This year's LBBA Shortlist - 2027
All of the books we chose are from first time authors of fiction for 7 to 11 year olds. This is to broaden horizons and put a spotlight on authors who are not on your reading lists.
We think they are all great reads, but do you have a suggestion for next year's award? Please do get in touch.
The Horse Dreamer
Holly Surplice
Published by: Penguin
The horse arrives in the storm, when Merryn needs him most, following the loss of her father. Sorrel is a dreamlike creature, seemingly made from the woods and the sea. Perhaps she wished him into existence.
He becomes her friend and confidant. Throughout the summer and autumn, they ride and play, but as Christmas approaches, it will require all of Merryn’s new-found strength to help her mum and her sisters heal too.
The Ocean and the Bones
Genevieve Carver
Published by: Oneworld
Friendship is tough in the Stone Age, especially when your best friend is part-Water Spirit…
Ever since Little Meg was chosen as the Sunhealer's Shadow, she has devoted herself to learning the ways of the Spirits. So when their anger sends a ferocious storm sweeping through her village, she fears it's her fault. By keeping the bones she was meant to offer up to them, Meg has put her people in terrible danger.
As the rain clears, Meg discovers a girl washed up on the shore, who speaks a strange language and scratches pictures in the sand. Little by little, the pair become friends. But if Meg wants to save her village, she must help the girl find her way home.
Their perilous journey will take them across the wild sea, to a place that only exists in legends. Will Meg survive to tell the tale?
Crow, Thief of Magic
Fiona Dixon
Published by: Harper Collins
Twelve-year-old Crow is a thief.
Scraping a living on the winding streets of Starsgard, Crow works for the leader of the criminal underworld, stealing from the city’s wealthy ruling class. But when a routine job takes Crow to the home of a mysterious sorcerer, his whole life is turned upside down – and after a planned heist goes wrong, leaving Crow alone and with nowhere to turn, he finds himself a new position as the sorcerer’s apprentice.
Before long, Crow is introduced to the ancient art of dream magic – catching dream essence and using it to create dreams for the rich citizens from whom he once stole. But when Crow learns of an ancient strain of nightmare magic that threatens to unleash devastation on Starsgard, he must make a terrible choice… and decide who he can really trust.
The Night I Borrowed Time
Iqbal Hussain
Published by: Penguin
A funny, heartbreaking and uplifting tale about family, bravery and living in the here and now, perfect for fans of Time Travelling With a Hamster and Wonder.
I’m going back in time to save this family.
Eleven-year-old Zubair is a seventh son. This means a LOT of big brothers. But when Zubair’s granny arrives from Pakistan and gives him a mysterious amulet, he discovers it means something else, too: he has inherited a gift. The seventh sons in his family have the ability to time-travel.
With his dad a shadow of his former self since his car accident, and his mum always tired and angry, Zubair has a genius idea. He’ll use time-travel to fix things between them.
But each trip comes at a cost. If he changes something small in the past, it can have a huge effect on his future. And if he gets it wrong, the results could be devastating…
The Monsters at the End of the World
Rebecca Orwin
Published by: Penguin
All her life, Sunny has known three things about the creatures that prowl the seas off her tiny coastal town. They are dangerous. They are violent. They are monsters.
But when a chance encounter leads to an unexpected connection, Sunny discovers just how wrong she has been. The monster she meets – Mo – is intelligent, gentle, and searching for his lost brother.
Sunny desperately wants to help, and to keep her new friend a secret. But other people are keeping secrets too. And as hunger grips the town, new truths will emerge about the real monsters in Seawaren . . .