7 of the best children’s reads for summer 2012
The best-friend storySink or Swim by Holly Robbins (£4.99, Stripes Publishing) Ellie and Jas have been best friends forever, but starting secondary school is a big step: will their friendship survive? In Sink or Swim Jas can’t wait to move schools, but Ellie has a whole heap of worries, especially about the other girls they’ll meet when they get there. What if Jas finds some cool new friends to hang out with? | |
The supernatural epicBattle of the Beasts: Ferno vs Epos by Adam Balde (£5.99, Orchard Books) A brand new book in the seven-million-copy-selling Beast Quest series, perfect to get boys hooked on books. | |
The historical novelMy Story: Lady Jane Grey by Sue Reid (£6.99, Scholastic) The tragic story of Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for nine days in July 1553, is retold in diary format as part of the best-selling My Story series. Jane grew up watching her cousins in training as heirs to the throne, little imagining that by a twist of fate she would one day be crowned. But this is Tudor England where nobody plays fair, and even a queen isn’t safe from those who wish her harm… | |
The new classicFour Children and It by Jacqueline Wilson (£12.99, Puffin) One hundred and ten years after the publication of the much-loved children’s classic Five Children and It, Jacqueline Wilson pays tribute to the novel and her ‘all-time favourite classic children’s author’ with a modern reimagining of the story. A guaranteed best-seller, Four Children and It is the story of four children who discover a way to make wishes come true… | |
The detective page-turnerKidnap in the Caribbean by Lauren St John (£6.99, Orion Children’s Books) From Cornwall to the Caribbean, 11-year-old ace detective Laura Marlin comes face to face with pirates, sharks, criminal masterminds and an erupting volcano. The first book in the Laura Marlin Mystery series, Dead Man’s Cove, was selected as the winner of the 2011 Blue Peter Book of the Year Award. | |
The action-packed adventureWillard Price: Leopard Adventure by Anthony McGowan (£5.99, Puffin) Deep in the Siberian forest, a mother Amur leopard, one of the rarest big cats in the world, senses danger – something faster than any human and deadlier than any tiger… Meanwhile on another continent, 12 year old Amazon Hunt is recruited from England by TRACKS – the Trans-Regional Animal Conservation and Knowledge Society – in America, ready to take off at a moment's notice to rescue wild animals under threat, no matter how great the danger. Now Amazon and her 13-year-old cousin Frazer must brave the Russian wilderness to save the Amur leopard, before a blazing forest fire wipes out the species – for good. | |
The puzzle-packed thrillerSecret Breakers: The Power of Three by H.L. Dennis (£5.99, Hodder Children’s Books) Brodie, Hunter and Tusia – three chosen to solve the greatest unbroken code in the world. But why will some people kill to stop them? What secret does the code hide? Codes, ciphers and puzzles are woven through the storyline of this new series so that the reader is working alongside the characters to crack these real codes themselves. Inspired by real events at Bletchley Park, the centre for codebreaking in World War II, this exciting book is perfect reading-under-the-covers material. Torches at the ready! | |
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