Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd

Ziggy the Caterpillar’s Zigzag Adventure

Picturebook

A vibrant, fun and heartwarming picture book that follows Ziggy, a little caterpillar who just can’t sit still, as she embarks on a zigzagging adventure – meeting new friends and discovering more about herself along the way.

From hopping between leaves to zigzagging up branches, Ziggy’s adventure is a whirlwind of excitement – but it’s also a journey of self-discovery. As Ziggy learns to embrace their unique, wiggly ways, children are introduced to themes of mindfulness, patience and the beauty of being different.

Through colourful, dynamic illustrations and a lovable main character, Ziggy the Caterpillar’s Zigzag Adventure teaches children to appreciate their individual quirks and understand that everyone has their own unique path to transformation.

With ADHD-inspired behaviour at the heart of the story, this book offers a gentle and playful exploration of how some of us move through the world in a way that might seem different – but is also special.

The Othernauts:

Clare Pollard & Macha Yao

Chapter book

AN ORIGINAL RETELLING OF THE CLASSIC GREEK MYTH OF JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS FOR YOUNG READERS WITH A FRESH AND FUNNY TWIST, PERFECT FOR FANS OF LOKI AND DAVID SOLOMONS.

Meet Phoebe. She’s eleven years old and desperate to escape the boring island where she lives.
Enter the Argonauts – a crew of so-called heroes on a quest to grab the golden fleece.

Before Phoebe can think better of it, she boards the ship and stows away on the Argo. But the Argonauts have their work cut out. From attacking harpies to deadly whirlpools, giant sea monsters to skeleton armies, there is peril at every turn. Fortunately the Othernauts are on hand – though with Phoebe’s unhelpful prophecies, Perry’s unreliable shape-shifting skills and Cora the siren’s headache-inducing singing, it’s not quite clear exactly how much help these kids will be . . .

Do the Othernauts have what it takes to get the Argo and its motley crew back to safety in one piece?

AN ANCIENT GREEK ADVENTURE TO CAPTURE THE LEGENDARY GOLDEN RUG, I MEAN, FLEECE – BUT NOT LIKE YOU’VE EVER HEARD IT BEFORE . . .

Insectarium (Junior Edition)

Dave Goulson & Emily Carter

Non-fiction

This is the junior, and easy to hold, version of Insectarium: A Museum in a Book, a brilliant non-fiction resource that brings the world of insects into the classroom in a way that’s both educational and visually captivating.

With stunning, detailed illustrations that show insects up close, this book offers a unique opportunity to explore these tiny creatures as if visiting a museum, without ever leaving the room.

The book is divided into galleries, each dedicated to a different group of insects, providing children with key facts and fascinating details about their habitats, behaviours and anatomy. For KS2 science lessons, Insectarium is a fantastic tool for introducing the diversity of the insect world with clear, engaging content that’s rich in information.

The Ministry of Manners

David Solomons & Hazem Asif

Chapter book

This is a cleverly thought out dystopian story imagining what the world could be like with no freedom or privacy and an authoritarian regime controls every part of your life.

Society has broken down in the world due to a lack of manners, courtesy and respect. The Ministry of Manners now controls every aspect of daily life. All spoken and written communication is monitored and life has become a performance for the authorities.

The story follows quiet and well-behaved Alfie, his older sister Margot, who has rebellion in her heart, and their parents, who both work in minor roles for the Ministry. Then rumours surface about The Unsilenced – a group of rebels who are challenging the Ministry with disruptive acts and we hear of The Harmoniser – an AI system built to reshape human behaviour and render people hollow, passive and obedient. To Alfie’s horror, Margot’s resistance flags her to the Ministry and she is taken to a Manners Retreat for personality recalibration, and Dad turns out to be the Harmoniser project leader.

This would be wonderful read-aloud with tense plot moments interspersed with humour, and a set up for a sequel at the end. There’s even a section at the back to explain how a collapsing society had led to a takeover by The Ministry of Manners.

Captain Sunshine

Alex Milway

Chapter book

Captain Sunshine follows a young girl, Bella Day, through her first days as captain of a luxurious cruise ship, with an assortment of animal characters making up the crew and passengers. As their journey begins, Bella has to find creative solutions to an increasing number of problems to make sure the cruise can continue successfully. Friendship and determination are key themes.

The text is large and well spaced and the chapters are short, making it a particularly good choice for children moving on from phonics readers and looking for comfortable, satisfying chapter books. There are illustrations on every page, with a cute style and a charming limited colour palette. There’s also a map and diagram of the ship included. Set in the same fictional world as the Hotel Flamingo series, this book will appeal to fans of those books and also of series like Adventure Mice, Claude, Rabbit and Bear and Unipiggle.

Big Brilliant World

Aysha Tengiz & Matt Ralphs

Non-fiction

A meticulously detailed and fun way to learn about cities across the world in this vibrant, playful information text. Almost a modern version of Where’s Wally or Richard Scarry, Tengiz takes a double page for each city; full page city illustrations presented in colourful building blocks with rivers and waterways weaving through.

The cities are populated with a raft of weird and wonderful characters, some human, some animal-like. The text reveals smatterings of foreign languages, as well as dotted information about food and drink, the city’s history, green spaces, famous landmarks, and incidental details, such as the numbers of stray cats in Rome.

This lively and beautiful book will capture imaginations, provoke curiosity and provide hours of looking. Cities include Mexico City, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Seoul, Tokyo and Istanbul, New York, Rome, London and Amsterdam. The contents page shows where in the world the cities are. A fantastically intriguing book – joyful!

The Map of Me

Nicola Davies & Olga Shtonda

Picturebook

This beautiful picture book does so much in just a few pages. It is a book about home, about feeling connected – to people and to our past. It is also hopeful, looking to map a bright future.

When a little girl leaves behind her Granny and dog to move to a new home in a different country, everything feels strange and unfamiliar. To help navigate her new surroundings, Mum creates a map of the local area for her. But she still feels far from the family she has left behind, so the little girl extends the map to include them.

With the help of her friends and family, the map grows and grows, and everything starts to feel closer and more connected, helping her to develop resilience in challenging times and to show her that change isn’t always bad. She even develops the map to manifest a better future for all.

There are fantastic curriculum links to this book, and teachers will feel inspired to use it in Geography (e.g. creating your own local area maps) and in PSHE to learn about navigating change and challenges. It could also be used when thinking about Climate Change and a vision for the future.

Anzu and the Realm of Darkness

Mai K. Nguyen

Graphic novel

5 Worlds meets Spirited Away in this graphic novel of a girl fighting to return home from the spirit world.

Anzu has just moved to a new town during Obon, a time for families to remember and celebrate their ancestors. Ever since her grandmother Obaachan died, though, Obon has lost its magic for Anzu. She doesn’t feel like celebrating.

Escaping the festivities, Anzu chases after a stray dog. She slips and falls down a ridge – to find herself in the Shinto underworld known as Yomi, a place she’s heard about in Obaachan’s stories. The stray dog, she finds out, is actually the Gatekeeper of Yomi, and he warns her to return to the human realm before it’s too late.

Only, getting home is not simple. Faced with the nefarious Queen Izanami and a realm of creatures, Anzu is in a race against the clock. Can she break a curse, free the spirits of other lost children and reach the gate home before sunrise? . . . Or will she be stuck in Yomi for ever?

All About Antarctica

Marc Martin

Non-fiction

Stunning watercolour images bring Antarctica to life whilst bite-sized information gives children a feel for what it would feel like to stay in Antarctica as a research scientist.

Find out about what clothes to wear, what the research stations are like, the transportation, different types of icebergs and glaciers, the types of research that take place, how the scientists relax in their downtime, the food they eat, the species of animals you will find there, fossils, famous Antarctic explorers and much, much more.

A perfect read for any pupils learning about the coldest place on earth, animals and their habitats or climate change.

The Boy Who Grew Dragons: A Christmas Delivery

Andy Shepherd & Sarah Warburton

Picturebook

If you have read ‘The Boy Who Grew Dragons’ or any of the books in the series, you will love this Christmas adventure with favourite characters from Andy Shepherd’s series and, obviously, lots of dragons. If the series is new to you or your class, then this book would be a good ‘taster’ and introduction to the charming and popular series.

Tomas’ problem-solving has to take centre stage when the car and then the wheelbarrow become snowbound, threatening the delivery of presents. The team of Tomas, Lolli, Grandad and the dragons have to work together as well as use a good a handful of dragon magic!

The illustrations by Sarah Warburton provide a real Christmas feast to explore – each page is crammed with detail from the different dragons to the snow scenes and the inside of Grandad’s shed. If you are reading this book aloud (and this book cries out to be read aloud), you’ll find that the book captures the festive spirit of giving alongside a good dose of dragon mischief and charm.

This offers lots of opportunity for a class to discuss the nature of cooperation, the need to overcome problems and a chance to talk about children’s own experiences of this time of year.

Best Books by Age

Life Changes Booklists

Values-Based Booklists

Real-World Issues Booklists

Popular Children's Authors

Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd

10 Children’s Books to Read Around the Solar Eclipse

Nature Art and Storytelling: Andy Shepherd

Top Children’s Books to Pack for a Holiday: Summer 2026

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review