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.
Check out our Review Panel’s top books for you to read in September 2024.
This is a beautiful and well-crafted book for 8 to 11-year-olds with flavours of Tanglewood and Robin Hood as well as touches of the first Harry Potter.
Rowan Foxwood paints thoroughly believable characters and as the story progresses we root for Anise, Robin, Wolf and Whin as they become inseparable friends and battle against the lurking dangers. Heartseer is strangely old-fashioned in some senses and sparkling new in others. Mixing the world of humans and animals; daemons and deities, readers encounter a deeply layered world with a magical history, with some candid links to our current times.
The story comes full circle for Anise by the time the last page is turned as she meets up with her brother Sage and says goodbye to her mother.
This book could be enjoyed by competent independent readers who like to curl up with a long story that burns brightly and uncovers treasures and secrets along its way. It will also last at least a term as a read-aloud book with Year Four or Five.
The back of the book contains a guide to the daemons and deities encountered in HeartSeer, as well as a song crafted by Robin and an author’s note. Recommended!
This book is packed with information for budding mountaineers or fans of Geography.
Filled with facts, this book is perfect for class libraries or topic boxes. The beginning of the book features information about mountains, geographical terms, mountain ranges, explorers and the preparation involved before attempting to reach a summit.
The rest of the text concentrates on pages of information dedicated to famous mountains across the world, including Everest, Kilimanjaro and Vinson Massif – which is perfect for in-depth study work. Each section includes facts and details about conquests and climbs, accompanied by a very detailed glossary.
A fact-filled, round-the-world tour of the greatest mountains on Earth that is the perfect read for children and adults alike.
Rosa by Starlight is a book about how a young girl tries to understand her emotions when her life changes in monumental ways. This is mixed in with a little bit of magic and some feline friends who help along the way.
Rosa loses her parents at the start of the story and has a period of uncertainty as she waits to find out who will care for her moving forward. Eventually, a distant Aunt and Uncle are chosen to care for her – but they don’t like her. Rosa’s whole life is changed from a loving environment to one where she isn’t treated very well and she now spends a lot of time on her own.
Rose makes friends with a cat called Balthazar and this is where the first sparks of magic begin to appear. After a while, Rosa goes to Venice with her Aunt and Uncle. Her Aunt and Uncle are hoping they can lose Rosa while they are there because they don’t want the responsibility of looking after her anymore. Rosa starts to understand that she is lonely compared with the people around her as she has no one she can turn to. There is no one to help her when she is upset. Her Aunt and Uncle continue to treat her terribly, showing no concern for Rosa or her well-being.
While in Venice, Rosa makes friends with a different cat and magic starts to surround Rosa again. Both the cats and a little magic help Rosa to understand some of her feelings. The story does have a happy ending although it is a surprise to find out what will happen to Rosa next.
The book is full of beautifully descriptive language, imagery and illustrations to support the reader in creating the magical scenes in their minds. One for cat lovers and fans of stories where emotions and magic collide.
The Boy in the Suit is a powerful story that explores the experience of living with depression, young carers and child poverty. It is the story of 10-year-old Solo, who wants nothing more than to fit in. But being the son of an unconventional single parent, Morag, who is having a difficult time, means that he is destined to stand out for the wrong reasons!
Things finally come to a head when the two of them are caught on camera crashing a funeral for the free food, and Solo’s humiliation is an overnight viral sensation. ‘As the story unfolds, we feel Solo’s pain as he battles between the unconditional love that he feels for his mum and the growing embarrassment that he feels because of the way she acts and the resulting guilt – a lot of big feelings.
The Boy in the Suit is a thought-provoking, emotional rollercoaster of a read, and a thoroughly rewarding one at that.
When a mysterious package arrives at Mia’s house, her life changes beyond recognition. Gone is the monochrome dullness, no longer is she alone with a sad face and eyes that look downwards. Soon the package takes her to a world of hope and curiosity. The package is a book and with each word and every age, Mia’s adventures extend. Her smile radiates and her eyes look upwards at the new horizons stretching before her.
Tom Percival uses the metaphor of bridges throughout the book to demonstrate how reading, words and books can lead us to new worlds and can help us to make incredible connections. Mia follows bridges which grow stronger the more she reads. She visits magical worlds, discovers new facts and makes friendships all because of the power of reading. Now a confident, volitional reader, Mia knows how to help others who look lost and alone – she offers her book to them and continues to build even more bridges.
This is a beautiful story in every sense. The illustrations draw the eye, colour is used to show the contrast between Mia’s sadness and her joy at the discovery of story worlds.
This book bangs the drum for reading and all of its rewards. A library must have!
Many thanks to our review panel members Cath Delor, Amanda Slim, Emma Keogh, Jo Clarke and Laura Patel for reviewing this month’s selection.
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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)
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Any other comments
