January brings a burst of exhilarating new fiction for readers of eight-plus. Laura Wood’s Vote for Effie (Scholastic) features an exuberant protagonist: huge-haired, stationery-obsessed Euphemia “Effie” Kostas gets off to a shaky start at her new school by antagonising popular junior council president Aaron Davis – then decides to run against him. Can Effie and her campaign team mobilise a groundswell of support? Wood’s deft, hilarious writing explores big themes – fairness, feminism and refusing to accept a dispiriting status quo – while Mirelle Ortega’s cheery illustrations do full justice to Effie’s luxuriant locks.
An evocative debut novel from Jasbinder Bilan, Asha and the Spirit Bird (Chicken House), weaves ancient Hindu beliefs into a fast-paced quest across modern-day India, from the foothills of the Himalayas to the bustle of the big city. Asha’s father, Paras, is away working in Zandapur – but now his letters have stopped coming, and her mother is dangerously in debt. Spurred on by the village fortune teller, Asha and her best friend, Jeevan, set out to find Paras, helped along by a great bird that just might be the spirit of Asha’s grandmother. Satisfyingly classic in feel, Bilan’s story also highlights contemporary issues, such as child labour and the perils of factory fires.
Also from Chicken House, Lucy Strange follows up last year’s The Secret of Nightingale Wood with a thrilling second world war story about belonging and betrayal, Our Castle by the Sea. Eleven-year-old Pet lives in a lighthouse, raised on eerie local tales such as the Daughters of Stone – stories full of wild waters, danger and sacrifice. As war breaks out, however, Pet, her sister Magda and their German mother become the targets of gossip and spite. When Mutti is taken away, and accusations of stolen secrets run rife, who can Pet trust?
From the US comes The Whispers by Greg Howard (Puffin), a heartbreaking, beguiling debut set in small-town South Carolina. Eleven-year-old Riley is sassy and smart with a missing mother and a crush on Dylan, his “personal redneck superhero”. He doesn’t think much of the detective assigned to his mother’s case; in fact, he is starting to believe that the Whispers – legendary creatures who grant wishes – may have hidden her in the forest. But what will he have to give up to discover the truth? This poignant journey through the badlands of grief is crammed with tenderness, wit and warmth.
For teenagers, from Penguin, the whip-smart Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by LC Rosen follows 17-year-old Jack Rothman, who is out, proud and cheerfully explicit about sex in his new online advice column. He also has a lot to contend with: disapproving teachers, gossiping peers and an alarming stalker, who deplores his glammed-up swagger, and wants to control his sexuality and appearance. Part thriller, part down-to-earth guide, this is humane, sex-positive writing of the funniest, filthiest and most heartening kind.
Lisa Williamson, author of The Art of Being Normal, returns with Paper Avalanche (David Fickling). Friendship and romance are too risky for Ro; no one must find out where she lives, in the squalid house her mother, Bonnie, has filled with strange purchases and hoarded paper. Can Ro resist Tanvi, whose determination to befriend her seems unstoppable? And could Ro’s talent for singing offer a way out of Bonnie’s suffocating maze? This pacy, instantly absorbing book evokes the fear and anger of being trapped or let down by parental obsession.
Anthony McGowan brings his four-book series about brothers Nicky and Kenny, their visceral love of the natural world and the bleak fondness of their family life, to a painful though uplifting conclusion in Lark (Barrington Stoke). The moment at which Nicky, injured on a snow-bound Yorkshire moor during an ill-fated winter hike, hears the “mad, ecstatic music” of a lark’s song is especially transporting.
For five- to eight-year-olds, meanwhile, from multitalented molecular biologist and graphic designer Sabina Radeva comes an entrancing picture‑book retelling of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (Puffin). It is filled with informative, beautifully designed diagrams and maps (as well as charming family portraits of Mr and Mrs Darwin, their eight children, and their dog). Salient quotations from the original book accompany clear, careful explanations of key concepts; the appendix cogently addresses misconceptions, as well as areas in which Darwin’s hypotheses have been outstripped by new scientific knowledge.
The Sea Book (DK) by Charlotte Milner also stands out, amid shoals of ocean-focused fact books, for its friendly and appealing design; it has clearly been made not for the coffee table but for children to use and enjoy. From the role the sea plays in sustaining human life, to details of exotic animals such as the cookiecutter shark and by-the-wind sailor, it is rich, engrossing, and packed with passion – especially when calling to preserve the seas from plastic pollution.
In a different vein, there is a deceptively simple little book from Eva Eland, When Sadness Comes to Call (Andersen). This contemplative, soft-textured story features Sadness as a sweet, see-through turquoise blob who visits an initially alarmed, overwhelmed child. If Sadness should show up at your door, Eland suggests, accepting, naming and welcoming it rather than hiding from the feeling, may help send it gently on its way.
Among picture books for younger readers, David LaRochelle’s playfully titled Isle of You (Walker) is imbued with a dreamlike richness and features warm pastel illustrations by Jaime Kim. After a sad or angry day, children are invited to take ship for their own beautiful refuge, casting their worries aside on a voyage to an island where eagle-back flights and roller-skating polar bears await. This is a lovely, soothing antidote to daily snappishness and stress.
From Two Hoots, and the fabulous author-illustrator Morag Hood, there’s the adorable aardvark story of Aalfred and Aalbert, whose different sleep cycles have doomed them never to meet, much to the frustration of a small avian matchmaker. Whether snoozing curled up in their burrows or following their passions of broccoli, cheese and flowers, these aardvarks, and their happy ending, make for ear‑to‑ear smiles.
Lastly, in Linda Sunderland’s The Kiss (Little Tiger), featuring Jessica Courtney-Tickle’s luminous illustrations, the kiss Edwyn blows his grandma becomes a treasure she keeps in her pocket. It generates more warmth and light wherever she goes – until a rich man tries to buy it from her. This sumptuous fairytale, filled with everyday magic, is a testament to the great power of the smallest loving gestures.
