This year's LBBA Shortlist
All of the books we chose are from first time authors of fiction for 7 to 11 year olds. This is to broaden horizons and put a spotlight on authors who are not on your reading lists.
We think they are all great reads, but do you have a suggestion for next year's award? Please do get in touch.
Tourmaline and the Island of Elsewhere
Ruth Lauren
Published by: Stripes Publishing
When Tourmaline’s mother goes missing on a search for precious artefacts, Tourmaline sets off to find her with her best friend George, her new friend (former foe) Mai and her limitless determination.
On their adventure, they encounter a band of female pirates, a maze of talking trees and a series of challenges that test the children and their friendship.
But will it be enough to reunite Tourmaline with her mother?
Digging for Victory
Cathy Faulkner
Published by: Firefire Press
Devon, 1941. Bonnie wants to help in the war effort like her brother, Ralph, rather than tend the home vegetable patch. So when the mysterious Mr Fisher is billeted at their family home, Bonnie’s mission to uncover his secrets begins.
Why is he here? Is he a shirker?
Or worse … a German spy?
Secrets of the Snakestone
Piu Dasgupta
Published by: Nosy Crow
Zélie is often accused of being a witch, but she doesn't believe in magic. Until Jules climbs up from the reeking Parisian sewer and hands Zélie the golden locket he discovered there. The locket once held the magical Snakestone, and Zélie knows that if she can find the stone, she might also find her missing father.
But a dangerous secret society are equally desperate to get their hands on the Snakestone and its powers. With their lives under threat, Zélie and Jules embark on a desperate hunt for the treasure, facing strange riddles, a mysterious circus, and the miles of murky tunnels that twist beneath the ancient city above...
Movies Showing Nowhere
Yorick Goldewijk
Published by: Pushkin Children's Books
On the day Cate came into the world, her mum left it. Her dad is often distant and silent, so she keeps herself entertained with kung fu films, her pet rabbit and her photography. Then one afternoon Cate receives a mysterious invitation to an abandoned cinema, and everything changes.
Soon Cate meets the peculiar Mrs Kano and discovers a most unusual kind of movie screen – the kind that lets you step through it into a memory. So begins a wonder-filled adventure through time that will teach Cate the true meaning of love, loss and learning to let go.
The Others
Sarah Merrett
Published by: Everything With Words
A historical sci-fi adventure- an epic battle between extraterrestrials and an evil professor. Reuben lives in an observatory with his astronomer grandma who is determined to win the Guzman Prize, a real historical prize for discovering and contacting aliens.
But Grandma has a competitor: the evil professor Pinfield. Reuben isn't allowed to leave the observatory but one day he sneaks out and discovers an alien whom he calls blue.
Can Reuben save blue from the evil professor? And who is Reuben?
