FIRST WOLF by Carole Anne Carr (Cake and Custard Bookshop, £5.99)

This is a brilliant first book from a former Shropshire primary school teacher, traveller, poet, actor and artist.

And now Carole Carr from Ludlow can definitely add “children’s novelist” to her list of many talents.

In her first book aimed at 12-year-olds, she uses her expertise and life experiences weaved together with a brilliant imagination to create “First Wolf”.

Youngsters will be plunged into a brilliant, vibrant adventure with just enough energy and realism to keep them on the edge of their seats without it being “too heavy” or grown up to cope with.

Together with Carr’s Anglo-Saxon hero, Toland, young readers will be transported on a journey to an incredible world.

And along the way they learn about truth, honesty and friendship and of course, that good always overcomes evil in the end.

I enjoyed this book. It had a proper plot, unlike some publications designed for pre-teens, and reading it holds so many benefits for keen young bookworms.

It provides excellent fodder to bridge the gap between books for children and the more adult reading matter available for teenagers.

After visiting plenty of historical places with her school children Carole said she used the sites as an extension to her classroom.

She encouraged her pupils to create their own music, paintings, write stories and poetry and even made mathematical models, and all of these experiences have formed a basis for her novels.

Carole hopes to publish another three novels this year including “Little Boy Good-for-Nothing” based on Carole’s experiences in Africa, and two Shropshire-based novels, “Thin Time” and “Candle Dark”.

Review by Sophie Bignall