Kids books

BEFORE setting off abroad, Sandi Toksvig’s Guide to France (Red Fox €5.00) is a must for youngsters.

With information, easy phrases, puzzles, stickers and diary space, this A4 size colourful book will add oomph to the holiday. There’s also a Guide to Spain in the same format. Both highly recommended.

The Return Of Johnny Kemp, by Keith Gray (Barrington Stoke; €7.55), is a scarily realistic story that strips away human decency to expose the most vicious form of tyranny. Bullying is easy, just find a soft target, preferably a younger kid, and your schoolyard dominion is sealed. So thought Johnny Kemp, until Dan, the story’s narrator, spills the beans on the thug and has him barred from school.

A couple of weeks later, Dan gets a text message from his best friend, Gary, saying that the suspension is lifted. Kemp is back – and his equally thuggish acolytes, the Baxter brothers, are waiting to escort Dan to their leader. Dan is terrified. His mum won’t listen to his pleas of illness and he has to brave the journey with his younger brother, sometimes changing route or hiding from the pursuing Baxters. At school, everyone knows Kemp is gunning for Dan, but they keep their distance – even Gary. Dan’s terror is palpable throughout.

The double-edged twist at the end is provocative.

Double Edge, by Chris Speyer (Bloomsbury; €8.80), is a stunning mystery-fantasy featuring Zaki, his brother, Michael, and friend, Anusha. Zaki misses his mother, who is working abroad, but, in reality, is separating from the boys’ father. Zaki also has to contend with Michael’s constant hostility towards everybody.

Sailing is the only bond in this troubled family, but when Zaki explores a cave and finds a girl’s skeleton and an unusual bracelet, he becomes involved in a terrifying struggle with long-dead forces. The teenagers realise the danger they’re in when they read the log of a mysterious yacht, which links to the fate of the skeleton. A well-crafted, stylish mix of realism and fantasy.