Do you remember being a kid and imagining all the things you would do if you had a million dollars? Tess Heckleston, schoolyard entrepreneur, is always trying to make money, so when her dodgy next-door neighbour, Scotty, hides a million dollars in her treasure chest just before he gets arrested, it doesn’t take much for Tess to convince herself that, finders keepers, the money is hers. What follows is a wild, big-hearted romp as Tess and her best friend and moral compass, Toby, try to spend a million bucks.

But spending that much money when you’re a kid isn’t easy. Everyone wants to know where it’s come from, and Tess is feeling a growing sense of guilt because, even though she’s trying to do good with the money, things seem to be spiralling way out of control. It’s not long before her little sister’s in the hospital, her mum is locked in the basement of the theatre and Scotty, who is actually a Really Bad Guy, is threatening her whole family if she doesn’t get the money back to him. Secrets of a Schoolyard Millionaire is a lively, precocious book for readers with big ideas and big hearts. For ages 8+.

Bec Kavanagh works as a bookseller at Readings Kids.