ALPENGLOW - THE FINEST CLIMBS ON THE 4000M PEAKS OF THE ALPS, by Ben Tibbetts

Secret Belfast, Kathy Curran ( paperback, reissue Jan 2024)

£14.99

Small enough to pop in a bag, but bursting with history and mystery. Discover how the city stood up against the evils of the slave trade, admire its stunning art deco facades, unearth beautiful stained-glass windows by an accomplished yet little-known female artist, take to the windy coastal paths just out of town and peak into caves where smugglers once hid their loot, visit the humble cottage of an American president, uncover the mysteries of Bronze Age burial grounds and Stone Age forts, squeeze down a secret underground tunnel or take a boat ride to see the city's seal colony, visit the place where Marconi sent his first wireless signal across the waves, go to a cinema shaped like a ship... Small, yet bursting with history and mystery, Belfast, far from the crowds and the usual cliches, is a reserve of well-concealed treasures that only reveal themselves to those who know how to wander off the beaten track, whether residents or visitors. An indispensable guide for those who thought they knew Belfast well, or who would like to discover the hidden face of the city.

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.

Rosarita, Anita Desai ( hardback July 2024)

£12.99

From three times Booker-shortlisted author Anita Desai, Rosarita is a beautiful, haunting novel that explores memory, grief, and a young woman’s determination to forge her own path. A young student sits on a bench in a park in San Miguel, Mexico. Bonita is away from her home in India to learn Spanish.

She is alone, somewhere she has no connection to. It is bliss. And then a woman approaches her.  The woman claims to recognize Bonita because she is the spitting image of her mother, who made the same journey from India to Mexico as a young artist. No, says Bonita, my mother didn’t paint. She never travelled to Mexico.

But this strange woman insists, and so Bonita follows her. Into a story where Bonita and her mother will move apart and come together, and where the past threatens to flood the present, or re-write it.

France. An Adventure History, Graham Robb ( paperback March 2023)

£10.99