Rivers support life in their depths, on their banks, and in the sky above them. The River of Life highlights some of the most fascinating river habitats in the world, with plenty of fun things for young readers to spot in each stunning illustration by Marc Pattenden. After spying a creature hidden in the scene, little hands they can lift a flap to learn more about it, from snapping alligators in China's Yangtze River to cute capybaras around the Amazon River.

The book introduces famous rivers around the world, including the Mississippi and the otters that roam its banks, and the endangered dolphins that call the River Ganges home. Readers will also meet the birds that rely on rivers for food during their epic migrations and discover the significance of the Nile River in Ancient Egyptian mythology.

By the end of the book kids will have a new-found appreciation for the role rivers play in ecosystems all over the world.

Discover more fascinating facts in the Amazing Habitats series with The Tree of Life.

This is a book for children affected by the Big C. Whether they have cancer, or they know someone with cancer, they will have a lot of questions. And even for adults cancer is a really hard thing to talk about! Luckily Dr Sanjay Juneja is an expert at having these tricky conversations.

In this book, featuring sensitive illustrations by Anna Shepeta, readers will get the answers to questions such as:

• Why does some people’s hair fall out when they have cancer?
• How can I support someone with cancer?
• What can I expect in hospital?

Taking a fact-based approach, the book will explain what cancer is, highlight the different types of cancer, introduce the medical staff that help patients on their journey, and look at different types of treatment.

This honest and reassuring resource helps kids and families navigate cancer diagnosis and treatment together. It's also made by experts. Author Dr Sanjay Juneja takes care of people with blood diseases and cancer. Dr Ben Pickwell-Smith, the consultant on this book, is a Clinical Lecturer and Medical Oncology Registrar at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Also available in this critically-acclaimed series: We Need to Talk About Vaginas, We Need to Talk About Divorce, We Need to Talk About Death

Every night reveals a thousand secrets? In this charming anthology of children’s stories by Alicia Klepeis readers will be guided under the light of the moon to meet the amazing animals that come out when we’re all asleep. In one story a lost wolf pup has to find its way back to its pack, while another looks at a flying fox as it goes for a midnight swim. Kids will be thrilled by the pineapplefish who has a torch built into its mouth, and marvel at a dung beetle that navigates by looking at the stars!

Other stories feature American alligators, Fennec foxes, wombats, snowy owls, bushbabies, flying frogs, luna moths and even a rat making its way across a sleeping city. All of these nighttime animals and their habitats are brought to life with impressive skill by illustrator Jennifer Falkner.

Each story in Secrets of the Stars is based on the real biology and behaviour of these amazing wild animals, and at the end of each tale readers will find out more about the science that inspired the story. So as they drift off to sleep, they will know a little bit more about the animals that are waking up and beginning their day.

The cover features a timeless design with silver foil and a cloth texture, making this book the perfect gift.

For thousands of years humans have feared or revered dragons, be they winged fire-breathing monsters from Europe or slithering water gods from Asia. In this book, featuring beautiful illustrations courtesy of Cinthya Alvarez, readers will be charmed by ancient myths and learn about the cultures that gave birth to these legendary monsters. Includes the stories of:

Fáfnir, a dragon from Norse mythology whose greed gets the better of him
The female dragon-slayer from the Arabic folktales One Thousand and One Nights
Apophis, the dragon god of ancient Egyptian myth who stalks the underworld

Readers will also learn about the link between dragons and dinosaurs, meet real-life dragons such as Komodo dragons and bearded dragons, study dragon constellations, encounter the dragons of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, and wonder at the popularity of games such as Dungeons & Dragons.

It’s everything kids who love dragons could ever want to know!

In this collection of daring deeds and awesome adventures from history prepare to be flabbergasted by:

The time Julius Caesar was kidnapped by pirates
Ching Shih, the Chinese woman who was the most successful pirate of all time
The Russian river pirates who lay siege to medieval towns!

Tales of Pirates includes sagas of famous pirates like Blackbeard, Ching Shih and Francis Drake, as well as stories of buccaneers you might not have heard of, such as Grace O’Malley, who went to sea disguised as a boy and Sayyida al Hurra, a Moroccan queen turned privateer.

Alongside the gripping stories you’ll also learn about pieces of eight, different pirate flags, and even spend some time in Nassau in the Caribbean, the short-lived capital of the Republic of Pirates!

You’d better read it, or you’ll be walking the plank?

Each page contains a mystery item from the past, with a set of clues as to what it was used for. Readers can take a guess before unfolding a giant flap to reveal the answer. Without giving too much away, the book contains Inuit snow goggles, designed to protect eyes from the blinding glare of the ice, an ancient Chinese earthquake detector featuring several metal frogs, and err.. the Royal fistula – an item used to perform delicate surgery on the rear end of King Louis XIV of France.

Kids will delight in trying to work out the purpose of the beautiful objects, brought to life by Mexican illustrator Paula Zamudio, and will learn a lot about the cultures that created them – from ancient Rome to Polynesia, and Mesopotamia to Viking Scandinavia.

A single tree can be home to hundreds of different species. This joyous book highlights some of the best tree habitats in the world, with plenty of fun things for young readers to spot in each stunning illustration by Kendra Binney. After spying a creature hidden in the foliage they can lift a flap to learn more about it.

The book includes famous trees like coast redwoods and ancient oaks, as well as some species kids might be less familiar with – like the dragon blood tree of Yemen! They will meet swinging orangutans in the dipterocarp trees of Asia, witness elephants drinking from wells inside the baobab trees of Africa, and spy some sleepy koalas in the eucalyptus trees of Australia. The Tree of Life also looks at the importance of these giants on human societies, such as the Hindu festivals that take place among the roots of the Indian banyan.

By the end of the book kids will have a new-found appreciation for the role trees play in ecosystems all over the world.

You know your heart is always beating, your intestines digest your food, and even that your brain is still awake when you’re asleep – that’s no mystery. But why do we get “brain freeze” if we eat ice cream too quickly? And why on earth do we get butterflies in our stomach when we’re nervous? And is it true we can squirt milk from our eyes?!

This book focuses on the bizarre things all of our bodies do – including things we don’t understand (looking at you, appendix). Dr Azmain also asks the burning medical questions we’ve all been wondering about:

• Why does coriander taste like soap to some people?
• How long can we stay awake for?
• Can our hearts actually break after a romantic break-up? (Asking for a friend).

Filled with gross, surprising, and downright terrifying facts, it’s bloated with cool science to impress your friends.

Humans are heading back to the moon. But once we get there, how on the moon will we stay alive? In this practical guide, future astronauts will learn how to build underground cities in lava tubes, shield themselves from razor-sharp moon dust, and grow the food they’ll need to survive life away from our home planet.

As well as practical tips, Morancy lifts a lid on some of the coolest developments in lunar science – including the possibility of a space lift and the giant catapult that could be used to get stuff back to Earth.

Like Andy Weir’s The Martian everything in this space book is based on real, groundbreaking science. And no one is better placed to write it: when they’re not writing kids’ books, Joalda Morancy is building the lunar lander the Artemis missions will use to take astronauts – including the first woman and first person of colour – to the surface!

Hilarious illustrations by award-winning artist Aaron Cushley, including graphic novel elements, convey the wonder and excitement of future space travel and give this book a key point of difference from other solar system books.

Don’t leave Earth without it!