. All of the pictures in the book also had a number of hidden fish and you had to try and find them all. It kept me entertained for ages and is still on my bookshelves today.

Flotsam by David Wiesner

Although this is a picture book it is one of my all-time favourites. It was the winner of the Caldecott Medal in 2007. I only discovered it a few years ago when I went on some English training for school. The two ladies who lead the course showed us how you could plan an entire curriculum topic just from that one book. It’s really changed my attitude to teaching through texts in the classroom. The illustrations are stunning and the story takes a few twists and turns that you don’t expect. I’d strongly recommend any teacher, or anyone who loves picture books to pick Flotsam up.

Looking back on this now, I can see why I tend to read so many fantasy stories. They’re all about witches or magic on some way, shape or form. Others that didn’t quite make my list are:

Anything from Usbourne where you had to try and fins the duck hidden in the illustrations
Where’s Wally– can you tell I like finding things in pictures…?
Care of Henry by Anne Fine– A cute dog story where the cover had Henry’s name fit really snuggly onto his collar.
Scribbleboy by Philip Ridley– I read this in secondary school and bought a copy for myself a few years back.
The Queen’s Knickers by Nicholas Allan– another great one for the classroom!
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt(illustrations by Oliver Jeffers) – another great teaching resource

What would make your top list of children’s books you love? Have you read any of the ones on my list? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

Enjoy your Sunday Bibliofriends!

T xx