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Format: Chapter book

Chapter book

It’s February 1974 and working-class families have been hit hard by the three-day week. The reduced power usage means less hours for people to work, and less money to get by on. Thirteen-year-old Jason feels the struggle keenly. Ever since his parents died, it’s just been him and his older brother Richie. Richie is doing his best, but since he can’t make ends meet he’s been doing favours for the wrong people. Every day they fear they won’t have enough and will have to be separated.

One thing that helps distract Jason is the urban legend about a beast in the valleys. A wild cat that roams the forest, far up the river from their bridge. When Jason’s friends learn of a reward for proof of The Beast’s existence, they convince Jason this is the answer to his and Richie’s money problems. Richie can get himself out of trouble before it’s too late and the brothers can stay together.

And so a quest begins. Starting at the bridge of their village and following the river north, the four friends soon find themselves on a journey that will change each of them – forever.

Chapter book

Beautifully illustrated in two colours, this NEW series from the world of Isadora Moon introduces Isadora’s mermaid friend, Emerald!

Emerald is learning how to be a mermaid princess, but she doesn’t feel like one at all. She’s not very good at waving to crowds and royal headdresses just aren’t her thing – her hair is too spiky and wild. Emerald’s wriggly pet octopus, Inkibelle, doesn’t much like living at the royal palace either. The annual Ocean Parade is coming up. Will Emerald be brave enough to be a mermaid princess but do it her own, special way?

Isadora Moon is such a popular series with early readers and is known for flying off the shelves in KS1 classrooms and libraries. We can’t help feeling that Emerald and her underwater world will also make waves with children looking for first chapter books.

Chapter book

Wolf struggles to fit into his village. He s not strong like his brother or a natural leader like his father. Every day he just tries to keep his head down. That is until a sacred spear head is stolen. Wolf is cast out, seen as the reason for its disappearance. With no one but his trusty dog, Shadow, to join him, Wolf vows to find the stolen spear and restore his honour. But Wolf has never left the village before and the world beyond the sea is a complete unknown… where will this journey take him and what secrets will he uncover? Join Wolf on his hunt for the spear, as he journeys from the village now known as Skara Brae to a wider, ancient world on the cusp of a new age.

Chapter book

The history and partnership of the Angles and Saxons are explored in this thrilling adventure about the trials and tribulations of their settlement in Britain.

Oslaf works hard to prove his worth in the village: he labours on the farm, he trains as a warrior and he is slowly finding his place in the community. But when the Chieftain makes the decision to move the village across the sea to the great new land of Britannia, suddenly the Britons are a greater threat than Oslaf’s rivalry with the Chieftain’s son, Wermund. Can the Angles and the Saxons defeat the Britons? And will Oslaf be as brave as the hero in the tale of Beowulf?

This exciting and dramatic story is packed with great characters and insight into the Angles’ migration, settlement and partnership with the Saxons in 6th century Britain.

Chapter book

Alice Eclair, Spy Extraordinaire will whisk you away on a fabulous adventure, full of daring action and delicious cakes! Baker by day, spy by night – Alice Eclair leads an exciting double life!

Inventors and artists have gathered in Paris for the World Fair. All eyes are on the aeroplane exhibition – these incredible machines will take humanity to new heights! Alice suspects that some of these inventors are in terrible danger, but no one will believe her. Surrounded by enemy spies, Alice will need to use every trick in the recipe book if she’s to keep her friends safe and stop France’s greatest invention from falling into the wrong hands.

With a half-baked plan and a dash of daring, Alice must foil the enemy’s plot before the whole thing boils over…

A Spoonful of Spying is Alice’s second adventure and can be read as a stand-alone novel, or enjoyed as part of the Alice Eclair, Spy Extraordinaire series. Look out for Alice’s first mission, A Recipe for Trouble!

Chapter book

The first book in a BRILLIANT new series brimming with adventure, friendship and an amazing array of magical creatures! A must-read for fans of Beast Quest , The Boy Who Grew Dragons and The Naughtiest Unicorn – and ideal for children aged 7-9.

Aisha and Jayden are definitely not fans of Outside.

Aisha would rather be home playing on her tablet or messaging her friends.

Jayden thinks the worlds inside his books are much more exciting than the real one beyond his window.
But when they are asked to join the Secret Beast Club, a centuries-old secret group that protects mythological creatures, Aisha and Jayden discover that real magic could be closer than they think . . . you just have to know where to look . . .

Inspired by the real life story of Pablo Fanque – the first Black circus owner – and featuring fun facts about the magical creatures within each story, this exciting new series for 6+ readers is not to be missed!

Chapter book

Exciting, funny, moving – and featuring joyous and authentic disabled representation – Cosima Unfortunate Steals a Star is the middle-grade debut of 2023.

Cosima Unfortunate has spent all her life at the Home for Unfortunate Girls – a school where any disabled children, or children deemed different, are sent, whether their families want it or not. It is there that she meets her friends – Pearl, Mary and Diya – and they start to practise mini heists involving the theft of cakes, biscuits and other sweet goodies.

But when Cos finds out that Lord Francis Fitzroy, the explorer behind the Empire Exhibition, is planning to adopt them, she and her friends plot the biggest heist of their life. Instead of fondant fancies, they’re going to steal Fitzroy’s prized tiara, containing the legendary Star Diamond of India! But, as they start preparing for the day, Cosima finds herself drawing ever closer to discovering the one secret she’s always wanted to know – the truth about her parents . . .

Chapter book

London, 1880s: High up under the eaves of her father’s townhouse, twelve-year-old Emma Linden lives and never goes out. Her dream is to follow in the footsteps of Mary Anning, the famous fossil hunter. But Emma is kept hidden away from all the world, science and study, the tools that keep her mind well. When Emma’s brother, James, begins to speak obsessively of a tiger gifted to the Natural History Museum, everything she holds certain begins to crumble. Their only refuge is Kersbrook, the magical family home on the Devon coast.

Devon, 2023: After Rosie Linden has been found, missing for four days and four nights, no one believes her when she says she has turned into a tiger. A surprise inheritance and an unlikely friendship guide Rosie as she begins her journey to recovery. But as the mysteries around her family history threaten to unravel, past and present blur and a shadow looms. Tigers are prowling once more…

A beautifully told story full of hope and healing, empathy and acceptance, which challenges our perceptions of, and how we value, those who see things differently.

Chapter book

George, Neila and Bash are the worst band on Earth. George wants them to be brilliant – but Neila has stage fright, and Bash is too distracted by his obsession with stars, aliens and faraway planets. But what they lack in talent and confidence, they make up for in heart.

They’re determined to blow their friends away at their school Battle of the Bands contest. But the moment they start to play…

They’re beamed up into space!!!

Now the kids face an even bigger challenge: Battle of the Bands, but the intergalactic version. They’re competing against alien bands from every galaxy! And if they don’t win, they might never make it home again…

Can the worst band on Earth become the best band in the universe?

An intergalactically awesome tale of celebrating difference, believing in yourself, and the power of friendship.

Chapter book

On one side of the underwater street is the remains of a house… It’s beautiful here, and eerie, a lost kingdom, a ghost village…

It’s the near-future and Britain is having yet another heatwave. Of course, the government have put in the normal curfews for this kind of weather, and shops are forced to shut again. For Polly, it’s the sort of heat that makes her do wild, out-of-character things just to cool down.

Like face her fear of deepwater. Essential when she and her brother have been sent to their aunt’s eco lake-side house for the summer.

But Truthwater Lake is beginning to dry up. As the water level diminishes, a lost village emerges. Swimming over the rooftops at midnight, Polly dives down and is suddenly able to breathe, to hear church bells and bird song… Polly has discovered an underwater gateway… to the past!

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