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Jemmy has been made to take the prince’s beatings; when Prince Brat runs away, Jemmy is forced to go with him. Their flight turns into a ransom plot involving two highwaymen, and the boys have to cooperate.

This is a cycling road-trip story about three schoolmates whose public journey brings friendship and national attention. Its plot combines social-media fame with self-acceptance and humour.

Expect a browse-and-name experience rather than a continuous story: themed spreads pair pictures with labels, and Little Mouse appears as a find-and-search detail.

Expect space adventure, espionage and a refugee’s struggle to escape, alongside telepathic communication with animals. The story also considers human–animal kinship and the position of people at the bottom of society.

Lily tries to work out how Arlo, who has food allergies, can join the class Soup Celebration. The story foregrounds the loneliness and frustration that can follow when allergy needs are brushed aside.

Photographs and fun facts introduce examples such as frogs, snakes, alligators and turtles while comparing the two animal classes. The book focuses on differences in skin, breathing, warmth and birth.

This is a survival story centred on five teenagers from different circumstances, brought together by a risky trip at sea. Their changing situation gives the book a strong focus on what they may need from one another.

A fantasy adventure follows Pong, marked as a fugitive after escaping prison, and Nok, who sets out to capture him. Their paths raise questions about inequality and whether law is always just.

Two teenagers from sharply unequal lives become opponents after a murder accusation; their pursuit develops into an action-led story of family survival and government secrets.

The chain-letter mystery sits alongside a family complication: Livvie does not want Peter’s father to date her mother. Her work with Peter on a school project makes keeping the families apart difficult.

A lively historical mystery rooted in theatre life, with a resourceful young heroine and a web of uncertain loyalties. Expect adventure alongside glimpses of Georgian social divisions and political ideas.

Gwen’s wish to leave and Cass’s return bring questions of romance, family ties, friendship, social class and belonging into the story.

A mouse family’s stowaway voyage turns a household adventure into a journey among titled people and mice, with Helena’s role as eldest sister at its centre.

Expect a sampler rather than one continuous story: it brings together excerpts from many classic works, with literary, adventure and travel-related titles represented.

A lively school adventure uses a missing ant and an unusual journey to bring its class into contact with ant life. The book also aims to explain how ants work together.

A lively animal-centred class-trip story combines comic mishaps with Clifford helping a baby whale. The overview does not explain how the trip’s accidents are put right.

This is a coming-of-age story centred on adversity and an unexpected friendship. Aviation enters as a new interest for Jeremy, while the larger question is whether he can find a different path from the one assigned to him.

A broad introduction to bird biology links visible features and behaviours with evolution, classification and habitats, ranging from feathers and flight to senses and migration.

A playful reworking of familiar fairy-tale plots, with modern settings and comic reversals. The contents list ten separate stories by different contributors.

This is a science-fiction adventure about a worker whose risky rule-breaking grows into a rebellion. Its premise pairs an unequal social order with a protagonist unexpectedly pushed towards leadership.

The memoir centres on a boy's changing hopes: reading and writing matter to him, while difficult circumstances lead him to question himself and his values.

A Finnish legendary world supplies the setting for a tale about a magical object of great value and the heroes who seek to possess it.

This offers an adventurous speculative setting, with a climber protagonist pursuing a mystery about how his world can survive. The quest is described as life-or-death.

A speculative adventure built around a stark divide between the privileged upper decks and workers below, with Col caught between expected future role and a rule-breaking decision.

This is a school story about exclusion, friendship and a class responding to sabotage. The plot moves from Amin’s arrival to the pupils’ attempt to address classroom relations.

This is a growing-up story centred on Sophie’s mixed feelings about adolescence: she resists change but also wants to avoid seeming immature to classmates.

This is a humorous school story centred on a boy whose antics disrupt lessons and irritate people around him. The plot promises that his behaviour will catch up with him, while also showing more tender and curious sides of Otis.

This is a school-set fantasy about Mildred trying to improve her year while puzzling over a new teacher. A spell mishap, friction around Ethel’s help and Tabby’s reluctance to fly add complications.

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

A light-hearted school story centres on best friends Raymond and Graham, whose hoped-for fourth-grade triumph is unsettled by Raymond’s part in a class play.

Hili's hoped-for fresh start becomes difficult when the class proves unfriendly. The story centres on shifting friendships and the challenge of speaking up when someone is treated unkindly.

An election between sisters puts competition and loyalty in tension. Their disagreement over class money gives the campaign a practical point of conflict, while their friendship is also at stake.

This comic diary-style story follows a teenager whose strong exam results open a route into higher-level classes. It centres on ambition and class identity rather than simply presenting school as a route to success.

This is a school-outing story, with Judy and her classmates visiting a zoo. The brief plot account does not reveal the sequence of events or whether the trip brings any surprises.

This is a historical romance set against storms and social inequality, with Madelaine’s search for freedom at its heart. The relationship crosses a sharp difference in wealth and status.

This is a story about a girl whose confidence is tested as she navigates friendship, family expectations and romantic hopes.

This is a varied story collection, moving between sport, strange encounters and speculative ideas. It offers several different starting points for discussion rather than following one continuing plot.

A dark school story about vampire status and rivalries, with revenge driving the conflict. Its social hierarchy and the consequences of Lilith and Cally’s encounter may be as important as the supernatural setting.

A classroom adventure uses a magical bus to explore how the cardiovascular system works, blending a fictional outing with science content.

A humorous school story follows Stink as he takes up Pluto’s cause, turning a change in planetary classification into a campaign for the overlooked and small.

A high-status schoolboy’s resentment towards his father’s new ward shifts into a desire to keep her close. A mistake separates them, while secrets and betrayal unsettle his family.

This is a school-set story about competition and friendship, with a debate partnership at its centre. Tanner’s family responsibilities add a counterweight to the prestige and opportunity of Bannerman.

Expect a futuristic thriller centred on two teenagers from sharply different social positions. The book combines pursuit, military conflict, romance and a challenge to official narratives, with a graphic presentation of action.

This is a child-centred account of noticing unequal classroom participation, discussing it with others, and creating a Girl Scout pledge and patch programme to encourage girls to speak up.

This is an adventurous historical novel that places two vulnerable siblings amid harsh nineteenth-century poverty. Its fast-changing journey offers suspense, vivid Manchester settings and questions about family, survival and social change.