Children
Three Tasks for a Dragon, Eoin Colfer & PJ Lynch ( hardback Oct 2023)
£14.99
Illustrated in a sophisticated muted palette, this is a classic quest story with a modern twist from two Irish Children's Laureates. After his father’s death, Prince Lir is tricked into embarking on a perilous quest to rescue a maiden from a dragon. The studious young prince is no warrior, but he uses his brains to make himself indispensable to the grumpy dragon.
However, neither prince nor dragon have bargained on the dark magic which manipulates them both, and it may be left to maiden herself to save them all…
Mouse and Mole, Joyce Dunbar and James Mayhew ( paperback 2022)
£7.99
Only discovered this recently - an adorable story and illustrations, for fans of Paddington, Winnie the Pooh or The Toad of Toad Hall.
Fun characters, great dialogue and a story to keep children 3 -6 really entertained.
My Very Busy Day, Shirley Hughes ( hardback April 2024)
£12.99
A classic collection of first experiences for pre-schoolers, illustrated by the best-loved Kate Greenaway medal-winner, Shirley Hughes. In this beautifully illustrated book for first readers, little ones can find out about Olly and Katie's very busy day learning new words and improving their vocabulary along the way. From getting dressed in the morning, heading out for a walk in the park or having a story before bath and bedtime, this simple, joyful book takes the reader through key points in a toddler's day, with plenty of objects to spot and recognize in Shirley Hughes' reassuring and charming pictures.
Packed with evocative scenes from childhood and first words to spell out on each page, there is so much to see and do in Olly and Katie's gentle pre-school world.
The Giraffe The Pelly and Me, Roald Dahl ( paperback)
£7.99
This is a great transition book from picture book to chapter books, able to be read aloud but still with enough imagery to make it fun for both reader and listener. The text in this edition of The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me was updated in 2022 for young independent readers.
The Pelican spread his huge white wings and flew down on to the road beside me. 'Hop in,' he said, opening his enormous beak . .
."MEET BILLY. A kid with a dream. He wants to turn an old wooden house into an incredible sweetshop full of treats!AND MEET THE LADDERLESS WINDOW-CLEANING COMPANY: Monkey, Pelican (Pelly) and Giraffe (who needs ladders when you've got a giraffe?!).
They have just landed a big break cleaning all six hundred and seventy-seven windows of the mansion owned by the richest man in all of England! All they need now is a little help from Billy. Can these unlikely new friends make Billy's wildest dreams come true and take him on an adventure he'll never forget.
The Vanishing Elephant, Charles Way and Sabine Dargent
£9.99
In the heart of Bengal, a young boy named Opu dreams of becoming an elephant trainer. When he befriends Janu, an Asian elephant, their friendship is a first step on an adventure so huge, it spans decades and continents. On their separate paths, they face fearsome encounters, stormy seas and strange new worlds.
It works as a great story to read aloud to younger children and to share with older children, the layout and shape of the book is great for shared reading.
This moving story of friendship and belonging from award winning theatre company Cahoots was named Critic's Pick by the New York Times. The live show is coming to Belfast for one week only this Autumn! Don't miss it - book via the Grand Opera House Belfast, at www.goh.co.uk.
Orchard Greek Myths, Geraldine McCaughrain
£14.99
Discover the drama and thrill of sixteen classic Ancient Greek myths in this glorious story collection. Featuring all of the best-known stories, including Theseus & the Minotaur, Heracles, Daedalus & Icarus, The Wooden Horse and Pandora's Box. Retold by master storyteller, Geraldine McCaughrean, with full colour artwork throughout, this is an essential for every child's bookshelf.
"These powerful stories are brought to a young modern audience with a verve and simplicity that makes them shine in our minds" - Michael Rosen
Stories included: Theseus and the Minotaur / Pandora's Box / Perseus and Medusa / Jason and the Golden Fleece / Daedalus and Icarus / Orpheus and Eurydice/ Arachne/ The Wooden Horse of Troy/ King Midas/ Persephone and the Pomegranate Seeds /Echo and Narcissus/ The Twelve Labours of Heracles/ Odysseus/ Apollo and Daphne/ Atalanta's Race/ Freedom for Prometheus
Bear and Bird, The Picnic and other stories
£7.99
Full of funny mix-ups and comic misunderstandings, as well as genuine warmth and affection, these four stories are the start of an irresistibly charming new chapter book series from award-winning creator Jarvis. "These wittily illustrated stories of mishaps, hurt feelings, fondness and friendship have a transporting quality, ideal for 5+." GuardianBear and Bird are best friends! And while they don’t always understand each other, they both agree: all they want is to make the other happy. So, when Bear forgets to pack for a picnic (but pretends that he didn’t), Bird doesn’t let on that she knew all along.
And when Bird discovers that Bear has more of a certain talent than she does, well, Bear finds a touching way to make her feel better...
Colossal Words for Kids : 75 Tremendous Words Neatly Defined to Stick in the Mind, by Colette Hiller
£9.99
Boost your child’s growing vocabulary with 75 hilariously illustrated poems from Colette Hiller, author of the critically acclaimed kids’ poetry book The B on Your Thumb. Each poem in this funny, funky book teaches a specific important word, as well as its meaning and spelling, in an innovative and accessible format that kids will love. Using rhythm and wordplay, the poems help build a colossal vocabulary, thinking skills and literacy – without kids even noticing! But most of all, this book delights young readers with the joy and silliness of the English language.
Building a colossal vocabulary has never felt so natural, or so much fun! Each word in this collection is defined in a simple rhyme. Using rhythm, humour and logic, each word’s meaning is made clear and accessible. Kids will want to try them out straight away: it’s a ready-to-use collection! You and your kids will love:Rolling rhymes that will be chanted again and againFun and quirky drawings that bring these educational poems to lifeHolistic learning premise from Colette Hiller, skilled in writing educational poetry for childrenFrom Ambiguous to Zealous, the words in this book are for 7-to-12-year-olds.
Where to Hide a star, Oliver Jeffers ( hardback October 2024)
£14.99
Celebrate twenty years of The Boy in this highly anticipated new adventure from the internationally bestselling picture book creator of Lost and Found Oliver Jeffers!
Once there was a boy who would often play hide-and-seek with his friends the star and the penguin. The star was always easy to find, but one day it went missing. So, the boy radioed the Martian for help and soon found himself on an exciting spaceship rescue mission to the North Pole! But there, he discovered that he wasn’t the only one who had always dreamed of having a star as a friend…
The out-of-this-world, long-awaited sequel to the much-loved Boy stories, loved all around the world – now introducing a brand-new character!
SIGNED COPIES NOW AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME *
Mouse and Mole ; Boo to the Hoo ( paperback, 2023)
£8.99
Things are never quite what they seem for Mouse and Mole. A cosy evening at home turns into a scary encounter in the dark. Mouse enjoys special moments on a country stroll while Mole is eager to get to the end of it. Pea soup for supper – Mole’s favourite – has him in a quandary; is this the happiest moment of his life or the saddest? Mouse, as always, takes it all in his stride.
Wordsworth Collector's Editions : Classic Stories
£8.99
This is such a good value collection - small hardbacks, beautifully produced, with all the classic stories featured. A lovely gift to yourself or even as a christening present to decorate a nursery. Some of the best loved children's titles are included.
Usually only £8.99 per title. I have some featured here but some more can be found below :
Little Women - Anne of Green Gables - Emma - A Christmas Carol - Mrs Dalloway - The Great Gatsby - Ulysses - The Dubliners - Wuthering Heights - Sense and Sensibility - Sherlock Holmes - Far From the Madding Crowd - Tess of the D'Urbervilles ... and MORE!
Railway Children - Black Beauty - Alice in Wonderland - THe WInd in the WIllows - Jungle Book - The LIttle Prince - Peter Pan
Over the Red Brick Chimney, Una Leavy ( hardback picture book 2024)
£12.99
Little Goose is excited. It’s time to go, before the Big Snow. Winter is coming, and all the geese are flying to their new home in Ireland. But Little Goose gets blown down, down, down by a sudden gust. Can Finn and his mum help her find her way home?
A lovely book of images and story, for anyone who has ever seen and heard the distinctive honk and dramatic visual of geese overhead.
shortlisted for An Post Irish Book of the Year
History of the world in 25 cities, British Museum (hardback)
£16.99
A stunningly illustrated book of extraordinary city maps, telling the story of human civilisation throughout history. A gorgeous, large-format gift hardback with a stunning neon cover, A History of the World in 25 Cities features 25 beautifully illustrated city maps from all over the world, from ancient history to the present day. Co-authored by award-winning children's authors Tracey Turner and Andrew Donkin in consultation with specialist curators at the British Museum, readers can visit cities from every inhabited continent on Earth, from the walled city of Jericho built over 10,000 years ago, to the modern-day metropolis of Tokyo, the most-densely populated city in the world today.
Featuring vibrant, beautifully detailed artwork from Libby VanderPloeg, each carefully researched map takes readers on a city tour at a unique moment in time - from exploring Athens in ancient Greece during the birth of democracy, to walking the beautiful lamplit streets of medieval Benin, deep in the West African rainforest. Readers can even visit China's long-lost capital city of Xianyang - a city for which no original map exists, which was brought to life with support from the British Museum's fantastic team of experts. Each map is followed by two gorgeously illustrated pages of fascinating information about what life was (or is) like for the inhabitants of each city, including a bite-sized look at each city in numbers.
Packed with countless facts for curious readers to return to again and again, this is a perfect gift for children who want to explore history from around the world.
Peppa Pig: Peppa’s Unicorn Adventure: A Press-Out-and-Play Book
£9.99
Play with Peppa and George and press-out play pieces!
Peppa and George are heading off on a magical adventure in their make-believe kingdom! Press-out the character pieces and play along with the story and then use your press-out pieces to go on your very own adventures!What magical creatures will Peppa and George meet along the way?
The amazing world of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler ( hardback Oct 2024)
£25.00
This lavishly illustrated visual guide is a celebration of the iconic creative partnership between Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. A stunning gift book, it is packed full of behind-the-scenes information, fun facts and never-before-seen illustrations from their many bestselling stories. Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler have been making picture book magic for over thirty years, creating some of the world’s best-loved picture books, including The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, Stick Man and Zog.
Find out more about their early lives, explore how their creative partnership began, and dive deeper inside the wonderful worlds of all your favourite characters and stories. Packed with full-colour illustrations, sketches and photographs, The Amazing World of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is a must-have gift for fans of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. This gorgeous hardback edition is perfect for all the family to enjoy together.
The Story Orchestra - musical storybooks
£16.99
The Story Orchestra series brings classical music to life for children through gorgeously illustrated retellings of classic ballet, opera and program music stories paired with 10-second sound clips of orchestras playing from their musical scores. Also available in the Story Orchestra series: Four Seasons in One Day, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Carnival of the Animals, The Magic Flute, In the Hall of the Mountain King, I Can Play (vol 1), The Planets and Peter and the Wolf.
Next to this, you can replay the musical excerpts and, for each of them, read a discussion of the instruments, rhythms and musical techniques that make them so powerful.
A glossary defines musical terms.
Normal Women, Philippa Gregory (paperback Feb 2025)
£10.99
The bestselling, critically acclaimed women’s history from blockbuster author Philippa Gregory – adapted for teen readers!
Today, when we think of women of the past, we often think of the 1800s and 1900s – crinolines and stage coaches, bonnets and balls – a time when women were told they were naturally inferior to men, and must stay at home while men went out to work and have fun. HUGE MISTAKE! There is so much more to women’s history than bonnets and big dresses! Ordinary women have been doing extraordinary things FOR EVER – it just didn’t make the history books (written by men!). Join multi-award-winning author Philippa Gregory as she tells the story of ordinary English women, making history for 900 years.
Meet farmers, highwaywomen, pirates, ‘female husbands’, slaves, soldiers, criminals, writers, inventors, rioters and more – protesting, working, playing, taking risks, getting rich (and getting even!). Their story is one of ingenuity, diversity, rebellion, survival – and sisterhood. Illustrated throughout by award-winning printmaker Alexis Snell.
PRAISE FOR NORMAL WOMEN (teen edition): ‘Impressively researched, by turns inspiring and chilling … brilliantly told’ – Cressida Cowell
Gozzle, Julia Donaldson, (hardback March 2025)
£12.99
Meet a very cute little gosling! Written by the brilliant Julia Donaldson and stunningly illustrated by the award-winning Sara Ogilvie, Gozzle is a funny and heartwarming story about family and growing up. It's springtime. Bear has woken up hungry and finds a lost egg outside his cave.
Breakfast? No! Out hatches Gozzle, a very sweet little gosling who is convinced that Bear must be her daddy – and that she should be able to climb, dig and eat honey just like him. Follow Bear on his journey from reluctant carer to parent in this heartwarming and joyous picture book about what home and family truly mean. A laugh-out loud story from the creators of the bestselling picture books.
Pip And Egg, Alex Latimer ( paperback April 2025)
£7.99
From standout author, Alex Latimer, and bestselling illustrator, David Litchfield, comes a beautiful picture book about finding - and holding on to - friendship. One bright afternoon, Pip met Egg. Pip is a seed from a glorious tree, and Egg is a bird's egg from a nearby nest.
When Pip and Egg first meet, they are almost the same size and shape - like two peas in a pod. But as their friendship grows, so do they - for Pip this means growing roots, but for Egg? Well, Egg grows wings, and she can't wait to use them. Though Pip wishes he can follow Egg on her adventures, his roots are strong.
So he watches his friend fly away. But true friends always find their way back to one another, and there are no truer friends than Pip and Egg. And if there's one thing they learn, it's that the circle of life will always lead them back to each other.
