I am thrilled to announce that today, Monday June 27th, is publication day for book 2 in my middle grade fantasy series, Revenge of Queen Rose, so this is a special post to mark the occasion. June has been a busy month for me, between interviews, delivering fantasy writing workshops to eager and very talented […]
Category: Middle Grade
Author Interview: Sangu Mandanna
If you’re been following my blog for a while, you will know that I loved Sangu Mandanna’s Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom, one of my favourite reads from last year, and probably my favourite middle grade read in 2021. I was really thrilled therefore when the author, Sangu Mandanna, agreed to an interview. Thank you […]
Book Review: Murder on the Safari Star
By M. G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman Hal is thrilled when Uncle Nat takes him on a steam train (the Safari Star) to travel from Pretoria, South Africa, to the Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe/Zambia border. This is their third train holiday together and each of their previous trips have led to Hal solving a […]
Book Review: A Wilder Magic
This week TOTP shares the photo with his half-sister who lives close to him. Sybaline Shaw lives in a beautiful magical valley in the Appalachian mountains, but when the government builds a damn and plans to flood the valley, Sybaline is determined not to leave her home. For the valley is filled with magic, magic […]
Book Review: Unicorn Island by Donna Galanti
When her mother leaves for Europe to go on tour with her orchestra for the summer, Sam is sent to stay with her uncle-by-marriage in the sleepy little town of Foggy Harbour. Uncle Mitch isn’t pleased to have Sam staying with him, and Sam, who had desperately hoped to find roots in New York after […]
Book Review: Eudora Space Kid
Eudora is a space kid, a child who is born and lives on one of the fleet of star ships of the Planetary Republic. Eudora sees herself as a genius in the areas of engineering, physics and maths, and longs to be recognised as such so she can be promoted to chief engineer, and skip […]
Happy Easter & Cover Reveal
Today instead of a middle grade book review, I am going to do a cover reveal…of my own book! My first middle grade fantasy The Lucky Diamond was published last November, and I am delighted to announce that the sequel, Revenge of Queen Rose, will be published on 27th June this year. The ebook of […]
Book Review: Kingston & the Magician’s Lost and Found
It’s an emotional return to the Bronx for 12-year-old Kingston after a four-year absence following the loss of his father. Kingston’s mother is determined to turn the family’s failing business (a magic shop with next to no customers) into a smart café. But Kingston hasn’t forgotten that his father, a stage magician, vanished in front […]
Book Review: Sleepwalkers Round One
When 11 year old Ellie Dasher and her 6 year old brother Elijah inherit a house known as The Old Sleep from their grandmother, the family moves to Connecticut to take up residence. Ellie soon discovers that The Old Sleep has a reputation for being haunted. In one terrible nightmare, Elijah is dragged from Ellie’s […]
Book Review: The Missing Barbegazi
This is the story of 11 year old Tessa, seeking out the fabled barbegazi while mourning the death of her beloved grandfather, and Gawain, a barbegazi and young at a mere 154 years old, searching for his twin sister Maeg who went missing after an avalanche. Fortunately Tessa and Gawion meet up and with the […]