BOOKS
when she takes a trip to Odde Island, where there has been a mysterious death at the lighthouse. Second in the début series from comedian and writer Beckett-King.
Jennifer Claessen November Witches UCLan, 5th, £8.99, pb, 9781915235701 Clemmie is relieved to finally be done with October’s magical mess but when a group of armour-clad knights appear she realises there might be more going on than she once realised. Sequel to The October Witches.
Eoin Colfer, Chaaya Prabhat (illus) Juniper’s Christmas HarperCollins Children’s Books, 26th, £12.99, hb, 9780008475536 Juniper Lane finds herself thrown into a Christmas adventure when she discovers Niko and some reindeers that can fly in her local park. HarperCollins is pitching this festive adventure by the author of Artemis Fowl as a future classic.
Helen Cooper Taming of the Cat Faber, 5th, £14.99, hb, 9780571376018 In this story-within-a- story, a mouse is being forced to tell stories to save his life, a cat has plans to eat the mouse as soon as the story is finished and a princess is in trouble.
Judi Curtin Sally in the City of Dreams
Poetry Neil Gaiman
What You Need to Be Warm Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 26th, £12.99, hb, 9781526660619
Previews Children’s Previews
O’Brien, 9th, £11.99, hb, 9781788494519 Bridget and Sally leave rural Ireland for New York where, along with orphaned girl Julia, they must find jobs to make their way in the world. First in a new series from Curtin, who won the Children’s Book of the Year (Senior) prize at the Irish Book Awards in 2017 for Stand By Me.
Aisling Fowler, Sophie Medvedeve (illus) Fireborn: Phoenix and the Frost Palace HarperCollins Children’s Books, 12th, £7.99, pb, 9780008394226 In the second book in Fowler’s trilogy, Phoenix and her friends must find a way to defeat an evil force called Shadowseam. Previously published in hardback.
Eva Frantz, Annie Prime (trans), Elin Sandström (illus) The Secret of
Helmersbruk Manor Pushkin Press, 12th, £16.99, hb, 9781782694182 Flora is determined to unravel the secrets of Helmersbruk Manor is this spooky ghost story about a girl who finds an abandoned mansion at Christmas. The narrative is divided into 24 chapters so is perfect for advent, says Pushkin.
Kereen Getten The Case of the Haunted Wardrobe Pushkin Press, 5th, £7.99, pb, 9781782693925 In the second book in Getten’s mystery series, set in Jamaica, Fayson
and the rest of Di Island Crew come across a wardrobe making strange sounds. And to make things worse, they all receive a letter threaten- ing to reveal their darkest secrets.
Lewis moves to a faraway town called Barrow where, along with his friend Moira, he tries to find out why everyone there is obsessed with supersti- tion, and what the truth is behind and an old story about floods, witches and a curse. From the author of The Peculiar Peggs of Riddling Wood.
Alex Gino Green Scholastic, 12th, £14.99, hb, 9781338776140 A non-binary student fights for gender-free casting in their school’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” in the new novel from the author of Melissa.
Natasha Hastings, Alex T Smith (illus) The Miraculous Sweetmakers: The Frost Fair HarperCollins Children’s Books, 26th, £7.99, pb, 9780008496081 Hastings’ magical histori- cal début, about a girl who is drawn to a mysteri- ous conjurer and the enchanted frost fair, was an Editor’s Choice in these previews when published in hardback.
Geri Halliwell-Horner Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen Scholastic, 3rd, £7.99, pb, 9780702328695 A girl is sent to a school for extraordinary teenag- ers, but faces a menacing deputy headmaster, mean girls and more in this adventure from former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell-Horner.
Samuel J Halpin The Midnight Switch Usborne, 12th, £7.99, pb, 9781474970655
Lenny Henry, Keenon Ferrell (illus) The Boy With Wings: Clash of the Super Kids Macmillan Children’s Books, 5th, £12.99, hb, 9781529067897 Tunde’s parents take him to a top secret test- ing facility called The Complex, where he faces up to something more frightening than making friends who, like him, have superpowers. Part of The Boy With Wings series.
Anna Kemp, David Wyatt (illus) The Hollow Hills: A Goblyn Wood Adventure S&S Children’s, 26th, £7.99, pb, 9781398503892 Hazel Quince must travel to the Fae Dominion to rescue her friend Pete in this new Goblyn Wood story.
One to Watch
In 2019 Gaiman asked his Twitter followers what reminded them of warmth. He received thousands of responses, which he then wove into a poem in aid of the UNHCR’s winter appeal. Bloomsbury is now publishing that powerful and affect-
ing poem with illustrations from artists such as Chris Riddell, Nadine Kaadan and Majid Adin, and will donate £1.50 from every copy sold to the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.
Katie Kirby The Completely Chaotic Christmas of Lottie Brooks Puffin, 5th, £9.99, hb, 9780241647172 Puffin is publishing the latest Lottie Brooks adventure in hardback for the first time and in this festive story Lottie is getting ready to perform in the Christmas play.
L D Lapinski Stepfather Christmas Orion Children’s Books, 12th, pb, £7.99, 9781510112698 This festive tale from Lapinski, the author of this year’s hit Jamie, is
26 21st July 2023
about a 10-year-old who is convinced that her stepfather, who has a white beard and works on a reindeer farm, is Father Christmas. Written in an advent calendar structure, this is being marketed as a heart-warming story, full of humour and high-jinks.
Stephen Mangan, Anita Mangan (illus) The Great Reindeer Rescue Scholastic, 12th, £12.99, hb, 9780702330827 Dave, one of Santa’s reindeers, lets his jealousy take over and unclips Rudolph from the sleigh, but gets more than he bargained for when all of the reindeer disappear to different parts of the globe. Can Dave and his new human friend Holly get them back? Scholastic is promoting this Christmas adventure by actor and comedian Stephen Mangan as a festive classic.
Skye Melki-Wegner The Deadlands: Trapped Walker Books, 5th, £7.99, pb, 9781529504743 Eleri and his friends become lost in the Fire Peak, the secret volcanic headquarters of the dreaded Carrion Kingdom, in the second title in this commercial dinosaur fiction series for middle- grade readers.
Onjali Q Rauf, Katarzyna Doszla (illus) Where Magic Grows Orion Children’s Books, 12th, £20, hb, 9781510111066 This collection of seven unique fables by Rauf, the author of The Boy at the Back of the Class, includes a story about a bird that turns to stone, and another about the naughty boy who got a frog stuck in his throat. Published with full-colour illustrations throughout.
find a mysterious being known as the Keeper of the Myths.
Chris Riddell Guardians of Magic Macmillan Children’s Books, 5th, £7.99, pb, 9781035035090 The paperback publication of the first in Riddell’s fantasy about three magi- cal children who must fight to stop the mysteri- ous cloud horses from disappearing. Tiggy Thistle and the Lost Guardians, the second title in the series, is also out in paper- back (083) in October.
Annet Schaap Girls
Pushkin Press, 5th, £12.99, hb, 9781782693789 This collection from the author of Lampie, the first translated book to win the Carnegie Medal, is a collection of fairy-tales for girls growing up in the modern world, including a heroine who comes face to face with a not so Big Bad Wolf. There are no damsels in distress in these pages, which are illustrated in black and white throughout.
Loretta Schauer The Legend of Ghastly Jack Crowheart Andersen Press, 5th, £8.99, pb, 9781839133091 Lil joins forces with servant boy Ned when the dread villain Rotten Bob Hatchet and his gang of cut-throat highwaymen begin attacking travellers on the road.
Robin Stevens The Ministry of Unladylike Activity: Body in the Blitz Puffin, 12th, £14.99, hb, 9780241429907 In the second book in Stevens’ new series a body has been placed in the wreckage of the Blitz and May, Eric and Nuala, the ministry’s newest recruits, are on hand to investigate.
Teenage & YA
Jasmine Richards The Myth Keeper UCLan, 5th, £7.99, pb, 9781915235626 In this sequel to The Unmorrow Curse, Sam, Buzz and Mary set off to
Kwame Alexander The Door of No Return Andersen Press, 5th, £8.99, pb, 9781839133077 The paperback publica- tion of Alexander’s power- ful coming-of-age story about a West African boy’s journey from his Asante Kingdom home across the sea.
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