What Are You Looking For?

This is a story about siblings who have been moved between foster homes and an older couple who invite them into their lives. It centres on belonging, trust and the possibility of a loving home.

A princess faces a conflict between her father’s boundary-setting order and the choice to help an injured stranger. The story presents this as a retelling of the Good Samaritan parable.

A missing puppy and a magical recipe drive the adventure, with baking and familiar village locations alongside the fantasy. The search is presented as a shared effort by Ellie and Basil.

Jinny’s new role as the island’s oldest child brings care for Ess and questions about the rules. The story combines a strange, self-sustaining community with a coming-of-age dilemma about responsibility, change and leaving home.

This is a relationship-led coming-of-age story: Jan’s connection with Al helps him consider a different direction, while his bond with Jodi, books and writing also enters that change.

A lively myth-inspired quest begins when Monkey and his companions set out to retrieve scriptures said to help people become peaceful and kind.

Michelle’s flight from home leaves her isolated in New York. Devon first appears to offer kindness and shelter, but the story turns towards her exploitation and a struggle to survive.

A good deed brings Rupert a golden goose, but a feather-stealing attempt sets off a growing chain of people stuck to the bird. The tale pairs this comic predicament with Plasticine illustrations.

This is a grief-centred story about a teenager facing her mother's death, state care and successive foster homes. It also follows her relationships with friends and the possibility of finding family in unexpected places.

Expect a fantasy adventure centred on a riding competition, a lost magical helmet and help from two friends. Horses, fairies and goblins are part of its story world.

A real-life adventure about a runner and a stray dog whose companionship develops during an ultramarathon, followed by Leonard’s effort to bring Gobi home.

This fantasy instalment follows several connected conflicts: Zoey’s opposition to Neferet, Rephaim’s struggle to remain free of his father’s influence, and the arrival of Aurox, created as a weapon.

A collection of true childhood stories, written by children and adults recalling their own childhoods. They touch on friendship, choices and qualities including honesty, kindness, forgiveness and perseverance, with cartoon strips featuring the Souper Kids.

A practical introduction to maths in marine-animal care, combining three work-based stories with problems for readers to solve and a toolbox of examples and exercises.

A beaver’s careless choices damage the forest and affect its animal inhabitants. After a falling tree prompts him to reflect, he tries to put things right and becomes gentler.

This is a story of upheaval and endurance, with Sara’s inventive inner life and kindness at its centre. Her changed circumstances bring loneliness, hunger and cold, alongside friendships and the possibility of renewed happiness.

A twisty teen murder mystery, driven by Emma’s investigation and Sutton’s emerging memories. Expect secrets, suspicion and tense relationships alongside the central question of who killed Sutton.

A Hanukkah picture-book story about a family settling into a new apartment, neighbours’ practical and humorous help, and an idea for thanking them through a ninth-night celebration.

Hina and her mother welcome a stray kitten into their home. Hina learns about caring for it, then faces the kitten’s disappearance and the worry of losing something she loves.

The trip’s plans are thrown off when Maddie’s mother arrives. Alongside the New York outing and clothing quest, the story centres on strained friendships and Maddie’s behaviour towards her companions.

Lily, her mum and their dog Poppy care for three abandoned kittens overnight. Poppy’s own early experience of being hand-reared connects her gently to the kittens’ care.

This is a festive fantasy adventure centred on missing Snowball, a baby Bigfoot. The children balance school and sanctuary responsibilities as they try to help, with mythical animals and winter weather part of the setting.

This is a wartime survival story about a young person taking responsibility for someone in danger, set against the upheaval of occupation. It combines perilous escape with human kindness and morally complicated choices.

A friendship-and-rescue story set amid occupation, food shortages and Nazi soldiers in Copenhagen. Annemarie’s family shelters Ellen, then Annemarie faces a dangerous task connected with keeping her friend safe.

A tiny animal’s arrival brings a care puzzle: Joshua nibbles the letter before Mr Benjamin can finish reading its instructions. The opening centres on practical care and the zoo’s response to its new arrival.

This is an illustrated animal adventure about aspiring to be a hero, searching for magic, and getting a chance to help a friend. Its final question leaves Monty’s wish unresolved.

Faith’s story centres on loss, difficult care at home, leaving, and seeking help through prayer. Her Christian faith is central to the way the story presents her hardship.

Expect a comic, surreal quest rather than a straightforward illness story: Cameron and his companions encounter fantastical figures and ideas while searching for a cure.

A retelling-inspired adventure gives readers choices that affect Goldilocks’ fate. Blank spaces let children add illustrations, and the story’s choices are linked with respect and empathy.

A dove, owl and whale set out to help a forest replaced by desert. Animals bring seeds from different parts of the world, and a boy brings water; together they produce a seedling.

A light fantasy adventure about two girls helping a fairy recover a stolen charm and put baking back to rights.

This is a fantasy adventure in which a missing magic wand disrupts the weather on Rainspell Island. Rachel and Kirsty try to outsmart Jack Frost and keep the Earth clean and green.

Three teenage girls from different generations navigate difficult family lives and choices about their futures. Their stories eventually converge, and each finds strength and hope.

This is a horse-centred adventure about dreams, learning to ride and show, and trying to save a horse from a cruel trainer.

Fishkill uses violence to intimidate other pupils and obtain food. A friendship with Duck-Duck and help from her mother create a possible alternative, while Fishkill’s mother’s return complicates that fragile arrangement.

A gentle animal-friend story follows Bear and Bunny as they wonder what makes a good pet. Their talk introduces the idea of caring for and feeding an animal, while their candidate pets lead to light, playful possibilities.

Millie tries to gather food for Bear, who is hungry before his winter sleep. Her small size makes the task difficult, and the story follows her persistence in trying to help.

A horse-centred story about a foster teenager offered another home and a chance to build trust, alongside Christian themes and practical horse-related back matter.

Expect a tense escape-and-journey story shaped by David’s guarded outlook. New sights and ordinary comforts become striking discoveries, while the threat of being caught shadows his encounters with people who may help him.

A reflective, illustrated story told in short conversations rather than continuous prose. Its appeal lies in pausing over the friends’ thoughts and the drawings, and returning to individual pages as well as reading from cover to cover.

The appeal is in a lively, wayward hero whose choices propel a string of comic and perilous adventures. The book also offers a clear thread of advice about behaviour and responsibility.

A bleak but lyrical story about siblings navigating unstable care, homelessness and self-invention. Its poems bring attention to the dreams and difficulties of young people without secure homes.

This fantasy adventure follows Tessa as she helps Lizzie and the shelter animals during a storm, while trying to uncover Lizzie’s wish.

This is an animal adventure in which a curious young monkey faces predators, with her father nearby. It also introduces readers to pygmy marmosets.

This is a Christian story about kindness and love, including loving people who are hard to like. Grampa explains these ideas through Little Cub’s questions and relationships.

A serious family story about finding belonging amid unstable housing, grief and caring responsibilities, with Cora’s tree-climbing and friendships offering threads of connection.

This is an outdoor adventure about a child investigating her grandmother’s disappearance, helping eagles in difficulty and discovering a stronger sense of belonging in the mountain community.