7 Exciting New July Releases for Kids

The Champion Charlies: The Mix Up by Adrian Beck

A hilarious junior fiction series for boys and girls that celebrates the great world game of football! Developed in partnership with Football Federation Australia.

Charles was the best player in the boys’ football team. Charlotte was the best player in the girls’ side. But this season they’re both playing in the same mixed team. Is there room for two Champion Charlies on one side? And can they get past their rivalry to help form the greatest football team Jindaberg Primary has ever seen?

With prankster teammates, a karaoke coach, dancing dads and an arch rival with an axe to grind, the Champion Charlies soon learn that achieving success is not going to be easy . . . but it sure will be fun!

The Champion Charlies: Boot It by Adrian Beck

A hilarious, fun-filled junior fiction series for boys and girls that celebrates the great world game of football! Developed in partnership with Football Federation Australia.

The Jindaberg Jets season is well underway, but the Jets are still without a win and the team is out of sorts. Charles seems to have lost his ability to score goals – coincidentally, he’s also lost his special boots! Meanwhile, Benji is struggling with co-captain Charlotte’s super serious approach to training.

The search for the missing boots begins, and in this case, everyone’s a suspect! Will the two champion Charlies be able solve this mystery AND find their winning form?

You Are Awesome by Matthew Syed

This positive and empowering guide, by bestselling mindset author Matthew Syed, will help children build resilience, fulfil their potential and become successful, happy, awesome adults.

I’m no good at sport … I can’t do maths … I really struggle with exams … Sound familiar?

If you believe you can’t do something, the chances are you won’t try. But what if you really could get better at maths, or sport or exams? In fact, what if you could excel at anything you put your mind to?

You Are Awesome can help you do just that, inspiring and empowering young readers to find the confidence to realise their potential. The first children’s book from Times journalist, two-time Olympian and best-selling mindset author Matthew Syed, it uses examples of successful people from Mozart to Serena Williams to demonstrate that success really is earned rather than given, and that talent can be acquired. With hard work and determination, practice and self-belief, and, most importantly, a Growth Mindset, there’s no reason why anyone can’t achieve anything.

Practical, insightful and positive, this is the book to help children build resilience, embrace their mistakes and grow into successful, happy adults.

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

In a perfect world, what is there left to fear? A chilling and thought-provoking sci-fi novel from New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman.

A dark, gripping and witty thriller in which the only thing humanity has control over is death. In a world where disease, war and crime have been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed (“gleaned”) by professional scythes. Citra and Rowan are teenagers who have been selected to be scythes’ apprentices, and despite wanting nothing to do with the vocation, they must learn the art of killing and understand the necessity of what they do. Only one of them will be chosen as a scythe’s apprentice and as Citra and Rowan come up against a terrifyingly corrupt Scythedom, it becomes clear that the winning apprentice’s first task will be to glean the loser.

His Name Was Walter by Emily Rodda

From Australia’s favourite storyteller comes a story, within a story, that shows us the extraordinary power of true love and solves a decades-old mystery.

‘Once upon a time, in a dark city far away, there lived a boy called Walter, who had nothing but his name to call his own …’

The handwritten book, with its strangely vivid illustrations, has been hidden in the old house for a long, long time. Tonight, four kids and their teacher will find it. Tonight, at last, the haunting story of Walter and the mysterious, tragic girl called Sparrow will be read – right to the very end …

From one of Australia’s most renowned children’s authors, comes an extraordinary story within a story – a mystery, a prophecy, a long-buried secret. And five people who will remember this night as long as they live.

The 104-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffith and Terry Denton

The 104-Storey Treehouse is the eighth book of Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton’s wacky treehouse adventures, where the laugh-out-loud story is told through a combination of text and fantastic cartoon-style illustrations.

Join Andy and Terry in their wonderfully wild and wacky 104-storey treehouse. You can throw some refrigerators, make some money with the money-making machine (or honey if you’d prefer-it makes that too), climb the never-ending staircase, have a bunfight, deposit some burps in the burp bank, get totally tangled up in the tangled-up level, or just take some time out and relax in the peaceful sunny meadow full of buttercups, butterflies and bluebirds.

Ranger’s Apprentice: The Royal Ranger 2 – The Red Fox Clan

John Flanagan makes a spectacular return to the New York Times bestselling world of Ranger’s Apprentice with the revelation of a conspiracy that could end the Kingdom! When you’re a Ranger who happens to be royalty, stopping treason isn’t just part of the job – it’s personal. Most of the time, Maddie is an apprentice Ranger, learning archery, knife throwing, unseen movement and combat skills under the guidance of the legendary Will Treaty. For one month each year, though, she must return home and resume her identity as Princess Madelyn. Forced to keep her Ranger training a secret, Maddie finds castle life dull. But when she discovers clues to a devastating plot against the crown, she realises her family – and the peace they’ve worked so hard to achieve – could be in terrible danger.