Age 8 plus:
Return to Wonderland
Various authors
For over 150 years, readers have enjoyed sharing Alice’s
adventures in Wonderland… but what happened after she left?
Eleven of today’s leading children’s authors have given free
rein to their imaginations, and used their own unique writing skills, to bring
a new generation of youngsters a stunning collection of warm, witty and highly
original short stories which capture all the fun, charm and eccentricity of
Lewis Carroll’s best-known tales and much-loved characters.
Return to Wonderland –
with fabulous contributions from Peter Bunzl, Pamela Butchart, Maz
Evans, Swapna Haddow, Patrice Lawrence, Chris Smith, Robin Stevens, Lauren St
John, Lisa Thompson, Piers Torday and Amy Wilson – is a tour-de-force, offering
a delightful, contemporary spin without losing the spirit of the original
adventures.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first published by
Macmillan in 1865 and these beautifully written and creative stories – with
illustrations by Laura Barrett – revisit Carroll’s amazing cast of quirky characters
like the Queen of Hearts, the Mock Turtle, the Dormouse, the Cheshire Cat and
Alice’s Sister.
So tumble down the rabbit hole again to find out what happens
next in Wonderland. Is the Queen of Hearts still ruling with an iron fist, does
the Mad Hatter still have to go to tea, and will Tweedledum and Tweedledee ever
resolve their argument?
Peter Bunzl, author of the fantastic Cogheart series, brings
us an adventure starring the Duchess’ son Pig, and prize-winning author Pamela
Butchart makes the Queen of Hearts her star, Maz Evans, whose debut novel, Who
Let the Gods Out, received 20 award nominations, conjures up a more sensible
Mad Hatter, and Swapna Haddow, award-winning author of the Dave Pigeon books,
reveals her story about books and libraries was inspired by the Mock Turtle’s
passion for learning.
Patrice Lawrence, author of Orangeboy and Indigo Donut, delights
everyone with her story of Honour, the hedgehog from a family of renowned
croquet balls, Chris Smith, co-author with Greg James of the bestselling Kid
Normal series, features the Tweedles who learn the importance of standing up to
bullies, and Robin Stevens, author of bestselling detective mystery series,
Murder Most Unladylike, tells us about trying to save Alice from Wonderland.
Bestselling author Lauren St John, who once worked as a
veterinary nurse, reveals what happened when the Dormouse went to night court, Lisa
Thompson, whose debut novel, Goldfish Boy, was, nominated for the Carnegie
Medal, revisits the trial of the Knave of Hearts, prize-winning Piers Torday
explains how the Cheshire Cat got his grin, and Amy Wilson, who writes
wonderful magical fantasy novels including A Girl Called Owl, turns the hookah-smoking
Caterpillar into the star of her story.
These brand new stories – each with a personal introduction
by the author – are clever, magical, funny, fresh, written with genuine
affection for Carroll’s original books, and the perfect introduction to the
extraordinary world of Wonderland.
(Macmillan, hardback, £10.99)
Age 8 plus:
The Longest Night of Charlie Noon
Christopher Edge
When three children get lost in a wood one night and time
starts to play tricks on them, every second counts if they want to ever escape…
Award-winning author Christopher Edge, who grew up in
Manchester, likes nothing better than to set young minds in motion and he is
back to entertain and educate readers with another fascinating mystery set
amidst the stunning scenery of Lower Woods, ancient woodland on the border of
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
The inspiration for The Longest Night of Charlie Noon came
from his own childhood when he discovered Brendon Chase, a classic children’s
novel by Denys Watkins-Pitchford, writing as 'BB,' which was first published in
1944, and which features three boys who run away from home and live wild in the
woods for month.
His research for this thrilling, timely and atmospheric
story led him to spend a very scary – and very lonely – night in the woods, a
night so dark that the moonlight filtering through the trees seemed to scatter
blossom on their branches.
‘If you go into the woods, Old Crony will get you’ says
local legend. Secrets, spies, or maybe a monster… who, or what, is it that is
leaving curious patterns of sticks that are appearing in the woods? Who, or
what, lies deep in the heart of the woodland?
 |
| SPELLBINDING: Christopher Edge |
Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Noon, and her friends Dylan ‘Dizzy’
Heron and Johnny Baines, are determined to discover the truth, but when night
falls without warning they find themselves trapped in a nightmare. Lost in the
woods, strange dangers and impossible puzzles lurk in the shadows. As time
plays tricks, can Charlie and her pals solve this mystery and find a way out of
the woods? But what if this night never ends and they are doomed to stay in
this night forever?
The Longest Night of Charlie Noon is that rare thing… a book
that is as clever as it is spellbinding, weaving science, history, fantasy, fun
and real-life issues into one great, big adventure full of surprises, suspense
and mystery.
It is also a celebration of the natural world, carefully and
lovingly designed make youngsters pause and reflect that, when times are dark,
solace and beauty can be found in nature and that we should all cherish these
moments while we still have the time. An exceptional middle-grade novel…
(Nosy Crow, paperback, £6.99)
Age 9 plus:
Balloon to the Moon
Gill Arbuthnott and Chris Nielsen
As the world gets ready to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the first time humans landed on the Moon, blast off into space
and learn the history and science behind that historic journey.
Using words, pictures and lots of fascinating facts, author Gill
Arbuthnott and illustrator Chris Nielsen bring a new generation of space fans a
fascinating countdown of the technologies, innovations and stories that led
humans from flying in a hot air balloon to walking on the Moon.
In 1969, humans walked on the Moon for the first time, but
how did we get there? Long before anyone had designed a rocket, the Montgolfier
brothers were making hot air balloons in 18th century France. In October 1783,
they became the first people to experience controlled flight with the help of a
sheep, a duck and a rooster who were their first passengers.
Balloon to the Moon starts from that historic balloon flight
(in which the animals returned baffled but unharmed!) at King Louis XVI’s
Palace of Versailles near Paris, and counts down to American astronaut Neil
Armstrong’s ‘giant leap for mankind’ and beyond.
Structured around the famous NASA countdown to launch,
Balloon to the Moon is a beautifully illustrated account of the human journey
to space in which each chapter describes a key stage of flight – the
technologies, innovations and stories – and how they led to the famous Moon
landings.
The book’s design and Nielson’s atmospheric illustrations
reflect the vintage feel of the 1960s with their clever use of colour and
texture while Arbuthnott, a former science teacher who loves combining
scientific fact with wonderful anecdotes of people and places, brings life and
vitality to the exciting history and innovations of space travel.
So from flying erratically over the heads of a king and
queen to gliding through space on the way to a ‘small step’ on the Moon, sit
back and enjoy the ride…
(Big Picture Press, hardback, £16.99)
Age 8 plus:
My Cousin is a Time Traveller
David Solomons
Strap yourselves in and take a deep breath because David
Solomons is back with the explosive finale to his award-winning, out-of-this
world superhero comedy series.
Yes, all you young time travellers, it’s cosmic capers again
as Luke, Zack and the rest of the gang do battle with a toaster that wants to
take over the world… and the most dangerous book in the universe.
Solomons, who has been writing screenplays for many years, plays to an understandably rapt audience in this entertaining, laugh-out-loud series which stars a boy who has a troublesome twin in a parallel world.
Luke is surprised to discover that his cousin Dina is a time
traveller. He is even more surprised when she brings him a warning from the
future… the machines are becoming too intelligent and he must help her stop
them taking over the world and save humanity. It couldn’t come at a worse time for
Zack, though, as he has decided to give up his superpowers and live life as a
normal teenage nerd. Can Luke stop the tech take-over? Well, first he must
overcome the problem of making a piece of toast, swallow his irritation and rise
to the challenge yet again...
These terrific tales of sibling rivalry going cosmic have
been all-round winners. Solomons knows his audience well and the beguiling mix
of high-octane action, sizzling suspense, laugh-out-loud humour, outrageous
plot twists, and genuine heart-warming emotion has left an army of addicted
young readers gasping, guffawing and gulping in equal measure.
One last blast to round off a super-charged space odyssey!
(Nosy Crow, paperback, £6.99)
No comments:
Post a Comment