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Publisher: Firefly Press Ltd

A Werewolf Ate my Homework

Chapter book

In ‘A Werewolf Ate my Homework’ we meet Asher who has a very BIG imagination. He’s very much like the boy who cried Wolf although he is making a very convincing case for his soon-to-be step-brother, Luca, being a werewolf. Of course, his mum doesn’t believe him as he lies frequently.

Asher needs the help of Helga, his werewolf-obsessed neighbour and once-best friend to help him, but she is still mad at him after a mysterious assembly where he shared something rather private and embarrassing about her to the whole school. Asher’s list of evidence gets longer and longer while the night of the full moon gets closer and closer.

This was such a brilliant read and I’m looking forward to reading more from Emily Snape. I was invested in the story from the first page because although Asher came across as silly and spontaneous, he was astute and gathering plenty of evidence. Emily Snape’s writing hooked me in and had me laughing throughout the book. The illustrations dotted throughout the book are brilliant.

This book would be perfect for fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Tom Gates.

Circling the Stars

Laura Sheldon

Poetry, Verse novel

Dad has moved out and Ani is struggling to accept his absence. Her mysterious neighbour, Nando, and his secret nocturnal trips provide a welcome distraction.

An enchanting tale of secret nighttime walks, a mysterious fox and finding friendship in the most unexpected of places.

When Ani follows Nando in the dead of night, she doesn’t expect to come face-to-face with the wild fox he has befriended. During each nighttime visit they learn a little more about the fox, and each other.

But are Ani and Nando ready for the new challenges this friendship brings? And can caring for another creature bring more harm than good in this strange secret world?

Questers Academy: The Box of Locks

Sam Hay

Chapter book

Tom Friday was never meant to be a magic-guarding, artefact-finding, ultra-brave secret agent. But on a visit to the Natural History Museum he gets embroiled in the world of the Questers Academy – protectors of mythical treasures from around the world.

Questers student Leesha is determined to be the youngest ever agent for Questers, but first she’ll need to prove her worth. That’s where Tom comes in. Tom is a super-recogniser, someone with the ability to pick out people from a crowd after barely glimpsing them for a moment. Together Leesha is sure they can solve a complex and intriguing quest: to find the key to the mythical Box of Locks, before it falls into the wrong hands.

Faced with a bunch of complicated ciphers and coded clues, the new friends must learn to trust each other in order to beat the forces of darkness and save the world from potential apocalypse.

A gripping, fast-paced adventure story perfect for fans of The London Eye Mystery and The Adventures on Trains series.

The Library of Lost Stories

Eloise Williams

Chapter book

It’s Christmas 1976 in a small town in South Wales, and eleven-year-old Noni and her dad are hiding from the bailiffs, behind the sofa. There’s no money left and Noni’s dad – who used to fix all the town’s broken things seems to be the most broken thing of all.

When Noni meets new friend Rebecca and borrows a library book, she realises that fixing the town’s old mobile library might be the thing to bring a spark back to her dad’s eyes.

But the library van is stuck on Mrs Williams’ driveway and has been since the Aberfan disaster ten years earlier. It is broken down beyond repair. Plus, according to the stories, Mrs Williams is a witch (she has a black cat, and she talks to the birds – so Noni is pretty sure this must be true). If Noni is going to have any hope of fixing the van and her dad, she’s going to need some friends to help her.

Together with stray dog Jones, Rebecca, young mechanic Clare and milk delivery boy Gareth, the four friends risk Mrs Williams’ wrath and opposition from the town mayor to try and get the library van restarted before the bailiffs come again.

But the town is still healing, and many don’t want to see the van return. It’s up to Noni and her friends to show everyone that the joy found in stories can bring them all back together.

The Treasure Seekers

Cathy Faulkner

Chapter book

November 1918.
Stanley is convinced that the precious stained-glass window from the church, that Martha’s grandfather hid during the war, will save his village. But Martha refuses to help him search, wanting to keep her beloved grandfather’s secrets safe.

When Stanley’s mother gets ill too, Martha visits the village, and realises she must act to help. She begins her own treasure hunt, even as her father is also struggling with the aftermath of the Great War. As the people who are most important to them suffer, Martha and Stanley are desperate to find their lost treasure and restore the village’s fortunes before it’s too late.

Fresh

Chris Riddell & Rhiannon Oliver

Poetry

Taking inspiration from everything from cat fleas to cloud gazing, FRESH is a lively collection of poems for primary school-age children, which explores starting over, the natural world, expressing your feelings and kindness. As well as the ‘fun stuff’, many of the poems in FRESH touch on mental health and wellbeing, covering subjects such as shifting friendships, sadness, loss, coping with worry, and being left out. Complete with stunning black and white illustrations from former UK Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell.

The Five

Elgan Rhys & Mared Roberts

Chapter book

The Five follows a year in the interconnected lives of five very different teenagers who forge a singular bond at their secondary school in north-west Wales. As they navigate the joys and tribulations of what makes them different as individuals, their newfound community is both tested and strengthened. This boldly original and tender-hearted young adult novel is adapted by Mared Roberts from the multi-award-winning Welsh-language series Y Pump, which was co-created in an innovative authorship process.

Red Sky in the Morning, Poet’s Warning

Alex Wharton & Ian Morris

Poetry

Red Sky in the Morning, Poet”s Warning is the fourth collection of mysterious, humorous, philosophical and charming poetry for young people by Alex Wharton, Children’s Laureate Wales. From Poems that describe ‘Wild Boys’ who live alone in the woods to poems about ‘Time’ and meeting an astronaut, there is something for everyone! These poems reflect on nature”s happenings, through observation and experience, but not forgetting to transport the reader to many magical, musical and imaginative worlds. A companion piece to Red Sky at Night, Poet’s Delight published exactly a year earlier, this ambitious volume reveals Alex as an evolving and maturing children’s poet whose vibrant work will resonate deeply with his readership.

Georgie

Malachy Doyle

Chapter book

14-year-old Georgie hasn’t spoken in years.

Withdrawn, isolated and full of rage, no one trusts him and no one gets close to him.

But then he is moved to a new home in the Welsh countryside.

Instead of an empty room with a bare mattress on the floor, he has a proper bed, a music system, a mirror.

There even seems to be someone here who might want to be his friend.

Is this the place where Georgie can finally overcome his fears and start to unlock the secrets of his past?

A raw, gritty, yet hopeful and uplifting story about mental health and the power of care and kindness.

The Blue Book of Nebo

Manon Steffan Ros

Chapter book

I can entirely see why this book was garlanded with awards. It is a beautifully written story (originally in Welsh), told in two voices, Dylan and his mother. Each voice is starkly different, experiencing the world differently. The nebulous End, is explained but left deliberately vague and is all the more menacing for that.

The story forces you to think about what you might do if the worst happened and the end of life as we know it appeared on the horizon. It might be an awful time, and yet it is also an extraordinary time, allowing both mother and son to experience things as they never would otherwise. This is a dystopian novel with a difference, because although it contains literally world-shattering events, it is remarkably calm and low-key in tone and surprisingly uplifting despite the tragedy.

It is a story that will stay with me for a long time. The content, themes and language of the book are best suited for mature KS3 readers and above.

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