Wainwright Prize 2024 Shortlist

This illustrated gift book tells the story of a remarkable experiment: the rewilding of the Knepp Estate in West Sussex. Illustrated with lino prints and watercolours by Angela Harding, this title explains how rewilding works and includes beautiful spreads featuring species that have returned and thrive including butterflies, bats, owls and beetles. There are accessible in-garden activities to 're-wild' your own spaces and the book encourages young readers to slow down and observe the natural world around them, and start to understand the connections between species and habitats, and the huge potential for life right on their doorstep.

Christopher is visiting his reclusive grandfather when he sees an avalanche of mythical creatures come tearing down the hill. This is how he learns that his grandfather is the guardian of one of the ways between the non-magical world and the Archipelago, a cluster of magical islands where the creatures we tell of in myth live and breed and thrive alongside humans. They have been protected from being discovered for thousands of years; now, terrifyingly, the protection has worn thin, and creatures are breaking through. Then Mal appears in Christopher's world. She is in possession of a flying coat, is being pursued by a killer and is herself in pursuit of a baby griffin. Mal, Christopher and the griffin embark on an urgent quest across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, where sphinxes hold secrets and centaurs do murder, to find the truth - with unimaginable consequences for both their worlds.

In the lakes, the wolf queen sharpens her spear. In the mountains, an ancient girl opens an eye. In the forest, an orphan is summoned by the trees. Our story has begun. Ysolda has lived her life in the shadow of the wolf queen's tyrannical rule but, safe in her forest haven, she has never truly felt its threat. Until one day when a mysterious earthquake shakes the land and her older sister Hari vanishes in its wake. Accompanied by her loyal sea hawk, Nara, Ysolda embarks on a desperate rescue mission. But when she is forced to strike a bargain with the wolf queen herself, she soon finds herself embroiled in a quest for a magic more powerful - and more dangerous - than she could ever have imagined.

A stunning collection of more than 150 birds awaits discovery in this beautiful book: meet the lesser flamingo - 'hero of the friendly flock' - and discover other flocking birds, from the chimney swift to the starling, whose murmurations mesmerise birdwatchers from around the world. Next, meet the Adélie penguin - 'hero of the water world' - and discover other birds that are more at home in the sea than the sky, and continue through the avian world as you meet birds with brilliant beaks, fantastic feet, wonderful wings, eye-catching colours and more.

Who are you if you've never seen another face like yours? Where do you belong if you don't know where your home is? What do you call yourself when others call you 'freak'? Set in a world where animals and humans can sometimes share their thoughts, this story traces the early life of Skrimsli, the tiger sea captain who stole readers' hearts in 'The Song that Sings Us'. He and his friends, Owl and Kal, must first escape the clutches of tyrannical circus owner Kobret Majak and his twin assassin-acrobats, then stop a war and save an ancient forest! Skrimsli and his friends are helped by desert princess the Palatine and her eagle, a chihuahua who thinks she's a wolf, a horse with heart of gold and the crew of a very unusual ship.

This is a powerful, hopeful and timely story about the real effects of climate change: two young people on different continents whose lives are catastrophically changed by global warming. A graphic novel with glorious colour artwork throughout for children of all ages - from Eoin Colfer, previously Irish Children's Laureate, and the team behind Illegal, and his bestselling Artemis Fowl graphic novels.

Observology is the study of looking. An observologist makes scientific expeditions, albeit very small ones, every day. They notice interesting details in the world around them. They are expert at finding tiny creatures, plants and fungi. They know that water snails glide upside down on the undersurface of the water; not all flies have wings; earthworms have bristles; butterflies taste with their feet. An observologist knows that there are extraordinary things to be found in even the most ordinary places. This book puts over 100 small creatures and features of the natural world under the microscope, piquing our curiosity with only the most interesting facts. Subjects range from slugs, ants and seeds, fungi and flies through to bees and bird poop!

Fen and Rey were found curled up small and tight in the fiery fur of the foxes at the very edge of the wildlands. Fen is loud and fierce and free. She feels a connection to foxes and a calling from the wild that she's desperate to return to. Rey is quiet and shy and an expert on nature. She reads about the birds, feeds the lands and nurtures the world around her. They are twin sisters. Different and the same. Separate and connected. They will always have each other, even if they don't have a mother and don't know their beginning. But they do want answers. Answers to who their mother is and where she might be. What their story is and how it began. So when a fox appears late one night at the house, Fen and Rey see it as a sign - it's here to lead them to their truth, find their real family and fill the missing piece they have felt since they were born. But the wildlands are exactly that: wild.