Picture books
Jackie Morris’s The Secret of the Tattered Shoes (Tiny Owl) is an atmospheric retelling of the story of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”, in which the hero ultimately refuses to marry one of the callous princesses, choosing instead to search for the mysterious forest woman who helped him. Ehsan Abdollahi’s marionette-like collaged illustrations transport the reader deep into the heart of the tale, where gilded tree branches glisten and opalescent fruit begs to be plucked.
Also in fairytale vein is Oliver Jeffers, whose story The Fate of Fausto (HarperCollins) warns quietly against hubris. Arrogant Fausto believes he owns the world; everywhere he goes, his “subjects” bow to him, from trees to mountains – until he attempts to demand homage from the sea. Spacious, luminous lithographic illustrations combine with stark hand-set text in this powerful, beautiful fable.
Bouncy and mischievous, Sally Nicholls’s The Button Book (Andersen) is illustrated with giddy, infectious energy by Bethan Woollvin. What happens when the book’s different “buttons” are pressed? Some prompt tickles, some hugs – and one a very rude noise indeed – but all contribute to a rising tide of giggles, ebbing calmly away to a wind-down bedtime message; the best sort of interactive, read-aloud fun.
Five to eight years
Slightly older fairytale fans, especially those who enjoy Rebel Girls-style empowerment, will relish the interconnected stories in Eight Princesses and a Magic Mirror (Zephyr) by Natasha Farrant, enriched by Lydia Corry’s delicious full-colour pictures. When an enchantress flings her magic mirror into our world, the girls it reflects are bold, courageous and determined – from the desert princess who protects her people from war to the tower-block princess who saves a community garden.
From award-winning writer David Long, and brought deftly to life by Sarah McMenemy’s intricate images, The Story of the London Underground (Bloomsbury) plots the development of the tube from the fume-filled, steam-powered London Metropolitan Railway to the present-day network with its millions of passengers, via fascinating facts about ghost stations, bizarre lost property and carriages divided by class. Meticulous and fascinating, it will appeal to readers with a taste for the secret quirks of history.
For wildlife aficionados, Ben Rothery’s oversized Hidden Planet (Ladybird) is filled with stunning illustrations: a komodo dragon on whose skin every scale is visible, two pages of milling, dazzling zebras, a meditative octopus and a poised satanic leaf-tailed gecko. The engaging text is full of intriguing detail, such as orderly queues of hermit crabs waiting for the right-sized shell to be vacated, or the barn owl’s heart-shaped face, which acts like a radar dish to guide sounds into its ears.
Eight to 12 years
Handsomely slip-cased in psychedelic colours, James Rhodes’s Playlist (Wren & Rook) is the classical pianist’s introduction to seven notable composers, complete with irreverent biographical detail (Beethoven peeing into a chamber pot under the piano), accessible and intriguing analysis, helpful definitions of terms such as étude, and a Spotify playlist of introductory teasers from pieces such as Mozart’s Requiem and Chopin’s “Nocturne No 2”. Subtitled “The Rebels and Revolutionaries of Sound”, at its heart is Rhodes’ passionate determination to demonstrate classical music’s iconoclastic and emotional power.
When her beloved grandfather is swindled out of his home, the indomitable Vita, undaunted by a polio-weakened foot, gathers a motley crew of circus kids and pickpockets and plans a heist to redress the balance in Katherine Rundell’s The Good Thieves (Bloomsbury). This fast-paced, thrilling story has it all – a charismatic 1920s New York setting, a sensationally sinister villain, a determined, likable heroine and feats of daring couched in engaging prose.
Nicola Skinner’s debut Bloom (HarperCollins) is illustrated with vine-wreathed charm by Flavia Sorrentino. Good girl Sorrel, best-behaved child in the sad town of Little Sterilis, is horrified when Surprising Seeds sprout on the top of her head, making her crave sunlight and hear voices – how can she possibly win the most obedient pupil prize now? A riotous, original and timely reminder that sometimes rules are made to be broken.
More sophisticated is the subaqueous Deeplight (Macmillan) by Costa-winner Frances Hardinge. In the Myriad archipelago, terrifying gods with razor-grille teeth and glass tentacles once drowned islands and swamped ships – until, one day, they tore each other apart. Now Hark and Jelt scrape a living scavenging the powerful detritus of dead gods – but Jelt is about to plunge Hark into trouble. Hardinge’s surreal powers of world-building combine with her astute understanding of human relationships to create a weird, wonderful, beguiling novel.
YA
Malorie Blackman returns to the world of Noughts & Crosses (where the black Crosses dominate society, and white Noughts are seen as inferior) in Crossfire (Penguin), and the political stakes are high. Though a Nought prime minister is in office for the first time, he is about to be accused of murder, and must turn to his oldest friend, dual-heritage Callie-Rose, for help. When two teenagers are kidnapped, tensions run higher still in this compelling, all-too-relevant story.
In The Secret Commonwealth (David Fickling/Penguin), the second volume of Philip Pullman’s Book of Dust trilogy, Lyra is now a student in her early 20s. Estranged from her daemon, Pantalaimon, she is plunged into danger after he witnesses the murder of a botanist, and Lyra herself comes into possession of some perilous secrets. Featuring painful ruptures, shocking violence, the ominous rise of the Magisterium and the appearance of a grown-up Malcolm Polstead, this huge, challenging novel asks the reader more questions than it answers.
Finally, Chinglish (Andersen) is Sue Cheung’s highly illustrated, lightly fictionalised account of her turbulent adolescence living over her parents’ Chinese takeaway in 1980s Coventry. Dealing with casual racism, her father’s abusive rages, annoyingly perfect cousins and the grisly fate of the family goat, Jo wonders whether she will ever fit in, look right, get a boyfriend – or be able to leave home. Funny and moving, with poignant, traumatic elements and comic cartoons, it will resonate with any teenage reader who feels alien or left out.