The story follows orphan Lyra Belacqua and teenager Will Parry, from our world, as they wander through a series of parallel universes to uncover the secrets of a mysterious substance called Dust. It features witches and armoured polar bears as well as dæmons, which are the physical manifestation of a person’s inner-self. In Lyra’s case it’s a companion named Pan that can take the form of any animal, similar to other children’s dæmons, until they take a final form later in life. Writer Pullman has previously supported a campaign to stop children’s books being labelled ‘for girls...