A new year means more books to read and love! So let’s get into it.

The Burnout. Sophie Kinsella. There’s something compelling about a book that begins with a crisis. Sasha burned out a work, tried to join a convent and ended up running straight into a brick wall. The story is about her going back to the holiday town of her childhood and recovering from burnout. I laughed out loud several times as we got to know the different characters. There’s surfing, sea and some spicy moments. A good read.

Don’t Dribble On This Dragon. Stephen Lee. We came across this book in a house we stayed in on holiday and I was surprisingly moved by it! I love the story, and feel the pain of two siblings who didn’t get on for a time. A really lovely story.

Jolly Tall. Jane Hissey. I felt very nostalgic when I read this book from my childhood to my two children. It’s a lovely story and I’d forgotten about the toy knitting the scarf, which is one of my favourite things to do!

The Unicorns Are Coming To Town. Alexandra Robinson. A different take on the Santa story. We love the idea of unicorns pulling the sleigh!

We’re Going On An Elf Hunt. Patch Moore. As cute as it is, the rhythm in this book doesn’t match the original story of a similar name, and the plot line is a bit random. But no doubt the kids love it because it’s a Christmas take on the much loved classic.

The Boy With Flowers In His Hair. Jarvis. I very much enjoyed this story. It made me think. I reckon it could be an analogy for many things, but what jumped out at me was mental health. We all need people who can help us feel ourselves again.

Five Dead Rooks. David Carter. I’ve had enough of romance for a bit, time for some crime! I enjoyed this dip back into the Walter Darriteau stories, and particularly enjoyed this one where he didn’t catch the bad guy! I hope there’s more to come in another book though, I’d love to see Walter get him in the end. A good read.

Mr Men Little Miss Happy Eid. Roger Hargreaves. This is a really good way to explain Eid to small children. I like how lots of different Mr Men and Little Miss characters get a mention.

I Want My Mum! Tony Ross. A firm favourite of Sophia’s, but, as we discovered, if you shout too loud at the shouty bits, it makes Aidan cry! For me though, I love how Mum knows just how to deal with everything. And I completely relate to the Queen at the end as well!

Mr Men: My Daddy. Roger Hargreaves. A delightful book that could have been written about Sophia and Aidan’s Dad! All the references to the Mr Men make us laugh.

The Giant Jam Sandwich. John Vernon Lord & Janet Burroway. We enjoyed reading this book and thought the plan to get rid of all the wasps was very clever. The pictures are funny and the rhyming is good.

My Mummy Marches. Samantha Hawkins. An inspiring book for any child whose parents care about issues of justice!

I Want My Dinner. Tony Ross. A funny story about learning and teaching manners. We love how the little Princess is so fearless!

Duck in the Truck. Jez Alborough. Sophia liked the rhymes and I enjoyed that this book felt like a tongue twister to read.

Rapunzel. Sarah Gibb. This book has some absolutely stunning illustrations! The quality is really lovely. The storyline is more traditional than the Disney take on it, and I liked it for that.

Old Cold Bones. David Carter. I enjoyed this book. I found the pattern of swapping between the three stories every chapter really exciting, and I couldn’t tell how it was all going to connect for ages! I’m looking forward to the next one, although I’m increasingly noticing typos and unfinished sentences in the prose, which is a bit annoying.

Anywhere Farm. Phyllis Root. An inspiring book about starting small and making little farms just where we are. What a lovely book, especially for a little girl who grows things with her Daddy.

Starting School. Janet and Allan Ahlberg. A gorgeous story that covers lots of the things little ones will be doing on their first term of school. I can tell we’ll be reading this a lot between now and September!

There’s a dragon in your book. Tom Fletcher. I’ve never seen an interactive book that didn’t have flaps or music or holes or whatever. This is such a fun book that gets the kids involved, using their imagination and touching different parts of the page.

The Baddies. Julia Donaldson. Another brilliant book by Julia Donaldson. We love the different baddies and the courage of the little girl! She is so calm and kind.

Falling. David Carter. Apart from the continued over-reliance on the words ‘grin’, ‘grinned’ and ‘grinning’, I liked this book. The flipping between the past case and the present kept the book interesting. I’m very happy to move onto the next one, but still wondering if the villain from a couple of books ago is going to return!

The Play. Janey Louise Jones. Another Princess Poppy book to add to the collection. A story that Sophia was very interested in, what with her being so into costumes and the stage! Personally, I’d like to suggest that little girls with leadership skills who are called ‘bossy’ will have issues around delegation and self confidence when they grow up. That being said, I am pleased Poppy is playing better with the other children by the end of the story.

My Mummy Is A Monster/My Children Are Monsters. Natalie Reeves Billing. This is a great book about a normal day as a family, told from two different perspectives. I love that the book flips in the middle for the other side of the story. Such a clever book.

The Final Door Part 1. David Carter. I’ve enjoyed this first two parter from the Walter Darriteau series. An interesting premise with two investigations happening in different units at the same time. Looking forward to the next installment, can’t wait to see what’s happened to the whole house that has been stolen!

Supermum. Brita Granström. This is a very cute book about all the different kinds of mums. I feel very affirmed and part of creation after reading it! And Sophia loved the picture of the baby whale inside its Mummy’s tummy. She drew it at nursery!

Owl Babies. Martin Waddell. Sophia and Aidan both loved this story, especially when Mum came back! We liked the courage of the owls and the repetition of Bill.

Happy Birthday, Gruffalo! Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. We loved seeing the Gruffalo getting all his favourite foods on his birthday!

The Final Door Part 2. David Carter. Argh, I really wanted to like this story, but I just didn’t. The random chopping and changing between different conversations, which might have been designed to keep the reader’s attention, was frustrating. There were too many characters to keep onto of. Sometimes too much detail, sometimes too little. And it’s now a bugbear of mine, an overreliance on the word ‘grinned’. I’m sure I’ll be back with Walter Darriteau and Co but I’m going to need a break for a bit.

Pink Is For Boys. Robb Pearlman. I spotted this book at a play cafe and just had to read it to the kids. I loved it. All colours are for all people!

The Woman Who Ran Away From Everything. Fiona Gobson. I gobbled this book up, and it made me laugh out loud in several places, which is always a good sign! I liked the story and the characters, I just struggled with the ending. I’m afraid that I can’t give a narrative of ‘she met somebody better so she got a divorce’ five stars. Still, a good read though, and would happily read more Fiona Gibson books.

The Sleepy Shepherd. Stephen Cottrell. I love stories that link Christmas to Easter, and this gorgeous children’s book does it beautifully. With stunning illustrations and a different take on the nativity, we fell in love with Silas the Shepherd. We also loved his growth and development in the story, while still being a flawed human. A great book for giving to an older child at baptism.

Happy Mum, Happy Baby. Giovanna Fletcher. There were lots of times when I was nodding along with this book, especially the early chapters about the first few weeks of life with a baby! There were bits I could relate to less, like all the chapters about travelling with a baby on tour. Overall, I’d say this is a very real and honest book, and a good read for new parents or parents-to-be.

The Appeal. Janice Hallett. Now, this is a good book! It’s so different to every murder mystery I’ve ever read. There is so much more to it than first meets the eye. The context of amateur dramatics is something I can relate to. There’s even a little cliffhanger at the end! The only thing I would say is that there are a lot of characters to keep up with. It’s probably best not to try and read when you’re super tired. Anyway, I’m going straight onto Hallett’s next one, and I’m very much looking forward to it!

I Want My Dad. Tony Ross. A nice addition to our Little Princess collection. It explores human feelings of jealousy and inadequacy, but ends with the Little Princess being loved just as she is.