Children 9+
The Body In the Blitz, Robin Stevens (paperback October 2023)
£7.99
The second thrilling and unputdownable mystery starring a new generation of the Detective Society, from the million-copy-bestselling author Robin Stevens.
March 1941. Britain is at war, and a secret agency called the Ministry of Unladylike Activity is training up children as spies - because grown-ups always underestimate them.
Enter May, Eric and Nuala: courageous, smart, and the Ministry's newest recruits. May's big sister Hazel has arranged for them to stay on a quiet street close to the Ministry, home to an unlikely collection of people thrown together by the war. And it is in the basement of the bombed-out house at the end of that street that they discover something mysterious.
Something that was not there when the Blitz wreckage was first combed through. Something that has been placed there recently. A body...
Could this be the missing Ministry spy that Daisy Wells is on a dangerous mission in France to find? Or could it be someone else - someone a resident of the street wanted silenced . . .
Impossible Creatures- Katharine Rundell (hardback Sept 2023)
£14.99
A boy called Christopher is visiting his reclusive grandfather when he witnesses an avalanche of mythical creatures come tearing down the hill. This is how Christopher learns that his grandfather is the guardian of one of the ways between the non-magical world and a place called the Archipelago, a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures we tell of in myth live and breed and thrive alongside humans. They have been protected from being discovered for thousands of years; now, terrifyingly, the protection has worn thin, and creatures are breaking through.Then a girl, Mal, appears in Christopher's world. She is in possession of a flying coat, is being pursued by a killer and is herself in pursuit of a baby griffin. Mal, Christopher and the griffin embark on an urgent quest across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, where sphinxes hold secrets and centaurs do murder, to find the truth - with unimaginable consequences for both their worlds.
Together the two must face the problem of power, and of knowledge, and of what love demands of us. 'A marvellous, imaginative fantasy told with great style and sparkle - a book to race through in a day and keep for a lifetime' - Jacqueline Wilson
Finding Bear, Hannah Gold ( hardback September 2023)
£12.99
April Wood has returned home from her adventure on Bear Island. But, over a year later, she can't stop thinking about Bear.
When April hears that a polar bear has been shot and injured in Svalbard, she's convinced it's her friend and persuades her dad to travel with her to the northernmost reaches of the Arctic. So begins an unforgettable journey across frozen tundra and icy glaciers. But along the way, she discovers much more than she bargained for - a tiny polar bear cub, desperately in need of her help.
In freezing temperatures, April must navigate the dangerous Arctic terrain and face her deepest fears if she's to save him. Beautifully illustrated by Levi Pinfold, Finding Bear is a stunning story of survival and a heartwarming tale of love that shows us how hope is born from the smallest of beginnings.
Beautifully illustrated by Levi Pinfold and perfect for readers 8+
Finding Wonder, Lauren St John ( paperback Sept 23)
£7.99
Orphaned Roo Thorn feels like the unluckiest girl in the world. Until she discovers a letter. A letter which urges her to 'Grab life by the wings and fly.'With the help of her aunt, Joni, Roo sets out to buy her dream horse - a fiery showjumper named Wonder Boy.Then Wonder vanishes without a trace. Determined to save him, Roo and Joni investigate his disappearance. But as the mystery deepens and more prize horses are stolen, the pair find themselves drawn into a thrilling - but dangerous - adventure .
. . How far will they go, and what will they risk, to find Wonder?
How To Spaghettify Your Dog : and other science secrets of the universe by Hiba Noor Khan (Author)
£8.99
A wonderfully illustrated, jam-packed, must-have science book for all aspiring young physicists!' The Royal Institution Have you ever wondered how to slow down time? Or what would happen if the Earth stopped spinning? Or whether you'd be OK if you fell into a black hole? Well, wonder no more. This book, by former physics teacher and UKLA longlisted author Hiba Noor Khan, is bursting with fascinating physics facts that will explain everything you want to know, and more, about the curiosities of our cosmos. Become acquainted with the phenomenal laws of physics - from the tiniest building blocks of our body to the enormous stars that burn in our skies, light years away.The book breaks down complex science topics into fun, digestible chunks. Featuring easy-to-follow experiments, eye-catching illustrations by Waterstones Book Prize winner Harry Woodgate and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, this hands-on book will demystify physics and bring science to life.
Friends and Traitors, Helen Peters ( children's paperback July 2023)
£7.99
Some secrets are just too dangerous to know... A gripping World War II story about how two girls foil an aristocratic plot to bring down the government and hand the country to the Nazis... When Sidney Dashworth's school is evacuated to a huge stately home in the countryside, she thinks she's going to spend the war being very bored.At least her brother must be having fun, flying his Spitfire all over France! But soon Sidney and a housemaid called Nancy discover that the Earl is up to no good. He has secret nighttime meetings with mysterious men from the government and seems to be hiding something sinister on his land. At first it's all terribly thrilling, investigating by creeping about at night and finding secret passageways, but soon everything takes a deadly turn.
Sidney's brother goes missing over France and the war hits home with a terrible reality. The Earl and his evil plotters must be stopped, or nothing will ever be the same again...
The Horse Who Came Home, Olivia Tuffin ( paperback June 2023)
£7.99
Heartbreak, betrayal, and a breathtakingly daring rescue: Olivia Tuffin's fresh and thrilling novel about a girl's fight for justice at her family's stables will have 9+ readers gripped. Hannah's dad, a former Olympic show jumper, runs a highly respected stables where they buy, train and sell ponies on for huge sums of money. The whole family helps, especially Hannah's older sister, Millie - a social media star on the rise.But when Hannah rescues Bella, a beautiful Connemara pony, and begins to piece together her tragic history, she discovers that not everything at Heartwood stables is as perfect as it seems. Love of ponies, or loyalty to family? Now that Hannah knows the truth, she faces an impossible choice.
A CLOCK OF STARS - Series, Francesca Gibbons
£7.99
The most magical children's book debut of 2020, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and illustrated by award-winning Chris Riddell.
Imogen should be nice to her little sister Marie. She should be nice to her mum's boyfriend too. And she certainly shouldn't follow a strange silver moth through a door in a tree.
But then . . .
who does what they're told? Followed by Marie, Imogen finds herself falling into a magical kingdom where the two sisters are swept up in a thrilling race against time - helped by the spoiled prince of the kingdom, a dancing bear, a very grumpy hunter . . .
and even the stars above them. Sharply funny, and with characters you will fall in love with, A Clock of Stars is a timeless fantasy from an astonishing new voice - and the beginning of an unforgettable journey . .
Now Book 2 ( Beyond the Mountains) and Book 3 ( The Greatest Kingdom) available.
The Wall Between Us, Dan Smith ( paperback June 2023)
£7.99
A high-stakes adventure, set during the Cold War, centred on two cousins separated when the Berlin Wall is built.
BERLIN 1961 Anja and Monika live opposite each other. They play together every day, with Otto the cat.
One night they wake up to bangs and shouts. Soldiers are building a huge barbed wire fence between them. A terrible forever wall that gets longer and higher until it divides the whole city.
On the East side, Monika is scared - neighbours are becoming spies and there are secret police everywhere. It's Anja who spots that Otto has found a way across. If he can visit Monika, then perhaps she can too.
But Anja gets trapped and there's no safe way back . . .
An emotional, atmospheric story from Carnegie Medal-nominated author Dan Smith From the author of Nisha's War, My Friend the Enemy and She Wolf.
Until The Road Ends, Phil Earle ( paperback June 2023)
£7.99
When Peggy saves a stray dog from near-death, a beautiful friendship begins. Peggy and Beau are inseparable: the only thing that can ever come between them is war.
Peggy is evacuated to the safety of the coast, but Beau is left behind in the city, where he becomes the most extraordinary and unlikely of war heroes. Night after night, as bombs rain down and communities are destroyed, Beau searches the streets, saving countless families. But then disaster strikes, changing Peggy's life forever.
With her parents killed, both she and Beau are left alone, hundreds of miles apart. But Beau has a plan to reunite them at long last . .
Until the Road Ends is the eagerly awaited new novel from the bestselling author of When the Sky Falls: The Times Children's Book of the Year, winner of a Books Are My Bag Readers Award, the British Book Award for Children's Fiction and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
Cósima Unfortunate Steals A Star, Laura Noakes (paperback May 2023)
£7.99
Exciting, funny, moving - and featuring joyous and authentic disabled representation - Cosima Unfortunate Steals a Star is the middle-grade debut of 2023. Cosima Unfortunate has spent all her life at the Home for Unfortunate Girls - a school where any disabled children, or children deemed different, are sent, whether their families want it or not. It is there that she meets her friends - Pearl, Mary and Diya - and they start to practise mini heists involving the theft of cakes, biscuits and other sweet goodies.But when Cos finds out that Lord Francis Fitzroy, the explorer behind the Empire Exhibition, is planning to adopt them, she and her friends plot the biggest heist of their life. Instead of fondant fancies, they're going to steal Fitzroy's prized tiara, containing the legendary Star Diamond of India! But, as they start preparing for the day, Cosima finds herself drawing ever closer to discovering the one secret she's always wanted to know - the truth about her parents...
Safe Harbour, Marita Conlon-McKenna ( Paperback May 2023)
£8.99
Sophie (9) and Hugh (7) are evacuated to Greystones in Ireland when their house is bombed during the London Blitz. Their mother is seriously injured and their father is away fighting in the war, so the children are sent to their grandfather in Ireland. They know very little about him, except that his letters cause trouble at home and their dad never speaks of him.How will they live with a gruff old man who probably hates them? How will they manage in a strange country where they know nobody? And, most of all, will the family ever be together again?
Skander And The Phantom Rider, AF Steadman ( paperback 1 Feb 2024)
£7.99
Don't miss this second book in the international bestselling SKANDAR series, an unmissable adventure for readers age 9 to 99 and fans of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Eragon. The Island shall have its revenge .
. . Skandar Smith has achieved his dream to train as a unicorn rider.
But as Skandar and his friends enter their second year at the Eyrie, a new threat arises. Immortal wild unicorns are somehow being killed, a prophecy warns of terrible danger, and elemental destruction begins to ravage the Island. Meanwhile, Skandar's sister, Kenna, longs to join him - and Skandar is determined to help her, no matter what.
As the storm gathers, can Skandar discover how to stop the Island tearing itself apart - before it's too late for them all? Get ready for more action, unforgettable characters, and mesmerizing world building.
Pacy, enthralling and epic, a gripping read.' - Louie Stowell, author of Loki and Otherland 'A dazzling feat of imagination. I loved every breathless moment of it!' - Cat Doyle, author of The Storm Keeper's Island and co-author of Twin Crowns'The best book I've ever read.' - Patrick, age 10'My book of the year.
Amari and the Great Game, BB Alston ( paperback May 2023)
£7.99
Sequel to the New York Times bestseller Amari and the Night Brothers!
"Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black" in this magical second book in the New York Times bestselling Supernatural Investigations trilogy, soon to be a major movie starring Marsai Martin. Perfect for 8+ fans of Percy Jackson and Nevermoor. After finding her brother and saving the entire supernatural world, Amari Peters is convinced her first full summer as a Junior Agent will be a breeze.
But between the fearsome new Head Minister's strict anti-magician agenda, fierce Junior Agent rivalries, and her brother Quinton's curse steadily worsening, Amari's plate is full. So when the secretive League of Magicians offers her a chance to stand up for magiciankind as its new leader, she declines. She's got enough to worry about! But her refusal allows someone else to step forward, a magician with dangerous plans for the League.
This challenge sparks the start of the Great Game, a competition to decide who will become the Night Brothers' successor and determine the future of magiciankind. The Great Game is both mysterious and deadly, but among the winner's magical rewards is Quinton's last hope . .. so how can Amari refuse?
Seed, by Caryl Lewis ( paperback May 2022)
£7.99
Seed is a funny, big-hearted story by award-winner Caryl Lewis about the power of hope and imagination when you believe in the impossible.Perfect for readers of 8-12. Illustrated in black and white throughout by George Ermos. The heart of Wonder meets the humour of The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates.
Marty doesn't have much. Unlike his mum, who has billions of things: newspapers, holey shoes, rusty lawnmowers, broken picture frames - she keeps EVERYTHING! It's hard to leave the house. Marty wonders if anything will ever change.
But on Marty's birthday, Grandad, with a glint in his eye, gifts Marty a very special seed. Grandad hasn't been this excited since he invented the bum scratcher 2000 or thought he'd brewed wonder fuel from rhubarb leaves! The seed grows bigger and bigger, and launches Grandad, Marty and his best friend Gracie on an impossible, wondrous plan fuelled by love, hopes and dreams. Perfect for fans of Ross Welford, Jenny Pearson and Lisa Thompson.
Annie Lumsden, The Girl From the Sea ( paperback April 2023)
£7.99
A magical story about finding your identity from one of the most acclaimed storytellers of his generation, richly illustrated in full colour by an internationally renowned artist. My mother says that all things can be turned to tales. I thought she meant tales like fish tails, but I was wrong.She meant tales like this, tales that are stories. But this tale of mine is very like a fish tail too... Annie has never been like the other girls.
Her mam tried sending her to school when she was small, but Annie couldn't seem to make words or numbers stick. She prefers instead to be swimming in the sea, or sunbathing on the shore at Stupor Beach, her head full of tales. She should have been a fish, her mam always tells her, and Annie knows the truth of it.
Then a stranger who comes to town is struck by the beauty and the wonder of her, and Annie Lumsden realizes that perhaps she really is half a creature from the sea.
Wider Than The Sea, Serena Molloy ( paperback March 2023)
£7.99
Wider Than The Sea : A dyslexia-friendly story of friendship, hope and self-discovery
The powerful tale of a girl who feels broken, and the dolphin who makes her whole. A story of friendship, hope and self-discovery, perfect for readers aged 9+, and beautifully illustrated in black and white by George Ermos. Ro finds school impossible.
She knows people think she's shy - and stupid. But when she goes to the bay each afternoon to watch the dolphin leap through the water, she finds the strength to keep going. Then the dolphin disappears, and everything starts falling apart.
Can Ro overcome her fears to find him?I watch each rise and dip of wave know Sunny must be out there somewhere wonder if he's missing me. I remember that moment when I touched his skin and know that finding him is the only thing that can make the aching stop make me feel not broken.
The Storm Swimmer , Clare Weze ( paperback Jan 2023)
£7.99
Summer was supposed to be Ginika's time for fun, friends and fairs. But instead she's been sent to live at the dead-end seaside boarding house her grandparents run.Even though her parents say it's just for a little while, she can't help feeling abandoned and heartbroken to be missing out on everything she loves back home. And then she meets Peri. He leaps and dives through the water like a dolphin and he talks like a burst of bubbles.
He's not exactly a mermaid, but he's definitely something Ginika's never seen before. His family is far away too, but unlike Ginika, he loves his independence. As Ginika shows Peri her world, she starts to feel free as well.
They don't need anyone else when they've got each other. But then the lights and noise of the human world start to change Peri. And when things spin out of control, Ginika must be the bravest she's ever been to face her fears and make the hardest decision of her life.
Join Ginika and Peri as they dive beneath the waves and walk the lands that will take them into each other's worlds on an adventure they will never forget and a life-changing friendship.
I, Spy : a Bletchley Park mystery, Rhian Tracey ( paperback April 2023)
£7.99
A thrilling mystery adventure set in Bletchley Park at the start of World War II, based on true events. Perfect for fans of Phil Earle and Hilary McKay. "A highly original, gripping World War II story" - Emma CarrollTwelve-year-old Robyn has grown up in Bletchley Park, where her father works as a driver.When she's not at school, there's nothing she likes more than helping her dad in the garages. Then the war begins and everything at Bletchley changes. Robyn is assigned to help with the carrier pigeons that take messages to the Allies.
But first, she must sign the Official Secrets Act and is ordered not to leave the grounds of the park. While Bletchley is buzzing with people recruited for the war effort and all eyes are on the skies, Robyn becomes convinced that there's something sinister going on within Bletchley Park itself. Together with her friends Mary and Ned, Robyn resolves to uncover the enemy in their midst .
. . 'I loved this spy mystery about Robyn and her friends as they try to uncover the enemy in their midst.
Rhian's wonderful descriptions of Bletchley Park made me feel I was there in one of the most famous settings in WWII Britain. Readers will be hooked till the end.' Sufiya Ahmed, author of Rosie Raja: Churchill's Spy
The Tale of Truthwaterlake, Emma Carroll ( paperback April 2023)
£7.99
On one side of the underwater street is the remains of a house . . .It's beautiful here, and eerie, a lost kingdom, a ghost village . . .
It's the near-future and Britain is having yet another heatwave. Of course, the government have put in the normal curfews for this kind of weather, and shops are forced to shut again. For Polly, it's the sort of heat that makes her do wild, out-of-character things just to cool down.
Like face her fear of deepwater. Essential when she and her brother have been sent to their aunt's eco lake-side house for the summer. But Truthwater Lake is beginning to dry up.
As the water level diminishes, a lost village emerges. Swimming over the rooftops at midnight, Polly dives down and is suddenly able to breathe, to hear church bells and bird song . .. Polly has discovered an underwater gateway . .. to the past!
The Boy Who Saved A Bear, Nizrana Farook ( paperback April 2023)
£7.99
A boy and a bear meet, become friends and have the adventure of their lives! From the author of The Girl Who Stole an Elephant comes another brilliant escapade. The fourth thrilling adventure set in a fictional Sri Lanka is jam-packed with peril, thieves and a terrifying bear!Nuwan works at the library, delivering books. One day, he accidentally takes away a very valuable key that's been hidden inside one of the books, and in the process thwarts the plans of some very dangerous thieves.On the run, he hides in a cave, only to discover in the middle of the night that he is sharing it with a big, hairy, terrifying bear! After some hair-raising moments, he and the bear reach an understanding and they travel on together, evading the bad guys and hoping the key will unlock the answers to the mystery so that they can stop running and return home... Cover and inside illustrations by David Dean.
Clutch, MG Leonard ( paperback April 2023)
£7.99
When the peregrine falcon nest is raided, Twitch realizes a thief is at work. Horrified, he and the Twitchers set out to catch the dangerous criminal, only to be ensnared in a deadly trap.Can they save themselves and stop the villain before anyone gets hurt? Clutch is a thrilling spring mystery adventure about friendship, bravery and protecting nature, perfect for readers 9+ and for fans of Robin Stevens, David Baddiel and Jenny Pearson. It can be enjoyed as a stand-alone adventure or read as part of The Twitchers series. Praise for The Twitchers:"Leonard knows her audience and the jeopardy comes in flocks ...
Destination Anywhere, by Sara Bernard( paperback April 2021)
£7.99
A breathtaking novel about finding yourself and finding a friend by the award-winning author of Beautiful Broken Things.Sometimes you have to leave your life behind to find your place in the world.
After five years at secondary school spent without any friends, Peyton King starts sixth form college determined that things will be different. Whatever happens, she will make friends at any cost.
When she finds the friends she’s always dreamed of, including an actual boyfriend, she’s happier than she’s ever been.
But when they let her down in the worst way, Peyton is left no better off than when she started.
Now Peyton knows the only chance she has of finding happiness is to look for it somewhere else. Her life may feel small, but it doesn't have to be. With nothing but her sketchpad and a backpack, she buys a one-way ticket and gets on a plane. . .
In Destination Anywhere, Sara Barnard explores love, life and friendship in this exquisite tale of the lengths one girl will go to to change her story.
The Monkey From The Future, Ross Welford ( paperback March 2023)
£7.99
The hilarious, moving and adventure-packed new novel for readers of 9 and up from Ross Welford, the bestselling and Costa-shortlisted author of Time Travelling with a Hamster The year is 2425. Centuries after a catastrophic meteor collision, nature has retaken the earth. In a small town in what was once England, young Ocean Mooney and the monkey-owning Duke Smiff have just dug up a 400 year-old tablet computer.Meanwhile, in the present day, Thomas Reeve and his genius cousin Kylie create the Time Tablet - a device which they hope will allow them to communicate with the future. But when the Time Tablet malfunctions live on television, Thomas and Kylie are sucked into the year 2425 - and have only 24 hours to return home, and save the future of humanity...
The Rescue of Ravenwood, Natasha Farrant ( paperback March 2023)
£7.99
From the Costa Award winning author of Voyage of the Sparrowhawk comes an epic adventure with a call to arms: we must fight to save the most treasured things on our planet. On the top of the hill, overlooking the sea, that's where you'll find a magical place . .. To Bea and Raffy, Ravenwood is home. In its own way, the house rescued them, even if it did have a fallen-down tree taking up most of the kitchen.
So the idea that it could be sold. Demolished even. Well, that's unthinkable.
Then again, it's not like the children get a choice. But the truth is, we can all make our own choices, especially if we care enough . .
. A beautiful, soulful, exciting story about holding onto what's precious, and guarding the extraordinary nature that surrounds us.
The Monkey Who Fell From the Future, Ross Welford ( paperback Feb 2023)
£7.99
The latest hilarious, moving and adventure-packed new novel for readers of 9 and up from Ross Welford.
The year is 2425. Centuries after a catastrophic meteor collision, nature has retaken the earth. In a small town in what was once England, young Ocean Mooney and the monkey-owning Duke Smiff have just dug up a 400 year-old tablet computer.
Meanwhile, in the present day, Thomas Reeve and his genius cousin Kylie create the Time Tablet - a device which they hope will allow them to communicate with the future. But when the Time Tablet malfunctions live on television, Thomas and Kylie are sucked into the year 2425 - and have only 24 hours to return home, and save the future of humanity...
Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep, Philip Reeve ( paperback, Sept 2021)
£7.99
It was always at sundown they were seen. In that twilight hour, when the walls between the worlds grew thin, strange things might slip through the cracks. Sometimes then, so the stories went, enchanted islands would appear in the empty ocean to the west of Wildsea.When Utterly Dark was a baby, she was washed up on the shores of the Autumn Isles and taken in by the Watcher of Wildsea. But everything changes when her guardian suddenly drowns. Now who will keep the Watch, and make sure Wildsea stays safe from the strange forces teeming in the deep ocean around them?A magical new story from the bestselling and prize-winning author of Mortal Engines.
How I lost My Heart & Other Breakables, Alex Barclay ( paperback Jan 2023)
£7.99
My Heart & Other Breakables: How I lost my mum, found my dad, and made friends with catastrophe.
The hilarious and deeply moving diary novel from bestselling author Alex Barclay - this might just be the funniest book ever to make you cry your eyes out. This is the diary of me, Ellery Brown, aged fifteen and a half. I'm supposed to be recording my feelings about my mum, since she died, so why do I keep thinking about who my dad might be instead? Until now, I've had literally NO IDEA who my dad is.
My best friend Meg and I have narrowed it down to three authors my mum knew. (She was an author too.) But as they're all on different CONTINENTS, we're going to need fake IDs, passports, plane tickets and to get away from my self-obsessed grandmother . .
. One thing's for sure: this year is going to be INTERESTING!
For 12 +
Like A Curse, Elle McNicoll ( paperback Feb 2023)
£7.99
Stuck in Loch Ness while Edinburgh falls under the control of a terrifyingly powerful Siren, Ramya Knox is frustrated. She's supposed to be learning magic from her Aunt Opal, but that isn't going as smoothly as she'd hoped. As she pushes to rescue her Hidden Folk friends in the city, long-buried secrets come to light and legends come to life.
Ramya knows she's different; she knows she's a witch. But now she must learn the true meaning of her powers... before all she loves is lost.
Like a Charm Series : Book 2
See below for Book 1 ( Like A Charm)
The Night Animals, SarahAnn Juckes ( paperback Jan 2023)
£7.99
Uncover the ghost animals within in this moving and uplifting story about finding help where you need it, from the highly acclaimed author and illustrator of The Hunt for the Nightingale. Nora's mum has good days and bad days, but the bad days are getting worse. It's been just the two of them for always, and they don't need anyone else.When the rainbow-shimmering ghost animals Nora used to see when she was small start to reappear, she's convinced that they hold all the answers. Along with new friend Kwame, Nora follows a glittering ghostly fox, hare, raven and otter on the adventure of a lifetime, helping her to find the strength she needs to help her family. In a heartbreaking and hopeful narrative, Sarah Ann Juckes' stunning novel, illustrated by the award-winning Sharon King-Chai sees a brave young girl face down her ghosts.
For fans of The Last Bear and Julia and the Shark. Praise for Hunt for the Nightingale 'Full of hope, beauty & ultimately a healing song to nature' Hannah Gold, author of The Last Bear
The Mega Complicated Crushes of Lottie Brooks, Katie Kirby ( paperback August 2022)
£7.99
Lottie Brooks is BACK for more extremely embarrassing adventures as she goes on holiday and gets her very first boyfriend! THINGS THAT ARE RUBBISH IN MY LIFE:* Have the most disgusting little brother in the entire world* Have to get braces when am on the brink of having my first kiss* Mum is making cottage pie for dinner. VOM. Finally summer has arrived and Lottie has BIG plans - scrolling through Instagram, dreaming about MEGA-crush Daniel and sunbathing by the pool on their family holiday to France.Then Lottie meets new CRUSH Antoine. The language is a tiny bit of a barrier but does it matter when he's THAT good looking?Readers LOVE Lottie Brooks:My daughter couldn't put it down and read it in 2 days. Read at breakfast, walking downstairs, tea time, in the bath.
My 9-year-old daughter devoured it in two nights, and all I could hear from her was giggling and the occasional "Mum! Listen to this! This is SO me!". My 12 year old reluctant reader took this book, read 100 pages in one night and proclaimed it 'the best book ever 'Katie has managed to capture the essence of what this group think and feel in a positive, life-affirming fashion.
The Asparagus Bunch, Jessica Scott-Whyte ( paperback July 2022)
£7.99
A fresh and irreverent comedy starring a cast of neurodiverse characters - guaranteed to be one of the funniest novels you'll read this year. Leon John Crothers is 4779 days old (thirteen years and one month, if you're mathematically challenged). He has been 'moved on' from six different schools and most people think he has an attitude problem.Leon doesn't care for the label, in the same way that he doesn't care for Tim Burton, supermarket trolleys, train fanatics or Bounty bars. This time, however, things may turn out differently, as help comes from where he least expects it - Dr Snot, a physician at pains to help Leon navigate 'normal' and classmates, Tanya and Lawrence, who both face their own challenges. When school bully Glen Jenkins humiliates Leon in the school canteen and almost destroys Lawrence, Leon very reluctantly agrees to the formation of a club, The Asparagus Bunch.
How Leon manages to navigate school woes and family drama - and astonishingly ends up with not one but two friends - is nothing short of a miracle, or maybe just simply down to being different. Shortlisted for the AN Post Irish Book Awards 2022 Shortlisted for the Juniper Book Awards 2023
The Light in Everything, Katya Balen ( paperback Jan 2023)
£7.99
From the author of October, October, winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal 2022, comes a life-affirming story about blended families and learning to find room in your heart for new life and new love. Tom is still quiet and timid, even though his dad has been gone for nearly two years now.Zofia has a raging storm that makes her want to fight the whole world until she gets what she wants. And what she wants is for scaredy-cat Tom to get out of her life. Tom hates loud, unpredictable Zofia just as much, but he's moving into Zofia's house.
Because his mum and Zofia's dad are in love ... and they're having a baby. Tom and Zofia both wish the stupid baby had never happened.
But then Tom's mum gets ill, and it begins to look horribly like their wish might come true ... A story of learning to trust, trying to let go and diving into the unknown with hope in your heart.
Lost Whale, Hannah Gold ( paperback Feb 2023)
£7.99
The enchanting second novel from the author of The Last Bear: the bestselling debut hardback of 2021.
Rio has been sent to live with a grandmother he barely knows in California, while his mum is in hospital. All Rio wants is for Mum to get better so he can return home. But everything changes when he joins a whale-watching trip and meets White Beak, a gentle giant of the sea.
Rio forms an instant bond with the whale, and for the first time in ages he feels a spark of hope. Then White Beak goes missing and Rio may be the only person who can help. Can Rio draw on their special connection to somehow find and save his whale .
For readers 8 +
Dragon Destiny, K and K Tsang ( paperback Sept 2022)
£7.99
The first DRAGON REALM series reaches its epic finale with the fifth adventure for 9+ readers! Perfect for fans of epic conclusions. Also very suitable for reading aloud to younger children.
In their search for a new home for the dragon population, they learn of the Hidden Realm, a secret so well guarded that only one dragon knows how to locate it . . .
Glorious Old. But convincing her to trust them comes with its own problems, not to mention the introduction of an evil new baddie and their band of human-hating dragons. With trouble round every corner, what destiny is in store for Billy and the group?
'Rollicking, escapist storytelling with a dragon-sized heart' - Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of THE GIRL OF INK AND STARS '
Brimming with warmth and originality, DRAGON MOUNTAIN combines edge-of-your-seat adventure, laugh-out-loud humour and hugely exciting dragons to create a sweeping fantasy that will captivate readers of all ages.' - Catherine Doyle, author of THE STORM KEEPER'S ISLAND
Rewilding : Conservation Projects Bringing Wildlife Back Where It Belongs, David Steen ( hardback June 2022)
£10.99
Rewilding means returning animals or plants to places where they used to live. This book, kids will find out about awe-inspiring rewilding projects, including the wolves that returned to Yellowstone National Park and dramatically improved the ecosystem, and the beavers reintroduced to their old territories to build dams to stop them flooding. In these heartwarming true stories children will learn how different species evolved to live side by side, and will see what it takes to be a conservation scientist.They might even be inspired to become a wildlife activist themselves! By the end of the book they will be life with a key message: it's not too late to fix the planet.
Rapunzella, Or, Don't Touch My Hair, Ella McLeod (paperback July 2022)
£8.99
A genre-bending YA that weaves together inner-city life and a wildly dangerous fairytale universe. Rapunzella is imprisoned in an enchanted forest made of her own Afro and the might of the evil King Charming seems unstoppable. But is it? Can Rapunzella use her power to change the future? You're fifteen, you spend your time at school and at Val's hair salon with Baker, Val's son, who has eyes that are like falling off a cliff into space.The salon is a space of safety, but also of possibility and dreams... Dreams of hair so rich and alive that it grow upwards and outwards into a wild landscape, becomes trees and leaves, and houses birds and butterflies and all the secret creatures that belong in such a forest. Is there a future where such possibility and power is more than just a dream? Ella McLeod's debut merges poetry and prose in a stunningly lyrical, heart-piercingly honest exploration of a teenager coming into her power as a young woman.
The Body Image Book for Girls, Charlotte Markey ( large paperback Sept 2022)
£9.99
It is worrying to think that most girls feel dissatisfied with their bodies, and that this can lead to serious problems including depression and eating disorders. Can some of those body image worries be eased? Body image expert and psychology professor Dr Charlotte Markey helps girls aged 9-15 to understand, accept, and appreciate their bodies. She provides all the facts on puberty, mental health, self-care, why diets are bad news, dealing with social media, and everything in-between.Girls will find answers to questions they always wanted to ask, the truth behind many body image myths, and real-life stories from girls who share their own experiences. Through this easy-to-read and beautifully illustrated guide, Dr Markey teaches girls how to nurture both mental and physical health to improve their own body image, shows the positive impact they can have on others, and enables them to go out into the world feeling fearless!
Birdsong, Katya Balen ( paperback July 2022)
£6.99
The blackbirds' song uplifts and restores in this captivating novella from one of the most exciting voices in children's fiction. After a devastating car crash, Annie is unable to play her flute and retreats from the music she's always loved. She exists in a world of angry silence - furious with her mum and furious she can't seem to play her beloved flute any more.
Then she meets Noah, who shows her the blackbirds' nest hidden in the scrubland near their flats. As their friendship grows, the blackbirds' glorious song reignites Annie's passion for music. But when tragedy strikes again, will her fragile progress be put at risk?
Simple text but with an emotional heart, suitable for reluctant or slower reader (Barrington Stoke publishers ) but who want a less simple story. Katya Balen is one of my favourite writers.
Which Way to Anywhere, Cressida Cowell ( hardback Sept 2022)
£12.99
From the bestselling author of How to Train Your Dragon and The Wizards of Once comes an out-of-this-world new adventure ... K2 O'Hero is a seemingly ordinary boy - after all, he and his twin sister Izzabird have been sworn to keep their family's magical history a secret. Not even their infuriating stepsiblings, Theo and Mabel, know that magic exists.They believe K2 to be the most hopeless person they have ever known. But K2 has a secret gift: he draws maps of worlds that are beyond the wildest of imaginations. Worlds with six hundred moons, burning rivers and dark, twisty jungles alive with plants that hunt by the smell of fear.
But what K2 doesn't know, is that the maps he draws are real. When their baby sister Annipeck is kidnapped, the warring stepsiblings will have to use K2's gift to find a crossing point into one of those worlds and embark on a daring rescue mission. With a terrible beast and a petrifying robot assassin in their way, they must learn to work together quickly - because the future of their family is at stake ...
