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Choose this for a child who enjoys eerie folktales, unusual friendships and stories that leave some things to imagine. The visual mood is shadowy, but the skull is presented as polite and friendly rather than simply frightening.

This is a warm, socially grounded adventure about two girls whose friendship grows after an initially hostile meeting. A herd of cows, family difficulties and community problems combine humour, feeling and an unexpectedly hopeful direction.

This is a poignant historical family story about isolation, hardship and perseverance. Its emotional centre is Laura’s longing to help, belong and reunite her family, alongside compassion for a vulnerable turtle.

A whimsical quest combines magical characters, tongue-in-cheek humour and determined friendship with a strong longing for home. Its imaginative surface is interrupted by abrupt, casually narrated violence that may surprise readers expecting gentler fantasy.

This is a spooky rescue adventure centred on a frightened boy trying to protect his brother. Expect cemetery and crypt imagery, supernatural games, riddles and sustained suspense, alongside friendship and compassion.

This is a refugee journey told through Sami’s changing circumstances: a familiar life in Damascus gives way to displacement, danger and attempts to rebuild in England. Family bonds, guilt, anxiety, kindness and discrimination shape the experience.

This is an adventure about two young people from opposing populations whose friendship brings hidden injustice into view. Its imaginative giant-built city provides a route into questions about prejudice, power, exploitation and environmental responsibility.

A school mystery gives Alex and David a route into an uneasy friendship. The story looks closely at how fear, peer pressure and self-protection shape choices, while using the Icarus idea to frame risk, hope and possible escape.

A warm, strongly moral story about an orphaned girl, changing homes and the relationships she forms. Its emotional centre is the contrast between Heidi’s mountain life and her unhappiness in Frankfurt.

This is a family-centred coming-of-age story: Katy’s energetic adventures give way to pain, dependence and gradual change. Its strongest appeal lies in a vivid household, an imperfect heroine and a sustained focus on how relationships respond when ordinary life is disrupted.

A tense historical adventure about separated siblings and Jan, a young thief who joins them. Its strongest qualities are resourcefulness, loyalty and compassion, alongside a serious portrayal of children navigating war’s aftermath.

This is a magical rescue adventure featuring talking beavers, a threatening witch, most of the island’s inhabitants imprisoned, spell books and secret passages. It offers imaginative peril alongside friendship, kindness and bravery.

This is a compassionate wartime survival story about outsiders creating a fragile family. Its strongest appeal appears to be the contrast between material deprivation and the emotional richness of kindness, imagination and mutual care.