Children's Book Review: Penelope Crumb Follows her nose & Penelope Crumb Never Forgets by Shawn K Stout

Another two fabulous reviews from The Novel Cafe's Erin.....Thanks again Erin :-)

Some interesting facts about Penelope Crumb... She has: A brother so awful he MUST be an alien. A mum who draws body parts (ewww!). Her grandpa's nose... but no grandpa. Her family haven't seen him since her dad died. So Penelope and her friend Lizzie Maple set off across town to find Grandpa Felix, skipping school, taking trains and calling every F. Crumb in the phone book. But what if Grandpa Felix doesn't want to be found? One last fact about Penelope: she doesn't take no for an answer.




 Books received from Quercus - Thank you!

Erin's review.......Penelope goes on a search for her Grandpa and takes her friend Lizzie Maple with her to find him.The story takes you on a train journey trying to find her Grandpa.She says funny things like "True Blue".They talk to lots of people with the same name as her Grandpa in her desperate search to find him.Her character is cheeky and a little bit naughty.Made me want to keep reading to find out if she is successful in finding Grandpa.The ending is just perfect.Easy reading with great illustrations.I love the "Dear NASA" piece at the back of the book, and the interview with the author.I would recommend this book to all age 8+.

Patsy Cline is becoming best friends with another girl! It looks like Penelope is going to lose Patsy to Vera Bogg... forever.

So Penelope starts a secret museum full of things that remind her of the people she loves, in case she loses them too. Lizzie Maple, who loves adventures, is on board to help.

But other people seem to think 'taking their things for a museum' is the same as 'stealing'... and Penelope is suddenly in a whole lot of trouble!

Can Penelope win back Patsy Cline? And can she figure out a way to create her memory museum without stealing things?

Erin's review....In this story Penelope has to find a plan to win back her best friend, Patsy, from Vera.Patsy and her "new" friend Vera swap outfits and share secrets which really irritates Penelope.Penelope takes Patsy's best friend necklace that Vera had given her and hides in her made up museum on her bedroom cupboard.Penelope tries lots of ways to win back Patsy.I love the outcome of this story and would recommend it to age 8+ and I would happily read another story in this series.The illustrations are great and the "Why museums are important to me" section.

Both books available now on Amazon

Children's Book Review : Murder Most Unladylike By Robin Stevens

The Novel Cafe welcomes a new member to the team, guest reviewer 8.5 year old Erin. Erin volunteered to read and review children's books for The Novel Cafe so when Random House sent Murder Most Unladylike she was delighted to read it and write down her views - so thanks to Random House and a very special thanks to Erin for the great review...I personally hope there are many more to come :-)

Book Blurb....
When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up their very own deadly secret detective agency at Deepdean School for Girls, they struggle to find any truly exciting mysteries to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia's missing tie. Which they don't, really.) But then Hazel discovers the Science Mistress, Miss Bell, lying dead in the Gym. She thinks it must all have been a terrible accident - but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now the girls know a murder must have taken place . . . and there's more than one person at Deepdean with a motive.
Now Hazel and Daisy not only have a murder to solve: they have to prove a murder happened in the first place. Determined to get to the bottom of the crime before the killer strikes again (and before the police can get there first, naturally), Hazel and Daisy must hunt for evidence, spy on their suspects and use all the cunning, scheming and intuition they can muster. But will they succeed? And can their friendship stand the test?

Erin's Review....

This book had a strong first chapter which kept me glued to the book, wanting to read on...

Good description of the main characters to build a picture of them in your mind, with a great spread of words, not at all repetitive.

I like the buildup of tension and lots of strong describing words which help get the feeling of the story.

I loved the plan of the school, teacher list and character list in the front of the book.

The rumours in the book of “who did it” make you really intrigued as to who it was that was involved.

The 2 main characters, Daisy and Hazel have very different personalities yet are the best of friends. They have a headstart on the Police in trying to solve the murder mystery.

I tried to guess who the murderer was... but didn't get it right!, until the book revealed a twist in the tale.

It’s the best book I have read in a long time and I can't wait for another adventure. I would definitely recommend you to read this book!

Preorder Murder Most Unladylike now on Amazon...out 5th June 2014.

THE DESSERT DELI BY LAURA AMOS

The Dessert Deli is a gorgeous, mouth-watering collection of amazing recipes, bringing luxurious desserts to the comfort of your own home.

The Dessert Deli brings beautiful desserts to their rightful place: the forefront of any meal. Not just offering cupcakes, this cookbook covers the full spectrum of tasty treats: indulgent Belgian Chocolate Mousse with Honeycomb, zingy Orange and Passion Fruit Trifle, silky smooth Honey Crème Brûlée, to decadent Amaretto Chocolate Truffles. Learn how to adapt recipes to your liking and the importance of always using the best quality ingredients. 

Set up in 2008, The Dessert Deli quickly became one of the highlights of the popular Northcote Road Market, as well as being stocked in some of London's most prestigious Food Halls, providing luxurious handmade desserts for food lovers.

Another beautiful cookbook landed on my doorstep thanks to Legend Press - Thank you.

Laura Amos is an award winning pastry chef who at 26 years old started up her own business, the unique luxury dessert brand, The Dessert Deli. Selling her desserts in high end food halls such as Selfridges & Fortnum & Mason, due to their popularity Laura has written this book to share her recipes with us all - and aren't we mighty glad she has!

The book begins with a short introduction to Laura and her journey and continues on to a section for ingredients followed by equipment. Laura breaks down all the main items and gives short descriptions of each.  I found this really helpful and quite interesting. For the more experienced baker this may seem 'too much' but I personally felt it was a great touch to the book.

The recipes themselves are just mouth watering. Every page I turned another piece of paper went in the book, marking them on my 'to do' list. I loved how Laura clearly broke down each recipe. Firstly there was a short description of the dessert followed by the ingredients( split into sections if there was more than one part to the dessert) along with a method. Laura also included many tips and cautions to help along the way. It was very easy to follow and was supported by yummy pictures. Laura also included tips and methods for the typical components of most desserts, such as meringue, different creams, sauces etc. This was great - if you are an adventurous cook you could use all these aspects and make your own concoction.

What a lovely cookbook - great for anybody who loves to indulge in a scrummy dessert but without the expensive equipment and complicated recipe as a hinderance. The perfect cookbook for anybody with a sweet tooth.

My pick - Cherry Black Forest - Black Forest Gateau is my absolute favourite dessert so if it comes anywhere close it will be a hit with me!

My Husbands pick - Orange & Almond Treacle Tart.

'Prettiest' looking bake - Strawberry Sable - look at all those strawberries :-)

Buy The Dessert Deli now.