The Demon Undertaker by Cameron McAllister
Fourteen-year-old Thomas has already seen much sorrow in his young life –notably the death of his beloved father and the accidental loss of his own hand. His mother hopes to give him a new start by sending him away from Virginia to join his uncle Sir Henry Fielding, chief magistrate of London, but before the boy has even had the chance to greet his new family he is embroiled in a life and death chase through the grimy back streets of the capital in the hopes of rescuing a young noblewoman. All London is agog: what happens to the people who disappear, never to be seen again, and what exactly does the terrible masked fiend in the hearse want them for? Full review...
A Piglet Called Truffle by Helen Peters and Ellie Snowdon
Living on a farm, with her father who works as a farmer and a mother who is a farm-vet, Jasmine has spent all her young life learning how to care for animals. On a visit to a neighbouring farm, Jasmine is excited to see the new baby piglets. Expecting to see eleven piglets, she is stunned to find one extra - a tiny little runt hiding in the corner. Being smaller than her hand, the farmer has no sympathy and expects it to die by the end of the day. Of course, Jasmine can't allow this to happen. The story is then set for a struggle to save the smallest piglet, called Truffle. Full review...
The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd and Levi Pinfold
Megan Shepherd has written a stunning tale, which is exquisitely illustrated by the artwork of Levi Pinfold. Secret Horses tells the story of a young girl and her friendship with a magical winged horse. When Emmaline is evacuated from Nottingham during the Second World War, she enters a fantasy world of discovery behind the silvery glass of the mirrors in her new country home at Briar Hill. An old sprawling mansion once owned by a wealthy family, Briar Hill has become a children’s hospital run by Nuns. Emmaline and the other children are struggling to recover from a serious illness and have been quarantined away from their families. To add to their plight, they worry about their fathers away at war and their mothers left at home to face bombing raids and the scarcity of food. Emmaline and her friends are carefully nursed by the Nuns through the harsh and snowy winter of 1941. This is a story of bravery and fortitude, good and evil and how one small child can find light even in the darkest of places. Full review...
Letter to Pluto by Lou Treleaven
Letter to Pluto is a story told through an inter-planetary pen-pal friendship. Set in the year 2317, writing with a pen and sending letters has certainly become a dying art-form. However, Jon’s teacher, Mrs Hall, decides it is important to keep the art of letter writing alive. The only difference is that Jon’s pen-pal lives a long way away. 75 billion km to be precise. On Pluto. At first the idea of writing at all is bad enough, but when Jon finds out that his pen-pal is a girl he nearly quits the programme. Encouraged by his teacher’s bribes of merit awards for his best writing, Jon soon learns that Pluto is not as boring, small and smelly as he first thought. Full review...
The White Fox by Jackie Morris
Sol had never been happy in Seattle. It wasn't just that he was bullied at school: being Inuit he looked different and that always makes you a target. Sol's heart was somewhere else - in the Arctic, where he felt he belonged and where he had grandparents whom he'd not seen for such a long time. Everything changed when his father told him about the white Arctic fox which had been seen on the docks and Sol set about finding the fox - and then feeding it. But what would happen to the fox when it was trapped? And how would Sol handle the situation? Full review...
A Poem for Every Night of the Year by Allie Esiri
Poetry can feel a little intimidating, to children and grown-ups. All those school lessons of dissecting poems in order to ascertain exactly what the poet intended with every word and stylistic form tend to kill the beauty of a well-written poem. This collection is a year-long tour through a vast history of poetry, and gives the reader a new poem to try every night, with everything from Michael Rosen to Shakespeare to Christina Rosetti. Full review...
The Fox and the Ghost King by Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman
Considering how bizarre the stories in juvenile literature can sometimes be, it's weird to think that occasionally it's the actual source material that inspired it that is even more unusual. Whoever would really credit writing a book where footballing underdogs, and firm favourites to be relegated, defied odds of 5000 to 1 to win the Premiership? But that's what happened in the 2015/16 season, in a certain town in the East Midlands of England. Despite every worry directed their way, they sustained their fine form long enough to win the league, in a run that some people soon realised had started when said city had had another momentous event, namely holding the proper burial accorded a lost King of England. Like I say, completely unusual and unexpected events – surely too odd to be turned into fiction? Full review...
Murder In Midwinter by Fleur Hitchcock
It's almost Christmas and Maya is happily snapping pictures of the Christmas lights on Regent Street from the top of a bus. Everything seems perfect until she sees the couple arguing and, when the flash goes off, it reveals something unbelievable – the man has a gun in his hands. To make matters worse, the flash makes him look up. Suddenly Maya's a witness and, when a body turns up, she's whisked away from her immediate family to somewhere the police think is safe – her aunt's remote farm in the Welsh mountains. Cut off by the snow, Maya should have nothing to fear. But the police can be wrong. Full review...
Danger Really is Everywhere: School of Danger by David O'Doherty and Chris Judge
There is nothing more dangerous than being a danger specialist. A Docter in Dangerology, no less – like Noel Zone, who has long since taken off his 'L' plates and become fully qualified in a science all of his own invention. If you've been here since the start you should be a Level 3 Pupil of Dangerology, and once our author has ascertained that you're not a werewolf, mummy, giant or Segway-riding vampire, you can read on, and see the life of the good Docter in action. And what action – we're only just beginning to find out what happens on a Danger Patrol, when all calamity happens – and lo and behold, Docter Noel Zone becomes a danger to others… Full review...
Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Spooky School by Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton
As a teacher and a parent, one of the main aims I have when it comes to reading is to promote a love of reading in all children. This can of course in general be more challenging with boys. Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton have created a wonderful book with two familiar characters at the centre. Their previous tales of Shifty McGifty were shorter books around 35 pages told though rhyme. However, their latest book, The Spooky School, at 124 pages, is perfect for the maturing primary school student (approximately 6-9 years of age). If these children had experienced the earlier books, then there is a feeling that Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam have grown up with them. Although this book will appeal to both boys and girls, boys will particularly enjoy these fun tales. Full review...
The Dragon's Hoard by Lari Don
If you ask anyone to name a Viking story, legend or tale, my money would be on Beowulf. However, it is not clear whether this was an Anglo-Saxon or Viking tale. Try further and search on Amazon for Viking sagas for children and you won't get very far. Until now, that is. Lari Don has written a collection of stories which bring tales from this historical era to life. Most primary schools study Vikings as a topic, so it is surprising that there are so few quality stories around for this age group. Full review...
Atlas of Miniature Adventures: A pocket-sized collection of small-scale wonders by Emily Hawkins and Alice Letherland
I've hardly ever had a trouser pocket big enough to cram a whole 'pocket-sized' book in, and while the book under concern here won't comply either, it's not far off. But it's an atlas – you know, one of those books that are usually clunky and huge, fitting awkwardly on the bottom shelf and taken out whenever some project or quirk of trivial life inspires a browse. But this is a special kind of atlas – it's a compendium of details, and very small details at that, of all the tiny things on our large planet. Full review...
Clover Moon by Jacqueline Wilson
Clover Moon lives in Cripps Alley, a slum street in Victorian England. Her father works at the factory and the heavy work has taken a toll on his health. He likes to drink an ale or two after work, spending money the family can barely afford. Clover's mother died giving birth to her younger sister, Megs, a wispy, shy child. Father married again - to Mildred, a sharp-tongued woman who is free with a beating, particularly if the beating goes to Clover. Clover has another four half-siblings and it's Clover, rather than Mildred, who takes care of them. Full review...
Lesser Spotted Animals by Martin Brown
There may be as many as 5,500 different species of mammal on our planet, but how many of those do we actually get to see and read about? 'Animal Books' are packed with cute pictures of tigers, elephants, monkeys and zebras, but what about their lesser-known neglected cousins? Don't they deserve a minute in the spotlight? Numbat, Solenodon, Zorilla, Onager and Linsang: Now is your time to shine! Full review...
There May Be a Castle by Piers Torday
Heartbreaking, surprising, uplifting - Mouse's snowbound journey is one you'll remember for a long, long time. There May Be a Castle proves that stories matter. Full review...
Danger Mouse: Declassified by Bruno Vincent
There is nothing else for it but to declare my love for Danger Mouse (and no, I don't mean the musician/producer, or the remake, which I've not sampled). What I didn't know at the time to call 'breaking the fourth wall', the chutzpah and energy of the storytelling, and primarily the simple and simply brilliant character design made it one of my go-to sources for entertainment, and about the only thing that would get the TV switched to ITV, apart from Blockbusters. The dates on the front of this volume prove we're referring to the genius original series, but these contents seem to me fully new. Taking it that they are, has the idea stood the test of time, and will people be on board for what is surely a much-belated tribute gift book? Full review...
The Wrong Train by Jeremy de Quidt
Imagine that it's dark. You look up, and suddenly you realise that you've taken the wrong train…so you get off at the next station. Only it isn't a station…and you're not alone. The wrong Train is a collection of spine-chilling stories which are told as part of a strange game to keep the boy entertained whilst he waits for the next train to appear…if there even is a next train. Full review...
Sherlock Holmes and the Disappearing Diamond (Baker Street Academy) by Sam Hearn
We've had young Sherlock Holmes adventures, now for a young young Sherlock Holmes adventure. Here, he's the star pupil at Baker Street Academy, where new boy John Watson is having his introductory tour on his first day at the hands of the delightful bundle of company that is Martha Hudson. When they're not bumping into horrid Moriarty children, the trio are either experimenting in the science lab and besting the teachers (Sherlock), exploring the world with a gutsiness that doesn't quite show itself on the page, and walking around with the caretaker's dog Baskerville (Martha) or scribbling everything down in a blog and reacting in a suitably amazed fashion to all around him (Watson). But what's this – there's a class outing to a Victorian treasures exhibit, and all kinds of criminality are about to kick off. Yes, it might still be a junior fitting, but the game is definitely afoot… Full review...
Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen
Ambrose Bukowski is your typical nerd – clever and geeky with no friends and appalling dress sense. However, to add to his problems, he's also got a serious nut allergy and a slightly insane overprotective mother. When the school bullies almost kill him by putting a peanut in his sandwich, Ambrose is pulled out of school and educated at home. Lonely and bored, life is not looking good for Ambrose until he meets his neighbour's grown up son, Cosmos, who has just been released from prison. Outwardly the two have nothing in common other than a love of Scrabble but, as we soon discover, this turns out to be enough to form an unlikely friendship that helps them both. Full review...
The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots by Beatrix Potter and Quentin Blake
At night a serious, well-behaved and (let's be honest) rather superior young black cat goes out hunting. Well, if we're being totally honest, there's a little bit of poaching in there too. By day she is Miss Catherine St Quintin, although her owner calls her Kitty. Other cats call her Q, or Squintums, but they are very common cats and Kitty's owner would have been scandalised had she known that there was an acquaintance. The reaction would have been even stronger had she known that Miss Kitty went out in a gentleman's Norfolk jacket and fur-lined boots. With a gun. Full review...
Little Grey Rabbit's Christmas by Alison Uttley and Margaret Tempest
It's a little known fact that Alison Uttley used to live in my local pub. Not in an alcoholic sort of way, but when the building that's now a pub used to be something else, she was one of its residents. There's a sign on the wall and everything, right next to the table where I recently enjoyed an impromptu tiffin-tin curry one Friday night when I hadn't prepared anything for tea and really didn't fancy starting to do so. Little Grey Rabbit is far less slovenly than I am, and would never be so under prepared. A proper domestic goddess, in this book she demonstrates her ability to bake Christmas treats, source unusual gifts, decorate the house and all the while supervise the other animals. Full review...