Searchlight: Them and Us 19 November 2026
- Publication date: 19 November 2026
- Format: Paperback
- Product size: 210 x 148mm
- Pages: 128
- Price: £6.99
- ISBN: 9781805952107
Alien twins Zane and Finola continue their quest to re-unite their family in the fifth Searchlight adventure by Ann Bryant.
Zane and Finola are no ordinary twelve year olds – they’re Seventegians with abilities that people on Earth have never seen before.
A brilliant Middle Grade series for ages 7-11, Searchlight features alien twins Zane and Finola as they travel to a range of different fictional locations reminiscent of countries on earth to reunite their family.
Following on from their journey across Albrigart, Cafner and Balacira, Searchlight: Them and Us joins the twins as they continue on their quest after crash-landing and getting separated on Earth, all without bringing too much attention to themselves and getting caught by the evil ANT organisation.
When Dad appears on television from the ANT research company headquarters with a message for them, the twins must figure out if they’re walking into danger.
Mum believes that the family should finally be reunited at ANT headquarters, but Zane and Finola fear coming forward. With the whole world on the lookout for the aliens, there are people who have ideas for their Seventegian brain powers and would do anything for their secrets. The stakes are higher than ever, and trusting the wrong people could lead them straight into a trap.
Along with providing an engaging, action-packed adventure story, the author Ann Bryant has also introduced many crucial life skills throughout the text including problem solving, empathy and cultural awareness, with the twins gaining more of these skills as we progress through the series.
Them and Us is the fifth in a planned series of six titles following the journey of Zane and Finola.
Black-and-white illustrations by talented illustrator Laura Wood perfectly complement this action-packed adventure story of problem solving, family and understanding. The book is completed with fun puzzles to help children reflect on the story, and provides perfect conversation starters for teachers in the classroom.
Working with the European Travel Commission and the University of Surrey, this book is one of two titles publishing in autumn/winter promoting careers in tourism and hospitality. The other title, Dee and Flee at the Happy-Skis Hotel, is a humorous early-readers story written by Julia Hubery and illustrated by Laura Wood.
Author Ann Bryant says, ‘We all have a tendency to “other-world” what we don’t understand and stick to what we are familiar with. We like to sympathise, but that’s easy. It can be done from a safe distance. Empathising is harder. It involves truly imagining what someone else’s life or condition or circumstances or perceptions or choices might be like. This is what I’ve tasked my main characters, Finola and Zane, to do. They’ve dropped into Earth from their home planet, Sevent, so the comparisons they can make are much more valid than those we can make ourselves. I hope they manage to crack it in all their big scary but hugely exciting adventures. Because if they do, they can pass it on to us lot on Earth.’
Review Copies & Editorial:
To request review copies, interviews or images for editorial use, please contact: bethan@graffeg.com.
Ann Bryant is a writer with several internationally successful series from Cafe Club to Ballerina Dreams. She also writes in the field of Music Education. Ann is often invited to schools in the UK and abroad to give presentations and workshops. The Searchlight series is her first with Graffeg.
Laura Wood is originally from Treviglio, a small town in the north of Italy. She studied illustration in Melbourne, Australia, but now lives and works in Milan with her two cats. Since 2012, Laura has illustrated picture books, junior fiction, magazines and textbooks.
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