April Book Subscriptions Revealed

Are you ready to discover what books we chose for our subscription Book Clubs in April?

This month the Graphic Owl Club is officially up and running. As with all Be Curious Book Subscriptions, we focus on books you don't find everywhere, sourced from around the world.

The Graphic Owl Club is for kids who love graphic novels. Why graphic novels, I hear you ask? Graphic novels will improve your child's reading skills as any other book would, and they are fantastic choices for reading outside the classroom.

Graphic novels have come a long way. They often have complex plot lines and characters. They are engaging and can support kids through the text. They are usually a prefered genre of reluctant readers or those getting used to chapter book format. Pictures allow for that extra context and clarification for stories they may otherwise not wholly understand. Lastly, they are fun!

Graphic Owl Book Club

We are starting the Graphic Owl Club subscription with a BANG (read that in comic format with an explosion drawn around it)

Our new release graphic novel is Wingbearer by Marjorie Liu and illustrated by Teny Issakhanian.

This is the latest book from Marjorie Liu, a New York Times bestselling author. It has just been released in the USA and will be arriving in mainstream Australian bookstores in June. Wingbearer has earnt a starred review from both Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal. It is also a Junior Library Guild Selection. 

Zuli is extraordinary—she just doesn't realise it yet. Raised by mystical bird spirits in the Great Tree branches, she's never ventured beyond this safe haven. She's never had to until now.

When a sinister force threatens the life-giving magic of the tree, Zuli, along with her guardian owl, Frowly, must get to the root of it. So begins an adventure bigger than anything Zuli could've ever imagined—one that will bring her, along with some newfound friends, face-to-face with an ancient dragon, the so-called Witch-Queen, and most surprisingly, her true identity.

This captivating middle-grade graphic novel, the first of a series, is perfect for fans of the Amulet books and the Wings of Fire series.

Our second book for the Graphic Owl Club is City Of Dragons: The Awakening Storm by Jaimal Yogis and Vivian Truong. This is also the first book in a brand new series by Scholastic and will be available in the Australian market later this year. 

When Grace moves to Hong Kong with her mum and new stepdad, her biggest concern is making friends at her fancy new boarding school. But when a mysterious old woman gifts her a dragon egg during a field trip, Grace discovers that the wonderful stories of dragons she heard when she was a young girl might be real—especially when the egg hatches overnight. The dragon has immense powers that Grace has yet to understand, which puts them both in danger from mysterious forces intent on abusing the dragon's power. Now it's up to Grace and her school friends to uncover the sinister plot threatening the entire city.

Explorer’s Club

Our youngest club member's new release book is Out of the Jar by Deborah Marcero. This is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed and bestselling picture book 'In a Jar'.

The book focuses on Llewellyn, a little bunny who bottles up all of his feelings. It seems like a good idea until he can't store them up anymore. A fabulous book to start a conversation about feelings and how to deal with them: the visual bottling up of feelings is a very simple and effective way of illustrating the concept of emotions and how they make you act.   

'Out of a Jar' is a richly illustrated and universally relatable picture book. Llewellyn soon discovers that life is more colourful when he sets his emotions free. By facing and embracing each of his feelings, can he finally let them go?

The second book for our Explorer’s is The Golden Treasure: Two Friends on the Adventure of a Lifetime by Marie Voigt. A charming tale about friendship, memories and the wonders of imagination. Throw in an epic quest, and you have a highly entertaining storybook. 

Max wants to take his favourite snuggly toy, Toffee, to show and tell, but he doubts himself and decides that his show and tell needs to be bigger and better than anything else. He spots the golden treasure chest and sets off on a quest to reach it. In there, maybe, he will find something incredible for show and tell. Max must be brave, persistent and determined to reach the chest, all with the help of Toffee. But when he gets to his end goal, he comes to a greater realisation. Sometimes the most amazing things are those that you already have. I love this book for its simplicity, yet it has a brilliant ability to teach children some challenging lessons. 

Intrigue Club

Our early chapter book readers are being treated to three book options this month.

I am very excited about our new release book. It is Once Upon a Tim by Stuart Gibbs. Stuart Gibbs is a New York Times bestselling author known for the Charlie Thorne series, FunJungle series, Moon Base Alpha series, and Spy School series. 'Once Upon a Tim' is his first illustrated chapter book and the first in a brand new series. 

Tim is just a peasant, but he dreams big. He wants more out of life than to grow up to be a woodsman like his father. Unfortunately, the only route to success in the kingdom of Wyld is to be born a prince. Still, Tim is determined. He is brave and clever and always tries to do the right thing—even though he rarely gets the credit for it.

Then news spreads that Princess Grace of the neighbouring kingdom has been abducted by an evil stinx, and Prince Ruprecht needs a legion of knights to join him on his quest to rescue her. Tim finally has the lucky break he's been waiting for, the opportunity to change his station in life. And even though he doesn't know how to ride a horse or wield anything more deadly than a water bucket, he's going to do whatever it takes to make sure his dream becomes a reality.

If you get the two-book Intrigue Club subscription, then you will receive a bonus book. We have books 1 & 2 in the New York Times bestselling Dragon Masters series by Tracey West. These are also illustrated chapter books that will help younger readers in their reading journey.

Dragon Masters has it all. Dragons, a Dragon Stone, a king, a wizard, and magic! 

In the first book in this fully illustrated series, eight-year-old Drake is snatched up by King Roland's soldier and taken to the castle. He is to be trained as a Dragon Master. At the castle, he is joined by three other young Dragon Masters-in-training: Ana, Rori, and Bo. 

The Dragon Masters must learn how to connect with and train their dragons–and they must also uncover their dragons' special powers. Does Drake have what it takes to be a Dragon Master? What is his dragon's special power?

Curiosity Club

The new release book for our Curiosity Club is a beautiful hardback edition of The Secrets of Glendunny: The Haunting by Kathryn Lasky. Lasky is the author of over one hundred books for children and young adults, including the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, which has more than eight million copies in print and was turned into a major motion picture, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. Her books have received numerous awards, including a Newbery Honor, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, and a Washington Post-Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award.

The Secrets of Glendunny is a sweeping animal adventure with loyal beavers, a cultured swan, and ominous lynxes around every turn.

Deep in the wilds of Scotland, the land of ancient warrior kings and myths, a secret colony of beavers have been hiding in plain sight. The beavers' safety and livelihood depend on them not being discovered by humans. For centuries, no one had seen a beaver in Scotland or England until the young beaver kit, Dunwattle, is sighted! Dunwattle is disturbed by the presence of a ghostly figure, a young girl. In his panic, he strays far from the den to uncover the mysteries of this ghost and becomes destined to be destroyed for revealing their hidden colony. Yet Dunwattle's best friend, Locksley, is just as determined to save him. Will this ancient colony be obliterated?

Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review "An intricately plotted, wonderfully realised adventure involving all the creatures of the pond… There is evil, betrayal, cruelty, loss, compassion, kindness, a touch of humour, and heart-stopping adventure." 

The second book for the Curiosity Club is vastly different in genre. The Case of the Smuggler's Curse by Mark Dawson and illustrated by Ben Mantle

Lucy, Max, Charlie and Joe aren't looking for new friends - they have too many of their own problems to worry about. But when the four of them, and Charlie's faithful dog, Sherlock, spot a phantom figure on Southwold beach one winter's night, they are thrown together to unravel a mystery that none of them expected.

The deeper they dig, the bigger the adventure becomes - motorboats and tracking devices, bedroom breakouts, and daring sea rescues are all in a day's work for the After-School Detective Club. But when their investigations lead them into trouble with the police, there is only one thing left to do - they must go undercover for a final showdown with a ruthless gang of smugglers who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

There is still time to grab these titles. We will change over to new books on the 1st May, 2022. At Be Curious Books your subscription starts as soon as you sign up and renews 30 days from that date. There is no need to wait.

We have sold out of the following:

April Explorer's Club - Two book option

April Curiosity Club - Two book option

What do you think of this months books?