Showing posts with label MG Leonard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MG Leonard. Show all posts

Thursday, 5 March 2026

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Favourite Children's Book Picks - March 2026 UK




Beth O'Brien - Feather Vane - Published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, 26 March 2026 - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008642044 - Paperback - Age: 8+

In the village of Greeth-Under-Edge, magical creatures are causing chaos. A green-toothed hag lurks in the river, a nest of gnomes are up to no good and a scatter of salamanders threaten to set everything on fire.

Creirwy and Morfran, trainee sorcerers, have been sent to banish the creatures by brewing an almost impossible potion. To collect the ingredients, they’ll need to go on an adventure with dangers at every turn.

But as the twins journey through a moon fairy forest, into a hag’s watery lair and to the top of a giant’s beanstalk, they find that the most powerful magic is not always where you’d expect. 



M. G. Leonard (Author), Polly Dunbar (Illustrator) - The Adventures of Portly the Otter - Published by Farshore, 26 March 2026 - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008667771 - Hardback - Age: 7+ 

Beautifully illustrated in full colour by award-winning illustrator of The Hug, Polly Dunbar, this gorgeous hardback gift book celebrates the 95th anniversary of EH Shepard’s iconic artwork for The Wind in the Willows. 

There is a time in a young otter’s life when they must be introduced to their river. For Portly, today was that day …

Told across four seasons in one year, little Portly has the greatest of adventures. Among other fur-raising encounters, the youngest of Mrs Otter’s pups learns to swim, battles a large trout, rescues a human girl, outwits the weasels and stoats of the Wild Wood and sleeps in the care of the god Pan – a scene familiar to readers of the original book.

Full of all the charm, nostalgia and sounds of splashing in the river that fans of The Wind in the Willows have fallen in love with over the years, M.G.Leonard’s faithful spin-off will enchant an entirely new generation.



Catherine Doyle (Author), Rachael Dean (Illustrator) - Scare B'n'B - Published by ‎ Bloomsbury Children's Books, 12 March 2026 - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1526655141 - Paperback - Age: 7+

Spooky silliness reigns in Catherine Doyle's brand new series as Ted and Frankie team up to save their hotel from a ghostly duke and his restless spirits. Featuring hilarious illustrations from Rachael Dean. 

Ted McKenley would rather live anywhere than with Frankie "spawn-of-the-devil" Stark. And Frankie wouldn't go near a coward like Ted. Too bad - their parents just got married and blew their savings turning a creepy old mansion into a boutique hotel. At least it's big enough for the stepsiblings to stay 
far apart.

But when Ted encounters a disappearing housekeeper and Frankie runs into a screaming suit of armour, their feud becomes the least of their problems.

With cranky spirits on the loose, Ted and Frankie reluctantly team up to stop the devious Duke of Snoring from turning their new home into haunted rubble.

The battle for the hotel has begun!


  • Aaron Starmer - You Are Now Old Enough to Hear This - Penguin Workshop, 24 Mar. 2026 - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593751091 - Hardback - Age: 10+ 
  • There's always more to the story. 

    In the latest middle-grade speculative novel from Spontaneous author Aaron Starmer, Roman follows the twisted threads of bizarre family legends and magical secrets to write his own chapter in his peculiar family narrative.

    The Toe Beast looms large in the Barnes family lore--a tale concocted by twelve-year-old Roman's grandpa to explain his missing toe. But Roman has never actually heard the full story, and after his grandpa dies suddenly, it seems like he never will. 

    That is, until Roman is tasked with clearing out his grandpa's house and stumbles upon some strange things. An old mason jar full of formaldehyde, a mysterious handwritten book about a girl and a pack of dogs, a rusty metal bucket with peculiar abilities. And they all tie back to extraordinary secrets from the distant past. 

    By unraveling even more unbelievable stories that have been hidden from him, Roman is forced to rethink how he fits into his family's history. Now it's up to him to see his own story through to the end. Because the Toe Beast was only the beginning . . .


Wednesday, 5 October 2022

New Children's Book Picks October 2022 - UK Post - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

Natasha Hastings (Author), Alex T. Smith (Illustrator) - The Miraculous Sweetmakers: Frost Fair - Published by HarperCollins Children’s Books (27 Oct. 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008496050 - Hardback - Age: 9+ 

 An amazing and captivating, curl-up-on-the-sofa debut about a magical frost fair and the lasting power of friendship.

It’s a cold winter during the Great Frost of 1683. Thomasina and Anne are the best of friends, one running her father’s sweet shop and the other the apprentice at the family apothecary – together they sell their goods on the frozen River Thames. When a family tragedy turns Thomasina’s world upside down, she is drawn to a mysterious conjuror and the enchanted frost fair.

But soon the world of Father Winter threatens to claim everything she holds dear. Will they be able to solve the magical mysteries that surround them . . . ?



Lucy Hope - Wren - Published by Nosy Crow (6 Oct. 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1839947230 - Paperback - Age; 8+ 

A dark, gothic adventure set on the island of Anglesey in North Wales and featuring a very fantastical beast…

Wren lives in an ancient castle in the mountains near the sea. The wind whistles through it and the walls sing to her. Wren is busy inventing things, and her father is busy disapproving.

But the castle contains a mystery and as Wren is drawn further into it, she realises the answer lies in the very foundations of her home, foundations that are being shaken to their core…

The next fantastic novel from Lucy Hope, author of Fledgling!


M. G Leonard & Sam Sedgman - The Arctic Railway Assassin (Adventure on Trains 6) Published by Macmillan Children's Books (13 Oct. 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1529072761 - Paperback - Age: 7+ - Illustrated by Elisa Paganelli 

The bestselling, prize-winning Adventures on Trains series embarks on a thrilling sixth adventure as Harrison Beck and Uncle Nat climb aboard the night train to Narvik, travelling to the Arctic Circle to see the northern lights for Christmas.

But as their train leaves Stockholm, Hal and Uncle Nat realize they’re being followed by a sinister figure, and Hal’s powers of observation are tested when Uncle Nat’s past comes back to haunt him. Journeying into the never-ending night of the arctic winter, our railway detectives must outsmart an assassin in their most chilling adventure yet, in which nothing is as it seems.

The Arctic Railway Assassin can be read as a stand-alone novel, or enjoyed as part of the award-winning Adventures on Trains series written by M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman. Join Hal and Uncle Nat on more stops in this thrilling series with: Murder on the Safari StarDanger at Dead Man's Pass and Sabotage on the Solar Express.


SF Said (Author), Dave McKean (Illustrator) - Published by 
David Fickling Books (6 Oct. 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1788452830 - Hardback - Age: 8+ 

There are three doors that I may show you. You will find a different kind of power behind each one ...' 

 Adam has found something incredible in a rubbish dump in London. A mysterious, mythical, magical animal. A TYGER.

 And the tyger is in danger.

 Adam and his friend Zadie are determined to help, but it isn't just the tyger's life at stake. Their whole world is on the verge of destruction. Can they learn to use their powers before it's too late?




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Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Favourite Children's Book Picks - March 2026 US

Matteo L. Cerilli - Fathom Fall - Published by  Bloomsbury Children's Books ( March 3, 2026) -  ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎  978-1547616527 - Hardback...