Not sure what book to get your young reader? Check out the latest and most anticipated books for 10-12 year-olds – guaranteed to please and delight.
Mayowa and the Sea of the Words
9781526662903 | Bloomsbury | PB
Chibundu Onuzo
WARNING: DO NOT JUMP ON THIS BOOK!
Have you ever jumped on a book? Perhaps not. Most people would think it was a rather unusual thing to do.
Ten-year-old Mayowa has always thought that her Grandpa Edward, who dyes his beard emerald green and jumps on books in private, is rather unusual too. Until one day she jumps on a book for herself, and uncovers a huge family secret …
Mayowa can book jump.
By jumping on a book, she can harness the emotions inside it and channel them directly into other people. And when the opportunity to use her power to save the lives of countless refugees presents itself, Mayowa wants to jump in with both feet.
But Mayowa and her grandpa aren’t the only book jumpers in existence. And not everybody wants to use this power for good … Brimming with heart, Mayowa and the Sea of Words is a modern classic in the making. Perfect for everyone who knows the true power of a good book …
Cosima Unfortunate 2: Cosima Unfortunate Foils a Fraud
9780008579357 | HarperCollins | PB
Laura Noakes
Cosima has finally found her happy ending but unfortunately, trouble isn’t far behind. . .
Cosima Unfortunate returns for a new adventure! A warm, funny, exciting and empowering tale of friendship, family and mystery, with joyous and authentic disabled representation, from the author of Cosima Unfortunate Steals a Star.
Cosima lives at the Star Diamond Home for Children with her best friends Diya, Mary and Pearl. Since uncovering a dastardly plot and escaping their cruel captors, life has been one of peace and contentment – and particularly so for Cos. For alongside her friendships, Cos finally has a real family, too – and every day spent with her long-lost father is more magical than the last.
But where Cos goes, adventure is sure to follow – and when a world-famous painting is stolen, Cos’s father is arrested for the crime. Cos and her friends know he has been framed – and they are sure that notorious thief, the Spectre, is responsible.
Cos is determined that she won’t lose her father again – and the girls must use spirit, wit, bravery and ingenuity to solve the crime and bring him safely home…
Pinch Perkins and the Midsummer Curse
9780008603373 | Farshore | PB
Cathy Fitzgerald
Midsummer’s Eve is about to get a whole lot more magical!
Someone is misusing magic. Curses have been cast and terrifying creatures are on the move …
Twelve-year-old Pinch Perkins lives on Tricky Dragon Lane, deep in the heart of London’s magical quarter. But when her mum is struck by a curse, and nobody seems to have a clue what to do, Pinch knows it’s down to her to find a cure.
Racing the clock on Midsummer’s Eve, Pinch will face the terrifying boss of the Thames Mudlarks, dance with the devious fairy king and queen and share a burger with King Arthur’s knights … all while trying to avoid the clutches of two fearsome villains out to SQUISH her!
Around the World in 80 Days
9781847499202 | Bloomsbury | PB
Jules Verne
Having learnt that a new railway in India has made it theoretically possible to travel all the way around the globe in no more than eighty days, Phileas Fogg, a wealthy and fastidious London gentleman, makes a wager of £20,000 with his Reform Club associates that he can achieve this hitherto unheard-of feat, and, accompanied by his French valet Jean Passepartout, boards a train for Dover the very same evening.
Pursued on their epic journey by a Scotland Yard policeman who has mistaken Fogg for a bank robber, the intrepid voyagers face a race against time as they traverse a range of exotic and sometimes hazardous landscapes and make use of any and every mode of transport available to them – including elephants – in order to achieve their goal.
A huge commercial success on first publication in 1872, Jules Verne’s classic adventure story has been adapted numerous times for the stage and the screen, as well as inspiring many real life adventurers who have sought to emulate Fogg’s audacious odyssey.
Crookhaven 3: Island Heist
9781444965780 | Hodder | PB
J.J. Arcanjo
The third book in the irresistible series about chosen family, high stakes thievery, and what it really means to do good. Perfect for fans of M.G. Leonard and Anthony Horowitz.
It’s Gabriel’s third year at Crookhaven School for Thieves. Along with the usual Break-In challenge – this year to Reclamation island – and difficult new classes like Signs & Signals, Gabriel and his friends have another goal: taking down the Nameless.
The Nameless are the very worst type of criminals – they steal, trick and kidnap for their own benefit, rather than to do good in the world. Each member of Gabriel’s crew has a very personal reason for wanting to take the Nameless down – but what can a group of underage school children do compared to the most powerful crew of the underworld?
Luckily, there might be something hidden at Crookhaven that could help them. But first they have to find it…
The third book in the ‘criminally good’ Crookhaven series, the secret school where students are taught to do wrong, so that one day, they can put the world to rights.
Freya’s Gold
9781805130970 | Nosy Crow | PB
Fiona Longmuir
Legend says the cliffs by the seaside town of Edge are riddled with smugglers’ tunnels, and that gold is stashed in their caves. Freya and her best friend, Lin, love searching for treasure on the beach, but they steer clear of the dark and twisting tunnels. It’d be easy to get lost in there, and Freya’s sure she can hear voices echoing from them when the wind blows.
Then a mysterious woman moves into Freya’s granny’s B&B and soon everything that Freya loves about Edge is under threat. It’s time for Freya to face her fears.
Can she strike gold before time runs out for her town? A gripping, contemporary adventure with brilliant twists and turns, from the author of Looking for Emily.
Transcendent
9781510112421 | Orion | PB
Patrick Gallagher
JOIN THE TEAM. SAVE THE WORLD. Twin geniuses Jacob and Kira are recruited to take part in a high-tech mission to protect the planet … but will their dreams of adventure come true, or is the threat too great to handle?
Jacob and Kira live in the heart of Mbale, Uganda with their conservationist mother and navigate life as unsuspecting geniuses; Kira with hopes to explore outside the hot terrains of Uganda, and conspiracy theorist Jacob, whose fear often holds him back from the answers he so desperately wants to uncover.
But when they discover that someone has been watching their every move in the hopes to enlist them in a top-secret agency called Transcendent, their lives are turned upside down.
Soon the twins are hurtled from the luscious landscapes of Mbale, to the sleek streets of London, where – alongside other selected protegees – they must undertake three rigorous trials, each more difficult than the last, to be accepted into Transcendent. If they are successful, they will be launched into space to complete a high stakes mission to fight the greatest threat the world has ever seen.
Only, the twins soon realise they have more to contend with than they bargained for … is there a more sinister reason they have been chosen?
Two kids, one top-secret agency and an epic mission to save the world.
Record Breakers at the Olympic Games
9781804535585 | Welbeck | PB
Rob Walker
Record Breakers at the Olympic Games celebrates the best records, achievements and stories in the history of the modern summer Olympic Games.
Comprehensive in scope, the book features record performances in every sport and discipline since Athens 1896, and highlights the jaw-dropping efforts and dramatic moments that make up the Games’ tapestry of tales. Additonally, the book charts new sporting additions, such as skateboarding and rock-climbing, which have attracted a new legion of young fans. There is also a section devoted to the Paralympics, citing the stars and star performances that have propelled the profile of the Paralympic movement in modern times.
This is a perfect guide for young fans in the run up to the Paris Games in 2024.