This month middle grade readers will be treated to a huge variety of outstanding new books! Here is a selection of what you’ll be able to find in your local library or bookshop.
Stupendous Sports: Cracking Cricket by Robin Bennett & illustrated by Matt Cherry (Firefly Press)
The Stupendous Sports series by Robin Bennett & Matt Cherry is absolutely fantastic for learning the history, key facts and rules for major sports in the UK. I could have really used Cracking Cricket when I first moved to the UK from Canada and was expected to teach cricket in PE! Basketball, volleyball, baseball, (Canadian) football, (ice) hockey – no problem! Cricket – no idea!
Children (and their adults) will enjoy a light-hearted look at this fun sport. Discover the theories about how it all began, famous players, key positions, scoring, international grounds and so much more. Cracking Cricket is packed full of information and is incredibly readable. My son is looking forward to reading it to improve his cricket knowledge.
You can read his review of Rampaging Rugby from 2021 here:
The After School Crime Club by Hayley Webster (Nosy Crow)
“Rules are made to be broken,” I say quickly, and wonder why on earth I said that. If Tay and Marie are friends, I suppose I need to make an effort with Marie.
“That’s good to know,” she says. “If you think like that, you might fit in here. Personally, I think she likes you. Hey …” She looks at me, closely. “A few of us here like to … sort of … dare each other to do stuff? Just for fun. Just to make things a bit more interesting. How do you feel about dares?”
How far would you go to make friends? Willow always feels like an outsider – suspicious of why anyone would like her. When she starts at an after school intervention club to help children make progress in Year 6, she’s faced with a group who do things differently – friendship in exchange for dares which get more and more risky until Willow really doesn’t know if she can go on.
The After School Crime Club is a thought-provoking story that pushes children to question what is right and wrong and how what starts as a harmless game can escalate into something more serious. Readers see how saying no to “friends” can be really hard and being the hero or the villain in your own story can get clouded pretty quickly.
Miss Mary-Kate Martin’s Guide to Monsters: The Wrath of Woolington Wyrm by Karen Foxlee & illustrated by Freda Chiu (Pushkin Children’s)
When Mary-Kate has the opportunity to travel the world with her archaeologist mother, she’s a bit nervous but knows it’s going to be such an interesting adventure. Mary-Kate is so sweet. She loves all the kinds of things young readers love – glitter pens, strawberry-scented notebooks and red sparkly shoes. Mary-Kate is also very anxious. The smallest thing can set off worried thoughts.
When they arrive at Woolington Well, she is faced with a monstrous mystery – the Woolington Wyrm who is reported to like children!!! Can she push her worries aside and find the answer to this ancient legend? She may just find that solving a mystery leads to even more questions.
Freda Chiu’s illustrations are gorgeous, making this engaging story even more appealing. This is an ideal book for young mystery lovers wanting to be swallowed up by a fantastic story! It’s great to see that this is just the beginning with book two, The Trouble with the Two-Headed Hydra, coming soon.
The Light Thieves Search for the Black Mirror by Helena Duggan (Usborne)
The Light Thieves series by Helena Duggan is bursting with imagination and adventure. With eco themes, kids in charge and cutting-edge technology, these are books for the next generation.
The Light Thieves Search for the Black Mirror is the second book in this outstanding series. The energy from the sun is being stolen. Grian, Jeffrey and Shelli must work out how it’s happening and how they can stop it. Readers are challenged to question the value of technology, the influence of tech companies and the importance of protecting nature.
The Stolen Songbird by Judith Eagle (Faber)
I loved The Accidental Stowaway so I was very excited to receive a copy of The Stolen Songbird. There is a growing collection of wonderful mysteries available for middle grade readers including these fantastic historical adventures by Judith Eagle which will have children gripped from the first page.
Set in 1959 London, readers discover a time not often included in children’s literature – fascinating for me as my mum would have been about the same age as Caro at that time. Caro Monday’s mother has gone missing. Not one to ever be told what to do, she does not want to go live with Great Aunt Mary and she certainly doesn’t want to leave her pet rabbit behind. When she discovers there’s an art theft linked to Great Aunt Mary’s house, Caro and her friends are on the case. More mischief and mayhem follows – all in the name of solving the mystery of course!
Nowhere Island by Tania Unsworth (Zephyr)
Gil can’t face another foster home. When he makes a break for it at a service station and hides in the back of an SUV heading anywhere but to his next placement, he has no idea where he’ll end up. Could a hidden island at the intersection of several busy highways really become home? Inhabited by five unusual runaways, survival takes on a whole new meaning.
Each runaway has their own story of loss, pain and hopelessness. They band together in their search for safety and a life they can trust – a place in the world. But when the tables are turned again, it seems safety is never a guarantee.
Nowhere Island is intense, taking readers on a journey of emotions, pain and loss. The rights of the child are brought into question as they search for a better life together.
Mia and the Traitor of Nubis by Janelle McCurdy & illustrated by Ana Latese (Faber)
Mia and the Traitor of Nubis is the stunning sequel to the brilliantly cinematic Mia and the Lightcasters. These are stories of high-stakes, emotion and non-stop action!
In this instalment, life in the city of Nubis is starting to get back to normal but Mia knows she will never be the same again. As she tries to get to grips with her lightcaster powers, her anxiety returns and she worries there is still danger around the corner.
This series is perfect for slightly older middle grade readers who are looking for something more – more tension, more peril, more heroics, and more strength. The world building is superb and the characters are inspirational. At 440 pages, it isn’t a book that will finish too soon. Readers will be carried along on adventure right to the end.
Click here to find out more about Mia and the Lightcasters.
Worrybot by Simon Packham (Uclan Publishing)
Anxiety can be so difficult for children. Feeling like you’re the only one who’s worried and not knowing how to stop the overwelming feelings can be frightening. Sometimes hiding away from the world seems like the only option. It’s so important that children see they aren’t alone. Other children feel like this too and it can get better.
Books like Worrybot by Simon Packham are essential – not only for children who feel anxious but for other children who don’t understand anxiety, the teachers who need to help and the parents who are trying their best to be reassuring every day.
Josh has always been a worrier but when he moves house and school, things get a lot worse. Terrified of his new Year 6 class, he manages to make a friend- Charlie who accesses school through a learning robot. No one knows what’s wrong with her and why she can’t come to school but she’s a part of the class and soon becomes a huge help for Josh. She pushes him to try new things and start to overcome his anxiety.
Meesh the Bad Demon by Michelle Lam (Faber)
Graphic novesl are a fantastic option for readers of all ages.
Meesh is not your typical demon. She loves all things fairy and longs for a life away from the underworld. When her home comes under threat, Meesh must go to the fairy realm for help and it isn’t quite what she expected.
Bursting with brightly-coloured illustrations, a fast-paced story and a fesity main character, Meesh the Bad Demon is sure to be popular with young readers.
Click on the covers below to find out more or purchase online:
Bookshop.org
Amazon:
Books by Kate Heap:
Scope for Imagination 