Books Children’s Spotlight


Usborne has done a fan- tastic job on his covers.


Emma Carroll Letters from the Lighthouse


Faber, 6th July, £6.99, pb, 9780571327584


I loved this atmospheric wartime mystery about siblings evacuated to the Devon coast, which poignantly mirrors cur- rent world events. More from Carroll in October in Chicken House’s Sky Chasers, based on Neal Jackson’s winning entry in the publisher’s The Big Idea competition.


Sarah Driver Huntress: Sky


Egmont, 7th September, £6.99, pb, 9781405284684


Mouse and little brother Sparrow find themselves trapped in the territory of the warring Sky tribes in the second part of the richly imagined The Huntress trilogy. Part three, Land, follows early in 2018.


instalment so far as Alex Rider returns in a sur- prise new mission which will follow directly the events of Scorpia Ris- ing. The series remains a huge favourite.


Greg James and Chris Smith, Erica Salcedo (illus.) Kid Normal


Bloomsbury, 13th July, £6.99, pb, 9781408884539


The Radio 1 presenters collaborate on a “huge, heroic and hilarious” novel about an ordinary boy mistakenly enrolled in a school for kids with superpowers. Aimed squarely at the Walliams/ Baddiel market, it will be illustrated, with a second book to follow next March.


Derek Landy Resurrection


HarperCollins, 1st, £14.99, hb, 9780008169022


Skulduggery Pleasant is the other blockbuster series making a surprise comeback this summer. Fans can expect Valkyrie and Skulduggery to team up, with beloved characters and a whole new cast answering questions that go right back to the beginning.


Cornelia Funke The Griffin’s Feather


Chicken House, 6th July, £6.99, pb, 9781911077886


The sequel to fantasy adventure Dragon Rider, which was a huge best- seller when published in the UK in 2004. Laura Ellen Anderson has cre- ated maps and cover art, and a new edition of Dragon Rider, in match- ing livery, will be pub- lished alongside.


Matt Haig,


Chris Mould (illus.) Father Christmas and Me


Canongate, 12th October, £12.99, hb, 9781786890689


Back to Elfhelm for a third adventure in the magical festive series. This will continue Amelia’s story as she and the elves must stop an attack from a jealous Easter Bunny and his rabbit army.


Anthony Horowitz Never Say Die


Walker, 1st June, £12.99, hb, 9781406377057


Expect the most action- packed and explosive


www.thebookseller.com


M G Leonard Beetle Queen


Chicken House, 6th April, £6.99, pb, 9781910002773


Beetle Queen is that rare thing: a sequel that’s even better than the first book (Beetle Boy, book one of the Battle of the Beetles series). Leonard has great fun with super-villain Lucretia Cutter, who is on terribly wicked and won- derful form. Book three will follow in 2018.


Gill Lewis, Jo Weaver (illus.) A Story Like the Wind


OUP, 4th May, £8.99, hb, 9780192758958


My May Book of the Month, this lyrical fable was written in response to the refugee crisis and is a beautiful, nec- essary read, stunningly illustrated. Also from Lewis comes Sky Dancer (October) an animal adventure set in the North of England.


Anna James Pages & Co


HarperCollins, 5th October, £12.99, hb, 9780008229863 Nothing to read, but


I’m very much looking forward to this début. Eleven-year-old Tilly discovers classic char- acters crossing from the page to real life through the magic of ‘book walk- ing’ and is soon on a quest with the help of Anne Shirley and Alice in Wonderland.


Liz Pichon Tom Gates: Family, Friends and Furry Creatures


Scholastic, 4th May, £10.99, hb, 9781407168111


The latest title in the super hit series sees Tom research his family tree for a school assign- ment. And while nothing has been announced yet, fans can usually look for- ward to another instal- ment in the autumn.


Rick Riordan The Dark Prophecy


Puffin, 2nd May, £12.99, hb, 9780141363950


The second part of The Trials of Apollo. This five- part series is set in the same world as Riordan’s Percy Jackson books, with the same high-octane action and humour. The paperback of The Hidden Oracle is published at the same time.


Rachel Renée Russell Dork Diaries 12


S&S, 17th October, £10.99, hb, 9781534405608


The hit diary series returns; last year’s hard- back sold 39,000 copies in November and Decem- ber alone. Look out also for The Misadventures of Max Crumbly 2 in June, and the paperback of Frenemies Forever in July.


Kate Saunders The Land of Never Endings


Faber, 5th October, £12.99, hb, 9780571310845


When Emily’s sister dies, she dreams that talking toys are visiting her bed- room. Can this mean the land of her imagination really exists? Funny and tender, Saunders com- bines a magical adven- ture with a very honest portrayal of grief and loss.


David Solomon My Evil Twin is a Supervillain


Nosy Crow, 6th July, £6.99, pb, 9780857639561


When your début wins the Waterstones Chil- dren’s Book Prize and the


British Book Awards’ Chil- dren’s Book of the Year, the pressure is on—but Solomon’s very funny and clever Superhero series continues to deliver. This is book three.


Lauren St John,


Catherine Hyde (illus.) The Snow Angel


Zephyr, 5th October, £10, hb, 9781786695895


ONE TO WATCH


The star title on Fiona Kennedy’s new Head of Zeus


list is a “captivating” Christmas standalone about a Kenyan girl who dreams of climbing mountains and is in search of her true home. Set in Nairobi and the Scottish Highlands, it will be illustrated by the sub- lime Catherine Hyde, and promises to be some- thing very special indeed. Also from St John in August comes the return of 11-year-old detective Laura Marlin in her fifth adventure, The Secret of Supernatural Creek, pub- lished by Orion.


David Walliams, Tony Ross (illus.) (untitled)


HarperCollins, 2nd November, £10.99, hb, 9780008164652


No details yet, but it will of course be a monster hit, along with a fifth picture book, which is scheduled for September.


Holly Webb A Suffragette Princess


Scholastic, 5th October, £8.99, hb, 9781407170855


Continuing Scholas- tic’s strand of reimag- ined classics, this is the “magical” sequel to the Frances Hodgson Bur- nett classic A Little Prin- cess. For younger read- ers, Stripes publishes her winter animal story, The Storm Dog, in September.


friendship, bravery and a life-changing adventure as a 10-year-old girl from London is evacuated to the country.


Lauren Wolk Beyond the Bright Sea


Puffin, 4th May, £6.99, pb, 9780552574303


Her début, Wolf Hol- low, was one of my 2016 favourites, bagging a Newbery Honor in the US and a shortlisting for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in the UK. Her books have the feel of future classics and this, her second novel, is just as good as her first.


Teenage/YA


David Almond Sticks and Stones


Hodder, 16th November, £12.99, hb, 9781444919554


A new David Almond is always an event, and this is his first YA title since A Song For Ella Grey, win- ner of the 2015 Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. Expect a “darkly twisted” detective ghost tale.


Holly Bourne It Only Happens in the Movies


Usborne, 1st October, £7.99, pb, 9781474921329


Her inspirational Spinster Club series celebrating friendship and feminism has made Bourne one of the bestselling authors in UK YA. This “hugely funny and poignant” stand- alone tackles the pain, confusion, hope and wonder of real love—with a ban on cheesy clichés.


Nicholas Bowling Witchborn


Chicken House, 7th September, £7.99, pb, 9781911077251


ONE TO WATCH


Chicken House’s big début for the autumn, this is a


Jacqueline Wilson, Nick Sharratt (illus.) Wave Me Goodbye


Random House, 18th May, £12.99, hb, 9780857535177


Although Wilson is increasingly drawn to historical fiction, this is her first Second World War title, a story of


wonderfully twisty and atmospheric historical fantasy about a girl whose mother is burned at the stake for witch- craft. Alyce flees to Lon- don where she finds her- self deep in a secret battle between rival queens. One not to miss, I was completely hooked by the sampler. Chicken House had an outstand- ing 2016. The coming year sees second books from many of its new stars, including M G Leonard, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Maz Evans and James Nicol.


Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu Magnus Bane: 1


S&S, 7th November, £12.99, hb, 9781471162091


First in a new trilogy from the hugely prolific fantasy author, star- ring Shadowhunters fan favourite Magnus Bane. Look out, too, for Lord of Shadows, the sequel to Lady Midnight, in May.


Sarah Crossan Moonrise


Bloomsbury, 7th September, £12.99, hb, 9781408867808


Her first solo novel since One, which won a slew of awards—including the Carnegie Medal and the YA Book Prize. Again writ- ten in free verse, this is an exceptional, thought- provoking and incredibly moving portrayal of a boy whose brother is on death row.


Zana Fraillon The Ones That Disappeared


Orion, 13th July, £7.99, pb, 9781510101586


Following acclaimed début The Bone Sparrow, this novel examines the plight of refugees, this time telling the story of Syrian refugees who are trafficked into the dark world of modern slavery.


“Skellig for a new genera- tion,” says Orion.


Sally Gardner My Side of the Diamond


Hot Key, 5th October, £10.99, hb, 9781471406430


Jasmine has been tor- mented since the day her best friend jumped off a building and never reap- peared. Is the truth more disturbing and unworldly than anyone wants to admit? Ambitious and memorable, says Hot Key.


Michael Grant Monster


Egmont, 19th Octobr, £7.99, pb, 9781405284837


Set in the aftermath of the stellar GONE series, Shade Darby gets her hands on part of the dev- astating meteor—and starts to mutate. Star- ring characters new and old, Grant “reinvents the superhero” genre, with strong female and trans- gender characters.


Frances Hardinge A Skinful of Shadows


Macmillan, 21st September, £12.99, hb, 9781509837540


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