The 2084 Report by James Lawrence Powell

This novel takes the form of a series of interviews with various people from scientists and politicians, to ordinary people, living all over the world, with one thing in common - despair at what went wrong in dealing with climate change.

I was hoping for something a little more inspiring  - something that would encourage me to do more, make changes to my lifestyle which could really help combat climate change. But no. Instead, I found it all quite dull. When covering up to the present day, most of the interviewees were regurgitating facts I was already aware of. Then, as they moved onto what happened post-2020,  I found myself arguing with them, querying why options that everyone has surely heard of, such as solar or wind power, weren't utilised to their fullest.

The answer comes at the end of the book - the author basically wants to champion nuclear power; in fact it's seen as the answer to all our problems. There's no way I'm a fan of that, I think it's just shelving the issue for a while and a price will have to be paid somewhere down the line.

Would I recommend this title? Only to an absolute climate change denier. It might stop them in their tracks and make them think. Anyone who is already concerned about the way things are going will probably, like me, just be irritated. 

World Burn Down by Steve Cole

 illustrated by Oriol Vidal

Carlos is at home, impatiently waiting for his mum to return from work, when door of his flat is broken down, and he is kidnapped. His mother's job with IBAMA, Brazil's Environmental Authority, involves protecting the Amazon forest from illegal clearing by farmers or miners, and her actions have annoyed some very ruthless men. Carlos is taken far into the Amazon forest where his abductors plan to hold him to teach his mother a lesson, but an accident gives him chance to escape. He isn't safe though as fires are raging out of control all around him. Will he be able to outrun them? or will he find himself running straight back into the clutches of his kidnappers?

This latest book from well-known children's author Steve Cole is a fast-paced adventure set against a backdrop of the destruction of the Amazon forest. Primarily it's an action story, with Carlos attempting to escape his captors, but seeming to run from one danger straight to the next. Behind the action though are important things to be learned about the destruction of the rainforest, and the reader gets to share Carlos' horror at what he sees, and his realisation of the importance of the work done by people like his mother. Till now he's seen it as just a job, something that takes her away for long hours, without maybe fully realising its global significance. His previous experience of the forest has been of sanitised tourist-trails designed to delight and enthrall; now he's seeing first hand the realities of land-grabbing, the fires which lay waste to huge areas each day, and the gold mines which turn jungle into a sterile moon-scape. It's an excellent mix of fact and fiction which will both entertain and educate.

Aimed at 8 year olds and over, as always with titles from Barrington Stoke, the presentation - font, colour, chapter length - is designed with reluctant and dyslexic readers in mind, but none of this detracts from it being a gripping, nail-biting read, with Oriol Vidal's illustrations bringing the story vividly to life.

Hot Air by Sandrine Dumas Roy;illustrated by Emmanuelle Houssais

review by Maryom

The ice has been melting too fast and the world hotting up too much, so the animals decide to get to the bottom of the problem. It seems the cows are at fault with, dare we say it?, farting too much. All their gas is upsetting the weather and making the world far too uncomfortable. Can the animals come up with a solution? Maybe that gas could even be put to some use?

As you may have guessed, this book sheds a humorous light on the problems of global warming. There aren't going to be many kids that don't giggle every time the cows' farting problem gets mentioned but it isn't just about grabbing their attention using a 'naughty' word.
The writing is eye-catching with changes of font size, and the illustrations are bright and quirky with lots of weird and wonderful contraptions that the animals use in their investigations. The story gives lots of scope for asking 'what would you do?' and encouraging children to think about global warming and perhaps come up with their own suggestions of how it might be tackled.

Publisher - Phoenix Yard Books
Genre - Children's picture book, Environmental Issues

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We Have Lift Off by Sean Taylor

Illustrated by Hannah Shaw

Review by The Mole

Farmer Tanner doesn't care about the pollution he makes and the impact it has on others. A clever pig decides to build an intergalactic space rocket so the animals can escape to a clean start in space somewhere. A few test flights don't go according to plan until an impromptu flight seems to solve all their problems... but what for for everyone else?

This most delightful book has colour in abundance on every page and lots of words to read. It's a sort of crossover from the early reader to the more confident reader and contains a couple of very important environmental messages - anti pollution and recycling.

An excellent book both from the illustrations, which fill every page with colour and humour, and the story, which is simple and silly but so very poignant in it's message.

To read to youngsters, for youngsters to read aloud or for youngsters to read to themselves. Although it could be used as just a picture book it is so much more than that.

Publisher - Frances Lincoln
Genre - Children's, picture book, Early Reader
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Windscape by Sam Wilding

Review by Maryom

Financial difficulties are forcing Jenny MacLeod's father to agree to having wind-turbines built on their Harris farm but Jenny doesn't want them to spoil the view across the beautiful Hushwish Bay. When a confrontation with protesters leads to her father being taken away to hospital in Glasgow, Jenny is taken in by Mr Murdoch, the neighbouring farmer behind the wind turbine project.There she discovers letters that should have been sent to her father and that may make all the difference to his acceptance of the wind farm plans. Determined to show them to him, she sets off for Glasgow with her faithful collie, Lord, and their new friend Pavel, pursued by the Murdochs. There are plenty of others along the way trying to stop Jenny, so will she be able to reach her father in time to save the beauty of their farm?

Windscape is an exciting children's thriller set against the backdrop of the debate about windfarms. Almost everyone has an opinion on whether wind turbines are beneficial or an eyesore; they may be an environmentally friendly way of producing electricity but should they be allowed to clutter up the countryside and spoil the view? Sam Wilding manages to discuss the arguments both for and against them while keeping up the pace of the action. Jenny is a very determined young heroine, not easily distracted from her goals, helped along by the more street-wise Pavel - making this a book that should appeal to both boys and girls.
An excellent adventure story for the 10 plus range with the added bonus of introducing environmental issues in an accessible, easy to understand way.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Strident
Genre - children's, thriller, 10+,

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