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Find out moreFind the latest books for fans of fantasy stories and magical tales! We have extracts to download for most of our books plus expert reviews.
The summer holidays are dragging on and Harry Potter can't wait for the start of the school year. It is his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and there are spells to be learnt and (unluckily) Potions and Divination lessons to be attended. But Harry needs to be on his guard at all times - his worst enemy is preparing a terrible fate for him. With characteristic wit, fast-paced humour and marvellous emotional depth, J.K. Rowling has proved herself yet again to be a master storyteller.
February 2020 Debut of the Month | There’s a lovely ‘what if’ challenge in this quirky and inspiring picture book. Little Nara is an expert hat maker, creating beautiful hats for the animals in her forest studio. One day she receives a letter from a new customer – can she make a hat for Mr Mountain no less? She rises to the challenge, trying out various different materials before finding exactly the right way to make a hat for a mountain. The story unfolds beautifully, and it makes a great tale of friendship, creativity and ingenuity. There’s lots to discuss while reading and this could prompt interesting STEM conversations or projects too. This is Soojin Kwak’s debut and she is definitely an illustrator to watch.
From its enticing opening (“If there’s one thing I am absolutely and utterly sure about,” said Maya Murphy ducking under her desk on the classroom floor, “it’s that Mr Winter is a monster”), through its 300 pages of character-driven action, The Light Hunters is a stellar start to a new Middle Grade series. At school, twelve-year-old Lux and best friend Maya are drilled in the art of what to do in the event of a monster attack. At home, Lux lives with his sick granddad, a clock repairer, and Miss Hart, Grandpa’s carer. Oh, and he’s also the most accomplished Light Hunter of all time and manages to save Maya when she’s gravely injured in a monstrous attack. But this brave act of friendship brings trouble, for it draws a mysterious stranger to town, someone who’s set on misappropriating Lux’s powers. With Miss Hart’s guidance (for she harbours a secret…), Lux steps-up his training in the ways of Light Hunting as word comes of the impending attack of a monster to whom he’s painfully connected.Skillfully blending relatable real-life emotions with a vividly conjured fantastical world, and an overarching race against time, this comes recommended for nine+ year-olds who enjoy epic action delivered in a descriptive style, such as fans of Peter Bunzl’s Cogheart series and Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines.
Delectably whimsical and irrefutably elegant, this fifth volume of Ransom Briggs’s Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series is an intoxicating feat of fantastical fiction. Tasked to undertake a mysterious, meandering mission by his dying grandfather, Jacob Portman must deliver a peculiar named Noor - the focus of an ancient apocalyptic prophecy - to a person known only as “V”. With little to work with and chaos waiting, courageous steps must be taken, which makes Jacob’s story piquant with stakes of the highest order. With a liberal peppering of authentic old photographs adding to the exuberantly eerie atmosphere, this fluttering marvel of the macabre is shot-through with endearing companionships and propelled by an urgent, noble need to save Peculiardom from doom.
As cat-owners everywhere know, all cats are equipped with super-powers and Gwynneth Rees’s series stars a band of feline heroes who use their powers to fight villains (a kind of moggie MI6). In this episode, new recruits Tagg and Sugarfoot have to infiltrate the infamous Hit Cats to stop a prison break. Can they do it, and could they really end up fish-sliced if they get caught? Rees keeps things fun, but suitably tense too and it’s another satisfying adventure in a very enjoyable series. Illustrations by Becka Moor add to the fun. If you like the Super Cats series, look out for Dermot O’Leary’s Toto the Ninja Cat books too.
January 2020 Debut of the Month | This beautifully written debut has all the elements of a classic adventure and is guaranteed to capture readers and not let them go until the last page is turned. A lost princess, a stolen kingdom, a wicked uncle and his evil henchman, a supernatural ruby and a tiger that talks- who could resist? Our heroine Fly engages from the start- escaping from the cruel master sweep she finds her escape chimney empties her into a tiger’s cage. The tiger does not eat her but decides she has royal blood and speaks to her. Whilst not believing him Fly expertly arranges their escape vowing to return to rescue the other caged animals awaiting their sale by the mysterious bejewelled fat man. Fly has a certain skill which her gang of street urchins has put to good use in the past. She has the power to prevent people seeing what she does not want them to see - when she and the tiger board a horse drawn omnibus the passengers only see a scruffy urchin and a rather large dog. But this is only the start of the adventure and we gradually learn more about Fly’s origins and about the wickedness of the men who have imprisoned the rightful king and are selling the animals and enslaving the people of the beautiful island kingdom to which she and the tiger belong. With the villains in hot pursuit a storm and shipwreck seem to ensure a tragic end to their quest. But with the wonderful twists and turns the reader has become accustomed to, all’s well that ends well. This is a magnificent story of courage, love and loyalty which leaves the reader satisfied and enriched.
From No. 1 bestselling children's author, David Walliams comes his biggest and most epic adventure yet! Illustrated by the artistic genius Tony Ross. This is the story of a ten-year-old orphan and a 10,000-year-old mammoth... Read all about it! Read all about it! ICE MONSTER FOUND IN ARCTIC! When Elsie, an orphan on the streets of Victorian London, hears about the mysterious Ice Monster - a woolly mammoth found at the North Pole - she's determined to discover more... A chance encounter brings Elsie face to face with the creature, and sparks the adventure of a lifetime - from London to the heart of the Arctic! Heroes come in all different shapes and sizes in David Walliams' biggest and most epic adventure yet!
January 2020 Book of the Month | This is everything you could ask of a sequel to A Curse So Dark and Lonely, and then some. Readers are returned to the well-formed world of Emberfall and its neighbouring territory of Syhl Shallow, where political ambition and newly revealed secrets threaten Rhen’s crown, and where intriguing new characters take centre stage. Among these is Lia Mara, eldest daughter of Syhl Shallow’s Queen. Lia Mara has been overlooked as heir to the throne in favour of her beautiful younger sister and, in many ways, the driving message of this tale belongs to Lia, a wise, compassionate young woman who’s “used to being underestimated”, but stands her ground in the name of doing the right thing. While Prince Rhen has been freed from the curse of the malevolent enchantress Lilith, his kingdom is now subject to new threats. Rhen’s loyal right hand man, Commander Grey, has gone, assumed dead, and there are rumours that Rhen’s secret half-brother is about to lay claim to the Emberfall throne. In hiding rather than dead, Grey encounters Lia and accompanies her to Syhl Shallow. Handsome and powerful, he would make a fine husband for Lia’s younger sister, but his heart is elsewhere. The enthralling story of political struggle is thrillingly laced with conflicts of the heart - both romantic and familial - to create a satisfying feast of YA fantasy fiction, with a cliff-hanger climax that suggests a yet more explosive third installment is on its way.
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month January 2020 | Award-winning illustrator and commentator Posy Simmonds is brilliantly entertaining in this touching story about the death of a pet. Sophie and Nick love their cat Fred very much. They and all the neighbours remember him fondly as one of the laziest cats in the world. Now he’s died and Nick and Sophie discover there is a whole other side to their beloved cat. Far from sleeping all the time, it turns out that he is one of the most famous cats in the world! That night, as all the cat’s in the neighbourhood come out to give Fred a rousing send off, Nick and Sophie learn the true story of their beloved pet. A review from Andrea Reece; This is a really special book, three cheers for Andersen Press for bringing out this new edition! Sophie and Nick are sad when their cat Fred dies and in a poignant scene, the family buries him in the garden. As far as they knew, Fred was a lazy old thing who spent most of his time asleep. Not so! Sophie and Nick find out who Fred really was that night, when they’re woken by the neighbourhood cats who have come to give ‘Famous Fred’ a proper send-off. The two children join in with the cats’ tribute – a wonderful ‘caterwauley-wailey-woe’ – and dance all night at the wake. It’s all described in Simmonds’ sparkling, beautifully observed comic-strip and is funny, touching and true. An anthem to the secret life of cats, this is also a meditation on loss and the importance of sharing memories.
Young Eric’s world is changing – his mum is about to marry his teacher, aka The Bodge, and alarmingly Auntie Rosie has sent a special present from South America. Eric has had some unusual experiences with his auntie’s gifts in the past and is very alarmed about this one, particularly when he discovers what the present - a fertility symbol – actually is! His efforts to find and dispose of it lead to typically comic and unforeseen circumstances, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief when his mum finally gets to walk down the aisle. These stories are perfect for newly confident readers who will completely get the fact that they know more than Eric about what’s going on, and will find so much to make them laugh too.
The series is currently in development for feature film by Disney’s Fox / Lucasfilm. | Inspired by the mythology of Western Africa, the first part of the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy garnered awards, critical praise and legions of fans. They will not be disappointed by the sequel but will be left yearning for the series conclusion with the dramatic cliff hanger ending. The fabulous world building continues with deepening complexity in both the political and religious layers of Orïsha. Zélie succeeded in restoring magic to the land at the end of book one, but now we see her dealing with the tragic and unexpected consequences. Magic has spread and the monarchy and military now have magical powers, too. Civil war follows and death and destruction run rampant. We see contrasting theories of governance and justice vie for the upper hand as Zélie, rebel princess Amari and her brother, the new king, Inan, all try to do the right thing for the country and their people while grappling with their feelings and their new capabilities. Misunderstanding and prejudice impacts them almost as much as deception and treachery. The lines between who is on the side of right or wrong are deliberately and fascinatingly blurred by Ademi forcing the reader to really think about the nature of power. Themes of guilt, grief, retribution, responsibility and self-sacrifice really resonate in this absorbing fantasy saga.
Stranger Days on Peculiar Hill is a new adventure that develops the brilliant ideas firmly established in Grimly Darkwood’s first Vale of Strange book. Late in the summer, following Peter and Amanda’s adventures in the Vale of Strange (covered in The Shop on Peculiar Hill) it becomes clear that Peter will have to return once more with a new friend, Mala, short for Guatemala. Her father is an explorer and has gone missing. The sudden outbreak of strangeness is the first of their problems but not the last and it seems that something big is going on. Stranger Days on Peculiar Hill follows on from the end of The Shop on Peculiar Hill. However, as the book starts it recaps the previous events and there’s enough detail for it to be read as a standalone story. I haven’t read the first book but I felt that everything was explained well enough for me to know what was happening. After reading, I’m sure children will be racing to enjoy the adventure in The Shop on Peculiar Hill if they haven’t read it already. I liked the interaction between Peter and Amanda, their disagreements in the library help to demonstrate their character while also explaining the world of Peculiarshire. I also liked Mala, I thought her joke was quite funny. I like that there was a contrast in the two female characters and I enjoyed watching the three of them team up towards the end of the book. This is an exciting adventure that will certainly be a page-turner for all of those that love all things, weird and wonderful. I think that the humour throughout helps to counteract some of the scarier bits. I also found that the discussion at the end of the book about adults keeping their promises was quite poignant. Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading Ambassador
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