Books I Read in July 2026

As we wave goodbye to July, I am looking back at the books I have read this month. It has been a good month for reading. I guess the heatwaves we've been experiencing have meant that some days it has been too hot to do anything but sit and read.

How has your reading been this month?

 Mothertongue by Alex Morgan

This memoir by autistic author, Alex Morgan was a 5 star read for me. You can read my full review by clicking here.

The Santorini Writing Retreat by Eva Glyn

I enjoyed reading this so much and the review will be up as soon as I can find a gap in the blog diary. It loosely follows on her previous book, The Dubrovnik Book Club, and you can find the review here.

House of Twisted Shadows by J.H. Mann

This book is an exciting story which I enjoyed reading. You can read my full review by clicking here.

The Freshman Parents by Ko Porteous

This was a wonderful book to read and I enjoyed every page. You can read my full review by clicking here.

Indie in Disguise by Katie Clapham

This is a delightful book aimed at both girls and boys who enjoy imaginative play. You can read my full review by clicking here.

Wedded to Her Enemy Knight by Lissa Morgan

Lissa Morgan is my favourite author of this type of historical fiction. You can read my full review by clicking here.

Be Patient by Tilly Rose

This is a memoir which is well worth reading. The review will be coming very soon.

Fiona and the Forgotten Piano by Kate DeMaio

This is a lovely middle grade novel which I enjoyed reading and is about an eleven year old girl who hates her piano lessons. You can read my full review by clicking here.

The Anniversary by Andrea Bajani

This slim book of just 144 pages is quite remarkable. Translated from Italian by Geoffrey Brock, it tells the story of the narrator's estrangement from his parents. You can read my full review by clicking here.

Vengeance is Mine by Michael Wood

I highly recommend this for lovers of mystery/thrillers. You can read my full review by clicking here.

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton

This was a wonderful book to read and my review will be up very soon.

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer

I finished this one late last night so no review up as yet. It was a fun read which I enjoyed.

(all opinions are my own)

The Man Who Wore All His Clothes and Other Stories by Allan Ahlberg and Katharine McEwen- #bookreview

One morning in the month of December Mr Gaskitt got up.

He put on his vest and pants and socks, and his socks and vest and pants, and his pants and socks and vest.

"Lovely socks dear," said Mrs Gaskitt.

The Blurb

One morning Mr Gaskitt puts on all his clothes, Mrs Gaskitt picks up a robber in her taxi, Gus and Gloria have trouble with a teacher,

Horace the cat goes to a friend's house to watch TV ... and the car radio gets things wrong. What follows is an action-packed,

farcical romp as the plots of each family member interweave, ending in a thrilling car chase. And that's just the first story...

My Review

When my sons were young we would often read Allan and his wife Janet's books together. They loved Peek-a-boo, Each Peach Pear Plum and The Jolly Postman, to name but a few.

Somehow, the Gaskitt's series seemed to have passed us by. Having just read the four books which are included in this edition, I know that they would have loved them. In fact, by the time I had finished reading them, I felt I had become rather attached to the Gaskitt family.

This is a collection of very funny stories. The humour contained in both text and illustration are very well done and it made these stories come alive.

They are aimed at children aged from about 5 - 8 years of age but I got the feeling that if they were being read to a child of that age when there are older siblings within earshot, then they would enjoy them equally. They make for lovely books for sharing and reading aloud.

Books which can be enjoyed by both children and adults together make for essential reading. This book would be perfectly placed in the classroom or at home. It's children's fiction at it's best and I highly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1529533064

Publisher: Walker Books

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  320 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

About the Author

Allan Ahlberg (1938–2025) was one of this country's most acclaimed and successful authors of children’s books. He has won numerous awards including the Kurt Maschler Award in 1986, the Children's Book Award in 1987, the Blue Peter Book Award 2001 and the Children's Book Award: Books for Young Children 2002. 

Among his numerous classic picture books are The Jolly Postman books, Burglar Bill, Peepo! and Each Peach Pear Plum.

About the Illustrator

Katharine McEwen graduated from Kingston University in 1996 and has since illustrated around forty children’s books for all ages. She is the illustrator of the picture books Cows in the Kitchen, Hey, Tabby Cat! and Here Comes Tabby Cat, Send for a Superhero, four Sam’s Science books, the Silver Street series and the Gaskitt stories. Katharine lives in Tonbridge, Kent.

You can also find Katharine at:

Instagram

(book and media courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Cat and Dumpling: Home Sweet Home by Nicola Kent - #bookreview

 Meet Cat and Dumpling. Cat is a cat. Dumpling is a dog. Cat likes knitting; Dumpling likes gardening. Cat likes cunning plans; Dumpling likes a quiet life. They are very different, like chalk and cheese!

And this is the story of how they first met...

***

The Blurb

Cat and Dumpling are best friends, but they're very different. Cat is an impulsive dreamer who loves to knit, and Dumpling is a cautious planner who loves gardening. In these chapter books for early readers, the pair's far-fetched schemes and conflicting ideas wreak warm-hearted slapstick havoc, but always with a happy ending and a reassertion that despite their differences Cat and Dumpling will always be the very best of friends.

In Home Sweet Home, Cat and Dumpling meet for the very first time. They're both searching for the perfect home and have very different needs. Eventually they stumble across the perfect place-the only problem is, they both want the same flat! Can the pair survive as flatmates, or will their differences just be too much to overcome?

My Review

This is a charming book that will appeal to early readers.

Cat and Dumpling are adorable characters. I think the author has done a great job to convey their personalities in so few words. The reader really gets a sense of their differences and similarities.

Children will enjoy this book regardless of whether they have a pet of their own. Cat and Dumpling both demonstrate the quirkiness that a pet can have beautifully.

It is well written for early independent readers, particularly those who are ready to embrace chapter books. Indeed, this would be a perfect book to introduce children to the concept of chapters within a book.

The author has illustrated the book to enhance the text and it does so very well. I like the simple and colourful nature of the pictures.

The book has much to say about kindness, sharing and compromise and is a joy to read.

I am delighted that Cat and Dumpling will be back later this year with the upcoming book, Cat and Dumpling: The Talent Show.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 0192788450

Publisher:  Oxford University Press

Formats: Paperback

No. of Pages:  96

Purchase Details

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

About the Author

Nicola lives in Hackney, London with her partner, two teenage children, a cat called Firelight and a dog called Milly. 

She grew up in north London and has been writing stories and drawing pictures for as long as she can remember. She made her first picture book in a sketchbook with her mum when she was five. 

When she left school, she studied English and Art at university, and then got a place on a traineeship with BBC Television. She worked as a producer for over ten years, making programmes about subjects as diverse as priceless paintings and problem pets! 

After she had her children, she decided to follow her dream of making books for children and went back to college to study an MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art. Her debut book The Strongest Mum was shortlisted for the World Illustration Awards, and in 2019 she won the Independent Booksellers’ Best New Illustrator Award. 

She is now creating books for children from 0-7, including novelty board books, non-fiction books and early chapter books as well as picture books.

When she is not at her desk she loves reading, brisk walking, going to the cinema and theatre, and cuddling her cat and dog.

You can also find Nicola at:

Author Website

Instagram

Twitter / X

Facebook

(book and media courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Monti and Leo: A Newcomer in Pocketville by Sylvie Kantorovitz - #bookreview

 

There were four things Monti Mole liked to do in the morning... he welcomed the day...he stopped by the Pocketville Bakery... he visited the Pocketville library... settled on his favourite rock by the river and gazed peacefully at the water... It was a perfect routine...

***

A charming graphic novel for early readers with strong themes of friendship and kindness that celebrates difference and new ideas with a light-hearted touch.

Pocketville is a small town, set in its ways, and the arrival of a stranger causes a stir. Monti the mole is stunned one morning to find Leo the crocodile hogging his special reading rock. When Monti visits the bakery and the library, he learns that the last cinnamon roll has been purchased, and the book he was waiting for has been checked out. What’s a fastidious mole to do? When Monti confronts Leo, the newcomer turns out to be agreeable in the extreme, and friendship is a given. Now to convince the town’s cantankerous baker, Ms Sheep, to stop turning everyone against Leo. Together, Monti and Leo hatch a plot that will have Ms Sheep singing Leo’s praises in no time. This reassuring tale of friendship against the odds from the creator of the graphic memoir Sylvie draws on the author’s experiences as an immigrant and will appeal to anyone who has struggled to fit in in a new place.

***

This is a very sweet graphic novel that is aimed at early readers; children around six to eight years of age. It would also be perfect for reluctant readers too.

I loved the simple cartoon like illustrations that make this into a lovely humourous novel. They are clear and uncluttered and serve to demonstrate more than is written in the actual text.  It is written in chapter form, so is an excellent introduction to chapter books.

Monti and Leo's burgeoning friendship has much to teach about embracing difference and welcoming newcomers into the community. It is also about friendship and acceptance. This would be a great aid in schools to teach about welcoming new children into the classroom and why we should demonstrate kindness to one another.

And who amongst us would not like to start our day with a visit to the library and bakery? I know I would!

ISBN: 978 1529518566

Publisher: Walker Books

Formats:  hardback and paperback

No. of Pages:  80 (paperback)

About the Author:

Sylvie was born in Casablanca in 1960 and grew up in France.She has lived longer in the US than in France. And yet, her accent gives her away very quickly!

After high school, she became a school teacher and read and drew for her students. She loved teaching but she also wanted to study art. 

In 1980, I went to New York City for a year and studied at the Art Students League. Back in France, I studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. It is during these years that she discovered — or re-discovered — the magic of children’s books. 

She moved to the US in her 20s, and now lives in the beautiful Hudson Valley with her partner, Barbara Lehman. Barbara is also an author-illustrator of books for young readers.

She started her career in books for young children with the illustrations for a Raffi Song to Read: Wheels on the Bus.

 She grew up reading popular French comics — or graphic novels.  When the form became more popular in the US, she embraced it wholeheartedly and found it the perfect way to tell her stories.

She loves books, movies, art (ethnographic art, medieval art, contemporary art, street art, outsider art, book art, children’s art, etc), strolls in town or in nature, drawing and doing collages.

(book courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

Snack, Please! by Georgie Birkett - #bookreview

 

When she was a baby, Gertie LOVED food. She would eat mashed-up veg, mushed-up fruit...smooshed-up anything really...

As Gertie got older, she would still eat most things... and once she even ate a slug! (Yuck!)

***

Tired of chopping fruit, cubing cheese, fishing rice cakes out of a backpack and generally fielding incessant snack requests? Then Snack, Please! is the book for you – all about the joy of making and sharing food, together!

Gertie LOVES snacks: sofa snacks, bath snacks, bedtime snacks … it’s a snack life! She abandons almost every mealtime in favour of snacking. Her daddy can’t help but feel frustrated – how can he convince her to try new food? Or to even talk about something other than snacks? A day in Granny's allotment might just provide all the inspiration that's needed. In this funny, warm companion title to Carry Me!, Georgie Birkett explores small children’s exasperating eating habits and, once more, through a very endearing father-daughter mouse duo, she perfectly captures the ups and downs of parenting life.

***

When the lovely people at Walker Books sent me a copy of this book, I was instantly attracted by the title. The reason being that "snack" was my grandson's first word. He completely skipped "mama, dada" and "nana" and went straight in at "snack." Clearly a boy who knows his own mind.

As you will see from the quote above, Gertie, the main character in the book, eats a slug! This brought to mind a slightly horrific occasion when my son did the same thing when he was little. Thankfully, I had got to him before he actually swallowed!  So, you can understand why this book resonated with me. 

It is such a lovely book too. It's characters, Gertie and her Daddy are delightfully portrayed, both in words and illustration. There is so much that children will find in the artwork to support the text as it is shared with them.

The book is aimed at a pre-school audience, but early readers will enjoy reading this too. It is amusing to read, and I think most little ones will identify with Gertie and her love of snacks.

I cannot wait to share this with my grandson, who is two. It is delightful book which I highly recommend.

About the Author:

Georgie Birkett is an illustrator and writer of many children’s books, she won the Booktrust Early Years award with Is This My Nose? and was longlisted for the Kate Greenaway medal. She lives in Lewes in Sussex with her one husband, two sons and two cats. She absolutely loves working in her garden cabin with one of the cats sleeping by her side.

(book and media courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

L is for Love by Atinuke - Illustrated by Angela Brooksbank - #bookreview

 

L is for Love and L is for Lemons.

L is for Leaving, L is for Linger...

***

A whole family set off to sell their luscious lemons at the market in Lagos. They leave before dawn with lamps in hand and loads on heads. They have quite an adventure ahead of them … over logs, on a leaky lorry, through lightning, past lions and leopards until eventually reaching Lagos. The city is bustling and loud – there are lots of legs to get lost between! – but they can finally sell their luscious lemons.

From the creators of B Is for Baby comes L Is for Love, a beautiful first book of words perfect for pre-schoolers learning their ABC. Children will love sounding out the words in this playful, adventurous and vibrantly illustrated story set in West Africa.

***

Today is Valentine's Day, so what better day to review this lovely book for pre-schoolers, L is for Love.

 Today does not necessarily have to be about romantic love. It equally applies to loving a parent or child, or even a friend or a pet. This lovely picture book is a love-letter to Lagos, the place of the author's birth and where she partly grew up.

The illustrations tell a story all on their own. The text is simple in format, ideal for very early readers, with the artistic illustrations telling the story and moving it along. 

I have previously read and reviewed a book by this author, Too Small Tola Makes It Count, which you can read by clicking on the title. It was an equally lovely book, aimed at slightly older children than this book.

L is for Love is a joyous book. I can well imagine pre-schoolers poring over the illustrations of this delightful book, and equally enjoy the text being read to them. I highly recommend this book.

ISBN:  978 1529501483

Publisher:  Walker Books

Formats:  Hardcover/Picture Book

No. of Pages:  40

About the Author:

Atinuke was born in Nigeria and spent her childhhod in both Afrika and the UK. She is the author of the bestselling Anna Hibiscus and No. 1 Car Spotter series, as well as Africa, Amazing Africa, B Is for Baby and Catch That Chicken among others. Atinuke started her career as an oral storyteller of tales from the African continent; now she writes about contemporary life in Nigeria. Atinuke lives on a mountain overlooking the sea in Wales.

About the Illustrator:

Angela Brooksbank worked as a designer and art director in the children's book industry before undertaking an MA at the Cambridge School of Art, and turning her hand to her own illustration. About her picture book inspiration, Angela says, "I am constantly inspired by children’s energy and unique response to life and hope that my work conveys some of their playful spirit." Baby Goes to Market, written by Atinuke, is her debut picture book. Find her online at angelabrooksbank.com.

(book courtesy of the publisher)

(author/illustrator bio info and photo courtesy of Walker Books / Paul Musso)

(all opinions are my own)

Charlotte's Snowman by Lainey Dee - Illustrated by Sarah-Leigh Wills - #BookReview #BlogTour

 

Charlotte woke up and noticed that it had been snowing all night and to her delight was still snowing. "It's snowing, it's snowing!" she yelled.

The front garden was filled with a thick layer of white sparkling snow...

***

Children love building snowmen. When they add a nose, eyes, and mouth to their snowman, they get a magical feeling that their snowman has his own personality.

And… sometimes snowmen do come alive!

Charlotte wakes up and sees that it’s snowing… it’s snowing and it’s snowing. She runs outside to build a snowman. She fixes a carrot for the snowman’s nose, a stick for his mouth, and two stones for his eyes.

But the snowman has many demands, so Charlotte has to part with her gloves, scarf and hat; so her snowman wouldn’t feel cold. But the sun comes up all of a sudden, and Charlotte cannot find her snowman anymore. 

She is sad. Then, she learns that her snowman hasn’t disappeared completely, but is hiding in the ground, waiting to emerge next winter.

A great book for those children who miss their much loved snowman when winter is over​.

***

This is a delightful and charming picture book for young children and would definitely have a place in the infant classroom.

It is a sweet story about a child's delight and eventual disappointment with a snowman that she has built. However, the book ends on a hopeful note as she realises that she can rebuild him again next winter.

It could lead to interesting discussion between an adult and child about the changing seasons, and how each season will return again.

The book has been beautifully illustrated and support the text very well. The colourful illustrations will appeal to children.

When my children were young, throughout December, I would always share a different winter themed book with them each day. This book would have been a perfect addition to that, and I will be alerting them to this book to share with their own children.

ISBN: 978 1909191532

Publisher:  KA Books

Formats:  e-book and paperback (currently available on KindleUnlimited)

No. of Pages:  28 (paperback)

About the Author:

Lainey Dee was born in Birmingham and grew up in Kidderminster, Worcestershire.

The author of Charlotte's Snowman, Let's Celebrate Being Different and Rodasauri the Dinosaur's Trip to London. 

Lainey was inspired to write for young people having worked with children for many years. Lainey currently looks after twins aged five years. A huge art deco fan, she lives in an art deco house which is decorated in that period style. In her free time, she enjoys baking and cooking for friends and visiting National Trust properties.

Her favourite ice cream is strawberry and the strangest place she has slept in was a tepee Texas.

She enjoys using her imagination to invent new stories and characters. Lainey hopes her books will help readers see themselves and the world differently and understand how special they are.

(book and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)