Publication Date: 12 February 2026 The Blurb Vinny needs support from his agony-aunt mum, but she’s too busy helping other people to notice in this empathetic tale about family and mental health by bestseller Helen Rutter.Vinny’s got problems – lots of them. His family's falling apart, and his best mates have dumped him for some … Continue reading Advice From A 12 Year Old Nobody by Helen Rutter, illustrated by Julia Christians
Tag: Read for empathy
The Overthinkers Club: Happy List by Nat Luurtsema, illustrated by Cecile Dormeau
Publication Date: 12 March 2026 The Blurb Birdie is an overthinker, and she has a lot to overthink. Her BFF Chloe wants new friends (BETRAYAL), she will be a teenager in one year (BREATHE), yet owns ZERO bras (surely some mistake?!), and a boy at school maybe has a crush on her (BUT HOW TO … Continue reading The Overthinkers Club: Happy List by Nat Luurtsema, illustrated by Cecile Dormeau
The Night I Borrowed Time by Iqbal Hussain
Publication Date: 1 January 2026 The Blurb Eleven-year-old Zubair is a seventh son. This means a LOT of big brothers. But when Zubair’s granny arrives from Pakistan and gives him a mysterious amulet, he discovers it means something else, too: he has inherited a gift. The seventh sons in his family have the ability to … Continue reading The Night I Borrowed Time by Iqbal Hussain
The Boy In The Suit by James Fox
Publication Date: 12 September 2024 The Blurb It's not easy to fit in when you're the boy in the suit... Ten-year-old Solo - embarrassingly, that isn't short for anything - just wants to be normal. He wants a name that doesn't stand out. He wishes he had a proper school uniform that fitted him. He dreams about a … Continue reading The Boy In The Suit by James Fox
The Fights That Make Us by Sarah Hagger-Holt
Publication Date: 1 February 2024 The Blurb Maybe there was a place in history for people like me, not on the edges of the story, but right in the centre.Jesse has recently come out as non-binary, and is struggling to find their place at school, and ideas for their project on lost stories from history.Thirty-five … Continue reading The Fights That Make Us by Sarah Hagger-Holt
Reggie Houser Has The Power by Helen Rutter
Publication Date: 1 February 2024 The Blurb Reggie Houser has ADHD and struggles to make friends at school, plus his mum and teachers seem constantly weary about his erratic, high-energy ways. But when he sees a hypnotist perform on stage at the holiday park he visits, Reggie becomes obsessed with learning the skills of mind … Continue reading Reggie Houser Has The Power by Helen Rutter
The Panda’s Child by Jackie Morris and Cathy Fisher
Publication Date: 5 October 2023 The Blurb In a faraway forest a baby is lost and found, protected by a she-panda. Nine years later another baby, the panda's child, is in great danger, and only a boy and the spirit of the forest can save him. The Review A spellbinding tale that celebrates the invaluable … Continue reading The Panda’s Child by Jackie Morris and Cathy Fisher
Keedie by Elle McNicoll
Publication Date: 4 April 2024 The Blurb Set in Juniper five years before A Kind of Spark comes a powerful coming-of-age story from award-winning author Elle McNicoll. As Keedie and her twin Nina approach their fourteenth birthday, they seem to only be growing further apart. Keedie instead feels drawn to, and fiercely protective of, their quiet younger … Continue reading Keedie by Elle McNicoll
The Lovely Dark by Matthew Fox
Publication Date: 6 July 2023 When 12-year-old Eleanor Newton dies in an accident, she finds herself journeying down a mysterious river that takes her to The Underworld. She apprehensively embarks on her "afterlife" at Eventide House, a boarding school of sorts for children who have died.The Underworld is captivating: always sunny and warm but also … Continue reading The Lovely Dark by Matthew Fox
The Magician’s Daughter by Caryl Lewis, illustrated by George Ermos
Publication Date: 15 June 2023 The Blurb After one hilarious, disastrous magic show too many, Abby’s dad decides it’s time to give up showbiz. Until the day Abby finds a mysterious, dusty old book of spells among her mum's things. Mum had always been the dazzling magician, after all. As Abby practises, each new spell … Continue reading The Magician’s Daughter by Caryl Lewis, illustrated by George Ermos
Mrs Cleveland is reading... 