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Rosie Raja: Churchill’s Spy - Sofiya Ahmed (Bloomsbury, £6.99) Raised in India, Rosie is unhappy when her father moves them to rainy, wore torn England. To make matters worse, he keeps working away for long periods, leaving her alone. Everything changes when she accidentally discovers he is a spy for the British government about to go to Paris. Thinking anything would be better than being left behind, Rosie stows away on his plane, making him furious. She soon realises being in occupied France, helping the resistance is extremely dangerous. One false step could give them away leading to certain death for them and their helpers. Never knowing who to trust, Rosie is keen to learn all she can to help her father on his mission, which means she has to be very brave and resourceful. This is an exciting, atmospheric story giving you a real feel for the time. First in a new series. How to be More Hedgehog - Anne-Marie Conway (Uclan, £7.99) Lily has a stammer which she does her best to control, but certain letters cause more problems than others. Trying to say the name of her new teacher, Mr Daley causes problems, which knocks her confidence. Her friend, Mia, tries to help by offering to deliver the presentation of their joint project while Lily does the research, but who is this really helping? Lily would like to deliver a small part of the presentation and not hide away. Her worst nightmare comes true when someone uploads a practise recording she made to YouTube. She is cyberbullied and laughed at behind her back, even by Mia. Not able to discuss things with her mum, Lily tries to permanently extend a visit with her dad and his new wife in Scotland. But she realises that she can’t run away from her stammer and needs to become more like a hedgehog, her favourite toy, and develop ‘spikes’ to protect herself. The discovery of a fellow stammerer in her family who has spent his life hiding away makes her determined not to do the same. Her great love of animals and the need to protect them is the spur she needs to make a daring move. This is an uplifting story of someone finding the inner strength she needs to overcome obstacles and achieve her goals. You experience all her ups and downs, cheering her on all the way.

If you fancy something spooky, funny, adventurous, thought provoking or touching, look no further. Plenty of books for you to snuggle up with and get lost in on these longer nights. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have. A Bad God’s Guide to Taking the Blame - Louie Stowell (Walker, £7.99) Loki is still banished on earth in the body of an 11 year old boy with his fake family. The good news is his enchanted diary says he starts with a virtue score of 0, much better than his previous massive minus score. He is glad Valerie is his friend, but when she also befriends Georgina, Loki experiences the human emotion of jealousy which doesn’t help his virtue score. He makes an effort and tries to be nice to new girl Sarah, only to have his kindness thrown back in his face. Things worsen when Thor’s hammer is stolen and Loki gets the blame despite being innocent for once. Can he prove his innocence, keep Valerie’s friendship and stop his virtue score diving into the deep minus? You will have to read this very funny story to find out. All the favourite characters return from the first book along with some new ones adding to the chaotic fun.

The heroine of this book believes she is the best bear tracker in the world and takes us on journey with her to prove it. She follows all the rules: looking for places bears like to be; offering food they like and folowing clues. You might be surprised by how happy she is by what she finds at the end, and her comments. Especially when the fantastically detailed pictures tell another story, showing us all the things she has missed. This is a really funny picture book that will have you laughing out loud. I love it!

Debbie

21% Monster - P. J. Canning (Usborne, £7.99) S

Darren is short but very strong. He tries to ignore the bullies at school, but hates it and one day it gets too much for him. He loses his temper and destroys his school, without knowing how. After being arrested he is befriended by a woman who says she can help him. In the meantime he meets Marek, a very intelligent but weak looking boy who says they have something in common - neither is completely human. They have been created by a secret organisation who now wants to kill them, their only option is to destroy the organisation. Despite what he’s done, Darren doesn’t like violence or want to hurt anyone. He isn’t sure he can trust Marek and doesn’t agree with all his plans, but a lot of what he says makes sense. They are in for a very tough time as they are hunted down and attempts made on their lives. Darren has to work out who he can trust and what he is willing to do to safeguard his family. This is an inspiring, action packed adventure full of thrilling, edge of your seat moments. First in a new series.

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Hallowe’en Reading

There Was a Young Zombie Who Swallowed a Worm

-Kaye Baillie/ Diane Ewen (Macmillan, £6.99) For some reason a young zombie goes on an eating spree, starting with a worm. He soon regrets it and tries eating a bat to catch the worm. When that doesn’t go down well, he tries a toad and on it goes until the swamp he swallows has an unexpected result. This very funny book with brightly coloured pictures adding much to the story is told in rhyme and is a joy to read aloud. It shares more than a passing resemblance to an old lady who swallowed a fly. You may remember that didn’t end well. The result can’t be the same for a zombie, but it is quite dramatic.

The Festival of

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Witches - Valerie Thomas/ Korky Paul (Oxford Hb, £12.99) Every year when it is time to go home from the Worldwide Witches’ Festival the witches invite each other to visit, but Winnie has never issued or accepted invitations. She likes living quietly in her house with Wilbur. This year however, Winnie had so much fun making friends and learning lots of new tricks that after a few days at home she misses the other witches and goes to visit some. When the visits are over home seems too quiet and peaceful, but luckily the others come and have a party. A special hardback anniversary edition of the original Winnie the Witch book has been produced to mark the 35th anniversary. As well as the story it has a gallery of Winnie and Wilbur’s most magical memories and a look at how Korky Paul brings the adventures to life.

The October Witches

Jennifer Claessen (Uclan, £7.99) Although they are witches, October is the only time of the year Clem’s family, the Merlyns, can use their magic, which makes it a very special time for them. Despite the animosity between them, the Merlyn and Morgan side of the family have to get together to start the magic, but separate as soon as they can. Things usually become rather hectic with the witches cramming all their spells into one month, but this year Aunt Prudie produces a giant pumpkin she has grown hoping to be able to harness the family’s power into it giving them magic all year round. After many false starts their huge effort seems to be paying off, when the Morgans steal it away and take Clem’s aunts with it to continue their exhausting magic. It just leaves Clem and her cousin, Mirabelle, to try and rescue them. With little magic between them going against the powerful Morgans seems impossible. As they discover secrets from the past which explain unanswered questions, they draw closer together. Help comes from unexpected sources, but they are in grave danger. This is an exciting story with many breathtaking moments. It shows what can be accomplished when people work together, with or without magic. Witchstorm

Tim Tilley (Usborne, £7.99) People in the fens tell stories and sing songs of witches that used to live there, but only Will and his Ma believe they exist and the stories are real. They spend a lot of time searching for buried treasure of Agatha Crow until Ma suddenly disappears. Convinced finding the treasure will help find Ma, Will continues his search discovering an amulet which brings young witch, Magda looking for a powerful magical stone. In the wrong hands it could have devastating effects. Unfortunately, an evil witch is also searching for it to use for his own gains which will destroy Will’s home in the process and loose Ma for good. Will and Magda put themselves in great danger and will need much bravery, resourcefulness and riddle solving abilities to get the stone and stop a disaster. This is a gripping, fast paced story full of magic that highlights the importance of the natural world.