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The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. (Paperback) by Jen Carney

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The start of an exciting new series full of Billie’s laugh-out-loud observations and doodles!

There is a new girl at Billie’s school, and Billie takes it upon herself to show her around, teach her the Biscuit Laws, and remind her that yes, two women can get married (after all, Billie’s mums’ wedding is the event of the year). But then suspicion sets in. The new girl seems very close to Billie’s best friend Layla. And doesn’t she know a little too much about the latest big school heist – the theft of Mrs Robinson’s purse…?

Follow Jen Carney on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jencarney76/

The Smidgens by David O’Connell ill. Seb Burnett

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 9 Apr 2021
Blackwell’s Children’s Book of the Month April 2021

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Gafferty Sprout is a Smidgen. A Smidgen looks like a human, sounds like a human, and loves chips with curry sauce like a human – if humans were three inches tall. If you took a human and shrunk it in the washing machine on a very hot spin cycle, you might get something like a Smidgen. Generations ago there were lots of them, living in a maze of tunnels beneath the human village of Dundoodle. But then something happened and they just … disappeared. Now Gafferty, her parents and her little brothers Gobkin and Grub are the only ones left, and the tunnels are forbidden territory. And then Gafferty finds an old map. A map that shows a place deep within the maze where Smidgen tribes can go to meet. Smidgen tribes! Gafferty knows that she has to try to find them. But the tunnels are dangerous. And soon Gafferty discovers she’s not the only one looking for the lost tribes, and that three inches of Smidgen hold more power than she ever imagined.

Follow Seb Burnett on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bertram_fiddle/

See some of the illustrator’s character sketches:

 

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A post shared by Seb Burnett (@bertram_fiddle)

Monster Doughnuts 1 by Gianna Pollero ill. Sarah Horne

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A deliciously funny series from  new talent Gianna Pollero, illustrated by the award-winning Sarah Horne. Ten-year-old Grace likes doughnuts and cakes as much as the next kid – but they are also her secret weapon. Grace is a monster hunter who owns a bakery – and everyone knows how much monsters LOVE any kind of sweet treat! Just don’t tell them about the secret exploding baking powder inside the doughnuts and the cookies … When Grace’s Monster Scanning Machine alerts her to the doughnut-loving, people-eating, board-game-playing cyclops Mr Harris, she realises she’s about to face her biggest challenge yet…

Follow the illustrator on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahbhorne9/

The Day the Screens Went Blank by Danny Wallace ill. Gemma Correll

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When ten-year-old Stella wakes up to discover a world full of BLANK screens, her family, the whole town—in fact the whole world—seems to have been thrown into chaos. And what about poor Grandma who is stranded at the other end of the country? Cue a rollicking madcap road trip, full of driving disasters and family fallouts, as they set off on a rescue mission. Along the way Stella and her family discover that being away from screens might not be the WORST THING EVER—they might not be able to rely on technology any more but they can rely on each other instead.

Mayhem Mission – My Laugh-Out-Loud Life 1 by Burhana Islam ill. Farah Khandaker

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Yusuf’s older sister is getting married. He’s ready for the delicious food, the fun with his cousins and the many presents… but he’s NOT ready to take her place as the responsible one. His only option: cause some chaos and ruin the wedding. The first book in a new series from Knights Of.

Follow the illustrator on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fkhart/

The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh by Helen Rutter

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 1 Apr 2021

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A laugh-out-loud, against-all-odds triumph of a story.

Billy Plimpton is an eleven-year-old boy with a big dream. He wants to be a stand-up comedian when he grows up, delivering pinpoint punch-lines and having audiences hang on his every hilarious word. Surely an impossible ambition for a boy with a stammer. How will he find his voice, if his voice won’t let him speak?

The idea for this story came from Helen Rutter’s son, who has a stammer: she wanted to write the book that he would love to read, starring a child like him.

You may also be interested in this recent picture book about a boy with a stammer: I Talk Like A River an ACHUKA Book of the Day in January 2021.

When Jelly Had a Wobble by Michelle Robinson ill. Tom Knight

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 30 Mar 2021

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A laugh-out-loud picture book that explores our emotions and reassures toddlers that having the wobbles is OK.

Wibble wobble, wibble wobble, Jelly on a plate

When Jelly is entered into the ‘Best Food Competition’, it makes him wobble with worry. Everyone loves chicken nuggets and pizza – but does everyone love jelly? Suddenly he’s filled with self-doubt. But soon Jelly learns that the things that make us different should be celebrated… and that it’s definitely OK to have a wobble every now and then.

From the creators of When Cucumber Lost His Cool and The Day the Banana Went Bad. Knight’s bright and bold illustrations are hugely engaging.

Check out this Meet An Illustrator feature with Tom Knight.

Mort the Meek and the Ravens’ Revenge – Mort the Meek by Rachel Delahaye ill. George Ermos

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“Crammed with wisecracking corvids and outrageous wordplay, it’s engagingly light-hearted, Pratchettesque comic fantasy.” GUARDIAN

The first in a wickedly funny new series about an aspiring pacifist in a brutal kingdom!

On Brutalia violence is a way of life. Ravenous ravens circle overhead, monstrous grot bears cause chaos and the streets are bulging with brawls. But Mort isn’t like the other islanders – he’s determined to live peacefully. His struggle is made even tougher when the cruel queen appoints Mort as Royal Executioner. No one has challenged the royals and lived to tell the tale. Can Mort keep his head and outwit the queen?

The Best Ever Book of Funny Poems chosen by Brian Moses

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 18 Mar 2021

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A new anthology of humorous children’s poems from Macmillan, curated by Brian Moses, who has been a Macmillan children’s poet for many years. Check out Lost Magic: The Very Best of Brian Moses, a collection which includes performance stalwarts such as ‘Walking with My Iguana‘ ‘The Lost Angels’, ‘Aliens Stole My Underpants’, ‘Behind the Staffroom Door’, ‘Lost Magic’, ‘The Sssnake Hotel’, ‘A Feather from an Angel’, and ‘Cakes in the Staffroom’:

Perfect d for reading aloud. Explore poems about pets, peculiar creatures, school, family, fantasy, dinosaurs, dragons, space, and just plain NONSENSE.

The anthology includes work by Brian Bilston, Sue Hardy-Dawson, Pie Corbett*, Paul Cookson, Liz Brownlee, Mike Jubb, James Carter and Rachel Rooney.

*Corbett’s Wikipedia entry is in need of amendment/updating

Bunny vs Monkey And The Human Invasion by Jamie Smart

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 8 Mar 20201

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Big thick bumper edition – super value!

This brand new remastered book collects together Bunny vs Monkey 3: The Stench and Bunny vs Monkey 4: The Wobbles for the first time. Since he crash-landed to Earth in a rocket, Monkey has been causing absolute mayhem! Bunny and the gang (Squirrel, Pig [the Pig], Action Beaver, and Skunky the Inventor) have almost had enough. In this rollicking comic extravaganza, the pint-sized friends must tackle a helliphant, rocket-powered hot air balloons, and the most mind-boggling creatures of all… hew-mans…

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamiefumboo/