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Julia Eccleshare M.B.E - Editorial Expert
Julia Eccleshare has a lifetime of working within children’s books as a critic, an editor, an author and a commentator. Apart from her current role with LoveReading4Kids as Editor-at-Large and as one of our editorial expert reviewers, she is Director of the Children's Programme at the Hay Festival and Chair and founder of the Branford Boase Award.
She is also Head of Policy and Engagement for Public Lending Right at the British Library. She is also the author or editor of a number of books including the Rough Guide to Teenage Literature, the fascinating and insightful Beatrix Potter to Harry Potter: Portraits of Children’s Writers, which is a celebration of a century of children’s literature, as well as Treasure Islands: the Woman’s Hour Guide to Children’s Books. She also spent some considerable time as a children’s fiction editor in UK publishing.
When Grandad was younger he was an astronomer: he knows all about the stars and can tell wonderful stories about them. But now Grandad’s getting older and he’s starting to forget things including the stories that he has always known so well. And then he forgets his granddaughter’s name.
But the love between them doesn't dim - thanks to the wonders of the stars in the galaxies and all the stories about them. View Full Review
A extraordinary story, exquisitely written, with unforgettable passages of dialogue and description, that confronts the dilemma of our relationship with farm animals. Witty, and in places, desperately sad this is a book where animals talk yet remain who they are, themselves. A book to make you cry. - Michael Morpurgo
Magical, this timeless farmyard story tells of the power of friendship. When the runty little piglet is saved from an early death, he grows into a fine and handsome pig. And the farmer wants to kill him. Can Charlotte, the spider who has grown to love him, save his life? View Full Review
Every whale was a baby once! And, like all babies, he is small (relatively) and vulnerable. How can he find his way in the enormous blue world deep down in the ocean that is his home?
First, he needs to learn to look around him, to work out what is safe and what is dangerous, who are friends and who might be enemies. As he grows he must know and respect his environment and to revel in the glory of the world he inhabits. Who can help him? His mother, of course!
From the moment of his arrival she guides ... View Full Review
A joyful celebration of difference that will entertain young readers while encouraging them to be open minded and celebratory about the special things that make everyone different.
Baboo is no ordinary bee. His stripes are pink and black rather than yellow and black and his favourite activity is dancing! Nobody wants too play with him. How he longs to be just the same as everyone else. But then Baboo meets a green ladybird...
A great new friendship is formed and the two take off on an adventure discovering that difference is everywhere and is to be enjoyed! View Full Review
Children’s Laureate 2022-24 Joseph Coelho captures the warmth, fun and Christmas magic by putting a massive all-inclusive hug all around it.
Luna is used to a happy Christmas sometimes with her mum and sometimes with her dad. This year she is sharing with everyone, as mum and dad are both volunteering to make sure that everyone can have a very happy Christmas. Taking presents and food to people in need in homes all around her community on the night before Christmas with mum, Luna enjoys playing with new friends and listening to a special new Christmas story before ... View Full Review
Captivatingly anarchic, Bella the Storyteller is a picture book that will delight all readers who like rule breakers, can suspend their disbelief and enjoy an unpredictable ride.
When Bella, the background of the story, decides that she is going be the storyteller, readers know that something unusual is about to happen. First, she has to find the characters. Squirrel and Rabbit reluctantly agree to give it a go but, when a volcano, a fire-eating dragon, fluffy clouds a sparkly rainbow and leaping unicorns, pirates, sharks and a sea monster all get involved they know that things have got ... View Full Review
Living in the country surrounded by wide open spaces Oliver loves the birds that fly overhead and always longs for them to become his friends. But, though the birds whoop and circle overhead, they always fly away, off on their own adventures.
One day, Oliver finds a rusty tin robin. It doesn’t look like much but he cleans it up and keeps it safe on his windowsill. Gradually the little bird comes alive. Can that really be possible? It is just the beginning of an exciting and unusual adventure for the robin and Oliver who now has a ... View Full Review
Full of charm in both the text and the illustrations The Book of Wonders celebrates the joy of imagination while also extolling the virtues of sharing.
A old box becomes the imaginative playground for a little child. It can be an aeroplane, an iceberg, a tractor or a whale. And, for quiet times like bedtime, it can be a safe place to curl up and read a story. But what happens when other children want to come and play? Can the space be shared?
Initially, the child thinks not. But it can! Playing with others makes all the ... View Full Review
There’s lots of fun in this entertaining story about a little girl who doesn’t want to be quiet until she discovers just what can happen if you are quiet. And how much fun that can be in a different way. “ I don't want to be quiet,/ I’d rather be LOUD!/ I want to be HEARD and/ stand out from the crowd!” But that is not popular in a library! Can she be quiet? Yes she can! There’s a good lesson for all about the value of listening. View Full Review
Take a trip to Busytown! Not surprisingly, everyone has a job to do and what a lot of different kinds of jobs there are! Within this hugely enjoyable book there are a number of short stories about different kinds of work starting with ‘Mother’s work is never done’ which shows a very busy pig family and ends with a broken bed! One of the nicest is a voyage on a ship which includes an appealing cross-section of all the activity on board a ship. The many jobs involved in building roads, running trains and working in ... View Full Review
September 2023 Book of the Month
Ysolda loves her home in the Glaw Wood; alongside her older sister, Hari, and pet sea hawk, Nara, she feels safe and loved. Their village is small, close-knit and just a little magical. Many of the inhabitants have magical powers firmly connected to the natural world around them; some can sense when water is nearby, others have an instinctive knowledge of forest foraging. But it’s Hari who has the most prized power – for she knows and understands the language of trees.
Beyond the Glaw Wood though, danger creeps ever closer. The Wolf ... View Full Review
Perfectly told in a brief text and Satoshi Kitamura’s trade mark witty illustrations School for Puppies is a delight to share through reading aloud and to pour over and read again and again.
Puppy misses his owner Lucy when she goes to school all day. What can she be doing there? he wonders.
When Puppy meets a pack of puppies all heading off to their own school he begins his own school experience. The teacher, Mr Terrier, tells the puppies to scratching behind their ears to keep them clean, to wag their tails to show other puppies you ... View Full Review
