What Are You Looking For?

Peter explores fresh snow through play: he makes snow angels, builds a snowman and slides down slopes. The story also returns to his discovery of new snow the following morning.

A long-held dream draws Lazlo towards a lost city, where the journey brings him into contact with a legendary warrior band and questions about gods, history and the blue-skinned goddess in his dreams.

A speculative story about a teenager who starts questioning a closed society after finding a forbidden book. Its central tension is between the dome’s rules and Sempra’s curiosity about what lies beyond them.

A child-centred fantasy adventure about friendship across very different ways of life, with a final episode that invites readers to decide what really happened.

This is a comic family story centred on a young child’s curiosity about anatomical differences, told through his account of his sister’s wish to have a penis.

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

A mystery-led story mixes school-life questions with romance and action. Gina’s search for answers gives the plot a suspenseful direction, while dance and the desert setting add other strands.

A 21-book adventure collection, with the featured stories involving secret places, a circus-linked mystery and someone watching on an island.

This fairy-tale adventure follows a mysterious moonlit route to a magical garden, with a flying horse adding another fantastical element. The premise may suit readers drawn to imaginative journeys and traditional story patterns.

A curious girl challenges the mystery surrounding a feared king. Magic, a spell, and an unexpected new place in village life give this fanciful tale a playful premise.

A hotel-dwelling mouse gets the chance to ride a toy motorcycle, turning his wish for excitement into an adventure involving a young guest.

A lively animal-centred class-trip story combines comic mishaps with Clifford helping a baby whale. The overview does not explain how the trip’s accidents are put right.

A fantastical mystery-adventure pairs two young recruits on a mission involving disappearing school oddbods, with a hidden museum ministry as their unusual base.

A family story built around a famous aunt, a previously unknown cousin and an old rift between siblings. The children’s curiosity brings them into their parents’ unresolved history.

Consider it for a reader drawn to a ghostly fantasy built around a curious character, a changed appearance and a journey through secret passages.

A child’s curiosity drives a small mystery set in a Renaissance palazzo. The book combines a fictional search with a story said to be based on a true event from 1494; the exact relationship between history and invention is unclear.

A mystery in a Renaissance painting draws Peter into a fantasy adventure. The premise may appeal to readers interested in art and historical settings, alongside an imaginative quest.

A gentle-looking story pairing a child’s curiosity with a friendship with a heron, and inviting reflection on nature and growing up.

This is a school-set fantasy about Mildred trying to improve her year while puzzling over a new teacher. A spell mishap, friction around Ethel’s help and Tabby’s reluctance to fly add complications.

This is a gentle-sounding adventure about wanting to explore beyond a familiar view and accepting help from friends. The story centres on Tiny Narwhal’s growing readiness to venture out.

A gentle, rhyming animal adventure pairs lively encounters with a wind-down towards nap time, offering a simple setting for sharing curiosity about creatures.

This is a social story centred on friendship, dating and a getaway that becomes entangled with other people’s mysteries and relationship changes.

A quiet night-time journey home becomes an occasion for the bunny to imagine the unseen lives behind neighbours’ windows.

A young detective story built around a mysterious coin, an old unsolved murder and a secret someone is determined to protect. Charlie’s investigation brings him into danger.

A family visit to an art-gallery party turns from a dull-looking outing into an adventure. The story’s central appeal appears to be comic mischief and seeing an ordinary event differently.

A time-travel adventure turns on Luis’s pursuit of buried treasure and his decision to take a special book home. The outline hints at trouble, leaving the nature and resolution of the consequences open.

A fantasy adventure centred on Juniper’s rule-breaking, risk-taking and friendship with Oak.

This combines historical adventure, time travel and family mystery. Its emotional centre is two siblings trying to make sense of divorce, relocation and separation while pursuing clues across centuries.

Choose this for a child drawn to imaginative adventure, airborne fantasy and unusual inventions. The central appeal appears to be entering an extraordinary kingdom rather than following a realistic everyday story.

This is a suspenseful dark-fantasy adventure built around discovery, hidden spaces and alternate worlds. Its strongest appeal is likely the imaginative mystery of the cupboards, while the hundredth cupboard introduces a more direct threat from dangerous outsiders.

A theatre fantasy turns familiar roles upside down: the ogre is frightened and unhappy, while the beautiful princess is cruel. Margot’s curiosity leads her backstage, where she helps challenge the spell holding children captive.

Choose this for an adventurous reader who enjoys strange worlds, giant creatures, trains and literary experimentation. Its imaginative premise is paired with pursuit, danger and a story that plays knowingly with Moby-Dick-like quest patterns.

This is a French-language children’s title recognised in a young readers’ selection.

This is a school-based mystery about a girl who is unsure of her future, notices suspicious behaviour, and decides to investigate. It combines career imagination, friendship and possible jewel theft.

This is a mother-search story shaped by longing, reunion and uncertainty, balanced with playful cat adventures. Its mysteries range from ordinary household questions to explorations beyond home, giving the emotional storyline a curious, companionable setting.

A fast-moving Hardy Boys mystery combines exploration, investigation and danger. Frank and Joe follow the mystery of a swallowed statue into tunnels and an abandoned underground city, where a criminal group threatens Bayport.

This is a youth mystery combining hockey, family secrets and school relationships. Bromm’s investigation gives the story a problem-solving focus, while his uncertainty about his parents and his aunt’s work adds personal stakes.

A thoughtful story about how children’s curiosity can become humane attention. Its emotional centre is Carl’s dance, which makes hidden wartime suffering visible while preserving his dignity and complexity.

A gently suspenseful picture book about a child meeting his fear in a practical way. Its strongest feature is the visual contrast between muted light and deep darkness, alongside a dry, personified voice.

This is a grief-centred coming-of-age story that uses sharp humour alongside painful family loss. It offers a gay teenager’s perspective on guilt, friendship, emotional connection, filmmaking and beginning to imagine life after bereavement.

A warm, episodic family story in which each child encounters a different mishap or opportunity. It combines humour and adventure with working life, financial constraint and the affection holding a large family together.

This offers a fast-moving blend of friendship, fantasy, science-fiction ideas and mystery: children investigate dangerous artefacts while a school science project, a missing ring and a legendary creature complicate their search.

This is a compact historical adventure centred on curiosity, travel and discovery. Michele’s encounters with visitors seeking beauty, adventure and something elusive create an inviting story about how an unusual arrival can open new possibilities.

A supernatural mystery built around the Bloody Mary legend, it offers an unfolding investigation, repeated twists and a frightening atmosphere, with some interpretation left to the reader.

A warm animal story about a stray donkey finding care, friendship and a place to belong. Flash’s curiosity, inventions and collecting lead to mishaps as well as helpful discoveries, while the other animals model kindness and practical support.