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Escape from the Child Snatchers by Sufiya Ahmed

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 10 Apr 2026

Publisher: Andersen Press Ltd
ISBN: 9781839136511

See also:
Rose Raja: Undercover Codebreaker [ACHUKA Book of the Day 15 Aug 2024]
Mission To Cairo
Churchill’s Spy

“An absolutely riveting adventure, brimming with danger and discoveries, and with courage and friendship. The short, action-packed chapters are perfect for encouraging readers to continue reading ‘just one more chapter’.” BookCraic
“Humza and Ranj are very engaging characters whose friendship is heart warming, making it easy to empathise with their experiences and cheer them on every step of the way.” ThroughTheBookshelf
“An exciting and very fast paced novel that blends adventure with social history. It invites young readers to consider whose stories are remembered and whose are forgotten, while delivering a narrative driven by bravery, loyalty, and the determination to protect family at all costs.” BfK
“With likeable protagonists, sinister villains and an action-packed plot, the novel brings this dark period of history to life for a young audience in an accessible and age-appropriate manner.” BookTrust

Just the book for newly-independent readers beginning to rattle their way through well-crafted, exciting adventure stories. Children’s publishers can never have enough of such titles on their list, or find authors capable of producing them at pace.

Is it my imagination or is there a lack of current book series to keep such readers engaged?

1865, India. Humza and his friend Ranj set off on a daring quest to find Humza’s missing brother, Dani, in London.

After a terrifying journey, they are welcomed by a seemingly kind Englishman who leads them to an inn. There, Daisy, the innkeeper’s daughter, warns them – they’ve been captured by the notorious child snatcher!

Can Humza and Ranj escape his clutches and find Dani?

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Naeli and the Secret Song by Jasbinder Bilan

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 1 Jul 2025

Waterstones
Bookshop

“Jasbinder Bilan has created a wonderful fast-paced tale, a mix of adventure, mystery and historical fiction…” BfK 5-star review
“An incredibly beautiful story exploring historical links between Britain and India in the 1890s with a thread of enchanting music woven into each step of this compelling adventure.” Scope for Imagination

Themes of colonialism and identity, wrapped in a gothic musical mystery.

Naeli longs to know her English father, who abandoned her when she was little. All she has is his name – and his precious violin. Her chance comes when a ticket to England arrives mysteriously. Leaving behind her beloved India, Naeli embarks on an adventure that will take her from the streets of Victorian London to the wilds of Northumberland to discover the truth of her musical inheritance.

A thrilling new historical adventure from Costa-winning and Waterstones-shortlisted Jasbinder Bilan, an author with an already impressive backlist:

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Anna at War by Helen Peters

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 8 May 2025

Waterstones
Bookshop

A newly-jacketed edition of this highly-regarded wartime novel, issued to coincide with the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

You can find out which books inspired Anna At War on the author’s feed:

 

 
 
 
 
 
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As life for German Jews becomes increasingly perilous, Anna’s parents put her on a train leaving for England. But the war follows her to Kent, and soon Anna finds herself caught up in a web of betrayal and secrecy. How can she prove whose side she’s on when she can’t tell anyone the truth? But actions speak louder than words, and Anna has a dangerous plan…

Under a Fire-Red Sky by Geraldine Mccaughrean

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 7 May 2025

Waterstones
Bookshop

“A rewarding read and I found myself thinking about the characters long after I had finished reading the book.” LibraryLady
“Her writing still feels as modern as it did in her 1980s heyday.” Telegraph

An immersive and unforgettable novel set during the London Blitz, inspired by her firefighter father.

With the Second World War looming, four young people sit on a train waiting to be evacuated to a safer place…but they don’t want to go. They climb out of the carriage and head back home to Greenwich, forming an unlikely friendship.

They spend their days trying to be useful. Laurence is building a secret machine. Gemmy searches bombed-out homes for things of value – only to find an adorable mutt she can’t even give away. Franklin wants to join the Fire Service, although it means lying about his age. Olive looks after her father, who is broken by the deaths of his fellow firefighters. And together, the four roam the streets of London, discovering their resilience amongst the secrets of the city.

But as the Blitz unleashes a barrage of bombs on London, turning the sky ragged with flame, can the friends keep each other safe and survive?

The Line They Drew Through Us by Hiba Noor Khan

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 5 May 2025

Waterstones
Bookshop

See also:
Safiyyah’s War [ACHUKA Book of the Day 24 Jul 2023]

“Simultaneously so heartbreaking and heartwarming…” JustImagine
“Khan presents divergent intergenerational perspectives as each child is afflicted by the terrible legacy of the past imposing itself upon the present and their future is thrown into turmoil.” BfK
“An accessible, humanitarian perspective on the Partition of India seen through the experiences of three children and their families. The politics of a complex period in colonial history are put into simple terms that will give young readers a clear idea of what happened when the British suddenly left India in 1947.” BookTrust

1947, Lahore. Jahan and Ravi spend their days in and around the Fort, racing, wrestling and teasing each other. They are so close, they’re like brothers.

Jahan’s dad works for the British government and the boys hear snippets about the end of the British Raj and a partition of India. Tensions are rising throughout the city and beyond. Neighbours and friends are turning on each other. Jeered on by their classmates, even Jahan and Ravi have a huge fight.

But then word comes that there are only two days until the partition. In the greatest migration of people ever, families flee through desperate violence to try to get to the right side of the border. Jahan’s family protect Ravi’s and manage to get them across the border safely, but will they ever see each other again?

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Giant by Judith McQuoid

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 26 Mar 2025

Waterstones
Bookshop

“McQuoid uses rich, carefully chosen details to evoke the historical setting. Notably, she compassionately shows the impact of social class constraints and personal hardships on each child without minimizing either of their experiences through simplistic comparisons. The evocative, often poetic, writing will appeal to thoughtful readers. A quietly charming, warmhearted story of enduring friendship.” KIRKUS
“A really clever, unusual look at the life of a figure that we all know a bit, but none of us really know much about.” ReadAndReviewed

A fascinating historical novel that explores the vibrant, story-making world C.S. Lewis grew up in: Belfast in the early 1900’s. The cover is by Romanian illustrator Lia Visirin.

Davy, a working-class boy living in East Belfast in 1908, is sent to work at the wealthy Lewis household. When he meets Jacks – the name by which CS Lewis was known to friends and family – Davy is captivated by his friend’s world of books and stories. Together the boys plunge into imagining and adventuring, and Davy discovers his own artistic talent. But when Davy is offered a job at the shipyard, and Jacks’s mother falls gravely ill, their wondrous days of make-believe seem numbered. Will they lose their extraordinary shared world forever?

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The River Thief by Hannah Peck

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 13 Nov 2024

Waterstones
Bookshop

“Peck writes with the ease of someone who has done her research, and is thoroughly at home in her historic milieu. The result is a thoroughly modern historical drama full of credible characters – and led by a Jacobean heroine to whom every young reader will relate.” Telegraph

See also:
Kate On The Case [ACHUKA Book of the Day 12 Jul 2021]
Meet An Illustrator 12

Like many rivers, the banks of the Lyde hold a hoard of forgotten things: pottery, trinkets, a shard of glass. They also hold a Memory. In the days of this story, the buried Memories were forgotten by most. But not by all . . .

When Adderley discovers Ef – a being who seems part human and part fish – in the river by her home, she is drawn into an adventure that challenges everything she’s learnt about the world. Ef is searching for a special stone that she says has been stolen from her people. Could this be the key to the drought that is destroying Adderley’s home? Together, Adderley and Ef resolve to recover the stone and return it to its true home, but the river waters are not always on their side and the journey is filled with danger.

You can follow Hannah Peck on and see an example of one of the interior illustrations:

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall ill. Yas Imamura

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 20 Aug 2024

Waterstones
Bookshop

“Love and literature transcend hatred and incarceration in this picture book about the author’s maternal grandmother, who was the librarian at the Japanese internment camp where she met and married her husband.” The New York Times Book Review
“The author’s gentle text captures the resilience of human dignity and optimism even during times of immense challenge and adversity. Imamura’s stunning gouache and watercolor illustrations convey both the setting and the emotions of the characters. . . Tokuda-Hall’s author’s note discussing her grandparents, Japanese internment camps, and the continuing impact of racism caps off this powerful must-read.” Booklist (starred review)
“Simple yet evocative. . . Fluid, dynamic gouache and watercolor illustrations by Imamura (Winged Wonders) spotlight the expressive internees’ individualism amid a bleak landscape, immersing readers. . . Alongside a sensitive introduction to life in Japanese internment camps, this picture book transcends its central romance to encompass love for books, community, and being ‘human.'” Publishers Weekly 
“This exquisite picture book, based on the experiences of the author’s grandparents, tells a love story for the ages without sugarcoating history. . . . Illustrator Yas Imamura’s soft, muted, earth-tone illustrations work wonders in bringing the characters and setting to life. Her fine, smooth lines gently capture the tenderness that permeates this tale.” BookPage (starred review)
“This lovely, inspiring story unfolds in Imamura’s muted art, cushioning the harsh reality of how Japanese Americans were treated during World War II. . . . Tokuda-Hall recounts the true story of how her maternal grandmother and grandfather met in an internment camp in the 1940s and writes a stirring and heartbreaking paragraph about how ‘[h]ate…is an American tradition.'” School Library Journal (starred review)
“The gentle text shows how, no matter how bleak the outlook, people can find ways to hope, dream, and endure. . . . Imamura’s soft, exquisite illustrations capture the physical locale, using light and shadow in powerful ways. . . . An evocative and empowering tribute to human dignity and optimism.” Kirkus 
“Full-spread gouache and watercolor illustrations along with smaller vignettes immerse viewers in camp life, depicting its hardships without overwhelming young readers. An earth-toned palette nevertheless remains light and hopeful.” The Horn Book

During World War II, Tama is sent to live in an incarceration camp in the desert. All Japanese Americans from the West Coast — elderly people, children, babies — now live in camps like Minidoka. To be who she is has become a crime, and Tama doesn’t know when or if she will ever leave. Trying not to think of the life she once had, she works in the incarceration camp’s tiny library, taking solace in pages bursting with colour and light, love and fairness. And she isn’t the only one. George waits each morning by the door, his arms piled with books checked out the day before. As their friendship grows, Tama wonders: Can anyone possibly read so much? Is she the reason George comes to the library every day?

This beautifully illustrated, elegant love story features a photo of the real Tama and George — the author’s grandparents — and an unflinching and necessary afterword that helps readers to learn more about a time in history that continues to resonate.

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The River Spirit by Lucy Strange ill. Júlia Moscardó

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 18 Jun 2024

Waterstones
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Trapped within the oppressive warrens of the city’s chimneys, young sweep Tom longs for fresh air and freedom in this atmospheric and ghostly tale from Lucy Strange.

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Young chimney sweep Tom has started seeing strange, supernatural things – fairies in the flowers by the river, a soot monster crouching in the darkness of a chimney, and then the mysterious river spirit Elle. Elle joins Tom and the other children apprenticed to cruel master sweep Mister Crow. Together, they shimmy up the town’s narrow, filthy chimneys. But Tom has an ominous feeling in his bones, and when he faces his most dangerous job of all, the reason for Elle’s magical appearance becomes clear . . .

from a Q&A on CLPE:

What inspired you to write this book?

The River Spirit is the third in my historical fiction trilogy for Barrington Stoke – accessible and beautifully illustrated books that explore child labour in the 19th Century. Each one combines true nuggets of history with elements of fantasy and mythology. The River Spirit is inspired by Charles Kingsley’s book The Water Babies and the true story of chimney sweep George Brewster who died in 1875, and whose tragic death helped to bring about an end to child labour in Victorian Britain. My story is a sad but hopeful one, with magic shimmering at its edges!

Children of Winter by Berlie Doherty

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 8 Nov 2023

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

See also:
The Haunted Hills [ACHUKA Book of the Day 12 Oct 2022]

“A beautiful writing style and memorable characterisations distinguish Doherty as one of today’s finest writers.” Children’s Books And Their Creators ed. Anita Silvey (1995)

A welcome reissue of this classic children’s novel  (Originally published by Methuen, 1985) that  recreates the time when the tiny village of Eyam in Derbyshire cut itself off from the rest of England in 1666 — with cover illustration by Tamsin Rosewell.

Catherine and her family set out for her grandmother’s house deep in the Derbyshire hills. Sheltering from a storm in an old cruck barn with her younger sister and brother, it becomes strangely familiar to her, and she is drawn back to a time when three children sheltered all winter away from a terrible plague that was devastating their village.

Read about what inspired the author to write this book.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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