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This is a hands-on introduction to family-history research: readers fill in details about relatives, organise findings into charts and records, and explore family stories and customs.

The story centres on three characters whose lives connect through a factory town shaped by scarcity and hardship. It brings together friendship, family ambition and resistance to the town’s rules.

A family-and-basketball story: Billy is caught between his father’s expectations on court and the upheaval at home, while his brother Ben’s piano recital competes with the championship game.

A close-knit scout group’s summer outing becomes a supernatural adventure, with friendship, camp routines, an unexpected encounter with the Cloud People and unicorns.

The central pressure is practical: Pierre takes on a long voyageur journey to earn money for his family after his father is injured. The trip is physically demanding and places him among older, teasing brigade members.

The story follows Solomon’s efforts to find his own path while his family works towards independence. A cattle drive brings adventure and new sights, alongside tensions at home and the question of how Black settlers will be received.

This is a baseball-centred school story about ambition meeting competing responsibilities. Roy wants to impress a future high-school coach, while his academic difficulties, tutoring and strained relations with teammates complicate that goal.

This is an action-adventure fantasy about a rescue, animal-inspired powers and friends learning to manage unusual devices. The stakes extend from Charlie’s father to the world, with complications among the group as well as external foes.

A family’s division of labour is disrupted when the mother, who does the household tasks, is suddenly absent. A note and peculiar changes bring fantasy into this family story.

Anna’s family travels to Canada for seasonal farm work, and Anna imagines what it would be like to have a settled home. The story connects her personal feelings with the wider experience of migrant workers.

A friendly guided tour introduces museum roles and spaces, with Stub meeting characters responsible for protecting and archiving artworks. The combination of artworks, playful characters, fun facts and a glossary gives the story an informational strand.

Ari wants a different future from the family bakery; meeting Hector brings baking and a developing romance into that conflict. The story also foregrounds decisions and the support loved ones may offer.

A light fantasy mystery sends two friends looking for a missing baby goat amid comic animal mix-ups. The adventure centres on helping at a farm and working together to put things right.

Anatole turns his interest in cheese into a way to contribute: his tasting notes help the factory, whose workers would like to reward him. The story centres on family provision, useful work and an unusual mouse’s palate.

The appeal is in a lively, wayward hero whose choices propel a string of comic and perilous adventures. The book also offers a clear thread of advice about behaviour and responsibility.

This is a football story with a family-move dilemma: Oliver has found a place on his new team and begun to make friends, but another move may take both away.

A supernatural time-slip story with two heroines in different centuries, drawing together around an old family home and a mysterious returning brother.

A child’s attempt to turn gardening into a way to earn money becomes a story about balancing a personal goal with friendship and neighbourhood pressures.

This is a school-and-family story about Nora balancing a new aunt role with assignments and a difficult science-fair partnership. Her interest in organising facts gives the story a distinctive focus.

This historical adventure centres on work, friendship and a promise to family, with Kevin's role in helping enslaved people escape adding a serious moral dimension.

A small story about Pete's new pet, his decision to paint it, and finding a way to respond when many people want his work.

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

A set of five separate character pairings gives the collection a friendship-focused, ensemble feel rather than one continuous story.

The story links a school history project with Charlie’s reflections on her family situation, giving the Victorian subject a personal relevance for her.

The mystery centres on the callers’ silence and Claudia’s suspicion. The group’s investigation has “mixed results”, though what those involve is not specified.

A young band’s story is paired with advice about the principles its members say have guided them. This may suit readers interested in music, friendship or pursuing a personal ambition.

Expect playful rhymes mixing imaginary creatures and comic everyday characters, alongside poems of tribute. The collection’s range may appeal to readers who enjoy humour in verse.

This is a family-and-work story built around a wealthy young woman being required to try low-wage jobs to access her inheritance. An intern is also brought into the arrangement.

A three-case detective collection, centred on a group of young investigators. Its hooks are a mysterious fire, a missing cat and secrets surrounding Banshee Towers.

Arwel and the Rugby Zombies still need to play an international match to face their shameful past, but Arwel is less willing to help. Attention from sixth-former Trish and a change in his self-image complicate matters. Martin, Glen and Beth try to make him see the error of his ways, while organising a match involving the maverick monsters and Arwel’s dad.

This is a detective-style mystery centred on Marika’s efforts to understand the unusual attention surrounding her new friend. The appeal is likely to be the puzzle and its successive twists.

This is a supernatural team-conflict story with romantic tension: Jenn must decide how much to trust Antonio while the hunters confront a strengthening enemy.

A faith-centred biography, it presents Father Mateo’s travels and efforts to encourage devotion to the Sacred Heart. The opening also invites young readers to take part in that mission.

A compact life story links Banneker’s practical work and self-directed study with his later scientific, surveying and publishing achievements.

This is a fast-moving fantasy adventure built around a team’s dangerous mission, clues and a pursuit. Its unusual janitor-magic premise may appeal to readers who enjoy school settings with high-stakes fantasy.

This is a school-and-family story about Abbie trying to cope when hoped-for plans go awry. Its setup pairs everyday middle-school difficulties with comic-sounding mishaps.

This is a baseball team story about belonging and contribution: Little Rhino’s role changes when he cannot play, but he still wants to help his friends.

The setup has a comic contrast between Lindy’s dislike of cucumbers and the festival’s cucumber dishes, with an unsupervised goose adding to the mix.

This is a fantasy rescue quest set among Arthurian characters, with friendship, a kidnapped companion and growing magical powers at its centre.

This is a school-and-circus story about fitting in and trying to contribute when you lack an expected skill.

This is a clue-led adventure: the sisters pursue a family mystery, and their determination to unmask their enemies drives the investigation. Expect suspense alongside the puzzle.

This is a large-scale fantasy adventure about dragons’ bid for freedom and the effort to stop them from taking over the world.

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

A maritime survival adventure follows Fable’s effort to leave an island and seek a place with her father, while building a working alliance with West.

This is an animal-led adventure built around a search for missing friends, with courage and wit tested by a difficult mountain journey.