The Guinness Book of Records

The first copy I had was the 1968 edition.  I knew so many facts and figures from it and was easy to read at bed time, just snippets of information. I have owned many copies since, I even got one a couple of years ago for Christmas!

Review by Mr Townsend

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald

After studying it at sixth form, this is the book that made me want to do an English Literature degree - so it means a lot to me! I love how timeless the characters are, and I can't get enough of its levels of symbolism and carefully chosen language. It…

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

It’s a bit of a scary story bringing in elements of our favourite fairy stories and twisting them around.

Review by Mrs Parkinson

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

I am currently reading it with my six year old son who has reminded me just how magical the story is. He was so excited to find out if Charlie got a 'golden ticket' and has been in tears laughing at the 'oompa loompas'. I love that this book…

Chocolat by Joanne Harris

I  absolutely love the way that Harris draws the reader in by referencing and relating to our human senses. Her writing is packed with extremely poignant references to the most basic of human needs, food, drink , comfort, warmth, friendship and love. The words on the…

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

I loved these books when I was about 12-14 because Cooper takes a standard fantasy theme of good versus evil, but explores it through evocations of British folklore and descriptions of the landscapes around Cornwall, Snowdonia, and the Chilterns, which makes…

It was Benjamin Postlethwaite's job all his long life to make sure the light shone brightly high up in the lighthouse on Puffin Island. Not once in all his years as the lighthouse keeper had he ever let his light go out. But sometimes even the brightest light on a lighthouse cannot save a ship.

…

The Ickabog is coming... A mythical monster, a kingdom in peril, an adventure that will test two children's bravery to the limit. Discover a brilliantly original fairy tale about the power of hope and friendship to triumph against all odds, from one of the world's best storytellers.

The kingdom…

From Onjali Q. Rauf, the award-winning and best-selling author of The Boy at the Back of the Class, comes another incredible story, told with humour and heart.

'The boy's an absolute menace.'
'He's a bully. A lost cause!'
'Why can't he be more like his sister?'

I've been getting into…

'A gorgeous story of friendship and growing up' - Cathy Cassidy

This place is magic...

but it's not the sort of magic that comes from wands and spells...

Safiya and her mum rarely see eye to eye. But when her mum falls ill,

something mysterious happens. Saff finds herself transported…

One child is safe...

but how long

until another is taken?

When eleven year old Evan vanishes without trace, his parents are plunged

into their worst nightmare - especially as the police, under massive pressure, 

have no answers.

But months later, Evan is unexpectedly found,…

ANGER WAS SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN WHEN THE WORLD LET HER DOWN

Furious Thing roars with justifiable anger at an unfair world,

as one girl fights to claim back the spaces that belong to her and battles to be heard...

Lexi's angry. And it's getting worse. If only she could stop losing her…