This Month's Featured Books
The Boomerang Effect
YA readersA hilariously subversive YA debut that explores the meaning of friendship and loyalty, and also why you should avoid being trapped in a small space with an angry chicken. Perfect for fans of Andrew Smith's Winger and Frank Portman's King Dork.
The Treasure at the Top of the World
7+ readers 9+ readersNovember 2018 Debut of the Month | Shortlisted for the Peoples Book Prize 2019 | Freddie receives an intriguing and unusual present from Uncle Patrick for his thirteenth birthday. The ancient world map goes straight up on his wall, but Freddie fast discovers that the map is more than just decoration. At the stroke of midnight, he finds himself hurtling through time and space. The first that his best friend, Connor, hears of it all is when Freddie returns from his escapade, battered and bruised. Connor rushes round to hear of the amazing adventure in the foothills of Everest and the theft of ancient treasures! What is in the mysterious old sandwich box that Freddie keeps with him as if his life depends upon it? The boys must defend themselves – and the box – against hapless bully, Jasper, and the rest of his foolish crew. Connor becomes a vital part in saving the day – and maybe even solving one of mountaineering’s greatest mysteries!
Last Month's Featured Books
Pages & Co: Tilly and the Bookwanderers
9+ readersOctober 2018 Debut of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month September 2018 | | Tilly loves stories and has firm favourites among their characters. She can so easily imagine conversations with Anne from Anne of Green Gables or Alice from Wonderland. But she never expects to actually meet them! When Tilly finds that she has entered the story herself – and particularly when she takes her friend Oskar with her too – she knows that something very strange indeed is happening. Can a trip to the wonderful Underlibrary sited deep in the British Library itself illuminate just what is happening to Tilly and how her beloved grandparents are involved too? Anna James weaves a richly invented story with great skill and makes every passionate reader’s greatest dream of being able to hang out with their favourite characters come true.
The Best Sound in the World
3+ readers 5+ readersOctober 2018 Debut of the Month | | What’s the best sound in the world? Ray the little lion is determined to find out, because he thinks that will help him become a famous musician (he plays the violin). He spends hours bottling beautiful sounds – the plip-plop of rain in the forest, the tweeting of birds in the mountains, the chitter-chatter of the market – but just can’t decide. His neighbour little lemur Jemmy tries to help, but Roy is just annoyed when Jemmy dances to his music, or claps in time. Indeed, it takes him the whole book to realise that Jemmy’s friendship helps him make the best sounds ever. It’s a lovely story, beautifully told and Cindy Wume’s illustrations are gorgeous. A charming and original picture book that should become a real favourite.
The Dollmaker of Krakow
9+ readers 11+ readersOctober 2018 Debut of the Month | | Karolina is a living doll who’s been transported from the Land of the Dolls on a “kind wind” following a cruel war with the rats. She wakes “in her new world with a glass heart”, in the workshop of a dollmaker in Krakow, Poland. When Karolina speaks to him, the Dollmaker is certain that he’s lost his mind. He made her, after all, “and I can’t make something that comes to life,” he reasons. But Karolina explains that “gardeners do it all the time with flowers”. Through shimmering, lyrical language, and Karolina’s consummate compassion, we are witness to a transformation in the crotchety widower Dollmaker. He begins to smile, to make friends, to feel light and hope. And then, when darkness descends on their city in the form of the Nazis, together they must use their newfound magic to save their friends, no matter what. The author does not shirk from relating the brutal realities of the Jewish experience in Nazi-occupied Poland, yet the overriding message is one of hope and love, and the wondrousness of acts of kindness. This is a sublimely big-souled book, with an exquisite ambiance of timelessness.
The Hate U Give
13+ readers YA readersOctober 2018 Debut of the Month | Awarded the Amnesty CILIP Honour commendation from the Carnegie shortlist 2018 | Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2018 | One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award | In a Nutshell: Fighting for Justice | Black Lives Matter | Stunning, vital wake-up call of a novel about racism, social inequality and not giving up told through the eyes of an incredible, unforgettable sixteen-year-old. Starr straddles two very different worlds. She has one foot in Garden Heights, a rough neighbourhood ruled by gangs, guns and dealers, and the other in an exclusive school with an overwhelmingly wealthy white student population. One night she’s at a party when gunshots are fired and Khalil, her friend since childhood, takes her to his car for safety. Khalil is unarmed and poses no threat, but he’s shot dead by an officer right in front of her. It will take a lot of courage to speak to the police, and to face the media who choose to highlight that Khalil was a “suspected drug dealer”, while omitting to mention that he was unarmed. But, with their neighbourhood under curfew and a tank on the streets, Starr risks going public. Danger escalates as the hearing approaches (and beyond), but Starr isn’t about to give up fighting for Khalil, and for what’s right. Alongside the intense struggles and conflicts faced by Starr’s family and community, there are some truly heart-melting moments between Starr and her white boyfriend Chris (their shared love of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air is super cute), and also between Starr and her parents. Complex, gripping, stirring and so, so important – I can’t recommend this remarkable debut enough. ~ Joanne Owen
The Month Before's Featured Books
LoveReading4Kids Top 10
