Pam Norfolk

Here is our latest round-up of books for children aged between three and 12 years-old

You only have to look at England’s prolonged and bitter War of the Roses to learn that the fall-out can be not just vicious, but deadly, when family feuds become more than just domestic battles.

A young nurse must face bombs, bullets and the ruins of an island in the dark days of war as she works to not just save the lives of wounded Maltese residents, but to dig out the mysterious beginnings of her own young life.

Immerse yourself in a bright and beautiful new collection of Aesop’s legendary fables, return to the thrilling world of Pixie Hollow where a dangerous magic is at play, meet a teenager whose angst is served with a stony Gorgon side-eye, and travel to an ordinary town where strangeness is a way of life in an eclectic mix of new children’s books.

If any hint of cannibalism is OFF your reading menu, then the thought of devouring this deliciously dark and twisted tongue-in-cheek comedy thriller – set in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro’s famous holiday mecca – might well not tickle your taste buds.

Discover a thrilling world where castles move around like game pieces on a chess board, join two brothers who have only three chances to escape a terrible fate, dive into the ocean’s darkest depth and discover amazing creatures, and visit a sci-fi universe for hilarious intergalactic adventures in a late summer selection of dazzling children’s books.

Feed your children’s insatiable curiosity with a coruscating cornucopia of life skills, tag along with five misfits at a school where games lessons are deadly, enjoy watching the forest and its wonders come alive every day of the year, and discover some of Earth’s miniscule miracles in a collection of super children’s books to kick off September.

By the spring of 1943, war has taught SOE agent Saffron Courtney that there is no escape from feelings of fear, exhaustion, extreme stress and heart-rending grief… life goes on and so does her job, wherever it may take her.

When a bestselling novelist is charged with the murder of her wealthy whisky entrepreneur husband, the Procurator Fiscal in Linlithgow is confident that they have a watertight case against her

Single mum Zoe Copeland wants a fresh start and somewhere to call home far away from her ‘monochrome’ existence in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania… what she didn’t expect was to fall in love with a ramshackle ‘treasure house’ in a rundown town on America’s Maine coast.