CHILDREN'S BOOKS: Hidden treasures, wonderful whales and yoga bunnies

Join a race against time to discover buried treasures, be carried away by a whale of a journey at the edge of the Pacific, meet a boy in search of a homing pelican called Geronimo, and enjoy adventures with a little kitten with BIG unicorn-sized ideas in a sparkling selection of super springtime children’s books

Age 9 plus
The Secret of the Treasure Keepers
A.M. Howell

A RACE against time to discover the secrets buried on a farm in the windswept Fenlands of England is set to thrill young readers as master storyteller A.M. Howell returns with a fantastic post-war adventure. Inspired by her lifelong interest in archaeology and some famous East Anglian archaeological finds now in the British Museum – the Roman Mildenhall Treasure and Hoxne Hoard, and a Bronze Age settlement at Must Farm – the award-winning author of The Garden of Lost Secrets and The House of One Hundred Clocks brings us a gripping new historical mystery.

In February 1948, in the depths of the British Museum, a telephone rings and 12-year-old Ruth is the only one on hand to answer it. Some long-buried treasure has been discovered on an isolated farm and Ruth and her aspiring archaeologist mother find themselves travelling to the Fens to investigate.

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They soon discover ancient artefacts are not the only things which the mysterious landscape of Rook Farm is hiding. At the farmhouse itself, Ruth finds secrets lurk around every corner. Joe, the farmer's son, is hiding something about the treasure, while land girl Audrey watches their every move. But before Ruth can find out more, the treasure is stolen. With a storm coming, Ruth must race to uncover the secrets of the treasure keepers before all of their lives are changed forever.

Set in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, The Secret of the Treasure Keepers is rich in the atmospherics of the period and explores some fascinating real-life historical events from the British Museum’s wartime evacuation of its valuable objects and the effects of aerial attacks on cities like Norwich to post-war rationing and widespread electricity shortages. With themes of family secrets, buried treasure, national hardship, resilience, women’s rights and archaeological integrity at its beating heart, plus all the addictive the excitement of literally digging into the past to enjoy, this is top class reading for all middle-graders.  
(Usborne, paperback, £7.99)

Age 8 plus
The Lost Whale
Hannah Gold and Levi Pinfold

PREPARE to shed tears as you dive into the second soaraway adventure from outstanding new author Hannah Gold whose bestselling 2021 debut, The Last Bear, was The Times Children’s Book of the Week, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the British Book Awards 2022, and winner of the Blue Peter Award. Inspired by a fascination with whales dating back to her early twenties when she first saw a grey whale in Baja, Mexico, Gold harnesses the wonder and magnificence of these sea creatures for a heart-rending story about the connection between a boy and a whale, and the bond that sets them both free. What if you could communicate with a whale? Rio has been sent to live with a grandmother he barely knows at her wooden chalet at the edge of the Pacific in California while his musician mum is in hospital back home. Angry, alone and adrift, the only thing that makes him smile is joining his new friend Marina on her dad’s whale watching trips. That is until an incredible encounter with White Beak, a gentle giant of the sea, changes everything. But when White Beak goes missing, Rio must set out on a desperate quest to find his whale and somehow save his mum. Gold dons her trademark eco-warrior armour and sets her rich imagination in motion to bring us this magical, mesmerising story, set against a stunning backdrop and guaranteed to pull on your heartstrings and make you look anew at how you too can help to save the grey whale which is imperilled by warming seas, plastic pollution and over-fishing. Kate Greenaway Medal-winning illustrator Levi Pinfold provides the finishing touches to this unforgettable journey of heart, hardship and hope with a gallery of truly evocative black and white illustrations that are guaranteed to take your breath away.
(HarperCollins Children’s Books, hardback, £12.99)

Age 9 plus
The Boy in the Post
Holly Rivers 

THERE'S a special mail delivery for adventure-loving youngsters as Holly Rivers – author of the brilliant Demelza & the Spectre Detectors – brings us her second first class adventure. Featuring an action-packed journey across the Atlantic, a trio of brave siblings and a menagerie of furry and feathered posties, The Boy in the Post comes with an enchanting retro feel and a cast of quirky characters, and immerses youngsters in a fabulous fantasy world. Siblings Orinthia and Séafra Shalloo accept a summer job from eccentric Grandy who has collected a menagerie of furry and feathered posties known as animails. The children are especially fond of Geronimo, a homing pelican. But when the big bird fails to return from her first international voyage to New York, six-year-old Taber – the youngest sibling – is devastated, so much so that he mails himself to New York where Geronimo was sent. Orinthia and Séafra follow suit, stealing a precious stamp and hopping in a freight crate – and soon all are embarked on an extraordinarily audacious and thrill-a-minute adventure. Expect dollops of derring-do and danger, suspense-packed twists and turns, and giggles galore as this funny, frantic and warm-hearted adventure puts family and friendship firmly at its beating heart.
(Chicken House, paperback, £7.99)

Age 9 plus
The Ogress and the Orphans
Kelly Barnhill 

ESCAPE into a fantastical, allegorical adventure from Kelly Barnhill, the talented Newbery Medal winning and bestselling author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon. In her coruscating exploration of greed, kindness, unity, division and the sheer power of books to entertain and inform society, Barnhill brings us a rip-roaring and far-reaching tale set in an exciting and atmospheric alternative world. Stone-in-the-Glen, once a lovely town, has fallen on hard times. Fires, floods, and other calamities have caused the townsfolk to lose their library, their school, their park, and all sense of what it means to be generous and kind. The people put their faith in the Mayor, a dazzling fellow who promises he alone can help. After all, he is a famous dragon slayer. (At least, no one has seen a dragon in his presence.) Only the clever orphans of the Orphan House and the kindly Ogress at the edge of town can see how dire the town’s problems are. When one of the orphans goes missing from the Orphan House, all eyes turn to the Ogress. The orphans, though, know this can’t be… the Ogress, along with a flock of excellent crows, secretly delivers gifts to the people of Stone-in-the-Glen. But how can the orphans tell the story of the Ogress’s goodness to people who refuse to listen? And how can they make their deluded neighbours see the real villain in their midst? The orphans have heard a whisper that they will ‘save the day’ but just how, they will have to find out. Written with her trademark elegance and attention to detail, and with a cast of characters that lingers long in the mind, this is both a spellbinding adventure and a timely, cautionary story about the damage wreaked by greed and corruption.
(Piccadilly Press, paperback, £6.99)

Age 9 plus
The Wild Before
Piers Torday 

IN his stunning prequel to the award-winning, bestselling The Last Wild trilogy, favourite author Piers Torday brings young readers a memorable and mesmerising tale of hope and friendship in a troubled world. Starring a cast of captivating animal characters, and delivering timely and eloquent messages about the importance of saving our planet, The Wild Before asks how do you save a world that won’t listen, and features one small animal’s quest against the odds to save it. One stormy, snowy night, a pure silver calf is born on an ordinary muddy farm by the light of the moon. This is the legendary Mooncalf whose arrival has been foretold since the dawn of time. According to a dream passed down from animal to animal, if the calf dies, a great Terribleness will come… rising seas, a plague, skies raining down fire, the end of all things. And Little Hare vows to persuade all the animals to protect Mooncalf, whatever the cost. But keeping danger at bay is easier said than done, and soon Little Hare realises that he is the only one who can save the world. On the road to devastation, lies a pawprint of hope… This captivating and atmospheric animal adventure is destined to be loved by readers of all ages as Torday blends an exciting adventure with gentle warnings about the threats from climate change. Beautifully written and a masterclass in imaginative power.
(Quercus Children’s Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 4 plus
Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn
Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham 

YOUNGSTERS will be tickled pink when they get their hands on this fabulous picture book about a little kitten with BIG unicorn-sized ideas! Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn, a clever, comical and colourful celebration of the magic of unexpected friendships, comes from the bestselling superstar duo Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham, the team behind the bestselling graphic novels Real Friends and Best Friends. The adorably pink Kitty thinks she might be a unicorn.  She feels so perfectly unicorn-y! ‘Neigh!’ says Kitty. But when Unicorn clop clop clops over, sweeping his magnificent tail and neighing a mighty neigh, Kitty feels exceedingly small. Can this unlikely pair embrace who they are, and truly see one another? This is the star-studded author and illustrator team’s first picture book together and their messages about being exactly who you want to be speak loudly and clearly as Hale’s magic with words blends beautifully with Pham’s pink and perfect gallery of illustrations. The most heart-bursting, tail-twitching, fuzzy-feeling, perfectly unicorn-y story imaginable!
(Abrams Books for Young Readers, paperback, £6.99)

Age 3 plus
Every Bunny is a Yoga Bunny
Emily Ann Davison and
Deborah Allwright

IT'S not just grown-ups who need to relax and unwind after a busy day! Calm and soothe your tired toddlers with this adorable book hug from the clever boffins at Nosy Crow. Created in a partnership with the National Trust, this funny, reassuring and entertaining picture book about yoga, mindfulness and finding calm comes from debut author Emily Ann Davison, who trained as a primary school teacher, and award-winning illustrator Deborah Allwright. Yo-Yo is a fidgety, bouncy, can’t-sit-still-EVER type of bunny. Even Grandpa’s yoga class won’t stop her wiggling and giggling! But what will Yo-Yo do when she finds herself lost and all alone in the deep, dark, shadowy forest? Maybe Grandpa’s yoga will help her find the way home. Packed with Allwright’s gallery of colourful woodland characters, an alluring countryside setting, a soothing bedtime ending, and three pages of simple, easy-to-follow step-by-step yoga instructions, children can stretch, breathe and feel calm with the irrepressible Yo-Yo. And every Nosy Crow paperback picture book comes with a free Stories Aloud audio recording so just scan the QR code and listen along!
(Nosy Crow, paperback, £6.99)

Age 3 plus
Who Will You Meet
on Dinosaur Street?
Gareth Peter and Tim Budgen 

WITH a career as a composer and lyricist for the theatre, and an understanding of rhyme and rhythm crafted through years of song writing, it’s little wonder that little ones are bouncing along to Gareth Peter’s fun and energetic picture books. In the second book of his addictive Who Will You Meet series, which comes packed with Tim Budgen’s marvellously multi-coloured and vibrant illustrations, we head off to Dinosaur Street and join a foot stomping, foot stamping madcap party! The dinosaurs are all in a frenzy and eager to go to the Fizz-whizzing Flash-tastic Fireworks Show. So get ready to meet Flashysaurus, Splashysaurus, Whoops-there’s-been-a Crashysaurus, and a whole host of other lovable characters. The story – and the action! – certainly go with a rhyming swing as the daffy bunch of dinos strut their stuff. Bags of fun to read aloud and ideal for encouraging lots of reader engagement, this is a guaranteed repeat-read family favourite!
(Simon & Schuster Children’s Books, paperback, £6.99)

Age 2 plus
A Dress with Pockets
Lily Murray and Jenny Løvlie 

WHO would have thought that pockets could lead to such exciting adventures? Rising star Lily Murray and Waterstones Prize-winning illustrator, Jenny Løvlie dig deep into the joyous contents of pockets for this funny, frock-filled picture story for modern girls who don’t just want sequins and sparkles on their dresses! Lucy and Aunt Augusta are dress shopping and at the Fabulous Fashion Store, there are dresses to suit just about everyone. There are fancy dresses, frilly dresses, stripy dresses, silly dresses, sun dresses, fun dresses, blue dresses, green dresses. But Lucy doesn’t care about frills or lace. She wants a dress WITH POCKETS. And as she wades through the titchy dresses, witchy dresses, very, very itchy dresses, she starts to worry about where she’s going to put her leaves, and nettles, and delicate petals, her magical spells and beautiful shells. The hunt is on… will Lucy find the dress of her dreams? Murray’s fabulously frothy, floaty, best dress story – with its subtle feminist undertone and matched perfectly with Løvlie’s array of gorgeous illustrations – celebrates the joy of pockets, and how they can unleash the inquisitive, adventurous spirit in any fun-loving youngster.
(Macmillan Children’s Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 2 plus
The Littlest Elephant
Kate Read

WHEN you’re always in a rush, it’s easy to let some important life lessons pass you by! Meet Ellie, the adorable and littlest elephant, who wants to stop for nothing and nobody in a funny, fast and furious tale from the brilliantly talented author and illustrator, Kate Read, creator of the multi-award-winning counting book One Fox. Meet Ellie… she’s on her way to the pool for a swim. At first she is too excited to notice the chaos she is causing but, after a series of mishaps, it is the words of a tiny mouse which show her how to slow down, notice the other jungle creatures, help others, and let everyone join in the fun. This cautionary tale with a big, warm heart comes with Read’s rich and colourful illustrations featuring a cast of colourful jungle creatures from a chameleon to a tiger. A beautifully crafted and written book, and the ideal tool for teaching lessons about empathy and helping those in need.
(Two Hoots, hardback, £12.99)

Age one plus
Cheesed Off!
Jake Hope and Genevieve Aspinall

SAY cheese! Yes, there will be miles of smiles for this tasty, cheese-flavoured story from picture book duo Jake Hope, a reading development and children’s book consultant, and Genevieve Aspinall, a recent graduate from UCLan, Preston, with a first class honours degree in illustration. It’s time for a P-A-R-T-Y and you’re invited! Join the fun with photos, presents, party foods and some special surprise guests… because if there’s one word that is guaranteed to bring out the mischievous mice from their hiding hole, it’s the word cheese! With its sparse use of text, clever play on words and spellings, Aspinall’s richly detailed and colourful illustrations, and Hope’s fun storyline full of cheesy humour and energy, this is the perfect book for less confident young readers.
(UCLan Publishing, paperback, £7.99)

Space Hopper

Helen Fisher

THE loss of her mother when she was only eight years old is like a missing tooth for Faye… an absence she can feel at all times, but which she can hide as long as she keeps her mouth shut and refrains from talking about her.

But when an extraordinary incident allows 36-year-old Faye to travel back in time and meet her beloved mother again, the reconnection with the past means she could risk losing the ones she holds most dear in the present.

If time-travel tales set your mind spinning, then Helen Fisher’s thought-provoking debut novel – a tender and compassionate exploration of love, loneliness, grief and belief – is guaranteed to take you on a rollercoaster journey through some of the most powerful emotions. Fisher (pictured below), who spent her early life in America but now lives in Suffolk with her two children, studied psychology and Space Hopper digs deep into the corners of human experience to examine what it means to struggle with the pain and legacy of unimaginable loss.

Filled with Seventies nostalgia, and reaching across two generations, Fisher’s beautifully written and warm and witty, family-orientated story moves far beyond the regulation time-travel tale genre to contemplate the tenets of Christian faith, and the trust we place in the things we cannot always fully understand.

‘I’ve been visiting my mother who died when I was eight. And I’m talking about flesh and blood, tea-and-biscuits-on-the-table visiting here. Right now, you probably think I’m going mad. Let me explain…’

So begins the time-travelling account of Faye, a happily married mother who, every night, whispers to her two young daughters Esther and Evie: ‘You are good, you are kind, you are clever, you are funny.’ Faye is determined that the girls should never doubt for a minute that their mother loves them unconditionally because her own mother Jeanie died when she was only eight years old. Faye has never got over the intense pain of losing her, or shaken off the sense of ‘emptiness’ which has overshadowed her life ever since.

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With no father on the scene or other family to care for her, Faye was raised by their elderly neighbours, Em and Henry, who fostered and then adopted her, and loved her as their own, but never gave her any details about her mother’s death. But one day when Faye is sorting through

Old Friends

Felicity Everett

IT seems like a dream plan; two couples, best friends for almost twenty years, move in together for a fresh start all round. Nothing could possibly go wrong… or could it?

Felicity Everett (pictured below), author of some cracking, darkly satirical novels, including The People at Number 9 and The Move, casts her sharp eye and analytical writing skills over two unlikely friendship couples and the dangerous fuse that is lit when a collective move from London to Cheshire sets in motion a deadly sequence of events.

Brimming with insight, intrigue and emotional intensity, and with a slow drip of disturbing revelations, Everett’s masterful exploration of the pitfalls and pressures of 21^st century life brutally exposes the perilous fault lines buried under the two seemingly happy marriages. Architect Harriet and her husband Mark, owner of a thriving PR business, would appear to have it all… successful careers, a lovely house in an upmarket, leafy London suburb, and 21-year-old twin boys, Ollie and Jack, at university but on the cusp of leaving home.

Mark – whose life is obsessively organised – is proud of his rise to the top but has a relationship problem with his wayward son Ollie who, unlike his ’ticks every box’ twin Jack, has a history of truancy and behavioural issues. 

Harriet is currently working on a tricky project to convert a crumbling warehouse in Macclesfield into an eco-friendly housing co-operative but cannot escape her obsessive desire to have another baby despite a string of miscarriages and the fact that she is now forty-four.

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Their best friends Yvette and Gary share a smaller place with their two daughters, Jade and Ruby, in a shabbier part of the same London borough. Once a rock band ‘god’ but now a music teacher at a failing comprehensive, Northerner Gary is desperate to recapture his youth (even if that means using ‘coke’) and to revive his long-lost music career.

Meanwhile, Yvette, who was only sixteen when she got pregnant and had a shotgun wedding to Gary, is now a school teaching assistant and is currently caught up with daughter Ruby’s fertility

The Royal Game

Anne O’Brien

JUST as Samuel Pepys’ diary gave us a vivid snapshot of life in the 17^th century, it is the richly detailed letters of three remarkable women from the ambitious Paston family of Norfolk that help to illuminate the 15^th century in all its domestic, social and political complexity.

Anne O’Brien, a teacher turned queen of historical fiction, has made it her mission to put flesh on the dry bones of some of medieval history’s most fascinating but forgotten women, imagining not just the inner sanctum of their private hopes and fears, but the small detail of their lives and the world which they inhabited.

And here this accomplished author seamlessly blends fact and fiction to breathe new and colourful life into the Pastons, a family which rose from humble beginnings to climb to the very heart of court politics and intrigue during the bitter Wars of the Roses.

Fortunately for posterity – and historical novelists – the thrusting, single-minded Pastons wrote copious letters to each other, both the men and the women, and it is this revealing correspondence, detailing family disputes, their loves, their losses and their tragedies, as well as the minutiae of everyday life, that O’Brien (pictured below) has harnessed for the first of a riveting two-part series.

In England in 1444, Justice William Paston, a man of many talents, ‘both meritorious and dubious,’ is dying. Born into peasant stock, William has propelled himself and his family into a higher, wealthier league through determination, vaulting ambition and cunning.

His eldest son and heir, John Paston, knows it won’t be an easy life for them now. ‘Success gives birth to enemies’ and it will be his responsibility to ‘drive off the vermin that stalk us’ without the use of his father’s experience or reputation.

Fortunately, his wife is Margaret Mautby, a young woman with an iron will who was specially chosen by Justice William because, as an heiress to property, wealth and, most importantly, status, she was ‘a juicy Norfolk plum waiting to drop from the tree.’ It was no instant love match. Margaret had experienced no ‘throbbing of her heart’ but she liked John Paston sufficiently, and his prospects even more. The marriage has since proved successful as the couple share a sensible and pragmatic nature, and a warm affinity for each other.

The family also includes Dame Agnes, Justice William’s no-nonsense, ruthless widow, and Elizabeth (Eliza), Margaret’s sister-in-law, who seems doomed to be a sad pawn in the marriage stakes and whose search for a husband is marked with cruelty at the hands of Agnes who beats and bullies her daughter.  And waiting in the wings is Anne Haute, a cousin of Elizabeth Woodville, the highly influential wife of Henry VI’s successor, King Edward IV, who is determined to entrap John and Margaret’s ambitious and charismatic eldest son, Sir John Paston, and become a Paston bride.

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As King Henry VI’s grip on the crown hangs by a thread and the Wars of the Roses start to tear England apart, these women face stern challenges. The House of Paston has begun its rise to power and the family’s ability to plot and scheme sees them overcome imprisonment, violence

The Darkest Sin

D.V. Bishop  

WHEN reports of intruders scaling the walls of a Florentine convent reach criminal investigator Cesare Aldo, he privately wonders just how much trouble could come from a house full of nuns. But his enquiries take a sinister turn after a naked man is found stabbed to death in a frenzied attack inside the hallowed walls of the convent, and Aldo discovers that the the nuns are harbouring a nest of poisonous rivalries.

Welcome back to the busy, bustling streets of 16^th century Florence, home to some of Europe’s most lavish treasures but also a place of menace, danger and Machiavellian politics where corruption and death are only ever a heartbeat away.

The Darkest Sin is the second book in D.V. Bishop’s (pictured below) thrilling and atmospheric historical crime series set amidst the narrow streets and ancient bridges of Florence and starring intrepid court investigator Cesare Aldo, a man not afraid to peer into the city’s darkest corners. A former soldier with the skills of an assassin and the sharpest of brains, Aldo is principled, competent, fiercely self-disciplined and fearless in his pursuit of justice but he has a perilous secret that could end his career – and possibly his life – if it was ever revealed. Aldo is a homosexual.

In the spring of 1537, Aldo, an investigator for the Otto di Guardia e Balia, the most feared criminal court in Florence, is looking into reports of intruders at the Convent of Santa Maria Magdalena in the city’s northern quarter and finds a community divided by bitter rivalries, dark secrets, and the work and purpose of the religious establishment.

Aldo suspects Church and State politics are involved in the case but his investigations become far more complicated when a man’s naked and blood-soaked body is found deep inside the convent. He has been stabbed more than two dozen times in what Aldo immediately recognises was ‘a work of hatred.’ 

Unthinkable as it seems, all the evidence suggests that one of the nuns must be the killer. But Aldo, an excellent judge of what motivates people, suspects there is more to the murder than meets the eye in a city known for its cut-throat society, and he is determined to dig out the truth.

Meanwhile, his fellow officer, Constable Carlo Strocchi, a likeable young man with a promising career ahead of him, finds that human remains pulled from the River Arno are those of Meo Cerchi, another officer of the law who has been missing without trace since winter. Cerchi, a cunning and brutal man, had many enemies but who would dare to kill an official of the city’s most notorious criminal court? 

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As Aldo, who has his own dangerous secrets to protect, and Strocchi close in on the truth, identifying the killers will prove more treacherous than either of them could ever have imagined… Harnessing his love affair with the golden city of Florence, some fascinating slices of real history,

CHILDREN'S BOOKS: Creative magic, seasonal fun facts and train heaven

Join a schoolgirl on a turbo-charged adventure in Rob Biddulph’s fantastic debut novel, discover a host of amazing facts about the seasons, take an epic journey on trains past, present and future, and enjoy warm and witty fun with the unlikeliest of friends in a sparkling springtime selection of children’s books

Age 8 plus
Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City
Rob Biddulph

BEST known for his fantastic #DrawWithRob sessions which kept many children entertained throughout Covid lockdowns, writer and artist Rob Biddulph dazzles again with his debut adventure series for middle grade readers. Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City is a thrilling opener to his much-anticipated trilogy… a hugely illustrated, epic tale threaded through with danger, magic, friendship, art, and a celebration of the power of the imagination.

Some legends are born, some are drawn… drawing feels like magic to Peanut Jones. But art can’t fix her problems. Her dad has gone missing and she’s stuck in a boring new school and often kept late for detention. Apparently her dad has left for a new life in Mexico but Peanut knows this can’t be true.

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Now her days are like wading through treacle, even with her friend Rockwell at her side. Until the day she finds a unique pencil, turbo-charged with special powers. Suddenly she is pulled into a world packed with more colour, creativity, excitement and more challenges and danger than she could ever have imagined. 

And maybe, just maybe, it’s a world where she might find out what happened to her dad. Positively buzzing throughout with energy, creativity and Biddulph’s trademark warmth and humour, this a rip-roaring romp full of devilish twists and turns, and a cliffhanger ending that will leave spellbound youngsters yearning for more. An all-round storytelling triumph!
(Macmillan Children’s Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 7 plus
The Magic of Seasons
A Fascinating Guide to Seasons Around the World
Vicky Woodgate 

DISCOVER amazing facts about the seasons and how magical they can be with a white cat called Mimi as your guide! Author and illustrator Vicky Woodgate brings curious youngsters a beautifully illustrated,
all-encompassing and informative book which delivers everything they need to know about the changing seasons in our world.  How do we measure a season? Do you know why the seasons change? Why do we divide our years up and when did we start doing this? Are seasons the same for everyone? Do you know why it snows on Mars? All these questions and many more are covered in The Magic of Seasons, a fascinating and easy-to-follow climate book for younger readers. Inside the pages are entertaining top tips, quizzes and activities to reflect on the information learned throughout the book as well as maps, charts and different scenes. The aim is to plant the seeds of curiosity in the minds of children, and then watch as it blossoms into a life-long love of learning about the natural world and the science and history behind it. This practical global guide to seasons also tackles the topic from a scientific, historical and geographical perspective, and includes weather myths and legends. The ideal key stage 2 book for primary school learning… or as a riveting read for parents and children to enjoy together.
(DK Children, hardback, £9.99)

Age 5 plus
Locomotion
Alastair Steele and Ryo Takemasa

ALTHOUGH railways are commonplace in many parts of the world – snaking around coastlines, zipping across countryside and transporting people and goods every day – it is strange to think that they have only been around for about two hundred years. In his spectacular exploration of the history of trains, railway historian, author and expert woodworker Alastair Steele celebrates the ingenuity and usability of trains past, present and future.  From early steam engines through to the modern high-speed trains of today, Locomotion charts the history of trains throughout the world, and the wonder and escapism they evoke. Brought to life by the beautiful and atmospheric retro-inspired illustrations of award-winning artist Ryo Takemasa and with an eye-catching silver-foiled cover, this fascinating pictorial journey takes in famous icons of the railway world, along with some of the more ‘off the beaten track’ railways, such as narrow gauge and industrial lines. Packed full of iconic trains including the famous Flying Scotsman and the grand Orient Express, stopping off at famous stations like the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai and the massive Grand Central Terminal in New York, as well as encompassing scenic journeys like the majestic Trans-Siberian railway and the spectacular long-distance California Zephyr service, Locomotion makes a stunning gift or reference book for train lovers of all ages.
(Big Picture Press, hardback, £16.99)

Age 8 plus
Return to FACTopia!
Follow the Trail of 400 More Facts
Kate Hale and Andy Smith

WELCOME aboard a rip-roaring return journey to a world of weird and wonderful facts which are connected in the most surprising and hilarious ways! Return to FACTopia! – a magical trail of four hundred unexpectedly related facts – comes from Britannica Books and is the fabulous follow-up to their hit book FACTopia! The mission is to inspire children’s curiosity and passion for learning, offering engaging non-fiction books that you can trust, with experts behind every page, and this coruscating cornucopia of extraordinary facts is truly a fun and fact-filled reading adventure. Did you know that scientists can tell how old a whale is from its earwax, or that sharks existed before trees? Every fact in the book is connected to the next in an ingenious trail of information. Hop from topic to topic in unexpected and hilarious ways, and discover extraordinary facts about fungus, dreams, dogs, tyrannosaurs, planets, diamonds, bumblebees, robots, jellyfish, Egyptian mummies, and lots more. But there’s not just one trail through these pages to find out extraordinary facts … sometimes your path branches and you can choose to jump to a totally different (but still connected) part of the book. The hilarious world of four hundred facts, all verified by Encyclopaedia Britannica, have been ferreted out by Kate Hale, a writer, editor and professional fun fact finder and a former executive editor for National Geographic Kids Books, and wittily and wonderfully brought to life by photographs, and Andy Smith’s brilliant illustrations. So what are you waiting for… follow the trail and who knows where your curiosity will take you!
(Britannica Books, hardback, £10.99)

Age 7 plus
Anisha, Accidental Detective: Holiday Adventure!
Serena Patel and Emma McCann

ANISHA Mistry’s larger-than-life British-Indian family steal the show AGAIN in the latest baffling mystery for everyone’s favourite (accidental!) detective. Award-winning author Serena Patel and illustrator Emma McCann are back with a new case in their brilliant detective series starring reluctant sleuth Anisha and her best friend and fellow investigator Milo. The gang are packing their bags and off to a holiday camp. Milo can’t wait to see the wildlife, Manny is learning survival skills, and even Granny is going to have a go at archery. Honestly, Anisha just wants to read her book, but there’s never any time to relax for our accidental detective. The holiday park’s mascot, Delilah the duck, has been destroyed, and Anisha’s new friend Cleo is everyone’s number one suspect. Anisha is sure she’s innocent and she’s going to do whatever it takes to prove it. Let’s hope we can find the real culprit and quack the case! Join Anisha and Milo as they head off on their forest adventure, and share all the fun, action and mystery that always seem to appear when the madcap Mistry family are in the spotlight!
(Usborne, paperback, £6.99)

Age 6 plus
Armadillo and Hare and the Flamingo Affair

Jeremy Strong and Rebecca Bagley

JOIN a cardigan-wearing armadillo and a tuba-playing hare in more wonderfully whimsical and witty stories from award-winning author Jeremy Strong and illustrator Rebecca Bagley. Strong is a master of the absurd and comical, and his humour touches the funny bone of children with exquisite precision. Here, he turns his talents to a warm, gentle and thoughtful series featuring endearing stories about two pals who could not be more different but are still the firmest and funniest of friends. Armadillo and Hare live in the Big Forest and are an unlikely pair. Armadillo is often a little grumpy, while Hare is a more cheerful sort but together, they are the perfect pairing. One day, something incredible happens. Someone rather fabulous is singing and dancing in the Big Forest. Who could it be? It’s Flamingo! Has this flamboyant new friend found a forever home in the Big Forest? Beautifully illustrated throughout by Bagley – who captures the essence of this extraordinary and heartwarming friendship with her remarkably expressive and lively gallery of black and white pictures – this is the perfect gift book for youngsters starting to read chapter books and anyone who wants to celebrate friendship!
(David Fickling Books, paperback, £6.99)

Age 6 plus
Toto the Ninja Cat and
the Legend of the Wildcat
Dermot O’Leary and Nick East

HEAD off for mischief and mayhem with a magical moggie who sleeps all day and fights crime at night! Popular TV broadcaster Dermot O’Leary and illustrator Nick East are back with another terrific tale starring the fearless feline and her brothers Silver and Socks. The cats live in a townhouse in London. Toto is almost totally blind, and learned to trust her senses from a ninja cat-master who taught her back in Italy where they were born. By day, Toto and Silver seem to be ordinary cats, but by night, they love to have adventures. Here Silver and Socks, and their best friend Catface have just been made Deputy Ninja Cats but while celebrating, they accidentally break a boat belonging to a very important cat and find themselves heading north to a bootcamp for naughty animals. Deep in the Scottish Highlands, they must climb mountains, paddle leaky canoes and prove that they can work as a team. But something isn’t quite right at the bootcamp, and Toto’s ninja senses will need to be on high alert! With lots of laugh-out-loud moments, reassuring and gentle themes of friendship, inclusivity and winning in the face of adversity, and East’s gallery of hilarious black and white illustrations, this is ideal for newly confident readers to curl up with or read aloud with parents.
(Hodder Children’s Books, paperback, £6.99)

Age 6 plus
Sports Superstars: Hamilton Rules
Simon Mugford and Dan Green

KICK off the spring season with the first fantastic book in a sparkling new Sports Superstars series from everyone’s favourite sports writers Simon Mugford and illustrator Dan Green. This visual series of illustrated sporting biographies is aimed at building a love of reading from a young age, with fun cartoons, inspirational stories, a simple narrative style and a cast of characters chipping in with quotes, jokes and comments. To launch the series, we meet Formula One icon Lewis Hamilton. Regarded as the sport’s finest competitor, Hamilton’s star profile has never been higher, with a record-equalling seven drivers’ championship titles to his name, plus a huge following around the world. Packed with cool facts, delightfully fun illustrations and inspirational quotes, this easy-to-read fan guide follows Hamilton’s meteoric rise from a go-kart racing champion at the age of ten to his sensational maiden season in F1 in 2007 and the subsequent Championship wins that have made him a living legend. The perfect fast lane to sporting fun and facts!
(Welbeck Publishing, paperback, £5.99)

Age 3 plus
The Tiger Who Came for Dinner
Steve Smallman and Joëlle Dredemy

YOUNGSTERS will love getting their teeth into the fourth tasty picture book in Steve Smallman and Joëlle Dredemy’s heartwarming and hilarious The Lamb Who Came for Dinner series. The Tiger Who Came for Dinner sizzles with Smallman’s wit and warmth and French illustrator Dredemy’s striking and characterful artwork as we meet up again with Wolf, Hotpot the lamb and their pet crocodile Omelette. In this new adventure, our trio of unlikely friends find a little lost tiger cub. ‘Can we keep her?’ cries Hotpot. Wolf shakes his head. ‘This little tiger’s family must live further up the river. We have to take her home.’ With that, the group set off into the forest. Everyone they meet on their journey thinks the tiger cub is VERY cute but Omelette isn’t so sure. And when the group finally find the tiger cub’s cottage, they realise she had a terrible plan all along! Smallman’s clever and cautionary tale encourages young readers to challenge stereotypes and to celebrate the value and joy of friendship and family. The perfect book to share with your own special family!
(Little Tiger Press, hardback, £11.99)

Age 3 plus
You Can Be A Superpup
Rosamund Lloyd and Chris Dickason

LITTLE ones can practise their super-cuddle powers with this enchanting board book celebrating the power of kindness and friendship.  Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s Superpup! Our lovable, huggable superhero is here with one simple mission… to cheer up everyone with hugs. This colourful board book – brimming with Rosamund Lloyd’s interactive, rhyming text and Chris Dickason’s perfectly punchy illustrations – has a detachable, fun felt mask to pull out and wear. Brimming with sunny smiles, gentle hugs and caring cuddles, pre-schoolers will LOVE learning how to be budding superheroes!
(Little Tiger Press, board book, £7.99)

Age 2 plus
All About Cats: Fantastically Funny Rhymes
Franz Wittcamp and Axel Scheffler

‘Cats are sleek, and cats are slick. They read, and do arithmetic!’
ALL the family will be purring with delight when they get their paws on this coruscating collection of hilarious and quirky cat rhymes. These short, funny rhymes, written by award-winning German artist and poet Franz Wittcamp, and wonderfully adapted into English by children’s author David Henry Wilson, are brought to life by Axel Scheffler, the bestselling illustrator of The Gruffalo. Have you ever seen a cat playing a piano or taking a bubble bath with a rubber duck? Find out what cats really get up to when people aren’t around! Scheffler's charming and witty illustrations introduce all kinds of cats… making mischief, playing games, singing songs and going out on adventures. With fourteen delightfully funny short poems, and full-page colour illustrations, this riotous feline romp is the perfect gift for cat fans of any age!
(Macmillan Children’s Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 2 plus
Trains Trains Trains!
Donna David and Nina Pirhonen

FEEL the buzz, climb aboard and follow fifty colourful trains on a busy rhyming adventure. Trains Trains Trains! is the first book in an exciting new series that is now steaming towards a platform near you. Transport mad pre-schoolers can go trainspotting without leaving the comfort of home with this bright, joyful and informative picture book from author Donna David and illustrator Nina Pirhonen. Big trains, small trains, short trains, long trains… which do you like best? Follow the colourful trains as they whizz along tracks and through tunnels – up, down, around and back again! And can you find your favourite? Full of spotting and counting fun, with five trains to find on each page, and an exciting fold-out race at the end, this pre-school picture book has been specially developed to encourage pre-reading skills and expand language and vocabulary. And with a super-shiny foil cover and fun read-aloud text, Trains Trains Trains! is just the perfect ticket to ride for your toddlers!
(Macmillan Children’s Books, paperback, £6.99)

Age 2 plus
Esme and the Sabre-Toothed Cub
Simon Philip and Magda Brol

SHE'S back, so shout it out loud! Esme, the small girl with the BIG voice who we first met in Esme’s Rock, invites youngsters to share another rip-roaring adventure in her Stone Age village. The perfect pairing of author Simon Philip and illustrator Magda Brol work their picture book magic on another comical, cautionary tale about the joys of friendship and the rewards of teamwork. When a sabre-toothed cub strolls into Esme’s village, she enthusiastically adopts it as her own and names him Seb. But when Esme tries to train Seb as her pet, he won’t listen… even when she uses her very loudest voice. When it becomes clear that Seb doesn’t want to be anyone’s pet, Morris the wise mammoth wonders if they could they all be friends instead? Philip’s big-hearted messages come across loud and clear in a story brimming with youthful joie de vivre while Brol’s bright and energetic illustrations bring the action to glorious life. 
(Oxford University Press, paperback, £6.99)

Age 2 plus
The Smile
Marie Voigt

THERE are smiles all round in a beautiful and thoughtful new picture book from talented author and illustrator Marie Voigt. Celebrating the connection between different people around the world, The Smile explores how a simple smile and a little kindness can spread joy and help to heal divisions in society. When a baby smiles at her brother, the happiness he feels is so powerful that it sets in motion a chain of kindness that ripples out to families and strangers far away, and back again. Differences are forgotten and people come together as Voigt uses her warm and wise narrative voice, and a gallery of star-dusted, inclusive illustrations, to convey resonant messages about the positive effects of caring, kindness… and smiles!
(Oxford University Press, hardback, £11.99)

Age 2 plus
Bedtime for Duckling
Amelia Hepworth and Anna Doherty

WHAT could be better at bedtime than a book to cuddle up with? Enjoy a heart-melting tale of a duckling looking for somewhere to sleep in this super Snuggle-up Story from Little Tiger Press. Duckling is looking for somewhere to sleep, but Fox’s den is too muddy, Frog’s log is too cold and wet, and Owl’s nest is too high up. When she hears quacking and finds Mummy Duck and the rest of the ducklings behind the reeds, she decides that her cosy nest is the best place to sleep after all! With Amelia Hepworth’s gentle and reassuring story, eye-catching photographic elements, Anna Doherty’s beautiful illustrations, and peek-through pages throughout, tiny tots will love getting their hands on this sturdy board book as they get ready to settle down for sleep.(Little Tiger Press, board book, £6.99)

Age 2 plus
Gretel the Wonder Mammoth
Kim Hillyard 

BEING the last mammoth left on earth isn’t necessarily the best thing! Just ask gorgeous Gretel… one peaceful morning, a loud CRACK can be heard as she breaks free from her icy shell and becomes Gretel the Wonder Mammoth. Everyone – including her new friends who think she’s gentle, kind, strong and understanding – is so excited to meet her but as she settles into her new life, Gretel starts to feel a little overwhelmed and even a bit lonely. Perhaps the bravest act a person (or mammoth!) can do, Gretel learns, is to ask for help. Written and illustrated by the award-winning Kim Hillyard, this clever, funny, poignant and gentle picture book about overcoming anxiety is the perfect antidote of positivity for any young child in need of reassurance and inspiration. Bedtime reading sorted for your anxious toddlers!
(Ladybird, paperback, £6.99)

Age 2 plus
Winnie’s Best Friend
Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul

THE madcap adventures of Winnie the Witch and her black cat Wilbur have provided spellbinding, bite-size stories for over three decades and now the two much-loved stars take centre stage in a story that goes back to the beginning of their friendship. With its universal theme of finding your very own best friend, lots of mad, bad and dangerously hilarious escapades, and Korky Paul’s anarchic colour illustrations to bring the crazy antics to life, this is the perfect introduction to the irresistible duo for a new generation of young readers. A super funny book for your own mischief-makers!
(OUP, paperback, £7.99)

The Plant Hunter

T.L. Mogford

THE Victorian obsession with rare and beautiful flora and fauna fuelled a lucrative trade for an ambitious group of people who became known as the plant hunters. These intrepid adventurers were more than willing to risk life and limb to track down exotic blooms in some of the world’s remotest corners to grab the huge financial rewards offered by wealthy clients.

T.L. Mogford (pictured below), who can trace his own roots back to a line of famous horticulturalists – including a great-uncle who has an apple tree named after him – harnesses his botanical heritage and his gift for storytelling for an exhilarating historical action yarn filled with danger, suspense and derring-do.

Entertaining from first page to last, The Plant Hunter has everything that makes an adventure story a thumping good read… fascinating real history, rich period detail, atmospheric locations, a seductive romance, and an eclectic mix of characters with all the exciting authenticity of H Rider Haggard and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 

In 1867, the King’s Road in Chelsea is a sea of plant nurseries, teeming with beds and borders full of musk roses, monkey-puzzle trees, forsythia and a host of valuable and exotic plants.

And each of these glossy emporiums is fuelled by the dangerous world of the plant hunters – daring adventurers, known to be ‘wild and reckless,’who are dispatched into uncharted lands in search of botanical wonders to grace some of England’s finest gardens. 

Twenty-one-year-old Harry Compton is as far from a plant hunter as one could imagine – a handsome salesman plucked from the obscurity of the nursery growing fields to become ‘the face that sold a thousand plants,’ principally to undiscerning women clients. But one small act of kindness to an Irish plant hunter sees Harry inherit a precious gift – a specimen of the Icicle Tree, a fabled tree said to be ‘the most beautiful on God’s green earth’ and last heard of in The Travels of Marco Polo, a map, and a portable greenhouse called a vasculum.

Click HERE for Lancashire Post review

Seizing his chance for fame and fortune, Harry, who possesses a ‘flint edge’ beneath his charm, sets out to make his mark. But where there is wealth there is corruption, and soon Harry is

The Summer That Changed Us

Cathy Bramley

LIVING your best life is all the buzz in a world that seems plagued by disease and war. It’s a theme that feel-good author Cathy Bramley (pictured below) harnesses  with her trademark warmth, wit and wisdom in this gorgeous comfort read set amidst the wild and rugged beauty of the Northumberland coast.

Full of hope, love, rich insight and an uplifting and much-needed sense of renewal, The Summer That Changed Us features three very different women drawn together by their troubles, and discovering strength and determination through friendship and female solidarity.

The small, sparkling village of Merle Bay on the windswept North East coast – known for its beautiful beach scattered with sea-glass – is a place of kindness and community where anyone can have a fresh start. For 28-year-old Katie Small from Nottingham, it has been her perfect hideout for ten years now after a childhood trauma left her feeling exposed. 

Katie inherited both her small cottage home and the village’s lingerie shop from her beloved aunt and Merle Bay is ‘her heaven, her haven,’ and she is happier here than anywhere else in the world.

But a letter has arrived for Katie which has reignited the trauma that has haunted her since she was a teenager and she flees to her bolt-hole at nearby Sea Glass Beach.

Meanwhile, illustrator Robyn McGill, married to Finn, joint owner of a local family-run fishing business, has always found comfort and joy in her home next to the Merle Bay harbour where the winter winds are brutal but the summer provides ‘a lullaby of waves.’

For Robyn, fresh sea air is helping to heal the mental and physical scars from her radical cancer treatment but maybe not her marriage. Patient, honest and hard-working Finn doesn’t yet understand that treating Robyn with infinite kindness is not entirely what she needs now. And then there’s 46-year-old architect Grace Byron – a new start could help her move on from the heartbreaking loss of her husband Myles who died just as he was about to retire.

Click HERE for Lancashire Post review

His death has left her lonely and vulnerable, and she needs to be somewhere new where there isn’t ‘a memory imprinted into every inch of the place.’ So she’s renting Sea Glass House and hoping to press pause on a life that no longer feels like her own.

When the three women get together after a hilarious ‘split chance’ meeting on Sea Glass Beach, they form an instant bond and are soon sharing Prosecco, laughter and their biggest secrets.