Merry Must-Reads UNWRAP
THE MAGIC WITH THESE PERFECT
CHRISTMAS PRESENTS
Books for
CHILDREN
IMPOSSIBLE CREATURES
BY KATHERINE RUNDELL
The Archipelago is a magical place where the mythical creatures live. Christopher not only finds his way there, but he also meets Mal who joins him in adventure.
‘There was Tolkien, there is Pullman and now there is Katherine Rundell. Wondrous invention, marvellous writing.' - Michael Morpurgo
'A book stuffed full of fantastical, magical delight, and a world of richly imagined wonder' - Cressida Cowell
'The action is gripping. Every sentence sparkles. You can feel the flutter of griffin feathers and the menace of strange poisonous shrews. Magnificent' - The Times
Books for
CHILDREN
PLANETARIUM
BY RAMAN PRINJA
Welcome to the museum that is always open to explore... discover galleries of galactic matter, expertly curated to bring you the experience of a fascinating exhibition from the comfort of your own home. Planetarium features all aspects of space, from the Sun and our Solar System, to the lives of stars, the Milky Way and the Universe beyond.
‘Alongside the lush art work, we are given solidly scientific miniessays telling us, for example that the 'Sun wobbles back and forth, due to gravitational tugs mainly from Jupiter and Saturn.' The Sun wobbles? Really? Yes it does. It's a great book for peering into and poring over whether as a child, a teen or in groups, schools, or in families. Michael Rosen
‘Planetarium is a tour of the universe curated by the astronomer Raman Prinja and exquisitely illustrated by Chris Wormell. ' The Evening Standard
Books for
YOUNGER CHILDREN
TIDDLER
THE PANDAS WHO PROMISED
BY RACHEL BRIGHT & JIM FIELD
Two red panda sisters live on a mountainside. Ketu dreams of life elsewhere and one day leaves in search of adventure. Popo has to decide, should she keep her promise to stay with mum or go and help her sister.
BY JULIA DONALDSON & AXEL SCHEFFLER
The tiniest fish can tell the biggest lies to Miss about what happened on the way to class. A great book for children about to start school..
EACH PEACH PEAR PLUM
BY ALLAN AHLBERG & JANET AHLBERG
A chance to meet the characters from some of the most famous nursery stories, such as Tom Thumb and the three bears.
THE CHRISTMASAURUS AND THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
BY TOM FLETCHER
It's the night before Christmas and all Christmasaurus wants to do is help Santa and the elves get ready for the big day. But everything he does goes disastrously wrong. Then, someone special shows him that things don't need to be perfect to wonderful.
THE PUG WHO WANTED TO BE AN ELF
BY BELLA SWIFT
Peggy the pug wants her family to be together for Christmas. The only person who can help is Santa, so to get close to him she needs to become an elf.
FUN FACT!
Author Tom Fletcher is also a musician, Guinness World Record holder and vlogger!
Books for
CHILDREN
MIDNIGHT TREASURE
BY PIERS TORDAY
Tibor is a werewolf, adopted by a great vampir. Together with his friend Roza, he embarks on a quest that puts their immortality at risk.
HERO WANTED
BY MARK POWERS
Grace is told that it is her destiny, as the fifteenth and final Grace, to win the Worthy War, so off she goes to Brokenshire
THE BREAKFAST CLUB ADVENTURES
BY MARCUS RASHFORD
There’s something fishy going on at school… When Marcus kicks his favourite football over the school fence, he knows he’s not getting it back. But the next morning during Breakfast Club, Marcus gets a mysterious note inviting him to join the Breakfast Club Investigators and he is soon pulled into an exciting adventure to solve the mystery and get his ball back.
A BEAR AND A BOY IN A BOAT
BY DAVE SHELTON
A boy and a bear go to sea, equipped with a suitcase, a comic book and a ukulele. They are only travelling a short distance and it really shouldn’t take long. But their journey doesn’t quite go to plan. A funny book about a memorable friendship.
WHERE THE WORLD ENDS
BY GERALDINE MCCAUGHREAN
Every summer Quill and his friends are put ashore on a remote sea Stac to hunt birds. But this summer, no one arrives to take them home. Surely nothing but the end of the world can explain why they’ve been abandoned - cold, starving and clinging to life, in the grip of a murderous ocean. How will they survive?
THE VERY MERRY MURDER CLUB
A wide variety of crime stories set at Christmas and written by some of the best-known authors for young people.
FREEDOM (1783)
BY CATHERINE JOHNSON
Nathaniel doesn’t want to leave his family behind in Jamaica while he goes with his master to England. But once he gets there, will he be free? A terrific historical novel.
A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS
BY MATT HAIG
Father Christmas has not always been a jolly old man with a white beard. Here you can read about him as a boy.
LAMPIE
THE LIE TREE
BY FRANCES HARDINGE
When Faith’s father is found dead under mysterious circumstances, she is determined to untangle the truth from the lies. Searching for clues, she discovers a strange tree. A tree that feeds off whispered lies and bears fruit that reveals hidden secrets. But as Faith’s untruths spiral out of control, she discovers that where lies seduce, truths shatter...
BY ANNET SCHAAP
Every evening Lampie the lighthouse keeper’s daughter must light a lantern to warn ships away from the rocks. But one stormy night disaster strikes. The light goes out, a ship is wrecked, and an adventure begins. In disgrace, Lampie is sent to work as a maid at the Admiral’s Black House, where rumour has it that a monster lurks in the tower. But what she finds there is stranger and more beautiful than any monster.
BOYS DON’T KNIT
BY T.S. EASTON
Following an ‘unfortunate incident’ with a lollipop lady and stolen bottle of wine, Ben avoids being sent to the Young Offending unit if he gives something back to the community and takes up a hobby. Reluctantly Ben joins the a knitting group and to his surprise find he enjoys it. If he can just keep this from his mates…
LOKI’S
WOLVES
BY K.L ARMSTRONG & M.A. MARR
What if the Norse myths of Viking times were true, and only the gods could stop the end of the world … or if not the gods then a group of kids, led by Matt, must stand in for the gods in the final battle.
CODE NAME BANANAS
BY DAVID WALLIAMS
It’s 1940 and Britain is at war. When London starts to be bombed eleven-year-old Eric knows that he has to rescue Gertrude the gorilla from London Zoo. While on the run with Gertrude and his Uncle Sid, a keeper at the zoo, they discover a top-secret Nazi plot…
THE EXTRAORDINARY & UNUSUAL ADVENTURES OF HORATIO LYLE
BY CATHERINE WEBB
In Victorian London at the height of the industrial revolution, Horatio Lyle is a former Special Constable with a passion for science and invention. He’s also an occasional, but reluctant, sleuth. The truth is that he’d rather be in his lab tinkering with dangerous chemicals and odd machinery than running around the cobbled streets of London trying to track down stolen goods.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
BY TOM FLETCHER
An old copy of A Christmas Carol comes to life and Ebenezer Scrooge comes from its pages to threaten Christmas. Can William, Santa and the Christmas dinosaur save the most special time of the year?
THE JAMIE DRAKE EQUATION
BY CHRISTOPHER EDGE
Wouldn’t it be amazing for your dad to be an astronaut? Amazing, but what happens when his mission starts to go wrong and his only hope is you and a bunch of aliens!
Books for TEENS
SNOW GLOBE
BY SOYOUNG PARK
A dystopian story of Snowglobe, the city which is sunny and warm in a world which is otherwise frozen. Jeon lives in the frozen world, but her life is transformed when she gets to replace a superstar in Snowglobe who mysteriously died.
THE OTHER VALLEY
BY SCOTT ALEXANDER HOWARD
THIS BOOK KILLS
BY RAVENA GURON
One of the richest and most popular kids in a boarding school is murdered. Jess is a suspect, because the murder took place in just the same way as depicted in her short story and she has had a letter thanking her for inspiration.
HAPPYHEAD
BY JOSH SILVER
A town lies in a valley. To the east is the same town, but twenty years in the future, and to west the same town twenty years in the past. Travel from one place to another is strictly controlled. If sixteen-year-old Odile can earn a place on the town conseil then she will decide who can cross the border
Seb is invited to take part in a retreat designed to tackle teenage unhappiness, but as the challenges unfold he begins to question the true nature of the programme.
DID YOU KNOW...?
Author Manon Steffan Ros has written over 23 books for adults and children in the Welsh language!
THESE DEADLY PROPHECIES
BY ANDREA TANG
A mix of fantasy and whodunit as Tabatha and Callum have to clear their names when accused of murder and to find the real killer as well..
Books for TEENS
IRON WIDOW
BY XIRAN JAY ZHAO
GLEANINGS (ARC OF A SCYTHE)
BY NEAL SHUSTERMAN
There are still countless tales of the Scythedom to tell. For years humans lived in a world without hunger, disease, or death with Scythes as the living instruments of population control. A collection of short science fiction stories set in the world of the Scythe series.
LIONESS: MY JOURNEY TO GLORY
BY BETH MEAD
The top scorer at the Women’s 2022 Euros tells the story of her football career, beginning in the local boys’ team.
Science fiction and East Asian myth combine in this dazzling retelling of the rise of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history.
FIVE SURVIVE
BY HOLLY JACKSON
Eighteen-year-old Red and her friends are on a road trip in an RV, heading to the beach for Spring Break. The RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere and, as the wheels are shot out, the friends realise that this is no accident. There’s a sniper out there. He’s watching them and he knows exactly who they are. One of the group has a secret that the sniper is willing to kill for. Buried secrets are forced to light and tensions within the group reach deadly levels. Only one thing is for sure. Not everyone will survive the night...
Books for ADULTS
WE SOLVE MURDERS
BY RICHARD OSMAN
Following the huge success of The Thursday Murder Club Osman has embarked on a new series. We can still expect homicide and humour.
PRECIPICE
BY ROBERT HARRIS
The hugely successful historical novelist turns his attention to the First World War and Britain’s prime minister, Herbert Asquith.
Across the Channel is unimaginable slaughter, but in London Asquith is preoccupied with a woman less than half his age with whom he shares state secrets.
UNLEASHED
BY BORIS JOHNSON
Love or loathe him, Johnson has been one of Britain’s most impactful politicians of this century. Here is his account of his political career (so far) and few public figures could deliver so colourful a story.
YELLOW FACE
BY Rebecca F. Kuang
When Athena Liu dies in an accident, June Hayward sees an opportunity. Why not borrow Athena’s identity and take her final manuscript? A book that’s become a global sensation.
PEOPLE LIKE US
BY LOUISE FEIN
Hetty Heinrich’s father is an SS officer and she believes resolutely in her country, until she meets Walter - blond-haired, blue-eyed, perfect in every way. A Jew. Anti-semitism is growing by the day, but Hetty falls deeper in love. Hetty will have to risk everything to save Walter, even if it means sacrificing herself...
Books for ADULTS
UNFAIR PLAY
BY SHARON DAVIES
CREATION LAKE
BY RACHEL kUSHNER
Sadie Smith is an American sent to spy on an eco-commune in France. She finds their beliefs risible, until the group’s leader uses his version of reality to make Sadie see the world differently.
OTHERLANDS: A WORLD IN THE MAKING BY THOMAS HALLIDAY
See the world as it existed many millions of years before humans existed.
In her own sporting career Davies lost out to rivals who were part of a drugs programme that gave them an unfair advantage. Today, she sees young sportswomen losing to men with physical advantages. This is her plea for fair play
SO LATE IN THE DAY
BY CLARE KEEGAN
A novella about Cathal, a Dublin office worker, who comes from work and thinks of the life he might have had with Sabine if only he’d behaved otherwise. A poignant read.
MUNICHS
BY DAVID PEACE
A novelised account of the aftermath of the air disaster involving the Busby Babes. A great, if harrowing read, for a football fan who also enjoys historical fiction.
DID YOU KNOW...?
Author Agatha Christie was an English detective novelist and playwright. She wrote 75 novels, including 14 short story collections and 66 detective novels!
Wishing
you a very Merry Christmas
FROM EVERYONE AT HAMPTON SCHOOL
