Age 8 plus
Earth Clock: The History of Our Planet in 24 Hours
Tom Jackson and Nic Jones
WHAT would our planet’s history look like summed up in a single day? Author Tom Jackson – who has written over 100 books and whose specialities are natural history, technology and all things scientific – and illustrator Nic Jones set their creative energies in action to imagine what tomorrow’s future holds for life on Earth in this stunning and informative book. With the help of Jones’ richly detailed illustrations, and Jackson’s inspirational selection of topics for reading and discussion, this book charts the formation of Earth and the evolution of life through the analogy of a 24-hour clock.
Our planet has been spinning in the blackness of space for 4.5 billion years. People have only been around for a tiny part of it, so what happened before we arrived on the scene… before animals, dinosaurs, and even trees? Starting the clock from the formation of Earth, young readers discover the most interesting and high-impact moments of our planet’s geological history as we count down to midnight. Watch oceans rise and life bloom across Earth’s surface as millions of years flash by in minutes, witness the asteroid that caused the dinosaurs’ extinction, explore endlessly evolving animals, and come face to face with our distant ancestors at just four seconds to midnight. And as the clock ticks closer to the present day, imagine what tomorrow’s future might have in store.
Jackson transforms the history of Earth into an exciting,
fact-filled reading adventure as youngsters turn the pages on the past, present
and future whilst poring over Jones’ atmospheric illustrations, all influenced
by her passion for traditional drawing techniques, vivid colours and textured
brushstrokes. Get ready to be amazed at every fast-moving revelation… at every
passing minute!
(Welbeck Children’s Books, hardback, £16.99)
The Ape Star
Frida Nilsson and LEE Films
EVERY orphan dreams of being adopted… but surely not by a
gorilla! Frida Nilsson, one of Sweden’s leading children’s authors, explores
adoption, prejudice, and what it means to be an outsider, in The Ape Star, an
outstanding and entertaining book filled with black and white images from a LEE
Films animated adaption, starring Stellan Skarsgård, which is now showing in
cinemas worldwide. First published in 2005 and instantly winning the hearts and
minds of readers across the world, this eye-catching new edition of the
bestseller – translated by Julia Marshall – captures all the exuberance, fun
and poignancy of a story that asks important questions about society and
conveys messages that speaks loudly to readers of every age. Jonna lives in an orphanage where the manager is strict and
obsessed with cleanliness. Like all the other children, Jonna has only one
dream… to be adopted by a well-dressed mother who smells of perfume. But one
day, a beat-up old car pulls up outside. The door opens and out step two thick
hairy legs with muddy boots, followed by a belly as round as a barrel, and
finally, a head like an overgrown pear. It’s a gorilla! Surely the orphanage won’t
let a gorilla adopt a child but, to Jonna’s horror, the gorilla chooses her.
Now Jonna sleeps in a hammock, and in the evenings the gorilla reads Dickens in
her worn armchair. It turns out that Jonna and the gorilla have got a lot in
common. But just when they have started to get along, a man from the council
threatens to send Jonna back to the orphanage. This enchanting chapter book – ideal for reading aloud of
new readers – tackles contemporary issues of economic hardship, marginalisation
and justice with warmth, wit, compassion and insight as the unexpected
friendship between a girl and gorilla becomes a love based on trust and a
genuine sense of caring. Children will love the quirky characters, the sparkling
dialogue and the different slant on relationships that are the central themes
of Nilsson’s resonant story. A triumph of storytelling by an exciting Swedish
writer.
(Gecko Press, paperback, £7.99)
The Accidental Stowaway
Judith Eagle and Kim Geyer
IMMERSE yourself in a fantastic historical adventure on
board a ship full of mystery… and containing a girl who shouldn’t be there! A
librarian in secondary schools, Judith Eagle – author of The Secret Starling
and The Pear Affair – gets up a head of steam with this nautical thriller full
of waves of fun and decks overflowing with high seas drama. In Liverpool in
1910, Patch runs up the gangway of the steamship, RMS Glorious, although she
isn’t planning to hang around. But if she leaves her hiding place, the
constable who is chasing her might catch her and ruin her reputation… so
sitting tight is worth the risk. Too late, she realises that the ship is
setting sail meaning Patch has become an accidental stowaway. Luckily, Patch’s
unconventional past has made her pretty fearless when it comes to fending for
herself and besides, there are friends in high – and low – places to be made on
board. But hiding away becomes less and less easy… her new friends urgently
need her help and there is a mystery that needs solving, all before they reach
New York. Artist Kim Geyer provides the engaging chapter head illustrations
which bring extra atmosphere to a maritime adventure with an invigorating salty
tang and more than a whiff of seagoing skulduggery. Add on perfect pace and
plotting, rich and vibrant period detail, a tough, feisty heroine to root for,
and an unforgettable cross-Atlantic voyage to enjoy, and you have the dream
escape for young readers.
(Faber & Faber, paperback, £7.99)
Filippo, Me and the Cherry Tree
Paola Peretti (translated by Denise Muir)
A TEENAGE girl’s battle with losing her sight – and the
difficult choices she must make along the way – are at the beating heart of
this emotional and bitter-sweet story from Italian writer Paola Peretti.
Inspired by her own experiences of living with loss of vision – after
discovering she had a rare genetic and progressive illness called Stargadt
Disease which causes eventual blindness – Peretti’s powerful, uplifting and
moving story is the sequel to The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree which
was nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2019 and introduced readers to Mafalda
when she was nine and facing the life-changing diagnosis that her sight, would
fail completely within six months. Mafalda is now thirteen and has been blind
since she was ten. Her best friend is the cheerfully rule-breaking Filippo, and
she is accompanied everywhere by Ottimo Turcaret, her devoted cat. Mafalda is
always looking on the bright side, thinking of things she can do both now and
in the future despite her loss of sight. But other things are worrying her too…
her father who has lost his job and is now in the depths of depression and
refusing to leave his bed, and Debbie, the horrible girl in school who seems
very interested in Filippo. So now Mafalda has to start thinking what Filippo
really means to her. Then two new adults come into her life… Elsa, a homeless
young woman, and Nino, the elderly upstairs neighbour with an awful temper and
a great passion for Charles Dickens. Little by little, Mafalda learns their
stories, and how their lives have also been shaped by brave and difficult
choices. Mafalda’s journey through the next phase in her life cannot fail to
win hearts as she grows to understand the different facets of friendships and
to hang on to your dreams however hard that might sometimes be. Beautifully
written, sensitively translated by Denise Muir, and with inspirational messages
for readers of any age.
(Hot Key Books, paperback, £7.99)
The Feeling Good Club: Smash Your Worries, Bella!
Kelly McKain and Jenny Latham
A PROBLEM shared is a problem halved… the old, and very
wise, adage takes centre stage in the first book in a fresh and informative new
series which helps youngsters to understand the healing power of sharing your
feelings. Written by bestselling author Kelly McKain in journal format, and
packed with the fun illustrations of Jenny Latham, The Feeling Good Club books
put the benefits of mindfulness activities at centre stage. Meet Bella, Archie
and Shazmin who learn to help each other to feel good and face their worries.
Bella couldn’t be feeling worse about it being Feeling Good Week at school.
With her best friend Rosh having moved away, she’s sad and lonely, and to top
it all she has a Big Worry on her mind… the class talk. Then Bella is partnered
with Shazmin and Archie, and is surprised to see the shoots of a new friendship
growing. They even form the Feeling Good Club to share their problems and
express their feelings. But when Shazmin and Archie try to help Bella with her
Big Worry, things go badly wrong. How can Bella show her new friends how she
feels? Youngsters with their own worries will empathise with these perfectly
pitched stories which feature some brilliant mindfulness practices and show
that sharing feelings with friends is the best way to banish your problems!
(Little Tiger Press, paperback, ££5.99)
Whisper on the Wind
Claire Saxby and Jess Racklyeft
‘This is the wind that carries the whisper from Ren’s dream.
This is the sailor, long at sea, who catches it.’
THE multi-award-winning duo,
author Claire Saxby and illustrator Jess Racklyeft, take youngsters on a
magical and mesmerising voyage over and under the ocean with Whisper on the Wind, a
stunning picture book about separation, connection and reunion. A little girl
called Ren who sleeps in a lighthouse dreams a glorious, colourful dream which
is carried aloft in its bottle by the waves and the breeze over the dolphins
that glint in the moonlight and into the fishing net of a sailor far out at sea.
With Saxby’s gentle, lyrical, cumulative text, Racklyeft’s whimsical, richly
imagined and atmospheric artwork, and a moving finale as we discover just who
that sailor is, Whisper on the Wind is a celebration of the wonders of the
ocean and a reassuring reminder to little ones that even when we are separated
from family, love has the power to find us wherever we are.
(Allen & Unwin Children's Books, hardback, £11.99)
To Catch a Cloud
Elena de Roo and Hannah Peck
JOIN an exhilarating chase across land and sea with a
beautiful, colour-soaked, poetic picture book from the inspirational team of
New Zealand author Elena de Roo and Brighton-based illustrator Hannah Peck. To
Catch a Cloud – with its lyrical rhyming verse and mesmerising pictures – is an
epic tale full of nature’s potential dangers but with the action wrapped up in
the vibes of a traditional sea shanty. We
watch as a boy and a dog follow a cloud out to sea but as the weather worsens,
he relies on the whales and waves to bear him home. ‘I spy a cloud go floating
by Where do you go, Cloud, so high? To the sea She sings Where the wild gulls
fly Then catch me if you can I cry We race each other to the sea Can’t catch
me, Cloud Can't catch me’ With a stylish, refined colour palette, and an
alluring sing-song quality to the writing, this classy picture book offers
breathtaking beauty in both its words and its illustrations.
(Faber & Faber, paperback, £6.99)
How to Catch a Rainbow
Naomi Jones and Ana Gomez
CAN you ever catch a rainbow? Naomi Jones – author of
bestselling shape-themed books The Perfect Fit and One More Try – and Spanish
illustrator Ana Gomez cast their magic over this colourful picture book which
comes packed with fun, learning and creativity. Freya loves rainbows. She loves
their bright colours and their curvy shape. And more than anything, she wishes
she has one of her very own, one that she can keep forever. So Freya decides to
become a Rainbow Hunter! She searches high and low, but no rainbows are to be
found, so she decides to make her own, collecting items in every colour of the
rainbow from the garden. But when things don’t go quite to plan, Freya has to
use her imagination and creativity to come up with a way to make her wish come
true. This vibrant, imaginative story – brimming with Gomez’s technicolour
illustrations and a playful exploration of problem-solving – encourages little
ones to talk about how rainbows are made… and is a joy to both look at and
read.
(Oxford University Press, paperback, £6.99)
Lionel Eats All By Himself
Lionel Poops
Eric Veillé
LEARNING about looking after your own body is all part of
the very early years of a child… and there could be no more lovable character
than cheeky toddler lion Lionel to teach some of the golden rules! French
author and illustrator Eric Veillé has fun with two mischievous, earthy and
gently educational board books starring an over-enthusiastic, impulsive little
lion who likes to test his daily routines to their absolute limit. In Lionel
Eats All By Himself, he can’t help but enjoying the messy results of
his eating escapades. He sits in his highchair and insists on eating all by
himself. His veggies… well done, Lionel!
(Gecko Press, board books, £6.99 each)
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