November anticipated releases …

Today, I’m sharing the children’s middle-grade books I’m most looking forward to picking up in November, or being treated to as its my birthday in November too! I’ve taken the synopsis for each of these books from the Waterstones website except for Time School which I’ve taken from the author’s website. I’ve loved previous books for nine of these authors, and there is also a debut author whose book I am very excited to read!

Release Date: 1st November

Ash Mundair is sick of his dad telling him how lucky he is and how grateful he should be to go to a good school and get an education. Despite how hard Ash works, it seems it’s never enough for his dad, and Ash begins to wonder why he should bother at all. He doesn’t feel he will ever understand what it was like for his dad to have to leave his home in Uganda to come and live in England during the 1970s. That is until a trip back to that time unveils the difficulties that people like Ash’s dad faced and what it was like to be an ethnic minority at such a tense time.

Release Date: 4th November

When an evil faerie steals Yanni’s baby sister and swaps her for a changeling, Yanni is swept into a dangerous race against time to get her back. For faeries delight in tricks and rescuing her won’t be easy. With the help of his cousin, Amy, and the reluctant changeling, Yanni must travel to goblin palaces and battle-swept oceans, discovering ancient treasures and secrets along the way. Yanni will need every drop of courage and even a few tricks of his own, if he’s to outwit the faerie and save his sister...

On a poor farm surrounded by marshlands, six sisters – Grace, Willa, Freya, and triplets Deedee, Darcy, and Dolly – live in fear of their father. Their beloved grandmother tries to protect them, but the future seems bleak. When the Full Moon Fayre makes a rare visit to Hollow-in-the-Marsh, the girls slip out to see the famous Shadow Man, an enigmatic puppeteer. Afterwards, oldest sister Grace is missing. Can Willa save her sister from one fate, and yet outrun her own?

After a series of misfortunes, Minnie O’Sullivan is whisked away to Haddington Hall: a nightmarish home for wayward girls. Bad becomes worse when the hall’s ruthless founder, Mrs Haddington, takes an instant dislike to brave, determined Minnie, and she’s in danger of losing everything… But Minnie has never backed down from a fight in her life, and she’s not about to start now!

In their fifth thrilling adventure, the explorers journey deep into the Bubble Ocean on their quest to stop the evil Collector, but time is running out . . . The Poison Tentacle Sea was home to the powerful Bone Current. As they had feared, it gave a sudden surge and pulled them in. Half-mermaid Ursula Jellyfin has always longed for adventure, and this time the stakes are higher than ever. The Collector is holding a group of children prisoner on Pirate Island, and it’s up to Ursula and her friends Jai, Max and Genie to set them free. Armed with a magical mermaid trident, and with new recruit Zara the pirate fairy on board, their mission is filled with danger. The explorers must face zombie skeletons, make a daring rescue from a whirlpool and travel through a dinosaur graveyard. But even if they do make it to Pirate Island, can they fool the Collector and get in to an impenetrable fort? Fast-paced, magical storytelling in a breathtaking underwater world.

A dark, gothic adventure set deep in a Bavarian forest, with angels and owls and magic and a boy who isn’t all that he seems to be… A cherub is blown into Cassie Engel’s bedroom during a thunderstorm, triggering a series of terrifying events. Cassie must discover if its arrival was an accident or part of something more sinister. With a self-obsessed opera singer for a mother, a strange taxidermist father, and a best friend who isn’t quite what he seems, Cassie is forced to unearth the secrets of her family’s past. As the dark forces gather around them, can Cassie protect all that she holds dear?

Meet Stuntboy. He’s the newest superhero in town. Or at least in his own head. He’ll save you from baddies like Herbert Singletary The Worst and the Frets. Or at least he’ll TRY to. And maybe someone will end up saving him too… From two superheroes, 2021 CILIP Carnegie Medal winning author Jason Reynolds and super illustrator Raul the Third, comes a never-before-seen tale featuring acts of daring and courage… and one mysterious cat.

Be enthralled by the world of Arthurian legend in this lavishly illustrated, masterful retelling. From King Arthur’s childhood to his final battle, the timeless tales of the sword in the stone, the quests of the Knights of the Round Table and the wizardry of Merlin are woven together into a breathtaking feat of storytelling. 

Release Date: 11th November

It’s Christmas-time, and when Maya’s Grandmother encourages her to go searching for magic, she didn’t bet on being transported back three-hundred years to the banks of the frozen river Thames.  Meeting a boy called Eddie, he shows Maya the bustle of the glittering Frost Fair, filled with music, sweet stalls, warm fires and thrilling rides.  But their connection is stronger than she knew, and when the Frost Fair fades, Maya discovers that her dream may have been real after all…

Olive’s best friend is a four-hundred-year-old oak tree, and it is in danger. As she tumbles into its magic world, she makes it a promise. From deep roots to high branches, a Persian garden to an underwater forest, from tulip trees to wild apple to vengeful box, she listens to the trees telling stories for all time. And she keeps her promise.

November is going to be a another wonderful month for middle-grade releases! Do any of these pique your interest?