Michael Rosen: Fantastic Mr Dahl

Just how did Roald Dahl get into writing? Where did he get his ideas from? What ingredients in his life turned him into the kind of writer he was? Michael Rosen - poet, broadcaster and former Children's Laureate, comes up with some of the answers to these key questions in his lively biography of the world's No.1 storyteller. Full of stories and funny anecdotes from Roald Dahl's school days and family life, Michael Rosen's fascinating observations creates a vivid picture of one of the most famous writers of all time.

A very enjoyable, fascinating and informative biography of one of the world's most influential children's authors. Michael Rosen's approach to interpreting Dahl's letters and actions in a way that they all lead up to him becoming the writer we know is a great way to teach about writing, too. Suddenly, the long sentences with and, but, because are condemned as being unrealistic. A great read for teachers, parents and children alike.

CS Lewis: Narnia 2 - The lion, the witch and the wardrobe

Four adventurous siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie— step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change . . . and a great sacrifice.

Again, my son and I were co-reading a book to discuss. This time, the book was chosen by school work. In the past I've wanted to read the series, but never found the time until now. It was quite a fast-paced read, although some of the fantastical and magic was a little confusing. For example, why does Lucy not use her potion, when she could have? Enjoyable read, though.

John & Carole E Barrowman: Hollow Earth

Lots of twins have a special connection - being able to finish each other's sentences; sensing what the other is thinking; perhaps even knowing when the other is in trouble or in pain - but for 12-year-old twins, Matt and Emily Calder, the connection is beyond special. Together, the twins have extraordinary powers - they are able to bring art to life, or enter paintings at will. Their abilities are sought by villains trying to access the terrors of Hollow Earth - a place where all the demons, devils and creatures ever imagined lie trapped for eternity. The twins flee with their mother to the security of an island, off the west coast of Scotland, where their grandfather has certain protective powers of his own. But too much is at stake, and the twins aren't safe there either. The villains will stop at nothing to find Hollow Earth and harness the powers within...

I'd started reading this story a few times, but couldn't ever read through it due to time constraints and other books etc. However, I enjoyed this teen fiction, which seems to build on the Inkheart series.

Wendy Green: 50 Things You Can Do Today to Manage Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a debilitating, chronic condition characterised by widespread pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue and other symptoms. In this accessible and informative guide, find out 50 things you can do today to manage fibromyalgia, such as exercising to ease pain, benefiting from a balanced diet and helpful supplements, and finding helpful products and organisations. With a foreword by Alice Theadom of the Fibromyalgia Association UK.

Helpful and full of good advice to read and reread....

Nicole Förg: Hüttengaudi - ein Alpenkrimi

Kommissarin Irmi Mangold ärgert sich: Warum hat sie sich nur von ihrer Nachbarin zu dieser albernen Schrothkur in Oberstaufen überreden lassen? Und dann steht sie am Urlaubsort plötzlich vor einem Toten, der ihr mehr als bekannt vorkommt: ihrem Exmann Martin Maurer ... Währenddessen hat es Kollegin Kathi Reindl in Garmisch mit dem toten Liftmann Xaver Fischer zu tun, der zu Lebzeiten im Skiklub mitmischte. Ein arger Dorn im Auge war ihm die moderne Skihütte, deren Wirte er so piesackte, dass sie schließlich verkaufen wollten. Zwei Mordfälle an zwei verschiedenen Orten, aber beide Male dieselbe Todesursache – alles nur Zufall?

Unterhaltsamer Krimi mit guter Charakterisierung einiger Figuren, obwohl manche Wendung weit her geholt oder zu offensichtlich und klischehaft waren. Entspannung garantiert!

James Bowen: Bob - no ordinary cat

A special edition for children age 11 and above, featuring 8 pages of photographs. 'We are all given second chances every day of our lives, but we don't usually take them. Then I met Bob.' James Bowen was a homeless musician, busking on the streets of London to survive. But the moment he met an injured stray cat with ginger fur and big green eyes, his life began to change. Together James and Bob the cat faced the world - and won.

After all the animal stories with horses and dogs, I chose to read yet another story talking about the friendship between animals and their owners and how caring for an animal can change your life. Again, this was a children's and young adult version, but thoroughly enjoyable.

Michael Morpurgo: Born to run

When Patrick saves a litter of greyhound puppies from the canal, he can’t bear to hand them all over to the RSPCA. He pleads with his parents: couldn’t he just keep one of them? But nothing will convince them and Patrick cries himself to sleep – only to be woken by a greyhound puppy licking his face! Patrick christens his puppy Best Mate, and that’s what he becomes. Patrick’s favourite thing is to watch Best Mate running at full stretch on the heath, a speeding bullet, a cheetah-dog. Until one day Best Mate is kidnapped by a greyhound trainer, and begins a new life as a champion race dog. Suzie, the greyhound trainer’s step-daughter, loves Best Mate on first sight and gives him a new name, Bright Eyes. But what will happen when he can’t run any more?

Another emotional story about the friendship between dogs and their owners. Reading this story and discussing it in the family made us wonder, whether we could possibly have such a good friend....

Allen & Sandra Parton: Endal - How one extraordinary dog brought a family back from the brink

The remarkable story of Endal, voted ‘Dog of the Millennium’, and how, through his remarkable skills, companionship and unstinting devotion, he gave Allen Parton a reason to live again. Allen Parton was seriously injured while serving in the Gulf War. He lost the use of both of his legs, plus all memories of his children and much of his marriage. He was left unable to walk, talk or write - isolated in his own world. After five years of intensive therapy and rehab, he was still angry, bitter and unable to talk. Until a chance encounter with a Labrador puppy - Endal - who had failed his training as an assistance dog on health grounds. They 'adopted' each other, and Endal became Allen's reason to communicate with the outside world, to come to terms with his injuries, and to want to live again. Not content with learning over 200 commands to help Allen complete everyday tasks like getting dressed and going out to the shops in his wheelchair, Endal gave Allen the ability to start living again, and to become a husband and father again in his own special way. This is the incredible story of Allen, his wife Sandra, and his family. And, of course, Endal.

Moving, thrilling, fascinating. An emotional and tearful reading.

Michael Morpurgo: War Horse

A stunning wartime classic. In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible times. One horse has the seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and the beauty of peace. This is his story.

Again, a very popular Michael Morpurgo story that I wanted to read to know what it is all about. Fascinating, gripping and full of emotions.

Katherine Webb: A half-forgotten song

1937. In a village on the Dorset coast, fourteen-year-old Mitzy Hatcher has endured a wild and lonely upbringing - until the arrival of renowned artist Charles Aubrey, his exotic mistress and their daughters, changes everything. Over the next three summers, Mitzy sees a future she had never thought possible, and a powerful love is kindled in her. A love that grows from innocence to obsession; from childish infatuation to something far more complex. Years later, a young man in an art gallery looks at a hastily-drawn portrait and wonders at the intensity of it. The questions he asks lead him to a Dorset village and to the truth about those fevered summers in the 1930s ...

I picked this book up because I had run out of reading materials on my holidays and this book was available. Although I found "The Legacy" fascinating and gripping, this book left me a little disappointed at times, as the author went down the easy route of romance, when there wouldn't have been any in real life. There were some twists and turns relating to the life of Charles Aubrey and his relatives, and so I kept reading on. The novel made for easy reading and solid entertainment.

Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer: Between the lines

Delilah knows it's weird, but she can't stop reading her favourite fairy tale. Other girls her age are dating and cheerleading. But then, other girls are popular. She loves the comfort of the happy ending, and knowing there will be no surprises. Until she gets the biggest surprise of all, when Prince Oliver looks out from the page and speaks to her. Now Delilah must decide: will she do as Oliver asks, and help him to break out of the book? Or is this her chance to escape into happily ever after? Read between the lines for total enchantment . . .

I chose to read the story, as I am a great fan of Jodi Picoult and because she admits to have co-written it with her daughter, who had come up with the main idea. It's a light-hearted young adult novel, which will certainly appeal to daughters and young-at-heart Mums. Although there are some allusions to teenage fears and worries, the story is so fantastical that the book can be read for entertainment only.

Cecelia Ahern: One hundred names

As a journalist, Kitty Logan has spent the past few years chasing the big scoops – no matter the consequences. When she makes a terrible mistake, she finds herself mired in scandal, her career implodes and even her personal relationships are tested to the limits. At a loss, Kitty finds distraction in a list of one hundred names her late mentor and boss has left her. Kitty is to write the story behind the one hundred names as a tribute piece. As she tracks down the people on the list and tries to work out what connects them, Kitty meets some extraordinary people.

An easy, entertaining and uplifting read that teaches us about the importance of individuals and how ordinary people will tell us extraordinary stories if we just take the time to listen carefully enough.

Donna Leon: Brunetti 22 - The Golden Egg

Commissario Brunetti receives a call from his wife, Paola, who is evidently very upset. The middle-aged deaf mute with the mental age of a child who helped out at the Brunetti's dry cleaners has been found dead. To the neighbourhood he was just the 'boy' who helped out, but nobody knew much about him. That a soul could have lived such a joyless life is too much for Paola to bear, and she asks Guido if he can find out what happened. With the help of Inspector Vianello and the ever-resourceful Signorina Elettra, Brunetti tries to get to the truth and find some measure of solace.

Having accepted that the Brunetti series has somehow changed to account more about the private and public lives of Venetians, I actually enjoyed this story again. Brunetti's pondering during his walks through Venice are intriguing and the fact that he worries about his family makes him a more interesting character. Sometimes there are too many clichés about the North and South divide in Italy, however.

Michael Morpurgo: The Butterfly Lion

Bertie rescues an orphaned white lion cub from the African veld. They are inseparable until Bertie is sent to boarding school far away in England and the lion is sold to a circus. Bertie swears that one day they will see one another again, but it is the butterfly lion which ensures that their friendship will never be forgotten.

Michael Morpurgo is very popular with reading in schools and so I actually wanted to know what his books are about. I had read "Waiting for Anya" a long time ago, but I really enjoyed this story with its twist in the end. It was also lovely to be able to discuss the book with my son.

Sarah Rayner: The Two Week Wait

After a health scare, Brighton-based Lou learns that her time to have a baby is running out. She can’t imagine a future without children, but her partner doesn’t seem to feel the same way. Meanwhile, up in Yorkshire, Cath is longing to start a family with her husband, Rich. No one would be happier to have a child than Rich, but Cath is infertile. Could these two women help each other out?

Some time ago I came across Sarah Rayner's first book and when I discovered that there is another one of hers out, I was keen to get it. The first twenty or so pages I found a little slow, but once the characters were established the storyline really was gripping. I could empathise with all the characters. I also enjoyed the fact that some characters of the previous book were brought into this story. An easy escapist read with feeling....

J L Carrell: The Shakespeare Curse

A brutally murdered body is discovered on a remote Scottish hillside - with a mysterious ancient knife beside it. The victim was a beautiful young woman, throat slashed by an unknown assailant. The circumstances of the murder suggest ancient Pagan sacrifice. Then a trench on that same hill is found filled with blood. The shocking discoveries all seem to be linked by the ancient curse of Macbeth. From the streets of New York to the twisting corridors of Hampton Court Palace to a remote loch in the Scottish Highlands, the race is on to stop a deadly modern serial killer who will do anything to uncover priceless ancient treasures....

Having read the Shakespeare Secret I was looking forward to this book, too. However, I found the storyline by far more confusing and less plausible than the Secret. I was a little disappointed with it, and if there ever is a third book I will probably not stick with it to the very end.

Jodi Picoult: The storyteller

When the young baker Sage Singer strikes up an unlikely friendship with Josef Weber, a quiet man old enough to be her grandfather, and respected pillar of the community, she feels that she may have found someone she can open up to. But then Josef tells her the evil secret he's kept for sixty years. Caught between Josef's search for redemption and her shattered illusions, Sage turns to her family history and her own life for answers. As she uncovers the truth from the darkest horrors of war, she must follow a twisting trail between betrayal and forgiveness, love and revenge.

As with all Jodi Picoult stories you cannot put this book down. The storyline is gripping, the characters are fascinating and credible and you end up sympathising with the good and the evil. At times the story was a little predictable, such as the relationship between Sage and Leo, but Minka's story and Ania's story more than make up for the clichés.

Joanne Harris: Peaches for Monsieur le Curé

It isn't often you receive a letter from the dead. When Vianne Rocher receives a letter from beyond the grave, she allows the wind to blow her back to the village in south-west France where, eight years ago, she opened up a chocolate shop. But Lansquenet is different now: women veiled in black, the scent of spices and peppermint tea, and, on the bank of the river Tannes, facing the church: a minaret. Father Reynaud, Vianne's erstwhile adversary, is disgraced and under threat. Could it be that Vianne is the only one who can save him now?

I loved "Chocolat" and the "Lollipop shoes", but this is an even better story than the two previous ones. I'm not sure how good the story would be for someone who hadn't read the other two books, but I can see how the characters have developed over the years and I as a reader have developed, too. The storyline in this sequel is very topical with Father Reynaud sensing a war between the Maghrebins and the Catholic French. I could not put the book down and found myself totally engrossed in Lansquenet.

Donna Leon: Brunetti 20 - Drawing conclusions

A young woman returns from holiday to find her elderly neighbour dead on the floor. A heart attack seems the likely cause, but Commissario Brunetti is not so sure and decides to take a closer look. Soon he discovers that she was part of an organization that cares for abused women and that her apartment was a safe-house. He is drawn into a decades-old story of lies and deceit that has blighted love and ruined lives - and has claimed this innocent woman as its newest victim.

This is a less spectacular case for Brunetti, but it is still a great storyline about love and deceit and corruption in modern-day Italy.

Donna Leon: Brunetti 21 - Beastly things

When a body is found floating in a canal, strangely disfigured and with multiple stab wounds, Commissario Brunetti is called to investigate and is convinced he recognises the man from somewhere. However, with no identification except for the distinctive shoes the man was wearing, and no reports of people missing from the Venice area, the case cannot progress. Brunetti soon realises why he remembers the dead man, and asks Signorina Elettra if she can help him find footage of a farmers' protest the previous autumn. But what was his involvement with the protest, and what does it have to do with his murder? Acting on the fragile lead, Brunetti and Inspector Vianello set out to uncover the man's identity. Their investigation eventually takes them to a slaughterhouse on the mainland, where they discover the origin of the crime, and the world of blackmail and corruption that surrounds it.

Having noticed that I hadn't read the latest two Brunetti cases, I was very keen to get my hands on them again after such a long time, especially as I'm planning to visit Venice again this summer. As always, I enjoyed the Venetian setting and the Italian charm of the crime fiction and I also enjoyed the story line around Dottore Nava. However, I found that this book included more ramblings about politics, corruption and EU policies than any of the previous novels. I wouldn't have minded that too much if it had been part of a character's views, but often this was the narrator's voice and as such actually slowed the story down. A shame...