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The Bear and the Seed by Poonam Mistry, Templar, £12.99
When Bear’s glorious forest disappears, he finds hope in a tiny seed – but he needs help from other animals to tend it in this inspiring picture book, filled with spellbinding geometric art.
Little Passenger by Deirdre Sullivan and Jessica Love, Walker, £12.99
This poetic, beautiful picture book features a mother talking to her growing baby throughout pregnancy (“You are a full stop, a pea, a single grape”). Love’s lustrous ink and watercolour illustrations marry the delicate tendrils of developing plants with the intricate stitches of a sampler.
Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae and Gillian Eilidh O’Mara, Fox&Ink, £8.99
From a Grammy-winning musician, this gorgeous picture book about intergenerational bonds, shared emotions and the power of music boasts light-filled, joyous illustrations.
Alan, King of the Universe by Tom McLaughlin, Hodder, £12.99
These five splendidly silly, surreal graphic novel adventures, starring Alan, an orange cat with opposable thumbs and dreams of world domination, and his canine sidekick Fido, should appeal to Dog Man fans of 6+.
Megalomaniacs by Jamie Smart, David Fickling, £9.99
From the creator of Bunny vs Monkey come the Megalomaniacs – alien invaders hampered in their attempts to conquer Bobbletown by their minute size and unceasing infighting. An irresistible 7+ comics romp, crammed with bum jokes, eyewatering colour and an array of tiny villains, from a Jekyll and Hyde carrot to a cyborg kitten bounty hunter.
Poetry Pizza by Simon Mole, illustrated by Tom McLaughlin, Otter-Barry, £8.99
From baths full of lemonade to invented acronyms, a spell for infinite football skills to Yuri Gagarin’s last wee before blasting off into space, this lively, funny, lyrical poetry collection features subjects to entice a variety of 7+ readers.
The Adventures of Portly the Otter by MG Leonard, illustrated by Polly Dunbar, Farshore, £14.99
Elegantly balancing delight and peril, these stories of a lovable otter pup feature cameos from Toad, Ratty, Badger and Mole – and some unsettling appearances from the Weasels. Dunbar’s adorable illustrations complement this perfect introduction to Wind in the Willows for 8+ (or for younger bedtime listeners).
Escape from the Child Snatchers by Sufiya Ahmed, Andersen, £7.99
When Humza and his best friend, Ranj, leave India on a dangerous journey to find Humza’s big brother Dani in England, they fall almost immediately into the clutches of the child-snatching Basil Brookes. Can they escape him, find Dani – and free Brookes’s other victims too? A fast-paced, atmospheric 9+ historical adventure.
Feather Vane by Beth O’Brien, HarperCollins, £7.99
Trainee sorcerers Morfran and Creirwy have been sent with their mother, Ceridwen, to banish nuisance magical creatures from the village of Greeth-Under-Edge. When Ceridwen is imprisoned for using a forbidden enchantment, though, it’s up to the twins to contend with sylphs, salamanders, gnomes and river hags – and to learn where the deepest magic really lies, in this absorbing 9+ fantasy with a flavour of Diana Wynne Jones.
The Overthinkers’ Club: Happy List by Nat Luurtsema, illustrated by Cécile Dormeau, Usborne, £7.99
Champion worrier Birdie begins summer term with a LOT to overthink – her BFF making other friends, an imminent house move, the fact that she owns (and needs) no bras … Will starting a Happy List help stop her stressing? This hilarious new illustrated diary series will be catnip for 9+ Lottie Brooks fans.
Anya and the Light above the Ocean by Amelia Giudici, Andersen, £7.99
When her scientist mother doesn’t come home one stormy night, Anya sets out in a small boat to find her, but blacks out after she encounters a mysterious square of light at sea. When she wakes, her mother is still missing, and Anya is suddenly sent away to strangers, where she must use all her courage and tenacity to figure out the unthinkable happenings around her … A gripping, original and thought-provoking 10+ sci-fi thriller.
The Danger of Small Things by Caryl Lewis, S&S, £16.99
After the bees die out, causing worldwide famine, a new order emerges – a society without art or creativity, in which girls are sent away to work as pollinators before being married off at 16. With the help of some forbidden paints and pollination brushes, can 14-year-old Jess incite a rebellion? A compelling YA dystopia, marrying an urgent environmental message with a stirring feminist call to arms.
Her Hidden Fire by Clíodhna O’Sullivan, Penguin, £9.99
In segregated Domhain, power is concentrated in the elite Channellers, a power drawn from the life-force of the lower-status people called “Fodder”. Éadha, a servant, loves Ionáin, the heir of a ruling family who will lose their status if Ionáin does not possess the Channeller gift. But when Éadha discovers that she does – and Ionáin does not – she makes an audacious decision to accompany him to the Channeller training academy, shielding him by a trick. Riveting, romantic and thought-provoking, this chunky YA fantasy interrogates patriarchy, power-hoarding and the myths by which injustice sustains itself.
Bad Queer by Gayathiri Kamalakanthan, illustrated by Chi Nwosu, Faber, £9.99
Supported and loved by their family, Surya knows they’re non-binary, but telling Blessing – the handsome, fascinating boy they’re crushing on at drama club – is harder to face. A poignant, thoughtful YA verse novel about navigating identity and the joys and pains of first love, ideal for Dean Atta fans.
These Shattered Spires by Cassidy Ellis Salter, Bloomsbury, £16.99
In a dying, decaying world, Fourspires Castle houses arcanists of four rival disciplines – bone, blood, botany and stone – whose rites maintain the precarious status quo. When the king is assassinated, the arcanists and their human familiars must fight for survival in the ritual of the Slaughter; but bone witch Taro, botanical familiar Nixie, cursed blood familiar Elliot, and Alix, banished from the Stone Arcania, become allies despite their spiteful, mistrustful history, aiming not just to survive but to lift the curse that binds their world in its rotting chains. Ambitious, gruesome and appallingly fascinating, this queer gothic fantasy kicks off a trilogy that’s sure to attract legions of strong-stomached YA readers.
