August Literature Review

Short Stories
by Silvia Borando
(Scribble, 11th September 2025)

Does what it says on the tin … sort of. This is a masterpiece of comic genius, in our humble opinion and - although perhaps a sign of end of term tiredness and the giddiness that the promise of a holiday brings - it’s had us properly guffawing with laughter! The book - cartoon-style in illustration - contains eleven ‘micro-tales’… some just two sentences long. There’s a hedgehog at a party; a misunderstanding between a pair of tortoises and a colander and, (one that seems even more hilarious the more we read it) the one about the snail and the centipede. But it is the illustrations and the positioning of the page turns that create the comic timing. Borado has crafted a work of utter comedic perfection. Great to share as a family (especially if anyone has the holiday grumps - including parents and carers); in a mixed-age setting or between a pair of friends in a cosy book corner. 

The Bear out There
by Jess Hannigan
(Quill Tree Books, 5th June 2025)

Hannigan - self-professed lover of ‘bold graphic art and silly, pointless nonsense’ - isn’t an author-illustrator that we’ve encountered until now. But we like it!! 

The story begins right inside the book jacket with a warning: a torch-wielding, slightly scatty-looking protagonist proclaims that there’s a bear outside and that the reader and she should ‘wait it out’ together. It’s okay because the main character knows all about bears and even draws a highly ‘accurate’ illustration just so everyone knows what to look out for. Turns out there is actually a bear and he sternly reprimands who we by this point recognise to be a reiteration of Goldilocks… ‘this is literally my house.’ Sardonic and a riot of colour, this is a sophisticated reimagining of a classic fairytale. This book brings such fun to the reimagined ‘familiar’ and would be perfect for children in Year 2 who have studied our Me and You Writing Root resource as a compare and contrast read. 

The Coming of the Iron Man
by Ted Hughes, abridged and illustrated by Mini Grey
(Faber, 14th August 2025)

And from one reimagined tale to another, favourite author-illustrator Mini Grey has been tasked with what we imagine was a slightly daunting project: creating an illustrated, abridged- for-younger-readers, version of Hughes’ classic, The Iron Man. But with her signature style of bold colour, full-page spreads and inserts not to mention captions bringing illustrations to life, an utterly spellbinding book has been created.

From the iconic opening lines of, ‘The iron man came to the top of the cliff. How far had he walked? Nobody knows. Where had he come from? Nobody knows. How was he made? Nobody knows.’… to the wordless final page, depicting Hogarth and his now satiated, gleaming-blue giant friend, sharing a story, this is utter genius. Now, this is the first part only but one can’t help wonder if there might be a part two in the offing? This is the perfect introduction to this classic piece of literature and - for many of our schools - will be ideal to use alongside the unabridged version of The Iron Man, illustrated by Laura Carlin for which our Writing Root sits within Lower Key Stage 2. Mini Grey’s illustrations as well as her signature playfulness with printed word will be powerful in terms of inclusion and bringing this story to a completely new audience.

My Friend May
by Julie Flett
(Greystone Kids, 19th June 2025)

From one unusual friendship to that which is perhaps not so unusual, we meet Margaux and her friend May. Based on true story, this is the ultimate friendship story with grief, loss and adventure (and the most satisfying of happy endings, you may be relieved to hear!) Margaux and May became friends when Margaux was only six. As far as feline friends go, May has been reliable and predictable. There are things the cat enjoys such as playing in the long grass and things that the cat is ‘unsure’ of, such as oranges. But one day, May doesn’t appear home at her usual time. This unsettling discovery is not helped by the fact that Margaux’s aunt - Nitôsis - is due to move house. Margaux ‘missed May and was going to miss Nitôsis.' But then, when her aunt is trying to settle into her new home, comes a miaowing from inside one of the packing boxes… Multi-award-winning Flett, a Cree-Métis author whose book We All Play featured in one of our previous reviews, creates such hope and beauty through her use of pastel hues and gentle illustration. A lovely book to support children in KS1 and Year 3 discuss change, friendship and loneliness. Gorgeous! 

The Last Journey
by Stacy Gregg
(Simon & Schuster, 3rd July 2025)

Goodness… this starts out as a tale about a little boy kitten who has – perhaps – an overinflated sense of self-importance. He isn’t amused at the name bestowed upon him: Pusskin. He’s convinced, as his mother has told him, of his brilliance and is bound to be destined for greatness… but even as he travels to his new home with already besotted owner, Lottie, there’s foretelling in the election taking place. Then the newly elected government, as promised, begins to tackle ‘The Bird Problem’: following the alleged ‘1000% increase in cats killing birds, the population of insects, without the birds being prolific enough in the food chain, is increasing. This is affecting crops and therefore threatening the country’s food security.

At first, it’s the seemingly innocuous solutions such as imposing a one-cat per household rule. Then there are the near-comical rainbow ruffs: brightly coloured, sticky-outy and rustly in sound that cats must wear to prevent hunting… but things escalate and soon any cat over a certain age is to be euthanised. Now three years old, can Pusskin rally the other cats and mount a daring escape mission to The Island? And will Lottie ever come to terms with the loss of her feline friend? Powerful, dark and moving: a story about taking a stand to protect future generations that would be perfect for animal and adventure lovers in upper key stage 2. Perfection! 

Zoom Out: Natural World
WWF, illustrated by Owen Davey
(DK Children, 3rd July 2025)

This new offering from favourite author-illustrator of ours – Owen Davey (Fanatical About Frogs and many other such ‘alliterative about…’ titled books) sees the perfect melding of an expert team of WWF scientists and conservationists with Davey’s signature bold, geometric style. We start by zooming in from ‘Our World’ to ‘Habitats’ before the concept of an ecosystem is explored. Sections of detailed information have been interspersed with fact-boxes throughout making this ideal to share with a group of children of different ages and stages. The assertion that ‘Conservation works’ is the book’s parting shot ahead of the glossary. The colour-pallete used for the various different habitats explored is sumptuous with mustard-yellow, olive-green, teal and lilac. A visual feast perfect for anyone and everyone (and would look great on a shelf or coffee-table too)!