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Book Reviews

7 Years of Camera Shake - David Plummer- Unbound -£25
When David Plummer, a Sussex-based wildlife photographer and conservationist, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2009, he didn’t let it slow him down. As he says, “Parkinson’s has galvanised me to be alive. Disability is a hindrance and with Parkinson’s I will lose function. So I have made the choice to grab life by the horns and shake the hell out of it. I don’t have the luxury of waiting”. Instead he spent the next seven years moving between Sussex and some of the most remote locations in the world, seeking perfect wildlife shots, ones which illuminate the behaviour of particular species and give an insight into their lives. Initially crowdfunded, and now published by Penguin, this book is a magnificent collection of those photographs, and a testament to David’s talent, knowledge and determination.

Sugar Money - Jane Harris - Faber -£14.99
Martinique, 1765. Lucien and his brother Emile are slaves belonging to Father Cleophas, a Frenchman who charges them with the mission of persuading forty-two slaves, bought with borrowed money by the French and recaptured by the English, to come back to Martinique with them. Lucien is at first filled with excitement at what he perceives as a great adventure, Emile more realistic and aware that he has no choice but to go, and hope that he will see his first love, Celeste again.
Lucien is a wonderful narrator, full of boyish spark and optimism and faith in his brother’s power to protect him. His youthful innocence at first seems at odds with the world he lives in, but as the novel darkens with experience, it means that events pack even more of an emotional punch.

Still Stuck - Shinsuke Yoshitake - Abrams - £8.99
There’s nothing more satisfying than doing things all by yourself, but what happens when things go wrong? The small boy in this story is determined to get undressed by himself, but disaster strikes when he tries to take his shirt off… Will he ask for help? No! Maybe he could stay stuck forever? Maybe taking his trousers off would help? Uh-oh…
This hilarious and utterly charming tale of an independent toddler, with its simple and striking illustrations is sure to be a hit with the under fours.

The Snow Angel - Lauren St John - Head of Zeus - £10.99
Makena lives in the hustle, heat and clamour of Nairobi with her science teacher mother and her mountain guide father. All she wants to do is escape the city and climb Mount Kenya with her father, and when he finally takes her on a climbing trip, she can’t quite believe her luck. But a sense of foreboding fills her after her first night on the mountain and never quite leaves. The following week, when her parents leave to care for her Aunt Mary, who has fallen ill in a remote village in Sierra Leone, she expects them back within the week. But the Ebola crisis turns the world upside-down for Makena and millions of others, and her parents never return from Sierra Leone. Shunted from friends to uninterested relatives, Makena eventually ends up in Nairobi’s vast slums, one of thousands of forgotten children there. The friendships she makes there, and the memory of her parents, as well as the silver fox she keeps glimpsing, stop her from quite giving up hope of a better life.
Realistic and gritty, but warmed by a spark of magic and the love between the main characters, this is a lovely Christmas read for children aged 10 and over.
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