Books for Younger Children
Oi Dog!
3+ readers 5+ readersShortlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award Winner of the Children's Book Award 2017 - Books for Younger Children Category All fans of rhymes will love the witty and simple words in Oi Dog!. The rule says Dogs sit on Frogs but Frog is determined to challenge that. According to Frog, Dogs sit on Logs, Cats sit on Gnats, Mice sit on Ice, Bears sit on Stairs and Whales sit on Nails whether they like it or not! Jim Field’s illustrations chart the new seating arrangements brilliantly.~ Julia Eccleshare
Gracie Grabbit and the Tiger
Baby and Toddler 3+ readersShortlisted for the Children's Book Award 2017 - Books for Younger Children | Painted in Helen's much-loved retro style, and introducing a brand new cast of characters, Gracie Grabbit and the Tiger is the exciting new picture book from award-winning author/illustrator Helen Stephens.
Grandad's Island
3+ readers 5+ readersShortlisted for the Children's Book Award 2017 - Books for Younger Children | Shortlisted for the UKLA 2017 Book Award Syd and Grandad’s tropical adventure tells a much bigger story and conveys an important message about loss and love. Grandad’s house is at the bottom of Syd’s garden and Syd can go round any time he wants. One day Grandad isn’t in any of his usual places and Syd finds him in the attic. There’s a big metal door at one end, and through it a ship, ready to take Grandad and Syd to a faraway island. Grandad doesn’t need his stick on the island and is very much at home with the cheery parrots and bright flowers. He decides to stay behind, though he’ll miss Syd very much. Simply told and beautifully illustrated this is a very special book. ~ Andrea Reece
The Jam Doughnut That Ruined My Life
9+ readersBecause of his Monday-morning jam doughnut, Roman's week takes a very sticky turn... By Friday Roman has been banned from eating for 24hrs, narrowly avoided a faceful of warm toddler-wee, accidentally shoplifted, been given a lift in a getaway van, styled his teacher's guinea pig with a blue mohawk, started an OAP riot ...and still barely managed to scoff a crumb - or lick - of a single doughnut. Who knew jam could be so deadly?
Books for Younger Readers
Chicken Nugget
3+ readersChicken Nugget is a hilarious new picture book by Michelle Robinson and Tom McLaughlin. My name is Nugget. Chicken Nugget. This is my family. I'm the smallest. And when you're the smallest, nobody ever listens.
An Eagle in the Snow
9+ readers 11+ readersWinner of the Children's Book Award 2017 - Overall Winner and Winner in the Books for Younger Readers Category | November 2016 Book of the Month A ‘what if’ story based on a true life events, full of descriptions of heroism and selflessness: for any good writer this would make excellent material for a book, but in Michael Morpurgo’s hands, it’s pure gold. Barney is leaving Coventry for Cornwall with his mum after their house has been destroyed in the Blitz. There’s no escape from Hitler however, and their train is attacked by a Messerschmitt forcing it to stop in a tunnel for safety. It’s pitch-black and Barney is scared of the dark. To distract him, the other passenger in the carriage tells him about his best friend, Billy Byron, famous in the First World War as the most decorated private soldier. The story is an extraordinary one, we hear how Billy inadvertently changed the course of world history. Morpurgo’s skill as a storyteller is unparalleled, and the structure of the story suits it perfectly: an adult voice – one who was there – describing remarkable events to a child. Another wonderful piece of drama and history from one of our finest writers. ~ Andrea Reece One of our Books of the Year 2015 A note from Michael Morpurgo - "This book is dedicated to Private Henry Tandey VC. And this is why. Many of my stories have come from the lives of others, from truths, written or remembered, this one perhaps more than any other. Certainly had I not discovered, through Michael Foreman, the extraordinary story of the life and death of Walter Tull, the first black officer to serve in the British Army, I should never have written A Medal for Leroy. Had I not met an old soldier from the First World War who had been to that war with horses, in the cavalry, I should not have written War Horse. Had I not come across, in a museum in Ypres, an official letter from the army to the mother of a soldier at the front in that same war, informing her that her son had been shot at dawn for cowardice, I should never have told my story of Private Peaceful. It was a medal commemorating the sinking of the Lusitania by torpedo in 1915 with terrible loss of life, over a thousand souls, that compelled me to think of writing the story of a survivor, which I did in Listen to the Moon. I write fiction, but f iction with roots in history, in the people who made our history, who fought and often died in our wars. They were real people who lived and had their being in another time, often living and suffering through great and terrible dangers, facing these with unimaginable courage. My challenge as a story maker has been to imagine that courage, to live out in my mind’s eye, so far as I can, how it must have been for them. So when I was told by Dominic Crossley-Holland, history producer at the BBC, about the extraordinary life and times of Eagle Henry Tandey, the most decorated Private soldier of the First World War, I wanted to explore why he did what he did. This I have done, not by writing his biography. That had been done a lready. Rather I wanted to make his life the basis of a fictional story that takes his story beyond his story, and tries to explore the nature of courage, and the dilemma we might face when we discover that doing the right thing turns out to be the worst thing we have ever done. Because the life of Henry Tandey is so closely associated with this story, I thought it right to include the history so far as it is known, of his actual life. This you will find in the postscript at the end of the book." A Piece of Passion from the publisher Ann-Janine Murtagh: "An Eagle in the Snow is quintessentially Morpurgo in capturing a small moment in history and weaving it into a breathtaking, dramatic and moving story that will have readers gripped till the last page. Following on from the bestselling success of Listen to the Moon it speaks of an author who is writing at the very peak of his powers. Michael Morpurgo remains our nation's favourite storyteller - and his stories now reach out to children across the globe.
Voyage to Magical North
9+ readers 11+ readersShortlisted for the Children's Book Award 2017 - Books for Younger Readers | July 2016 Debut of the Month | In 3 words : pirates – magic - fellowship | In what is hopefully the first in a long series, Voyage to Magical North mixes together orphans, pirates, spells and an evil magician and in a way that feels fresh and sparky. Brine, foundling and servant, and Peter, apprentice magician, both have reasons for running away from what’s called home. They’ve not got far before they run into the Onion captained by legendary pirate Cassie O’Pia. The adventure that follows includes a search for treasure, heroic librarians, exploits in the belly of a whale and much more. Original, packed with excitement, humour and moments of quiet insight too this is a real treat. ~ Andrea Reece Recommended for fans of Jenny Nimmo’s Charlie Bone series.
Books for Older Readers
Car-Jacked
9+ readers 11+ readersShortlisted for the Children's Book Award 2017 - Books for Older Readers | Readers are plunged straight into the action in Ali Sparke’s new thriller: Jack and his parents are on holiday when their car is stolen, with him still on the back seat. The car-jacker turns out to be a kinder, more complex person than expected, while Jack, brought up on a strict regime of study by his over-protective mother, finds life on the run brings him some longed-for freedom. The two form an unusual friendship, that culminates in Jack helping Ross win £5,000 he desperately needs. Jack’s adventures make for compulsively page-turning reading, and no matter how high the action rages, it somehow feels credible. High octane fun! ~ Andrea Reece
Mistletoe and Murder
9+ readers 11+ readersShortlisted for Best Crime Novel for Children aged 8-12, CrimeFest Gala Awards 2017 |Shortlisted for the Children's Book Award 2017 - Books for Older Readers | One of our Books of the Year 2016 | November 2016 Book of the Month A festive feast of ghastly goings on for fans old and new of the A Murder Most Unladylike series. Astute, smart and daring they may be, but trouble sure seems to follow detective duo Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong around. It seems that even a Christmas Holiday to Cambridge is filled with cads, murderers and mysteries. Soon after arriving in Cambridge, Daisy and Hazels’ detective senses are tingling as they suspect that a series of practical jokes and a dose of sibling rivalry are much more deadly than they seem. Yet time is of the essence and Daisy (somewhat reluctantly) agrees to join forces with a local detective agency to try and get to the bottom of the murderous goings on before Christmas day. But has Daisy finally met her match with the rival agency? This is frightfully good. There’s a touch of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie magic within these pages and it makes for an exciting read. Daisy is a determined, shrewd young lady who doesn’t miss a thing and along with her methodical, quick witted partner Hazel, they make a formidable duo. Throw in some hot chocolate, cakes, snow and of course deadly mistletoe and you have all the ingredients for a thrilling murder mystery. Stevens just seems to be going from strength to strength with this wonderful series, I can’t wait to see where our fantastically feisty detectives end up next. ~ Shelley Fallows
One
13+ readers YA readersWinner for the Children's Book Award 2017 - Books for Older Readers Category | One of our Books of the Year 2016 | Winner of the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2016. Joint Winner of the CLiPPA 2016 (CLPE Children’s Poetry Award). Longlisted for the UKLA 2017 Book Awards. Shortlisted for the Children's category of the Books are My Bag Readers Awards 2016. Award-winning Sarah Crossan tells an astonishing and difficult story with the surest of touches in this tender, funny and life affirming book. Grace and Tippi are twins. Not just twins but conjoined twins, sharing the lower half of their bodies. Somehow they have always managed to be individuals while also part of each other. Now teenagers, Tippi and Grace are facing increasing difficulties. They are off to school for the first time meeting new experiences and especially new friendships and relationships. While Tippi longs for things to remain the same, Grace yearns for something more. Falling in love with classmate Jon she begins to imagine a future full of romance and love. But will there be a future for Grace and Tippi? When a desperate decision needs to be taken the girls lives must change forever. Sarah Crossan tells an original and utterly gripping story brilliantly. ~ Julia Eccleshare Winner of The Bookseller's 2016 prize for young adult fiction. Ireland's Children's Book of the Year Award 2016. One of our Julia Eccleshare's Pick of the Year 2015.
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