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A compact sports-history account centred on one striking photograph, its moment in the ring and the controversy that followed the 1965 fight.

A lyrical fairy tale with atmospheric illustrations and a cinematic flow. Its central appeal is the developing bond between Maude and Tony.

The book links one woman's attempt to vote with the meaning and limits of constitutional rights, presenting a historical act of civil disobedience through verse and images.

A small gift links children and travellers across the Silk Road, with each person adding to its story. The journey offers a child-sized way into the route’s geography and the different communities along it.

This is a stark story about exploitation and a young person trying to find a way out. Its verse form also gives space to Angel’s reflections on words, identity and faith.

A historical novel in verse about Phoebe’s struggle towards freedom, told through several perspectives. Learning to read and write is central to how she begins to understand her circumstances and choices.

This is a sweeping fantasy about Zélie’s attempt to restore magic, pursued by the crown and complicated by her feelings for an enemy. Its imagined kingdom also carries themes of racial oppression and resistance.

A year of diary entries follows Clem through school and shifting relationships. The book explores attraction, rejected advances, family life and the uncertainty of coming out, in an informal voice.

A compact, illustrated non-fiction introduction to guppies, combining facts with visual material and reference aids that can help readers look up unfamiliar terms.

A story-led introduction to North American mammals, pairing animal encounters with lessons about wildlife and its place in the natural world.

This is a tense journey story centred on two cousins seeking a chance to make their own choices. Jaime’s drawing gives him a personal connection to home as the journey changes what it means to him.

The story pairs a friendship with a school-surveillance conflict: Max wants to help Fuzzy fit in, while the school’s digital system keeps penalising her. Robot learning and student assessment are part of the plot.

A lively, fact-rich introduction to women’s soccer, pairing match and player coverage with statistics and visual features. Its focus is on the sport’s history and the stories of its players.

A lively historical-fantasy mystery for readers interested in baseball: Joe and his father pursue an unresolved question about Babe Ruth while confronting the unusual possibilities and responsibilities of time travel.

A cross-generational mystery unfolds through Henni’s investigation and emails with Leo. Alongside puzzles and friendship, the book examines migration, prejudice, belonging and the pressure placed on people whose home is questioned.

This is an imaginative fantasy adventure about books, duty and power, combining library humour with danger and political intrigue. The story offers active quests, unusual allies and a continuing series arc rather than a fully closed world.

A visually lively introduction to evolution, this book connects cells, changing environments, extinction events and human origins across immense stretches of time. Its clear sequence and labels may help readers build a first framework for how life changes.

This is a concise, illustrated Christian biography combining life events with Calvin’s writings, ministry, theology and sixteenth-century setting. It includes personal relationships, bereavement and illness, while presenting Calvin within a distinctly Reformed understanding of church history.

This is an activity-led introduction to Latino history and culture in the United States, moving across regions and communities while pairing historical information with practical creative projects.

This is a light, episodic school fantasy in which magical animals appear from Ms Plum’s cupboard and become catalysts for pupils’ changing behaviour, confidence, friendships and worries.

A suspenseful family mystery follows Footer as she investigates what happened after a devastating fire. Her mother’s bipolar disorder and Footer’s uncertainty about her own perceptions make the investigation emotionally complicated.

A tense science-fiction quest follows three boys from a free community towards the Tripods’ city, amid remnants of an earlier civilisation, snowbound landscapes and a society shaped by conquest.

A useful introduction to video games as an industry rather than simply a pastime, showing the many specialised workers, skills and educational routes involved in making them.

A playful, repetitive family comedy centres on a child whose extraordinary claims are ignored until events prove her right. The animals, feeding, busy relatives, and final revelation create opportunities for prediction and shared laughter.

Expect a character-led fantasy adventure with romantic tension, shifting identities and a heroine negotiating personal freedom against obligations to her country. Its appeal lies in pursuit, hidden histories and gradual character change; the ending continues some series threads rather than resolving every larger question.

This is an explanatory introduction to avalanches, combining physical science with real-world examples and practical safety information. Its photographs, fact boxes and timelines offer several ways into the subject, while the glossary and further-information section support readers meeting unfamiliar terms.

A lively, fast-moving adventure blends slapstick humour with the playful fascination of miniature things. Its central appeal lies in the collision between an ordinary boy’s unusual power and consequences he cannot control, alongside friendship and school tensions.

This offers a plot-led fantasy involving assassination, magic, royal duty, secrets and romance. Its central appeal is the partnership between an ambitious apprentice and a highly dangerous royal agent, while the volume leaves major messages unresolved.

This is a story-led Christian allegory about recognising and overcoming moral faults, using named Giants and a nested tale about Fides rather than presenting these ideas only as direct instruction.

A lively account of how dinosaur bones become a museum display, this book connects prehistoric life with modern work. Its strongest feature is the collective effort: discovery, excavation, movement, preparation, curation and exhibition all receive attention.

A lively introduction to a deaf baseball player whose practical solution to communication barriers became part of the sport. It combines biography, baseball history and bright illustrations celebrating persistence and ingenuity.

This is an energetic introduction to fly biology, using a fly’s first-person advocacy, jokes, diagrams and classroom-style notes to make less appealing natural-history details memorable.

This is a compact, suspenseful story about a girl confronting the consequences of indifference. Its animal narrator makes a difficult conflict approachable, while the events invite careful thought about what one person can and cannot change.

A visually presented introduction to Hispanic and Latino American figures whose work spans culture, public life, science, sport and the arts. It offers short life sketches rather than one continuous narrative.

A lively introduction to Franklin’s changing roles, from printer and experimenter to civic organiser and statesman. It presents a broad historical journey supported by period images and reference material, with perseverance and inventive thinking prominent in the portrait.

A lively introduction to tide-pool life, combining real-life photographs with concise facts about three easily overlooked animals. Its questions and labelled features invite children to look closely rather than simply read passively.

A poetic, emotionally serious story about two traumatised teenagers seeking connection and truth. Its unusual voices and recurring poems offer rich interpretation, while difficult experiences and contested ideas about healing require thoughtful engagement.

A fast-moving fantasy adventure combines an unusual underground world with a serious rescue mission. Its strongest appeal is likely the combination of sibling care, loyal alliances, prophecy and difficult choices during conflict.

A fast-moving survival adventure places Sam and Delphy in immediate danger from wildfire while their developing friendship becomes central to their effort to reach safety.

Choose this for a short introduction to Gabriela Mistral, especially if the child enjoys poetry, languages, imaginative pictures or stories about how childhood interests can develop into creative and educational work.

This is an action-led animal fantasy about packs facing a looming threat. Lucky’s troubling visions, a traitor, divided loyalties and unexpected allies create a tense story about survival and trust.

This is a serious, character-led account of friendship tested by colonial injustice. It offers a personal route into Kenya’s history, showing how fear, racial privilege and silence can damage people across divided communities.

A gritty coming-of-age story about a Mexican American teenager navigating school, neighbourhood pressures and competing futures. Eddie’s relationships and private reading help him reconsider the identity he has built and the choices available to him.

This is a comic school story about an overconfident aspiring writer whose contest ambitions meet opposition, embarrassment and competing relationships. Its diary-and-message structure creates a brisk, multi-perspective-feeling reading experience.

Choose this for a lively introduction to friendship across backgrounds, immigration and language. Expect a parade of character introductions, bright detailed illustrations and memorable sayings more than a sustained adventure.

Expect a brisk fantasy quest built around danger, escape and puzzle-solving. The book spends substantial time in Noradz, where cleanliness is enforced harshly, before moving towards a frightening confrontation in the City of the Rats.