New books this February!

Dog Man 11: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea by Dav Pilkey

Piggy is back, and his newest plot is his most diabolical yet. Dog Man and the rest of your favourite characters must join together in this heroic and hilarious, ALL NEW adventure.

WHAT new villains are on the horizon? WHERE are they all coming from? And WHO will step forward to save the city when scoundrels sabotage our Supa Buddies? Find out in DOG MAN #11 – there’s so much more than ever before – it’s EPIC!

Horrible Histories: Smashing Saxons (newspaper edition) by Terry Deary and Martin Brown

An explosive new dystopian YA, perfect for fans of The Hunger Games,The Atlas Six and Leigh Bardugo.

Seventeen-year-old Bear lives in the walled town of Calleston – a place of stark divide between the rich and poor. Living down in Cobbleside, Bear is painfully conscious of the inequalities between him and residents of Roofside. When the town’s annual Field Day – an event during which those who’ve recently come of age test their Sinsen growing capacities – shows Bear to have unprecedented abilities, he’s hurtled into the upper echelons of society, and everything he’s ever wanted is within his grasp.

But it soon becomes apparent, that it’s not all he expected it to be. He finds himself existing amidst an uncaring, callous people, concerned only with themselves, living in a society in which corruption is rife. Finding himself unwillingly entangled with the Overlord’s beautiful but spiteful daughter, Bear is forced to make decisions which may jeopardise everything he’s dreamed of – or risk the lives of the people he once lived amongst. A story of love, witchcraft, betrayal and murder!

Let’s Talk by Jessie Yendle

Live your best life with confidence-boosting advice from Jessie Yendle! *

Let’s Talk is an empowering and essential book for teens and young adults. It is exactly the book Jessie wishes she’d had when she was younger, and she’s written it … for you. This beautiful full-colour book is a safe space to help you increase your positivity, tackle tasks you didn’t think you could, let go of the things that bother you, and deal with your anxieties. It’s an invaluable resource to help you build yourself up no matter what hurdles life throws at you. You’ll come back to Let’s Talk again and again.

Luna Wolf 2: Code Danger* by Alesha Dixon

Superstar TV presenter and bestselling author Alesha Dixon is back with a funny, action-packed adventure perfect for all young animal fans!

Luna Wolf and her amazing powered-up animals are back! A gang of rogue super-pets (an elephant, a cheetah and a rhino) are on the rampage and causing chaos across the city – and the police are calling Code Danger to summon Luna to restore order! And when Luna digs deeper, she discovers that a shadowy villain is behind it all – a villain with ties to her family’s past and an evil agenda that must be stopped.

Dogs Don’t Dance by Gemma Atkinson and Lisa Hunt

This confidence-building picture book is all about trying new things, embracing difference, encouraging our friends and defying stereotypes.

Dave the dog wants to dance, but the wise pooches at the park bark in shock. “Stick to digging holes, chasing cats and chewing footballs. Stick to fetching sticks!” Dave leaves with his tail between his legs. But will he let their words stop him? Or maybe, just maybe, he can convince them to change their minds.

Reggie Houser Has the Power by Helen Rutter

Reggie Houser has ADHD and struggles to make friends at school, plus his mum and teachers seem constantly weary about his erratic, high-energy ways.

But when he sees a hypnotist perform on stage at the holiday park he visits, Reggie becomes obsessed with learning the skills of mind control – and he discovers he has an incredible talent for it!

First of all he hypnotises the dog to think he’s a frog, then makes his headmaster cluck like a chicken in assembly in front of the whole school – but then a group of mean kids supposedly take him under their wing and make him use his hypnosis talents for bad: stealing a chocolate bar from a shop and escalating to a bigger theft. Reggie must decide to use his skills for good only and come to trust his own brain to make decisions.

Hercules: the Diary of a (Sort of) Hero by Tom Vaughan and David O’Connell

If Hercules Braver is going to survive his new secondary school, he has to live up to his name, fast. He needs to become strong and tanned and popular, like a Greek hero. Not weak and pale and unpopular, like a Greek yoghurt.

But his bid for popularity ends up saddling him with a set of impossible tasks … like cleaning out the monster-riddled school pond, facing up to the school bully and finding the headmaster’s missing cat. Then Herc’s charming, impressive birth dad turns up after years living in Greece, and Hercules thinks his problems are solved. With God-like strength and awe-inspiring powers, could his dad even be … the real Zeus?! And will Hercules learn what it truly means to be a hero?

The Traitor in the Games by Triona Campbell

An addictive thriller from the most sensational new voice in YA fiction. Perfect for fans of the gaming.

The sequel to explosive YA thriller A GAME OF LIFE OR DEATH: At the end of book one, Asha Kennedy (Lisbeth Salander for a new generation) uncovered the dark secret at the heart of Virtual Reality game ‘Shackle’ – You don’t play the game; it plays you – and must now go deeper into a dangerous world of corruption and greed: who is the puppet master of the game and what is their ultimate goal? Set in New York, this is a whiplash-paced, twisty mystery and scorching romance where Asha’s enemies may be closer than she could ever imagine…

A Season for Scandal by Laura Wood

An all-female detective agency righting wrongs at the end of the nineteenth century; infiltrating a scandalous upper class world straight out of Bridgerton and using their wit and bravery to unmask a villain.

When Marigold Bloom finds her family business in trouble a chance encounter with the devastatingly handsome and extremely bad-tempered Oliver Lockhart leads her to the Aviary – a secret agency of women who specialise in blackmailing troublesome men.

Soon, Mari is the agency’s newest recruit, sent to investigate the mysterious return of Oliver’s long lost sister. Forced to masquerade as a newly engaged couple, it is up to Mari and Oliver to determine if there is an imposter in their midst. But what happens when the line between truth and fiction starts to blur? And what do you do when a pretend romance starts to feel all too real?

I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang

Sadie doesn’t have to hold back in her email drafts because nobody will ever read them … that is, until someone sends them out. *

Seventeen-year-old Sadie Wen is perfect on paper. It’s a reputation she’s fought hard to earn at the highly prestigious Woodvale Academy, and one she’s determined to maintain until graduation. The trick to keeping her model-student-smile plastered on her face at all times? She channels all her petty frustrations into her email drafts. One for the math teacher who refused to round her eighty-nine-point-nine percent up to ninety; one for the girl who blatantly copied her science project and took the credit for it.

But most of her vehemently-worded emails are for her smug, infuriating co-captain, Julius Gong, who’s been the sharpest thorn in her side ever since they were kids. Sadie never meant for these emails to get out … but now her whole life is about to change…

Things That Go Bump* by Kathryn Foxfield and Robin Boyden

A wildly entertaining, page-turning, enjoyably scary story for fans of Goosebumps, Gremlins and Nights at the Museum.

When Olive and some of her year 6 friends find themselves locked overnight inside Flatpack – a new IKEA-style superstore – they quickly realise that they are not alone. A number of things hitched a ride from the forest where Flatpack sources its wood and in every dark nook, they’ve been multiplying… After several of the group get themselves dragged off to who knows where, Olive knows she was right all along – monsters are definitely real.

After that, she’s forced to face her fears and come up with a plan: 1) rescue her friends 2) avoid being apprehended by overly efficient store employees, 3) hack into the store’s delivery system and send the monsters back where they came from. Oh, and don’t get eaten. Whatever you do, don’t look under the beds. And if you hear a wardrobe creaking open behind you, RUN!

Future Hero #4: Battle for Sky Kingdom by Remi Blackwood

The fourth book in this major series: FUTURE HERO – featuring high-octane adventure, perfect for fans of Black Panther!

Destiny is HERE … Jarell is the hero Ulfrika, the land of his ancestors, needs and he must return if he is to stop the sorcerer Ikala from gaining power. Jarell and his friends journey to Sky City to find what they need to defeat their enemy. But danger lies ahead…

Kwame’s Magic Quest: Rise of the Green Flame by Bernard Mensah

The day has finally come for eight-year-old Kwame to start Nkonyaa School and learn magic! *

Kwame is excited to begin training with his new friends at school, but he can’t access his powers! He starts to worry… what if he has no magic at all? Could an evil magical object be to blame? With engaging black-and-white artwork on every page, kids won’t be able to put down this magical adventure!

Secret Agent Mole: Goldfish-Finger* by James Foley

Max is a mole on a mission.

With Helena Hippo and June Bug by his side, Max must stop the Goldfishfinger from stealing the priceless, solid gold fish-finger. This dangerous, top-secret mission will involve explosions, a naked mole rat, and being flushed down a GIANT toilet. Will Max and the team defeat the fiendish fish?