Welcome to our monthly book recommendations for March 2026! Over the last couple of weeks we have been very busy – and so has our postie! We’ve had a number of book posts arrive over the past month, so we thought we would include them in our round-up.
Fiction
Fairytale Fiasco: Hansel and Gretel – Evgenia Golubeva and Myles McLeod (pub. Guppy Books)
A gorgeous new series in the Mini Guppy range for younger readers, which will stand alongside the equally bright and engaging Little Gems from Barrington Stoke.
Cleo is looking for a bedtime story and her friend Mark (a bookmark) is eager to help!
Cleo’s convinced she can safely guide Hansel and Gretel out of the forest, but when Mark gives her the chance, it soon turns into a Fairytale Fiasco.
A charming, fun and colourful adventure set in the land of fairytales, with a resourceful little heroine who children will definitely want to meet again.
Don’t miss the other FF title out now, Cinderella, with Sleeping Beauty coming in October!
SuperQuesters Mission: Desert Danger – Paul Ian Cross and Katarina Gasko (pub. Questfriendz)
It’s summer and friends Lilli, Leo and Bea are having fun on the beach when they find an urgent message in a bottle: Help!
In the Questland desert, the river’s been sucked dry, the River Sprite is missing, and the whole area is in danger of becoming a wasteland. Using their (and our) problem solving skills and with help from a few friends, it’s up to the SuperQuesters to save Questland.
SuperQuesters is an ideal interactive STEM story book series for primary school readers, featuring fascinating facts, puzzles, and activities for readers to enjoy. We’ve visited rivers and rainforests, so deserts is the perfect addition.
Desert Danger is out on 7th May, so a big thank you to Questfriendz for sending us a copy of this latest adventure in Questland!
Non-fiction
Think Big: Artificial Intelligence – Dr Nomisha Kurian and Jack Tite (pub. Nosy Crow)
Think Big is an amazing science series produced in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, and this title is a great addition to the existing topics of bees and light.
Since AI is constantly in the news at the moment, there is no better time for children to start finding out what AI is, how it was invented, and how we might be using it already in our daily lives without recognising it as AI.
With clear explanations that teach without over-simplifying, this is a brilliant starting point to understanding a subject that will be a major topic for years to come.
Thanks to Nosy Crow for sending us this copy!
Young Discoverers: True Tales of Kids Who Made Incredible Discoveries – Stephen Davies and Violaine Leroy (pub. Wide Eyed Editions)
It’s not just adults who have made and still make breath-taking discoveries, as this fascinating book shows!
It looks at children and young people aged four to eighteen who, by following their instincts, have found amazing artifacts. From 11-year-old Roy Spencer who discovered the world’s largest star sapphire, to 8-year-old Saga Vanecek who found an Iron Age sword in a lake as recently as 2018.
Creatively illustrated using colourful brush strokes, each incident has been researched and explained, covering by who, how and when the discoveries were made and what happened next.
Truly an inspirational book for any young discoverers of the future!
Once Upon an Island: An Atlas of Islands from Around the World – Alice Albinia and Helen Cann (pub. Magic Cat Publishing)
Become an intrepid traveller and journey to 20 islands around the world in this stunningly beautiful book.
Each richly coloured double-page spread gives interesting geographical, historical and cultural information, as well as details on some of the animals and people who live there. It also covers the stories of islanders and the way they live, throwing a spotlight especially on women and the part they play in island life.
We particularly liked the section at the end of the book that contains quotes from women the author has spoken to about their island homes and what they mean to them, giving us a small insight into life on an island.
Graphics
The Gumdrops: Quest for Bravery – Elissa Elwick (pub. Little Tiger Press)
The Gumdrops are four lovable magical creatures that live in ‘Yummy Gummy Land’, in this new, charming, full-colour series suitable for younger readers.
Hope, Bubbles, Sparky and Rainbow are on a mission to help Daisy create an imaginary friend, and they need your help! It’s a gentle, interactive adventure that encourages the reader to get involved, and is full of friendship, team work, perseverance and Gumdrop power.
It’s an absolute joy to read and share, and we’re looking forward to September when the second book, Main Character Energy comes out!
Tiny Hercules – Jon Lock and Nich Angell (pub. MacMillan Children’s Books)
Greek myths are always popular, and this new graphic is a surefire hit!
Tiny Hercules is just that: tiny. And he’s been thrown out of Tiny Olympus by a very irate Tiny Zeus for wrecking his epic party.
Down in the world of the Titans (that’s us), Tiny Hercules has tasks to complete before he’s allowed to return to Tiny Olympus, and it looks like he’s going to be dragging his new housemate, 10-year-old Jeff, along with him!
It’s a hysterical fast-paced new series, with belly laughs galore in an accessible cartoon style that reminds us of Donut Squad in all the best ways.
We loved every minute of it and can’t wait to join Tiny Hercules in his next task, The Golden Cabbage Chaos when it comes out later this year!
Picture Books
Two wonderful picture books that we received from Graffeg carry a very important message about helping and caring for others.
Lion in a Hurry – Tiphanie Beeke (pub. Graffeg)
Lion is excited that the Big Red Truck will be leading the Parade at 6pm, and wants to make sure that he isn’t late!
So he rushes off, knowing he must hurry, but there’s a problem. In fact, quite a few problems, as he meets several animal friends along the way who need his help.
Lion will need to make the decision whether to stop and help each of them, or speed ahead and leave them behind in order to make it to the Parade in time.
This book is ideal for discussing with young children about tricky decisions and weighing up the right thing to do, even if it’s difficult or we don’t really want to.
Jack Brock and the Walk – Ali Stearn (pub. Graffeg)
Based on Stearn’s and her miniature Shetland pony Jack Brock’s visits to care homes and children’s hospices in Norfolk over the last 10 years, this book shows how simple acts of kindness can really make a difference to people’s lives.
In this story, Ali decides that she and Jack could raise money for a care home by doing a sponsored walk in the countryside – and so Walk With Jack is born.
Everyone and their canine friends are welcome to come and join the calm and peaceful walk, but a few of the normally well behaved dogs have other ideas!
Full of lovely characters both human and animal, this is a gentle story about a community coming together to have fun while helping others.
That’s it for March’s recommendations – join us on Threads/Instagram, Bluesky, or Twitter/X, and let us know what you’ve been reading!
If any of the books have grabbed your attention, then you can pick up a copy of them via our recommendations list below.
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If you’re looking for more book round-ups, check out our previous reviews here.
