‘There used to be an empty chair at the back of the classroom.’ But then one day Ahmet appeared. Scared, sad Ahmet with golden eyes like a lion. The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf tells this young Syrian refugee’s story in her debut novel, the much-applauded recipient of Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2019. Taking a child’s eye view of the refugee crisis, we follow a bunch of curious and big-hearted school kids as they eagerly pursue a friendship that leads to the hailing of ‘Ahmet: The most famous refugee boy in the world!’

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And so to March, a month that brings us the springing of spring, and World Poetry Day, a global celebration of the joys of poetry. Happy Poems by Roger McGough seems to me to be the ideal collection to share with you. Boldly introducing young readers to the likes of William Blake and Alfred Tennyson, through to Carol Ann Duffy and the ever fabulous Benjamin Zephaniah, the bright, smiley cover promises an array of poems designed to bring sunshine to your kids’ reading.

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Edward VII is on the throne and it is ‘the time of gas lamps and candlelight.’ Motherless Clarry and Peter Penrose are being raised by an austere and indifferent father, freedom coming but once a year, in the form of idyllic summers spent roaming the Cornish coast with their beloved cousin Rupert. Little do they know that life is about to change irrevocably, as war looms on the horizon, poised to steal their youth and innocence. The Skylark’s War by Hilary McKay has just scooped the Costa Children’s Book Award 2018. A family saga of immense scope, it’s a worthy winner indeed.

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‘Is February, we ask ourselves, any better than January?’

Roald Dahl thinks maybe yes, because if you can battle through it then the worst of the winter is probably over, and this fierce and bitter month will yield to March and the approaching spring. My Year by Roald Dahl is a warmly conversational guide to the changing seasons of the English countryside. Inexplicably out of print for several years, this charming new edition is a must for Dahl fans and young nature enthusiasts alike.

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‘Data entry clerk. Seventeen year.

No sick day. No mistake.’

Meet Cicada. He is a quiet, conscientious insect who has toiled away in a dreary office for many thankless years. His working day is so bleak, can there be any hope for his future? A new book by Shaun Tan is always a cause for celebration. An acclaimed author-illustrator, he has redefined the picture book. Here, with Cicada, he illuminates the world of the unappreciated, bullied and ignored.

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I often wish I could recapture the intensity of my childhood reading, that joyful and total immersion in a fictional world. Debut novel Pages & Co by Anna James reminds me of those exhilarating days. It tells the story of bookwanderer Tilly Pages, and her magical ability to travel into her favourite books and hang out with beloved characters. Some books are safer than others however, and when Tilly sets off on a quest to find her long-lost mother, it seems that danger may literally be lurking on the very next page.

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