Story time!
Emma Lee-Potter chooses some really rip-roaring reads for children this summer
PICTURE BOOKS The Boys
by Lauren Ace and Jenny Lovlie Little Tiger, £6.99 Four boys play together in the sea and become lifelong pals in this wonderful celebration of friendship with delightful illustrations.
Granny Came Here On The Empire Windrush
by Patrice Lawrence Nosy Crow, £7.99 When Ava has to dress up as someone she admires for school assembly, her granny suggests Mary Seacole or Rosa Parks. But Ava is more interested in hearing about her own grandmother’s journey from Trinidad to England on the Empire Windrush. A heart-warming, beautifully illustrated tale.
Punk Rocker Poodle
by Laura Dockrill and Sandhya Prabhat Faber, £6.99 As the tantrum-throwing Punk Rocker Poodle rejects conventions from brushed hair and socks to bath and bedtime, little readers should find the pooch very relatable – and it’s a fun book to read aloud!
Maya And Her Friends
by Larysa Denysenko Bonnier, £12.99 Maya introduces her classmates, explaining the challenges and prejudices each one faces, encouraging her readers to embrace difference. All publisher profits are donated to charities helping the children of Ukraine.
Ages 6-8 The Magic Faraway Tree
by Jacqueline Wilson Hodder Children’s Books, £12.99 Jacqueline Wilson adored Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree books as a child and now she’s written a captivating new story about the magical characters who live in The Enchanted Wood. Birdy, Mia and Milo are on holiday when they meet a kindly fairy called Silky and her best friend Moonface.
The Bolds Go Green
by Julian Clary Andersen Press, £7.99 The latest story about the family of hyenas living in a semi-detached in Teddington is a riot. Mr and Mrs Bold and their twins Bobby and Betty decide to do their bit for the environment – but the neighbours aren’t impressed by their eco ideas.
Rex: Dinosaur In Disguise
by Elys Dolan Walker Books, £6.99 Rex the dinosaur wakes up 65million years after being frozen solid during the Ice Age and he’s horrified to discover pesky humans now rule the roost. Luckily, his friend Bigfoot can help Rex disguise himself as a human – with unexpected results. It’s a laugh-out-loud read.
The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Beast Beyond The Fence
by Marcus Rashford Macmillan Children’s, £6.99
NON-FICTION
Spies by David Long Faber, £18.99
From Roald Dahl, a World War II fighter pilot and spy before he became a children’s author, to Margery Booth, an opera singer-turned-spy who once sang for Hitler, these thrilling real-life stories of 27 daring spies are stranger than fiction.
The Manchester United player follows You Are A Champion, his guide to being the best you can be, with his first children’s novel. When a soccer-mad schoolboy kicks his prized football over the school fence, he and his friends turn detective to get it back.
Ages 9-12 The Sky Over Rebecca
by Matthew Fox Hodder Children’s Books, £7.99 Footprints in the snow lead Kara to Rebecca and her brother Samuel who are in hiding and desperately in need of help. Kara lives in modern-day Stockholm and the siblings are Jewish refugees during World War II
Hope On The Horizon
by Onjali Q Rauf Wren & Rook, £9.99 This inspiring guide to empathy, kindness and creating a better world from the author of The Boy At The Back Of The Class offers wise advice, food for thought and stories of people who are making a difference, including Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai. but their friendship transcends time in this uplifting story of compassion and courage.
Where Seagulls Dare
by Anthony Horowitz Walker Books, £7.99 Hapless private detective Tim Diamond and his quick-witted younger brother Nick are hot on the trail of a missing computer genius. With thrills and spills, puns and jokes, this cracking adventure story is a hoot.
The Underpants Of Chaos
by Sam Copeland and
Jenny Pearson
Puffin, £7.99
The first of a hilarious new series follows classmates Agatha and Lenny as they investigate weird and wonderful happenings at school, from pupils breaking into spontaneous ballroom dancing to chickens firing eggs across the classroom.
Cleopatra, Queen Of The Nile
by Dominic Sandbrook Particular Books, £14.99 The latest book in Dominic Sandbrook’s fast-paced, gripping and well researched Adventures In Time series tells the tumultuous story of the legendary Egyptian queen.
Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers Of Space
by Dr Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman Flying Eye Books, £16.99 Did you know that the surface of the moon is the same size as Africa? Or that 100 rockets launch into space each year? Professor Astro Cat and his trusty sidekicks travel through space to discover the mysteries of the universe in this fun, fact-filled read.
YOUNG ADULT Heartstopper
by Alice Oseman Hodder Children’s Books, £10.99 Now a hit Netflix series, this is a tender, sweet graphic novel about two schoolboys who fall in love. The first of four volumes relates the blossoming friendship between highly strung Charlie and softhearted rugby player Nick.
Friends Like These
by Meg Rosoff Bloomsbury, £12.99 The author of the bestselling How I Live Now returns with the tale of two teenage girls interning on a New York newspaper in the sweltering summer of 1983. Smalltown girl Beth and charismatic Edie instantly hit it off but Beth soon finds herself caught up in a hedonistic world. Rosoff is on top form in this compelling coming-of-age story.
Twin Crowns
by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber Electric Monkey, £8.99 This action-packed fantasy adventure about twin princesses separated at birth and raised in completely different worlds is full of magic, intrigue, romance and fun.
Ghosted by Emily Barr Penguin, £7.99
When Ariel meets a handsome stranger, there’s an instant connection between them, so she’s shocked to discover that he’s living in a different decade. A love story with a twist that will keep teens turning the pages until the early hours.