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This wordless fantasy follows a girl who uses a red marker to enter an imagined world, travel through it and respond to danger. Its picture-led storytelling makes interpretation part of the experience.

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.

At its heart, this is a playful story about a child making a robot companion from ordinary things. Its illustrations are described as bright and comic, with imaginative details to notice together.

A warm, lightly playful set of stories about a young bear and his mother, mixing everyday family moments with a fanciful journey.

The story gives a child’s imaginative suspicions centre stage, turning an invitation to play into an elaborate monster adventure.

A playful family-and-space adventure builds around Dad’s alien book, then turns the imagined story back towards the family. It combines encounters with aliens with a romantic turn.

A school outsider finds herself caught between the supernatural world she has written about and new relationships at school. The story combines vampire and witch elements with questions of belonging and trust.

Expect comic, imaginative poetry rather than one continuous story: the collection moves among unusual characters, situations and drawings.

This is a friendship story set against coercion and injury, with a fantasy of flying and wartime flying stories in the mix.

Gabby daydreams, and her teacher introduces a daily daydreaming-writing session.

This is a mysterious family story about a child coping with loneliness and uncertainty, with eerie sights and secrets creating an atmosphere of suspense.

Expect a lively, absurd animal adventure built around friendship, danger and rescue. Its distinctive appeal lies in comic names, playful language, a fantastical setting and illustrations intended to invite shared noticing.

A vivid fantasy about discovering belonging, forming friendships and investigating a magical mystery. Its imaginative school setting and chapter-ending tension may draw readers onwards, but Harry’s neglect, bereavement and frightening final confrontation give the adventure a darker emotional edge.

Expect exuberant pretend play rather than a realistic animal story: the elephant’s presence turns ordinary routines into comic problems, while friendship and physical affection provide the book’s reassuring centre.

A comic fantasy mystery built around unusual weather, an imprisoned uncle and a determined group of friends.

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.

A good choice to explore alongside a reader who enjoys imaginative fantasy with an emotionally unsettled protagonist. Its strongest interest appears to lie in how magical danger intersects with loneliness, family belonging and friendship.

This is a playful birthday-party story built around friendship, celebration and visual comedy. The illustrations and speech bubbles carry important humour, so sharing it aloud may invite different voices and close looking.

This is a story about making something creative while trying to remain loyal to people who matter. It may particularly suit a child interested in writing, imagination or the challenge of improving work over time.

This is a grim historical adventure about unjust punishment, endurance and friendship. Its atmosphere is bleak, but Tom and Midgely’s imagination gives the story a counterweight of resourcefulness and hope.

A richly imaginative fantasy that combines adventure with reflection on identity, wishes and responsibility. Its layered realities and symbolic design may appeal to readers who enjoy wonder that asks them to pause and think.

Expect an imaginative story about Mi, who is lonely, and Yu, using music, friendship and unusual ideas to challenge a dull-looking city. The packed pictures invite repeated browsing alongside the main narrative.

A playful ensemble drama turns five animal tales into acted stories, then shifts towards a more personal final episode. Its distinctive appeal is imaginative performance alongside friendship and self-understanding.

A playful fantasy adventure turns ordinary holes into a doorway to familiar story characters. Andrea’s journey combines imaginative problem-solving with a heartfelt wish connected to her mother’s lost smile.

This is a playful but direct story about a child and grandmother confronting Granddad’s death. Imaginative actions and colourful illustrations sit alongside crying, a coffin and a farewell letter.

A lively comic-book adventure about imagination, identity and heroic responsibility, with Josh trying to save a fictional sidekick while his own life seems to follow the same story. Its playful design is part of the experience.

Four Brontë siblings create and enter imagined worlds shaped by their writing. The fantasy reframes their isolation, bereavements and approaching adulthood, while asking what creativity costs when escape begins to compete with ordinary life.

This is a brief, metaphorical story about a sad bird who has stopped flying. A surprising horse offers companionship and a question, while the illustrations and open ending invite readers to imagine what happens next.

This is a playful, surreal story about briefly losing track of a father and encountering many comic alternatives. Its lively premise is balanced by reassurance that the boy can remember his own father.

This is a child-centred story about moving from hospital into a spirit world, where imaginative freedom, friendship and questions about life after death shape Jamie’s experience.

A warm, imaginative introduction to an Ojibwe powwow, seen through Windy Girl’s family experience and her dream of dancing dogs. The English–Ojibwe format adds a language dimension alongside lively illustrations and community-centred storytelling.

A fast-moving portal fantasy about twins, family upheaval and an urgent search to protect two connected worlds. Its imaginative creatures and action may appeal to fantasy readers, though the crowded narrative offers limited clarification of characters and events.

Expect a gentle adventure centred on Brownie Scouts, outdoor play, and the imaginative possibility of a tree house.

This is a story about enjoying an unexpected passion and resisting pressure to conform. Arthur’s dancing becomes a way for the group to reconsider its assumptions, with acceptance, apology and friendship central to the resolution.

Expect a playful fantasy built around journeys, magical settings and friendship. The two linked adventures offer imaginative escapism, with Mollie and Peter repeatedly encountering strange places and helping their pixie companion.

This is a character-led story about self-image, belonging and change, balancing daydreams with a developing real-world adventure. Zoe’s family relationships, friendship and connection to the nursery provide the main emotional setting.

This is a thoughtful coming-of-age novel about an unusually intense friendship. Imagination and shared play offer escape, while family conflict and changing expectations bring loneliness, loss and a more complicated view of adulthood.

This is a coming-of-age story built around blame, self-protection and an imaginary correspondent. It may interest readers who enjoy flawed protagonists and unusual premises, though the loosely connected episodes may feel less like a conventional plot.

A reflective, image-led book for readers who enjoy dipping into stories rather than following a tightly plotted journey. Its strongest appeal is atmosphere: dreams, animals, wildness, hope and space for private interpretation.

This is a spooky, funny family adventure centred on a child’s fear of a pirate ghost and an older brother’s teasing. Its appeal lies in the uncertainty between an alarming story and a practical joke.

A lively read-aloud built around personified eyebrows, comic transformations and visual surprises. Its central movement is from rejecting a distinctive feature to recognising its value, while the eyebrows’ strange careers create opportunities for playful participation.

This is an imaginative rescue adventure about two brothers whose shared dreams become dangerous. It follows Malky’s efforts to understand what has happened to Seb and to act despite fear, while family change and friendship shape his choices.

Expect a brisk, comic fantasy in which an ancient Egyptian pharaoh becomes an unexpected household guest. Its appeal lies in absurd situations, family reactions and a light adventure involving grave robbers.

Read this as a warm, symbolic conversation between an adult and child about making a life together. Concrete building, imaginative journeys and emotional “tools” sit alongside ideas of protection, hope and forgiveness.

A gentle family story centred on Rosie’s imaginative wrapping game, moving through familiar objects, caring relatives, bedtime upset, and the arrival of a new baby sister.

A dark, atmospheric fantasy for readers who enjoy folklore, mystery and psychological unease. Alice’s search for her mother carries questions about trust, belonging and who has the right to shape a story.