TEN NOT TO MISS Ten titles not to miss Highlights of the Season
Julia Donaldson, Lydia Monks (illus) The Tooth Fairy and the Crocodile Macmillan Children’s Books, 6 June, hb, £12.99, 9781447284437
Picture Books Donaldson and Monks achieved
huge success with What the Ladybird Heard and its sequels, where Monks’ warm, lively illustrations gave heart to Donaldson’s irresistible and funny tale about the clever insect. There will be a lot of anticipation, therefore, for their newest collaboration, which is about Ruth Mary the Tooth Fairy, and the teeth she collects from jungle animals. The Tooth Fairy and the Crocodile will surely be a hit when it arrives in June.
Sophy Henn Attack of the Giant Danger Kittens Simon & Schuster Children’s Books, 25 April, pb, £8.99, 9781398524606
Fiction 7–9 Henn, the creator of Bad Nana, Pom
Pom and more, is next April launching a new graphic novel series, set in Happy Hills, a place where anything can happen. In this first book unicorn Ace meets friendly and not-so-friendly residents, all the while avoiding the Giant Danger Kittens of the title. Funny, wacky and kaleidoscopic in colour, this will be a big launch in the expanding the age seven to nine graphic novel space.
Jordan Lees, Vivienne To (illus) The Whisperwicks: The Labyrinth of Lost and Found Puffin, 28 March, hb, £14.99, 9780241607497
Fiction 9–12 Fans of Neil Gaiman and
C S Lewis will be at the front of the queue when it comes to the magical adventure middle-grade title from début novelist (and literary agent) Lees. This first in a trilogy is about 11-year-old Benjamiah, whose refusal to believe in magic is turned upside down when he is led into the world of Wreathenwold, where he undertakes a quest to find a missing boy. The Whisperwicks is gripping, enchanting and sometimes frightening, and will appeal to fantasy fans of all ages.
Kate Saunders A Drop of Golden Sun Faber & Faber, 7 March, pb, £7.99, 9780571310982
Fiction 9–12 A young girl called Jenny
enters into a life-changing experience when she is given a part in a film about a musical family who flee the Nazis. Anyone looking to be swept away should pick up this warm embrace of a book, which is bathed in sunlight and joy. Saunders died earlier this year and this gorgeous novel was rescued from her computer. How lucky we are that it was, although her fans will feel sadness, too, that she won’t be around to revel in her triumph.
Holly Jackson The Reappearance of Rachel Price Electric Monkey, 2 April, hb, £14.99, 9780008582197
Fiction 12–16 Jackson cleverly taps
into the interest in true crime documentaries in her latest thriller, which is about a girl whose mother disappeared 16 years previously. But when Rachel Price reappears old wounds are opened, and Bel (along with the reader) is desperate to find out what really happened all those years ago. The Reappearance of Rachel Price confirms Jackson’s place as the British queen of YA thrillers.
Shade Lapite Goddess Crown Walker Books, 1 February, pb, £8.99, 9781529503715
Fiction 12–16 In a market dominated by US
authors, this feminist fantasy from British Nigerian author Lapite is a breath of fresh air. The story is set in the lush Kingdom of Galla, inspired by West Africa, where teenage Kolathia lives a quiet life in the forest. But when everything she knows is violently destroyed, she flees to the king’s court in the west and becomes caught up in deadly power struggles. This début YA titles is full of romance, danger and courtly intrigue.
Theo Parish Homebody Macmillan Children’s Books, 25 April, pb, £14.99, 9781035017621
Fiction 12–16 Macmillan Children’s Books
won a six-way auction for Theo Parish’s YA narrative non-fiction graphic novel, described as “a moving celebration of trans joy”. Pitched as Heartstopper meets Juno Dawson’s What’s the T?, Homebody is about Parish’s exploration of their gender identity and relationship with their body, but is for anyone who is trying to find their authentic self when they feel like the world is trying to put them into a box.
Ben Newman STEMville: The Bee Connection Flying Eye Books, 1 February, hb, £12.99, 9781838741266
Science One of the most interesting and
original non-fiction titles coming next year is The Bee Connection, the first in a new non-fiction series from Flying Eye. Meet Mason B Chandler, a detective who needs help to solve a mystery in Bug Borough, but will teach readers the ins and outs of bees and honey production in return. There are playful nods to American detective fiction, and the bright, graphic world Newman creates will appeal to fans of Richard Scarry.
Sarah Crossan Where the Heart Should Be Bloomsbury YA, 14 March, hb, £14.99, 9781526666598
Fiction 12–16 A teenage girl living in Ireland
in 1846 falls in love with the nephew of the “big house”, but when The Great Hunger devastates the local community, will their love survive? Carnegie and YA Book Prize winner Crossan returns to the verse novel format for this stunning achievement, which shines a light not only on the power of love but also the cruelty inflicted on Ireland by its colonisers. Prepare to be emotionally swept away.
Sam Sedgman The Clockwork Conspiracy Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 1 February, pb, £7.99, 9781526665386
Fiction 9–12 Sedgman’s first solo mystery
novel, acquired by Bloomsbury as part of a six-figure deal, is this gripping locked-room mystery about a boy whose father is missing. But Isaac’s dad is no ordinary father, because he is the chief horologist in charge of Big Ben, and his disappearance is connected to a wider world of dodgy politicians and arguments about how to measure time itself. The Clockwork Conspiracy is one of the most gripping middle-grade novels coming in the spring.
February 2024–July 2024 09
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