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Children’s author Tom Fletcher has unveiled the second tranche of titles in his kids book club, exclusive to W H Smith.
The musician has selected 10 books for seven to 11-year olds from a range of publishers and which are suitable for a variety of abilities.
Both Puffin, Fletcher's own publisher, and Bloomsbury, have two titles in the line up.
From Bloomsbury Children's stables are I Swapped My Brother on the Internet by Jo Simmons, illustrated by Nathan Reed, and The Chocolate Factory Ghost by David O'Connell, illustrated by Claire Powell. Hailing from the Puffin camp are The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones by Will Mabbitt, illustrated by Ross Collins, and My Magical Life by Zach King.
Other titles from independent publishers besides Bloomsbury are: Dave Pigeon by Swapna Haddow, illustrated by Sheena Dempsey (Faber), Travels of Ermine Trouble in New York by Jennifer Gray, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli (Usborne) and Timmy Failure: Mistakes were Made by Stephan Pastis (Walker).
The last three books in the club are all from larger publishers: Iguana Boy by James Bishop, illustrated by Rikin Parekh (Hodder), The Nothing To See Here Hotel by Steven Butler and Steven Lenton (S&S Children’s UK) and The 39-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths, illustrated by Terry Denton (Macmillan Children’s Books).
Fletcher said he hoped his selections would help to tear children's "eyeballs away from those touchscreens" and encourage them to get into reading.
"That’s right, it’s round two... Book Club - The Sequel, Bigger, Bolder... Bookier (yes that’s a made up word!). As a parent I know how challenging it can be to identify the right books and how rewarding it can be when you do find the right fit. So I’ve selected ten brilliant books that I think tick all the boxes and will get your kids eyeballs away from those touchscreens and into some great books. I hope they'll find their imaginations fuelled by the book club books and feel inspired to start writing and creating stories themselves.”
Alastair Aldous, W H Smith Books business unit director, said the book club was "just in time for half term".
"The book club features ten children's books that Tom has chosen for their humour, heart, adventure and imagination," he said. "Tom's passion for reading combined with these ten fantastic stories will ensure even more young readers get involved in our book club, get away from their screens, and enjoy a book this summer."
To encourage children to interact with the books, W H Smith has launched a writing competition in partnership with Teach Primary, through which entrants are invited to send in stories based on any of Fletcher's book club titles to be inwith the chance of winning £2,000 worth of books for their school.
The book club titles will be in stores from tomorrw (Tuesday 22nd May), and will be sold at half price until the 7th June 2018.
Fletcher first launched the book club in September 2017. Combined, the original tranche have sold 137,024 copies for £776,204 since the announcement, with Greg James and Chris Smith’s Kid Normal the bestseller, shifting 37,345 copies.
W H Smith also runs a book club for young people with YouTuber Zoella. The first titles in that club topped £1m in value combined after six weeks, and the bestselling title, All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, has sold nearly 190,000 copies to date.