The Best Children's Book Picks November 2022 - US Post - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

Jaclyn Moriarty -  The Astonishing Chronicles of Oscar from Elsewhere - Published by Levine Querido (November 15, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1646142026 - Hardback - Age: 9+ 

A unique blend of humor, suspense, and magic, unfolding through the instantly recognizable rivalries, affections and foibles of her characters, from Jaclyn Moriarty 
During a sleepover, a letter comes to five children begging for the urgent assistance of Esther Mettlestone-Staranise, the newly-realized Rain Weaver; she must arrive before 10am on Monday to save an entire town of elves. When they arrive, the children find two incredibly odd things: first, the town of elves, buried under layers of silver; and second, a regular-size boy who, soon after seeing the children, dies.

Oscar is that boy who skipped school in our world on Monday to skate, and found himself in the city of the elves at just the wrong moment: He fled as fast as he could, but not fast enough because the silver wave struck him and he fell down dead.

And that’s just the beginning! At breakneck pace the cousins and friends (and a six-year-old stowaway elf named Gruffudd, who’s a troublemaker) try to stop the clock and rewind the tragedy. Can they do it?

The pleasure is all in the adventure, as only Jaclyn Moriarty can tell it.

ABOUT JACLYN MORIARTY

Jaclyn Moriarty is the award-winning author of uniquely creative and readable books for adults and young readers including The Year of Secret Assignments, the Colors of Madeleine trilogy, The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, and The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst. One of the talented and popular Moriarty sisters (including Liane and Nicola), Jaclyn lives in Sydney, Australia. She is very fond of chocolate, blueberries, and sleep.

Roland Smith - The Switch - Published by Scholastic Press (November 1, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0545803502 - Hardback - Age: 8+

A thrilling dystopic story from Roland Smith about how far people will go to survive -- perfect for fans ofDry and Distress Signal.

On the morning of Henry Ludd's thirteenth birthday, the power goes out. No phones, no news, and planes are literally falling out of the sky. Henry's father was away from the family farm and he has not returned. It's worrisome as people descend into lawlessness.

Four months later, the electricity still hasn't come back. While Henry's family is protected in their walled compound with wind turbines fueling their electricity, the rest of their area has suffered. Henry's father still hasn’t been found. Determined to find him, Henry ventures out with a trading crew to the zoo where his dad was last seen. After the truck is hijacked and Henry is left behind, he's forced to travel alone through the unruly world of the Switch. But his journey home will lead him to cross paths with the people who took his dad and have been trying to take over his family's land and resources ever since.

Esme Symes-Smith - Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston - Published by ‎Labyrinth Road (November 8, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593485774 - Hardback - Age: 8+ 

In a magical medieval world filled with dragons, shape-shifters, and witches, a twelve-year-old nonbinary hopeful knight battles for the heart of their kingdom. A thrilling middle-grade series opener that explores identity and gender amid sword fights and magic, and proves anyone can be a hero.

When their ex-hero dad is summoned back to the royal capital of Helston to train a hopeless crown prince, Callie lunges at the opportunity to finally prove themself worthy to the kingdom’s "great and powerful." Except the intolerant great and powerful look at nonbinary Callie and only see girl. But Callie has always known exactly what they want to be, and they’re not about to let anything stand in their way.

Trapped in Helston’s rigid hierarchy where girls learn magic and boys train as knights, Callie discovers they aren’t alone—there’s Elowen, the chancellor’s brilliant daughter, whose unparalleled power is being stifled; Edwyn, Elowen’s twin brother desperate to win his father’s approval; and Willow, the crown prince who was never meant to be king.

In this start to an epic series packed with action, humor, and heart, Callie and their new friends quickly find themselves embedded in an ancient war—and their only hope to defeat the threats outside the kingdom lies in first defeating the bigotry within.

"Young readers will find a worthy hero in Callie, who displays boundless courage in defending both their convictions and their friends...In clear and simple terms, Sir Callie assures readers that, no matter what anyone else might say, a real fairy-tale ending means finding the space and support to thrive exactly the way you are."
—Bookpage

Marthe Jocelyn (Author), Isabelle Follath (Illustrator) - Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Seaside Corpse - Published by Tundra Books (November 1, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0735270824 - Hardback - Age: 9+ 

For young detective Aggie Morton and her friend Hector, an opportunity to dig up fossils becomes even more thrilling when a corpse washes ashore in this fourth book in the Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen series, inspired by the life of Agatha Christie as a child and her most popular creation, Hercule Poirot. For fans of Enola Holmes.

After an invigorating but not exactly restful trip to a Yorkshire spa during which she survived a near brush with death and foiled a murderer, aspiring writer Aggie Morton and her friend Hector are thrilled to have the opportunity to stay at a camp by the sea and watch real paleontologists at work. The famed husband and wife team of the Blenningham-Crewes are about to become even more famous with the recovery of the fossilized bones of an ichthyosaur from the sea by Lyme Regis. This news has already caught the attention of an American millionaire, a British museum and a travelling circus owner, who each want the bones for their own collections. Tensions are running high throughout the camp, from the cook, to the collectors, to the Blenningham-Crewes themselves, and become downright dangerous after Aggie and Hector make a discovery of their own: a body on the beach. Not a fossil, but a human body. 

ISABELLE FOLLATH has been a freelance illustrator for advertising agencies, magazines and book publishers for over fifteen years, but her true passion lies in illustrating children's books. She uses pen and ink, watercolor and pencil alongside digital techniques to create her work. She loves drinking an alarming amount of coffee, learning new crafts and looking for the perfect greenish-gold color. Isabelle lives with her family in Switzerland.

The Best Children's Book Picks October 2022 - US Post - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

Jasmine Warga - A Rover's Story - Published by Balzer + Bray (October 4, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063113923 - Hardback - Age: 8+ 

The One and Only Ivan meets The Wild Robot in this unique and deeply moving middle-grade novel about the journey of a fictional Mars rover, from the Newbery Honor-winning author of Other Words for Home. New York Times bestseller!

Meet Resilience, a Mars rover determined to live up to his name.

Res was built to explore Mars. He was not built to have human emotions. But as he learns new things from the NASA scientists who assemble him, he begins to develop human-like feelings. Maybe there’s a problem with his programming….

Human emotions or not, launch day comes, and Res blasts off to Mars, accompanied by a friendly drone helicopter named Fly. But Res quickly discovers that Mars is a dangerous place filled with dust storms and giant cliffs. As he navigates Mars’s difficult landscape, Res is tested in ways that go beyond space exploration. 

As millions of people back on Earth follow his progress, will Res have the determination, courage—and resilience—to succeed… and survive?  

Andrea Rogers (Author), Jeff Edwards (Illustrator) - Man Made Monsters - Published by ‎Levine Querido (October 4, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1646141791 - Hardback - Age: 12+ 

Tsalagi should never have to live on human blood, but sometimes things just happen to sixteen-year-old girls. 

Making her YA debut, Cherokee writer Andrea L. Rogers takes her place as one of the most striking voices of the horror renaissance that has swept the last decade.

Horror fans will get their thrills in this collection – from werewolves to vampires to zombies – all the time-worn horror baddies are there. But so are predators of a distinctly American variety – the horrors of empire, of intimate partner violence, of dispossession. And so to the monsters of Rogers’ imagination, that draw upon long-told Cherokee stories – of Deer Woman, fantastical sea creatures, and more.

Following one extended Cherokee family across the centuries, from the tribe’s homelands in Georgia in the 1830s to World War I, the Vietnam War, our own present, and well into the future, each story delivers a slice of a particular time period that will leave readers longing for more.

Alongside each story, Cherokee artist and language technologist Jeff Edwards delivers haunting illustrations that incorporate Cherokee syllabary.

But don’t just take it from us – award-winning writer of The Only Good Indians and MongrelsStephen Graham Jones says that "Andrea Rogers writes like the house is on fire and her words are the only thing that can put it out."

Man Made Monsters is a masterful, heartfelt, haunting collection ripe for crossover appeal – just don’t blame us if you start hearing things that go bump in the night.

Mari Mancusi - New Dragon City - Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (October 4, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316376686 - Hardback - Age: 8

Set off on a high-stakes, action-packed adventure in this story about friendship, survival, and fighting for ones you love, perfect for fans of Wings of Fire and How to Train Your Dragon. 

No one predicted the dragon apocalypse. The dragons came suddenly and decimated the world as we knew it, including New York City. Now, three years later, Noah, his hardcore survivalist father, and a ragtag group of survivors are barely scraping by in this new reality. Kids scavenge not only for materials in abandoned homes but also for leftover books at the library. Adults spend their time establishing a make-shift society and defending their shelter... with any means available. At least for a few months, the dragons are hibernating until it’s no longer safe aboveground.

Noah has seen the damage these creatures can do firsthand. When it comes to dragons: It's kill or be killed. But a chance encounter between Noah and a young dragon forces him to question everything he thought he knew. With rumors spreading that there’s a group of survivors living in harmony with dragons instead of hiding underground, Noah teams up with his fire-breathing ally to find out if peace between humans and dragons is really possible. But the division runs deeper than scales versus skin because trying to follow his heart might just cost Noah his family too. If Noah and his father can’t see eye to eye, can he really get humans and dragons too?

‎ 

Natalie Lund - The Wolves Are Watching - Viking Books for Young Readers (October 4, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593351093 - Hardback - Age: 7+ 

A fresh, compelling, and eerie exploration of small-town living, stolen children, and wolves that watch in the woods.

The night little Madison disappears from her crib, Luce sees a pair of eyes--two points of gold deep in the forest behind her house--and feels certain they belong to a wolf. Her town, Picnic, Illinois, is the kind of place where everyone knows one another and no one locks their doors. It’s not the kind of place where a toddler goes missing without a trace, where wolves lurk in the shadows.
 
In town, people are quick to blame Madison’s mom. But when Luce’s English teacher shares an original script about the disappearance of another little girl in Picnic back in 1870, Luce begins to notice similarities that she can’t ignore. Certain that something deeper is going on, Luce tracks the wolf she saw into the woods and uncovers the truth about her town: magical animal-women, who have remained hidden in shadows for centuries, have taken her cousin for their own purposes--and they have no intention of bringing her back. 
 
A chilling mystery that weaves elements of magical realism, drama, and folklore into a story of one teen’s bravery as she confronts her town’s past and tries to save the future.

New Children's Book Picks September 2022 - Post One - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

Dream a world away in the best children's book picks this September 2022. This is the first post of some truly great adventures you can have. Just turn the page and off you go. What are you reading and loving this month? 

Helena Duggan - The Light Thieves - Published by Usborne Publishing (1 Sept. 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1474991094 - Paperback - Age: 8+ 

Clever, quirky and hugely imaginative, discover the eagerly anticipated new series from the bestselling author of A Place Called Perfect. Who would you trust to save the world...a boy or a billionaire? The earth has shifted on its axis and a mysterious dark mark has appeared on the sun - the whole world is in peril! But billionaire tech genius Howard Hansom has a plan... When Grian's sister goes missing he's convinced she has run off to Hansom's new city to help save the world. But when Grian and his two friends Jeffrey and Shelli track her there they find that nothing is quite as it seems. Why is everything so secret? Where is the mysterious Area 13? What does Howard Hansom want with all the people he has enticed to live in his city? The days are getting darker but what's really happening to the sun?

Carlie Sorosiak - Always, Clementine (Letters from a Runway Mouse) - Published by Nosy Crow Ltd (1 Sept. 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1839941085 - Paperback - Age: 8

A funny, wise and heartwarming story, with a truly one-of-a-kind hero, from the author of the highly-acclaimed I, Cosmo and My Life as a Cat.

I am an optimist. A very difficult thing to be, sometimes, at three inches tall.

Clementine is a genius. She can calculate pi to 69,689 places, remembers the exact moment she was born, and dreams in Latin.

She's also a mouse.

And when she escapes from the lab which has bred her, Clementine discovers that it's not enough to be the smartest mouse in history if she wants to survive in the real world - especially while the scientists who kept her are trying to recover their prize specimen. So, together with her new human friends, Clementine must find a way to earn her freedom - for good.

Hayley Hoskins - The Whisperling - Published by Puffin (1 Sept. 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0241514504 - Paperback - Age: 8+

When you're dead, you're dead. When you're gone, you're gone.
Unless, of course, you're not.
And that's where I come in.

The year is 1897, and Peggy Devona can speak with ghosts. 

She hides her gift from those afraid of a girl with such powers, terrified of the secrets the dead could reveal through her. But when her best friend is accused of murdering her rich mistress, Peggy knows only she - a whisperling - can save her. 

Peggy escapes to her uncle's psychic emporium in the city, seeking out new ghosts to help her solve Sally's case.

Yet time is running out, and each step towards uncovering the truth also brings Sally one step closer to the gallows. . .

Dashe Roberts - Sticky Pines: The Valley of the Strange - Published by Nosy Crow Ltd (1 Sept. 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1788008938 - Paperback - Age: 9+

Things are FREAKY and about to get even FREAKIER in the sleepy American town of Sticky Pines.

Weirdness mounts upon creepiness to create a riotously funny potion in The Valley of the Strange, the latest explosive installment of the cult sci-fi series for children.

Lucy Sladan has made the biggest, most bizarre discovery of all time ... but still no one believes her. Even her best friend Milo Fisher is not convinced. But his father knows she is on to something. Soon Lucy is in a race to stop Mr Fisher's monstrous efforts to uncover the source of the sticky-pine sap that is making his fortune ... and so risking the destruction of the world.

Perfect for the younger siblings of Stranger Things fans, Sticky Pines offers laugh-out-loud, hair-raising sci-fi and mysteries aplenty. The TRUTH is OUT THERE - are you ready for it?

The Valley of the Strange is the third book in the Sticky Pines Series, join Lucy and Milo for more adventures in The Bigwoof Conspiracy and The Thing at Black Hole Lake.

The Best Children's US Book Picks August 2022 - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

B. B Alston - Amari and the Great Game (BK2) - Published by ‎Balzer + Bray (August 30, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062975195 - Hardback - Age: 7+ 

After finding her brother and saving the entire supernatural world, Amari Peters is convinced her first full summer as a Junior Agent will be a breeze.

But between the fearsome new Head Minister’s strict anti-magician agenda, fierce Junior Agent rivalries, and her brother Quinton’s curse steadily worsening, Amari’s plate is full. So when the secretive League of Magicians offers her a chance to stand up for magiciankind as its new leader, she declines. She’s got enough to worry about!

But her refusal allows someone else to step forward, a magician with dangerous plans for the League. This challenge sparks the start of the Great Game, a competition to decide who will become the Night Brothers’ successor and determine the future of magiciankind.

The Great Game is both mysterious and deadly, but among the winner’s magical rewards is Quinton’s last hope—so how can Amari refuse?

Dan Gemeinhart - The Midnight Children - Published by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (August 30, 2022) -ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250196729 - Hardback - Age: 7+

In the dead of night, a truck arrives in Slaughterville, a small town curiously named after its windowless slaughterhouse. Seven mysterious kids with suitcases step out of the vehicle and into an abandoned home on a dead-end street, looking over their shoulders to make sure they aren't noticed.

But Ravani Foster covertly witnesses their arrival from his bedroom window. Timid and lonely, Ravani is eager to learn everything he can about his new neighbors: What secrets are they hiding? And most mysterious of all...where are the adults?

Yet amid this shadowy group of children, Ravani finds an unexpected friend in the warm and gutsy Virginia. But with this friendship comes secrets revealed―and danger. When Ravani learns of a threat to his new friends, he must fight to keep them safe, or lose the only person who has ever understood him. 

Full of wonder, friendship, and mystery, The Midnight Children explores the meaning of "home," what makes a family, and what it takes to find the courage to believe in yourself.

J. A White - Gravebooks (Nightbooks Sequel) - Published by Katherine Tegen Books (August 16, 2022) -  ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063082014 -  Hardback - Age: 8+ 

Return to the world of Nightbooks . . . if you dare. Dead stories—and dead witches—are back to haunt Alex and Yasmin. To find a happy ending, Alex will have to write it, in this sequel to Nightbooks from acclaimed author J. A. White. 

Alex thought he was done with witches. But when Natacha, the witch who held him captive for scary stories, appears again one night, Alex realizes he’s trapped in a nightmare—literally. She’s found a way to enter his dreams with a new, terrifying familiar named Simeon. And they once again want Alex to write. Transported to a story graveyard with best friend Yasmin, Alex will have to complete an original scary story each night.

But what does Natacha plan to do with his finished stories? And what makes a story good enough? While Natacha might have control of the beginnings, only Alex has the power to write the ending.

Readers can delight in a spooky story while also exploring the craft of writing alongside Alex. As he writes his own scary tales, he learns about plot twists, active characters, identifying originality, and accepting feedback, as well as dealing with writer’s block—making this an ideal book to read for fun or use in classrooms.

Fleur Bradley - Daybreak on Raven Island - Published by Viking Books for Young Readers (August 23, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593404638 - Hardback - Age: 7+

From the critically acclaimed author of Midnight at the Barclay Hotel comes a thrilling new middle-grade mystery novel inspired by Alcatraz Prison.

Tori, Marvin, and Noah would rather be anywhere else than on the seventh-grade class field trip to Raven Island prison. Tori would rather be on the soccer field, but her bad grades have benched her until further notice; Marvin would rather be at the first day of a film festival with his best friend, Kevin; and Noah isn't looking forward to having to make small talk with his classmates at this new school.
 
But when the three of them stumble upon a dead body in the woods, miss the last ferry back home, and then have to spend the night on Raven Island, they find that they need each other now more than ever. They must work together to uncover a killer, outrun a motley ghost-hunting crew, and expose the age-old secrets of the island all before daybreak.

The Best Children's US Book Picks July 2022 - Picked by Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

Varsha Bajaj - Thirst - Published by Nancy Paulsen Books (July 19, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593354391 - Hardback - Age: 9+ 

The riveting story of a heroic girl who fights for her belief that water should be for everyone.
Minni lives in the poorest part of Mumbai, where access to water is limited to a few hours a day and the communal taps have long lines. Lately, though, even that access is threatened by severe water shortages and thieves who are stealing this precious commodity—an act that Minni accidentally witnesses one night. Meanwhile, in the high-rise building where she just started to work, she discovers that water streams out of every faucet and there’s even a rooftop swimming pool. What Minni also discovers there is one of the water mafia bosses. Now she must decide whether to expose him and risk her job and maybe her life. How did something as simple as access to water get so complicated?

Darcy Marks - Grounded for All Eternity - Published by Aladdin (July 26, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1534483361 - Hardback - Age: 7+

A group of kids from hell come to Earth on one of the craziest nights of the year—Halloween—in this snarky, witty middle-grade adventure about teamwork, friendship, shattering expectations, and understanding the world (or otherworld) around us.

Mal and his friends are just your regular average kids from hell. The suburbs that is, not the fiery pit part. But when Hell’s Bells ring out—signaling that a soul has escaped from one of the eternal circles, Mal and his friends can’t help but take the opportunity for a little adventure. 

Before they know it, they’ve somehow slipped through the veil and found themselves in the middle of Salem, Massachusetts, on Halloween night. And what’s even worse, they’ve managed to bring the escaped soul with them! As the essence of one of history’s greatest manipulators gains power by shifting the balance on Earth, Mal and his squad-mates—along with some new friends that they meet along the way—work desperately to trap the escapee, save the people of Earth from the forces of evil, and find the portal back to their own dimension. 

If they can’t manage it before their parents realize they’re gone, they’ll be grounded for eternity. And eternity in hell is a very, very long time.

Anthony Bartley (Author), Ian Bristow (Illustrator) - Freakshow Summer - Published by Kinkajou Press (July 12, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1951122362 - Paperback - Age: 9+ 

In 1930s America a young teen struggles to find his calling among his carnival family of human curiosities while outsiders try to destroy everything he loves. 

Among the freaks and misfits of Oliver Neil’s Marvelous Carnival, thirteen-year-old Manny Dobra longs to find his place. Orphaned as a baby he’s been raised by the bearded woman, the alligator man, and the Leprechaun Family. Manny is a skilled artist, but he lives in the shadow of his deceased father’s own talent. A new summer of promise is soon spoiled by the arrival of Ron the bully and the Oldies – the Order of the Lions’ Den – hellbent on wiping out all carnivals. Manny realizes that what he finds lovely and ordinary is considered grotesque and abominable to the outside world. With the help of his friends Nickel, Margot, and Penny, Manny begins to traverse the tricky road of life, finding his footing in a world of human curiosities, both the beautiful and the ugly.

Stuart Wilson - How to Make a Monster (Prometheus High) - Published by - Puffin (AU) (July 29, 2022) ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1761042256 - Paperback - Age: 11+  

A hugely inventive, action-packed, fun and quirky – and occasionally dark – adventure for fans of Skulduggery Pleasant, Nevermoor or Frankenstein. A rusting ocean liner. Thirty students learning to resurrect the dead. A murderous monster on the loose . . . Just a typical day at Prometheus High. Athena Strange's first semester at Prometheus High starts with a bang. But when her lessons in reanimation, robotics and skulkers move too slowly and she has trouble making friends, Athena decides to take matters into her own hands. On a ship where science and magic collide, and the monster under your bed is probably very real . . . will Athena be able to hold her head above water?

David Solomons - Author Interview (Q&A) - A Beginner's Guide to Ruling the Galaxy - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books #27

 

It's time to explore another interview with you today; an epic interview with funny man author David Solomons. His new book, A Beginner's Guide to Ruling the Galaxy, is just about to be launched into orbit on the 7th July 2022 with Nosy Crow Books. It's all about handing in your homework on time or maybe NOT?  

I have really enjoyed reading the responses to the questions posed. I particularly agree with the last part of question seven and would like to know your thoughts after reading this interview. You can share on Twitter with us @Enchantedbooks and with David Solomons @DavidSolomons2 if you have anything to say on this topic. Look forward to hearing from you and enjoy the post. 

1. A Beginner's Guide to Ruling the Galaxy is your new book, please could you sum up this book in the craziest way possible? 

Space opera in the suburbs. It’s that old story of boy meets girl next door. Girl turns out to be heir to the galactic throne who’s on the run and hiding out on earth from… ah. No spoilers.

2. After writing five fantastic books in My Brother is a Superhero series, what challenges did you have starting with this new book? Did fresh ideas flow from the very first page? 

Thank-you for the compliment! I find that ideas flow in much the same way that blood does from an open wound. There’s a lot of them, but it’s a painful process. On the first question, enough time had passed since I’d closed the final chapter on the My Brother series that I didn’t feel those books hovering at my shoulder and peering at what I was doing now. Although, as I write this, I realise that everything I’ve ever written is shelved three feet behind me and could be said to be looming over me judgementally. 

3. Are laughter and humour always going to be David Solomons's key writing ingredients? Do you feel it is important that readers engage through laughter when reading your books? 

I don’t set out to write funny books, it’s just the way they come out. I’m an inveterate noodler when it comes to funny scenes – I find myself going over and over them like some mad scientist – word choice, sentence rhythm, electrodes – in an effort to draw out the maximum lols. I can’t envisage writing a book that doesn’t contain humour; to do so would require a level of self-restraint that I have thus far failed to demonstrate in my life. Though I would say that, in my own mind anyway, I pay as much attention to the other elements. I challenge myself to make the stories funny and exciting, funny and poignant. It’s a tricky balance. For example, putting a snarky line into a character’s mouth at the wrong time can undercut what could and should be a dramatic moment. After years working together my editor, Kirsty Stansfield at Nosy Crow, is very good at reigning in my overenthusiastic tendencies!

4. Most of the characters you write about have a superpower, what is your superpower? 

I can bend time so that deadlines just bounce off me.

5. Everybody loves an evil villain, which villain would you love to have a real-life conversation with and how do you think it would go?

First one that comes to mind is Darth Vader, but it would be Eddie Izzard’s version of him from the legendary Death Star canteen routine. In which case our conversation would probably end with him killing me. With a tray.  

6. Which of your books would you like to see being turned into a film and why? 

Any of them! And as for the reason, are you hoping for something more meaningful than fame, glory and a thumping great first day principal photography fee? I’ve been endeavouring to get my books into development/production for years, with a modicum of success. Steve Coogan’s company optioned My Brother is a Superhero, and I wrote a script for a proposed TV series, but that went away. I continue, Charlie Brown-like, to put my work in front of producers. In my other career as a screenwriter, I’ve written the screenplays for three films, including a version of Five Children and It, which I’m pleased to say continues to enjoy a life long after its debut.

These days I write screenplays mostly with my wife, Natasha. And they’re mostly adaptations of her books (for grown-ups). So, the other answer to your question is I’d like to have a film made purely to justify all the hard work we’ve put into the process.

7. How important do you think it is to get children to read for enjoyment? 

I have a nine-year-old and a six-year-old. For them there isn’t any other kind of reading. By which I mean they’ll only read if the experience is enjoyable. Our eldest is going through an interesting reading phase. I’m in the fortunate position that I’m aware of what’s brand new in the world of children’s fiction. It used to be I could put anything in front of him and he’d read it, but from hoovering up every kind of book, reading three or four a week, he’s slowing down. Still reading and enjoying, but I get the sense that he’s starting to form his own likes and dislikes. He’s happy to reject dad’s suggestions! The six-year-old is just finding her reading feet, but she already has strong opinions, especially when it comes to line readings. At bedtime, when Natasha or I are reading to her, she’ll make us stop if she thinks we’ve flubbed a line. Then she’ll read it the way it ought to be performed. 

To go back to the original question, it makes my heart ache. Our whole industry ultimately relies on enough of these little people wanting to pick up a book. It’s why I get so angry when some publishers foist substandard fiction on them. Kid reads average book with huge marketing budget and shrugs: I’ll go back to YouTube thanks. Yes, publisher gets immediate sale, but what about the long-term? Is that kid going to turn into a lifelong reader if her early exposure to books is so flawed? I know it’s not as simple as that, but it doesn’t help.

 8. What question were you hoping to be asked in this Q&A and why? 

Is the author who appears in ‘My Cousin is a Time Traveller’ based on you? 

So, in the last of the Superhero series our heroes get an author visit at school, a dismal presentation from a sweating, under-rehearsed children’s writer. I was quite emotional, writing the last of this series, and I knew I was saying goodbye to characters who’d had transformative effect on my life. So I wrote myself into the story in order to say goodbye to them ‘in person’. However, since I pantsed much of that novel (i.e. made it up as I went along) my character turned out to have a bigger role than I’d intended. Thanks for asking. You can buy HERE. 

The Best Children's/Kids Book Picks May 2022 - US - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

Katherine Arden - Dark Waters (Small Spaces Quartet) - Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (May 10, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎978-0593109175 - Paperback - Age: 10+

Filled with chills and spooks galore, New York Times bestselling author Katherine Arden’s latest installment in the creep-tastic Small Spaces Quartet is sure to haunt. Now in paperback.

Until next time. That was the chilling promise the smiling man-made to Ollie, Coco, and Brian after they last outsmarted him. And as the trio knows, the smiling man always keeps his promises. So when the lights flicker and a knock sounds at the door, there can only be one explanation: he’s back and a frightening new game is afoot.
 
But before the three friends can unravel the smiling man’s latest nightmarish scheme, they set sail on Lake Champlain, where it’s said Vermont’s very own Loch Ness monster lives. Brian is thrilled. He hasn’t sailed since visiting family in Jamaica, and even the looming threat of the smiling man can’t put a damper on what is guaranteed to finally be a day of fun—even if it is awkward being stuck on a boat with his former best friend, Phil, and his new best friends, Coco and Ollie. But when this crew find themselves shipwrecked on a deserted island and hunted by a monster on both land and sea, fun becomes the last thing on their minds. The smiling man has at long last set the stage for a perilous rematch. But this time, Brian is ready to play.

Lynette Noni - The Prisoner Healer - Published by Clarion Books (May 10, 2022) -  ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎978-0358669432 - Paperback - Age: 11+

Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer.

When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals.

Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom.

But no one has ever survived.

With an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva’s heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can’t escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun.

Juliana Brandt - Monsters in the Mist - Published by Sourcebooks Young Readers (May 3, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎978-1728245447 - Hardback - Age: 8+ 

When 13-year-old Glennon McCue, his mom, and his fragile sister are left with their uncle at his lighthouse on Isle Philippeaux, Glennon desperately wants leave the desolate isle and return home. But his father is away, so Glennon is forced to spend his break surrounded by fog, rats, and chilling myths. Nothing seems quite right... with the island or with his family.

A storm rocks the island and a ship crashes near the lighthouse, leaving behind a group of sailors. Something is off about the survivors, who seem more monster than human. Soon it becomes clear that there won't be boats to take anyone home, and Glennon and his family are trapped.

It will take all Glennon's courage to save his family from the curse of the isle and the real monster in his life.

Sylvia Douyé (Author), Paola Antista (Illustrator) - Sorceline -  Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing (May 17, 2022) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1524871314 - Paperback - Age: 8+

Welcome to the Island of Vorn, where mythical creatures roam free and only the brightest students are invited to study them. In Book 1 of this riveting new middle-grade graphic novel series, a gifted young cryptozoologist-in-training must learn to tame powerful beasts—including her own inner demons.

For as long as she can remember, Sorceline has had a knack for the study of mythical creatures. Now a student at Professor Archibald Balzar’s prestigious school of cryptozoology, she’s eager to test her skills and earn a spot as one of Balzar’s apprentices.

But for all her knowledge of gorgons, vampires, and griffins, Sorceline is mystified by her fellow humans. While she excels in her studies, she quickly clashes with her classmates, revealing her fiery temper.

When one of her rivals suddenly disappears, Sorceline must set aside her anger and join the quest to find her. But the mystery only deepens, leading Sorceline on a journey far darker and more personal than she expected . . .