The Night-time Cat and the Plump Grey Mouse: A Trinity College Tale by Erika McGann and Lauren O'Neill

On a dark night, in the depths of Trinity Library, Pangar Bán climbs out of the Book of Kells in search of a mouse. As she travels around the college she meets various historical figures, but the mouse continues to evade her...

Fake by Donna Cooper

Tired of being picked on for her size, Maisie sets up a fake online account and targets the 'popular' kids at her school, planning to enact her revenge. But the more she learns about them, the more she realises that no one is exactly what they appear to be. Can she go through with her plan?

Cursed by Frank Miller and Thomas Wheeler

Nimue, an outcast young Druid, finds herself the reluctant leader of a revolution when the Sword of Power comes to her. Desperate to save her people from Church prosecution, she must decide who to trust and who to betray.

Three Little Monkeys Ride Again by Quentin Blake and Emma Chichester Clark

Hilda's taking her three little monkeys for a holiday at her mother's. Such a calm, peaceful place will help them all to relax! Won't it?

Our Planet by Matt Whyman

This beautiful book is a companion to the Netflix series. Stunning photos and illustrations show the great diversity of life in some of the remotest parts of our planet.

Hollywood wants to kill you by Rick Edwards and Dr Michael Brooks

Taking specific movies as inspiration, Rick and Michael dissect the science behind various death scenarios and show us how likely - or unlikely - they actually are.

The Great Brain Robbery by PG Bell

Suzy and her friends are back on the Impossible Postal Express, but something is rotten at the heart of Trollville. Their mission to save it will take them to amazing new worlds and gain them new allies and enemies.

Period by Emma Barnett

An honest, funny, brave look at periods, aimed at encouraging people to stop hiding this completely normal part of life.

The Cat Man of Aleppo by Irene Latham and Karin Shamsi-Basha

I'm in work, I can't be crying like this! Ah. There's nothing quite like a really good picture book to get you where it hurts, is there? When Syria fell into civil war, an ambulance driver stayed behind when most people fled. As the city emptied of people, he noticed the cats that were left behind. He couldn't bear to see them starve, so he spent his meagre wages on food for them, becoming known as the Cat Man of Aleppo.

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

Magical Western adventure, as five girls attempt to escape the brothel they've been sold to by starving families in order to save one of their lives.

I'm not Dying with you Tonight by Gilly Segal and Kim Jones

When a riot breaks out at a school football match, two girls who never spoke before must rely on each other to cross the town to safety.

Ladybird Tales of Super Heroes & Forgotten Fairy Tales of Brave and Brilliant Girls

Both of these collections feature less well known stories, to stave off boredom at reading about the same old heroines and heroes doing the same old things. SuperHeroes features characters such as Ananzi (super powers: cunning and being a spider) and Hanuman (special powers: bravery and being a monkey.) The Forgotten Fairy Tales are all about girls who go out and save themselves, like the Nettle Princess (also known as Maid Maleen) and Brave Molly (Molly Whuppie.) The illustrations are beautiful in both books, providing plenty to pore over and discuss.

These books should be on every shelf in every house and school. They're fantastic. Literally!

Superheroes have always been with us, from gods with mighty powers to human heroes who don disguises to save the day . . . Join six larger-than-life mythic and legendary heroes from around the world in this colourful, illustrated collection of Ladybird Tales. Meet tricksters, fighters, shape-shifters and even people who save the day with just the power of speech.

Here are eight forgotten fairy tales, with heroines who are not quiet and passive, but adventurous, intelligent and daring. Stories include a sleeping prince rescued by a princess, sisters who fight a goblin to rescue a bear, and a young girl who outwits a giant to save her family. �A collection of feminist fairytales, forgotten over history, for the modern reader. Perfect for fans of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, Jessie Burton’s The Restless Girls and Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s The Way Past Winter. Featuring gorgeous illustrations in a beautiful hardback edition, this is a perfect Christmas gift.

Slay by Brittney Morris

Kiera spends all her time monitoring herself, careful not to be 'too black' in her mostly white school and neighbourhood. At home, though, when she can go online and play the VR game she invented...that's a whole other story. But how long can she keep it safe?

Boy Giant by Michael Morpurgo

Omar is forced to flee Afganistan. He hopes to meet his mother again in the mystical place called England, where people smile and help each other and there is no war. But his boat goes down at sea and he wakes up somewhere very different...

Shooting for the Stars by Dr Norah Patten

Dr Patten was determined to become an astronaut from an early age. In this beautifully illustrated book from the O'Brien press, she shares some of the work that got her there and what life is like in space.

Cosmic Crystals by Ashley Leavy

A beautifully illustrated guide to working with lunar cycles to get the most out your crystals.

Mother Tongue by Patricia Forde

The battle for Ark was only the first step. Letta and her friends discover that the new leader has a new, even more horrifying plan to keep children from gaining any language skills. They'll have to be careful, brave, and use all their wit to overcome it and save the mother tongue.

Suggested Reading by Dave Connis

Clara believes passionately that books change lives. When her school quietly bans more than fifty novels, she decides she's not going to take it lying down and starts a secret library.

Rebel Girls by Elizabeth Keenan

ABORTION. It's a dirty word in Athena's conservative, Catholic school. When rumours spread that Athena's pretty, popular sister had an abortion over the summer, she and her friends must gather unlikely and surprising allies to help her.

The Quintland Sisters by Shelley Wood

The story of the famous Quints of Canada, as told through the journal of a young nurse attached to them and the newspaper clippings and letters she saves.

I Go Quiet by David Ouimet

I've been trying to write this review for days, and I'm still going to miss a thought or forget something, because this is the kind of book with something new to discover every time you look at it. The story is about an introverted child learning that being introverted isn't a problem or an illness to be healed, but my attention was grabbed on every page by the illustrations. My favourite is the various views of the patchwork city, but there's so much to look at in every single one. Definitely one to take your time over, savour, and come back to again and again. Wonderful.

The Shamer's Secret and The Serpent Gift by Lene Kaaberbol

The second and third books in this fantasy quartet add some ambiguity to the world and layers to the story of Dina and her family.

The Thousand Steps by Helen Brain

Trapped in a bunker for sixteen years, told that the outside world doesn't exist any more, Ebba is shocked to be elevated to the position of the biggest landowner in the world. Now she must navigate her strange new world without forgetting her old one.

There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

Disparate characters are drawn together in a fantasy world to fight in a battle between religions.