What Are You Looking For?

This is a socially engaged sports novel: football brings two North American teenagers into contact with marginalised local players, while different experiences of race, class and belonging become increasingly difficult to ignore.

This is an emotionally focused story about a fatal skating accident, a heart transplant and two families changed by loss and survival. Its speculative connection between the girls sits alongside realistic tensions about grief, dependence, independence and parental expectations.

This is a fast-moving disaster story centred on children confronting a hurricane’s danger, while also carrying family worries, illness and efforts to reach or help people and animals.

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 warm classroom story about friendship under pressure: Humphrey feels jealous when Og the Frog receives attention, yet continues helping others as misunderstandings and competing needs arise.

This is a compact, suspenseful story about a girl confronting the consequences of indifference. Its animal narrator makes a difficult conflict approachable, while the events invite careful thought about what one person can and cannot change.

A warm, comic story about adjusting to a new baby in the household, seen through a pet’s feelings of confusion and displacement. Its appeal lies in giving family change an animal-centred, humorous perspective.

A lively introduction to people presented as admirable for different reasons, from persistence and kindness to peace activism. Its short portraits can spark curiosity, though they offer little context for weighing each person’s whole life.

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-and-friendship story about adapting to major change while trying to belong. Cassandra’s ordinary perspective is placed under pressure by relocation, unfamiliar social routines and the possibility of finding a personal strength.

This is a character-led story about a teenager’s self-image and changing relationships, set alongside Cassie’s disability and her family’s circumstances. Its several viewpoints invite readers to consider how people’s inner lives may differ from what others can see.

This is a wartime story about a child trying to understand occupation, separation and moral choice. Its strongest thread is Marit’s changing view of courage, loyalty and compassion amid danger.

A warm football adventure uses Pickles’s humorous viewpoint to explore a family trying to stay together while money problems and housing insecurity affect everyday life.

A lively, premise-led adventure about a young K-pop fan and her headteacher experiencing each other’s lives. Expect humour from their contrasting ages and personalities, alongside questions about friendship, family relationships, authority and seeing life from another person’s position.

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.

This is a playful environmental story in which Emily takes her imagined whale seriously, while Greenpeace offers factual explanations about migration, space and animals’ freedom.

A reflective picture book about leaving home and adjusting to an unfamiliar journey. Its mother’s reassuring voice offers steadiness, while the illustrations and repeated questions leave room to notice uncertainty, loss, hope and the child’s perspective.

A celebrity-centred sequel about ambition and loyalty, offering backstage drama, fashion-business aspirations and relationship tension while questioning the costs of perfection and public success.

A thoughtful friendship story with a suspenseful edge, this novel explores how exclusion, secrets and personal circumstances can affect relationships. Its three narrators encourage empathy, though bullying and isolation may merit preparation or discussion.

This offers a tense journey story alongside a close account of sibling care. Clem’s storytelling, memories and uncertain perspective add emotional depth, while the political setting invites reflection on belonging, surveillance, displacement and how families preserve hope under pressure.

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.

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

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 vivid, music-centred coming-of-age story for readers interested in identity, friendship and emotional overload. Its energetic visual form may feel immersive, but the rapid, interrupted presentation can require sustained attention.

This is an emotionally serious, discussion-rich story about a child facing a serious heart problem and a radical, risky proposed treatment. Its strongest offering is access to Cameron’s viewpoint while he weighs personal, family and social pressures.

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.

This is an intense retelling that gives a traditionally vilified woman an inner voice without excusing her actions. Its folklore, dark magic and shifting emotional perspective make the story morally complicated rather than comforting.

Expect a brisk moral fantasy rather than a cosy animal adventure. The story turns outrage about hunting into comic, threatening reversal, asking readers to feel the consequences from the animals’ perspective.

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 familiar flood story is reframed through Mrs Noah’s quiet choices. It offers a warm, gently humorous read-aloud with striking artwork, while inviting attention to who gets to make decisions and whose actions are noticed.

A gentle retelling places Naamah at the centre of the ark’s night watch. Her singing settles restless animals and troubled sleepers, while repeated poetic patterns and changing views of the storm, ark and night sky shape the reading experience.

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 story about loving and wanting to protect an animal while respecting another family’s responsibility. It may invite thoughtful discussion about grief, boundaries and what practical help really means.