The hero of Monster Max and the Bobble Hat of Forgetting (Firefly, £5.99, 6+) does not hail from your average family stock. His father is an expert in clouds, and his mother has the ability to turn into a wolf. So it is perhaps unsurprising that Max has a special gift for shapeshifting into monstrous form. If only he can turn it to good. As his father advises, Max "needs to find his M.O." before he gets the lot of them into trouble with his accidental rampages through the neighbourhood.
Max finds his purpose early in this comic chapter book from Robin Bennett, deciding to use his monstrous powers “to protect and do good stuff”. He has not reckoned, however, on local do-gooder Peregrine, who seems determined to blow his cover. Luckily, Max has inherited a secret knitted weapon to help disguise the truth.
Bennett has a flair for silly, slapstick detail, and Tom Tinn-Disbury’s generously scattered illustrations provide a visual echo for many of the punchlines. With short chapters and large, well-spaced text, this is a great first chapter book for newly confident readers.
The little boy in Laura Dockrill and Maria Karipidou's The Lipstick (Walker, €12.99, 3+) is also up to mischief. It is not his fault, though, it's the lipstick's; it insists on "doodling and oodling and noodling and poodling" all over the house when Mum and Dad and Bug are too busy to notice. The boy thinks it is brilliant, "the best day of my actual LIFE", until the lipstick betrays him with its vivid visibility. Karipidou's electric pink palette is particularly effective here. As he and his family set about repairing the lipstick's damage, the boy makes sure to keep the lipstick on his lips for an apologetic kiss, "because that is where lipstick really belongs".
Dockrill’s whimsically absurd story will be cathartically relatable to young scribblers while at the same time offering a reverse moral compass: the sheer scale of the boy’s vandalism should turn young graffiti artists back to the page.
Finn, the young whale protagonist of Gerry Daly's picturebook Finn's First Song (O'Brien Press, €12.99, 3+), is on a journey with his mum. They are swimming all the way to Ireland, following the "rumble and roll" of his Dad's magical song. When Finn loses his way in the depths of the ocean, a variety of sea creatures help him to find his song and alert his parents to his difficulty.
The gentle, episodic story and bold illustrations bring a distinct personality to the seabed while introducing young readers to memorable facts about how sea creatures communicate, from the twinkling lights of crystal jellyfish to colour-changing squids and ink-squirting octopi. Be warned, however: it is the wonderful whoop and whirring whale song that young readers will want to imitate.
In The Forest of Moon and Sword by Amy Raphael (Orion, £6.99, 9+), a young girl also sets out on a quest to find her mother. The year is 1647, and in a remote Scottish village, Art's mother has just been taken by British soldiers to be punished as a witch. Left in the care of relatives who both suspect and despise her, Art decides that it is safer to set off for Essex in the hopes of saving her mother from trial and of teaching the world that "helping people to heal isn't about magic, it is about compassion". Using the skills her mother has taught her – to read the stars and thrive on herbs – Art embarks upon a solo adventure, which will test her strength, her wits and her loyalty to her mother.
Raphael’s debut is distinguished by its strange folkloric atmosphere, but there are emotional issues – loss, grief, betrayal, friendship – that help the story sing across the historical divide. August Ro’s occasional sketches add visual texture to this unusual story, which will appeal to the more mature reader.
Finally, Catherine Doyle's marvellous fantasy trilogy comes to a spectacular close in The Storm Keeper's Battle (Bloomsbury, £6.99, 9+). Without his grandfather's guidance for the first time, young Fionn must harness every magical force he can to help defeat Morrigan, the "ancient undead sorceress" who is determined to suck every last soul out of Arranmore.
Doyle’s story begins with a sense of heavy foreboding that is written into the very landscape of the island setting, and with her tightly wrought prose she sustains the tension brilliantly until the final chapters, when Finn and his friends light their last candles and with it banish the darkness. Over three years, Doyle has created a thrilling trio of books for young fantasy lovers to disappear into, while proving her worth as one of the most interesting Irish children’s authors of her generation.
