Books Monthly
December 2025 Volume 26 Number 3 Childrens' Books
December 2025 Volume 26 Number 3 Childrens' Books
TERRY DEARY & MRTIN BROWN: HORRIBLE HISTORIES - TERRIBLE TRAITORS
4th December 2025
Terrible Traitors is a horrible compendium of the worst traitors in history. Were they really all bad? You decide.The master of making history fun, Terry Deary, tells the tales of fifty brutal betrayals across history. Did you know that the oldest story in the world is about the traitor Enkidu, who dared to rise up against King Gilgamesh? You might already know about Caesar and his unfaithful senators, but have you heard about Walter Tirel, the Norman knight who went out hunting with King William the Conqueror? Well, only one man returned. Walter claimed it was an accident, but he had a pretty good track record with his aim...
There have always been people who are willing to switch sides, let down a friend, betray their country and turn traitor. Sometimes they do it for love, often because of their beliefs, maybe out of pride . perhaps even greed. (And sometimes just for fun.)
A F STEADMAN: SKANDAR AND THE SECRET ELEMENT
12th February 2026
TAKE FLIGHT ON THE ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME. A thrilling special adventure for World Book Day, from the no.1 bestselling author of the Skandar series. Albert never thought he would become a unicorn rider. But then he is whisked away to a mysterious island to bond with a warrior unicorn, and to train in elemental magic. There, Albert meets a boy called Skandar, who is hiding a dangerous secret.
When an encounter with a terrifying wild unicorn throws Albert and Skandar together, will the adventure help them become the heroes they are destined to be?
Get ready for unlikely heroes, elemental battles, dangerous secrets and bloodthirsty unicorns.
This gripping story is perfect for newcomers to the Skandar series as well as superfans, and comes with bonus content and activities.
JENNY MCLACHLAN: THE LOST DRAGON OF ROAR
29th January 2026
The fifth magical adventure in the epic and funny bestselling Land of Roar series.Rose, Arthur, Win are going back to dragon school, and now they are officially dragon riders, it’s time for their first mission. It's another epic and magical Roar adventure, where they’ll encounter a cursed island of witches, a ghostly mystery and the most fearsome dragon in Roar. But someone is on their tail…
Thrilling magical fantasy adventures that celebrate the power of imagination, The Land of Roar is perfect for readers aged 8-12 and fans of Skandar, Percy Jackson and How to Train Your Dragon.
HANNAH GOLD: BEAR RESCUE
12th February 2026
Join April Wood on a thrilling Arctic adventure set in the world of the THE LAST BEAR, FINDING BEAR and THE LONE HUSKY.August Wood lives in the far north of the Arctic. His best friend is a husky called Blaze, and he’s the younger brother of April Wood – the girl who once famously rescued a polar bear.
But one summer’s day, when a sudden snowstorm strikes, August goes missing. With temperatures plummeting, it’s up to April, Bear and Blaze to track him down and bring him safely home … before it's too late.
A stunning, snow-filled adventure for animal lovers of all ages, Bear Rescue is perfect for readers who are new to Hannah Gold's iconic stories as well as existing fans.
PHILIPPA LEATHLEY: INKBOUND - METICULOUS JONES AND THE SHADOW COMPASS
29th January 2026
The next extraordinary magical adventure about family, fate and finding the courage to be truly yourself – perfect for fans of Nevermoor, Lemony Snicket and The Swifts.At the Founders’ Day Parade in the magical city of New London, a tombstone engraved with Metty’s name mysteriously appears and leads her to an eerie underground cathedral. It’s home to the League of Shadows – a secret society who promise power and protection. But joining their ranks means going against Aunt Mag’s wishes and completing a set of dangerous, magical challenges.
When an inspector threatens to expose the Joneses’ darkest secret, Metty has no choice. The only way to protect her family is to join the League before the next full moon. Racing against time with the help of a magic thief and a sarcastic fire demon, she must find her way back to the cathedral. But will she be too late to save those she loves?
On this page:
Linda Russell
A F Steadman
Jenny Mclachlan
Terry Deary & Martin Brown
Hannah Gold
Philippa Leathley
Nostalgia title of the month:
Penny Foolish is the first title in the Penny series, the complete series being:
Penny Foolish (no 1)
Twopence Coloured (no 2)
Threepenny Bit (no 3)
Fourpenny Fair (no 4)
Fivepenny Mystery (no 5)
Crooked Sixpence (no 6) (GGBP 2021)
Girls Gone By Publishers published Crooked Sixpence first, because it is so rare, but people have asked for the whole series, and so here is the first title.
Penny is staying on the Isle of Arran to recover from an illness but she is not happy there, mainly because Elspeth and Kenneth, the minister’s children, with whom she is thrown into daily contact, hardly bother to hide their supreme contempt for her foolishness. She longs for her sister Jill to arrive, but when Jill does unexpectedly join her, demanding immediate concealment from desperate pursuers, her troubles have only just begun …
Jane Shaw’s son, Ian, has written a fascinating introduction about the family history on Arran, illustrated with wonderful photographs. We also have a really good introduction from Samantha Little about the character of Penny.
Penny Foolish will be published on 9 October 2025. This is a simply splendid adventure involving Penny in the first of six books by Jane Shaw (I believe and fervently hope that Girls Gone By will be publishing the other titles) as she battles against thieves and scoundrels in the highlands of Scotland. Superb reading for young teens - I wish I'd known about Jane Shaw when I was a young teen!
Seventeen year old Camilla, pretty and spoilt, has just left school and hopes to spend the summer enjoying herself with Hugh, older than she is, attractive but elusive. Camilla’s father, who finds Hugh unsatisfactory, has other ideas however. He has a friend who runs an hotel near Kandersteg and he arranges for Camilla to go and help him and his family.
Camila arrives in Switzerland full of discontent. She is cold towards the friendly welcome of Anna and Lisa, the Dettlemann daughters who help so efficiently in the hotel, and seem to Camilla rather stuffy. And she is almost immediately at enmity with Sigmund, a young student who is helping during his vacation.
Camila goes off exploring on her own. She is still eager to end her exile and see Hugh. It takes heartache, and unexpected drama at the hotel, to make her change her mind—and the whole of her future.
Jenny Swanson has written a really interesting introduction on Mabel Esther Allan’s Swiss Stories in Context.
The short story we shall be including is ‘The Two Head Girls’ – a school story but not set in Switzerland, as we were unable to find one set in Switzerland which we had not used before.
Signpost to Switzerland was published on 14 October 2025.
This book has just arrived - I will update this page with my review shortly...
About BOOKS MONTHLY: This publication started life as FANTAZONE in December 1998. Within a month publishers were starting to send me review copies, and I changed the name to Books Monthly as the new title reflected the new primary purpose of the magazine. Many people, including Bernard Cornwell and Gyles Brandreth have commented on how much they like the magazine, which this month has morphed into a newsletter, although its premise remains the same - to alert readers to a selected number of newly published books with my reviews when I've managed to persuade a publisher to send me a copy. To the best of my knowledge, Books Monthly is the longest-running book review magazine on the web. I hope you enjoy it in its new format!
contact me at paulenorman1@gmail.com
Linda Russell
A F Steadman
Jenny Mclachlan
Terry Deary & Martin Brown
Hannah Gold
Philippa Leathley
Nostalgia title of the month:
Penny Foolish is the first title in the Penny series, the complete series being:Penny Foolish (no 1)
Twopence Coloured (no 2)
Threepenny Bit (no 3)
Fourpenny Fair (no 4)
Fivepenny Mystery (no 5)
Crooked Sixpence (no 6) (GGBP 2021)
Girls Gone By Publishers published Crooked Sixpence first, because it is so rare, but people have asked for the whole series, and so here is the first title.
Penny is staying on the Isle of Arran to recover from an illness but she is not happy there, mainly because Elspeth and Kenneth, the minister’s children, with whom she is thrown into daily contact, hardly bother to hide their supreme contempt for her foolishness. She longs for her sister Jill to arrive, but when Jill does unexpectedly join her, demanding immediate concealment from desperate pursuers, her troubles have only just begun …
Jane Shaw’s son, Ian, has written a fascinating introduction about the family history on Arran, illustrated with wonderful photographs. We also have a really good introduction from Samantha Little about the character of Penny.
Penny Foolish will be published on 9 October 2025. This is a simply splendid adventure involving Penny in the first of six books by Jane Shaw (I believe and fervently hope that Girls Gone By will be publishing the other titles) as she battles against thieves and scoundrels in the highlands of Scotland. Superb reading for young teens - I wish I'd known about Jane Shaw when I was a young teen!
Seventeen year old Camilla, pretty and spoilt, has just left school and hopes to spend the summer enjoying herself with Hugh, older than she is, attractive but elusive. Camilla’s father, who finds Hugh unsatisfactory, has other ideas however. He has a friend who runs an hotel near Kandersteg and he arranges for Camilla to go and help him and his family.
Camila arrives in Switzerland full of discontent. She is cold towards the friendly welcome of Anna and Lisa, the Dettlemann daughters who help so efficiently in the hotel, and seem to Camilla rather stuffy. And she is almost immediately at enmity with Sigmund, a young student who is helping during his vacation.
Camila goes off exploring on her own. She is still eager to end her exile and see Hugh. It takes heartache, and unexpected drama at the hotel, to make her change her mind—and the whole of her future.
Jenny Swanson has written a really interesting introduction on Mabel Esther Allan’s Swiss Stories in Context.
The short story we shall be including is ‘The Two Head Girls’ – a school story but not set in Switzerland, as we were unable to find one set in Switzerland which we had not used before.
Signpost to Switzerland was published on 14 October 2025.
This book has just arrived - I will update this page with my review shortly...
About BOOKS MONTHLY: This publication started life as FANTAZONE in December 1998. Within a month publishers were starting to send me review copies, and I changed the name to Books Monthly as the new title reflected the new primary purpose of the magazine. Many people, including Bernard Cornwell and Gyles Brandreth have commented on how much they like the magazine, which this month has morphed into a newsletter, although its premise remains the same - to alert readers to a selected number of newly published books with my reviews when I've managed to persuade a publisher to send me a copy. To the best of my knowledge, Books Monthly is the longest-running book review magazine on the web. I hope you enjoy it in its new format!
contact me at paulenorman1@gmail.com