The Labrador Theory by Cheever Hardwick

The first thing I had to do upon getting "The Labrador Theory" for the first time was to have a good flick through to look at all the full colour pictures in the book. They are quite beautiful and show Labradors and humans in various situations, often with something amusing to them. And that is probably how to describe the text too - amusing.

The author introduces the book, or his "treatise", by saying that "Labradors act and think like their masters to an astonishing extent" thus by understanding the Labrador we gain a better understanding of how men work. He then demonstrates this through several chapters taking us from "puppies and young boys" through "the glory years" and into later life, through "obsession with ball sports" and "matters of the heart" and much more besides.

The author does seem to put across his theory from an upper class point of view rather than thinking also of how it might fit with the working classes, what with his mentions of shooting of pheasants, boarding schools and having "a large glass of Chateau Pavie".

All-in-all then this book is not to be taken seriously academically as it is tongue-in-cheek, and is more a novelty book that will fit nicely on a coffee table in a gentleman's lounge.

Publication Date: 28 Aug 2014

Available on Amazon UK: The Labrador Theory

The Monster Story-Teller by Jacqueline Wilson

"The Monster Story-Teller" is about story telling and monsters.

The main character of the story is Natalie who is bored so tells stories. Then she meets a tiny monster who has his own flying saucer and they go on an adventure together. This gives Natalie another story to tell, which doesn't seem to impress her teacher, but does impress the visiting story-teller.

A decent story written in easy language and big text for early readers. There are plenty of black and white illustrations (we were reading an older edition, not the colour one) including those showing the story-teller character who just so happens to look like the author, Jacqueline Wilson.

Both my nearly 4-year-old and nearly 8-year-old enjoyed it as I read it with them.

Publication date: 01 Nov 1997

Available at Amazon UK: The Monster Story-Teller

Proud Man Walking by Claudio Ranieri

"Proud Man Walking" by Claudio Ranieri is not a career autobiography. Instead it is narrower being an account of just his final season in charge at Chelsea - 2003/04.

The 2003/04 season was a momentous one for Chelsea. It was the season that Roman Abramovich became the owner. And this is where the book starts, in May 2003, with Chelsea losing Zola simply because the club hasn't got any money to re-sign him. Then days later they have millions of pounds available to them to buy the likes of Makelele, Veron and Crespo.

The rest of the book then goes through the season game by game as Ranieri explains his formation and personnel choices each match whilst giving brief match commentaries. These would be of interest to Chelsea fans, but not so interesting to non-Chelsea fans like me. What was interesting were the bits in between where you got to see little glimpses behind-the-scenes, like Abramovich inviting the players and management onto his yacht, or John Terry spontaneously giving Ranieri a framed shirt of his.

As for the title of the book it is a take on the English phrase, "dead man walking". This is because during the season there were rumours abundant in the press over who was to replace Ranieri come the season end. However it's not until the end of the season, April/May time, that Ranieri seems to feel threatened by them. He even admits that he "had let himself be affected by anger over the meeting between the club and Mourinho's agent" such that it, in his opinion, affected the result of a game. Meanwhile the "proud" part of the title comes from his feelings towards his time at the club.

Overall then the book is okay and would suit Chelsea fans best. There is nothing controversial in here. If there were less commentary on matches and substitutions, and more controversy it could be better for non-Chelsea fans too.

Publication date: 8 Oct 2004

Available on Amazon UK: Proud Man Walking

Asterix in Britain by Goscinny and Uderzo

This is the eighth Asterix adventure and this time Asterix is in Britain.

At the book's beginning Caesar invades Britain. "All Britain was occupied... All? No... one village still holds out against the invaders." Sound familiar? Anyway they can't hold out for much longer so Anticlimax, a second cousin, once removed of Asterix, goes in search of the famous magic potion. A barrel is made and Asterix and Obelix escort Anticlimax and the barrel back across Britain with the Romans hot on their trail. 

Along the way there is a lot of fun and jokes, although maybe too much stereotyping of certain things, tea for example, but all-in-all another great Asterix story.

Original publication: 1965

Available at Amazon UK: Asterix in Britain

Naomi the Netball Fairy by Daisy Meadows

 

I read this with my 7-year-old daughter who loved it. Anyone who has read any of the rainbow fairy books before will know why. They are designed perfectly for her age group. Each story features best friends Kirsty and Rachel having to help a fairy friend from Fairyland in their perpetual battle with Jack Frost and the goblins. This one is no different.

This story is about one of the sporty fairies, Naomi the netball fairy (or Brittany the basketball fairy in some markets), and, just like the other sporty fairies, she can't find her missing magic sporty object. This means that until her object, in this case a magic netball, can be found and re-united with her, netball in the human and fairy world will not be fun and exciting or played fairly anymore.

Naturally it is Jack Frost who stole the netball to use the magic so that his goblins could win in the Fairyland Olympics so he has asked them to hide the netball in the human world. It falls upon Kirsty and Rachel to help Naomi get it back.

Also along the way there are a multitude of clear and simple pictures to bring the text alive, and the story is written in big text too ideal for early readers.

As for my daughter she loved the story but also the opening poem. The only criticism I have of it is that if you read a lot of these rainbow fairy books the plots are rather similar with the girls having to recover a lost item for a fairy from Jack Frost and the goblins in each book, but my daughter doesn't mind. 

Overall a typical rainbow fairy story that little girls will love.

Publication date: 3 Apr 2008

Available on Amazon UK: Naomi the Netball Fairy

Winnie the Twit by Laura Owen and Korky Paul

This is a Winnie the Witch short story collection. The four stories are:

* Winnie's Perfect Pet
* Winnie Fixes It
* Winnie's School Dinners
* Winnie the Twit

The first story sees Winnie getting called a scruff so to help heal her misery she seeks the perfect pet using magic to create a cog. The second story sees Winnie getting a new conservatory to her house. The third sees Winnie become a school cook, and the fourth sees Winnie go owl hunting.

There is a real quirky use of language throughout like Winnie exclaiming "oh, soggy babies' bottoms" or "you're as lazy as a hot lizard full of lunch!" Each story generally has a funny punchline to it too.

Along the way there are lots of busy, interesting pictures to accompany the text which are just as quirky.

I wouldn't say this is the best Winnie the Witch book though, for example I think Nitty Winnie is better, and this book is quite short at about 45 minutes in length, but this is probably more to do with the age group this is aimed at (newly confident readers).

Still the whole package is perfect for youngsters who have a sense of humour.

Publication date: 5 March 2009

Available at Amazon UK: Winnie the Twit

Tasha the Tap Dance Fairy by Daisy Meadows

I read this with my 7-year-old daughter who loved it. Anyone who has read any of the rainbow fairy books before will know why. They are designed perfectly for her age group. Each story features best friends Kirsty and Rachel having to help a fairy friend from Fairyland in their perpetual battle with Jack Frost and the goblins. This one is no different.

This story is about one of the dance fairies, Tasha the tap dance fairy, and, just like the other dance fairies, she can't find her missing magic dance ribbon. This means that until her ribbon can be found and re-united with her, tap dancing in the human and fairy world will be ruined. 

Naturally it is Jack Frost who stole the ribbon to use the magic to improve his and his goblins dance moves, but when the King and Queen of Fairyland demanded he return the ribbons he asked his goblins to hide them. It falls upon Kirsty and Rachel to help Tasha get her ribbon back.

Also along the way there are a multitude of clear and simple pictures to bring the text alive, and the story is written in big text too ideal for early readers. 

As for my daughter she loved the story but also the opening poem and the hidden ribbon you have to find somewhere in the book.

Overall a typical rainbow fairy story that little girls will love.

Publication date: 6 September 2007

Amazon UK link: Tasha the Tap Dance Fairy

Dallas 'Til I Cry: Learning to Love Major League Soccer by Nathan Nipper

MLS (Major League Soccer) is America's top football (as in soccer) league. It has recently attracted star players such as David Beckham, David Villa and Thierry Henry. However "Major League Soccer is often relegated to second-class status by American soccer fans thanks to the proliferation of European soccer on TV and the internet." Thus an idea was born which is the basis of this book.

Author and American Nathan Nipper confesses that he "developed soccer snob sensibilities towards the MLS." Instead he followed Chelsea and the English Premier League. But how could he call himself an American soccer fan if he paid no heed to the MLS? So he vowed to give MLS a chance and got himself a season ticket for local team, local being 32 miles away, FC Dallas.

The book has a diary format following FC Dallas game by game. First though comes the rather American SuperDraft where FC Dallas pick up a guy with a long term injury thanks to "inflammation at the pubic bone and pelvis" as their first pick, and a guy who could "miss up to six months because of doing missionary work in Haiti" as their second pick. So, coupled with the title of the book "Dalls 'til I cry", a clever rephrasing of the chant Dallas 'til I die, you can tell that the season is not going to be a good one. And so it proves.

Through the season there are good moments, mainly revolving around his family and children as he takes them to their first games, or takes them along to an open training session and watches their interest in soccer grow. You can tell his real passion isn't FC Dallas but his family.

Then there are worse moments in the book where it feels like you are just reading match reports. For FC Dallas fans this may be okay, but for others less so. Also with (spoiler) FC Dallas not making the end of season play-offs it seems strange when he tacks on a section at the end of the book supporting certain other teams as they partake in the play-offs.

Other good parts of the book see an attendance at a press conference and a session for local coaches held by the FC Dallas head coach, a surprisingly open affair providing a little insight into the management of the club at the time.

So overall an interesting read about the MLS and American attitudes towards it. 

Publication date: June 13th 2014

Amazon UK link: Dallas 'Til I Cry: Learning to Love Major League Soccer

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

The Tale of Peter Rabbit is the first of the Beatrix Potter books famous for their beautiful illustrations of the animals in the story. This one tells the tale of the mischievous Peter Rabbit who goes for a trip down to Mr McGregor's farm despite being warned not to by his mum. Once down there he of course gets into trouble.

The tale features a good old chase and has the pictures to accompany it - Peter Rabbit with his famous blue coat on, in human poses yet looking every bit like a real rabbit. The text is ever so slightly of its time with a watering can being called a can, and the word presently being used a bit but is very readable for today's audiences still.

Great for children, and has plenty to admire for adults too.

Original Publication: 16th December 1901

Amazon UK link: The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Jessica the Jazz Fairy by Daisy Meadows

I read this with my 7-year-old daughter who loved it. Anyone who has read any of the rainbow fairy books before will know why. They are designed perfectly for her age group. Each story features best friends Kirsty and Rachel having to help a fairy friend from Fairyland in their perpetual battle with Jack Frost and the goblins. This one is no different.

This story is about one of the dance fairies, Jessica the jazz fairy, and, just like the other dance fairies, she can't find her missing magic dance ribbon. This means that until the ribbon can be found jazz dancing will be ruined. 

Naturally it is Jack Frost that stole the ribbon to use the magic to improve his and the goblins dance moves, but when the King and Queen of Fairyland demanded he return the ribbons he asked his goblins to hide them. It falls upon Kirsty and Rachel to help Jessica get her ribbon back.

Of course there are the multitude of clear and simple pictures along the way to bring the text alive too. 

As for my daughter she loved, in addition to the story, the opening poem and the hidden ribbon you have to find somewhere in the book.

Overall a typical rainbow fairy story.

Release date: 6 September 2007

Amazon UK link: Jessica the Jazz Fairy