From mysteries to a genius doctor and robots, ten great children's books to thrill your kids this half term
But research has found
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There is nothing like getting stuck into a good book in the holidays, no matter your age
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That is despite the National Literacy Trust studies showing reading for pleasure benefits empathy, confidence and wellbeing.
Children's author Adam Kay, whose new book Simon Gets Sneezed comes out in July, told The Sun: 'Not only does a love of books award you a lifelong membership to an infinite world of stories and adventure, reading for pleasure is crucially important for children.
'It literally improves the development of their brains: from speech and language to memory and attention.'
So here, books editor Veronica Lorraine brings you ten of the best new children's books for half term.
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Puppy's Wobbly Bottom by Kit Frost
JOIN Puppy and friends for a colourful, fun and hilarious rhyming adventure – can you follow the actions and do the Wobbly Bottom dance?
(Farshore, Preschoolers, £6.99)
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Puppy's Wobbly Bottom by Kit Frost
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Oh No, Flo! by Catherine Cawthorne
FARMER does all the jobs on the farm, and she does them perfectly.
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When Farmer falls ill, her loyal sheepdog Flo must come to the rescue.
Most read in Fabulous
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Oh No, Flo! by Catherine Cawthorne is about Farmer and her dog
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(Templar books, age 3+, £7.99)
Sleep Tight Disgusting Blob by Huw Aaron
A DELIGHTFULLY disgusting, utterly unique rhyming tale.
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Man starts personalised children's books company after being made redundant and it's expected to turn over £1.3 million this year
It's bedtime for Blob, although they just might need some persuading . . .
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Sleep Tight Disgusting Blob by Huw Aaron is a delightfully disgusting, utterly unique rhyming tale
Credit: Supplied
(Puffin, age 3-7, £7.99)
Dadbot by Jack Noel
FULL of robots, puns and dastardly dad-napping, this hilarious graphic novel series is perfect for fans of Bunny Vs Monkey and reluctant readers.
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(Piccadilly Press, age 7+, £8.99)
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Dadbot by Jack Noel is a graphic novel full of robots, puns and dastardly dad-napping
Credit: Supplied
Beano Betty And The Yeti by Hugh Raine
BETTY isn't supposed to have a yeti living in her room, but what the grown-ups don't now won't hurt them?
Will it end in disaster or will Betty and the Yeti become friends?
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Beano Betty And The Yeti by Hugh Raine
Credit: Supplied
(Farshore, age 6+, £9.99)
Dexter Procter, The 10-Year-Old Doctor, by Adam Kay
DEXTER started speaking at four seconds old.
By the age of three, he had 87 A-levels.
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Dexter Procter, The 10-Year-Old Doctor, by Adam Kay
Credit: Supplied
And by ten, he was working as a paediatrician at the hospital.
(Puffin, age 6+, £7.99)
Words Can Fly by Donna Ashworth
POETRY collection serves as a compassionate guide through the journey of childhood, crafted with wisdom and warmth by the author.
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(Templar Books, age 7+, £16.99)
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Words Can Fly by Donna Ashworth is a poetry collection that serves as a compassionate guide through the journey of childhood
Credit: Supplied
Serial Chillers: The Witch In The Woods by Jennifer Killick
HAZARD is an ordinary town where strangeness is a way of life.
When Travis, Zayd, Siline and Danielle start a school project, it changes everything.
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Serial Chillers: The Witch In The Woods by Jennifer Killick
Credit: Supplied
(Farshore, age 9+, £7.99)
Heir Of Storms by Lauryn Hamilton Murray
BLAZE, a Rain Singer, is born into one of the most powerful fire-wielding families in the empire.
Then she is thrust into battle – and the limelight.
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Heir Of Storms is about Blaze who is born into one of the most powerful fire-wielding families in the empire
Credit: Supplied
(Penguin, Young Adult, £9.99)
Rival Darling by Alexandra Moody
VIOLET is left heartbroken by the captain of the ice hockey team and vows never to date a jock again.
Then meets the captain of the Ransom Devils…
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Violet is left heartbroken by the captain of the ice hockey team and vows never to date a jock again in Rival Darling
Credit: Supplied
(Electric Monkey, YA, £9.99)
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The singer has been accused of lacking empathy LEGAL GUARDIAN Chris Pratt dragged into Katy Perry's bitter legal row after he rented $15m home she forced bedridden veteran, 85, from CHRIS Pratt could be dragged into Katy Perry's ugly legal battle to prise $6 million from an 85-year-old disabled veteran she evicted from his home. The Guardians of the Galaxy star and his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger are renting the $15 million house previously owned by Carl Westcott who is bedridden in a hospice. 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The source added that, ironically, "Shriver initially put in a bid for the same house in 2020." Westcott's attorney returned to court last Tuesday ahead of a "likely attempt to subpoena Pratt because he is a material witness," she said. "For example, to establish when he started renting? He is living in a property that is wrapped up in a legal battle." Advertisement The star is likely to be asked to testify - "Katy has already been mandated to do so," the source said. She added that Westcott's team "want to know how much Pratt is renting the house for. "Perry has claimed millions of dollars in damages, and claimed that it's not liveable - it's clearly liveable because an A-list actor is renting it." PRATT TESTIMONY Pratt's name was mentioned several times in court filings by Westcott's legal team last Friday in documents submitted to the Superior Court of the State of California. 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Chris Pratt (the tenant at the property, concerning its condition or problems and the terms of his lease agreement with Perry), and Orlando Bloom, Perry's boyfriend and father of her child, whose deposition testimony showed would personally be in charge of repairs." They alleged, "Now that we know Perry just rented out the house to a famous actor, conducting a trial on the real merits... means that this court's discretion should be exercised to allow the few and very short depositions requested and to allow Mr. Norris to spend 3 hours re-inspecting the property. "Another reason for allowing the short and few depositions is to allow Westcott and this court to know who owns the house after the recent split between Perry and her boyfriend Orlando Bloom." Their filings also alleged, "The current issues were caused by Perry/Gudvi waiting until after the September 2024 discovery cutoff to perform repairs, unless they did no repairs yet were still able to rent out the house as-is to Chris Pratt, which would tend to show the alleged repairs were exaggerated to drum up damages. Advertisement "Either way, Perry's conduct is unfair and without the requested house inspection and short depositions requested by Westcott deprives him of a trial on the real merits." PERRY TO TESTIFY The source told The U.S. Sun today, "Judge Lipner confirmed that Katy will have to testify for at least an hour or more to the damages claim." Timeline of Katy Perry's mansion battle against veteran Carl Westcott July 2020: Entrepreneur Carl Westcott, US Army veteran and founder of 1-800 Flowers - sold his Montecito mansion to Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom for $15 million. Westcott had bought it only two months earlier for about $11.25 million. August 2020: Westcott filed a lawsuit against Perry and Bloom's business manager, Bernie Gudvi, alleging he was heavily medicated and not of sound mind when he contracted with Perry for the sale. The pop star's legal team countered and alleged that Westcott, who has Huntington's disease, had changed his mind on the sale, and the contract should be upheld. December 2023: A judge ruled in favor of Perry, and upheld the original sales contract. A Los Angeles judge ruled that Westcott failed to prove incapacity, finding him of sound mind during the sale negotiations. March 2024: The keys were exchanged. On May 17, 2024, Perry officially took legal ownership after the deed was recorded. 2024-2025: Phase two of the legal action - after the successful verdict, Perry lodged a damages claim for $6 million against Westcott, who is bedridden and currently receiving 24/7 care. This claim has yet to go before court. 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"Since Gudvi had signed the contract in his capacity as the agent of the singer Katy Perry, the court ruled that Perry is the real-party-in-interest as to the damages being sought in the Phase 2 trial and that she must testify during the trial." Who is Carl Westcott? Katy Perry is suing the bedridden and ailing veteran, 85, who has a neurological disorder Carl Westcott was born in 1939 at the charity hospital in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Westcott and his five sisters lived in a house without indoor plumbing. When Westcott was six, his father - who drove a logging truck - left and never returned. His mother became a nurse's aide, earning just $5 per eight-hour shift. When he was five, Westcott sold papers in front of the Vicksburg Hotel, as well as chewing gum - he also shined shoes. "By the time I was eight, I was making more money than my mother." The judge ruled that the boy should go to Columbia Training School, a state institution, until the situation improved at home. When Westcott was 16, he asked his mother to change his birth date in the family Bible to prove he was old enough to join the U.S. Army. He became a paratrooper and was honorably discharged as a corporal After becoming a successful car salesman, he joined Sopp Chevrolet as the dealership's general manager. In 1983, Westcott bought the NBC television affiliate in Tyler, Texas. His firm, Westcott Communications, became a pioneer in producing training programs in 18 fields such as automobile dealership management, certified public accountants, and law enforcement personnel. The company went public in 1989, and Westcott sold it in 1996. He said that, throughout his lengthy life, he has treated others with respect and dignity. Source: Horatio Algar Association of Distinguished Americans - Westcott was an award recipient in 2003 The documents also said that the property title, "was vested in the name of an entity supposedly owned by Perry called DDoveB LLC, a California limited liability company, formed on April 9, 2024. "The name of the LLC closely resembles the name Perry's daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom, the child of Perry and her long-time actor boyfriend, Mr. Orlando Bloom. Advertisement "Westcott's counsel has repeatedly asked Perry's counsel who owns the LLC that owns the house? "This court has always been told that Gudvi is Perry's manager and agent, and at her deposition before Phase 1 Perry testified the house was to be owned by her and she was buying it to live in, and not to rent." QUESTIONS OVER REPAIRS Westcott's legal team claimed in the July court document that under the terms of the house sale contract, it stated the home was being sold "in its present physical condition" and that the singer "had the right to perform inspections" prior to escrow being closed. They alleged that "Perry's lawyers did not even produce a written schedule showing each alleged item of repair and the cost Perry is seeking for each allegedly defective condition." Advertisement His lawyers also claimed in the documents that "newspapers reported that Perry had just rented the house to the actor Chris Pratt, whose wife is the daughter of Maria Shriver, whom the court will recall from the Phase 1 testimony was bidding against Perry to buy the property in 2020." This revelation prompted Westcott's team to "immediately contact Perry's counsel" and ask for further details about her current rental agreement with Pratt, per the document. His lawyers also requested an "expert" to visit the property to "visualize any repairs." 8 A judge ruled in favor of Katy Perry in 2023 Credit: Getty Advertisement 8 Carl Westcott is 85 years old and is bedridden with Huntington's disease, a condition that stops parts of the brain working properly over time Credit: Supplied by the Westcott Family The document added, "Given that many of her prior 'estimates' totaling $2.29 million pertained to habitability items, it defies logic and common sense that she was able to rent the house to a famous actor. "Perry's counsel flatly refused in a series of approximately half a dozen meet and confer emails to even disclose if repairs had been done." FAMILY HOME The Daily Mail reported in June that the singer had rented out the property to Pratt. Advertisement A source told the paper, "The arrangement suits Chris, but it's a bit of a surprise given how Katy fought tooth and nail to get her hands on the house. "She previously suggested it was the ideal place for her and Orlando to raise a family. "After all that time, energy, and money, it seems unthinkable that they are not going to live in it." The U.S. Sun has contacted representatives for Pratt, Perry and Bloom for comment on the latest developments in the bitter case. Advertisement STRUGGLE Westcott had intended to live in his home for the remainder of his life, according to his angry family. His son, Chart, ranted on X last November, 'My family has been in a struggle against… Katy Perry and now Orlando Bloom to defend the honor of my father, Carl Westcott, who is dying from Huntington's Disease. 'He is a US Army Veteran and winner of the Horatio Alger US award (an honor he shares with Clarence Thomas, Buzz Aldrin, and Donald Trump's father Fred Trump). 'Celebrity privilege, much like political lawfare, must end. We cannot afford any two tier justice in America.' Advertisement The Horatio Alger Award is given to exceptional leaders who 'personify the American Dream' and have triumphed over adversity to achieve greatness. The latest revelations come as photos showed Justin Trudeau and Perry enjoying a night out in Canada after the singer split with Bloom earlier this year. 8 Carl Westcott pictured at his former home before he became bedridden Credit: Facebook/Kameron Westcott 8 When Westcott was 16, he asked his mother to change his birth date in the family Bible to prove he was old enough to join the U.S. Army Credit: Supplied by the Westcott Family
