Vita set her jaw, and nodded at New York City in greeting, as a boxer greets an opponent before a fight. Fresh off the boat from England, Vita Marlowe has a job to do. Her beloved grandfather Jack has been cheated out of his home and possessions by a notorious conman with Mafia connections. Seeing Jack’s spirit is broken, Vita is desperate to make him happy again, so she devises a plan to outwit his enemies and recover his home. … Read more
Set in WWII, our BOTM for July is Helen Peters’ moving and captivating novel Anna at War. Anna at War begins on Kristallnacht and in the aftermath, as life for German Jews becomes increasingly perilous, Anna’s parents put her on the Kindertransport leaving for England. But the war follows her to Kent, and soon Anna finds herself caught up in a web of betrayal and secrecy. How can she prove whose side she’s on when she can’t tell anyone the … Read more
Somerset 1616, a place of suspicion, witches and tooth-pullers, where brave heroine Fortune Sharpe loves the sea almost as much as she loves her family. So she is the first to notice that the sea looks strange… Almost as if it is disappearing into the sky. Fortune is forced to leave her home and find work disguised as a boy, the life she has known and loved is turned upside down by the need to live on her wits and … Read more
Aya, her mum and baby brother Moosa have recently arrived in Manchester having fled the bombs of Aleppo, and having been separated from Aya’s father during the long, dangerous journey. Now Aya has to take charge, acting as translator and carer for her mother, and as a second mother to Moosa. But one day as Aya and her family sit waiting to see their caseworker, Aya discovers a ballet class in the room upstairs, a find which changes the course … Read more
Phoebe, sad and lonely in Griselda Bone’s Home for Strays, is afraid her Miracle Day will never come. Her friends have been adopted one by one until one snowy Christmas eve Phoebe the wordsmith, and her little dancing dog Herb are the only two remaining inmates of the rancid orphanage where ‘daydreaming is banned, skipping is forbidden and hide-and-seek is out of the question’. But just when things are looking as bleak as they could be, a magical snow dragon … Read more
Who thinks it’s exciting that rats have come to live in the ground floor flat? The young bunnies do, but the other residents of Pickle Rye aren’t so sure that they want dirty, smelly rats as neighbours: rats are messy, rats steal food, rats are thieves and chew through walls. But once the occupants of flats 2-7 have hopped and trotted and padded and clattered down to meet the new arrivals they find kind, friendly, tidy rats offering…cake. This is … Read more
This year we’re introducing a Book of the Month at CCB! We plan to highlight some of our favourite titles and would love to hear your thoughts about the books, and any BOTM suggestions you have! January’s Book of the Month is a fantastic children’s story by Lucy Strange set during WWII – a tale loved by young and old! Lucy lives in a lighthouse with her family during the second world war. Her father has a key job as … Read more
Our BOTM for April is Pog by Pádraig Kenny. Having moved into their dead mother’s childhood home with their father, David and Penny soon discover the presence of Pog in their attic. Pog is a magical creature tasked with protecting the boundary between the worlds. But when David is drawn into the forest, lured by a darker creature which tells him there’s a way to bring back his mother, the children and Pog discover many monsters to defeat as well … Read more
May’s BoTM is A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry and illustrated by Mónica Armiño. Inspired by a true story, A Wolf Called Wander is about family, courage and survival. The young wolf Swift lives and learns happily with his family and his pack in the mountains until the terrible day when rival wolves invade and take over their home. Alone for the first time, Swift decides against trying to survive on the fringes of his old territory and sets … Read more
