Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd

Captain Sunshine

Chapter book

A flamboyantly fun illustrated series set on a cruise ship for animals, perfect for 6+ readers!

It’s Bella’s first day onboard as Captain of the Sunshine! Bella was always going to follow in the same seafaring footsteps as her Aunt Bertha the walrus, but commanding a legendary cruise ship like the Sunshine is no easy task. It’s no ordinary ship – it’s a ship bursting with animal passengers! From penguins to rhinos, giraffes to parrots, life is never dull on board the Sunshine.

Bella has a wonderful crew to assist her – from the weathered sea dog Mr Tatou, to the bossy passenger liaison officer Mrs Purrpot the cat, to Flip and Flap, the young penguin entertainment team – but has she really got what it takes to be Captain Sunshine?

Full steam ahead for an unforgettable animal adventure!

The first in an enchanting four-book series from the author of the bestselling and award-winning HOTEL FLAMINGO, fully illustrated in two-colour throughout. Perfect for fans of EINSTEIN THE PENGUIN, KITTY AND THE MOONLIGHT RESCUE, WATTS AND WHISKERTON and MR PENGUIN.

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 geographical layout is pretty much intact, for example Paris shows the Seine weaving through the page, with Notre Dame in the middle, and then the south bank with the Eiffel Tower, and the Sacre-Coeur all the way in the north. Tengiz populates the cities 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, its last page reminiscent of the Disney ride, It’s a Small World. 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?

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.

Luna Grace: Girl from Outer Space

Emily Jones & Julie Sykes

Chapter book

Luna Grace is a girl who lives on a planet called Starbright. Starbright is a very colourful planet where the residents have some special abilities, such as moving things with their minds. Grace’s hair also changes colour to show the emotion she is feeling. Her family are sent to Earth to study the wildlife and report back to their home planet. Their main challenge is to fit in with the people living on Earth so they can continue their studies. Luna has to go to a new school, and that is quite challenging with her hair constantly changing colour and her moon cat, Twizzle, wanting to come along. The story follows Luna as she moves home and starts her new school.

This book is a great story about a child making a significant move from their home and the emotions children can go through when they have to go through such a major life change. The book also highlights how it’s okay to be different from your friends and appreciate those differences. This is a brilliant book for children starting to read chapter books. It has short chapters and engaging illustrations to break up the quantity of words.

Hotel Flamingo: Frosty Fiesta

Alex Milway

Chapter book

This is the fourth book in this early chapter book series and all of the Hotel Flamingo books are wonderful books to read.

From KS1 children through to KS2, there is something for everyone in this short chapter book. The gorgeous colours and shimmery snowflakes on the front cover are enough to draw anyone’s attention.

The workers at the hotel are preparing for a quiet winter, the temperatures are dropping, and Mrs Turpington – the hotel’s resident tortoise – needs to hibernate. Then, it snows more than anyone could have imagined, and the hotel becomes overrun with guests. What follows is how the hotel’s community comes together to help many of its guests in so many different ways at a time when the hotel is full to the brim. First, a party (Frosty Fiesta) with some very wise words from Mrs T the tortoise (‘We are nothing without each other) and the White-Out Games with bunnies performing record-breaking stunts. Then, the birth of a polar bear cub and an external ice hotel for some guests. This truly is a fiesta of fun, and who could resist a stay at Hotel Flamingo, even if Madame Le Pig seems terrifying?

On Your Bike

Sir Chris Hoy

Non-fiction

So you’ve got a new bike? Or just getting into cycling? Or just fancy learning more about the bike you already have?

On Your Bike by Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy is the perfect guide for children looking to make the most of their bikes.

· How to choose your bike? BMX, Racer, Mountain bike? Which tribe are you?
· Get the right kit. Advice on cycling essentials for riding in all weathers and safety tips to make sure you are seen on the road.
· Maintenance. Step by step guides with illustrations to help you change a tyre, check your bike for wear and tear plus access to bonus video footage with Sir Chris

Packed full of handy hints, fun facts, quizzes, checklists and illustrations, Sir Chris shows you how to look after your bike and much, much more.

The Wild Robot on the Island

Peter Brown

Picturebook

The Wild Robot on the Island is a beautifully illustrated and emotionally rich picture book that introduces readers to Roz, a robot stranded on a wild island after the cargo ship transporting her sinks. This simplified, picturebook adaptation of Peter Brown’s bestselling novel The Wild Robot captures the heart of Roz’s story in an accessible colour format for younger readers, while retaining its thoughtful exploration of empathy, belonging, identity and resilience.

Accidentally activated by a curious otter, Roz must learn to survive in the wild with no instructions, no idea of her purpose. Roz is initially met with fear and suspicion by the island’s animal inhabitants until an unexpected twist leads her to adopt a newly hatched gosling named Brightbill. Through this act of care, Roz learns how to live in harmony with nature and form meaningful relationships.

The author made this version to depict Roz’s life on the island with full-colour, atmospheric illustrations to vividly bring the island and its creatures to life, acting as a small window into Roz’s bigger story and inviting discussion via a thought-provoking new visual dimension. The story also invites big questions: What does it mean to be alive? How do we care for others who are different from us?

A superb choice for guided reading and whole-class discussions, The Wild Robot is a rare find: an emotionally intelligent, wildly imaginative, and quietly powerful book that sparks both conversation and curiosity. It is highly recommended for any primary classroom or school library.

The Girl Who Raced the World

Nat Harrison

Chapter book

Maggie is an orphan who has recently escaped from a workhouse after losing her mum. Her mum had given her a letter to deliver to a Monsieur Passepartout and said that he would help her.

In tracking down Monsieur Passepartout, Maggie also finds Mr Fogg, a gentleman who has made a wager that he can travel around the world in only eighty days. She also discovers that Mr Fogg is believed to have stolen a lot of money from a bank in London.

Maggie accompanies Mr Fogg and Monsieur Passepartout on their journey around the world and tries to prove Mr Fogg’s innocence along the way. Their journey is not a straightforward one – they encounter lots of people along the way, some helpful and some not so helpful. Not everyone wants Mr Fogg to succeed in his endeavour.

‘The Girl Who Raced the World’ is a fantastic reimagining of ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’. Maggie and Monsieur Passepartout are both incredibly likeable characters, and I like how their relationship develops as they get to know each other better. Mr Fogg is mysterious but perhaps not as stern as he first appears. The story moves at a pace and is a fantastic adventure for Y4 and up. It would make a great read-aloud in the classroom or a good independent read.

Best Books by Age

Popular Children's Authors

Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd

News: BooksForTopics Commended at the Education Business Awards 2026

Opportunity: Little People, BIG DREAMS – Help Us Interview Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara!

NEWS: Carnegies 2026 Shortlists Announced!

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review