10–12

Finding Bear, sequel to The Last Bear, drives a powerful message to young readers as climate change takes hold in the Arctic. April Wood returns to help her friend, Bear the polar bear, who is struggling to navigate this changing world.

Mal is a young girl who lives on the Archipelago; she’s fiercely determined and loves nothing more than using her flying coat to soar high into the skies. Mal’s surroundings initially seem fairly ordinary until we find out that this magical land is home to many fantastical creatures, and something is happening that threatens their very existence …

Frankie Finkleton’s world is a very busy one. She’s a typical eleven-year-old with a loving family and lots going on at school. Frankie also has a sideline as a very secret investigator and from time to time goes on adventures to an imaginary world called Thoughtopolis with her younger brother Fred and her dog Blue.

‘When there is nothing to eat, it affects everything; that is how important food is’, reflects Maggie who, as a child of a Skibbereen farming family, witnesses first-hand the devastating consequences of the Irish famine in the 1840s.

Judith Eagle is well established as a writer of middle grade adventures with a classic feel, and fans will be delighted with her excellent fourth novel, The Stolen Songbird. The songbird of the title is a painting, one of a series of three whose theft is at the centre of this lively tale. Part heist, part family mystery, The Stolen Songbird bounds along with great verve, plenty of twists, but also a lot of heart and compassion.

Gil bolts for freedom on his way to another foster-placement. When his backpack is stolen, with his treasured photograph and his hag-stone, his pursuit of the thief brings him to an island dividing the motorway, and to the ramshackle home of three other runaways. Riley and Grayson escaped an abusive parent, and with Junk, the dog, steal supplies. They tell Gil about another inhabitant, already established. Pez ran away from a cult, bringing with her stolen seeds, experience of self-sufficiency, and a conviction that isolation and silence are safer than human company.

‘We caught our breath at our ability to do this thing, at the extraordinary lightness of our load. I closed my eyes for a moment. I imagined that this is a dream. I told myself that anything was possible in a dream.’

When Michael moves to an old house with an over-grown garden and a dilapidated garage, he makes a shocking a discovery. At first, he can’t believe his eyes, but soon his encounter with an incredible soul develops into a profound bond. With the help of his new neighbour, Mina, they join forces and a remarkable and moving adventure begins.

Maria Motúnráyo Adébísi’s debut novel is the first in a new and exhilarating fantasy series based on West African Mythology. When thirteen-year-old orphaned protagonist, Koku, accidentally unleashes an evil demon spirit during a school trip to the British Museum, his uncle sends him away for the summer. Tired of feeling unwanted, frustratingly misunderstood and of fighting his daily battle with sickle cell anaemia, Koku arrives to the home he doesn’t remember, Olori, feeling powerless.