New books for the kids

Mid-term is almost upon us and shortly afterwards we’ll be looking for Christmas presents and what better present than a book?

Gill Books is probably our most prolific publisher of kids’ books in Ireland and, boy, do they produce some beauties. This week I’m looking at books not exclusively, but mostly, published by them. Most of them are already in the bookshops while one or two are just about to land. And really, why pay for David Walliams when we have so many, superior, children’s authors right here on the oul’ sod?

Peter Donnelly’s The President’s Dog (Gill €16.99) is a delightful story about our own President Miggledy taking his dog on his first mountain hike. A sudden storm hits the mountain, and the young dog has to think fast. Can he manage to get his new master home to the Áras in time for the tea?

Professor Luke O’Neill’s Show Me The Science (Gill €19.99) is a perfect book for curious young minds, answering questions like why we are wrecking our planet and why we do things that are bad for us. All answers are delivered in glorious technicolour.

In Sinead Moriarty’s Finding Hope (Gill €13.99), we meet young Hope, who has recently lost her mother and is still grieving. She finds a new cause to take her mind off things, however, and that’s the fight against climate change. Unfortunately, her new ideas for how her father and sisters can help are not exactly appreciated by her family, so Hope decides to go where she will be properly valued – she’s off to find Greta Thunberg!

Noel Fitzpatrick’s The Superpets and Me (Wren and Rook €12.99) is one for the young animal lovers, full of stories about the little critters whose lives he has saved, but also full of easily readable facts for the curious about what it’s like to work in a vet’s surgery.

Any child who’s fond of Irish dancing will love Leona Forde’s Milly McCarthy and the Irish Dancing Disaster (Gill 9.99). Ten-year-old Milly from Cork is mad for the Irish dancing and she’s brilliant at it. So, when she’s called in as a sub for a dancing troupe, she manages to garner the wig, the fancy dress and the poodle socks, but also manages to bring utter chaos in her wake. Just like she always does. Very funny.

The Great Big Irish Annual 2024 (Gill €14.99) is already in the shops and is packed with quizzes, jokes, crazy facts, hectic history and a lot more. There’s also a look back at the high points of 2023. Hours of fun right there for the 7+ kids.

Fantasy and adventure fans will love Sinéad O’Hart’s The Silver Road (Picadilly Press €7.99). Young Rose has been entrusted with a powerful magic stone, which will spell disaster if it falls into the wrong hands. It leads Rose to the Silver Road, a subterranean route that runs through Ireland. With her discovery of old myths and new magic, Rose is set on the greatest adventure of her life.

Nina Carberry’s Ride to the Rescue (Gill €13.99) is her first novel in a series titled Rowan Tree Stables and follows Grace and Aaron, two young horse-riding friends, as they discover something ‘fishy’ in the local river. They’re intent on finding out who’s behind it when Grace’s pony gets injured.

Manchán Magan’s Wolf Men and Water Hounds (Gill €19.99) is another visually stunning picture book, uncovering the myths of Ireland, province by province, as he travels the land looking for magical and mythical landmarks, with some cúpla focail thrown in too.

Lucy Kennedy’s The Friendship Fairies Save Christmas (Gill €13.99) is the latest in her Friendship Fairies series. In this story, the three friendship fairies are asked by an elf from the Red Forest to help Santa make the sweets and goodies for Christmas, as Santa’s machines have broken down. Good job the fairies’ dad has just bought a bakery, what?

I Am The Wind, edited By Lucinda Jacob and Sarah Webb (Little Island €21.99) is a gorgeous book, one that will live on any child’s bookshelf for a lifetime, and indeed one of the most appealing introductions to poetry for children that I’ve seen. Lavishly illustrated, this book has poems from Yeats to Seamus Heaney, James Joyce to Vona Groarke, Spike Milligan to Pat Ingoldsby, several translations from the original Irish and dozens more. Every child should have this book.

Peter Donnelly’s Little Wolf (Hachette Children’s €12.99) is another lovely picture book about a young wolf who can’t find his howl. Until he remembers something Big Wolf said about finding your voice.

Niall Breslin’s Follow My Lead (Gill €17.99) is the fifth book in his series on mindfulness for children. Here, young Sam is feeling overwhelmed with everything in her life she has to keep up with; school, music lessons, swimming, birthday parties, until her dad takes her aside and teaches her how to calm down with some simple breathing techniques.

Finally, Myles Dungan’s The Forgettables (Gill €19.99) is in the shops on Thursday October 26, and it’s an intriguing dive into the lives of real trailblazers in history who have simply been forgotten by the history books. Did you know for instance, that the submarine was invented by a man from Clare? Or that the world’s biggest telescope was built in Offaly? Ever heard of Yeats’ two sisters? The magnificent illustrations by Alan Dunne are nearly half the fun in this wacky and wonderful history book for the seven-plus age group.

Footnotes

Check out your local library for mid-term activities to keep the young ‘uns happy over Halloween. Library events are free but they fill up quickly, so booking may be required.

If you’re thinking of travelling further afield with your children aged eight-plus, the National Museum in Dublin is running an archaeology tour, from the Stone Age to Medieval Ireland, free of charge and no booking required, almost daily this week and next week. Days and times vary, check museum.ie for details.

Also worth a trip to the Big Smoke, Dublin’s National Gallery is running free guided tours and also special free family tours for the kids, this week and next. Days and times vary, see nationalgallery.ie for details.