The incorrigible children of Ashton Place
Maryrose Wood
Book summary
A humorous mystery-adventure combines the runaway ostrich search with questions about the children’s family and Penelope’s origins.
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Maryrose Wood
A humorous mystery-adventure combines the runaway ostrich search with questions about the children’s family and Penelope’s origins.
Aaron Rosenberg, Dion Leonard
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.
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A curated collection of children’s books about setbacks, recovery, perseverance, courage and growth. Compare how each book handles difficulty before choosing what fits your child, timing and family values.
1 bookAlastair Humphreys
This is an ocean adventure about attempting something others doubt, preparing carefully, coping with difficult conditions and discovering capability. It also brings ocean wildlife and pollution into the story through Lucy’s classmates.
Buzz Aldrin
A first-person life story follows Aldrin from childhood towards astronaut training and the Apollo 11 Moon landing, connecting personal ambition with the achievement of a team.
Scott Westerfeld
This is a high-stakes story about sisters, secrecy and political power, centred on Frey’s struggle to protect Rafi while confronting a life shaped by someone else’s identity.
Kaye Umansky
A comic, mock-Victorian quest follows Solomon as he searches for the spoon left with him as a baby and for his birth parents, with two unusual companions.
Eleanor Coerr
This is a story about a child's determination and hope in the face of serious illness, shaped by the Japanese paper-crane legend and the history of Hiroshima.
Zoë Marriott
A determined girl searches for her missing father in a forest associated with a deadly beast, in a magical Beauty and the Beast retelling.
Mal Peet, Meg Rosoff
This is a coming-of-age journey shaped by separation, escape and travel, with Beck trying to make his own way and understand his childhood.
Brian Keaney
This concluding instalment combines speculative fantasy with a struggle against authoritarian control. Its central pair remain committed to resisting Sigmundus, while strange realms and fanciful creatures shape their journey.
Debbie Viguié
This fairy-tale romance centres on Violet’s effort to become Prince Richard’s bride, despite a contest designed to settle his marriage as an affair of state rather than passion.
E. B. White
An animal story centres on communication, persistence and Louis’s wish to win Serena’s affection. Friendship with Sam and Louis’s efforts to make amends also shape the plot.
Robert Liparulo
A family mystery combining time-period portals, a missing mother, a threatening stranger and a house full of secrets. The story appears to build suspense through pursuit, uncertainty and questions about who is watching the family.
Jane Claypool Miner
This could suit a reader interested in historical romance and stories of escape, while also inviting careful thought about how slavery and racial identity are represented in popular historical fiction.
Kari Jones
This is a compact, straightforward adventure about caring for wildlife when family work and personal convictions pull in different directions. Mystery and pursuit keep the story moving, while Maya’s choices centre responsibility, trust and competing needs.
Ron Roy
A clue-led wildlife mystery about three children trying to discover who stole three white wolf cubs. It offers suspense, travel and a determined group of friends, with danger connected to a cliff and a rescuing effort.
Laurie McKay
This is a portal-fantasy adventure about a prince whose expected dragon-slaying destiny is unsettled after he reaches a seemingly ordinary American city. Hidden magic, disguised dragons and villainous teachers create a playful mystery around identity and purpose.
Tim Green
This is a school-and-sport story about a deaf boy seeking belonging and recognition. Its central interest is how Landon responds to exclusion and whether friendship and determination change his place within the team.
Rachel Roberts
This is a fantasy quest about trying to rescue a bonded magical animal after he is drawn into another world. Expect danger, magical encounters and mystery, with friendship and loyalty at the centre.
Celia Rees
Expect a lively, melodramatic adventure driven by disguise, pursuit and political danger. Sovay’s search expands from personal betrayal into treason, espionage and revolutionary conflict, with romance threaded through the action.
Robert Lawrence Stine
This is a supernatural mystery about investigating rumours, with suspense arising from a mountain setting, an eccentric family’s mansion and the possibility that the reported half-human Beast is real.
Sally Gardner
This is a short magical football story centred on loneliness, family support and social change. Its central tension comes from Timmy being treated differently before and after demonstrating an unusual ability.
Robert Westall
This is a suspenseful animal mystery centred on Sammy’s determination to respond to the threat to his family’s sheep. Its strongest appeal is likely the steadily escalating question of what is killing or taking the animals.
Matt Ralphs
This is a fantasy adventure about a determined girl trying to undo the consequences of her mother's sacrifice. Its main engines are infiltration, uncertain loyalties and the risk of pursuing someone who may be dangerous.
R. C. Lewis
This is a fast-moving science-fiction adventure centred on a determined heroine trying to save her family across several worlds. Expect suspense, danger, sacrifice, sibling loyalty and a sweet but possibly rushed romance.
Mary Fan
This is a high-action fantasy that combines a village threatened by shadow spirits with political marriage, demons, magical technology and a quest. Its strongest appeal is likely its spectacle and dramatic movement rather than sustained inner development.
G. A. Henty
This is a historical adventure following Ronald through arrests, escapes, travel, military service and political upheaval connected with Prince Charlie, Fontenoy and Culloden. Its emphasis is on movement, danger and varied incident.
Raquel M. Barthe
A caring grandmother confronts a strong storm while trying to protect animals and her grandchildren. The story’s appeal appears to lie in determined action, family care and a challenge presented through weather.
Olivia Snowe
A fast-moving modern Cinderella story centres on a girl using her singing talent to seek a different life. Expect familiar fairy-tale patterns, family conflict and a performance-driven route towards independence.
Stephanie Garber
Caraval offers an immersive fantasy built around uncertainty: Scarlett must find her missing sister while trying to decide what within the game is real. Sisterly protection, escape from control and choosing one’s own path are central strands.
Cassandra Clare
This sequel combines supernatural adventure, nineteenth-century London, a love triangle and moral choices about loyalty. It offers determined female characters and selfless friendships, alongside mature romance, substance dependence and violent confrontations.
Jennifer Donnelly
This is a richly layered historical coming-of-age novel about a book-loving girl negotiating family duty, education, friendship and romance while a murder’s consequences reach into her community.
Alastair Humphreys
This is an ocean adventure about attempting something others doubt, preparing carefully, coping with difficult conditions and discovering capability. It also brings ocean wildlife and pollution into the story through Lucy’s classmates.
Eoin Colfer
A warm, humorous adventure about a determined young inventor, with imaginative technology, a strong female lead and a clear focus on why sleep matters.
Michael Morpurgo
A short, atmospheric seaside adventure that turns into a ghost story. Its strongest features are Cherry’s determined project, the mounting storm, the twist, and an emotional exploration of death and grief.
Aisling Fowler
This is a fast-moving fantasy adventure centred on a fierce, guarded heroine. Expect a dangerous rescue journey, strange creatures, corrupted magic and evolving friendships, alongside a serious exploration of loss, guilt and anger.
Richard Pickard
This is a warm, mystery-led story about wanting to belong while pursuing an unusual ambition. Its seaside setting, humour, family secrets and theme of self-acceptance may particularly suit readers drawn to determined protagonists and magical possibilities.
Nadine Robert
A gentle adventure about curiosity becoming a shared project. Arthur and his father respond to rumours about the forest by building towards a view beyond it, while bread, neighbours, a storm and a dog add warmth, suspense and opportunities to notice how the community responds.
Oliver Jeffers
This is a playful story about turning an impossible wish into a sequence of experiments. Its appeal lies in the boy’s imaginative plans and the surprising distinction between a star in the sky and something star-shaped.
A.M. Howell
This is a historical mystery about a child navigating wartime separation, an unwelcoming household and unanswered questions. Gardens, hothouses and a Suffolk estate provide a vivid setting for secrets, suspicion and friendship.
C. B. Lee
This is a character-led fantasy romance about two girls navigating attraction, family expectations and a threat to connected worlds. It offers cosy magical adventure, contrasting realities and a focus on personal growth over action.
Sophie Anderson
A folklore-rich quest about a girl protecting her home and family. Its imaginative setting, magical companions and nature imagery sit alongside questions about self-belief, inherited responsibility and whether the past can be repaired.
Kathryn Purdie
A good fit for readers drawn to eerie fairy-tale retellings, magical quests, mysteries and determined protagonists. Its central journey carries genuine danger, while its romantic thread and unresolved ending may shape the reading experience.
Jessica Jung
A celebrity-centred sequel about ambition and loyalty, offering backstage drama, fashion-business aspirations and relationship tension while questioning the costs of perfection and public success.
Justin Somper
A two-strand adventure contrasts Connor’s life among pirates with Grace’s confinement aboard a vampire ship. The supernatural setting creates mystery, while the twins’ determination to reunite gives the story its emotional centre.
Anna Sortino
A romance about two teenagers navigating disability, belonging and pressure: Ellie confronts ableism after leaving her Deaf school, while Jackson faces frightening bodily changes and demanding expectations. Their connection is presented alongside anger, uncertainty, compassion and questions of self-determination.
Alison Gervais
A character-led YA novel about Deaf identity, changing schools and deciding how far to trust new people. It offers a perspective on agency, communication and inclusion, alongside friendship and romance.
Alan Carrigan
A socially engaged coming-of-age story about disability, access and self-determination, with Sam’s campaign creating opportunities for friendship while exposing barriers in school and daily life.
Alexia Casale
A coming-of-age story about a dancer forced to rethink her future after a medical crisis, with singing, friendship, performance, school life and romance shaping what comes next.
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