Feel-good middle grade books

The best part about the weather getting colder is snuggling up with a book and feeling all the cosiest feels!

This selection of book combines all the feelings that make us feel good. From finding a new furry friend, to friendship, family, bookshops and even new places we never thought could exist. There are so many fuzzy feelings to unlock with these beautifully crafted middle grade books, and you will find yourself grabbing for them time and time again just to relive all those feel-good feels! Romanticising our lives with reading is taken to a whole different level with these books!

From Waterstone's Children's Book of the year The Last Bear to curl-up-on-the-sofa snuggly Pages & Co, get lost in the pages of these whimsical, magical and, most importantly, feel-good reads!

We also couldn't help but include the much-loved cosy mystery series Murder Most Unladylike.

If you're ready to step out of your comfort zone and go for something more adventurous, why not take a look at our adventurous books for ages 9+!

Georgina Atwell

Toppsta

2022-12-08

2022-12-03

Feel-good middle grade books

The Last Bear

Imagine making friends with a polar bear... The Last Bear is perfect for readers of 8+, beautifully illustrated throughout by Levi Pinfold - winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and illustrator of Harry Potter 20th anniversary edition covers.

"This is an important first novel, important for us, for polar bears, for the planet. It is deeply moving, beautifully told, quite unforgettable." Michael Morpurgo.

There are no polar bears left on Bear Island. At least, that's what April's father tells her when his scientific research takes them to this remote Arctic outpost for six months. But one endless summer night, April meets one. He is starving, lonely and a long way from home. Determined to save him, April begins the most important journey of her life...

This moving story will win the hearts of children the world over and show them that no one is too young or insignificant to make a difference. The Last Bear is a celebration of the love between a child and an animal, a battle cry for our world and an irresistible adventure with a heart as big as a bear's.

'A dazzling debut . . . A magical, confidently told story - with beautiful illustrations by Levi Pinfold . . . I predict a roaring success' The Times

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A Place Called Perfect

A reissue of this bestselling quirky, creepy and unforgettable adventure series, perfect for fans of Roald Dahl, Neil Gaiman and Tim Burton. Violet never wanted to move to Perfect. Who wants to live in a town where everyone has to wear glasses to stop them going blind? And who wants to be neat and tidy and perfectly behaved all the time? But Violet quickly discovers there's something weird going on in the town - she keeps hearing voices, her mam is acting strange and her dad has disappeared. When she meets Boy she realizes that her dad is not the only person to have vanished... and that the mysterious Watchers are guarding a perfectly creepy secret!

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The Train to Impossible Places

All aboard for the first journey in the bestselling Train to Impossible Places Adventures, with magic at every stop. Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the Branford Boase Award and the IBW Book Awards, with dazzling illustrations from Flavia Sorrentino, join Suzy on this magical adventure, where the journey will never, ever take you where you expect it to. When Suzy hears a strange noise in the middle of the night, she creeps downstairs to find a train roaring through her house. But this is no ordinary train. This is the magical delivery express for The Union of Impossible Places. Whisked onboard by a troll-boy, Suzy's world is turned upside down when she's asked to deliver a cursed package to a fearsome sorceress. And quite suddenly, Suzy realizes the fate of the Impossible Places is in her hands... Except when the mysterious package begs not to be delivered, Suzy discovers the fate of the Impossible Places might just be in her hands... "Great fun!" Philip Reeve, author of Mortal Engines

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Pages & Co.: Tilly and the Bookwanderers

A magical adventure to delight the imagination. A curl-up-on-the-sofa snuggle of a debut from a uniquely talented author.

Eleven year-old Tilly has lived above her grandparents' bookshop ever since her mother disappeared shortly after she was born. Like the rest of her family, Tilly loves nothing more than to escape into the pages of her favourite stories.

One day Tilly realises that classic children's characters are appearing in the shop through the magic of 'book wandering' - crossing over from the page into real life.

With the help of Anne of Green Gables and Alice in Wonderland. Tilly is determined to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago, so she bravely steps into the unknown, unsure of what adventure lies ahead and what dangers she may face.

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Humbug: the Elf who Saved Christmas

The perfect festive story for readers aged 8 to 8,888! Meet the HUMBUG Family! Christmas Elves, but not as we know them... The Humbugs aren't the kind of family you see on sparkly wrapping paper, or in snowy storybooks about Santa's grotto. You won't see them on the front of Christmas cards, and they definitely won't be knitted on your grandma's favourite festive jumper. Those happy scenes are only for the likes of the workshop elves and certainly not the Humbugs. Nope! They manage a much less glamorous part of Santa's factory, the RPD Department... That's Reindeer Poo Disposal to you and me. YUCK! But when a mince-pie-related-mishap combined with an unfortunate letter-losing-incident sees them exiled from their home, the Humbugs - together with their clumsy Reindeer, Blister, and wheelie-bin sleigh - go on a great and daring adventure, where they discover the true meaning of Christmas, and the real heroes who make it special! "A perfect Christmas stocking present - a very funny, festive page-turner." - Jacqueline Wilson, author of The Story of Tracy Beaker "Humbug is that rare book: funny, original, thought-provoking, and an instant classic." - Francesca Simon, author of Horrid Henry "An exquisite Christmas story, full of imagination and heart. For the whole family to read year-after-year!" - Amy Huberman, author of The Day I Got Trapped In My Brain "You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll need a mince pie - a new Christmas classic!" - Steven Lenton, author and illustrator of Genie and Teeny A hilarious, huge-hearted hug of a book; perfect for all ages. For fans of Matt Haig, The Christmasaurus, and Elf on the Shelf. With a touching and thought-provoking message to key-workers who tirelessly toil behind-the-scenes to make everyone's lives better.

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A Pinch of Magic

Sisters, secrets and spellbinding adventure . . . Discover the bestselling Pinch of Magic adventures from Michelle Harrison. A Storm of Sisters - out now!

The Widdershins sisters, Betty, Fliss and Charlie are trapped, prevented from leaving their home on Crowstone by an ancient family curse. When they inherit three magical objects with the power to change their fate, adventure beckons. But are they being led into even greater danger?

Join the Widdershins sisters and break the family curse in the first Pinch of Magic Adventure, shortlisted for the 2020 British Book Awards, selected as Waterstones Children's Book of the Month and Barnes and Noble Young Readers pick of the month, and winner of the Dutch Bronze PEN award. Continue the adventures with A Sprinkle of Sorcery, A Tangle of Spells and A Storm of Sisters .

Praise for the Pinch of Magic Adventures

'A spellbinding story, steeped in magic. I adored it.' Abi Elphinstone

'Brilliant' Emma Carroll

'What a gorgeous, funny, creepy, page-turny story! If you're yet to discover the Widdershins sisters books, you're in for a TREAT!' Lucy Strange

' A stunner. Such great writing!' Peter Bunzl

'I love Michelle Harrison - I hadn't read much fantasy but this series hooked me! Brilliant writing, beautiful!' Lisa Thompson

'Simply phenomenal' Sophie Anderson

'The wry enchantment of an E. Nesbit classic' Guardian

'Fantasy and adventure appear on every page of this spellbinding tale' Daily Mail

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The Polar Bear Explorers' Club

It sounded like a respectable and worthy enough death for an explorer - tumbling from an ice bridge to be impaled upon a mammoth tusk - but Stella really, really didn't want that to happen, just the same. Join Stella Starflake Pearl and her three fellow explorers as they trek across the snowy Icelands and come face-to-face with frost fairies, snow queens, outlaw hideouts, unicorns, pygmy dinosaurs and carnivorous cabbages . . . When Stella and three other junior explorers get separated from their expedition can they cross the frozen wilderness and live to tell the tale? A gorgeously imaginative middle grade fantasy adventure combining the best of Peter Pan, Lemony Snicket, Northern Lights and Alice in Wonderland. 'A magical adventure of friendship, bravery and derring-do in a richly imagined world.' The Bookseller 'A fantastic frosty adventure.' Sunday Express 'Wintry, atmospheric, highly imaginative fantasy.' Metro 'The most huggable book of the year . . . An (iced) gem.' SFX

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