A Journey With Brendan

A Journey With Brendan is a book by paediatrician Dr May Ng about her own personal account of life with her son Brendan who is autistic.

It's known that 1 in 60 children are somewhere on the autism spectrum.

Unfortunately in the UK there is a waiting period of anywhere between two years to 36 months for the condition to be diagnosed.

Many families of children on the autistic spectrum are bewildered by what is happening and are, understandably, desperate for help, advice and reassurance.

It is Dr Ng's hope and intention that her book will help to fill the very real gap that exists.

Based on her expertise and knowledge as an award-winning top paediatrician and her own personal experiences of raising her son, Brendan, May Ng offers readers a very helpful insight in to what it is like to  be the parent of a child on the autism spectrum, what resources are available to families and also offers some very welcome practical advice based on her own experiences.

She has tried many different forms of treatment, some mainstream, some alternative, and can offer her own tips as to what works and what doesn't work.

Thankfully, Brendan is, at 13, a happy boy and is in a school that is dedicated to teaching children who have autism.

The book is a must have for parents of children with autism, GPs, paediatricians and school teachers.

It is £8.99 and is published by The Book Guild.

The Veterinary Detectives A Vet in Peru

The Veterinary Detectives A Vet in Peru is an amazingly readable book from Roger S. Windsor.

You'll possibly have read his previous work, The Veterinary Detectives: More Sherlock Holmes Than James Herriot. Which your reviewer can also heartily recommend.

In this book we read of Roger's further adventures, this time in Peru.

It tells the story of how Roger came to be awarded a richly deserved MBE for his work as a vet in Peru, where he gathered together a team of young and highly motivated team of young Peruvian vets and how he encouraged them, under his skilled leadership, to create and establish a new veterinary service to assist farmers in an area which was the size of the whole of England.

Of course, nothing worthwhile is ever easy and the newly established team faces not only the challenges of attempting to create such a service under troubled economic circumstances, scepticism from officials in both Britain and Peru, there is also a very real threat from the Shining Path terror gang who are a threat to both the farmers and the members of the team of dedicated and highly motivated team of vets and their support workers.

However, against the odds, Roger and his team (not to mention his concert pianist wife, Maxine!) are able to succeed in achieving what they set out to achieve, to create and manage a service of benefit to farmers, animals and the country of Peru. A land which Roger came to admire and love.

The book is very well illustrated and will make a superb Christmas present for the animal lover and vet in your life.

It's published by The Book Guild in hardback at £16.95.

The Grumpy Gnome's Garden

The Grumpy Gnome's Garden is a delightful novel for children about a Gnome who is grumpy and who has a garden.

But! Into the life of the grumpy and sometimes lonely Gnome comes a Fairy Princess who has more than a touch of magic about her.

The Gnome is disappointed in his garden. He knows what he wants his garden to look like, he wants it to be a green paradise, the reality is that it is an overgrown mess and he hasn't the first idea of what  he can to to even start making it look better.

Fortunately for the Grumpy Gnome the Fairy Princess is a dab hand at gardening and when she comes to stay with him in his charming cottage she is able to help him to start to transform his messy garden into a garden to be proud of.

Whilst they are working on the garden they both benefit from learning about the changing of the seasons, the wonders of nature and the pure joys that a gardener can learn from growing their own plants.

Although this is a fun to read book for children and adults of all ages, it's also designed to help to introduce children to the pleasures and joys of gardening and it is wonderfully illustrated with some very colourful pictures. The author, Della Jayne Hayes has created a work of great charm and magic.

This book will make a great Christmas present and will be enjoyed as a book for sharing people children and adults.

It is published by Matador at £6.99.

A Stone Called Fred

A Stone Called Fred is a debut novel from author Sheila Locke, which is aimed at children and young adults.

Teenager Jack Watts is prone to jump to conclusions far, far too quickly.

One morning he finds something on the kitchen table of his family home which Jack decides looks like an explosive device of some kind.

Jack warns the rest of the family about his discovery. But the device isn't, after all, an explosive device. However, it is an object of considerable mystery that propels Jack into a world of unexpected adventures and a considerable amount of trouble.

Joe, Jack's neighbour who lives downstairs, is more prone to be sceptical about the whole story. He appears to have been proven correct, for the "explosive device" turns out to be a common stone, often found in gardens or on the beach.

However, Jack thinks differently. After all, didn't he, later that same day, have some strange experiences with an unusual visitor who Jack decided to name "Fred"?

Fiona is Jack's girlfriend who is a journalist. When she returns home from an assignment she becomes impressed by the apparent power that the stone exudes and she decides to convince the others that it would be an awfully good idea to spy on members of the Royal Family at a theatrical event. However, things do not go according to her cunning plan.

Eventually Jack and Fred travel backward through time and end up in the early 20th century.

This is a very well-written book and will be a must have for many Christmas stockings this year.

Apparently it took author S. M. Locke 12 years to write this book from when she first had the idea. It is to be hoped that he second book, and other subsequent books, do not take 12 years to finish because she has a unique and very readable style.

It is published by Matador at £7.99.

The Kung Fu Diaries the Life and Times of a Dragon Master (1920 - 2001)

The Kung Fu Diaries the Life and Times of a Dragon Master (1920 - 2001) is a book that will be of great interest to all serious students of the martial arts and Eastern philosophies.

It is based on the life story of the Dragon Master and was written by a most trusted student.

Not long before his death the Dragon Master of the ancient art of Shaolin Chan Kung Fu entrusted an archive of his private papers to the safekeeping of a most trusted and favoured student.

He left instructions with his student that he should use the papers to write a full account of his life and of the ideals and aims of the art that he had devoted his whole life to.

However, the student is shocked to learn that within the papers are diaries that contain personal information that shock and appal the student, he learns that the Dragon Master had an obsession that call the principles that he claimed to adhere to during his life into extreme doubt.

Can the student square the circle? Can he find a way to come to terms with the apparent inconsistency and contradictions between the ideals of the Dragon Master and the reality of what he actually did with his life, or at least the part of his life which he kept secret?

The book is written by Patrick Grant and whether or not it is a total fiction or based on the notes from the student it is a highly compelling read.

It is published by The Book Guild at £8.99.

An Ordinary Life...?

An Ordinary Life...? is an inspirational and uplifting memoir from Andrew Michael Doig.

Andrew is a spiritual healing medium and, through his book, he hopes to allow others to look into the world of spiritualism.

Andrew has visited many spiritualist centres throughout Britain and also in Sweden.

As a result he has participated in hundreds of seances and in many different groups.

He reveals how he made his first steps into spiritualism, how he was able to witness things that would defy so-called rational explanation, from mediumship to becoming involved in what he describes as rescue work.

He has developed his own skills such as clairvoyance and clairsentience and also enjoyed allowing spirits to use him to create psychic artworks.

It is a fascinating book and will make a superb Christmas gift for someone who is interested in spiritual matters.

It is published by Matador at £12.99.

Gathering Clouds

Gathering Clouds is the first part of the Nethergate Trilogy, which explores a tale of slavery and the American Civil War.

The Nethergate tobacco plantation is prepared for troubles as the rumbling threat of civil war becomes an ever present danger.

We meet a cast of disparate characters. There is Silas Killcaid, the Chief Overseer of slaves. He has a position of dominance at Nethergate, due to a combination of cruelty and cunning.

Due to the death of one master and the murder of another Killcaid increases his grip on the plantation, but even he cannot control the forces that threaten his position of power.

There's also the problem of the slave called Matthew Styles. He has a strong will and he is not the kind of man to accept his status as a slave. This earns him the hatred of Killcaid.

But new alliances are made and new relationships forged against the backdrop of the imminent civil war.

And when the civil war does come, Nethergate becomes a very dangerous place to be, with rebellion and murder.

Who will win? Killcaid or Styles?

Readers will be eager for the second parts of this trilogy.

It's published by The Book Guild at £8.99 and will make a great Christmas present.