I found this book unusual and different. It was very fast paced and whisked you through Wilbur's rather bizarre life. The first half of the story is told as Wilbur is drowning in a well, dressed in women's clothes, as his life flashes before him. Not my usual read but very interesting and action packed.

The story held me captive for several hours as I read into the night, unable to put it down until my eyes couldn't stay open any longer. I felt that I was inside Mathilda's mind, in amongst her fast moving thoughts. Mathilda is struggling with the loss of her sister, her guilt and confusion about what happened, and dealing with the strangeness of the adults around her who grieve in their own ways - ways that she doesn't understand. She cries out for attention and love, without much response from her parents, becoming obsessed with terrorist attacks and finding out her sister's secrets. I found myself a little disappointed with the end of the book, but I can't put my finger on why - maybe just because I didn't want it to end, wanting to find out more of the whys and hows, and wanting Mathilda's parents to notice her. I'd quite like a sequel! Great book, but prepare to lose several hours of your life to it :)

Another fast paced mystery for Inspector Montalbano to solve. As with all of these books it has a quirky way about it that I enjoy. It's well written, and of course translated, with amusing descriptions of Montalbano's interactions with colleagues, and his constant breaks to eat and drink copiously! I thought I had guessed the culprit in this murder, but I was wrong, and I enjoyed being wrong!

The story had me sucked in within a few sentences and I really wanted to know what had happened in Jane's past. I read late into the night as I could barely put it down! As Jane begins to remember and face up to the past, the sense of anticipation, excitement and fear builds. As the story unfolded, I was filled with sympathy for Jane, for all that she had been through. The story ends with hope and renewal, but in a realistic way - no perfect "happy ever after". Despite the tragedy and pain, Jane comes through it back out into the sunlight again. A very good book :)

My 7 year old daughter has really enjoyed this book. In fact it's much more than just a book! From the outside it looks colourful and exciting and she was very keen to look inside. There is a story at the front, followed by a section which opens out into an amazing pop up area to play in.

My daughter found the story exciting, fun and "a bit funny", particularly at the end. She especially enjoyed the part where the Mr Marvellous, the Conjuror, is chasing his butterflies. The story seems to reflect well the reality of back stage in a theatre shortly before the show begins, albeit in a fairy way!

There are fairies and accessories to push out at the end of the story ready to play with in the pop out area at the end. These were quite easy for my daughter to push out, and the page was strong enough not to worry about tearing. We found it a little tricky to get the fairies to stand up, but with a bit of wiggling of the "standers" we managed it. There was a minor problem with one of the hats that seemed to be missing a slot to allow it to go on one of the fairies' heads, so we snipped out our own slot. We thought that the paint-pot page where you could store all the fairies and accessories was really useful so that all these bits wouldn't get lost. There was also a surprise in the paint pot of a mini theatre programme.

The pop out section at the back of the book is amazingly detailed. There are 3 sections - the stage, the backstage area, and the entrance area. It opens out and you tie the covers of the book together to make a full circle with access to each of the areas as you turn it round. There are many parts that can be moved or opened and some of the push out accessories fit into different slots. There's even a little door from the backstage area which goes under the stage, many little staircases going up and down, and a trapdoor with a little man popping out when you open it! My daughter loves playing with all the little fairies in here.

My daughter and I would definitely recommend this to other little girls of a similar age, especially if they are into fairies or putting on shows.

This range of books are great for children who are starting to enjoy reading alone. They all read at school but my son has now started to read "for fun" rather than just practising his reading book. This has been really encouraged by the purchase of this book and several others from the range. He loves to read about his favourite topic (Pokemon), the stories are interesting and exciting, he enjoys the fact that they still have good pictures (some books aimed at read-it-yourself age children drop the pictures and don't look so appealing), and the books are set at just the right level for him to read. He's just turned 6 and could read almost all the words in the book. Great idea to have Readers on a favourite topic.

This range of books are great for children who are starting to enjoy reading alone. They all read at school but my son has now started to read "for fun" rather than just practising his reading book. This has been really encouraged by the purchase of this book and several others from the range. He loves to read about his favourite topic (Pokemon), the stories are interesting and exciting, he enjoys the fact that they still have good pictures (some books aimed at read-it-yourself age children drop the pictures and don't look so appealing), and the books are set at just the right level for him to read. He's just turned 6 and could read almost all the words in the book. Great idea to have Readers on a favourite topic.

This book is just gorgeous! I enjoy reading it as much as my 4 year old son enjoys listening. The illustrations are lovely - especially with the embossing which the child can feel. The story is a simple one, which has a good message. The way it is written is what makes me love it so much - it's not written in a "basic" way in which many childrens books are - it's not afraid to use more interesting words in a poetic way - beautiful! Hope this quote is accurate "a sly breeze that stole the light from the days and the leaves from the trees" - apologies if this is not correct - I don't have the book with me - but I'm just trying to illustrate what I mean by the poetic nature of the writing. Excellent book!

This calendar is so useful at keeping me and my family organised. The only reason I've given it 4 stars not 5 is because it is American, and so has "Mom" rather than "Mum". Took some explaining to my 4 year old! But other than that, it's great - has 5 columns, so in our family that's enough for everyone with one spare for general stuff. Plenty of room to put all your important dates in, and lovely pictures to brighten up your wall.

My daughter really loves this book, and she's only 10 months old. I think that it is the photographs she loves, as they are "real" babies. Most babies love looking at other babies and older children, and this book is full of them. Of course the best bit is on the last page, where it say "this little baby is the one I love best" and there is a mirror, in which the baby can see his/herself. My daughter likes to hold the book up close and look at herself in the mirror! I really loved this book and am trying to find some more that are similar.