Must Read Children’s Books for December 2024

The whole family can sing along with Elphaba and Glinda in this beautifully illustrated storybook, featuring official lyrics from Universal Pictures’ Wicked alongside captivating artwork inspired by the iconic song, “Defying Gravity.”

Experience Elphaba and Glinda’s show-stopping song “Defying Gravity” in this lavishly illustrated picture book with lyrics! Immerse yourself in the gorgeous artwork, featuring beautifully drawn scenes from the film.

HEARTWARMING MOMENTS: Follow Elphaba and Glinda through their entire performance of “Defying Gravity” and experience the song through exquisite illustrations and lyrics.

FOR FANS OF ALL AGES: This illustrated storybook is a treat for the entire family, from the youngest children to parents, grandparents, and more!

BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED: Original, full-color illustrations bring the song from the screen to the page in a vibrant new way.

A beautifully illustrated ode to the power of music.

Wolfgang the Wolf dreams of starting a band. Without a second thought he places an advert, and to his great surprise Rex the Rabbit appears, a rocker with a fabulous voice. The Big Bads group was born. They are an immediate hit, and their fans come to listen from all over the forest. But Wolfgang’s wolfish taste for rabbits is never far away…

Wolfgang and the Magic of Music is a sweet tale of an unlikely friendship, and the power of singing to bring everyone together.

Every family should have a pet.

A faithful friend to welcome into your home and hearts.

This guide is a MUST HAVE to help you decide which pet is the perfect fit for your family.

Crocodiles, for instance, make excellent pets. They are peaceful creatures, with cheerful, happy-go-lucky personalities.

Puppies, on the other hand, are a terrible choice.

This truly hilarious picture book will have readers in stitches… (especially if you take it too literally!)

A snug-rhyming story set in Brown Bear Wood with 100 cosy things to find.

Join the animals in Brown Bear Wood as they keep cosy. Bear keeps cosy by snuggling under a blanket with Papa Bear; Professor Owl keeps cosy by drinking a steaming mug of hot cocoa. For the Little Fawns, it’s reading a book by the fire on a crisp winter’s day.

Set to calming rhyming text, with 100 cosy things to spot, this chunky board book makes a wonderful winter gift and is perfect for sharing with your special little person as you snuggle up for bedtime.

This board book for children ages 2+ features:
· A gorgeous cover with gold foil
· 100 cosy things to find and count
· Gentle, rhyming text from acclaimed poet Rachel Piercey
· Intricate illustrations from bestselling artist Freya Hartas – little ones will find new things to spot every time

Ho! Ho! Ho! Get ready to jump into Christmas with Draw With Rob: Festive Fun – the newest book in the bestselling Draw With Rob series!

From award-winning author and illustrator Rob Biddulph comes this fantastic new children’s activity book packed with puzzling puzzles, festive friends and easy-to-follow drawing instructions.

Kids will love this brilliantly interactive book and, with perforated pages, why not pull out the pages and display them for everyone to share in the fun!

Rob Biddulph is the genius behind the phenomenal, viral sensation that is DRAW WITH ROB and the accompanying activity books. The first DRAW WITH ROB activity book went to Number One in the charts and was named ‘Book of the Year’ at the 2020 Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards! Since then, Rob has continued to bring joy to families everywhere with his easy-to-follow drawing instructions and warm-hearted humour.

The universe is full of mysteries.

Mysteries are something Tilly and Thandeka are getting good at solving and when strange events begin happening at the Coastal Observatory, their detective skills are put to the ultimate test. Dr Rani Patel’s award-winning research on stars is at risk.

Amidst the flickering lights of loadshedding, the girls navigate an astronomy holiday club, encounter a crew of mysterious cleaning ladies, a pair of squabbling siblings and an enormous coffee mug, but how are they connected? And more importantly, can they unveil the culprit behind the havoc before it’s too late?

Follow the bank of the Koitogawa river until you reach the beach. From there a path of white seashells will lead you to the Chibineko Kitchen. Step inside, they’ll be expecting you.

These are the directions Kotoko has been given. She arrives at the tiny restaurant, perched right by the water, early in the morning. Still reeling from the sudden death of her brother, she’s been promised that the food served there will bring him back to her, for one last time.

Taking a seat in the small, wood-panelled room, she waits as Kai, the restaurant’s young chef, brings out steaming bowls of simmered fish, rice and miso soup. Though she hadn’t ordered anything, Kai had somehow known the exact dish her brother always used to cook for her. And as she takes her first delicious bite, the gulls outside fall silent and the air grows hazy . . .

Soul-nourishing and comforting, The Chibineko Kitchen will help you remember what matters most in life.

From TikTok sensation and educator Geo Rutherford, creator of the hit series “Spooky Lake Month,” comes a thrilling nonfiction book that plumbs the depths of unusual lakes around the world.

Some of Earth’s strangest—and creepiest—wonders lie deep below the surface. There’s Lake Natron, a Tanzanian lake so briny that its waters can mummify any creature that touches its surface; Lake Maracaibo, a Venezuelan tidal bay where a constantly brewing storm sends an average of 28 lightning bolts per second into the water; and at the bottom of Lake Superior, the crew of the USS Kamloops—which mysteriously disappeared in 1921—remains somehow almost perfectly preserved.

Middle-grade readers will learn not only about the science of hydrology, but why understanding the natural world is crucial to protecting it from pollution and climate change. Backed by extensive research and packed with all-new content—including eerie and eye-catching watercolor illustrations—Spooky Lakes takes readers on an adventure through weird and wild waters.

‘Wars never end, they just change location.’

A scorching, euphoric YA novel about sisterhood, trauma and the fighting spirit of women, from Zimbabwean author, Blessing Musariri.

When her Mama drops a bombshell, Chiante’s world shatters. In Zimbabwe, bloodlines matter, so when Chiante discovers her Baba is not the man she thought he was, she flees. Seeking refuge in a secluded corner of Mutare with her feisty, stylish grandmother, Chiante finds solace in a sisterhood forged by bonds of war. This close-knit community of elders and ex-combatants are living their best singing, dancing, drinking and running a successful fashion-upcycling business. But at the heart of their carefully-built world are secrets no-one can give voice to.

As Chiante pieces together the puzzle of her family’s past, she wrestles with how sorrow seeps down the generations, and how hope survives all, obliging us to step up and live life to the full.

Poet and author Robin Gow’s moving middle-grade novel in verse Dear Mothman is about a young trans boy dealing with the loss of his friend by writing to his favorite cryptid.

Halfway through sixth grade, Noah’s best friend and the only other trans boy in his school, Lewis, passed away in a car accident. Adventurous and curious, Lewis was always bringing a new paranormal story to share with Noah. Together they daydreamed about cryptids and shared discovering their genders and names.

After Lewis’s death, lonely and yearning for someone who could understand him like Lewis once did, Noah starts writing letters to Mothman, wondering if he would understand how Noah feels and also looking for evidence of Mothman’s existence in the vast woods surrounding his small Poconos town. Noah becomes determined to make his science fair project about Mothman, despite his teachers and parents urging him to make a project about something “real.”

Meanwhile, as Noah tries to find Mothman, he also starts to make friends with a group of girls in his grade, Hanna, Molly, and Alice, with whom he’d been friendly, but never close to. Now, they welcome him, and he starts to open up to each of them, especially Hanna, whom Noah has a crush on. But as strange things start to happen and Noah becomes sure of Mothman’s existence, his parents and teachers don’t believe him. Noah decides it’s up to him to risk everything, trek into the woods, and find Mothman himself.