Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Great new children's book picks - August 2021 - UK Published

 

Richard Pickard - The Peculiar Tale of the Tentacle Boy - Published by Chicken House (5 Aug. 2021) - Paperback 

Marina lives in Merlington, a fish-obsessed seaside town. Unfortunately, she doesn't care for fish; she loves telling stories.

Marina finds her best story yet when she explores the ruined, haunted pier: a boy called William with a head of tentacles and crab claws for hands. He has lived on the pier all his life, cared for by a fisherman who has since disappeared and who warned him always to remain hidden.

Together, the pair resolve to unravel the mystery of his past – but danger isn't far away ...

Alex English (Author), Mark Chambers (Illustrated) - Sky Pirates: The Dragon's Gold - Published by Simon & Schuster Children's UK (5 Aug. 2021) - Paperback 
Echo Quickthorn has been reunited with her sky-pirate mother, Indigo Lil, and is now a fully-fledged member of the Black Sky Wolves. So when Lil is summoned to the Alliance of the Seven Skies, Echo decides to sneak along with her friend Horace. There, Horace is captured by the dastardly Thunder Sharks, a rival pirate clan, who present Echo with an ultimatum: they’ll release her friend in exchange for the legendary dragon’s gold ...

Echo must journey – through underwater libraries and active volcanoes – to the inhospitable Dragonlands, in order to find the dragon’s lair. But can she find the treasure and prove herself to be a true-sky pirate?

Darren Simpson - The Memory Thieves - Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd; UK  (5 Aug. 2021) - Paperback 

What you don't remember can't hurt you... Cyan has lived at the Elsewhere Sanctuary for as long as he can remember, freed by Dr Haven from dark memories of his past life. But when Cyan finds a mysterious warning carved into the bones of a whale skeleton, he starts to wonder what he had to forget to be so happy. New resident, Jonquil, begins to resist the sanctuary's treatment, preferring to hold on to her memories - even the bad ones. So when Dr Haven resorts to harsher measures, Cyan embarks on a secret mission to discover the truth about the sanctuary...and himself. 

Jerry Spinelli - Dead Wednesday - Published by Random House (3 Aug. 2021) -  Paperback 

Worm Tarnauer has spent most of the eighth grade living down to his nickname. He prefers to be out of sight, underground. He walked the world unseen. He’s happy to let his best friend, Eddie, lead the way and rule the day. And this day―Dead Wednesday―is going to be awesome. The school thinks assigning each eighth grader the name of a teenager who died in the past year and having them don black shirts and become “invisible” will make them contemplate their own mortality. Yeah, sure. The kids know that being invisible to teachers really means you can get away with anything. It’s a day to go wild! But Worm didn’t count on Becca Finch (17, car crash). Letting this girl into his head is about to change everything. Jerry Spinelli tells the story of the unexpected, heart\-breaking, hilarious, truly epic day when Worm Tarnauer discovers his own life.

Julian Sedgwick (Author), Chie Kutsuwada (Illustrator) - Tsunami Girl - Book Review (Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books)

Hello and welcome (こんにちは、ようこそ)  to Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books. This has been a very emotional and poignant book review.

A huge earthquake and Tsunami struck Japan at 2.46pm on March 11, 2011. It devastated towns and changed the landscape forever whilst also triggering nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima. The world watched helplessly as a triple disaster unfolded and the chaotic struggle to contain the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl took place. Ten years later and the story of Tsunami Girl by Julian Sedgwick is born. Published by Guppy Books in March 2021 the book will finally spread its wings and soar into the world. 

The book was inspired by the people, memories, and the author's visits to Odak, Minamisōm, Japan. The book is a three-year culmination of research and writing about the unseen crisis. It's a story to remember, savour and reflect upon. Just like petals falling from a Skura tree, this story showers the reader with a poignant and heartfelt story. It has both dark and light flowing throughout the narrative. 

The book is part story and part manga (a comic art form traditionally developed in Japan from scrolls dating back as far as the 12th century). The manga illustrations have been wonderfully created by Chie Kutsuwada and are used to weave in the imaginary element of the story alongside the written reality. They particularly introduce and follow the super-hero character in the imaginary world (Half Wave) who is bound by Yuki's own manga creation which is very much linked to the back story. The character is pulled together in a quirky quality that I associate with watching a Studio Ghibli film, both of which I really love. 

The narrative follows shy 15-year-old, Yuki Hara Jones, who finds herself caught up in the Earthquake and Tsunami whilst visiting her Grandpa. The story centers around both Yuki and her amazing Grandpa, who is an award-winning adult Manga artist. Back in England, she finds herself reliving the tragic events that unfolded on that unimaginable day. You'll find yourself walking a tightrope of emotions as you follow Yuki and the relationships between her English family in Cambridge (England) and her Japanese family as she attempts to heal herself by revisiting the disaster zone with the help of her friend Taka. 

This is the most thought-provoking story that I've read for a long time. It made me feel so emotional that it really swept me off my feet and stirred many thoughts. It was almost like looking over the edge of the cliff and free-falling into the foamy sea. The story is about place/time, pain, loss, friendship, and finally finding one's self again. It charts the struggles in the aftermath and how life was viewed differently as a result of such devastation. It's about not only the importance of memories but also after being in such a dark place trying to find the light and courage once more to make life a full experience and as rewarding as it can be. 

The way to best describe this book is as one massive Hanabi (花火) firework display as it sparkles, pops, and fizzes on the brain. A fluttering ghost story (Yami Shibai) delivers the yin and yang punching into the plot with a beating heart. The encounters and the feelings of the characters have been masterfully written. I view the story with sadness but also have fond memories from the special moments within. One day I hope to take a journey to Japan and, as a result of this book, will remember the people who lost their lives as well as those who were left behind to deal with the devastation. 

The story has been very well researched and written. It really is a very fitting tribute to one of the biggest natural disasters to happen in our lifetime. I'm sure that many people as they read this book will feel and view things differently but that's why I particularly love books like this. There is certainly no other book like this available to buy at the moment so I really would recommend that you read this. I would be particularly interested to know your thoughts on this amazingly well-published book. Thank you for reading and have a great day.

If you also fancy a doubled signed copy of the book. Here is the link to do so! https://www.kenilworthbooks.co.uk/tsunami-girl/

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books Children's Book Pick For March 2018 - The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown

The sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Wild Robot, by award-winning author Peter Brown

Shipwrecked on a remote, wild island, Robot Roz learned from the unwelcoming animal inhabitants and adapted to her surroundings--but can she survive the challenges of the civilized world and find her way home to Brightbill and the island?

At the end of The Wild Robot, Roz is badly damaged, and she’s taken away from the island, back to the robot factory where she was made. And I picked up from there as I turned my attention to The Wild Robot Escapes. I began by simply asking myself questions:

• What happens when Roz arrives at the robot factory?
• If her body is repaired will her computer brain be affected?
• Where does she go after being refurbished?

To contrast the wilderness of the first book, I wanted Roz to now experience as much of the civilized world as possible. I wanted her to experience cities and towns and rural areas. I wanted human characters and robot characters and domestic animal characters. And there would have to be futuristic technology: computers and machines and vehicles. As I thought about the future, I asked myself more questions:

• What will our world look like in 50 or 100 years? 
• How will technology change our lives? 
• How will our lives stay the same?

Although the story would have elements of science fiction and fantasy, I wanted it to seem as believable as possible, so I did plenty of research. I read books and listened to audiobooks and watched documentary films and went on research trips.

• Age Range: 8 - 12 years
• Grade Level: 3 - 7
• Series: The Wild Robot (Book 2)
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (March 13, 2018)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316382043
• ISBN-13: 978-0316382045

Website: http://www.peterbrownstudio.com

Twitter: @itspeterbrown

The Wild Robot Book Trailer For Book One