Phil Hickes: Shadowhall Academy – The Whispering Walls (Usborne Publishing 2024)
When Lilian Jones begins her studies at the creepy, cold, and shockingly large Shadowhall Academy, she fears she won’t make friends or being able to navigate the building. If only she knew that these are the least things she should worry about… When strange things start happening at school: knocking on the walls, disturbing stories of missing students and rumors that the school is haunted, Lilian realizes that the stories are not just fiction and that the school hides real secrets.
Jill Murphy. A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch (first published by Allison & Bushby in 1974)
Future witches study at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches. Outside, gloomy gray walls and towers rise to the sky, and inside there are long narrow corridors running between the staircases and the sunlight almost never gets in. The girls who study here also wear black uniforms, capes and peaked caps. Mildred Hubble is the clumsiest among them. What she is doing usually goes wrong. If she accidentally succeeds with a spell, she will cause trouble with that as well. In the novel, we can follow her adventures with her best friend Maud Spellbody and the snooty know-it-all Ethel Hallow within the enchanted walls of the school.
Helen Rutter: The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh (Scholastic 2021
Billy Plimpton’s dream is to become a famous stand-up comedian. He already knows a lot of jokes, there is only one problem: he stutters. In order not to be teased at school, he prefers not to speak, but it’s very difficult to tell a joke if you don’t speak… Still, Billy moves steadily towards the stage.
Melissa Dassori: J.R. Silver Writes Her World (Christie Ottaviano Books 2024)
Sixth grade is off to a rough start for Josephine Rose Silver. Her best friend Violet returns from camp with a new best friend; her parents do not give her more freedom; and one of her teachers, Ms. Kline, is full of secrets. When Ms. Kline tells her students to improve their writing skills by creating short stories, J.R. discovers a strange power within herself: the stories she writes come true. Soon, she’ll be getting a cell phone, scoring game-winning goals, and making an impact at school. But she soon discovers that each new story also creates new conflicts.
