Author Archives: Daisy May Johnson

I was excited to receive some items from Priddy Books recently; several titles from their new range – the Little Friends books. I like Priddy Books. I’ve featured their books before, as I like what they do and I like their production values. They are quality, solid books and these are no exception. They are, ifContinue reading “Little Friends books – Priddy Books”

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith My rating: 5 of 5 stars There are certain books which form the bedrock of British children’s literature. Tom’s Midnight Garden is one, Carrie’s War is another and I Capture The Castle is a third. Written by the great Dodie Smith (perhaps more well known for her booksContinue reading “I Capture The Castle : Dodie Smith”

Saving Daisy by Phil Earle My rating: 4 of 5 stars Daisy is trying to hold onto the life she has, but each and every day sees her losing her grip on it just a little bit. And when the worst of things happen, when tragedy strikes, she has to decide whether she sinks orContinue reading “Saving Daisy : Phil Earle”

Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz My rating: 4 of 5 stars Horowitz’s genre-defining (genre-creating?) stories of teenage spy Alex Rider were always going to end. Alex would grow up. Alex would die. Life would take him from this odd, mad role he’d fallen into as one of Britain’s youngest spies. A child, really, pulled intoContinue reading “Scorpia Rising : Anthony Horowitz”

Model Misfit by Holly Smale My rating: 4 of 5 stars I keep going back to my review of Smale’s debut novel, the first in the Geek Girl series, and wondering about what I wrote. I think, in a way, and in light of what I’ve just read, I need to explain it a littleContinue reading “Model Misfit : Holly Smale”

Foxy: Rivalry at Summer Camp by Belinda Rapley My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’d heard about Rapley’s Pony Detective series on the grapevine and marked it down as one to watch. It’s a series of books, for sort of seven / eight year olds and upwards, set around a group of pony-obsessed friends whoContinue reading “Foxy – Rivalry at Summer Camp : Belinda Rapley”

Black Beauty’s Family by Josephine Pullein-Thompson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Black Beauty’s Family is a compilaton of stories written by the estimable Pullein-Thompson sisters. They’re all spin-offs from Black Beauty, and feature the life stories of other horses in his family tree. Each story centres on one horse from the start through toContinue reading “Black Beauty’s Family : Christine, Diana, Josephine Pullein-Thompson”

Alphaprints: ABC by Roger Priddy My rating: 4 of 5 stars ABC books are hard, complicated beasts. It’s about pitch, I think, and it’s a vicious hard thing to get right is this concept of pitch. Children will form and shape their letters at different ages, in different ways, and have different ideas of whatContinue reading “Alphaprints: ABC”

Kentucky Thriller by Lauren St. John My rating: 5 of 5 stars So before we do this, I think you need to have a look at my review of the preceding titles in this series. Here’s what I thought of Dead Man’s Cover and here’s what I thought of Kidnap in the Carribean. Suffice toContinue reading “Kentucky Thriller : Lauren St John”

May Contain Nuts. by Jonathan Meres by Jonathan Meres My rating: 4 of 5 stars There are moments when you finish a book and you know instantly who it’s for. This one, the first in The World of Norm series by Jonathan Meres, is for my nephews. I love my nephews. I love how IContinue reading “The World of Norm : May Contain Nuts – Jonathan Meres”

Blackout by Sam Mills My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have a lot of difficulty with dystopian books, which is why you’ll find I review them very rarely. At their worst for me, they tend to slide into one, a sort of malleable ‘future’s bad but X can sort it out’ plot which barelyContinue reading “Blackout : Sam Mills”

Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have been in a bit of a slump with reading at the moment, reading books that have left me wanting, and reading books with a tight, tense, uncharitable air. This has not been productive; rather so, it has left me hungry forContinue reading “Linnets and Valerians : Elizabeth Goudge”

Hubble Bubble: The Glorious Granny Bake Off by Tracey Corderoy My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a charming and quite lovely collection of short stories by Corderoy, and illustrated by Joe Berger. Each story is about 40 pages, thickly illustrated, and with short chapters which sing to be read aloud at a storytimeContinue reading “Hubble Bubble : The Glorious Granny Bake Off : Tracey Corderoy & Joe Berger”

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book and I, we’ve known each other for a long long time. It is one of those books that has been in my life for forever, really, I can’t quite remember a time without it. Without Noel Streatfeild, without the Fossils and withoutContinue reading “Ballet Shoes : Noel Streatfeild”

The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr My rating: 5 of 5 stars Kerr was the first author to genuinely, utterly terrify me. There are moments in When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit that brought home the impact of war to me like no other. She is rich and warm with her writing andContinue reading “The Tiger Who Came To Tea : Judith Kerr”

Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick My rating: 4 of 5 stars Segwick is such a writer. Such a writer. I have always struggled with the bald facts of history and the way that whilst precision and figures are all very good, somehow all I want to see – all I need to seeContinue reading “Blood Red, Snow White : Marcus Sedgwick”

Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper My rating: 4 of 5 stars And so, my headlong, occasionally giddy, somewhat breathless rampage through The Dark is Rising sequence ends; and it ends here, with this book of almost breathless bigness and Breugel/Dali/Escher-esque overtones. It is a heck of a series this, huge and madly inventiveContinue reading “Silver on The Tree : Susan Cooper”

The Grey King by Susan Cooper My rating: 3 of 5 stars It is interesting to me that the first book to halt me in my headlong and gleeful devouring of the series was this book set in Wales, the fourth book in the series, set in the thin grey rain of Snowdonia. It isContinue reading “The Grey King : Susan Cooper”

Greenwitch by Susan Cooper My rating: 4 of 5 stars Greenwitch is part of my first ever read of the entire The Dark Is Rising, and my slight “a series, a series, oh how I love a series” attitude, meant that I came to it hungrily and devoured it swiftly. I am pleased that IContinue reading “Greenwitch : Susan Cooper”

The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper My rating: 4 of 5 stars So I am working my way through the Dark Is Rising sequence at present, and now is the turn of The Dark Is Rising itself. I am struck, struck, struck by the ferocious nature of Cooper’s prose throughout these books; a proseContinue reading “The Dark is Rising : Susan Cooper”

This is a particularly pertinent book to read for me at the moment, what with me attending the Birmingham Festival of Children’s Literature in November where Chichester Clark and Morpurgo will be discussing their latest collaboration: Pinocchio. And listening to them talk is a very, very exciting prospect for me. Morpurgo is one of thoseContinue reading “Hansel and Gretel : Michael Morpurgo and Emma Chichester Clark”

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper My rating: 4 of 5 stars As the Cornwall part of my #readyourwayaroundtheUK challenge, I decided to read my first ever Susan Cooper. I know, I know, it’s not before time, right? Cooper is one of those writers who has always been present in my children’s literature consciousnessContinue reading “Over Sea, Under Stone : Susan Cooper”

How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children’s Books by Joan Bodger My rating: 4 of 5 stars Poorly written in places, intensely poignant in places, How the Heather Looks is a strange book which, in a way, taught me more about my attitude towards children’s literature rather than teachingContinue reading “How the Heather Looks – a joyous journey to the British sources of Children’s Books : Joan Bodger”

The Disgrace of Kitty Grey by Mary Hooper My rating: 3 of 5 stars I love Mary Hooper. It remains a fact that I will automatically read any of her new work because it is fairly guaranteed to be good. If it’s historical, you know you get a well told story in believable circumstances, andContinue reading “The Disgrace of Kitty Grey: Mary Hooper”

Room by Emma Donoghue My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’ve ummed and ahhed about reviewing this for what is a blog focused on children’s literature, and yet, I think the language and the accessibility of the text will (and has) leads to a definite young adult readership. And thus: a review, albeit with someContinue reading “Room : Emma Donoghue”

Me Myself Milly by Penelope Bush My rating: 4 of 5 stars I liked this. I didn’t want to, at first, but I did. It’s a slim, articulate book that is the story of Milly. And, very simply, it’s the story of Milly trying to find out who she is. She’s spent her life asContinue reading “Me Myself Milly : Penelope Bush”

The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit My rating: 4 of 5 stars Seeing that The Story Of The Treasure Seekers was being republished by Hesperus Press made me very happy indeed. They’ve produced a beautiful copy, one that is almost edible with its quality and production values. You can see a largerContinue reading “The Story Of The Treasure Seekers : E Nesbit”

How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran My rating: 2 of 5 stars It may seem an odd choice to review for this blog and I have, to be frank, ummed and aahed about actually doing so. But then I thought again about the range of accessible feminist literature for this age range and realisedContinue reading “How to be a Woman : Caitlin Moran”

Dying to Know You by Aidan Chambers My rating: 3 of 5 stars One day, The Author is greeted by Karl. Karl’s been set a problem by his girlfriend, Fiorella, who wants him to write about himself. The issue is that Karl’s dyslexic. Unable, unwilling and lacking in confidence to even know how to begin,Continue reading “Dying to know you : Aidan Chambers”

I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter My rating: 4 of 5 stars In a way ever since Meg Cabot finished her Princess Diary books, I’ve been searching for a series to fill the Mia shaped hole in my life. And I think Cammie and herContinue reading “I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You : Ally Carter”

Back Home by Michelle Magorian My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have a lot of love for Michelle Magorian, one of the great dames of British children’s literature. I’ve spoken about Back Home before, briefly, in a list of books featuring Dartington Hall, the place where I went to University. It was, however, aContinue reading “Back Home : Michelle Magorian”

VIII by H.M. Castor My rating: 5 of 5 stars Sometimes it’s fun to go in a bit blind to a book, to pick it up solely because you’ve heard it mentioned by somebody, or you’ve read something about it, but can’t quite remember what it was and where you saw it. Sometimes that blindness,Continue reading “VIII : HM Castor”

Modelland by Tyra Banks My rating: 1 of 5 stars Huh. So. That happened. Modelland is possibly the purest distallation of literary crazy I have ever read. In a way it’s unrateable and unreviewable; a thick, clashing melee of genres and tones and words that once were English but now I’m not so sure. ButContinue reading “Modelland : Tyra Banks”

The Railway Children by E. Nesbit My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’m on a bit of a classics kick recently. And as mentioned in my review of For Love Of A Horse, these aren’t the Oliver Twist sort of classics. These are classics that have framed my childhood – and my adulthood – andContinue reading “The Railway Children : E Nesbit”

For Love of a Horse by Patricia Leitch My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’ve been in the mood for some classics recently. And not your Oliver Twist type of classics. These are my classics, my stories that built me, that made me who I am today and they are, I hope, stories that mayContinue reading “For Love Of A Horse : Patricia Leitch”