5 Fantastic Reads for Young Adventurers This January

Kick off the new year with stories full of fun, friendship, mystery and mischief! From the wide-open Outback to laugh-out-loud transformations, these five books are perfect for readers ready to explore new places, solve puzzle, and meet unforgettable characters. If you want to make January a month of adventure, start here…

Alice Miranda in the Outback by Jacqueline Harvey

Alice-Miranda and her friends are off to the Australian Outback! They’re going to help an old family friend who’s found himself short staffed during cattle mustering season. The landscape is like nothing else – wide open and dusty red as far as the eye can see. It’s also full of quirky characters, like eccentric opal miner Sprocket McGinty and the enigmatic Taipan Dan. As the gang settles in at Hope Springs Station, mysteries start piling up. A strange map is discovered indicating treasure beneath the paddocks, a young girl is missing and there are unexplained water shortages. Can Alice-Miranda get to the bottom of this desert dilemma?

Buy a copy of Alice Miranda in the Outback here.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

The explosive first novel in Eoin Colfer’s bestselling Artemis Fowl series, now a major Disney film! *New special film edition – includes photos of the film, an introduction from director Kenneth Branagh and a note from Eoin Colfer himself* Rumour has it Artemis Fowl is responsible for every major crime of the new century. Just twelve years old and already he’s a criminal genius, plotting to restore his family’s fortune with a spot of corruption and kidnapping. Kidnapping a fairy for ransom, to be precise. Artemis Fowl has discovered a world below ground of armed and dangerous – and extremely high-tech – fairies. But he may have underestimated their powers. They will fight back. Is the boy about to trigger a cross-species war? Let the misadventure begin.

Buy a copy of Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer here.

The Power of Positive Pranking by Nat Amoore

Green Peas is our name and pranking’s our game! A symphony of alarm clocks at assembly? Yep, that was us. A plague of fluffy guinea pigs? It’s next on our agenda. But for me, Cookie and Zeke, it’s about more than just fun. We’re determined to make a difference. And when the adults won’t listen, us kids will find a way to be heard – as long as we can stay out of detention! No activist is too small, no prank too big… and things are about to get personal.

Buy a copy of The Power of Positive Pranking here.

100% Wolf by Jayne Lyons

Shock horror! Utter humiliation! Freddy’s first werewolf transformation has turned him into a poodle! Get ready to laugh with the story that has now been adapted into a hilarious family movie. Freddy Lupin is from a noble family of werewolves. But his first Transwolfation is a disaster when Freddy turns into a yapping poodle instead of a ferocious werewolf. Now his snooty Uncle Hotspur will hate him even more. Just when Freddy thinks life can’t get any worse, he’s thrown into dog prison. Will Freddy and his streetwise dog friend, Batty, escape their prison? Who is the sinister man following their every move? Can Freddy prove that he’s still 100% wolf and save the werewolf pack from disaster? Now an Australian Animated Major Motion Picture from Flying Bark Productions, distributed by Universal Content Group

Buy a copy of 100% Wolf here.

The Secret Library of Hummingbird House by Julianne Negri

Hattie Maxwell is trying to make sense of her life since the Big Split. It used to be the four of them – Mum, Dad, Ivy and Hattie – against the universe. But lately it feels like she’s a lone star in a big galaxy. Her one escape is Hummingbird House, an old mansion with a giant mulberry tree just perfect for climbing to hide from the world. So when Hattie learns that the house is going to be demolished, she is determined to save it. A midnight visit becomes a step back in time, and Hummingbird House reveals its secrets: a hidden library, a mysterious new friend, and a lost treasure that could help stop the development. Can the past help Hattie to fix her present? A brilliant time-slip novel with a contemporary twist, The Secret Library of Hummingbird House celebrates standing up, speaking out and letting go of the past.