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Topic: Books of the Year (Shortlist)

Picturebook

Discover the joy of dancing and the importance of family, whatever your culture, ability or style with Luna! When Luna dances, she feels like the world’s volume turns up, like all colours brighten, like sunlight sparkles behind every cloud. But when she takes her dance exam she ducks, dives, spins and… falls. Luna thinks she can’t be a real dancer now. Can Luna’s family convince her otherwise? From the team that brought us Luna Loves Library Day, Luna Loves Art, and Luna Loves World Book Day, celebrate every culture and every style of dance with Luna, featuring a glorious fold out carnival page.

Chapter book

Toto is no ordinary cat, and she can’t wait for you to join her on her FIFTH ninja adventure! From one of the UK’s best-loved broadcasters.

Toto’s brothers, Silver and Socks, and their best friend Catface have just been made Deputy Ninja Cats! But while celebrating, they accidentally break a boat belonging to a very important cat and find themselves heading north to a bootcamp for naughty animals.

Deep in the Scottish Highlands, they must climb mountains, paddle leaky canoes and prove that they can work as a team. But something isn’t quite right at the bootcamp, and Toto’s ninja senses are on high alert …

There is a local legend of a super-strong wildcat, destined to raise an army and take over all of Scotland. Toto knows she must find out more, but danger is lurking at every turn. Can she find the mysterious wildcat, before it’s too late?

Ideal for reading aloud or for children to curl up with and read alone, the story features brilliant black and white illustrations throughout. With themes of friendship, inclusivity and winning in the face of adversity, this is a hilarious must-read for all animal-loving kids!

Chapter book

Milo and I have been looking forward to this half-term for what feels like FOREVER – we’re finally going to the National Space Centre, to meet a real-life space engineer!

My whole family wanted to tag along and visit a festival first, where this super-famous, mega-expensive diamond is on display. But guess what? The diamond has been STOLEN! And the police think MY GRANNY did it so she’s in serious TROUBLE.

Someone needs to prove Granny Jas is innocent, so it looks like Milo and I might need to go UNDERCOVER. It’s lucky I’m Anisha, Accidental Detective!

Non-fiction

Discover 100 of the world’s most remarkable artefacts, most stunning artworks and most intriguing ruins in this beautifully illustrated book about Earth’s treasures.

Treasures both natural and manmade make an appearance in a tour which stretches across thousands of years and all around the globe. Discover sunken wrecks loaded with pirate gold, the abandoned tombs of the world’s most powerful rulers and even meteorites – treasures from outer space!

A central gatefold offers a world map revealing the locations of all the treasures included in the book, while Blue Peter award-winning author David Long also addresses contemporary topics such as our threatened natural wonders and the ownership of cultural treasures.

Chapter book

The hilarious and moving new book from funny fiction superstar Sam Copeland, author of the bestselling Charlie Changes Into a Chicken .

Uma Gnudersonn has a head full of questions: How can I save my home from being sold? Will my dad ever start talking again? And how do alpacas get drunk? But since her mum died, Uma’s life has been short on answers.

Then she finds a genius artificial intelligence called Athena who knows everything.

Suddenly Uma has the answer to any question she can imagine – from the capital of Mozambique to the colour of her headteacher’s underpants – and she’s going to use them to save her home and her father.

Along the way, Uma will have to confront the sinister inventor who will stop at nothing to get Athena back – and face up to the fact that not all questions have answers…

Chapter book

Franky can’t wait to move to his new town – although he wishes he didn’t have to leave his best friend Dani behind.
But everything changes after the storm, when strange green lightning and powerful thunder crash down on the town. From that night on, the kids who live on Franky’s street start to change. One by one, they become a little odd . A little unusual . A little… magical .

Franky’s always wanted to be part of an amazing gang – just like his hero, super-spy Zack Danger! And soon, he realises that there’s real danger in store for himself and his new friends.

And so the Danger Gang is born…

Poetry

Joshua Seigal, winner of the 2020 Laugh Out Loud Book Awards, brings his raucous humour, creativity and wit to another brilliant collection of poems. Ideal for fans of Michael Rosen, this book will delight all young readers and fans of funny books.

From hilarious to heartfelt poems – and everything in between – this collection offers something for everyone. Discover the eight steps for having a successful tantrum, and why you should NEVER attend a Teddy Bear’s Picnic (you have been warned). Packed full of fun illustrations by Sarah Horne, and covering a range of imaginative topics, Yapping Away is the perfect follow-up to Joshua Seigal’s prize-winning collection I Bet I Can Make You Laugh.

Ideal for children as young as 3 to read with adults, or for children aged 5-7 to read by themselves.

Picturebook

The Most Important Animal of All is a beautiful picture book, illustrated by award-winning Hannah Bailey, where a teacher challenges her class to decide which is the most important animal of all. Seven children champion a different animal for the top spot.

* Is it BEES as master pollinators, or BATS who are night-time predators as well as pollinators? * Is it ELEPHANTS who shape their landscapes and spread seeds, or BEAVERS who create watery habitats? * Is it TIGERS or SHARKS who keep populations in balance so there is food for all? * Is it tiny KRILL, food for so many whales and sea creatures?

Learn all about these keystone species, plus see photographs of them up close and in their habitats. At the back there’s information about other important animals, such as wolves, hummingbirds and coral.

This is a positive and gentle primer for young children from 5 years old about the more worrying issues of habitat loss, endangered species and climate change.

Picturebook

For fans of Jon Klassen, this sensitive and impactful picture book from award-winning author-illustrator Christian Robinson is all about seeing the world from different points of view, and the perfect entry point for parents to help teach their little people about empathy and community.

The small stuff too small to see.
Those who swim with the tide and those who don’t.
The first to go and the last.
You matter.

In this bright and beautiful picture book, many different perspectives around the world are deftly and empathetically explored – from a pair of bird-watchers to the pigeons they’re feeding, from the hugest dinosaur to the tiniest fly.

Young readers will be drawn into the luminous illustrations inviting them to engage with the world in a new way and see how everyone is connected and that everyone matters.

Picturebook

Take a ride through 26 fully illustrated search and find spreads, each one themed on a number.

Count the animals going into Noah’s Ark two-by-two, spot 13 scary skeletons at the haunted house on Halloween and visit Farm Fifteen where everything from one scarecrow through to 15 apples need to be found. Allan Sanders’ weird and wonderful drawings are packed full of funny things to spot and plenty of Where’s Waldo style humour, making this the best way to learn your 1, 2, 3s…

Great for parents and guardians to use with kids, or for young readers to enjoy independently, the 26 fun puzzles will keep readers entertained for hours.

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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