February Literature Review

Bunny’s New Brakes - by Caroline Crowe & Jess Pauwels
(Faber & Faber, 27th February 2025)

Blade the bunny isn’t like the other bunnies… be-ribboned, sweet, calm they frolic sweetly in a ‘picture-perfect’ world. Blade, on the other hand, scoots at break-neck speed. It is her complete joy to do so but one can’t help feel that Blade feels ‘too much’ and yet also ‘not enough’. When her brakes fail and she careens into the beautifully arranged display of Easter eggs, it is deemed ‘The latest of Blade’s big mistakes…’ She’s mortified! But through this (with a few more moments of peril along the way) she happens upon an idea of how to put things right and - crucially - she doesn’t change who she is, merely taps into her brilliant ability to creatively problem solve… and the other bunnies agree: ‘You’ve shown us different can be great’. Oh and she gets new brakes so is able to continue being unashamedly herself, whizzing at great speed just probably a little more safely. 

A fully rhyming and quirkily illustrated picture book about self-acceptance and acceptance of others that’s perfect for children in KS1.

Cloud Boy - by Greg Stobbs
(OUP Oxford, 6th February 2025)

Debut authored picture book Cloud Boy combines Stobbs’ characteristic use of vibrant colour, double-page spreads and smaller sequences of illustrations seen in other work by him which includes ‘What the Crow saw Below’ by Robert Tregoning. Bobby’s imagination is brilliant and, not only that, but his ability to see the world differently is extraordinary. It’s as if he floats off to another world in his mind: a world where he hears the quietest of sounds; a world where he can think about crocodiles and cake simultaneously; a world where he is full of ‘wonderings’. Trouble is, others cannot ‘reach’ him. His friends catch his shoelace and use it to pull him back to Earth but – much to his distress – his thoughts dissipate. He finds trying to be like others so difficult: how can other people sit and read? How can they concentrate enough to focus on tidying their belongings? He tries so hard to be like everyone else but realises that in stopping his ‘imagination soaring, he’d forgotten how to be himself’. And it’s tiring. The solution that his friends come up with is so beautiful and they - Bobby included - realise that they can help him to be focused when it’s needed but also allow his mind to ‘soar’ when he needs to do that too.

A wonderful celebration of neurodivergence and lovely for children in year 2 and 3 for exploring what their needs are and how to accept others who may experience the world in a different way to them, messily or not!

Speedwheels 3000: The Race Against Crime - by Jenny Pearson, illustrated by Katie Kear and Nick East 
(Usborne, 13th February 2025)

Evie’s dad is obsessed with racing his self-modified car. Entering and – this year hopefully winning – the Speedwheels 3000 tournament: a staged-race spanning some 3000 miles through 7 countries in Europe seems to be his raison d’etre. But it is this that has provided much-needed focus for Evie’s dad to cope with the death of her older brother Timmy. Evie begs her parents to join her dad this year: she knows that he’s feeling especially sad as this is the first year Timmy would have been old enough to take part. However, in spite of the skill that she feels she could bring to the race, she is strictly forbidden from taking part. One can’t help think that Evie isn’t the sort to be deterred by rules… she has planned a sneaky but rather cunning method of getting herself on the race, knowing that if she can stay quiet until they've crossed into France, then her dad will have no choice but to continue on with her in tow. What follows is a hilarious, danger-filled, high-octane adventure and the repair of a father-child bond. 

And the link to our ‘mess is progress’ theme is simple: familial relationships can be a little messy; winning isn’t always about winning nor achieving something with any great aplomb. Sometimes the messiness is what creates the progress. Brilliant for children in years 4-6.

Murder for Two (A Tariq Twins Mystery) - by Niyla Farook 
(Picadilly Press, 16th January 2025)

Separated by the Atlantic, Riri in California and Ani in Castlewick, near Leeds, the girls – twins – are thrown together for the summer. Previous visits have not gone at all well: the girls seem so different. Ani, a super sleuth and excited about her prospects, is outgoing and appears unafraid of the world. Diagnosed with ADHD when younger, she has so many people in her world to support her, not least the kindly Mrs Kostas. Life is good – the summer stretches ahead with her at the helm of T.U.S.K (think start-up C.I.A). Until her dad breaks the news to her that her twin – the twin she quarrelled so fiercely with three years earlier – will be spending the summer in her world, here in Castlewick… Riri really wants the visit to be a success – she cannot understand the hostility she experiences from her sister. Bookish and anxious, she has a phobia of germs. So when, on the very first day together, a terrible discovery is made in Ani’s favourite café - bookshop, the sisters are going to have to work together to solve a murder.  So many questions remain… not least, who is the deceased? Is it Mrs Kostas, owner of Café Vivlio and family friend to Ani and her father or is it Mrs Dimas who was once the school librarian in California at Riri’s school. Could this really be one and the same person? And, if so, how and why was she linked to the girls?

Farook has crafted a fantastic multi-faceted narrative with themes of racial and cultural identity, family estrangement, neurodivergence and grief. A brilliant illustration of how bonds can be repaired even if the path to this doesn't run smoothly. Perfect for children in Year 6/7 and exactly the sort of book I would have loved to read as a tween.

Ice Apprentices - by Jacob North
(Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 4thFebruary 2025)

Newcomer, North, debuts with a glittering, exciting fantasy centred around outsider Oswin Fields. Oswin is a ‘stray’. Parents certainly dead, a letter written to Oswin from Grandmaster Penny Yarrow instantly envelops the reader into the narrative where the boy’s roots are explained. But bitterness-filled Lullia burns the letter and takes the treats and tokens, also sent to Oswin, for herself… Then he meets Zylo - brother and ally. Oswin suddenly finds himself immersed in a world that he doesn’t understand. He encounters people who have already formed an opinion of him - none if it good – but why? Why does his surname and family history precede him? Will Oswin ever grow up to know his true origins and fulfil his destiny? Authentically voiced characters and plot lines around belonging, gender identity and disability make this representative of intersectionality and how our lives and experiences are rarely ‘neat’ but that truly understanding ourselves and place in the world is messy and takes courage. Perfect for fans of glittering frozen fantasy and an ‘in’ to reading classic literature such as that by Tolkien.

All Brains Are Wonderful: An Inclusive Guide for Talking About You and Your Brain Power! (Science and Society) - by Scott Evans and The Boy Fitz Hammond
(b small publishing, 3rd February 2025)

Small but mighty publisher, b small  is renowned for championing inclusive non-fiction literature and this book is no exception. Its premise is to demonstrate that difference – diversity – is science and that the uniqueness of the human brain cannot be altered – it just ‘is’. And it’s brilliant! The stages of brain development from conception to birth to 12 months, by which point a baby’s brain has doubled in size in that first year, are illustrated. Different brain challenges including epilepsy, cerebral palsy and Parkinson’s disease are briefly introduced and then the subject of neurodivergence is thoroughly explored. There are sections on discrimination; the debate around whether neurodivergence is a disability or not; the discussion of the language we use – person first or identity first and how its personal preference that we must attend to here – are all sensitively tackled. A brilliant exploration of neurodiversity (that is, all our brains) and how even though neurodivergent brains may operate in a different way to a neurotypical brain, it doesn’t mean ‘less’ or ‘naughty’, ‘lazy’, ‘unkind’, ‘mean’, ‘difficult’ or any other pejorative label that may be given to such a person. An essential book for key stage 2 classes everywhere!