A masterpiece of storytelling with evocative and stunning illustrations, destined to be read for years to come.
The wishing stars burn bright tonight,
the air is thick with dreams,
And a deeply sleeping dinosaur is waking up,
it seems . . .
In a town by the seaside, Marianne is often seen foraging on the beach. But she isn’t playing with children her own age. Instead Marianne is alone, and digging for dinosaur bones to build a special sort of companion.
Then, one night, she goes to sleep wishing with all her heart that her dinosaur might come to life . . .
A very rare and special book where the words and pictures take you on a magical journey far beyond the page.
The Girl and the Dinosaur is available in hardback for £10.99.
Do you know what you want to do when you grow up? Why not work as a babysitter . . . for sloths?
Or become a farmer . . .of corpses?
You might even grow up to be someone who gets paid to actually sleep on the job! From taste testers to dinosaur dusters, there are all kinds of incredible jobs that you’ve probably never heard of . . .
and one of them might be just right for you!
Incredible Jobs You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of is available in hardback for £14.99.
A magical adventure to delight the imagination. The curl-up-on-the-sofa snuggle of a series from a uniquely talented author.
Tilly Pages is a bookwanderer; she can travel inside books, and even talk to the characters she meets there. But Tilly’s powers are put to the test when fairytales start leaking book magic and causing havoc . . .
On a wintery visit to Paris, Tilly and her best friend Oskar bravely bookwander into the land of fairytales to find that characters are getting lost, stories are all mixed-up, and mysterious plot holes are opening without warning. Can Tilly work out who, or what, is behind the chaos so everyone gets their happily-ever-after? The second enthralling tale in the bestselling Pages & Co. series.
Pages & Co.: Tilly and the Lost Fairy Tales is available in hardback for £12.99.
Be inspired and empowered by this collection of transformative travel experiences. From sleeping under the stars or learning a new craft, to more ambitious challenges like taking a big trip alone, helping to rebuild a community or saving an endangered species, this is your essential companion to a life well-lived. Each experience in this feel-good bucket list is enriching in some way, whether it’s about forging a stronger connection with the natural world, helping the planet, or better understanding yourself.
From the easily attainable to the aspirational, the variety of goals makes it easy to create a set that’s right for you. Every goal is accompanied by recommendations about where to try it, as well as websites and information to ensure each one is achievable. The life-enhancing goals in this book include: Travelling spontaneously, Embracing the off season, Retracing the steps of history, Being a tourist in your own country, Making a pilgrimage, Having adventures with your children, Learning from indigenous cultures, Spending a night in the jungle, Taking the slow road, Becoming an ocean defender, Embracing your sexuality, Meditating with masters, Taking a big trip alone, Making an epic overland journey, Giving a year of your life to others, Helping a community to rebuild.
Travel Goals is available in hardback for £19.99.
The gods of the Myriad were as real as the coastlines and currents, and as merciless as the winds and whirlpools. Then one day they rose up and tore each other apart, killing many hundreds of islanders and changing the Myriad forever.
On the jumbled streets of the Island of Lady’s Crave live Hark and his best friend Jelt. They are scavengers: living off their wits, diving for relics of the gods, desperate for anything they can sell. But now there is something stirring beneath the waves, calling to someone brave enough to retrieve it.
Something valuable. Something dangerous. Nothing is quite as it seems, and when the waves try to claim Jelt, Hark will do anything to save him.
Even if it means compromising not just who Jelt is, but what he is . . .
Deeplight is available in hardback for £12.99.
Celebrate the tenth anniversary of the first title in Cassandra Clare’s internationally bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy with this sumptuous new edition. Brand new content, including the first chapter of Chain of Gold. Love is the most dangerous magic of all…
First in the bestselling prequel series to The Mortal Instruments, set in Victorian London. Something terrifying is waiting for Tessa Gray in London’s Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Tessa seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters, a band of warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons.
Tessa finds herself fascinated by – and torn between – two best friends…
This is a must have for any Cassandra Clare fan. The limited edition, clothbound hardback is available in hardback for £16.99.
Have you ever looked a bird dead in the eye and wondered what it was thinking? With Effin’ Birds, the most eagerly anticipated new volume in the noble avocation of bird identification, you can venture into nature with confidence. This farcical field guide will help you identify over 200 birds, but more importantly, for the first time in history, it will also help you understand what these birds are thinking: The vainglorious grebe is acutely aware of its own magnificence.
The hipster pelican thinks the world is a sh*tbarge. The overbearing heron wishes you better luck next time, f*cknuts. The counsellor swallow wants you to maybe try not being a d*ckhead. … and many, many more.
Alongside beautiful, scientifically accurate illustrations and a whole lot of swearing is incisive commentary on modern life and the world we, as humans, must navigate. Or maybe it’s just some pictures of effin’ birds, okay?
A less than serious collection of birds with obscene attributes is available in hardback for £14.99.
Fifty years after The Andromeda Strain made Michael Crichton a household name – and spawned a new genre, the technothriller – the threat returns, in a gripping sequel that is terrifyingly realistic and resonant.
THE EVOLUTION IS COMING.
In 1967, an extra-terrestrial microbe designated the Andromeda Strain, came crashing down to Earth and nearly ended the human race. A team of top scientists assigned to Project Wildfire worked valiantly to save the world from an epidemic of unimaginable proportions.
In the ensuing decades, research on the microparticle continued. And the world thought it was safe…. Deep inside Fairchild Air Force Base, Project Eternal Vigilance has continued to watch and wait for the Andromeda Strain to reappear.
For years, the project has registered no activity-until now. A Brazilian terrain-mapping drone has detected a bizarre anomaly of otherworldly matter, and, worse yet, the tell-tale chemical signature of the deadly microparticle. With this shocking discovery, the next-generation of Project Wildfire is activated, and a diverse team of experts hailing from all over the world is dispatched to investigate the potentially apocalyptic threat.
But the microbe is growing – evolving. And if the Wildfire team can’t reach the quarantine zone, enter the anomaly, and figure out how to stop it, this new Andromeda Evolution will annihilate all life as we know it.
A sequel to ‘The Andromeda Strain’, this book is definitely on Julia’s wish list!
The Andromeda Evolution is available in hardback for £18.99.
by Lily Dyu
When faced with climate change, the biggest threat that our planet has ever confronted, it’s easy to feel as if nothing you do can really make a difference . . . but this book proves that individual people can change the world.
With twenty inspirational stories celebrating the pioneering work of a selection of Earth Heroes from all around the globe, from Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough to Yin Yuzhen and Isatou Ceesay, each tale is a beacon of hope in the fight for the future of our planet, proving that one person, no matter how small, can make a difference.
Featuring illustrations by Jackie Lay,
Earth Heroes is an inspiring account of the world saviours, available in hardback for £9.99.
by Katy Birchall, Jane Austen
A fresh, funny and accessible retelling of Jane Austen’s classic story, with witty black and white illustrations throughout.
Emma Woodhouse is pretty, clever and rich, and sees no reason why she would ever need to get married. But she loves matchmaking for her neighbours, despite the advice of her friend Mr Knightley, who warns her against meddling.
Her latest success – the wedding of her governess – makes her certain that she can find the right match for anyone. Can Emma’s lucky streak continue? Or will best laid plans unravel… as they always seem to do?
Katy Birchall is the author of the IT Girl and Secrets of a Teenage Heiress series. An Austen obsessive, she’s incredibly excited to introduce Emma Woodhouse to a whole new raft of readers. Illustrator, Eglantine Ceulemans captures all of Austen’s satire and wit, bringing her colourful casts to life with warm and funny black and white illustrations. Illustrated and retold editions are also available for: Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey.
The perfect way to discover Austen for the first time, this bright and bold collection features some of the most inspiring and famous heroines in English literature. For readers aged eight and up.
A cloth bound collection, abridged for the younger generation. Emma (and other titles in the collection) are available in hardback for £9.99 each.
As expectation mounts on Christmas Eve, a boy hears sleigh bells ringing and looks out of the window in time to see Santa arrive. Santa comes down the chimney (this is a fun picture as the book is tall and thin) and delivers the presents while pretending he does not notice the boy watching. Off he rides with all his favourite reindeer, and it’s time for Christmas to begin! Told in verse that’s perfect to recite aloud with all the family gathered around, this poem has stood the test of time since it was first written almost 200 years ago.
A beautiful edition in a traditional style, for the newest family member to cherish.
The Night Before Christmas is available in hardback for £12.99.
A great, engaging, book, both for those with an interest in mathematics and also for readers who would like to feel a bit more confident with numbers. It contains lots of thought-provoking content, including how most of the numbers that quoted to us in the news are, in fact, estimates. The content is also great for sparking an interest in mathematics and debate with secondary school aged children.
How many cats are there in the world? What’s the chance of winning the lottery twice? And just how long does it take to count to a million? Learn how to tackle tricky maths problems with nothing but the back of an envelope, a pencil and some good old-fashioned brain power.
Join Rob Eastaway as he takes an entertaining look at how to figure without a calculator. Packed with amusing anecdotes, quizzes, and handy calculation tips for every situation, Maths on the Back of an Envelope is an invaluable introduction to the art of estimation, and a welcome reminder that sometimes our own brain is the best tool we have to deal with numbers.
Maths on the back of an envelope is available in hardback for £9.99.
I could not put this book down – a brilliantly engaging read and one of the best books I’ve read in a long while. I’m looking forward to her next book, The Foundling, coming out in February 2020. Stacey will be one of the authors attending our Pudding, Read, Love event on Thursday 13th February at the Guildhall, Abingdon.
In a time of suspicion and accusation, to be a woman is the greatest risk of all . . .
Fleetwood Shuttleworth is 17 years old, married, and pregnant for the fourth time. But as the mistress at Gawthorpe Hall, she still has no living child, and her husband Richard is anxious for an heir. When Fleetwood finds a letter she isn’t supposed to read from the doctor who delivered her third stillbirth, she is dealt the crushing blow that she will not survive another pregnancy.
Then she crosses paths by chance with Alice Gray, a young midwife. Alice promises to help her give birth to a healthy baby, and to prove the physician wrong. As Alice is drawn into the witchcraft accusations that are sweeping the north-west, Fleetwood risks everything by trying to help her.
But is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Soon the two women’s lives will become inextricably bound together as the legendary trial at Lancaster approaches, and Fleetwood’s stomach continues to grow. Time is running out, and both their lives are at stake. Only they know the truth.
Only they can save each other.
The Familiars is available in paperback for £8.99.
By Holly Bourne
This is a clever and intelligent book dealing with a very difficult subject matter. I would recommend it to adult readers as well as YA. There are some explicit details in the book which some parents may prefer younger YA readers to stay away from.
It looked like love. It felt like love. But this isn’t a love story.
Amelie fell hard for Reese. And she thought he loved her too. But she’s starting to realise that real love isn’t supposed to hurt like this.
So now she’s retracing their story, revisiting all the places he made her cry. Because if she works out what went wrong, perhaps she can finally learn how to get over him.
The Places I’ve Cried in Public is available in paperback for £7.99.
A great introduction into the human body; written in a very accessible way for young readers who are asking questions on how the body actually works using the correct terminology to label parts of the body and its many processes. Beautifully illustrated and not just for children – I’ve learnt something new by reading it!
Join Doctor Max Pemberton as he takes you on a marvellous adventure around the human body! Shrink yourself down as small as you can go. No – much smaller than that! You’ll need to be small enough to crawl up nostrils, peer inside eyeballs and float through the bloodstream, because we’re about to embark on an amazing trip through your awesome anatomy. On our travels we’ll discover startling facts about how our bodies work and why they’re so extraordinarily special.
And that’s not all – Dr Max will be on hand to help you feel your best with his expert body boosting tips on living and eating well. So grab your magnifying glass and stethoscope, and let’s set off on our marvellous adventure of being human!
The Marvellous Adventure of Being Human is available in hardback for £14.99.
By Alex T. Smith
This is a beautifully written story book which will make a lovely addition to the Christmas countdown. I have been reading this to my 4 year-old and every day she is excited to find out what happens next on Winston’s Christmas adventure. I can see she will be enjoying this for many years, long after she has become a confident independent reader herself and it will become a much-loved family tradition. At the end of each chapter are lovely ideas of festive activities – the Christmas rocky road recipe was delicious!
From Alex T. Smith, bestselling author of the Claude series, comes How Winston Delivered Christmas – the irresistible story of the brave little mouse who sets out on an adventure on Christmas Eve. Featuring beautiful colour artwork and Christmassy activities to make-and-do throughout, this gorgeous book is sure to become a festive family tradition that will be enjoyed year after year.
Winston the mouse is on a Very Important Mission. On Christmas Eve, he finds a letter to Father Christmas that did not make it to the post box – so, with no time to lose, he sets out to deliver it himself in time for Christmas Day! He has a lot of Very Exciting Adventures on his Very Important Mission and makes some wonderful friends along the way.
Each chapter includes its very own festive activity for all the family to enjoy together – including writing a letter to Father Christmas, making mince pies, designing your very own Christmas cards, making presents, creating decorations, and so much more! This flapped paperback features a festively foiled cover and artwork on beautiful paper, making it the perfect Christmas gift.
How Winston Delivered Christmas is available in paperback for £9.99.
Having two small children at home I read a lot of picture books and this one was a real treat! A unique, feel-good and clever Christmas story which I’m sure will help keep the magic alive for some children just a bit longer.
The big red suit was ironed and ready. The elves had stuffed the final teddy, when from the bathroom came a yelp, ‘Ho Ho, oh no! Quick, someone HELP!’. When Santa accidentally shaves off his famous beard, the elves all rally round to help. Can they glue it back on? Maybe the answer is whipped cream or candyfloss.
Or perhaps it’s mashed potato . . .
Will they be able to sort him out before Christmas Eve? Things are not looking too good until the littlest elf has a bright idea! Festive and fun, this is destined to become a seasonal favourite.
Santa’s New Beard is available in paperback for £6.99.
Bestselling author and cartoonist Randall Munroe explains how to predict the weather by analyzing the pixels of your Facebook photos. He teaches you how to tell if you’re a baby boomer or a millennial by measuring the radioactivity of your teeth. He offers tips for taking a selfie with a telescope, crossing a river by boiling it, and getting to your appointments on time by destroying the moon.
And if you want to get rid of this book once you’re done with it, he walks you through your options for proper disposal, including dissolving it in the ocean, converting it to a vapour, using tectonic plates to subduct it into the Earth’s mantle, or launching it into the sun. By exploring the most complicated ways to do simple tasks, Munroe doesn’t just make things difficult for himself and his readers. As he did so brilliantly in What If?, he invites us to explore the most absurd reaches of the possible.
Full of clever infographics and amusing illustrations, How To is a delightfully mind-bending way to better understand the science and technology underlying the things we do every day.
How To is available in hardback for £16.99.
Imogen says: “YA is always my hardest pick – I read so much of it and love so many (and honorary mention to Maggie Stiefvater’s Call Down the Hawk which I read only a day after finishing the Scythe series and ALMOST got this years pick) but the Arc of a Scythe really blew me away.
It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read – instead of a dystopian, government controlling world, Scythe is set in a perfect utopia. Illness has been cured, there is world peace – all watched over by the all-knowing Thunderhead, a Super AI that cares for the world and all its people. And nope – before you start thinking ‘oh, no, evil computer AI controlling everything!’ it really really doesn’t go there.
Instead, with illness being non-existent (and war and crime…), death too has been irradicated. The Thunderhead can bring the dead back to life – but to stop the world being overcrowded, the most moral people in the world are tasked with being Scythes – hired to kill randomly to keep the population down.
Citra and Rowan are teenagers who have been selected to be scythes’ apprentices, and despite wanting nothing to do with the vocation, they must learn the art of killing and understand the necessity of what they do. Only one of them will be chosen as a scythe’s apprentice and as Citra and Rowan come up against a terrifyingly corrupt Scythedom, it becomes clear that the winning apprentice’s first task will be to glean the loser.
The first book is awesome, the second even better, and the third takes you to heights even I wasn’t expecting. It is a brilliant series – and the box set cover art is pretty cool too!”
The Arc of Sythe Boxed Set is available for £23.97.
I love a good pop-up book. I half think every book should have pop up sections – so this book is brilliant, because not only does it pop out at you, different parts are flaps so you can dive deeper below the inner workings of this dinosaur!
The complete body of a Tyrannosaurus rex has recently been uncovered, its remains mysteriously preserved. It is the discovery of a lifetime! In this detailed report, a team of scientists prepare to dissect the body – and you are lucky enough to be helping them. Grab your scalpel and prepare to get stuck in.
Tyrannosaurus Rex is available in hardback for £25.
I love a good fairy tale, and an even better retelling. My favourite fairytale, however, is a lesser-known one, often forgotten under its more well-known sisters: ‘East of the Sun, West of the Moon.’
North Child is a retelling of that very story, about a girl called Rose. Rose is an unusual child, a North Child. For Rose was born facing north, and the old stories say she is destined to travel far from home on a dangerous journey. Making a pact with an enormous white bear, Rose travels on his back to a mysterious castle that holds a dark enchantment, a darker temptation, and the key to her true destiny.
North Child is available in paperback for £7.99.
By Mac Barnett
We all know a curious child, that always asks questions. Mainly ‘why?’ Well, this book answers all those questions…. Just not exactly correctly!
Why is the ocean blue? What is rain? What happened to the dinosaurs? It might be time for bed, but one child is too full of questions about the world to go to sleep just yet. Little ones and their parents will be charmed and delighted as a patient father offers up increasingly creative responses to his child’s night-time wonderings.
Just Because is available in hardback for £12.99.
Imogen Says: “I’ve read a huge amount of amazing books this year, but from the second I opened The Starless Sea, I knew that this book would steal my heart. A story about stories, it is a love letter to words and books and the magic that weaves between the people who read them and tell them. When Zachary finds an old book in his uni library, he starts to read it, only to find his own memories in the third chapter. This mystery leads him to a masked ball, then to a door – a door that opens to an underground world filled with stories. On books and parchment and in the very air.
But where there are stories, there is danger – and Zachary has to navigate the stories in the Harbor along with his own, to see where they will all end up.
This is a truly stunning book – if you’ve read The Night Circus, you’ll be familiar with Morgenstern’s way of writing, that sucks you in so much you forget that you’re only holding a book (if you haven’t, that’s also a beautiful book!). It’s the type of book that has you blinking as you raise your head from the page, has you looking out for those doors everywhere you look. Honestly, if there’s one book you pick up this season (for yourself or for presents!) make it this one. You won’t be disappointed! ”
The Starless Sea is available in hardback for £16.99.
Bill Bryson, best selling author of A Short History of Nearly Everything, takes us on a head-to-toe tour of the marvel that is the human body. This book will leave you laughing, shaking your head or maybe even both on every single page. No matter your level of scientific knowledge, Bryson’s eye for detail will keep you engaged, outraged, or just even make you smile.
Available in hardback for £25.
Still thinking about Heather Morris’ harrowing and compelling story of “The Tattoosit of Auschwitz” well after you’ve put it down? Then read the true heartbreaking sequel based on Cilka Klein who is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival. Although this historical novel is an emotional read, it is also uplifting at times, giving a story of hope and courage.
Available in hardback for £14.99.
The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it. But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the crime, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth . . . ? This Christmas, take a rollercoaster ride by reading another of Holly Jackson’s YA thrillers, leaving you shaking, blubbering, dizzy, confused but also happy and smiling all at the same time!
Available in paperback for £7.99.
Sucker for dogs on a front cover? “I, Cosmo is a “woof – tastically” heart warming story, full of life, and will be sure to make your heart strike whenever you next see a Golden Retriever. Cosmo’s family is falling apart and it’s up to Cosmo to keep them together. He knows exactly what to do. There’s only one problem – Cosmo is a Golden Retriever. A moving, beautiful, hilarious story of one dog’s attempt to save his family, become a star, and eat a lot of bacon.
Available in paperback for £6.99.
Celebrate the dawning of a new decade with the fully revised Guinness World Records 2020. The electrifying new cover with thousands of new, updated and classic superlatives, hundreds of never-before-seen images, and a selection of eye-opening photo-composites that put a new spin on record-breaking will make sure that you go into the new year knowing some fun and crazy facts about the diverse and dedicated record breakers located all over the world.
Available in hardback for £20.
Soar into space with this glorious love story of alien folk, from the creators of The Gruffalo and Stick Man. Whilst the fun rhyming patterns and colours are a delight for little ones, the simple yet positive message of tolerance and acceptance makes it a joy to read for all the family.
Available in hardback for £12.99.
Rabbit is not tired and doesn’t want to go to bed, so decides to capture the dark in their biscuit tin and stay up late. But Rabbit soon learns why the dark is so important, and has a big decision to make.
This picture book has a beautiful fold-out surprise inside, and has been tried and tested by Lyndsey’s three-year-old niece. The perfect bedtime story!
Available in paperback for £6.99. Get in touch to order your copy.
The Iguana Boy series is great for age seven plus readers. Following the success of the first two books, the final Iguana Boy instalment hit the shelves a few months ago, which sees Dylan once again team up with trusty scaled-sidekick Paul. Can they defeat super villain Mind Bender who has kidnapped all the super heroes? With familiar illustrations by Rikin Parekh, these books are sure to entertain your super-hero fans.
As a local author, together with Mostly Books, James has visited primary schools across Oxfordshire presenting creative workshops, and giving hilarious talks to young children. Exciting alien adventures are due to land in his brand-new material currently being penned.
All Iguana Boy books are available in paperback for £6.99. Get in touch to order your copy.
This stunning book is filled from cover to cover with inky illustrations and life affirmations, as a young boy embarks on a journey, befriending a chatty cake-loving mole, a quiet fox and a wise horse.
Perfect for all ages, this book is a beautiful reminder to be kind and gentle with ourselves and others…and to always make time for some cake!
Available in hardback for £16.99. Get in touch to order your copy.