Danny Pearson

Supermarket Gremlins

07/03/2016 by Danny Pearson

This wonderful rhyming picture book written by Adam and Charlotte Guillain (authors of Spaghetti with the Yeti and Pizza for Pirates) and illustrated by Chris Chatterton, shows us the zany, secret world of the Supermarket Gremlins.

This book is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud as you try to spot the little monsters hiding in and amongst the shelves, getting up to no good. Read along and lift the numerous flaps to reveal what those naughty Gremlins are doing – and it’s often very naughty, in the best possible way. A particular favourite Gremlin of mine would have to be the one pulling a glorious moonie from the kiwi shelf!

This is a bold, bright and funny book for all ages and would be a perfect read before a trip into town. Your visits to the supermarket will NEVER be the same again. You have been warned!

If you like this try Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton.

Published by Egmont. RRP £6.99.

Galactic Hot Dogs: Cosmoe’s Wiener Getaway

23/02/2016 by Danny Pearson

Finally, we get a book about an Earth boy, billions of lights years away from home, cruising round space, cooking galactic hot dogs. Written by Max Brallier, who also wrote The Last Kids on Earth, this book will definitely rock the world of a young reader looking for thrills.

Fans of Star Wars will love this epic intergalactic adventure. As mad as the title suggests, Cosmoe’s Wiener Getaway is a slick hybrid of gut-busting funny text and eye popping drawings – and hotdogs. Sumptuously illustrated by Rachel Maguire and Nichole Kelley, it needs to be seen to be believed.

So, join young Cosmoe and his crew as they battle mutant worm monsters, zombie space pirates, protect the galaxy from the Ultimate Evil!

If you like this, try Star Cat by James Turner.

Published by Simon and Schuster. RRP £6.99

Pugly Bakes a Cake

19/02/2016 by Danny Pearson

Are you ready for a bake-off?

As you’d imagine from a book titled Pugly Bakes a Cake, Pugly, the pug, is going to make a cake. However, Clem, the cat, is going to try her hardest to land Pugly in trouble and the evil squirrel from the back garden is also out to ruin things for poor Pugly.

This wonderful adventure by award-winning Pamela Butchart is beautifully illustrated by the Queen of pug illustration, Gemma Correll.

Will Pugly create the worlds best cake using eggs, flour… tuna, cheddar cheese and day-old spaghetti? Probably not BUT it is going to be one big, baking adventure finding out.

If you like this try George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl.

Published by Nosy Crow. RRP £5.99.

The Bolds

18/02/2016 by Danny Pearson

At first glance the Bolds look like a normal family. Mr and Mrs Bold and their two children Betty and Bobby live in a semi detached house, in an ordinary suburban street. 41 Fairfield Road in Teddington to be exact. Yep everything seems pretty normal… until I tell you… the Bolds are in fact hyenas dressed in human clothes.

This hilarious story was written by the comedian and life-long animal lover Julian Clary. His words have been brought to life brilliantly by David Roberts, with each character lovingly drawn in great detail, often with extra funny jokes hidden in the background.

It’s now been longlisted for the 2016 Kate Greenaway prize, and rightly so.

If you like this, try Dinkin Dings and the Frightening Things by Guy Bass.

Published by Andersen Press. RRP £6.99

The Mystery of the Haunted Farm

17/02/2016 by Danny Pearson

I love a picture book but I especially love a LARGE picture book. And they don’t come much bigger than The Mystery of the Haunted Farm from the award-winning artist and author, Elys Dolan. Each page is packed with beautifully detailed scenes that are guaranteed to make you laugh out loud.

Take a trip to Farmer Gregg’s farm and join the Ghost-hunters, three highly qualified pigs, on their quest to find out what is spooking his farm. You will bump into zombie ducks, ghost cows as well as Donkula and Frankenhorse! However all is not as it seems and the pigs investigation leads them to the mysterious chicken coop on the hill! Are you brave enough to join them?

This is a perfect read for all ages and would be a perfect bedtime read with the lights off and the torch on. Just be careful you don’t read it on a night when the moon is full. You have been warned!

If you like this, check out Elys Dolan’s Weasels, or There’s a Lion in my Cornflakes by Michelle Robinson and Jim Field.

Published by Nosy Crow. RRP £10.99.

Super Happy Magic Forest

15/02/2016 by Danny Pearson

The tagline reads: Five brave heroes. One epic quest! And that’s exactly what you get with Super Happy Magic Forest by Matty Long.

Join Blossom, the unicorn, Twinkle, the fairy, Herbert, the gnome, Hoffius, the faun and Trevor… the mushroom, as they go on an epic quest to find the stolen Mystical Crystals of Life. The intrepid team travel through icy mountains, burning hot deserts and cold, dark dungeons in order to save their beloved Super Happy Magic Forest.

And if this story sounds like it’s bonkers, that’s because it IS.

Matty Long has dug deep into his magical imagination to create a world where every page delights the senses and makes you wonder what craziness is going to appear on the next page. It’s a super happy wonder of a book, and has been shortlisted for the 2016 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, so HOORAY!

We’re currently a bit lost as to what book you might like if you like this. Maybe some of the cheery Adventure Time Comics? Or there’s a sequel out soon, if you can wait!

Published by OUP. RRP £6.99

A Beginner’s Guide to Bearspotting

12/02/2016 by Danny Pearson

If you go down into the woods today you are sure of a big surprise. Actually make that two BIG surprises. We are off for a walk into bear country.

Here is what you need to know:

Black bears are dangerous and black.

Brown bears are dangerous and brown.

The problem is sometimes black bears can appear a little brown and brown bears can appear a little black. If you are a little confused then you need this book.

Michelle Robinson and David Roberts have created a real gem here. It’s large and hardback, and utterly gorgeous, but then you would expect anything illustrated by David Roberts to be beautiful.

So it’s safe to say A Beginner’s Guide to Bearspotting will become an instant bedtime classic. In fact I am certain this will be read morning, noon and night. Just be sure to remember the valuable lessons it teaches you about black bears, or were they lessons about brown bears?

If you like this then do try Michelle Robinson’s There’s a Lion in My Cornflakes (illustrated by the awesome Jim Field.) And if you’re at all interested in what a real-life 3-yr-old thinks, have a listen to our podcast. Her thoughts are very near the end…

Published by Bloomsbury. RRP £12.99.

Alien Adventure: It’s OK We’re Going to Save the Planet

01/02/2016 by Danny Pearson

Are you tired of not being able to draw in your reading books? Of course you are!

But fear not, for Alien Adventure: It’s OK We’re Going to Save the Planet will change all that. You don’t just read this story, in a great twist on the classic Choose Your Own Adventure books, you create it!

Andrew & Chris Judge (of the Lonely Beast fame) welcome you to colour, scribble, fold, tear and doodle all sorts of strange and alien things in this wild, new adventure. Every page has at least one mad sketch that you will be asked to add too. The possibilities for adventure are as endless as space itself.

It is all down to you, the reader, the CREATOR, on how mad you want your adventure to be. So sit down, buckle up (although the book does warn you it does not come with buckles) and get creating.

This is published by Scholastic, RRP £5.99.

If you like this, try How to Make Awesome Comics, by Neill Cameron.

Supermarket Gremlins

Galactic Hot Dogs: Cosmoe’s Wiener Getaway

Pugly Bakes a Cake

The Bolds

The Mystery of the Haunted Farm

Super Happy Magic Forest

A Beginner’s Guide to Bearspotting

Alien Adventure: It’s OK We’re Going to Save the Planet

Latest 0-4yrs

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Latest 4-8yrs

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Latest 8-12yrs

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