Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books

Author & Illustrators

Abi Elphinstone Books

ember spark and the thunder of dragons

Ember Spark and the Thunder of Dragons

Chapter book

Ember Spark is another magical adventure story written by Abi Elphinstone.

This enjoyable read tells the tale of Ember, a girl living in the village of Yawn in Scotland, who longs for adventure. Her wishes come true when she is recruited as an apprentice for Rusty Fizzbang, vet to all magical beasts. Abi Elphinstone is known for being an excellent storyteller and her use of detailed descriptions in her stories, which really help the characters and story to come to life. Ember Spark is another excellent example of this, in particular the first chapter, which hooks readers in straight away. Readers will enjoy her choice of vocabular, the theme of magic running throughout and the use of humour, especially some of the character names and the actions of some of the magical beasts, whose names suit their personalities perfectly!Ember, as the main character, is likeable and relatable. As the story progresses, she learns the importance of friendship and sharing adventures with others. Other characters, including Rusty and the villain – Jasper Hornswoggle – add an extra element of magic and danger to the story that will keep readers entertained throughout.

The illustrations by Kristina Kister, which also include a detailed map of the east coast of Scotland at the beginning of the book, help to tell the story as well as offer a visual prompt to less confident readers– it is always nice to come across illustrations in chapter books.Overall this was a very entertaining story and one that could certainly be read independently or enjoyed as a whole class text.

Buy from Amazon
Buy from Bookshop
saving neverland

Saving Neverland

Chapter book
book-of-the-month

Martha doesn’t have time to play anymore.  Martha is ten, the age when you have to start acting like a grown-up. Not growing up comes with repercussions – like the Terrible Day – and Martha is not going to let that happen again. So, Martha now makes lists, not adventures, much to the confusion and disappointment of Scruff her younger brother, for whom adventure is like breathing, you can’t live without it. But Martha can’t ignore the mystery of the window that would not close. Scruff maintained that it allowed the fairy in that ruffled his hair into a tangled nest every night. Martha thought that was just a silly childish notion, although she had to admit it was beginning to worry her. For several nights now, leaves had appeared by the open window, but there were no trees on their street and more than that, their Father, who could identify every type of tree that grew at Kew Gardens, had to admit that he had never seen leaves like them…

Author of the Unmapped Chronicles and the Dreamsnatcher series, Elphinstone is no stranger to children’s fiction writing, but taking on the re-writing of a children’s classic of such magnitude as Peter Pan was a risky and controversial venture. Thankfully Elphinstone’s adventurous spirit in real life translates wonderfully into a thrilling adventure that is accessible and enjoyable for younger readers as it is thought-provoking for older ones. Maybe we should all think about doing a little growing down instead of up? I will certainly be keeping my bedroom open in the hope a little magic might spill its way in.

Buy from Amazon
Buy from Bookshop

Jungledrop

Chapter book

Our community members in schools tell us time and again how popular Abi Elphinstone’s stories have been in schools among pupils and teachers. Not so long ago, Sky Song whisked readers in upper KS2 away on a magical fantasy adventure through frozen landscapes and last year, Rumblestar landed to introduce the Unmapped Chronicle series with a bang. The latest book, Jungledrop, follows in the Unmapped Chronicle series but also reads well as a standalone adventure for those who missed Rumblestar.

Jungledrop tells the story of a set of obnoxious and self-assured twins called Fox and Fibber Petty-Squabble. The pair are fiercely competitive with each other, desperate to prove their own worth to the family businesses at any cost. They’ve got a lot to learn and the narrator assures the reader early on that they will learn to be brave and kind if we stick with them for a while – in fact, they are even on a path to save the world from the power-hungry antagonist Morg the Harpy.

Quickly hurled into an adventure they never meant to be part of, the twins find themselves in the glow-in-the dark rainforest kingdom of Jungledrop. Abi Elphinstone excels at fleshing out her fantasy worlds with thrilling and entertaining characters; in Jungledrop the twins meet a host of fantastical creatures, including their dry-humoured companion Heckle the parrot, Doogie Herbalsneeze (the jungle apothecary) and Iggy Blether, the unicycle-riding unmapper. The exotic landscape is also populated with imaginative plants like the gobblequick trees and a treetop highway for easy jungle commuting.

There’s a real sense of adventure in the story, with danger never being far away, and the fantasy elements are well- balanced against a voyage of empathy. The narrative offers the reader insights into the way in which the twins’ backgrounds, experiences and upbringing have contributed to their unpleasant behaviour and tendency towards dishonesty, selfish ambition and distrust of others’ intentions of kindness. Through their adventure, Fox and Fibber learn a lot about what it really means to be strong and how working together with courage and kindness is what makes kingdoms thrive. In the background to the story, there’s a gentle stirring of themes of environmental conservatism, as characters must act communally to preserve their kingdoms from threats of destruction.

A must-read for lovers of fantasy adventures and those who love a story that stirs the imagination.

Buy from Amazon
Buy from Bookshop

Everdark

Chapter book

It is midnight in Crackledawn – a midnight full of magic. Sea dragons stir in the depths of the ocean, silver whales surface beneath the moon and sand goblins line the shores. Everyone is waiting for the phoenix, the guardian of the kingdom’s magic, to rise up from the forests of Everdark .

But there is no sign of the phoenix tonight. Something else surges up out of Everdark instead: a harpy bent on stealing Crackledawn’s magic.

It is up to an eleven-year-old girl called Smudge and a grumpy monkey called Bartholomew to set sail beyond the legendary Northswirl and stop the harpy before it’s too late.

So, grab your compass and roll down your sail – the first adventure in THE UNMAPPED CHRONICLES is about to begin . . .

Buy from Amazon
Buy from Bookshop

Rumblestar

Chapter book

Magic, adventure, and a whole new world is waiting to be discovered! The perfect series for adventurers aged 9+ and fans of Michelle Harrison, Piers Torday and Jamie Littler. The Unmapped Chronicles will not only leave children entertained, but will also empower them to battle climate change and environmental issues.
‘Adventures are unpredictable and often terribly badly behaved – a bit like pickled onions if you’ve ever tried to fork one on a plate – but they have a way of unlocking people and turning them upside down so that all the astonishing things fizzing around inside them start to tumble out…’

Eleven-year-old Casper Tock hates risks, is allergic to adventures and shudders at the thought of unpredictable events. So, it comes as a nasty shock to him when he accidentally stumbles into Rumblestar , an Unmapped Kingdom full of magical beasts.

All Casper wants is to find a way home, but Rumblestar is in trouble. An evil harpy called Morg is sending her followers, the Midnights, into the kingdom to wreak havoc and pave the way for her to steal the Unmapped magic for herself. But Casper cannot turn a blind eye because the future of his own world, he discovers, is bound up with that of the Unmapped Kingdoms.

And so, together with Utterly Thankless , a girl who hates rules and is allergic to behaving, and her miniature dragon, Arlo , Casper embarks upon an adventure full of cloud giants, storm ogres and drizzle hags. Can he, Utterly and Arlo, the unlikeliest of heroes, save the Unmapped Kingdoms and our world from the clutches of Morg and her Midnights?

Live a life filled with adventure with Abi Elphinstone in this brand NEW series where a whole new world is waiting to be discovered…

Buy from Amazon
Buy from Bookshop
Sky Song Book

Sky Song

Chapter book
resources-available

A magical adventure story with a strong female lead and overtones of Pullman and C.S. Lewis, ‘Sky Song’ will quickly whisk you away into an enchanting fantasy world. Set in an icy landscape populated by a power-hungry Ice Queen, tribes of children living in secret hide-outs and delightful magical animals, this text cleverly explores how the ‘magic’ of acceptance and tolerance can advance personal and societal change. On their quest to save the kingdom from the clutches of the Ice Queen, adventurers Eska and Flint discover that long-standing borders between different tribes can be broken down and that openness and courage are better markers of identity than ethnicity or class. Fast-paced and sparkling with magic on every page, this book is a real delight. A free scheme of work for KS2 is also available via the author’s website.

Buy from Amazon
Buy from Bookshop
Buy Audiobook

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review

Stone Girl Bone Girl

review

Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:

Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:

Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?

yes

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Any other comments

Any other comments