Heroic siblings, coastal wonders and monster poems by various authors – children’s book reviews -

Age 9 plus:

The Secret of the Blood-Red Key

David Farr

Inspired by his own family history which saw his Jewish grandparents escape Germany for England,, David Farr, one of the UK’s leading screenwriters and a film and theatre director, plays a blinder with his second breathtaking children’s book set in Krasnia, a sinister dictatorship where children are banned from playing in public and only allowed outdoors for exercise and education.

In this dazzling follow-up to the phenomenal The Book of Stolen Dreams, this master storyteller whisks us back into the lives of sister and brother Rachel and Robert Klein who have defeated the tyrant Malstain and become the heroes of Krasnia, but all is not how it should be. Robert is swept away with his new friends, leaving Rachel alone to take care of her ailing father who is lost without their beloved mother. From nowhere, a boy appears knowing the secrets of the hidden blood-red key that Rachel received in the public library of Brava at the end of their last adventure. She soon discovers that the key is a way into the Hinterland – the land of the dead – and Rachel must promise that, as a new key keeper, she will answer when it calls. And when a young girl, Elsa Spiegel, is illegally smuggled into the Hinterland, Rachel has no choice but to use her key to save Elsa. But her fate is linked to Krasnia, and Rachel must battle to save her home as she knows it.

Once again, Farr brings us a fantastically imagined cast of characters – including two brave lead players, an eccentric family of artist ghosts and a pair of sinister siblings – and all set against a rich, gripping and timeless backdrop.

With darkness, danger and mystery at every turn, and a dazzling silver-foiled cover, this exhilarating, page-turning story is guaranteed to send a thrill down the spine of all adventure-loving youngsters.

(Usborne, hardback, £12.99)

Age 11 plus:

Prey Zone: The Serpents Lair

Wilbur Smith, Keith Chapman and Steve Cole

A killer threat, an ancient evil and a lethal adversary! Welcome to the electrifying sequel to Wilbur Smith’s Prey Zone series for the next generation... thrilling adventures starring teen protagonists Ralph and Robyn Ballantyne who live at Crocodile Lodge, their family ranch in South Africa, where they help with wildlife and conservation. But now Ralph and Robyn are on the run from the nefarious hunting enthusiast Josef Gerhard in the wild Lebombo Mountains. His beastly man-made predasaurs have unleashed a deadly virus and only the Ballantynes have the evidence to prove it. They need to regroup and plan their next move if they want to stop him before it’s too late and find a cure for the virus. But deep in the forest, dangers lurk... poachers are circling, and Gerhard has a brand-new creation he wants to show off, if he can lure the Ballantynes to its lair. Can they outrun him in time to expose his monstrous crimes? And more importantly will they make it out of the serpent’s lair alive? Smith, the undisputed Master of Adventure, died in 2021 at the age of 88, but left behind an incredible raft of thrilling action novels, and with the help of some talented co-writers, like Keith Chapman and Steve Cole, Smith’s golden legacy lives on. So prepare for predasaurs, betrayals, thrills, spills and action with an unmissable Wilbur Smith flavour!

(Hot Key Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 8 plus:

By the Sea: Life Along the Coast

Judith Homoki and Martin Haake

Climb aboard and take an exciting and revealing trip around the coastlines of the world!

Brimming with illustrations and fascinating information, this coast-to-coast journey through time and across continents introduces young readers to the historical and cultural importance of the world’s seashores.

Coasts have always been the starting point of discovery, whether by explorers searching for new lands or children sifting through the sand for beautiful shells. This trip around the world’s oceans provides hours of fun and learning in a series of highly detailed double-page spreads that look at every aspect of critical coastal habitats, including the ebb and flow of tides, life in a coastal settlement, artistic depictions of seashores, native animals and plants, the whaling industry, tourism, and climate change.

Sail away from the shores of the North Sea to Waikiki, from Brighton to the Barrier Reef, and from the time the first continents came into being to the big port cities of today. On the way, meet legendary pirates, mythical sea creatures, sailors on shore, and the wild animals of the Brazilian rainforest. Then cross the Atlantic on a steamboat, visit fisheries in Dakar, and stroll across the beaches of the French Riviera.

By the Sea also provides a 21st century corrective to Western-centric narratives about exploration and colonialism and interspersed throughout are meticulously detailed maps of the world’s largest oceans highlighting historic events, figures and scientific facts.

As fun as it is informative, this vibrant book takes youngsters on a trip around the globe whilst fostering an important feeling of connection between their lives and the world’s coastlines.

(Prestel Junior, hardback, £19.99)

Age 7 plus:

Wheels: The Big Fun Book of Vehicles

Tom Schamp

No one knows exactly who invented the wheel... but in the inventive hands of illustrator Tom Schamp young readers will have great fun learning about all the ways that wheels have rolled through history.

Let animal pals, Otto and Brutus, and their friends take you on a thrilling journey through all kinds of vehicles from the historic Trojan Horse and the renowned Harley Davidson motorbike to the once indispensable stagecoach, groundbreaking steam train, famous double-decker bus, and the action lover’s skateboard.

From prehistoric carts to cars of tomorrow, this big, fact-packed book guides youngsters through a world where everything has wheels, whether that’s the simple Vespa scooter or the super-fast Ferrari. Discover why racing cars have spoilers, which bicycle race has a leader who wears a pink jersey, which van was made famous by surfers in California, what different countries’ emergency vehicles look like... and find buses of every imaginable dimension and weight.

Every spread of this entertaining and educational book is filled with Schamp’s quirky and colourful artwork. His sly, subtle texts will make adults smile while younger readers will return again and again to these playful and crowded pages in which each viewing reveals charming new details that are as absurdly funny as they are educationally rewarding.

So if the engines of your mind are already racing, go full speed ahead on the road to a whole wonderful world of vehicles!

(Prestel Publishing, hardback, £18.99)

Age 7 plus:

Gods and Monsters – Mythological Poems

Ana Sampson and Chris Riddell

Words and pictures combine in memorable lyrical harmony as bestselling anthologist Ana Sampson and renowned illustrator Chris Riddell work their magic on an exquisite pantheon of verse from around the world. Poetry and mythology fans will adore this stunning collection with its rich array of poetry from across the ages, all brought to life by Riddell’s luminous, black and white line illustrations, and with an introduction by writer and classicist Natalie Haynes. People all over the world have always told each other stories from the very earliest times, and many of these stories were told in verse. This breathtaking anthology includes the retellings and reimaginings of Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Celtic, Aztec, Japanese and Inuit mythology. And as you read through the pages, you will meet gods, monsters, tricksters, heroes, magical creatures and objects, and magicians and spirits including Medusa, Icarus, Loki, Osiris, the Minotaur, Pegasus, Bunyip, Kukulcan, Cerberus, Beowolf and Mjolnir. Gods and Monsters includes poems from Neil Gaiman, W B Yeats, Kae Tempest, Sylvia Plath, Shakespeare, Benjamin Zephaniah, Joseph Coelho, and Siegfried Sassoon, and Sampson also provides intriguing footnotes to shine a light on the stories themselves. A beautifully created gift book for readers of every age!

(Macmillan Children’s Books, hardback, £14.99)

Age 7 plus:

The 169-Storey Treehouse: Monkeys, Mirrors, Mayhem!

Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

There are lots of laughs at every level in the 169-Storey Treehouse, the last hilarious, all-action book in the worldwide bestselling Treehouse series by author Andy Griffiths and illustrator Terry Denton.

Yes, the ‘wizards of Oz’ are back with their incredible, ever-expanding treehouse and this time the incredible 169 storeys mark the final chapter of a larger-than-life series!

For over twelve years, and across ten million or more readers, the Australian team of Griffiths and Denton have turned their zany adventure stories, featuring two young would-be publishing sensations (unsurprisingly called Andy and Terry!), into a real-life reading phenomenon. The success of the Treehouse series just grew and grew, and the amazing creators are climbing higher than ever in their last wild and wacky, highly illustrated, laugh-out-loud book which comes packed with hilarious antics, jokes and cartoons.

And the 169-Storey Treehouse proves to be their biggest and most astonishing treehouse yet! It has everything they – and you – could wish for, including an electric pony stable, a NOISY level, a weather dome (where you can have whatever weather you want whenever you want it), and a 100% edible gingerbread house and a potato-powered translation transmitter that allows you to talk to everything everywhere all at the same time. There’s also a hall of funhouse mirrors, which is the perfect place to hide from Mr Bunkoff who is trying to catch Andy, Terry and Jill in order to send them to school. But Anti-Andy, Terrible Terry and Junkyard Jill, their trouble-making opposites, are trapped in one of the mirrors... and they want out. (Oh, and Mr Big Nose wants them to write their book... right now!) Can our heroes escape school, defeat their doppelgängers AND meet their book deadl