Book review: Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook (of sorts)

“Its stripped back, simple and delicious Venetian recipes are amazing.”

The sure sign of a brilliant recipe book?

I’d say that it’s one that makes you want to drop everything and start cooking the minute you start reading it.

Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook (of sorts) is definitely that type of cookbook. In fact, I’d go as far to call it an instant classic. Its stripped back, simple and delicious Venetian food is amazing. Recipes that you can happily cook for mid-week sustenance, but good enough to delight and impress ‘foodie’ guests.

It’s a close run thing between Moro in terms of the cookbook I expect to use the most this year and possibly….ever.

So, all is good…?

Well, no actually.

I have a ‘beef’ about Polpo. The daft cover. I Googled it. A design agency were extremely proud of their ‘inside-out- binding. It may look unusual and perhaps win a few design awards, but I’m no fan.

As a cook who likes to take their books into the kitchen and expects them to get a bit grubby, I wasn’t expecting the damn thing to fall apart the second time I used it…

“As a cook who likes to take their books into the kitchen and expects them to get a bit grubby, I wasn’t expecting the damn thing to fall apart the second time I used it…”

In spite of this, I’ll still recommend Polpo to anyone who asks. Beautiful fonts, illustrations and photography. I love the inky, anatomical Octopus on the cover and you can almost taste and smell Venice – surely the most enchanting city in the world.

It contains a useful guide to the best cafes and restaurants in a place I fell in love with many years ago, but where I sadly struggled to find good food.

Bookworms out of 10: 9  (It would have been a 10 with decent binding!)

You’ll love this book if you like: Moro by Sam and Sam Clark

Reviewed by: Wiggle

Book review: A Cupcake Conundrum: Mariella Mystery 2 by Kate Pankhurst

“I super-loved this book – I’ve read it four times because it has two things that I really like in it, mysteries and cooking.”

A Cupcake Conundrum: Mariella Mystery 2 by Kate Pankhurst is a great book.

I super-loved this book – I’ve read it four times because it has two things that I really like in it, mysteries and cooking.

This book is about baking and three nine year old detectives. They have to do some cooking because one of the detective bakers – Violet – is entering a competition for young bakers. She is being judged by some famous cooks. Mariella Mystery (that’s her name) needs to find out who has stolen a recipe book by Grandma Maple that has magical recipes in.

It would be amazing to have Mariella and her friends as my friends.

The book is exciting and the pictures look like they’re stuck into the book like a scrapbook.

Bookworms out of 10: 9.5 out of 10

You’ll love this book if you like: Sleuth on Skates by Clementine Beauvais.

Reviewed by: Piggle

Thanks to Orion Children’s Books for the review copy.

Book review: Diamond by Jacqueline Wilson

“Suspense and adventure pour out of the pages of this book…”

Diamond by Jacqueline Wilson is the fourth Hetty Feather book and a sequel to Emerald Star. It also has two other connections to it as well. The first connection is it overlaps slightly, relating to the second, which is that, it is told from Diamond’s perspective. She is a circus acrobat who is also Emerald’s friend. This is part of her life story.

Diamond is the second youngest child in her extremely poor family. Her mother died while in labour, causing her father to turn to alcohol to escape his pain. Barely scraping through, food quickly disappears and Diamond soon has to turn to her life-long skill, although frowned upon, acrobatics. Soon she is found by a ringmaster and sold by her drunken father and her circus life begins.

Suddenly Emerald appears and together they begin a new story but where will it go? What will happen? Read it to find out!

Suspense and adventure pour out of the pages of this book and it also creates a different aspect to Emerald’s life – our very well known star.

I’d recommend this book to anybody over 9 who likes books with life stories and adventures and, of course, anyone who loves the other Hetty Feather books.

Bookworms out of 10: 8.5 out of 10

You’ll love this book if you like: Hetty Feather, Sapphire Battersea, Emerald Star and Queenie by Jacqueline Wilson.

Reviewed by: Grub

Thanks to Random House Children’s Books for the review copy.

Book review: Darcy Burdock by Laura Dockrill

“I especially liked the first bit when Darcy’s dad crept into the fridge to get ham because he loved it so much. My dad does that too.”

I liked this book quite a lot but I think Grub will like it even more as Grub is a bit older than me. I think that you would have to be about 8ish and over to read it.

I loved the pictures with the crazy hair and stuff. The characters were great, especially Darcy. I’d so love to be able to look after a lamb inside my house like she did. Her lamb is a pet and called Lamb Beth. This made mum laugh and me too when she told me that Lambeth is a place in London. My mum has met the lady who wrote this book – Laura Dockrill. She told us about her colourful clothes and hair. She thinks that she is very funny and that me and Grub would like her very much.

I especially liked the first bit when Darcy’s dad crept into the fridge to get ham because he loved it so much. My dad does that too. We don’t have a pet lamb though.

Darcy Burdock by Laura Dockrill would be good for girly girls, sassy girls and tomboy girls.

Bookworms out of 10: 9.5 out of 10

You’ll love this book if you like: The Biscuit Billionaire by Andy Stanton.

Reviewed by: Piggle

Thanks to Random House Children’s books for the review copy.