What Are You Looking For?

A coastal mystery combines shell collecting, friendship and bereavement with wartime and present-day danger. The story may suit a child who enjoys clues and adventure but benefits from space to discuss Alice’s loss.

This is a richly illustrated mermaid adventure about protecting a home from development. Its diary format, playful language and underwater world may invite shared reading, visual exploration and discussion.

This is a contained, high-pressure murder mystery with horror elements: an isolated theme park, a stalking mascot, successive deaths and a buried history that the protagonists must unravel.

A suspenseful children’s adventure about siblings investigating unsettling circumstances in a guarded Cornish house. Expect secrets, danger, teamwork and a wartime political backdrop, alongside melodrama and an intentionally improbable child-led challenge to adults.

A visually led introduction to the International Space Station, combining engineering, astronaut routines and scientific research. Its distinctive angle is the station as a shared international achievement, rather than space exploration presented only as individual adventure.

This is a relationship-focused school and family story about donor conception, confidence, friendship and adapting to change. It offers two children’s perspectives as they move from resentment towards working together, though the final resolution is unclear.

A gentle environmental story about a small, quiet character whose observations are initially overlooked. Whisper’s eventual advocacy involves friends, creativity and persuasion rather than simply becoming louder.

A visually led story about migration, courage and belonging, with no written narration to settle meaning. Its animals and expressive images invite readers to infer what leaving, travelling and arriving might involve.

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.

A playful, high-energy quest turns familiar ideas upside down. Its central appeal is the combination of gaming-style adventure, colourful illustrations, unusual allies and a clear goal: return to the real world.

A warm, illustration-rich story about rebuilding a neglected hotel through practical work, creative problem-solving and cooperation. Its main tension comes from whether Anna and her team can meet an inspector’s challenge.

This is a lively choice for a child who enjoys mischief, silly bodily humour and action. Its Viking setting, school episodes and group problem-solving provide variety, while the short, episodic structure can support shared reading or growing independence.

This is a practical, pick-and-choose book for doing things outdoors rather than reading from beginning to end. Its breadth supports spontaneous play, creative making, simple experiments and gardening across different seasons.

A suspenseful historical mystery set around Pompeii, combining a children's investigation with vivid historical detail and the looming eruption of Vesuvius. Expect friendship, curiosity and adventure, but also sorrow and frightening material near the conclusion.

A fast-moving survival adventure where four children must depend on one another in an unfamiliar rainforest. Alongside practical dangers, it explores courage, trust, fear, friendship and the difficult choices needed to keep going.

This is a survival adventure about dependent pets forced into an unknown, dangerous world. Its emotional centre is the animals’ struggle to cope, cooperate and change when familiar human protection disappears.

A spooky Cornwall adventure with a mystery at its centre, this book brings together a young conservation-minded protagonist, an unusual dog, family members and a new friend against a curse that poisons and destroys the land.

A dark, twist-led fantasy about revenge, power and mistrust, with romance threaded through peril. Its strongest appeal is likely the combination of imaginative worldbuilding, charged character dynamics and relentless danger.

A lively mystery about belonging somewhere new: Poppy’s unusual circus upbringing meets boarding-school traditions, while friendship and investigation draw her into a dangerous case involving an Egyptian ruby.

This is a lively shared-reading book centred on noticing who lives in a building, what each neighbour enjoys and how separate activities become a collective celebration.

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.

This is a hopeful environmental story in which small actions become more effective through cooperation. Its imaginative ocean encounter gives practical choices—such as reducing plastic and reusing bottles—a narrative setting.

An accessible introduction to plastic’s environmental effects, balancing explanations of pollution with practical actions and examples of children contributing ideas, projects and solutions.

A lively, high-concept eco-adventure: inventive technology, racing and space-bound rubbish drive a race against time, while contrasting communities give the story social and environmental weight.

This is an encouraging, action-focused introduction to caring for oneself, other people and the planet. Its strongest offering is turning large global aims into small, concrete things children can try, discuss or make together.

This is a fast-moving wartime escape story combining orphanhood, sibling loyalty and espionage. Its child characters repeatedly make difficult choices while trying to survive danger, loss and separation.

A lively school-election story about finding allies, challenging unfairness and turning strong feelings into action. Its campaign plot combines humour, friendship and political participation with a developing lesson about listening and working constructively with opponents.

This is a fantasy adventure combining K-pop performance culture, martial-arts action and supernatural danger. Its emotional centre is a friendship group learning to work together while facing fears that affect them and others.

Expect a cosy magical adventure centred on romance, enchanted baking and a spell that goes wrong.

A fast-moving fantasy adventure about mermaids, Vikings, gods and a threatened ocean. Alongside magic and danger, it offers a clear route into conversations about environmental damage, leadership, friendship and how communities respond to conflict.

Expect a brisk, surreal adventure in which Max uses communication skills, friendship and cooperation to help a divided miniature society. The story also gives deafness a central, plot-relevant place.

A warm, lively story about an isolated child finding companionship, then helping her family reconsider a wild animal. Its historical setting and concluding information extend the story into an introduction to prehistory and domestication.

A seasonal vehicle adventure built around helping: Little Red and Katie repair trucks while autumn leaves fall and preparations continue for a harvest festival. The repeated pattern and colourful vehicles give the story a predictable, participatory shape.

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.

This is a breezy, witty murder mystery about two friends trying to become investigators while navigating popularity, school cliques and complicated friendships. Its comic voice contrasts with recurring deaths and deliberately grotesque details.

A visually rich introduction to detective fiction, offering a contained mystery, recurring animal friends and clues for readers to inspect. It combines suspense about a theft and suspected parents with humour, friendship and collaborative problem-solving.

A funny school-and-family story about disrupted routines, fostering and learning to cooperate when two boys must tackle a shared challenge.

A warm wilderness adventure combines a new family arrangement, practical outdoor activity and animal characters with comic community problems. It offers a gentle route into discussing belonging, cooperation and care for the natural world.

A clue-heavy ensemble mystery for readers who enjoy solving puzzles alongside characters. Its appeal lies in twists, red herrings, humour and changing partnerships, while its many characters and social tensions may require patient attention.

A dark, atmospheric story for readers who enjoy ghosts, folklore, natural magic and narratives that connect across time. Three girls face danger and loss while their stories gradually converge around a threatening presence in the woods.

Expect an imaginative café adventure built around peculiar food requests, mythical creatures and the partnership between Rene and Glumfoot. Its rhyming, visually led presentation makes the story’s grotesque culinary comedy a central part of the experience.

A playful animal story centred on making and sharing pancakes. Its appeal lies in comic trouble, recognisable characters and the contrast between refusing help and wanting the finished food.

A lively fairy-tale reimagining where three heroines encounter magic, danger and friendship. Its central movement is from Rumaysa’s enforced confinement towards escape, shared adventure and protagonists who act as their own rescuers.

A lively child-led detective adventure: Emil responds to theft by following the suspected criminal through Berlin and working with other children. Its appeal lies in pursuit, teamwork and the contrast between a small town and a large, exciting city.

A fast-moving rescue adventure about courage, loyalty and learning to trust. Wolves are central companions, while Feo’s journey brings danger, humour and a friendship that develops under pressure.

A lively Thames-set fantasy about three friends whose mudlarking leads to an underwater adventure. Expect imaginative world-building, comic eccentricity and an active quest rather than a quiet, realistic story.