MiniTouch: Nature – Touch-and-Feel First Colours, by Rhiannon Findlay and Mini Magique Studio, Happy Yak, £6.99
Finger-tempting textures and sweet, simple rhymes make this stylish board book of first nature colours (red ladybird, orange leaf, black beetle) appealing for both babies and parents.
My Bright Shining Star by Fatima Whitbread and Rhian Wright, Words & Pictures, £7.99
At the children’s home, little Fatima doesn’t like it when other children leave – but Aunty Rae is always there, the “bright shining star” who makes Fatima feels loved and secure. This nuanced, thoughtful picture book by an Olympian athlete draws on Whitbread’s own experience of growing up in care.
The Café at the Edge of the Woods by Mikey Please, HarperCollins, £12.99
On the edge of an enchanted wood, Rene’s dream cafe stands empty. It’s up to resourceful waiter Glumfoot to find their first customer – and to persuade Rene that truffle stew and gravadlax should be disguised as slugs and pickled bats if she wants to please her ogre clientele. An unusual, intricate, delightfully grotesque rhyming picture book from a Bafta-winning animator.
The Remarkables by Clotilde Perrin, Gecko, £17.99
An oversized 5+ picture-book catalogue of children, featuring an elastic child, a child made of cupcakes, a thunder child, a mirror child and many more, each with their own foibles, friends and family dynamics. Witty and vividly illustrated, it will have young readers pointing out personality matches among their acquaintance, from the irrepressible springy child to the hard-hitting child made of hammers.
The Shop-Witch’s Quest by Aisha Bushby and Patri de Pedro, HarperCollins, £7.99
Laurel the shop-witch works in her parents’ magical emporium, but customers and adventures are thin on the ground – until a young hero appears on a time-sensitive quest, and Laurel must track down some enchanted armour to save the day. An engaging, highly readable 6+ magical adventure.
Into the Volcano by Catherine Ard and Wenjia Tang, Flying Eye, £14.99
This slim, stunning book explains the science of volcanoes before delving into the mythology and artworks they’ve inspired. Intoxicatingly colourful, with compelling, accessible text, it will have small volcanologists of 7+ instantly hooked.
Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher and Dermot Flynn, Puffin, £14.99
In a prehistoric Irish village gripped by unending winter, food is perilously scarce. Thirteen-year-old Fia has always cherished her beautiful snow deer, Solas, but now an ancient prophecy threatens their bond, stating that the sun will return only if the “ultimate sacrifice” is made. To save Solas’s life, Fia must find the mythical Deer Mother whose power restores the sun, though terror and heartbreak lie in wait. Original and evocative, with deep folkloric resonances, this arresting verse novel debut for 9+ is heightened by Flynn’s superb chiaroscuro illustrations.
The Boy in the Suit by James Fox, Scholastic, £7.99
Ten-year-old Solo is sick of standing out. Most of all, he hates gatecrashing funerals in a secondhand suit with his mum, Morag, to steal free food – and when he and Morag are caught at a celebrity wake, things get a thousand times worse. Can Solo open up to his new friend Chetna and find the support he desperately needs? A funny, tender, poignant 9+ debut with a believable, sympathetic protagonist.
Sword of the Sun by Sinéad O’Hart, Piccadilly Press, £7.99
Ben and Fin aren’t happy when they have to move from Dublin to the rural house where their mother grew up – and where their grandfather died, obsessed with the mythical figure of the Morrigan. But soon Ben is drawn into the wild, threatening landscape, and wondering if the old stories are purely fiction. And why have the crows started watching him? An eerie, gripping 9+ adventure, with strong characterisation and deftly interwoven Celtic mythology.
Tomorrow We Begin by Matt Goodfellow, Bloomsbury, £7.99
With characteristic warmth, empathy and humour, Goodfellow’s newest 11+ poetry collection chronicles teenage experiences from starting secondary to sitting in isolation, suffering through maths, soaking up lunchbreak sun and succumbing to first love.
Within the Heart of Wicked Creatures by Rima Orie, translated by Laura Watkinson, Ink Road, £8.99
Priya was born with a dangerous power to control others’ will. A cursed “blood child”, she has always had to conceal her gift – until she wins a place at the elite military academy of Kuwatta, and discovers her “curse” is in high demand. But between the long-running war with the Freelanders and the secret dangers at the heart of Kuwatta itself, can Priya survive long enough to master her power? Bloody, fast-paced and thrilling, this action-packed YA fantasy draws fascinatingly on the colonial history of Suriname.
Sisters of the Moon by Marie-Louise Fitzgerald, Faber, £8.99
Grieving, lonely Suzy Button wishes on the supermoon just before her 16th birthday, hoping for change; then a strange new girl, Rhiannon, appears at school. Rhiannon makes things happen for Suzy – beach parties, midnight photoshoots, mysteriously wriggling out of trouble – but how much does Suzy really know about her rootless, ageless new best friend? A gorgeous, ethereal YA novel about connection, healing and the intoxicating power of friendship.
Gentlest of Wild Things by Sarah Underwood, Electric Monkey, £14.99
Twin sisters Eirene and Phoebe live on Zakynthos, an island ruled by Leandros, who’s descended from the love god Eros and can force love with his elixirs of Desire. When Leandros decides to marry Phoebe, Eirene offers herself instead, eager to preserve her sister’s freedom. But first she must complete four daunting tasks – tasks that are bound up with Leandros’s strange, confined daughter Lamia. Underwood’s YA debut is a dazzlingly imaginative Sapphic reimagining of the Cupid and Psyche story.
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