The “white dog with black spots” – Harry seems content with the neighbourhood apart from the guinea pig pet, who sadly grabs the children’s attention in his home. A novelty factor for the kids, the guinea pig enjoys “special treats” and “lots of belly rubs”. Instinctively, Harry feels rejected and tries to conform to no avail: the ball balancing is…

A family with three children lives in the woods, possibly near a village, faces a visit from a ‘monster’ – a black dog. Pinfold introduces the characters one by one when seeing the black dog outside their house. The author portrays each member of the Hope family on a page not only by text but also by drawing in a…

A boy different from his classmates, his disability makes him talk like a river. “I Talk Like a River” is the debut book of the Canadian poet Jordan Scott, which won the New York Times’ Best Children’s Book of 2020. The boy wakes up and faces the challenges of the day, unable to vocalise the sounds around him – his…

A fable-like tale, “the Wolf the Duck & the Mouse,” takes the reader on an unusual journey. “Oh, woe! said the mouse.”  as he appears in the wolf’s stomach, eaten by the beast. To the mouse’s surprise, the duck sleeps there and is not pleased to find his new visitor. But gradually, the relationship between duck and mouse warms up…

Izzy Gizmo is invited to the annual Invention Convention with four other contestants to compete for a badge at Genius Guild.  After a challenging journey with her grandad and Fixer (a purple crow), Izzy arrives at the Technoff Isle to meet the judge, who wishes the children to build a stand-out machine. Unlike the other participants, Izzy is modest but…

A girl with a catchy name is always late for school. “Vera Jewel is Late for School” by Nikola Kent follows the week of a schoolgirl who unfortunately broke her favourite bike on Monday and had to find alternative ways to get to school. Many would be discouraged, but that is not Vera’s personality. She faces the challenge by going…