Walking The Invisible

Following in the Brontës’ Footsteps

Michael Stewart 

MOST of us need little impetus to enjoy a revisit to the Brontë sisters’ exhilarating novels… But if you are seeking inspiration for summer reading AND walking, head for the hills of West Yorkshire with Michael Stewart’s literary guide through the walks and nature of the Brontë sisters and you’ll soon be treading the wild moorland that formed the memorable backdrop to literary masterpieces like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.

Stewart, who was born and raised in Salford, had still not encountered the Brontës’ books by the time he left his rundown comprehensive school at sixteen to work in a factory. And it wasn’t until he borrowed Wuthering Heights from the library and read it on the bus as he travelled to and from his workplace that his ‘Brontë fever’ was born.

‘I found it a bit of a slog to begin with,’ he tells us, ‘but I persisted. Slowly the story and characters drew me in. Somehow, they took hold of me and wouldn’t let go.’

Since those early days, Stewart (pictured left) has become Head of Creative Writing at the University of Huddersfield, and author of Ill Will, which re-imagined Heathcliff’s life, as well as three other novels and a selection of poetry. He is also the creator of the Brontë Stones project – four monumental stones situated in the landscape between the birthplace and the parsonage, inscribed with poems by Kate Bush, Carol Ann Duffy, Jeannette Winterson and Jackie Kay.

Stewart has travelled all over the north of England in search of their lives and landscapes and now he invites readers to enter into the world as the Brontës would have seen it by following the sisters’ footsteps across meadow and moor, and through village and town.

From Liverpool to Scarborough, and taking in wild, windy – and often unforgiving – scenery, Stewart investigates the geographical and social features that shaped the Brontës’ work and discovered echoes of the siblings’ novels on his series of inspirational walks.

And with the help of an unlikely cast of Yorkshire’s inhabitants, the author has found himself falling further into their lives and writings than he could ever have imagined.

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Vivid and evocative, and including a series of beautiful maps of walks, including Dentdale, Law Hill and North Lees Hall in Hathersage, which Stewart devised when creating the iconic Brontë

When I Come Home Again

Caroline Scott 

THE First World War remains one of the most devastating conflicts in history, particularly in terms of the scale and manner of deaths on the battle fronts.

But even after the guns fell silent in 1918, the bitter legacy of a cruel war lingered on for decades as those who were bereaved faced the terrible grief of losing their loved ones, and families coped with the devastating physical and mental damage wreaked on the broken men who made it back.

Historian and highly acclaimed author Caroline Scott (pictured below), whose haunting novel, The Photographer of the Lost, contemplated the horrific aftermath of the Great War in the ruins of France and Belgium, returns to this emotive backdrop for a powerful exploration of the impact of the war on women, and the challenges faced by returning soldiers.

Inspired by her Lancashire family’s wartime memorabilia, Scott once again turns back the clock to the final months of the war when families were desperate to discover if their husbands, sons or brothers, who had been reported missing in action, were dead or alive.

Many of these tortured souls had clung on to hope in the face of years of uncertainty, dreaming, longing and even firmly believing that their loved ones only needed to be found. And it is this heart-rending dilemma that forms the backdrop to Scott’s moving story of a soldier who returns to England with no memory, no identity… and maybe no real desire to know who he is.

In November of 1918, the last week of the Great War, a uniformed soldier with no identity disc, pay book or service number, is arrested in Durham Cathedral after he chalks a phoenix rising from the flames on a tomb in the Galilee Chapel. When questioned by the police, it becomes clear he has no memory of who he is or how he came to be there. The soldier is given the name Adam Galilee and transferred to a rehabilitation institute at Loughrigg Hall in the Lake District where he draws a woman’s face again and again… he doesn’t know who she is but he senses that he misses her and doesn’t want to forget her.

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His psychiatrist, James Haworth, who served on the Western Front, is determined to ‘unravel’ who this man once was but Adam doesn’t want to be unravelled. Fearful that he might have a

The Marlow Murder Club

Robert Thorogood

SEPTUAGENARIAN crossword compiler Judith Potts has more than just three-across to puzzle over when she finds herself spearheading a hunt for her neighbour’s killer. The picturesque riverside town of Marlow in Buckinghamshire becomes the unlikely (but charming!) backdrop for a thrilling new cosy crime series from Robert Thorogood, master of the murder mystery and creator of the hit TV series Death In Paradise.

Think classic crime with a lively, contemporary vibe and you have The Marlow Murder Club, a team of enchanting amateur sleuths comprising the adorably eccentric Judith, prim – and only occasionally improper – vicar’s wife Becks Starling, and the doggedly determined and down-to-earth dog walker Suzie Harris.

In this first entertaining and enjoyable outing – featuring all the perfect whodunit ingredients plus a larger-than-life cast of characters – the daring detective trio find themselves hot on the trail of a devious and dangerous serial killer. Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and blissfully happy living on her own in a faded mansion on the banks of the River Thames near Marlow. There is no man in her life to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink and, to keep herself busy, she sets crosswords for a national newspaper.

Come rain or shine, every evening Judith loves to slip out of her home and enjoy the ‘frisson of naughtiness’ that comes from swimming naked in the river. And it’s there one hot summer’s night that she hears her neighbour, art gallery owner Stefan Dunwoody, cry out followed by the unmistakable sound of a gunshot.

When Stefan’s body is found in the river, the local police, led by acting senior investigator DS Tanika Malik, put his death down to an accident or suicide rather than murder, so Judith decides to investigate for herself and is soon joined in her quest by the forthright Suzie and Becks who is getting fed up with being ‘the kids’ mum, the vicar’s wife and the house’s wife.’ Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club and when more bodies start to turn up, they realise they now have a real-life serial killer on their hands. And the mystery they set out to solve has become a trap from which they might not escape…

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Thorogood is on to a winner with this clever new murder series as the intrepid crime-crackers prove to be a top-class team, facing a barrage of bodies, clues, suspects, red herrings and fascinating twists and turns on their journey to nailing the culprit. And there is a fourth female player in this addictive slice of escapism in the shape of the sorely tested DS Tanika Malik who must negotiate not just the task of finding a killer but operating in the shadow of the indomitable murder club.

But star of the show is undoubtedly Judith, the contented loner with a dark secret who discovers the joys of friendship and shared endeavour, and whose skinny-dipping, whisky-drinking and cycling antics are set to steal the hearts and minds of quirky crime fans. Add on Thorogood’s heartwarming and celebratory exploration of the often maligned older woman, plenty of laugh-out-loud humour, superb plotting and a full-throttle finale, and you have the perfect read to fill the long summer nights.
(HQ, paperback, £8.99)

Suspects

Lesley Pearse 

IT should be a day to celebrate as Nina and Conrad Best move into their first new home together in a picture-perfect neighbourhood tucked away in Cheltenham.

But when they learn that a teenage girl has been found battered to death in the woods behind their house that morning, it’s just the start of a tangled web of lies and suspicion which will encompass every resident in the quiet street.

Suspects is the latest twisting, turning tale of mystery, murder and human discord in a thrilling and suspense-packed novel from one of the nation’s most prolific and best-loved authors.

For over twenty-six years, Lesley Pearse (pictured below) has been delighting her army of fans with gripping and emotionally powerful novels featuring tales of courage and adversity, and this intriguing new page-turner takes us behind closed doors and deep into the heart of dark family secrets. Florist Nina and care worker Conrad Best have been dreaming of owning their own home for a long time and as they move into their first house together in quiet Willow Close, the young couple hope it will be their ‘forever home.’

But as they round the corner into the close, the first thing they see is horrified neighbours gathering around a police cordon. Nina and Conrad hurry inside with their belongings but they are soon informed that one of the residents, 13-year-old Chloë Church, has been attacked and brutally killed in the woods.

Believing someone must have seen the murderer, DI Jim Marshall and his murder squad start to interview the residents of Willow Close and soon find out that each neighbour harbours their own secrets.

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A child murder is always an emotionally fraught case for the police team and it seems that everyone on the close is far from what they seem. Strange, even dark, things happen behind their closed doors, and some will go to extreme lengths to prevent exposure.

The dead girl’s parents, Mike and Ruth Church, regarded their only child as ‘the jewel in their crown’ and the police inspector suspects that some of the neighbours are jealous of them.

As the image of a ‘perfect place to raise a family’ starts to tarnish, Nina and Conrad’s plans for the future begin to unravel. They thought they had found their dream home but have they moved into a nightmare instead?

Over ten million of Pearse’s books have sold worldwide, earning her a reputation as a favourite author, and Suspects is a fast-paced, psychological drama which explores the repercussions

Dark Tides

Philippa Gregory

WHEN two unexpected visitors arrive at a ramshackle warehouse on the ‘wrong’ side of the River Thames in London in 1670, they set in motion a tale of greed, passion, lost love, and a lust for wealth, played out across two continents.

In the second book of her dark and atmospheric Fairmile series, Philippa Gregory turns her historian’s keen eye and novelist’s vivid imagination to a thrilling story that sweeps us from the poverty and glamour of England’s tumultuous Restoration period to the golden streets of Venice and the bitterly contested frontier of early America.

After the dramatic events in the remote coastal marshes of Sussex which featured in Tidelands, this gripping new historical odyssey skips forwards twenty-one years to catch up with the lives of Alinor Reekie, a healer and descendant of wise women, her daughter Alys Stoney, and Alinor’s brother Ned, a fierce Parliamentarian who fled England after King Charles II was restored to the throne.

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And in her trademark style, Gregory (pictured below) delivers a seething, smouldering, stunning tale steeped in mystery, menace, mind games, and the challenges facing women in a prohibitively patriarchal world where to be strong or ‘different’ can only spell danger.

On Midsummer Eve in 1670, Alinor Reekie, still suffering ill health after her cruel witch ‘ducking’ two decades ago, and her tough, uncompromising daughter, Alys Stoney, are earning a living as wharfingers on the riverside in Bermondsey.

From their little house next to the stinking mud and river’s ‘piers of weedy ramps,’ they witnessed the restored King Charles II sail by to his glorious court at Whitehall, but the family, which includes Alys’s adult twins Johnnie and Sarah, clings on to the old Puritan principles of hard work and thrift.

The arrival of two strangers on the same day causes a stir in the household… the first is Sir James Avery, the man who betrayed Alinor all those years ago in Sussex but still longs for her every day, and who instantly stands out as ‘a rich idler’ among the wharf’s labouring men.

James has returned as a widower and a wealthy man, hoping to find the lover he deserted and the son he believes was born to Alinor after she and Alys fled to London. He tells Alinor he now has everything to offer, including the favour of the king, but there is one thing that his money cannot buy… an heir. The second visitor is a beautiful widow from Venice in deepest mourning. The Nobildonna Livia da Ricci claims Alinor as her mother-in-law and the grandmother of her baby son Matteo, and has come to tell Alinor that her beloved son Rob, who was a practising doctor, has drowned in the dark tides of the Venice lagoon.

But all is not as it seems and Alinor spells out her fears in a letter to her brother Ned who is newly arrived in Connecticut in faraway New England, and trying to make ‘a life of his own, without

CHILDREN'S BOOKS: Looking-glass magic, sports heroes and wild adventures

Enjoy a Lewis Carroll classic with fabulous new illustrations, discover the heights of sporting success, meet a colourful heroine and her magical menagerie of creatures, and get up close and personal with a shark in a dazzling line-up of children’s books

Age 9 plus
Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There
Written by Lewis Carroll
and illustrated by Chris Riddell

TAKE Lewis Carroll’s eternally enchanting tale Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, bring the classic adventures to life with the unique illustrations of the talented Chris Riddell, and you have this year’s dream gift book for readers of every age. First published by Macmillan more than 150 years ago, Carroll’s iconic stories about Alice – originally illustrated by Sir John Tenniel – have been loved and enjoyed by generations of children the world over, and this sumptuous hardback, silver-foiled and jacketed edition is brimming with Riddell’s new and gloriously imaginative colour illustrations.

Curious Alice’s second story – the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – takes her through the looking-glass to a place even stranger than the Wonderland of her first adventure. Caught up in the great looking-glass chess game she sets off across the chequerboard landscape to become a queen on the final square. 

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It isn't as easy as she expects… at every step she is hindered by unusual, funny and nonsense characters who keep cropping, not least Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and Humpty Dumpty. Some of them insist on reciting poems to her and these poems, such as The Walrus and The Carpenter and Jabberwocky, are now as famous as the Alice stories themselves.

Costa Award- and Kate Greenaway Medal-winner Riddell certainly works his creative magic on this stunning edition which presents Carroll’s complete text and has been published in celebration of the 150^th anniversary of the publication of Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. Riddell’s rich and evocative interpretation of Carroll's world brings new light and life to Alice’s memorable journey of exciting trials and tribulations, and with a ribbon marker to complete the package, this is the perfect gift for families, children and fans of the all-time classic.
(Macmillan Children’s Books, hardback, £25)

Age 8 plus
The Race
Roy Peachey

TWO runners – over seventy years apart – face the race of their lives in a beautiful, moving story which celebrates the power of sport to unite. The Race, written by teacher-cum-author Roy Peachey, features the parallel accounts of a young dual nationality Chinese girl battling problems at school, and Eric Liddell, the famous athlete who won Olympic gold for Britain in 1924 and who inspired the hit film Chariots of Fire.

‘This is what it feels like when I’m running. When I’m running fast, I feel free.’

Twelve-year-old Lili DeLisle, who has dual British and Chinese nationality, is determined to defeat her arch rival in front of the Queen during her school’s special anniversary celebrations. Adopted from China as a baby, Lili also has personal challenges to overcome, but when her training is thrown into chaos by events outside her control, she realises that she must choose between family and the race of her life. 

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Meanwhile in 1944, Olympic hero Eric Liddell, finds himself in a war zone. Separated from his family, he is getting ready to run his final race in a prison camp when his lifelong principles are challenged by the imprisoned children he is trying to help…

Written with a warm sense of inclusion and friendship, The Race is both an inspiration and an emotional journey into the lives of two runners, one fictional and one very real, but both with battles to fight and problems to solve.
(Pokey Hat, paperback, £7.99)

Age 7 plus
Sports Legends: 50 Inspiring People to Help You Reach the Top of Your Game
Rick Broadbent and James Davies

REACHING the heights of sporting success is a long, hard journey and no one knows that better than sports writer Rick Broadbent. After meeting scores of top sporting legends, Broadbent has teamed up his knowledge with the creativity of illustrator James Davies for this exciting book which aims to inspire youngsters to reach the top of their game with fifty incredible true stories.

Award-winning journalist Broadbent, who has worked at the Olympic Games, football and rugby world cups and all the golf majors, has interviewed some of the greatest sporting names of our time. In this gripping collection of true stories, he shares the most exciting and jaw-dropping accounts of success, failure, injury and bravery in sport, all guaranteed to help kids find the confidence and resilience they need to reach for the stars.

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Young sports fan will love reading about their favourite sports heroes, such as Lionel Messi, Bayan Mahmud, Sophia Floersch, Jesse Owens, Usain Bolt and Serena Williams, and Broadbent brings us the tips and tricks of champions when it comes to facing your fears. The perfect book to help unlock youthful self-confidence and achieve those sporting dreams!
(Walker Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 5 plus
Football Superstars:
Agüero Rules and Pogba Rules
Simon Mugford and Dan Green

WITH the UEFA European Football Championship in full swing, help kick off the fun with two new books in an enthralling series of highly visual first football biographies featuring some of the world’s most famous faces.

You can collect your favourites and build your knowhow with stats and expert tips about today’s biggest global football heroes with these on-goal Football Superstars books specially created by Ipswich Town fans Simon Mugford and illustrator Dan Green to engage reluctant young readers. With a simple narrative text that has been graded and approved by an educational expert, and easy-to-digest facts and figures, youngsters can find out about each player’s rise to glory, top scoring moments and club transfers. 

Is Sergio Agüero your ultimate football hero? He is the highest South American scorer in the history of the Premier League with more than 180 goals, has won the title four times, and holds the joint-record for the most goals (five) scored in a single Premier League match.

And if Paul Pogba is your favourite football superstar, discover how he was a key player in Juventus securing the Italian league title in 2015 and a World Cup winner in 2018. Pogba went from being a hotshot prospect at France’s famous La Havre Academy to being named as the best young player in Europe in 2013 before making the move to Manchester United for a club record fee of almost £90million.

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Each book is filled with fun quizzes, stats and little-known facts, and features a supporting cast of players, managers, TV pundits – and even the authors themselves – chipping in with quotes, jokes and comments to add to the playful and informative fun. Add on cartoons and visual jokes, presented with an energetic, graphic look, a glossary of top words young fans need to know, whether that is the Ballon d’Or or the Copa Rey, and you have reading heaven for your own little soccer stars.
(Welbeck Publishing, paperback, £5.99 each)

Age 5 plus
Football Superstars:
Football Quizzes Rule
Simon Mugford and Dan Green

AND also coming next month in the fabulous Football Superstars series is the ultimate soccer quiz book, packed with exciting football trivia. Created by the same top team of Simon Mugford and Dan Green, Football Quizzes Rule focuses on today’s major soccer stars and greatest football tournaments of all time. Test your football knowledge with hundreds of funny and fascinating questions about your favourite players and competitions, plus enjoy a variety of other on-the-page activities.

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And in extra time, this super quiz book features page after page of hilarious pictures, and with loads of jokes, anecdotes and fun, and sections and chapters to make the book easy to navigate, youngsters will love dipping and in and out on their journey of discovery. Perfect for football fanatics!
(Welbeck Publishing, paperback, £5.99)

Age 7 plus
The Culture of Clothes
Giovanna Alessio and Chaaya Prabhat

CLOTHING is one of the most inanimate objects… but it can tell a fascinating story about the wearer and their life. Celebrate traditional dress, costumes and cultures from around the world with this beautifully illustrated compendium of clothing. From colourful kimonos and Bavarian lederhosen to dazzling flamenco dresses and Nigerian masqueraders, this book takes you on a journey through the continents to discover the incredible variety of thirty different types of traditional dress and what the clothes reveals about global culture.

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As the important visual language of national dress is in danger of getting lost, this stunning book has been created to help store and share these rich cultural histories with a new generation. With vibrant, folk-style artwork by illustrator Chaayha Prabhat, and Giovanna Alessio’s in-depth look at the colours, adornments and inspirations, this is a magnificent tribute to the diversity of global clothing and cultures.
(Templar Publishing, hardback, £14.99)

Age 7 plus
Indigo Wilde and the Creatures at Jellybean Crescent
Pippa Curnick 

GO totally wild this summer with a wonderfully wacky and creatively colourful new series from top author and illustrator Pippa Curnick. The awesome adventures of new kid on the block, Indigo Wilde, and the magical creatures who share her seemingly ordinary home are set to be a tasty treat for middle grade readers.

Discovered in the Unknown Wilderness when she was just a baby, Indigo Wilde was adopted by world-famous explorers, Philomena and Bertram, who are always off adventuring. Home for Indigo and her little brother, Quigley, is 47 Jellybean Crescent, a crazy and colourful house full of magical creatures that her parents have taken in over the years. There’s Fishkins, a purrmaid which is half-cat, half-fish, and ALWAYS grumpy; Graham, a llama-corn with a particular taste for tinsel; Olli and Umpf, bright pink and blue yetis who can’t blend in to the snow, and that’s to name just a few of the creatures.

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And now Indigo’s parents have sent another Monster Mail delivery to Indigo and Quigley. But this time, the box is empty, and the escaped creature is running rampage around the house. The race is on to catch the creature before it’s too late… and making sure not to disturb the neighbours, of course!

Gorgeously illustrated in full colour throughout, and ideal for newly independent readers, Indigo’s madcap, rainbow adventures are a pot of book-filled gold for all action-loving youngsters.
(Hodder Children’s Books, hardback, £9.99)

Age 6 plus
Interview with a Shark and Other Ocean Giants Too
Andy Seed and Nick East

IF you want to discover what a great white shark is thinking, go straight to its mighty jaws! Or in the case of this clever and comical book from the dynamic team of author Andy Seed and illustrator Nick East, get up close and personal with ten extraordinary ocean giants as they step up to the mic and share their habits, behaviour, likes and dislikes, and even their favourite foods.

Simply open the pages of this ingeniously conceived and illustrated book and enjoy the fun and fact-filled, bite-sized text in a question-and-answer format, and all paired up with East’s colourful, eye-catching illustrations. Children will have a whale of a time getting answers to questions they would l love to ask… why are bull sharks moody, how do orcas hunt, what is a conger eel’s dream, do narwhals use their tusks for fighting, and why ay are manta rays sometimes called devilfish?

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Written in the form of interviews – all threaded through with daring ‘interviewer’ Andy Seed’s brilliantly anarchic sense of fun – the amazing creatures featured include a great white shark, blue whale, orca, sunfish, giant squid, narwhal, manta ray, octopus, conger eel, and angler fish. With ideas on how to do your bit to help endangered species and their habitats, and humour on every page, this is the perfect book for new or reluctant readers, and all young wildlife fans.
(Welbeck Publishing, hardback, £9.99)

Age 5 plus
The Nine Lives of Furry Purry Beancat: The Library Cat
Philip Ardagh and Rob Biddulph

FIRST chapter books should always be enticingly full of fun, so look no further than this rip-roaring early reading series from the top-notch pairing of award-winners Philip Ardagh and Rob Biddulph.

Ardagh, bestselling author of The Grunts series and Eddie Dickens adventures, and illustrator Rob Biddulph, award-winning creator of Draw With Rob!, combine their talents on The Nine Lives of Furry Purry Beancat which stars one extraordinary cat with nine extraordinary lives. Purrfectly digestible for those new to chapter books, and brimming with Biddulph’s exuberant black and white illustrations, this is just the kind of series to give youngsters the enticement and the confidence to enjoy reading alone.

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Just like every other cat, Furry Purry Beancat loves a catnap but, unlike other cats, when Beancat wakes she finds herself in a different one of her nine lives. In each book, our hairy heroine embarks on a new adventure, whether that’s saving a train from disaster as a railway cat, creating potions as a witch’s cat or saving a library from closure. But one thing’s for sure… she always saves the day! In this new adventure, we have to shhh! Our furry (and purry) heroine has woken up in a library, and there’s trouble afoot. There are plans to close it down, but with the help of two grumpy spiders, can Beancat do what she does best and save the day… again?

With slapstick antics, breathless action and a cat always just a whisker away from danger, this is a series of cat-astrophes that has the legs to run and run!
(Simon & Schuster, paperback, £6.99)

Age 3 plus
How to Grow a Unicorn
Rachel Morrisroe and Steven Lenton

A LITTLE girl’s birthday gift for her gran turns out to be a true party pooper in a delightfully quirky and joyful picture book from an exciting new author/illustrator team. Talented new picture book author Rachel Morrisroe proves to be the perfect pairing with bestselling illustrator Steven Lenton as they unleash their imaginations on How to Grow a Unicorn, first book in an exciting new series.

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Both heart-warming and hilarious, Morrisroe’s rollicking, rhyming, read-aloud story of a little girl’s adventures in a magical plant parlour is guaranteed to capture the hearts of readers young and old. Welcome to Mr Pottifer's Parlour of Plants… a magical shop with the most surprising plants you will ever see! Sarah thinks she has discovered the perfect gift for her garden-loving grandma in the mysterious shop. But before you can say garden full of unicorns, the contents of Sarah’s seed packet grow wildly out-of-hand!

Little ones will love the fast galloping disasters of the twenty-four unicorns which sprout from the special vines in this outrageously funny story and its glorious gallery of magical mayhem illustrations. Poetry in motion!
(Puffin, paperback, £6.99)

Age 3 plus
Mooncat and Me
Lydia Corry

ESCAPING into our imaginations is a powerful psychological tool… And when a little girl called Pearl moves to live in the scary big city with her mum, she discovers that fears can be conquered when you have a giant-sized cat called Mooncat right by your side.

Childhood anxieties about change, moving house or starting school are banished in a beautiful, fresh and contemporary debut picture book from author and illustrator Lydia Corry. With colourful pages thronging with modern city life, Mooncat and Me tells the story of Pearl as she overcomes the fears of moving house and starting a new school with the help of her imaginary friend. Pearl is worried that she won’t know anyone and no one will know her, but as we watch her grow in confidence, we learn that with a bit of imagination and determination, there’s nothing we can't do.

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Corry’s, bright, busy and bold illustrations are brimming with busy people filling pavements, buses and cars, while people are leading their different lives as we look through the windows of their homes. Mooncat’s calm and reassuring presence is the spur to Pearl starting to explore the vibrant city with her mother, and settling in at school where she soon finds there are many friends to be made. A picture perfect tale of enjoying your new beginnings…
(Two Hoots, hardback, £12.99)

Age 2 plus
Frog Goes on Holiday
Carly Gledhill

WHEN is a frog not like other frogs… when he wants to go on holiday! Children’s book Illustrator and surface pattern designer Carly Gledhill from Stockport will have little ones leaping with joy as a frog with wanderlust steals the show in her playful and entertaining new picture book.

Frog isn’t like most frogs. He wants to travel and see the world so he is heading off on a holiday! What will he find on his adventure? Follow Frog as he goes on an amazing, wonder-filled journey this way and that, over and under, around and through. But where will he end up?

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With lots to spot, intriguing peep-through holes, shaped pages and a surprise fold-out ending, this engaging novelty format provides a super interactive reading experience for little ones. And with vibrant splashes of colour, illustrations full of rich and intricate detail, and a cast of adorable animal characters to enjoy, Frog’s holiday proves a welcome escape for all the family!
(Macmillan Children’s Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 2 plus
Book Hospital
Leigh Hodgkinson

EVERY book tells a story… but what’s like to actually BE a book? Author and illustrator Leigh Hodgkinson leaves no page unturned in her quest to make children be kind to their books in this super-imaginative and enchanting tale about the magic of books and reading.

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If books could talk, they would tell us that the BEST bits of being a book is hanging out with your friends and telling amazing stories, but sometimes a good book can end up in the wrong place at the wrong time... They might get scribbled on, nibbled on, spilt on, or even lose their last and most important page. And when that happens, it’s time to go to... the Book Hospital where there are nice doctors and nurses waiting to give them their happy ending!

Hodgkinson, co-creator of the hit Cbeebies series, Olobob Top, has lots of fun with her funny, reassuring story which celebrates the wonder of books but also delivers gentle, cautionary messages about taking good care of them. Fabulously illustrated in an eye-catching palette of colours, and with a special appeal for all young book lovers, Book Hospital is destined to be a family favourite.
(Simon & Schuster Children’s Books, paperback, £6.99)

Age 2 plus
Home Is Where the Heart Is
Emma Dodd

THERE really is no place like home! Take a peep through the cat flap and enjoy the warmth and charm of award-winning author and illustrator Emma Dodd’s uplifting celebration of the special place that we call home.

‘Just what IS it that makes home such a special place to be? Home’s an extra special space you hold within your heart to keep you very close to me when we must be apart.’

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This beautiful and moving book stars a big wise mother cat and her adorably mischievous white kitten discovering all the secrets that make home a safe, cosy and love-filled sanctuary. Written with a large helping of heart and lots of hugs, Home Is Where the Heart Is features a delightful rhyming text which is ideal for reading out loud with little ones, and a gallery of stunning, gold-foiled illustrations. Carefully crafted and brimming with mother love…
(Templar Publishing, hardback, £7.99)

Widowland

C.J. Carey

THE year 1953 is going to be a memorable one for the people of Great Britain… a new king and queen are to be crowned and the country’s great Leader plans to be there. But instead of crowds witnessing the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, this is Nazi Britain under a sinister German protectorate, and King Edward and Queen Wallis are about to take the throne.

In a beguiling blend of Robert Harris’ Fatherland, C. J. Sansom’s Dominion and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, C.J. Carey – recently revealed as the pen name of journalist and novelist Jane Thynne – brings us a thrilling alternative history with a seductive feminist twist.

The idea for Widowland – a chilling story of political power and social control set in a superbly imagined dystopian world in which women are deemed lesser beings – was sparked by Carey’s own experience of marginalisation when she became a widow after the death of her writer husband Philip Kerr in 2018, and the treatment of older German women during the war years. Using her research into the plight of the Friedhöferfrauen (Cemetery Women), Carey (pictured below) discovered that these ‘widows without children’ were allocated the meanest rations because they were deemed useless to society.

And so her alternate history took shape… a full-realised, richly detailed Britain where Hitler’s philosopher and ideologue Alfred Rosenberg rules as Protector and is using the country to fulfil his dream of building a ‘perfect society.’

It’s a place where women are classified under a caste system, based on age, heritage, reproductive status and physical characteristics, which subjects the lowest of the low caste – the Friedas – to life in the rundown Widowland slums where there is no nutritious food, no colour, no freedom and no hope.

At the top of the pile are the Gelis – the representation of ‘perfect womanhood’ noted for being young, intelligent, talented and beautiful – and it is Rose Ransom, a 29-year-old Geli working as a censor at the Culture Ministry, who takes centre stage. Her job is to rewrite literature to correct the views of the past and she has been charged with making Jane Eyre more submissive, Elizabeth Bennet less feisty, and Dorothea Brooke less intelligent.

Thirteen years have passed since a Grand Alliance between Great Britain and Germany was formalised in 1940 but all the current talk is of the upcoming Coronation Day in London. George VI and his family have ‘disappeared,’ Edward VIII and Queen Wallis are on the throne but in practice, all power is vested in Alfred Rosenberg, Britain’s Protector. Rosenberg regards Britain as the perfect petri dish for his ideal society, and the role and status of women is his particular interest. The caste system determines every aspect of their lives, from where they live and what clothes they wear to what entertainment they can enjoy and how many calories they can consume in a strictly rationed society.

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One morning Rose – whose guilty secret is that she loves words despite a rule that women should have only a ‘limited vocabulary’ – is summoned to the Cultural Commissioner’s office and given a special, but perilous, task. Outbreaks of insurgency have been seen across the country

A Day at the Beach Hut

Veronica Henry

DON'T despair if this year’s holiday plans have been scuppered by lockdown because fabulous feel-good storyteller Veronica Henry is ready to whisk us away to the coastal joys and sunshine food of Everdene Sands, a place that offers comfort to the heart, mind and soul.

A Day at the Beach Hut: Stories and Recipes Inspired by Seaside Life is the tasty new book in Henry’s much-loved series featuring the good folk who own beach huts in beautiful Everdene… and it’s the perfect panacea for the ongoing pandemic.

Best enjoyed with the sun on your back and a glass in your hand, this delicious collection of eight original short stories and over fifty tasty recipes will transport you to the golden sands of Everdene for a perfect day at the beach hut.

On a shimmering summer’s day on the coast, the waves are calling, the picnic basket is packed, and change is in the air. A family enjoy their last holiday at a much-loved beach hut, the tide brings in an old face – and a new temptation – while a writer’s retreat is shaken up by a surprise arrival. 

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The simple pleasures of the seaside compete with the Instagram dream as a couple’s future is turned upside down, and a celebratory evening takes a stormy turn. And as the sun sets, an unexpected romance is simmering...

With stories played out against a backdrop of grassy dunes, powder blue skies and a turquoise sea, recipes for windswept breakfasts and romantic seafood dinners under the stars, and the ten best beach hut board games, this is the next best thing to a real seaside holiday!
(Orion, paperback, £7.99)

CHILDREN'S BOOKS: Dads in the picture on Father’s Day

Share fun, adventures and hugs with dad on Father’s Day, meet a roly-poly flying pony who’s on the run, get ready for some super-powered giggles, and enjoy a picture book celebration of diversity in a selection of new summertime children’s books

Age 3 plus
Fearless with Dad
Cori Brooke and Giuseppe Poli

DADS… they’re versatile, full of fun, bursting with ideas, and can inspire you to travel to the moon and back! Help your youngsters to celebrate Father’s Day with this beautiful celebration of one boy’s love for his dad and the adventures they share with this delightful picture book from author Cori Brooke and illustrator Giuseppe Poli.

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Imaginative power is the secret to this clever story which features a little boy’s loving celebration of the endless possibilities and adventures he has with his dad… whether that’s kicking the winning goal or building a tree house. Love is… just being with dad!

(New Frontier Publishing, paperback, £6.99)

Age from birth
My Dad is a Bear
Nicola Connelly and Annie White

HUGS all round on Father’s Day for this cute and cuddly board book with daddy love written all over it! Charlie’s dad is tall, round and soft. Sometimes he growls. Could he be a bear? Luckily for Charlie, there’s one thing bears do best… bear hugs! 

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My Dad is a Bear – a simple but beautiful tale of a bear cub and his dad – comes from Nicola Connelly, an emerging Australian author who writes stories based on real life experiences, and freelance illustrator Annie White who uses pencil, ink, watercolour and sometimes oils in her exquisite illustrations. A gorgeous bedtime wind-down book and the perfect gift for Father’s Day.
(Catch a Star, board book, £6.99)

Age 7 plus
Kevin and the Biscuit Bandit
Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre

SOME books have heroes you never expect to meet… Take Kevin, for example, he’s a biscuit-loving, tiny winged, roly-poly flying pony who crashes into a tower block balcony and makes friends with an unsuspecting boy called Max. Max wants adventures and he’s certainly got some now! Kevin and the Biscuit Bandit: A Roly-Poly Flying Pony Adventure is a the latest book in a brilliant series from one of the top teams in children’s books… Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre, creators of best-loved books like Cakes in Space and Oliver and the Seawigs.

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Max is a young boy living in an ordinary tower block in Bumbleford but luckily he has super adventures with his flying pony best friend called Kevin who blew in one day on a magical storm. In their new adventure, Bumbleford has been hit by a series of biscuit thefts. All the clues lead straight to the only roly-poly flying pony in town, KEVIN! Max and Kevin are forced to go on the run. Will they find the real culprit before Kevin ends up in pony prison?

Reeve delivers a fantastically funny, slapstick and yet warm and reassuring story about friendship and the spirit of adventure, all brought to glorious life by McIntyre’s richly detailed, two-colour illustrations. Beautifully produced with silver sprayed edges and ideal for reluctant readers, this is humour with a big heart and a wonderful gift for all young readers.
(Oxford University Press, hardback, £8.99)

Age 7 plus
Pizazz vs Perfecto
Sophy Henn 

ENJOY more super-awesome laughs in the third book of award-winning author and illustrator Sophy Henn’s hilarious comic-book strip style series starring scintillating superhero schoolgirl Pizazz. Classroom politics, friendship fails and laugh-out-loud humour are the hallmarks of this perfectly pitched series which has all the ‘powers and stuff’ that you expect from a superhero story but with the added delight of some very human characters and some very human dilemmas.

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Being a superhero is the best thing ever, right? Wrong! Hello, my name is Pizazz and I’m a superhero. You probably think that’s really awesome and while it can be, it’s also REEEEEEEAAALLLLY annoying. Even though I’m saving the world all the time, there are still loads of bad guys about. Like super baddie Perfecto! She’s younger than me, and just… well, PERFECT! But I have a plan. Maybe I just need to be perfect too… even more perfect than Perfecto. Easy-peasy, right?!

Expect raucous rivalries and some sassy schoolgirls as Henn serves up a verbal and visual feast of super-powered fun and giggles!

(Simon & Schuster, paperback, £6.99)

Age 4 plus
All About Diversity
Felicity Brooks and Mar Ferrero

HELP your child to not just understand diversity but to celebrate all that is good and rewarding about the concept of ‘difference’ with this dynamic and joyous book from the experts at Usborne Publishing. With Felicity Brooks’ reassuring, simple but lively text, and Mar Ferrero’s gallery of engaging illustrations, All About Diversity helps young children learn to respond in a kind and equal way to everyone, regardless of shape, size, age, physical and mental ability, gender, ethnicity, beliefs, language, culture and background. With topics ranging from clothes, music and food to homes, festivals and families, there is plenty for children to talk about as they find out about what makes people different and what makes them unique.

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The book presents all sorts of visible physical differences, but also explores some of the many other things that make people different… family composition and heritage, what we eat, the homes we live in, the transport we use, how we get our food, how we communicate, different beliefs, and the festivals we celebrate. Cultural differences, different kinds of disability, personal preferences and neurodiversity (the different ways that people think, learn and behave) are also explained and explored in a positive and celebratory way.

Ferrero’s vibrant and often humorous illustrations bring all the characters to life and with helpful ‘notes for grown-ups’ at the back of the book, this is a fun and entertaining way to help your child develop the important skill of learning to appreciate and celebrate difference.
(Usborne, hardback, £9.99)

Age 5 plus
Kitty and the Kidnap Trap
Paula Harrison and Jenny Løvlie

WHEN you’re a girl by day and a cat by night, adventures are never far away! Author Paula Harrison and illustrator Jenny Løvlie work their special magic on this fun-filled first chapter book series which features enchanting rooftop adventures with feisty feline star Kitty and her cat crew on moonlit rooftops. 

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Beautifully presented in a small format for little hands and densely illustrated in tones of grey and orange on almost every page, superhero Kitty’s magical story is simply purrfect for both cat lovers and young adventurers. In her new moonlight mission, Kitty is supposed to be looking after her friend’s pet hamster, Marvin, for the weekend but disaster strikes when he is kidnapped. Kitty must follow the kidnapper’s trail and return Marvin to his home safe and sound before the night is out. It’s time for Superhero Kitty to save the day. Enjoy cheeky cats, night-time naughtiness and giggles galore as the merry band of moggies take on a bunch of roguish rats!
(OUP, paperback, £5.99)

Age 5 plus
Isadora Moon Goes to a Wedding
Harriet Muncaster

HAlf-VAMPIRE, half-fairy Isadora Moon is on another flight of fancy in her latest sparkly adventure. The unique and adorable Isadora, complete with fangs, wings and a crazy family, is the much-loved creation of author and illustrator Harriet Muncaster and a uniquely different and dynamic storybook heroine. Full to its sparkly covers with crazy capers and enchanting pink and black illustrations, this magical series of first chapter books is perfect for early readers who like their glitter with a bit of bite! And this special hardback, gift edition comes with silver sprayed edges and extra activities and things to make and do.

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Isadora’s mum is a fairy and her dad is a vampire and she is a bit of both. There is nothing Isadora likes better than adventures and in this new adventure, Isadora is going to be a bridesmaid at her aunt’s wedding, and she’s SO excited! But with a mischievous older cousin Mirabelle and a bored baby sister to deal with, getting through the special day isn’t exactly going to be a piece of cake. Can Isadora make sure there’s a happy ending? Isadora and her out-of-this-world family are perfectly created for little girls who are getting bored with run-of-the-mill fairies and princesses, and are eager to get their teeth into something new and exciting. Clever, imaginative, funny and positively fizzing with fairies and vampires, Isadora’s adventures always leave youngsters hungry for more!
(OUP, hardback, £8.99)

Age 2 plus
All Aboard the Sounds Train
Illustrated by Sean Sims

YOU don’t need a ticket to ride when you hit the rails on a first-class journey of learning! Oxford University Press are ready and waiting at the station with this brilliant series which introduces key early learning concepts through beautifully illustrated and engaging stories which explore words, colours, numbers, space and so much more. So hop aboard this thrill-filled train and enjoy fun lessons with a gang of playful youngsters… and a menagerie of amazing creatures.

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In All Aboard the Sounds Train, youngsters are off to explore weather, the seasons, and the different sounds all around us. Take a sunny trip to the seaside, splash in the rain and then head off to a winter wonderland to crunch in the snow, and discover all the sounds that surround us. Choo choo, slurp, whoosh, crash, honk, hoot, munch! With Sean Sims’ vibrant, colourful illustrations perfectly pitched for pre-schoolers, the fun of discovery on every page and lots to learn, spot, count and talk about, this unmissable series offers fast-track learning all the way!
(Oxford University Press, paperback, £6.99)