Children and Teens Roundup – The Best New Picture Books and Novels
A bunny who loves to bake, illustrated poems about amazing animals, and a YA verse novel of dancefloor salvation highlight this season's top releases for young readers.
Picture Books
Ban Ban’s Bakery by Elena Hiroko Magee (Do Re Mi, £12.99) introduces Ban Ban the bunny, who loves baking with Grandma. Can she turn Dusty Cottage into a bakery of her own? This cute picture book is full of mouthwatering, pastel-hued treats.
Daddy Is Cleaning by Angel Dike, illustrated by Ebony Glenn (Nosy Crow, £12.99), follows Baby as she helps with laundry, cooking, and planting. This tender book perfectly evokes the love, humour, and exhaustion of managing chores with an enthusiastic toddler.
Home Is a Hug by Cindy Wume (Post Wave, £12.99) uses cut-out peek-through pages and lift-the-flaps with sweet illustrations to explore the warmth and reassurance of home.
Jolly Monster Town: The Party Pickle by Rong Rong (Nosy Crow, £7.99) is a full-colour chapter book for ages 5+. Twiggy the Log Monster plans her first sleepover, but when things go awry, she learns that asking for help is okay. Crammed with offbeat humour.
Poetry and Non-Fiction
Aardvark Day by Victoria Gatehouse, illustrated by Kate Lucy Foster (Emma Press, £9.99), is a wonder-filled poetry collection from a zoologist, featuring aardvarks, lizards, octopuses, and otters, with energetic line drawings.
What Makes a Bird? by Nadeem Perera, illustrated by Montse Galbany (Flying Eye, £14.99), is a graphic guide for budding ornithologists ages 6+. It covers beaks, birdsong, habitats, and nests in accessible language.
Middle Grade Fiction
The Ministry of Manners by David Solomons, illustrated by Hazem Asif (Picadilly, £7.99), is a dystopian novel for ages 8+. Alfie and his rebellious sister Margot face a society demanding constant politeness. When Margot is taken for re-education, Alfie joins the Unsilenced to rescue her, uncovering plans to make rebellion impossible.
Witch Light by Zohra Nabi (S&S, £7.99) is a superb sequel to Deep Dark for ages 9+. Cassia Thorne is sent to a bleak boarding school where prefects are unnaturally perfect and a witch may eat children's hearts. Teaming up with misfit Martha Torrent, she investigates a supernatural conspiracy rooted in the Pendle witch trials.
Tadpole Summer by Catherine Bruton (Nosy Crow, £7.99) follows Frog, whose baby brother Tad is smaller but indomitable. As Tad's illness progresses, Frog must face an unthinkable future. A poignant, magical book for ages 9+ about love, grief, and nature's power to nurture hope.
Bím Blake’s Hot Takes – My Pencil Case Doesn’t Define Me by Tolá Okogwu, illustrated by Ariyana Taylor (Puffin, £8.99), is a lively diary series for ages 9+. Bím Blake starts high school amid annoying brothers, a regrettable pencil case, and a cute new boy. Ideal for Geek Girl fans.
Young Adult
Wonderland by Patience Agbabi (Firefly, £9.99) is a YA verse novel set in 1980. Sixteen-year-old Tamilola moves to Colwyn Bay and feels out of place until she discovers a Northern soul club called Wonderland. A joyous story about finding yourself on the dancefloor.
Seyoon and Dean, Unscripted by Sujin Witherspoon (Hot Key, £8.99) is a YA romcom. Seyoon and Dean sign up for a reality TV show reboot, despise each other, but are pushed to pretend a romantic alliance. A light, swoony escape for Jenny Han fans.
The Summer After the Night Before by Lisa Williamson (DFB, £8.99) weaves perspectives of Molly, Ben, and Rhiannon after a party where Molly wakes up in Ben's bed. A hard-hitting novel for ages 14+ exploring consent, trauma, and healthy relationships.
This Boy I Hardly Know by Lisa Heathfield (Andersen, £8.99) follows sixteen-year-old Dusty and her sister Poppy through foster placements. After being separated, Dusty meets Cooper and they run away to find Poppy. A powerful contemporary YA novel celebrating love amid pain.
