Here is another round-up of some of our favourite super summer reads from Irish authors and Illustrators this August. Compiled by award-winning and best-selling Irish Author Triona Campbell.
As the last month of the summer holidays hits, and if you're looking for some 'me time’ (or a book to read with little people) then the below is for you. Available this month in bookstores and libraries throughout Ireland.
For Younger Readers look out for…
My first book of Irish sea creatures
For Ages 2+
Whale, seal, ray, eel, crab, starfish, periwinkle: This book introduces little people to all the wonderful creatures in our seas and on our shores.
With simple text and pictures, this is a bright, colourful board book. Perfect for children learning how to understand the world around them and it comes from Dublin-based O’Brien Press.
Lulu Meets The Bees
Author Anna McQuinn/ Illustrator Rosalind Beardshaw
For Ages 2+
This is another excellent instalment in the Lulu series from Kerry-based author Anna McQuinn.
Lulu is excited. She is off to visit beekeeper Auntie Zora to meet her bees. A trip that requires Lulu to wear a special suit to get up close: she sees the queen bee, the workers, and even the baby bees. Then she tastes the honey- and inspires Lulu to do what she can to help the bees.
A Boy Called Book
Author Vincent Ralph/ Illustrator Aaron Cushley
For Ages 4+
This is a beautiful and poignant picture book that's a heart-twisting celebration of books!
Once there was a boy called Book.
He asked his mother why he was named that, and she replied: "Because your life is a story. You can writeit however you want."
This stunning picture book is illustrated by Belfast-born Aaron Cushley and shows how stories inspire us, shape us, and ultimately heal us. A gentle introduction to book genres to young readers, and it shows them how life – with both its joys and sorrows – can be better understood through stories.
The Dictionary Story
Author / Illustrators Oliver Jeffers & Sam Winston
For Ages 4+
This much-anticipated new picture book is from the bestselling and award-winning creators of ‘A Child of Books’: Belfast-bred Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston.
Dictionary wishes she could tell a story just like the other books. So one day she decides to bring her words to life. How exciting it is, she thinks, that an adventure is finally happening on her very own pages! But what will she do when everything gets out of control, all in a jumble, and her characters collide causing the most enormous tantrum to explode.
This isn’t what she wanted at all! How on earth will she find sense in all this chaos? Her friend Alphabet knows exactly what to do and sings a song that brings calm and order to Dictionary’s pages once again.
The Riddle of the Disappearing Dickens
Author Alan Nolan/ Cover Art by Shane Cluskey
For ages 9+
An action-packed instalment in Bray-based author Alan Nolan’s new gripping series of stand-alone adventure books.
Dublin & London 1859: A Tale of Two Cities Bram Stoker: boy seeking adventure (and things to write about) Molly Malone: part-time fishmonger and full-time sneak thief! Best friends Molly and Bram are on a mission in London. Famous writer Charles Dickens has been kidnapped!
The pals set out to search the darkest corners of the city. On their travels, they meet all sorts of characters, among them a foul-mouthed fowl and a Worshipful Company of Fishmongers.
Can they solve the riddle of the disappearing Dickens before it’s too late?
Sword of the Sun
Author Sinéad O’Hart
For ages 9+
A new book from the talented (and prolific) Meath-based author Sinéad O’Hart (also one of the hosts on the excellent Irish children’s literature podcast ‘Storyshaped’).
When Ben and his family have to leave Dublin and move into the remote house where his mother grew up, he's not optimistic about what lies ahead. For him and his brother Fin, it'll mean fitting into life with his aunts and a cousin he doesn't even know.
But what Ben doesn't expect is that he will be drawn into the mysteries of the wild mystical landscape. He can sense its power, and he can see a light shining from the mountain on the horizon. Even stranger, crows are gathering, watching him and haunting his dreams.
As Ben uncovers the stories of Ireland's mythical heroes and warriors that obsessed his grandfather until he died, Ben begins to wonder if there is more to the tales than pure fantasy. It seems like trouble is stirring - and will he have the power to face it?
A powerful new book for children aged 9 and up, drawing on Celtic folklore.
And for Older Readers & Teens…
Wintour’s Game
Author Brían Dungan
For ages 13+
This is an action-packed new series from debut author Brían Dungan, who is based in Skerries (also home to author Shane Hegarty so there must be something in the water there). Dungan is usually found behind the camera having worked in Film and TV for over 20 years and this book is highly visual and also perfect for fans of Lockwood and Co., Alex Rider etc
Alex Wintour: orphan, teenager, oracle, thief. Alex has only got this far in life by living off her wits. Well, that and an ability to see glimpses of the future – a useful talent when you need to stay one step ahead of the law.
Then a robbery goes wrong, and her path is set on a collision course with the enigmatic teen millionaire Colman Reece. Like Alex, Cole is a Temporal - someone who can manipulate time - and he needs Alex’s help for a heist that only she can pull off.
But with the clock ticking, the sinister Temple on their tail, and the hunt for a mysterious weapon underway, Alex soon learns that even being able to see the future doesn’t always give you the winning hand...
Braids Take a Day
Author Zainab Boladale/ Cover by Grace Enemaku
For ages 13+
RTÉ Nationwide presenter Zainab Bolade makes a stunning debut with ‘Braids Take A Day’.
Abidemi can't wait for summer, her last one at home in Ennistymon before she heads off to college. She's ready to say goodbye to school, spend some time learning new braids and hairstyles – and see where things go with her friend Jack.
But when she meets an intriguing woman from Nigeria, secrets start to unravel. Suddenly Abi's life and family are changing and she needs to think hard about who she wants to be …
Uncovering secrets is like undoing braids, one at a time…
Sisters of the Moon
By Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
For ages 15+
This is an atmospheric story about the unexplainable and the power of female friendships from the Carnegie-shortlisted and award-winning author of "On Midnight Beach". A must-read for fans of the Dublin-based Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick’s work.
Suzy Button is grieving. Grieving for her dead mother, but also for the friends she's left behind, the father who no longer laughs, and the life that she once had. In desperation she finds herself in the garden in the middle of the night, under the light of a supermoon, wishing everything would change.
And suddenly, it does. Into school walks Rhiannon, a fearless new girl who makes Suzy her instant best friend. And Rhiannon seems to make things...happen. If Suzy wants something, somehow Rhiannon can make it so: friends, beach parties, midnight photoshoots under a moonlit sky...Suzy's life is finally moving forward again.
But where did Rhiannon come from? She doesn't seem to live in Sallycove. Why can't Suzy go to her house? And why does she never have any stuff? Suzy might be her best friend, but does she really know who Rhiannon is?
And that’s it for August! All of the above are newly released this month and available in local libraries and bookshops all around the country.
See you soon for another round-up of new releases (and FYI September is shaping up to be a MASSIVE month for new Irish kids and YA releases).
For more book recommendations check out Discover Irish Kids Books or give them a follow on Instagram or X.
Discover Irish Kids Books round-up graphic by Bex Sheridan.
Triona Campbell is the Author of ‘A Game of Life Or Death’ and ‘The Traitor in the Game’ and part of the team at #DiscoverIrishKidsBooks - a campaign that aims to highlight and celebrate Irish Kids and teen books.
