Unto the Skies

This is a biography of Amy Johnson, the pioneering English aviatrix who was the first femlae pilot to fly, solo, from Britain to Australia.

The daughter of Danish born, but naturalised British, Hull fish merchant, it might seem that Amy was an unlikely candidate for aviation history, but this was exactly what happened.

Author K. A. Lalani has undertaken meticulous research into the life and background of Amy Johnson from her very early life right through to her tragic and early death when he plane she was flying in crashed into the Thames Estuary. Her body was never recovered.

As well as being a pilot, Amy became the first British woman to qualify as a ground engineer, defying those who told her that she would never become a pilot to qualify as a pilot, eventually performing her heroic 1930 solo flight from Britain to Australia.

The sad story of her death by drowning in the Thames Estuary has never properly been explained and her remains were never recovered, even though she had been mere seconds away from being rescued. Indeed, one of the people who attempted to rescue her, died as a result.

The book does a great deal to take the reader into the whole life of Amy Johnson, flying ace and woman and it is very well illustrated with a well-selected range of photographs.

It will be welcomed by lovers of biography, of aviation history and of the history of modern British women and her story remains an inspiration to all, males and females.

It is published by The Book Guild at £9.99 and can be purchased here  https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

The Yellow Bills

The Yellow Bills is a very well written book for children, but it will also be enjoyed by adults, too, so it is an ideal book to be read by and to children.

Michelle McKenna has crafted an exceedingly wonderful story (with superb illustrations from Steven Johnson) that tells the story of Mya.

Mya is eight years old and she wants to be just like her uncle, she wants to be a pilot.

She finds a local flying school, which has a 100% success rate in teaching its pupils to fly, enabling them to wear the coveted pilot's hat. But there is a fairly major problem that might block Mya from joining the flying school, she is a little girl, a human little girl, and the flying school is for ducklings only!

The flying instructor Lieutenant Drake chases her away, but when he sees how upset Mya is, one of the duckling pupils decides to help Mya to achieve her dream.

She learns a great deal from her new friend, that birds as well as humans have Control Towers to help make sure there are no crashes, she also learns of the story of Officer Peacock, the first duck who was taught to fly, even though she was only born with one leg.

But there were problems that My encountered, after all, humans aren't supposed to be able to fly and there was also the obstacle of Mr Sour the teacher, the only duck without the coveted pilot's hat.

But with the help of her mum, can Mya defy the odds and Mr Sour? Can she learn to fly?

The book is a fun and exciting read, but it also teaches some very important life lessons, but in a way that is not over-worthy or preachy. Including the most valuable lesson in disability awareness that I have seen in many years.

Your children will love this book, you will love this book.

It is published at £5.99 by Matador Books and it is a must buy book. In fact, there should be several copies of this book in every library and junior school in the country.

You can purchase it here at https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Ley Ryders

Ley Ryders is a fantasy novel by Holly J. Williams who has been a published author even since she was 11 years old.

In Ley Reyders we meet Petronia a girl who refuses to let the fact that she is unable to speak impinge on what she wants to do with her life.

The Ley is a mysterious force that flows through the world. It brings with it the power of life to all who dwell on the world.

There is a group of women, a very select group of women, who have the power and ability to sense the energy of the Ley.

They must devote their entire lives to influencing the Ley, to bring protection and assistance tp all those who require it.

But a hidden evil threatens to expunge the power of the Ley.

Petronia knows that her destiny is not that of her family, ordinary as they are. She feels that there is more for her and more to her than can be known.

Why is she mute? Is this, somehow, linked to the fact that she knows in her heart that it is her destiny to become a Ley Ryder?

But is she? Hayden, her younger brother, is not all that certain.

Petronia has powers that could be equal to or even greater than those possessed by any Ley Ryder, but can she employ these powers with wisdom?

Will her powers help or harm?

The Ryders offer Petronia and Hayden protection and the siblings must set off on a quest with a dispossessed prince,  during which perhaps the truth of Petronia and her destiny will be discovered?

The book is published by Matador at £8.99 and is available for purchase at https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Coming Down Again

Joobin Bekhrad is a published author, a journalist and a translator, and his works have earned him some awards.

However, Coming Down Again is his debut novel.

It tells the story of a young Iranian boy called Asha. His dreams are of fame and stardom. To be specific of rockstar fame and stardom.

But he lives in Tehran, the capital of Iran, with all that that entails. 

His prize possession is his cherry-red electric guitar and though he loves the city of his birth, he knows that, in order to become a rock star, he must leave the city and his country and move to London, where he would be able, he believes, to pursue his ambition of being a guitar playing rock star.

The book will resonate with everyone who was ever filled with teen angst and heartbreak, even if they happened not to have lived in Iran.

The wrong music, the wrong clothing, it all seems so intense, so real and so powerful, as this book takes us back to a time when music meant everything, so long as it was not the wrong kind of music. 

The book is published by Matador at £8.99 and can be bought at  https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Horse-Cow Adventures

This is a collection of the adventures of Horse-Cow who is, perhaps not surprisingly, a half horse and half cow!

Horse-Cow lives with his human who is called Ella. And between them they have a whole series of fantastic adventures. And with some mishaps and mayhem thrown in for good measure!

Written by Maggi King and with some of the best illustrations that I have seen in awhile from Jake Tebbit this book is aimed at children aged three and up and their parents and grandparents.

Horse-Cow met Ella when Ella was in hospital. Ella could not walk, so had to spend all her time in either her bed or in her wheelchair.

Ella and Horse-Cow really hit it off and they soon became close, loving friends in the hospital. And the people at the hospital who helped Ella also loved Horse-Cow and they would say hello to Horse-Cow and they loved to stroke his big, soft wuffly nose and his mane which was very stiff.

When they left the hospital to live together at Ella's home they have a whole host of adventures. They try to bake a cake, and Horse-Cow ends up being trapped inside the vacuum cleaner by Mrs Soap. Luckily Horse-Cow was rescued by a large black beetle.

They also have adventures on the water with Mr Bob, during which Horse-Cow has to be rescued by the fishes. Horse-Cow later was sort of kidnapped by a dog, has fun with a box of toys and makes friends with little Gracie.

Author Maggi King uses a wheelchair and also owns a soft toy which is curiously a lot like Horse-Cow, so how true are these adventures? Why not buy a copy of this splendidly delightful book and help your children find out for themselves?

It's published by Matador at £9.99 and will make an ideal book for individual reading by children and also for bedtime story telling, too.

You can purchase the book here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

It's Not All Rosey

This is not a work of fiction, it is a memoir written by Rosemary Bensley.

It starts with the event that defined her life, a tragic car crash that, randomly, took some lives and spared others, including that of Rosemary.

As many survivors of similar incidents tend to do, Rosemary wondered why she, and not others, had been spared, saved to live on.

Her life is a very untypical story as it can best be described as a "rags to riches" tale, born on the landing of her family's council house (with the umbilical cord wrapped, dangerously, around her neck) and she went from having to wear hand-me-down clothing to attending a boarding school which, although she left at 16 with no formal qualifications, could be said to have been the making of her.

It's a story of triumphs and tragedies of highs, lows and more highs as she finds a career path that leads to over 40 years of success from a lowly office junior to the dizzy heights of being a Managing Director (via many other stops, including that of Finance Director and East of England Businesswoman of the Year, 2011)  of a company in Thailand.

She also looks back at the different males in her life who appeared and sometimes disappeared, whilst often causing great emotional angst.

The book is illustrated throughout with photographs and it relates the story of a strong woman who shows what a woman can do if she sets her mind to it.

It's published by The Book Guild at £10.95 and will make an ideal gift for all women, both young and old.

It can be purchased here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

The Jasmine Sari

The Jasmine Sari is a novel set in the world of terrorism. As it is written by Phillip Tucker, a former counter-terrorism officer turned novelist, it contains a good degree of realism based on his years of on the job experience.

He has based his novel on the maxim: "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter."

London-based counter-terrorism expert Alex Cadman is sent to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh where it is his job to assist the local police force by sharing his expertise with them.

Unfortunately it falls to him to work with an academic terrorism expert by the  name of Sam Kanoski, who is arrogantly sure of his own abilities, but what is the reality of the man? Is he actually any good?

For a variety of reasons Cadman finds Dhaka to be a city beset by tensions and dangers, so he seeks out the relative safety of the city's Foreigner's Club.

Within the club he meets Jasmina, a mysterious policewoman in the city force who he finds to be utterly charming and beguiling, yet, with her forthright political views, a bit of an enigma.

Despite believing that his days as an active anti-terrorism police officer are long in his past, he suddenly finds himself plunged inot the midst of a live anti terrorism investigation in Dhaka.

The investigation is a race against time. But who, exactly, are the terrorists? What are their motives? What are they going to target?

Can Cadman assist the local police to avert yet another terrorist outrage?

But who can he trust?

An exciting novel, with many twists and turns, it's published by Matador at £8.99 and is available to purchase at https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.