Age Group: KS3 (Ages 11-14)

The Overthinkers’ Club: Happy List

Chapter book

This is the perfect book for tweens and is sure to be a popular reading for pleasure choice. Birdie is an overthinker, and she currently has a lot of change to navigate in her life, including moving house, becoming a blended family, tending to an elderly hamster and not yet needing a bra!

Birdie and her best friend decide to create a happy list of ideas to help them with their well-being. But, along with daily gratitudes, drinking water and doing things for others, her BFF adds ‘new friends’ to the list! Trying to branch out, Chloe and Birdie find themselves the target of a bullying group of girls.

This book perfectly encapsulates tween life – the happiness, stresses, anxieties, betrayals and joy. The brilliantly chatty tone, mix of font styles and illustrations make it so engaging, and there’s plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Above all, it is filled with supportive friendships and a caring family to help the girls find their way.

A great reading for pleasure book that will resonate with young people making the transition to Secondary School in the next couple of years.

The Secrets of Wild Hill: Lottie’s Dream

Olivia Tuffin

Chapter book

Old rivalries, new friends and a fresh start. Can Lottie rebuild her connection with Patch enough to get them to the championships and one step closer to her dream?

In this second gripping adventure, Lottie works hard to heal her bond with Patch, desperate to learn how to hear him. But ever since the Rhinefields Show when he galloped off, Patch has been detached and afraid…

Meanwhile, Lottie’s friendship with Felix is over and she feels betrayed. But when he texts her out of the blue, she realises how much she’s missed him. Could she trust him again? And why does he need her help? As more secrets emerge, Lottie and Felix try to make sense of the photograph he found and the old connection between their two families.

With Wild Hill up for sale, there’s still so much to overcome. Lottie knows that without Wild Hill, there will be no more time with Patch. And without Patch, there is no dream.

From AI to Wi-Fi: How the internet works!

Craig Steele & Terri Po

Non-fiction

Written with humour and clarity, this non-fiction book breaks down complex ideas associated with the Internet – like data packets, algorithms, networks, and cybersecurity – into manageable and child-friendly explanations supported by diagrams and real‑world examples.

The book also discusses online risks, including scams, hacking and privacy concerns. These are handled in an age‑appropriate, factual way that would be great for starting discussions around e-safety, cyber security and Safer Internet Day.

As a teacher, I find it a strong choice for developing digital literacy and supporting cross‑curricular learning in computing, science, and PSHE.

Rune: The Tale of the Obsidian Maze

Carlos Sanchez

Chapter book

After defeating the Shadow King, Chiri and Dai are settling into their new lives in the magical land of Puddin’.

However, there is always more evil to fight against, and this time, the evil is coming to them.

After being invited to the Obsidian Maze to fight the sinister MidKnight, Chiri and Dai are about to encounter the deepest darkness there ever was, and they’re not sure if they’re both going to make it safely back to their friends.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Hardback Deluxe Collector’s Edition)

Rick Riordan

Chapter book

A gorgeous, foiled, clothbound edition of THE LIGHTNING THIEF with brand new interior art – a must-have for all Percy Jackson fans!

The son of a sea god has never looked so good!

Rick Riordan’s classic first novel, THE LIGHTNING THIEF, has been dressed up in a deluxe, clothbound edition with a foiled cover, stained edges, a marker ribbon, ten pages of new interior illustrations, and notes from Rick. The perfect edition to beautify any book collector’s shelf.

Return to the World of Percy Jackson in the best-selling, new adventure featuring the original hero in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Chalice of the Gods – out now!

Football School Facts: A Fact for Every Day of the Year

Alex Bellos & Ben Lyttleton & Spike Gerrell

Non-fiction

Welcome to Football School Facts! It’s a book of facts and so let’s start with an important one: football is the best sport in the world.

– Did you know that Erling Haaland is a record-breaking goalscoring machine?
– That a player was once sent off for farting on the pitch?
– Or that Diego Maradona has a religion named after him?

Discover all this and much, much more all about your favourite players, great goals, super stadiums and marvellous mascots – the perfect gift for all young fans and their families to enjoy.

The Cartoonists Club

Raina Telgemeier & Scott McCloud

Graphic novel

The Cartoonists Club is a fun, colourful and entertaining graphic novel.

A group of children get together and form ‘The Cartoonists Club’, bringing together a group of friends, harnessing their individual talents. The illustrations throughout are relatable, colourful and fun. The story is easy to follow and you want to keep on reading, not wanting to put the story down, with manageable chapters that help keep the story engaging.

Themes of friendship, creativity and believing in yourself run through the book adding depth to the story. There is a really informative behind the scenes chapter at the end which finished the book off perfectly. This book would inspire children to draw their own comics and inspires creativity, as well as being a quick and easy-to-finish read for Upper KS2.

BobLand

Matt Lucas

Chapter book

Dive in to this funny and heart-warming adventure from superstar author, Matt Lucas. With themes of creativity, resillience and being yourself this is perfect for young readers of 8-12 and a must-have gift for Christmas.

What’s better than the best theme park in the world…? The best theme park in the world – IN YOUR OWN GARDEN!!

Bob Grubb and his family live on a ramshackle smallholding backing on to the world-renowned theme park, Happey World, run by Arthur Happey and his dreadful granddaughter, Maisie. When Bob accidentally gets into Maisie’s bad books, he is banned from Happey World – FOR EVER. What is an entrepreneurial boy to do? Build his own theme park in his back garden, of course! With the help of friends and family, BOBLAND is go! But with Arthur and Maisie doing everything in their power to derail Bob’s plans, will they make it to the Grand Opening in one piece, where they are due to meet the king himself? And what is the big family secret that lurks beneath it all?

Discover even more laughs, thrills and candyfloss with Matt Lucas’ newest wonderful children’s novel, perfect for 8-12 year old readers!

The Rocks Book

Nancy Dickmann

Non-fiction

The ultimate introduction to rocks, minerals, and gemstones for kids – and grown-ups too!

What are rocks? How do fossils form? Are rocks different across the world? The Rocks Book has all the answers for curious readers, budding geologists – and petrologists! Learn about rocks from space, tips on how to collect rocks sustainably, and discover an epic directory of rocks and minerals to help kids identify treasures found on rock hunting trips.

Inside The Rocks Book:

An incredible breadth of knowledge about the planet’s many rocks and minerals written in an engaging and informative way for children and grown-ups alike
Rocks around the world are explored continent by continent across North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, Oceania, Antarctica, and even Under the Sea
Fun sections and features including Rock Detectives and Be a Rock Collector! keep kids entertained and aid learning
Fascinating ‘Directory of Rocks and Minerals’ provides in-depth coverage of basalt, obsidian, sandstone, marble, gold, copper, and many more
Written by Nancy Dickmann, author of Lonely Planet Kids’ Amazing Night Sky Atlas and Amazing Ancient History Atlas

Find out what the world is made of, from top to bottom, with The Rocks Book – the latest addition to Lonely Planet Kids’ The Fact Book series. This is the ultimate study of rocks for geology-loving kids and the perfect gift for curious children who want to learn more about our planet.

The Wild Life of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals

Mike Barfield & Paula Bossio

Non-fiction

Take a colourful tour through the prehistoric animal kingdom with this hilarious collection of non-fiction comics from award-winning author Mike Barfield and illustrator Paula Bossio.

From the earliest life forms living under the ocean, to the most fearsome dinosaurs, all the way through to early mammals like the woolly mammoth, this book tells the story of what life was really like on early Earth. Discover what these animals looked like, where they lived and how they survived (or didn’t) in the most extreme conditions.
Split into chapters covering the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras, the book covers animals from all over the world, with each one telling its own life story. Also featured are ‘Dead Cool’ pages showing some of the stranger animals of each period, and ‘Living Legends’ pages looking at the true survivors who are still around today.
This is a funny, accessible guide to the astonishing animals who once thrived in a world that looked very different to the world of today.