What Are You Looking For?

This fantasy follows Rage as she tries to protect two worlds from an endless winter linked to a powerful Stormlord and other people’s despair.

A series of separate adventures centres on familiar animal friends and Christopher Robin, with episodes involving a house-building, a new arrival and a game.

A lively bridge between picture books and more independent reading: three comic adventures combine baking, mystery, ghosts and imaginative gadgets. Its illustrations, energetic language, alliteration and recurring characters make the book especially suited to shared reading or a child building confidence.

A family-and-school story about three sisters balancing wedding preparations, a romantic bet and an attempt to support a new pupil dealing with bereavement. It also offers Indian-British family and cultural context, with bhangra music central to one arrangement.

This is an atmospheric supernatural mystery about identity, family neglect and an attempt to change a dangerous future. Its humour sits alongside isolation, approaching evil and difficult family relationships.

A fast-moving science-fiction adventure that places a thoughtful robot between fearful children, human survivors and hostile machines. Its strongest offering is a child-accessible route into questions about personhood, loyalty and moral choices during conflict.

Choose this for a child who enjoys eerie folktales, unusual friendships and stories that leave some things to imagine. The visual mood is shadowy, but the skull is presented as polite and friendly rather than simply frightening.

This is a tender story about finding comfort amid displacement, then recognising another child's loneliness. Its emotional centre is Lubna's difficult decision about a treasured object.

This offers a warm, satisfying fairy tale with magical transformations, unusual characters and artwork rich in small visual details that create an intimate, familiar feel.

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 romance about two teenagers navigating disability, belonging and pressure: Ellie confronts ableism after leaving her Deaf school, while Jackson faces frightening bodily changes and demanding expectations. Their connection is presented alongside anger, uncertainty, compassion and questions of self-determination.

A thoughtful verse novel about a child facing an unwanted move and gradually finding steadiness. Its imaginary-friend narrator gives Ray’s worries a distinct voice while the story broadens towards kindness, refuge and understanding others.

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 suspenseful story about a teenager carrying adult responsibilities while secret activities and threatening communications pull her into another person’s scheme. Expect twists, uncertainty and a morally complicated power dynamic rather than a straightforward adventure.

Expect an eerie, imaginative timeslip story in which Minty investigates a mysterious garden and tries to help two children from different historical periods. Its suspense is closely connected with family distress and compassion.

A tense, emotionally serious survival story follows Ade through a collapsing city while his mother withdraws and neighbours become an unexpected support network. Its strongest offering is a child-centred exploration of vulnerability, responsibility and collective care.

Choose this for a reader who enjoys atmospheric mysteries, eccentric characters, supernatural adventure and comic wordplay. Its central appeal is following clues through an unusual seaside world while Herbie and Violet face escalating danger.

A magical friendship story follows Lewis after he discovers an angel on the roof. The angel’s presence appears to alter relationships around him, while Lewis is drawn towards seeing difference and other people differently.

A thoughtful picture-book treatment of death: a dog and rat respond to a dead rabbit with practical kindness, humour and a creative farewell. The ending leaves room for reflection rather than explaining everything.

This is a child-centred mystery built around rescuing a trained Hearing Dog, finding its owner and investigating why someone connected with an old mansion has disappeared.

A wartime family story about worry, practical help and growing food, with Teresa’s confidence tested by events she cannot control. Gardens connect everyday care with a wider conflict, while the ending appears emotionally serious.

A young protagonist must adjust when an unfamiliar younger guest enters her home, while balancing kindness, choir ambitions and a frightening personal challenge. The guest’s situation and the final outcome remain unexplained.

A playful farmyard mystery built around mistaken appearances: Bitzer’s hunger, a strange howl and a barn shadow make an ordinary night seem threatening. The humour comes from competing explanations and an apparently outrageous plan.

This is a gentle lost-and-found story whose emotional centre is separation from home. Willy’s uncertainty is set alongside his family’s active search, leading to a reassuring reunion, though the journey includes nighttime loneliness and distress.

This is a child-centred story about making sense of an unusual experience while navigating family beliefs, friendship and possible involvement in investigative work. Its central interest is Abby’s uncertainty about what her ability means.

This is a Halloween mystery with a child protagonist, unsettling neighbours and a risky investigation. It appears to combine spooky suspense with family and friendship elements, while leaving the central threat and ending unclear.

A school mystery driven by uncertain friendship: Chanti suspects Bethanie is hiding the truth, then searches for her after she disappears with Cole. Romance and amateur sleuthing compete for Chanti’s attention.