CHILDREN’S

XANTHE & THE RUBY CROWN by Jasbinder Bilan (Chicken House £7.99, 240pp)

XANTHE’S adored grandmother nani, originally from Uganda, lives in a nottingham tower block where she tends her roof garden but is losing her memory.

Xanthe and her mother move in for the summer to help, but when a ghostly cat appears only to Xanthe and leads her to find long- hidden treasures from nani’s past, she realises she can unlock buried memories of her grandmother’s traumatic escape from idi amin’s turbulent Uganda in 1972. sensitively written and set against a true historical backdrop, this mystical story is a delight.

MY ESPECIALLY WEIRD WEEK WITH TESS by Anna Woltz (Rock The Boat £7.99, 176pp)

THIS funny, awardwinning novel by Dutch writer Woltz is original and touching — and has two wonderfully memorable characters. after his older brother breaks his leg on holiday, anxious ten-year- old sam, who is consumed with fear about death and loss, is thrown together with a fiercely independent local girl, tess.

she confides that she’s secretly planning to find her biological father, whom she has never met.

the two complicated children build an unlikely but honest bond as they help each other negotiate emotional pain and new relationships while learning that being different from others can be something to celebrate.

THE TREASURE HUNTERS by Lisa Thompson (Scholastic £7.99, 300pp)

When Vincent, who is dyspraxic and struggles to make friends, is chosen to join a team-building activity weekend with three other ‘problem’ children from his school, he is filled with dread.

even more so when he learns that one, Lena, is convinced that her dead grandfather knew of pirate treasure hidden in the local mountain and wants them to find it.

cue a dangerous, risk-taking journey in which the four find they have more in common than they think, but are also united by the appearance of a ruthless thief who has learned of Lena’s grandfather’s theory.

thompson excels at portraying marginalised children — and this book is brimful of warmth, drama and humour.