SHELF

Genre: Fantasy

Age Range: 8-12

Price: £12.99 (HarperCollins)

Twelve has chosen a new name to reflect her elemental power: Phoenix. Icegaard is in danger from an evil force called the Shadowseam. If the witch-palace falls, all the clans of Ember will fall. Phoenix must baמּle frightening new monsters and find a way to defeat the Shadowseam.

Best For Fantasy Billy And The Giant Adventure

By Jamie Oliver

Genre: Fantasy

Age Range: 7-11

Price: £14.99 (Puffin)

Billy and his friends know that Waterfall Woods is out of bounds; no one has ventured past its walls for decades... But when they discover a secret way in, Billy and his best friends can’t resist the temptation to explore! Only to quickly discover that the woods are brimming with magic…

Best For Mystery The Boy Who Saved A Bear

By Nizrana Farook

Genre: Adventure mystery

Age Range: 9-12

Price: £7.99 (Nosy Crow)

A boy and a bear meet, become friends and have the adventure of their lives! One day, Nuwan accidentally thwarts some dangerous thieves’ plans. He hides in a cave, discovering in the night that he is sharing it with a terrifying bear!

BEST FOR BUDDING TOURISTS BEST FOR CRITICAL THINKERS THE KING’S CORONATION STICKER BOOK

By Campbell Books

Genre: Sticker Book

Age Range: All ages

Price: £7.99 (Campbell Books)

Celebrate with this perfect giﬞ for tiny tourists. Preschoolers can use the stickers to decorate street parties and even place the royal crown upon the new King’s head! With spot the differences, colouring-in and more than 400 stickers, there is plenty to keep liמּle ones busy as the capital city is brought to life.

BEST FOR CURIOUS MINDS CAN YOU GET RAINBOWS IN SPACE?

By Dr Sheila Kanani

Genre: Science

Age Range: 7-9

Price: £14.99 (Puffin)

Find out how animals are able to glow in the dark and change their colours to hide. Discover why leaves change colour, why your veins look blue but blood is red, and why the language we use shapes the colours we see… And you’ll learn exactly how to make a rainbow - in space.

Best For A Family Read My Momma Zo

By Kelly and Zoey Allen

Genre: Family

Age Range: 4+

Price: £7.99 (UCLan Publishing)

Happy families come in many shapes and sizes. Molly’s includes Momma Zo, Mommy Kel, George, and Ziggy the dog. Life is always busy with lots to do! An empowering story of a family that helps to support one another through happy and challenging times.

The Truth Detective

By Tim Harford

Genre: Educational

Age Range: 9-12

Price: £9.99 (Wren & Rook)

The world is oﬞen full of bamboozling headlines and numbers that don’t add up. Within these pages you will transform into a Truth Detective, able to hunt down the truth about the world around you. Grab your detective cap and start seeing the world like never before.

Best For Adventure

DOG MAN 11: TWENTY THOUSAND FLEAS UNDER THE SEA

By Dav Pilkey

Genre: Adventure

Age Range: 7-12

Price: £12.99 (Scholastic)

Piggy is back, and his newest plot is his most diabolical yet. What new villains are on the horizon? Where are they all coming from? Who will step forward to save the city when scoundrels sabotage the Supa Buddies? Find out in Dog Man #11.

Best For Animal Lovers The Emerald Forest

By Catherine Ward

Genre: Environmental awareness

Age Range: 4-5

Price: £12.99 (Oמּer-Barry Books)

Orangutan and her family live in a vast emerald forest. Life is good, until a machine tears Orangutan’s tree from the ground. The family have to leave – but where? The story shows how wildlife campaigners bring hope for the future.

Albert Halls Bolton

www.alberthalls-bolton.co.uk

Friday 7th-Saturday 8th April

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

A classic family pantomime featuring Steve Arnold and Chris Maloney.

Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk

Friday 31st March –

Sunday 16th April

THE JUNGLE BOOK

A vibrant, colourful jungle adventure for all the family that is full of surprises.

Monday 23rd –

Sunday 29th October CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG

Plan ahead for an October treat. This half-term musical is perfect for all generations.

The Lowry

The Quays, Salford www.thelowry.com

Friday 17th –

Saturday 18th March

Funnybones

Step inside the dark, dark world of FunnyBones as you discover the joy of imaginative play in this brand new, visual and non-verbal storytelling adventure based on the beloved story by Janet & Allan Ahlberg. With puppetry, object manipulation, projection, and movement this heartwarming new show is suitable for ages 4-7 and their families.

Friday 24th –

Sunday 26th March

HEY DUGGEE

Be part of the hit CBeebies show and join Duggee and the squirrels in this new vibrant interactive production bursting with music, puppets and barrels of laughs along the way.

Sunday 26th March TO THE MOON AND BACK

An intergalactic sensory theatre show exploring space, adventure and the importance of family, for audiences with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Sunday 2nd April

THE KING OF NOTHING

This latest Puppet Musical is an anarchic re-telling of Hans Christian Andersen’s Emperor’s New Clothes, in which the characters (and the audience) discover that people can be made to believe anything.

Sunday 2nd April

DICK AND DOM IN DA BUNGALOW- 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR

20 years after the hit BBC show ‘Da Bungalow’ first burst on to our screens, quadruple Bafta award winners Dick & Dom are bringing their own special kind of mayhem live to The Lowry!

Tuesday 4th – Saturday 8th April

Mog The Forgetful Cat

The Wardrobe Ensemble adapt Judith Kerr’s beloved and iconic stories for the stage, in a lively and enchanting production with songs, live music and a menagerie of creatures little and large. These timeless tales of family and friendship are brought to life to allow a new generation of children to fall in love with Mog.

Wednesday 5th –Sunday 9th April

Mother Goose

Ian McKellen and John Bishop are coming to The Lowry – with a hilarious comedy for all ages.

Sunday 9th April

MORGAN AND WEST – UNBELIEVABLE SCIENCE

Morgan and West present captivating chemistry, phenomenal physics, and bonkers biology in a fun for all the family science extravaganza!

Tuesday 11th – Sunday 16th April

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show

Created by Jonathan Rockefeller, the critically acclaimed The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show is a vibrant celebration of Eric Carle’s adored classics and the perfect introduction to live theatre.

Sunday 7th May

LITTLE MURMUR

Little Murmur is a new dance theatre show for everyone age 7+, families and schools, that features ground-breaking projection, an extraordinary soundscape and a blizzard of paper and confetti.

Opera House Manchester

agttickets.com/manchester

Tuesday 16th – Saturday 20th May THE SPONGEBOB

Musical

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea and became the hottest star on Broadway? Why, it’s SpongeBob SquarePants! And now he’s ready to ride the wave to entertain and delight audiences in this brilliant, bright, hilarious and brand-new music...

The Met Bury

www.themet.org.uk

Saturday 1st April

SHARK IN THE PARK

From the creative team behind The Hairy Maclary show, this fin-tastic family musical sees all three of Nick Sharratt’s Shark in the Park books (Shark in the Park, Shark in the Dark and Shark in the Park on a Windy Day) live on Stage!

Wednesday 5th April

The Dancing Elephant

Experience a stunning blend of both real and virtual environments, as you join Mahi who’s transported into a video game, by magical Moon, Chand. Mahi lands at the Elephant Festival of Jaipur and meets her companion & guide, The Dancing Elephant. Together they must unlock three levels of Chand’s mystical video game for Mahi to return home. Will they achieve this, or will Mahi be locked in the game forever? Ages 6-13.

Saturday 8th April

ALFIE’S FIRST FIGHT

Inspired by his own experiences growing up without a mum and being coached as an amateur boxer by his dad, Alfie’s First Fight centres itself around shy twelveyear-old Alfie, as he decides to go in search of his missing older brother, Jacob, when he disappears moments before an all-important boxing match.

Stockport Plaza

www.stockportplaza.co.uk

Friday 7th – Monday 10th April

EASTER PANTOMIME –

PUSS IN

Boots

The perfect Easter Family Pantomime treat for you and your family.