Must Read Kids Books for November 2024

Join Taylor Swift on an alphabet journey from small-town beginnings to global stardom.

A is for Albums, so many and bright, Taylor’s music, a pure delight.

B is for Breakups, feeling blue, Turning heartbreak into songs, for me and you.

C is for Cats, her feline friends, Furry purry love, that never ends.

Young children will love this vibrantly illustrated first biography and so will Swifties of all ages!

Celebrate twenty years of The Boy in this highly anticipated new adventure from the internationally bestselling picture book creator of Lost and Found Oliver Jeffers!

Once there was a boy who would often play hide-and-seek with his friends the star and the penguin. The star was always easy to find, but one day it went missing. So, the boy radioed the Martian for help and soon found himself on an exciting spaceship rescue mission to the North Pole! But there, he discovered that he wasn’t the only one who had always dreamed of having a star as a friend…

The out-of-this-world, long-awaited sequel to the much-loved Boy stories, loved all around the world – now introducing a brand-new character!

A sequel to the timeless classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas! featuring all your favourite characters!

The Grinch has grown to LOVE Christmas, so when the Grinch sees a poster for Who-ville’s Christmas tree contest, he has an awfully crafty idea… he will show off his new festive spirit by making the tallest, most spectacular Christmas tree the Whos have ever seen!

But when things don’t go as planned, will the Grinch return to his grinchy ways, or can one special Who remind him of the true meaning of Christmas?

Written by Alastair Heim in the beloved style of Dr. Seuss, celebrate the season alongside all your favourite characters with this sequel to the timeless classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Relive the magic of the third Paddington movie, Paddington in Peru, (out in UK cinemas 8 November 2024) with this fantastic picture book retelling of the story, perfect for younger fans!

Using official photography from the new family movie, Paddington in Peru, this keepsake picture book retells the hilarious tale of Paddington’s adventure in Peru with the Browns. Their trip to see Aunt Lucy at The Home for Retired Bears reveals a mystery that leads to an epic quest in the Amazon and the mountain peaks of Peru. Packed with marvellous mishaps and marmalade sandwiches, this picture book is the perfect gift for those who want to relive Paddington Bear’s adventures at home!

Join in the most Grinchy festive fun with this amazing activity book – and stop the Grinch from stealing Christmas! Filled with Christmas joy on every page, this is a must-have for every Dr. Seuss fan at Christmas time.

Toys, sleighs, Christmas trees and festive feasts!

Join the Grinch and the Whos and celebrate a very merry Christmas in Who-ville with this fantastically festive activity book!

Stuffed with puzzles and crafts, code-breakers, wordsearches, colouring-in AND MORE, re-live the hilarity of Dr. Seuss’s classic story How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and enjoy a feast of activities perfect for children and families this winter season!

Paint all your favorite pets—with stickers!

Enjoy hours of screen-free, mess-free, crafting fun with this vibrant sticker book featuring ten adorable pets, including a loyal dog, a playful kitten, a colorful lizard, and more! All you need to do is:

Step 1: Find the sticker.
Step 2: Peel the sticker.
Step 3: Place the sticker.

And watch your paintings come to life!

All the pages are perforated, making it easy to tear out each finished work to frame and share.

Fox is ready to play ball!

So are Elephant, Rabbit, Bear… and Snail.

But who will win the game?

The mischievous and fun-loving Fox is back in another humorous and surprising I Can Read, from an award-winning author-illustrator

From beloved authors Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko, Mouse and His Dog is an uplifting story and a page-turning adventure.

Dogtown is a shelter for stray dogs, misbehaving dogs, and discarded robot dogs, whose owners have outgrown them.

Buster is a big-hearted dog who couldn’t attract more trouble if he tried.

Stewie is a huge, loveable dog whose ex-owner said he was mean.

And Mouse is a mouse, who has the run of Dogtown and happens to be Buster’s best friend in the world.

Determined to help Buster find his forever home, Mouse, Stewie, Buster and a robot-dog called Smokie embark on a bold quest in search of the perfect family. With peril, adventure and lots of laughter along the way.

The forest is alive with the most massive of arguments – WHO is the funniest animal in the Woods? Bunny, Monkey and co are battling to decide… Is it Bunny with his dad jokes, Monkey with his bum jokes, Le Fox with his riddles, Ai with her knock-knock jokes, Pig and Weenie with their food jokes, Skunky with his gloriously inventive ‘what do you get if you cross a…’ jokes, or Action Beaver with his Blebble* (*a whole lot of nonsense!) ? It could even be Metal Steve and Metal Eve, who are just learning what jokes are… One thing’s for sure: this contest will brighten ALL our days.

Join your favourite comic characters for the craziest joke book ever published. Bursting with hilarious side-splitting gags, to make you and your friends fall about with laughter. Also featuring jokes from readers of The Phoenix comic!

The essential guide to all things Pokémon, this year’s Encyclopedia includes all of the details of Ash Ketchum’s battle to become Pokémon World Champion!

The new updated and expanded final edition of the Pokémon Encyclopedia!

Ash Ketchum’s journey to becoming a Pokémon Master, and winner of the Masters Eight World Championships has come to an end. Travel through all 8 regions of the Pokémon world, learning about the characters, competition, adventures and, of course, the hundreds of Pokémon that live there.

Packed full of battle stats, stories, Pokédex facts and so much more!

This comprehensive Encyclopedia contains everything fans need to immerse themselves in the wonderful world of Pokémon.

From million-copy bestselling author David Walliams comes his first ever murder mystery – with thrills, spills and laughs galore.

Dilly loved a good murder. Not a REAL murder. A made-up murder. One you would find in a murder mystery novel.

Sherlock Holmes was her favourite detective, so much so that she had named her dog Watson after his faithful companion. Dilly had trained her Watson to sniff out clues and follow scent trails. Something he would happily do for a dog biscuit. Or two.

So far, Dilly and Watson hadn’t had much luck cracking cases – beyond lost cats, or missing biscuits that turned out to have been eaten all along. But now the detective duo found themselves on a luxury ocean liner bound for London. A thousand passengers. A thousand nautical miles of ocean around them. It was the perfect place for a murder…

Or two. Or three. Or four. Or MORE!

A funny, exciting, David vs Goliath adventure with a heart-warming father-son relationship – perfect for fans of Danny the Champion of the World, Millions, and Ratatouille.

The story of one boy and his brilliant burgers!

Benny Burns spends every weekend helping his dad by working at their burger van, parked outside the local football ground. And when Benny finds his grandfather’s old recipe book and begins following its instructions, he starts cooking INCREDIBLE food – so good, in fact, that he attracts the unwanted attention of fast food giant Bonkers Burgers! and its CEO, Bodley Bonkers.

To Bodley, Benny and his burgers are a threat that must be eliminated… by any means necessary.

And so, along with his dad and his two best friends, Jasper and Mina, Benny must find a way to defeat Bonkers Burgers, help rescue his dad’s business, and share his passion for cooking with the world – a mission that leads to him competing with the world’s greatest chef to cook the best burger.

Inspired by the Harry Potter films, Harry Potter Pop-Up Wizard Chess Set is an innovative, plastic-free chess set with an ingenious construction. Designed by David Hawcock, featuring artwork by Richard Davies.

Wizard’s chess—like you’ve never seen before! Light and portable, this completely new chess set is based on the famous wizarding chess film scene from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and features stunning, in-world artwork by Richard Davies.

In addition to a full set of standard pieces, the set also includes optional alternative pieces featuring Harry, Hermione and–of course–Ron. These pieces can be swapped in so that you can play the game as it was played in the film.

The set includes a 44-page book packed with behind-the-scenes information about the film and general information about the game, including the rules and the tactics of chess.

HIGH-QUALITY, ROBUST FORMAT: The set is portable and housed in a high-quality slipcase to protect the board, pieces, and book within.

SET FOLDS FLAT: Easily stored like a book, it reopens with the pieces in position.

NO PLASTIC: Soft touch laminated card pieces fold flat and are easy to use.

Six acclaimed novels from Alice Oseman, the author of the 2021 YA Book Prize winning Loveless and creator of the beloved graphic novel series Heartstopper, now a major Netflix series.

SOLITAIRE

My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Now there’s Solitaire. And Michael Holden.

RADIO SILENCE

When Frances meets Aled, the shy genius behind her favourite podcast, she discovers a new freedom. He unlocks the door to Real Frances and for the first time she experiences true friendship. Then the podcast goes viral and the fragile trust between them is broken.

I WAS BORN FOR THIS

For Angel Rahimi life is about one thing: The Ark – a pop-rock trio of teenage boys who are taking the world by storm. Jimmy Kaga Ricci owes everything to The Ark. And playing in a band with his mates is all he ever dreamed of doing. But dreams don’t always turn out the way you think.

LOVELESS

Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush – but as a fanfic obsessed romantic she’s sure she’ll find her person one day. But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her.

NICK AND CHARLIE

Nick is leaving for university, and Charlie will be left behind at Sixth Form. Everyone’s asking if they’re staying together, which is a stupid question – they’re ‘Nick and Charlie’ for God’s sake! But as the time to say goodbye gets closer, both Nick and Charlie question whether their love is strong enough to survive.

THIS WINTER

The festive season isn’t always happy for Tori Spring and her brother Charlie. And this year’s going to be harder than most

Inspired by faery myth and folklore, the haunting, heart wrenching tale of a girl called Nettle in a dark, foreboding faery kingdom.

A wild misfit in the human world, Nettle is enthralled by the glamour of the faery realm, with its two moons and scarlet stars. She grows close to Conor, a human stolen centuries before, and she also falls under the spell of mysterious Ellion, a Shadow Faery. To try to help her beloved grandmother who is fading in her world, Nettle makes a pact with the faery king. He’ll heal her grandmother in exchange for Nettle completing three tasks. She agrees, not realising that deception lurks in this enchanted place, and that she has been tricked…

In this dangerous fantasy kingdom Nettle discovers, too late, her part in an age-old love story and the price she will pay.

A graphic novel retelling of the classic – Chris Mould takes us to the brink with a diary that records the alien invasion of England

In 1894, across space, this earth was being watched by envious eyes, and plans were being drawn up for an attack.

What seems to be a meteorite falls to earth, but from the debris, unfolds terrifying alien life…

A young man called Leon records his observations and sketches. ‘Those who have never seen Martian life can scarcely imagine the horror’ – he tells us. ‘Even at this first glimpse, I was overcome with fear and dread. The earth stood still as we watched, almost unable to move …’

As war descends, Leon and his scientist wife race against the clock to discover the science behind these martians in the hopes of ending this war of all worlds

From the author of bestselling Girl in Pieces, comes the story of a
teenage girl on the brink, and the bumpy road back to recovery.

Everyone in Bella’s life needs something from her. Her mum needs her support after the divorce, her dad needs her to look after her sister, her ex needs her to not be ‘too much’. The only person who never needed anything was her grandmother. But now her grandmother is dead.

There’s only one thing that dulls the pressure. Alcohol. It smooths the sharp edges of Bella’s life and makes it all so much easier. What’s the big deal? Everyone drinks.

But one night changes everything. A Thanksgiving party and too many drinks lands her in hospital, with no memory of what happened except a viral video and a fractured cheekbone. It’s time to face reality. And for Bella, reality means going to rehab.

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Better Than the Movies comes a romantic, heartfelt sequel that will sweep you off of your feet! Wes had his dream girl but then he lost her – and the only way to get her back is to scheme like a rom-com hero…

For a few beautiful months, Wes and girl-next-door Liz were together. But right as the two were about to set off to UCLA together, tragedy struck and their relationship ended. Flash forward and Wes and Liz find themselves in college, together. In a healthier place now, Wes knows he broke Liz’s heart, but is determined to make her fall back in love with him. And he has a foolproof plan to win her back with the rom com worthy big gestures she loves. Only … Liz will have none of it. Wes has to scheme like a rom-com hero to figure out how to see her. Even worse, Liz has a new friend…a guy friend. Still, Wes won’t give up and is determined to win back Liz’s affection.

But after his best efforts get him nowhere, he’s is left wondering if their relationship is really over for good.

Nothing Like the Movies is perfect for hopeless romantics, lovers of grumpy x sunshine energy and for fans of Emily Henry and Ali Hazelwood!

A brand-new novel about virginity loss from Carnegiewinning, global sensation, Jason Reynolds – over 9 million books sold worldwide!

Seventeen-year-old Neon is about to have sex with his girlfriend, Aria, for the first time. In 24 seconds to be precise. He’s hiding in the bathroom, nervous, wanting to do everything right…

Rewind. To 24 minutes earlier where Neon rushes from work, taking the gift of fried chicken to Aria’s house.

Rewind again. To 24 hours earlier when Neon’s big sister has advice about sex which makes him think he probably shouldn’t be listening to his friends.

To 24 days earlier. To 24 weeks earlier. To 24 months earlier, when he and Aria first met.

This tender, sweet, wholesome piece of fiction discusses how to approach first sex, how to respect women, how to be gentle, how to make it about love. It shows us a refreshingly different side to male sexuality.