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If you’ve got a little bookworm at home then you will probably always be on the lookout for new books. Walker Books has a great selection, released in June.
Picture books
Our Pebbles by Jarvis (2-7 years)
“Grandad was good, these were our pebbles.”
With sweets stuffed in their pockets, a boy and his grandad take the trip down to the beach: through the wonky woods, across the railway track – stopping for a chat with the spotty dogs! – over the stile, and there … peeking out beyond the dunes, the sea and “their” beach. They pick pebbles, wash them clean in the waves and paint their memories from the day, placing them in a special place – a secret place.
Jarvis captures the kind of golden childhood memory that you carry with you, as comforting as holding a warm, smooth pebble in your hand. And when life changes, and people change, these pebbles stay with you always.
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Feel Your Happy by Emily Coxhead (3-7 years)
A joyful celebration of the senses and how to cope with sensory overload, from the much-loved creator of The Happy News
Every day there are new things to explore. All around us there is lots to see, hear, smell, touch and taste. But sometimes it can feel overwhelming – like everything is TOO MUCH. Everyone feels this way sometimes, but with a little help from Sloth and the people you love, there is always a way to FEEL YOUR HAPPY!
Full of joyful illustrations and practical ideas, this is an accessible and friendly celebration of the senses – and how to manage sensory overload.
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Middle grade
The World’s Worst Alien by Alice Primmer (9-12 years)
Hilarious observational humour and witty social commentary combine in this debut comedy of an alien reluctantly coming to Earth to “fix” the mess that humans have made of her school project.
When alien “Sky” creates planet Earth as part of a school project, she’s delighted by her success. Those dinosaurs roaming about the place are top-mark material! Then humans sweep in and it’s farewell dinosaurs, hello destruction. This disappointing evolutionary twist calls for drastic measures: Sky, the laziest student in class, is going to have make an effort, go down to Earth and fix humanity…
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Riverskin by Mike Edwards (9-12 years)
A dark, pacy and atmospheric journey of self-discovery from a debut author and performance poet.
Tess lives in the “turns”, a network of tunnels under the River Tees, with her Aunt Peg and her monstrous Unkle Darkwater. When Aunt Peg starts to develop signs of dementia, Tess must find someone else to keep her safe. And she is beginning to doubt her aunt’s stories about her origins, too. Tess longs to find out the truth about her family once and for all, but that will mean leaving the turns, and she has never been on dry land before – or mingled with dry-folk. Can she survive away from the river? And does she have the strength to take control of who she will become?
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Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody: The Hat of Great Importance by Patrick Ness (9-12 years)
The second book in the absurdly funny Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody series by multi-award-winning author Patrick Ness.
When Daniel arrives at the school bus stop sporting a salmon-coloured hat, Zeke is shocked. Don’t only birds wear hats? As if this isn’t strange enough, the school suddenly has a new student – a fish of all things – and a mysterious new Guidance Counsellor. Meanwhile, Zeke’s friends seem to have ditched him, and even his old nemesis won’t give him the time of day. So when somebody melts his house with the Death Ray of Death – twice – Zeke has had enough. Just who is sabotaging his life – and why?
Buy on Amazon