10 of the best new children’s book series from 2025 (& the new instalments to look forward to in 2026)
There’s something magical about finding a book series you love, particularly for children. A series gives you a familiar world you can return to, characters you come to know ever more deeply and stories that become more detailed and nuanced as they develop.
Series hold a special kind of power in helping kids fall in love with reading. The familiarity of recurring characters, settings and styles builds confidence - a child who has already navigated one book in a series steps into the next with excitement, not intimidation. Each instalment rewards their memory, their curiosity and their patience (we know how frustrating it is to wait!)
The best series spark obsession in the best possible way: they make kids hungry for stories. 2025 has seen a wave of new series launched in the UK and we’ve been excited to share the first instalments with our subscribers and bookshop customers.
Here we’ve gathered our top ten most exciting new series, for children ranging from 5 to 14 years old, and shared some details of what’s coming up in 2026!
The best new illustrated series for 5 to 8-year-olds
Beastie Bros by David O’Connell
We picked the first in the series, Beastie Bros: The Cabbage Juice Crime for our Parakeet subscribers in April. It’s a hilarious highly illustrated adventure full of minibeasts, mystery and mayhem!
Beastie Bros: Dungeons and Dragonflies followed in August and we’re excited to share that Beastie Bros: The Curse of Captain Slugbeard will be coming in February 2026!
Wild Magic by Abiola Bello
Another pick from our Parakeet boxes, Wild Magic: Legend of the Black Lion introduced us to twins Misha and Ziggy who have extraordinary powers to communicate with, and turn into, animals!
Wild Magic: Journey of the Lost Elephant followed in August and Wild Magic: Escape of the Sea Turtles will be coming in March 2026!
Pia’s Pet Club by Serena Patel
This charming series, illustrated throughout in black and white, starts with Pia’s Pet Club: Puppy Problem. Pia loves animals but isn’t allowed a pet of her own. In an attempt to convince her parents she decides to help her friend train his troublesome puppy.
Excitingly, Pia’s Pet Club: Iguana Escape is going to be one of the World Book Day 2025 £1 books. It will also be followed by Pia’s Pet Club: Secret Kitten in March and Pia’s Pet Club: Guinea Pig Showtime in July 2026!
The Terrible Trio by Swapna Haddow
The first in this hilarious series from the author of Dave Pigeon and Bad Panda, was released in September. The Terrible Trio: The (Not So) Superheroes introduces a quirky trio of animal friends—Zeb the zebra, Margarine the penguin, and Barry the lemur and their antics.
The Terrible Trio: The Day the Mac ‘n’ Cheese Ran Out is coming in February, followed by The Terrible Trio: The Mystery of the Lost Cape in May 2026!
The best new series for readers aged 8 to 12
Time Keys by M. G. Leonard
M. G. Leonard has written some of our favourite children’s book series of all time including Beetle Boy and Adventures on Trains. To say we were excited about the release of Time Keys: Hunt for the Golden Scarab is an understatement! It’s an epic time travel adventure taking the main characters to Ancient Egypt.
Time Keys: The Legend of Viking Thunder followed in September and we’re eagerly anticipating the release of Time Keys: The Impossible Gladiator in February 2026!
The Misadventures of Mina Mahmood by Farhana Islam
This laugh-out-loud series featuring black and white illustrations landed in April 2025 with The Misadventures of Mina Mahmood: School Trip! Packed with heart and humour it’s highly accessible and ideal for reluctant and newly independent readers.
The Misadventure of Mina Mahmood: School Inspectors! is coming in January 2026.
The Cloud Witch Chronicles by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
The Cloud Witch Chronicles: The Museum of Lost Umbrellas was published in July and is an imaginative fantasy adventure with a fantastic lead character.
Sadly, we don’t have many details about the second instalment in the series but hope fans won’t have to wait too long!
Brilliant new series for 12 to 14-year-olds
Shadow Thieves by Peter Burns
The sent Shadow Thieves to our Macaw subscribers in June and the feedback was fabulous. It’s a thrilling adventure set in an alternative 1930s and centred on a remote boarding school full of secrets.
The next thrilling instalment, Shadow Thieves: Island of Skulls, will be released in June 2026!
Murder Academy by Sophie McKenzie
Sophie McKenzie is a bestselling author of young adult thrillers and fans were eager to dive into her brand new series when the first instalment, Murder Academy: Lessons in Death, published in September.
Murder Academy: Camp Murder will be published in June 2026 with Murder Academy: Lights, Camera, Kill following soon after!
Rock Band by Leah Osakwe
We fell in love with Galaxy, a talented singer, in June with the publication of Rock Band: Music and Misfits. With humour, drama and a fantastic cast of characters this book is a really fun read.
Whilst we don’t yet have any details of further instalments we’re assured that this is the start of a fantastic new series for tweens and teens with more music and drama to come!
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