Children's book reviews: 12 books for March with Children's Book Ireland

We’re always so excited to celebrate our shortlisted authors and illustrators and we’ll be sharing more about each title across our socials in the coming weeks.

There are plenty of opportunities for schools and book clubs to get involved in the fun too.

Class groups, book clubs, and reading groups of primary and secondary school age can participate in the judging process by reading books from the shortlist and selecting the Junior Juries’ Award.

To discover the shortlist and learn how young readers can get involved as junior jurors, visit our site childrensbooksireland.ie.

Let’s Play Rugby by Gordon D’Arcy and Paul Howard, illustrated by Ashwin Chacko (Little Island Books)

The reader is placed at the centre of an exhilarating game of rugby, encouraged to kick, throw, squat, and jump, to lead their team to victory. 

Older readers will be familiar with D’Arcy and Howard as a duo, with Chacko bringing extra dynamism to the team with bold, engaging illustrations that invite participation. A super fun read designed to be read aloud. (4+)

Stockingopolis by Tatyana Feeney (The O’Brien Press)

In a small grey town, there is a big grey factory that churns out a variety of grey stockings day after day, worn around the world. 

Restless in a monochrome world, Ben and Lucy decide it’s time to brighten things up for a change. 

Inspired by the Smyth and Co factory of Balbriggan in Dublin, this story is a vibrant injection of colour and exuberance to lift your spirits on grey days. (4+)

Wiggling Words by Kate Rolfe (Two Hoots)

What happens when you want to read a story, but the words keep wiggling, jiggling and jumping across the page? 

Letter by letter can be combined and soon a story will reveal itself — with the reader free to decide the ending. 

An empathetic read inspired by Rolfe’s own challenges with reading, this is an encouraging story for dyslexic children highlighting their creativity and inventiveness when it comes to making sense of the literary world. (5+)

Meep by Máire Zepf, illustrated by Paddy Donnelly (Little Island Books)

Meep is an obedient and hardworking robot. Sent to Mars, her discoveries on the red planet are celebrated by scientists far and wide, even if she hasn’t managed to find any alien life … or has she? 

Superbly detailed with plenty of ‘he’s behind you’ humour, this delightful tale is surprisingly touching as well. 

Translated from the Irish language original published by Futa Fata, this story is also available as Gaeilge as Míp. (5+)

Detective Stanley and the Mystery at the Museum by Hannah Tunnicliffe and Erica Harrison (Flying Eye Books)

On the eve of retirement, Detective Stanley is lured back to solve one last case: a mystery at the Narlybone Museum’s Mondrian exhibition. 

Will he be able to tear himself away from his pancakes long enough to crack the case? 

Detailed illustrations with plenty of pun-tastic nods to classic crime and the real world make this a gorgeous mystery themed graphic novel appealing to early readers and their grown-ups too! (7+)

Alan, King of the Universe by Tom McLaughlin (Hodder Children’s Books)

Garfield had better watch out, there is a new ginger cat with attitude in town. Scheming but lovable, Alan is a cat filled with determination for one thing: to take over the world.

Joined by sidekick Fido, this graphic novel is a collection of short capers involving cloning, inventing a new country, numerical inventions and much more. 

Short, snappy, nonsensical dialogue provide readers with enough laughs to make one thing certain, Alan will be dominating the book world before long. (8+)

Marty Moose First Class Mischief by Claire Powell (Walker Books)

Hoping to live up to the legacy of his great-aunt Ada, Marty takes on the mantle of postmouse delivering mail for the woodland inhabitants of Little Ditch. 

Surely under the tutelage of Employee of the Month Cyril Snorter, nothing could possibly go wrong — right? 

Through a palette of red, black, and white, the zany characters of Little Ditch and Marty’s first perilous post run make for a tremendously fun and chaotic read. (8+)

The Mizzy Mysteries: A Skeleton in the Closet by Claire Hatcher-Smith, illustrated by Lester McGoogan (Farshore)

When mystery-obsessed Mizzy finds her great-aunt Jane’s secret diary she is determined to crack the cold case of Jane’s sudden death. 

The only problem is, Mizzy’s family continuously underestimate her due to her Down syndrome. Perceptive and determined, Mizzy’s adventures and her family’s secrets will remind readers, not everything is as it first appears. 

Inspired by the author’s work with people with Down syndrome, it is so refreshing to see a leading character like Mizzy truly shine. (10+)

Ella Jones vs the Sun Stealer by Lucy Edwards and Katy Birchall (Scholastic)

After losing her sight, Ella has learned to re-navigate her life with the help of her guide dog, Maisie.

But when the world is plunged into darkness by a corrupt corporate villain and a vengeful ancient Irish god, it’s up to Ella and Maisie to restore the light. 

Filled with descriptive, sensory language, activist Lucy Edwards’ perspective informs Ella’s story, weaving this high-stakes adventure with an empathetic insight into the experiences of life with a vision impairment. (11+)

The Night House Files: The Deadsoul Project by Dan Smith, illustrated by Luke Brookes (Barrington Stoke)

A secret and unofficial organisation, the Night House investigate strange events that are hard to explain, like what exactly happened at Alpine Heights in 1977. 

Readers are invited to peruse the case files and interviews that intersperse Kyle and Lauren’s account of the monsters that are unleashed within the walls of their block of flats. 

Mystery, conspiracies, gore and horror make for a tense and compulsive story. An attention-grabbing read, not for the faint of heart. (13+)

Red Flags by Sophie Jo (Scholastic)

Poppy is uncompromising in her quest to find a ‘Dream Man’ who meets her exacting standards. Cameron hates letting people in, often developing The Ick at a remarkably fast rate. 

When the pair are separately challenged to give someone a chance beyond a first date, they unwittingly end up in the courtship from hell. 

Think 10 Things I Hate About You and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days for Gen Z readers. While hilarious and relatable, the soft core of this story will help teens to realise what is truly important in a healthy relationship. 

Guaranteed to make you laugh and warm your heart, I can’t recommend this one enough! (15+)

A Fix of Light by Kel Menton (Little Island Books)

Hanan returns from Skensashogue forest alive, but utterly changed, with a strange new magic taking hold of his emotions and making them harder to control. 

A chance meeting with Pax reveals a power to quieten this curse, but there are more secrets to be uncovered. 

Interweaving folklore and fantasy with challenging themes of depression, suicide and gender identity, Menton’s début is well-written and hard to forget. Dealing with mature themes, this book is better suited to older teens. (17+)

• Ruth Concannon is the publications officer for Children’s Books Ireland, the national charity and arts organisation that champions every child’s right to develop a love of reading;
• Their mission is to inspire a love of reading in children and young people in Ireland, to share their expertise and enthusiasm with the adults who guide and influence them, to champion every child’s right to excellent books and live literature events and support the artists who make that goal possible across the island of Ireland;
• See childrensbooksireland.ie for more.