Success stories for the young
inspiring. Some of the jobs Natalie Labarre writes about, including skyscraper window cleaners, nautical cowboys and nail polish namers, sound too astonishing to be true but they really exist. And in BAD NANA: THAT’S SNOW BUSINESS! by Sophy Henn (HarperCollins, £8.99) Jeanie is forced to take drastic action to rein in her mischievous gran after her Winter Wonderland Variety Show performance spirals out of control.The latest in this brilliant series is as warm and funny as it is beautifully, brightly illustrated.
NINE PLUS
Jeff Kinney’s hilarious Diary Of A Wimpy Kid books have sold a staggering 200 million copies worldwide. WRECKING BALL (Puffin, £12.99) sees hapless hero Greg and his family using an unexpected inheritance to make major home improvements. Sure enough, chaos ensues.
Dog lovers will adore I, COSMO (Nosy Crow, £6.99), Carlie Sorosiak’s story of an ageing golden retriever. Cosmo’s main interests are sausages, TV and his family, especially 12-year-old Max. But when Max’s parents start arguing, Cosmo decides it’s his job to keep the family together – even if it involves learning to dance. Heartwarming.
Jacqueline Wilson’s Tracy Beaker returns in WE ARE THE BEAKER GIRLS (Doubleday,
£12.99) where single mum Tracy and her daughter Jess are happily settled in a flat by the seaside and trying to make friends in their new home. A wonderful read, full of warmth and wisdom.
FROSTHEART (Puffin, £7.99) by illustrator Jamie Littler is set in the monster-infested Snow Sea and follows the adventures of a boy called Ash and his grumpy yeti guardian.As he pines for his missing parents, Ash discovers he has magical powers and gets whisked away on a daring mission by the crew of an explorer sleigh.
Eoin Colfer, the creator of Artemis Fowl, is back with THE FOWL TWINS (HarperCollins, £14.99),a spin-off series about Artemis’s younger twin brothers. Myles has an IQ of 170 and is “fanatically neat” while Beckett is chaotic and sulks when he has to wear clothes. A rollicking good read.
TWELVE PLUS In Jenny Downham’s FURIOUS THING (David Fickling Books, £12.99), 15-year-old Lexi is wilful and difficult; she adores her mother and sister but is at loggerheads with her stepfather-to-be. This compelling tale is shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book Award.
In 2015
Frances Hardinge’s The Lie Tree won the Costa Book of the Year award, only the second children’s title to do so. Her latest, DEEPLIGHT (Macmillan, £12.99), is an adventure story about gods, monsters, mythology and friendship.The writing is exquisite and adults will enjoy it as much as teenagers.
Teens gripped by the recent TV adaptation of His Dark Materials will love Philip Pullman’s THE SECRET COMMONWEALTH (Penguin/David Fickling Books, £20). Lyra Silvertongue is a student at Oxford and when her daemon Pantalaimon witnesses a murder, they are drawn into a complex world they didn’t know existed.
FOR ALL THE FAMILY
Did you know that Strictly Come Dancing’s Oti Mabuse achieved the most jive toe-heel swivel steps in 30 seconds (48 to be precise) or that the world’s tallest tree measures a staggering 380ft 1in? The 2020 edition of GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (Guinness World Records, £20) is packed with fascinating facts and figures. “Animals, like us, can show great courage and immense loyalty.” So writes Michael Morpurgo in TALES OF AMAZING ANIMAL HEROES (Puffin, £12.99). Compiled by Mike Unwin, this compendium of real-life stories of animal bravery includes a dog who made 20 parachute jumps behind enemy lines during the Second World War and sea lions who rescue plane crash survivors.