Bloomsbury Children's Books

Penelope Snoop has a new case. Her favourite toy, Sidney the Smelly Sock Snake, has disappeared. Along with Carlos the dog, she sets out to uncover the mystery and begins the search which will take her to outer space.

Ellie Clements’s novel The Wondrous Prune is about moving to a new town, which means entering a new school, and it’s a story full of relatable characters feeling understandably anxious and excited at the prospect of inevitable life changes.

Change can be difficult, no matter your age. In The Light in Everything, Katya Balen explores some of the more difficult emotions that can be experienced during a tumultuous time in a young person’s life. A mixture of highs, lows and learning how to deal with a new normal, this is a book that can impart hope and compassion for anyone exploring the rollercoaster of sensations that unexpected changes can bring.

Erin’s daddy sees colour in everything. Even on wet and dreary days, he insists they pull on their wellies and raincoats and face the downpour with delight because, as he always says, ‘We can’t see rainbows without rain!’ But things begin to change and the colours fade to grey when Daddy gets sick, and Erin and her family are left alone, missing his laugh, cuddles and magic.

MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE! is an engaging, funny and fast-paced picturebook, brought to life by Benaglia’s humorous illustrations. When the hungry monster of the title opens his fridge to find it empty, he knows exactly what to do: he must pick up the phone and order a pizza. However, this is not a simple task for our protagonist, as he dials a series of wrong numbers that connect him to a host of various characters. For a multitude of reasons, no one is able to help him in his endeavour, and chaos ensues as his frustration, and hunger, increases. The final twist is wonderfully silly and funny.

Stargazing for Beginners is the fifth novel by teen fiction author Jenny McLachlan. In her latest work 15-year-old space enthusiast Meg likes her life ordered, in contrast to her free-spirited mother Alice. Things take a chaotic turn when Alice decides to unexpectedly hop a plane to Myanmar on one of her ‘save the world’ missions, leaving Meg for ten days to fend for herself while taking care of her infant sister Elsa.

The Pearl Thief takes the reader on a thrilling adventure, rich in culture, identity and love. Set in the summer of 1938, the Scottish murder-mystery immediately grabs the attention of the reader. Julie’s final summer in Strathfearn house is sure to be a memorable one. However, an unlikely chain of events, beginning with a vicious riverside attack, changes not only the course of the summer, but also the course of many interwoven lives, in a truly unpredictable way.

We Come Apart, a collaborative project between Crossan and Conaghan, is a three-part novel written in alternating voices. The text is in a fractured format, which will be familiar to Crossan’s fans. As you would expect from writers at the top of their game, it seizes the reader’s attention from the first page.

Fizzy and her Mum are about to wind down, eat supper and head to bed one Tuesday evening. But Fizzy begins to root through her dress up box to find the perfect outfit for Mrs Crumbleboom’s party next door. While her Mum needs some convincing, the two head over to the party and enjoy lots of treats, rock music, and exploring Mrs Crumbleboom’s house. Mum brings Fizzy back home before they can see the fireworks, but a compromise is made when they make a blanket fort and watch the fireworks from the window together.

Sometimes life is exactly what we want it to be and everything seems perfect. But at other times we feel like everything is out of our control, everything from our emotions to our friends’ behaviour to the way the world itself is being run. This is where YouTube influencer Lex Croucher’s new book steps in to tell young people the truth – this is completely normal, and everyone feels this way.