THE AMBER SPYGLASS (HIS DARK MATERIALS III) by Phillip Pullman (Shcolastic £14.99)

PARENTS keen to keep their bookworm children occupied until the fifth Harry Potter hits the shelves would do well to introduce them to the Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy.

The Amber Spyglass is the third and concluding volume in Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, which began with the Northern Lights and the Subtle Knife.

More than 500 pages in length the plot hurtles towards the final battle with hero and heroine Will and Lyra, the ordinary children who were left in such extraordinary danger at the end of Book Two, facing even greater perils on the way.

With an interweaving plot and extraordinary inventiveness, adults will find the Amber Spyglass as interesting as their children.

Along the way, the pair meet familiar friends such as giant bear Iorek Byrnison, the witches and of course old enemies.

Like all great tales, this one is deep and has far to go as you follow Lyra and Will out of childhood. At it's simplest it's a story of courage and humanity. At its deepest it catapults the reader into a universe of marvels and dazzling thought.

Critically acclaimed and award wining this is another children's book destined to remain on the adult best seller lists for a long time.