The Wonder by Tom Percival, Simon & Schuster, £12.99
Daniel’s wet grey day seems like it will never get better – until he hears music and everything changes. A subtly beautiful picture book about finding small moments of joy and wonder.
The Big Green by Ken Wilson-Max, Otter-Barry, £12.99
Heading into the desert to plant seedlings with their family and neighbours, Maryam and Issa help to build the Great Green Wall of Africa in this rhythmic, colourful picture book, a rich celebration of community environmental action.
A Believer’s Guide to Unicorns by Jenni Desmond, Hodder, £7.99
This whimsical picture-book guide to unicorns – who live in the clouds, eat rainbow puffs and recharge their magic during thunderstorms – will enthral any imaginative child who loves seeing pictures in the changing sky.
Where’s Dragon in His Castle? by David Macphail, illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson, Magic Cat, £12.99
A delightful search-and-find 5+ picture book, written by a genuine castle steward, and packed with enticing historical detail about castle-building and medieval medicine.
Kid Potato by Neil Coslett, Hodder, £8.99
Ideal for 5+ Dav Pilkey fans, these five highly illustrated stories of a regular kid – who just happens to be a potato – and his cheese-based experiments, confrontations with his grandmother’s toilet and epic bowling battles are both accessible and gross-out hilarious.
Tiny Hercules by Jon Lock and Nich Angell, Macmillan, £9.99
When Tiny Hercules ruins one of Tiny Zeus’s parties, he’s banished to Earth, where he must complete 12 legendary tasks to return to Tiny Olympus. Crash-landing in the town of Chutney-on-Toast, the jam jar-size hero teams up with reluctant, nerdy Jeff and instantly starts trying to defeat a lion (AKA cat) in this wildly comic 7+ graphic novel.
Hari Kumar, Ultimate Superstar by Rashmi Sirdeshpande, illustrated by Mamta Singh, HarperCollins, £7.99
Ten-year-old Hari is determined to achieve stardom at all costs – especially when a school film-making competition offers him his big break. But as his best friends pursue their own ideas and the new kid starts to turn into a villain rather than a sidekick, will Hari’s dream be over before it’s begun? A funny 7+ introduction to an engaging neurodivergent hero, in a welcoming illustrated diary format.
The Last Wolf by Rob Biddulph, Macmillan, £12.99
In the town of Moonhaven, Jax, Jovi, Esau and Fourth love nothing more than creeping out at the full moon, despite the curfew enforced by the sinister Nighthawks. After a rare werewolf attack, though, the children are suspected of involvement and must go on the run. Can they reveal the truth behind the attack – and what Colonel Pike, the Nighthawks’ leader, is planning? Atmospherically illustrated in black-and-white, this fast-paced story is a satisfying, thrilling 8+ adventure.
A Girl’s Guide to Spying by Holly Webb, Rock the Boat, £7.99
When Phyl and Annie join the Girl Guides in 1915, learning knots, morse code and drill, their parents aren’t too keen on their unladylike activities. Then Phyl and another Guide get jobs as War Office messengers – but when an officer goes missing, Phyl uncovers a spy in the midst of MO5 (the precursor to MI5). As she and Annie fight to solve the mystery, will anyone believe them – and can they make a difference to the direction of the war? First in a new series that will appeal to Murder Most Unladylike fans, this is a gripping, believable 9+ historical mystery, full of courage, high stakes and quick wits.
Always Angel by Kimberly Whittam, Usborne, £7.99
Angel has racked up more detentions than any other year 8 student. Despite her track record of poor choices, though, she wants to do well, make friends, and even win the school bake-off. Her mum is unable to care for her, and everything seems overwhelming – is there any chance she can turn things round? An empathetic, moving 9+ contemporary story of challenge and determination.
Gone for Good by Sarah Crossan, Simon & Schuster, £9.99
Grieving and angry, Connie is traumatised when she’s consigned to Silver Lake Academy, a secure facility for troubled teens – then drawn deep into a disturbing conspiracy when she discovers the girl who used to sleep in her bunk is missing without trace. This compelling YA verse-novel thriller is impossible to stop reading.
They Call Her Regret by Channelle Desamours, Bloomsbury, £8.99
Known for her legendary Halloween parties, Simone is holding this year’s beside an isolated lake where Regret, a bereaved, malign spirit, is said to make deadly deals with those who find her. When her best friend’s life is endangered, Simone must decide how far she will go to save her in this unsettling, page-turning supernatural YA mystery.
The Fox Hunt by Caitlin Breeze, Electric Monkey, £16.99
At the University, an ancient pact allows the elite all-male Turnbull Club the power to rule in exchange for a sacrifice to a hidden magical world. Unsophisticated Emma is an unlikely match for Jasper, the club’s glamorous president – and when Turnbull dinners and parties give way to a fox hunt where she’s the quarry, she finds herself ripped from the mortal world and bound to the magical Night City, where she will have to find her own reserves of ferocity and cunning if she wishes to escape. A richly imagined fantasy, elegantly marrying feminist fairytale with dark academia.
