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Ailsa's mum is ill, not the first time, so they spend the summer with her aunt and uncle. Aunt Bertha, Uncle Nod and their dog Moxie live on an island off the coast, by a beautiful fishing village surrounded by beaches and clifftops. Ailsa and Moxie spend their whole time there exploring these beaches and cliffs, until one day they find a hidden cave. Inside the cave, they find Hefring, a strange woman not keen on strangers. Ailsa slowly gets to know who Hefring is. She is a selkie, a mermaid, a billow maiden from ancient myth. However, she is stuck on land and slowly dying. It is up to Ailsa and her new friend Camilla to save her, but there are plenty of obstacles in the way - not least Ailsa's own fears and her mum's illness. The Billow Maiden is a beautifully told tale of friendship, family, healing and transformation from a stunning new writer for children.
This high-octane and uproariously funny graphic novel follows Barb the Brave on another high stakes quest. Perfect for readers aged 6+ and fans of Bunny Vs Monkey, Disney's Brave and Dav Pilkey's Dog Man. Barb is a Berzerker, one of an elite crew of warriors who protect the land of Bailiwick from the scourge of monsters. The evil Witch Head has captured all of the adult Berzerkers. Cue Barb to the rescue! But she's not alone - Barb's got her own amateur crew of wannabe zerks, made up of farmers, monsters, and her best pal Porkchop the yeti. This ragtag gang must infiltrate Maug Horn, the monster capital, and find Franny Fire Fingers, who they hope will lead them to the Wise Wizards and the power to fight Witch Head. But when Barb's powerful Shadow Blade sword is no match for the evil she encounters, Barb must learn that her true power comes from her own heart. Join Barb on her second spellbinding adventure to save the day once again.
Fun, fast-paced, high-octane action adventure, 21% Monster is a perfect page-turning new series for fans of Alex Rider, Percy Jackson and the MCU generation. When Darren Devlin is arrested for destroying his school with his bare hands, it's not just the police who are after him. Enter Marek Masters, 14 years old, 19% alien, and the most intelligent, most wanted almost human alive. Marek is here to tell Darren the truth - he is 21% monster, and together they must take down the secret organisation that created them. Darren and Marek are wanted, powerful and dangerous. And now it's payback time.
Dog Man meets the Lord of the Rings in this epic laugh-out-loud graphic novel series about two aspiring monster slayers. In their second adventure, our heroes face a new threat to Meowminster - an army of ferocious sea monsters! This is the perfect new read for fans of Captain Underpants, Dog Man and The Simpsons! The islands of Pawdor are in peril once again! Ferocious sea monsters have been spotted on shore, and the townsfolk are in a complete panic. Luckily, Kitty Quest are ready to protect the land. So what if Woolfrik and Perigold are the only guild members (besides their mentor who's a ghost), and it's just their second week on the job? How are these two amateur heroes supposed to stop a whole army of tentacled beasts? It may just take some quick thinking, a whole lot of luck, and a little help from the most unexpected of places. In order to save all of kitty-kind, Woolfrik and Perigold are going to have to learn to work together and prove that two heads are better than one.
This enchanting, empowering sequel to This Poison Heart, one of our 2021 favourites, twists, turns and captures the heart through exquisite storytelling and world-building. Blending compellingly relatable characters with ancient magic, Greek myth, and a sweeping quest to save loved ones, it’s as lush and thrilling as the kind of flamboyant botanicals its endearing protagonist has the command to conjure. Briseis has powerful ancestresses, and the power to create and control plants. Though she’s long worked to hide her gifts, she now has an opportunity to save her mother’s soul. In order to find the last piece of the Absyrtus Heart that will enable her to realise this, she must turn to her blood relatives and find her place in her ancient magical lineage. Briseis’ quest sees her voyage to a Greek island and battle with enemies who are descended from Jason, Medea’s vindictive husband. With tension mounting as time slips away and it seems as if deadly foliage has taken a stranglehold, love blossoms for Briseis too, making this consummately exhilarating.
Princess Sabra has a simple happy life until her kingdom is attacked by a fierce, fire-breathing dragon. As she struggles to find a way of saving the land and the people, there appears only one answer and one very high cost. Can the strange soldier who appears be the only one who can rescue her and save her kingdom from the mighty beast? Build your child's reading confidence at home with books at the right level. Topaz/ Band 13 books offer longer and more demanding reads for children to investigate and evaluate. This book has been quizzed for Accelerated Reader.
A cracking quest with writing that crackles, fizzes and dances off the page, Jasmine Richards’ The Unmorrow Curse presents a world that’s rich in Norse myth and magic, with a cast of larger-than-life characters whose sparkling dialogue adds to the pace and suspense. The day Buzz meets new girl Mari in the school canteen turns out to be monumental. A “tall Black girl with hundreds of long thin braids twisted up in a bun”, a girl who “dressed like no one he’d ever seen”, Mari reveals that her mum went missing on the last Friday 13th. Shortly after, the duo discover a weather woman tied to a tree in the woods. In amusing, matter-of-fact fashion, the woman reveals that she is, in fact, the Norse Goddess of the Sun and shares responsibility for maintaining the order of time. As for her current predicament, she explains that “the trickster god has escaped his prison and is searching for the Runes of Valhalla right now. If Loki manages to activate them and absorb their power, we are all lost.” With the order of things well and truly upset, and humanity subject to the Unmorrow Curse that means the same Saturday must be relived over and over, Buzz and Mari embark on a quest to claim the Runes. Riveting stuff for fans of myth-driven fantasy, with whip-smart dialogue to boot.
May 2022 Non-Fiction Book of the Month | Ending with a call to readers to change the world, this handsomely illustrated book tells the story of the first Greek gods. We see it all from the viewpoint of Gaia, the goddess who created the world as a beautiful, peaceful place only to watch in anguish as her husband and then her children squabble, fight and even infect the mortals with their greed and jealousy. The stories are full of drama - Cronos swallowing his children, the gods of Olympus battling giants - and the book also describes the creation of the Furies and the Fates, giving us a different view of them. Told via a striking graphic novel format, it’s a visual treat while the direct, straight to reader text is very engaging. Much more than an introduction to early Greek myths, it will make readers see the world and their role in it differently.
An Arrow to the Moon, Emily X.R. Pan's brilliant and ethereal follow-up to The Astonishing Colour of After, is a story about family, love, and the magic and mystery of the moon that connects us all.
An exciting adventure story that follows a group of children with superpowers and heart bonds with speaking dragons. The story is set in two realms, human and dragon, linked by portals and the ability of the children and dragons to communicate through thought. The story is fast paced and exciting and although it is the 4th book in the story, the previous adventures are explained by cleverly using a new character Lola who is told everything that has happened so far. It is a classic tale of good versus evil and has all the components necessary in a supernatural adventure such as this: - beautiful, magical, and powerful dragons with strength and speed, enchanted swords that cut through rock, loyal, supportive, brave children, and the inevitable baddy! It is all as you imagine the ideal adventure fantasy to be, swooping dragon rides, baddies turned into golden statues and larger than life natural features. It is an adventure combining elements of Harry Potter, the sword and the stone and The Hobbit, with a little bit of Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights thrown in for good measure. It is an exciting tale with all the components of a good story. The fact that it is one of a series, only makes it more appealing.
Eleven-year-old Theodosia Throckmorton’s parents are curators at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London, a kind of rival to the British Museum. Unknown to them, their daughter has a special gift and can ‘see’ curses on the ancient artefacts her mother brings back from her expeditions (it’s the early 20th century and attitudes to relic ownership is much more relaxed than it is now). Deliciously for readers, there are lots of curses and removing them involves Theodosia in all sorts of magicking and spellcasting, quite a lot of it done at night in the museum. Things get even more thrilling when her mother returns with the ‘Heart of Egypt’, excavated from the tomb of Thutmose III himself. It has particular powers which make it appealing to Britain’s enemies. Before you can say ‘Indiana Jones’, Theodosia is involved with a secret society of spies, and charged with the task of returning the jewel to its rightful place in the tomb. The adventures come thick and fast and call for all her courage and resourcefulness. Theodosia is an excellent narrator with a great line in deadpan humour and her adventures will appeal to all those with a taste for spooky, historical capers.
March 2022 Debut of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month March 2022 | The magic that inspires the headlong action of this cracking adventure is old and powerful. And its source is in a book which Cameron's grandmother keeps hidden in the attic. Despite Cameron having been told not to touch it he just cannot keep away. The Book is his last connection to his parents who have mysteriously vanished. Surely it holds the secret to where they have gone? When Cameron and his friends touch the book they are whisked away into a vivid adventure filled with a cast of thrillingly scary creatures. They are heading to the kingdom of Chidani, a place that was once fabled for its beauty but is now is in terrible danger. Can Cameron find the courage to be the super hero who can fulfil his destiny by protecting Chidani and saving the Igbo people who live there. Drawing on West African and Igbo history and mythology, Jamar J Perry has created a gripping and many layered fantasy adventure.
50 Goddesses, Spirits, Saints and Other Female Figures Who Have Shaped Belief | Using photographs of objects from the British Museum collections beside bold, bright, clear illustrations of the female characters, the stories and animals often associated with them. This is most definitely a book to dip into repeatedly. Each double page spread looks at a specific person, their legends, the stories that have altered over time and their often-multiple names. The book is arranged into five different sections covering Ruling and Guiding figures, New Life figures, War and Death figures, Love and Wisdom figures and Animal and Nature figures. The whole of the history of beliefs seem to be covered from Africa to Wales, Aztec to Maori, Far Eastern to Norse to name but a few! The Introduction shares thoughts on the way the word Goddess has changed its meaning over the years and Dr Ramirez shares a very useful Glossary of unusual terms as well as indexing individual goddesses – always a huge benefit that unfortunately some authors and publishers fail to appreciate. A beautiful book I can imagine being included in many topic boxes and school libraries.
Shot-through with wit, myth, friendship and fart jokes, and told through a blend of narrative text, doodles and comic strips, Louie Stowell’s Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Being Good is a riot from start to finish. Oh, how the mighty are fallen! After playing one joke too many, trickster god Loki has been banished to earth by Odin, and this book presents Loki’s diary account of his 31-day exile as a mere mortal. The interlocking of words and pictures is hilariously effective from the off, such as when the author juxtaposes Loki’s “before and after” form. Before he had “awesome big hair”, “cool facial hair”, “broad shoulders” and “arm muscles”. As an eleven-year-old boy his hair is “only slightly awesome”, and his body is decidedly scrawny. Despite believing “I am too awesome to be treated like this!”, Loki reluctantly admits that “Odin IS the boss of me”, which leaves him no choice. If he wants to return to his god-form, he must do good deeds, go to school, and show some kind of progress. Alongside the fast-paced execution of an excellent concept, this heady hotpot of humour has been superbly designed. I loved the droll correction boxes flagging-up Loki’s fibs. As he explains, “this is a magical diary. If I lie in here, the diary will correct it”. And there are comic corrections aplenty as Loki strives to increase his “virtue scores” to end his banishment. The first in a series, Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Being Good is sure to generate tonnes of “have you read this?” enthusiasm in the playground.
January 2022 Book of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month January 2022 | Season of Secrets weaves the tale of a heartbroken child and an age-old legend into beautiful story of love, healing and strange magic. Resonant of classics such as The Owl Service by Alan Garner, Whistle Down the Wind by Mary Hayley Bell and Skellig by David Almond, the protagonist’s story is told in the pure, clear voice we have come to expect from this astonishingly accomplished and powerful young writer. Sally Nicholls is simply an exceptionally talented writer, who writes beautifully. Her intelligent, warm fiction is honest and profound, complex yet accessible
February 2022 Book of the Month | We left the heroes of S.A. Patrick’s thrilling adventure quest in perilous circumstances: Patch and Barver, the dracogriff, were trapped in a magical prison and escape seemed impossible, while their heroic friend Wren was in an even more dangerous situation as a prisoner of the evil Piper of Hamelyn. It seemed that their efforts to thwart the Piper’s plans would come to nothing. If we’ve learned anything from these excellent stories however, it’s never to underestimate our unlikely heroes, their resilience or the strength that comes from their friendship. There are death-defying moments, scenes that will bring a lump to the throat and, even as the story draws to an end, twists and surprises. Congratulations to Patrick for creating such a striking world and such memorable characters, and for conjuring up so much pleasure for readers. To get the full impact, you do need to have read the previous two books, A Darkness of Dragons and A Vanishing of Griffins, but that just equals three times the pleasure. The Songs of Magic series A Darkness of Dragons A Vanishing of Griffins A Thunder of Monsters
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