Children’s Books
A Street Dog Named Pup by Gill Lewis
David Fickling books, paperback £6.99
At last, this moving children’s novel is out in paperback!
A heart-rending / heart-warming novel from best-selling vet-turned children’s author, Gill Lewis. ‘A Street Dog Named Pup’ takes a dogs-eye view of the world as it follows young Pup, who has been cruelly separated from his beloved Boy, and cast out onto the mean city streets. Pup soon meets a gang of misfit stray dogs, who take Pup into their pack and teach him the ways of the streets. Pup holds onto the hope of one day being reunited with his boy, even as with every passing day, that hope seems to shrink further away.
This story packs real emotional punch, as Pup faces the peril of an illegal dog-fighting gang, gets imprisoned at the Dog Shelter, and forms an intense bond with his street-dog clan, all the while searching desperately for his boy. But don’t worry, you can put the hankies away at the end!
My 11-year-old son pronounced this “the best book I’ve ever read” and it’s certainly a must-read for dog-lovers, young or old! Also features beautifully detailed pencil illustrations by Gill herself, throughout.
Perfect for 8-13 year old readers. (Although I’m 50 and I loved it!)


A Pocketful of Songs by Julia Donaldson
Scholastic, hardback £14.99
A stunning hardback gift book for the whole family to treasure, this brand-new collection of songs by Julia Donaldson includes Julia’s catchy songs based on her stories, from Stick Man and Superworm to Tiddler and The Highway Rat, all superbly colour-illustrated by Axel Scheffler.
The accompanying CD features Julia Donaldson herself performing the songs, and will have the whole family singing and clapping along. The book also includes music scores for piano and guitar, so schools and families can play the songs for themselves.

Mole’s Spectacles by Julia Donaldson
Pan Macmillan, board book £6.99 – published 17th February
A new Acorn Wood story is always a joy – this charming, best-selling series by Julia D and Axel Scheffler has been going strong for 20 years now!
With chunky pages, flaps to lift on every page, and a delightful, rhyming story, ‘Mole’s Spectacles’ is a gorgeous book to share with your pre-schoolers, with a story every grand-parent will relate to!
Mole has lost his spectacles. He searches all around his house, in the garden and even in Weasel’s sweetshop, but he can’t find them anywhere! Where could they be? Lift the flaps to help him find them.
We will have a book-signing with Julia in March to celebrate these 2 new books by Julia – keep an eye on our social media for details, tickets going on sale very soon!

Adult Fiction
The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews
Bloomsbury hardback £14.99
A darkly compelling debut novel that will appeal to fans of The Mercies, The Essex Serpent, and Frances Hardinge.
“Ah, another witchcraft novel” I thought to myself as I dived into this beautifully-written historical novel, set in Norfolk during the 17th Century. But NO! This unsettling story dives deeper into the unknown than mere sorcery and superstition….
With civil war tearing England apart, reluctant soldier Thomas Treadwater is summoned home by his sister, who accuses a new servant of improper conduct with their widowed father. By the time Thomas returns home, his father is insensible, felled by a stroke, their sheep lie dead in the field, and their new servant is in prison, facing charges of witchcraft.
Thomas prides himself on being a rational, modern man, but as he unravels the mystery of what has happened, he discovers something darker and more ancient than mere witchcraft, and uncovers an unsettling revelation about his sister. Something has awoken, and now it will not rest.
Thoroughly gripping, richly researched, and seething with atmosphere!

Adult non-fiction
Notes From Deep Time by Helen Gordon
Profile books - paperback £9.99
Few people give much thought the earth beneath their feet, farmers, botanists and geologists excepted. But beneath our feet is the solid evidence of 4.6 billion years of geological history. It holds within it the secrets of how our planet came to be, the lost worlds of the creatures and plants who have lived before us, and the underlying bedrock dictates what can grow and live above it. Journalist and author Helen Gordon became intrigued by the soft chalk of Southern England, the remnant of warm shallow seas of the Jurassic period, formed from the calcium rich shells of sea creatures drifting down to the bottom of the sea over millions of years. Following her fascination with geological time and the lost worlds beneath us, the book takes us from wondering what the Anthropocene will look like as a geological strata, what dinosaurs mean to us, how to warn future generations of nuclear waste, and the oldest rocks in Britain.
Elegantly and lucidly written, this wonderful book opens your eyes to the dizzying perspective of deep time, without ever losing its humanity. – reviewed by Alice.