ACHUKA Children's Books UK

children's & YA recommendations on the go

You are here: Home / Archives for How About

Llama Out Loud by Annabelle Sami ill. Allen Fatimaharan

By Leave a Comment

First in a hilarious new series…

Yasmin Shah is a quiet (VERY quiet) ten-year-old girl who is part of a big, noisy family. Levi is a rude, sassy toy llama, who talks A LOT and has come to wreak havoc in Yasmin’s life. Yasmin tries everything she can to escape Levi, but she can’t help being dragged along on his crazy antics. Every day brings a new surprise, whether that’s an erupting bin, a flying tuna fish, or a hat made from knickers. Life is never boring with Levi around – and could it be that he has a secret plan to help Yasmin find her voice?

Waterstones
Amazon

 

I Am Not A Label by Cerrie Burnell ill. Lauren Mark Baldo

By Leave a Comment

A stylishly illustrated compendium of short biographies of over 30 artists, thinkers, athletes and activists with disabilities, from past and present. Find out how iconic figures such as Stephen Hawking and Frida Kahlo overcame obstacles and paved the way for others. 

“Burnell’s dreamy yet fiery tone infuses each brief biography with a sense of its subject’s refusal to be held back by the expectations of others.” The Guardian

Waterstones
Amazon

King And The Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

By Leave a Comment

In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, King has just lost his older brother, Khalid.

King is convinced his brother isn’t dead, that he has instead turned into a dragonfly, and he searches for Khalid down by the bayou. Khalid visits him in his dreams. King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family. 

Waterstones
Amazon

National Geographic Kids Infopedia 2021

By Leave a Comment

Latest instalment of this best-selling infopedia features brand-new amazing animal stories, explorer profiles, and outrageous attractions that children love, plus more of the incredible inventions, awesome games, and fresh challenges they will want to learn all about.

Practical reference material, including fast facts and maps of every country, has been fully updated. Homework help on key topics is sprinkled throughout the book.

A great home-schooling resource.

Waterstones
Amazon

The Arrow Of Apollo by Philip Womack

By Leave a Comment

The gods are abandoning the earth, tempted by other worlds where they can live in peace. Only a few keep an interest in mortals. In their place, darker, more ancient forces are wakening…

Silvius is given a task by a dying centaur. The dark god Python is rising and massing an army of immense power. The only thing that can save the world is the Arrow of Apollo – but it has been split into two. Silvius and his friend Elissa must travel to the land of their sworn enemies, the Achaeans.

“Much to admire, in this intriguing, ambitious, immersive book.” Literary Review

Waterstones

Hattie by Frida Nilsson ill. Stina Wirsen

By Leave a Comment

Times Children’s Book of the Week 28 Mar 2020

First published as Hedvig! in Sweden, 2005. Translated from the Swedish in this edition by the publisher, Julia Marshall of Gecko Press.

Here’s what Alex O’Connell had to say, in selecting it as Children’s Book of the Week in The Times:  

Hattie is from the Pippi Longstocking school of clever, anti-establishment little girls who have the capacity for misrule until their conscience kicks in, their hearts turn to fondant and they return to the path of righteousness (while avoiding piety.
…
This is really a collection of the funniest dispatches from [Hatttie’s] first school year. 

Waterstones

 

Jane Eyre: A retelling by Tanya Landman

By Leave a Comment

Orphaned as a child, tormented by her guardian and cast out to a harsh boarding school, Jane Eyre has been raised in the shadow of cruelty and isolation. But when she takes a job as governess in Thornfield Hall, where secrets lurk in the attic and strange laughter echoes through the night, Jane meets the elusive Mr Rochester – and her life is irrevocably transformed.

Poignantly and powerfully retold in this stunning edition, Jane Eyre is the tale of a spirited heroine’s search for love, independence and belonging.

Read the first chapter…

Waterstones

Deep Secret by Belrie Doherty

By Leave a Comment

Welcome new edition of Doherty’s 2004 novel…

Grace put out her hand, almost touching the mirror. Her image did the same. ‘There’s another world in there.’ ‘We could float in and out of it.’

Deep in a Derbyshire valley live two girls, twins, so alike that even their family can’t tell them apart. But tragedy is waiting. When the valley is sold to be flooded for a huge dam, the villagers are forced to leave their homes. Deep secrets are uncovered. New characters enter their lives and desires, love and grief come to the surface.

Waterstones 

We Are Artists by Kari Herbert

By Leave a Comment

Presented as a collection of engaging biographical narratives, We Are Artists reveals how each artist’s unique approach and perspective provided the art world and society at large with a new way of seeing things. It places the spotlight on women painters, sculptors, printmakers, illustrators, designers and craftswomen, who all too often are left out of history and art history books for children.

Waterstones

The Kingdom

By Leave a Comment

Told through court testimony, interrogation records and fragmented flashbacks, The Kingdom has the futuristic appeal of Westworld and the twists and turns of a true-crime thriller.

A gripping fantasy thriller that blends Disney-esque fairytale, android scif-fi and courtroom drama to wonderfully disorientating effect. Beneath the flash and sparkle, though, lies a subtle treatise on political and moral corruption.

Waterstones