Piu DasGupta - The Golden Monkey Mystery - Book Review - Nosy Crow Books 2026

Are you ready for an exotic jungle adventure? Well, it's time to inhale this riveting adventure that promises to captivate readers from the very first page. With exquisitely woven narrative threads and a vivid setting, this book takes us on a journey through the enchanting jungles of India, perfectly blending themes of bravery, discovery, and the fight against adversity.

In this imaginative tale, we meet the indomitable Roma Moreau, who aspires to break barriers and become the first woman to study at the Bengal Medical College. Her unwavering determination leads her to uncover the elusive golden monkey, a creature shrouded in mystery and myth. The stakes rise as Roma embarks on a dangerous quest to return the monkey to its home in the majestic Himalayas, armed only with a mysterious map and her fierce courage.

The characters are richly developed, with Roma’s journey reflecting not only her personal ambition but also the broader struggles faced by women in a patriarchal society. The supporting characters add depth and dimension to the story, including bandits, a talking cat, and mystical elements that transform them into a shimmering golden quest that you will absolutely love.  

The author’s descriptive prose invites readers to visualise every scene: from the lush greenery of the forest to the suspenseful moments that keep readers on the edge of their monkey pants. The interplay of reality and magical realism in the narrative invites young readers to dream, ponder, and engage with the world around them.

Beyond entertainment, the book also imparts valuable lessons about female history, conservation, resilience, and the importance of following one’s dreams, making it not just a story but an educational tool for young minds.  

In this outstanding second book, Piu Dasgupta skillfully crafts a personal tale that resonates with readers of all ages. *The Golden Monkey Mystery* is not just a book; it is an invitation to explore, learn, and believe in the magic of adventure. Mark your calendars—this literary treasure is one you won’t want to miss!

**BOOK Release:** Coming January 15, 2026, *The Golden Monkey Mystery* is highly anticipated and certain to leave a lasting impression on all who embark on this journey.

For more information and to preorder, visit [Nosy Crow]

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Favourite Children's Book Picks - JULY 2025 UK

 

Pil Van Martin - The Spick and the Span - Published by HarperCollins Children’s Books (31 July 2025) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008724788 - Paperback - Age: 8+ 

Imaginative, magical, wildly funny, and with a truly unique world, The Spick and the Span is an extraordinary, exciting fantasy middle grade adventure – perfect for fans of Jessica Townsend's Nevermoor, Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood and Co, Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle, and Terry Pratchett's Discworld.

Thanks to many generations of careless magicians, the city of Helm is overflowing with magic, which has made it a very dangerous place to live. Leave anything alone for too long and it will transform into something else: your house will turn to gingerbread, your teapot will start pouring pond water or – if you're really unlucky – your floor will turn to lava.

The magicians liked to pretend it’s them who keep the worst magical hiccups in check, but the real heroes of the whole sorry situation are of a wholly different occupation: equally well known but decidedly less respected.

The heroes of the city of Helm are the cleaners.

Ward, an ambitious twelve-year-old cleaner, wants nothing more than to belong to the League of Cleaners, who will grant him the prestige and popularity he's been looking for all his life – if only he can pass three near-impossible tests. Struggling toward this goal with a team he doesn't trust, Ward's world is upended when his friend disappears and mysterious magic-eating monsters appear all over the city and start tearing holes in the fabric of reality. Suddenly his ambitions are the least of his problems…

Hugely funny and exciting, and with an incredibly imaginative, original story, The Spick and the Span is the unmissable fantasy middle grade debut of 2025 – you'll never look at magic the same way again…

Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick - The Museum of Lost Umbrellas - Published by Faber & Faber (31 July 2025) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0571385720 - Paperback - Age: 8+ 

Discover a magical island where the houses grant you wishes and the alleyways are secret portals . . .
Faber is proud to launch a show-stopping debut fantasy middle-grade series, The Cloud Witch Chronicles, from award-winning Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick!

When Dilly arrives on the island of Ollipest, she is unsure what to expect from her new life . . . She certainly doesn't expect to find magic!

Until now, the magic of Ollipest Island has been a well-kept secret. Then the Museum of Lost Umbrellas opens after many years of closure . . .

And when the museum attracts some unsavoury anti-magic outsiders, Dilly must unlock her ancestral powers to help keep the island safe.

A dazzling, epic adventure where witches fly with umbrellas, magical dogs walk out of the sea and pet parrots suddenly become humans. This will keep readers on their edge of the seats and leave them desperate for the next instalment.

Ross MacKenzie - The Uninvited - Published Andersen Press (31 July 2025)  - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1839133176 - Paperback - Age: 10+ 

When the Faerie folk flee their world and come to ours, running from the nightmare of war, nobody in the everyday knows what to do. So they are locked away.

Thirteen-year-old Samm Wolfback lives in Glass Forest, a sprawling Faerae refugee camp in England. Life in Glass Forest is hard, poisoned by disease and crime and poverty. But Samm has a unique gift that lines his pockets – he can find lost things.
When Samm is thrust into the centre of a plot to escape Glass Forest and return home, he must use his gifts to unearth two treasures lost in the everyday: a relic that will end the war back in Faerae; and the only person with the power to reopen the door between worlds – the Locksmith. The task will take Samm to dark places filled with danger, from a grimly enchanted circus of nightmares to a museum housing a murderous exhibit, and he will have to use all of his skills to stay alive.
Meanwhile, in the human world, a kidnapped boy with a dark secret begins to realise that he might hold the key to the Faerae folks’ fate. Before all is said and done, destiny’s web will entangle him with Samm and send them spinning towards a showdown with the great evil that lurks in the world beyond the door.

Bali Rai - Escape From Amritsar - Bloomsbury Education (3 July 2025) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1801997720 - Paperback - Age: 8+ 

Amritsar, India, 1919. A city on the brink of violence, as tensions between the local people and the British colonial rulers explode.

12-year-old Arjan Singh learns that his father has been falsely charged with serious crimes. But there has been a terrible massacre in the city, as British troops fired on unarmed Indians, and the city is under curfew. Anger and fear have left the population seething and danger lurks around every corner.

Arjan sets out on a perilous mission to save his father, in the face of armed troops, martial curfew, and vicious local bandits. Can he escape and get to his father before it's too late?

Julia Golding - The Tigers in the Tower - Book Review - Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books

Julia Golding is a multi-award-winning writer. She writes under three different pen names for both adults and young adults; all with a spark of magic for different tastes. Two of my favourite series are Cat Royal and the Campanions which are fantastic and definitely worth checking out if you have not already read them.

Her most recent book, The Tigers in the Tower, is a standalone novel that will be published by a smaller publishing company (Lion Hudson) in Oxford. The book will be published in paperback on the 18th of September, 2020. Therefore, I am really excited to be able to tell you about this book early doors. 

It was fantastic to fly back into a world with an adventure that captured the imagination. The current world slowly merged into the captivating world of the main character Sahira. Her family is travelling to England to deliver two majestic Indian tigers. However, tragedy strikes and Sahira's loving parents die on the sea voyage. Arriving alone in London, she finds herself in a much different world from the country she has just left behind. Placed in an orphanage - a soulless environment full of heartache and danger - the adventure starts to take form. With newfound friendships, her past and future all start to roll into one. Can Sahira carry out her father's last request? What will happen to the beautiful Tigers? These are the questions on every reader's lips which are answered brilliantly in this book.

This story has a fantastically thrilling plot full of magical colour, tastes and the smells of India. It shimmers in the bright fabric of the mind's eye like a silky light dancing on the Indian forest. It connects the reader to nature and the natural beauty of India. All of which is in stark contrast to the drab and dangerous times of Georgian London! 

Set around the start of the first police force (founded by Robert Peel), the book is based on the history around this time. Thus providing an authentic feel as well an opportunity to introduce more famous people of that wonderful time. It certainly produces a fabulously engaging story that warms the heart of the reader. The riot of animals - both strange and mischievous - are all written in great detail and provide a whirling dervish of action and adventure. You will feel the ups and downs with heartfelt emotion as the book deals sensitively with themes of grief, friendship, and protecting our natural environment. All of which are important themes, especially at the moment.


There is everything to love about this book and nothing to dislike. Therefore, the only thing to do now is to put this on your future booklist and join the wild adventure to find out what happens to the Tigers and whether Sahira will ever find a place she can call home.

Clockwork Watch: The Arrival #1 by Corey Brotherson & Jennie Gyllblad & Yomi Ayeni - A Graphic Novel

About the Project:

Clockwork Watch is a collaborative storytelling project set in a retro-futurist vision of Victorian England. It's a five-year immersive participatory story told through graphic novels, interactive promenade theatre, freeform role-play, online adventures, an interactive book, and a feature film.The story set is in a genre called Steampunk, a non-colonial style of Victoriana, at a time when clockwork mechanics and science are the two most important developments in the world.This site hosts updates from the story universe. We invite participants to interact with news by contributing, photographs, videos, letters,  even drawings showing how developments affect their characters, living in the Clockwork World.                   

Book Synopsis:
London 1899. Steam billows out from every corner of the city while huge Zeppelin airships float in the sky overhead. Enter the world of Clockwork Watch, a place where Victorian values are coupled with anachronistic technology, not least of which are the clockwork servants - the mechanical slaves that keep this society ticking along - this is the world of Steampunk. Technological and social change is in the air - human-clockwork hybridisation is the talk of the town; the unwise employment of science has led to amazement and outcry - the public wants to know whether Science is about to play God. Clockwork Watch: The Arrival is the first of three graphic novels launching an immersive and participatory story told across live events, promenade theatre, online adventures, interactive literature and a feature film.



Web site: http://www.clockworkwatch.com/
Production Blog: http://www.clockworkwatch.org/

Book Review: Michaela Clarke - Tiger Thief - Nosy Crow

                             

This is a brilliant read that hooks you from the very first page right through to the last. I was so engrossed in this story that time stopped still as I was reading. It is a great debut novel; beautifully written it leaves you with a sense of feeling that the story has been written from the heart. It is a story that has been inspired from the author's desire to write as a child. In this book she brings to life a magical world for both young and old readers. 

In response to a dream, we enjoy the journey that the author takes through the characters and the bright exotic backdrop of landscapes. She has conjured up an amazing magical tale which I'm really pleased that I had the opportunity to read. The story is set in India and draws upon the rich culture of myths, legends and the spirit world. It's based around the journey of two children who become caught in the battle between the natural world and the world of human greed.  

After travelling to the legendary city of jewels, the circus which Sharat (main character) and Emira (a majestic white tiger) belong to, are ordered to perform for the Emperor of Imperial Command. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity but when Emira mysteriously disappears in the middle of a circus act, Sharat sets off on a adventurous journey. He faces many perilous dangers and reveals interesting discoveries. The magic and intrigue will have you hooked as you turn the pages with rapid intensity.  

The book has a number of fantastic characters - some which are loveable and some which are not. The Djinni's are my particular favourites; I would have loved to have seen and read more about them in the book.  This is a great family book which is full of spirit, adventure and friendship. It is packed full of plot sequences, timely action and a rather predictable outcome. However, this can easily be forgiven as long as there is another book in the future to continue on from this one. This is a recommended read with great potential  for a sequel....