Getting new shoes is a challenging event for many children, and Roscoe does not want to replace his soft, comfy puppy shoes. Roscoe’s big sister Ivy shows him some new dinosaur shoes, and when he doesn’t want to try them, she leaves them where he can see them. In his own time, Roscoe decides to try the new dinosaur shoes, and finds that they are soft and comfy too!
This wildly colourful anthology digs deep and spreads wide to celebrate different forms of courage and empowerment, from the more familiar – being true to yourself, fighting injustice – to fresh expressions of bravery, such as swirling in a sari and letting Afro hair ‘grow/the way it wants to grow:/ confident again.’
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.
How to Find a Missing Girl is a sapphic YA mystery that follows Iris, a determined teenager searching for answers after her older sister, Stella, disappeared a year earlier. Refusing to let the case fade away, Iris forms an amateur detective group and continues investigating. When her ex-girlfriend, Heather, suddenly goes missing soon after releasing the final episode of her true-crime podcast about Stella’s disappearance, Iris becomes convinced that the cases are linked. With time running out, she races to uncover what really happened to both of them.
This Seachtain na Gaeilge, discover a new reading guide highlighting the excellent books on offer in the Irish language for children and young people.
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?
With an introduction from Patricia Forde, Laureate na nÓg 2023–2026 and Frank Cotrell-Boyce, Children’s Laureate, the Northern Lights recommended reading guide aims to shine a light on talented authors and illustrators from the North of Ireland who create books for young readers.
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.
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.
In this verse novel, eight-year-old Ray is nervous about his family’s impending move to a new town due to his father’s job. In order to comfort himself through this big change, he conjures an imaginary friend named Jacob. Ray’s parents cannot see Jacob, but their family dog, Bess, can – something that matters at the end of the narrative.
