The Cat who Couldn't be Bothered by Jack Kurland (spoilers in review)

This insightful yet light-hearted kids’ picture book is a touching reminder to look out for our friends and think about our feelings.

There is a cat. A cat that couldn’t be bothered to do anything … anything at all. His friends ask him if he wants to play but he doesn’t feel like it. They invite him on adventures to far-off places, but he would rather stay at home. Until one day, a friend asks how he is doing, and the true reason why he’d rather do nothing is revealed. He is feeling sad.

This is a story about feelings, friendship, and the importance of speaking to someone when you don’t feel right. This beautiful socially aware

Both children and adults will love the quirky and hilarious cat’s refusal to take part in anything, and the sweet and important message behind this story.

It’s never been more important to introduce kids to the importance of mental health. This bright children’s book is an easy way to talk about feelings and looking out for others. It provides an excellent jumping-off point for at-home and classroom discussions about emotional wellbeing and caring for others.

The Art Thieves by Andrea L. Rogers

Thanks for coming to see me; but by the time you read this, it will be too late. No one will have started to panic, yet; but in less than two months nothing will be the same. What came first, The Chicken or the Egg Flu? I wish it mattered. But let’s just say, maybe go back to wearing a mask, bathing in sanitizer, and avoid birds and eggs for a bit…

I did not kill my brother. I did quite the opposite, really.

It’s the year 2052. Stevie Henry is a Cherokee girl working at a museum in Texas, trying to save up enough money to go to college. The world around her is in a cycle of drought and superstorms, ice and fire … but people get by. But it’s about to get a whole lot worse.

When a mysterious boy shows up at Stevie’s museum saying that he’s from the future -- and telling her what is to come -- she refuses to believe him. But soon she will have no choice.

Happy #BookBirthday! 29 Aug 24

Happy Thursday! This week there are TWO books on our lists publishing!

Aisle Nine by Ian X Cho

It’s Black Friday—and the apocalypse is on sale!

Ever since the world filled with portals to hell and bloodthirsty demons started popping out on the reg, Jasper’s life has gotten worse and worse. A teenage nobody with no friends or family, he is plagued by the life he can’t remember and the person he’s sure he’s supposed to be.

Jasper spends his days working as a checkout clerk at the Here for You discount mart, where a hell portal in aisle nine means danger every shift. But at least at the mart he can be near his crush, Kyle Kuan, a junior member of the monster-fighting Vanguard, though Kyle really seems to hate Jasper for reasons he doesn’t remember or understand.

But when Jasper and Kyle learn they both share a frightening vision of the impending apocalypse, they’re forced to team up and uncover the uncomfortable truth about the hell portals and the demons that haunt the world. Because the true monsters are not always what they seem, the past is not always what we wish, and like it or not, on Black Friday, all hell will break loose starting in aisle nine. Perfect for fans of Grasshopper Jungle or The Last of Us comes Aisle Nine, the debut young adult novel from rising YA star Ian X. Cho.

First Term at Fernside by Sheena Wilkinson

It’s a new term at Fernside boarding school, and Robin can’t wait for fun in the dorm, playing games and maybe even winning the coveted Form Shield. But for new girl Linnet, Robin’s younger cousin, there are just too many new faces and strict rules.

Luckily, she has Robin for help and her very own hideaway. And when the adorable puppy Rudy disappears, it is Linnet who is determined to find him. Even if it means dragging Robin and all her new friends headfirst into danger.

There may be daring rescues, secret missions and adventures galore, but best of all are the true friendships to be made at Fernside.

The Crystal Spirit Talking Board by Amy Zerner and Monte Farber

The Crystal Spirit Talking Board is a powerful mandala of sacred crystal energy that can be used to tune into the messages from the Crystal Spirits through various symbols that combine with personal intention to provide answers to life’s questions.

The beautifully boxed kit consists of a unique board adorned with a mystical mandala design, a clear acrylic "Magical Message Indicator", and a 40-page illustrated guidebook

• The board has 15 Master Crystals in addition to power words, the moon phases, the eight directions, the numbers 0–9, and letters of the alphabet, which combine to create meaningful, insightful, and intriguing answers to life's questions

• The Crystal Spirit Talking Board is a "spiritual power tool" designed to help navigate a path to success in love, career, prosperity, and personal growth that can also enhance your psychic abilities and show you how you can commune with your spirit guides.

• The power of the specially designed mandala comes from the union of energies created among healing stones, sacred symbols, and intention.

• The design contains five different concentric "wheels": the Wheel of Crystals, Wheel of the Moon, Wheel of Letters, Wheel of Words, and Wheel of Numbers, in addition to the eight Directions.

When the board is incorporated into personal spiritual practice, it enhances creativity and intuition to become a powerful tool of self-transformation.

Over the Red-brick Chimney by Una Leavy and Shannon Bergin

Little Goose is excited.

It’s time to go, before the Big Snow.

Winter is coming, and all the geese are flying to their new home in Ireland. But Little Goose gets blown down, down, down by a sudden gust.

Can Finn and his mum help her find her way home?

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness

Zeke and Daniel have just been made hall monitors by Principal Wombat. This has nothing to do with the fact that they are monitor lizards. And never mind the fact Alicia, the only other monitor lizard in the school, is also a hall monitor.

Somehow, the three hall monitors must impose order on arrogant lions, excitable seals and super-relaxed pandas. And worst of all, there is Pelicarnassus! A pompous giant pelican and the son of a major supervillain, who inexplicably has it out for the lizards. Can the hall monitor lizards and their new friend, a blind, fearsome red-tailed hawk, protect their school from all manner of outlandish threats?

Happy #BookBirthday! 22 Aug 24

Happy Thursday! This week there are THREE books on our lists publishing!

King Winter's Birthday by Jonathan Freedland and Emily Sutton

It’s King Winter’s birthday, and he wants it to be really special. He wants all of his brothers and sisters to be there: King Summer, Queen Spring and Queen Autumn.

But the leaves and the trees whisper a warning, and as the four play magical games, something strange begins to happen outside.

Nursery Rhymes by Robert Lacey and Ben Coppin

Bestselling historian Robert Lacey brings together 82 of our most beloved nursery rhymes in this collection inspired by the original drawings of Claud Lovat Fraser, vividly updated by artist Ben Coppin. Robert writes on the magic of nursery rhymes, the meaning of their not-so-childish nonsense and the history behind them.

Heartseer: The Tale of Anise Star by Rowan Foxwood

There are more deities and daemons in the world than stars in the sky. But only Heartseers like Anise Star can see them - because only they still believe...

Anise's job is to help humans and daemons live happily together. But when the villainous Mr Babbitt tries to steal her home in the White Woods and drive the daemons out, she is forced to travel to the capital to ask the High King for help. First, though, she'll have to convince him that daemons still exist.

Accompanied by loyal daemon-dog Wolf, Anise sets out on a spellbinding and treacherous journey, meeting magical musician Robin and fox god Whin, and facing the cunning Magpie Queen and a deadly poisonous ink monster. In the midst of her battles she learns that it's not just the daemons of the White Wood she must save, but all the daemons of the world.

To the Bone by Alena Bruzas

After the long journey from England, Ellis arrives in America full of hope. James Fort is where a better life will begin for her: where she will work as an indentured servant to Henry Collins and his pregnant wife, gain financial security, and fall deeply in love with bold, glorious Jane Eddowes.

But as summer turns to fall, Ellis begins to notice the cracks in this new life—the viciousness of the colonists toward the Indigenous people and the terrifying anger Henry uses to control his wife and Ellis—leaving her to wonder if she has sentenced herself to a prison rather than a new home.

Then winter arrives and hunger grips the Fort. Ellis is about to learn that people will do whatever it takes to survive.

The Riddle of the Disappearing Dickens by Alan Nolan

Dublin & London 1859: A Tale of Two Cities

Bram Stoker: boy seeking adventure (and things to write about)

Molly Malone: part-time fishmonger and full-time sneak thief!

Best friends Molly and Bram are on a mission in London.

Famous writer Charles Dickens has been kidnapped!

The pals set out to search the darkest corners of the city. On their travels, they meet all sorts of characters, among them a foul-mouthed fowl and a Worshipful Company of Fishmongers.

Can they solve the riddle of the disappearing Dickens before it’s too late?

Happy #BookBirthday! 15 Aug 24

Happy Thursday! This week there are THREE books on our lists publishing!

The Seamaiden's Odyssey by Berlie Doherty and Tamsin Roseweil

A strange and beautiful sea-creature is brought into the marine sanctuary where Sasha works. The sea-girl is kept as an exhibit and for scientific research. But Sasha wants to know more about her – are there more of her kind? What sort of community does she come from? Does she have a family?

There is a story to be told, in exchange for a promise. It is a story of cruelty and grief, of love and longing and pride; the story of Merryn, who makes a traumatic journey from sea and to land, from defiance to finding her true self and the power of sisterhood.

This new fable is from twice Carnegie Medal-winning author, Berlie Doherty. She draws on the folklore of ocean and landscape and, in the language of our oldest tales, weaves the traditional into our modern preoccupations.

Powerful ink and silhouette illustrations by Tamsin Rosewell brighten the tale with a vibrant but classical language of visual storytelling.

Rosewell draws on the long heritage of silhouette and paper-cut work for her inspiration, and adds it to her well-known boldness with colour and structure.

The Haunted Wood by Sam Leith

Do you remember the first time you fell in love with a book?

Maybe you tumbled down a rabbit hole, flew out of your bedroom window, or found the key to a secret garden. And in the silence of that moment, your whole life changed forever.

The stories we read as children are indelible in our memories; reaching far beyond our childhoods, they are a window into our deepest hopes, joys and anxieties. They reveal our past – collective and individual, remembered and imagined – and invite us to dream up different futures.

In a pioneering history of the children’s literary canon, The Haunted Wood reveals the magic of childhood reading, from the ancient tales of Aesop, through the Victorian and Edwardian golden age to new classics. Excavating the complex lives of our most beloved writers, Sam Leith offers a humane portrait of a genre and celebrates the power of books to inspire and console entire generations.

Blog tour: Zombie Apocalypse Running Club by Carrie Mac

When twins Eira and Soren escape from their survivalist home into a world overcome by zombies, there's only one way to stay alive - run!

Eira and Soren are queer twins living with their survivalist parents when a plague starts spreading that turns people into zombie-like monsters. They disagree with their parents about a lot, but they can't deny that their way of life keeps them safe while much of the world perishes--for now. 

When it becomes clear that their safety won't last, the twins decide to strike out on their own.They don't get far before encountering the one remaining person in the closest town - the librarian, Racer, a gold medal-winning Special Olympics champion. Racer is appalled at the twins’ slow speed and tells them that their survivalist skills aren't worth anything if they can't outrun the monsters. He sets them on a training regimen that comes in handy when they embark on the bigger journey ahead of them.

On their trek they find friends, enemies, and even love. But with zombies on their heels at every turn, will they ever be able to slow down?

Content warning; ableism, bullying, blood

Stephen King : His Life, Work, and Influences (Young Readers' Edition)

A thrilling visual companion curated for young adults voraciously reading their way through Stephen King’s colossal corpus of creepy books.

For many young readers, when the last page of Goosebumps is turned, the first chapter of Pet Sematary begins, and a world of terror crafted by Stephen King is revealed. His novels are as fascinating as his life, and in this ultimate illustrated guidebook, young readers explore the cultural phenomenon and legacy of the King of Horror.

From scare-seeking child to impoverished university student to struggling schoolteacher to one of the best-selling—and most recognizable—authors of all time, this engrossing book reveals the evolution and influences of Stephen King’s body of work over his nearly 50-year career, and how the themes of his writing reflect the changing times and events within his life.

With tons of photos, approachable bite-size sections, and gripping details to captivate young readers, the book features:

• An extensive look into Stephen King’s books, short stories, writings, movies, series, and other adaptations ideal for the young reader to review.
• Exclusive memorabilia from Stephen King, including personal and professional correspondences, handwritten manuscript pages, book covers, movie stills, and a never-before-seen excerpts from his poems.
• Personal insights and observations such as real-life settings that inspired King’s writing, the editor who discovered him, his life as a Boston Red Sox fan, and the many awards and honors he has received.
• Motivating quotes from King from interviews over the decades.

“My childhood was pretty ordinary, except from a very early age I wanted to be scared…there was a radio program at the time called Dimension X, and my mother didn’t want me to listen to that because she felt it was too scary for me, so I would creep out of bed and go to the bedroom door and crack it open. And she loved it, so apparently, I got it from her, but I would listen at the door and then when the program was over, I’d go back to bed and quake.” —Stephen King

Young adults will covet this comprehensive yet accessible reference to their favorite horror author.

Blog Tour: Anticipation by Neil Taylor

You are being played.

Your every move is being watched by businesses hoping to manipulate your behaviour. Every picture, every post, every like, every follow, every purchase, every search.

When 17-year-old Riya Sudame inherits her father’s secret AI algorithm, she and a handful of carefully selected Keyholders hold the power to predict people’s future using their online data. But with great power comes great responsibility, and they must safeguard it from falling into the wrong hands.

Enter Jim Booker, a powerful social media tycoon, who will stop at nothing to steal the technology for himself. Soon Riya faces a critical choice. Fighting ruthless tech giants seems like an impossible task—wouldn’t it be easier to relinquish her father’s creation in exchange for a normal teenage life?

But if she does, she will have to live with the knowledge that she is the reason that, like everyone, you are being played.

Happy #BookBirthday! 8 Aug 24

Happy Thursday! This week there is ONE book on our lists publishing!

You Will Never be Me by Jesse Q Sutano

When cracks start forming in an influencer’s curated life, she finds out that jealousy is just as viral as a video in this riveting suspense novel by bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto.

Influencer Meredith Lee didn't teach Aspen Palmer how to blossom on social media just to be ditched as soon as Aspen became big. So can anyone really blame Mer for doing a little stalking? Nothing serious, more like Stalking Lite.

Make Your Home a Nature Reserve by Donna Mullen

Bees, butterflies, bats, badgers …

These beautiful and fascinating creatures need a little help from us, as their natural habitats are under pressure.

It’s time to invite nature into your home – whether it’s a window box, a suburban garden or a farm. Learn how to build a pond, make places for bats to roost and spaces for hedgehogs to ramble. Discover the amazing secret lives of Ireland’s wildlife, from tiny bugs to large mammals.

Do try this at home!

Braids Take a Day by Zainab Boladale

Uncovering secrets is like undoing braids, one at a time…

Abidemi can’t wait for summer, her last one at home in Ennistymon before she heads off to college. She’s ready to say goodbye to school, spend some time learning new braids and hairstyles – and see where things go with her friend Jack.

But when she meets an intriguing woman from Nigeria, secrets start to unravel. Suddenly Abi’s life and family are changing and she needs to think hard about who she wants to be …

Happy #BookBirthday! 1 Aug 24

Happy Thursday! This week there are FOUR books on our lists publishing!