Experiment
John Agard and Satoshi Kitamura
The Young Inferno
A completely contemporary update to an old classic, Dante's Inferno by an author/illustrator marriage made in heaven. Agard's wickedly witty retelling is set off to stunning effect by Kitamura's stylish and stylized, high energy illustrations in graphic novel format with plenty of detail to pore over.
Follow Kitamura's hoodie-sporting protagonist through the nine circles of hell. It will be one of the most original reading journeys you'll ever take.
Frances Lincoln · 9781845077693
David Almond and Dave McKean
The Savage
Blue finds comfort after the death of his father in writing a far-fetched tale about a wild child who lives deep in the woods near his home, feasting on berries and anyone unlucky enough to catch sight of him. Writing people he knows into his tale proves to be Blue's undoing, for suddenly fact and fiction become confused and the savage pays a visit to the local bully. McKean's wild and raw illustrations bring Blue's grief and turmoil alive for the reader. Matched with Almond's magical and masterly storytelling, this is a sophisticated picture book about sadness and hope which is simply unmissable.
Walker · 9781406319859
Adam Blade
The Dark Realm: Skor the Winged Stallion
(Beast Quest)
In the kingdom of Gorgonia, the good beasts have been taken prisoner at the command of the Dark Wizard. Although Tom and his friends are desperate to free them, he has to journey through the Dark Realm and defeat Skor the winged Stallion. Highly collectable, vividly described, boy-friendly fantasy with accompanying game cards and a brilliantly beastly website.
Orchard · 9781846169984
Helen Cresswell (ed.)
Mystifying: Sinister Stories of the Unexplained
A pulse-quickening, spine-tingling collection of short stories each one more eerie than the last, perfectly picked for maximum fear factor from a range of master storytellers both classic and contemporary: Paul Jennings, Joan Aiken and Carl Jung, Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury, Emily Brontë and many many more.
Kingfisher · 9780753416327
Terry Deary
Shadow of the Gallows
(Horrible Histories Gory Stories)
Bairn escapes his miserable life as an Edinburgh chimney sweep. His new job in London proves to be far more dangerous when he is caught up in a plot to kill Queen Victoria herself, punishable by hanging from the gallows. One of an irresistibly gruesome and gory, easy read adventure series to really bring history to life.
Scholastic · 9781407103662
Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann (eds.)
Dark Alchemy
A spellbinding selection of fantasy stories from a star-studded list of top name authors including Eoin Colfer and Orson Scott Card, Garth Nix and Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee and many more. All explore the hold witches and wizards both good and evil have on our imagination and will haunt and bewitch even non-fantasy readers.
Bloomsbury · 9780747589549
Shannon Hale, Dean Hale and Nathan Hale
Rapunzel's Revenge
Escaping from her seemingly interminable imprisonment at the hands of Gothel, smart and sassy Rapunzel is driven by revenge and sets off across the Wild West landscape of the Badlands to find Gothel's Villa. Enemies await her at every turn and before long she's in lots of trouble for stealing, kidnapping and misusing her hair... An original and entertaining graphic novel twist on the original fairytale with striking filmic illustrations.
Bloomsbury · 9780747587439
Sophie Hannah and John Hegley ((eds.))
The Ropes: Poems To Hold On To
A dynamic collection of poems about life, addressing teenage concerns, split into poems by women and (from the other end) poems by men. All the contributors include personal notes and thoughts on being a teenager and each poem comes with a reflect/respond feature. This cleverly conceived design, personal approach, thoughtful selection of poets and pop lyricists and inspired introductions by Hegley and Hannah make this so much more than a poetry book for teenagers. It will be picked up time and time again.
Diamond Twig · 9780953919673
Lucy Hawking and Stephen Hawking
George's Secret Key to the Universe
Making friends with his scientist neighbour and his daughter after his pet pig escapes into their garden turns out to be the most exciting thing which has ever happened to George. Together with scientist Eric's extra-intelligent computer, Cosmos, they undertake a thrilling rollercoaster ride through the solar system, across asteroid storms, to the very edge of the black holes, uncovering many complex mysteries of the universe along the way. A fabulous mixture of fact, fun and fiction studded with illustrations to make science make sense.
Corgi · 9780552559584
John Hegley
My Dog is a Carrot
Completely quirky and original, Hegley takes all manner of ordinary, random subjects and transforms them into something altogether funnier and more meaningful; from dogs to cornflakes, leeks, cups of tea, and even a library. Guaranteed to convert even the most committed poetryphobe and perfect for performing or reading aloud. You'll never look at the world in the same way again.
Walker · 9781406312089
Hilary Koll and Steve Mills
Counting on Leroy
(fyi) 
It's just as well Leroy is mad about maths because when he appears on a TV quiz by accident his random maths facts will have to save the day. A brilliantly inspired and unusual addition to the excellent fyi series which mixes fiction with facts for 10-14s, reading age 8. Maths has never been so interesting or meaningful!
Barrington Stoke · 9781842994726
Margo Lanagan
Red Spikes
Ten dark, disturbing, dazzling stories guaranteed to unsettle your sleep. These twisted fairytales tackle love and life, fear and grief and every emotion in between. To say more would spoil the stories themselves. Just expect the unexpected with lots of delicious loose ends to leave you wondering long into the night.
David Fickling Books · 9781862304512
Benjamin Zephaniah
Talking Turkeys
The perfect medicine for poetryphobes. Zephaniah's high-energy rap style poems leap across the pages, his brain bouncing between issues he cares passionately about; politics, racism, animal cruelty and the environment as well as all-important human emotions. This is a well illustrated and varied collection of cool verse which crackles with fun and excitement but also subtly engenders respect for others and for all living things.
Puffin · 9780140363302
