From secret hyena families to chicken-rescuing bad guys, here’s a roundup of the best kids’ books out in November.

FUNNY BUSINESS

Maybe it’s something in the water, but November has a bumper crop of funny reads. Bestselling series Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney and Tom Gates by Liz Pichon both have new entries on the shelves that are sure to have kids laughing out loud.

Laugh Your Head Off is an all-star cast of authors. This is a really fun anthology featuring stories from the likes of Andy Griffiths and Andrew Daddo about everything from chimps in space to grumpy fairies.

Comedian Julian Clary has penned his first children’s book, and the result is hilarious. The Bolds are just your average family with one slight difference – they’re hyenas. And while they try to hide their true identities, the man next door is onto them and eager to reveal their secret.

SUPER SEQUELS

Sometimes the only thing better than discovering a great book is learning there’s a sequel coming out. November is about to make some readers very happy, because it means the release of some highly-anticipated sequels.

Secrets of the Wild Wood is the follow up to Letter for the King, a book our reviewer called, “a must-read epic adventure for children and adults everywhere”.

There’s also a new Asterix out this month. Asterix and the Missing Scroll is the 36th book in this beloved series, and this time introduces a journalist called Confoundtheirpolitix, who seems to have been partly inspired by Julian Assange.

One of my favourite books of this past year was Aaron Blabey’s Bad Guys, a delightfully funny book for readers 7+ about villains who are sick of being misunderstood. Episode 2: Mission Unpluckable sees the gang trying to rescue ten thousand chickens from a cage farm, but can they overcome their evil tendencies to save the day?

A FEAST FOR THE EYES

An informal survey of my fellow booksellers has led me to the conclusion that The Wonder Garden by Kristjana S Williams and Jenny Broom is best described as “beautiful”, followed closely by “stunning”. Part artwork, part educational text, The Wonder Garden explores five different landscapes and the creatures that inhabit them through a series of colourful collages. This book is sure to take pride of place on your bookshelves.

Kyle Hughes-Odgers is an artist to look out for: his work has appeared in Jamie Oliver’s restaurants and in the Perth International Airport. Now he’s releasing his third picture book, Can a Skeleton Have an X-Ray?, which is a unique and philosophical book for all ages that asks questions like: Do colours have a smell? or How does sound taste?

A brilliant classic has been given a modern makeover this month. Dodie Smith’s The Hundred and One Dalmations has been released in a new edition with illustrations from Alex T. Smith of Claude in the City fame. Smith’s illustrations bring a sense of playfulness to this classic tale.

GIFTS FOR EVERYONE

If you want a fun story for the whole family, check out Alison Lester’s My Dog Bigsy which is bound to become a read-aloud favourite. For an extra special treat, you could come along to our St Kilda store to hear Alison herself read the book herself at a special story time.

For the 8+ confident reader who spends most of their time with their nose in a book, you can’t go past Katrina Nannestad’s delightful Olive of Groves, a boarding school adventure with talking animals and circus performers that our reviewer called her, “choice pick of the year”.

Or, if you have a slightly more reluctant reader at home it might be a good idea to switch things up with some exciting non-fiction, like Game On! 2016 for all your video game knowledge, or Adam Spencer’s Enormous Book of Numbers for lots of mathematical fun.

Stay tuned for even more gift guides from Readings in the lead up to Christmas, because the wonderful thing about books is there’s one for every kind of reader.

Holly Harper