Branching Out: Books for Fans of Hannah Gold

A gripping mountain-based adventure with strong female role models. Clova has grown up with the mountains and moors as her playground, with her Mum and Dad’s love of the outdoors shared passionately since the day she was born. When her Mum’s life is lost during a search and rescue mission, Clova loses not just her Mum, but her Dad, her best friend and the freedom to run wild that, to her, is the very essence of life itself. By chance she meets Taffy, an abandoned collie, and a bond develops between them that might just save more than one life, including their own.

This is a story filled with loss and heartbreak, hope and fear, and a delicate web of characters, each experiencing and dealing with loss in their own way.  I found myself wanting to pack a rucksack and hiking boots and head straight off to the highlands of Scotland, then became mindful of the dangers that might arise if I did just that. Masterful and sweet, each character is introduced, sometimes fleetingly, only to return at a poignant point later as their paths cross again and the elaborate tapestry that Forrest sews comes together.

The Good Bear is a superb story to snuggle up with in the winter months, exploring themes of families, relationships and ‘togetherness’ through the tale of a young girl and a life-changing visit to the Norwegian winter. Thea, the main character, retells her story as a first-person narrative and sets the scene for the action to come through the first chapter, where she is beginning to settle down to tell her tale to her daughter as a part of a long-standing Christmas tradition.

In her story, set 30 years before, Thea receives an invitation to spend the Christmas holidays with her estranged father, who works as a carpenter and lives with his wife and her children in Norway. As she arrives, there is news that a bear has escaped from a circus and may be hiding in the forests near to where she is staying.

Thea’s complex emotions towards her father are sensitively and honestly written; particularly Thea’s anger towards Henry’s new family and their seemingly perfect life. Thea’s relationship with the bear is central to the story and gives the book a sense of Christmas magic that is warm and gentle; a welcome contrast to the more overtly tinsel-filled Christmas books.

A beautiful story brimming with winter magic.

Clementine is a mouse, born in a laboratory with her brothers and sisters, genetically altered to be super intelligent. One day, one of the researchers ‘rescues’ her and one of her brothers, leaving them to be looked after by an elderly man and his visiting grandson. The two humans have to think of a plan to keep the mice safe and prevent the lab from taking them back.

Written as letters Clementine sends in her head to the laboratory chimpanzee Rosie, the story gathers pace as Clementine realises what her fate might be if she is returned to the lab.

This is a wonderful book; I could not put it down. It is both an exciting adventure and a plea not to use animals in experiments. With echoes of Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (Robert C O’Brien) and even the Queen’s Gambit (Walter Tevis), the reader follows Clementine with bated breath and learns that while some humans are very bad indeed, others can be kind and good. This is a heart-warming story, filled with humour and love.

We love the sumptuous Sri Lankan setting and adventurous heart of this fast-paced tale. The story follows Razi, who has avoided the ocean since his father’s death, until a mysterious traveller named Zheng washes ashore. Joined by his twin sister Shifa, Razi is swept up in a mission while outrunning a pair of ruthless villains.

Farook’s writing is rich with island details and the joys of the natural world. The setting is so evocative it makes you want to visit! Encounters with majestic turtles and a giant whale help Razi find his courage once again, and many readers will love the animals in the story as much as Razi.

A thrilling tropical treasure hunt with plenty of emotional depth, this is a top recommendation for KS2 classrooms.

This is the first novel in Lauren St John’s popular series. When a young English girl called Martine moves to live with her grandmother on a South African game reserve, she finds herself feeling lonely and isolated. One night she sees a mysterious silver giraffe and as she begins to befriend it, a thrilling mystery begins to unravel.

“They’ve only just returned, and now they’re in danger . . “

Ash Grimes, born and raised at the Arctic Research Centre, dreams of becoming a Mammoth Rider, just like her dad. But is this dream a step too far, because mammoths are wild animals. And how can a human be trusted when they cause so much harm to our plane? Ash meets a rare white mammoth calf, and makes it her mission to protect it. Adamant to do anything to protect her new friend, she shows strength, determination and courage.

A beautifully written book full of grit and determination, proving the importance of standing up for what you believe in.

A debut middle grade novel from Lui Sit, Land of the Wildcat rests beautifully as an adventure novel with an environmental undertone.

Puffin Lau, the 10 year old protagonist of the story, has lost both of her parents and lives with her best friend Lance and his grandad Moe. Thankfully, Lance shares Puffin’s love of adventure, but when her mother fails to keep her promise to deliver a talk to her class on the Kuri, long, lost wildcat of Linger Island, Puffin takes it upon herself to act as museum guide, a role she feels well qualified for.

Before she has time to complete her talk, her Mum’s boss Professor Smoult takes over and Puffin, smarting with anger, decides to investigate for herself just what her Mum felt was so important that she couldn’t be there for her daughter.

While at times fantastical, Sit masterfully weaves the emotions and relationships of each of the characters in an animal tale that explores folklore and conservation work, while keeping up the pace of the adventure and painting a picture of each scene in the story, taking the reader on a real journey of exploration.

My Dog is a beautiful, poignant tale of a boy coming to terms with the loss of his mum and the fast-moving changes that happen as a result of her death.

When Rhys’s mum dies, he has to move from his home. Life is a whirl, and the adults in control of Rhys’s life are focusing on the practicalities with seeming disregard for this young man’s emotional turmoil. On what turns out to be his final visit to his mother’s bedside, Rhys spots a lonely black Labrador under her hospital bed. The only problem is that Rhys has not asked Dad’s permission, so the dog – named Worthington – is a secret, and a rather difficult secret to keep!

When Rhys makes a series of wrong choices, things reach a crisis point. He takes matters into his own hands and flees from the problems that surround him, all the while supported by Worthington, the sounding board for all of Rhys’s thoughts and feelings.

Whilst there is sorrow in this tale, it has moments of brightness, moments of joy and love and even gentle humour. It is a dog-themed tale of hope and unconditional love. Worthington will pull at your heartstrings and stay by your side long after the last pages have been savoured.