Best children's books - Best Books This Month

It’s easy to feel lost in the flood of so many new children’s books available. Each month, our review panel reads scores of new books and we highlight five of our recently published favourites.

This month, our panel of experienced teachers, librarians and children’s book experts has carefully selected five outstanding titles for you to read, and festive titles feature strongly among their recommendations. From beloved children’s author Jarvis, Mr Santa is highlighted by our panel as a dreamlike story of Christmas wonder and curiosity which would make a cosy read-together for EYFS children. For older readers, Simon Stephenson’s The Snowman Code offers a heartwarming tale of an unconventional friendship with a message of love, kindness and togetherness.

Dr Henry Admoni’s Robots offers a timely and topical dive into the world of robotics and AI. This vibrantly illustrated non-fiction text explores some of the amazing ways that robots can help us, and answers key questions about the future of this technology. A fabulous gift for fans of fact books, this title also features in our gift guide for 9-11 year olds.

Middle-grade readers seeking mystery and adventure will enjoy the story of Lizzie’s search for the truth about her mother in The Bletchley Riddle. This exciting story is set during World War 2, and our review panel loved Lizzie’s characterisation as well as the way the story sheds light on the achievements of the Bletchley Park codebreakers which they described as “a historically important story, which is rarely told in children’s literature”.

Here at BooksforTopics, we were saddened to hear of the passing of Jeremy Strong, who created so many unforgettable characters and wrote some of our favourite children’s stories. His final book, Fox Goes North, was written as he navigated terminal cancer and published posthumously, and is strongly recommended by our review panel as “the definitive guide for children on saying goodbye well, in a story that celebrates friendship, home, the woods and the wild”. This book is also featured in our gift guide for 7-9 year olds.

With the festive season just around the corner, take some time together to enjoy a story from our Review Panel’s top new children’s books for you to read in December 2024. And if you’re still looking for inspiration for gifts for the young readers in your life, have a look at our hand-picked Christmas gift guides!

Robots: Explore the World of Robotics and AI

Colourfully illustrated, ‘Robots’ begins with a timeline of the history of robots, going back much further than you might think. The book then goes through what a robot is and the difference between robots and AI. It clearly explains how different types of robots work – from robots that can help the environment to those that are designed to move around, as well as those that can help with farming.

This engineering-themed non-fiction book also provides information about the different jobs that robots can do, such as assisting in factories and hospitals. Finally, the book covers the ethics of robots as well as what the future of robotics might be. There is a handy glossary at the back explaining some of the more technical vocabulary associated with robots.

A fabulous read for KS2 children and a great book to have in the classroom as AI becomes more a part of everyday life.

Mr Santa

Jarvis

Picturebook

Jarvis, beloved by teachers and librarians for the iconic Bear and Bird books, brings his signature style to a picturebook for the youngest readers in Mr. Santa. Renowned for his ability to convey profound meaning through simple words and story-enhancing illustrations, Jarvis again blends these elements to create a gentle Christmas story that resonates with both children and adults.

A young girl, filled with curiosity, has a face-to-face encounter with Santa Claus. The story captures the essence of a child’s mind, full of endless questions about the person in front of her and his apparent world of Christmas magic. The young girl seizes the opportunity to ask imaginative questions about Santa Claus (Do you eat clouds? Do you stop at traffic lights?) while also remaining delightfully confident of his undoubted interest in her world too (Would you like to meet my fishes? Do you want to hear me play?) – he is, after all, a visitor to their home. The book’s strength lies in its authentic childlike voice, reflecting the endless stream of why and how questions that fill young minds as children move from moment to moment.

Perfect for EYFS classes, Mr. Santa encourages young minds to think creatively and question the unknown. The book’s illustrations, painted in various shades of blue, evoke a dreamlike and wintery atmosphere. Santa never directly answers the girl and the story simply celebrates the joy of curiosity. It is the very act of questioning that is the star of the story, capturing the essence of childhood imagination. Please – implores the book of its readers – please spend a minute to let yourself become lost in wonder at Christmas time

Jarvis’s unique style makes Mr. Santa a delightful read for the youngest readers. What Jarvis achieves so masterfully – once again – is to provide a text that will empower beginning readers to access for themselves while at the same time empowering the deepest thinkers to enter the space for creative contemplation provided by the text’s interplay with its illustrations. This is a book that will no doubt be a catalyst for more curious questions from EYFS children or simply make for a cosy shared read-together for young children, perfect for festive storytimes.

The Bletchley Riddle

Ruta Sepetys & Steve Sheinkin

Chapter book

A wonderful story of mystery and adventure, which also sheds light on the incredible achievements of the World War Two codebreakers based out of Bletchley Park – a historically important story, which is rarely told in children’s literature.

The story is based around 14-year-old Lizzie Novis, who is on a mission to discover what happened to her mother Willa, whom Lizzie has been told died during a Nazi attack on Poland. But Lizzie is suspicious, and she pledges to uncover the truth. Her journey begins with her successfully plotting an escape from her guardian, who is supposed to be taking her to America to stay with her Gran. Lizzie tries to enlist the help of her brother Jakob, but he is an unwilling accomplice preoccupied with his own secret mission – Jakob has been recruited to Bletchley Park, a world in which Lizzie suddenly finds herself.

The protagonist Lizzie is a high-spirited, passionate, stubborn character who speaks her mind – her antics are brave, endearing and often amusing. Going on this journey with quick-thinking, smart, and surprising Lizzie was an adventure from start to finish. A great adventure story, with historical importance for ages 10-14.

Fox Goes North

Jeremy Strong

Chapter book

‘Fox Goes North’ is a really special book. It is Jeremy Strong’s last story, written as he navigated terminal cancer, and it pulses with the sort of energy and honesty that classics often do when they are an author’s way of grappling with an experience they themselves are facing.

Fox joins a wonderfully quirky group of friends travelling north to see the Northern Lights in their house on wheels, pulled by moose, a lovable, Eeyore-like character. Fox knows these are her last days and her animal friends care for her, whilst already anticipating their loss. She is desperate to see the aurora before she goes, so her friends make sure all their energy goes into making Fox’s dream come true. They navigate fire, a storm, and a particularly hairy river crossing on their journey to the snowlands, as well as learn how to live together and bear with one another’s idiosyncrasies and weaknesses.

The book is full of surprises and oddities; a cockney little owl, comedy beavers, a toucan whose beak will only point north, and Fox’s ability to read the future in the petals of a daisy – Jeremy Strong weaves all these characters and more together in a tale of inclusion, reminding us that life is richer for all our differences, and that friendships with people unlike us can be some of the best.

Beautiful illustrations by Heegyum Kim heighten the feel of the book as a combination of whimsy and ethereal, her gorgeous blue and white drawings are gentle and calming, capturing the story and characters to perfection.

Unusual, sad, but very, very beautiful, this has the feel of a classic – Jeremy Strong has written the definitive guide for children on saying goodbye well, in a story that celebrates friendship, home, the woods and the wild.

The Snowman Code

Reggie Brown & Simon Stephenson

Chapter book

This is a tale of love, loss and identity. It has magical sparkles of light and humour amongst the serious themes of depression and separation. The Snowman Code is a book about kindness. It may be set in the longest, coldest of winters, but it is warm and tender and would melt even the iciest of hearts. Share it and enjoy its message of love, kindness and togetherness.

Exciting, strange, magical, adventurous and gripping.