The Story of a Young Actor in Shakespeare’s London

Written and Illustrated by Christina Balit

At a time when boy actors played female roles, a street orphan becomes a Globe Theatre star in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Jack is an orphan earning a few pennies as a street singer. Snatched up by a greedy chorus master, he sings before Queen Elizabeth I, where his beautiful voice attracts William Shakespeare. At the Globe Theatre Jack learns all the arts of staging and performing. And when the great playwright needs a special boy to play Queen Titania in his magical new play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, will Jack be up to the challenge?

This book brings the whole scene of Shakespeare’s England come alive. Through the eyes of a young boy, Jack who starts work at the Globe Theatre and then goes to sing as Queen Titania in Midsummer Night’s Dream. When Queen Elizabeth said, “Deliver this Jack, to the Globe” he was on his way to a new chance in life.

A wonderful introduction to Shakespeare and the time of Queen Elizabeth the First.

Stunningly written and illustrated by Christina Balit, who has written and illustrated over 20 books for children. She uses a variety of materials including water colours, gouache and gold inks.

Otter-Barry Books are the publishers of this beautiful and engaging book for all ages.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

Packed with over 300 species of bird, this beautiful encyclopedia will take you on an incredible journey through the world of birds, helping you find out about the amazing feathered creatures that share our planet. From tropical parrots and toucans to sea birds and eagles, find out all about birds with this informative first guide and reference book.

Handsome enough to treasure in a beloved home library and thorough and rigorous enough to be returned to in the classroom or school library again and again. A perfect reference book and companion for families to look at after long walks or while spotting things in the garden. This is just the thing to help children decode the skies and hedgerows aflutter with feathered wildlife.

Jules Howard is the author, zoology correspondent, and science presenter. As well as writing regularly for The Guardian and BBC Wildlife Magazine, Jules appears regularly on TV and radio, including BBC Breakfast. He has written numerous books for both adults and children on the natural world. 

Namasri Niumim was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, and graduated from King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, in the School of Architecture and Design. She discovered the joy of gouache painting in 2016 and has worked with gouache ever since.

Wide Eyed Books are an imprint of Quarto and have a great portfolio of books for children.

Encyclopaedia of Birds is a beautifully published book with a wide amount of information and will appeal hugely to children from 6-26!

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

From the award-winning creator of I Love Books comes a humorous and heartfelt tale about the value of kindness and the magic of making new friends. Oh, Carrots! is the perfect choice for young children as they begin to navigate their first friendships. 

I love the books of Happy Yak, an imprint of Quarto Kids, such a brilliant collection, eye catching designs and Oh Carrots! is right there with appeal, interest and a message of friendship.

Mr Rabbit lives alone, and do you know what? He likes it! He enjoys peaceful moments spent reading, drinking cups of tea, and gardening – but sometimes it can get a little too quiet . . .

Luckily, Spring has arrived, and that means Mr Rabbit can plant his favourite vegetable – carrots! 

With some love, sunshine, and a little bit of singing, the carrots begin to grow. But one day, Mr Rabbit spots something unusual – a wiggling carrot top! He pulls and pulls, and out pops a walking, talking carrot. 

Carrot only wants to be Mr Rabbit’s friend, but Mr Rabbit just wants to be left alone! From leaving soil all over the sofa to rummaging through Mr Rabbit’s books, Carrot’s mischievous antics leave the solitary rabbit feeling a bit irritated. 

Yet, as the day unfolds, Mr Rabbit finds himself starting to enjoy the company. He’s so used to being all alone that he’s never even considered having a friend. Maybe now is the perfect time for that to change. 
Mariajo Ilustrajo is an award-winning Spanish illustrator based in the UK. She completed her MA in Children’s Illustration from the prestigious Cambridge School of Art, before going on to be crowned the overall winner of the World Illustration Awards. Her debut picture book, Flooded, has been translated into 20 languages and won the Klaus Flugge Prize for Illustration.

Super new book and the two seed bombs I received are going straight in the garden!

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

This narrative non-fiction book brings to life the powerful story of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii, based on the first-hand account of Pliny the Younger.  It is packed with accessible information through exciting and descriptive text and illustrations.

The year is 79 AD. Seventeen year-old Roman student Pliny the Younger is at his home across the bay from the bustling town of Pompeii, where people are going about their daily business. The tremors that sometimes shake the ground are coming more frequently than usual, but all are unaware of the cataclysmic event that is about to unfold. Meanwhile, underground, pressure is building beneath the mountain that looms over the surrounding towns and villages. What follows is one of the most extraordinary and frightening natural distasters in recorded history.

This dramatic retelling is based on letters written by Roman historian Pliny the Younger after the event, and is reimagined featuring characters from the town of Pompeii who are known to have existed, such as the businesswoman Julia Felix and politician Julius Polybius.

The story describes the various stages of the eruption, as well as detailing how the history of Pompeii was later uncovered by archaeologists. A timeline and glossary provide extra information, ideal for history enthusiasts.

Beth Waters is an illustrator and printmaker originally from Yorkshire now living and working in Cambridge, UK. She is a graduate of the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art, her first book, Child St Kilda, was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal.

Christopher Harrisson is a writer, artist and animator living in Bristol, UK.

Wide Eyed are an imprint of the Quarto Group and publish excellent and beautiful books on a wide range of topics for children and young people.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

A beautiful gift book, companion to the international success ‘Once Upon a Tune’ introducing six more musical classics through story and sumptuous collage illustration. A large hardback book with stunning illustrations and imaginative stories by James Mayhew, author, artist and illustrator.

Featuring six famous orchestral pieces: ‘The Carnival of the Animals’ (Saint-Saëns), ‘The Four Seasons’ (Vivaldi), ‘The Sunken Cathedral’ (Debussy), ‘The Butterfly Lovers’ (Chen Gang and He Zhanhao), ‘The Planets’ (Holst) and ‘The Firebird’ (Stravinsky).

The text is an intriguing mix of poetry and prose and delightfully fitting into the illustrations, which in true James Mayhew style are beautiful and evocative of the story.

Otter-Barry Books have a wonderful portfolio and a huge range of books and A Symphony of Stories is a brilliant addition.

One of my favourite pages are those for the story of Uranus the Magician, and the planet which represents rebellion, independence and surprise.

Mysterious and distant

A genius, a magician

Aggressive and powerful

A spectacular apparition.

A fantastic book for schools and libraries and a wonderful gift for home reading.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

A powerful illustrated book that tells, for the very first time, the story of the courageous women of the Klondike Gold Rush.

Written and illustrated by Northern Irish artist Flora Delargy, the award-winning illustrator of Rescuing Titanic, this exquisitely illustrated story of quiet bravery tells, in rich detail, how Shaaw Tláa (Kate Cormack), a First Nations woman, discovered the gold that led 100,000 gold diggers to descend on the region.

Set against the powerful backdrop of the Yukon valley, with forbidding mountains and rickety railway tracks cutting through the snow, this stunning book shows young children how gold was discovered and how it possessed the popular imagination. It explores the towns that popped up overnight, the treacherous journeys people made to cross the forbidding Yukon landscape, the building of epic railways, and the resilience and injustices experienced by the First Nations people whose towns became inundated by gold-diggers and the legacy of the Gold Rush.

Flora Delargy’s style takes in minute and exhilarating non-fiction details, from the beautifully rendered train tickets and maps of the mountains, diagrams of railway bridges, a step-by-step look at how to pan for gold, to breathtaking illustrations of the Yukon mountains.

Published by Wide Eyed Editions, part of Quarto, this is an amazing book and there for all to read. It arrived in my post box just after I had returned from a trip to Alaska and Northern Canada, flying over the old mines, and the far distant territories.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

Magnificently bound book with gold embossed illustration’s on the cover. Dragons have been the misunderstood subject of folklore for generations . . . but are these stories just legends or is there any truth to these majestic creatures’ fiery reputations?
 
Presented as a handbook from the late 1800s written for the students of the Academie Solomonar: the only school for dragon-riders, this beautiful volume sets out to reveal the hidden world of dragons. Within these pages you will meet mysterious and majestic dragons from around the globe, read about ancient lore and superstitions, learn about their life cycle, anatomy, habits and habitats, and discover the secrets behind dragon flight.
 
This exquisitely illustrated album, that delves deep into the world of dragons, will delight all true-believers and fantasy enthusiasts.

Following on from A Natural History of Fairies, A Natural History of Magick, A Natural History of Mermaids, and A Natural History of Magical Beasts, this vintage guide is part of the Folklore Field Guides series: a charming collection of beautifully illustrated compendiums on topics of lore and legend. Fascinating facts are accompanied by breathtaking illustrations, all presented in an engaging narrative form.

Emily Hawkins has a real talent for combining facts and non facts! A huge collection of interest written with great style. Jessica Roux is super talented and an incredible style. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books always have style and this is a great addition.

A definite book to buy for anyone of any age who is fascinated by dragons and loves an explore into another world.

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

 

Discover the many exciting ways that we could travel to space, now and in the future, with this colourful fact file for budding astronauts and space tourists. An incredible book with plans for our future in space!!

Space travel has never been so accessible, with NASA even aiming to land humans on Mars in the 2030s. This book is a launchpad for the curiosity and intrepid nature that any young space traveller will need to have in our solar system and beyond.

Learn all about the ways humans go to space today and how we’ll likely live there decades from now, with these twelve fascinating ‘tickets’:

1. Fly in a space balloon
2. Ride on a spaceplane
3. Build your own rocket
4. Win the space lottery
5. Become an astronaut pilot
6. Be a science mission specialist
7. Get sponsored to go to space
8. Work as a space engineer
9. Visit the Moon as a space tourist
10. Volunteer to colonize Mars
11. Launch your personal time capsule into space, and
12. Send a message on a beam of light to travel forever among the stars!

Ripped-from-the-headlines STEM content meets creative, accessible ways to bring space to you across these twelve illustrated, four-page scenarios. You’ll also explore the International Space Station with a detailed cutaway map, visit a gallery of iconic rockets, and find out what it takes to be a real-life star-sailor at the astronaut training academy. Plus, at the Astronaut Hall of Fame, marvel at the achievements of explorers past – and milestones that could be reached in your lifetime.

When you’re finished with the tickets, start planning your journey to space with tips and prompts on how to prepare, such as riding a roller coaster to get used to zero-g, camping out beneath the stars, and designing your rocket, space station or lunar base.

With Terri Po’s whizz-bang illustrations of rockets, space stations, EVA suits, satellites and much, much more, 12 Ways to Get a Ticket to Space brings space travel within young readers’ orbit, and lets them experience something that may one day be their reality.

Super book, wonderful birthday gift!

Sue Martin Children’s Literacy Specialist

Perfect timing for this book by Anne Fine about transition from primary to secondary school. It has an intriguing slant on ‘being cool’ where Finlay spends time during the breaks sitting on the wall. His peers around him are making friendship groups, doing things together and bonding into groups. But Finlay remains calm. He somehow gives an air of acceptance, both of himself and of others.

Over time, the other children see him as someone who can help, and make them feel better about themselves. There is an excellent passage where he is ‘worshipped’ by others as he continues to sit on the wall. Where other children would become terrified, Finley never does.

Desperately anxious Juliet, class clown Ben and others are amongst those who benefit. His tranquillity is caching, especially amongst his neurodivergent classmates. His acceptance of himself means he is not striving to be different and this is passed on to others giving them more confidence.

Anne Fine, OBE, is an exceptionally well known author, a former Children’s Laureate, twice been a winner of the Carnegies Medal, plus many other awards too. She has written over 70 books for children.

Old Barn Books is an exciting independent publisher of many genres of children’s books, publishing powerful writing on themes with meaning and effect.

On The Wall, is a must read for readers of 9-11, an excellent way of exploring your own fears of a new school, and a deeper understanding of what is really like to be a new student anywhere.

Sue Martin – Children’s Literacy Specialist