In this episode we have a feast of middle grade books! We talk first to Kristina Rahim author of the very popular The Doughnut Club, about her second book Max and Ella Stuck Together.

Max has had a tough year starting secondary school. He has been bullied about having two mums and has lost his confidence. He is even finding it hard to enjoy the music that he used to love. He knows he risks letting his friends down if he has stage fright again at their planned performance and the idea that meeting his sperm donor dad might help him find himself again takes hold.

Ella's dad, Hari, was a sperm donor before she was born and she is fine with it. Or at least thought she was before a kid she has never met before turns up and gatecrashes a family weekend. Things haven't been easy for Ella to with friendship changes and her mum working away a lot.

With Max and Ella very much stuck together, will they find a way to be their true selves?

We also catch up with Cath Howe who we have interviewed before about her younger readers series Call the Puffins. She has another middle grade book out - Two is a Crowd.

In this latest book, Hattie’s life is already complicated enough… She’s about to start secondary school, her best friend is going off with someone else and her dad seems to have completely forgotten his promise to give her his office for her own bedroom.

So when her mum’s goddaughter, Seren, arrives and gets special treatment, Hattie feels pushed out.

Could it be that Hattie’s family prefer Seren?

Both are great middle grade/early teen reads and grapple realistically with issues that many teenagers will face, through strong story lines and without being 'issue' books.

We also celebrate John Agard winning the CLiPPA Poetry Prize for an unprecedented third time for his collection The Poetry World of John Agard, illustrated by Shirley Hottier, and point listeners to the recording of the ceremony which is well worth watching.

With thanks to Miah Herford for editing the interviews.

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