Yesterday, was the first of my “Perfect Presents” series! I hope you enjoyed my recommendations for brilliant picture books to buy! I would love to know if you have bought any of them for the little people in your life!
Today’s perfect presents post is all about:
Perfect MG books
(Now this could be a LONG post, 2017 has been an exceptional year for MG books… bear with me!)
Christmas Dinner of Souls – Ross Montgomery
(review to come!)
“It’s a dark and lonely Christmas Eve in the dining room of ancient Soul’s College. The kitchen boy, 11-year-old Lewis, has helped prepare a highly unusual meal, made with unrecognisable ingredients, cooked by a mysterious chef. And then the guests arrive … and carnage ensues. For this is the annual meeting of a secret club for those who despise children, warmth, happiness, and above all Christmas. Each member must try to outdo the others by telling the most terrible, disgusting story they know. A spooky, shocking, bloodthirsty alternative to festive cheer that will appeal to, fascinate and delight young readers.”
Letters from the Lighthouse – Emma Carroll
(BOOKBLOG: Emma Carroll)
“February, 1941. After months of bombing raids in London, twelve-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother Cliff are evacuated to the Devon coast. The only person with two spare beds is Mr Ephraim, the local lighthouse keeper. But he’s not used to company and he certainly doesn’t want any evacuees. Desperate to be helpful, Olive becomes his post-girl, carrying secret messages (as she likes to think of the letters) to the villagers. But Olive has a secret of her own. Her older sister Sukie went missing in an air raid, and she’s desperate to discover what happened to her. And then she finds a strange coded note which seems to link Sukie to Devon, and to something dark and impossibly dangerous.”
Who Let The Gods Out – Maz Evans
(while you’re at it, buy Simply The Quest too!)
(BOOKBLOG: Maz Evans, BOOK BLOG: Maz Evans 1)
“Elliot’s mum is ill and his home is under threat, but a shooting star crashes to earth and changes his life forever. The star is Virgo – a young Zodiac goddess on a mission. But the pair accidentally release Thanatos, a wicked death daemon imprisoned beneath Stonehenge, and must then turn to the old Olympian gods for help. After centuries of cushy retirement on earth, are Zeus and his crew up to the task of saving the world – and solving Elliot’s problems too?”
The Polar Bear Explorer’s Club – Alex Bell
(review to come!)
“Join Stella Starflake Pearl and her three fellow explorers as they trek across the snowy Icelands and come face-to-face with frost fairies, snow queens, outlaw hideouts, unicorns, pygmy dinosaurs and carnivorous cabbages… When Stella and three other junior explorers get separated from their expedition can they cross the frozen wilderness and live to tell the tale?”
Father Christmas and Me – Matt Haig
(This is part of a series, buy all of them!)
“It isn’t always easy, growing up as a human in Elfhelm, even if your adoptive parents are the newly married Father Christmas and Mary Christmas. For one thing, Elf School can be annoying when you have to sing Christmas songs every day – even in July – and when you fail all your toy-making tests. Also it can get very, very cold. But when the jealous Easter Bunny and his rabbit army launch an attack to stop Christmas, it’s up to Amelia, her new family and the elves to keep Christmas alive. Before it’s too late . . .”
A Place Called Perfect – Helena Duggan
(BOOKBLOG: Helena Duggan)
“Violet never wanted to move to Perfect. Who wants to live in a town where everyone has to wear glasses to stop them going blind? And who wants to be perfectly behaved all the time? Violet quickly discovers there’s something weird going on, and when she meets Boy she realizes that the mysterious Watchers are guarding a perfectly creepy secret!”
The Bookshop Girl – Sylvia Bishop
(BOOKBLOG: Sylvia Bishop)
“This story is about a little girl named Property Jones, so-called because she was left in the lost property cupboard of a bookshop when she was five years old. Property loves living in the bookshop, but she has a whopper of a secret … she can’t actually read! So Property doesn’t see the newspaper article announcing the chance to win the Montgomery Book Emporium, the biggest and most magnificent bookshop in the world! When her family win the competition, Property finds herself moving to the Emporium, a magical place filled with floor upon floor of books and a very bad-tempered cat. But all is not at it seems at the Emporium and soon Property Jones finds herself in a whole heap of trouble.”
Nevermoor – Jessica Townsend
(review to come!)
“Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day of the year, she’s blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks – and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday. But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away to the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor. It’s then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter wants her to contend for a place in the city’s most prestigious organisation: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart – an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests – otherwise she’ll have to leave and confront her deadly fate once and for all.”
Just like I said yesterday, there are so many SO MANY incredible books out there for kids. Please buy the kids in your life a book. They’re so important and there’s some absolutely incredible books out there! Ask booksellers for recommendations, they’ll have some absolutely choices for you!
Have you read any of these choices?
Are there any books you’d like to see me review?
Which book would you most like to receive?
Talk to me on twitter, or in the comments! I would love to know what you’re buying for the kids in your life (or even yourself!)
S x
