3 days ago
Full of drama and compassion: The best Children's books out now - Frank The Pizza by Eoin Mclaughlin, The Dawn Of Adonis by Phil Earle, The Other Girl by Emily Barr
Frank The Pizza by Eoin Mclaughlin, illustrated by Mike Byrne (HarperCollins £7.99, 32pp)
Frank is a little slice of pizza, desperate to make friends but when you're delicious it's hard – some people want to meet you, others want to eat you.
So when he's invited to Billy's birthday party, his parents try to protect him by topping him with anchovies and olives.
No one likes him, until he meets Frances the cupcake whose parents have topped her with equally uninviting beetroot icing and they make such good friends they become overconfident and take risks that almost result in disaster.
This scrumptious story has a gentle message but is also full of fun and plenty of opportunity for arguing about best pizza toppings. Who doesn't like olives? Age 3+.
The Dawn Of Adonis by Phil Earle (Andersen Press £7.99, 240pp)
Earle's multi-award winning When The Sky Falls introduced us to Adonis, a silverback gorilla kept in a London zoo during the Second World War. But how did he get there?
This stand-alone prequel follows young Toff Squabble, assistant to the evil criminal Goliath Deeds who smells money in the illegal trade of exotic animals.
When a baby gorilla is born in the backstreets of the docks, Toff seeks help from a vet and his brave daughter Nettie, who fights to rescue the vulnerable infant from Deeds' wicked plans.
Set in 1911, this richly atmospheric adventure, full of drama, compassion and a brutal portrait of the city's dark underbelly, confirms Earle as a master of his craft. Age 9+
The Other Girl by Emily Barr (Penguin £9.99, 368pp)
This twisty young adult thriller will keep you guessing until the surprising end.
Rich, disturbed teenage Tabbi is headed for a rehab clinic in Switzerland after doing something terrible when drunk.
When she meets runaway broke backpacker Ruby on a train, she persuades her to swap identities for six weeks, promising her that she's headed for a luxury hotel in the mountains, all expenses paid.
But as Tabbi tries to survive without her credit card, she starts to wonder if Ruby is as innocent as she seemed. Who is conning who?
There's a few improbable moments but the double-crossing, dual narrative and unfolding secrets propel you forward at high speed. Age 13+
