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Topic: Ones to Watch - Autumn 2018

The Clockwork Crow

Chapter book

A magical story of snow and stars by Catherine Fisher. The Clockwork Crow is a mysterious gothic Christmas tale set in a frost-bound Victorian country mansion. When orphaned Seren Rees is given a mysterious package by a strange and frightened man on her way to her new home, she reluctantly takes it with her. But what is in the parcel? Who are the Family who must not be spoken of, and can the Crow help Seren find Tom, before the owner of the parcel finds her? The Clockwork Crow is a gripping Christmas tale of families and belonging set in snowy Wales from a master storyteller.

The Lost Magician

Chapter book

If you can imagine it, it exists… somewhere.’ A spellbinding adventure from the bestselling, award-winning author of The Last Wild trilogy.

1945. They have survived the Blitz, but when Simon, Patricia, Evelyn and Larry step through a mysterious library door, it is the beginning of their most dangerous adventure yet. They discover the magical world of Folio, where an enchanted kingdom of fairy knights, bears and tree gods is under threat from a sinister robot army.

The many stories of the Library are locked in eternal war, and the children’s only hope is to find their creator – a magician who has been lost for centuries.

What they find will change not just their own lives, but the fate of the world, for ever…

An ode to the world of Narnia, The Lost Magician is a classic in the making from one of the UK’s most talented children’s authors.

A Darkness of Dragons

Chapter book

In a world of dragons, song-spells, pipers and battles…

Patch Brightwater is in disgrace. Thrown in jail for playing a forbidden spell, he is no one’s idea of a hero. But then he discovers a deadly truth – the evil Piper of Hamelyn is on the loose. With the help of Wren, a girl cursed to live as a rat, and Barver, a fire-breathing dracogriff, Patch must stop the Piper sparking the biggest battle of them all.

Three accidental heroes versus one legendary villain…an epic adventure is born.

A perfectly pitched fantasy adventure for readers aged 9+ and for fans of The Hobbit and How to Train Your Dragon. It was a Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month in 2018.

Snowglobe

Chapter book

The beautifully spellbinding and critically-acclaimed story of a thousand magical worlds from the author of A Girl Called Owl and A Far Away Magi c.

When daydreamer Clementine discovers a mysterious house standing in the middle of town that was never there before, she is pulled towards it by the powerful sense of a mother she never knew. The place is full of snowglobes, swirling with stars and snow and each containing a trapped magician, watched over by Gan, the bitter keeper of the house. One of these is Dylan, a boy who teases her in the real world but who is now desperate for her help.

So Clem ventures into the snowglobes, rescuing Dylan and discovering her own powerful connection to the magic of these thousand worlds. Vowing to release the magicians from the control of their enchantments, Clem unknowingly unleashes a struggle for power that will not only put her family, but the future of magic itself in danger.

The Way Past Winter

Chapter book

From the bestselling author of THE GIRL OF INK & STARS comes an unforgettable read for young and old alike: an exciting adventure to the frozen north, perfect for fans of Philip Pullman.

Mila and her sisters live with their brother Oskar in a small forest cabin in the snow. One night, a fur-clad stranger arrives seeking shelter for himself and his men.

But by the next morning, they’ve gone – taking Oskar with them.

Fearful for his safety, Mila and her sisters set out to bring Oskar back – even it means going north, crossing frozen wild-lands to find a way past an eternal winter.

The third children’s novel by Times number one bestselling author Kiran Millwood Hargrave, winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the British Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year

From the author of The Girl of Ink & Stars, The Island at the End of Everything, Julia and the Shark and The Mercies – chosen for the Richard & Judy Book Club

The Way Past Winter combines high adventure with beautiful writing and a wintry folk-tale feel – a gorgeous literary novel for all year round.

The Train to Impossible Places

Chapter book

All aboard for the first journey in the bestselling Train to Impossible Places Adventures, with magic at every stop.

Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Branford Boase Award and the IBW Book Awards, with dazzling illustrations from Flavia Sorrentino, join Suzy on this magical adventure, where the journey will never, ever take you where you expect it to.

When Suzy hears a strange noise in the middle of the night, she creeps downstairs to find a train roaring through her house. But this is no ordinary train. This is the magical delivery express for The Union of Impossible Places.

Whisked onboard by a troll-boy, Suzy’s world is turned upside down when she’s asked to deliver a cursed package to a fearsome sorceress. And quite suddenly, Suzy realizes the fate of the Impossible Places is in her hands…

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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