Book review: A summer of reading with Usborne children’s books

A leading UK independent publishing company and 2012’s Children’s Publisher of the Year, Usborne produce books for every age from baby to teenager and their line-up this summer ranges from snap cards and sticker books to a sparkling new series about a very special trainee angel and an imaginative story about two friends torn apart by events in the past.

One of the summer’s leading books is Forbidden Friends by author and primary school teacher Anne-Marie Conway who runs her own children’s theatre group, Full Circle.

Some stories linger in the mind long after the last page has turned and Forbidden Friends, her new and hauntingly beautiful novel, is simply unforgettable.

The author of Butterfly Summer has produced another gem with this perfectly pitched, warm and sensitive tale of a new friendship, a terrible tragedy and a long-buried lie.

Lizzie is fed up of going to the same Spanish hotel and the same beach for the same two weeks every year. The ‘holiday’ is her parents’ way of remembering her brother Luke, who died tragically on their first family holiday when she was three.

Now, her dad controls everything – what she reads, what she does and who she’s friends with. However when she finds out that her dad is strangely absent at the start of their holiday, Lizzie takes the opportunity to befriend Bee.

Bee hates school where everyone teases her and calls her ‘Bookworm Bee’ because she loves to read. So a surprise holiday to Spain with her mum and nan is exactly what she needs. Bee instantly likes Lizzie and they strike up a warm friendship, together exploring the resort and beautiful Spanish coastline.

However, as the girls grow closer, strange questions bubble to the surface – Bee wonders if Lizzie is really an only child? Why have both their dads disappeared? And why, as the holiday comes to an end, are the two girls forbidden from seeing each other again? Could one dark secret from the past hold the answer? Could one fateful night keep Lizzie and Bee apart – forever?

Conway tackles important subjects like bullying, family relationships and the importance of friendship in this moving and compelling story which unfolds through the dual narratives of Bee and Lizzie.

With the added ingredients of suspense and mystery, Forbidden Friends is a wonderfully creative and intelligent story for girls aged ten and over.

(Usborne, paperback, £6.99)

And the best of the rest includes:

Age 6 months plus:

That’s Not My Prince and That’s Not My Princess

Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells

To celebrate the forthcoming royal birth, here is a book perfect for your own little prince or princess. As part of the bestselling touchy-feely series, which has sold tens of millions of copies worldwide, Usborne have produced two new books, That’s Not My Prince and That’s Not My Princess. The rhythmic text, bold, colourful illustrations and tactile patches will prove irresistible to little children and their parents. Babies and toddlers love turning the pages and touching the ‘feely’ patches, and what better than an up-close look at the new royal baby?

(Usborne, board book, £5.99)

Age 4 plus:

Travel Snap

Jim Field

Make the going easy this summer with the best pocket-sized travel companion around. Youngsters will soon ‘snap out’ of their boredom with an exciting and entertaining new take on the well-known 52-card matching game.

These robust, easy-to-handle snap cards feature famous landmarks from around the world, quirkily illustrated by Jim Field. From Big Ben, the Colosseum and the Eiffel Tower to the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall of China and the Statue of Liberty, this is wonderful round-the-world game that youngsters will want to snap up!

Playing games is a vital part of a child’s early education, as well as teaching important skills such as co-operation with other people, conversation, concentration, how to follow rules and the importance of winning and losing.

And snap is an ideal game for all ages… younger children can simply play with a smaller number of the matching cards.

(Usborne, £4.99)

Age 5 plus:

Sticker Dolly Dressing: Holiday and Travel

Lucy Bowman and Fiona Watt

Hours of fun are guaranteed with the new Sticker Dolly Dressing book, one of Usborne’s best and most popular series for little girls. And this new book is bulging with 700 colourful stickers to dress the dolls as they travel all over the world. Choose their outfits and accessories for diving in tropical oceans, skiing down mountains, going on safari, sightseeing in San Francisco and lots, lots more. There are over sixty dolls to dress and the stickers include travel extras such as special equipment, scenery and even animals. No self-respecting girl should leave home without this wardrobe of wonders in her travel pack!

(Usborne, paperback, £9.99)

Age 7 plus:

Wings and Wishes (Angel Academy)

Janey Louise Jones

Little girls will be on cloud nine with a magical new series from Princess Poppy creator Janey Louise Jones who has a gentle, reassuring touch when it comes to children’s literature.

Here she combines the winning themes of angels, boarding school, blossoming friendships and midnight feasts in an enchanting and inspired story about a special angel training academy.

Gabrielle Divine is a very special trainee angel. An earth angel with a human father and a half-angel mother, she has been invited to join St Celeste’s Angel Academy in the dazzling kingdom of Cloud Nimbus to learn how to be a guardian angel. Although it means leaving home, Gabrielle is very excited. In the turreted, white stone castle, Gabrielle can’t wait to start her training, learning exciting new skills such as flying, vanishing and how to look after her chevalange, an angel horse. But her new classmates already have shimmering wings and sparkling halos while she’s just a girl from earth. When everything at her new school is so completely out of this world, how will Gabrielle ever fit in?

An out-of-this-world story for your young high-flyers…