This preview highlights titles to be published in May
05 Top sellers
Editor’s Choice
Editor’s Choice
Teen & YA Holly Jackson
Good Girl, Bad Blood Electric Monkey, 30th April, £7.99, pb, 9781405297752
In a category so often dominated by US writers, Holly Jackson is that rare thing: a breakout UK YA bestseller. Her début, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, sold 59,427 copies last year, making it 2019’s third-bestselling YA title—beaten only by Karen McManus—and the top UK YA début since Zoe Sugg’s Girl Online in 2015. In the sequel, the village of Little Kilton finally seems at rest—until another young person goes missing. Cleverly framed around a true crime podcast, this is a very British take on the teen crime thriller.
Science
Elizabeth Jenner, Natasha Durley (illus) What to Look for in Summer Ladybird, 28th, £5.99, hb, 9780241416204
The What to Look for in… series is among Ladybird’s most iconic, chronicling the year in four sequential titles. On the 60th anni- versary of the original publication, the series gets a stylish makeover, aiming to inspire modern children to observe and appreciate the changing natural world. The all-new text and illustration feels faithful to the original but with a contemporary, more child-friendly slant. All four seasonal titles are published in the pocket-sized hard- back format in May.
David Baddiel, Steven Lenton (illus) The Taylor Turbochaser HarperCollins, 14th, £6.99, pb, 9780008365387 Amy’s best friend turns her wheelchair into a supercar in a road trip adventure with a twist. Now in paperback.
Editor’s Choice
Patricia Cleveland-Peck, David Tazzyman (illus) You Can’t Call an Elephant in an Emergency Bloomsbury, 14th, £6.99, pb, 9781408880630 The elephant returns for a third comedy picture book jammed with incongruous rescues, crazy creatures and emergency vehicles. The first two titles are consistent bestsellers, shifting more than 220,000 copies since publication in 2015.
Editor’s Choice
Fiction 9–12
Jenny Pearson, Rob Biddulph (illus) The Super Miraculous
Journey of Freddie Yates Usborne, 30th April, £6.99, pb, 9781474974042
Funny illustrated fiction is a crowded market, but here’s one début that stands out from the crowd. When Freddie and his two best friends set out on a super-sneaky adventure to track down his biological father, they don’t expect to set off a chain of miraculous events… One of the funniest books you’ll read this year, with bundles of heart to boot. Acquired by Usborne in an eight-way auction, it is the publisher’s biggest middle-grade launch of the year, backed with national advertising and more.
Fiction 9–12 Rebecca Stead
The List of Things That Will Not Change Andersen, 7th, £12.99, hb, 9781783449378
When her parents get divorced, Bea is reas- sured by all the things that won’t change, making a list that evolves as her dad comes out and plans to marry his boyfriend. But she’s also haunted by something that happened last summer. Stead is one of my very favourite writers, capturing that moment on the cusp between childhood and adolescence with great clarity. If you have yet to discover Stead, do look out for Andersen’s new editions of her backlist titles in April.
Eoin Colfer The Fowl Twins HarperCollins, 30th April, £7.99, pb, 9780008324858 My November Book of the Month in hardback, Colfer’s return to the world of Artemis Fowl is a hugely entertaining ride. “Artemis Fowl” film is due for cinema release in May.
Ingela Arrhenius Where’s Mrs Queen? Nosy Crow, 30th April, £6.99, board, 981788008518 A London-focused addi- tion to the felt-flap novelty series which continues to sell at a high level.
Simon & Schuster, 14th, £6.99, pb, 9781471173684 The Unmapped Chronicles continue in the magical kingdom of Jungledrop, where the excellently monikered Petty-Squabble twins must thwart Morg and bring back the rain. A wonderfully funny, thrilling adventure.
Paul McCartney, Kathryn Durst (illus) Hey Grandude! Puffin, 14th, £7.99, pb, 9780241375662 With his magic compass to hand, Grandude whisks his grandkids off on whirl- wind escapades around the globe—and gets them home in time for bed. Now in paperback, with an audio CD of narration and music performed by McCartney.
Sarah McIntyre Don’t Call Me Grumpycorn! Scholastic, 7th, £6.99, pb, 9781407199955 Unicorn, Narwhal, Jellyfish and Mermaid blast off for an exciting space adven- ture—but will they agree which planet is the most fabulous? A bright, bold sequel to Grumpycorn, which sold over 23,000 copies in 2019.
Michael Morpurgo, Michael Foreman (illus) Boy Giant HarperCollins, 28th, £6.99, pb, 9780008355180 A story of hope, humanity and high-seas adventure inspired by Gulliver’s Travels, following a boy forced to leave his home in Afghanistan. Now in paperback.
Peppa Pig
Cressida Cowell Knock Three Times Hodder, 14th, £7.99, pb, 9781444941456 Wish and Xar face their most treacherous quest yet in book three of The Wizards of Once, now in paperback.
Abi Elphinstone Jungledrop
TheBookseller.com
My Daddy and Me! Ladybird, 14th, £4.99, board, 9781409309062 A new Peppa title for Father’s Day. I Love You Daddy Pig was the market leader in 2019, selling just shy of 25,000 copies.
Axel Scheffler Flip Flap Minibeasts Nosy Crow, 7th, £8.99, pb, 9781788006637 From lady-boppers to millip-eetles, flip the split pages to create over 120
23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
