Branching Out: Books for Fans of Beast Quest

A choose-your-own-adventure style story with oodles of fun. The idea sounds simple enough: imagine yourself just finishing a mission to a distant planet, looking forward to getting home, when the ship’s computer detects an alien aboard. You’re stuck until the source has been found. What do you do? Which one of the other crew members, your former friends, has been transformed?

This is a plot to hook KS2 super sleuths, just like TV’s The Traitors. It requires readers to have their wits about them and to question their own values: would I, would you, stay loyal to friends, or would we focus on our own survival?

Just as there are multiple answers to such questions depending on circumstances and personalities, so there are multiple outcomes (endings) to this story, including some particularly creepy ones. In one, you get to escape and go home, in others, you too are infected. And in one (get this!) the computer… no, I won’t spoil it. Read the book! Enjoy the adventure, do the puzzles (mazes, calculations, spot the difference, etc), and follow different routes until finally you’ve exhausted all possibilities.

An interactive and immersive read to be recommended to fans of the ‘you choose’ genre, as well as to those yet to discover its attraction. One for the library and children’s own bookshelves.

This story is full of imagination, adventure and excitement and makes for a perfect read-aloud choice for storytime. Land of Roar is an instantly gripping adventure where childhood games become a reality for two twins. I raced my way through it, wondering what dangers twins Rose and Arthur were going to encounter next, whilst simultaneously wanting to visit Roar myself!

Land of Roar makes for a fantastic portal story where you can’t help but be dragged into this magical land of make-believe in a story full of adventure, magic and friendship. I love the idea of childhood games coming to life and the idea appeals well to the imaginations of children aged 8  to 10 – old enough to remember make-believe games from a younger stage but still young enough to allow themselves to be swept away by imagination and magic.

Land of Roar is the kind of fantasy adventure that grips you from the first page to the last and keeps you wanting more…so it’s a good thing there’s a sequel!

This story was partially inspired by footballer Marcus Rashford’s own experiences growing up and is written with children’s author Alex Falase-Koya. Marcus remembers the breakfast clubs he attended growing up, and said “Breakfast Club guaranteed I had the best possible start to my day and welcomed me with open arms. It wasn’t just about food. It was about forming friendships, about togetherness, about escape. It was where some of my greatest memories were made.” This fiction book pays homage to the role breakfast club played in his upbringing.

In the story, Marcus attends Breakfast Club along with his football-loving friends. Since he lost his lucky football over the fence, his magic touch is gone and he’s lost his enthusiasm a bit. Everybody knows that he won’t get the football back because the other side of the fence is a no-go zone with a derelict, abandoned building. Before he knows it, Marcus ends up swept up on an adventure with the Breakfast Club Investigators involving a mysterious note, a strange creature and a deep dive into what really lurks beyond the fence.

This fun, pacey adventure full of twists and turns is a big hit with Key Stage 2.

Beastopia was fabulously fun to read from start to finish. Unfortunately, in Digby’s family, there is a curse where their family pets always disappear on their tenth birthday. It follows the main character Digby and his excitable best friend, Tai, and his sister, Mog, on a mission to find his lost pet mouse, Cheddar. What follows is lots of fun, humour (they have to take the basilisk underground metro, also known as BUM!) and mild danger. The book follows the journey of our characters to become apprentice guardians of Beastopia- a haven for magical creatures. Along the way, they take part in challenges with a little bit of danger and mystery and find out about Cheddar and the ‘lost’ family pets. It ends on a cliffhanger that makes the reader immediately want to read the sequel. The book has fun illustrations dotted throughout, which add to the experience of reading. Mog has diabetes, which is mentioned briefly in the story and can be seen during illustrations, adding to the inclusivity of the story. A great story as a read-aloud story or for readers 7+.

This is a multi-million-selling series that has also been televised with Disney and is hugely popular among fans of action and adventure.

Percy Jackson’s modern world is turned upside down when he finds out he is descended from Greek gods. What follows is battles with monsters and epic quests in an action-packed series that merges Greek mythology with the modern world.

There are also Teachers’ Notes available to download from the publisher.

An exciting fantasy story set in an animal world. From the moment the Bard arrives on one Bramblemas Eve in the very first pages, beginning to tell his interpretation of the fable of Podkin One-Ear, it is clear that Kieran Larwood’s story of adventure and magic among the world of rabbits is a winner. His delightful and bewitching use of language and appropriately complex narrative make for a fantastic read.

The story is anchored around the title character Podkin, but his role in the tale is equally supported by his older, and oftentimes wiser, sister Paz who makes for a great female role model among other characters in the tale. Despite being rabbits, each character is very relatable and they all have human characteristics. There are enough twists and turns along the way to make even older readers question Podkin and his two siblings’ next moves in their quest to keep their magic dagger, one of the twelve gifts from the Goddess, safe from the evil Gorm and their vicious leader.

Podkin One-Ear is an adventure tale that draws the reader in immediately from the get-go.

An absolute winner of a story and a brilliant choice for KS2 children in Year 4, 5 or 6. As you might expect from former Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell, who really is a master storyteller, this fantastic series is full of delightful characters, exciting expeditions and sumptuous settings. There’s plenty of action, and a good dollop of humour too.

Hiccup is a small Viking. As part of the initiation process for his tribe, he is required to lead a group of novices in their task of dragon training. Unfortunately, Hiccup’s designated dragon is far from what he’d dreamed of, but despite all odds, it doesn’t take long for Hiccup to prove himself to be a true hero.

We love this exciting action-packed series and thoroughly recommend the series to fantasy and adventure fans.