Children's Fantasy Book Review

Maurice Sendak’s children’s picture book has become an acknowledged classic. A winner of the Caldecott Medal for the Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year in 1964, Where the Wild Things Are is a timeless masterpiece that can be enjoyed equally by children and grown-ups.

In an Italian village, Geppetto, an old woodcarver, receives a piece of wood which looks perfect for his next project, a puppet. But when he sets to work something magical happens – the piece of wood begins to talk. When Geppetto is finished, the puppet turns out to be cheeky, naughty, and can walk, run and eat with as hearty an appetite as any young boy.

Little Mary Lennox is brought up in India, a spoilt, sullen brat, whom her wealthy parents are more than happy to leave entirely in the care of their nanny. But when a cholera epidemic claims the lives of her mother and father, Mary is sent to live in her uncle’s mysterious old house on the rambling Yorkshire moors.

Julia Donaldson’s newest title for 2009 is an instant hit with kids as it features the likeable character of a cat – a firm favourite with children. The book tells the story of a buskers cat giving an insight into the world from a cats perspective - any child who has a cat as a pet will find this highly amusing.

A boy is put on a train by his stepmother to make his first journey on his own. But soon that journey turns out to be more of a challenge than anyone could have imagined as the train stalls at the mouth of a tunnel and a mysterious woman in white helps the boy while away the hours by telling him stories - stories with a difference.

The Tales of Acorn Wood Series is not one of Julia Donaldson’s most famous creations but they are titles designed for the early years and a great introduction to reading books, and to Donaldson’s rhyming style. The books work to capture toddlers attention with ‘lift the flaps’ which engage kids really easily, and after several readings they will start to pre-empt what will appear. True to form Axel Scheffler provides some great illustrations that sit alongside the text and help to stir children’s imagination.

This is easily the most disgusting picture book I have ever read. I love it, my 3-year-old daughter loves it. My wife and sister-in-law went green about the gills when reading it. We loved that most of all.

For a millionth of a second the car grazed the drenched moorland. If it had come down on any other patch of ground Finn would simply have been another statistic. Death by dangerous driving. But the car hit the surface of the Earth at Exit 43. It slid through the membrane like a hot knife through butter, plunging into the darkness and catapulting Finn from its shattered windscreen as it fell.

Percy Jackson is just a normal twelve year old boy. Sure he's got problems with school, bullies, and authority but at that age who doesn't? Getting kicked out of school after school does have a way of making one think he's a screw up though. One day though on a seemingly innocent visit to the beach with his mother Percy's life changes forever. Finding out his best friends is a satyr and being chased by the Minotaur into a camp for demigods is only the beginning of Percy Jackson's new life. Here he makes friends with children of similar parentage and finally finds himself a place where he belongs.

A baby girl is rescued from a snowy path in the woods. A baby boy is stillborn. A young Queen is taken ill. An ExtraOrdinary Wizard mysteriously resigns from his post. And all on the same night. A string of events, seemingly unconnected, begins to converge ten years later, when the Heap family receive a knock at the door. The evil Necromancer DomDaniel is plotting his comeback and a Major Obstacle resides in the Heap family. Life as they know is about to change, and the most fantastically fast-paced adventure of confused identities, magyk and mayhem, begin.