Julie Hunt won the inaugural Readings Children’s Book Prize last year for her novel Song for a Scarlet Runner and she has crafted another vivid fantasy adventure, this time in the form of a graphic novel.

Kidglovz is a child prodigy with astounding piano-playing talent and an irrepressible passion for music. He is trapped and exploited by a cruel guardian, but things begin to change for him when Shoestring, a tightrope walker and thief, shows up in his room one night.

It’s a magical fable and Dale Newman’s soft yet dark pencil drawings give Kidglovz a similar aesthetic to The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This book looks great and is a fantastic read for children aged 9 and up.

Kim Gruschow is a bookseller from Readings Hawthorn