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The book offers a life-and-business biography, covering Monaghan’s early experiences and later work in pizza delivery. Its timeline and glossary may help readers keep track of people, events and terms.

A fable told through a basket’s role in one family’s life, linking everyday work with changes across generations.

This is an adventure story set against a family bereavement: Chad, Kate and their father try to build a new life while travelling for their company.

Expect a tense wartime adventure centred on a boy whose loyalty is unsettled by family revelations and encounters with Nazi brutality. Its main appeal is the combination of suspense, historical setting and moral awakening rather than light-hearted adventure.

This offers an imaginative mermaid adventure centred on identity, belonging and contact between sea and land. Its unusual narrators, shifting viewpoints and inventive mythology may appeal to readers who enjoy atmospheric fantasy, though the conclusion has been found confusing or unsatisfying.

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.

A warm, historically grounded account of how a rescued bear became connected with Winnie-the-Pooh. Its layered storytelling, photographs and family records offer both an engaging animal story and an introduction to memory, wartime history and literary origins.

A reflective picture-book story about Eva’s connection to Ethiopia after adoption. It contrasts difficult access to water and food with practical comforts in her new home, while holding memory, loss and belonging together.

This is a historical adventure about choosing how to help someone in trouble when friendship, family loyalty and political loyalties pull in different directions. Its plantation setting also opens onto slavery, though enslaved people remain in the background of Felicity’s experience.

This is a school story about the harm caused by judging people by appearance. It offers two viewpoints on being teased and also includes a child’s difficult home life.

Kate Ferris works towards establishing a riding stable, faces disruption before a show, and must decide how to respond when Melissa’s horse is injured. The story is character-led and centres on Kate’s changing attitude.

Its emotional centre is the search for a new meaning of home.

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.

A warm, visually led celebration of how people show love: through friendship, kindness, consideration, comforting gestures, family events and ordinary routines. Six families and recurring named children give young listeners details to notice across different settings.

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.

This is an outdoor adventure about a child investigating her grandmother’s disappearance, helping eagles in difficulty and discovering a stronger sense of belonging in the mountain community.

This is a gentle family story built around an everyday journey. Each relative brings a different pace, route and kind of companionship, while Papa’s shoulder ride becomes the child’s especially cherished school-day experience.

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 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.

This is a child-centred detective adventure in which solving a mystery becomes a way to learn about Gran’s life, memory and the importance of understanding people as individuals.

Expect an ambitious illustrated adventure in which two sibling seeds face separation, danger and uncertainty while learning about Earth’s history and living systems. Its emotional centre is family loyalty, alongside a sustained interest in survival, connection and the natural world.

This is a child-centred school story told from a hamster’s viewpoint. Its appeal lies in observing pupils and families through Humphrey’s perspective, with plans to address problems and a generally gentle tone.

This is a child-centred book about the hidden work of young carers, their fears and hopes, and the kindness that may surround them. It foregrounds empathy, family, friendship and community rather than providing a full plot outline.

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.

This is a contemporary relationship-focused novel about former best friends reconnecting at eighteen. Expect friendship, romance and difficult personal circumstances, with Fin’s family relationships also part of the picture.

Mandy’s recorded account combines humour with sadness as she faces a chaotic family life, school trouble, and worries about whether the adults around her can care for her properly.

A brisk environmental adventure about a reluctant visit becoming a relationship with a grandad, a local stream and its wildlife. Kyle’s growing responsibility gives the story an encouraging focus on courage, care and standing up for a place.

This offers an atmospheric supernatural mystery centred on mortality, family loyalty and a young woman questioning restrictive social expectations. Its emotional appeal lies in Gothic tension, romance and Signa’s developing self-understanding.

This is a heartfelt speculative romance about two teenagers whose connection reaches across time. It pairs contemporary family difficulties and first love with reincarnation, mysterious music and imagined past and future lives.

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.

A family-change story told through Izzy’s worries about her father, school, friendships and shifting family roles. It offers a child-centred route into gender identity, loyalty and uncertainty, with conflict eventually moving towards greater understanding.

A warm set of everyday adventures about brothers whose activities include helping at home, spending time with friends, caring for family, and engaging with their local environment.

Expect comic, twist-led stories rather than one continuous adventure. Children encounter ordinary problems, relationships and small acts that can affect people around them, with serious subjects treated through persistent humour.

This is a character-centred story about a bereaved young person trying to manage ordinary responsibilities while carrying several earlier losses and a turbulent inner life.

A gentle verse story about a child living through separation, relocation and a changed family life, while finding companionship in relatives, new friends and the community around a diner.

This is a reflective true story about a child encountering a forest fire and witnessing people and animals shelter together. It offers historical atmosphere, vivid nature imagery and a striking picture of shared vulnerability during disaster.

This is a psychologically intense fantasy about a rejected child entering an austere family home. Mysterious voices and dolls become part of Maggie’s private world as she moves towards connection, care and belonging.

This is a comic family story about children learning to see beyond their grandmother’s intimidating manner. Its linked episodes mix practical hardship, rule-breaking schemes and generosity, with the relationship developing across successive summers.

This is a family-centred story about Mary Fred’s difficult choices, changing responsibilities and uncertain priorities. It also introduces disruption at home, including an overseas separation, a new baby and a forceful relative taking control.

This is a family-centred historical story about confinement, freedom and feared inherited illness. Its child narrators place responsibility, secrecy and uncertainty inside a household shaped by Sarah’s distress and Patrick Henry’s public reputation.

A wartime story about a child seeking freedom and family after being kept indoors because of her twisted foot. Ada’s new life brings learning, trust and danger, while the possibility of returning to her mother remains unresolved.