Author & Illustrators

M.G. Leonard Books

The Impossible Gladiator

Chapter book

The action adventure of Gladiator meets the time travel of Doctor Who in the third title of this epic series by bestselling award-winner M. G. Leonard. Perfect for 8 to 12-year-old fans of Adventures on Trains. Supports the curriculum. Illustrated throughout in black and white by Manuel Šumberac.

Sim, Jeopardy and Nelson are enjoying an amazing holiday in Rome, until they they are swept up in the mysterious disappearance of world-famous illusionist Kinetic. He vanished during a live broadcast from the Colosseum, but he never reappeared. When Kinetic’s sister finds a strange description in a history book of a gladiator who sounds uncannily like her brother, the friends are determined to help.

They travel through secret time doors to the spectacular — and deadly — Colosseum in Ancient Rome, but can the brave trio survive long enough to find Kinetic and bring him home?

The Impossible Gladiator can be read as a stand-alone novel, or enjoyed as part of the thrilling Time Keys series written by M. G. Leonard. Follow Sim, Jeopardy and Nelson’s adventures in Ancient Egypt, Hunt for the Golden Scarab, and Viking Norway in The Legend of Viking Thunder.

The Legend of Viking Thunder

M.G. Leonard & Manuel Sumberac

Chapter book

Hot on the heels of Hunt for the Golden Scarab, the first in M.G.Leonard’s new Time Keys series, comes this epic Viking adventure.

Sim and his cousin Jeopardy have an ability to open doors in time when they tune in to the right frequency with their instruments. What follows is an immersive and seat-of-your-pants odyssey from Norway back to Viking England as the family try to keep the powerful Gjallarhorn out of the hands of the evil Council of Keys.

M.G. Leonard excels at bringing history to life in this series. Her writing is compelling and pacey, and her focus is always on carrying the reader along with the story, never getting bogged down too long in any one moment. For teachers looking for fiction to support and enthuse kids as they learn about history, this series is a winner!

The Tale of a Toothbrush

Daniel Rieley & M.G. Leonard

Picturebook

A brilliantly topical and delightfully funny picture book from internationally bestselling author M.G. Leonard, which shows children what happens to their plastic toothbrushes after they’re thrown away.

Children use their toothbrush each morning and evening, and get new ones every few months. That’s billions of toothbrushes! What happens to them all when they’re no longer needed? And if toothbrushes take thousands of years to break down, what does that mean for our planet?

With a fun cast of plastic characters, from pirate-ship bottles to dancing shampoos, and even an inquisitive albatross, The Tale of a Toothbrush is a positive and heart-warming story to help children explore the impact their choices have on our planet.

Hunt for the Golden Scarab

M.G. Leonard & Manuel Sumberac

Chapter book

Hot on the heels of their award-winning, multiple middle-grade book series spanning beetles, trains and birds, M.G. Leonard is back, launching a new action-packed, time-travelling adventure series with an initial foray into Egyptology.

Sim lives with his mother, Callidora, in a flat above the museum of Sir John Soane. One evening, while Sim and his mum are training in the museum, they hear voices approaching. Callidora pales and opens a door in the museum, rushing Sim inside, opening a world of questions that even she can’t avoid forever.

Underpinned by historical fact, a tale of adventure, lies, trust and time travel unfolds, sweeping you along with twists and turns that keep you gripped and wanting to read on.

A brilliant book to accompany any unit on Ancient Egypt, readers will look forward to discovering what, where and when Sim, Jeopardy and Nelson will get up to next in this promising series.

Sabotage on the Solar Express

Elisa Paganelli & M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman

Chapter book

A full-steam-ahead adventure series that had us hooked from the get-go. This series contains middle-grade mystery stories set on train journeys around the world.. With a high spirit of adventuring and a good-and-proper mystery that unfolds with clues and red herrings along the course, this is a brilliantly fun story that is sure to be on track to find itself set among the very best in the children’s mystery genre.

Sabotage on the Solar Express can be read as a stand-alone novel or enjoyed as part of the series. Join Hal and Uncle Nat alongside train enthusiast August Reza on the maiden voyage of the Solar Express, which hurtles passengers into a heart-stopping, action-packed, thrill ride across the Australian Outback. Themes explored include eco-friendly travel, environmentalism and traditional aboriginal values versus modern technology.

It’s a full-throttle mystery with likeable characters and a well-paced plot that is especially full of treasures for anyone who loves trains or adventures in different countries.

The Ice Children

M.G. Leonard

Chapter book

Found early one December morning in the rose garden of the local park, Finn is frozen solid and statue-like on a plinth with a mysterious rhyme carved into its base. Rushing to be by his side, his sister Bianca and their parents are at a loss to understand what has happened and, most importantly, how to rescue Finn from his icy imprisonment. As more children are found frozen, Bianca realises that there is something that links them: a mysterious, silver, shiny book. Bianca has to race against time and has to trust her instincts when all around her are dismissing her theories.

Bianca realises that Winter is in peril because of global warming and knows that she, and her generation, must act swiftly: ‘We may be young, but there are millions of us on this planet. We are the future, and we can make a difference.’ And so, Bianca saves the threatened Ice Queen and M.G. Leonard inspires her readers to become custodians of the Earth.

Like a modern-day fairy tale, with echoes of Hans Christian Anderson, this is a fantasy story with environmental themes that will touch the heart. Relationships are gloriously portrayed, settings are magically described, and the action is fast and furious. A compelling read for children and adults alike.

The Arctic Railway Assassin

M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman

Chapter book

We love this full-throttle mystery adventure series set on trains, with likeable characters and well-paced plots. This latest instalment invites readers onboard a journey through the never-ending night of the arctic winter towards the Arctic Circle and Northern Lights. The clues and red herrings unfold one by one and the high spirit of adventure and atmospheric setting are enough to set imaginations tingling just as much as detective senses. An absolute winner of a story – just like the rest of the series.

Beetle Boy

M.G. Leonard

Chapter book

Darkus can’t believe his eyes when a huge insect drops out of the trouser leg of his horrible new neighbour. It’s a giant beetle – and it seems to want to communicate.

But how can a boy be friends with a beetle? And what does a beetle have to do with the disappearance of his dad and the arrival of Lucretia Cutter, with her taste for creepy jewellery?

The first book in MG Leonard’s acclaimed trilogy features exotic beetles, a daring quest, a mixture of bold male and female characters and a truly venomous villain.

Twitch

M.G. Leonard

Chapter book

Twitch is in Year 7, where he is the victim of vicious bullying. Not surprisingly, he would prefer the company of birds to anyone at his school. His plan for the summer holidays, when he finally finishes the first year of secondary, is to spend his time bird watching and also train his pigeons to home. However, his plans are thwarted when a dangerous convict, in prison for murder, escapes. The police believe the escapee will be returning to the area where Twitch is planning to spend his summer- Aves Wood. There are also millions of pounds involved that have yet to be recovered. Twitch makes some unlikely allies and together they end up trying to track down the prisoner and find the lost millions. But with so much at stake, this becomes a highly hazardous pastime.

M G Leonard writes beautifully and knowledgeably about birds and bird-watching. As someone who has never been a bird watcher, I ended up going out with my family and looking for birds and we all got interested. I think this book would do the same for many children. The story is infused with a love of nature in general and birds in particular and it leaves a vivid impression.

Twitch himself is a very likeable hero and his ingenious problem solving is both clever and engaging. He is a fantastic role model, and I was overjoyed to discover he will feature in further books.

This is an exciting adventure, a mystery story and one that also deals with some difficult topics such as bullying and a parent in jail. It is also so full of interesting wildlife facts I felt I had learnt a lot by the end of it. It would also make an excellent read-aloud story that children would really enjoy for the suspense and great storytelling.

Rex the Rhinoceros Beetle

Duncan Beedie & M.G. Leonard

Picturebook

From MG Leonard, the award-winning author of Beetle Boy comes a picture book about a little beetle with a big heart! Deep in the rainforest, rhinoceros beetles Buster and Rex are sharing stories. Buster has so many heroic tales – he’s SO strong and daring! Every story leaves Rex in awe – he’s never met such an amazing beetle! But with danger just around the corner, will Buster live up to his reputation, or will it be up to Rex to save the day? After all, bravery comes in all shapes and sizes!