The online platform which recommends picture books for ‘little people near and far’, Storysnug.com, has reviewed Tracey Corderoy‘s Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam. Along with calling the story ‘wonderfully humourous‘…

…, the review says that these ‘likeable characters’ make it ‘lovely to share their surprise and delight when they find out that they are good at baking’. The review continues:

‘Steven Lenton’s wonderful illustrations capture their emotions perfectly (especially when they are caught by the neighbours!) and I love the look of concentration on Shifty’s face when he is icing cakes. Shifty and Sam bake a wide variety of delicious looking cakes and we always choose a favourite when we read. There are lots of wonderful comic touches in the illustrations and my daughter enjoys looking for the spider hidden on each page. The rhyming text is easy to read, some pages have a lot more text than others which adds to the story’s suspense and changes the pace according to the action.’

To read the full review click here.

To see Shifty and Sam’s blog click here.

To buy the book click here.

A dark, bold literary novel about two estranged brothers brought back into each other’s lives by their father’s disappearance – and the emotional, moral and physical reckoning that follows.

Two estranged brothers emerge from long periods of isolation when their father goes missing. Alike in appearance but sharply divided by experience, the brothers are forced into proximity as they search for the elderly man across Gran Canaria.

Nick is a priest, a man shaped by a violent criminal past and sincere religious conversion, while Gary is a former basketball player whose heightened energy and volatility signal a manic episode brought on by bipolar disorder.

As they navigate seedy bars, churches, beaches and volcanic landscapes, the search becomes something deeper: a confrontation with memory, masculinity, faith and care. Their father’s dementia haunts every step of the journey, destabilising the idea of authority and leaving the brothers to negotiate responsibility between them.
What emerges is a deeply humane novel about male bonds – messy, funny and tender – and about what it means to love someone when certainty has disappeared.