We really love this easy-listening and charmingly funny series!

Readers will laugh out loud at well-meaning mischief and misadventure of Marge, the madcap babysitter with rainbow hair. When no grown-ups are around, Marge is in charge and anything can happen!

Highly recommended as a fun read-aloud, each book in this series contains short stories about the funny escapades of seven-year-old Jemima and younger brother Jake when Marge the babysitter is in charge. There is plenty of slapstick and good natured fun to giggle at, and Marge’s outrageous antics make the children feel like she is the one who really needs a babysitter.

Yusuf lives with his older sister, his mum and his grandma. When his older sister starts to prepare for her wedding, Yusuf realises that he must become ‘the man of the house’. However, when he looks into the responsibilities that this entails, he knows that he is not yet ready for the role. So he sets about trying to prevent his sister from getting married so that she will stay at home and continue to take on responsibilities.

The series title for this book is ‘My Laugh-Out-Loud Life’ and, as soon as you start reading the book, it is clear why. Yusuf and his cousin Aadam get into all sorts of bother as they try to sabotage everything to do with the wedding, from meal preparation to the wedding outfit. The harder they try to cause problems, the more trouble they get into. And as they go about causing mayhem, they have to contend with the formidable Amma (Yusuf’s mum) and Nanu (Yusuf’s grandma).

This is ultimately a book about family and the bonds that hold them together. Through the story, the reader learns a lot about daily life, cultures and traditions in a British-Bengali family. Yusuf always has a side note to explain Bengali words and phrases that are used throughout the story.

The illustrations by Farah Khandaker really help to bring the story to life and to capture some of the mayhem that Yusuf causes. This is a great book to have in classrooms or a school library. The style would appeal to readers who feel daunted by pages of text, as the side notes and illustrations help to break up the words on the bag and make it feel less daunting. It is also ideal for bringing more diversity into class bookshelves, whether for children to see themselves represented in books or for them to learn more about other cultures.

Imaginative and charming, The Boy Who Grew Dragons is a wonderfully whimsical story that kept me smiling the whole way through. The first in a series, this hugely entertaining adventure about a small boy and his pet dragon makes a super read-aloud for Year 3.

Tomas is busy in the garden with Grandad, planning which fruits to grow that might be turned into delicious jams or tarts. When Tomas stumbles across a strange tree with curious-looking fruit, he never expects that what might emerge from the fruit is a real live dragon! This is an adventure that is humorous at every turn, but also full of heart. Tomas is a great positive role model for showing how young people can apply curiosity and creativity to the process of growing and nurturing plants and see ‘magic’ in the course.

Coupled with charming illustrations by Sara Ogilvie, this early chapter book makes a fantastic choice for newly confident readers just taking off with independent reading and it will also go down a storm as an entertaining story choice.

We recommend this classic children’s books series about a boy who becomes flattened by an incident with a pinboard.

Learning to navigate life with his new flat-as-a-pancake body, Stanley finds himself enjoying the novelty of sliding under doors, being posted in the mailbox and flying in the sky as his brother’s kite. Soon, being flat presents challenges too, and the usually positive and optimistic Stanley begins to long to return back to his old self.

These short chapter books go down a treat with children aged 5-7.

The Tom Gates books have been phenomenally popular with readers who enjoy laugh-out-loud illustrated stories exploring themes of school, family life and everything zany. Readers enjoy the notebook-style format and the Tom’s funny take on the ups and downs of family life and school, punctuated by the joys of forming a band and snacking on caramel wafers.

Liz Pichon’s instantly recognisable doodle style makes this a really enjoyable and accessible book that quickly hooks children in, which is extra fantastic because there is an impressively populated series to collect!