With the school summer holidays coming up shortly, there’s more time for reading fun, flashy and affirmative kids’ books! With a selection of fiction, non-fiction and graphic novels here, we have the full scope of any book a kid could wish for over these joyous sunny months.
June
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming
Illustrated by Thomas Gilbert
Ian Fleming Publications | | Ages 7-10 | 9781915797506 |PB | £7.99 | 13th June 2024
Celebrate 60 years of everyone’s favourite magical car, from the creator of James Bond, with all-new illustrations! Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a timeless classic: a gripping, fast-paced children’s adventure story, written by Ian Fleming to read to his son, Caspar. Meet the Pott family. After making their fortune inventing whistling sweets the family buys a new car — Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But Chitty is no ordinary car and the family are soon whisked away on the adventure of a lifetime. It was first published in 1964 with illustrations by John Burningham. The car was inspired by the racing cars built by Count Louis Zborowski at Higham Park in Kent. Sadly, Ian Fleming never lived to see the book published: he died in 1964, two months before it came out. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the feature-film, loosely based on the book and co-written by Roald Dahl, was released in 1968.
The Freezies by Farrukh Dhondy
Tradewind Books | Ages 12+ | 9781990598272 | PB | £9.95 | 27th June 2024
Suleikha, Leo and Kai, a group of 12-year-olds known as the Freezies, befriend the intriguing and larger-than-life Mr Christaki, a traveller who camps with his converted school bus on their village green. When revealed as a refugee from Syria, he disappears with his four-year-old adopted daughter. The Freezies come up with a risky and audacious scheme to expose his desperate plight on national TV in an attempt to prevent his deportation. Closely following the lives of three young people in today’s Britain, The Freezies is a call for compassion and understanding for those fleeing war and oppression in our troubled times.
Cocoa the Tour Dog by Stick Figure and Adam Mansbach
Illustrated by Juan Manuel Orozco
Akashic Books | Ages 4-8 | 9781636141756 | HB | £16.99 | 4th June 2024
Cocoa the Tour Dog is the saga of an Australian shepherd who meets her soul mate: a struggling musician, Scott, with dreams of spreading love on stages across the globe. When Scott’s work starts to pay off, Cocoa wanders onstage herself and finds sudden fame — and the two of them embark on an adventure that takes them around the world playing music, delighting fans, and ignoring leash laws. Bestselling reggae artist Stick Figure and bestselling author Adam Mansbach team up for a sweet, funny children’s picture book about a real-life rescue dog turned worldwide icon.
Frankie D, Vegan Vampire by Sally and Brian Dutra
Illustrated by Tiffani Brown
Kids Can Press | Ages 7-10 | 9781525304606 | HB | £15.99 | 13th June 2024
Frankie D and his family have just moved from Transylvania, looking for a fresh start. Where Frankie is from, the school day began at midnight and ended at dawn. Now in America, Frankie and his family must adjust their sleep schedule, train to be out in the sun, and strictly adhere to a vegan, zero-blood diet. Not only that, Frankie has to navigate school as the “new kid” and keep his vampire identity secret from other humans. A tall order for a deathly pale, fanged fourth-grader with a three-legged wolf as a pet! Brian and Sally Dutra’s entertaining series offers a whole new take on what it means to be an outsider. With so many playful twists on vampire tropes, a compelling plot (with a cliffhanger ending!) and loads of deadpan humour, this book is sure to have enormous appeal from early readers to parents!
How To Build Your Own Country by Valerie Wyatt
Illustrated by Karen Fredericks
Kids Can Press | Ages 8-12 | 9781554533114 | PB | £11.99 | 13th June
This book, the only one of its kind, offers children the expertise and advice they’ll need to plant their flag in the backyard, in the bedroom or online. Kids will be amazed to discover that anyone can do it. Nation-building advice is peppered with examples of events that have shaped countries throughout history, teaching young readers about government, elections, geography and global issues. Backed up with lots of amazing examples of real micronations — some established or ruled by kids — How To Build Your Own Country promises to inspire, entertain and inform young nation-builders.
City Girls by Loretta Lopez
Triangle Square | Ages 11-14 | 9781644213421 | HB | £14.99 | 27th June 2024
What Elisa, Lucia, and Alice see–and judge–of each other from the outside is drastically different from how each girl feels inside. They attend the same classes in the same New York City middle school, but no one knows that Elisa is trying to navigate the bewildering asylum process having just arrived from El Salvador; or that Lucia, who also speaks Spanish and brims with self-confidence, is caught in the middle of her parents’ heartbreaking divorce; or that Alice, who appears to be a rebel in combat boots, carries the burden of her mother’s progressing cancer. Narrated by each girl in alternating chapters, City Girls captures the vulnerability of being a middle schooler and the relief and joy of finding friendship where you least expect it.
July
On a Mushroom Day by Chris Baker and Alexandra Finkeldey
Tundra Books | Ages 3-7 | 9781774882580 | HB | £16.99 | 16th July 2024
Take a magical walk through the forest and learn all about the wild beauty and wonder of mushrooms on this inspiring picture book journey! On a Mushroom Day encourages curiosity and a love of fungi in young children and normalises safe, chaperoned joyful exploration of the fungal queendom all around us. Filled with fun, fascinating fungi facts and a visual catalogue of mushroom species so that kids can enjoy their very own mushroom day in the pages of this book!
The Cloud by Angelo Ruta
Ulysses Press | Ages 3-5 | 9781646046270 | HB | £16.99 | 30th July 2024
The main character of The Cloud discovers one day that he’s being followed…by a cloud! It starts out small, but soon it grows and grows until all of a sudden, the boy is swallowed up by it. When things seem to be at their worst and the cloud bursts into a rainstorm, the boy is able to summon up his resilience and use it to deal with the cloud in a positive way. This book has no words, providing parents and kids with the opportunity to interact with the illustrations and interpret the story in the way that they want. From dealing with a loss in the family or hard-to-handle emotions like fear and anxiety, readers will be able to create a story that relates back to their own circumstances and will also be able to talk about solutions that make the most sense for them.
Underwater Hawai’i by Keith Riegert
Ulysses Press | Ages 3-6 | 9781646046645 | HB | £14.99 | 9th July 2024
Discover Hawai‘i’s incredible sea life in this fact — and picture-filled book for kids interested in learning about the ocean and life on the coral reef! From colourful butterflyfish and humuhumunukunukuapua‘a to remarkable moray eels and graceful spotted eagle rays, kids can learn to easily identify sea creatures while swimming or snorkelling, along with fascinating facts for each one.
August
It Bears Repeating by Tanya Tagaq
Illustrated by Cee Pootoogook
Tundra Books | Ages 3-7 | 9781774880555 | HB | £12.99 | 20th August 2024
This delightful counting book shows polar bears in all their forms: slippery and fast, crafty and cool, hungry and proud. Tanya has created a story meant to be read aloud, incorporating simple Inuktitut words and using her keen ear for the musical sound of language. This book is joyful, powerful, clever and striking — much like the bears who sniff, slide, swim, hunt, play and dance through its pages. And when you get to the last page, you won’t be able to resist going back to repeat the journey!
Zia’s Story by Shahnaz Qayumi
Illustrated by Nahid Kazemi
Tradewind Books | Ages 9-12 | 9781990598142 | PB | £9.95 | 15th August 2024
In 1989, the Russians pull out of Afghnaistan, and the country falls into civil war. After the Taliban took over, women were not allowed to work, nor could girls go to school. Zia’s Story is based on the author’s own experiences as a young mother having to flee an Afghanistan torn apart by war with her young son.
Good Dog, Bad Dog: Double Identity by Dave Shelton
Bog Eyed Books | Ages 6-12 | 9781916311831 | PB | £9.99 | 1st August 2024
A hilarious noir detective romp. Full of slapstick visual gags and great wordplay, you’ll soon develop a soft spot for these two lovable detectives!
SOS Water by Yayo
Tradewind Books | Ages 6-8 | 9781990598234 | HB |£14.95 | 15th August 2024
With humour and a touch of poetry, this picture book features a sailor named Lalo, and Rosa, a goldfish, dealing with the pollution caused by plastic water bottles. Lalo wants to find a safe and clean place for his fish friend, but everywhere they go has been invaded by plastic water bottles.
Waiting For The Dawn by Fabiola Anchorena
TRA Publishing | Ages 5-8 | 9781962098014 | HB | £17.99 | 27th August 2024
The sun, the moon, and the rain have not been seen in the jungle for weeks, and everything is shrouded in a prolonged night. The animals of the Amazon forest, both diurnal and nocturnal — whether they run, fly, or swim, whether they roar or squawk — are deeply concerned. They no longer recognise their home and embark on a journey to discover why the dawn has not come. Through the poetic text and the emotive use of colour, Waiting For The Dawn draws our attention to the dire consequences of the Amazon’s exploitation and destruction, a phenomenon that has escalated in recent years due to the effects of climate change and tragically makes headlines each summer.
