What Are You Looking For?

A portal-fantasy adventure about three girls tasked with protecting magical animals, with friendship and the natural world among its stated themes.

This is a story about a child’s bond with a horse and a dispute over who should have the animal. Emma’s grandmother and the animal sanctuary are part of the setting.

Expect fantasy adventure centred on a team effort to confront a dangerous, shadowy threat, with spirit animals bound to the human characters.

Expect invention-led space adventure, with a striking premise involving matter being broken apart, transported and reassembled.

This is a horse-centred adventure about riding, a mysterious trail and an avalanche threatening home.

This book introduces how air pollution can arise, what it may contain, and why acid rain matters, then invites readers to consider everyday ways of using less electricity and oil.

How to Babysit a Leopard is identified as a children’s book by Ted Lewin and Betsy Lewin, with Ted Lewin and Betsy Lewin credited for illustration.

Expect a warm family story with humour and emotional depth. Batty’s efforts to earn money, her singing talent and the changing relationships around her provide several strands beyond the central grief.

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.

This is a calm, information-rich story about preparing a working farm for winter, with seasonal change shown through chores, crops, animals and richly detailed pictures.

A light investigative adventure about an aspiring young journalist, with magazine work, celebrity culture and a clue-driven search at its centre. It may suit readers who enjoy everyday tasks becoming part of a mystery.

A gentle introduction to Laika, space and the historical setting, combining a dog’s personal voice with factual material. Its bilingual presentation and illustrations may invite shared reading, while the real history gives the story emotional weight.

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 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.

A warm story about a child meeting a frighteningly energetic dog on his own terms. Its emotional movement is clear, though the friendship’s final turn is presented very quickly.

An energetic pony adventure combining horse handling, competitions, a film-set setting and mysteries. Friendship is central to Issie’s attempt to manage lively horses, while a troubled actress and possible danger to ponies add complication.

This is an animal-adventure story centred on friendship, admiration and divided loyalties. Its strongest offering appears to be an emotionally charged choice involving a boy, a lion cub and an adult he greatly admires.

Expect a varied story collection rather than one continuous narrative: the listed pieces range from a cruise and travelling children to school life, camping, animals and small everyday incidents.

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.

Expect an atmospheric historical fantasy centred on a vulnerable boy, an alchemist’s dangerous ambitions, and cats drawn into rivalry over magical inheritance. Its plot combines adventure with grim events and unsettling supernatural ideas.

Expect a playful search story built around a zoo that lends animals like library books. The central problem is Pancake’s disappearance and the effort to find him before he causes trouble around town.

A visually imaginative story about fear, self-soothing and growing independence. Toby’s rescue of Henry shifts bravery from something supplied by an object to something he begins to practise himself.

Expect a visually led, imaginative space story rather than a reliable account of Laika’s life.

A search story about two siblings responding to a dog who may be lost.

A lively story about affection, assumptions and comic cat chaos. It offers a warm intergenerational relationship, visual silliness and a clear opportunity to notice that loving intentions do not replace asking what someone wants.

This is an adventurous, emotionally charged animal-led quest. It offers talking animals, friendship and humour alongside a bleak altered world, separated families, imprisonment, disease and threats to survival. The ending appears to open into a continuing story rather than resolving every possibility.

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.

This is an imaginative animal adventure with two contrasting protagonists: a calf escaping slaughter and a rejected boy pursuing him. The journey opens questions about compassion, human treatment of animals and how relationships can change thinking.

Found offers a warm, imaginative seaside adventure centred on a close grandparent–grandchild relationship. The rescue of a seal pup brings excitement and peril, while the artwork shifts from realistic beach details towards strikingly fanciful scenes.

This is a dark, high-stakes adventure about survival after societal collapse, combining disease, dangerous travel, family loss, scientific hope and spiritual guidance. Its central tension joins scientific problem-solving with ancestral beliefs and the natural world.

This is a fast-moving wartime escape story centred on protecting horses and people. Its strongest features are peril, courage and companionship, while the historical setting gives the adventure serious emotional weight.

A coming-of-age story rooted in family life, rural work and affection for animals. Jody’s bond with Flag provides the central personal relationship, while the family’s livelihood connects the story to the land and its demands.

A warm, quietly observant set of linked stories about friendship across generations, loneliness after moving, and animals needing care. Its emotional force comes from vulnerability balanced by companionship and hopeful outcomes.

A mysterious island adventure where friendship, fear and compassion matter. Children encounter local suspicion, a bullying family relationship, a stranded narwhal and the disruptive shadow of war.

A moving wartime narrative seen through a horse’s limited understanding, contrasting battlefield destruction with loyalty, care, and shared humanity. Its emotional force comes from the separation of Joey and Albert and the suffering of horses and people.

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.

This is an imaginative coming-of-age fantasy in which Arthur’s education happens through encounters with animals, Merlin and the world around him. Its strongest offering is a warm, humorous exploration of how experience might shape wisdom and leadership.

A mythic quest about identity and responsibility, with ominous forces, magical objects and a demanding struggle between Light and Dark. Its strongest appeal may be atmosphere and symbolism; its shifting treatment of time can require patience.

Expect a series of self-contained, startling tales rather than one continuous plot. Children encounter odd powers, unusual creatures, bodily changes, animals in danger and emotionally difficult family situations, usually within a comic or bizarre framework.

Expect a lively quest shaped by comic reversals: a gullible scarecrow and clever Jack search for home while facing legal pursuit and a plan to industrialise Spring Valley. Kindness and ingenuity help them resist the threat.

This is a historical family story about rebuilding after hardship. Ellie’s practical courage, connection with nature and willingness to help others sit alongside grief, difficult choices and uncertainty about what people have experienced.

This is a thoughtful story about a child carrying adult responsibilities who finds friendship, creativity and adventure while visiting Italy. An injured otter and the people Jakub meets help broaden his sense of who he is.

A tender animal friendship drives the story, alongside real fear about death and being eaten. Charlotte’s efforts to protect Wilbur invite reflection on loyalty, courage and sacrifice, while the ending’s loss may be deeply affecting.

This is comic fantasy adventure about an underestimated boy whose intelligence, courage and loyalty matter more than physical strength. Its lively illustrations, eccentric names and slapstick tone may make the story especially inviting.

A warm, imaginative school mystery combining animal shapeshifting with friendship, sensory overwhelm and family pressures. Alice’s investigation offers adventure while bringing several pupils’ struggles with belonging into the story.