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Phoebe Demeger - Editorial Expert

Phoebe Demeger is the Librarian at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE). A former Bookseller, she manages CLPE’s extensive library of children’s books, hosts regular visitors to the library, and assists in the delivery of training programmes and events. She produces book reviews and recommendations for CLPE, ensuring that the very best titles find their way into classrooms and schools.

Latest Reviews By Phoebe Demeger

In this appealing house-shaped board book, an unseen narrator takes the reader on a tour through an empty house, with chunky die-cuts representing the windows and doors... but is the house really empty? Readers will feel a gleeful shiver as the narrator travels from room to room, pointing out various household objects, but never its ghostly inhabitant, who holds our gaze until the final page. Klassen’s idiosyncratic style and muted colour palette lends itself perfectly to this spooky tale. As author-illustrator he excels at telling an entirely different story through illustration than through text – which elevates and ... View Full Review

Tony Rex is not only a prehistoric apex predator, he’s a life coach, and these two identities intersect in somewhat suspicious ways as he encourages his readers to become their best, most delicious selves. Each of Tony’s seven steps (or ‘stomps’) sounds like decent, dependable self-help advice at first glance, such as Step 2: Don’t Hide Away: “You’re beautiful – on the outside and the inside. Let the world SEE you!”, until each is undercut by Tony’s barely-hidden true motivation: “Stay out in the open where ... View Full Review

Every night, when the restaurant kitchen closes, the Night Chef – an adorably enthusiastic raccoon – emerges from the walls to take over the self-assigned night shift. But when the egg for her ramen unexpectedly hatches into a baby crow, Night Chef must leave the kitchen behind and set off into the big wide world on a quest to reunite baby Ichi with his family. Readers of Mika Song’s beloved series Donut Feed the Squirrels will find plenty to enjoy here: this standalone adventure shares with Donut such themes as friendship, teamwork, problem-solving and perseverance, with a ... View Full Review

Meet Waffles and Julius, an overenthusiastic dog and a disinterested cat, and your favourite new grumpy/sunshine duo. Young readers will enjoy the classic dog-and-cat dynamic, as the googly-eyed Waffles asks Julius again and again if he would like a hug, even offering him a stick and singing his favourite song (cover your ears!). Will Waffles learn to be patient, and more importantly, can he learn to respect his friend’s wishes? Ed Vere was one of the creators, along with Charlotte Hacking, of the CLPE Power of Pictures Programme, which supports schools to uncover the value and creative ... View Full Review

Many young people – and undoubtedly plenty of adults too! – find themselves faced with questions about the future: what they’ll do, where they’ll live, what kind of person they’ll be. Helpfully, this book seeks to address some of these questions in a warm-hearted and imaginative way, by putting forward a series of conversational prompts designed to spark meaningful discussion between children and their grown-ups. The questions offered are refreshingly expansive – child readers are invited to consider hobbies they might like to try, skills they already possess or would like to acquire, unusual ... View Full Review

I absolutely adored Kristina Rahim’s debut novel The Doughnut Club, and the way she captures family dynamics and pre-teen emotional turmoil with real authenticity and humour. Max and Ella, Stuck Together is an equally refreshing and empathetic exploration of such themes as self-confidence, confronting change, and what make us who we are. Max and Ella’s worlds begin to collide when, to help him reignite his former confidence, Max’s mums suggest setting up a meeting between Max and Hari, a friend of the family who helped conceive Max through sperm donation. Ella – Hari's daughter &... View Full Review

The Polar Bear Day is the latest entry I’ve seen from the world of wordless picturebooks, a form I am always excited to see new examples of. Such books are perfectly placed to encourage visual literacy and analysis of images, provide a space for active storytelling, and support the development of children’s literacy at all ages in an inclusive and creative way. This title, originally published in Korea as Knock Knock, is no exception. We meet a little boy whose quiet day at home is enlivened by the arrival of a large, playful polar bear, thus ... View Full Review

Twins Jax and Jovi live in the town of Moonhaven, where a monthly curfew is enforced on every full moon night to keep the population safe from the threat of a werewolf attack – but are things really as they seem? This atmospheric and action-packed illustrated novel, with plenty of twists and just the right level of ‘spook’, is the perfect entry into the horror genre for young readers, and a thoroughly modern take on the legend of the werewolf. The twins and their friends Esau and Fourth form a wonderfully relatable central cast, each with their own ... View Full Review

One day, Maryam and Issa head out of town with their parents to the desert of Mali, where they know “something exciting is going to happen”. They spend the day planting seedlings with not only their family and neighbours, but with people across the continent working together to make a difference to the world, for this picturebook is a snapshot into the real-life Great Green Wall, an exciting project to plant trees across the width of Africa, spanning eleven countries. Ken Wilson-Max has an incredible talent for addressing big concepts in a bright, accessible package – each of ... View Full Review

How is Tiddles the cat meant to take a nice, relaxing nap when his owners have installed an enormous, distractingly sparkly tree in the middle of the living room? It’s time for Tiddles to take matters into his own paws... This seasonal battle of cat versus Christmas tree is brilliantly narrated in the voice of Tiddles, with bold, kinetic typography - “A TREE growing RIGHT HERE in MY living room!” - that lends itself brilliantly to reading aloud. Independent publisher Post Wave Children’s Books does incredible work spotlighting global creators and bringing beautiful books ... View Full Review