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Topic: Reading for Pleasure

Chapter book

Secrets from the past are the keys to the future…if two children can find them. Bold adventure, timely themes and breath-taking writing from award-winning author, Sita Brahmachari.

Usha is devastated when her grandmother Kali Ma passes away. Then straight-talking Imtiaz arrives – her new adoptive sister – and the two girls clash instantly. They both feel lost. That is until Kali Ma’s ghost appears…with a task for them.

Immy’s and Usha’s home is full of history and secrets. Many years ago it was The House of the Ayahs – for those nannies who couldn’t return to their Indian homeland – and Kali Ma made a promise she couldn’t keep. She can’t pass on to the other side until the girls fulfil it.

Today, Usha and Immy’s over-worked parents run the house as a home for refugees, but eviction threatens. The precious documents that could save them are lost. As the house slowly fills up with ghosts, that only Usha and Imtiaz can see, the girls realise they have more to save than just one grandmother’s ghost.

With help from their new friend Cosmo, Usha and Immy must set off on a quest through London, accompanied by two bickering ghosts, working together to find a series of objects that shine a magical light on their family’s past and hold the clues to securing their future.

If they can set the secrets of generations free, will they be in time to save their home?

Chapter book

The second read-in-one-sitting mystery from the bestselling author of The Goldfish Boy, one of 2017’s biggest children’s books.

Nate and his mother are running away, hiding out in a tumbledown cottage in the middle of a forest.

When Mum heads off for provisions, and then doesn’t return, Nate is left alone and afraid, with the dark closing in all around him.

But comfort can come from the most unexpected of places – a mysterious girl trying to solve the clues of a treasure hunt and the reappearance of an old friend from his past.

Will Nate find the bravery needed to face the troubles of his present and ultimately illuminate the future?

A story of fear and hope, loneliness and friendship. A genuinely gasp-out-loud twist. A page-turning, twisty mystery with characters to root for.

Picturebook

An enchanting bedtime story for toddlers, perfect for fans of Oliver Jeffers’ How To Catch a Star.

Up high, in the dark, dark sky … a message: LOST, ONE SMALL STAR.

When a little boy stumbles across a special star, he puts it in a jar and takes it on adventures. Together with his big sister, he takes his special treasure with him everywhere – to the cinema, to the swimming pool and even to the toilet!

But the poor star is sad and misses its home … Can the little boy and his big sister find a way to send the star safely back?

Sarah Massini’s artwork glows with warmth and humour and perfectly captures the friendship between the two siblings in this warm-hearted bedtime book. Told from the perspective of the big sister, this is the perfect picture book for siblings to share and read together. The short text and warm tone is ideal for toddlers aged 2 years and up.

Picturebook

A laugh-out-loud funny new children’s book from the author of The Day the Crayons Quit. The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors reveals the epic tale behind everyone’s favourite playground game!

You’ve played the game…now read the book.

Long ago in the Kingdom of Backgarden lived a fearsome warrior named ROCK. ROCK was undefeated in battle, and yet, he felt unfulfilled. So he went in search of a worthy opponent. Little did he know that at that very moment two more warriors were setting forth with the very same idea. When ROCK collides with SCISSORS from the village of Junk Drawer, and the ferocious PAPER, who hails from the Empire of Mum’s Study, an epic and hilarious battle ensues. And the rest, as they say, is history.

A riotously funny new picture book from the author of The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons came Home, Drew Daywalt, and New York Times bestselling illustrator, Adam Rex. Suggested reading age 4+

Chapter book

A fast-paced, thought-provoking adventure story filled with friendship, war and the journey to find who we really are, from the author of The Monsters of Rookhaven.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018

NOMINATED FOR THE CILIP CARNEGIE AWARD 2019

Christopher is ‘Proper’: a real boy with a real soul, orphaned in a fire. He works for an engineer, a maker of the eccentric, loyal and totally individual mechanicals who are Christopher’s best friends.

But after a devastating accident, a secret is revealed and Christopher’s world is changed for ever … What follows is a remarkable adventure, as Christopher discovers who he really is, and what it means to be human.

A heartfelt tale of humanity, adventure and belonging, from the bestselling author of Pog and The Monsters of Rookhaven.

Pinocchio meets The Wizard of Oz with a hint of Northern Lights as a boy and his mechanical friends discover the truth about his past.

A thought-provoking and timely novel, with strong themes of friendship, war and what it really means to be human.

Picturebook

Introducing… Spyder – code name 0008 (legs). It’s not easy being a super special secret agent when you’re only as big as a pin badge. But when a birthday cake is under threat, SPYDER is called upon. It’s time to pack the spy-kit with binoculars, a top-secret laser pen and… a banana. Will Spyder save the day, AND the party?

Non-fiction

How can we tell one lighthouse from another? What does a lighthouse keeper do? Where are the most unusual lighthouses in the world? Depart on an enchanting voyage with the school children in this book to discover the answers to these questions along with other fascinating facts about lighthouses and how they work.

Chapter book

Arianwyn is back for another thrilling adventure in the second APPRENTICE WITCH book – Studio Ghibli meets Diana Wynne Jones!

During an eventful holiday in Kingsport, Arianwyn is recruited for an important mission: to retrieve the Book of Quiet Glyphs from its hiding place in the Great Wood.

But as she returns home to Lull, feyling refugees gather outside the town walls and hex plagues the forest.

As tensions lead to fall-outs with her friends, town squabbles and magical mishaps, Arianwyn faces a sobering truth: she alone can find the Book, and wield its secrets …

A bewitching series set in a world of domestic magic – a refreshingly small-world fantasy perfect for readers aged 9 and up.

A spellbinding read, tapping into important themes of overcoming failure and building self-esteem.

Filled with thrills, pesky magical conundrums, outlandish creatures and an enchanted forest, yet retains its warm soul and earthy charm!

Chapter book

Life with Marge is NEVER boring! She has rainbow hair, goes skiing in the middle of summer and is the best babysitter anyone could wish for.

And maybe – just maybe – Marge can help Jemima and Jakey work out who (or what) is at the end of the secret tunnel.

The fourth fun family story in the MARGE IN CHARGE series, written by actor & comedian Isla Fisher and illustrated throughout by Eglantine Ceulemans.

Chapter book

Set in a future Australia in a time when there are no bees and children are employed to scramble through the fruit trees with feather wands, like the pear farmers of Hanyuan in China do today. Peony wants to be a bee, a hand pollinator. She’s light, fast, and even though she’s a year too young, she’s going to be the best bee the farm has ever seen…except when you’re only 9, it’s hard to get everyone around you to go along with your plan. A beautiful and fierce novel for middle grade readers, ‘How to Bee’ explores an all-too-possible dystopian social landscape with an intensely compelling and original voice.

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