Christmas, Banishees and Aliens: The best Children’s books of November – Beanie The

BEANIE THE BANSHEENIE by Eoin Colfer Illustrated by Steve McCarthy (Walker £12.99, 64pp)

Irish folklore of ancient banshees howling to herald impending death inspires this touching and funny story.

Beanie, a newly hatched ‘bansheenie’, misses her moment to bond with little Rose and therefore to know her ‘death day’.

Instead, nurtured by the river’s loving atom fish, Beanie learns all she can about Rose and, when a flood threatens the girl’s home, Beanie uses the power of nature to sing a warning so Rose can save her family.

From then on, they are inseparable – and Beanie’s love protects generations of Rose’s descendants. The stunning illustrations conjure up a mysterious, magical world. Age 3+

THE CHRISTMAS WISH-TASTROPHE by Cariad Lloyd, Illustrated by Ma Pe (Hodder £14.99, 304pp)

The Christmas Wish-tastrophe is available now from the Mail Bookshop 

Comedian Cariad Lloyd also hosts a grief podcast and the combination of humour and sensitivity blends perfectly in this jolly but emotionally perceptive story.

It’s 1812 and when her adored mother dies, orphan Lydia Marmalade is sent to stay with wealthy but cold Lady Partridge in her grand house (smuggling her forbidden pet dog Colin with her).

Overwhelmed by the rules and threatened with the workhouse, Lydia makes a wish on St Nicholas Day that unleashes a chaotic sprite, bound to make it come true. 

Can she help Lydia unravel the truth about her mother before Christmas? Full of wit and larger-than-life characters. 

9+

SILVER by Olivia Levez (Hot Key Books £8.99, 432pp)

Silver is available now

After their planet is destroyed, refugees aboard a spaceship plan to colonise Earth by infiltrating its worthless, emotional humans. 

Cadet 39 is sent ahead to discover everything she can about their lives and masks herself by inhabiting Sylwia (Silver), a Polish student working as a dogsitter for a single mother and her two children, teenage Finch and little Doodles.

But as Silver exploits and reports back to the ship, she finds herself experiencing forbidden feelings: she’s attracted to Finch, protective of the family and starts to question the mantras she’s been taught.

Tense, tender and tragic, this modern love story builds to an explosive climax. 13+