Stories that help children fit in and also demonstrate kindness are much needed right now, in our modern world where it feels like an uphill struggle to help kids develop tolerance, understanding and explore friendships with others.

In "Twelve Days of Kindness" by Cori Brooke, Fiona Burrows, Holly realises that the new girl in her class is struggling to make friends.

With the help of their football coach Holly and Nabila come up with a plan.

Can their school football team bring them together, and expand their friendship group?

As the two friends bond over a common interest, the story beautifully explores how kids can learn the moral at the heart of the story, and even pay it forward in their own lives, at school and at home. The story is gentle but nicely written, with kid-friendly illustrations helping to put the message across effectively.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A great little book for helping kids understand how to make friends outside their own social / cultural circles, and how tolerance, kindness and friendship can make a huge difference when new folk feel uncomfortable and like a fish out of water.

"Twelve Days of Kindness" by Cori Brooke and Fiona Burrows is out now, published by New Frontier Publishing (kindly supplied for review).  

A hilarious fish out of water tale, meet "The Caveman Next Door" by Tom Tinn-Disbury!

Do you have a strong memory of your childhood? Do certain things come back to you while daydreaming, or do you remember something really special happening that you can still recall with absolute clarity?

In "Scruffle Nut" Corinne Fenton draws up a dreamy story about a little girl's encounter with a furry little squirrel one wintry day in the park.

As time passes, the little girl names her new friend Scruffle-Nut and always looks for him whenever she treks out into the snow, knowing that he'll pop up from behind a log for a cheeky nut or two.

As the snow whirls around, their friendship develops and the story feels at once dream-like and evocative of what it feels like when you're a kid and your whole world is on your doorstep.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A wonderful tale about kindness and friendship, full of atmosphere and a perfect wintry setting.

"Scruffle-Nut" by Corinne Fenton and Owen Swan is out now, published by New Frontier Publishing (kindly supplied for review). 

In "Pip Finds a Home" meet a lonely penguin who embarks on a colossal journey to the South Pole to search for some soul mates.

After his long journey over the seas, Pip finally arrives but as he meets his fellow penguins, he realises he is not quite the same as them. 

Here's another bumper collection of Christmas book ideas, perfect as presents for younger readers, from innovative publishers New Frontier.

First up is "Santa's High-Tech Christmas" by Mike Dumbleton and Angela Perrine features a very cool Santa indeed.

He might be old but he's definitely not set in his ways, High Tech Santa is tuned into the world wide web and uses a tablet to keep track of his present list.

But what happens when technology fails? Poor Santa drops his tablet and it looks broken beyond repair. It's up to a plucky little girl to help out and show Santa how it's done.

Perfect storytelling for little ones looking forward to Christmas, particularly if they love their gadgets as much as we do (and as much as Santa does too!)

"Santa's High Tech Christmas" by Mike Dumbleton and Angela Perrine is out now, published by New Frontier Publishing.

Meet two distinguished gents in "Sir Darcy and the Christmas Pudding" by Alex Field and Peter Carnavas.

Mr Darcy loves making his famous Christmas pudding, taking lots of time and care over it and getting the ingredients and preparation just right. 

A huge and scary adventure for a diminutive little kitty is up next in our review schedule so let's dip into the fabulous "A Home For Luna" by Stef Gemmill and Mel Armstrong.

Poor Luna has been cast adrift at sea, but bravely clings on as she's battered by the waves - eventually ending up on a deserted island.

But Luna soon realises that her adventures have just begun.

She is petrified, lonely and just wants her warm comfortable home.

Soon though, this brave little kitty begins to find amazing beauty in her new-found home, and even makes new friends along the way as she begins to explore.

Can a lonely little kitten find the inner strength to persevere in the face of such odds? Well you'll just have to read this fab book to find out won't you!

"A Home for Luna" by Stef Gemmill and Mel Armstrong is out now, published by New Frontier Publishing (kindly supplied for review)

A wolf in nice wolf's clothing? Well that's a twist, and in "Who's Afraid of the Quite Nice Wolf" by Kitty Black and Laura Wood you'll meet a rather lovely wolfy chap.

He's not like the other bad wolves. He's not big, he's not mean and he rather likes flowers and nice things.

The problem is that this just will not do, and the other pack members decide it's time to train Wilfred up to be big and bad just like the.

It goes about as well as you can expect - but soon Wilfred is put to the test, and might have to be just a teensy weensy bit bad in order to save his new-found pals.

A fab picture book about being true to yourself, "Who's Afraid of the Quite Nice Wolf" by Kitty Black and Laura Wood is out now, published by New Frontier Publishing (kindly supplied for review). 

Our chapter book of the week is one heck of a whip-smart and up-to-date detective story that's perfect for mighty middle grade loving girls and boys.

"Scoop McClaren: Detective Editor" by Helen Castles introduces young Scoop who loves a good mystery or two, and loves writing up her stories in her own online newspaper.

But all is not as it seems in the quiet coastal town where Scoop and her best friend Evie live.

Every night, just after the stroke of midnight, a nefarious and mysterious person uploads a new news story. The stories are usually full of doom and gloom, and their creator, Sonny Fink, is definitely a 'glass is half empty' type!

His evil predictions seem to have a habit of coming true, and so Scoop and Evie decide to get on the case and find out just what Sonny is up to.

As you can imagine, we see a lot (and boy, do we ever mean A LOT of middle grade detective stories featuring plucky young girls and boys who could give Scooby Doo and his gang a run for their money.

What I instantly liked about this series is that it brings the usual detective / newshound tropes right up to date, immersing the reader in a story world that feels like it's bang on the money for the sort of thing kids are into, and the sort of online antics they'd expect their heroes to get up to as well.

But the true mark of a book of the week is that C usually whistles through them quite quickly, then goes straight back in for a longer second read - and that was the case with this fabulous book.

"Are there any more in this series?" she asked, after devouring the plucky and fast paced adventures of Scoop. We most certainly hope there will be. How about it Helen?

Sum this book up in a sentence: The perfect combination of an exciting story, a plucky and relatable heroine, online smarts and a brilliant conclusion that will leave you, like us, clamouring for more.

"Scoop McClaren: Detective Editor" by Helen Castles is out now, published by New Frontier Publishing (kindly supplied for review). 

Here's a delightful little tale of a happy-go-lucky little bird with an exceptional talent....Meet Ash!

New Frontier Publishing are putting their stamp on 2017 with a fantastic first year of brilliant, original and innovative children's titles arriving this year.