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A wild, fierce and rambunctious story about Max's visit to the land of monsters. It's beautiful and vivid and brilliant and everyone of every age should read it.
This is, for me, one the very best books for children in the world – the story of Lyra and her daemon, fighting with all their heart against evil, with witches, armoured bears and Gyptians on her side.
This story – about a strange and viciously dangerous kind of plant known as The Bluchers, which are taking over the city, and one boy’s quest to find his friend – is funny and break-neck exciting and, ultimately, immensely moving.
This is perfect for anyone who loves Harry Potter, but Diana Wynne Jones is sharper, more ironical, and her plots are even more exciting.
The story of a group of children who go hunting through the technicolor world of the Wimbly Woos for a missing brother, but everything is more chaotic and dangerous than it seems.
At the heart of the story is a boy who longs to go into space – but all the characters are hilarious and addictive; it’s full of peril, and beauty, and some really excellent jokes.
A girl goes to Antarctica with her uncle, exploring across the endless ice, but the other adventurers are not what they seem. McCaughrean is, I think, entirely brilliant, and this is my favourite of her books.
The old-fashioned language in this takes perhaps half a chapter to get used to, and then you get the most fantastic, furious, swash-buckling, double-crossing story.
A story told from the point of view of a wise and generous ape, Sally Jones – she can't speak but she can understand everything, as her quest to prove her friend innocent of murder takes her across the whole world.
There is magic on the island of Arranmore, and it is a magic that is awakening. Fionn and his sister discover their grandfather has a secret; it is his task to keep the island safe from the rising powers of the dark. The story is beautifully written and bite-your-own-fist exciting.
About Katherine Rundell's The Good Thieves'Vita set her jaw and nodded at New York City in greeting, as a boxer greets an opponent before a fight.'
Fresh off the boat from England, Vita Marlowe has a job to do. Her beloved grandfather, Jack, has been cheated out of his home and possessions by a notorious conman with Mafia connections. Seeing Jack’s spirit is broken, Vita is desperate to make him happy again, so she devises a plan to outwit his enemies and recover his home. She finds a young pickpocket, working the streets of the city. And, nearby, two boys with highly unusual skills and secrets of their own are about to be pulled into her lawless, death-defying plan.
Post a comment below telling us about your favourite armchair adventures. We'll pick one winner to receive a £20/€25 National Book Token after Thursday 18th July 2019.
Congratulations to Jean!
National Book Tokens gift cards can be bought and spent in thousands of bookshops across the UK and Ireland, including independents, Waterstones, WHSmith, Easons, and Blackwells, and can also be spent online and on eBooks. Find your nearest bookshop.
1 x winner will receive a £20/€25 National Book Token
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