This is an adventure story about friendship and over-coming obstacles with determination by Sophie Kirtley, author of The Wild Way Home. Both titles are published by Bloomsbury. Born with a serious heart condition, Dara has been waiting for his Big Operation forever, and this summer [...]
September 22, 2021
This is the concluding book in the Contender series by bestselling historical fantasy writer Taran Matharu. The trilogy, published by Hachette, features the hero Cade, who so far has just about managed to survive the duel with the Hydra Alpha – But the Games [...]
September 17, 2021
This sometimes exciting, scary and funny book by Juliette Forrest will appeal to children who enjoy reading fantasy adventure stories. It is published by Scholastic. Every night Ollo goes to sleep willing something wonderful to happen, like flying out of the window and soaring over [...]
September 15, 2021
This is the third book in the Eerie-on-Sea series of fantasy mysteries stories for readers aged 7-11 years written by Thomas Taylor and published by Walker Books. Our young reviewer recommends reading the first books in the trilogy so you understand the characters’ backstories [...]
September 14, 2021
A funny book that is not as scary as you might think from its title. It is about an unlikely friendship between two loveable main characters Maggie and Miles who discover that they work well as a team. The author is Katy Birchall and [...]
This inclusive picture book is about families, showing how every member is different and has a unique contribution to make. Its message about valuing each other’s differences applies to communities and friendship groups too. It also shows that tensions and misunderstandings can sometimes arise, [...]
As the nights draw in so enters the season for spooky stories. Chris Priestley is an expert at writing and illustrations those! Frozen is a story aimed at readers aged 8 – 11 years who like a chilling page-turner. This fantastic introduction to the horror [...]
September 13, 2021
This is the eighth book in the Kitty series suitable for young independent readers aged 5 years and above. If you don’t already know Kitty is a girl by day and a cat by night! These attractive little books are the perfect transition for [...]
September 8, 2021
This is an atmospheric, slightly unnerving story about a girl called Lily whose life is changing in ways that are beyond her control – she is unwell and now she’s about to become a reluctant sister. Lily just wants things to go back to the [...]
Told by Sangu Mandanna and based on a traditional Indian story Kiki Kallira has always been a worrier. Did she lock the front door? Is there a terrible reason her mum is late? Recently her anxiety has been getting out of control, but one [...]
September 6, 2021
This short story for readers aged 7-11 years is about families and fun and mudlarking. It is written by Karen McCombie and contains lots of black and white illustrations that break up the text by Lee Cosgrove. It is published by Barrington Stoke, who [...]
This is a collection of folktales, myths and legends from all over Africa and the Caribbean, re-told for young readers by storyteller Wendy Shearer. It is published by Scholastic. From the trickster tales of Anansi the spider, to the story of how the leopard got [...]
This is the first title in a new adventure series for boys and girls aged 8 – 12 years by creative superstar Rob Biddulph, who is responsible for getting the Nation drawing during lockdown with his #DrawWithRob interactive social media campaign. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the [...]
This inspiring book, about a lad called Jerome, is based on Ian Wright’s life-story. Football fans will love all the footie references and its overall context, but the story’s message about the importance of not giving up, staying focussed and working with determination to [...]
This funny story for readers aged 8-12 years is by Tom McLaughlin and published by Barrington Stoke who commission accessible stories for reluctant young readers. It is purposefully shorter than most novels for readers of this age, contains lots of illustrations and is printed [...]
September 2, 2021
This is a funny, original story from a new author (Ian Mark) about monsters or rather monster hunting. The book includes lots of brilliant illustrations by Louis Ghibault and is published by Farshore. We recommend it to wanna-be monsters hunters of all ages, but [...]
Fans of fantasy will enjoy this magical adventure story from Stephanie Burgis. Cordelia and her triplets Rosalind and Giles have lived safely in the castle at the centre of the forest all their lives, protected by the spells their mother has woven. The only time [...]
August 31, 2021
This highly illustrated and amusing story by Jo Simmons (author of I Swapped My Brother on the Internet) will appeal to readers who like funny books that make them laugh out loud. The comic style illustrations by Nathan Reed compliment the slightly bonkers plot about [...]
For readers who enjoy reading a story set in a real time in history this thrilling adventure by Emma Carroll will not disappoint. Set in an ordinary street in Britain during 1962, whilst the Americans and Russians are arguing over missiles in Cuba, Stevie discovers [...]
Dragon Legend is the second book in an exciting new fantasy adventure series for readers aged 8 -12 years, published by Simon & Schuster. Billy Chan and his friends are not having a very relaxing summer. Their friend, Dylan, has been kidnapped by the evil Dragon [...]
