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

Books for nine-plus are far ranging and imaginative this month, especially the spectacular, synopsis-defying Starboard (HarperCollins) by Nicola Skinner, intricately illustrated by Flavia Sorrentino. On a school trip aboard the SS Great Britain, 11-year-old YouTube star Kirsten does not expect to be declared the old ship’s captain – or to be kidnapped alongside her former best friend as the vessel breaks loose and heads for the open sea … A wild, hilarious, surreal adventure of self-discovery, by the brilliantly original author of Bloom.

For espionage enthusiasts, there is some delicious escapism in Amber Undercover (Oxford) by Em Norry. When Amber distinguishes herself in a locked-room challenge, she’s amazed to be recruited by a spy organisation. Can she really make it as a secret agent? This swift-paced, lively debut balances down-to-earth believability with wish-fulfilment fun.

Geraldine McCaughrean’s The Supreme Lie (Usborne) is a more complex and stretching book, with the odd upsetting element, so it’s best suited to tougher readers of 10-plus. It follows Gloria, a teenage maid who finds herself impersonating a vanished head of state in Afalia, a country overwhelmed by floods. When Gloria’s desperate efforts to help the suffering population come up against the machinations of Afalian propagandists (elegantly evoked by Keith Robinson’s newspaper-style illustrations), discovery looms perilously close in this thought-provoking, poignant, blackly funny novel.

For readers of seven-plus, Jen Carney’s The Accidental Diary of BUG (Puffin) introduces sparky eponymous heroine Billie Upton Green, who has been told to look after the new girl at school, Janey McVey. But Janey has some funny ideas about Billie’s adoptive mums, and Billie isn’t sure she’s guilt-free in the matter of Mrs Robinson’s disappearing purse. This cheery, highly illustrated diary story, more rooted in contemporary reality than Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates books, is the first in a series that’s sure to find devoted fans.

The Rock from the Sky (Walker), by Jon “I Want My Hat Back” Klassen, is a longer-form picture book, divided into several short “chapters”. Saturated with Klassen’s characteristic wry humour, and ideal for children of four or five and up, it’s full of side-eyeing reptiles, shared imaginings, creeping suspense and narrowly avoided catastrophe.

Also from Walker, Nano – The Spectacular Science of the Very (Very) Small by Dr Jess Wade, illustrated by Melissa Castrillon, is another beautiful picture book for five-plus, plunging deep into the world of atoms, materials and the applications of nanoscience, with accessible text and richly shaded pictures.

For pre-schoolers, the sensational Nadia Shireen returns with Barbara Throws a Wobbler (Jonathan Cape), the hilarious story of a kitten, a sock problem, a strange pea – and a stupendous tantrum. Its guide to bad moods – from the huff to the seethe – is worth the cover price by itself; this is the sort of book that will make both children and adults laugh, and provide the perfect vocabulary to defuse (some) tense toddler situations.

What Happened to You? (Faber) by James Catchpole and Karen George is a picture book with a difference, engaging directly with how a child with disabilities might want to be talked to, rather than simply reiterating a more generic “difference is great” message. Catchpole’s beautifully judged, child-friendly words ably evoke the fatigue and wariness of repeatedly being asked the same question rather than simply being accepted and allowed to play, while George’s warm images amplify the delight of shared imagination.

Finally, The Boys (Little Tiger) by Lauren Ace and Jenny Løvlie is the standalone counterpart to the award-winning The Girls. Tam, Rey, Nattie and Bobby have been friends from babyhood; as they grow, they remain close, though their friendship is sometimes put to the test. Gentle, tender and joyful, the book challenges rigid ideas of masculinity, emphasising the value of supportive talk and listening: “They came to realise that no boy is an island.”

Teenagers roundup

The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne
by Jonathan Stroud, Walker, £7.99
In a dystopian, divided, waterlogged Britain, rife with suspicion and terrorised by “The Tainted”, teenage Scarlett McCain, crack shot and bank robber, is used to working alone. That’s until she meets sweet, naive Albert Browne, with his dark past and terrible secret skill; but teaming up with Albert puts Scarlett squarely in the firing line too. Will they ever outpace the pursuit at their heels, and can Scarlett come to terms with her own twisted history? Gunslinging action and pitch-black humour meet post-apocalyptic thrill ride in this brilliant new departure for the author of the Lockwood & Co series.

Destination Anywhere
by Sara Barnard, illustrated by Christiane Fürtges, Macmillan, £7.99
When Peyton King steals her father’s credit card and boards a plane to Canada, she knows only that she must get away at all costs – from five years of bullying, friends who turned out to be anything but, studies she hates and oblivious parents. But when she falls in with a group of other travellers, Peyton begins to discover who she actually is … Frank about teenage experimentation and the lingering pain of being outcast, Barnard’s latest novel is also funny and romantic, full of hope that things will change for the better.

Dream Country
by Ashaye Brown, Onwe, £12.99
Theo, Tores and Fanta are three sibling deities: the triplet gods of Sleep, Dreams and Nightmares. Kept apart since they were children, they are trapped in their own territories behind impassable gates of Horn and Ivory, each of them under suspicion for the murder of their mother, the Night. But when a mortal with impossible abilities enters the world, the uneasy peace between their realms is fractured. A rich interweaving of Kenyan, Grecian and Brazilian mythology and cultural reference makes for a highly original and involving fantasy, keeping the reader guessing throughout.