lovereading4kids Latest: Books of the Month - September

Zog - Julia Donaldson

Zog
Julia Donaldson

Format: Hardback - Released: 06/09/2010
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The creators of the best-selling Gruffalo have invented a delightful new character – Zog the little dragon who always wants to do best at school. Zog’s determination to win gold stars leads him into loads of mishaps but luckily he always gets help from a little girl. And she is just as helpful when he needs a princess to rescue. Soon Zog, the princess and the prince who wants to marry her are off to do good in the world in this witty reinvention of the role of dragons.

Up and Down - Oliver Jeffers

Up and Down
Oliver Jeffers

Format: Hardback - Released: 02/09/2010
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A touching story of how two friends feel when they separate and try to manage without each other. Prize-winning illustrator Oliver Jeffers specialises in spare illustrations which are warm hearted but also capture the deep sadness of being alone in the world. Here a little boy and a penguin are the firmest of friends who are never happier than when they are playing their favourite game. Until, one day, Penguin feels he must try to fly. Penguin sets off on his personal quest but without his best friend at his side nothing seems to go right. How the two friends find each other in the nick of time is a beautifully told in words and pictures.

Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil - Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil
Derek Landy

Format: Hardback - Released: 02/09/2010
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Best-selling Skulduggery Pleasant has taken the world by storm. A hugely entertaining mix of fear and fun in a magical community where the strangest things seem to happen for unpredictable reasons, this fifth volume tells a new chapter in the life of the maverick Skulduggery. All is not well in the magical world as thousands of wicked souls possess any available body in their attempt to reach the messiah which means soon no one can trust anyone else – even their very best friends. Skulduggery Pleasant has to set about trying to put things right in his own very unusual way.

Scat - Carl Hiaasen

Scat
Carl Hiaasen

Format: Paperback - Released: 02/09/2010
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Totally topical, Scat is a brilliant fast-moving eco-aware thriller set in the swamps of Florida. Nick and Marta get sucked into the world of corrupt oil prospectors and fanatical eco-activists when Mrs Starch, a formidably horrible teacher at Truman School, takes the class on a trip to Black Vine Swamp and simply disappears. Behind the great adventure are serious messages and warnings about the despoliation of a very special area.

Boom! - Mark Haddon

Boom!
Mark Haddon

Format: Paperback - Released: 02/09/2010
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Everything about this deliciously improbable adventure is almost completely daft – and that’s the fun of it all. When Charlie sets up his walkie-talkie in the staff room he doesn’t hear gossip about the pupils as he had expected. Instead, he finds the teachers are speaking in a foreign language that no one has ever heard of. Charlie is kidnapped trying to find out more and when Jim sets out to find him – his sister ‘borrows’ a motorbike and driving him up to Skye - he too is caught up in the disturbing rituals of an unusual group. Jim tells the madcap story which also includes a wry and light-hearted view of family life.

The Search for WondLa - Tony Diterlizzi

The Search for WondLa
Tony Diterlizzi

Format: Hardback - Released: 01/10/2010
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Creator of the best-selling Spiderwick series, Tony Diterlizzi has created a hugely imaginative world in which twelve year old Eva Nine sets out on a seemingly impossible quest with just small picture with the word ‘WONDLA’ on it to guide her. Eva has never seen another human in all of her life. Now, travelling through a wondrous landscape she meets a host of unlikely characters as she searches for home and family. It’s a touching story and the imaginary world is brilliantly envisaged in words and additional pictorial material. Fans of the Spiderwick Chronicles will devour it as will anyone with a penchant for fantasy storytelling. This author is one of the best.

Bob and Barry's Lunar Adventures 3: The Heartless Robots - Simon Bartram

Bob and Barry's Lunar Adventures 3: The Heartless Robots
Simon Bartram

Format: Paperback - Released: 01/09/2010
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A thrilling new adventure for Bob, the loveable man-on-the-moon. Bob’s happiest day comes when he wins the Inventions Competition. Soon, his Galaxobot 300 will bring order to the lives of every overworked spaceman. But Bob has no idea how angry his success makes Stan the Man who has been pipped at the post for the prize. Bob’s orderly world is suddenly reduced to absolute chaos by his enemy in this charming space age adventure.

The Great Rabbit Rescue - Katie Davies

The Great Rabbit Rescue
Katie Davies

Format: Paperback - Released: 02/09/2010
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The eagerly awaited sequel to the award winning The Great Hamster Massacre. Once again featuring 9 year old Anna and five year old Tom go on a quest for a pet. The Great Rabbit Rescue reunites its readers with the same hilarious, yet heart-warming tones but with new characters, new animals and a new challenge for its loveable leads. Interspersed with some wonderfully humorous illustrations throughout the text it’s sure to be a great hit to the 50,000 or so existing fans of Anna and Tom as well as many new ones.

The Dead - Charlie Higson

The Dead
Charlie Higson

Format: Hardback - Released: 16/09/2010
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Charlie Higson packs a punch with the second in his gripping adventure series set in a dystopian future in which adults have ceased to be protectors. England has been struck by a deadly disease which takes out young people as soon as they turn fourteen. Just occasionally a few survive; they are even more terrifying as they become zombies greedy for human flesh. As the world implodes buildings are destroyed and there is no food to be had. Contagion is every where. And yet, the children must survive. Jack and Ed take up the burden of leadership but they are really only kids and the responsibility for the survival of the growing group of children under their care is enormous. Against this challenging setting Charlie Higson has created a story which shows the power of friendship and courage in extreme circumstances.

Worse Things Happen at Sea: The Ratbridge Chronicles Vol 2 - Alan Snow

Worse Things Happen at Sea: The Ratbridge Chronicles Vol 2
Alan Snow

Format: Hardback - Released: 07/10/2010
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This is the second in The Ratbridge Chronicles. However, like the first it is a stand-alone novel in its own right. It’s a tale of pirates, poison and monsters and swashbuckling adventure on the high seas as the doctor of Ratbridge and various erstwhile friends go on a crazy voyage to find the missing ingredient to a marvelous medicine that will cure everything. Illustrated throughout with hundreds of the author’s incredible black and white drawings, this irresistible novel will entrance readers of all ages and mums and dads too. Also perfect for reading aloud with children as the pages are chock full of illustrations. There is also a fantastic website – www.ratbridgechronicles.co.uk – where kids will find downloadable posters and wallpapers and much much more.

Slog's Dad - David Almond

Slog's Dad
David Almond

Format: Hardback - Released: 06/09/2010
Lovereading4kids Price: £6.74 - Saving £2.25 (25%)

Award-winning author/ illustrator team David Almond and Dave McKean have followed up The Savage with an equally stunning new book told partly as a graphic novel and partly as a story. Full of the kind of mystery David Almond created in his best-selling Skellig, Slog’s Dad tells how, after his father’s death, Slog copes with his acute feelings of loss and how he finds an embodiment of his father in whom he can believe. Whether the scruffy figure outside the butcher is really his father or not, Slog believes in him. As ever, David Almond’s writing is vivid and Dave McKean’s illustrations bring the story powerfully to life.

Ottoline at Sea - Chris Riddell

Ottoline at Sea
Chris Riddell

Format: Hardback - Released: 03/09/2010
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Award winning author/ illustrator Chris Riddell weaves another fantastical story about Ottoline and her very special and very hairy friend, Mr. Munroe. Ottoline and Mr. Munroe love solving tricky problems and working out clever plans; they love putting on disguises and travelling across enormous spaces. When Mr. Munroe disappears leaving a clue to his whereabouts written in string wrapped around the sofa, Ottoline has to travel over and under the sea equipped with her Amateur Roving Collectors’ travel pass to find him. Brilliantly told in words and pictures this is a captivating adventure, irresistible to follow.

Letters from an Alien Schoolboy - Ros Asquith

Letters from an Alien Schoolboy
Ros Asquith

Format: Paperback - Released: 24/09/2010
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This is the first in a terrific new series for 7+ year olds – both boys and girls. Packed with some hilarious illustrations and the story itself is a real page-turner. It features an alien who comes to spy on earth and in order to meld in disguises himself as a schoolboy. He thinks earthlings are very strange and having to wear clothes is almost the most strange thing of all. The story is told through a series of letters to his best friend and the story is full of humour and pace which is sure to appeal to even the most reluctant of readers.

Iris and Isaac - Catherine Rayner

Iris and Isaac
Catherine Rayner

Format: Hardback - Released: 01/09/2010
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Prize-winning illustrator Catherine Rayner has produced a new outstanding title. Polar bears Iris and Isaac fall out over sharing their nest. Each stomps away in a Big Bear Huff but soon both find that they don’t enjoy anything half as much on their own. Luckily, they are reunited and find they can share the nest after all. Set against a stunning winter landscape, this is a perfect book about friendship.

Flossie Crums 2: the Enchanted Cookie Tree A Flossie Crums Baking Adventure - Helen Nathan

Flossie Crums 2: the Enchanted Cookie Tree A Flossie Crums Baking Adventure
Helen Nathan

Format: Hardback - Released: 06/09/2010
Lovereading4kids Price: £6.74 - Saving £2.25 (25%)

Another brilliant baking adventure that combines a great story featuring top cookie maker Flossie Crums with some fabulous cookie recipes, each one easy enough for children to do on their own with limited parental supervision. The art of baking has never been so much fun and coupled with the story of Flossie, it will provide hours of entertainment. Its sister book is the Fairy Cupcake’s Ball, which just like this one has a great story and is also full of some terrific cupcake recipes.