CHILDREN'S BOOKS: Sky-high success, celestial poems and summer loving

Enhance every aspect of your life alongside sporting role models, discover the vast and beautiful poetry of the universe, enjoy a sun-drenched romance in the spectacular city of Rome, and find out what happens when you wake a monster in a loch with a dazzling July selection 

Age 9 plus
Shoot for the Stars
Danielle Brown, Jayde Perkin and Filigrana de Ideas

SPORT isn’t just about winning medals… it’s also about using it to enhance every aspect of your life.  And nobody knows that better than disabled athlete and children’s author, Danielle Brown, who thought her enjoyment of sport was over when she was diagnosed, aged eleven, with a painful and debilitating neurological condition, but went on to become a double Paralympic gold medallist in archery and a five times World Champion. She also became the first disabled athlete to represent England – and win gold – in an able-bodied category at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Harnessing her own personal experiences and those of other inspiring athletes, Brown has produced a big-hearted and empowering handbook about sport, confidence and self-belief, offering hesitant youngsters relatable role models and a fresh perfective on sport… and life.

Shoot for the Stars gives practical examples of how to overcome obstacles that sometimes keep girls from achieving sporting success, move past criticism, break through limiting stereotypes and find the courage to dig deep and discover sporting success on their own terms… whether you’re a seasoned pro, starting out or just want to have fun. Packed with quizzes, team talks, advice from sporting champions, and all kinds of tips and tricks, this interactive handbook – illustrated by Jayde Perkin and Filigrana de Ideas – will have budding young sports hopefuls covered for every sporting situation by offering reassurance and providing the confidence to strike out and live your best your life!
(Little Tiger Press, paperback, £12.99)

Age 9 plus
Space: Royal Observatory Greenwich Poetry Book
Gaby Morgan

‘Look at the stars! Look, look up at the skies!
O look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air!’

DISCOVER the vast poetry of the universe with this celestial collection of poems about space, published to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the world’s most renowned astronomical site. Illustrated throughout with photographs from the observatory collection, this beautiful, hardback anthology features poems about astronomy, astronomers, planets, stars, and our constantly evolving understanding of the universe and space phenomena. Space has been compiled by Gaby Morgan, an Associate Publisher at Macmillan Children’s Books who has run the children's poetry list for thirty years and put together many bestselling anthologies. Filled with classic poems from the likes of Homer, Shakespeare, William Wordsworth and Walt Whitman, right up to the present day, including specially commissioned poetry from Nikita Gill, Brian Patten, Nicola Davies, Dom Conlon and David Harmer, these are poems inspired by the cosmos and will delight stargazers young and old.
(Macmillan Children’s Books, hardback, £14.99)

Age 12 plus
Livia in Rome
Bruna De Luca

IF your tweens are ready for a little love this summer, then look no further than this sun-drenched, ‘clean tween’ romance in one of the world’s most beautiful, spectacular and truly romantic cities. Livia in Rome comes from Scottish-Italian author, Bruna De Luca, who draws on her own experiences of growing up as a third culture ‘Scotalian’ kid. Could Rome be where the heart is? Sixteen-year-old Scottish-Italian Livia feels like an outsider, spending the summer in her grandmother’s bar in Rome. Smug local boy Giulio works there too, and quickly becomes Livia’s nemesis. She is not going to be the cliché foreign girl who has a summer romance. But as Livia navigates family drama, new-found friendships… and Giulio, she starts to see the city – and herself – in a new light. Think ice cream dates, gorgeous Italian boys and sightseeing on a Vespa… summer romance doesn’t get better than this!
(Chicken House, paperback, £8.99)

Age 9 plus
Rayleigh Mann and the Quest of Misfits
Ciannon Smart

WELCOME back to a monstrously exciting fantasy world where the bad guys are really the good guys! Rayleigh Mann and the Quest of Misfits is the thrilling sequel to Ciannon Smart’s Rayleigh Mann in the Company of Monsters. Smart’s love of her Caribbean heritage and its myths, and growing up in London, inspire her action tales of magic, monsters and humour so head off to Below London where causing a ruckus is the best thing you can do! A lot has changed for Rayleigh Mann in the last few months. On the previous All Hallow’s Eve, Rayleigh was just a regular boy… or he thought he was. Now, Rayleigh has embraced his monster heritage, passed all the tests to stay in Below London with the rest of monster society, and even saved his father – the Bogey Mann – from the notorious Illustrious Society. But his adventures are far from over. With the return of the Imposter and the Illustrious Three, Below London is on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Since Rayleigh’s own actions foiled the Illustrious Three’s sinister plot last time, he’s supposed to be staying far away from trouble. But as strange shadows start to reach out to him for help and clues begin to fall into place, Rayleigh and his new friends find themselves embroiled in a mysterious treasure hunt to prevent Below London from falling into chaos… and not the good kind this time. With good guys, some seriously scary bad guys, and a dark and thrilling fantasy world that will appeal to all young adventurers, the escapades of Rayleigh Mann and his monsters make for dangerously exciting reading!
(Piccadilly Press, paperback, £7.99)

Age 8 plus
Mission: Monster Mind
Philip Kavvadias and Euan Cook

WHAT happens when you wake a monster in a loch? The answer lies in the third book of a brilliantly funny series from exciting debut author Philip Kavvadias who is not just passionate about getting boys reading, but actually knows how to do it! Billed as Jurassic Park meets Wimpy Kid, these seemingly mission impossible adventures are packed full of humour, action and suspense – the perfect ingredients for reluctant readers – and feature two twelve-year-old boys and their ‘rescue pet,’ a tiny flying dinosaur. Good friends and RAPTOR junior agents Finn, Milo and Tasi are dispatched to Scotland, along with young hacker Ether and Arty the microraptor, to recover stolen technology that could plunge the world into chaos. It’s their most nail-biting mission yet… and that’s even before they wake the monster from the deep! There are lots of laugh-out-loud moments to enjoy from first page to last in this high-tech, fast-paced, and drama-filled adventure which has themes of environment, technology and villainous mind-control at its heart, and explores the joys of friendship and some real-life survival skills. A brilliant adventure reading package perfectly topped off by the atmospheric and inventive black-and-white illustrations of Euan Cook.
(Chicken House, paperback, £7.99)

Age 3 plus
Duck Delivers
Tom Tinn-Disbury

IF you’re looking for quacking good stories to entertain little ones who like vehicles that ‘go’ then author and Illustrator Tom Tinn-Disbury’s new picture book series will be a transport of delight! Star of the show is Delivery Duck who flies in for a high-stakes adventure packed with scooters, planes, rockets, hang gliders… and lots of laughs. Duck is a home bird. He likes splashing in the bath, eating bread in bed, and organising his sock collection. Yet, there comes a time when even the most unadventurous birds must fly the nest. And what better way to see the world than as a Delivery Duck for Feather Force?! Soon, with his uniform, parcel and STRICT instructions from Ostrich Bosstrich, Duck is scooting off on his very first adventure…what could go possibly wrong? Packed with Tinn-Disbury’s hilarious bird puns and fun-filled, vibrant illustrations, Duck Delivers speaks loudly about perseverance and positivity, and is the perfect fit for little ones obsessed with the ‘post-people’ and delivery drivers who knock on their doors!
(‎Hodder Children’s Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 3 plus
Doodle and Dot: Squiggles on the Loose
Lily Murray and Bia Melo

TWO best friends are forced to line up for action when their drawings come to life and plunge them into a chaotic adventure! Sharpen your crayons and get ready to square up to a whole bunch of alien squiggles in a clever and comical picture book that teaches arts styles whilst taking little readers on a fun-packed journey of discovery. Squiggles on the Loose is part of author Lily Murray and illustrator Bia Melo’s Doodle and Dot series which explores different concepts of art and design including shape, pattern, line, and colour. Doodle and Dot are best friends. They love to draw together and experiment with art but their drawings have a frustrating habit of coming to life and causing mayhem. Doodle and Dot don’t always agree on everything, especially when it comes to playing with lines. Dot is a fan of nice, neat lines and Doodle much prefers silly squiggles. Doodle goes on a squiggle-drawing spree and not even Dot’s straight-edged cage can contain them! How will they ever get the squiggles back under control? Murray’s action-packed story about friendship, creativity, and teamwork, brought to life by the imaginative and eye-catching illustrations of Brazilian-born artist and designer Melo, inspires youngsters to get creative while promoting teamwork and problem-solving as Doodle and Dot work together to literally draw themselves out of their artistic scrapes. Perfectly designed for your pre-schoolers!
(Oxford University Press, paperback, £7.99)

Age 3 plus
Danny McGee Drinks the Sea
Andy Stanton and Neal Layton

EVERYONE'S stomachs will be churning with delight when they get a taste of the little boy who drinks the sea! You can take this story with a pinch of salt or you can laugh out loud as the prize-winning team of Andy Stanton, author of Mr Gum, and much-loved illustrator Neal Layton work their special brand of magic on the rhyming adventures of the delectable and immensely hungry Danny McGee. This spectacular reissue of the extraordinarily funny picture book that garnered rave reviews in 2017 is set to win the hearts and minds of a new generation of young readers when they discover that anarchy really does reign supreme when show-off Danny makes a bet with his sister Frannie that he can drink the sea... and then eat up everything from a man learning to ski and a cat drinking some tea to the weather girl on TV. Yes, from mountains, trees and jungles to flies, fleas and peas, Danny can devour them all. Soon everyone – even author Stanton – are inside Danny McGee. There’s just one person left… feisty Frannie. Can she finally stop the eating rampage? As knockabout fun goes, this is certainly a knockout! Children will be eating every word of this super surreal, read-aloud story as they follow the cheeky antics of Danny and his long-suffering sister Frannie. A hard act to swallow!
(Faber Children’s Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 2 plus
The Boys Book of Feelings
Lauren Ace and Jenny Løvlie

YOUR feelings are important, whether they are big and wide like the ocean, or tiny and niggling like a grain of sand! Feelings are how you make sense of the world… and little ones can learn all about different feelings and expressing them in this moving and beautifully illustrated board book based on the beautiful picture book, The Boys, created by Lauren Ace, who has worked in publishing for ten years, and illustrator Jenny Løvlie. The Boys Books of Feelings follows four friends as they navigate the ups and downs of growing up together, enjoy the wonderful adventure of life, and forge close bonds that will last a lifetime. With its diverse cast of characters, Løvlie’s exquisite illustrations, and Ace’s warm and emotional words, this is the ideal book to inspire both children and adults.
(Little Tiger Press, board book, £7.99)

Age one plus
A is for Apple
Illustrated by Georgie Birkett

FINGERS at the ready for a fun new alphabet book! Young ones will love this unique, innovative trace-and-flip book which lets them trace each grooved letter to explore its shape and then lift flaps to see an object that begins with that letter. Brimming with words, pictures and gorgeous illustrations by Georgie Birkett, the book offers an engaging way for children to discover letters and first words. With advice on the back for parents about pointing to pictures while reading the words, asking youngsters to think of other words beginning with the same letter, and using the book as a guide to practise writing the letters, this is the perfect way to introduce the alphabet and guarantees hours of fun and learning.
(Little Tiger Press, board book, £7.99)