Chris Higgins, with artwork by Lee Wildish(Hodder Children’s Books) Mattie is nine years old and is a little bit of a worrier. Life can be chaotic in the Butterfields’ household so it is little wonder that Mattie feels anguish: her best friend is a bit bossy, her little sister V is always cross, her grandmother sometimes …
families
My Brother Simple
Marie-Aude Murail “Simple”, translated by Adriana Hunter (Bloomsbury Children’s Books) Kleber is starting his second year of sixth-form at the prestigious Lycée Henri IV and as well as worrying about the school year ahead, he must also find himself and his older brother, Barnaby, somewhere to live. Barnaby, known as Simple, is twenty-two years old but has …
Shrinking Violet
Lou Kuenzlerwith artwork by Kirsten Collier(Scholastic Children’s Books) Violet is so excited as she has finally reached the height required to ride Plunger, the biggest and scariest rollercoaster around. But just as she is about to get on the ride, disaster strikes: Violet literally shrinks to the size of a fish finger. Her chances of riding Plunger are …
Princess Academy
Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury Children’s Books) When representatives of the king arrive in an isolated mountain village to announce that the priests have divined that the future princess will come from there, fourteen year-old Miri’s life is turned upside down, as are the lives of all of the other girls in the village. For now they must leave the …
Scrummy!
Leigh Hodgkinson(Orchard Books) When her dad tells her that every family has its all mix of yummy stuff that makes it special, Sunny McCloud decides that her own family is very much like a sandwich. So she decides to make one in which each ingredient represents a member of her family. But this turns out into a rather boring snack, so Sunny …
Croc and Bird
Alexis Deacon(Random House Children’s Books) Two eggs sit in the sand, side by side. When they hatch, out pops a baby crocodile from one, and a baby bird from the other. Unaware of their differences, the brothers learn to survive and live together. They are happy and content until one day, by chance, they stumble …
Grace
Morris Gleitzman(Puffin) Grace is an ordinary little girl, but she does not live an ordinary life. Born within a fundamentalist Christian community, she is sheltered from the rest of Australian society, unable to interact with “sinners”, and forced to follow harsh, chauvinistic rules. But Grace still has fun in her life, mainly thanks to her much-loved …
Lost Christmas
David Logan(Quercus) A year ago, Goose had the perfect life: loving parents, Christmas around the corner, a new puppy. But this was all taken away from him suddenly when his parents were killed in a car crash on Christmas Eve. Now, a year on, he lives with his grandmother who is slowing losing to dementia, and is …
The Brilliant World of Tom Gates
Liz Pichon(Scholastic) Tom Gates is quite a regular boy, but also a master homework escapologist and excels at tormenting his older sister Delia. He also spends a lot of time thinking about his band Dog Zombies and eating caramel wafers. But Tom still manages to spend a lot of time writing and doodling in his homework book and it is …