Lari Don

Excellent, gripping book from start to finish. Ciaran Bain is the fourth generation of a family of mind readers who work for the underworld and remain undetected by the mindblind ( normal people who can't read minds). When a rush job to apprehend and question a teenage girl goes horribly wrong, he blames himself for her death and sets about trying to prove to his family that he is not useless. In the process, he meets Lucy, the grieving younger sister of the victim and suddenly the two have show more to run from not only Ciaran's family, but the police and MI5!
Told in alternating diary form, that skips from the present to the past, this is a gripping and suspenseful story that keeps you engrossed until the last page. Loved the action, twists and turns of the plot and the flaw and self doubt of the main character who like Lucy is only 14. Despite some violence I think all students from Year 7 upwards would find the story fascinating. Also has an absolute cracker of an opening passage...you are immediately compelled to find out what has happened. show less

When Jessie and Ben's parents go out to a ceilidh, they leave instructions with the baby-sitter that Jessie, who is just getting over a cold, should be given any kind of food or drink she wants. This leads to a series of amusing misunderstandings, as the toddler, determined to be polite, but unable to pronounce the word "please," finds that everything she requests - orange juice, milk, water - comes with some peas on top! When her ice cream arrives with the same green garnish, the frustrated show more Jessie has finally had enough. Fortunately, older brother Ben, who has been enjoying the show, is on hand to smooth thing over...

This sweet picture-book from Scottish children's author Lari Don, who is perhaps better known for her First Aid for Fairies series for older children, offers an entertaining exploration of issues of communication and misunderstanding, as experienced by a toddler still in the process of mastering speech. Younger children will enjoy the silly premise, as Jessie becomes more and more frustrated, and the peas keep mounting up. For my part, I appreciated some of the culturally specific details, like the fact that the parents are attending a ceilidh - Orange Juice Peas! is part of Edinburgh-based publisher Floris Books' Picture Kelpies line, intended to promote picture books with Scottish themes - and that the father is dressed in his kilt. I also liked the conclusion of the tale, as Ben, despite his helpless giggling as the misunderstandings unfold, steps in to help his little sister. Humorous and heartwarming, I'd say this was an excellent selection for the younger picture-books set! show less

When Hamish notices that the heron at the local park looks grumpy, he decides to do something about it. The crusts of bread he brings make the ducks happy, but the heron still looks grumpy. The clean-up of the heron's pond that he organizes makes the neighbours happy, but the heron still seems grumpy. The flower-planting project her starts makes the butterflies happy, but the heron still looks grumpy. Nothing Hamish does seems to make the heron happy, until it occurs to him that maybe he show more isn't looking at things in the right way...

Part of Edinburgh-based Floris Books' Picture Kelpies line, intended to highlight and promote picture-books created by Scottish authors and illustrators, and featuring Scottish themes, How to Make a Heron Happy is an engaging tale of a good-hearted young boy who sees a problem, and wants to make a difference. The story encourages the reader to consider, not just the importance of keeping parks and green spaces clean and well-maintained, but also the neccesity of abandoning our human-centric perspectives, if we really want to gain a better understanding of the needs of wildlife. It takes Hamish quite a while to realize that his assumptions about the heron's level of contentment are based on a 'reading' of the bird's face that might not be so useful. Maybe, he eventually thinks, herons can't smile with such hard beaks... maybe, the author encourages us to think, a smile isn't the only indicator of happiness. This is an important lesson to learn, and it is delivered subtly in the story, with no great fanfare. Recommended to young nature lovers, and to children who long to make the world a better place. show less

The blacksmith's six children are playing by the shore of the local loch when they spot a beautiful white horse in this retelling of a traditional Scottish folktale. Agnes thinks it might be a princess' horse, while Archie opines that it must be a knight's steed. Led by eldest child Fergus, everyone climbs onto the surprisingly capacious equine. Everyone, that is except for young Flora, who notices its wet hoof prints. It falls to her, the youngest child, to rescue her siblings when the show more horse turns out to be a kelpie in disguise, and it heads for the loch, there to drown its victims and eat them. Can Flora discover the secret of the kelpie, and defeat it...?

Part of Edinburgh-based publisher Floris Books' "Traditional Scottish Tales" collection, The Secret of the Kelpie offers an exciting reimagining of kelpie lore, combining elements from various sources, listed in the brief author's note at the beginning of the book. It's interesting to note that the kelpie - a shape-shifting water creature from Scottish lore, often said to assume the shape of a horse - gave its name to Floris Books' Scottish children's book collection. Leaving that aside, Lari Don's story here is engrossing, while Philip Longson's artwork is immensely appealing. I liked the fact that Flora defeats the kelpie using iron, as it is a common element of Celtic fairy lore that the "other creatures" can be defeated using this metal. Recommended to young folklore lovers, and to anyone searching for picture-books with a Scottish cultural setting. show less