BOOKS OF THE MONTH

Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels

Cloud Babies By Eoin Colfer and Chris Judge

Erin has always spotted animals in the clouds, even when she gets ill. But when she’s better, she finds her “school” and “hospital” worlds have moved apart – until her parents and teacher help her bring them together, and share her “cloud babies” with her friends too. This touching picture book draws on Judge’s own experience of supporting a child through treatment for leukaemia.

Colours, Colours Everywhere By Julia Donaldson and Sharon King-Chai

When a little girl starts painting in her notebook, her imagination makes a wilder leap with each colour; a bright blue tree frog rides a red hot air balloon, drifting over a pink flamingo lake before a clash with crows requires a rainbow-spotted helicopter rescue. Lush illustrations with cut-out details and unfolding flaps take readers on a joyous journey through Donaldson’s rhyming text.

The Faber Book of Bedtime Stories Illustrated by Sarah McIntyre

A dauntless goose, a jar of dreams, a class full of magical creatures and a lonely boy who bonds with an injured bird: this compendium of comforting stories for 7+ features work from a stellar range of authors including Emma Carroll, Natasha Farrant and Rashmi Sirdeshpande.

Bright New World By Cindy Forde, illustrated by Bethany Lord

Amid frightening news reports, this sumptuously illustrated nonfiction book for 8+ is filled with a vision of a near future in which changed human habits, from eating to energy consumption, have addressed the world’s most pressing problems. Beautiful and inspiring, it shows how the solutions might be realised.

Midwinter Burning By Tanya Landman

Alfie Wright is shunned by his classmates and unloved by his mum. When he’s evacuated to Devon to stay with eccentric Aunt Bell, he

finds life kinder – and when he makes a local friend, Snidge, he’s happier than ever. But there’s something strange about Snidge … A thrilling, compelling timeslip novel for 9+ from a Carnegiewinning author.

Love in Winter Wonderland

Trey Anderson’s family run Wonderland, a much-loved Black-owned bookshop. Ariel Spencer needs money for art tuition, so when a holiday spot opens up, she takes a job there. But Wonderland is under pressure from greedy developers – can it be saved from closing? A sweetly seasonal YA romance, interwoven with thoughtful commentary.

Monochrome By Jamie Costello

When Grace wakes to find she can only see the world in black, white and grey, it isn’t long until the rest of the world succumbs to the “Monochrome Effect”. Caused by microplastics pollution, its impact is more than depressing; as accidents multiply, birds die and harvests fail, society teeters on the brink of breakdown. This 14+ eco-thriller, set in a convincing near future, examines the impact of underregulated capitalism on planet and people.