Max has just moved to Animal Island and it’s full of new friends: Orlando, Crumbs, Moose, Pedalo and a very special creature called a CHAFFY.
Chaffy is lost! So it’s down to Max to find where Chaffy belongs, and YOU can help!
A heart-warming, interactive adventure story, full of friendship and joy, from bestselling author/illustrator Jamie Smart!
The unmissable follow-up to the phenomenal bestselling and award-winning The Last Bear. Beautifully illustrated by Levi Pinfold and perfect for readers 8+
April Wood has returned home from her adventure on Bear Island, but over a year later, she can’t stop thinking about Bear.
When April hears that a polar bear has been shot and injured in Svalbard, she’s convinced it’s her friend and persuades her dad to travel with her to the northernmost reaches of the Arctic. So begins an unforgettable journey across frozen tundra and icy glaciers.
But along the way, she discovers much more than she bargained for – a tiny polar bear cub, desperately in need of her help. In freezing temperatures, April must navigate the dangerous Arctic terrain and face her deepest fears if she’s to save him.
Beautifully illustrated by Levi Pinfold, Finding Bear is a stunning story of survival, a heartwarming tale of love and shows us how hope is born from the smallest of beginnings.
The first in a brand-new sensationally spacey, action-packed and adventure-filled middle grade series written by the incredible Lorraine Gregory – perfect for fans of MG Leonard and David Baddiel!
Nothing exciting ever happens on twelve-year-old Danny’s estate. That is until he falls through a locker in his grandad’s workshop and finds himself in an Interdimensional Lost Property Office! And – even weirder – his new boss is a giant purple squid on a segway!
Now Danny, best mate Modge and annoying cousin Inaaya find themselves in charge of returning alien items to all corners of the universe. But someone – or something – is determined to stop them. And there’s NOTHING these evil aliens won’t stop at to achieve complete multi-dimensional domination . . . even trapping Danny and his friends on a planet a million light years away from Earth.
If the fate of the entire multiverse was in your hands, what would YOU do?
Author of Magic Faces
Supporting readers moving from picture books to chapter booksIt can be hard to find suitable books for children who are starting to move on from picture books but not quite ready for the challenge of middle grade fiction. Books for early readers have to appeal to both independent readers and children being read to. Magic Faces is a collaborative project led by the inclusive fiction studio Storymix. It is a new adventure series for five to seven year olds and is designed to help bridge the gap in that transitional stage and help them progress in a meaningful and strategic way.
In each of the three books in the series, twins Alanna and Austin go on an exciting adventure created by a magic face painting kit. The series is illustrated and in full colour, so it doesn’t feel like too much of a departure from their comfort zones.
Moving on from picture books, readers expect more detail and richness to really charge up their imagination. For many children, face painting is an introduction to imaginative play.
V
ery small children are quite concrete and some can find aspects of make-believe challenging. Pretend play is limited to role-playing what they see in daily life, like feeding stuffed toys. As children get older, magic and monsters take on a textural quality and can be almost overwhelming before they learn that there is a difference between what is real and what is not. It’s exciting to be immersed in worlds of fantasy and adventure, but up to a limit. In Magic Faces, home, security and familiarity are never too far away.
Children of this age are also starting to socialise more and more with peers. And whilst the relationship with their parents is primary, developing a social life with siblings and other young children becomes more and more important. They are learning new social skills such as taking turns, listening to another’s point of view, reacting to the emotions of others and sharing. Books for this age group often feature themes of fairness, justice and working together. Magic Faces features a strong sibling bond, and shows how the twins are learning to relate to each other.
The twins are ready to take on bigger challenges, just like the children reading the books. Each story in the Magic Faces series features a different world and new problems to solve. Book one takes place on a pirate ship, two features superheroes, and in three the twins attend a Monster’s Ball. The format allowed me to have lots of fun with different genres! At the same time, I could maintain consistency through the main characters Alanna and Austin.
In writing the books I wanted to mirror the developmental stage of the target age group. At this stage in their young lives, children are developing rapidly physically and socially. They want home to be safe and cosy, but to also be the place where a little piece of magic can make anything happen.
Magic Faces: Heroes of the Pirate Ship and Magic Faces: Superhero Mega Mission are available to purchase online or from bookshops.
Many thanks to Esi for visiting our blog.
Purchase the Magic Faces books from Amazon or BookShop.org.
We also have more early chapter book recommendations on our booklists.
Where next?
> Visit our Reading for Pleasure Hub
> Browse our Topic Booklists
> View our printable year group booklists.
> See our Books of the Month.
Author of Greenwild
See our review panel’s review of Greenwild here.
Q&A: Greenwild Hello, and thank you so much for hosting me on your blog! Greenwild is the story of eleven-year-old Daisy Thistledown, whose journalist mother goes missing while researching a story in the depths of the Amazon rainforest. Daisy, who has been temporarily deposited at a horrible boarding school, knows it’s up to her to escape and find her missing mother. In the process (and with the help of a very small and grumpy cat called Napoleon!) she discovers a hidden door into a secret, magical world called the Greenwild – a place where plant magic is real, where Botanists are under threat, and where she might discover the truth about her mother’s disappearance.
I wrote Greenwild as a love letter to the beauty of the natural world, and a rallying cry to protect it. It’s a story very much inspired by nature, and by the idea that a lot of the world around us is really quite magical, if only we pay close enough attention. Just think of the way a sunflower moves its head to follow the sun across the sky, or a whole tree can grow from a single tiny seed.
Of course, science can explain all of this – but I had a lot of fun with that initial idea: What if nature really WAS magic? Well, you might end up with a world like the Greenwild – a place full of giant lily-pad boats, and milk chocolate trees, and magical minim-moss that can shrink you to the height of your thumb.
At the same time, it quickly becomes clear to Daisy that the Greenwild is under threat from people who want to destroy it – something that has resonances in our own world today, of course. But even though that eco-theme runs through the book, this is also, at its heart, a story about family, friendship and adventure, and the courage it takes to protect the things we love most.
I hope Greenwild will inspire readers to find out more about nature and the environment and conservation – there are so many amazing plant facts to discover, and lots of them are stranger than fiction.
At the same time, the last thing I want is to preach or impose messages on children. I think we can all often feel powerless in the face of the unfolding climate crisis, and I hope that, rather than telling children what to do about it, this book will remind them that there is still hope to be found in good people and in the wild beauty of the world around us. I hope the book tells children: you matter, you are brave, you are important, and you can make a difference.
Most of all, I hope the book comforts and inspires readers in the same way my favourite books comforted and inspired me as a child. I hope it makes children want to invent their own hidden worlds. If they could dream up a world behind a door, what would it look like? What kind of magic would it have? If they could invent their own magical plant, what would it be?
Yes! One of my favourites is The Last Bear by Hannah Gold, stunningly illustrated by Levi Pinfold. It’s the story of a girl called April who befriends a huge polar bear in the remote Arctic. It’s inspiring and hopeful without ever being didactic – a masterclass of modern eco-fiction.
I also loved The Girl Who Talked to Trees by Natasha Farrant, with gorgeous illustrations by Lydia Corry. This beautiful series of interlinked stories brings trees to life and shows exactly why they’re so important. The writing is threaded through with a conservation theme and a strong sense of wonder – I loved it.
Finally, a book I keep giving as a gift:Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, illustrated by Tom de Freston. It’s about a girl called Julia and the summer she spends living on a lighthouse – and her mother’s mission to find an elusive Greenland shark. Filled with a deep sense of the importance of science and the environment, it’s also a wonderful adventure with family at its heart.
Pari’s brand new book Greenwild is out now.
For more about the book, follow the rest of the blog tour!
You can read our review of Greenwild here.
We also have more children’s book recommendations for primary schools on our booklists.
Purchase Greenwild from Amazon or BookShop.org.
Where next?
> Visit our Reading for Pleasure Hub
> Browse our Topic Booklists
> View our printable year group booklists.
> See our Books of the 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.
Check out our Review Panel’s top books for you to read in June 2023.
Following the meteoric rise in popularity of girls’ and women’s football over the past few years, we are delighted to bring you this list of the best children’s books featuring girls’ and women’s football teams.
From historical fiction to non-fiction texts written by some of today’s brightest footballing stars, this list has something to offer all football-mad readers. So why not kick off your reading with these inspiring books about girls’ football?
Shoot for the stars with Sammy Striker! From Oscars Prize-shortlisted Catherine Emmett and bestselling illustrator Joe Berger, Sammy Striker and the Football Cup is an empowering story for young footie fans, about friendship, football, and having the courage to believe in yourself.
Sammy Striker is NEVER found without a football at her feet, and one day at the park, she’s spotted by Melissa McDream who coaches the Under 8s National Team! Sammy is a dribbler-extraordinaire, headed straight for the top. But, as the Football Cup gets closer, Sammy’s shots on goal go a bit wonky.
Will Sammy work out that it’s what makes her difference that will help them win the final?
A truly inspiring story. What an incredible talent Lily was! – Steve Wilson, Match of the Day Lily is one of the most talented footballers of her time but, when football is banned for women, she has to battle prejudice to play the sport she loves. Based on the incredible true story behind English football player, Lily Parr and her trailblazing success.
Caffè Nero Launches Nero Book Awards to Celebrate Outstanding Writing and Reading in the UK and Ireland
Today, Caffè Nero has announced a new book award for writers based in the UK and Ireland Delivered by Caffè Nero in partnership with The Booksellers Association, Brunel University London and Right To Dream. The inaugural awards will carry a prize of £50,000 and will be open for entries on 19th June 2023 across four categories: Children’s Fiction, Debut Fiction, Fiction and Non-Fiction.
Recent months have seen new awards appearing across the industry in the wake of longer established awards closing last year, notably the Costa Book Awards and the Blue Peter Book Awards. We are delighted to see that the new Nero Book Awards will have a children’s category and hope that the momentum of the award will build to drive recognition and shine a spotlight on some of the incredible talent in the children’s book industry.
Judges from across the world of books will select shortlists of four in each category, choosing the books they would most want to recommend to others. The Nero Book Awards will be administered by The Booksellers Association, the trade organisation that represents booksellers across the country.
Gerry Ford, Founder and CEO, Caffè Nero, comments: “Caffè Nero was founded in 1997 on the principle of being a warm and welcoming neighbourhood gathering spot, a place to bring people together. Our venues were intended as and have come to be gathering spots where people come to talk, read and discuss issues of the day. Most of our stores are filled with books. Moreover, for the past two decades we have been supporting the arts in a variety of ways… So, with the arts as part of our company culture – these Awards are a natural fit for us.”
Meryl Halls, MD, Booksellers Association, adds: “This is a hugely exciting moment for the world of books. The Nero Book Awards do that rare thing of celebrating books across multiple genres, with an emphasis on commercial books with wide appeal. With its brand values centred around quality, craft and community, plus its strong existing connection to the arts, Caffè Nero is a perfect partner with whom to establish these brand-new Awards. The Nero Book Awards are first and foremost for readers, but their impact will be felt widely – by authors, publishers, agents, book retailers, libraries and festivals – as they create discussion around nominated books and drive consumer engagement with bookshops and libraries. We at The Booksellers Association, and on behalf of our bookshop members, welcome the opportunities these Awards offer the world of books, by celebrating and showcasing the writing talent in the UK and Ireland.”
The shortlist of 16 books will be announced in late 2023 before four Category winners – one of which will be selected as the overall “Book of the Year”, The Nero Gold Prize – are revealed in early 2024. The Awards prize fund totals £50,000, with the four Category Award winners receiving £5,000 each and the winner of the Book of the Year receiving an additional £30,000.
For further information on the Nero Book Awards, please visit: www.nerobookawards.com.
Where next?
> Visit our Reading for Pleasure Hub.
> Browse our Topic Booklists.
> See our Books of the Month.
> View our Year Group booklists
© BooksForTopics 2015-2024
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