Attack of the Heebie Jeebies - Review

Hello, hello my lovelies,

I hope you are staying safe and well and managing with the social isolation. I'm lucky as I have a garden but I can't imagine how those of you who don't have one are managing.

So today I have another review for you.

Attack of the Heebie Jeebies by Tom Percival



Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 2nd April 2020

Synopsis:

Erika's had a bad day. But going to sleep upset means bad dreams. She finds herself stranded in the Dreamscape along with a mob of hungry Heebie Jeebies - and to make matters worse, she's being hunted by a terrifying Angermare!

Enter the Dream Team! Can they help Erika overcome her worries and get home, or will she be trapped forever? 

Review:

What a lovely book! 

Meet Erika. Erika is the older sister to her baby brother and has become VERY jealous and feels she is missing out on her parents attention. In fact, this has made her grumpy. VERY grumpy. So much so, she snaps at her brother and parents, she argues and finally, in a fit of rage tells her parents exactly what she thinks and storms off to her bedroom, where she cries herself to sleep.

This is where her adventure begins. She finds herself in another world. One that is full of Heebie Jeebies and she soon discovers that there are other creatures that she can talk to. However, there are bad things in store. Erika and her new friends have to work together, not only to defeat the nasty being, but also to get her back home.

I really enjoyed how the author has sensitively dealt with the problems that Erika has. I thought the illustrations particularly enhanced the story. They are mostly black, white and purple, which sounds boring, but actually depicts Erika's feelings and situations really well. 

I can see myself reading this aloud to my class. The book deals with anxiety, behaviour, jealousy and how to overcome these. It can be easily used within the LKS2 PSHE curriculum, being proactive, or indeed as circle time if you need to be reactive to a situation. In fact, it would also be an ideal book to give to a specific parent and child to read together, to help the child relate to Erika and then come up with their own strategies to deal with their problems.

I'd happily have this on my bookshelf at school but I would also happily recommend this for any parent to read with or give to their child to read. Not only would it help a child that finds themselves in the same situation as Erika, but it would also help those children who are lucky enough to have no worries, understand where Erika is coming from in order to empathise.

My rating is ⭐⭐⭐⭐

March Wrap-up

Hello, hello my lovelies,

So I'm here today with my March wrap-up. I'm quite a slow reader (sooo frustrating) so with teaching as well, I tend to read 4 or 5 books a month. Not many, I know, but I can only do what I can do!
However, now that we're in social isolation and I am on a limited rota at school, in theory there is much more time to read. I say in theory, because although I have read more, I haven't actually read as much as I wanted. There's always something to else to do - damn you housework 😂😂

Anyway, enough procrastinating (another of my skills), and on with the wrap-up.

In total I read 8 books.but I didn't finish the first book in March until the 15th so I've done well!

In order, this is what I read. As usual, I will put links to Waterstones but please support your independent bookstores as well during these difficult times if you can. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to buy books online due to suppliers closing, so if you haven't got a TBR to keep you going for a while, it might be wise to stock up now.

1. The House of Hidden Wonders by Sharon Gosling

• Publisher: Little Tiger Press Group
• Publication date: 2nd April 2020

You can read my review here. This is another I will definitely be buying.  

2. Oh No, Bobo by Donna David

• Illustrated by Laura Watkins
• Publisher: QED Publishing
• Publication Date: 21st April 2020

You can read my review here. This is a lovely picture book for younger children.

3. Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valour by Ally Carter

• Publisher: Hachette Children's Books
• Published: 5th March 2020

You can read my review here. This is another I'm going to buy. Love that cover!

4. The Nothing To See Here Hotel by Steven Butler

• Illustrated by Steven Lenton
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Published last year

I finished this book with my class just before school stopped. Review to follow.

5. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charles Makesy

• Published by Ebury Publishing

I was late to the party with this one. Review to follow.

6. BOOT: The Rusty Rescue by Shane Hegarty

• Illustrated by Ben Mantle
• Publisher: Hachette Children's Group

You can read my review here. 

7. The Vanishing Trick by Jenni Spangler

• Illustrated by Chris Mould
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Publication date: 30th April 2020

You can read my review here.  This is top of my list to buy!

8. Attack of the Heebie Jeebies by Tom Percival

• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Publication date: 2nd April 2020

Review to follow.

So there you have them. My March 2020 reads.

I've a feeling that we won't be back to school throughout April so I'm hoping to beat 8 next month. Let's see! 

Happy reading,

Allison xx

First Lines Friday

Hello, hello my lovelies,

How are you all doing? How is working at home going?

Today I'm taking part in First Lines Friday. I love this one as you find lots of interesting first lines that make you want to read the book!This is run by Becky over at Becky's Book Blog.All you have to do is:

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page

• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first

• Finally… reveal the book!

So, here we go.

Harrison Beck pulled a biro from the pocket of his yellow anorak, deftly turning it over his index finger so it was point down, and doodled in the central margin of the newspaper spread across the table.


Any ideas?

It's The Highland Falcon Thief by M G Leonard and Sam Sedgman

Synopsis:

Adventures on Trains is a major mystery series from the prize-winning M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman. First stop, The Highland Falcon Thief, a breathless train journey full of deceptions, puzzles and clues to solve.

Harrison Beck is reluctantly joining his travel-writer Uncle Nat for the last journey of the royal train, The Highland Falcon. But as the train makes its way to Scotland, a priceless brooch goes missing, and things are suddenly a lot more interesting. As suspicions and accusations run high among the passengers, Harrison begins to investigate and uncovers a few surprises along the way. Can he solve the mystery of the jewel thief and catch the culprit before they reach the end of the line?

Hear whispers in the dining car, find notes in the library, and unknown passengers among the luggage as you help Harrison to solve the mystery aboard one of the world's grandest trains. Fast-paced and packed with illustrations and clues, Adventures on Trains is a stop you won't want to miss!

Did you guess it? I am reading this at the moment and loving it!

Catch you again soon,

Happy reading,

Allison xx