Publisher: Faber & Faber

Peng and Spanners

Graphic novel

This graphic novel is based on a very silly story and one that will go down a treat! Firstly, it’s about pizza – always a popular topic with children! Secondly, it stars two likeable, somewhat barmy characters (the good guys) and several creepy, villainous ones.

Its comic strip style is super appealing and colourful and the story is crammed with jokes and high jinks. The storyline is interesting (read fun, surprising, wacky, and inventive) and there’s a drawing tutorial at the end. Readers will be pleased to see the promise of future Peng and Spanners books.

This book will fly off the graphic novel shelf and is perfect for fans of the Investigators and Sparks in KS1 and KS2.

The Glorious Race of Magical Beasts

Alex Bell & Tim McDonagh

Chapter book

The Glorious Race of Magical Beasts is an absolutely spellbinding read for anyone who loves adventure, magic and unlikely friendships.

The story begins with Eli, a book-loving introvert, who works at the Royal Library. As the story unveils, we learn that our hero, the unassuming underdog, has more to the eye than it seems.

There is not one page in this story that isn’t filled with the most spectacular imagination! For a start, you can’t help but fall in love with Eli’s sidekick, a moon turtle called Humphrey, who loves nothing more than a poem and an easy life. Needless to say, they embark on an adventure which couldn’t be further from the ordinary. Before they died, Eli’s parents were famous for entering and winning The Race of Magical Beasts, which is renowned for its danger and cunning contestants. After a recent discovery, Eli is left with no choice but to risk everything to enter the race himself and win the iconic prize. Will he be able to show people that a ‘bookish boy with a briefcase can achieve remarkable things’?

Bell’s imagination and incredible story-telling will leave any reader in awe. From fictional characters who have been transported from the pages of books to ships with pulsating tentacles, there is plenty to keep the reader turning pages. I loved every word on every single page, particularly the heart-warming friendships built throughout! This story is a triumph in every sense.

Merry Whatmas?

Eoin McLaughlin

Picturebook

This is a delightful tale of two characters, Tortoise and Hedgehog who are experiencing their first Christmas and who do not know what Christmas is. Many children will be familiar with the characters from the story ‘The Hug’ and other stories in this series and will welcome their familiarness. Exploring what Christmas is all about will resonate with younger children – the excitement of presents, food and decorations all feature.

There is opportunity for some more in-depth discussion with children about each of the aspects of Christmas shared by the other animals in the story – for example, Fox’s focus on presents that are all for him and the story climax of the importance of being with those we love.

The illustrations invite children to look closely at each page – particularly to pick out the little white mouse, who has his own particular excitement and engagement with the trappings of Christmas. Children will enjoy retelling the story from the pictures, developing the detail of the story that is not in the main text but found in the illustrations. This is a super addition to any early years class collection, a lovely book to read aloud at school or at home.

Santa’s New Reindeer

Caroline Crowe & Jess Pauwels

Picturebook

Santa needs a new reindeer in this third hilarious Christmas must-have picture book, from the duo who brought you Santa’s New Beard and Santa’s New Sleigh!

One week to go ’till Christmas Day,
The final touches underway,
A ribbon here, a flourish there,
And presents piled up everywhere.

Santa smiled. ‘What could go wrong?’
He didn’t have to wait too long . . .
Out of the sky a whirling blur,
Of antlers, legs and soft brown fur,

Came crashing through the workshop roof,
And that’s how Rudolph sprained his hoof . . .

Oh no! Another Christmas disaster! The sleigh can’t fly without Rudolph. Luckily, head engineer Lizzie is on hand to help . . . introducing ROBO-REINDEER! Christmas is saved once more.

You’re So Amazing!

James Catchpole & Karen George & Lucy Catchpole

Picturebook

Joe is widely admired for his presence, whether he’s playing on the playground or enjoying a treat – after all, he’s SO AMAZING! Despite his admiration for his athletic friend Simone, Joe constantly receives compliments from onlookers. Wanting to shift the focus to Simone, Joe attempts to blend into the background, only to be mistaken for feeling sorry for himself.

Reluctantly, Joe participates in activities, feeling the pressure to maintain his “Amazing Joe” persona, a struggle that resonates with disabled individuals. As playground visitors gawk and point at his physical disability, Joe becomes exhausted with the attention. Seeking solace, he engages in soccer with a friend and discovers the joy of accomplishment through perseverance.

In this picturebook, the authors skilfully portray strangers’ well-intentioned yet patronizing behaviour through vivid illustrations. The narrative paints a picture of the importance of supportive friendships rather than offering direct strategies for handling uncomfortable interactions. Illustrated with diversity in the character portrayal, the story offers a glimpse into the disability experience.

The Taming of the Cat

Helen Cooper

Chapter book

A new gentle chapter book adventure from much-loved author Helen Cooper, whose many BooksForTopics readers will recognise from our booklists (like Saving the Butterfly, Ratty Tatty and the inimitable Pumpkin Soup).

Brie is a small mouse who loves to tell tall tales. He and his fellow mice live (and eat) in a cheese shop . . . except Brie is the only mouse who doesn’t like cheese. Unfortunately, his fellow mice just don’t appreciate his stories. Fortunately, Brie soon finds someone who does. One freezing cold night, Brie finds himself shunned by the rest of the mice and curls up, cold and defenceless, in the shop, where he’s soon discovered by the shop’s cat, Gorgonzola.

In order to distract the cat from eating him, Brie starts telling him a fantastical tale of a princess and her cat on a quest to find the princess’s missing family. Fortunately, Gorgonzola loves stories and lets Brie live . . . for now. The other mice soon realize that the shop’s cat is totally engrossed in Brie’s stories and use this to their advantage to steal as much cheese as possible from the shop. Will the mice be discovered? Will Gorgonzola finally eat Brie? And will the princess be able to solve the mystery of her missing family?

This is a beautifully told, modern-day fairytale. Full of magic, cheese and dragons and with beautiful, author-drawn illustrations throughout. A fantastic book for anyone who loves fairytales, adventure and cats.

Mia and the Lightcasters

Janelle McCurdy

Chapter book

Beware of the shadows, the Reaper King is coming . . .

Mia always dreamed of being an umbra tamer until she met the wild creature on the Nightmare Plains. Since that day, she prefers to stay safe within the walls of Nubis. Safe, that is, until a surprise attack. With her parents captured, Mia’s only hope is to travel to the City of Light to find help. But with only her little brother, two friends and one solitary tamed umbra, the journey feels impossible. Mia not only has to overcome her fears, she also has to learn to harness her umbra taming abilities if they are to complete the quest in time.

For fans of Amari and the Night Brothers, The Legend of Podkin One-Ear and Nevermoor, this is the first in the sensational Umbra Tales series, illustrated by Ana Latese.

Survivors

David Long & Kerry Hyndman

Non-fiction, Short story collection

This is an exciting non-fiction text containing a collection of captivating real-life tales of men, women and children who have survived the most perilous situations against all odds.

The book of short stories features a mixture of well-known adventurers, like Shackleton, and lesser-heard stories like that of Poon Lim, a man who wrestled for survival by living alone at sea on a raft for months and, desperate for something to drink to stay alive, captured and killed a shark in order to drink its blood! Many of the stories are truly incredible and they encapsulate how the sense of sheer determination, guile and radical bravery found deep within the human spirit enables people to overcome adversity in the most unlikely situations.

This is a superb non-fiction-that-feels-like-fiction text that we highly recommend to KS2 classrooms.

Ballerina Dreams

Ella Okstad & Michaela DePrince

Chapter book, Non-fiction

One windy day, a magazine blew down the road. I reached out and caught it. A pretty picture of a woman was on the front cover of the magazine. She wore a short pink dress that stuck out around her in a circle. She looked very happy.

At the age of three, Michaela DePrince found a photo of a ballerina that changed her life. She was living in an orphanage in Sierra Leone at the time, but was soon adopted by a family and brought to America. Michaela never forgot the photo of the dancer she once saw, and decided to make her dream of becoming a ballerina come true. She has been dancing ever since, and after a spell as a principal dancer in New York, now dances for the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam.

Beautifully and gently illustrated by Ella Okstad, Ballerina Dreams is the younger-reader edition of Michaela DePrince’s highly moving memoir, Hope in a Ballet Shoe.

Finding Wonder

Lauren St John

Chapter book

Ruby Thorn, Roo to all who know her well, thought her world had collapsed when her Mum died two years ago. Roo’s Dad hadn’t taken it well, losing his job and sleeping through the day on the sofa, Roo tried her best to run the house and evade the scrutiny of school and her social worker, always trying to catch her out as her school attendance was patchy at best.

Then one night, with a hammering of the police at the door of their flat, her world, or what remained of it, collapsed entirely. Orphaned and thrust upon her Aunt Joni, a stranger by all accounts, Roo has never felt more alone or unlucky, but even then bad things kept on happening. Suddenly homeless, the unlikely pair make a midnight flit in Joni’s battered camper, only to escape just in time as the camper explodes in a ball of flames, leaving them stranded in the middle of the countryside as the worse snowstorm in recent history sets in. What has the future left in store for them, if there even is one…?

Lauren St John has an impressive back catalogue of children’s fiction and her knowledge of the horses is unquestionable. St John has an impressive ability to weave a mystery adventure, dropping in clues and plot twists along the way, while building a love for Roo and Joni. Her passion for horses is clear, her description of what it feels like to lose yourself in riding is captivating. A real page turner and one that I am already enjoying reading for a second time (this time with my daughter) recognising just how many little clues are cleverly interwoven along the way. Sure to prove a popular class read.