Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books

Format: Chapter book

Chapter book

Narrated by Michael Golab.

A thrilling debut, with extraordinary twists and incredible action, from an incredible new voice in children’s fiction.

I can steal time. The most I can take at the moment is fifteen seconds, which is not a lot. Grandmother took almost three minutes once and she told me she’s done more, but I never saw it. She says there are stories of someone who can take all the time in the world, but how can that be right? When Alex and his father are forced to flee their home to escape a brutal government, they begin a life-threatening journey across Europe. But when they are separated before they can reach Britain, Alex finds himself alone, with only his extraordinary gift to keep him alive.

Perfect for fans of Alex Rider, Artemis Fowl, and Inception, Running out of Time is an ingenious, high-concept thriller with a twist that you won’t believe.

Chapter book

Narrated by Richard Ayoade and Jarvis Cocker.

What is it that makes YOU want to read a book? Richard Ayoade’s children’s debut gives you all the answers in a way that’s silly, funny, and thoroughly beguiling.

Have you ever thought about how it feels to be a book? To be left under a whiffy pant pile or shelved, forever collecting dust? To have your pages bent backwards or your spine BROKEN? What if you don’t have a sparkly unicorn or dragon adorning your cover–who will pick you out of the bookshop then? This is the story of the sadly neglected Book That No One Wanted To Read–can its destiny change when it finally meets the right reader? Spoiler alert: yes.

Chapter book

Narrated by Sir Ian McKellan.

The grand finale to the prize-winning adventure series that has changed the lives of millions. Breathtaking world-building on an epic scale. Pure escapism at its best.

It is early spring, a turbulent, perilous time of sudden storms, frozen river fractures and drifting ice. Fleeing from a demon intent on devouring his souls, Wolf is swept out to sea far from the forest and his pack. The ocean, too, teems with danger: sea wolves, sharks and hunters of the deep, and the demon is gaining ground. Torak and Renn must race to save their pack-brother, battling the harsh icy waves and merciless torrents. If they can’t find Wolf in time, the bond between them will be severed forever….

Run wild with Wolf Brother for the last time in a Stone Age world we all want to be part of.

Listen to Wolfbane as a stand-alone adventure or as part of the well-loved series.

Chapter book

Cover designed by Rachael Dean.

Cassie’s older brother Byron has fallen in with the wrong crowd – it’s soon clear these boys are wild, reckless and not human at all. They are tylwyth teg – Fair Folk, who tempt humans down into the dark places of the world. And Byron is tempted. When he goes missing, Cassie and her cousin, Siân, follow his trail to an old abandoned railway tunnel which goes down and down into Annwn, the underworld. Here they find that the tylwyth teg are restless – and angry. Their leader, Gwenhidw, wants to protect Annwn from the damage humans are doing to the world. Byron is part of her plan. But Cassie won’t let her big brother be part of anyone’s plan. Can she rescue her brother before it is too late?

Chapter book

Cover designed by Holly Ovenden.

Who can catch a memory thief?

“Starting on All Fools Day, twelve years ago, I remember everything. EVERYTHING. That was a wet Saturday, and that was the day I was born.” 12-year-old Piaf has the ability to (and burden of) remembering everything that has happened since the day she was born. When she discovers everyone in Paris has forgotten the entire last year, 1887, including the disappearance of several gifted children, Piaf and her twin brother Luc embark on a dangerous journey that brings them to the depths of Paris’s underground twin, the Catacombs, to capture the memory thief and find the lost children.

Chapter book

Come with an Arctic fox on a breathtaking journey … an enthralling story from the bestselling, award-winning creators of Julia and the Shark. With dazzling blue and black illustrations, this is a perfect gift for 9+ fans of The Last Bear and A Wolf Called Wander.

She was very tired.

She lay down, her soft head on her soft paws.

The sunset licked her face.

The snow covered her like a blanket.

Fox wakes, and begins to walk. She crosses ice and snow, over mountains and across frozen oceans, encountering bears and birds beneath the endless daylight of an Arctic summer, navigating a world that is vast, wild and wondrous.
Meanwhile, Leila embarks on a journey of her own – finding her way to the mother who left her. On a breathtaking journey across the sea, Leila rediscovers herself and the mother she thought she’d lost, with help from a determined little fox.

Based on the true story of an Arctic fox who walked from Norway to Canada in seventy-six days, a distance of two thousand miles, this compelling, emotional and beautifully illustrated story is the perfect gift for 9+ readers.

Chapter book

Cover designed by Jessie Price.

There are 1.3 million great whales left in the Earth’s oceans today.

Climate activist Abi and her AI computer Moonlight are on a mission to protect the planet.

When they uncover whale song recordings made by Abi’s great-grandfather, a whale hunter, Moonlight discovers a pattern…

…the songs are a map to a future that could rescue the whales and rescue the world.

Chapter book

Beware of the shadows, the Reaper King is coming . . .

Mia always dreamed of being an umbra tamer until she met the wild creature on the Nightmare Plains. Since that day, she prefers to stay safe within the walls of Nubis. Safe, that is, until a surprise attack. With her parents captured, Mia’s only hope is to travel to the City of Light to find help. But with only her little brother, two friends and one solitary tamed umbra, the journey feels impossible. Mia not only has to overcome her fears, she also has to learn to harness her umbra taming abilities if they are to complete the quest in time.

For fans of Amari and the Night Brothers, The Legend of Podkin One-Ear and Nevermoor, this is the first in the sensational Umbra Tales series, illustrated by Ana Latese.

Chapter book

Longlisted for The Juniper Book Award 2023. Beware the Twig Man, the Twig Man’s hex. Beware the Twig Man, or you’ll be NEXT! It’s been a year since nearly-twelve-year-old Ari’s older sister, Lana, ran away. Except Ari knows what really happened. She was taken by the Twig Man, the creepy monster that’s haunted the woods for one hundred years. No one else will listen, so it’s down to Ari to save his sister. But he had better hurry, as Ari finds himself next on The Twig Man’s list…

Chapter book

Seed is a funny, big-hearted story by award-winner Caryl Lewis about the power of hope and imagination when you believe in the impossible. Perfect for readers of 8-12. Illustrated in black and white throughout by George Ermos.

Shortlisted for Breakthrough Children’s Book of the Year, The Week Junior Book Awards
Shortlisted for the Brandford Boase Award 2023

Marty doesn’t have much. Unlike his mum, who has billions of things: newspapers, holey shoes, rusty lawnmowers, broken picture frames – she keeps EVERYTHING! It’s hard to leave the house. Marty wonders if anything will ever change.

But on Marty’s birthday, Grandad, with a glint in his eye, gifts Marty a very special seed. Grandad hasn’t been this excited since he invented the bum scratcher 2000 or thought he’d brewed wonder fuel from rhubarb leaves! The seed grows bigger and bigger, and launches Grandad, Marty and his best friend Gracie on an impossible, wondrous plan fuelled by love, hopes and dreams.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review

Stone Girl Bone Girl

review

Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:

Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:

Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?

yes

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Any other comments

Any other comments