Harper Collins have sent us 12 of their favourite books for children aged 0-11 this Christmas and asked my boys to take a look and see what they think of the selection. You shouldn't try to judge a book by it's cover, so I encouraged them to at least read the blurb and the first page too!


The 12 books we've been sent are all in the Harper Collins Gift Guide, and are a mix of fiction written by some of the most popular children's authors of recent times and with pictures from a host of excellent illustrators. Here's what my 7 and 9 year old boys thought...

Geek Girl 3, Picture Perfect is the 3rd book in the series by Holly Smale. It follows on from Geek Girl and Model Misfit, continuing the tales of Harriet Manners - the 'geek girl'. Geek Girl was the UK Children's no.1 debut book of 2013, and winner of the teen category of the Waterstones Children's Books Prize 2014.


The 3rd book in the series and I won't spoil it for you, but we see Harriet and her family move to the US. It's a book full of humour and rarely takes itself very seriously.

Aimed especially at young women aged around 11+, my 14 year old daughter has read the 1st book in the series but not the 2nd, and now reading the 3rd book she felt it is not necessary to have read the others first in order to enjoy Picture Perfect, it works on it's own.


Here are the main points from her review -

• Best for age 13+
• Lots of big words like 'propitiously' unlike lots of boring teen books
• Relatable to girls 13-16
• Funny and upsetting
• Makes you want to read the whole series
• Not the same as all of the other 'teen' books and shows you the world from a 'geek' point of view, however still has the enemy, best friend, boyfriend, the love triangle and the parents she feels she hates. 
• Double thumbs up
• Ending makes you cry

This book is mainly aimed at pre-teen and teenage girls and we think it hits the mark just right. The language is grown up and doesn't condescend, but the themes are not too mature. My daughter read it in 2 days, and at 400 pages I think that's a good measure of how much she enjoyed it.

Geek Girl 3, Picture Perfect (hardback edition) is published by HarperCollins Children's Books and has an RRP of £12.99. It is currently available on Amazon for £6.00.

I'm delighted to be able to offer a copy of Geek Girl 3, Picture Perfect as a prize for one of my readers. Entry is by Rafflecopter below. The giveaway will end at midnight on Sunday 29th June. UK entries only please. Terms and conditions are shown at the bottom of the Rafflecopter form.

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Most suited to youngsters aged around 7-12, Hero is a sweet tale with a focus on courage and helpfulness. With nearly 300 pages this is a proper book for a fairly confident reader, but the language used and format are nice and gentle, so it's not beyond most 8 year olds who enjoy reading.


Although you'd perhaps make the initial assumption that a book about a dog would be more girlish, this book doesn't favour either boys or girls in my opinion. It's an emotional story which will bring a lump to the throat of most readers, but the lead role is a boy named Leo.

Hero has lots of interesting characters who are introduced quite slowly into the story - boys, girls, adults and canine. It also features interesting topics that encourage the reader to find out more and explore a bit - Jupiter, Roman Centurians, even baking. It doesn't condescend, but it doesn't stretch too far. I've read some to my 5 1/2 year old, and I've paused and explained at times, but he's not given up, he's learnt.


Sarah Lean is also contributing to this year's World Book Day on 6th March, with a release called Jack Pepper, which is available to buy for £1 or with your World Book Day token from school. Jack Pepper is a prequel to Hero, a little add-on story which fits into the series nicely, but can also be read on it's own.

Hero is released on February 27th 2014, with a recommended retail price of £6.99 and is currently available to pre-order on Amazon for £5.80.

HarperCollins have kindly offered a copy of Hero as a prize for one of my readers. Entry is by rafflecopter below.  The first entry is mandatory and the answer needs to be posted as a comment on this page, and you can earn additional entries by completing extra tasks. UK entries only please.

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