Book Reviews
How to select your child's reading age.
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And we sell book packs with carefully curated books too!
The Heart and the Bottle
What happens when we try to protect ourselves from getting hurt by locking our hearts away? Follow a child’s j...
She Rex
She Rex is a picture book dinosaur story with multi colours, giant teeth and tons of girl-osaurus attitude! A spirite...
Sulwe
Sulwe is a children’s book of rare power and beauty. Dealing with colourism, self-esteem and learning that tr...
Pre-school Books on Diversity
On your search to include more diverse books for your kids, check out the wonderful range of local books from South A...
Ruby Red Shoes Goes to London
Ruby Red Shoes is a sweet little hare who lives in a colourful caravan in the country with her granny. Now she’...
Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert
Who doesn’t love a unicorn? Â Sophie Johnston: Unicorn Expert loves them so much she ‘owns’ 17 unic...
Harry’s Stormy Night
“All evening the North wind roared.” These evocative words set the atmosphere for the story about the nig...
Oi Frog!
Oi Frog! is a fun rhyming caper though all the places animals sit. Â It starts with Frog saying he does not want to d...
Swimming in the Sun
What a delightful, happy little book by South African author Jenny Hatton. Â Swimming in the Sun follows a typical da...
Here We Are – Notes for Living on Planet Earth
Acclaimed illustrator and author Oliver Jeffers has a new book to share with little children everywhere: an introduct...
Richard Scarry’s Best Treasury Ever
This Richard Scarry classic is a happy primary-coloured trip filled with illustrations and much-loved characters to k...
My Daddy Says
By Justine Smith and illustrated by Angie Stevens (Pan Macmillan) Lets cuddle up for bedtime with My Daddy Says ̵...
My Big Name
When Isenguye starts BIG school she is excited But when her new teacher shortens her name because she can’t pro...
Once Upon A Sign: Ayen’s First Day
The first day of a new school is always challenging – but especially when you’re Deaf. Will Ayen make new friends...
The Heart and the Bottle
What happens when we try to protect ourselves from getting hurt by locking our hearts away? Follow a child’s j...
What’s Up, Thoko!
This series by South African author Niki Daly is a collection of wonderful, every day events that occur in the life o...
She Rex
She Rex is a picture book dinosaur story with multi colours, giant teeth and tons of girl-osaurus attitude! A spirite...
Sulwe
Sulwe is a children’s book of rare power and beauty. Dealing with colourism, self-esteem and learning that tr...
Lots – The Diversity of Life on Earth
Lots is a beautifully illustrated introduction to biodiversity for younger readers. This story of nature is so beauti...
Pre-school Books on Diversity
On your search to include more diverse books for your kids, check out the wonderful range of local books from South A...
Grandad Mandela
Who are great men when they are at home? Grandad Mandela is sensitively seen through the eyes of his great grandchild...
Mizz President
Mizz President is a delightful South African story about a young girl who finds herself thrust into leadership when h...
Wanda
Wanda is a little girl with a big beautiful head of hair. Â While her mother thinks her hair is ‘strong and bea...
Ruby Red Shoes Goes to London
Ruby Red Shoes is a sweet little hare who lives in a colourful caravan in the country with her granny. Now she’...
Sulwe
Sulwe is a children’s book of rare power and beauty. Dealing with colourism, self-esteem and learning that tr...
Dark Lord, Eternal Detention
In this parody of the fantasy genre, the hero Dirk Llyod, is really a dark lord trapped in the body of a thirteen-yea...
Mummy & Me Cook
Few activities are as much fun as cooking with mom or dad. This lovely cookbook offers the perfect balance of quick b...
The Utterly Otterlys
The illustrations grabbed my attention first. Then the title. I love anything to do with Otters. (Like rabbits the...
I’m Just No Good At Rhyming and other nonsense
This is a truly funny book that plays with words and rhymes and makes silly puns that will make you laugh and want to...
I Like Myself!
This charming Dr Seuss-inspired rhyming book about a little girl who likes herself no matter what is the perfect gif...
The Misadventures of Max Crumbly Series
Young readers will love the easy-to-read tales of Max Crumbly and his daily ups and downs in middle school by best-se...
A librarian’s recommendations
We chatted to Bette Mosher Geci, a retired librarian from Connecticut in the States whose passion for children’...
Road to Glory Series
The inspiring ‘Road to Glory’ series covers some of South Africa’s top sporting legends as they set out on thei...
Middle School Series
Rafe Khatchadorian is the unlikely hero of the Middle School series about an 11 year old boy who takes on rules, bull...
Skin We Are In
The Skin We Are In is an exploration of why humans have different colour skin, and how people’s thinking about ...
Why Must I Go To School?
Why must I go to school? Why must I do as I am told? Good question. Said no parent ever. Now you can direct them to t...
Know My Name
Know my Name is an early chapter book about twins Rorisang and Morena , who move to a new school and have to face all...
Lets make More great placemat art
Making art fun is Marion Deuchars’ calling. Her range of Let’s make Great Art books inspire creativity, ...
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise our Voices
A collection of diverse tales from creative writers, poets, artists and thinkers living with prejudice, judgement, bu...
The 104-Story Treehouse
In the latest Treehouse book Andy and Terry go on an adventurous journey to get their book submitted to their publish...
Let’s Read! The Shark in the Dark
This series of books called Let’s Read are perfect for the child who has learnt to read and wants to extend the...
Rainbow Magic – Mary The Sharing Fairy
The Rainbow Magic series of books is perfectly aimed to take your beginner reader through to a chapter book reader le...
Spilling Ink – A Young Writer’s Handbook
Spilling Ink is one of the best handbooks for young writers you’ll find, with everything from finding your writ...
100 Things To Know About Saving The Planet
Filled with questions and answers about new and exciting discoveries about our planet and ways we can save her. Chil...
The Guinness Book of Records 2015
One of my children’s favourite things is to pore over The Guinness Book of Records and read out some of the mos...
Dragon Slayers Academy series
The Dragon Slayers Academy is a fantasy adventure series about an unlikely hero called Wiglaf, the soft-hearted, oft-...
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler
I missed reading this book when I was growing up but I’m glad I discovered it in time to pass on to my children...
Igor – The Bird Who Couldn’t Sing
We took this book out the library and Joe, 8 loved the simple story of a bird who for the life of him cannot sing. W...
Press Here
This award wining creative book is a gift to children. Wonderfully interactive and fun, you’re invited to pres...
Diary of a Minecraft Zombie
A popular easy-reading series for fans of the Minecraft books – kids love to follow 12-year old Zombie’s ...
Secret Kingdom Series 1-6
When a book has an over abundance of words like ‘giggles, pink, magical, spells, sparkles, rainbow, glittering, mer...
Rainbow Magic: Elsa the Mistletoe Fairy
Just in time for Christmas look out for Elsa the Mistletoe Fairy. Rachel and Kirsty are looking forward to spending C...
Dinosaur Cove Series
A fun adventurous series about two young boys, Jamie and Tom, who come across a cave with a secret and magical entran...
Marshall Armstrong Is New To our School
Marshall Armstrong is new to our school. He looks different to me. His laces are straight, not criss-crossed like min...
Library Lion
Everyone knows libraries have special rules. So what to do when a lion enters the library and doesn’t want to ...
How Crab Lost his Head
African tales and mythology are shared in this rich collection gathered by geologist Nick Greaves on his travels arou...
Ballerina Dreams – A True Story
When Michaela DePrice was a little girl in an orphanage in war-torn Sierra Leone, she found a magazine with a balleri...
Katie Morag Series
Katie Morag is a feisty tomboy adored by children for over 30 years. Katie lives on the island of Struay, which is l...
Mr Hare Meets Mr Mandela
When Mr Hare discovers a R200 note in his doorway and sees Mr Mandela’s face on it, he decides it must belong t...
The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish
This is the off-beat tale of a boy who is left with his younger sister in his dad’s care while his mom goes out...
The English Roses Series
Madonna’s books about The English Roses have done well. With cute names, Grace, Nicole, Binah, Amy and Charlott...
Unstoppable Me!
This book came just in time to save me from yet another argument in our house around taking responsibility. Subtitled...
Anna Liza and the Happy Practice
Anna Liza likes helping her psychiatrist mother’s patients. When a little boy says he is sad because his dad i...
Dirty Bertie series
We’re big Dirty Bertie fans in our house. Dirty Bertie is a little boy with nose-pickingly disgusting habits and an...
4 Kid’s Activity Books
Activity books are a great way to get kids to do some light reading and keep them busy. We tried out a few this holi...
The Heart and the Bottle
What happens when we try to protect ourselves from getting hurt by locking our hearts away? Follow a child’s j...
Poems to Perform
Poetry gets a rough deal with most children. Being forced to learn a long poem can take the joy of the rhyming words ...
A Passionate Vision – The Story of Irma Stern
The story of Irma Stern, one of South Africa’s most famous artists, is shared in this wonderfully written biography...
Loot: How to Steal a Fortune
Written by Jude Watson (Scholastic) Guest reviewed by Nathalie Hosten, Grade 8, Aka`ula School, Molokai, Hawaii Loot...
Grandad Mandela
Who are great men when they are at home? Grandad Mandela is sensitively seen through the eyes of his great grandchild...
Beast Quest Series
Beast Quest is a bestselling fantasy adventure series for 7-11 year olds that boasts over 130 books and millions of f...
Lots – The Diversity of Life on Earth
Lots is a beautifully illustrated introduction to biodiversity for younger readers. This story of nature is so beauti...
Annie Learns to Swim
Swimming season can be a splashing joy for some children and a nightmare of swimming lessons and the scary deep end f...
Way Home
The story opens on the back street of a big city – it’s early evening and a dog barks and a cat with no n...
Grandad Mandela
Who are great men when they are at home? Grandad Mandela is sensitively seen through the eyes of his great grandchild...
What’s Up, Thoko!
This series by South African author Niki Daly is a collection of wonderful, every day events that occur in the life o...
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Oh how I love this book. It so perfectly sums up how every child (and adult!) feels once in a while. Alexander̵...
A Perfectly Messed Up Story
Little Louie is so excited to tell his story but nothing goes as planned. From jelly to chunky peanut butter falling ...
Badger’s Parting Gifts
When badger dies his friends are heartbroken, especially Mole who feels ‘lost, alone and desperately unhappy.&#...
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
Do you wish there were more books about kick-ass female role models to share with your kids? Superwoman is all well a...
Press Here
This award wining creative book is a gift to children. Wonderfully interactive and fun, you’re invited to pres...
Igor – The Bird Who Couldn’t Sing
We took this book out the library and Joe, 8 loved the simple story of a bird who for the life of him cannot sing. W...
London (Not-For-Parents) Everything you ever wanted to know
This is not a guidebook, states the opening page. It’s more of an introduction to everything London is famous for a...
Claude Series
Written and illustrated by Alex T Smith (Macmillan)
...Middle School Series
Rafe Khatchadorian is the unlikely hero of the Middle School series about an 11 year old boy who takes on rules, bull...
I’m Just No Good At Rhyming and other nonsense
This is a truly funny book that plays with words and rhymes and makes silly puns that will make you laugh and want to...
Journal of Inventions: Leonardo da Vinci
Considering he drew the designs for some of the objects we now use most often, Leonardo da Vinci is the perfect inv...
The 104-Story Treehouse
In the latest Treehouse book Andy and Terry go on an adventurous journey to get their book submitted to their publish...
Judy Moody and Stink: The Big Bad Blackout
The much-loved character Judy Moody appears in this series with her brother Stink. When the family hunkers down to wa...
Beast Quest Series
Beast Quest is a bestselling fantasy adventure series for 7-11 year olds that boasts over 130 books and millions of f...
The Worst Witch Series
The much-loved The Worst Witch series, about a boarding school for witches and the adventures and mishaps of a clums...
Jeremy James: Elephants Don’t Sit on Cars
Jeremy James is a little boy who always finds interesting things to do… even if the grownups sometimes wished he di...
The Boy Who Hated Insects
What can a boy do when he has a fear of creepy crawlies and he has to go on school camp?Joshua Finkelstein Bade has a...
Madeline
“In an old house in Paris all covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. In two straig...
A Tribe of Kids
Follow a young boy as he discovers the collective nouns for animals, plants and the world and comes to find his own c...
Manfred the Baddie
Manfred is the leader of an audacious gang. He kidnaps brilliant inventors and forces them to create outrageous mach...
Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
It’s Junie B Jones’ first day in Grade 0 and she has to ride on a bus. She manages to get to school but when itâ€...
Marshall Armstrong Is New To our School
Marshall Armstrong is new to our school. He looks different to me. His laces are straight, not criss-crossed like min...
The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish
This is the off-beat tale of a boy who is left with his younger sister in his dad’s care while his mom goes out...
Dog Man Series
This series about a half man/half-dog superhero called Dog Man is another popular kids comic series by Dav Pilkey for...
The 13-Storey Treehouse
The best thing about this book is its very funny. Andy and Terry live in a very cool treehouse with 13 floors and on...
Secret Kingdom Series 1-6
When a book has an over abundance of words like ‘giggles, pink, magical, spells, sparkles, rainbow, glittering, mer...
A Passionate Vision – The Story of Irma Stern
The story of Irma Stern, one of South Africa’s most famous artists, is shared in this wonderfully written biography...
Ottoline and the Purple Fox
A new Ottoline is cause for celebration. In this latest adventure of Ottoline and her hairy side-kick Mr Munroe, Otto...
Adventure Books for 8-13 year olds
Check out our selection of 7 Awesome Adventure Books guaranteed to get your middle school children reading. Let the a...
The Story Cure
No matter the life experience, adventure or challenge a child is going through, I always find myself thinking: ‘...
100 Things To Know About Saving The Planet
Filled with questions and answers about new and exciting discoveries about our planet and ways we can save her. Chil...
Spilling Ink – A Young Writer’s Handbook
Spilling Ink is one of the best handbooks for young writers you’ll find, with everything from finding your writ...
Let’s Read! The Shark in the Dark
This series of books called Let’s Read are perfect for the child who has learnt to read and wants to extend the...
Unstoppable Me!
This book came just in time to save me from yet another argument in our house around taking responsibility. Subtitled...
A Dog’s Purpose: Ellie’s Story
Ellie is a puppy with a purpose. Trained as a search and rescue dog she will be able to track down a lost child in a ...
A Good Day for Climbing Trees
An easy reading book for 8 – 12 year olds about a young teen boy and a girl who climb a tree to save it and end...
Oliver and the Seawigs
I got this book on holiday at The Book Lounge in Cape Town. Hooked on Books came to talk to us at our school and whe...
Sulwe
Sulwe is a children’s book of rare power and beauty. Dealing with colourism, self-esteem and learning that tr...
Discover Through Craft: The Seaside
Craft books are perfect for long holidays and this series educates children about seaside habitats while offering gre...
The Lotterys Plus One
The Lotterys are a unique and diverse family with four parents, seven kids and five pets – all living happily toget...
Know My Name
Know my Name is an early chapter book about twins Rorisang and Morena , who move to a new school and have to face all...
Library Lion
Everyone knows libraries have special rules. So what to do when a lion enters the library and doesn’t want to ...
Wolf Brother
Wolf Brother is the first book in the gripping series Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. The story takes place 6000 year...
Tree House Tales
By Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton Look what's just come out! Fans of the Tree House series will be thrilled to know...
Early Chapter Book Series For Girls
Read our top 11 early chapter book series for girls. Perfect for moving into new reading levels and growing reading c...
Judy Moody and the Bucket List
The Judy Moody series follows the adventures of a feisty and funny girl who creates her own bucket list of things to ...
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise our Voices
A collection of diverse tales from creative writers, poets, artists and thinkers living with prejudice, judgement, bu...
Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them
Fantastic Beasts brings the wizardly world from England to the streets of New York. When Magizoologist Newt Scamande...
Artemis Fowl Series
Artemis Fowl is a riveting and exciting adventure fantasy series for age 9 +. Artemis Fowl is a twelve-year-old chil...
Pearl of The Sea
A fantasy graphic novel about a girl and a sea monster who form an unlikely bond, helping one another learn to trust ...
Teens Need Comprehension Skills
With AI on the rise, being a critical thinker and reader and knowing how to read for meaning and understand how to bu...
We all love Judy Bloom
Fans of author Judy Bloom will love the screen adaptation of her seminal book Are You There God? It’s Me, Marga...
She Gets The Girl
The new hate-to-love rom com from bestselling author Rachael Lippincott and debut writer Alyson Derrick, is the perfe...
Spilling Ink – A Young Writer’s Handbook
Spilling Ink is one of the best handbooks for young writers you’ll find, with everything from finding your writ...
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise our Voices
A collection of diverse tales from creative writers, poets, artists and thinkers living with prejudice, judgement, bu...
Soul Surfer
Soul Surfer is the bestselling inspirational autobiography of a talented young surfer girl who lost her arm in a near...
All the Bright Places
A compelling, beautiful and heart breaking young adult story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who wants to ...
El Deafo
El Deafo is a funny and moving graphic novel memoir about a young hearing impaired girl and her adventures at school ...
Children of Blood and Bone series
The Children of Blood and Bone is a highly celebrated West African inspired fantasy for young adults that mixes dark ...
A Passionate Vision – The Story of Irma Stern
The story of Irma Stern, one of South Africa’s most famous artists, is shared in this wonderfully written biography...
Artemis Fowl Series
Artemis Fowl is a riveting and exciting adventure fantasy series for age 9 +. Artemis Fowl is a twelve-year-old chil...
Anna Liza and the Happy Practice
Anna Liza likes helping her psychiatrist mother’s patients. When a little boy says he is sad because his dad i...
Witchfield
Witchfield is a magical adventure story for 8-12 year olds about two friends, Katie and Themba, who take on a strange...
My Big Name
When Isenguye starts BIG school she is excited But when her new teacher shortens her name because she can’t pro...
100 Things To Know About Saving The Planet
Filled with questions and answers about new and exciting discoveries about our planet and ways we can save her. Chil...
She Gets The Girl
The new hate-to-love rom com from bestselling author Rachael Lippincott and debut writer Alyson Derrick, is the perfe...
Dog Man Series
This series about a half man/half-dog superhero called Dog Man is another popular kids comic series by Dav Pilkey for...
Once Upon A Sign: Ayen’s First Day
The first day of a new school is always challenging – but especially when you’re Deaf. Will Ayen make new friends...
The Heart and the Bottle
What happens when we try to protect ourselves from getting hurt by locking our hearts away? Follow a child’s j...
The Boy Who Hated Insects
What can a boy do when he has a fear of creepy crawlies and he has to go on school camp?Joshua Finkelstein Bade has a...
Tree House Tales
By Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton Look what's just come out! Fans of the Tree House series will be thrilled to know...
I’m Just No Good At Rhyming and other nonsense
This is a truly funny book that plays with words and rhymes and makes silly puns that will make you laugh and want to...
“So it is with children who learn to read fluently and well: They begin to take flight into whole new worlds as effortlessly as young birds take to the sky.”
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