Age Group: KS3 (Ages 11-14)

Running My Own Race

Chapter book

Kofi’s mum wants him to be ‘somebody’ – she has come to believe that because he’s black, he needs the best education to compete in the real world, and so she makes him do the exams to win a scholarship to a prestigious private school.

Kofi is successful and wins the scholarship, and his mum is overjoyed – in fact, the whole community is proud of him and keeps telling him so. Others keep telling him how fortunate he is, but the problem is he doesn’t feel very lucky – he didn’t want this, and now he just feels pressure from all around. The one good thing about his new school is the athletics club – the coach has spotted his potential, and he has a good chance of competing in the London Schools’ Championships. But Kofi’s mum doesn’t approve of him running (she wants him to focus on his studies), and the school bully will do anything to ruin his chances because he doesn’t want Kofi to outshine him. Kofi’s best friend says that he needs to start standing up for himself, but that’s easier said than done.

Running My Own Race is a book about learning to find your path and having the courage to speak up for what you want. With themes of sports, resilience and prejudice, the book is best suited to lower KS3 or mature KS2 readers. It is an engaging yet easy read from start to finish and will inspire young readers to stand up for what they want and to follow their dreams.

Island of Influencers

Monique Turner

Chapter book

Monique Turner’s debut novel captures the current obsession of today’s teen and young adult audience with the draw of internet fame and fortune, balanced neatly with the negative impact and reality of just how much hard work can be involved in the endless supply of ‘shorts’ that the social media moguls supply.

What appears at first to be a crime thriller quickly transpires to be a light look at a reality game show, but then flips the narrative again as the sinister underbelly of the influencer world is exposed with a glimpse of a dystopian future.

A good story to provoke discussion among teens, this is most likely to appeal just for the joy of reading independently, and the subject combined with a fast pace could make it appealing for those reluctant readers who might otherwise prefer a screen to a book for entertainment.

What Happens Online

Nathanael Lessore

Chapter book

Existor is the most popular guy in school. Fred is the loser with no friends. And nobody knows they’re the same person.

Online, Fred’s alter ego is the best gamer around – constantly on a winning streak, with tonnes of followers, and the confidence to go with it.

But offline, Fred’s life is miserable. His dad’s always working, his mum’s struggling, and at school, everyone looks straight through him. Until Existor’s notoriety spreads to his school, and Fred sees an opportunity: everyone listens to what Existor has to say, so why not use that?

Soon, Fred is coming up with outlandish rumours about his classmates, and everyone’s lapping it up. His bullies are shunned, and people are finally taking notice of him. But it’s a slippery slope and Fred struggles to keep track of all the stuff he’s posted as his lies start to wreak unexpected havoc.

Fred will have to answer for his crimes against reality, but will he ever find someone to like him for who he really is?

Mayowa and the Sea of Words

Chibundu Onuzo

Chapter book

WARNING: DO NOT JUMP ON THIS BOOK!

Have you ever jumped on a book? Perhaps not. Most people would think it was a rather unusual thing to do.

Ten-year-old Mayowa has always thought that her Grandpa Edward, who dyes his beard emerald green and jumps on books in private, is rather unusual too. Until one day she jumps on a book for herself, and uncovers a huge family secret …

Mayowa can book jump.

By jumping on a book, she can harness the emotions inside it and channel them directly into other people. And when the opportunity to use her power to save the lives of countless refugees presents itself, Mayowa wants to jump in with both feet.

But Mayowa and her grandpa aren’t the only book jumpers in existence. And not everybody wants to use this power for good …

The first title in a dazzlingly imaginative adventure trilogy about one girl’s power to change the world through the magic of book-jumping. Brimming with heart, Mayowa and the Sea of Words is a modern classic in the making. Perfect for everyone who knows the true power of a good book …

Guinness World Records 2025

Guinness World Records

Non-fiction

After 70 years, open the next chapter of record breaking!

Filled with thousands of awesome facts and feats for the whole family, this year’s edition celebrates Guinness World Records’ 70th anniversary. Learn how record breaking has changed over the years and what incredible looks like in 2025.

Celebrate the ICONS that shaped our world from Taylor Swift to the Tallest Man Ever.

Discover the next generation of record breakers… and how you can become one, with a dedicated KIDS ZONE.

Chart the history and ultimate limits of record breaking with poster-style FLASHBACKS – including speedy rubix cube solves, eye-watering football transfers and more.

Travel through 70 years of the famous book with an opening chapter filled with retro features.

Look out for DEAR GWR – an affectionate tribute to some of the funniest record applications that didn’t quite make the cut.

Explodapedia: Rewild

Ben Martynoga & Moose Allain

Non-fiction

Rewild is a celebration of nature and the incredible ways it keeps us alive, and an exploration of how we can welcome the wild on a personal and epic scale. River-nurturing wolves, tree-toppling beavers, climate warrior whales and even genetically-engineered woolly mammoths could all help us protect, revive and restore our planet to its full glory. Join Ben Martynoga and Moose Allain for an inspiring look at how we can rewild life so that nature – and humankind – flourishes for a long time to come.

Foxlight

Katya Balen

Chapter book

From the author of October, October, winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal, comes a heartbreaking and heart-warming story about sisterhood, found family and accepting love in the most unusual and unknown places.

Fen and Rey were found curled up small and tight in the fiery fur of the foxes at the very edge of the wildlands. Fen is loud and fierce and free. She feels a connection to foxes and a calling from the wild that she’s desperate to return to. Rey is quiet and shy and an expert on nature. She reads about the birds, feeds the lands and nurtures the world around her.

They are twin sisters. Different and the same. Separate and connected. They will always have each other, even if they don’t have a mother and don’t know their beginning. But they do want answers. Answers to who their mother is and where she might be. What their story is and how it began. So when a fox appears late one night at the house, Fen and Rey see it as a sign – it’s here to lead them to their truth, find their real family and fill the missing piece they have felt since they were born.

But the wildlands are exactly that: wild. They are wicked and cruel and brutal and this journey will be harder and more life changing than either Fen or Rey ever imagined.

Calling the Whales

Jasbinder Bilan & Skylar White

Chapter book

When a majestic whale is stranded near their Scottish hometown, Tulsi and Satchen must summon all their courage to save it in this thrilling adventure from award-winning author Jasbinder Bilan.

After rowing out to an island near their seaside home, Tulsi and Satchen discover a whale that has been trapped in a fishing net. Determined to try to free the poor creature, they repeatedly dive down into the freezing sea to cut the netting, but eventually, exhausted and with a storm rolling in, they have to admit defeat.

As they head for home to seek help, their boat capsizes in the storm and they’re left clinging to it, dangerously adrift. Just as they think all is lost, help arrives from an unexpected source …

Storyland

Amy Jeffs

Short story collection

This is the children’s edition of Amy Jeffs’ Storyland, which is a rich collection of myths and legends from Britain. Children in Key Stage 2 are likely to be familiar with stories from Greek mythology or Roman legends, but this short story collection looks closer to home for the myths and legends of Britain – including stories of giants, dragons and wizards.

It’s interesting to ponder and discuss how people from the past understood the world around them through stories. A good challenge for readers looking to learn about Britain’s literary heritage or an entertaining read for those who love fantasy and mythology, the stories are well-written and have been made accessible for children, with illustrations bringing them to life.

Naeli and the Secret Song

Jasbinder Bilan

Chapter book

Naeli lives in India and one day receives an anonymous ticket to England. She feels that she must go, despite not knowing who it is from, because that’s where she believes her father is. She takes her precious violin with her and boards a ship to England where she meets Jack, who is on his way to boarding school.

Once she arrives in England, things are not quite as she expected, and several people seem very interested in her violin. Naeli decides to enlist Jack’s help to find the place where her father was last seen, as none of the adults seem willing to help her.

I really enjoyed the mystery element to this story, and not knowing what was so special about the violin. All the adults the children met along the way seemed to know more about Naeli’s father than they were letting on, so Naeli had to get creative to find out information. I also enjoyed the contrast in setting between India at the start of the book and Victorian London.

Suitable for children Y4 and up, this would make a good read aloud in the classroom. Children who are fans of mysteries, historical fiction, or adventures will enjoy this.

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