It may be the season of spooks and scares but there’s much more to October’s children’s publishing than Halloween, as this spectacular slate of fresh titles goes to show. Leaping from enthralling fiction to picture book delights, discover their new favourite book here.
Bringing the same gloriously off-kilter humour and gothic atmosphere to Rene and Glumfoot’s first middle-grade adventure as he did to his award-winning picture book The Cafe at the Edge of the Woods, The Rambler’s Curse finds Mikey Please in simply unbeatable form. Elsewhere, a trio of our favourite schoolchildren return for adventures steeped in embarrassment and hilarity, whilst Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Tom de Freston follow up former Waterstones Gift of the Year Julia and the Shark with the striking The Raven’s Gift.
Recommended Retail Price: £14.99
Price: £12.99
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
Set in the irresistibly icky world of the Waterstones Children’s Book of the Year-winning The Café at the Edge of the Woods, The Rambler’s Curse follows the unexpected drama that unfolds when Rene and Glumfoot receive a particularly worrisome new customer.
Recommended Retail Price: £14.99
Price: £7.49
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
For once, Lottie shares the limelight as we find out what all the Queens of Eight Green get up to at Christmas in these side-splitting stories of festive chaos and heartwarming yuletide cheer courtesy of Katie Kirby.
Hardback
Coming soon
– 20/10/2026
In the hilarious twenty-first book in the bestselling Wimpy Kid series, Greg becomes a target for the abominable school bully and must use all his cunning to get out of trouble.
Recommended Retail Price: £12.99
Price: £9.99
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
Awaiting publication
The 25th instalment of Pichon’s doodle-tastic series is another laugh-out-loud funny extravaganza, as rumours of a celebrity visiting the school with the local theatre group prompt Tom to embark on a spot of playwriting.
Recommended Retail Price: £14.99
Price: £12.99
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
This breathtaking tale of sibling love, compassion and hope from the award-winning creators of Julia and the Shark follows Harry who, mourning the loss of his big sister, befriends an orphaned baby raven.
Recommended Retail Price: £14.99
Price: £12.99
Hardback
Coming soon
– 01/10/2026
Awaiting publication
Pari Thomson returns readers to the enchanting world of her Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-winning Greenwild series in this enthralling adventure set ten years later, as a new heroine travels to the freezing wastes of the Utter North in a bid to save the whole of Iffenwild.
Recommended Retail Price: £14.99
Price: £12.99
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
The Danger Gang are forced to level up when Franky gets zapped into an evil video game in this giddily exciting and fast-paced sequel to the pop star and author’s 2020 bestseller.
Recommended Retail Price: £14.99
Price: £12.99
Hardback
Coming soon
– 22/10/2026
Awaiting publication
Scrooge meets 101 Dalmatians in this rip-roaring festive adventure from the comedian, actor and author of The Night I Met Father Christmas, which sees Alfie embark on a thrilling rescue mission after his beloved pooch is dog-napped.
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
If you’ve ever fancied helping sleuthing siblings Luke and Ava to crack some cases then now’s your chance, courtesy of this addictive book jam-packed with puzzles, crosswords, mazes and more.
Following Suzanne Collins‘s triumphant return to Panem in last year’s Sunrise on the Reaping, another iconic dystopian world is ripe for revisitation with the release of The Sixth Faction – a bold, sliding-doors style alternative plotline for Divergent‘s Beatrice Prior. And leaping from dystopia to dark fantasy, Charlotte B. Plumb, Amber Hamilton and Tomi Adeyemi all serve up intoxicating new tales, whilst, for those who prefer their desire a little lighter and more real-world, we’ve got Lynn Painter‘s delightful Trust Fall.
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
Set in a world where every person must make a choice between five factions and futures, this thrilling return to the dystopian world of the Divergent series explores Beatrice Prior’s adventures from a compelling new perspective.
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
Suffused with a rich gothic atmosphere, Plumb’s magnificent romantasy debut revolves around a cunning young woman who arranges illicit pacts for a demon and the unlikely ally she makes when a deal goes horribly wrong.
Recommended Retail Price: £16.99
Price: £14.99
Hardback
Coming soon
– 27/10/2026
The new term is quite literally a trial – three of them in fact – at Gossemort school of magic in the unputdownable companion novel to Seven Deadly Thorns, which sees the Solstice feast turn into a nightmare after the arrival of a mysterious crown prince.
Recommended Retail Price: £9.99
Price: £8.49
Paperback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
An irresistible enemies-to-lovers romcom from the bestselling author of Better Than the Movies, Trust Fall finds the great nephew of a deceased multi-millionaire hatch a plan to discover why the family fortune was left to a smalltown girl.
Hardback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Blending dark academia thriller with speculative elements, this unputdownable YA novel from the author of Children of Blood and Bone finds new girl Emery drawn to the intoxicating and sinister ‘sirens’ at Dartmouth College.
Hardback
Coming soon
– 22/10/2026
Awaiting publication
From the acclaimed author of Bearmouth and the illustrator of Julia and the Shark comes a beguiling and quietly powerful novel about memory and the nature of storytelling, as a teenager reconnects with his estranged grandmother through a series of mysterious tales.
Recommended Retail Price: £9.99
Price: £8.49
Paperback
Coming soon
– 29/10/2026
From the twisted imagination of the Hazelthorn author comes a brooding, eldritch horror revolving around a lonely boy on a mouldering island and the sinister sea god he awakens.
It’s time to brace yourself for more wacky adventures in the woods as Bunny, Monkey and friends burst onto the page in another madcap escapade from Jamie Smart, whilst fellow Phoenix alumni and Donut Squad creator Neill Cameron teaches the kids how to craft their very own comics. There’s also the tantalising prospect of a brand new LEGO adventure series and cosy animal fun courtesy of Julian Gough and Pippa Curnick.
Recommended Retail Price: £12.99
Price: £6.49
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
The enormously beloved comic book series continues with more anarchic adventures in the woods, as jelly catastrophe and zombie invasion conspire to cause even more chaos than usual.
Recommended Retail Price: £10.99
Price: £8.99
Paperback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
Awaiting publication
The graphic novel genius behind the bestselling Donut Squad series delivers a fun-filled and hugely informative guide to creating comic book capers of your very own.
Recommended Retail Price: £7.99
Price: £6.49
Paperback
Coming soon
– 29/10/2026
Building a thrilling story of adventure, Wimpy Kid meets the endless invention of the LEGO-verse in this page-turning tale of choosing the right path, boasting comic-strip style black-and-white illustrations throughout.
Recommended Retail Price: £10.99
Price: £8.99
Hardback
Coming soon
– 22/10/2026
Awaiting publication
Brimming with adorable canine characters, friendship and tricksy spells, this heartwarming story from the author of the Indigo Wilde stories opens the doors to a very special school for dogs.
Recommended Retail Price: £10.99
Price: £8.99
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
Awaiting publication
When Rabbit wants to understand the nature of the stars, his friends have various ideas about how they can help in the seventh utterly charming book in Gough and Field’s beloved series.
There’s a definite wintry feel to October’s crop of picture books, with a wonderful new festive instalment in Nick Butterworth‘s Percy the Park Keeper series, snowy push-pull-slide fun in Acorn Wood and the beloved Paddington Bear planning a yuletide treat. But bucking that trend with a typically funny and engaging rhyming story about a moose stricken by self-doubt are the evergreen talents of Rachel Bright and Jim Field.
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
From the powerhouse picture book team behind The Lion Inside and The Turtle Who Turned the Tide comes another hilarious and heartwarming rhyming story about a happy-go-lucky moose who suddenly starts to doubt himself after overhearing a conversation between two beavers.
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
Awaiting publication
There’s a festive search party in the park as Percy and friends enlist Father Christmas’s help in tracking down mole in this wonderfully comforting entry in the beloved picture book series.
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
Awaiting publication
One of the most beloved picture books of recent years gets a gorgeous exclusive hardback edition, all the better to enjoy a supremely silly story that makes inventive use of holes in the pages and a host of daft surprises.
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
Awaiting publication
A talking worm, a missing uncle and some stolen money; Mr Poirot comes out of retirement to try and crack a fiendish case in this adorable Mr Men spin on The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Hardback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
Awaiting publication
Continuing the delightfully charming series of Agatha Christie mysteries for little ones, A Surprise is Announced finds Little Miss Marple on the trail of a serial trickster on the loose at Little Paddocks.
Recommended Retail Price: £7.99
Price: £6.49
Paperback
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
Awaiting publication
Delightful festive fun with the beloved bear from Peru as Paddington plans a Christmas surprise for the Browns in this adorable hardback book.
Board book
Coming soon
– 08/10/2026
Awaiting publication
More seasonal push-pull-slide fun from Donaldson and Scheffler’s Acorn Wood as the animals get cosy indoors and have fun in the snow.
With half an eye on the impending festive season, October sees some truly beautiful children’s books hitting the shelves. From a sumptuous adaptation of Peter Frankopan‘s non-fiction masterpiece to an appropriately spirited new version of A Christmas Carol illustrated by Chris Mould, these are editions you will want to treasure forever.
Hardback
Coming soon
– 22/10/2026
Boasting stunning artwork from Romolo D’Hipolito, this visually breathtaking children’s adaptation of Peter Frankopan’s bestseller highlights the Earth’s ever-changing natural environment from the Big Bang to the present day.
Hardback
Coming soon
– 22/10/2026
Awaiting publication
Once more pushing the boundaries of the graphic novel to breaking point, the great Shaun Tan conjures a gorgeously illustrated story of home and belonging that works as a perfect companion to his mighty The Arrival.
Recommended Retail Price: £40.00
Price: £35.99
Hardback
Coming soon
– 06/10/2026
The captivating penultimate part of J.K. Rowling’s mega-selling phenomenon is brought to spectacular life by the artwork of Levi Pinfold in this exquisite, eminently giftable volume.
Hardback
Coming soon
– 15/10/2026
Awaiting publication
Our intrepid mouse hero turns festive detective once more, as a lost letter leads Winston to New York and a fun-filled, gorgeously illustrated caper involving some rather unsavoury characters.
Hardback
Coming soon
– 22/10/2026
Awaiting publication
With the artfully gothic illustrations of Chris Mould adorning every page, the ultimate festive fable gets a glorious abridged version aimed at bringing Dickens’s timeless classic to a whole new audience.
