Author & Illustrators

Serena Patel Books

Anisha, Accidental Detective: Christmas Chaos

Chapter book

A festive mystery-a festive delight with all the trimmings! Another fantastic book in this wonderful series where friendship, community and family all work together to create the best Christmas fayre that their town has ever seen.

If you thought your family loved Christmas, wait until you read about the Mistry’s celebrations: 50 boxes of decorations; 3 Christmas trees; elf hats; and compulsory Christmas jumpers. However, all of the Christmas spirit could be lost when the sleigh they find then disappears one night, along with Anisha and her dad’s dreams of a grotto, featuring the very special post-box they have borrowed. There are many suspects on their list (Mr Bogof, Smita Smart-Jones, someone with small hands??). Can Milo (her best buddy, aka detective buddy) and she find the sleigh and save Christmas? Can they bring back the festive cheer for everyone, especially her dad?

The mix of text and illustrations makes this a perfect choice for readers 7+. Grab yourself a hot chocolate (with all the trimmings), a mince pie and get cosy to read on and see how the mystery unfolds…

Game Over!

Louise Forshaw & Serena Patel

Chapter book

Set in secondary school, this short and dyslexia-friendly title tells the story of Jay and his quandary over doing what makes him happy or keeping in with his friendship group.

Jay has an interest in computing, and a talent for it too, according to his teacher, Mr Chan, although his friends think it’s for nerds. They have only one interest – football – so when his best friend Noah’s Dad starts a new football club, the pressure on Jay to join in is huge.

Jay knows that he’s not very good at football and would much rather go to Mr Chan’s new Computing Club, but the club falls on the same days as football practice, and Jay is torn between the two. He ends up lying to his friends in order to attend the club, but then an announcement regarding a competition and an amazing prize raises the stakes, and Jay’s web of deceit falls apart.

The characters are believable, with the bonus of seeing from the illustrations that various ethnic groups are represented. It certainly gets the positive message across that everyone is different, and I could see it being very useful in some football-obsessed classes in my school!

Pia’s Pet Club: Puppy Problem

Emma McCann & Serena Patel

Chapter book

A brilliant new series from the very talented Serena Patel. In the first book of this series, we are introduced to eight-year-old Pia, who is crazy about animals and even more so as she isn’t allowed one of her own. She lives with her older-but-annoying sister, Anjali, in two places – one with her mum in a nice little house and the other a flat with her dad.

Pia meets a boy called Hari in the communal garden. He is with his two dogs, an older basset hound called Raja and a boisterous puppy, Luna. Hari is upset because he has to train Luna to behave before his Nani comes to visit, or she will be given away. What ensues is plenty of chaos, giggles and new friendships.

This is a heartwarming read with such lovable, diverse characters. Emma McCann’s illustrations beautifully complement this fun story.

Test Trouble

Louise Forshaw & Serena Patel

Chapter book, Dyslexia-friendly

Arun is very anxious about a maths test that his class will be taking next week. This is partly because it will be on everything they have learned so far, but mostly because it is timed. He struggles with completing tasks against the clock, even if it is just getting ready for school in the morning, and also finds it impossible to concentrate on one thing at a time. Arun’s family tries to make him feel more positive, but he thinks they don’t take his worries seriously.

So Arun comes up with a plan to avoid taking the test. Unfortunately, his first attempt gets him into trouble with the Headteacher, and then fate gifts him an opportunity where he has to wrestle with his conscience. It takes an unexpected conversation with a neighbour and a friend-in-need to bring clarity to his thoughts.

This has themes of facing your fears and doing the right thing. It highlights the expectations that families have for their children and how young people compare themselves to siblings and classmates. I could see this being a useful class read when assessments are on the horizon, and it also provides children with some useful strategies for dealing with their anxieties.

Anisha Accidental Detective: Fright Night

Emma McCann & Serena Patel

Chapter book

There’s a spooky mystery at school, in the sixth hilarious case in the award-winning Anisha, Accidental Detective series!

It’s Halloween and everyone is excited about the school disco. It’s a bit much for me – all that dressing-up and dancing. I’d rather cosy up with a good book, but Milo, Mindy and Manny are all super excited.

Or at least, they were excited, until all these strange things started happening – messages appearing on the whiteboard, lights flickering on and off, books flying off the library shelves… Some of the other kids have been whispering that the school is haunted, but Mr Graft says that if the spooky mischief doesn’t stop, then the disco will be cancelled.

Looks like a mission for me, Anisha, accidental ghost detective!

Anisha, Accidental Detective: Holiday Adventure

Emma McCann & Serena Patel

Chapter book

The Mistrys are off on holiday, in the fifth hilarious mystery in the award-winning Anisha, Accidental Detective series!

Pack your bags – we’re off to a holiday camp!

Milo can’t wait to see the wildlife, Manny’s learning survival skills, and even Granny’s going to have a go at archery. Honestly, I just want to read my book, but there’s NEVER any time to relax for Anisha, Accidental Detective.

The holiday park’s mascot, Delilah the duck, has been DESTROYED, and my new friend Cleo is everyone’s number one suspect.

But I’m sure she’s innocent, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to prove it. Let’s hope we can find the real culprit, and QUACK the case!!

Anisha Accidental Detective: School’s Cancelled!

Emma McCann & Serena Patel

Chapter book

Nominated for “Favourite Books of 2020” by: Dan Norton (Y3/4 teacher)

Dan says, “School’s Cancelled is a wonderful second book in the Anisha Accidental Detective series. It’s a race against time for Anisha to prove that it was not her who caused the foam explosion that flooded the school. The mystery is engaging until the very end and there are twists and turns throughout. The world that has been created is inclusive and vibrant and any event that involves Anisha’s family is sure to be fun!”

Anisha Accidental Detective

Emma McCann & Serena Patel

Chapter book

This is a delightful book celebrating family and friendships and is part of a very popular series. Anisha is a funny and resourceful character, whose love of STEM and eye for detail makes her the perfect detective in this humorous series of mysteries. Anisha has an extended family that proves to be strong and supportive when things go wrong. There are authentic cultural references exploring Anisha’s Indian heritage, particularly around food and family.

The illustrations by Emma McCann help to reflect the humour in the story and the text is often broken up with lists and diagrams, making the book particularly appealing to children who may be daunted when faced with full pages of text.

Picture Perfect

Louise Forshaw & Serena Patel

Chapter book, Dyslexia-friendly

Sonal has chosen ‘family’ as the topic for her school photography project. She thought it would be easy but she’s already regretting it. She can’t get everyone to focus so that she can take a group photo and even the individual snaps feature different members of her family looking at screens of various kinds. Sitting with her grandfather and sadly comparing her photos and family albums from the past shows just how much the digital world has taken over their lives. Egged on by her wise and long-suffering grandpa (who we suspect has thought for a while that a digital detox was in order), Sonal devises a plan for a family camping weekend without any devices at all.

From there, the warmly engaging story follows the innocently well-meaning but accident-prone heroine, whose exploits provide amusement while inviting empathy. Serena Patel captures the rhythms and cadences of modern family life brilliantly, wryly presenting an antidote to the perfect families often seen on social media. I thoroughly enjoyed the realistic perspective on parental and sibling relationships where squabbles and disagreements are normal.

Like the rest of the Barrington Stoke series, it is accessible but well-written and unpatronising, with black and white illustrations that work well with the lighthearted tone of the writing. It would make a great start to discussions of the mismatch between reality and social media profiles within the context of families. The more we expose this in schools the better, and this book does so in a gently unthreatening way.

Recommended as a read for pleasure for children in Year 4 and upwards who are developing reading stamina.

Anisha, Accidental Detective: Granny Trouble

Emma McCann & Serena Patel

Chapter book

2021 Teachers’ Favourite: Upper KS2 Best Children’s Favourite

Our comments: “A love of science lies at the heart of this series and readers enjoy the authentic exploration of Anisha’s Indian heritage, particularly around food and fashion. The illustrations reflect the story’s humour and provide a high level of accessibility. Anisha is a superb STEM-loving role model who values truth, family and friendships, and readers across KS2 are quickly charmed by her detective adventures.”