Children’s books are such a joy to read. They are filled with adventure and magic on every page. Everything is new and exciting to a child. They find happiness in the smallest of things like a fallen leaf or smooth pebble washed up on the beach. I believe that children have got this life stuff sussed, honestly. To just enjoy and live in the moment. Be a big kid and have fun. Life is ridiculously too short to stress the unnecessary. Now, who fancies a trip to the moon? Me me me!
Today is my spot on the blog tour for Harvey And The Moon Bus (Published 30 Jan 2018) By Jill Stanton-Huxton. A big thank you to the publishers Matador for sending me a copy to review and as always the wonderful Anne for the invite. You make being a part of this community amazing.
Fasten your seat belts dear reader as we take off for an exciting trip to the moon!
About The Author
Jill Stanton-Huxton grew up in Buckinghamshire and has a BA Honours Degree, a Diploma in Humanities and a Diploma in Literature & Creative Writing from the Open University. She has had non-fiction articles, short stories and poems published in magazines, local newspapers and online. Jill has been a volunteer judge on the BBC Radio 2 500 words competition for the last two years, marking stories in the 5-9 year range. She was also the winner of The Buckinghamshire Family History Society Alan Dell Memorial Award for 2013.
Harvey and the Moon Bus is Jill’s debut children’s book. “The inspiration for the book comes from our beautiful and charismatic Norwegian Forest Cat, Macavity. He is six years old now and has become a local celebrity,” says Jill. “With so many of Macavity’s cat antics to choose from and the fact that I’m always making up stories in my head – it was only a matter of time before ‘Harvey’ materialised.”
“I plan on writing more books in the series – what adventures will Harvey and his friends go on next…only time will tell,” says Jill.
Harvey And The Moon Bus
A beautifully-illustrated story about anthropomorphic animals who have a fantasy adventure together. An underlying theme and moral message which is the importance of helping people. A fantastical adventure story for children 5-7 years old.
My Review
Since having children our bedtime routine always, always involves a story. It wouldn’t feel right if it didn’t. There’s something cosy and warm about snuggling up together and going on an adventure before entering the land of nod. It’s bliss and will undoubtedly be the memories I will cherish the most in years to come when I’m old and grey. No different to now really HA!
The minute we met Harvey we all agreed that we liked him, scratch that. We LOVED him. Not just because he’s a grey cat (We LOVE cats in this house) but he is kind, friendly and best of all helped the mouse, Gretel, escape from the nasty Grey Rabbit (Not all Rabbits are bad, I promise) and gave a triumphant cheer. He’s likeable and very much welcomed round any time for a cup of tea.
I appreciated as a parent how Stanton-Huxton made the characters relatable to young children. Harvey struggles to tell the time which a lot of children often do. Upon reading this they suddenly realise that they are not alone and take comfort in the fact that Harvey is much like them. It gives the message to children that not everyone is perfect and sometimes it’s not a bad thing to ask for help.
“Also, he’d heard people talk about there being cheese on the moon – Harvey really hoped this was true because he loved cheese.”
My mouth was watering with greed as we entered The Moon Rock Sweet Emporium in Moon Crater Alley. It took me back to my childhood days hypnotised in the local sweet shop by the assorted colours of the jars that filled the shelves. A pleasant and fond memory that reminded me to take the boys to a sweet shop soon. A bag of penny sweets means the world to a child. So simple that your inner kid skips frantically around the shop as they realise they still sell jelly snakes. Stanton-Huxton captures this excitement and curiosity sweet-perbly (bad pun I know). Such a delight to read and watch the boys’ imagination soar across the sky.
“One of the counters had a sign over it that said ‘Supersonic Sticky Toffee Popcorn’ and then another that said ‘Raspberry Fizzy Jelly and Bubble Custard”.
We are patiently awaiting Harveys next adventure. In the meantime we are learning more about space. I love how it has sparked their interest in the subject. All it took was this adorable cat jumping on a bus and going to a sweet shop on the moon. Cats and space equals awesome!
I give Harvey And The Moon Bus By Jill Stanton-Huxton a Five out of Five paw rating.
This book is a perfect bedtime story for any restless child. It’s dazzling, there is never a dull moment. Stanton-Huxton keeps the excitement flowing with sounds, colours and fun. By the end the boys wanted to learn more about the moon and build a spaceship. I wouldn’t mind going myself, I really, really want to go to that sweet shop. Don’t you?
Grab a copy here, a mouthwatering journey to outer space awaits you!
Don’t forget to follow the rest of the blog tour, dates below. Enjoy!
Links
Buy A Copy
@JMStantonHuxton
Jill Stanton-Huxton Website
Facebook
Troubador Publishing | Matador Website 
Hop hop wiggle wiggle
Bunny’s Pause 
Thanks for this wonderful blog tour support Emma x