Lots of travelling always means lots of reading! What better way to spend long train journeys? The Last Unicorn is a classic. If Patrick Rothfuss says it's the best book he has ever read, you know it's worth looking out for. Title The Last Unicorn Author Peter S. Beagle Genre Classic/Fantasy/Fairy Tale Rating (out of 5) 5 Age-group 10+ Among the most powerful books I have ever read, I now know that Theresa Breslin is an author I want to read more of! Title Prisoner of the Inquisition Author Theresa Breslin Genre YA/Historical Fiction Rating (out of 5) 5 Age-group 13+ I picked up this one because I was sure that a book called Travelling Backwards written by a person called Toby Forward had to be entertaining, at the very least. I was not disappointed. Title Travelling Backwards Author Toby Forward Genre Fantasy/Magic Rating (out of … [Read more...]

I don't know a single child who has read and not liked animal stories. I remember Animal Ark. I think of Gill Lewis's White Dolphin. There are hundreds of horse stories that I've read and loved - Stallion Club comes to mind immediately. Whale Boy is one of those beloved animal tales. Growing up in Rose Town, Dominica, Michael learns very early on to manage on his own. His mother was, according to his grandmother, 'not mother material', and abandoned him as a baby. His father went to London in search of her and never returned. Legend says that there is a place where the waters run deep enough to lose the highest mountain. That's where the whales come - so many that you can walk on their backs. Yet, sperm whales were the victims of generations of whalers. There are no whales left on the island ... or are there? Michael discovers that it may just be dangerous to find out. Befriending … [Read more...]

One of the reasons I love travelling is that I have so much time that I can spend reading without feeling guilty about everything else I could have been doing instead. Waiting, sitting around, marking time until my workshop begins ... What else can I do? I loved The Dragon Whisperer; I wanted to know what happened next. And there was the sequel, Flight to Dragon Isle, sitting on the shelf in the library, waiting for me to borrow it. The Grand Master is intent on treason, but even Quenelda's father the Earl is not convinced that his childhood friend Hugo could have gone so far astray. Yet, in the fight against the hobgoblins, the Earl comes face to dace with treachery. He knows that Hugo has betrayed the SDS, but before he can make any kind of report, he goes missing and is reported dead. Quenelda is sure her father is not dead, though. Yet, she and her esquire Root have just a handful … [Read more...]

How would it be to have a face like glass, a face that is a window that can tell the truth and only the truth? And how would it be to have a face like that in a world where Facesmiths sculpt each expression on each individual's face? A Face Like Glass is a remarkable book, which took me on a journey through the twists and turns of Caverna, an underground land that is just about being held together by the Grand Steward. A Kleptomancer is on the loose, though, one who steals unpredictably, and seems to delight in taking Caverna by storm. Into all this comes Neverfell with her face like glass ... The story drew me into a world of surprises, each one of them vividly imagined. The plot was as complicated and surprising as Caverna herself, Caverna which is beautiful and unknowable, and so mysterious that Cartographers go mad … [Read more...]