This is part of a series responsible for turning many young children into independent readers. Isadora Moon is half fairy, half-vampire and each book in the series follows her adventures with friends and family. In this book, Isadora has reached school age and has an important decision to make. Her mum wants her to attend fairy school and her dad wants to send her to vampire school. Isadora tries out each school, with their very different priorities and curriculums, and in the process answers some important questions about her own heritage and identity. This is a humorous chapter book, with attractive black-and-pink illustrations and a high appeal to modern young readers.

This is part of an award-winning and hugely popular series about a loveable dog called Claude and his hapless companion Sir Bobblysock. These short, colour-illustrated chapter books are perfect for newly independent readers transitioning to chapter books.

In this story, Claude stumbles across a circus and cannot help but inadvertently become the star of the show. This entertaining series is full of slapstick humour and amusing illustrations that hold a high appeal to new readers aged 6-8 looking for a fun, accessible read.

Highly recommended!

There’s a new superhero in town and her name is Kitty! This series features a girl called Kitty and her crew of felines as they embark upon brave rooftop adventures in the moonlight. Illustrated in cool blacks and oranges, these fun-filled mystery adventures with talking cats are likely to be a purrrfectly popular independent reading choice among ages 6-8.

We highly recommend the Marv series, about an ordinary boy who finds that his superhero skills are in very much in need!

The story starts with Marvin as an ordinary school boy. When he finds a superhero suit in the attic, he transforms and is required to put his new superhero powers to the test to stop a super-villain with a giant robot from causing destruction.

The book is packed full of illustrations that accompany the action and the story contains themes of friendship, forgiveness as well as endless determination. It also has humour and a real warmth in the characterisation.

These stories are perfect very first chapter books for young readers. The text is larger and wider spaced than most chapter books and the pages are fully colour-illustrated with a bright and bold palette.

Princess Minna is an adventurous, modern princess who is full of life and keen to use her resourcefulness to help whoever is in need along the way. From dealing with dragons to saving a prince in distress, Minna always has an adventure to tackle head on.

Not short of funny moments, this early chapter book series makes for a highly entertaining reading book for children ready to move on from picturebooks to something short and illustrated with multiple chapters.

One for fans of Harriet Muncaster’s Isadora Moon and Sarah MacIntyre’s Grumpycorn, this is the first story in a series of illustrated short chapter books about Princess Pea and her rather un-royal palace pet – Unipiggle! A madcap and muddy adventure with high-energy design in full colour and tips to draw your own Unipiggle too.

In this short, illustrated chapter book, Pedro is an endearing main character. His longing to have an adventure, and the obstacles to achieving that, will strike a chord with many KS1 children. They will be cheering him on, through danger and disappointment, to his enrolment as a fully signed-up member of the Adventuremice team.

Teachers will enjoy sharing this gentle tale in a classroom setting and children will miss out if they cannot clearly see the bright and breezy illustrations. For this reason, perhaps it’s best recommended as a library book which children – and their parents – can read at home or even on holiday. It’s a book to inspire (day-)dreams and great ambition.

A small book (a little over 100 pages) with a big heart that carries a message about humans looking after the marine environment, and about what courage and kindness look like in practice. Either, or both, could be the starting point for some interesting discussions.

The final pages – a map of The Mouse Islands, ‘How to Draw Pedro’ and ‘About the Authors’ – are a great addition to this latest book from the talented Reeve-McIntyre duo, which reflect their humour and their generosity.

Here is a fantastically imaginative addition to the growing bank of illustrated chapter books available to newly independent readers, perfect for fans of Alex T Smith’s Claude books and Harriet Muncaster’s Isadora Moon series.

Anna Dupont arrives at the dilapidated Hotel Flamingo after inheriting it from her Great Aunt Mathilda, who left it to her in her will. Shocked at the state of the “sunniest hotel in town”, Anna is disappointed to see dirty floors, cracked windows, broken doors and layers of old cobwebs. Having been empty of guests for the last few years, the only employees left at the hotel are T Bear the doorman and Mr Lemmy, the lemur who runs the front desk.

A determined and optimistic protagonist, Anna decides to restore the hotel to its former glory and sets about the enormous task of cleaning, fixing, planning and hiring. Restoring the reputation of an old hotel is no easy challenge, and soon Anna and the team face a host of challenges, including rival hoteliers, strange dietary requirements from the animal guests and a visit from a hotel inspector. At every step, Anna keeps her focus on teamwork, inclusion and good old hard work and soon the hotel is celebrating the kind of success it deserves.

I enjoyed the delightful cast of characters, the positive values promoted by hotel owner Anna and Alex Milway’s appealing illustrations set in pinks and greys. I particularly loved the way that the hotel was ready to welcome creatures, like cockroaches, that other hotels in the area were unwilling to accept and there was a clear message that the hotel was a better place because of its warmth and diversity.

Imaginative, accessible and little bit wild, Hotel Flamingo is a fabulous early chapter book that will appeal to readers aged 5-8. 

This story from well-loved author-illustrator Nick Sharrat is full of warmth and humour. After a fire at the castle, the King and his cat move to 37, Castle Close where life is very different. Normal tasks like shopping and setting the table for dinner are unfamiliar to someone used to having servants at their beck and call. Fortunately, the king’s loyal cat is close by to lend a hand. A funny book with a wide appeal, especially written for emergent readers.

This story from Eoin Colfer and Katy Halford is part of Barrington Stoke’s ‘super-readable’ Little Gems series, which are short, illustrated chapter books specifically designed for readers just taking off with independent reading. This one is bags of fun and tells the tale of young Mariella, whose imaginative story champions girls engaging and leading in STEM. Mariella has a passion for inventing and a head brimming full of creative ideas to solve everyday problems, but the only remaining problem is that there are not enough hours in the day and Mariella wishes that she did not have to go to sleep!

Shifty and Sam have exchanged their life of crime as burglars (and not very good ones at that) for a new venture selling homemade cupcakes. Their criminal know-how soon comes into its own when they take it upon themselves to solve mysteries and catch crooks. This chapter book contains three humorous short stories brought to life by Steven Lenton’s cheerful illustrations.

We love the fact that both picturebooks and illustrated short chapter books are available in this series, making it the perfect story series for children crossing the bridge into early chapter books.