'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Thursday, 5 August 2021

Review: The Travelling Bookshop: Mim and the Baffling Bully

We all know that the best adventures start in bookshops.
 
Mim's family bookshop is a bit different - it travels the world courtesy of their beloved Flossy, a flying horse, and takes the family to where their books are needed the most.

On this journey, Mim, her Dad, brother and their assorted pets end up in the Netherlands.

Mim makes friends with the shy Willemina, whose life is quite miserable due to the nasty treatment being meted out by a bullying peer, Gerda. 

The bookstore has an unerring knack of matching the customer with the book that they need the most at the time - even if they don't know it. 
Mim is certain that Willemina will be given a book about being assertive and standing up for herself.

But, no. She is given a seemingly random volume - could the bookstore have gotten it wrong?

Mim tries to dig a little deeper into the bully's life. Gerda seems to have everything a kid could want. So why is she so nasty and why does she bother to pick on the unassuming Willemina?

Mim needs to work with the bookstore and learn about the nature of bullying - and also find out who the one that actually needs to change is.

This is Book One in the series of the travelling bookshop, and I cant wait to see where Flossy will take the eccentric family to next. 

A sweet book brimming with line drawings by the talented Cheryl Orsini. 

Both Nannestad and Orsini have numerous children's books published between them, and you can read reviews for them here and here.

Title: The Travelling Bookshop: Mim and the Baffling Bully
Author: Katrina Nannestad
Illustrator: Cheryl Orsini
Publisher: Harper Collins, $14.99
Publication Date: 28 July 2021
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780733341656
For ages: 7+
Type: Junior Fiction