Paul Staunton

Kian loves to play football with his best mate Azeem. However, when the chance arises to join the local team with his buddy, Kian is very reluctant. What’s even stranger is that he’s the best footballer on the estate.

To create an engaging and fun children’s book about safety equipment is an impressive feat.
Not only is it an introduction to how equipment can protect us, but it also shows the range of jobs and everyday activities in which it is necessary, cleverly alternating between scenes of work and scenes of children at play.

This is a thoughtful and sensitive story exploring the Jewish memorial custom of Yahrzeit. Yahrzeit is a word in the Yiddish language that means ‘time of year.’ A boy and his family are lighting a yahrzeit candle for the one year anniversary of his grandpa’s death, which will burn all night and then all day tomorrow until sunset. But why does the candle burn for so long?

Cecily Sawyer is a spy in training, poring over Little Girl’s Guides to all things espionage and observing the intriguing guests and staff at her parent’s hotel. But when her mother and father mysteriously disappear, will she become the spy she’s always wanted to be? And what’s with all the mice?

Joey’s stepdad, Vinnie, left Dublin over a year ago. Now he’s back, and everyone wants to know if he’s still a wolf. But Joey is in no hurry to see him again. He’s moved on – a new job, a place with his aunt, a girlfriend in Trinity, and the last thing Joey needs is to be drawn back into the world of crime with Vinnie. But Quinlan, a local gang boss, has other ideas and starts putting pressure on Joey to give him Vinnie.

In this family, the daughter has a tricycle, Daddy has a big car and Mummy has a Mama Car, which is what our young narrator calls her mother’s wheelchair. The tricycle is for riding fast, the big car is for big expeditions, but the Mama Car is for so many different things.

In the future, the oceans will rise, and a new dawn of piracy will begin. There is action galore, both on land and at sea, in this story, along with a question mark over who will get the upper hand ...

A quick flick through lets you know immediately that Unleash Your Creative Monster is not going to be a straightforward writing guide. What sets it apart is its novel and funny approach of having children see their inspiration/muse as a monster. As a result, it is chock-full of crazy creatures and jokes. However, this does not distract from the fact that it is a thoughtful and well-planned guide that will inspire the most reluctant writers to put pen to page.

Part of the Let’s Talk series that encourage grown-ups and children to have meaningful discussions together, this book will help readers to discover and appreciate the similarities and differences between people.

In the middle of an exciting game of Doctor Crockchops vs. Señor Sharkface pirate grudge fight, a simple word from a stranger spoils everything. ‘Amazing.’ For although Joe has a disability, he doesn’t want to be described as amazing, or even worse, viewed with sympathy – he just wants to be Joe.