Age 8 plus
Impossible Creatures: The Poisoned King
Katherine Rundell
TRAVEL back to a land of dragons where magic is only ever a heartbeat away, adventures are out of this world, and friendship, love and bravery are the armour with which to fight evil! Readers who left their hearts in the Archipelago after the delights of outstanding author Katherine Rundell’s epic and bestselling Impossible Creatures will be itching to get their hands on her magnificent second book, The Poisoned King. With artwork by Tomislav Tomić, and packed full of fantastical thrills and spills, this new chapter for our hero, Christopher Forrester, sweeps us back to the dangerous and dazzling land known as the Glimouria Archipelago, a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures of myth still live and breed and thrive in their thousands.
In his new adventure, Christopher – who has discovered a
Way-Between his world and the Archipelago – is unexpectedly woken by a
miniature dragon chewing on his face. Far from being frightened, his heart
leaps for joy because for months he has dreamed of returning to the Archipelago’s
secret islands. Called there to help save the dragons, which are mysteriously
dying out, Christopher does not yet know that his return will involve a rescue
mission on the back of a sphinx and a daring plan to enter a dragon’s lair. Nor
could he have imagined that it would involve Princess Anya Phoebe Cornelia
Argen of the Island of Dousha who arrives with a flock of birds at her side, a
newly-hatched chick in her pocket… and a ravenous thirst for revenge and hunger
for justice. With an audacious and daredevil princess – who has her own
personal reasons for solving the dark mystery – joining Christopher for another
all-action adventure, and a glossary of magical, mythical creatures at the back
of the book, youngsters will be lapping up every word of this beautifully
imagined, inspirational and emotion-packed classic.
(Bloomsbury Children’s Books, hardback, £14.99)
Stonewitch
Skye McKenna and Tomislav Tomić
IF you’re looking for adventures with a truly magical atmosphere, step back into the wonderful world of Hedgewitch, where the land of Faerie lies just beyond our own! Stonewitch is the fourth book in the enchanting Hedgewitch series, the debut creation of Skye McKenna who grew up surrounded by red dust in a mining town in the Australian outback but then travelled to England and fell in love with the British countryside. Illustrated by Tomislav Tomić, the series is already being hailed as a modern classic. Now living in Scotland, McKenna was inspired by her love of magic and adventure to write these captivating adventures which star a family of witches who protect Britain from the denizens of Faerie, creatures who are all too real and far more frightening than the story books suggest.
To complete the next step in her training in the practical
skills of witchcraft, Cassie Morgan must invent a brand-new spell. However, she
is struggling for inspiration… so she jumps at the chance to attend the
Covenmoot. Every five years, covens from all over Britain and Ireland meet to
take part in a series of challenging games in the hopes of winning the
Covenmoot Cauldron. Cassie and her friends travel to Glen Carlin, a remote
valley in the Scottish Highlands, to take part. But menacing forces haunt the
moors and rumours of the ancient Stonewitch swirl through the camp. Cassie and
her coven must work together to prove themselves in the Covenmoot, while
long-hidden secrets come to light and the wicked Erl King’s power grows.
Witches aren’t born, they’re made... McKenna is a born storyteller, building an enchanting,
magical world that is as alluring as it is viscerally and thrillingly real… a
place where the characters spring to glorious life, where the natural world
takes centre stage, and where readers long to return to time and time again!
(Welbeck Children’s Books, hardback, £14.99)
Age 9 plus
The Wanderdays: The Midnight Sweet Factory
Clare Povey
(Usborne Publishing, paperback, £7.99)
Witchlight
Dominique Valente and Eleonora Asparuhova
RETURN to a magical world of witches, royalty and curses in
this spellbinding sequel to Witchspark, Dominique Valente’s thrilling fantasy
series starring a girl born with only one hand, and an amazing house with a
character all of its own. Valente – author of the bewitching Starfell series –
uses her own experiences of living with one hand, including the challenges and
frustrations, and her own special brand of magic to treat readers to quirky
adventures brimming with witchery and wonder. Here we meet up again with Eglantine Bury who was born with
just one hand and is a pupil at Miss Hegotty’s Secret Society of Witches which has
a lot of work to do. The Department of Isle-Spark Regulation is up to no good.
For Princess Victoria, a secret witch at the palace, this means possibly losing
her magic powers forever. And for Eglantine, her magical home, Huswyvern, can’t
stop sneezing, causing total chaos with each ‘achoo!’ And as if that wasn’t
enough to worry about, Eglantine’s house isn’t the only magical being falling
mysteriously ill. With dragons and gargoyles getting sicker and sicker, the
witches will have to use time-travel, disguise spells and genie wishes to
uncover the truth... before it’s too late. In this new spellbinding adventure, illustrated by Eleonora
Asparuhova, youngsters are swept back to Eglantine’s captivating world which
features a very unusual teacher and a talking dragon-butler, and a story that
is filled with warmth, humour, wondrous adventures, offbeat fantasy, and
characters to love. High-flying magic!
(Usborne Publishing, paperback, £8.99)
Age 9 plus
Pizza Pete and the Peculiar Professor
Carrie Sellon and Sarah Horne
(Guppy Books, paperback, £7.99)
Ultimate Football Heroes 2026
Matt Oldfield, Emily Stead, Seth Burkett
and John Murray
LOOK back at an amazing year in football with Ultimate
Football Heroes 2026, a bumper special edition of the ever-popular Ultimate
Football Heroes series. These brilliant books feature biographies and life
stories of the biggest and best footballers in the world and their incredible
journeys to stardom, as well as lots of fascinating football facts. And now you can relive the goals, games and glories of the
2024-25 season, including intense Premier League face-offs for the top-five
finish, shocking moments as the Lionesses rise to glory in the Euros, and all
the action from the biggest and best players from around the globe. Peek inside
for Liverpool’s dash for the Premier League title, Salah’s unstoppable run of
goals, the earth-shattering ‘El Clasico’ match between Real Madrid and
Barcelona, Saka’s push to bring his team to the next Champion’s League and
Hannah Hampton’s world-shattering penalty saves. And meet the top players from
the latest season, including Bukayo Saka, Ousmane Dembélé, Alessia Russo,
Lamine Yamal, Désiré Doué and Mohammed Salah. This brilliant yearbook – with its sparkling, gold-foiled
cover – is stacked with the biggest football hero stories from across the
world, plus stats and quizzes to test your knowledge… it's the ultimate
yearbook for fans of the beautiful game and bang on goal for all aspiring young
players!
(Dino Books, paperback, £8.99)
Betty Steady and the Fidgety Wizard
Nicky Smith-Dale and Sarah Horne
BETTY Steady, the Guardian of Wobbly Rock, is back and the
fun factor is off the scale! As the daughter of two knights, Betty is blessed
with unmatched strength and speed but due to a horrid shrinking spell by a
wicked Toad Witch she’s now really, really tiny. Fortunately she is still the
shining star (well, most of the time!) of a funny illustrated fiction series
from the top team of author Nicky Smith-Dale and talented illustrator Sarah
Horne. And in her third adventure, Betty and her Wobbly Rock pals must
leap into action when the twin princesses, Pam and Pamm, fall under a dreadful
spell. They have swooned into a coma, thanks to a bunch of poisonous daffodils
inadvertently given to them by Betty’s swashbuckling, moustachioed 11-year-old
cousin, Freddy Steady. Now the gang must go in search of wicked weasels on the
island of Little Dollop to find the cure. But naughty sorcerer Hearty Stu has
plans of his own for the princesses. And our noble stallion Simon Anderson has
plans for Freddy Steady’s SUPER annoying green unicorn Salad whom he doesn’t
like even a tiny little bit… no sir nuh-uh. With madcap humour at every turn of the page, a cast of the
weirdest characters this side of Wobbly Rock, and a lead player who is just a
teensy bit too big for her boots, this rollicking romp is joyful, big-hearted
and serves up extra dollops of youthful exuberance for readers new to chapter
books.
(Farshore, paperback, £6.99)
Isadora Moon and the Pop Stars
Harriet Muncaster
THE shining star that is half-vampire, half-fairy Isadora
Moon shows no sign of losing her sparkle in this gorgeous silver-coated new
adventure from the ever-inventive author and illustrator Harriet Muncaster. 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, extra activities, and
things to make and do. Isadora is special because she is different. Her mum is a
fairy and her dad is a vampire and she is a bit of both. Here we find Isadora
excited because she has been invited to go to a pop concert with her friend,
Araminta. She has never seen a band like Glitterbat before. The music is gothic
and vampire-y and electric and she can’t wait to show the dance moves to her
friends at school. But will they understand, or will they think her vampire
music is a bit strange? 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, positively fizzing with fairies and vampires, and with
themes of heritage, difference and fitting in, Isadora’s adventures always
leave youngsters hungry for more!
(Oxford University Press, hardback, £9.99)
My Magic Hamster: Hide and Squeak
Leah Mohammed and Jess Rose
WHAT little mischief-maker could resist a very naughty magic
hamster? Children’s author Leah Mohammed has always loved stories with magic at
their heart, and there’s lots of heart and magic to enjoy in the second book of
a sparkling series which includes two stories in each book and stars a mischievous
hamster called Frank. Sana has always wanted a hamster but when she buys Frank,
she gets a bit more than she'd bargained for. Because Frank is a special
hamster… a magic hamster. In fact, he’s a very naughty magic hamster who keeps
getting Sana into all kinds of trouble! As you can guess, life is never boring
when Frank is around, especially when he discovers he has new time-freezing and
shrinking powers. But can Sana keep the super-tiny Frank safe from the neighbour’s
cats? Frank’s fun-filled adventures full of magic, mayhem and mischief are
given extra vibrancy by Jess Rose’s illustrations and look set to run and run!
(Welbeck Children’s Books, paperback, £7.99)
Gordon: In the City
Alex Latimer
GORDON the goose is back and he’s still honkingly funny! Gordon:
In the City is the fourth highly illustrated yarn in a hilarious debut chapter
book series from bestselling author and illustrator Alex Latimer. Gordon is the
meanest goose on earth. Well… he used to be, but now he’s trying to change his
ways and be a good goose. The trouble is, it’s really tricky to be kind and
patient and good, especially when you’ve always been mean. Now Gordon has been invited
to a fancy award ceremony in the big city. He’s been asked to present this year’s
award for The Meanest Goose on Earth, a prize he has won the previous eight
years in a row! But now that he’s a good(ish) goose he’s nervous to be in the
presence of such mean geese and one in particular… Mother Goose! That’s right,
this year Gordon’s mum is up for the award, and she’s got something really mean
planned… Perfect for emerging readers, these funny tales of redemption and
about finding the courage to change your ways are packed with laugh-out-loud,
edgy humour and brought to life by Latimer’s characterful black and red
illustrations on every page. It would be simply mean not to fall in love with
Gordon!
(Oxford University Press, paperback, £6.99)
Marv and the Funfair Fright
Alex Falase-Koya and Paula Bowles
SUIT up, step up! Superhero Marv is back and this time he’s
up against a sinister supervillain and pack of pesky pandas! It’s ‘fair’ game for
fast-paced fun and frolics in the ninth book of an exciting and action-packed
series from award-winning writer Alex Falase-Koya and star illustrator Paula
Bowles. When perfectly ordinary boy Marvin wears his super-suit – powered by
kindness and imagination – he becomes MARV, a superhero with infinite abilities.
In his new adventure, Marvin is excited but nervous about riding the Head
Spinner rollercoaster at the funfair. But he suddenly has much more to worry
about when the Conjuror, a supervillain from Marv's past, causes chaos by
bringing a zombie and some giant toy pandas to life. Marv and his sidekick
Pixel will have to use every trick in the book to put a stop to the
panda-monium and defeat the cunning Conjuror. Kindness, resilience and courage
are all celebrated in these thrill-filled Marv adventures which are brought to
vibrant life by Bowles’ eye-caching two-tone illustrations. Don’t be coconut
shy and miss out on all the mayhem!
(Oxford University Press, paperback, £6.99)
The Moonlight Mystery Agency: The Puzzling Paw Prints
Vashti Hardy and Agnes Saccani
JOIN a little girl and her detective cat on their mission to
uncover the identity of a mysterious creature in the second book of a
marvellously magical series from Blue Peter award-winning author Vashti Hardy
and illustrator Agnes Saccani. The Moonlight Mystery Agency series is part of
publisher Barrington Stoke’s super-readable Little Gems series which comes with
a host of clever design and finishing techniques, like dyslexia-friendly fonts,
to create easy-to-read, first chapter books in a format ideal for little hands.
Hana and her cat Ace are helping the animals of Moonlight to track down the strange
creature with great big paws and a terrible growl which is roaming their land.
No one knows what it can be so they’ve called in the detective duo from the Moonlight
Mystery Agency. Can Hana and Ace puzzle out what’s going on, and will solving
the mystery help Hana find the answer to some worries of her own and discover
something magic along the way? Wordsmith Hardy conjures up her world-building
magic while Saccani’s illustrations bring the adorable characters and their
fun-filled adventures to colourful life. Add on an intriguing puzzle inside the
front cover and you have the perfect early reading package.
(Barrington Stoke, paperback, £6.99)
Family
Patricia Hegarty and Britta Teckentrup
‘On the savannah, whatever the weather, The animals must stick together. A herd of elephants cross the trail, Steadily walking, trunk to tail.’
EXPLORE what family means to all kinds of creatures – from diving
dolphins to marvellous manatees – in a stunning peep-through picture book from
children’s author Patricia Hegarty and award-winning illustrator Britta
Teckentrup. Little ones will love turning the pages of this gorgeously produced
book as they discover the incredible habits of animals and their families.
Die-cuts let young readers peep through the pages, revealing different horizons
all across the world, and offering a celebration of families, love, and the
wonders of nature. Teckentrup's colourful and expressive artwork brings to life
the amazing ways in which animals protect and support each other while Hegarty’s
lyrical rhyming text creates a calming tone, making this an ideal book to help
lull your child into sleep at bedtime or nap time. A visual and verbal trip
into the delights of animal families!
(Little Tiger Press, paperback, £7.99)
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