Editor's choice

Ellie Bean, Aka Jellybean, is walking to school. Despite having very good friends and being in the top set in almost all her subjects, she is feeling anxious – very anxious indeed. In fact, this anxiety has manifested itself in very physical symptoms, and she hasn’t been to school in over six months. What follows is an extended flashback of Ellie’s struggles with Emotionally Based School Avoidance (ESBA), told compassionately and thoughtfully by Eve Ainsworth in the accessible language that characterises Barrington Stoke’s publications.

It’s love at flat white for Eli and James when they meet at the Brewbear cafe. A rogue source of magic has been detected at a nearby abandoned farmhouse and James is on a mission to locate its source. Eli has never known another witch. For centuries, Arcana has investigated paranormal entities parallel to the world of human beings and contained their magic to preserve order. But within Arcana’s celestial interiors and grand halls, the Majors are harbouring a perilous secret. Can Eli and his newfound coven free themselves from the hands of a generational curse?

Maya is a budding influencer and plans to use her French exchange trip to Paris as a treasure trove of content for her page. However, her trip does not get off to a great start when she finds out she is paired with grumpy Levi. They have nothing in common; he doesn’t even have social media! Well, they do have one similarity. They both have a physical disability: Levi is a wheelchair user, while Maya is an amputee and wears a prosthetic leg. This book allows for two very important conversations to unfold – the issue of social media addiction and the stereotypes surrounding disability.

This picturebook takes a clever spin on traditional number books to introduce both concepts of sharing and personal space. The ant at the centre of this story is not really enthused about the idea of sharing her space. Her answer to the question ‘How many animals can fit in this book?’ is only one – and that would be herself, thank you very much!

Bella decides to build a robot but things don’t go quite to plan! Bella soon realises that there’s one thing her amazing robot cannot do; play pretend. Riley, her new next door neighbour, joins Bella and together they build an even better robot, but soon they run up against the same problem again – Red Robot has no imagination either! Finally, Bella thinks of something the robots can do; build a wonderful treehouse where the children can have magical adventures.

Theo’s cousin Rama comes to visit, but this time it’s different. Rama has lost her mother. While Theo tries to find ways to connect with his grief-stricken cousin, he also shares with the reader what he misses about his Auntie; how she danced with them, taught them how to cook, and the sound of her bangles.

It’s a challenge to tackle childhood distress and the dangers of a disenfranchised populace through humorous fantasy, Irish folklore, and wrestling references, but Dave Rudden manages to pull it off with sensitivity and panache.

Everyone talks differently. And everyone who does, wants to be understood. But in the loud chatter created by social media and strident news, it is easy to believe that it is only the person who shouts the loudest who stands a chance of being heard. What we know of course, is that in a room full of loud voices, nobody can be heard. Meaningful dialogue gets lost and feelings can get hurt.