Narrowing down to my top ten middle-grade books is always the hardest of all! Some of these books are younger than others, as always, because age ranges are hard to define. A few of these would be borderline chapter books; a few would be borderline young adult.The Racehorse Who Wouldn't GallopWriter: Clare BaldingIllustrator: Tony RossPublisher: Penguin UKAs a child, I loved the Animal Ark series so much that I longed to be a vet. When I learned that studying medicine involved cutting things up, I balked. Yet, animals were special to me, and I would go as far as to say that they are special to most children.The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop is a charming story of love for animals. It is a tale of friendship and grit: friendship among animals, people, and animals and people. Once more, it is a story that explores the idea that children can do … [Read more...]
The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day
As I read The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day, I realised yet again that Christopher Edge is a writer I want to look out for. The first book I read of his was probably Twelve Minutes to Midnight. I enjoyed it so much that I ended up buying two copies of it - one to keep and one to gift.Somehow, the sequel, Shadows of the Silver Screen, did not make such a powerful impression on me. I liked it, but I can barely remember it now - in my defence, I read it five years ago.Then, I read The Many Worlds of Albie Bright, which I loved. It was unlike anything I'd ever read before and I was drawn into Albie's world - a world of science that has at its core not just human curiosity but something even more deep-rooted than that - love.If I had read The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day … [Read more...]