Age Group: KS3 (Ages 11-14)

Nature is the Answer!: A Toolkit for Eco-Positivity

Non-fiction

In a world where children are increasingly exposed to worries about the future (from climate change to endangered animals and deforestation) it’s no surprise that many young people are beginning to experience what Chris Packham calls ‘eco‑anxiety’. While the challenges facing our planet can feel overwhelming, ‘Nature Is the Answer’ offers its readers reassurance, hope and practical tools to help children navigate their worries.

This book brings together short stories, real‑life anecdotes and fascinating facts to inspire and uplift its readers. Chris Packham blends activities, scientific insights and powerful examples from around the world to show children that their concerns can be transformed into positive action. The book teaches strategies to help young people manage their feelings and channel them into something constructive.

The book is filled with engaging illustrations, simple toolkits and bite‑sized sections that make it easy to dip into little and often. It’s exactly the kind of gentle positivity so many young people need in today’s fast‑changing world. This is a perfect read for any child who cares about the planet and has worries about its future.

Two is a Crowd

Cath Howe

Chapter book

Cath Howe has delivered another compelling book that will strongly resonate with pupils who have siblings and close family relationships. The story thoughtfully weaves together the themes of family dynamics, friendship and jealousy, offering a sensitive exploration of the ‘green-eyed monster’. The engaging narrative style draws readers in effortlessly, making this a highly immersive and difficult-to-put-down read. It is likely to connect with any child who has experienced feelings of jealousy or self-doubt, making it a valuable addition to classroom and library collections.

Hattie is ready for a summer of fun, including a trip to France with her family and the anticipation of starting secondary school with her bestie. Then Seren arrives! It ought to be everything she’s ever wanted, yet it feels entirely the opposite. Why is she so hard to talk to and be around? Everyone else seems to love her, so what is Hattie missing? Then school starts and Seren has to join too and everything falls apart.

This is a narrative that uses emotive language to allow the reader to fully empathise and understand the characters: ‘I was a patch of wintry snow in a sunny field.’ Hattie is a character many readers will recognise from their own school experiences. This is perfect for ages 8 through to pre-teens. Cath Howe is superb at writing about such prevalent topics within current school and home settings, understanding what children feel and go through as they navigate childhood, their families, friends and school. Utterly wonderful!

The Missing Magic of Sparrow Xia

Leia Ham

Chapter book

Welcome to a world that depends on magic – but where each person’s magic fades away before they reach adulthood.

The pressure is on for Sparrow Xia to develop her pitifully limited fire mage abilities at Zenith Academy. It doesn’t help that expectations are extra high for her because her older brother Ainsley’s magic is exceptionally powerful – the burn scar on Sparrow’s cheek is proof of that. Sparrow can only hope that her studies will help her discover her fire and finally make her family proud; after all, the academy is famed for turning out young mages gifted enough to work for the elite guilds, which make the most of the few years teens can power the world before they lose their magic as adults.

At Zenith, Sparrow does indeed gain magical strength – and new friends – but her life at school raises more questions than answers. Should she risk her own future in order to help others? And is Sparrow’s magic the most important thing about her?

Then a mysterious illness breaks out at school, draining students of their powers. Sparrow and her friends are drawn into the search for the cause, but they need to be careful: in a world where magic means everything, some people will go to terrible lengths to try to keep it…

The Children of Wolf Rock

Natasha Farrant

Chapter book

Following on from The Children of Castle Rock, and yet easy to read as a standalone, Natasha Farrant revisits Stormy Loch Academy in this new adventure following three more adventurous, determined and sometimes damaged children.

Farrant isn’t afraid to address the relationship between adults and children in her novels, and this is no different. Although there are hints of the children’s friendships, it is really the fragmentation of families, and the misbehaviour of adults that garners the most attention and is deservedly punished, as children once again come out as righteous and brave, seeking justice and truth. Minna, Kass and Tom all have their different family reasons for staying on at Stormy Loch in the school holidays, but when they stumble across teenager Addie hiding out in a nearby valley, their holiday adventures really begin. Why has the teen run away, and what is she trying to draw attention to?

With music and dogs playing their part, and the wildness of Scotland contrasting with the bustle of London, Farrant has written another gripping adventure, with lovely allusions to her previous books’ characters, but also a cast of highly authentic and loveable new characters, from headstrong Minna to doubt-ridden Tom. Children will relish the escapades and freedom, as well as understanding the backgrounds of each character and the motivations for why they act as they do. References to coercive control and abuse resonate but are never too graphic. A fantastic modern quest to discover and reveal the truth.

The Shell Secret

Sue Palmer

Chapter book

For eleven-year-old budding detective Alice Clark, summers in Trevellen used to mean roaming the beaches and rock pools, collecting shells with her sister, Poppy.
But this year is different. A year after Poppy’s death, Alice returns alone – determined to build a shell memorial in her honour, and desperate to ensure her sister is never, ever forgotten.

Forbidden from visiting the beach by herself, Alice reluctantly strikes a deal with Jasper – the annoying boy who’s just moved in next door.

But the arrangement quickly becomes more complicated than she expects.

Drawn into the heart of a sinister World War II mystery, Alice and Jasper find themselves in real danger, unearth a shocking family secret, and risk losing the one thing Alice came back to Trevellen to protect.

The Ocean and the Bones

Genevieve Carver

Chapter book

Friendship is tough in the Stone Age, especially when your best friend is part-Water Spirit…

A storm is coming…

Ever since Little Meg became Sunhealer’s Shadow, she’s been learning to understand the ways of the Spirits. So when a storm sweeps through her village, she knows they are angry. Worse still, they are angry with her for keeping back the bones she was meant to offer up to them. The bones of her dead parents.

As the rain clears, Meg discovers a girl washed up on the seashore. She speaks in a strange language and scratches pictures of distant lands in the sand. Despite the suspicious mutterings of the villagers, the pair forge an unlikely friendship. But if Meg wants to appease the Spirits and save her people, she must return the girl to her home.

Their journey will take them across the wild sea, to a place that exists only in legends. But will Meg survive to tell the tale?

The Carnegies

Judged by librarians, the 2026 Carnegies celebrate outstanding reading experiences in books for children and young people in two categories: the Carnegie Medal for Writing and the Carnegie Medal for Illustration. This year’s shortlists were announced on Tuesday 10th March.

The Medal for Illustration shorlist features six picturebooks and two graphic novels. The theme of connection through journeys features strongly in this list, including a journey to a nearby town in The Paper Bridge, and a journey through memories in The Sleeper Train. Two debut illustrators are also highlighted in this list: Kengo Kurimoto for Wildful and Oboh Moses for Freedom Braids.

The Medal for Writing shortlist includes BooksForTopics favourites J. P. Rose’s Birdie and Katya Balen’s Ghostlines, which both feature in our Year Group Recommended Reads. Teen relationships are the focus for two of the other nominations in this category: Jason Reynolds’s Twenty-Four Seconds from Now and Tia Fisher’s Not Going to Plan.

You can check out the full shortlist for the 2026 Carnegie Awards below.

Fearless by Lauren Roberts

Lauren Roberts

Chapter book

THE SIZZLING FINALE TO THE NO 1 BESTSELLING* ROMANTASY TRILOGY PHENOMENON!

Paedyn Gray and Kai Azer return to the Kingdom of Ilya…

And Paedyn has a life-altering choice to make. Whatever she decides will determine her fate – and the fate of those around her – forever.

In the ultimate battle of love and loyalty, who wins?

Be swept away by the conclusion to the smash hit, romantasy trilogy that has taken the world by storm.

Powerless, Powerful, Reckless and Fearful available now.

Skandar and the Spirit War

A. F. Steadman

Chapter book

BLOODTHIRSTY UNICORNS. UNLIKELY HEROES. A MORTAL ENEMY.

Don’t miss this epic final adventure in the number 1 bestselling SKANDAR series, for fans of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Eragon and Impossible Creatures.
Pre-order THE FIRST UNICORN RIDER now to be one of the first to read an unmissable new magical adventure set in the incredible WORLD OF SKANDAR

Skandar is in hiding after the Chaos Cup where Rex Manning revealed a game-changing secret. But as Rex prepares to invade the Mainland, the Islanders are not sure who to trust.

With one of Skandar’s closest friends now fighting for the enemy, Skandar must build new alliances – including an uneasy truce with Kenna. To defeat Rex, Skandar and his friends will need to look back to the origins of the Island, and harness the full power of their elemental magic.

Can Skandar become the leader he needs to be – to save the Mainland and the heart of the Island itself?

Get ready for unlikely heroes, elemental magic, sky battles, ancient secrets and ferocious unicorns in this highly anticipated adventure that will keep you reading after lights out!

FCBG Children’s Book Award

Established in 1981, the FCBG Children’s Book Award is the only national children’s literature award voted for solely by children from start to finish. Books are shortlisted in a final “Top Ten” which is divided into three categories: Books for Younger Children, Books for Younger Readers and Books for Older Readers. We are delighted to see so many BooksForTopics favourite authors, illustrators, titles and characters featured in this year’s shortlist.

Among the selections for Younger Children is Michelle Harrison and David Tazzyman’s There’s a Shark in My Pants!, which featured in our recommendations for summer holiday reading. BooksForTopics favourites Julia Donaldson and Sara Ogilvie are also shortlisted with their new collaboration, Gozzle.

Some of our favourite characters star in the selections for Younger Readers, including Murray and Bun in Murray the Pirate, and Pablo and Splash in Roman Holiday. Chante Timothy’s Supa Nova, which is highlighted in our Year Group Recommended Reads, completes the Younger Readers choices.

For Older Readers, the list includes Hide and Seek, from Christopher Edge’s Fear Files horror series, and Fidan Meikle’s My Name is Samim, both of which have featured in our Books of the Month selections.

Online voting will open on Monday, 23rd March. You can see the full shortlist for this award below, and you can find out more on the FCBG website.