Welcome, welcome to our September Chapter Book Roundup. By now most of you will be back at school (boo hiss!) and the long summer days are starting to change as our favourite season Autumn is ushered in. We've got some great books to tuck yourselves up with, so let's get started right away.

First is a new tale from Gill Lewis, author of "Sky Hawk" and recent fave "A Story Like the Wind"

"Sky Dancer" is the story of young Joe. He has always loved the moorlands above his home: the wildness, the freedom, the peace.

But when Joe's father dies, everything changes and the moors are no longer a place of refuge, more a place of darkness and gloom, foreboding and grief.

Now the whole community is divided over the fate of the hen harriers that nest up there in the heather - and Joe is stuck right in the middle, with a choice to make, and a huge secret to keep.

Joe can't do what's right for everyone. But can he find the strength to fight for what he really believes in?

With wonderful reminders for me of books like "Tarka the Otter" and "Kes", Gill has wrought a beautiful tale of loss, expectation, and change - with an important and thought-provoking environmental message.

Definitely one for bird and animal lovers, "Sky Dancer" by Gill Lewis is out on October 1st, published by OUP / Oxford Children's Books.

We just couldn't wait to dive into our next book. Maz Evans' utterly fantastic follow-up to "Who Let the Gods Out" is now with us, and you know what? It's "Simply the Quest!"

(We mean best! Best!)

Rejoining young protagonist Elliot Hooper, we pick up the story directly from the first book and Elliot's troubles are far from over.

Mum is still ill, in fact her health is getting worse. Elliot's grades are also tanking at school as other distractions firmly get in the way of any dwindling academic leanings he had. Oh, and there's that tiny matter of a bunch of crazy Greek gods who have taken up residence in Elliot's house. Most distracting of all is teen goddess Virgo, who has 99 problems of her own (and Elliot isn't one).

As if all that wasn't enough to be dealing with,  death-daemon Thanatos and his scary mum are also at large. More immortal allies and enemies emerge as Elliot's story continues. Can Virgo and Elliot learn how to be heroes?

Our description might not make this sound like the funniest book ever written, but once again Maz's amazingly fine tuned humour bursts out from every page with enough moments to make you grin like an idiot and perhaps mumble 'ew, gross' quite a lot at the same time. Utterly perfect!

"Simply the Quest" by Maz Evans is out now, published by Chicken House Books. 

Next, a girl full of joie de vivre, and something of a YouTube Superstar. Let's meet Mango!

"Mango Delight" is the stunning debut from author Fracaswell Hyman, with brilliant cover and illustrations from Frank Morrison.

Mango Delight Fuller is one lucky girl.
Pongwiffy has just moved into a new cave, and it's dirty, smelly and damp - in other words it's perfect for a witch like Pongwiffy!

Welcome to our May roundup of all things groovy and readable in chapter and middle-grade form. We're bringing you an absolute book SMORGASBORD this month so let's get started with a book that (thankfully, or not, depending on your point of view) has absolutely nothing to do with small yellow creatures with goggles.

"Dr Critchlore's School for Minions" mashes together two of our favourite genres. The "School" story and monster tales - to bring you a distinctly different educational establishment. Dr Critchlore's school is like Hogwarts gone bad, and the oddly-shaped incumbents (and vaguely human-like children) who fetch up on his doorstep are here to learn one thing and one thing only. How to become the most awesome and effective henchman or woman to supremely evil beings.

Meet Runt Higgins, abandoned at the school as a rather misshapen baby but now old enough to start lessons. Along with his friends Darthin the Gargoyle and Syke the tree nymph, Runt is eager to get cracking on the school's rather unique curriculum. But as with all good school stories, even an evil school for evil minions has dark plots interwoven with the story and soon Runt will realise that nothing at the school is as it seems!

Sheila Grau has created a truly brilliant monster-filled book world that we consumed voraciously like the eager little imps we are. The good news is that Book Two (Gorilla Tactics) gets a preview at the end of this story and is just around the corner, release date wise.

"Dr Critchlore's School for Minions" written by Sheila Grau and Illustrated by Joe Sutphin was released on April 12th 2016 and watch out for "Gorilla Tactics" arriving on shelves in the summer, Published by Abrams & Chronicle.

We seriously crave decent middle grade and YA science fiction. Thankfully Sophia McDougall has always made the genre her own with her fantastic "Space Hostages" series. Now Sophia has turned her attention to a new book series.

"Mars Evacuees" (Book 1) is the exhilarating and exciting story of Alice Dare who starts off the book very briefly as an ordinary everyday schoolgirl sometime in our not too dim and distant future. As the world undergoes dramatic climate change, a new ice age dawns and children all over the planet (even from humble Nottingham) are evacuated to Mars to live in the offworld colonies there.

Alice soon finds that her old life is long gone. Drafted as a member of the Youth Defence Force, Alice will make new friends, fight invisible enemies and (slightly surreally) adopt a robot goldfish.

"Mars Evacuees" kicks off brilliantly, a fast-paced page turner with more than a measure of tongue in cheek humour underpinning the awesome action. We can't wait for more adventures with Alice.

"Mars Evacuees" by Sophia McDougall was released on 27th March 2016 from Egmont Publishing.

From robot goldfish to...chocolate ones? At least this next book arrived with a rather tasty and tempting treat in the parcel which was very swiftly devoured by Charlotte (Almost as swiftly as the book itself!)

If you could somehow imagine the weirdest duo in book history embarking on a bonkers road trip to Bitterly Bay, you'd be halfway to working out what on earth is going on in Steve Webb's hilarious new book "Spangles McNasty and the Fish of Gold".

It's holiday time for Spangles McNasty and his best friend Sausage-Face Pete. They're stinky, smelly and downright dishonest and out to make every other holiday maker's life an abject misery. Only one person can stop them, a young boy called Freddie Taylor who - with the aid of time travelling jet skis and more than two brain cells (which is more than we can say for Spangles and Sausage-Face), it's a crazy and surreal caper destined to make you giggle. Can Freddie step in before the hapless duo find the mythical "Fish of Gold" which they believe will reap them untold fortune and glory?

With awesome art from Chris Mould, "Spangles McNasty and the Fish of Gold" is definitely not short on brilliant belly laughs and completely crazy humour. Released on 5th May 2016 by Andersen Children's Books.

Now, this business about Pugs. What do you love about them? Why do you love them? I blame that Booksniffer myself, she started it all :) So let's take a look at a book that caused squeals of delight from Charlotte (who rather fancies her own pet pug methinks!)

Meet Captain Pug (who made me think he was in dire need of a "Wash" at the end!), the adorable doggy star of a new book series from Laura James - with awesome illustrations from Eglantine Ceulemans. Captain Pug fancies a life on the seven seas so embarks on a nautical adventure. Clad in his utterly lovable captain's outfit (seriously, Claude, you're going to have to up your game - this pooch is out to steal your style crown or should that be beret!) and with a decent supply of his favourite foodstuff (Jam tarts, hey this pug DOES have good taste) he's ready to embrace the salt winds and rolling waves.

There is a problem though. A mighty large problem. Captain Pug is actually afraid of water! EEEEEP!

Hilarious and brilliantly original, "Captain Pug" has definitely won our hearts and it's fantastic news to hear that this is just book one. More are planned in the series as you'll find out at the end of this seafaring tale.

"Captain Pug - The Dog Who Sailed the Seas" (Captain Pug Book 1) by Laura James and Eglantine Ceulemans arrived in port on 5th May 2016.

From seafaring pugs to would-be espionage agents. A bit of a leap granted but let's take a look...

The name's Twigg. Kevin Twigg. I know, it's not the most spy-tastic name ever but in "The Accidental Secret Agent" by Tom McLaughlin, you're about to meet a Kevin to be reckoned with. Schoolboy turned super-spy purely by accident, Kevin soon finds himself at the centre of an international plot cooked up by a nefarious and mysterious supervillain.

It could be a tall order for a pint-sized spy whose weapon of choice is a banana, and who can't even leap over a fountain without ending up with his bum showing to all and sundry! Eeks!

Luckily the supervillains are equally as inept as the secret service, so it could just be that with a bit of schoolboy nous, Kevin Twigg can out-bond Bond!

A hilarious new romp from Tom McLaughlin, published by OUP on 1st June 2016, keep a sharp I-spy eye out for "The Accidental Secret Agent" this summer.

There's no link whatsoever between spies and onions (even if you carry an exploding shallot in your briefcase Mr Bond). So without further ado, let's move on to an utterly sublime little story that feels like it was MADE for the summer (whenever that chooses to arrive!)

"The Adventures of Alfie Onion" by awesome wordsmith Vivian French, with glorious illustrations from Marta Kissi, is new out from Walker Books.

A lovely little self-contained novel destined to warm the cockles of your heart, Alfie Onion is the tale of Alfie who always seems to play second fiddle to his older brother Magnifico Onion. Alfie is press-ganged into a new adventure by Magnifico but only to carry all the heavy bags and do all the manual labour. Magnifico can't very well hog all the fortune and glory while carrying heavy suitcases after all, can he? Soon it becomes obvious that Magnifico isn't quite as magnifico as he seems, and it's time for Alfie to shine.

With a little help from his animal friends (including a truly awesome and brainy pet pooch), Alfie's star is sure to rise to the very top and win his family a "Happily Ever After" in storybook land.

"The Adventures of Alfie Onion" by Vivian French and Marta Kissi was released on 5th May 2016 by Walker Books.  The perfect summer read!

Next, a more decidedly darkly tinged tale for those of us who like something gothic and creepy...

"Magrit" by Lee Battersby is an awesome dark and spine chilling tale along the lines of Neil Gaiman or Eoin Colfer. Magrit lives in a cemetry with her constant companion, the Master Puppet. Magrit literally made her best friend from bones and bits of junk, imbued with dark powers.

Soon Magrit and Master Puppet's world is shattered by an unexpected arrival. A baby, mistakenly dropped by a stork. Despite Master Puppet's pleas that the baby is disposed of unceremoniously, Magrit calls the little foundling Bugrat, and decides to raise it as her own. But what future is there for a child raised amongst the bones of the dead? Will Magrit understand Master Puppet and Bone Girl's dire warnings too late?

This is a breathtakingly original and darkly delicious book that was possibly a bit too dark in places for Charlotte's bedtime reading matter but is nonetheless a truly brilliant piece of fiction that describes the difference in the relationships we have with our closest friends and those we consider to be family. Lee's writing is tight and tense, and the book world he's created here feels hugely satisfying and deep. Personally I couldn't get enough of it so I can only imagine what your 9-12 year olds will make of it (and boy, would it ever make a brilliant piece of stop motion animation! Movie studios take note!). "Magrit" was released on 5th May 2016 from Walker Books.

We're on the home stretch, let's stick with the darkly gothic for our next book...

8th Grader by day, monster hunter by night - meet "Max Helsing". Descended from a long line of witch pursuers, vampire hunters and monster despatchers, Max might be an ordinary everyday schoolboy but he has extraordinary powers. Pitted against the darkest demons that roam this world and beyond, Max turns thirteen and realises that he is the subject of an ancient curse.

Running out of time, will Max Helsing be able to save the world - and himself from the thirteenth curse?

Curtis Jobling's writing is crackingly good in this story injected with wisecracks, bone-cracks and crooked crucifixes as Max confronts an ancient evil. Fans of Percy Jackson are going to absolutely lap this one up.

"Max Helsing - Monster Hunter" was released on 5th May 2016 by Orchard Books.


One more, one more as it's out in a couple of days and we absolutely LOVED the first book...

"Alfie Bloom and the Talisman Thief" by Gabrielle Kent is book two in the Alfie Bloom trilogy (you'll have to wait a bit longer for the next one but by the end of Book 2 you'll literally be champing at the bit for it!). Alfie has inherited a fantastic (alright, a rather spooky) old castle and along with it a whole parcel of supernatural chaos. Just as things are settling down after the cataclysmic events in "The Secrets of Hexbridge Castle" Alfie finds once again that his new life is fraught with danger. Loyal (and slightly creepy) butler Ashford has been kidnapped in the middle of the night, and Alfie soon finds himself under siege as Hexbridge Castle comes under attack.

With only his two little cousins and his best friend Amy to help, can Alfie defeat ancient evil before the castle is reduced to dust?

Gabrielle's storytelling is absolutely fantastic, weaving a brilliant fantasy world for us readers to go and play in. So if you think your ideal home would be a creaky old castle, you might want to think again.

"Alfie Bloom and the Talisman Thief (Alfie Bloom Book 2) is out on 2nd June 2016 from Scholastic.

Alright, last one. We're just too good to you! Too good!

Mike Revell's "Storm Walker" is the sort of dark and delicious writing that has us staying up until the wee small hours to devour books like this. Ordinary everyday kid Owen is very much like you. He lives a fairly ordinary life, goes to school, loves footie, plays videogames and hangs out with his best friend Danny getting up to the usual mischief boys do.

Owen's life changes completely however, when he finds himself propelled into an alternate world where his home is about to be devoured by an insidious darkness, and the population of his town along with it.

The next moment Owen finds himself back in familiar surroundings. He has no control over his reality shifts, but somehow knows that only he can stop the darkness from encompassing everything he knows and loves.

Mike's writing is powerful, driven and completely and utterly addictive. It's fairly dark stuff (probably a little bit too dark for Charlotte who knows when something plays on her mind and knows when to step out). I loved it though, and older girls and boys who have a penchant for the darker stuff will literally read the letters off the page, if they find it as page-turningly addictive as I did.

"Storm Walker" by Mike Revell was released on 19th May 2016 from Quercus Children's Books.

Phew! I think we're about book-exhausted for this month's awesome chapter book and middle grade pile. Tune in as June hopefully warms our cockles and dishes up even more brilliant books to read out in the sunshine.

With only a few sleeps left until Christmas Day (SQUEE!) it's time for another dig into our Chapter Book sack. We might not have QUITE as many festive tales of Christmas cheer to bring you as we'd hoped but there's a stack of brilliant books to brighten up your wishlist to Santa.

So let's start off with some chuckles in "My Funny Family Gets Funnier" by Chris Higgins and Lee Wildish.

There's mad excitement in the Butterfield household as Mattie and her folks prepare for some wildly exotic guests. Uncle Vez's brother and his wife have decided to drop in for a visit all the way from sunny Australia.

Mattie thinks things are going to be brilliant and exciting but Grandma isn't quite so chuffed. Ruling the roost isn't easy when interfering Auntie Sheila thinks SHE knows best! Will the family manage to survive the visit without a disaster unfolding? Well it wouldn't be much of a funny book if things went smoothly now would it. Chris's razor sharp humour dishes up a fab observation of dysfunctional but hilarious family life in his continuing "My Funny Family" series.

"My Funny Family Gets Funnier" by Chris Higgins with Illustrations by Lee Wildish is out now from Hodder Children's Books.

A terrible tearaway pops up next with ten of his most mischievous stories. "Horrid Henry's Tricky Tricks" by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross dishes up a fabulous slice of the miscreant youth's most dire and nefarious schemes.

In this compilation Henry plans to scupper Moody Margaret's sleepover, get his own back on Stuck-Up Steve, build the best snowman ever, and play more and more nasty pranks on Perfect Peter.

It's an awesome collection for fans of Horrid Henry or (like Charlotte) kids who love the TV series (now on Netflix!) and want to read the original books that the show was based on.

It's enough to send your parents absolutely batty - so it's nigh on essential, right?

"Horrid Henry's Tricky Tricks" is out now from Orion Children's Books and has been going down a STORM with Charlotte! High praise indeed!

More please! OK this is a new series on us but we're utterly and completely hooked...!

Christopher William Hill's darkly tinged and humorous collection of "Tales from Schwartzgarten" reaches book 4 with the audaciously creepy tale of "Marius and the Band of Blood".

Marius Myerdorf is the latest recruit to Schwartzgarten's Band of Blood. Marius has a mission ahead of him that will test his powers of deduction to the max.

Tasked with unmasking two of the most fiendish foes to grace The Great City, Marius joins forces with the Band of Blood in a race against time, thwarting the creepiest of creepy horrors along the way.

Fans of darker stories are going to eat this up whole. Check out the other "Band of Blood / Tales from Schwartzgarten" books too, each written by Christopher with glorious illustrations and covers by Chris Riddell.

Out now from Orchard Books!

Next up, a book that Mummy and Charlotte have been reading over the course of many bedtimes and it's perfect for this time of year and the promise of snow. "The Storm Leopard" from Holly Webb is a fabulous story featuring one of Charlotte's favourite animals, the Snow Leopard.

When young Isabelle visits a zoo, little does she know that she's about to be whisked off into a fantasy adventure involving these glorious and sleek animals. Isabelle wants to know how to do more to help these endangered creatures and Holly's story sensitively tells us more about Snow Leopards and their natural habitats. It's been hugely popular with Charlotte and Mummy (as are all Holly's books) so once again this has been a bit of a christmas treat for us.

"The Storm Leopards" is out now from Stripes Publishing.

Sticking with snowy creatures, there's more from Stripes Publishing in an all-new animal anthology by various authors...

"On a Snowy Night" collects together a fabulous set of stories by several well known authors and if you're not already in love with it purely from seeing those cuddly Arctic Foxes on the cover, then let us tempt you further.

Read stories about those foxes, but also gorgeously seasonal tales about a brave Zebra who steps in at the last minute to help Santa deliver presents, and a magical stone hare brought to life by magical moonlight.

Each tale is the perfect length for snuggly bedtime reading and fits this time of year beautifully.

"On a Snowy Night" is out now from Stripes Publishing.

One more then, because it's nearly Christmas. Ooh and this stays with the darker themes with a gloriously thick collection from a master of the macabre. Don't lose your head!

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories" collects together some of Washington Irving's classic horror tales into one delicious volume.

Featuring "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", "Rip Van Winkle", "The Specter Bridegroom" and "The Devil and Tom Walker", it's a glorious opportunity to read some of the best written American gothic fiction ever to grace the printed page.

New illustrations by Scott McKowen really bring the edition to life.

Strictly for older kids who don't mind a bit of spooky scariness!

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories" is out now from Sterling Publishing.

Phew! Christmas is coming, and we'd like to add on at the last moment a shout out to the fabulous http://internationalelfservice.co.uk - where you can sign up to receive regular updates from The Big Man himself and all his elves! Go check it out!

We hope you have a happy booky christmas and a story-filled new year! Drop back in 2016 for more Chapter Book greatness month by month!

"In Their Shoes - Fairy Tales and Folk Tales, collected and illustrated by Lucie Arnoux (Pushkin Press)

Welcome once again to another of our chapter book roundups and it's been a very busy month, with our bedside book piles teetering and tottering. We're taking a look at a diverse set of subjects this month but starting with a subject dear to many girls' hearts - lovely lovely shoes!

"In Their Shoes - Fairy Tales and Folk Tales" is a gorgeous story anthology collecting together some of the world's best loved folk and fairy tales where shoes are an important and vital part of the story. Tales such as "Puss in Boots" by Charles Perrault and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" by The Brothers Grimm - a huge huge favourite of ours - are lovingly illustrated by Lucie Arnoux.

Beautiful black and white illustrations from Lucie Arnoux make this book a really fabulous treasure trove of stories!

A fantastic collection, released to neatly coincide with an utterly amazing exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London called (gulp) "Shoes - Pleasure and Pain" which opened on 13th June.

"In Their Shoes - Fairy Tales and Folk Tales" is available now from Pushkin Press.

Next, LO! The Iron Man Cometh....!

"The Iron Man" by Ted Hughes, illustrated by Tom Gauld (Faber and Faber)

Ted Hughes' classic "The Iron Man" was a book that utterly dazzled and electrified me as a kid, and a newly published version of the story with illustrations by Tom Gauld is a fantastic version for kids who are just beginning to cut their teeth on rich and dark stories.

The story opens with Ted Hughes' rich prose describing a fearful terrible iron giant standing on the edge of a cliff, staring out to sea. Who is he? Why is he there? What does he want - and why does he seemingly tumble to his doom so soon into the story? Obviously this isn't the end of the Iron Man as his dismembered body soon reforms itself ready to pursue a mission unknown.

The Iron Man can be polished off over a week's worth of bedtimes (which is precisely how we read it), often leaving us breathless with anticipation for the next chapter as he slowly and inexorably marches on, and his true purpose and intent is revealed. Stunning, stunning stuff.

Time for a new book range with a resourceful new girl detective. Meet...

"Lottie Lipton - The Curse of the Cairo Cat" by Dan Metcalf and Rachelle Pangarry (Bloomsbury Publishing)

Lottie Lipton is a girl after our own heart. She's a clever and smart detective and star of her own new adventure series with two books available now, and more planned for 2016.

In Lottie's first adventure "Lottie Lipton: The Curse of the Cairo Cat", 9 year old Lottie lives in a museum with her Uncle Bert. Both share a deep love of history but both also love solving puzzles and mysteries - as you will too as you dive into the story and help Lottie solve the mystery of the disappearance of The Golden Cat of Cairo - a priceless egyptian artifact.

Fans of fast paced adventure will love these books. Look out also for Lottie's other adventurous investigation, "The Secrets of the Stone" (also available now). We have a feeling this is going to turn into a series that children will love so look out for "The Scroll of Alexandria" and "The Egyptian Enchantment" coming in January 2016.

"Lottie Lipton - The Secrets of the Stone" by Dan Metcalf and Rachelle Pangarry (Bloomsbury Publishing)

Fan of The Borrowers? Looking for something uber-cool about little folk to read? Puskin Press have got you covered...

"The Secret of the Blue Glass" by Tomiko Inui (Puskin Press)

A glorious fantasy story about tiny little people living in early 20th Century Tokyo, Tomiko Inui's "The Secret of the Blue Glass" is utterly captivating stuff. Tatsuo Moriyama is a young Japanese boy entrusted with a special gift by his favourite teacher. Tatsuo is tasked with looking after two tiny little folk, Fern and Balbo, who are small enough to nestle in the palm of his hand. They use household objects from the world around them to make their clothes and furniture, and require only one thing from Tatsuo - a nightly glass of milk, served in a special blue glass goblet.

The story follows Tatsuo as he grows up, has a family of his own and the shadow of World War 2 threatens to change everything - including the lives of Fern and Balbo who now have a family of their own too. As wartime rations take devastating effect, can Tatsuo's daughter Yuri maintain her sworn duty to look after the little people and keep them safe?

With echoes of bittersweet sadness that really heavily reminded me of Studio Ghibli's "Grave of the Fireflies", and as mentioned already echoes of the superb "Borrowers" series by Mary Norton, this is truly something fresh and original from Pushkin (who seem to have a knack for bringing brilliant stories to life with their recent publications!). "The Secret of the Blue Glass" by Tomiko Inui is out now from Pushkin Press.

Tune in once again in August when we'll be bringing you more glorious chapter book goodness!

(All titles kindly supplied for review by their respective publishers. Thanks folks!)

"Squirrel Boy vs the Bogeyman" by Dave Lowe  (Phoenix Yard Books)

"Gladiator School - Blood Oath" by Dan Scott (Scribo Publishing)

Dan Scott's awesome "Gladiator School" series is now up to book six, and the series goes from strength to strength. Chock full of atmosphere and history, Gladiator School brings together Lucius and Quintus, two brothers enrolled in the toughest school in Rome. Training for the arena, for combat  and for strength, Lucius and Quintus struggle to survive under the watchful eye of the harsh Crassus, a combat-hardened gladiator trainer as grizzled as a pit-bull.