A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson – review

Ketchup. Nothing better illustrates the mess we've made of managing the environment on which our survival depends. When you next plop it over your chips, as Dave Goulson points out in his enlightening account of a life studying bumblebees, consider that it was probably made in the Netherlands from tomatoes grown in Spain, pollinated by Turkish bumblebees reared in a factory in ...

Two Nests by Laurence Anholt and Jim Coplestone - review

At first all this is upsetting and quite overwhelming for the baby bird, but it soon gets used to the new situation and realises that its parents still love it as much as they did when they lived together.This is an interesting take on the difficult issue of separation and divorce: few books for little children manage to tackle this subject in a way that is accessible and helpful, but it has to ...

My Criminal World by Henry Sutton – review

Henry Sutton's last novel was written in the voice of a disaffected City boy hellbent on a murder spree that might only be taking place in his head. The disturbing and ...

Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell – review

After the sinking of the Victorian liner, Queen Mary, a baby girl with "hair the colour of lightning" is found floating in a cello case in the middle of the Channel. Her rescuer, the eccentric scholar Charles Maxim, names her Sophie, takes her home to London and brings her up - in defiance of the National Childcare Agency - to be as eccentric as he is. She wears homemade, brightly ...

Weekend picks for book lovers

Rick Atkinson completes his powerful World War II trilogy What should you read this weekend? USA TODAY's picks for book lovers include the latest scorching hot (literally) blockbuster from Dan Brown, plus a touching tale about a journalist and her therapy dog.Inferno by Dan Brown; Doubleday, 480 pp.; fictionDan Brown's globe-trotting symbologist, known for his tweed jacket, Mickey ...