Book Review - Thank You, Mr Panda by Steve Antony

Mr Panda is a stickler for manners. In this book, Mr Panda has presents for his friends. But will they be thankful for their gifts, even if they are not what they are expecting? Lemur features as Mr Panda's sidekick - will he remember his manners too?

The expressions on the animals faces are priceless. Mr Panda is so deadpan, you can do the best voices while reading this book aloud.

This is the third book Steve Antony has written featuring Mr Panda, with a fourth due out in October. I had just gotten out Please Mr Panda from the library when this book arrived to review so Addison was familiar with the characters. I recommend starting with Please Mr Panda, then I'll Wait, Mr Panda, then Thank You, Mr Panda. Donuts also feature in all the books which is always a winner in my eyes!

These are the kind of books that children find hilarious and adults really love the humour too. I rate these books highly for the 2-4 year age group.

Published by Hachette and available in paperback now.

Thanks to Hachette for my review copy of this book!

Book Review: Friend Request by Laura Marshall

Louise Williams has been sitting on a terrible secret since high school involving the assumed death of a fellow student - Maria Weston. Now 25 years later a friend request from Maria appears on Louise's Facebook account. But she's dead, isn't she? The request is followed by increasingly mysterious and chilling messages which force Louise to re-live that night, and an upcoming school reunion makes matters worse. Who really knows the truth about what happened that night? To what extent will they go to keep it a secret?

This is Laura Marshall's first novel and it really holds its own in the thriller genre. I liked that it centres around social media and highlights some of the dangers about what we put out on the internet.
Louise is suitably anxious, paranoid and messed-up from her past which has weaved its way into her adult life. She is a solo mother of a young boy and the references to the early days of parenthood which affected the relationship with her then-husband are easy to relate to. There is a twist as usual and I definitely didn't see it coming. The pacing was a bit slow to start with but once past the halfway point it was all go until the end.

A great read, without a romance plotline or gruesome details, which is pretty rare these days! I will definitely keep my eyes and ears peeled for Laura Marshall's next offering as this was right up my alley.

Available now!

Thanks to Hachette for the review copy of this book.