You may have heard of an armadillo or an orangutan but if I asked you what a ‘quoll’ was, would you know the answer? I didn’t when I first browsed through Graham Carter’s beautiful book Alphamals (alphabetical animals!) so I was fascinated to learn that it is a small but fierce creature that ‘sleeps through…
Author: childtasticbooks
Childtastic Books started out as a collaborative blog, written by me and my young daughter Holly. Now she's nearly a teen, she's off doing exciting and new things but I am still here, reading, writing and reviewing books for children and young adults of all ages. I miss her input but I hope she will pop in from time to time to do some guest posts!
A little about me - I have just finished an MA in Children's Literature from the University of Roehampton (result pending, eeek) and am a part-time primary school librarian. The other part of my time is spent writing and editing, my own work and others, and I am waiting for my first non-fiction book to be published - a teacher resources pack for Handa's Surprise.
I welcome comments and love to hear from visitors to this blog. Please note though that, because of time constraints, it is rare that I can read and review books from self-published authors. I receive so many requests and feel badly about not being able to keep up with them all.
Thanks for visiting!
Sam
A little self-promotion
Normally I use this blog to review and publicise work that other authors, editors, illustrators and publishers do, but tonight I wanted to share something that I’ve just set up. As many of you know, I am a freelance writer, editor and general wordsmith and I’ve worked on a huge range of projects and for…
Happy, Sad, Feeling Glad Blog Tour comes to Childtastic!
Here at Childtastic, we are delighted to be part of the ‘Happy, Sad, Feeling Glad’ blog tour to celebrate award-winning author, illustrator and animator Yasmeen Ismail’s new book, by the same name, published on 3 April by Laurence King Publishing. Happy, Sad, Feeling Glad is a lovely book that not only talks about the different…
M’encanta aquest llibre (sempre!)
Today’s review is of a book by a writer and illustrator from Barcelona – Anna Llenas – so I couldn’t resist attempting a little Catalan in honour of her work, and in memory of the months I spent in the city over 20 years ago. I just hope I got it right! The expression “opposites…
Wind and rain …
Monday marked the start of Spring, not that you would have known, with the horrendous wind and rain we had. However, it was good timing to look at the two new books published by the Bodleian Library, whose subject matter was very fitting for the tempestuous and temperamental British weather. The March Wind, by Inez…
Odd Dog Out Fits Right In
Remember your school days when it was essential to fit in? To a certain extent, the same is true of adulthood, though perhaps we have more resilience and courage to be different with a few more years under our belts. Nevertheless, there is always pressure to be one of the gang no matter who you…
Will Mabbitt can only draw worms… or can he?
There are many books that I wish I had written, but I’ve just come across a picture book that I wish I had drawn. And that’s saying something considering I am about as good with a pencil as Mr Bean is with, well, anything. The book in question is I Can Only Draw Worms by…
When author asides don’t work
One of the great things about being an adult reading children’s books to children is seeing their reaction to the stories they hear. It’s something of a paradox that most people who write or draw for children are grown-up – this discrepancy between ages doesn’t tend to happen, to my knowledge, in other areas of…
When beards become homes
I can’t quite convey how excited I was when I received Duncan Beedie’s new picture book The Lumberjack’s Beard. A fan of his previous book – The Bear Who Stared – I knew that I would be in for a treat with this title … and boy, was I right. Big Jim Hickory is a…
Rethinking morals
As many of you already know, I work as a primary school librarian in Oxford. Ours is a Church of England Aided Primary School, and much of our daily life revolves around supporting and celebrating Christian values, and we focus on a particular one each month – this month’s, for example, is honesty. Last week,…
My Top Christmas Read
With only a day left before Christmas, I thought I’d better announce my top Christmas read for 2016. So, without further ado, I am delighted to announce that it is… Mistletoe and Murder, by Robin Stevens, Published by Puffin Books When a review copy of this book came through the door, I was so excited….
Amazing non-fiction for last-minute presents
Non-fiction books sometimes get forgotten amongst the massive publicity around novels and picture books but there are so many wonderful titles out there that will delight and inform in equal measure. I know lots of children who love working their way through ‘fact books’, so this post is dedicated to them. Perhaps if you know…
