TSL Spring 2026 74-1 Sample

TSL

The School Librarian

The Journal of the School Library Association

Volume 74 Number 1 Spring 2026

Illustrating a World of Wonder

By Jason Lyon

Building a Library and a Community

By Collette Wade

Cultivating Independent Researchers

By Rachael Brennan

www.sla.org.uk

CONTENTS

TSL

The School Librarian

The Journal of the School Library Association

Volume 74 Number 1 Spring 2026

LATEST

2

3

4

Welcome from the Chair

Editorial

SLA News

FEATURES

5

6

9

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

23

25

28

35

36

38

40

62

Anchors in the Storm

Richard Gerver

Illustrating a World of Wonder

Jason Lyon

What’s Your Story?

Victoria Dilly


Collette Wade

More Than Just Books: Transforming Secondary

School Libraries for Diversity and Inclusion

Morgane Grummert

Reading for Pleasure: Marvelous Maps!

Sarah McIntyre

Pupil Power: Young Voices for Change

Why Verse is the Perfect Fit forReluctant Readers

and EAL Students

Sarah Crossan

Inspiring Readers: The Importance of Author Events

Kristina Rahim

Building Vibrant Reading Communities for the

National Year of Reading 2026


Rachael Brennan

Bringing Ghostwriters Out Of the Shadows

Abie Longstaff

Looking back at the National Year of Reading 2008

Saira Aspinall

National Year of Reading Toolkit: Ideas, Inspiration

and Reassurance for the Campaign Year

What We’re Reading in the National Year of Reading

Behind the Book – Always Angel by Kimberly Whittam

Curiosity Covered: The Information Book Award

Shortlist

The Manga Companion Lessons for Change

Scott Hulme

REGULARS

26 Read, Watch, Listen, Learn

27 Research Highlights

66 Dates For Your Diary

DIGITAL

30 Bev’s Helpdesk

31 Two Truths and AI Review

32 News Fact-Checkers and

Their Educational Value

for UK Secondary Schools

BOOK REVIEWS

42 7 and Under

50 8-12 Fiction

59 8-12 Information

63 Graphic Novels

64 13-16 Fiction

67 17-19

67 Professional

69 From the Archive: 2008 Reviews

72 Index

TSL VOLUME 74 NUMBER 1 SPRING 2026 1

Welcome from the Chair

I

am delighted to have been elected Chair

of the SLA Board, and it is great to be

able to work closely with other trustees

and the staff at the SLA to see closeup

the wonderful work they all support and

deliver. I feel especially lucky to have arrived

at this moment as the National Year of Reading

launches, a key government initiative that the

SLA is proud to be supporting.

Celebrating reading is a worthy goal in itself,

but the real success of the National Year of

Reading will be determined by whether it makes

a difference beyond 2026. Shiny initiatives and

announcements have their place, but what

we should really be looking at is sustainable

change: how will the supporting infrastructures

– including books, physical spaces, and of course

people – be elevated in the longer term? How

will children be given a love of reading that lasts

throughout their lives?

If we want those good intentions and

the investment already announced

to lead to meaningful change, then

we need to look beyond 2026.

In a past life I worked as a civil servant at the

Department for Education and have had my fair

share of experiences of government initiatives,

some based on excellent evidence and well

delivered, others (to be frank) are more about

soundbite than substance. It is clear to me

that the intentions behind the National Year of

Reading are positive, shown not least by real

investment in primary and secondary school

libraries. I have no doubt that this government

understands the fundamental importance of

literacy and reading to child development and

success and happiness in life.

But if we want those good intentions and the

investment already announced to lead to

meaningful change, then we need to look beyond

2026, beyond a specially designated year for

reading, to ask more fundamental questions about

the funding, structures, and policies that support

reading and those parts of the school system

(including of course libraries) that turn the warm

words of politicians and officials into reality. For

the truth is that the hard yards of actually inspiring

a love of reading in a child so often take place

against the backdrop of school library shelves, led

by those with the care and skill to find that spark

and ignite something amazing.

Perhaps that is where the National Year of Reading

will make the biggest difference, by reminding

teachers, school leaders, parents, and community

groups of the joy and impact that a love of reading

can have. And not just in 2026, as the events and

razzmatazz of the National Year of Reading play

out, but into 2027 and beyond. That would be truly

worthwhile change.

Gareth Conyard is the CEO

of the Teacher Development

Trust, a charity dedicated

to supporting the effective

professional development of

school leaders and teachers.

Prior to joining TDT in 2022,

he was a senior civil servant

at the Department for

Education, a nineteen-year

career that saw him work on

everything from early years

to higher education.

The School Librarian is published by:

The School Library Association

1 Pine Court, Kembrey Park, Swindon, SN2 8AD

Telephone: 01793 530166

Website: www.sla.org.uk

Email: info@sla.org.uk

Cover artwork by

Jason Lyon

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2 TSL VOLUME 74 NUMBER 1 SPRING 2026

Editorial

Whilst every new year brings

new experiences, some

bring more change than

others. For me, one of

those years was 2008. One

term into a science degree

at Bristol University, during the sink-or-swim

reality of fresher year, I was discovering I had fins.

Through determination, some great friendships,

and an openness to change, I finished the year a

different, and I think better, person.

2008 also happened to be the last National Year of

Reading. I wonder how many children ended that

year with a different attitude to reading, and how

that shift might have impacted their lives going

forward. In this issue, we’ll be looking both back

and forward during this National Year of Reading:

learning from past successes and planning for

future growth. My hope is that 2026 brings as much

sustainable positive change to your school library

as 2008 did for me, personally.

Big changes don’t always need a big budget, but

they do need a big vision, as Collette Wade shows

us in her feature about how her team overcame

considerable setbacks to create a new school

library at Thomas A’Becket Infant School.

Change can be just as impactful when it is quiet

and considered. SLA member Morgane Grummert

explains how her research supports the need for

diverse and inclusive collections and recommends

strategies to move collection development away

from reactive, impromptu purchasing towards a

proactive, data-driven approach.

Whatever changes your library goes through

during this National Year of Reading, we know

that school librarians are all striving towards the

same purpose: helping children and young people

enjoy reading more.

Sarah Crossan shares her insights into how verse

can ‘rewire a person’s belief in themselves as a

reader’ by removing the fear factor many readers

experience when confronted with heavy text.

Big changes don’t always need a big

budget, but they do need a big vision.

Visual elements mustn’t be overlooked when

engaging new groups of readers either. In the first

of a series of articles for TSL, author, illustrator, and

SLA Patron Sarah McIntyre explores how maps in

books support reading and writing and offers tips

on helping students create their own.

The importance of illustration combined with

high-quality text for young readers was highlighted

We know that school librarians are all

striving towards the same purpose:

helping children and young people

enjoy reading more.

at the Information Book Award 2025, where

Amazing Asia won the Overall Children’s Choice

Award. Jason Lyon, whose incredible illustration

features on our front cover, tells us about his

transition from advertising and commercial

illustration into children’s books.

If you’ve never hosted an author event for your

pupils, the prospect might feel quite daunting.

Well, just know that it’s just the same for the

authors themselves. Inside, debut author Kristina

Rahim shares how she took the plunge into the

world of school visits and hasn’t looked back.

Finally, as we look ahead to the rest of this

National Year of Reading, we also ask: what

happened last time? We revisit our archive to

explore what we were discussing in 2008 and

return to reviews of some of our favourite books

published that year.

Whether your focus is reimagining a space,

reshaping a collection, or finding new ways to

inspire readers, we hope the ideas and voices

gathered in this issue encourage you to move into

2026 with confidence, creativity, and purpose.

Becky West leads on the SLA's

quarterly journal The School

Librarian and oversees the

SLA Awards. Since joining the

team in 2022, she has been

dedicated to highlighting

excellence in school

librarianship and championing

thought-provoking

contributions to the field.


SLA News

Conference News

The 2026 Annual Conference is getting

closer, and the programme is shaping

up to be inspiring and celebratory, with

just the right amount of challenge –

encouraging us all to think carefully about

the often negative narratives surrounding

children and young people's reading,

learning and wellbeing and the role of the

school library.

As well as valuable training sessions and

workshops that will delve into subjects

including Media and Information

Literacy, supporting SEND and wellbeing

through the library, and discussing

censorship in the school library, the SLA

conference provides the opportunity to be

inspired by new titles, and to connect with

some of the most talented and exciting

writers working in children's and young

adult literature.

We are so pleased to reveal some

exceptional authors who will be joining

publishing legend Dame Jacqueline

Wilson on our 2026 programme,

bringing their knowledge, experience

and creativity to a wide range of

conversations:

Piers Torday will lend an author’s

perspective to our opening panel, asking

‘What does it mean to be a reader?’. With

Jonathan Douglas, CEO of National

Literacy Trust, Debbie Hicks, Creative

Director of The Reading Agency, Jo

Treganza, President of UKLA, and

SLA CEO Victoria Dilly this important

conversation will explore what being a

reader means at a time of change and

challenge.

Catherine Johnson and Sophie

Anderson will join a panel discussion

focusing on engaging reluctant readers

through diverse narratives. Catherine is

a screenwriter and Carnegie nominated

author whose books often explore

forgotten or overlooked Black historical

figures such as Matthew Henson and

Josephine Baker. Sophie is the awardwinning

and bestselling writer of The

House with Chicken Legs, and many other

hugely popular children’s novels. Her

writing is often inspired by the Slavic

tales her Prussian grandmother told her

when she was young, and her books give

Gary Northfield

Tasneem Abdur-Rashid

readers access to the stories, customs and

beliefs of societies, histories and cultures

different from their own.

Following superstar Bunny vs Monkey

creator Jamie Smart’s keynote on Friday

afternoon, Jamie will be joined by graphic

novelists Gary Northfield and Wren

James for a panel discussion further

delving into the popularity and potential

of graphic novels. Gary Northfield is the

award-winning author-illustrator of the

Julius Zebra series. Wren James (formerly

published as Lauren James) is the

Carnegie-longlisted author of many young

adult novels, including Last Seen Online,

Green Rising and The Loneliest Girl in the

Universe. They are a story consultant on

Netflix’s Heartstopper, and author of The

Victors – a cosy fantasy YA graphic novel.

2026 Carnegie Medal for Writing

nominated authors, Nicola Garrard

and Tasneem Abdur-Rashid, will be

in conversation exploring empathetic,

issue-led fiction on Saturday afternoon.

Nicola and Tasneem will discuss how

Nicola Garrard

Piers Torday

the issues affecting young people have

evolved over the years, exploring the ways

in which fiction has risen to the challenge

of reflecting the modern experiences of

childhood and adolescence, drawing on

the examples of their own acclaimed titles

- On the Edge and Odd Girl Out. They

will also explore the vital role of school

librarians in getting the right books in

front of the right young people.

There will be lots of opportunity to

meet and speak to attending authors

during book signings and within the

conference exhibition, which will feature

over 35 exhibitors and an inspirational

library gallery space. You can enjoy

browsing classic titles and new books

at the conference bookshop too; we are

really pleased to welcome independent

bookseller PG Wells to

the conference this year.

Don’t miss out! Book

your tickets to the 2026

Annual Conference.

© Shoot Me Now

© 2024 David Shoukry/English Photoworks


Feature

Anchors in the Storm

Richard Gerver

Today’s world is defined by constant change. Here, Richard Gerver reflects

on how school libraries help us navigate this change and uncertainty.

Ihave spent the last two decades of my

career highlighting that change is no

longer an occasional visitor in our lives;

it is a permanent resident. For young

people growing up today, uncertainty

is not an abstract concept discussed in

textbooks but a lived experience – technological

shifts, social change, global challenges, and

personal transitions all colliding at once. In this

landscape, schools are often asked to be places of

stability while simultaneously preparing learners

for a world that refuses to stand still. And quietly,

often underestimated, school libraries sit at the

heart of this paradox.

In times of uncertainty, what learners need most

is not always answers, but the confidence to ask

better questions. Libraries are built precisely for

this purpose.

The library remains one of the few

places in a school where exploration

can be its own justification.

I often speak and write about education as a

process of helping people understand who they

are and how they fit into a changing world. School

libraries do this without fanfare. When everything

else feels measured, assessed, and judged, the

library remains one of the few places in a school

where exploration can be its own justification. In

an uncertain world, that freedom matters.

Stories are powerful tools for making sense of change.

Through fiction, students encounter characters who

face loss, transition, fear, and transformation. They

see that uncertainty is not a flaw in life’s design but

a feature of it. A novel about displacement, a poem

about identity, or a graphic story about resilience

can help a young person articulate emotions they do

not yet have the language for. The library becomes

a quiet companion, saying, ‘You are not alone in

feeling this way.’

Non-fiction, too, plays a vital role. When the world

feels unpredictable, access to reliable information

is grounding. School libraries teach learners how

to evaluate sources, how to distinguish fact from

opinion, and how to approach complexity without

panic. In an age of misinformation, this is not a

technical skill – it is a form of emotional resilience.

Knowing how to seek truth is deeply reassuring.

In uncertain times, belonging is a

stabilising force.

But perhaps the most powerful contribution of the

school library lies in its people. Librarians are not

merely custodians of resources; they are guides,

listeners, and connectors. A good school librarian

understands that learning is personal.

Importantly, school libraries are inclusive by design.

They offer multiple entry points into learning,

recognising that not everyone processes uncertainty

in the same way. The library says, ‘There is room for

you here,’ regardless of how you show up that day.

In uncertain times, belonging is a stabilising force.

As educators, we often rush to prepare students

for the future, forgetting that the future is, by

definition, unknown. School libraries gently resist

this panic. They slow the pace. They encourage

reflection. They remind us that wisdom grows

over time, through exposure to ideas, cultures, and

perspectives that challenge our assumptions.

In the end, the value of a school library is not

measured by footfall or circulation statistics, but by

its impact on human confidence. It helps learners

trust their ability to navigate change, to sit with

uncertainty, and to remain curious rather than afraid.

In a world that feels increasingly volatile, that may be

one of the most important lessons a school can offer.

The school library does not promise certainty.

Instead, it offers something far more useful: the

tools, stories, and relationships that help us move

forward anyway.

Richard Gerver is President of

the School Library Association,

and a world-renowned

speaker and author. He was

previously a headteacher.


Feature

Illustrating a World of Wonder:

A Q&A with Jason Lyon

We asked Jason Lyon about his experiences as an illustrator

and especially about his work on Amazing Asia, a wonderful

encyclopaedia of Asia’s five geographic regions.

Jason Lyon is an awardwinning

British-Chinese

illustrator based in London.

His multicultural background

profoundly shapes his creative

process, infusing his work

with a unique blend of vibrant

Asian and Western influences.

See more of Jason’s work:

www.jason-lyon.com/

Can you tell us about your

journey to become an

illustrator and your career

to date?

I’ve been drawing for as long as

I can remember. From a very

young age, I was always sketching, and in primary

school I started going to weekend art classes where

I learned the basics like sketching, form, value, and

perspective. Even back then, I knew I wanted to

draw for a living, I just did not quite know what that

would look like yet.

I carried on studying art through secondary school

and sixth form, although at the time I thought the

only realistic path was becoming a painter or fine

artist. It was not until I completed a foundation

degree, which was highly recommended before

progressing to an art university course, that I

discovered illustration as a discipline. Learning

about illustration felt like a turning point. The

idea of drawing with intention, creating images to

communicate ideas, stories or emotions for books,

articles or campaigns, suddenly gave shape to

something I had been searching for without realising.

Learning about illustration felt

like a turning point.

I went on to study illustration at Falmouth

University, and when I graduated in the summer

of 2019, I felt like I was ready to take on the world. I

chose to freelance straight away, partly to test myself,

and partly because I wanted the freedom to find my

own rhythm after years of structured education.

Then, only a few months later, the pandemic arrived.

Like many others, I was faced with uncertainty,

concerns about health and the sudden stillness

of lockdown. I decided to keep freelancing, telling

myself it would be temporary, just until things

felt more stable. In reality, that period became

unexpectedly formative. With the world slowed

down, I found myself fully committing to the work.

I drew constantly, learning through doing, and

A double-page spread from Amazing Asia.

slowly building confidence in my voice. Despite the

challenging economic backdrop, my freelance career

began to gain momentum. I joined an illustration

agency (Brilliant Artists) and started working with

clients such as RIBA, Apple, The New York Times

and The Lancet. In late 2022, I stepped into the world

of publishing with Amazing Asia and Wide-Eyed

Editions, part of Quarto, creating what has become

some of the most rewarding work of my career.

Who or what are the major influences in your

artistic work?

I think what influences me most is my cultural

heritage and my still quite limited lived experience.

I’m deeply inspired by the beauty and philosophy of

Chinese ink painting and Japanese woodblock prints,

just as much as I am by Western artists such as J. M.

W. Turner, Francis Bacon, and Vincent van Gogh.

I’m equally shaped by contemporary illustrators

such as Lisk Feng, Victo Ngai, and James Jean,

whose work has influenced how I think about

narrative, symbolism, and visual worlds.

Beyond artists, I find inspiration in Taoist and

Buddhist temples, great forests, and mountains, in

fleeting encounters with people while travelling,

and in the stories held within films, books, and

video games. All of these influences quietly weave

With the world slowed down, I found

myself fully committing to the work.


Illustrating a World of Wonder: A Q&A with Jason Lyon

I’m deeply inspired by the beauty and

philosophy of Chinese ink painting

and Japanese woodblock prints.

together, shaping the way I build images and tell

stories, somewhere between memory, imagination,

and observation.

Amazing Asia, written by Rashmi

Sirdeshpande, was your first children’s book

illustration project. What were the biggest

differences you found between illustrating a

children’s title and your previous work?

Amazing Asia felt like the most collaborative

project I’ve worked on so far. I was constantly

communicating with my art directors, and the wider

team at Quarto, as well as Rashmi herself. There

was a real openness to discussion, whether that

was around composition, storytelling, or reference

imagery, and the feedback was always thoughtful

and generous. That level of collaboration pushed the

work further than I could have taken it alone.

Visually, I made a very conscious decision to illustrate

everything in a way that was as colourful, bold, and

engaging as possible. I’ve always been a very visual

learner, and I remember how powerful images were

for me as a child. I wanted the illustrations to spark

curiosity, to invite young readers in, and to make

learning feel exciting rather than instructional.

Compared to my previous work, which can

sometimes lean more symbolic or abstract, illustrating

a children’s book taught me how to communicate

ideas more clearly and generously. It challenged me to

balance clarity with imagination, and that’s something

I’ve carried forward into my practice since.

Jason's illustration for the cover of Barron's magazine,

a leading source of financial and investment news.

Did you face any particular challenges in

making this transition? What surprised you

most about the process?

The biggest challenge was simply the scale of the

project. Amazing Asia is a 120-page encyclopaedia,

which meant producing a huge volume of

illustrations and maintaining consistency across

such a long book.

What surprised me most was how supported I

felt throughout the process. The team provided

an incredible amount of reference material, clear

communication, and a very generously structured

timeline, which made what could have been

overwhelming feel manageable and collaborative.

The book celebrates the diversity of Asian

cultures, and Rashmi recently spoke

passionately about how important it was to her

to ensure that all the illustrations were truly

representative. Can you tell us more about how

you approached researching and representing

so many different countries and traditions?

For this book, I researched more deeply than I

ever had on a single project, and that process

became just as important as the drawing itself.

I went far beyond surface-level research or

relying on places like Wikipedia, instead crossreferencing

museum archives, historical texts,

academic sources, and visual material such as

artefacts, architecture, textiles, and sculpture

to understand the distinct visual languages of

different regions.

Representation felt like a real responsibility

throughout. I was constantly checking whether an

image felt culturally grounded rather than generic,

Jason created this image,

'Digital Detox' as part of his

studies at Falmouth University.


Illustrating a World of Wonder: A Q&A with Jason Lyon

Where Uniqueness Lies'

was created by Jason

as part of his studies at

Falmouth University.

Suddenly the world felt much

bigger and more mysterious.

and feedback from Rashmi and the team played a

huge role in refining those decisions.

A good example is illustrating Chagatai Khan.

There are no known painted portraits of him

available online, so instead of inventing an image,

I researched statues and monuments in Mongolia,

studying how he has been historically represented

in three-dimensional form. That process helped me

build a character design rooted in existing cultural

memory rather than assumption.

Amazing Asia has been nominated for a

Carnegie medal for illustration, and the book

also won the 2025 SLA Information Book

Award, in the Children’s Choice category. What

do these awards and recognitions mean to you?

Being nominated for a Carnegie Medal for

Illustration and winning the SLA Information Book

Award in the Children’s Choice category are honestly

huge honours, and ones I never imagined for myself.

As this was my very first children’s book, I went

into the project without much expectation. Before

Amazing Asia, I wasn’t even sure my visual style

was a good fit for picture books at all. To receive

this level of recognition, and especially to know the

book resonated so strongly with young readers, has

been incredibly affirming.

These awards have given me a great deal of confidence

and encouragement to continue exploring children’s

publishing. They’ve made me excited to pursue more

picture books in the future, both non-fiction and

fiction, and to keep pushing my storytelling further.

Does knowing young readers selected Amazing

Asia make your IBA success particularly special?

Yes, it absolutely makes it even more special than

it already is. Knowing that the award was chosen

by young readers means that all the extra thought,

care, and intention behind every creative decision

truly mattered. To see that those choices resonated

with the very audience the book was made for

makes the recognition feel deeply meaningful and

incredibly rewarding.

Can you tell us a little bit about the

illustration you've created for the cover of this

issue of TSL?

For the spring issue, the theme was ‘change’, and

my response came from a very personal place.

I was thinking about the shift my friends and I

experienced when we were young, after reading a

book about unsolved mysteries of the world. I can’t

remember the exact title, but I vividly remember

the feeling it sparked.

We would sit outside for hours, talking about

pharaohs’ mummies, the Loch Ness monster, aliens,

and crop circles. That book opened up a world of

curiosity for us, where imagination and knowledge

blurred together, and suddenly the world felt much

bigger and more mysterious.

Looking back now, I realise that sense of fascination

never really left. The cover illustration reflects that

early moment of change, when curiosity takes hold

and shapes how you see the world. In many ways,

that book was the starting point, and I think those

mysteries and stories continue to influence how I

approach storytelling today.

I find inspiration in Taoist and Buddhist

temples, great forests, and mountains,

in fleeting encounters with people

while travelling.

What advice would you give to a young person

who would like to pursue a career in art,

design or illustration?

I would tell them to pursue that passion

wholeheartedly and have faith in themselves.

There will always be voices saying that art is

impractical, unsustainable, or that technology and

AI will replace creative jobs. But I firmly believe

in the value of human creativity, sensitivity, and

individuality – things that cannot be replicated.

To quote Dead Poets Society: ‘Medicine, law,

business, engineering, these are noble pursuits

and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty,

romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.’


Feature

What’s Your Story?

Victoria Dilly

As the National Year of Reading launches, Victoria Dilly

calls on school librarians to reflect, reset, and reclaim their

story. In a year of heightened attention on reading and

libraries, she explores how even small changes can make

a lasting difference for children and young people.

Schools up and down the country

are waking up to the National Year

of Reading. As I write, the launch

webinar just took place and here

at the SLA we shared our specially

created National Year of Reading

toolkit and hosted a live lesson with awardwinning

author and SLA Patron, Tom Palmer.

Words like amplify, celebrate, spotlight and

opportunity will be ringing in your ears – they

certainly are in mine! But what will your story

really be this year? In addition to being an exciting

campaign year, it’s also a new year, which is often

the time we reflect on where we’ve come and

where we’re going. By the time this edition reaches

you, I will have passed the one-year-in-post point,

and probably have shared some messaging on

LinkedIn with ‘one year in’ thoughts. Never could

I have imagined that this last year and the year

ahead would be so full of opportunity, with school

libraries higher on the government’s agenda than

they have been for years. The chance to really

make a difference is within our reach.

Never could I have imagined that

this last year and the year ahead

would be so full of opportunity.

But I also know and believe whole heartedly that is

what school librarians do every day, with whatever

resources and support they have. For some, your

story may feel like a familiar one; no better, no

worse. Maybe the story for you is the one we hear

a lot – no support, unengaged children, apathetic

teachers, no budget. Or maybe its all those things,

but with the addition of the amazing things you

still manage to do, despite all of that. Or maybe

it’s one where you’ve switched off a little and have

‘heard it all before thanks very much’ and ‘here we

go again’. Whatever you think the story might be,

They need you and they need

access to the support, advice, and

opportunities your work and the

school library afford them.

you can change it for the better – whether that’s

‘even better’, a bit better, or better than before.

The reason I do what I do and what has kept me

working in education for 20 years, despite and

because of, the challenges, is this – there are

children and young people who really count on

us. Even the ones who say, ‘I wouldn’t pick up a

book if you paid me’. They need us – they need you

and they need access to the support, advice, and

opportunities your work and the school library

afford them. So even if it’s one child, and maybe

one teacher, at a time, the story you write for your

school library this year can be the best it’s ever

been and really will make a difference.

Whatever you think the story might

be, you can change it for the better.

© 2024 Adam Hollingworth Photography. All rights reserved.

Victoria Dilly has worked

in education for 20

years, initially as a school

librarian herself and

then leading national

education programmes

for organisations such as

National Literacy Trust,

Royal Horticultural Society

and Young Enterprise. She

is excited to be advocating

for school libraries, and to

expand the reach of the SLA

so that more schools around

the country can enjoy the

benefits of vibrant, wellresourced

and well-used

school libraries, helping

children and young people

to fulfil their full potential.


Feature


Collette Wade

Transforming more than just spaces – Collette Wade

talks us through her experience of a major renovation

project at Thomas A’ Becket Infant School.

Collette Wade was Deputy

Headteacher at Thomas A'

Becket Infant school and

now works for the education

charity Ambition Institute

supporting the training of

Early Career Teachers.


Change is never straightforward. It

requires vision, determination, and

the ability to adapt when plans fall

apart. During my time at Thomas

A’Becket Infant School, I led a

library transformation project

that taught me everything about implementing

meaningful change in the face of serious obstacles.

What started as an ambitious renovation

became an 18-month journey of setbacks, crisis

moments, and ultimate success. The experience

demonstrated that real change requires more than

good planning; it demands flexibility, community

engagement, and the resilience to keep going when

everything seems impossible.

Over the years, we had watched our school’s parentteacher

association (FABS) propose ambitious projects

with great enthusiasm, but volunteer support from

our community of over 500 families rarely matched

the vision. Yet projects always got completed, usually

through the dedicated work of a committed few.

This year’s library project would become the

ultimate example of that pattern. Our parentteacher

association team had already raised

over £45,000, but they knew this was their final

year as a team. The library would be their legacy,

representing a fundamental change in how our

school approached learning spaces.

The planning process involved everyone from the

start. During a staff training day, all staff contributed

ideas about what the space should offer. Children

shared their thoughts during World Book Day and

through student council meetings. This inclusive

approach became crucial later because when

change faces its biggest challenges, you need

everyone invested in seeing it through.

Two experienced parent volunteers took the lead,

bringing expertise from previous projects and

strong connections between the PTA and school

governors. As we reached out to potential partners,

enthusiasm built quickly.

The practical work began with clearing our old ‘studio’

space of 20 years’ worth of accumulated materials.

I met with our premises officer every Wednesday

afternoon to decide what stayed, what went, and what

repairs were needed. When we finally stood in that

completely empty room, we invited key volunteers

to celebrate with us. This milestone mattered; during

long change processes, visible progress keeps people

motivated and committed.

During long change processes,

visible progress keeps people

motivated and committed.

Then in March, disaster struck. Our lead volunteer,

who had created all the detailed plans and

coordinated everything, had to withdraw due to

personal circumstances. Without her knowledge

and experience, we honestly believed we could not

continue. The project faced its defining moment:

should we delay for months, scale back our

ambitions, or cancel entirely?

Over Easter, we asked the community for

volunteers. Only one person responded. That

sobering moment crystallised our challenge: how

do you sustain complex change when widespread

engagement remains elusive?


The real measure of success came

from our children’s reactions.

We called a meeting after Easter – 12 people from

the PTA and governors gathered to decide the

project’s fate. I expected we would agree to delay

or cancel, preparing to manage disappointment

and redirect funds to smaller projects. Instead,

something remarkable happened. The response

was overwhelming: ‘Let’s do this. Let’s keep going.

We know we can succeed.’

A parent who works as a project manager,

coordinating thousands of employees in her day

job, volunteered to bring professional project

management to our initiative. Her expertise meant

we could overcome resource limitations through

better organisation and coordination.

The revised plan set demanding deadlines: complete

everything between May half term and early July.

Community volunteers provided extraordinary

support. Our chair of governors mobilised his

professional painting team, completing three coats

in a single day. Another parent stopped by to ask

if we needed help and ended up painting skirting

boards for hours. Our premises officer contributed

weekend hours for unexpected repairs. Our FABS

chairs sourced furnishings, attended countless

meetings, made critical decisions, and advocated

throughout the school community.

External partners showed remarkable commitment.

The signage company owner donated ten

hours of design work and gave us exceptional

pricing on vinyl installation; he became visibly

emotional seeing the finished result. The local

carpet company offered substantial discounts. We

secured £260 worth of materials through a national

retailer’s community program, demonstrating how

businesses can enable community-driven change.

Our premises officer worked the Sunday before

our July deadline, making completion possible.

Installation week proceeded with careful

coordination, painting teams, vinyl installers, and

carpet fitters all working in sequence. We maintained

constant communication via walkie-talkies, managing

unexpected problems like accidentally locking team

members inside the workspace!

The first two weeks of the summer holidays focused

on final installation. Emily Shaw’s parents, who the

library is named after, donated books and carpentry

skills, taking holiday days from work to install

shelving and customise storage.

The West Sussex School’s Library Service provided

comprehensive support, relocating and reinstalling

our existing collection. They committed to featuring

our school in their promotional materials as a

model for community-driven change.

The real measure of success came from our children’s

reactions. Their expressions of wonder upon entering

the transformed space showed we had achieved

our fundamental goal: creating an environment that

inspires a love of books and reading.

This experience taught me profound lessons about

implementing change. First, transformational

change requires resilience to persist through

seemingly impossible obstacles. Second, involving

stakeholders from the beginning builds ownership

essential for sustaining implementation.

Third, crisis moments test commitment, revealing

whether change has genuine support or just

superficial endorsement. Fourth, successful change

requires adaptive leadership. Our initial plan did

not work, so we found different approaches.

Fifth, change happens through people, not systems.

Sixth, celebrating milestones matters. Taking time

to acknowledge progress kept momentum alive

through the hardest phases.

Finally, meaningful change creates ripples beyond

immediate goals. Our library transformed not just

physical space but institutional culture. It demonstrated

that ambitious goals become achievable when

communities unite around shared purpose.

The completed library now serves our entire

educational community as a lasting legacy of what

committed people can achieve.

Change will always be difficult. Plans will fall apart.

Resources will prove inadequate. Key people will

have to step back. But change becomes possible

when people refuse to accept defeat, when they

adapt rather than abandon, when they work

together toward shared goals. Our library stands

as evidence that meaningful, lasting change can

happen, not despite obstacles, but through the

collective determination to overcome them.

Real change requires more than good

planning; it demands flexibility, community

engagement, and the resilience to keep

going when everything seems impossible.


Feature

More Than Just Books: Transforming

Secondary School Libraries for

Diversity and Inclusion

Morgane Grummert

Morgane Grummert shares findings from an initial

pilot study and suggests ways to foster a professional

ecosystem that encourages sustainable systemic change.

Morgane Grummert has

recently completed her MA in

Librarianship at The University

of Sheffield. She currently

works as a Library Assistant

at Cefn Mawr Library for

Wrexham Libraries. Her dream

job is to be a full-time librarian

in a scholastic environment.


My dedication to diverse

representation has always been

a cornerstone of my academic

and personal life. It wasn’t

until I actively began searching

for books with LGBTQ+

representation as a teenager that I realised I was not

seeing them on the shelves of my own school or local

library. In 2024 I decided to turn this passion into a

professional mission: ensuring that minority voices

and diverse texts would be accessible to the next

generation. This led me back to university for an MA

in Librarianship, where I conducted an exploratory

pilot study to investigate how UK secondary school

librarians manage collections for diversity and

inclusion (D&I).

The study reveals that a secondary school’s library

collection functions as both a mirror, reflecting each

student’s identity and belonging, and a window,

offering a clear, honest view into the wider world.

When school library collections achieve this dual role,

students feel visible and validated, making this process

the D&I investment within a school community.

No single UK policy governs D&I in school libraries,

yet benchmarks from the Chartered Institute of

Library and Information Professionals (CILIP),

the School Library Association (SLA), and Ofsted

emphasise the need for collections that reflect

society. The gap between the UK’s diverse population

and available books drives calls for audits, proactive

purchasing, and attention to diverse book awards,

highlighting the urgent need for strategic policies

where national guidance is absent.

I wanted to test the methodology through this pilot

study for exploring how UK secondary school

librarians manage collections for D&I. Data were

collected anonymously via a Google Form survey

circulated through LinkedIn (CILIP and SLA groups),

a CILIP board, and targeted emails, yielding 12

Only 25% of participants felt ‘very

confident’ in their collections’ D&I.

responses from state, academy, grammar, and faith

schools. Only 25% of participants felt ‘very confident’

in their collections’ D&I, while 58% stated collections

should reflect the student population; 33% felt

their collections accurately did so, 33% considered

them generally representative, and 33% reported

they did not reflect the student body. 50% had no

formal collection management process, with the

other 50% reviewing collections annually; 50% used

systematic assessment methods, yet 41.7% reported

no criteria for selecting resources to support diverse

representation, and 8.3% were unsure. Only 16.7%

accessed School Library Service (SLS) support.

While based on a relatively low response rate over

a short timeframe, this pilot successfully tested the

methodology and yielded clear recommendations,

including formalised collection management, defined

D&I guidelines, and broader support mechanisms to

ensure collections reflect student diversity.

I contend the results of this research establish four

actionable pathways to an equitable collection,

Use of School Library Services (SLS) by participating

librarians in the pilot study, showing how many access

third-party support for their collections and services.

More Than Just Books

all requiring a shift from reactive purchasing to a

proactive, data-driven strategy.

A powerful way to drive notable change would be

through diversity audits.

The successful audit system established by

American school librarians Grenier and Lynn

(2022) comprises three clear steps:

1. Definition of categories: Identify the full spectrum

of diverse and inclusive categories (race, gender,

disability, sexuality, socioeconomic status), using

student demographics to aid efficiency.

2. Systematic appraisal: List each book’s title, author,

and publication date, noting which categories are

represented; this highlights intersectionality.

3. Data consolidation: Input this information into a

spreadsheet to create a quantitative baseline, such

as graphs, charts, or short evidence-based reports.

This approach strengthens advocacy: SLT,

Governors, or PTA can be asked for funding to close

clearly documented gaps. Focusing on manageable

sections (one shelf or one database section at a

time) makes audits feasible.

Second, applying audit findings effectively requires

prioritising time and budget for D&I training.

This could take the form of formal training such

as workshops or conferences, or more informally

through networking with other librarians.

Focusing on manageable sections

(one shelf or one database section

at a time) makes audits feasible.

Third, SLSs were underutilised; only 16.7% of

librarians accessed them. Partnering with SLSs

can provide long-term loans of a range of different

resources, adice and recommendations, CPD

training and networking opportunities.

The Cheshire Education Library Service (ELS)

organises the Cheshire Schools Book Award to

enthuse students through author visits and pupil

competitions. Following the results of the study, I

was able to meet with Susannah Hill (Lead Librarian

at ELS), who noted, ‘It’s about the network, the

support. [School librarians] can pick up the phone

and speak with someone on any day’, emphasising

that SLS services go beyond book loans to ensure

librarians feel supported and connected.

Fourth, librarians are often on the spot, making

tough calls solo, especially regarding potentially

controversial texts. Formal written policies

standardise D&I choices, reduce the burden

of justification, and act as a buffer against

unwarranted criticism.

Written policies are to include both acquisition

criteria – D&I principles that guide new purchases

– and weeding guidelines – criteria for removing

outdated, biased, or non-representative materials.

SLTs and Governors must recognise libraries as

core investments in student success. My research

maintains that challenges in maintaining inclusive

collections reflect broader institutional support

needs, including time, resources, and centralised

D&I policies.

These four pillars provide insight and stepping

stones for professional and financial support. Datadriven

audits offer evidence for budget allocations.

When policies are formalised and strategically

applied, including the cost-saving expertise of SLSs,

fiscal responsibility and professional planning

are strengthened. By embedding these pillars –

audits, CPD, SLS engagement, and clear policies –

secondary school libraries can move from reactive

collection management to proactive, equitable, and

evidence-based practice. These strategies address

the catalysts of change identified in the pilot

study: time, funding, strategic policies, and D&I

training. Supported in this way, school librarians

can transform the library into a true cornerstone

of inclusion, ensuring that every student sees

themselves reflected and is prepared for a diverse

and complex world. Ultimately, the success of a

school’s library rests not on individual effort alone,

but on creating a professional ecosystem that

empowers school librarians, informs leadership,

and encourages sustainable systemic change.

Secondary school libraries can

move from reactive collection

management to proactive, equitable,

and evidence-based practice.

Cheshire Education

Library Service’s primary

and secondary school

level fiction shelves,

illustrating how D&I books

are integrated across the

entire collection.

References:

Grenier, C. & Lynn, L.

(2022). Reflecting our

students and our world

in our school library

collections. Knowledge

Quest, 50(4), 14–21.

Grummert, M. (2025).

Primary and Secondary

Fiction Shelves, Cheshire

Education Library Service

[Photograph]. Cheshire

Educational Library

Service. (Author’s Work).


Feature

Reading for Pleasure:

Marvelous Maps!

Sarah McIntyre

SLA Patron Sarah McIntyre explains, in an ongoing series

of articles, how different visual elements in books can

be keys to inspiring children's love of reading.

Sarah McIntyre illustrates

and writes picture books

such as Grumpycorn, and

collaborates with Philip

Reeve on longer highly

illustrated chapter books,

including Pugs of the

Frozen North and Oliver

and the Seawigs.

What does the mantra

‘Reading for Pleasure’ really

mean? I often think, to

grownups, it means books

they think children ought

to read. Often this means

books on sad, difficult, and abstract issues, and I

struggle to see how these books will make children

excitedly pick them up and plunge right in. I think

they're more likely to respond to humour, fun

adventure, and perhaps the reassurance of familiar

characters, or a series.

Pictures matter more than they ever did, as we can

see in the rapid growth in comics and illustrated

chapter books. While teachers and librarians

traditionally have a great deal of training in words,

they sometimes struggle to know exactly why

pictures work, the ways they inspire, and how to

talk about them.

So, let’s start with maps! You may immediately think

of the iconic map by EH Shepherd of the 100 Acre

Wood, or Tolkien’s maps of Middle Earth. Readers

may only skim a map before reading a book, but after

they've been immersed in the world of the story,

they study it in almost fanatical detail. Maps also

work as memory triggers: a parent told me how their

6-year-old son would show them the map at the back

of the Adventuremice books and, pointing to various

features on it, talk them through the story.

When Philip and I began creating the

Adventuremice series, we decided that we didn't

want to box ourselves into a set number of places in

the Mouse Islands. So if you look closely, you'll spot

‘the Nameless Isles’, which gives us endless room for

further exploration.

Philip and I included a blank map

template on Adventuremice.com

that educators can use.

Exploring maps can be a great springboard

for creating new stories. Many children (and

grownups!) find a blank piece of paper or empty

screen intimidating. But if they start with a map,

it encourages them to address foundational

questions. Who lives in this place? Are they mousesized

or giants? Where do their populations cluster:

in the mountains, around harbours, deep down

craters? What do its inhabitants love most of all,

and how does this reflect in what they name their

landmarks? Do they travel by roads, rivers, airports,

or rainbow slides?

Philip and I included a blank map template on

Adventuremice.com that educators can use, or

you can simply start with the outline of an island.

Adventuremice resource at Adventuremice.com


Reading for Pleasure: Marvelous Maps!

Adventuremice map,

by Sarah McIntyre &

Philip Reeve

If you look closely, you'll spot ‘the

Nameless Isles’, which gives us

endless room for further exploration.

Islands are useful world-building devices because

they’re self-contained, so the young artist can

create its completely unique culture. Once there’s a

detailed map, children can choose a character who

lives in that world, figure out what that character

really wants, and set them off on trying to get it;

their story can show how that character travels

through that map and deals with the wonders

and perils it encounters, to try to achieve its goal.

Children who have enjoyed creating their own

maps may well have a greater appreciation of maps

they then encounter in further stories they read,

and study them for techniques and clever tricks.

If you want to explore maps with older children,

examine the island maps in Philip Reeve’s Utterly

Dark books, drawn

by Paddy Donnelly.

Or be charmed by

Leigh Hodgkinson’s

picture book, Martha

Maps It Out, which

explores a wide range

of maps that children

can make.

Picture book by

Leigh Hodgkinson

Map at the back

of Adventuremice:

Mice on the Moon

Wildsea map from Utterly

Dark and the Face of the

Deep, by Philip Reeve,

map by Paddy Donnelly


Feature

Pupil Power:

Young Voices for Change

What better way to understand the importance of empowering

pupils than to hear from them directly? Here, pupils from two

schools in the Learning Federation Partnership of Schools share

how they are making a difference locally, nationally and globally.

Our Lady & St Joseph Catholic

Primary School in Lymington

is part of the Learning

Federation Partnership of

Schools.

Nancy and Bethany, Our Lady

& St Joseph Catholic Primary

School, Lymington

At OLSJ, we are proud to be the school Reading

Ambassadors! At the start of this year, we created our

own mission statement, which is simple: ‘We want

everyone to be able to understand and enjoy the

magic of reading. We want everyone to be excited to

share a book, no matter how old or young.’

This academic year, as part of

the Year of Reading 2026, we are

working hard to promote reading

across our school and beyond,

linking our activities to the

United Nations Global Goals.

We are passionate about

making reading accessible to

everyone, not just in our school

but globally. Our fundraising

efforts support our chosen

charity, Libraries Without

Nancy and Bethany

Borders (Bibliotheques Sans

Frontieres), which provides books to children and

adults in countries affected by poverty, conflict,

and displacement. This links to Global Goal 4

(Quality Education) and Global Goal 10 (Reduced

Inequalities).

At the Christmas Fayre, we prepared bookthemed

lucky dips, bookmarks, and Christmas

cards made from books that are no longer on the

shelves, reducing waste and supporting Global

Goal 13 (Climate Action). All proceeds went

to Libraries Without Borders. By combining

creativity, sustainability and compassion, our

Christmas Fayre was a fun and meaningful event

for everyone involved!

So far this year, we have also taken part in national

and local reading initiatives. We participated in

the Hampshire Illustrated Book Award, helping

pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 choose their favourite

illustrated book: The Fox by Isabel Thomas was our

winner! We also took part in the Royal Society Book

Prize, voting for our favourite non-fiction texts.

Later this year, we will host the Hampshire Reading

Championships, a competition we designed with

partner schools in Southampton to bring together

like-minded young readers. We also held a special

assembly for Non-Fiction November, where we

shared non-fiction texts with different year groups

and reviewed them together.

We are very fortunate that our

local community is so supportive

in helping us to learn new skills.

We visited October Books,

an independent bookshop,

where we learned how to run

a bookshop, organise displays,

and catalogue books. We took

this knowledge back to our

school library bus to make it

even more inviting for readers.

We also visited Southampton

City Library for training, and we

regularly visit Lymington Library

too! Recently, we donated some of our writing

work to the library to be read by grown ups and

children, which was very well received! Our PTA

and teachers also took every class to Waterstones

in Lymington, to choose a book for our library bus.

Each book has a note inside from who chose it and

why – we love seeing which pupil in our community

has chosen the book when we open it!

Looking ahead, we are excited to have pupil

librarian training with a local secondary school in

Southampton to learn more about library systems

and running a library effectively. This initiative

is being piloted by the SLA to support primary

schools with running library spaces effectively.

Being a Reading Ambassador is amazing because

we get to share our love of books with everyone and

help make sure that every child can experience the

joy and magic of reading.


Pupil Power: Young Voices for Change

Phoebe, Sinclair Primary

and Nursery School,

Southampton

Hello, I’m Phoebe and I am a pupil librarian at

Sinclair Primary and Nursery School.

Recently, we welcomed Satvir Kaur MP

(Southampton Test) to our partnership of schools,

to talk about the importance of every school

in Southampton having a library. At first, I was

nervous. It isn’t every day that you get to meet

someone who helps make decisions for the whole

country! But as soon as she started talking to us,

I felt proud. She listened carefully to everything

that our pupil librarians said about why libraries

matter, and it made us feel important and

confident. Knowing that an MP took the time to

meet us was inspiring: it showed us that children’s

voices truly matter.

Getting a personal letter from Satvir a few weeks

later on official House of Commons paper made

me feel recognised and valued. It reminded me that

speaking up about something you care about can

really make a difference. Because of children like us

sharing our ideas about school libraries, Labour’s

new policy is to make sure every primary school in

England has a library. My school has a library and

I absolutely love it, so I can’t imagine what it feels

like not to have one. It makes me proud and excited

to think that our voices may have helped, even in a

small way, to inspire this national change.

At Sinclair, we believe that children can be

‘architects of a better world’. That means working

hard, caring about others, and trying to make the

world a better place. Reading helps us do exactly

that. Books open our imagination, help us learn

new things, and even give us ideas for making

positive changes in the future.

Knowing that an MP took the time to

meet us was inspiring: it showed us

that children’s voices truly matter.

At Sinclair Primary, we celebrate reading in lots of

exciting ways. We have recently just been awarded

our ‘Bronze Charter Reading Award’, an initiative

put together by the Springhill English Hub and

Southampton City Council, encouraging school to

embed a love of reading at the heart of everything

they do.

We’ve been very busy at Sinclair promoting

reading for pleasure; here are some things we’ve

done this year:

• Created reading challenges that help us explore

different genres and try new books.

Phoebe

• Created classroom and corridor displays that

show our favourite authors, books, and pupil

recommendations.

• Organised book swaps, so we can share stories

with friends and discover something new.

• Created cosy reading corners with cushions,

fairy lights, and themed decorations.

• Hosted special events like World Book Day,

author visits, library trips, and readers in

assemblies.

• Organised our own Competitions such as

World Book Day Best Book Corner, illustration

competitions, and book reviews.

We also work closely with Southampton Library

Service to make sure our school library is full of

exciting, popular books for everyone. The City

Library in Southampton also organised some

librarian training for us! Every year, we host a

Book Fair where pupils can buy books, and some

of the money raised helps us buy even more books

for our school.

I am incredibly happy that 2026 is the National

Year of Reading. We hope to hold even more

events, bigger reading challenges, new displays,

competitions, and lots more opportunities to show

how much we love books.

Meeting Satvir Kaur MP and being part of this

experience has shown me that children’s voices can

influence real change. I feel proud, inspired, and

motivated to keep speaking up about the things

that matter. I hope that libraries will continue to

help children across the country discover the joy of

reading – just like they help us every day at Sinclair.

Sinclair Primary and Nursery

School in Southampton is part

of the Learning Federation

Partnership of Schools.


Feature

Why Verse is the Perfect Fit for

Reluctant Readers and EAL Students

Sarah Crossan

Sarah Crossan explains why verse is a great choice for

supporting readers who find standard texts difficult to

access and gives us her five top picks for teens.

I’ve worked with teenagers for 25 years,

first as a classroom English teacher and

now as a writer, visiting schools regularly

to talk with young people about literature.

I also have a 13-year-old of my own. And

when I meet teens, I hear the same few

things over and over: reading is hard and boring,

and they have no time to do it anyway.

Photo © Dave Myers

Sarah Crossan grew up in

Dublin and London. She

taught English and Drama for

10 years before becoming

a full-time writer in 2012.

Sarah’s novels for children

and young adults have won

numerous awards, including

the CILIP Carnegie Medal,

the CBI Book of the Year,

the YA Book Prize and the

CLiPPA Poetry Award. Sarah

continues to work in schools

with teenagers.

So what can we do for these so-called reluctant

readers? What can we do for students who are new

to English and feel genuinely daunted? And what can

we do for dyslexic readers and others with additional

needs who feel an abject fear when faced with a

dense wall of text? My answer: the verse novel. Well,

I would say that, wouldn’t I? After all, it’s what I write.

But the very reason I write verse is because of what

I experienced as a teacher many years ago, living

and working in the US where verse is and always has

been huge, and where I witnessed poetry transform

non-readers into veritable book lovers.

So how does verse do this exactly? Let’s start with

the white space. There’s loads of it, and it makes the

text visually welcoming and infinitely less scary.

Short lines offer breathing room, and progress

can be seen and felt super quickly, so readers

experience success straight away.

For students learning English as an additional

language, the spacing of verse again supports

reading in smaller chunks without diluting the

complexity of the story or the writing. Imagery

can be absorbed and a narrative followed

without battling overwhelming blocks of text.

Verse therefore allows reluctant readers and EAL

students to get into the story right away rather

than fighting their way towards it. I don’t know

about you, but even I find pages and pages of

uninterrupted prose hard going. I just think back to

Thomas Hardy in school and shudder slightly!

We cannot underestimate the impact of turning

pages quickly, especially for a kid who’s not read

a book for years. That instant success builds

confidence, and I’m sure there’s a little dopamine

boost in seeing this progress. (Not as intense as

scrolling on a phone maybe, but definitely more

meaningful.) It’s the kind of progress that rewires

a person’s belief in themselves as a reader. I know

because I saw it first-hand for years and years when

I had my own students read a verse novel called

Out of The Dust by Karen Hesse. They began with

scepticism and ended up asking me to get them

more novels just like it. Teenagers asking to read

poetry? Just imagine!

So now, when I meet young people, I always

beg them to give my books a chance for just 20

pages, promising it’ll take only five minutes for

them to get that far, and they really do sit up and

listen to the prospect of such speed. As soon as a

teenager believes they can finish a few pages, they

Verse makes reading a shared experience

and something to be cheerful about.


Why Verse is the Perfect Fit for Reluctant Readers and EAL Students

They began with scepticism and

ended up asking me to get them

more novels just like it.

entertain the idea they could finish a whole chapter,

and then comes the realisation that they could

finish a book. It’s something I’ve heard over and

over on my school visits – ‘your book was the first

one I ever finished’ – and I cannot tell you the joy

this brings to me as a writer.

Because verse is distilled; each word earns its place

in my novels. I try to create imagery that is vivid and

make every poem feel necessary. This concentrated

language and storytelling offers a great opportunity

for close reading without overwhelming students

with volume. I hope teenagers will return to

individual poems in my novels to discover layers

they missed the first time. In this way, they develop

analytical skills almost without realising it. (Yes,

yes, you can take the Sarah out of the classroom,

but you can’t take the classroom out of the Sarah

… or something like that!) When I write in verse it

often feels as though the reader finishes the story

with me. They have to bring themselves to the

page. They fill in the gaps and thread together the

fragments. That really makes for deep engagement.

Most verse novels are contemporary and speak

to the real lives of teenagers living today, tackling

issues such as identity, friendship, grief, racism,

and mental health. My latest, Gone for Good, is a

missing-girl thriller set in the so-called ‘Troubled

Teen’ industry in the United States, and asks

whether problems relating to adolescence ever

need to be fixed. Writers like Kwame Alexander,

Jason Reynolds, Louisa Reid, and Manjeet Mann,

to name just a few of my favourites, show young

people that verse belongs to them, that their lives

and problems are the stuff of poems. Verse novels

keep teenagers engaged in poetry at a time when

they are most likely to let it slip away.

Verse always shines in school libraries, book club

settings and in classes as set-texts because they

are both highly accessible and also desirable.

They offer deep discussions between all students.

They are short enough for mixed-ability groups to

read together, yet packed with imagery, emotion,

character development, and theme which means

more voracious readers also feel engaged and

challenged. A book that can be finished in a few

hours becomes something social. Verse makes

reading a shared experience and something to be

cheerful about.

Ultimately, the pleasure of the verse novel lies in

its simplicity. For students who feel intimidated

by books, or even those just balancing busy lives

and feeling time-famished, it opens the door to the

possibility of books being a regular part of their

busy lives. And, naturally, it’s school librarians

who are the ones holding that door open by

matchmaking a child with the right book at the

right time.

My Verse Novel

Recommendations

Long Way Down

Jason Reynolds

Faber, 2018, 322pp, £8.99, 9780571335121

Grief. Revenge. Choice

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is a super-fast-paced novel

about a 15-year-old boy who gets into a lift with a gun, planning

to avenge his brother’s murder. As the lift descends, each floor

opens to reveal a ghost connected to his past.

Gloves Off

Louisa Reid

Guppy, 2020, 308pp, £7.99, 9781913101022

Bullying. Boxing. Resilience

Gloves Off by Louisa Reid tells the story of Lily, a teenager who

is bullied at school and struggling with self-worth. Encouraged

by her parents, she begins boxing and slowly gains strength and

confidence. As she learns to fight in the ring, she also learns to

stand up for herself.

Solo

Gráinne O’Brien

Little Island, 2025, 267pp, £8.99, 9781915071798

Heartbreak. Identity. Healing

Solo by Gráinne O’Brien follows Daisy, a talented young

musician whose breakup with a popular boy at school leaves her

questioning her identity and even her relationship with music.

As illness and family pressures threaten to pull her under, she

must rediscover who she is. When a new girl starts at her school,

it could be the key to survival. Or will it be just another difficult

relationship for her to navigate?

Roar

Manjeet Mann

Penguin, 2025, 393pp, £9.99, 9780241647622

Oppression. Empowerment. Justice

Roar by Manjeet Mann follows Rizu, a wealthy girl in Delhi whose

life shatters when a jealous ex-friend accuses her of being a

witch, triggering a modern-day witch hunt. Haunted by guilt and

fuelled by rage, Rizu runs away and joins a group of vigilante

women who fight back against misogyny and injustice.

Booked

Kwame Alexander

Andersen Press, 2016, 314pp, £8.99, 9781783444656

Football. Family. Coming-of-age

Booked by Kwame Alexander is for younger students, and follows

Nick, a young footballer whose life is thrown off balance by family

issues, school struggles, and the pain of divorce. He navigates

friendships, first love, and bullying but through a growing love of

words, discovers new ways to face everything life throws at him.


Feature

Inspiring Readers:

The Importance of Author Events

Kristina Rahim

Author events are such a fantastic way for students to engage

with books. But how do the authors themselves view them?

Kristina Rahim gives us her perspective.

Kristina Rahim is a

children’s author who writes

middle grade novels about

friendships, being true to

yourself and diverse family

set-ups. Her stories shine a

light on the world of donor

conception, demystifying the

topic for young people.

My debut year as a children’s

author has been an incredible

experience, filled with exciting

‘firsts’.

The first time I saw my finished

cover art.

The first time I held a physical copy of my book.

The first time I found out my book had been

shortlisted for an award.

These are milestones I had daydreamed about for

years, so to have them happen still astounds me.

However, during the run up to

publication day of my middle

grade novel, The Doughnut Club,

there was one niggling worry in

the back of my mind.

If I’m a children’s author, I’m going

to have to do school visits.

This was never my publisher or

my agent telling me this. They

have always been clear, that

whatever promotional work or

events I do are completely in

my control, and they actively

encouraged me to only do what

I felt comfortable doing. And for

this, I will always be grateful.

But even though there was

no pressure to do school visits, I knew it was

something I had to try.

My children watched in wonder as I endlessly

practiced my events at home.

‘Why are you so worried?’ They’d ask me. ‘You just

have to get up there and do it. You’ll be fine.’

Aged 11 and 13, they have both already mastered

the art of public speaking, and here I was, their

48-year-old Mum, pacing around the kitchen trying

to walk away my nerves.

Artwork created by a class during

one of Kristina's school workshops.

But which type of author event will

mine be? Where will I fit in?

There are several children’s authors who have

backgrounds in teaching, acting or performing, so

this part of the job comes naturally to them.

And then, there are the more introverted authors.

Our happy place tends to be typing on a keyboard

in solitude, and the thought of presenting or

performing in front of an audience makes our

hearts pound.

But I was determined to not give

in to this irrational fear. I have

written a story I am proud of and

one that was inspired by my own

family’s experiences. My hope

is by giving representation I can

help demystify the topic of donor

conception amongst children of

all ages.

To do that, I know I need to throw

myself of out my comfort zone

and give it a try.

If social media is accurate, it appears

the world of children’s publishing is

full of authors tirelessly travelling up

and down the country doing school

events, library sessions, bookshop

signings and festival appearances. Photos are

posted of these events, showing the funny one, the

energetic one, the silly one, the thought-provoking

one. These posts added to my nerves, but also fired

me up to think, if they can all do this, I can too.

But which type of author event will mine be?

Where will I fit in?

After weeks of researching, shadowing other authors

and practicing, I was ready for my next ‘first’.

The first time I perform my own author event.


Inspiring Readers: The Importance of Author Events

It’s this variety of experience that makes

school visits so precious and important.

I started off in a beautiful, independent bookshop

by the coast. Performing to a smaller audience felt

like a safe place to start, but it also meant there was

nowhere for me to hide if I lost my train of thought.

These young readers and aspiring writers were

there in front of me, hanging on my words. It was

nerve-racking, but at the same time, exhilarating.

These kids were interested, engaged, curious, and

funny.

I remembered then, this is why I write for children –

because they are incredible!

I had a new bounce in my step after this first event

and felt ready for the next one. Over the coming

weeks, the size of my audience grew, as did my

confidence.

The more readers I met, the more I was in awe of

their imaginations and their views on the world. I

would come away from each event with a genuine

feeling of hope for the next generation.

School visits create a space for these children

to break away from their normal school day

for an hour and let their imaginations wander.

Their curious, uncluttered minds respond to this

opportunity of hearing an adult be open and honest

about their work and their journey as a writer.

Giving them the chance to see that if they wanted,

they could do this too.

As school librarians, there is an abundance of

choice of children’s authors offering their services

to come and provide an event. I am sure, with

budgets stretched and timetabling pressures, this

can be both a blessing and a curse.

I would come away from each event

with a genuine feeling of hope for

the next generation.

Authors who are natural performers will always

be booked, and deservedly so. But there are also

the authors who have stepped out of their comfort

zone, into a space that challenges them. These

authors bring their own personal style of event,

which can be just as positive an experience for the

children.

There will always be a place for the author who gets

an audience in fits of laughter.

But there is also a place for the author who

introduces children to a world of characters they

knew nothing about before.

And a place for the author who gets kids buzzing

with new ideas they never knew they had in them.

It’s this variety of experience that makes school

visits so precious and important.

In this National Year of Reading, we’re encouraged

to work together to bring back the love of reading to

children. One way is to create these opportunities

for children to meet real life authors so they can be

curious, ask questions, and be inspired.

My heart still races before the start of my events,

and I think it always will. But I know now each one

doesn’t have to be perfect, because even when

things don’t go completely to plan, there will always

be moments in every visit that make it worthwhile.

That laugh from the shy child when I reveal the

ingredients of The Bushtucker Doughnut.

That deliciously random ‘Would You Rather’

answer I couldn’t have predicted.

That drawing or chapter from the child who said

they were inspired to create their own story after

reading mine.

School visits were the part of my new author life I

was most nervous about, but now I realise, seeing

children responding to the stories I write, engaging

with them, and exploring their own ideas reminds

me why I started writing in the first place.

I wanted this engagement, these discussions, and

this experience.

I’m glad I took my own kids’ advice to just get up there

and do it, because they were right – it was all fine.

Better than fine in fact, it’s been an inspiration. For

the children and for me.

Pupils work together to

create an original artwork

during a workshop.


Sponsored Content

Building Vibrant Reading

Communities for the National

Year of Reading 2026

Looking for some ideas to help build your own reading community?

This year could be perfect to try out some of the ideas below …

Atrue Reading Community

transforms reading from a solitary,

academic task into a shared, social,

and visible culture. Where book talk

becomes part of the playground

chatter, and where pupils, staff, and

families see themselves as active members of a literate

tribe. Here’s how to create a Reading Community that

permeates the whole school culture:

Pictured: Students Engage

In The Detective Experience


Empower the pupil voice: The most effective

communities are led by the pupils themselves. One

standout example of best practice is the ‘Reading

Ambassadors’ model seen in many primary and

secondary schools. Here, senior pupils are not just

shelving books; they are curating ‘Future Friday’

book clubs, running ‘blind date with a book’ events,

using in-situ bookshop style reviews, and mentoring

younger, reluctant readers. When pupils see their

peers championing reading, the ‘social risk’ of being

a reader diminishes.

If you’re already all over this then maybe it’s time for

your next pupil library survey to help guide you this

year. If this is new to you, use the momentum of this

year to give it a go!

The most effective communities are

led by the pupils themselves.

Include the ‘hard to reach’ readers: A robust

community leaves no one behind. We often see

librarians struggling to engage specific demographics,

particularly boys or disengaged families. A powerful

idea in this space is a ‘Fathers or Male Carers Reading

Week’ initiative. Schools have invited fathers and

male role models into the library for ‘Dads and

Donuts’ breakfasts or ‘Lads and Dads’ evening

storytelling sessions. The resulting impact is twofold:

it validates reading for boys as something that their

male role models take part in, while also signalling

to the wider community that the school library is a

welcoming space for families, not just pupils.

Staff as readers: A reading community cannot exist

if the adults don’t participate. The Open University’s

‘Teachers as Readers’ research highlights the

importance of staff sharing their own reading lives.

This can be as simple as ‘What I’m Reading’ posters

on classroom doors or a 10-minute staff meeting

slot dedicated to sharing a recent great read. When

pupils see their science or PE teachers excited about

a book, it normalises reading as a lifelong habit, not

just an English homework assignment.

Could a murder in the library help? Yes! The UK

is home to Morse, Midsomer Murders, and Sherlock

Holmes – and has produced some of the very best

crime writing in the world. We know that crime and

mystery novels are among the last genres that teens

hold on to as the world’s distractions chip away at their

reading time. While the research may not be complete,

the results from Gabrielle Mace’s new collaboration

with Joe Waters (former UK Police and intelligence)

– The Detective Experience – is transforming reading

into an interactive, immersive, gamified experience

that is drawing in the school community and even

families who want to help solve the mystery. It’s also

perfect for Accessit dashboards if you’re interested!

The National Year of Reading is a golden opportunity

to secure budget, attention, and enthusiasm for the

library and as the year passes use reports to show

the successes this focus brings. By shifting focus

from ‘collections’ to ‘connections’, we can reverse the

trend of declining enjoyment. Let this year be the

one where we don’t just ask pupils to read, but invite

them to belong.

Feature


Rachael Brennan

Rachael Brennan shares her experiences of supporting students

through the Higher Project Qualification and explains how this

can foster students’ curiosity and independence.

As librarians, we are proud to

describe ourselves as champions

of curiosity, inquiry-based

learning, and information literacy.

These values – strengthened

by my recent experiences as

a doctoral researcher – inspired me to apply for

the additional role of Higher Project Qualification

(HPQ) Coordinator at Stonyhurst College.

Like the more familiar Extended Project

Qualification (EPQ), the HPQ involves an

independent project that

develops research, planning,

and evaluation skills. While

the EPQ is a well-established

Level 3 qualification for

students aged 16–18 and is

already successfully delivered

at Stonyhurst by a member of

the sixth form teaching team,

the HPQ is offered at GCSE

level for younger pupils. I saw

this as the perfect opportunity for the library to

play a more visible role in nurturing student-led

learning. Pupils enrol at the start of Year 10 and

aim to complete their project early in Year 11,

researching a topic that genuinely interests them

beyond the school curriculum, and developing it

into either a written essay or something original

that they design and produce.

Pupils have explored questions ranging from

whether chess is a relaxing or stressful game, to

whether AI can aid investment decisions on stock

market simulators. Other projects have taken

creative forms, including the production of a film

examining how blind people cook and a fashion

design project inspired by the latest social media

trends. The HPQ has provided a space for pupils of

all abilities to pursue what matters to them, and it

has been a privilege to see their ideas grow.

As coordinator, supervisor, and librarian, my

role is to guide pupils through their independent

work. Taught skills are essential to a successful

project, and I support them in developing research

questions, managing their time, evaluating sources,

and presenting their findings with confidence.

Drawing on my own research journey, I

understand the challenges pupils face as they

refine their ideas and decide on appropriate

methods for gathering information. Research is

incredibly exciting, but it can also be particularly

frustrating at times – I often hear myself repeating,

almost word for word, the advice offered to me by

my own university supervisors.

One area where my own

experiences have contributed

is reference management.

Remembering how daunting

citation and referencing can

feel means I actively encourage

pupils to organise their sources

using reference management

software. Not only does this

provide strong preparation

for future study, but it also helps them to develop

a clear understanding of academic integrity, all of

which sits naturally within the librarian’s role. It

is deeply rewarding to see projects finally come

together, particularly when pupils are proud of

both their work and their final grade!

I hope that by sharing my insight, other librarians

may be encouraged to consider stepping into

similar roles. If the HPQ is not the right fit for

a particular school, there are many other ways

to foster research skills; I am now considering

setting up a Young Investigators Club for our

Year 7 and 8 pupils, offering a less formal

approach that nurtures information seeking

in a fun and engaging way. Whether through

research clubs, mini-inquiry projects, or informal

workshops, librarians have the tools, mindset, and

environment to cultivate young researchers. If

my own journey has taught me anything, it is that

research can transform learning experiences –

and librarians are in a powerful position to make

that transformation possible!

Rachael Brennan became

College Librarian at

Stonyhurst College in 2022

upon completing an MA

in Library & Information

Management at Sheffield

University. Passionate about

creating student-centred

library spaces, Rachael's

journey continues with a

Professional Doctorate in

Creative Media Education

at Bournemouth University

sponsored by the SLA.


Feature

Bringing Ghostwriters Out Of the Shadows

Abie Longstaff

Author Abie Longstaff explains who is really

behind many of the celebrity children’s

books on our shelves – and argues why it’s

about time we got to know these ghosts.

Books make brilliant presents for

children. Ideally, parents would ask

their school librarian for advice,

because there’s an overwhelming

array of choice: classics, modern

classic, living legends, new books

and … celebrity children’s fiction.

Celebrity books often take up the majority of shelf

space in supermarkets and high street newsagents,

and celebrities have access to a variety of media

opportunities. All these factors make it tempting

for a parent to grab the book they’ve heard of, by a

person they know from television.

Some celebrities write their own books. A surprising

number use a ghostwriter. This fact is largely kept

hidden from the public, and the ghostwriter tends

to get little public recognition, and no royalties. At a

lit-fest, it is often the celebrity who is invited to speak,

even though the ghostwriter may have considerable

experience of connecting with readers and talking

about the process of writing.

The craft of the writing is being

devalued.

At the heart of this is the real issue: the celebrity’s

brand is deemed more important than the skill of

the ghostwriter – as if a book were simply a promo

product. The craft of the writing is being devalued.

Publishing, and the lit-fest, is doing children a

disservice here. Children might know nothing of

publishing contracts and big money deals, but

they can sense inauthenticity. They spot when the

celebrity is not always as engaged in the writing

process as an author should be.

Indeed, it’s good for children to hear that craft is not

magic. It takes hard work, and many, many drafts to

get something right. When I visit schools, I don’t say

‘Look how special I am’. I say ‘Look at all the mistakes

I make. Keep going, and you can be a creator too.’ We

need to encourage children to write for pleasure as

well as read for pleasure. We need to encourage craft.

Instead of ‘I wrote this book’, I’d love to hear more

celebrities say: ‘I worked with X to write this book.’

We need to encourage children to write

for pleasure as well as read for pleasure.

On the upside, there is a heartening trend of

celebrities acknowledging their ghostwriters, and

some are fantastic advocates: Chris Hoy, for example,

has been upfront about working with Joanna Nadin

to write the Flying Fergus series. He has been vocal

about how making books, like cycling, is a team effort

and has included Joanna on school visits and events.

On 24 October, CWIG (the Children’s Writers

and Illustrators Group at the SoA) launched

a new campaign: #GhostsAreReal. We argue

for transparency and fairness in publishing.

Ghostwriters should be properly remunerated via

royalties or bonus fees. They should be listed on

Nielsen BookScan (making sales data visible for

future projects), able to claim from PLR and ALCS,

and, where willing, included in promotion.

Where ghostwriters want credit, their name

should be on the cover or inside page. CWIG has

published guidelines for publishers and agents

covering contracts, fees, working relationships,

credit, transparency, metadata, insurance, and

conflicts of interest.

In an era of AI-generated content where reading for

pleasure is declining, we must celebrate the craft of

writing. CWIG’s campaign can help shift the balance,

ensuring children encounter books that feel genuine

rather than products from a production line. Let’s

inspire children to read books by real, career authors

and encourage them to write for pleasure. If they see

writing as something human, creative and meaningful,

they may become authors and illustrators themselves.

Abie Longstaff is a bestselling

author of children’s

fiction including The Fairytale

Hairdresser and The Trapdoor

Mysteries. She also writes

school readers for a range

of educational publishers.

Abie regularly appears at

literary festivals and schools,

and gives mentoring and

manuscript advice. You can

find her on Bluesky and

Instagram under Abielongstaff,

and her Substack is ‘Publishing

Peptalk’.


Read, Watch, Listen, Learn

Maths

Primary

Secondary

That’s Mathematics

Mama Makes Books, 2024, 32pp,

£7.99, 9781739774851

Inspired by Tom Lehrer’s original song,

this engaging book for 5- to 8-yearolds

shows how Maths is all around

us. Bright, funny, and interesting,

this book is a great way to introduce

mathematical vocabulary to the youngest

learners whilst the free resources challenge

older kids to deepen their understanding.

Mr Gardner

A series of videos containing daily maths challenges

and games as well as simple, quirky songs to introduce

ideas like number bonds. Great for starter activities in

the classroom or to keep the learning going at home.

Love Triangle

Penguin, 2025, 352pp, £10.99,

9780141996189

Matt Parker’s most recent book

is an ode to all things triangles

and trigonometry. Explaining

how triangles underpin much of

the modern world with his usual

humorous style, this is a must-read for

the budding mathematician.

Gary Duncan Maths

Simple to follow videos covering the main topics of

Functional Skills and GCSE curriculum. These short videos

explain each concept clearly and links them back to skills

that are already needed, helping students build their

maths knowledge one step at a time.

Detective Mathema’s Maths Puzzles for Kids

Listen to these short podcasts as Detective Mathema solves

some tricky maths challenges. Told as an engaging mystery

story, kids will love to see if they can find the answer before

Detective Mathema does.

Maths Appeal

In this podcast series Bobby Seagull and Susan Okereke

and special guests pose maths problems, unpack

concepts, and aim to make maths more accessible to

everyone in a fun and engaging way.

National Numeracy – Activities for Young Learners

A series of activities from National Numeracy to help children

make the link between numbers and money. With activities

for all ages, toddlers will enjoy ‘buying’ the food for a teddy

bears picnic, while teens can decide which mobile phone plan

is the most cost-effective. A valuable resource that will spark

conversations and build children’s confidence around money.

Desmos Graphing Calculator

This online graphing calculator allows you to plot points, graph

curves, and evaluate functions quickly and easily. Great for

quickly visualising algebraic equations for whole class work or

allowing students to explore this for themselves. Graphs can

also be saved and shared using the account feature.


Research Highlights

Eleanor Verduyn brings us a summary of the latest

research on the future of books, promoting reading

for pleasure, and digital information literacy.

The Future of Books and Reading

This report from the University of Edinburgh

focuses on five themes (enjoy, engage, empower,

enrich, expand) considered central to the future of

reading for children and adults.

Experts from a range of related fields share insights

on these topics to encourage thinking, discussion,

and action to support potential readers and

prevent further decline in reading enjoyment and

engagement in the UK. Recommendations relevant

for librarians include provision of accessible and

diverse books and spaces, helping to develop

the skill and will for reading in children, and

collaboration with others to

promote reading on local and

national levels. Although the

content of this article will be

familiar, its clear and concise

layout makes it a useful

advocacy tool.

Training New Teachers in Reading for Pleasure

(The Open University)

Research shows that teachers need to have a

strong knowledge of diverse children’s literature

to be able to develop reading for pleasure in their

classrooms. However, many teachers don’t have

the knowledge to support this.

This study surveyed 595 people in initial teacher

training on their expectations of teaching RfP

and their knowledge of children’s literature, and

found striking gaps. 28% of respondents had no

suggestions for how they intend to support children

with RfP, and of those who did respond, the most

common response was to provide books, above

strategies like book talk or modelling reading.

When asked, 37.5% could not name any authors,

poets, or illustrators which they might use in the

classrooms, and those who could predominantly

named those from a narrow, monocultural pool.

Reflecting prior studies, Roahl Dahl was the most

commonly recommended author. There was also

little difference in responses between pre-service

teachers who regularly read and those who rarely

or never read in their free time.

The two strategies proposed by the authors to

improve the situation were

the RfP Student Ambassador

Programme, where students

attend training and then

help encourage others, and

the Teacher Reading Groups

movement.

Perceiving Digital Information Literacy

Digital Information literacy (DIL) is vital for

young people today in the increasingly online

world. To deal with issues like disinformation and

misinformation, young people need to be able to

learn and practice these skills, a role which often

falls to school librarians. This international survey,

conducted by Australian researchers, sought to find

out more about how school library professionals

perceive the DIL of young people in their schools,

and how this related to DIL instruction in the

library. While 75% said DIL education was taking

place across school years in their schools, only

49% thought DIL was a priority for their school.

Unsurprisingly, those whose pupils received DIL

education perceived their DIL skills to be better

than those who did not. The school library played

an important role in supporting DIL in 65% of

cases, suggesting that 35%

of school libraries are

underutilised. Overall, there

is room for improvement in

schools, particularly by taking

advantage of the expertise of

librarians in the DIL field.

Eleanor Verduyn is a graduate

trainee librarian at Ibstock

Place School. She graduated

from UCL in 2023 with a

First in Linguistics, and has a

Masters with Distinction in the

Psychology of Language from

Edinburgh University.


Feature

Looking back at the National

Year of Reading 2008

Saira Aspinall

Sixteen years on from the last National Year of Reading,

a look back through the School Librarian archive reveals

a mix of nostalgia, frustration and hope – and a striking

reminder that many of the arguments school librarians are

still making today were already well established in 2008.

Saira Aspinall brings over

15 years of experience in the

publishing and the children's

book world to her role as

Publicity and Partnerships

Manager at the School

Library Association. She is

passionate about showcasing

the transformative impact

of school libraries through

engaging content and positive

communications, as well as

working with our partners

to celebrate and encourage

reading for pleasure and

advocate for the role of

school librarians.


Conversations about the National

Year of Reading inevitably turn our

minds back to 2008, the last time

the initiative ran. For many of us, I

expect those memories are hazy –

amounting to a poster or a branded

mug deposited in the school library, or a hastily

read press release.

In 2008 I was in the early days of my career in

publishing, but I have little recollection of what

the previous campaign involved, or the context in

which it was launched. Curious to fill the gaps in

my knowledge, I went back to The School Librarian

archive (yes, we have copies of them all!) to see

what school librarians, educators and publishing

professionals were writing about during the last

National Year of Reading – and to get a short, sharp

shock from the reviews pages! I am sure some of

those books published just last year...

For a children's publishing enthusiast there is delight

to be found in our sixteen-year-old issues: a notice

about publication of Julia Donaldson’s Stick Man,

predicting that Axel Scheffler’s illustrations would

help it become a Christmas classic; a sceptical

review of Pseudonymous Bosch; sales figures still

skewed by the latest Harry Potter release.

In contrast to this professional nostalgia, I found

some of the features more difficult to read. Not

because they were poorly written, but articles about

Reading for Pleasure, library design and whole

school collaboration read as if from a world that

already knew the answers that we are still grappling

to make heard today.

In one feature, Fay Dowding describes establishing a

reading scheme at Queen Elizabeth School in Kirkby

Lonsdale, where dedicated library lessons gave Year

7 students regular time to get to know their librarian,

explore the library stock, and enjoy reading. Fay

writes: “It soon became apparent that the students

enjoyed their library time, borrowing rates improved

and the English teachers noticed an improvement in

literacy levels.” This line echoes powerfully through

the years, especially when you consider the SLA's

recent Social Reading Spaces study.

Articles about Reading for Pleasure,

library design and whole school

collaboration read as if from a world

that already knew the answers that we

are still grappling to make heard today.

Conducted in partnership with Farshore and

HarperCollins, the Social Reading Spaces study

trialled social book clubs in seventeen school

libraries across the UK, targeting reluctant readers

aged 12-13, an age group where only 12% of boys

and 23% of girls read for pleasure daily. The clubs

operated with no pressure to read; instead, they

fostered book talk and conversation in relaxed,

pressure-free settings, led by the school librarian.

The results proved that when we create the right

conditions – dedicated time, a safe environment,

and an experienced librarian – young people will

engage with reading.

The Queen Elizabeth School’s Reading Scheme

was far more structured than our Social Reading

Spaces study, with reading trackers and literacy

levels higher on the agenda, but the core message is

strikingly similar and this raises the question: why

are we still having to make the case for ring-fenced

time for reading?

This pattern continues throughout the 2008

archive. Exploring the children’s book market, Kate

Looking back at the National Year of Reading 2008

When we create the right conditions

– dedicated time, a safe environment,

and an experienced librarian – young

people will engage with reading.

Wilson outlines research showing that amongst

other benefits, reading for pleasure: correlates with

increased attainment in reading and writing, fosters

creativity, develops social attitudes, contributes

to self-esteem, and contributes to knowledge

and understanding of the world. These are all

statements that we draw on repeatedly throughout

our work and advocacy today, at times speaking to

people to whom this is new information.

We can even see a kernel of the current National

Year of Reading campaign approach in Fay

Dowding’s feature. Speaking about her reading

award scheme, she writes: “a wider award was

introduced to cater for those students who prefer to

read on-line resources, like websites, as well as offline

non-fiction resources,

such as magazines,

newspapers or non-fiction

books”. The #GoAllIn 2026

campaign asks us to make

space for reading in all its

forms.

In the Autumn 2008

issue, Sarah-Jane Brand

shares her experiences of

supporting her school’s

debate teams, highlighting

how debating can teach

pupils information literacy,

critical thinking, and the

evaluation of sources.

Sarah highlights how

debating can encourage

students to ask the right

questions, to recognise

when information isn't

available or trustworthy,

and to understand that even credible sources can

contain bias. The skills she describes are so familiar

as the information literacy competencies we now

desperately need young people to develop.

Reading this feature in light of the government’s

recent Curriculum and Assessment Review, it is

brilliant to know that oracy has now been officially

We have a unique opportunity to

leverage more support, interest and

enthusiasm for school libraries and the

vital role that school librarians play.

recognised in the curriculum framework, but it also

makes one wonder why it has taken so long, as well as

reinforcing how school librarians have always been

central to this work – as the people in school who

are often best placed to support pupils in developing

their independent learning skills, including research,

source evaluation and critical thinking.

Reading through these

2008 articles, I was caught

between frustration and hope.

Frustration, because many

of the ideas we share today

were already well-established

sixteen years ago, and hope

because with this year’s

National Year of Reading being

so much more than a mug and

a poster, we have a unique

opportunity to leverage

more support, interest and

enthusiasm for school libraries

and the vital role that school

librarians play.

The challenge in 2026 is to

ensure that what we say takes

advantage of this opportunity:

that our communication can

make a real impact. To do this

we need to show not tell, using case studies, stories

and real-life examples of the difference that is made

by the work you do every day in your school libraries.

If the articles from 2008 teach us anything, it's

that we already know the vast potential of the

school library to positively impact upon children

and young people’s reading habits, academic

attainment, social and emotional health and ability

to navigate an ever-changing world. We just need to

keep sharing it – in as tangible a way as possible –

until everyone else knows it too.

Please share your stories with us! If there’s anything you want to tell

us about the work you are doing or the impact you are having in your

school community, please contact us on marketing@sla.org.uk


Digital

Bev’s Helpdesk

Bev Humphrey takes away the worry of losing a favourite design

application later this year by talking us through two great alternatives.

Bev Humphrey is a

Literacy and Digital Media

Consultant with specialisms

in the use of digital media,

reading promotion, and

event organisation.


T

he theme for this issue of The School

Librarian is ‘Change’ and there’s one

upcoming change coming in tech that

several delegates on a recent course I ran were

anxious about – Publisher reaching its end of life

in October of this year. You won’t

be able to open any Publisher

files after October, so it makes

perfect sense to start looking at

alternatives now. The function

that I have been asked about most

is the preparation of newsletters,

which appears to be a popular use

and one that many colleagues are

very comfortable with. I’ve looked

at two alternatives (both free to

use): Scribus and Canva.

Scribus is better for

confident tech users.

Scribus

Scribus is an open-source desktop publishing

resource that can be downloaded and used

freely on any computer; both Windows and Mac

versions are available. I found the downloading

pretty straightforward and started to design my

first newsletter within minutes. There is a limited

range of templates you can use (I found three

newsletter ones), or you can start from scratch to

design a completely bespoke document. Replacing

text on the template was easy to do just by double

clicking, but working out other functions would

take a bit of time. I would say that Scribus is better

for confident tech users as I couldn’t find any

accessible ‘how to’ files and had to resort to the

help files, which was not ideal. There is a Scribus

wiki which holds a lot of information, so if you are

happy working with wikis, you should be able to

find a lot of help there. A couple of aspects I was

impressed with are the option to see your designs

as a user with colour blindness would see them

and the huge colour choice: almost 200 palettes

come with the package and almost 400 more are

available for download if you wish.

There’s one upcoming change coming

in tech that several delegates on a

recent course I ran were anxious about.

Canva

If you want to try Canva, do make

sure you have signed up and

been accepted for an education

account first because this allows

you to use the full range of facilities

completely free of charge. When I

typed ‘education newsletters’ into

the template search bar, so many

came up that it took me quite a

while to scroll through and choose

one I liked. I chose a fairly basic one

to start with and was easily able to

change colours, text, and images

to fit in with my content (if I had

a brand identity set up it would have been even

easier to tie in with school colours, logo, etc). I

could have started with a totally blank newsletter

to have full design control, but with such a large

range of templates that just didn’t seem to make

sense and wouldn’t be an effective use of my time.

Once I had copied and pasted my text into the

template and made the changes I needed, I then

had the option of downloading the file in various

formats, PDF print perhaps being the most useful.

One suggestion I’d like to make is that if you

really like the template, go back to the front page

and star it so that you can easily find it again for

future newsletters. I do love the ability to share the

unfinished newsletter with others so that you can

work on it together.

I hope one of these options will ease the worry of

losing Publisher for you!

I do love the ability to share the

unfinished newsletter with others

so that you can work on it together.

Digital

Two Truths and AI Review

Jess Hotchin

This is an interactive activity that helps pupils

identify AI-generated content. After a quick video

to set the scene, pupils are presented with three

film posters: two are authentic and one has been

produced by AI. Students

need to look for clues to spot

the fake from the genuine.

There are optional hints, or a

helpful video, if they get stuck.

It can be used as an

independent starter activity,

but I like to use it as a wholeclass

activity; I feel the added

value comes from getting

pupils to articulate and

justify their decisions, and from the subsequent

discussions around authenticity. This can also be a

springboard into broader digital literacy questions

about the ethics of AI-generated content.

It has both primary and secondary school options,

and within each age category there is an easy,

medium or hard setting. In addition, the educator

pack allows you to check the films’ suitability,

ensuring that no risky content

can slip through the net.

Its strengths? The game

encourages students to

evaluate authenticity,

identifies common

inconsistencies found in AIgenerated

content, and uses

gamification to make a dry

topic feel fun. It is intuitive to

navigate and free to use. Its

limitations? It relies on pupils’ prior knowledge

of the films, some of the films selected are dated,

and if used on a small handheld device, it can be

difficult to spot the finer details.

Jess Hotchin is School Library

Manager at an independent

secondary school and

formerly a post-16 English

teacher.


Digital

News Fact-Checkers and

Their Educational Value

for UK Secondary Schools

Gareth Evans explains the necessity of news fact-checkers

and walks us through the pros and cons of three popular

fact-checking services.

Gareth Evans has been

working as a secondary

school librarian in Wiltshire

for 9 years. In 2023 he was

honoured on the CILIP 125

List, and is also a committee

member for YLG South West.

Gareth has a BSc (Hons)

Degree in ICT from the

University of Gloucestershire.

Over the last decade, the prevalence of fake

news and misinformation in the UK has

increased significantly, particularly online

and on social media. Research shows that most

people have encountered false content at least

once, with the majority being fake news, affecting

public trust in politics and news outlets (Ofcom,

2024; Alan Turing Institute, 2024; Newsworks,

2022). Children are particularly vulnerable: an

Internet Matters (2025) report found that 27% of

surveyed children believed a fake or AI-generated

story online. Many children access news primarily

through social media, where algorithm-driven

content can amplify misleading information.

Exposure to misinformation is linked to confusion,

reduced trust, and negative impacts on wellbeing,

highlighting the need for media-literacy education

and guidance. Teaching children to critically

evaluate sources, question content, and discuss

online information with adults is essential.

27% of surveyed children believed a

fake or AI-generated story online.

News fact-checkers investigate claims, news

stories, and social media content to determine

whether they are true, false, or misleading. While

all aim to combat misinformation, their websites

differ in structure, accessibility, and educational

usability. Professional news fact-checkers provide

verified information, which can be valuable tools

for educators and students. This article examines

three fact-checking services – Full Fact (2025), BBC

Verify (BBC News, 2025), and Reuters Fact Check

(Reuters, 2025) – focusing on site usability for

educational purposes in a secondary school setting.

Full Fact (2025) is an independent non-profit

organisation staffed by journalists, researchers,

and data analysts. Its website categorises articles

by topics such as politics, health, and education,

helping teachers and students quickly find

relevant content. Each article includes transparent

references and explanations of methodology,

Exposure to misinformation is linked

to confusion, reduced trust, and

negative impacts on wellbeing.

allowing educators to use them as examples of

critical evaluation and research practices. Full

Fact provides clear explanations of complex

topics, making it suitable for classroom discussion

and exercises in fact-checking skills. However,

navigation can be difficult for younger students, and

limited staffing may reduce coverage of very current

news. Nevertheless, Full Fact offers more UKspecific

content than BBC Verify or Reuters, making

it a strong resource for structured lessons.

BBC Verify is integrated into the BBC News (2025)

website and provides fact-checks alongside national

and international news. Operated by teams of

journalists and fact-checkers, it reviews news

content, statements, and viral claims to ensure

accuracy. The site has a user-friendly layout, clear

headings, and concise language, making it highly

accessible for students and educators. Fact-checks

include short summaries, contextual explanations,

multimedia elements, and links to sources. BBC

Verify also operates a live news verification page,

updated during weekdays, providing short fact-check

updates throughout the day. Its brief fact-checks

and focus on mainstream stories, however, may

limit depth for advanced research, and some claims

outside BBC editorial priorities may go unchecked.

Reuters Fact Check (Reuters, 2025) presents global

fact-checked stories with concise summaries

and clearly labelled outcomes. While reliable, its

professional style and broad international scope

may be challenging for younger students. It is

particularly useful for older students and research

projects, offering global examples of misinformation

and demonstrating international fact-checking

practices. Many fact-checks cover international

stories, so UK-specific misinformation is less

represented. The website is also less structured for

educational use, making it harder for students to

locate topic-specific content quickly.


Digital

The following table summarizes the difference between the three Fact Checker sites:

Feature Full Fact BBC Verify Reuters Fact Check

Content focus

UK-specific

National & international news

Global misinformation

Usability

Good for lessons & research

Very accessible; multimedia;

live updates

Best for older students;

professional style

Navigation

Topic-based; may challenge

younger students

User-friendly; supports

independent learning

Less structured; harder to

find content

Depth

Detailed with transparent

sources

Concise summaries; limited

depth

Concise; may lack

classroom-ready examples

Pros

In-depth UK content; teaches

research skills

Highly accessible; multimedia;

live feed

Reliable global examples;

teaches advanced media

literacy

Cons

Limited breaking news;

navigation

Focuses on mainstream

stories; brief

Professional tone; less UK

content; navigation not

classroom-friendly

In conclusion, Full Fact, BBC Verify, and Reuters Fact

Check provide valuable resources for UK secondary

school students and staff, but usability varies. Full Fact

offers in-depth UK-focused content and transparent

methodology, ideal for teaching critical evaluation,

though navigation can be tricky for younger students.

BBC Verify is highly accessible, with multimedia

support and live updates, but focuses mainly on

mainstream stories. Reuters Fact Check provides

reliable international examples, supporting advanced

media literacy, though its professional style may

challenge younger students. Together, these sites help

students develop critical thinking, evaluate sources,

and understand both UK and global misinformation.

References

Alan Turing Institute, 2024. More

than 90% of UK population have

encountered misinformation online.

[online] Available at: https://www.

turing.ac.uk/news/more-90-ukpopulation-have-encounteredmisinformation-online

[Accessed 31

Dec. 2025].

BBC News, 2025. BBC Verify.

[online] Available at: https://

www.bbc.co.uk/news/bbcverify

[Accessed 31 Dec. 2025].

Full Fact, 2025. Full Fact: About us.

[online] Available at: https://fullfact.

org/ [Accessed 31 Dec. 2025].

Internet Matters, 2025. The impact

of online news on children’s

wellbeing. [online] Available at:

https://www.internetmatters.org/

hub/research/impact-online-newschildrens-wellbeing/

[Accessed 31

Dec. 2025].

Newsworks, 2022. Study: Over

80% of people in the UK regularly

come across fake news. [online]

Available at: https://newsworks.org.

uk/news-and-opinion/study-over-

80-of-people-in-the-uk-regularlycome-across-fake-news/

[Accessed

31 Dec. 2025].

Ofcom, 2024. Four in ten UK adults

encounter misinformation. [online]

Available at: https://www.ofcom.

org.uk/media-use-and-attitudes/

attitudes-to-news/four-in-10-ukadults-encounter-misinformation

[Accessed 31 Dec. 2025].

Reuters, 2025. Reuters Fact Check.

[online] Available at: https://www.

reuters.com/fact-check/ [Accessed

31 Dec. 2025].


Feature

National Year of Reading Toolkit:

Ideas, Inspiration and Reassurance

for the Campaign Year

Whatever you have planned for the National Year of Reading,

the SLA is here to support you. Find out how our new toolkit

can help you to make a big impact this year.

As you will know by now, 2026 is

the National Year of Reading! The

campaign was announced last

year and is a government initiative,

launched by the Department of

Education. Throughout 2026,

the National Literacy Trust will be delivering a

universal offer for schools and early years settings

designed to build and enhance reading cultures

within educational settings, and to give all teachers

and educators a better understanding of how to

embed reading for pleasure in their practice. Other

promotional activity and events will also be designed

to encourage reading engagement across the general

public, aiming to reconnect people

of all ages with reading.

The ambitious campaign is a

government response to the

reading crisis, with the all too

familiar figures telling us that there

has been a continued decline

in children and young people’s

reading enjoyment over recent

years: the 2025 National Literacy

Trust annual literacy survey found

that only 1 in 3 (32.7%) children

and young people aged 8 to 18

enjoy reading in their free time.

At the School Library Association,

we believe that school libraries are

the antidote needed to support

children and young people’s reading engagement,

and that school librarians are well-placed to lead

the campaign in their school communities. We

know that many of you will already be in the swing

of planning and even delivering your first activities;

we have created a bespoke toolkit to help provide

you with ideas, advice and inspiration for making

the most of the National Year of Reading in your

school library.

We have included a range of ideas to suit different

budgets and levels of experience from tried and

tested approaches to things you may not have done

before, and have added some guidance on using

Our toolkit can help you lead the charge

in your school and bring the National

Year of Reading campaign to life.

this campaign year as leverage for investment in

the school library, for new initiatives, or more ringfenced

time for reading for pleasure. The campaign

could be a moment for you to demonstrate the

difference you make in your school and to garner

more support from your senior leadership.

From evaluating your current activities and their

impact, to exploring new routes for funding, and

ideas for collaboration across the

whole school staff, our toolkit can

help you lead the charge in your

school and bring the National

Year of Reading campaign to life

for the children and young people

you support.

We’ve included ideas you could use

to help highlight how the school

library can provide support across

all school subjects, including those

that are less frequently associated

with the library – from Maths to

PE. Reminding all the subject

leads in your school that you can

support the topics they teach with

reading resources is a good way of building new

relationships and could help to secure more

budget for your nonfiction collection too!

Before you turn the page, take a moment to

consider what this campaign could mean for you

and what difference it could make to your school

community and the children and young people

you support.

Is there anything new you could do to increase the

impact of your school library in 2026?

Download our National Year of Reading Toolkit now.


Feature

What We’re Reading in the

National Year of Reading

One of the best ways to encourage

children and young people to fall in

love with reading is to role model it as

a joyful, rewarding activity. Here is a

small selection of the books that we are

most excited about getting our hands

on this year, and that we think will capture imaginations

and spark conversations.

We know that the right book at the right time can

transform a child’s relationship with reading. From

beautiful picture books to middle grade adventures

and fantasy YA, these are some of the very best books

that 2026 has to offer – at least up to October, as later

releases have not yet been announced! We hope these

previews offer some valuable inspiration for your

school library stock.

JANUARY

Bear Heart

Louise Greig

Illustrated by Hoang Giang

Flying Eye Books, 9781838749491,

Out: 25 September 2025

Released last autumn, we are still enthralled by the

beauty of the illustrations and message in this gentle tale made for sharing.

Earnest the bear keeps all his favourite things inside his heart – but is it big

enough to hold a lion? This is a gorgeous picture book, perfect for reading

to young children and creating warm, positive associations with books,

reading, and story time.

Tree Thing

Piers Torday

Illustrated by Matthew Taylor Wilson

Hodder Children's Group, 9781786541482,

Out: 15 January 2026

Inspired by the shocking felling of the Sycamore Gap tree,

Piers Torday brings us an unforgettable fable for all ages, celebrating bravery,

hope, and the marvels of the natural world. Beautifully illustrated, this

book has all the hallmarks of an instant classic and could be enjoyed and

appreciated by readers of all ages. We are very pleased that Piers Torday

will be joining a panel discussion at the SLA annual conference in June,

exploring what it means to be a reader.

FEBRUARY

The Street Art Mystery

Sharna Jackson

Puffin, 9780241523636, Out: 12 February 2026

Sharna Jackson delivers another engaging detective

story! Margot, Wesley and Josephine follow a super

creative killer across West London, taking in some epic

street art as they go.

Black Beauty: A retelling

Michael Morpurgo

Illustrated by Tom de Freston

HarperCollins Children’s Books, 9780008580612,

Out: 26 February 2026

Ahead of the 150th anniversary of Anna Sewell’s

Black Beauty next year, Michael Morpurgo retells this beautiful classic with

his characteristic warmth and compassion. A new opportunity for children

of all ages to fall in love with this strong-spirited horse.

MARCH

Megalomaniacs: The Invasion Begins!

Jamie Smart

David Fickling Books, 9781788453844,

Out: 12 March 2026

The start of a new series from the brilliant and bestselling

creator of Bunny vs Monkey, Jamie Smart, Megalomaniacs

looks like it will have as much playground appeal as his other titles –

jam-packed with his trademark exuberance. Jamie will be joining us to explore

the enormous rise in popularity of graphic novels at our annual conference.

Cruise Ship Kid: Kidnap at Sea!

Emma Swan

Illustrated by Katie Saunders

Usborne, 9781835409961, Out: 12 March 2026

After meeting Emma Swan at our 2025 annual

conference, we fell head over heels for Cruise Ship

Kid! 8+ readers can jump on board this hilarious series again, as Silver solves

another crime at sea in her second adventure.


What We’re Reading in the National Year of Reading

Mighty Mega

Pets: Freaky

Food Fiasco

Gary Northfield

Walker Books,

9781529526486,

Out: 9 April 2026

APRIL

A new action-packed graphic novel, bursting

with pets, friendship, superpowers, and

silliness. Gary Northfield is best known for

the Julius Zebra books and his comics in The

Phoenix and Beano. You will also find Gary

talking about all things graphic novel at our

conference in June!

The Seeker and

The Shade

Ellen Osborne

Guppy Books,

9781916558724,

Out: 14 May 2026

A page-turning fantasy debut by Ellen Osborne

which the publishers are comparing to The

Hunger Games. We are really excited to read

this fast-paced, unpredictable sounding story,

centred around a community who are living in

fear of the Shade. Pitched at 12+ readers, this

would be perfect for an upper Key Stage 3 or

Key Stage 4 reading group or book club.

MAY

If the Invader Comes

Tom Palmer

Barrington Stoke,

9780008802226,

Out: 7 May 2026

A gripping new Second

World War adventure by multi-award-winning

author and SLA Patron, Tom Palmer. Three

Cornish children must work together to help

protect their community during the threat of

Nazi invasion in June 1940. The story explores

friendship, courage, and the often-overlooked

experiences of rural and fishing communities on

Britain’s Home Front during the war.

JUNE

Six Weeks

Matt Goodfellow

Illustrated by

Joe Todd-Stanton

Hodder Children’s Books,

9781444982886,

Out: 4 June 2026

The hotly anticipated new book from Matt

Goodfellow, author of bestselling The Final

Year. Alfie Piper has six weeks of summer – and

nothing left to lose. Since his mum died, Alfie’s

world has unravelled. The silence between

him and his stepdad roars louder than ever.

So, he does the only thing that makes sense:

grabs his bike, and rides. In these long summer

days, can Alfie rebuild what was broken? Matt

Goodfellow speaks to young readers like noone

else, and we expect this story of grief, love,

life, and family to be as compulsively readable

and relatable as his other recent books.

Heartstopper,

Volume 6

Alice Oseman

Hodder Children’s Books,

9781444974881,

Out: 2 July 2026

Everyone in school knows Nick and Charlie.

Everyone knows they’re going to be

together forever. But Charlie’s busy with his

bid to become head boy. And while Nick is

preparing to leave for college, he’s starting

to wonder who he’ll be … without Charlie.

This is the final installment in Alice Oseman’s

bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel series

about life, love, and everything that happens

in between.

JULY

Murder on a

Midsummer Night

Lucy Strange

Barrington Stoke, 9780008712792,

Out: 2 July 2026

Carnegie Medal-nominated

author Lucy Strange launches a new series with

Barrington Stoke. Inspired by Lucy's love of the

genre, The Mulberry Hall Murders aims to make

murder mysteries accessible for even more young

readers. The blurb promises a charming, clever and

thoroughly engaging story, perfect for summer

holiday reading: Preparations for Sir Percy’s

summer party have transformed Mulberry Hall into

an enchanting wonderland and siblings Eliza and

Bram Rose are thrilled to be part of the festivities.

But the evening takes a dark turn when a guest is

found dead, plunging the party into chaos. Eliza

must use her wits to unravel the means, motive and

opportunity behind the murder.

AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER

Impossible

Creatures:

The Neverfear

Katherine Rundell

Bloomsbury,

9781408897515,

Out: 27 August 2026

Multi-million-copy bestselling author Katherine

Rundell has announced the third title in her

Impossible Creatures series! Some copies of

this in the library are sure to create excitement

at the beginning of term. The Neverfear will

take readers back to a world beyond their

wildest imaginations, with another chance to

journey back to the Archipelago.

Gruffalo Granny

Julia Donaldson

Illustrated by

Axel Scheffler

Macmillan Children’s

Books, 9781035065516,

Out: 10 September 2026

In the National Year of Reading, Julia

Donaldson and Axel Scheffler are releasing

the first new Gruffalo collaboration in

twenty years. Gruffalo Granny will see the

introduction of Granny, who will join the

Gruffalo family, but you can also expect to

see much-loved characters return from both

The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child.

A Little Boy and

His Bear

Jane Riordan

Illustrated by

Andrew Grey

Farshore, 9780008740894,

Out: 8 October 2026

Winnie-the-Pooh is celebrating a hundred

years of adventures in the Hundred Acre

Wood in 2026. This brand-new authorised

sequel is written by Jane Riordan in the style

of A.A. Milne. It features beautiful images

by Andrew Grey, inspired by E.H. Shepard’s

original, iconic illustrations – there is a lot to

love about this!


Feature

Behind the Book –

Always Angel by Kimberly Whittam

Kimberley Whittam answers our questions about Always Angel –

her powerful new novel about second chances.

Kimberly Whittam has

a degree in English with

Linguistics and a Masters

degree in Inclusive Education

and Special Educational Needs

and Disabilities. She currently

works in secondary education

and is passionate about giving

young people in Manchester

space on the bookshelf.

Congratulations on publication

of Always Angel. It is a really

powerful story that centres the

voice of Angel, who is in Year

8, with so much authenticity

and respect. With Angel’s

narration, you have perfectly

captured the tension that can exist between

young people’s intentions and the impact

of their actions. What was the process of

writing the book like for you? Was it difficult

to so fully inhabit the thoughts, feelings, and

decisions of a young teen?

Thank you so much, that means a great deal

to me. I’ve worked in mainstream secondary

school settings for years, often with students

who found school incredibly hard, so Angel’s

voice felt familiar. I’ve sat with young people who

desperately wanted to do the right thing but didn’t

yet have the tools, words, or support to make that

happen. Writing Angel meant listening closely to

those experiences – the frustration, the hope, the

misunderstandings – and writing with empathy

rather than judgement.

I hope readers come away with a

deeper sense of empathy.

Always Angel is described as a book about

second chances. It struck me that the adults

in Angel’s life are as much in need of second

chances as she is. Do you hope the book will

be read by parents, carers, and school staff

as well?

Absolutely! While Always Angel is written for

young readers, I very much hope adults read it

too. Angel’s story isn’t just about a child needing a

second chance, but about what happens when the

adults around her are willing to pause, reflect, and

try again as well. So often, behaviour is responded

to before it’s understood. I wanted the book to

open up space for empathy on all sides, and to

remind adults that their choices, language, and

patience can genuinely change the direction of a

young person’s life.

Writing Angel meant listening

closely to those experiences.

Through Angel’s home situation and also

that of Soraya, the novel shines a light on

the hidden lives of many children and young

people, whose school careers might be the least

of their worries. What do you hope readers

might take away from those stories?

I hope readers come away with a deeper sense

of empathy. With both Angel and Soraya, I

wanted to show that what we see in school is

often just the smallest part of a much bigger

story. For many young people, survival, safety,

and family responsibility takes priority long

before homework or behaviour charts. If the book

encourages readers to pause before labelling a

child as “difficult” or “disengaged,” and instead ask

what might be happening beneath the surface?,

then it’s done something important. Ultimately, I

hope it reminds readers that kindness, patience,

and listening make a huge difference.

Much of the central action of the book takes

places out of sight of the responsible adults:

whether in Angel’s own head, on the school bus

or at the back of the classroom, and there are

frequent moments of misunderstanding – for

example the supply teacher mistaking awkward

silence after an episode of bullying as the class

taking their work seriously. With Mrs Iris, you

introduce a character who seems to notice Angel

and ‘look at her kindly’. What impact do you

think one empathetic and observant adult can

have on a young person in need?


Behind the Book – Always Angel

Always Angel excerpt

“I thought you were expelled!” Tiana’s reaction

at seeing me is as dramatic as her coily brown

curls bouncing up and down. Other than the

occasional smirk across the hall during detention,

we don’t know each other, but that doesn’t stop

her from barging past people in the corridor to

catch up with me. “Keep moving, Year Eight!” a

teacher shouts, waving their arms around like an

air traffic controller trying to direct everyone to

the first lesson of the day. It takes me a moment

to realize that I’m one of the people being told to

stop blocking the corridor. It feels strange to be

reminded that I’m now in Year Eight.

I think one empathetic adult can be absolutely

transformative. Young people like Angel are

constantly navigating spaces where they feel

misunderstood, unseen or misread, and that can

quietly erase their sense of self-worth. Mrs Iris

notices Angel and approaches her with kindness

rather than assumptions. That alone can change

how a young person sees themselves. Being looked

at kindly, especially by an adult in a position

of authority, can create a sense of safety and

possibility. It tells a child, you matter, I see you, and

you’re not a problem to be solved. For many young

people, that kind of recognition can be the first step

towards trust, engagement, and hope.

It tells a child, you matter, I see you,

and you’re not a problem to be solved.

I loved the way that Angel came to life during

the bake-off challenge in the book, allowing

herself to be so much more childlike and

vulnerable. You vividly conjure the sensory

nature of food and cooking, and its ability to

transport us to other times and places. What

would you make for the final challenge – a

recipe with flavours you love, a style that’s

yours, a personal recipe that always soars?

I love this question because the bake-off is really

about Angel finding a space where she can be

herself without being judged for her behaviour. I

don’t think I’d ever make it to the final round of a

baking competition with my skills, but if I somehow

did, I’d make something that’s quiet on the outside,

with nods to writing, reading, and my favourite

football team – Manchester United Women – but

with lots of flavour on the inside!

Last time I was here I was halfway through Year

Seven. Instead of heading to my lesson, I stormed

out of the school gates, yelling at Mr Simpson,

my head of year, that I was leaving and never

coming back. I thought he’d be happy. Teachers

were always telling me that they’d had enough of

my behaviour. Well, they didn’t know that I’d had

enough too.

I had my first detention during the first week of

school. That’s a record for a Year Seven. Turns

out I’m good at breaking school records: the bad

ones, at least. I arrived late and got stopped on

the corridor for not having the correct uniform

on. It was three weeks since I’d been taken into

foster care for the first time and Lauren, my social

worker, had ordered a replacement for the blazer

still hanging in my bedroom wardrobe back at

home. It hadn’t arrived in time, so she phoned

school to let them know and told me that I didn’t

need to worry about it. Nobody told the teacher

who stopped me in the corridor to give me a

detention slip.

I told the teacher that I didn’t care. That was my

answer for every detention and every time I got sent

out of a lesson. I thought that if I pretended nothing

mattered, then maybe it wouldn’t hurt as much.

That was also the reason I had a smile on my

face every time I got yelled at. It wasn’t because I

found it funny. It was to hide how much it stung.

I saved my crying for later. When it was just me

alone in the corridor or

when I made the lonely

walk up to the isolation

room. That’s when my

tears would flow.

To read the whole chapter,

scan the QR code:


Feature

Curiosity Covered:

The Information Book Award Shortlist

The twelve books on the 2026 IBA shortlist range from picture books to

choose your own adventures and encyclopaedias. The judges share their

comments on why each book deserves it's place on our shelves.

7 and Under

Recycling Day: What happens to

the things we throw away?

Polly Faber

Illustrated by Klas Fahlén

Nosy Crow, 9781839949494

This colourful and engaging picture book with text by Polly Faber and

illustrations by Klas Fahlén is the perfect introduction to recycling

for young readers. The accessible text introduces the reader to the

concept of recycling, starting at home and then zooming out to see

the machines, vehicles and people who help us recycle. Through

creative design and stunning illustrations the reader is shown a wide

range of recycling plants and processes. The book closes by focusing

on Not for Bin day giving readers actionable takeaways from the book

without the tone ever feeling overwhelming – instead the book feels

positive and joyful.

Frog: A Story of Life on Earth

Isabel Thomas

Illustrated by Daniel Egneus

Bloomsbury Children's Books, 9781526600752

In this book Daniel Egneus’ outstanding illustrations combine with

Isabel Thomas’ well-judged text to pack a stunning information

punch. Not just frogs, this is ‘the story of the universe, retold’. For

those who are hungry for more, the information content is taken

up a notch by the inclusion of a more detailed narrative with more

complex vocabulary at the end of the book. A riot of colour, the

thoughtful design results in a visual feast, an unforgettable and vibrant

introduction to evolution. If there was ever a book to spark curiosity

and inspire wonder, this is it!

A Billion Ways To Be

Chitra Soundar

Illustrated by Ana Sanfelippo

Hachette Children's Books, 9781445191256

Our diverse world contains billions of people, and

we each have our own individual ways to be. This book positively

demonstrates that everyone is unique in a billion different ways– from

how we look and learn, to how we have fun, what our families are

like, and what we believe. As a large-format book, there is a good

balance of short chunks of text, colourful illustrations, and effective

use of white space. The pictures are a particular strength of the book,

as just reading the headings allows us to understand the concepts.

The activities at the end support the message of the book and would

be a fun and meaningful activity to do in a school classroom.

Where Did She Go?

Cariad Lloyd

Illustrated by Tom Percival

Hachette Children's Group, 9781444970944

Written by Cariad Lloyd of Griefcast this is a

heart-warming book to help support young children dealing with

bereavement. It follows a little girl who, on hearing that people

are sorry for her loss when her grandma dies, sets about looking

everywhere she can think of to determine exactly where her grandma

has gone. Tom Percival’s gorgeous illustrations bring the story to life

with a light touch and gentle sense of humour. Where Did She Go?

makes tackling a big subject for young children look deceptively easy.

8-12 Years

About Time

Rebecca Struthers & Alom Shaha

Illustrated by Lucy Rose

DK Children's, 9780241709320

From Einstein to enamelling, this book is full

of surprises offering something for anyone with even the smallest

modicum of interest in time. Did you know that plants and even

bacteria have a kind of circadian clock? Instead of just sundials as

might be expected, there are step by step instructions to make a

water clock and a sand timer. Captivating illustrations combine with

carefully chosen photographs to create high impact spreads on a

wide variety of topics including time zones, geological time and clock

mechanisms. It is fitting that there are sections on decoration, watch

makers throughout time and contemporary artisans, because About

Time really is a work of art.


The Information Book Award Shortlist

Choose Your Own Evolution

Jules Howard

Illustrated by Gordy Wright

Nosy Crow, 9781839945533

This is such a clever idea, turning the science

of evolution into an interactive adventure where readers steer the

direction of life itself! Reminds me of ‘The Fighting Fantasy’ – You

are the Hero books, and this structure I think makes it fun and

engaging for teens, while keeping the science solid and easy to grasp.

The illustrations really bring it to life, supporting the ideas without

oversimplifying them. It’s inventive, educational, and a brilliant

conversation-starter, and the sort of book that can help young people

think hard about how and why we became what we are.

Why Do We Sleep?

Cathy Evans

Illustrated by Polya Plavinskaia

Cicada Books, 9781800660588

Packed with fascinating information, this book is

a fact fan’s delight. Cathy Evans’ perfectly pitched

text combines with Polya Plavinskaia’s bold and original illustrations to

create a compelling and memorable book which offers far more than

the title may suggest. Sleep is explored in its widest sense from the

science of human sleep and interpretations of dreams and nightmares,

to the four sleep chronotypes and different animal adaptations like

dolphins which shut down half of their brain at a time in order to remain

permanently awake. With memorable standalone double-page spreads,

this book is ideal for grazing, dipping or reading from cover to cover and

would be a great shared read with a friend. Whether you’re into science

or animals, self-discovery or folklore, this book won’t disappoint.

Science Detective Agency

Steve Derrick

Illustrated by Miriam Serafin

Hachette Children's Group, 9781526329912

Can you solve the crime with forensic science?

A crime has been committed, and the reader must solve it using a range

of scientific procedures. Visual and textual clues and evidence are

revealed as you read and observe methodically throughout the book.

Fun activities, such as code breaking and testing your eyesight, along

with learning how to test fingerprints and take witness statements,

ensure an engaging and enjoyable read. The process of solving the

crime flows logically through the book, with colourful images and

well-laid-out chunks of text, making it ideal for ages 8+. Great to read

on your own or with a friend.

13-16 Years

Owning It: Our disabled childhoods

in our own words

Edited by James Catchpole,

Lucy Catchpole & Jen Campbell

Illustrated by Sophie Kamlish

Macmillan Children's Books, 9781529066203

This collection of 22 true stories from childhood told by disabled

writers from all over the world perfectly encapsulates how the

best books function as window and mirror. For those who can

relate, this book, edited by Jen Campbell, James Catchpole and

Lucy Catchpole, is a much-needed reflection, shining a light on

experience that is largely unseen; for those who can’t, it provides

much-needed insight. With humour, heart and striking illustrations

by Sophie Kamlish, these inspiring stories will illuminate, bring

comfort and boost empathy. From blatant to inadvertent othering,

to coming to terms with a disabled ‘identity’ and finding community,

this book is honest about pain, fear and heartache. Crucially

though, as the title suggests, Owning It offers hope, connection and

shows how it is possible to take control of one’s life whatever the

challenge: a vital message for every teenager.

It's a Brave Young World

Anu Adebogun

Illustrated by Soofiya & Lila Cruz

Little Tiger, 9781838916404

Anu Adebogun’s It's A Brave Young World is

an approachable, accessible guide to life.

Abebogun's tone is pitch perfect: informative, without being

intimidating. The book touches on big topics such as mental

health, boundaries, friendship and family dynamics in an appealing,

friendly way. Interspersed throughout the book are journaling

opportunities and prompts to encourage further connection with

readers. Complemented by Soofiya and Lila Cruz’s hugely attractive

illustrations, the contemporary design makes the whole package

feel inclusive, enticing, and covetable.

Normal Women

Philippa Gregory

Illustrated by Alexis Snell

Farshore, 9780711297791

Award-winning author Philippa Gregory has

adapted her bestselling and unique social

history book Normal Women for teens. Relating

stories from the past 900 years that are missing from traditional

history, this book puts women front and centre — from pirates

and highwaywomen to nuns and artists. With content warnings for

sex, violence, nudity, sexual violence, slavery, and death, it tells

the stories of women who are normal but not ordinary. The text

is accompanied by lino-print illustrations and side notes, creating

an accessible format that encourages readers to either devour

the book in date order or dip into any page. Shocking, distressing,

empowering, and fascinating.

Explodapedia: The Brain

Ben Martynoga

Illustrated by Moose Allain

David Fickling Books, 9780008637149

This book really nails that rare balance

between clarity and depth, explaining complex

ideas in a way that feels completely accessible

to 13–16-year-olds, helped by some smart visuals that amplify

the text rather than distract from it. Very well structured, with each

page building curiosity, sparking the “why” and “how” questions that

would be great discussion starters in class or at home. It’s confident,

current, and beautifully designed inside (although the cover art, as

with all in the series, lets the book down). Overall, I think it’s a proper

gateway into neuroscience for teenagers in this age group.


Books: 7 & Under

Adams, Emma

Illustrated by

Isabel Muñoz

Little Myths:

Persephone

Hodder Children’s Books, 2026,

32pp, £12.99, 9781444930306

Series: Little Myths

Myths. Persephone. Underworld

From first look, this book felt reminiscent of the

popular Little People, Big Ideas series. It is a similar

size to those books and suitable for the same

aged readers. This is a good first introduction to

the myth of Persephone and the Underworld.

This is part of a series Little Myths and I would be

interested in reading the others. Like Little People,

Big Ideas, they would look attractive on a shelf,

and I can see children wanting to pick them up and

read them. The illustrations have bright colours

and a style reminiscent of film animation. There is

also a comic-style part of the story in the middle.

I liked that the language was not simplified too

much for younger readers and therefore can aid in

gaining new vocabulary. At the end there is a recap

on the main characters. This book would appeal

to different ages; it is not too simple for older

Key Stage 2 (and even Year 7) but it is bright and

appealing to those just looking at the pictures and

having the story read to them.

Alix Beech

Antczak, Kasia

Illustrated by

Kasia Fryza

Please Look After

This Cat

Post Wave Children’s Books,

2025, 48pp, £12.99,

9781836270638

Series: Please Look After This Pet

Pets. Cats. Care

Dot the cat wants readers to know how to take

care of her and her friends. Each double page

has an aspect of care from a cat’s perspective

followed by information for humans. Topics include

what to feed cats, how to present the food, and

the importance of running water, litter boxes,

and more! The illustrations are informative and

amusing and the pages contain simple, clear text

with ‘how you can help’ fact boxes adding further

details. Creative, fun and engaging, the rather cute

Dot is perfect for teaching children about how to

take care of their pet and ensuring all their needs

are met. It also sends an important message –

that every cat is different and should be treated

accordingly, much like humans!

Barbara Band

Baldinucci, Loredana

Illustrated by

Melinda Berti

A Place Just for Me

Greystone Kids, 2025, 32pp,

£12.99, 9781778402388

Family. Home. Quiet

Silver is a mouse who lives with his family at the root

of the old elm tree – he loves his family very much

but sometimes the house just gets too crowded and

all he wants is a quiet place just to be. He decides

to go exploring the world and encounters many

other homes but realises that in the end his own

home is best. The illustrations match the calm tone

of the story and the muted colours echo the quiet

that Silver seeks. There is a lot to explore on each

page and I would imagine that children would

love spotting all the different animals and their fun

activities. This book would be a lovely addition to

school libraries, and its gentle and slow moving tale

would appeal to quiet pupils who understand the

importance of having a space to call your own.

Katie Lane

Barr-Green, Craig

Illustrated by

Francis Martin

Gina Kaminski

Rescues the Giant

Little Tiger, 2025, 36pp, £7.99,

9781801046596

Fairy Tale. Feelings. Adventure

A fairy tale with a difference with a great focus on

the heroine, Gina Kaminski, who shares her feelings

with emojis. Whilst on a rubbish school trip, Gina

picks the Jack and the Beanstalk story and decides

to set about fixing the mistakes, such as not planting

the magic beans. This is quite ground-breaking

and inspirational for young children as Gina takes

control of a very traditional tale. All children will

relate to the fact that Gina took her special thing

Lady Wiggles on her adventure and the thought of

losing her would make her sad. An uplifting story

with clear, bold illustrations that will make it a firm

favourite. The emoji faces really set it a part from

other stories and for that reason is an excellent

addition to any early years book corner.

Becky Taylor

Canning, Kate

Illustrated by

Thomas Voight

Ebb and Flo and

the Dolphins

Graffeg, 2025, 36pp, £8.99,

9781802586084

Series: Ebb and Flo

Dolphins. Animals. Teamwork

The much-loved dolphins are the stars of this

adventure plot filled with gorgeous illustrations.

Continuing this popular series, this story follows Flo

and her dog Ebb who encounter dolphins when

travelling on their boat. The pair, plus Duck, have

tremendous fun watching the dolphins play in

the water, until they travel into the shallow waters

and get stuck! It is up to Mum, Flo and Ebb to

rescue them in Mum’s dinghy. Luckily Mum knows

what to do, and working together, the dolphins

are successfully guided back to deeper waters.

However, now it is the dolphins turn to help out, as

the dinghy has run out of petrol! The dolphins repay

the favour and save the day, much to the delight of

Flo and Ebb; the perfect way to round off a terrific

adventure! There are excellent teaching materials at

the back of the book.

Laura Brandman

Dassu, A.M

Illustrated by

Abeeha Tariq

A Very Happy

Ramadan

Scholastic, 2026, 32pp, £7.99,

9780702341205

Ramadan. Fasting. Family

Rayhan is about a young Muslim boy and his first

experience of taking part in the fasting during

Ramadan. It begins when he wakes up to find all

of the adults have started their fast and all that is

available for his breakfast is porridge; this causes

him to say that he is going to fast. However, as

the day progresses, he becomes more and more

hungry, until he finally eats a strawberry. This makes

him feel guilty as he thinks he is the only person

not fasting. Thankfully his older brother is there to

help him by explaining that there are other things he

can do, such as giving to others as well as helping

those in need. Rayhan learns that he is still very

young when it comes to fasting, but with time and

understanding he will be able to fully participate.

This is an excellent introduction to the religious time

of Ramadan, especially for non-Muslim children

living in diverse communities.

Margaret Pemberton


Books: 7 & Under

Dawnay, Gabby

Illustrated by Mona K

5-Minute Dinosaurs

Stories

Magic Cat, 2026, 96pp, £16.99,

9781917366267

Series: 5-minute stories

Dinosaurs. Illustrations. Prehistoric World

5-Minute Dinosaur Stories by Gabby Dawnay is

a perfect introduction for young children to the

fascinating world of dinosaurs. This collection

of nine read-aloud stories introduces a different

dinosaur in each tale, including the earliest

Nyasasaurus, the tall Brachiosaurus, the soaring

Anchiornis, king carnivore Tyrannosaurus Rex, and

the terribly tough Triceratops. Each story is told in

lively rhyme and concludes with a page of dinosaur

facts, blending storytelling with gentle non-fiction.

Mona X’s charming illustrations ensure the dinosaurs

are lovable rather than scary, making the book

especially appealing to younger readers. Many

children are fascinated by dinosaurs but most books

on the subject are aimed at older readers. 5-Minute

Dinosaur Stories fills that gap beautifully, offering an

engaging and age-appropriate introduction to these

incredible creatures that once roamed the Earth.

Barbara Band

Deng, Yibing

A Song of the Seasons


2025, 32pp, £12.99,

9781836270676

Nature. Seasons. Bears

In this gentle picture book

the author-illustrator describes the seasons, growth,

and the continuity of nature over many years

through the eyes of a mother bear and her cubs.

After a stunning fly-leaf illustration of a flock of

birds, the first spread features a forest in dappled

light, moving on to a more glowing, brighter picture

as spring takes hold, the sun rises, and hibernating

bears awake. As winter approaches, the cubs leave

their mother as they grow up, a succinct depiction

of change. The drawings of woodland animals and

plants are simple and non-threatening, not accurate

but generically identifiable. There are lots of animals

to spot as you read the text, some not native to

the UK (such as a warthog and bears) and the odd

American English word. I enjoyed seeing the flock

of birds throughout the book and the pastel warmth

of the illustrations. This contributes to the sense

of the permanence of nature. Recommended for

sharing in Key Stage 1 and early years.

Lucy Chambers

Desmond, Jenni

A Believer’s Guide

to Unicorns

Hodder Children's Books, 2025,

34pp, £12.99, 9781444975192

Mythological Creatures.

Unicorns. Magic

My granddaughter, like many other small children,

is a lover of unicorns, and this gorgeous picture

book entranced her from the first page. Soft toned,

charming illustrations and lots of information about

these most loved mystical creatures combine in a

book that is destined to be read many many times

(each day!). We enjoyed the pictures of unicorns

giving us clues that they are there, especially the

double-page spread of a rainbow, and we loved

the explanation of how thunder is created – it's just

unicorns flicking their tails!

Bev Humphrey

Dockrill, Laura

Illustrated by

Kip Alizadeh

I Am Strong Just

Being Me


9781838918019

Strength. Nature. Botany

This beautifully presented delightful picture book

explains what strength is in carefully selected

words and graphics. It is lyrical, positive, direct and

thought provoking. The characters are presented

as sympathetic and strong. The non-fiction story

follows young Bean who is seeking to understand

what strength is and how it can be applied to him

or her in many different circumstances. The story

is simple and profound. It can be used in class

situations to boost confidence, instil courage

and encourage mindfulness. It can also be used

successfully in one-to-one situations. It is a nature

story that showcases strength through the natural

world. Illustrated in a colourful, uncluttered, simple

style to enhance the power of the text, it will

empower children to realise that they can be strong

by just being themselves. It contains some delightful

bonus pages that are full of attractive botanical

illustrations and their strong meanings. It is a story

designed for sharing.

Judith Barbara Palka

Don, Lari

Illustrated by

Elise Carmichael

Celtic Folk and

Fairy Tales

Floris Books, 2025, 144pp,

£16.99, 9781782509622

Myths. Magical. Folk Stories

A beautifully illustrated telling of 10 Celtic folk

stories and fairy tales. These are the classic

tales of magic, fairies, and creatures from

across Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, the

Isle of Man, and Brittany. This feels like a very

traditional story book full of spells and enchanting

characters, with a touch of mischief and trickery.

Many of the tales have good and old-fashioned

morals, like making sure you stay on good terms

with your fairy neighbours and having good

manners towards the Cornish piskies! There are

phonetic spellings of some of the words in each

story. There is also a handy glossary at the back

of the book as well as some information giving

you a brief background to each of the stories and

where they originated from. This would be a nice

addition to a story time collection.

Angela March

Fong, Adriena

Illustrated by

Adriena Fong

Ning and the

Night Spirits

Flying Eye Books, 2026, 40pp,

£8.99, 9781838743574

Friendship. East Asian. Empathy

Ning is a quiet and shy boy who finds the noise and

bustle of his village overwhelming and difficult to

manage. He runs away to the quiet of the forest

and meets a friend (a Spirit Light), who needs help;

the story focuses on Ning gaining the courage to

speak up. This book is beautifully illustrated and

there is something of interest on every page – the

illustrations also perfectly match the gentle tone

of the story. Ning’s character, a shy boy who gains

a quiet confidence, would be great to share as a

discussion point for bravery and the importance of

friendship. The Spirit Guide at the back of the book

also explains the different spirits who feature in the

book and helps to add context to the story while

also being a good foundation for further research

and questions. Would be a great addition to the

library or for a read-aloud lesson.

Katie Lane


Books: 7 & Under

Gray, Kes

The Egg of an Ogg

Orchard Books, 2026, 32pp,

£12.99, 9781444971903

Imaginative. Colourful.

Hilarious

From the author of Oi Frog!, The Egg of an Ogg

tells us the story of a boy and his sister who find a

strange, giant egg in the forest. Despite being told

to leave it alone by a wise old man, the boy takes

the egg away from its nest, proudly presenting

his find to the village people. The egg, however,

hatches into an alien creature that keeps multiplying

in size, destroying the village in its wake. Only being

reunited with its parents will stop it from growing.

This is a wonderful story, full of humour but with a

subtle message too – to leave strange things alone

if you don’t know what they are. This is a brilliantly

entertaining text with illustrations that are vibrant

and expressive. It will encourage young readers

to predict what’s inside the egg and to use their

imagination to create their own ‘Ogg’.

Louise Davis

Hassan, Maryam

A Taste of Home

Hodder Childrens Books, 2025,

32pp, £12.99, 9781444969368

Families. Culture. Celebration

Tariq lives with his loving family and one thing

is certain – his enjoyment of food and how it

brings his family together. So when his teacher

announces that there is going to be a class picnic

and everyone is to bring a dish that celebrates their

culture, what is he to do or bring? So many ideas

come to mind that he asks different members of

his family for ideas, and it is only when he receives

advice from his mother that he knows just what he

will bring. Not only does he bring his favourite dish,

but he helps to prepare it, too. You will have to read

the book to find out what he chose, but the sheer

joy with which Hassan tells the story and Wilson

illustrates it will present all the readers with a feast

of colours and ideas to discuss, try out, and savour.

An ideal bedtime story, this book will also find its

place in a classroom library where it will spark off

many great discussions.

Rudolf Loewenstein

Horáček, Petr

The Long Walk

Ragged Bears, 2025, 48pp,

£14.99, 9781857144994

Journeys. Resilience.

Inspiration

Originally published in his native Czechoslovakia

and even featuring some glorious images of

Prague, this is a story about an unusually longlegged

gnome who loves to hear the birds in his

garden tell tales of where they have been and

what they have seen. But he does not like the

sparrows who tease him about his long legs being

of no use to anyone! So, one day he sets off and

walks around the world, through all weathers

and landscapes. The illustrations, in a mix of

watercolour, pencil, collage, crayon, and gouache

are simply stunning. Observant readers will notice

that as he walks, his beard grows longer, and when

he eventually finds himself back at his beloved

garden, he finds his legs are shorter, too. It is a

lovely gentle metaphor about living a good life –

making use of what assets you have and not being

afraid to go beyond your comfort zone. The birds

now gather to listen to the gnome’s stories!

Joy Court


Books: 7 & Under

Hubery, Julia

Illustrated by

Laura Wood

Dee and Flee:

Smooth Operators

Graffeg, 2025, 36pp, £8.99,

9781805950363

Series: Dee and Flee

Organisation Skills. Problem Solving. Positivity

Readers from age 8 up will enjoy joining fun

characters Dee and Flee on this adventure. Dee

thinks she has planned for every eventuality but

soon learns there is still room for surprises and

plans that have to change. With unexpected

challenges on a tour with a school band, the reader

is carried through by learning to go with the flow,

and change can sometimes be a positive thing.

Naughty passengers and grumpy teachers/drivers

are all problems to be overcome and ultimately a

good time is experienced. This is both a funny and

heartwarming story for able readers and for others

to be read to. The illustrations are clear and provide

lots of opportunity for discussion with a group or in

a one to one session. The story is also a great way

of demonstrating the level of organisation that goes

into events and trips and the skills it takes to make

it a success.

Lisa Daisy

Hughes, Hollie

Illustrated by

Ben Mantle

By My Side


£7.99, 9781408367254

Family. Safety. Dinosaurs

Long ago, Little Dino became separated from their

safe space with Mama. Little Dino must be resilient

and use their cleverness and resourcefulness (and

maybe some help from a friend) to find their way

back to Mama. Today, another mama and her

little one walk along the beach in the footprints of

Mama and Little Dino. Hollie Hughes, also author

of The Girl and the Dinosaur, uses simple rhyming

text to emphasise the importance of little ones

staying close to their mums to stay safe while also

empowering children to solve problems on their

own. With a soft and comforting style and pink

and blue colour palette, Ben Mantle encourages

imagination and extended conversation through

his illustrations. Children will love discussing Little

Dino’s even smaller green friend who stays by their

side through it all. This book would best suit lower

primary and especially nursery-aged children.

Brette Phebus

Jozefkowicz, Ewa

Illustrated by

Gillian Flint

Fujiko and the Fox

Zephyr, 2025, 109pp, £7.99,

9781035902859

Series: Woodland Explorers Club

Nature. Friendship. Animals

A charming little book that is perfect for new

independent readers. Fujiko breaks her arm and

begins hearing the sounds of her accident instead

of the beautiful music she usually loves to make on

her violin. She discovers she can help the animals

in the forest on the day of the fireworks festival

with the help of an injured fox. Fukijo has to learn

how to trust her friends with her big emotions.

The story carries a meaningful message about

accepting help from others and the strength

found in friendship. It is also enriched with gentle

snippets of information about British wildlife,

which blend naturally into the narrative and add

educational value without feeling heavy-handed.

The black-and-white illustrations are a lovely

addition, giving young readers visual support

and enhancing the quiet, warm tone of the book.

This is an ideal read for children who enjoy gentle

stories about friendship, nature, and kindness.

Laura DeVouge-Bernards

Kent, Nicola

Cat and Dumpling:

The Talent Show

Oxford Children’s, 2025, 96pp,

£6.99, 9780192788474

Series: Cat and Dumpling

Friendship. Compromise.

Bravery

This early chapter book, written and illustrated

by Nicola Kent is charming. Children will connect

with the excitement of a story about a talent show,

and the highs and lows of friendship between Cat

and Dumpling. Cat loves life to be exciting, but

Dumpling yearns for a Quiet Day. Cat feels they

should take it in turns to have quiet times, and

busy times. Their friendship is important to them,

but they find it hard to compromise. They spot a

poster for a talent show, and both think it’s a great

idea to get involved. But Cat signs them up for a

double act, whereas Dumpling sees the show as an

opportunity to keep Cat busy and enjoy a solo Quiet

Day. However, when Dumpling sees that everyone

else is taking part in the talent show, Dumpling signs

up too, which leads to a whole host of emotions

and misunderstandings which small children will be

able to relate to. This is a celebration of friendship,

owning up to mistakes, recognising your own

talents, and ultimately, it’s not the winning that

counts, but the power of friendship.

Jenny Griffiths

Larson, Georgia

Illustrated by

Iratxe Lopez de Munain

Matisse and the

Runaway Rabbit

LOM ART, 2026, 32pp, £7.99,

9781915751546

Matisse. Creativity. Art

A delightful picture book that would complement a

topic on art – or specifically Matisse. The charming

text and vibrant illustrations combined invite

curiosity and anticipation. The language used

cleverly expands vocabulary. It would be ideal to

read with a whole class as the illustrations are big,

bright, and clear enough for all to see – engaging

right from the start. Showing the final page first

would allow children to spot elements of Matisse’s

work in the story, an engaging and appealing

aspect for many children. The plot highlights how

unexpected observations can spark creativity. It

could be a great starting point to inspire children

to create their own Matisse-inspired art. The simple

story of a friendly rabbit causing chaos transforming

to friendship is woven into the understanding of

Matisse’s paintings and suggests it would be best for

children aged 3 to 6.

Merryn Polley

Leone, Angélique

Illustrated by

Grégoire Solotareff

A Winter’s Morning


2025, 40pp, £12.99,

9781836270683

Winter. Friendship. Snow

Sylvester the wolf is all alone in the quiet of winter,

enjoying the solitude of the wintry landscape. Till

one day he discovers a red teddy bear slumped

beside a tree trunk. He decides to take this home

and care for it, naming the bear Poppy. This small

act of kindness will change both their lives as

a friendship grows between them and life isn’t

so lonely for wolf anymore. But can things stay

this way when humans come into the woods?

This picture book is a lovely heartwarming tale

of finding friendship in even the most coldest of

places and the magic of chance meetings. The

language is as sparse as the wintry landscape,

which is beautifully illustrated, capturing the peace,

stillness, and quiet of the snowy wintry landscape.

I particularly liked the winter light the illustrator has

captured. The surprise ending of the story was a

delight, giving this story a warm and cosy ending. A

book to share on a winter’s day.

Stephen Leitch


Books: 7 & Under

Lewis Jones, Huw

Illustrated by

Corey Egbert

Mr Norton’s New Hat


9781838919740

Kindness. Compassion. Animals

Mr Norton’s New Hat by Huw Lewis Jones and

Corey Egbert is a lively and engaging picture book

that young children will delight in. One Monday,

Mr Norton discovers a mouse has made a house

in his hat. On Tuesday, there’s a bird in his bicycle

basket; on Wednesday, a squirrel in his shoe. As the

week goes on, more animals move in until, by the

end of the week, his house is full and life descends

into cheerful chaos. Eventually, Mr Norton has had

enough and chases the animals away – only to

regret it immediately. When they begin to return,

he finds a way for everyone to live happily together.

With playful, cumulative text that’s a joy to read

aloud, this story invites children to join in and

anticipate what will happen next. Young readers

will love spotting the animals and imagining other

unlikely places they might hide.

Barbara Band

Macfarlane,

Robert Flynn Johnny

Illustrated by

Emily Sutton

The World to Come

Magic Cat, 2026, 32pp, £7.99,

9781917044554

Poetry. Nature. Weather

Two characters embark on a lyrical timeless

journey following a river through a wood to the

sea. Simple, effective, humorous, and compelling,

with lyrical poetry to enhance the beautiful

illustrations. It is a nature story that starts by a river

in winter and reveals some of the wildlife that the

travellers encounter as they move through many

different habitats. The colourful, humorous, tactile

illustrations leap off the page, inviting readers to

experience the sights, sounds, smells, and weather

portrayed by the simple, effective lyrical words.

The poem’s message is very apt for the twentyfirst

century as it sings of the world to come in

terms of nature and warns of climate change in a

non-threatening manner. This is a book that will

inspire children with their poetry, aid them with their

artwork, and allow them to appreciate and explore

the beauty of nature and understand that hope

really does spring eternal.

Judith Barbara Palka

Mayhew, James

Illustrated by

James Mayhew

My Book of Classic

Nursery Tales

Otter-Barry, 2025, 72pp, £16.99,

9781915659736

Story Time. Nursery Tales. History

This is such a lovely way to share nursery tales

with growing readers! This book covers a range of

classic stories, and the vocabulary is very accessible.

The retellings are short and the illustrations are

lovely. The stories seem like they are told in a less

complicated way than the originals that we are

familiar with. I think this would do very well in story

time, especially if you are in need of a very quick but

engaging read. I also liked that there was a little bit

of history of the story at the end of the book, which

older children would find interesting. These nursery

tales are from our own childhoods – I was especially

pleased to see The Enormous Turnip again! These

tales are certainly classics and I think that children

would love reading this together – a great addition

to lower primary libraries.

Jasmine Brown

McGann, Erika

Illustrated by

Gerry Daly

Puffling and the

Stormy Sea

The O’Brien Press, 2025, 32pp,

£13.99, 9781788495288

Series: Puffling

Puffins. Curiosity. Nature

Little Puffling looks out at the stormy day from

her cosy burrow, feeling sure that she will have a

wild adventure. Her parents don’t advise venturing

outside, saying that strange storm creatures will be

roaming, including a fish so big it could swallow

the moon. But Puffling can’t resist going out and

exploring. Seeking the giant fish, she falls from the

clifftop into the sea. Luckily, help is at hand as she

befriends a basking shark who guides her to the

nearest shore. But this little rocky island is not her

home, and with the noise of the storm the friendly

shark doesn’t hear her cries. A clever gannet chick

helps Puffling regain the mighty fish’s attention

who carries her through the storm and home to her

family. This is the fourth in the enchanting Puffling

series and deals with themes of curiosity and

kindness. The illustrations reflect the beauty of the

wildlife on and around the islands of Skellig Michael

and Little Skellig.

Sue Polchow


Messerve, Jessica

The Home that

Love Built

Little Tiger, 2026, 32pp, £12.99,

9781838919870

Community. Friendship.

Animals

This exquisite picture book will make your heart

sing! Disaster has occurred, and a ferocious storm

has whirled and twirled its way through the forest.

Once the storm settles, the animals realise how

much damage and chaos have been caused

and are in despair. Their homes and meeting

places are destroyed, and it seems like nothing is

retrievable. Little by little, each animal plays a part in

rebuilding the space, demonstrating themes such

as teamwork, community, and friendship. Even

when the rising waters threaten to engulf their work

yet again, when they come together as a whole

to extinguish the danger, kindness and love can

blossom. The lyrical style of the text, each word

perfectly picked, sets the atmosphere and tone of

the story. The book would lend itself perfectly to

being read out loud, and the beautiful illustrations

make every page a visual feast.

Laura Brandman

Mills, Andrea

Illustrated by

Scriven Luke

Big Feelings,

Little Feelings

DK Children’s, 2026, 80pp,

£12.99, 9780241723104

Emotions. Feelings. Self-Awareness

This is a colourful and fun introduction to emotions

for children aged 5 to 9. It describes in simple

language how to recognise, name, understand, and

manage our feelings. With clear contents, concise

index, and a unique, colour-coded approach, the

book is easy to follow and to dip in and out of.

The introduction gives a good level of detail while

remaining light and easy to read. The subsequent

chapters explore different groups of feelings which

are assigned a colour and a host of cartoon-style

characters. The hilarious illustrations ensure that the

potentially difficult subject matter is presented in

an easy to understand, child-friendly format, while

the input from a consultant psychotherapist means

that the content is explored in sufficient depth but

with sensitivity and empathy. This is a top quality

publication which would be a valuable resource

for parents, carers, therapists, and educators to use

with young people to foster emotional intelligence,

empathy, and self-awareness. I highly recommend it

for junior library collections.

Janet Ling

Books: 7 & Under

Montgomery, Ross

Illustrated by

Marisa Morea

Gruff Justice

Barrington Stoke, 2025, 88pp,

£6.99, 9781800902527

Series: Little Gems

Assumptions. Detectives. Apologies

A Little Gems book from publishers Barrington

Stoke, Gruff Justice is a funny short story with

an important message about apologising and

admitting when you are wrong. Written by awardwinning

author Ross Montgomery, with sweet and

brightly coloured illustrations by Marisa Morea, this

book is about a goat called Big Goat Gruff who

eats everything in sight. He has been warned by

the farmer to stop eating his things (or he might

become goat pie), so when the farmer’s freshly

baked cake is nibbled and Big Goat Gruff is accused,

the goat must find the culprit! The twist was that

none of the farm animals nibbled, but in fact it was

the farmer’s wife, who the cake was destined for!

The farmer apologised and admitted that Big Goat

Gruff was the hardest working animal on the farm,

and he would never make him into goat pie. There

were lots of laughs when the goat turned detective,

and this is an important lesson for children learning

to admit when they are wrong.

Jenny Griffiths

Moorse, Agatha

Illustrated by

Gemma Correll

Meet the Moods


32pp, £7.99, 9781444975765

Emotions. Empathy. Feelings

Meet the Moods introduces young children to a

wide range of emotions through a cast of amusing

and engaging characters. The vibrant and quirky

illustrations bring each mood to life: we have Happy

who’s depicted as a bright yellow sun, Sad who’s a

quivering blue blob, and Angry as a red lightening

sign, helping to make abstract feelings accessible

and fun for children aged 4 to 6 years. The

characters are not depicted as standalone but also

interact with each other. This is very much a book

to share – ideal for parents, carers, or educators to

read with children. It provides not only entertaining

visuals and descriptions but also prompts and

questions to help children explore their own

feelings. Helpful advice for adults encourages

meaningful discussions and supports the

development of emotional intelligence. A colourful

and thoughtful resource for nurturing empathy and

self-awareness in young readers.

Barbara Band

Omar Gutta, Razeena

Illustrated by

Bassent Dawoud

Zamzam for

Everyone: Sharing

Water at Hajj

Barefoot Books, 2025, 32pp, £7.99, 9798888592366

Islam. Pilgrimage. Celebration

A charming, extremely informative picture book

which exemplifies how books can be both mirrors

and windows on the world. Little Mariam is one of

millions of people from all over the world who has

come to Makkah for the annual pilgrimage of Hajj,

‘Hajj is a time to do good, share, and be thankful.’

She decides that she could share Zamzam, blessed

water from an ancient well, with everyone she

meets. As she does so, she meets pilgrims from

all over the world, learns new ways to say thanks,

tries new foods, and discovers that when you share

and help others, someone will always help you

too. It includes handy pronunciation guides for the

many languages on display and final pages with

more detailed information about what the act of

Hajj involves, and its place as one of the five pillars

of Islam, as well as about the foods shared with

Mariam. This is an extremely valuable, attractive, and

accessible must-have for the library!

Joy Court

Park, Jihee

The Polar Bear Day

Floris Books, 2026, 36pp,

£12.99, 9781782509776

Wordless. Imaginative.

Environmental

The Polar Bear Day is an entirely wordless picture

book. It is illustrated using recycled cardboard and

a variety of paints, colours, and inks. The neutral

palette really allows the reader to imagine the

story in their own way. A young child is playing

with toys and reading when a knock at the door

opens to a new friend and adventure. A polar bear

awaits on the other side and the two have a great

day of playing together and hiding from the child’s

mother. While the mother sleeps, the two find a

way for the bear to be reunited with its friends and

home. This book is a powerful story of friendship,

imagination, and also a warning of the dangers

facing our endangered species. By using recycled

materials, the creator conveys their own part in

protecting the environment.

Erin Hamilton

Pearlstein, Howard

Illustrated by

James Munro

The Worried Book

Graffeg, 2025, 36pp, £8.99,

9781917467445

Series: The Emotions series

Emotions. Worry. PSHE

This book is truly wonderful and was a pleasure to

read. It is extremely well written and thoughtfully

crafted, making it relatable, even for adults. The

theme is the feeling of worry, which everyone

experiences at some point in their lives. The book

captures this emotion in a gentle and accurate way,

helping to normalise worry rather than dismiss it. It

explains the feeling clearly without sounding overly

factual or instructional, which makes it especially

effective for young readers. This approach allows

children to better understand their feelings and

recognise why they might feel anxious at times.

The illustrations are beautiful and work perfectly

alongside the text, adding depth and warmth to

the story. Presented as a book, the main character

is engaging, making the message easily accessible.

Overall, this book would be an excellent resource

for PSHE lessons in primary schools and would

be ideal for reading aloud, whether to a class or in

small groups.

Natalie McQuillan

Powell-Tuck, Maudie

Illustrated by

Duncan Beedie

Hank Goes Honk


9781838919528

Series: Hank

Disruptive Behaviour.

Consideration. Animals

Hank is an obnoxious goose who hogs the

limelight and honks and pecks his way through

every situation. When Hank realises the effect on

his relationships, he tries a new set of strategies to

become more considerate of others – taking turns,

listening, sharing his toys. Of course, sometimes

he reverts, especially when he’s tired. But with

supportive friends, he learns to say sorry and try

again. The format is a vibrant board book full of

noises and a beguiling goose trying to find his

path through his day. This book teaches in a direct,

hilarious way, by showing how Hank improves his

consideration for others.

Carolyn Boyd


Books: 7 & Under

Powell-Tuck, Maudie

Illustrated by

Duncan Beedie

Hank Meets Frank

Little Tiger, 2025, 32pp, £12.99,

9781838918552

Funny. Silly. Laugh-Out-Loud

Many readers will be familiar with Hank, the very

objectionable goose. We first met him and his

bad manners in Hank Goes Honk, and I have no

doubt Hank will be back again. In this story, Hank’s

cute and sweet cousin Frank is coming to visit

and everyone loves little Frank – except Hank.

Throughout the visit, a few things happen which

Hank gets the blame for and no one can believe it

might be little Frank causing the trouble. Has Hank

met his match in Frank? Things quickly get out of

hand as the pair battle each other. From splatting

pies to buckets of water, it is an adventurous couple

of pages. The story is hilarious and silly and makes

for a great read aloud to a group of young readers.

The illustrations are fantastic and I think Hank is a

brilliant character.

Erin Hamilton

Rickards, Lynne

Illustrated by

Jonna Dempsey

Rory the Little

Red Deer

Kelpies, 2026, 28pp, £7.99, 9781782509868

Deer. Friendship. Teamwork

Another charming animal tale in verse from Scottish

resident Lynne Rickards. Rory the red deer loves

jumping as high as he can and he also likes to

compete with his new friend, Bella, in races and

new games. The friends embark on a treasure hunt,

but when Bella seems to be winning, Rory takes

things a little too far and gets himself into trouble.

Can Bella save the day and bring help in time?

This sumptuously illustrated picture book holds a

message about appreciating our differences and

the value of friendship. The Scottish landscape

is evoked beautifully, and young readers will

find much to hold their attention. The final page

includes some interesting red deer facts which add

to the appeal of this book for a library or classroom.

It would make a lovely addition to picture book

collections for under 7s.

Janet Ling

Roberts, Jonathan

Illustrated by

Hannah Rounding

Lilly and Myles:

The Match

Graffeg, 2025, 36pp, £8.99,

9781802589931

Series: Sensory Adventures

Autism. Dogs. Participation

Lilly is very excited when Dad surprises her with

tickets to a football match. Dad cautions Lilly to

prepare for the new experience, but Lilly is sure

she’ll be fine as long as she has assistance dog

Myles and her noise-cancelling headphones with

her. At the match, Myles is able to keep Lilly calm

at first, but she’s soon overwhelmed and Dad has

forgotten to pack her headphones! The day is saved

by the club’s owner who shows Lilly to the sensory

room. Having calmed down, Lilly is able to enjoy

the rest of the game. The lively images of excited

Lilly with Myles, the soothing double-page spread

of chilling in the sensory room, and the rows of

football shirts on the inside covers make this book

special. Most importantly, the reassuring storyline

spreads the message that children with autism do

not have to miss out on rowdy, busy, unpredictable,

exciting events like football matches.

Sally Perry

Ross, Fiona

No More Mr. Mice Guy


9781838918224

Monsters. Slime. Humour

Squeak the mouse is a serial

competition winner. He recklessly opens the door

at midnight to receive yet another prize, ‘a wobbly

jelly with a whiff of something monstrous’. Grandma

throws it in the bin, but Squeak can't resist sneaking

a taste while she is softly snoring. Squeak slurps and

burps his way through the jelly and is transformed

into Hyde (a nod to Stevenson’s classic!). Hyde is

a monster mouse with an insatiable appetite. He

devours all the food in the house before ordering

takeaways and rampaging through the town

wolfing down all of Frank the butcher’s prize

sausages. This is a boisterous, funny, pacy story with

brilliant illustrations. Children will love picking out

the gruesome details such as in the jelly slime and

the munch machine. The varied format, clever use

of florescent green and black, and the interactive

pantomime language – ‘Surely Squeak wouldn't

take it would he?’ – keep the reader hooked so

that each page is a surprise! This book is a strong

favourite with Key Stage 1!

Lee Giddings

Ross, MacKay

Illustrated by

Willmore Alex

Tractors in Space


£7.99, 9780241720219

Series: Tractors in...

Travel. Play. Friendship

Toby is a turquoise tractor with magenta wheels

who longs to go to the moon. With resilience and

ingenuity, he manages to launch himself from his

farm into space. Luckily, just before loneliness sets

in, he pals up with a variety of equally colourful and

resourceful space-based tractors for fun, games,

and a little bit of danger. Toby’s new friends help

him realise his dream of landing his ‘big bouncy

tyres’ on the moon before collaboratively devising

another ingenious way to get him back to earth

and his terrestrial animal friends who depend on

him. This is an energetic, bright, and beautifully

illustrated story which will invite imaginative

exploration of sensations, thoughts, emotions,

relationships, and perspectives. For added

engagement there are a number of places where

the text encourages young readers to contribute,

e.g. by joining in with the countdowns or voicing

the frequent onomatopoeia (Wheee!, Boink!).

Sally Perry

Ruiz Johnson, Mariana

Translated by

Avi Silberstein

All Around a Year


£12.99, 9781778402425

Seasons. Families. Activities

‘When this story ends, it will begin again. That’s

how it works.’ This delightful book tells the story of

the seasons with beautifully detailed illustrations

as the year goes by. Beginning with winter, we find

our mouse family drawing funny faces on foggy

windows, keeping warm, and building snowmen. As

the days go by, Mum begins to open windows, bees

and butterflies abound, and the weather is perfect

for bike rides. With the onset of summer, there is

the smell of sunscreen, the buzzing of mosquitoes,

swimming, and ice cream. Before we know where

we are, the nights are getting darker and the mice

are inside playing with their toys. This book would

be ideal for the primary classroom or the home with

lots to talk about throughout the year. And as the

year comes to an end, the story will start all over

again, only now you’re a year older!

Sue Bastone


Books: 7 & Under

Sparring, Anders

Illustrated by

Per Gustavsson

The Pinchers and

the Curse of the

Egyptian Cat

Gecko Press, 2025, 92pp, £8.99,

9798765670132

Series: The Pinchers

Humour. Family. Adventure

A cheeky little first chapter book which holds

interest, causes a few giggles – with some great

names such as Rob Pincher and Nic Pincher, the

father and mother thief, and Paul Eessman the

policeman to name but a few – and is a pleasure to

hold. Beautifully produced, The Pinchers and the

Curse of the Egyptian Cat introduces the thieving

family by way of mini illustrated biographies

before the story begins. Ellen and Theo, who work

in tandem stealing goods from shops, become

embroiled in a wacky adventure, following clues in

search of an Egyptian cat ornament to replace the

one they broke in an antique shop. This is important

in order to break the spell caused by the accident.

Superb scattered coloured illustrations break up the

text. Sentences are short, simple, and accessible. An

excellent ‘proper’ first story for independent readers.

Janet Sims

Tallec, Olivier

Translated by

Antony Shugaar

Is it Asleep?

Gecko Press, 2025, 32pp,

£12.99, 9798765670521

Death. Grief. Loss

Is it Asleep? is a very interesting

book. It has gorgeous illustrations that provide

a stunning accompaniment to the text and it

covers a challenging topic: death. Death is not an

easy thing for anyone to understand. This book

covers it in a sensitive way that I believe teachers

or parents could use to explain the concept to

children. The characters start out not understanding

what is happening, and then gradually come to

understand and accept it. By reading the book, I

feel children would be able to follow that journey to

understanding. The book could be used as a class

activity, especially where the curriculum covers

grief or death. It could also be used to help support

students who are themselves experiencing loss. As

it does cover death, and the illustrations do include

a dead animal, it is probably best to use sensitively,

but I feel it would still make a good addition to a

PSHE curriculum.

Natalie McQuillan

Yockteng, Rafael

Translated by

Elisa Amado

Victor and the Giant

Aldana Libros, 2025, 56pp,

£12.99, 9781778400841

Giant. Alternative Fairy Story. Picture Book

This is a story of a boy and a hungry giant. The giant

eats the city and its inhabitants, including Victor’s

mother and then falls asleep. Victor tries to explain

why the giant should not eat a whole city and

devises a plan to get them back. The story is sweet,

but the illustrations are lovely and are what make

this book as fine as it is. The large double-spread

land and city scape illustrations lend themselves to

children pointing out the things they spot. Children

will laugh at the hairy giant with clouds protecting

his modesty, and then again when his nose hairs are

pulled. It can be read to the whole class, and oneto-one

with a child. A book that could be compared

to traditional fairy stories. This story would be great

for pupils to act out the actions. It would, therefore,

also help with sequencing and retelling. A lovely

book and perfect for Reception and Key Stage 1.

Alix Beech


Books: 8 – 12 | Fiction and Poetry

Ainsworth, Eve

Illustrated by

Luna Valentine

Seeing Red


£7.99, 9780008705800

Football. Anger. Family

Third in the Lightmoor Lionesses series, this

dyslexia-friendly story features familiar places

and characters from the girls’ football team, but

doesn’t rely on any prior knowledge – except

perhaps the basic rules of football, like why a late

tackle is a bad thing. Amelia’s parents have recently

split, and her mum is descending into a spiral of

worsening mental health. The struggles at home

translate into difficulties at school and on the pitch,

particularly as Amelia begins to lose her temper

and her poor decisions leave her sitting on the

substitutes’ bench. As her teammates, coach and

teachers start to notice that something is wrong,

will Amelia’s refusal to seek help cost her her place

on the team? The book could be used to introduce

discussions around what to do if you are worried

about someone’s wellbeing, and whether it is ever

OK to break a confidence. The football element

of the story is fairly superficial compared to the

relationship dynamics at its core.

Becky West

Anderson, Sophie

The Snow Girl

Usborne, 2025, 336pp, £8.99,

9781836042532

Folk Tale. Adventure. Snow

Inspired by a Russian folk tale,

Sophie Anderson’s story of

loneliness, forgiveness, self-confidence, friendship,

and letting go is about Tasha. She and her artist

parents have moved to the country to look after

and support Tasha’s beloved but ailing Grandpa

on his farm. Then a snow girl they build in the

garden disappears. Tasha sneaks out of the house

in the night to look for her and suddenly we’re in

Raymond Brigg’s The Snowman territory. Cue for

challenges, adventures, a dramatically worsening

winter, and lots of nicely presented wildlife. And it’s

all because Tasha is, usually, terrified to leave the

farm because of something which has happened

in the past. Anderson is good at drip feeding

information and arousing reader curiosity before

we finally get the full details. Eventually she learns

to release the past and her dreams (maybe). The

beautiful blue-tone illustrations reflect the cold

landscape, although the fox is solid enough with

his warm breath and furry red coat. A good read

for upper primary and lower secondary students,

especially if they love Frozen.

Susan J. Elkin

Arcanjo, J J

Illustrated by

Euan Cook

The Impossible

Fortress

Hodder, 2025, 320pp, £7.99,

9781444978360

Series: Crook Haven

Magic. Fantasy. Middle Grade

Somehow time has flown by and it is now Gabriel’s

fourth year in Crookhaven, that well-known

school for thieves. What he doesn’t yet know is

that this is going to be his most challenging year

yet because he has a new class and needs to begin

thinking about life after Crookhaven, outside

the school, where the world can be a dangerous

place. So why is it their challenge is to break into

the Impossible Fortress? Not only that, how is it the

gates of their very own school could be a threat

to them? There are so many questions and there

will be answers, but this story will keep you even

closer to the edge of your seat than you have been

before! The writing flows, the story is as magical

as it is plausible, and it is oh so easy to get lost in

the world inside and outside of Crookhaven – you

have been warned!

Louise Ellis-Barrett

Bell, P.G.

The Big Bad Wolf

Murder

Usborne, 2025, 256pp, £7.99,

9781836040743

Mystery. Adventure. Suspense

This thrilling, twisted fairy-tale

murder mystery keeps readers hooked from start

to finish. The story follows Ruby Red, a rising star

in the legendary Tooth & Claw contest, where

humans face dangerous challenges while being

hunted by the fearsome Big Bad Wolf, Alarick.

When Alarick is found dying from poisoning,

Ruby is framed for the crime and must go on the

run with her wolf-cub friend, Fillan. Together,

they navigate a web of danger, pursued by a

relentless detective, a wolf assassin, and even a

gangster granny, as they attempt to uncover the

true mastermind behind the murder. Fast-paced,

funny, and filled with brilliant plot twists, the book

combines thrilling action with darkly whimsical

storytelling. Fans of Murder Most Unladylike and

twisted fairy tales will find it irresistible.

Gareth Evans

Bell, Alex

Illustrated by

Beatriz Castro

Escape from the

Castle of Illusions

Rock the Boat, 2025, 304pp,

£7.99, 9780861546046

Series: The Train of Dark Wonders

Fairy Tale. Adventure. Mystery

This book can be described as a grown up fairy

tale with a fast pace and lots of twists and turns.

It's for established chapter readers who have bags

of imagination and want to solve mysteries. Bess

is a young girl who is fortunate enough to be able

to explore the land of fairy tales, all thanks to her

grandfather who started the discovery many years

ago. Can Bess defeat the evil fairy tale queen and

rescue Cinderella's magic slipper? This is a lot of

reading with 28 chapters and only broken up with

a few illustrations. This is the second book of the

children’s fantasy series called The Train of Dark

Wonders, but it makes sense even if you haven't

read the first book!

Becky Taylor

Bell, Jennifer

Illustrated by

David Wyatt

Thief of Shadows

Walker Books, 2025, 318pp,

£7.99, 9781529507454

Series: Magicalia

Magic. Fantasy. Adventure

A fast moving, Potteresque fantasy adventure,

Magicalia: Thief of Shadows, is aimed at 9- to

13-year-olds as it follows Bitsy Wilder, a new pupil

at the Magic academy. Imagination runs riot as

we are introduced to magicores, creatures with

powers which can be conjured up by thought,

each with its own identity, colour and attribute,

and farthingstone, a meteorite-like object which

enables students to conjure up the magicores when

needed. A sly insertion of Bitsy’s notebook, before

the story begins, provides a glossary of some of the

‘technical’ terms used, which will help to keep the

reader on track as the complexity and the character

numbers ramp up. Together with friends Kosh and

Mateo, Bitsy overcomes the sinister Shadowsmith,

achieves her first magic qualifications, and yet is in

a position to pursue another problem in the next

book(?) as the ends are not quite tidily tied up….

Laced with humour and moral decisions, Magicalia:

Thief of Shadows should fly off the shelves.

Janet Sims


Books: 8 – 12

Bilan, Jasbinder

Illustrated by

Skylar White

Puloma and the Bear


120pp, £7.99, 9780008698096

Animal Rights. Orphans.

Homelessness

This is a heartwarming tale about a young girl’s

friendship with a sloth bear. When orphan Puloma

runs away from her unpleasant and cruel aunt, she

ends up working in a circus. Horrified at the cruel

and degrading treatment Nyla, a dancing bear, is

subjected to by the circus owner, Puloma embarks

on a mission to help her. Planning an escape puts

Puloma in danger and she has to find the strength

to fight for what she knows is right and convince

others to support her. This adventurous story

highlights the impact of animal cruelty and shows

that we can all help others in need. At the end of the

book there is useful information about the history

of dancing bears which puts the story in a real world

context. This is a dyslexia friendly book which is

perfect for middle grade readers.

Lauren Thow

Brashares, Ann &

Brashares, Ben

Westfallen

Bloomsbury Children’s Books,

2025, 375pp, £8.99,

9781526685490

History. World War II. Friendship

In 2023, 12-year-old Henry and his friends find an

old radio buried in the garden. When it hisses into

life, they are amazed to discover it connects them

to Alice, who is living on the same street in the

same New Jersey house – but in 1944. Alice and

her friends are keen to find out about the future

and Henry and his friends want to know about the

past. But soon, the 2023 children begin to notice

changes in their environment and they realise

too late that they have inadvertently revealed

information which has changed the past and

therefore the future. After a desperate scramble

to return one of their classmates and her dad’s

sweetshop to existence, they decide to destroy the

radio. Too late, they discover they are living in a

timeline in which the Nazis defeated the allies and

America is now Westfallen. Both past and present

children have to use considerable ingenuity to

reverse this terrible outcome and although they

appear to succeed, the ambiguity of the ending

leaves room for a sequel. A fast-paced and thoughtprovoking

read.

Sandra Bennett

Brooks, Charlie P.

Illustrated by Steve May

Sammy and the

Stolen Paintings

HarperCollins, 2025, 240pp,

£7.99, 9780008597511

Series: Sammy

Crime. Humour. Diaries

This is the second in a new series about Sammy,

the Sniffer Dog. With its funny illustrations, it is a

humorous and fast-paced story which will appeal

to new and emerging readers of about 7+. Sammy

the Setterpoo has a brilliant sense of smell; she

can sniff out anything, but when she uncovers

a fake forged painting and is ‘dognapped’ by the

villain Monsieur de Noir, she needs her Best Human

Friend (BHF), Beanie, Robin the sheepdog and

Mogpuss the cat to help her out. Village busybody

Mrs. Muggins, owner of Mogpuss the cat, has

a famous painting which has been away being

restored. She is very excited about the unveiling

by the famous Chief Art Advisor at the Louvre,

Monsieur de Noir. How is she to know that the real

painting has been replaced with a forgery and so

starts a hilarious race across to Paris to unmask the

culprits thanks to Sammy the hero! The story is told

alternately by Sammy and her BHF Beanie’s diary

and has you on the edge of your seat throughout.

Sue Bastone

Bryant, Ann

Illustrated by

Laura Wood

Treasure Hunt

Graffeg, 2025, 96pp, £9.99,

9781802587975

Series: Searchlight

Aliens. Mystery. Sci-Fi

This continues the story of the alien twins, Zane

and Finola, that began with Searchlight: The Rock.

Originally from planet Sevent, they came to Earth

with their mother on a mission to find their dad,

who is in hiding. On Earth, they have been on the

news and people are looking for alien twins. The

longer they are on earth the more they lose their

special abilities to communicate and to teleport,

and so they are keen to find Dad while they can.

Clues he left for them lead them to a castle, where

they get involved in a tourist treasure hunt and

suspect that their dad has been here too and is

sending them messages. But will they be found

first? A short story with a few illustrations, but it is

quite text heavy and not ideal for struggling readers,

who might think the short format is aimed at them.

There are quizzes and puzzles at the end which

could be filled in.

Joy Court

Clarke, Jo

Illustrated by

Becka Moor

Libby and the

Egyptian Escapade

Firefly, 2025, 228pp, £7.99,

9781915444769

Series: Travelling School Mystery

Travel. Adventure. Friendship

Libby and the Egyptian Escapade is the final book

in the Travelling School Mystery series. This time

Libby and her friends are off to the land of pharaohs

and pyramids, but Libby has other things on her

mind. She has left her mum behind to continue the

search for her missing dad, and the friends seem

to be having a lot of bad luck after a robbery at the

Egyptian Museum. Is it the curse of Tutankhamun?

Or is someone out to get them? A fun, adventure

mystery that is educational without being didactic,

enhanced by Becka Moor’s quirky illustrations. A

unique addition to the boarding school story genre,

Libby and the Egyptian Escapade can be enjoyed as

a standalone or as part of the series. It is perfectly

pitched for readers aged 8+.

Katrina Reilly

Cowell, Cressida

Which Way to the

Future


432pp, £14.99, 9781444979428

Series: Which Way to Anywhere

Fantasy. Families. Adventure

This final book in Cowell’s Which Way to Anywhere

trilogy concludes the O’Hero-Smith children’s

daunting quest. There are many twists and turns as

they develop both magical and very human gifts

to help them defeat witches, monsters, bounty

hunters, and more. Parallel to their adventures, this

blended family is learning how to work together

to solve their personal challenges. Cowell blends

these stories brilliantly, creating a fantastical world

with her insightful characters, vivid imagination,

humorous writing style, and splendid drawings

which dance across the page. She creates an

intriguing space-crossing world that will draw

readers in. This 402-page novel is a real pageturner.

It works as a stand-alone, but you’ll probably

then want to experience the whole series. I love

the witty writing and intriguing line drawings, also

how Cowell creates characters you can identify

with, combining words, stories, and illustration,

however extraordinary their adventures. Highly

recommended for Key Stages 2 and 3.

Lucy Chambers



Dassu, A. M.

Illustrated by

Joe Lillington

Wild Journey

Zephyr, 2025, 138pp, £12.00,

9781035911899

Community. Nature.

Coming-of-Age

A wholesome collection of stories linked by a

fluttering of feathers. In each of the five stories a

young person navigates a challenge, from losing a

loved one through to starting at a new school. In the

first story, Jamal, a boy currently staying in Egypt,

rescues a sparky starling which he decides to call

Star. In this tale, Dassau captures perfectly the wonder

of these overlooked, small birds – the range of

sounds they make, their robotic inquisitiveness, their

social energy and beautiful iridescence. They feature

most prominently in this first story but appear as an

important symbol of hope, bravery and community

in the subsequent tales. Wild Journeys will appeal to

readers who enjoy real-life stories with uplifting moral

conclusions, for example fans of R.J. Palacio, Onjali

Q. Rauf and Hannah Gold. The short story format,

wide text spacing, and stunning illustrations mean

the book will also appeal to less confident readers

who would shy away from a longer, singular story.

Emma Thompson

Dolby, Karen

Illustrated by

Brenda Haw

The Ghost in the

Mirror

Usborne, 2025, 48pp, £5.99,

9781836045007

Series: Puzzle Adventures

Puzzle. Reluctant Reader. Group Work

This is a great book for those who may be reluctant

readers. The text is accessible and ideal for readers

age 7 and over; I would also use it in a lower

reading ability group in secondary. The use of

illustrations to solve the puzzles is a great way to

encourage engagement, and they complement

the content. The reader is not met with endless

text, but instead managable paragraphs and large

illustrations. A small group could read and work

independently trying to solve the clues as well as

a student working with one-to-one support or

learning independently. The balance of reading

and problem solving works well. The solutions are

included, just in case you are stumped!

Lisa Daisy

Dylan, Gabriel

Illustrated by

Brittney Bond

Beneath the

Ghostly Graves

Piccadilly Press, 2025, 208pp,

£7.99, 9781800784833

Series: Shiver Point

Ghosts. Friendship. Mystery

A wonderful introduction to horror stories, with

suspense building from page one. Will Mo solve

the mystery and save the day despite being a bit of

a scaredy cat? He's going to need the help of the

shiver squad and some quick thinking to outwit the

spirit of Blue Bessie and finally put her restless spirit

at peace and lay to rest the very important teddy. A

spooky, fun filled tale-perfect for young horror fans

taking their first thrilling steps into the genre.

Becky Taylor


Books: 8 – 12

Edwards, Mike

Illustrated by

Jason Cockcroft

Riverskin


£7.99, 9781529523980

Myth. Magic. Self-Discovery

A beautifully lyrical novel by spoken word poet

Mike Edwards. We follow the tale of Tess, one of

the river folk, who have been the stuff of legends

and myth along the river Tees for as long as anyone

can remember. Tess and her Aunt Peg spend their

time swimming, collecting items from the river,

and keeping watch over evil Unkle Darkwater. But

with Aunt Peg becoming mind-swirly and secrets

bubbling up, Tess becomes unsafe, and when

Unkle Darkwater escapes she knows she has to

leave the water behind. To save everything she

loves, Tess needs the help of a Dry folk boy. But

can she trust him? All this while uncovering secrets

about who she really is and where she comes

from. Can she find her power and use it to save her

family? Told with a dialect-strong language base

and inspired by folk tales it will appeal to fans of

David Almond and Sophie Anderson.

Nicola Bowie

Evans, Maz

The Last Bard

Chicken House, 2025, 320pp,

£12.99, 9781913696900

Family. Shakespeare.

Friendships

This magical little book is

about William and his mum, Mary, who have come

on hard times. They are living with Mary’s cruel

brother, Claude, and his son Jon. When William’s

grandfather Rex passes away, Mary is sent to clear

out his flat. Mary had not spoken to Rex for a long

time. William meets some wonderful characters at

the flats, including the sparky Ani. When William is

looking around his grandfather’s flat, he opens a

book of Shakespeare’s plays. William is spoken to

by Yorick, Lady Macbeth, Puck, and Juliet who tell

him he is the last male descendant of Shakespeare.

To free them from the page, William must tell his

story. His story is wonderful and heartfelt as he

fights to protect the flats from developers while

trying to help his mum along the way. This book

would be an excellent addition to any library. Like

Lady Macbeth tells Will, ‘Since the dawn of time

stories have illuminated the human soul.’ This book

illuminated mine!

Laura DeVouge-Bernards

Farook, Niyla

Tickets for Murder


£7.99, 9781800789357

Series: A Tariq Twins Mystery

Holiday. Detectives. Family

Twins Noori (Riri) and Imani

(Ani) meet up for a holiday in Riri’s home state

of California. The twins, who live apart, solved

a murder in Ani’s home town in Yorkshire in the

first book in the series. This time, whilst staying in

a glamorous hotel, they visit a theme park based

on a murder mystery game and someone falls, or

is pushed, out of a window. The twins, otherwise

known as the Tariq Ultrasecret Supersleuth Centre

(TUSC), are joined by Adora, Riri’s best friend, which

means they need to solve the mystery and also the

tensions in their relationship. Some sentences in the

parts narrated by Ani who has ADHD are missing the

first word, giving an insight into her thoughts; we

also experience her awareness of smells. Riri, who

has OCD, is constantly worrying about germs. Adora

is non-binary and has useful computer hacking

skills. There are no illustrations but occasional

character profiles, messages, or motive charts. For

fans of Sharna Jackson’s books.

Bridget Turner

Harcourt, Isabella

Illustrated by

Hannah McCaffery

Flora Stormer and

the Wishing Stone


£7.99, 9781408370070

Series: Flora Stormer

Adventure. Tourette’s Syndrome. Magic

The fourth book in the Flora Stormer explorer

adventure series sees Flora in India on a quest

through the forest to find the mythical wishing stone.

She seeks it because she is determined to help her

best friend Pavan, recently reunited with his longlost

sister Naya, so that he can use the stone to find

their parents lost during a monsoon. The stone can

only be found once a century when there is a purple

moon and that time will soon be upon them. Naya

gives Flora an ancient necklace which, because Flora

is intune with the magical world, channels the forest

fairy shapeshifting asparas to aid Flora in her search.

But is Naya all that she seems and are there darker

forces at work? An enjoyable, fast-moving illustrated

adventure with themes of self-belief and acceptance.

Flora has Tourette's syndrome and the story reflects

how this can make her feel and how she accepts her

tics as being part of who she is.

Sue Polchow

Hardy, Vashti

Illustrated by

Agnes Saccani

The Birthday

Cake Thief


104pp, £6.99, 9780008680749

Series: The Moonlight Mystery Agency

Mystery. Talking Animals. Friendship

Hana always wanted a cat but because of her

annoying baby brother, who is allergic to animal

fur, she can't have one. One evening, upset by

family disagreements, Hana takes refuge in her

room, a special place as it once belonged to her

great-grandpa when he was little. It is then that the

excitement begins. She is awoken by the sound

of tiny claws tapping at the window. This is Ace,

a detective cat who wants to recruit Hana for his

‘Moonlight Mystery Agency’. Hana is overjoyed. Her

bed is transformed into a hot air balloon and they

are whisked away to Moonlight. Here, a disgruntled

bionic unicorn wants them to find out who has

stolen her birthday cake! Various suspects are

interrogated before disaster is averted! The text is

aimed at Key Stage 1 readers. It is complemented

by appealing, detailed, colourful and engaging

illustrations. Characters exude messages of

kindness, friendship, and well-being.

Lee Giddings

Hayes, Larry

The Nightmares of

Finnegan Quick

Bloomsbury, 2025, 225pp,

£7.99, 9781526677785

Mystery. Chilling. Friendship

A really fun read that is aimed

at 10–14 years. The fast pace, action, and monster

fighting would hold a reader easily. It is a scary

book but one that is well written with chills rather

than scares. With the running story of how his

nan is his only remaining family, Finnegan is on a

mission to solve a family mystery and to stop the

nightmares, especially as the line between dreams

and reality is being crossed. Great for readers

wanting to see bravery, friendship and adventure

and feel spooked! This will appeal to a wide reader

demographic from Years 5 and 6 up. A great book

to read aloud and immerse your listeners, as well for

independent reading. If you have students who are

just discovering reading for pleasure, this would be

a great book to draw them in.

Lisa Daisy



Hogan, Bex

Illustrated by

Hannah McCaffery

Bronte Tempestra and

the Vanishing Kingdom

Picadilly Press, 2025, 224pp,

£7.99, 9781800784949

Series: Bronte Tempestra

Magic. Animals. Friendship

Bronte, a plucky princess attending Sir Sebastian’s

School for Squires in the enchanted land of

Everdale, plans a late-night trip to the legendary

Vanishing Kingdom with best friends Tonkins and

Nix in search of the leaves from a magical tree

Nix needs for her latest invention. Plans to return

to school by morning are thwarted by the island

unhelpfully flying to its next destination but it leads

Bronte to her greatest quest – to solve the mystery

of the Sun Kingdom’s darkness and to stop the

villainous Weather Witch once and for all. Although

it is the fourth and final book in Bex Hogan’s Bronte

Tempestra series, this delightful, fast-paced fantasy,

brought to life by Hannah McCaffery’s imaginative

illustrations, works as a standalone book for readers

aged 7 plus. The only outcome of starting at the end

of the series is the desire to get hold of the previous

3 books, to suspend reality for longer and escape

with Bronte to her magical realm.

Lizzie Mackenzie

Hogan, Bex

Illustrated by

Hannah McCaffery

Bronte Tempestra

and the Weather Witch


£7.99, 9781800784932

Series: Bronte Tempestra

Fantasy. Friendship. Heroine

This is the third in the delightful adventures of

an unusual heroine. Bronte may have been born

a princess, but she really just wants to become

a knight. So, she becomes a pupil at the school

for squires. In this adventure, they are all off for

a joint school trip with the princesses from her

previous school. However, Bronte has a secret

mission, to prove that her favourite hero Sir Pen

Tine had actually existed. Unfortunately, the

school camp is dogged by terrible and most

unusual weather leading the young heroine

and her friends to wonder if a weather witch is

somehow involved. What an absolute delight for

young readers. It is full of adventure, humour,

puns, and true friendship. The book can be read

alone, but reading all of the adventures takes you

into this magical and fantastic world. It is highly

recommended for confident readers at Key Stage

1 and those at lower Key Stage 2.

Margaret Pemberton

Jocelyn, Marthe

Illustrated by

Isabelle Follath

Aggie Morton

Mystery Queen: The

Body Under the Piano

Andersen Press, 2025, 336pp,

£7.99, 9781839136078

Series: Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen

Historical. Murder. Whodunnit

Aggie Morton, shy, and missing her beloved Papa,

lives a quiet life with her grief-stricken widowed

mother, Grannie Jane, nursemaid Charlotte, and pet

dog Tony. That all changes when Aggie is first on the

scene to discover the dead body of much-disliked

Irna Evesham. Aggie’s dance teacher is arrested, and

Aggie and her new friend Hector Perot (a 12-yearold

Belgian boy, inspired by Hercule Poirot) set out

to get to the truth of the murder. Set in 1902 in an

English seaside town, this pacy, clever whodunnit

is full of twists and thrills throughout. Aggie,

inspired by the imaginary life of Agatha Christie as

a child, is a witty and likeable heroine. We see her

determination, intelligence, and humour through

her sleuthing and interactions with other characters,

as she and Hector discount potential suspects from

being the elusive murderer. A pleasure to read –

highly recommended.

Laura Brandman

Karber, G.T. &

Grabenstein, Chris

Sleuths on the Loose

Souvenir, 2025, 352pp, £7.99,

9781805223900

Series: Murdle Junior Mysteries

Crime. Mystery. logic

Sleuths On The Loose follows the adventures of

Jake, a junior detective who is looking into the

disappearance of her teacher Miss Saffron. She

is assisted by her friend/sidekick Sterling and an

unlikely ally in the school bully, Brick. Together,

Jake, Brick, and Sterling work to uncover the

truth of what's going on at their school, Sacred

Kidney. This is an enjoyable book for any budding

detectives and fans of mystery. Jake is a well-written

character who is an engaging detective. The book

contains some interactive elements at the back. A

must-have for middle grade mystery lovers.

Samuel Smith

Kavvadias, Philip

Mission: Monster

Mind

Chicken House, 2025, 320pp,

£7.99, 9781915026965

Series: Mission Microraptor

Dinosaurs. Adventure. Problem Solving

This is a fun and exciting adventure book in the

middle grade category. This is the third book in the

series following Finn and Milo on their dinosaur

adventure. Full of action, humour and problem

solving, it’s fast paced and keeps you turning the

pages. I passed it on to my 12-year-old and it was

read in one evening. Good for dinosaur lovers and

adventure enthusiasts!

Jess Young

Kessler, Liz

Valley of the Vikings

Zephyr, 2025, 224pp, £7.99,

9781035916955

Mermaids. Vikings. Family

Valley of the Vikings by Liz

Kessler is a lovely new book

about her much loved half mermaid Emily

Windsnap. In the book you follow Emily and her

friends as they uncover the secrets of a mysterious

bracelet. They explore new areas, face new

dangers and meet Vikings along the way. The

overall message of the book is to look after the

environment and to stand up for what you think

is right – both excellent messages for a young

audience. These are very clear in the writing of the

book but they do not detract from the excitement

of the story. This is a great book for confident

young readers, or to read as a bedtime story. It

stands alone from the Emily Windsnap series, so

you can enjoy the story whether you have read the

other books or not. Overall, I think this is a lovely

book for children, with accessible language and an

exciting story to follow.

Anna Samuels


Books: 8 – 12

Lauren, Ruth

Illustrated by

Sharon King-Chai

Tourmaline and the

City of Nowhere

Stripes, 2025, 320pp, £7.99,

9781788955935

Series: Tourmaline

Magic. Adventure. Identity

The final book in Ruth Lauren’s magical Tourmaline

series delivers a fast-paced, heartfelt adventure

that balances high stakes with emotional depth.

Tourmaline finds herself pulled in multiple

directions – her powers are no longer a secret, and

she’s caught between old loyalties, new threats, and

a father whose motives might not be as they seem.

With her home under threat and her friendships

tested, Tourmaline sets out on a journey that could

change everything. The mysterious City of Nowhere

promises answers, but it may also hold more danger

than salvation. Alongside her trusted friends George

and Mai, she must decide who she really is and

what she’s willing to fight for. This is a satisfying,

thoughtful conclusion to the series, filled with

clever twists, warm character dynamics, and just the

right amount of peril. It explores themes of trust,

identity, and standing your ground – even when

the odds are stacked against you. Can be read as a

standalone and is suitable for upper Key Stage 2.

Charlotte Cole

Lawrence, Iszi

The Cursed Tomb

Bloomsbury Educational, 2025,

256pp, £7.99, 9781801996051

Egypt. Adventure. History

The Cursed Tomb is a fun and

informative romp through

ancient Egypt. We follow 11-year-old Henut as she

embarks on a dangerous quest to break into a tomb

in the Valley of Kings. The story is action-packed and

full of interesting historical details. The writing really

puts you into the heart of the action and you feel as

though you’re actually really there. The characters

are well fleshed out and likeable, especially feisty

Henut herself. This is a fantastic book for anyone

interested in the history and culture of ancient

Egypt, and would be great for Key Stage 2 and the

lower end of Key Stage 3.

Jodie Rogers

Lessore, Nathaniel

Illustrated by

Simran Diamond Singh

Time Travel is NOT

My Superpower

Little Tiger, 2025, 208pp,

£7.99, 9781788956659

Humour. Time Travel. Friendship

A funny book with lots of puns and jokes, some

of which may go over the heads of the younger

students! It's really easy to read with lots of

pictures. When the characters travel back in time

and talk about the technology that we used to

use, it’s hilarious, especially when you think about

what is available now. It will be a hit for boys and

girls alike, featuring both fart jokes and a female

main character! Overall a really good book for a

school library, full of silliness and fun.

Paula Jenkinson

Lewis, Gill

Illustrated by

Irina Avgustinovich

Devil Bird Island


£7.99, 9781800902787

Series: The Island Vet

Wildlife. Conservation. Friendship

Devil Bird Island is a fantastic read for early readers.

Through the perspective of a child with a vet parent,

the story takes young readers on an adventure

to protect rare animals and birds. It beautifully

highlights the importance of nature conservation

and the role children can play in saving special

species. The book captures how changes – though

challenging and unfamiliar – help us grow and

learn. Friendship and teamwork are key themes,

showing how we all need people around us

and how every individual matters. The powerful

message about protecting wildlife and raising

awareness to change the world is both inspiring

and thought-provoking. With an engaging writing

style and expressive illustrations, the story is easy

for children to read and visualize. Devil Bird Island is

not just an exciting adventure but also a meaningful

lesson in caring for the planet. A great addition to

this wonderful series!

Maryam Ahmadi

Lewis-Oakes, Rebecca

Illustrated by

Anastasiya Kanavaliuk

Secrets of Moon Wood


£7.99, 9781800786974

Series: Dream Keepers

Friendship. Magic. Jeopardy

The first novel in a new series, Dream Keepers,

which is a fantastical series covering the themes

of friendship and magic. Secrets of Moon Wood

introduces the reader to the town of Sunny Wood

and a band of friends who are excited about the

opening of a new Apothecary shop in the town. Each

of the girls finds a unique token that when placed

under their pillow at night leads them to the magical

world of Moon Wood, a dream version of Sunny

Wood and the girls discover that they are Dream

Keepers. The jeopardy in the story comes from the

awakening of the Queen of Nightmares, and the

girls have to work together to banish her and restore

order. Suitable for Key Stage 1 and lower Key Stage

2 independent readers. With pegasus, magic, and a

big dash of friendship, this book will appeal to fans

of fantasy and magical tales. Some lovely black-andwhite

illustrations bring the magic alive.

Michelle Armstrong-Harris

Mackay, Jack

Gloam

Rock The Boat, 2025, 256pp,

£7.99, 9780861549528

Horror. Step Family.

Overcoming Adversity

All the elements of a spine

tingling horror are here in Jack Mackay’s debut

novel: a creaky old house, nightmares coming to

life and, with an echo of Roald Dahl’s The Witches,

a monster in the guise of a trustworthy woman.

This sickly sweet, too good to be true babysitter,

Esme, doesn’t fool the strong intuition of teenage

protagonist Gwen. She is fiercely protective of her

three younger siblings as their stepfather becomes

blindingly consumed with the responsibilities

of raising his new family since the death of the

children’s mother. Gloam will undoubtedly be a

surefire hit with horror loving readers. Yet it is more

than a gripping page turner, presenting readers with

themes of facing fears, processing grief, being brave,

finding inner strength when faced with adversity, and

navigating the intricacies of family life with a step

parent. Although marketed for ages 8–12, sensitive

readers may need to read with caution as sections of

the story are terrifyingly nightmarish.

Lizzie Mackenzie



McKenna, Skye

Illustrated by

Tomislav Tomic

Stonewitch

Welbeck Children’s Books, 2025,

464pp, £14.99, 9781804536087

Series: Hedgewitch

Fantasy. Witches. Magic

This is the fourth book in the very successful

Hedgewitch series by a talented author. It follows

Cassie from the Hedgely coven who takes part

in the Covenmoot Camp at Glen Carlin in the

Scottish Highlands. This gathering is held every

five years, and Cassie hopes to invent a spell as

she tries to complete her witch training. Cassie is

in the Oak Patrol alongside Tabitha, Robin, and

Rue. The descriptions of their cooking duties etc.

at the camp reminded me of my early days in Girl

Guide camps in Lancashire! Stonewitch is a chunky

hardback of 440 pages (although the text is double

spaced) so would be most suitable for able readers.

Those who enjoy fantasy novels and magic stories

with goblins, witches, and spells would find this a

satisfying read. There are some beautiful full-page

illustrations as well as decorative headpieces at the

beginning of each chapter.

Janet Syme

McLachlan, Jenny

Illustrated by

Alla Khatkevich

Dragon Riders of Roar

Farshore, 2025, 288pp, £7.99,

9780755503377

Series: Land of Roar

Fantasy. Dragons. Siblings

Twins Rose and Arthur play their best games in the

imaginary world of Roar, hidden inside a folding

campbed in their grandad’s attic. When they can’t

go there, Rose writes about it instead, inventing the

wild and dangerous new Dragonlands region in

the far north, where ferocious dragons rampage,

a fierce and powerful witch clan is rising, and a

deadly Witch King steals children for his army.

When the twins become part of the story, forced to

enrol in the Dragon Rider Academy, on a perilous

journey to stop a disaster of their own creation.

This first book in a new spin-off sequence will

definitely not disappoint fans of the bestselling

Land of Roar trilogy but stands equally well alone.

Slightly scarier but every bit as fun, this fast-paced

fantasy adventure is cleverly plotted and beautifully

illustrated. Short chapters and engaging first person

narration make it an addictive class readaloud.

Eileen Armstrong

Merrett, Sarah

Illustrated by

Ewa Beniak-Haremska

A Place of a

Thousand Wishes

Everything With Words, 2025,

324pp, £8.99, 9781911427452

Friendship. Adventure. Ice

Set in 1899, this is a fantasy rather than historical

adventure. Mason and his Pa are struggling to

survive selling ice-cream from their cart. In one

eventful afternoon, Mason meets a girl called Clem

when she steals an ice-cream, he serves a sinister

looking gentleman with a pocket-watch, the icecream

cart is sabotaged, and he receives a much

sought after invitation to an evening of ‘wonder and

enchantment’ at the amazing Darlington Manor.

Although his father has forbidden it, sneaking off to

attend that event is going to change his life forever.

What follows is an adventure involving family,

friendship, and magic. The power of hope keeps the

children going as they are pitted against a vicious

baddy. At intervals throughout the book there are

atmospheric black-and-white illustrations by Ewa

Beniak-Haremska. The book has a very interesting

short history of ice cream at the back.

Bridget Turner


Books: 8 – 12

Naghdi, Yasmine &

Soundar, Chitra

Illustrated by

Paula Franco

Ballet Besties: Dante’s

Winning Dance


£7.99, 9781800785878

Series: Ballet Besties

Ballet. Dance. Friendship

The third in a series about young dancers. Dante

loves both ballet and football, and alludes to

football team members teasing him about dancing.

Dante is upset by it but doesn’t let it interfere with

his enjoyment of both. The focus is on the dancing

as the author is a principal ballet dancer and in this

story Danta comes up with an idea to incorporate

hip hop and ballet which may interest new readers.

It was difficult to gauge the age of the children as

they seem to have more freedom to come and

go than most primary school age children, but

they weren’t old enough for secondary school.

Franco’s black and white illustrations throughout

demonstrate the ballet positions constantly being

referred to as the book sets out to educate as well

as enjoy. It possibly wouldn’t convert football mad

boys to ballet, but will have its fans of the series.

Dawn Woods

Northfield, Gary

Commotion in

Ancient China


£7.99, 9781406391688

Series: Julius Zebra

History. Funny. Transition

As with the four previous Julius Zebra books, this

one is light-hearted, full of action from the start,

and definitely one to direct reluctant readers to.

If they are fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the

like, this is one for them. An approachable book

for those not ready for just text and a great book

to introduce to graphic novel enthusiasts. Aimed

at readers aged 7 and over, the combination

of history education, adventure, and all round

laughs, will entertain all who choose it. More for

independent reading than a group read, unless

you all have a copy.

Lisa Daisy

O’Leary, Dermot

Illustrated by Nick East

Toto the Ninja Cat

and the Pirate

Treasure Hunt

Hodder Children's Books, 2025,

240pp, £7.99, 9781444976564

Series: Toto the Ninja Cat

Pirates. Cats. Humour

Pirate Treasure Hunt is the sixth book in this

entertaining middle grade series and the story

is adventurous, funny, and fast moving. Full of

groan worthy puns – Clawdia Winklepuss was my

favourite! – and slapstick humour, there is also a

theme of loyalty and friendship which although

given a light touch, comes across very well. Nick

East's illustrations are both charming and funny

and really add to your reading enjoyment whilst

breaking up the text for reluctant readers.

Bev Humphrey

Owen, Karen

Illustrated by

Louise Forshaw

Project Puffin

Firefly, 2025, 176pp, £7.99,

9781915444783

Series: Major and Mynah

Environment. Mystery. Adventure

The fourth in the Major and Myna series, Project

Puffin is a brilliant, fun, eco-mystery for younger

readers. When puffins turn up covered in oil on the

beach, the SPUD – Super Perceptive Undercover

Detectives – team are in a race against time to

find the source of the pollution and stop it before

more animals get hurt. The story explores an

important environmental message while retaining

its sense of fun and avoiding preaching. It’s great

to see the deafness of one of the main characters,

Callie, being presented in such a positive way – her

hearing aids really do give her superpowers! Black

and white illustrations throughout reflect the story’s

sense of fun. Information is provided at the end of

the book to steer anyone inspired to do more and

become an eco-warrior. Previous series knowledge

isn’t required to enjoy this story.

Shona Page

Patel, Serena

Illustrated by

Emma McCann

Pia’s Pet Club:

Puppy Problem

Usborne, 2025, 224pp,

£6.99, 9781805312437

Series: Pia’s Pet Club

Animals. Quest. Family

Pia isn’t allowed a pet, but she doesn’t let that

squash her passion. So when her neighbour Hari

gets a new puppy, she jumps at the chance to help

train her. But Luna, the adorable pup, quickly turns

life upside down with all kinds of chaos! Over the

course of the book, we meet a colourful mix of

characters, furry and otherwise. Told in first person

present tense, the story lets us feel every one of

Pia’s emotions. Her voice is dynamic, funny, and

instantly likeable. I loved getting to know her, her

South Asian family, and the diverse neighbours in

her apartment block. Pia is honest and real about

having separated parents without making a big deal

of it; it’s just part of her life. This is the first in a new

series, and I already can’t wait to meet more of Pia’s

friends (and their pets!). Full of warmth, humour,

and sprinkled with some brilliant pet facts – Pia

really knows her stuff!

Becky West

Pearson, Jenny

Shrapnel Boys

Usborne, 2025, 384pp,

£7.99, 9781805312963

War. Family. Adventure

Jenny Pearson is better known

for her laugh-a-minute books

for primary school children (such as The Super

Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates and The

Incredible Record Smashers) so this is a bit of a

departure for her. Shrapnel Boys is set in London

at the very start of the Second World War and gives

us a glimpse of a different aspect of life at that

time. The narrator Ronnie and his brother Mickey

stay in London when most of their classmates are

evacuated. Ronnie is cheeky and always in trouble

at school, but very protective of his mum and his

brother, Mickey. When Johnny Simmonds turns up

to build their bomb shelter, charming his mother,

and involving Mickey in his dodgy schemes, Ronnie

isn’t best pleased. The story touches on fascism,

Moseley and the Black Shirts, the bombings,

looting, espionage, and gangsters, and is a great

way to introduce upper primary children to these

topics in an accessible way. I absolutely loved it and

couldn’t put it down.

Sarah Huck



Smith, Chris

The New Famous

Five: Five and the

Smuggler's Code


224pp, £7.99, 9781444978759

Adventure. Mystery. Crime

This revisiting of the Blyton series includes

characters from the original stories alongside a

new set of young investigators. George is now

Professor George Kirrin, and Anne is a famous

detective. Anne’s great-nieces and nephew, Maddy,

Fran and Tom, together with their dog Gilbert make

up the new ‘Famous Five’. The children arrive for

a holiday with George at Kirrin Cottage to find

that she has been kidnapped by their adversary,

Doctor Cornelius Clay. The Empress Diamond has

disappeared and Clay is the chief suspect; can the

children and Anne find where George is being held

and stop Clay from smuggling the diamond out of

the country? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’, and

involves the discovery of an underground railway,

secret passages and hidden treasure. The adventure

concludes with a picnic, in the tradition of the

original series. An entertaining and accessible story

which will appeal to readers aged 8 upwards.

Sandra Bennett

Smith-Dale, Nicky

Illustrated by

Sarah Horne

Betty Steady and

The Queen’s Orb

Farshore, 2025, 192pp, £6.99,

9780008600372

Series: Betty Steady

Hilarious. Bonkers. Slapstick

Golly gherkins, what a bundle of joy and energy you

will find in this bonkers book for newly confident

readers. Betty is back for a second adventure, but

don’t worry if you’re not already familiar with the

series – this book is fine as a standalone. Reduced

to the size of a doll in book one, Betty finds that she

is treated differently due to her small stature and

is frustrated that she is no longer taken seriously

as guardian of Wobbly Rock. While attending the

legendary Turnip Festival in the land of Upper Crust,

Betty falls in with a forest sprite, the fashionable

Misty Jamjar. Misty promises to help return Betty

to her normal size if she helps her to borrow the

Queen’s Orb, but can Misty be trusted? Young

readers will empathise with Betty’s mistakes and

the themes of friendship and fitting in. The story is

brought to life with gorgeously zany illustrations

and will appeal to fans of Grimwood and Mr Gum.

Janet Ling

Thompson, Lisa

Illustrated by Katie Kear

The Boy in the Tree


£7.99, 9780008726201

Nature. Family.

Dyslexia Friendly

This is one of Barrington Stoke’s fantastic dyslexia

friendly range of books. An enjoyable read, which

tackles some of the issues around activism and

protecting the natural world in an accessible way

for younger readers. Noah is having a hard time at

home (his parents keep arguing) and school (he’s

always in trouble), when he is made aware of a

threat to a local tree by school goody two shoes

Grace. An unlikely alliance follows – Noah is always

in trouble and Grace is always annoying, although

well informed. The story highlights the different

ways of taking action: petition and social media vs

direct action (stopping the developers cutting down

the tree by sitting in it). Noah has something he

needs to prove: that some things are worth saving,

and not just trees. The ending is realistic, making a

nicely rounded plot.

Sarah Huck

Walker, Bethany

Illustrated by Katie Abey

Medusa Gorgon’s

Bad Hair Day

Scholastic, 2025, 288pp,

£7.99, 9780702340659

Funny. Mythological. Chaotic

This hilarious middle-grade adventure is packed

with chaos, clever humor, and plenty of heart.

Twelve-year-old Meddy Gordon has serious anger

issues and vents in her diary about family drama,

tricky friendships, irritating classmates, pompous

teachers, and even magical problems like swarms of

snakes, flocks of owls, or the occasional manyheaded

dog. But Meddy is no ordinary girl – she is

Medusa, a human from ancient Greece who has

made the terrible mistake of angering Athena, the

goddess of war. As punishment, Medusa is sent to

the twenty-first century on a dangerous mission to

track down Athena’s missing shield. To make things

worse, she’s forced to sign a binding contract with

both Athena and Hades to ensure she completes

the task. With laugh-out-loud moments, a great plot

twist, and fast-paced adventure, this is a fantastic

read for fans of the Louie Stowell Loki series.

Gareth Evans

Weze, Claire

Up Above the City

Knights Of, 2025, 291pp,

£7.99, 9781915820082

Friendship. Family Separation.

Refugees

At times books can take a few

pages to get started. This is certainly not the case

for Clare Weze’s thrilling, page-turning Up Above

the City adventure, grabbing the attention of

middle-grade audiences and hooking them in with

an opening sentence that compels the reader to

keep reading. Jake’s thrown out of his school’s

holiday club and is forced to spend his days in the

staffroom of his mum’s work – a London bank.

Here a friendship unfolds with Laine, an Estonian

refugee, forced to live in secret in the attic of the

bank after fleeing her home country with her father,

a scientist on the run after creating medication for

Laine’s dying mother, with invisibility being the side

effect. This is a unique adventure story, expertly

woven with the themes of family separation,

endings, friendship, homelessness, and the refugee

crisis. Big themes, yet perfectly pitched for children

to explore and discuss.

Lizzie Mackenzie

Wilde, Oscar

Illustrated by

Lauren O’Hara

Oscar Wilde’s Stories

for Children

Little Island Books, 2025,

96pp, £19.99, 9781915071897

Short Stories. Illustrated. Fairy Tales

Oscar Wilde’s Stories for Children has been given

a new lease of life for a fresh audience with

Lauren O’Hara’s beautiful illustrations detailing

the pages. This book has a classic and timeless

feel, and the pictures are sure to capture readers’

imaginations. Included is his well known tale ‘The

Happy Prince’, a story about true happiness being

found through empathy and selflessness. This

message will resonate with readers young and old

in today’s world as much as at the time Wilde was

writing. The stories may be suitable for readers

aged 9+, but the structure and vocabulary may

be challenging for some children to read alone.

Additionally, some stories are dark and emotional

without a happy ending or an obvious moral that

young readers may have come to expect from

fairy tales. They may be better shared by an adult

who can explain and facilitate discussion, or

enjoyed in library story time as a class.

Lucy Davies


Books: 8 – 12 | Information

Ard, Catherine

Illustrated by

Wenjia Tang

Wish Upon A Star:

The Science, Magic

and Meaning of Stars


£14.99, 9781838742102

Stars. Astrophysics. Science

Although this book looks like a simple yet beautiful

picture book from the outside, it contains a

comprehensive look at all aspects of stars – from

astrophysics to astrology! All the scientific details

and explanations are there, making it a good leisure

read for children who prefer information texts

and like to immerse themselves in the minutiae

of space knowledge. But it also includes more

artistic, literary and pop culture connotations to do

with the concept of stars, such as Shakespearean

references, Van Gogh's "Starry Night" and movie

stars. Each page incorporates lots of bite size bits of

information, which some children will adore as they

enjoy hunting and pecking for new titbits; however,

some children might find the layout overwhelming

and difficult to follow. It is highly illustrated on

matte paper and usefully includes a contents page,

glossary and index.

Bridget Hamlet

Clarkson, Giselle

Illustrated by

Giselle Clarkson

Omnibird:The Avian

Investigator’s

Handbook


£16.99, 9798765670514

Ornithology. Biology. Art

Memorable, stylish biology of the world’s birds by

the prize-winning New Zealand cartoonist. On the

large front cover, the elegant ‘omnibird’ with swan’s

head and neck on a yellow passerine body, strides

out on pink gull’s legs and feet. Omnibird glances

at a small slug in the top corner, which you see has

left a shiny trail across the cover. The book inside

doesn’t disappoint, with lively text, portraits and witty

cartoons throughout. After how to find birds, e.g.

‘focussing on the background of boring TV shows’,

the first half outlines avian biology and how to study

it, e.g. ‘dissect your breakfast’ on the egg page. In

the second half, themes from the feral pigeon to

flightless birds conclude with ‘under-represented

bird’s eye views’, e.g. of a giant human eye through

twigs. Informative and entertaining addition to the

biology and art bookshelves that also benchmarks

bioethics: ‘how to pick up a chicken’ concludes with

putting it down when it ‘gets wriggly’.

Dr. Henrietta Jane Price

Cope, Lizzie

Illustrated by

Shaw Nielsen

How It Works: Money

Usborne, 2025, 16pp, £10.99,

9781474952897

Economics. Banking. Life Skills

Another colourful and engaging information book

from king of lift-the-flaps Usborne. This 16-page

volume has over 70 sturdy flaps that should stand

up well to frequent use. The pages are packed with

facts explaining currency, borrowing, lending,

earning, investment and everything in between,

and it suits being dipped in and out of, as the whole

thing can be read in any order. There are a few

money maths questions (with answers provided),

which help the reader develop their decisionmaking

around money. Money is framed both

personally and globally, with amounts depicted in

pounds, dollars and euros. With no contents page,

index or glossary, compiling your own would be a

fun activity. Shaw Nielsen has created wonderfullooking

spreads with so much to see; this book

makes a dry topic fun and friendly.

Becky West

De Vlieger, Evelien

Translated by

Michele Hutchinson

Illustrated by

Jan Hamstra

Cluck

Magic Cat, 2026, 80pp, £14.99,

9781917366588

Chickens. Ornithology. Handbook

This delightful guide is perfect for young readers,

budding ornithologists, and backyard chicken

enthusiasts. It offers a thorough exploration of

the world of chickens, covering their breeds,

history, behaviour, and the types of eggs they lay.

Readers learn about chicken anatomy, emotions,

and communication, gaining practical knowledge

on handling and caring for these charming birds.

The lively, approachable text is filled with fun and

intriguing facts, making learning both entertaining

and accessible. Jan Hamstra’s intricate, colourful

linocut illustrations bring each bird to life, capturing

their unique personalities and adding a rich visual

layer to the book. From discovering how to ‘speak

chicken’ to exploring their role in history and

everyday life, this beautifully illustrated handbook

is both educational and playful. A celebration of

chickens in all their feathered glory, it will captivate

and inspire curious minds.

Gareth Evans

Elcomb, Ben

Illustrated by Terri Po

Diagnosis Detectives:

Tummy Trouble


£12.99, 9781838742270

Science. Illness. Hygiene

This is a very informative book about the science

of the stomach. It details how different stomach

illnesses happen (and how to avoid them!). The

information is presented in an extremely accessible

way – very approachable for the age range with

language that is not too complex, but which still

helps in the learning of subject specific vocabulary.

The illustrations really help in explaining the

information. This book would be a great addition

to any school library, primary mainly; however

the topics do link with the Key Stage 3 science

curriculum so would work as a ‘share a book’

moment in science classrooms. The illustrations are

engaging and would work well to draw in the more

tricky to engage students. It covers many different

areas of stomach illness – this would be a very good

book for topic learning in primary schools.

Jasmine Brown

Flowers, Rob

Flush It Down:

The Story of Sewers

Through Time

Cicada Books, 2025, 40pp,

£14.99, 9781800660649

Toilets. Sewage. History

Playing to children’s fascination with lavatorial

arrangements, this witty but informative large

format book is subtitled ‘The story of sewers

through time.’ Busily, colourfully and wittily

illustrated on every page, it goes from explaining

what ‘poo’ is all the way to the more environmental

ways of disposing of it in the future. En route it

takes in how prehistoric peoples managed, Roman

sewage disposal, the contributions of George

Harrington (who designed a flush toilet for Elizabeth

I) and of Joseph Bazalgette who put sewers under

London in the nineteenth century, most of which

are still in use. It also discusses sewage-borne

diseases, issues in underdeveloped countries, and

a lot more. It’s entertaining non-fiction that links

science with history and geography. Key Stage 2

children will love it.

Susan J. Elkin


Books: 8 – 12 | Information

French, Jess

My Cat


£9.99, 9780241778746

Cats. Pet Care.

Animal Photography

Written for children by the

CBeebies wildlife presenter and veterinarian,

this pretty softcover is a complete account of

cat-keeping covering feline biology, behaviour,

equipment, current concepts on feeding, toileting,

healthcare, etc., and is strong on explanation: when

choosing a kitten, ‘ask to see its mother and siblings

too, to check they are happy and healthy’. Attractive

photos and sketches depict pet cats’ activities and

expressions. The author emphasizes the need for

observation of this subtle species, when to seek

external help and advice, and how to communicate

with and befriend our cats. Content is supported

by a glossary and index. An essential pet-keeping

reference for the biology and companion animal

shelves that will also be enjoyed by photographers,

and at home.


French, Jess

My Dog


£9.99, 9780241778753

Dogs. Pet Care.

Animal Photography

In the same series as My Cat

the standalone book shares its format, comprising

20 carefully written chapters about canine biology,

equipment, choosing a member of this unusually

diverse species, feeding, training, healthcare, etc.,

and is strong on explanation: ‘Many human foods

can be dangerous to dogs, and dogs are very good

at eating things they shouldn’t!’ It emphasizes the

need to communicate with and train this highly

social animal, explaining when to seek help and

advice. After the portrait photo of a wolf in its

habitat, attractive photos and sketches throughout

depict pet dogs’ activities and expressions on white

pages. Final chapters are on ‘what my dog is doing’,

and feeling.


George, Alex

Happy Habits: 7 Steps

to Build a Happy Life

Puffin, 2025, 224pp, £9.99,

9780241771464

Well-Being. Self-Care.

Resilience

Happy Habits is an engaging and practical book

that offers children aged 9–12 years a range of

tips and ideas to help them build resilience and

support their mental well-being through healthy

bodily habits, school work planning, engendering

joy and reflection, and connecting with others.

Rather than strict rules or impossible routines,

Dr Alex George encourages the development of

positive and sustainable habits that are quick and

easy to implement and achieve, such as packing

your school bag the night before, taking up a

creative hobby, or tidying your room as an act of

self-care. The book makes excellent use of varied

fonts and page layouts, which invite browsing and

help maintain engagement. A useful addition to the

self-help section of the library – although written

for children, many adults could also benefit from

adopting some of these simple but effective habits!

Barbara Band

Hartley, Ned

Create Your Own

Comics

Buster Books, 2026, 96pp,

£9.99, 9781916763081

Engaging. Lively.

How-to Guide

Clear, concise, and easy to understand, this is a

brilliant interactive ‘how-to’ guide for budding

artists and authors alike. Split into neatly

categorised chapters, the reader learns how comics

work – including formatting, drawing, creating

expressive characters, and plotting an engaging

story. Concepts and key principles are themselves

explained through the comic format, and spaces

are left blank for the reader to practise what they

have learned. The language used is easily accessible

for primary-age readers and the step-by-step

layout provides both structure and reassurance for

beginners. Lively, colourful, and uplifting, this is a

superb guide that does exactly what the title says.

Louise Davis

Joseph, Paterson

TEN: Children Who

Changed the World

Wren & Rook, 2025, 256pp,

£9.99, 9781526366955

Inspirational. Activitism.

Bravery

Reading Ten Children Who Changed the World by

Paterson Joseph filled me with hope and pride. As

a Nigerian girl, I do not often see books that show

young people – especially Black children – doing

influential and bold things. This book changed

that. Each chapter tells the story of a real child

who stood up for justice, education, or freedom.

One girl became a librarian and helped her whole

community through books. Another escaped

slavery and later helped others find freedom. The

way their stories were written made me feel like I

was walking beside them. The font also helped! The

details were so clear, like how one child refused

to stay silent even when adults told them to stop. I

could picture every moment. The illustrations were

eye-catching and beautiful; they added depth to the

stories as I could visualise the characters, adding to

the energy of each story. This book taught me that

courage doesn’t wait until you’re older. Every young

person should read it – it belongs in every library.

Vera Arantes-Fine

Kanani, Dr Sheila

Illustrated by Liz Kay

Can You Get Music

on the Moon?

Puffin, 2025, 128pp, £14.99,

9780241522165

Science. Music. Astronomy

Written by Sheilah Kanani and illustrated by Liz

Kay, this book provides an excellent introduction

to STEM subjects. A bestselling author, Dr Kanani

is a planetary scientist and expert in astrophysics

and astronomy. An exploration into sound and

space, the book covers such subjects as how we

hear sound underwater, in space, and in the world

around us. Designed for upper primary and lower

secondary students, it is crammed full of useful

information. Sections range from earthquakes

to can chimpanzees actually talk to each other.

There are also lots of ‘did you know’ sections

dotted around the book and plenty of intriguing

facts including a section on how sound can travel

along walls. Whispering galleries, such as the one

in St Paul’s cathedral, are explained along with

rooms easily shaped to improve their acoustics. An

intriguing insight into how sound is produced and

sound technology; it would prove a very useful

addition to any school or class library.

Godfrey Hall


Books: 8 – 12

Lax, Enric &

Daniel Haan

Start with a Teapot:

An Unexpected Guide

to the Art of Drawing


£14.99, 9798765670491

Drawing. Art. How-to guide

Art meets the absurd in this hilariously complicated

drawing instruction manual. For example, how do

you draw a butterfly? Start with an owl, obviously.

What if you want to draw a hat? Start with some

mountains, clearly. As picture books go, it is a

lengthy work and might be overlong for very young

children; however, the humour and format lend

itself to reading in small bursts. One could also use

it as a drawing manual, inviting children to draw

along and try the methods recommended, which

is surely to result in some hilarity. Overall, this

would make a really fun, interactive read aloud with

the use of a visualiser and mini whiteboards. It is

robustly constructed, with matte paper, allowing for

repeated reads without worry of damage. This little

gem is perfect for fans of Hervé Tullet and those

who appreciate the humour of Jon Klassen.

Bridget Hamlet

Poliquin, Rachel

Illustrated by

Clayton Hanmer

The Gland Factory


£14.99, 9781778400988

Human Body. Humorous.

Informative

Subtitled ‘a tour of your body’s goops, juices and

hormones’, this book shows the human body as a

factory made up of various ‘departments’. Exocrine

glands are described as ‘goop glands’ because

they make liquids such as saliva, snot, and sweat;

endocrine glands are ‘messenger glands’ because

they coordinate everything. Naughty germs also

feature in each illustration and have graffitied much of

the factory as they challenge the smooth running of

the body. With a chatty, engaging style and humorous

illustrations, this book is accessible yet detailed, and

the factual content does not feel oversimplified.

Visually, this could certainly appeal to primary pupils,

but the content would also inform Key Stage 3

students … or aged librarians who don’t remember

learning any of this at school! It would be a good

addition to an upper Key Stage 2 or Key Stage 3 library

and the humour will certainly appeal to many readers

aged 9–12. There’s a useful glossary and suggestions

for further reading, and I was especially impressed by

the guidance on how to use the index.

Rachel Goodhart

Priebst, Thekla

The Voyage That

Changed The World

Wide Eyed Editions, 2025,

80pp, £16.99, 9780711293472

Exploration. Competition.

Curiosity

This exciting illustrated factual book tells the story

of the first circumnavigation of the globe, led by

Ferdinand Magellan. It begins by setting up the

context of the spice islands and the competition

between Portugal and Spain to find the fastest

shipping route to Europe. The events of the

voyage are narrated in the present tense, creating

a tone of suspense similar to an adventure novel.

Contact between the European explorers and

indigenous peoples is suitably described for an

audience of 8- to 14-year-olds. Priebst intentionally

highlights Enrique de Malacca, an enslaved Malay

man who served as an interpreter. It’s colourfully

illustrated throughout by the author. One of the

most powerful spreads explains the kidnapping of

two Tehuelche people. There’s also an interesting

graphic representation of the 240 men on board

the ships at the beginning of the journey and the

eighteen survivors who made it back to Spain.

This book will support critical thinking about

exploration and empire.

Elizabeth Lutz

Saunders, Claire

Illustrated by

Wesley Robins

Live Like A Victorian

Button Books, 2025, 56pp,

£12.99, 9781787081826

Series: Live Like a…

History. Society. People

The Victorian age was one of immense social and

technological change and innovation, and this

engaging and informative book does an excellent

job of explaining the era for younger readers. Topics

such as society, school, and work are brought

vividly to life by Wesley Robins’ illustrations, and

author Claire Saunders is not afraid to get into the

dirt of the Victorian world – both literally, in her

descriptions of jobs such as ‘pure finders’ (who

collected dog poo for tanners) and in her discussion

of slavery, Empire, and the disparity between rich

and poor – as well as the rich cultural and social

history. Most pages include thoughtful discussion

prompts that would make this an ideal resource

for the classroom, as well as interactive activities

including crafts and recipes. Children especially may

enjoy debating the different attitudes to schooling

experienced by working-class Will and middle-class

Dora, who we meet throughout the book and

through whose eyes we see Victorian life. Includes a

timeline and glossary.

Lauren Niland

Stobbart, Darran

Illustrated by

Dominique Byron

Animal Records

Usborne, 2025, 16pp, £10.99,

9781805315582

Facts. Animals. Science

A colourful and interactive introduction to the

record holders of the animal kingdom, perfect

for younger readers with an interest in nature and

wildlife. Not especially detailed but written clearly

in simple, easy to understand language. My only

criticisms are that not all the flaps are easy to lift

initially and in terms of adding to a school library I

think they would soon get damaged! A lovely book

to gift to young readers though.

Louise Henley

Tovey, Russell &

Diament, Robert

Illustrated by Rose Blake

Art School (in a book):

A Future Artist’s Guide

to Contemporary Art

LKP Children’s, 2025, 80pp,

£16.99, 9781510231412

Art. Colourful. Creative

Brought to us by Russell Tovey and Robert Diament,

this bright and vibrant book is a glimpse into the

world of Art! Each page is dedicated to a painting

or sculpture from a world-renowned artist, with

a short biography and a suggestion of how you

can create your own art work using their style and

technique. From Giuseppe Archimboldo to Tracy

Emin, the pair cover a wide variety of contemporary

artists, inspiring us with their views of the world.

Whether the artist is just trying to experience things

they have never seen, creating monsters from

folklore and myth, or trying to make a statement

about our environment, this book shows us how

we can use art to express ourselves and have an

impact on those around us. This book is a brilliant

first entry into the art world, ideal for use in school

as a starting point to either look at a specific artist or

to introduce students to artists they may never have

heard of before.

Nicola Bowie


Feature

The Manga Companion

Lessons for Change

Scott Hulme

Scott Hulme explains how manga can help young people navigate

change and the impact it had on his own reading journey.

Scott Hulme’s bookshop

helps schools discover the

Manga that's right for their

students and offers resources

to support Manga Clubs. He's

a proud winner of the New

Futures in Bookselling led by

Bookshop.org and Booksellers

Association.

For Manga resources

contact Otaku Books at

scottchulme@gmail.com

As we make more space for manga

in our libraries, these books can

join their more celebrated chapter

book counterparts in helping

students navigate changes and

challenges in their life. When I

started reading manga at school, I have to confess

it was to escape my reality rather than to better

understand it. These were books I could run into

as alternatives to those I couldn’t quite follow back

in class. No one taught me back then (even though

it wasn’t so long ago – I am still in my 20s) that

these ‘cartoons’ (as my teachers often mistakenly

called them) about weird and wonderful worlds

could enhance my life experience, never mind

my reading. And as the books were never shared

or discussed, there was no chance to challenge

that, no opportunity to learn with others how the

fantastical adventures with the likes of Frieren or

Naruto or One Piece’s Monkey D Luffy might feel

more relevant and relatable than the world around

me. That they were about feeling misunderstood,

figuring out how to bounce back after failure,

focused on friendships and second chances and

dreams of a better future.

These were books I could run into

as alternatives to those I couldn’t

quite follow back in class.

Thanks to libraries like yours and manga book

clubs established in them, this is changing. There

are more spaces than ever for manga to be talked

about and shared in the same way as traditional

reads. And that change can change everything for

some readers.

Manga – when age and stage appropriate, of

course – can help readers navigate the big changes

and challenges in their own life. Think of Bleach

and how Ichigo tried and failed miserably to save

You very rarely meet characters in

Manga who start out super confident

knowing all the answers to the

challenges and changes they meet.

Rukia. How he had to go back to the beginning,

learning how to use his powers all over again. In

Haikyu! our protagonist, Shoyo Hinata, is forced

to work alongside his adversary to reach his

sporting goal. In Aria of Beech Forest, it’s newfound

companionship that allows Aria to be more

curious about everything outside her own small

world. Or if you like Komi Can’t Communicate,

you'll remember Tadano sets out to live a quiet

life in the background, but his friendship with

Komi (despite her severe social anxiety) and his

classmates forces him to acknowledge he has a

part to play in his new peer group. And I love that

moment in Frieren after Himmel dies and Frieren

recognises she needs to make changes and value

human life a little more than she had in the past.

You very rarely meet characters in manga who

start out super confident knowing all the answers

to the challenges and changes they meet. They

are more likely to be unsure and awkward or

scared and make mistakes as they go – often in a

messy ‘cover your eyes; it’s too awkward to read’

kind of way (think Naruto early on in his story).

But growing confidence is another common

thread in many of these books. They remind us

that change doesn’t just happen in the ‘and then

everyone realised they’d been unfair and asked

their classmate to a party’ kind of way as some

other children’s books might have us imagine.

Changes happen quietly and through trial and

error and through chapters when you wonder if

anything is moving forward at all. But it always

is. The best manga leaves behind a little shift in

perspective, and it can help readers carry the

lessons into their own lives.


Graphic Novels

Barnett, Mac

Illustrated by

Shawn Harris

The First Cat in Space

and the Baby Pirate’s

Revenge

Harper360, 2025, 272pp,

£12.99, 9780063415508

Series: The First Cat in Space

Younger. Surreal. Adventure

AGE 8-12

My first impressions were that this was going to be

fun, easy to follow, and just a bit silly. Happily I was

right, and what we have here is a comic book story

that delivers the right amount of quirky fun in an

easy to follow and accessible story for younger or

reluctant readers. It will appeal more to students

who like their humour a little on the surreal side,

but it is warm and engaging. A pirates and space

adventure mashup combines two of the best in

adventure stories so how can it lose?

Julie Baugh

DK

The Fact-Finders

Rainforest

DK Children’s, 2026, 64pp, £7.99,

9780241721643

Series: The Fact Finders

Rainforest. Flora and Fauna. Conservation

AGE 8-12

Tracey Turner and illustrator Gillian Reid have

produced a wonderfully clear and engaging factbased

book with narrators Lily and tucan Mango,

complete with glossary and index. Laid out in part

like a graphic novel, it is humorous and informative

in equal measure. It is unusually comprehensive

in scope – all creatures, fauna and flora and the

science behind rainforests – and lists spotted

biographies of famous rainforest scientists. This is an

excellent choice as a gift for when you're not sure

what a child aged 8–12 might like to read about;

they would both enjoy and learn a lot from this

Dorling Kindersley fun Fact Finders book.

Danuta Zalega

Goldstyn, Jacques

Translated by

Helen Mixter

Sketch

Aldana Libros, 2025, 88pp,

£12.99, 9781778402777

Art. Friendship. Identity

AGE 8-12

This is a delightful story about standing out from

the crowd and finding your place through art and

friendship. Although technically a picture book, it

should also appeal to middle-grade graphic novel

fans. When Sketch is born, he is ‘drawn differently’

from everyone else, and Jacques Goldstyn’s

charming illustrations show him as a fuzzy ball of

energy and joy. Despite his loving and supportive

parents, Sketch grows up in a world of straight lines

and disapproving looks as he colours outside the

lines, until he gets to high school and meets a group

of accepting friends who are also all different in

their own way. Goldstyn’s visual world is rich and

full of details to pore over, reminiscent of Quentin

Blake, and the story itself ends on a defiantly

optimistic note as Sketch counsels his friends

to ‘draw themselves in’ to a world that doesn’t

understand them yet. This is an excellent text to use

around discussions of self-esteem and difference in

the classroom.

Lauren Niland

Hicks, Katie

Astral Panic

Flying Eye Books, 2025,

192pp, £16.99, 9781838742089

Anxiety. Self-doubt. Friendship

AGE 12-14

This is a vibrant, fast-paced

story about anxiety, art, social

media, and friendship. Follow Gale as he navigates

social anxiety and his own internal critic using the

‘Simply Pear Wellness Program’, which ramps up

Gale’s anxiety so high that the reader can feel it!

Gale is a relatable character as he studies what he

loves – drawing and illustration – but doubts his

skills constantly. He doubts himself so much that

he retreats from any possibility of being judged

or of making a mistake, even though he knows

that withdrawing into himself will only amplify his

negative mindset. Enter Aiden, who spectacularly

turns Gale’s life upside-out and inside-down, and

demonstrates that sometimes the mistakes are

where friendships are created. I found that the

colour scheme of pinks and greens enhanced that

feeling of anxiety, and wordlessly highlighted the

toxic positivity of ‘Simply Pear’. Good for Key Stage 3

students who prefer illustrated stories and manga.

Lynn M A Bauman-Milner

Stewart, Alexandra

Little Myths: Hercules


32pp, £12.99, 9781444969627

Heroism. Mistakes. Mythology

AGE 6+

Little Myths: Hercules brings the familiar Greek

myth to life with humour and a strong visual energy,

reintroducing Hercules as a relatable, occasionally

chaotic character whose strength is matched by

his mistakes. The comic-style layout and bold,

expressive illustrations give the book strong visual

energy, making it particularly appealing to readers

who enjoy graphic novels. Short bursts of text,

visual jokes, and dynamic page design support

reluctant readers while keeping confident readers

engaged. This humorous approach introduces

mythology without intimidation, encouraging

curiosity about classical stories while prioritising

enjoyment. Well-suited to Key Stage 2 classrooms

and libraries, Little Myths: Hercules works both as

an independent read and as a lively introduction to

mythological storytelling.

Maryam Ahmadi

Whatmore, Candice

Illustrated by

Candice Whatmore

Puzzle Slug and the

Intergalactic Poop

Robbery

Usborne, 2025, 176pp, £7.99,

9781836046981

Series: Puzzle Slug

Comic Book. Puzzles. Intergalactic

AGE 6+

‘This isn’t just a silly story about bottoms, slime

and smells. Well it does include all those things

BUT it’s also VERY serious.’ So starts the story of

Puzzle Slug and his friends who live on the planet

of Plopalot. Their fate depends on the reader

solving the puzzles! This is a brilliant comic puzzle

book for this age group. With an exciting plot and

plenty of fun puzzles to solve, this will be a great

addition to the school library and persuade even

the most reluctant reader to get stuck into its

pages. The font, illustrations, and overall colourful

appearance are vibrant and fun, and the puzzles

range from grammar and maths to codes and spot

the difference. The answers are at the back of the

book, together with pages on drawing, jokes and

words of wisdom. There really is something for

every type of child.

Sue Bastone



Bernet, Katie

Beth is Dead

Scholastic, 2026, 400pp,

£8.99, 9780702343445

Thriller. Secrets. Siblings

This is a remarkable tribute to

Little Women, reframing the

story as a modern-day thriller. When Beth March

is found dead in the woods behind her house,

everyone becomes a suspect. Her sisters vow

to find Beth’s killer, but their suspicion gradually

turns inward – threatening to tear the remainder

of the family apart. Told in a dual timeline (‘Then’

and ‘Now’), with each chapter giving voice to a

different sister’s perspective, the book races along,

keeping this reader guessing until almost the end.

As well as suspense, there is emotional depth. The

sisters are flawed, indecisive, contradictory, ever

evolving. The exploration of sibling grief is real and

raw but sensitively handled, and there is thoughtful

consideration of the misconceptions of social media,

and the dangers of believing everything you read.

Alcott afficionados will enjoy the frequent nods to

Little Women but an appreciation of the original is

not needed to devour this as a standalone pageturner.

Recommended for 15+ because of content

covering murder, grief and relationship abuse.

Saira Aspinall

Clack, A.J.

Blood Moon

Firefly Press, 2025, 400pp,

£9.99, 9781917718066

Series: Lie or Die

Thriller. Reality TV. Murder

*Contains spoilers for book one*

In this sequel, teenagers Kass, Rhodri and Lewis

thought that they had left the horrors of bloodsoaked

reality TV show Lie or Die behind them,

but they find themselves lured back into the

game in order to save the life of a friend. This time

round there are new competitors, new rules, and

a new villain to face. Kass and her friends have

just three days to identify the werewolves, save

their friend, and escape the castle. But if Kass has

learned one thing from the first game it is to trust

no one. With the losers in the game facing death,

the stakes couldn’t be higher. This sequel is just as

dark, unpredictable, and adrenaline-fuelled as the

original; a taut, twisty tale of survival and betrayal.

There are numerous violent deaths and one sex

scene. Suitable for ages 14+.

Katrina Reilly

Craig, Erin A.

House of Salt and

Sorrows


£9.99, 9781836431640

Series: House of Salt and Sorrows

Dancing. Gothic. Death

House of Salt and Sorrows is a reimagining of the

Grimms’ fairytale, ‘The Twelve Dancing Princesses’,

although this take on the fairytale is much darker

and more disturbing than the original. The book

opens with the funeral of the fourth of the twelve

original sisters to die in recent years. These deaths

have resulted in the remaining sisters being

suspended in a never-ending mourning period.

Apparently encouraged by his new bride, the

girls’ father declares an end to the mourning, a

decision that leads to his daughters sneaking out

and dancing until dawn in balls across the land.

Only Annaleigh resists the lure of the balls, and

with the help of a handsome stranger, she focuses

her energy on the questions surrounding her

sisters’ deaths. What follows is part murder mystery

and part gothic fantasy. The atmosphere is truly

unsettling, and at times gory and gruesome – this is

not a book to read alone at night!

Josie Bousfield

Doyle, Catherine

King of Beasts

Electric Monkey, 2026, 432pp,

£9.99, 9780008688554

Series: Twin Crowns

Fantasy. Family Loyalty.

Courage

A substantial read, and perhaps challenging for the

average reader, but not for enthusiasts of fantasy,

romance, adventure. The two main characters,

Alarik and Greta, supply the narration. Superb

descriptive writing is in evidence from the outset,

as the icy, arctic setting unfolds in graphic detail. A

mature reader might, on occasion, find the imagery

somewhat stretched, but not the young adults at

whom the novel is targeted. Alarik is King of Gevra,

Greta a native of the neighbouring kingdom of

Carrig. A strong and warlike ruler, Alarik is perilously

short of a particular type of soldier, a ‘wrangler’,

one capable of reading an animal’s mood and

responding appropriately. This is a crucial skill as

his country depends on hunting for food. Greta

is known to possess this skill and is sent to Gevra

at the request of the king. Tensions run high but

romance between the protagonists is inevitable.

Elizabeth Frew Finlayson

Doyle, Malachy

Georgie

Firefly Press, 2026, 128pp,

£8.99, 9781917718158

Trauma. Anger. Hope

When we meet fourteen-yearold

Georgie, he is at rock

bottom. Mute, reclusive, and consumed with rage,

he spends each day in a bare room with nothing

but a mattress on the floor. After seven years in

the care system, hope has been lost in him – until

eventually he loses hope in himself. The story

follows a brief few weeks of Georgie’s life, during

which his transfer to a new children’s home in the

Welsh countryside begins to turn the tide. The

careful, skilled care of teacher Tommo, along with

the tentative reaching out of kindred spirit Shannon,

allows Georgie to face his past in order to move

toward a future. This is a brutal depiction of the

damage caused by childhood trauma, featuring

occasional strong language and brief descriptions

of violence. Yet the faint kindling of hope is

undeniable, and we leave the book certain that

better things await Georgie.

Becky West

Goldsmith, Amy

Predatory Natures

Ink Road, 2025, 432pp, £9.99,

9781785308864

Horror. Nature. Mystery

Protagonist Lara is on a gap

year before uni and has found

a job working aboard a luxury transcontinental

train. The reader quickly learns that Lara is trying to

exorcise the memory of something that happened

at school in the previous year – a plan that is

thwarted when she discovers one of her former

classmates, Rhys, is also working on the train. When

additional, off-limits carriages are added to the

train overnight, events take a sinister turn. I really

enjoyed the mystery of this horror thriller – both

the unexplained circumstances of what happened

to Lara at school, and the eeriness of the forbidden

carriages. It felt a little like a cross between an

Agatha Christie closed circle mystery and Little

Shop of Horrors! There is a running theme of toxic

relationships and coercive control, as well as an

exploration of ancient Welsh myth, which added

interesting extra layers of meaning to the horror

storyline. Teen read due to swearing and passionate

romance in later chapters.

Anna Holt


Books: 13 – 16

Jo, Sophie

Heartbreak Era

Scholastic, 2026, 336pp, £8.99,

9780702334511

Breakups. Friendship. Romance

Harley and Freddie have been

going out since Year 9 and

they’d made plans to go away to uni together, so

Harley is blindsided when Freddie brutally dumps

her on their four-year anniversary. Depressed and

lonely, she joins the ‘Recently Dumped’ club at

college and there she meets chaotic Seth who is

pining for his ex-girlfriend. Neither of them are

ready to accept the end of their relationships and

so they hatch a fake-dating plan to lure their exes

back with jealousy. I was concerned about Harley

leaping from one long-term relationship straight

into another, but the author does address this

issue and the message is very much about Harley

learning who she is, what she wants, and expanding

her friendships, rather than just submerging her

identity in another romantic relationship. This is

an engaging, well-written, and relatable romance

about growing into the person you are meant to be

in the context of teenage relationships.

Rebecca Rouillard

Jonsberg, Barry

Darkest Night,

Brightest Star

Allen & Unwin, 2025, 288pp,

£7.99, 9781761180385

Toxic Masculinity.

Adolescence. Families

Thirteen-year old Morgan is

growing up in a household filled with toxic

masculinity, thanks to his single-parent dad

and older brother. He struggles to live up to the

expectations of his bullying father, who dreams of

having a professional sports star for a son. Morgan’s

troubled home life is increasingly impacting his

academic work, and teachers attempt to intervene,

but are confronted by a parent who dismisses

and belittles them. This was an interesting study

of the lives that some of our young people may

be experiencing, but it was difficult to pinpoint

the intended reader. Although Morgan is thirteen,

readers of that age may not be mature enough for

some of the misogynistic, homophobic, and racist

viewpoints of the characters. Older readers may be

put off by the juvenile protagonist. Although the

book covered a number of sensitive issues, it wasn’t

depressing and did offer hope (whilst avoiding a

saccharine ending).

Anna Holt

Kisner, Logan-Ashley

The Transition

Usborne, 2025, 384pp, £8.99,

9781835401026

Horror. LGBTQ+. Bullying

Having spent his winter break

recovering from top surgery,

Hunter is excited to spend his last month of high

school in a body he can feel comfortable in. That is

until one night, when a wild animal comes out of

the woods and nearly kills him. Except his cuts and

bruises don’t seem to hurt … and Hunter quickly

realises that his injuries are turning his body into

something horrifying … a werewolf. What follows is

a race against time to stop the creature in its tracks

and to stop Hunter’s complete transformation. Can

Hunter and his friends put an end to the gruesome

killings and allow life to return to normal? The

action of school bullies make life even more difficult

for Hunter and his friends as they work hard to bring

the horror to a conclusion. This is a fast-paced book

and sure to be a hit for all lovers of horror.

Beverley Day

Lightfoot, Kiri

Bear

Allen & Unwin, 2025, 368pp,

£7.99, 9781991006936

Nightmares. Anxiety.

Supernatural

This is the story of 13-year-old

Jasper who is lonely and picked on by his peers.

Being tormented by nightmares is bad enough, but

those dreams begin to seep into his reality. I was

a little daunted by the size of this book and took a

little longer to start as it did not immediately appeal

to me. However, once I got going, it was easy to

get immersed in the story which was very readable.

It gave great insight into a troubled teenage boy’s

mindset and was both funny and sad while being

very relatable. I would be interested in reading more

of Lightfoot’s books.

Louise Mulligan

Palmer, Luke

Live

Firefly, 2025, 300pp, £9.99,

9781915444967

Emotional. Uplifting. Musical

I wasn’t sure what to expect

from Live, but I ended up

really liking it even though it deals with some tough

topics. George is grieving, and the way he tries

to make sense of everything through music and

messages to a lost friend is genuinely moving. It’s

emotional, but Palmer balances the heavy themes

with warmth and hope. The characters are believable

and easy to connect with, especially George, whose

love for music gives the story a strong emotional

core. The way Palmer uses music to explore healing

and connection is genuinely powerful. Despite

the sadness, it left me feeling more uplifted than I

expected. It’s written in a style that feels natural and

engaging, making it easy to get into even if you’re

not usually drawn to emotional stories. If you’re into

books that are honest but still hopeful, this one’s

definitely worth a read.

Gemma Paine

Perrin, Gatlin

Dirk Jones is NOT the

Chosen One

Firefly Press, 2025, 288pp, £9.99,

9781917718080

Ghosts. Adventure. LGBTQ+

This book is very well written;

it is packed, challenging, and layered with such

a lot of themes. Suitable for secondary aged

children, reluctant readers would struggle. Dirk

is a schoolboy who is kidnapped by agents and

attacked for being thought of as the ‘chosen one’.

He is launched in to an adventurous, ghostly world

that is completely unlike his current life. In the

midst of this, Dirk is coming to terms with his own

gender identify of being non-binary, preparing

for his GSCEs in school, and dealing with family

relationships and disagreements.

Jacqueline Blair



Rutter, Bethany

Ask Me Anything

Hot Key Books, 2025, 304pp,

£8.99, 9781471419362

Romance. Teenage Rivalry.

Confidence

This book has a colourful,

eye-catching cover designed to attract its target

young adult audience, and it does not disappoint.

A slightly unusual heroine, Mary-Elizabeth is a

second year university student and also an agony

aunt in the university’s magazine. A flamboyant

character, she introduces herself confidently in the

first paragraph: ‘I am Mary-Elizabeth … And I can do

anything I put my mind to.’ The paragraph ends with

‘And this year I am putting my mind to having sex

with Felix Balfour.’ She proceeds to tell her story in

a racy conversational style. The advice she gives to

correspondents is interlaced with problems in her

own private life. Inevitably there are two men in her

life. In addition to Felix to whom she is attracted,

there is also super-annoying Laurie who writes for

the rival university publication – a newspaper as

opposed to the magazine – whom she suspects has

stolen her problem page. Similarities to the plot of

Pride and Prejudice may come to mind, but it’s quite

different in all other respects.

Elizabeth Frew Finlayson

Sylvan, Lisa M.

Dangerous Girls

Scholastic, 2025, 320pp, £8.99,

9780702339264

Gothic. Magical. Suspenseful

Wednesday meets Miss

Peregrine's Home for Peculiar

Children in this exciting, thrilling Gothic novel.

Imogen Brine is a dangerous girl who is invited to an

isolated school on an island in Scotland. Desperate

to help their daughter, her parents send her away

with a suitcase and a hope. The characters are

relatable and unique. I enjoyed learning about each

girl and their gifts. Everyone had something to hide

which was a joy to discover – even the teachers!

The story would be relatable to anyone who feels

like they are struggling to find their place in the

world. Imogen’s story is of the wonderful growth

of a once-lost girl who finds friends in unlikely

places. There are some frightening moments,

some thrilling moments, some heart warming

moments, and I ultimately loved this story! A perfect

Halloween tale for those cold, dark, spooky nights. I

highly recommend this book!

Gemma Paine

Turner, Sadie

Tidespeaker


£9.99, 9781836431237

Series: Duology

Fantasy. Magic. Suspense

Eighteen-year-old Corith is a

Floodmouth – she can control water with words

– and when she graduates, she is sent to serve in a

noble household called Shearwater, a gloomy castle

on stormswept Bower Island, only accessible via

causeway at low tide. It is the same place her best

friend, Zennia, was sent only months earlier before

she died under mysterious circumstances. Corith is

neurodivergent but her gift requires quietening her

mind, which is a struggle, despite her calm outer

appearance. She is desperate to prove herself to

the Shearwater family, in particular the enigmatic

younger son, Llir, but even more desperate to

discover what exactly happened to Zennia. But

as Corith searches for answers, she finds herself

in dangerous waters. I was swept away by this

beautifully imagined world, steeped in atmosphere

and looming dread – imagine Leigh Bardugo’s

Grishaverse set in Daphne Du Maurier’s Cornwall. A

gorgeously evoked and horribly tense story – I can’t

wait for book two!

Rebecca Rouillard

Dates For Your Diary

MARCH 2026 APRIL 2026 MAY 2026

TBC:

5th:

6th-

15th:

8th:

10th:

16th-

20th:

20th:

20th:

21st:

23rd-

29th:

Second Reading Rights

Summit

World Book Day

Science Week ‘Curiosity:

what’s your question?’

International Women’s Day

Carnegie Shortlist Announced

Neurodiversity Celebration Week

World Storytelling Day

National Literacy Trust Primary

Conference, British Library,

London

World Poetry Day

Shakespeare Week

2nd:

7th:

10th-

12th:

15th:

21st:

22nd:

22nd:

23rd:

29th:

International Children’s Book

Day (IBBY)

World Health Day

FCGB conference ‘Books that

Hook’ Reading

World Art Day

World Creativity and

Innovation Day

Stephen Lawrence Day

Earth Day

World Book Night

Poem in Your Pocket Day

IBA Children’s Choice Voting Closes

National Share a Story Month –

Theme ‘Once Upon a Storytime’

Booklist published 1st May

4th-

10th:

11th-

17th:

15th:

18th-

22nd:

21st-

31st:

23rd:

24th:

Deaf Awareness Week

Mental Health Awareness

Week

International Day of Families

Walk to School Week

Hay Festival

Outdoors Classroom Day

Elmer Day

30th:

LILAC: Information Literacy

Conference, University of

Sheffield

30th May-

7th June: Edinburgh’s International

Children’s Festival


Books: 17 – 19

Doyle, Catherine

The Rebel and

the Rose

Simon & Schuster, 2025, 512pp,

£16.99, 9781398528642

Series: City of Fantome

Rebellion. Magic. Love

This is a sequel to The Dagger and the Flame, and

continues the story of Seraphine and Ransom.

Like the first book, it is set in a fantasy kingdom of

enemies, power, death, and rebellion, and includes

themes of forbidden love, romance, violence, and

betrayal. It has an apt title and the literary style

makes it an addictive book to read. Be aware that

there are swearing words throughout, violence in

places, and a fairly detailed sex scene. Suitable for

Sixth Form and adult readers.

Jacqueline Blair

Hill, Selima

A Man, a Woman &

a Hippopotamus

Bloodaxe Books, 2025, 272pp,

£14.00, 9781780377520

Memoir. Relationships.

Observation

POETRY

In this collection, 268 short poems and prose

poems are organised into 10 sequences, each with

its own theme. There are vignettes, reflections,

aphorisms, and opinions in each section, offering

a kaleidoscope of impressions and perspectives.

The book opens with a self-portrait ‘on being an

artist’s model’ and closes with ‘the surly mothers

of successful men: short pieces of memoir’. In

between, we observe a homeless man living in

a tent and an afternoon in a care home. ‘The

Mathematician’ contains observations made by a

woman which build into a clear impression of her

relationship with a man, very recognisable and

ruefully funny, sometimes completely literal, at

other times so surreal that, in the poet’s words,

we must behave ‘as though it all makes sense

when it so doesn’t’. A fascinating collection which

is ideal for reading aloud in groups to savour the

cumulative effects within and across the sections:

hugely enjoyable.

Frank Startup

Wright, Kit

Jug Band Jag

Bloodaxe Books, 2025, 96pp,

£12.00, 9781780377636

Variety. Surrealism. Musicality

POETRY

As a jug band assembles

incongruous utensils to

produce exhilarating music, so this collection

creates superb poetry out of unlikely subjects – dry

cleaning, migraine attacks, a billiard table, etc.

The apparent simplicity of the metrics and rhyme

schemes, direct diction, and use of colloquialisms

gives the work a directness which is very appealing,

sometimes for humorous effect – ‘dabblers in the

occult’ look for ‘a simple spasm/of ectoplasm’, while

an expatriate criminal is addressed: ‘I see you’re

reading a book. You must be new here’. There is

speculation on what might have been different if

Hitler had been a better painter, and, in ‘Just Before

the Ruination’, a beautiful picture of the natural

world on the brink. A sequence on the sinking of a

passenger liner by torpedo in 1915 is both moving

and historically interesting. The varied subject

matter and responses make the book best read from

cover to cover in order to appreciate the contrasts.

Frank Startup

Books: Professional

Band, Barbara

Championing Your School

Library: A Practical Guide

to Advocacy, Marketing

and Promotion

Facet Publishing, 2025, 208pp, £32.99,

9781783307562

Advocacy. Professionals. Media

Drawing on her extensive experience

working in school libraries and as a

consultant for librarians, Barbara Band has

delivered an accessible and illuminating

guide that gives us the tools we need

to promote, build, and sustain our

libraries. She explains such concepts as

stakeholders and branding, and outlines

the relationship between advocacy,

marketing, and promotion in a way which will make you feel empowered in your

practice. There is plenty of advice on using social media and digital platforms,

and case studies to illustrate her points as well as show the impact of the library.

Its format is such that you can just dip in to whichever section you need when

you need it. The appendices cover CPD and have useful templates and resources

that will no doubt be invaluable. This is book that is suitable for newcomers to

the professions and seasoned veterans alike and will be beside me every day!

Julie Baugh

A note from the author...

Over the years, advocacy for school libraries has changed from traditional

metrics showing library usage through to personal stories demonstrating

impact. However, neither of these on their own are enough; advocacy

today needs both. Passion, tradition and effort are not funded; what

decision makers look for is evidence that links with their priorities.

From experience, I know that many school librarians rely on

traditional advocacy and, whilst they are continually promoting the

library, few undertake marketing. If you, as the school librarian, don't

find out what your stakeholders want and promote

your resources and services to them, nobody

else is going to do it for you. And if you

don't promote your library, it will get

forgotten and become invisible.

Having the evidence that school libraries

make a difference, and backing up your

statements with research and statistics

will make you feel confident to advocate

for your library.

Barbara Band

What decision makers look for is

evidence that links with their priorities.


From the Archive: 2008 Reviews

Bailey, Helen

Life at the Shallow

End: The Crazy World

of Electra Brown

Hodder, 2008, 298pp, £5.99,

9780340945384

Series: Electra Brown

Family. Drama. Comedy

This is the third novel narrated by its main character,

14-year-old Electra Brown. In this novel Electra

copes with the break-up of her family. When her

father moves out and her mother initially responds

by collapsing in front of daytime TV, Electra decides

to take control by trailing her father to see if he

has a girlfriend. She discovers the truth while her

mother rediscovers her self-esteem, and the novel

concludes with Electra's realisation that her parents

are more complex individuals than she’d realised.

The events are given comic treatment throughout,

and the subplot counterbalances the sadness of the

main story by focusing on the rivalries and crushes

which characterise Electra’s life at school. Electra

provides an engaging narrative voice, and the novel

will appeal strongly to girls of 11 upwards who enjoy

the mass market comic confessional style of Louise

Rennison and others.

Sandra Bennett

Bryson, Bill

A Really Short History

of Nearly Everything

Doubleday, 2008, 169pp,

£14.99, 9780385614801

Reprinted by Puffin, 2020,

176pp, £25.00, 9780241451939

Science. History. Curiosity

The name Bill Bryson sells books, and having read

this newly abridged and adapted edition of his Short

History of Nearly Everything, it is obvious why over

4 million copies of the original publication have

been sold since 2003, and it has been translated

into 33 languages. Bryson’s fascination with science

began when he was 10 years old. He was captivated

by a cutaway diagram of the Earth’s interior. Initially

he was worried about all the people who fell off the

cliff cut-out. Then he focused on the different layers

of materials and the glowing sphere at the centre,

and he began to question the ‘How’ and ‘Who’ of

scientific discovery. He has incredible storytelling

skills and is able to transmit his enthusiasm and

enjoyment to his readers. The need to engage

young people in science has never been greater,

and this book certainly will do this. No school

library should be without this instructive, beautifully

presented encyclopaedia of scientific wonders.

Joan Hamilton Jones

Claybourne, Anna

100 Most Dangerous

Things on the Planet

A&C Black, 2008, 112pp, £5.99,

9780408103944

Survival. Dangers. Adventure

This sort of ‘list’ book can

capture the fascination of many children, just as

the ‘list’ programmes on TV command a wide

audience. Added to that attraction there is a morbid

fascination about an avalanche, an asteroid strike

and a charging bull, to mention just three. Each

hazard is scored in two ways: the risk of it ever

happening to you and then the survival percentage

when it does occur. I am fascinated to learn that

I have a 95% chance of escaping from a scorpion

attack, but only a 40% chance of escaping alive if

attacked by a chimpanzee. It is that sort of bizarre

comparison that this book will enable every

child to make. These are real life hazards, or so

the book wants us to believe. And I am happy to

believe anything for a while, just as I am sure many

young people will be drawn into the imaginative

possibilities that lie behind this book.

Nick Hunt

Cleary, Brian

Illustrated by

Jenya Prosmitsky

A Cat, A Bat, Your

Grandma’s Hat:

What is a Noun?

Learner, 2008, 32pp, £5.99,

9780761342694

Grammar. Fun. Accessible

Never again will teachers need to say, ‘How can I

teach nouns in an interesting way?’ because this

book is the perfect lesson resource. The simple but

very informative text lends itself brilliantly to the

bright, colourful and amusing illustrations. Children

will have so much fun either listening to this book

or reading it independently; they will be overcome

with the number of great examples of nouns and

could spend hours analysing them and perhaps

making their own version of What is a noun?

Examples of nouns are printed in colour for easy

recognition, making this book supportive and useful

for children with additional learning needs. This

book is part of a series, and my bet is that the other

three titles What is an adverb?, What is an adjective?

and What is a verb? are just as good.

Rebecca Chappell

Cottrell-Boyce, Frank

Cosmic

Macmillan, 2008, 308pp,

£9.99, 9781405054645

Reprinted by Macmillan, 2024,

354pp, £7.99, 9781035042524

Humour. Space. Adventure

Liam Digby is 12 years old but already over 6 feet

tall, and he quickly learns to exploit the potential of

looking like an adult from the moment he arrives at

his new secondary school and is mistaken for a new

teacher. When he and his best friend Florida find

that rehearsing their BFG parts gets them mistaken

for father and daughter, the situation begins to

get out of control. Before he quite knows what

is happening, he is heading for the moon with a

group of children who think he is the responsible

adult, and somehow he has to work out how to

get them safely home again. This book will keep

readers chuckling even as they empathise with

Liam’s attempts to be ‘the best dad in the world’. But

in the end, only teamwork and cooperation can get

Hassan, Samson Two, Max, Florida and Liam back

to Earth safely – that and a little help from Liam’s

own dad.

Elspeth S. Scott

Dowd, Siobhan

Bog Child

David Fickling, Books, 2008,

336pp, £10.99, 9780385614269

Reprinted by Definitions, 2014,

336pp, £7.99, 9781909531178

History. Northern Ireland.

Mystery

It is not often that a reviewer is lucky enough to

receive such a remarkable novel as Bog Child.

The success which this book will undoubtedly

achieve is tempered by the fact that the author

will not be around to receive that critical acclaim.

Sadly, Siobhan Dowd died in August 2007. Bog

Child is her third novel and set in Ireland during

the Troubles and at the critical time of the hunger

strikes. The story begins with Fergus and his uncle

Tally discovering the body of a young girl when

digging for peat; this girl will haunt his dreams

through the pain and confusion of the 1980s border

country. The author explores Fergus’ conflicting

desires with sensitivity. Pressures from school

friends and his feelings for Cora, the daughter of

the Dublin archaeologist who investigates the burial

form a complex background and a novel of great

emotional power emerges. It is a book we would all

do well to read, teenager and adult alike.

Michael Holloway



Hale, Shannon &

Hale, Dean

Illustrated by

Nathan Hale

Rapunzel’s Revenge

Bloomsbury, 2008, 144pp,

£9.99, 9780747587439

Reprinted by Bloomsbury,

2013, 144pp, £9.99, 9781599902883

Fairy Tale. Twist. Adventure

If you ever thought of graphic novels as providing

an easy read, this one will confound your

expectations. It offers 144 pages of rip-roaring

storytelling in which the familiar fairy tale is

hugely extended, gathering in its sweep all kinds

of echoes from Wild West and superhero films, as

well as other fairy stories. Rapunzel is a feisty and

fearless heroine. After escaping from the top of

the mighty tall tree where the witch has long kept

her imprisoned after capturing her from her true

mother, she teams up with an adventuring hero

called Jack. By the end they’ve traversed many

different terrains, from canyons to grim industrial

landscapes; they’ve fought off monsters by sea and

by land; they've tricked and been tricked and, of

course, they’ve triumphed, saving the world and

themselves from annihilation. What else is left for

this richly illustrated and challengingly pacy yarn but

to come to rest with a bit of romance.

Mary Medlicott

Higson, Charlie

Illustrated by Kev Walker

Silverfin: The Graphic

Novel

Puffin, 2008, 160pp, £14.99,

9780141322537

Series: Young Bond Graphic Novels

Action. Adventure. Graphic Novel

This is a review aimed at library stock, so to focus

on the mundane but necessary bits, this is a high

quality, reader attracting book. It is bound with

sewn sections, not the perfect binding which so

often causes such books to self-destruct. There’s

a good heavy feel to the book and a splendid

variety of frame sizes and page layouts, with vivid

monstrosities and lively action depicted as well

as fitting landscaping and architectural detail. It

looks good, handles well and it is good too. Charlie

Higson’s story adapts seamlessly to this graphic

format and Kev Walker, himself with impeccable

graphic comic credentials, adds wonderful

illustrative extras for these Young Bond books from

the outset, so the enterprise is in safely reliable

hands. The book works terrifically well as revisionary

reading for fans, as an introductory familiariser for

less confident readers, and as a grand attraction on

the school library shelves, if it ever stays there at all.

Chris Brown

Johnson, Pete

How to Get Famous

Corgi Yearling, 2008, 202pp,

£4.99, 9780440868170

Reprinted by Oxford University

Press, 2012, 200pp, £9.99,

9780198329725

Series: Rollercoasters

Acting. Family. Drama

Tobey Tyler and Georgia are both misfits at school.

They share strong friendship and a dream of

becoming famous. They are both dejected by

their rejections from the TV talent show Cloud 9.

Tobey is then left high and dry when Georgia wins

a prestigious acting part in The Secret Garden,

while he is laughed off the audition. As well as these

setbacks, Tobey also has to contend with parents

who don’t understand him and ban him from

watching television. By contrast, Georgia’s home is

full of autographs and film posters, and her single

parent mum happily takes them along to the Odeon

in Leicester Square to catch a glimpse of Johnny

Depp at a film premiere. This is a thoroughly good

hearted and entertaining book with lots of humour

and witty dialogue. It also reflects on fame and

portrays some of the powerful emotions – such as

jealousy and disappointment – which accompany it.

Fun and funny, a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Sophie Smiley

Landy, Derek

Skulduggery Pleasant:

Playing with Fire

HarperCollins, 2008, 351pp,

£12.99, 9780007257034

Reprinted by HarperCollins,

2024, 344pp, £8.99,

9780008667375

Series: Skulduggery Pleasant

Fantasy. Adventure. Humour

This eagerly anticipated sequel to the Red House

Book Award winner certainly won't disappoint its

fans, being jam-packed with comedy, thrills and

scares. Skullduggery, the daring skeleton detective,

thinks the world is safe once more until Baron

Vengeous escapes prison, hell-bent on trouble. It

is up to Skullduggery and sidekick Valkyrie to stop

him. This book is a speedy and exciting page-turner.

The exciting characters bring the story wildly to

life with a wealth of the bizarre, the funny, and the

downright dangerous. Humour is a great strength

of the book, with Skullduggery delivering some

genius quick fire lines that will make him irresistibly

entertaining. Meanwhile sidekick Valkyrie lives the

life that any thrill-seeking, horror-loving kid would

dream of. This is a strong sequel to the brilliant

original concept.

Sarah Merrett

Lloyd, Saci

The Carbon Diaries

2015

Hodder, 2008, 384pp, £7.99,

9780340970157

Diary. Edgy. Humour

In the year 2015, the UK

introduces drastic carbon rationing and these

‘Diaries’ show how this affects the Brown family:

mother Julia, father Nick, elder sister Kim and

especially the narrator Laura, who is more interested

in her band and the dishy Ravi Datta than in the

issues of global warming. While Laura has been

struggling with her assignments, there have been

serious shortages, riots, deaths, and tragedy. During

some rather dramatic floods, Laura’s eyes are

opened to what is going on. Things really do have

to change, and somewhere in the last third of the

novel, it changes from being a cosy Adrian Mole/

Bridget Jones satire to a more alarming wake up

call. The caricatures become characters, and we

are promised a sequel in the new neighbourhood,

which has started to come to grips with what has

to be done to live in a world which has changed

irrevocably. That is the book which I’m looking

forward to reading.

Andy Sawyer

Ness, Patrick

The Knife of Never

Letting Go


£12.99, 9781406310252

Reprinted by Walker Books, 2021,

480pp, £7.99, 9781406385397

Series: Chaos Walking

Dystopia. Science Fiction. Masculinity

Todd is a teenager who lives in a town with no

privacy and no secrets, a place where he can hear

the thoughts of everyone as a kind of noise, and

where ‘Knowledge is dangerous and men lie and

the world keeps changing whether I wanted to

or not’. And change it does! It is an exciting novel,

where the reader needs to imagine the world in

which Todd lives and is required to question the

world in which they live, too. Ness takes some of

the great writers of literature and tones it to reach

an emerging but confident reader. It relates on the

one hand to a Kafkaesque world combined with the

creative language reminiscent of Joyce, together

with the wonderful and playful visual display of the

written word worthy of Laurence Stern in Tristram

Shandy. This novel is one that cannot be let go, and

one that won’t disappoint.

Richard Murphy



Paolini, Christopher

Brisingr

Doubleday, 2008, 763pp,

£16.99, 9780385607919

Reprinted by Corgi, 2009,

784pp, £9.99, 9780552552127

Series: The Inheritance Cycle

Fantasy. Action. Dragons

Launched with the fanfare of publicity-inspired

events in September, this is the third book in the

series which commenced with Eragon by the

then 16-year-old author. In this third volume, as a

confirmed reckonable force, he is learning to come

to terms with his gifts, powers, and responsibilities.

As before, everything is jam-packed full of fantasy

world proper nouns of both characters and

places. This aspect of the writer’s imagination is

equalled only by his ingenious variance on pains,

discomforts, woundings, inflicting deaths and

combat situations from one-to-one to full blown

battles. The bursts of action are interspersed

with reflective and often conversational sections

revelatory of relationships, including those between

dragon and rider. Those dedicated multitudes who

have been wholly captivated by this world will find

just what they need to feed on at this stage in their

young reading, including, once again, a glossary

and pronunciation information as an appendix.

Chris Brown

Paver, Michelle

Illustrated by Geoff Taylor

Oathbreaker

Orion, 2008, pp230, £9.99,

9781842551745

Reprinted by Orion, 2011, 260pp,

£8.99, 9781842551165

Series: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness

Fantasy. Ancient History. Nature

With Oathbreaker, Michelle Paver’s wonderful

pre-history fantasy reaches the fifth book, with

circumstances once again forcing bewilderment

upon Torak, his wolf companion, and the lass Renn,

who is rapidly becoming an integral soulmate.

Whilst the books do stand alone, full awareness

does depend on knowledge of what has gone

before, both immediately in the previous book

Outcast and as a cumulative quest threaded

throughout the series. In this volume, the most

powerful enemy so far is revealed and the mix

of self-sufficient survival with mystical elements,

especially a sort of astral projection of being,

continues to fascinate. The continuing success

of these books depends on the strength and

thrills of the plotting, as well as the intriguing

developments in the relationships. The assiduously

detailed research which supports the stories makes

everything redolent with atmosphere as well as

bringing a sense of reality to the recreated world.

Chris Brown

Peters, Polly

Illustrated by

Jess Stockham

It’s Raining!

It’s Pouring!

We’re Exploring!

Child’s Play, 2008, 32pp, £4.99,

9781846431173

Imaginative Play. Rhyme. Family

On a rainy day, three children look out of the

window. They sigh, they whinge, they fuss about

having nothing to do, but as their imagination

develops, they decide they will become explorers.

A cardboard box becomes a boat, a broom and a

towel the sail, a map is drawn to enable them to find

the estuary leading out to the open sea. Readers join

them as they squeeze into a cave (cushions piled

high in the living room), or as they climb a mountain

(the stairs) and make a pretend fire in the bedroom

before they lie down to sleep. The rhyming story

also suggests sound effects, and the illustrations are

full of details that children will enjoy. This is part of a

series published by Child’s Play. Hopefully children

will be motivated by the stories to do something

similar, but I think some adult participation will be

needed to keep them involved.

Sybil Hannavy

Riordan, Rick &

Venditti, Robert

Illustrated by

Orpheus Collar

Percy Jackson and the

Battle of the Labyrinth

Puffin, 2008, 342pp, £9.99,

9780141382913

Reprinted by Puffin, 2018, 128pp, £14.99,

9780241336786

Series: Percy Jackson & the Olympians

Fantasy. Gods. Adventure

Percy Jackson is an all-American boy, except that he

is also a son of Poseidon. America is also America,

except that under the whole of it now stretches the

expanded labyrinth of King Minos. It’s a dangerous

place, for in this book, the world of the ancient Greek

gods cohabits with ours, and Kronos is on the rise.

Enormous battles ensue. Camp Half-Blood, which is

exactly like an American summer camp – except that

it’s run by centaurs and is the base for those who are

on the side of good – is almost overwhelmed, but

not quite. The ending sees Kronos beaten back but

nonetheless still rising and ready for the next volume

in the series. This volume is the fourth in the series.

Despite initial doubts (and I hadn't read the previous

stories), I loved it. The pace is breakneck and the

ancient Greek gods are characterised with modern

wit – they tumble into the story, crash about, and

exert phenomenal powers.

Mary Medlicott

St. John, Lauren

Illustrated by David Dean

The Last Leopard

Orion, 2008, 201pp, £9.99,

9781842555437

Reprinted by Orion, 2009, 224pp,

£7.99, 9781842556672

Series: The White Giraffe

Africa. Animals. Conservation

Martine lives on the Sawubona Game Reserve on

South Africa’s Western Cape with her grandmother

and her white giraffe Jemmy. She’s looking

forward to spending the holidays riding Jemmy

and seeing her best friend, Ben. However, when

her grandmother gets a call from an old friend in

Zimbabwe, their plans change. Their trip to the

Matobo Hills in Zimbabwe starts an adventure

involving blackmail, hunting, hidden treasure, and

the great leopard Khan. Can Martine change the

fortunes of Black Eagle Lodge and Save Khan from

both the hunters and the treasure seekers? This is

Martine and Ben’s third African adventure. Its fast

pace and action keep the reader involved in the

story and it realistically depicts life in Zimbabwe and

the Western Cape. A great love of animals is present

in the story, and it puts across the desperate need

for conservation in these areas, clearly and cleverly,

without being didactic. It is an extremely enjoyable

action adventure.

Andrea Rayner

Wilson, Jacqueline

Illustrated by

Nick Sharratt

Cookie

Doubleday, 2008, pp320, £12.99,

99780385613972

Reprinted by Corgi, 2009, 336pp,

£7.99, 9780552558310

Family. Relationships. Drama

Cookie is Jacqueline Wilson’s latest book in her

range for 9- to 12-year-old readers. I have read

almost all of her books and I’m sure that this one

will be as popular as ever. Beauty is the heroine,

an only child who lives with her parents in a large,

expensive house, has a wonderful standard of living,

and attends a private girls’ school. However, as

always in real life and in Wilson’s books, all is not

perfect in Beauty’s lovely home. Her father is bossy

and domineering, always working, and insists that

the house be kept perfectly and will not allow pets.

Things come to a head after Beauty is given a baby

rabbit by a classmate for her birthday and this sets

off a chain of events that will change Beauty and

Dilly’s lives forever. Jacqueline Wilson’s books, as

well as being a source of enjoyment, must be a

source of comfort to children and teenagers coping

with the fallout of family separations.

Alison A. Maxwell Cox


Books: Review Index

A

Adams, Emma – Little Myths: Persephone 42

Ainsworth, Eve – Seeing Red 50

Anderson, Sophie – The Snow Girl 50

Antczak, Kasia – Please Look After This Cat 42

Arcanjo, J J – The Impossible Fortress 50

Ard, Catherine – Wish Upon A Star: The Science,

Magic and Meaning of Stars 59

B

Bailey, Helen – Life at the Shallow End: The Crazy

World of Electra Brown 69

Baldinucci, Loredana – A Place Just for Me 42

Band, Barbara – Championing Your School Library:

A Practical Guide to Advocacy, Marketing and Promotion 67

Barnett, Mac – The First Cat in Space and the Baby Pirate’s Revenge 63

Barr-Green, Craig – Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant 42

Bell, Alex – Escape from the Castle of Illusions 50

Bell, Jennifer – Thief of Shadows 50

Bell, P.G. – The Big Bad Wolf Murder 50

Bernet, Katie – Beth is Dead 64

Bilan, Jasbinder – Puloma and the Bear 51

Brashares, Ann & Brashares, Ben – Westfallen 51

Brooks, Charlie P. – Sammy and the Stolen Paintings 51

Bryant, Ann – Treasure Hunt 51

Bryson, Bill – A Really Short History of Nearly Everything 69

C

Canning, Kate – Ebb and Flo and the Dolphins 42

Clack, A.J. – Blood Moon 64

Clarke, Jo – Libby and the Egyptian Escapade 51

Clarkson, Giselle – Omnibird: The Avian Investigator’s Handbook 59

Claybourne, Anna – 100 Most Dangerous Things on the Planet 69

Cleary, Brian – A Cat, A Bat, Your Grandma’s Hat: What is a Noun? 69

Cope, Lizzie – How It Works: Money 59

Cottrell-Boyce, Frank – Cosmic 69

Cowell, Cressida – Which Way to the Future 51

Craig, Erin A. – House of Salt and Sorrows 64

D

Dassu, A.M – A Very Happy Ramadan 42

Dassu, A. M. – Wild Journey 52

Dawnay, Gabby – 5-Minute Dinosaurs Stories 43

Deng, Yibing – A Song of the Seasons 43

Desmond, Jenni – A Believer’s Guide to Unicorns 43

De Vlieger, Evelien – Cluck 59

DK The Fact-Finders – Rainforest 63

Dockrill, Laura – I Am Strong Just Being Me 43

Dolby, Karen – The Ghost in the Mirror 52

Don, Lari – Celtic Folk and Fairy Tales 43

Dowd, Siobhan – Bog Child 69

Doyle, Catherine – King of Beasts 64

Doyle, Catherine – The Rebel and the Rose 67

Doyle, Malachy – Georgie 64

Dylan, Gabriel – Beneath the Ghostly Graves 52

E

Edwards, Mike – Riverskin 53

Elcomb, Ben – Diagnosis Detectives: Tummy Trouble 59

Evans, Maz – The Last Bard 53

F

Farook, Niyla – Tickets for Murder 53

Flowers, Rob – Flush It Down: The Story of Sewers Through Time 59

Fong, Adriena – Ning and the Night Spirits 43

French, Jess – My Cat 60

French, Jess – My Dog 60

G

George, Alex – Happy Habits: 7 Steps to Build a Happy Life 60

Goldsmith, Amy – Predatory Natures 64

Goldstyn, Jacques – Sketch 63

Gray, Kes – The Egg of an Ogg 44

H

Hale, Shannon & Hale, Dean – Rapunzel’s Revenge 70

Harcourt, Isabella – Flora Stormer and the Wishing Stone 53

Hardy, Vashti – The Birthday Cake Thief 53

Hartley, Ned – Create Your Own Comics 60

Hassan, Maryam – A Taste of Home 44

Hayes, Larry – The Nightmares of Finnegan Quick 53

Hicks, Katie – Astral Panic 63

Higson, Charlie – Silverfin: The Graphic Novel 70

Hill, Selima – A Man, a Woman & a Hippopotamus 67

Hogan, Bex – Bronte Tempestra and the Vanishing Kingdom 54

Hogan, Bex – Bronte Tempestra and the Weather Witch 54

Horáček, Petr – The Long Walk 44

Hubery, Julia – Dee and Flee: Smooth Operators 45

Hughes, Hollie – By My Side 45

J

Jo, Sophie – Heartbreak Era 65

Jocelyn, Marthe – Aggie Morton Mystery Queen:

The Body Under the Piano 54

Johnson, Pete – How to Get Famous 70

Jonsberg, Barry – Darkest Night, Brightest Star 65

Joseph, Paterson – TEN: Children Who Changed the World 60

Jozefkowicz, Ewa – Fujiko and the Fox 45

K

Kanani, Dr Sheila – Can You Get Music on the Moon? 60

Karber, G.T. & Grabenstein, Chris – Sleuths on the Loose 54

Kavvadias, Philip – Mission: Monster Mind 54

Kessler, Liz – Valley of the Vikings 54

Kent, Nicola – Cat and Dumpling: The Talent Show 45

Kisner, Logan-Ashley – The Transition 65

L

Landy, Derek – Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire 70

Larson, Georgia – Matisse and the Runaway Rabbit 45

Lauren, Ruth – Tourmaline and the City of Nowhere 55

Lawrence, Iszi – The Cursed Tomb 55

Lax, Enric & Daniel Haan – Start with a Teapot:

An Unexpected Guide to the Art of Drawing 61

Leone, Angélique – A Winter’s Morning 45

Lessore, Nathaniel – Time Travel is NOT My Superpower 55

Lewis, Gill – Devil Bird Island 55

Lewis Jones, Huw – Mr Norton’s New Hat 46

Lewis-Oakes, Rebecca – Secrets of Moon Wood 55

Lightfoot, Kiri – Bear 65

Lloyd, Saci – The Carbon Diaries 2015 70

M

Macfarlane, Robert Flynn Johnny – The World to Come 46

Mackay, Jack – Gloam 55

Mayhew, James – My Book of Classic Nursery Tales 46

McGann, Erika – Puffling and the Stormy Sea 46

McKenna, Skye – Stonewitch 56

McLachlan, Jenny – Dragon Riders of Roar 56

Merrett, Sarah – A Place of a Thousand Wishes 56

Messerve, Jessica – The Home that Love Built 46

Mills, Andrea – Big Feelings, Little Feelings 46

Montgomery, Ross – Gruff Justice 47

Moorse, Agatha – Meet the Moods 47

N

Naghdi, Yasmine & Soundar, Chitra – Ballet Besties:

Dante’s Winning Dance 57

Ness, Patrick – The Knife of Never Letting Go 70

Northfield, Gary – Commotion in Ancient China 57

O

O’Leary, Dermot – Toto the Ninja Cat and the Pirate Treasure Hunt 57

Omar Gutta, Razeena – Zamzam for Everyone: Sharing Water at Hajj 47

Owen, Karen – Project Puffin 57

P

Palmer, Luke – Live 65

Paolini, Christopher – Brisingr 71

Park, Jihee – The Polar Bear Day 47

Patel, Serena – Pia’s Pet Club: Puppy Problem 57

Paver, Michelle – Oathbreaker 71

Pearlstein, Howard – The Worried Book 47

Pearson, Jenny – Shrapnel Boys 57

Perrin, Gatlin – Dirk Jones is NOT the Chosen One 65

Peters, Polly – It’s Raining! It’s Pouring! We’re Exploring! 71

Poliquin, Rachel – The Gland Factory 61

Powell-Tuck, Maudie – Hank Goes Honk 47

Powell-Tuck, Maudie – Hank Meets Frank 48

Priebst, Thekla – The Voyage That Changed The World 61

R

Rickards, Lynne – Rory the Little Red Deer 48

Riordan, Rick & Venditti, Robert – Percy Jackson and

the Battle of the Labyrinth 71

Roberts, Jonathan – Lilly and Myles: The Match 48

Ross, Fiona – No More Mr. Mice Guy 48

Ross, MacKay – Tractors in Space 48

Ruiz Johnson, Mariana – All Around a Year 48

Rutter, Bethany – Ask Me Anything 66

S

Saunders, Claire – Live Like A Victorian 61

Smith, Chris – The New Famous Five: Five and the Smuggler's Code 58

Smith-Dale, Nicky – Betty Steady and The Queen’s Orb 58

Sparring, Anders – The Pinchers and the Curse of the Egyptian Cat 49

St. John, Lauren – The Last Leopard 71

Stewart, Alexandra – Little Myths: Hercules 63

Stobbart, Darran – Animal Records 61

Sylvan, Lisa M. – Dangerous Girls 66

T

Tallec, Olivier – Is it Asleep? 49

Thompson, Lisa – The Boy in the Tree 58

Tovey, Russell & Diament, Robert – Art School (in a book):

A Future Artist’s Guide to Contemporary Art 61

Turner, Sadie – Tidespeaker 66

W

Walker, Bethany – Medusa Gorgon’s Bad Hair Day 58

Weze, Claire – Up Above the City 58

Whatmore, Candice – Puzzle Slug and the Intergalactic

Poop Robbery 63

Wilde, Oscar – Oscar Wilde’s Stories for Children 58

Wilson, Jacqueline – Cookie 71

Wright, Kit – Jug Band Jag 67

Y

Yockteng, Rafael – Victor and the Giant 49


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