Daddy’s Footsteps is written from the point of view of a young dinosaur. Initially contrasting their own smallness to the size of their father, as the story progresses, we learn how the father has taught the small dinosaur to take his worries in his stride, and that they will one day be the leader.
A warm, sensitive book covering the topic of death, the story conveys simply the feelings around loss and death of a loved one.
Set in Korea during the rule of the Joseon dynasty, The Fox Maidens is a graphic novel depicting a vibrant yet brutal world built upon strict class structures. The story centres on Kai, a young woman with a passion for martial arts who discovers her power is much greater than she ever imagined.
With interlocking themes of mythology, environmental disaster and deeply held beliefs, On Silver Tides is a vivid, thoughtful story that invites wonder and possibilities.
Jess and her mother meet Grace, who is a refugee experiencing homelessness and sheltering in a doorway with very few possessions. As Grace shares her story of loss with them, Jess’s empathy for Grace grows and a friendship between them develops. This is a beautifully illustrated and gently told tale that enables young children to learn about the sadness and hardship facing refugees, both in the country they are fleeing from and the country in which they arrive.
‘Although sometimes I think that people like us are always alone in this world. Hidden away and stuck inside our Treacle Towns. Unequal and unrecognised.’ Con O’Neill, the protagonist of this novel reflects on life in his community, a so called ‘Treacle Town,’ where nobody can ever seem to leave, stuck in the roles imposed upon them by the people around them.
Sally Nicholls’ latest novel is a late-Victorian coming-of-age tale about three school friends grappling with their first foray into adult life. The three main characters, a teacher, a lady’s companion, and a society debutante, must deal with society’s narrow expectations for young women, crushes, inopportune proposals, and family drama. Nicholls manages to maintain an authentic historical tone in the letters whilst creating the feeling that these girls are not so different to a modern teen. The epistolary novel even reads at times like a group text chain.
The Door of No Return is the first book in a new trilogy that sees eleven-year-old Kofi Offin growing up in a small village in Africa in which traditional life clashes with the violence of tribal wars and colonial powers. This historical-fiction narrative captures the importance of remembering the devastations of the colonial past of Asante – now known as Ghana – whilst also exploring the powerful coming of age of a teenage boy.
When Jojo Locke’s father disappeared, he did not just disappear from the world, but also from the memories of his family. On his annual holiday to his father’s childhood home by the sea, Jojo is collared by the Sandman and the buccaneering ‘Aunt’ Pen to be the one to undo an act of magic that has had devastating consequences. Jojo is being tested; there is no safety or reassurance in the magical events to which Pen exposes him, because only his courage and his resolve will get him (and his doomed, flatulent dog) through the final confrontation in Elfhaeme.
Thirteen-year-old orphan Tomek runs a grocery store where, one day, a stranger girl comes into his shop asking for various items. She tells him she is looking for a magic river whose waters are eternal. Tomek develops a yearning to travel, and to bring some of the eternal water back for a beloved elderly man in his village.
