Spalt! by Vanessa Horn and Georgia Przygocki

2025           

There is a problem at Muddlepuddle: the geese keep dropping poo on the village.

Emma and her mum and dad, Mr and Mrs Chatterbustle try to solve the problem.

Using umbrellas isn’t enough.  Giving the geese mirrors doesn’t put them off.  

Then Emma realises they are very good at fertilising the soil. They all set to and create targets for the geese. The goose poo now lands in the right place and the crops grow well on the allotments of the Muddlepuddle residents.

A little fanciful, yes, but full of fun. 

The book is a typical picture book with additional story in the pictures. There are twelve double spreads. The font is without a serif but has difficult ‘a’s. The last spread gives information about the museum of poo on the Ilse of Wight and some general information about animal poo. 

 

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Der Libellenflüsterer by Monika Feth

  

2015 

This is the seventh book in this crime series.

Monika Feth gives us multiple points  of view in this novel: friends Jette and Merle, both victims of the perpetrator, the perpetrator himself, a young and highly competent forester (and also the dragon fly whisperer of the title), the foresters’ wife, his mute five-year-old daughter, her doll(!) and of one of the police officers involved in the case.

Feth uses a narrative technique that keeps the reader involved throughout. This is achieved through a balance of description, action, dialogue and inner thoughts. Jette, possibly the main character, uses a first person narrative.

It is a long book but the reader’s attention is held by a lot of pace and tension and relatively short scenes though some of the chapters are quite long.   

This is a standard book that resembles an adult novel. The paperback has 528 pages including acknowledgments. It is for the upper end of YA and could also be described as a New Adult book.      

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Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing. 

Silverwood Rising by Jeanette Greaves,

 

 

The pack continues to grow . Alpha Diana has gone public and parliament has brought in legislation to protect the packs.

New packs are being formed throughout the UK.  But they are still threatened by the White pack. They must bring all of their resources together to fight this threat.  

The younger members of the pack have learnt new tricks: they can change their human appearance and  even, cosmetically, their gender.

They do confront the White pack and they do overcome but they do it in a sympathetic and caring way.  

Usefully the author provides a character list and a summary of child / parent relationships in a glossary at the end of the novel.

This is a standard book that resembles an adult novel. The paperback has 411 pages including glossaries and acknowledgments. It is for the upper end of YA and could also be described as a New Adult book.  

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Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.  

Hearts' Home by Jeanette Greaves

 

2024 

Werewolf cousins Mark and John are now bringing up their own pack with Andy, whom they have ‘infected’ and two females, Diana and Zoe.   

Relationships within the band and with outsiders are complex and polyamorous. Rock band Ransomed hearts continues to be successful and Mark and Andy have the added tension of having a family outside the pack.  John is also a wolf-dad but doesn’t have a second family. The pack grows and the children are growing up.

The novel ends on a dramatic high note as Diana shares her research into the physiology of werewolves with the world.

The pack has already been attacked by the White wolves and they are now exposed to more danger.  This leaves plenty of scope for novel four.     

Usefully the author provides a character list and a summary of child / parent relationships in glossaries at the end of the novel.

This is a standard book that resembles an adult novel. The paperback has 421 pages including glossaries and acknowledgments. It is for the upper end of YA and could also be described as a New Adult book.   

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Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to the Lancashire Authros Association

Ransomed Hearts by Jeanette Greaves

 2022 

Cousins Mark and John are brought up by their mothers.  Their fathers have abandoned them in order to keep the family safe. They and their fathers are werewolves.

With some other friends, the boys form a rock groups Ransomed Hearts, which in time enjoys great success.  Relationships within the band and with outsiders are complex and polyamorous. However, Mark saves himself for a wolf woman who fails to appear – until after he has met the woman he considers to be the love of his life, Katie. Then Diana appears and he forms an addictive relationship with her; she is the wolf woman he had been seeking for years. Their love-making results in the birth of twins.  Another two werewolves for the pack?     

There is a slightly down-beat ending but the novel leaves room for the next story.  There are in fact at the time of writing two more books in the series in print.

This is a standard book that resembles an adult novel. The paperback has 241 pages. It is for the upper end of YA and could also be described as a New Adult book.      

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Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing. 

Embers: The Wings of War by Karen Ann Hopkins

 

2014 

Ember’s parents die in a tragic car accident. She lives with her aunt and her aunt’s partner, who starts to abuse her. Her brother finds that an old will of their mother says that Ember should go and live with her Aunt Ila.

It had always puzzled Ember that she had not died in the accident with her parents, that wounds healed quickly and that she always felt as if she was running a temperature. Aunt Ila reveals that both she and Ember are Watchers, the children of a love match between a human and an angel. 

Near to Aunt Ila’s cabin is a compound where Growlers and Demons live.  Growlers are creatures such as were-wolves who spend some of their time in human form and some of their time in animal form. Demons feed on the human souls.

A complex situation arises. Ember falls in love with Demon Sawyer. He becomes her Guardian. They become bonded in a way that makes them even closer than if they were married.   

She also befriends Growler Ivan whose creature is wolf.

Ila is an effective mentor and Ember can soon use her powers well.  But she makes mistakes. The story ends on an optimistic note and leaves room for more story;  there are several books in the series.      

Sadly, Aunt Ila has to die as she has exhausted her powers in saving Ember and Sawyer. Watchers do die though they live much longer than humans.

This is a standard book that resembles an adult novel. The paperback has 432 pages.     

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Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.  

  

Natascha's Story by Gill and Ashleigh James

 2024           

 

Natascha is forever falling off the piano and getting sucked up by the vacuum cleaner.

She is the smallest of a set of Russian dolls and envies her bigger sisters as they have more detail on them.

The family acquire a new vacuum cleaner and this time it takes Natascha to another world where she has an amazing adventure.  This seems very much like what happens in The Wizard of Oz. So is it all a dream and related to the story the mummy is reading to young Alfred? It’s left to the reader to decide.

She finds herself being sucked up by the new even more powerful vacuum cleaner and then returned to the piano to join her sisters. Young Alfred remarks that she has lace on her dress, pretty shoes and a tiny bracelet that he’s never noticed before.

The book is 53 pages long. The text is double spaced and ragged right. It uses a simple font that has easy ‘a’s and ‘g’s. There over twenty illustrations that both add to and clarify the story. 

 

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