Just occasionally I'm asked to take another look at something I've previously reviewed and this is the case with Stella Tarakson's Hopeless Heroes books. The second book in the series is due to be released in February 2018 and the first is receiving a reprint, with a bold, bright new cover. These editions will have larger text, less words per page and a slight re-write that is suitable for younger independent readers aged around 7+.


We reviewed the first book in the series when it was first released in June. In February it'll be renamed Hopeless Heroes: Here Comes Hercules! This is a sneak preview...

This is the tale of Tim, a young boy who struggles a little since losing his father. He has to help his Mum with housework and spends quite a bit of time alone while she's at work, so he imagines that things in his house come alive. One day though, he breaks a very precious antique Greek vase and something does come to life in his living room - the Ancient Greek demigod Hercules!

Nicky Dee is a Children's book author who we've become very fond of in our house. Working with Palaeontologist Dean R. Lomax, she has created a series of fascinating and factual Dinosaur Books - the What's So Special? series, and The Bone Wars; Clash Of The Dinosaur Hunters! (with illustrations by Ian Durneen) is her first venture into traditional story-telling.


The Bone Wars tells the tale of two of the most prominent dinosaur hunters - Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope. They were so determined to outdo each other that they were prepared to go to extreme lengths and forget the real reason why they were even there.

I moved to Manchester from Derby 10 years and 1 week ago. 

It took about 3 days to get used to how slowly people talk and 5 visits into town before I didn't feel like a tourist. 2 months to get used to the trams, 6 months before I didn't think it was weird to see blokes in suits eating a pie out of a brown bag for lunch and 18 months before I couldn't remember how to pronounce Manchester without saying 'Man-chess-duh'.

I doubt I'll ever stop thinking 'backstreets' are cute, but somehow I slotted in from day one.

There's a really special sort of welcome with Manchester that you simply don't find everywhere. Sure there's the odd exceptions, but on the whole people genuinely don't fear strangers and incomers, you are greeted in with open arms, No-one is bothered where my nan grew up, except to hear if it's story-worthy. Aside from being laughed at when I call someone 'Duck', no-one ever mentions that I wasn't born here. I'm here now and that's all that matters.

We love science and over the last few days of the Summer holidays my boys have been experimenting with the Nickelodeon Experimake set - Rockets And Beyond from Addo Play. This is a carefully thought out set with a handful of simple, yet interesting, experiments suitable for children aged around 8+.


Inside the box are most of the items you'll need aside from things that you can find around the house - plates, water etc. Aside from a couple of plastic bags, packaging is all reused for storage and it takes seconds to open - with the only construction being the papercraft space buggy.

The Summer is over but it's not all bad news, game season is back! One of Drumond Park's newest releases is King Pong, a very active game for 2-4 players aged 8+. This is one that'll get the couch potatoes sitting up and joining in...


Inside the box is everything you'll need, and you do have to assemble this one yourself. Much like the game Crazy Claw there is a cube formed from clear plastic with a solid base, corner pillars and top. Then the pyramid fits neatly into the centre. It'll take about 10 minutes maximum - it's a newer design and much better, less fiddly than Crazy Claw.

I had the dubious honour of writing this Autumn's get-to-know-you linky for #BlogOnXmas 2017, so I should probably be among the first to complete it! As it's the Christmas Jumper Linky, two of my teenagers kindly offered their modelling services...


The linky is open for anyone who is attending BlogOn Conference on 24th September to join in and add their answers, so that we can get to know each other a little beforehand. This isn't my first BlogOn, I've been a regular since 2013 and in fact it's my 4th BlogOn linky - here's my first. All being well I'll be the short blonde one greeting you when you arrive at Hotel Football...

Sometimes I get offered tickets to an event that isn't for me, or I'm not able to attend. It's lovely to see those tickets go to someone else, especially someone who will really will get the most out of the opportunity.

On Tuesday 26th September from 4pm until 5.30pm (times may be subject to slight alteration) Disney On Ice presents Passport To Adventure will be holding a Fit To Dance workshop in the centre of Manchester. This isn't just any workshop, it's very special.

The workshop will be led by the Disney On Ice Skaters and hosted by leader of dance troupe Diversity, winners of the third series of Britain's Got Talent, Ashley Banjo himself!

Our latest review is a very familiar name in the game world - The Settlers Of Catan is rightly a classic, and Catan is simply a name change. A beautiful game which gets trickier as you become more experienced, yet a complete novice can start to play it in 15 minutes.


The aim of Catan is to build settlements and roads, then farm, mine and trade resources and expand your settlements into a network of cities. Each settlement has a value of 1, each city 2 and development cards can also have value. The winner is the first person to have a total score of 10.

The box is gorgeous, with a textured matt illustration, and that does reflect the muted classic colours of the game itself. It is beautifully presented. The hexagonal cards which form the board are thick and excellent quality and the playing pieces are painted wood.

The kids are back to school and you'll have to wash all of those 'white' polo shirts covered in whiteboard marker, paint and an unidentifiable selection of foods. Hurrah! But hang on, it's not just the kids who manage to stain their clothes...


With children life is all about stains and it starts long before they can even walk, but it doesn't stop when you become an adult. As a child you can get away with it, my son doesn't care at all, but when you are grown up having a stain can be incredibly embarrassing.

Pickles And Ice Cream by Vicky Jacob-Ebbinghaus and Juarez Rodriguez is a cookbook with a difference - all of the recipes are cravings that real pregnant women have had, and they've been lovingly recreated to share with you, alongside a short story from the inventor.


I'm not pregnant just now thankfully, but I have been 5 times and I had some pretty interesting cravings. Mainly I just wanted beetroot and boiled brussels sprouts, but with my 3rd child (and only daughter) I dreamt of eating coloured glass. Whenever I saw coloured glass I felt I could taste it and it was so delicious. I did manage to beat that craving by eating boiled sweets, but I would wake up having dreamt I'd eaten the glass and in a panic about it. NEVER eat glass.