Summer children's Books: 6-8 year olds The Roman Mystery Scrolls: the Poisoned Honeycake by Caroline Lawrence Orion, 87pp, £4.99 Lawrence consistently proves to be one of the best children's writers, and this is no exception. It's a dark but ticklish tale of a soothsayer's apprentice, and is overflowing with joyous things.Children of both sorts will love the sewer attendant called Turdus; parents will appreciate the explanation - it means Thrush: the attendant resembles a bird. Atomic! Issue 1: The Vengeance of Vinister Vile by Guy Bass Scholastic, 168pp, £5.99 A villain who alliterates; twin brothers with super powers; a talking hamster; a city under daily attack by monsters: all ingredients for this fantastic series. Interspersed with comic strips of kinetic power, the text is also frolicsome and hilarious.Will suit action-loving boys. Fright Forest: Elf Girl and Raven Boy by Marcus Sedgwick Orion, 198pp, £6.99 Raven Boy (not his real name - that's too embarrassing) falls from the tree in which he sleeps and meets spiky Elf Girl (also not her real name). A wonderful story that plays with familiar tropes. It's dreamy, yet has a propulsive quality that will suit both (non-raven) boys and (non-elf) girls alike. Philip Womack is the author of The Other Book and The Liberators