Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Format: Chapter book

Tennis Shoes

Chapter book

Reissued in ‘A Puffin Book’ series of best-loved children’s classics, this is a sharp and funny story that follows in the footsteps of Ballet Shoes, Theatre Shoes, Circus Shoes and Party Shoes by Noel Streatfeild.

In TENNIS SHOES the Heath children are found to have tennis in their blood. Their grandfather and father before them had been top players, and the twins are champion material. Then Nicky – cheeky, rebellious Nicky – starts to practise in secret, but talented at tennis as she is, the ambitious Nicky first has battles to win with herself – on and off the tennis court.

Tennis Term at Trebizon

Anne Digby

Chapter book

Join Rebecca and her friends at Trebizon, perfect for fans of Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers and St Clare’s.

Rebecca’s summer term is shaping up to be a very happy one. She’s been picked for the first tennis team, and Trebizon has high hopes of winning the cup. But then there’s a hoax phone call, and a fake fire alarm, and Rebecca finds herself under suspicion. If Rebecca and her friends can’t solve the mystery, there will be serious consequences …

The sixth exciting book in the classic Trebizon series. Perfect for children aged 7 years and up.

Brielle and Bear: Once Upon a Time

Salomey Doku

Chapter book

A wonderfully romantic love story perfect for teen readers – the first in a full-colour graphic novel series

Fairytale Rule No.1: All the best fairytales start with ‘Once upon a time . . .’

First-year student Brielle, a daydreamy book lover, knows everything there is to know about fairytales. Returning to the city of Rosebridge four years after moving away, she attends Once Upon a Time University, with the intention of living her fairytale dream. And when she meets Bear, shy vice-captain of the Princes rugby team, at the bookshop where she works, Brielle’s dream is off to a good start.

Determined to forget the past, and with an unexpected new relationship blossoming, Brielle feels she’s finally living the dream. That is, until she discovers that she’s not the only one hiding something . . .

The Falling Boy

David Almond

Chapter book

Nothing is the same for Joff this summer. His dad is sick, his mum is working, there’s a new kid in town. The days are long and hot, and change is in the air.

With his dog, Jet, Joff explores. The Chapel of Doom is always there, ancient and crumbling, with its warning signs and the legend of the Falling Boy.

But Joff isn’t going to go past those signs … is he?

Intense and compelling, this is a brilliant new story from the award-winning author of the bestselling Skellig.

For She is Wrath

Emily Varga

Chapter book

Discover the number one YA bestseller! Emily Varga’s debut For She is Wrath is the epic romantasy about a girl escaped from prison and hell-bent on revenge, and the boy she loved who put her there.

Betrayed by her ex-lover and falsely imprisoned for a crime she didn’t commit, Dania counts down the days until she can exact her revenge – if only she didn’t have a life sentence to serve with no hope of release.

But when a fellow prisoner lands in the middle of her cell with a proposition and the keys to a dangerous Jinn treasure, Dania takes the chance to escape and pursue her path of vengeance. Armed with all the power she could want and a brand-new identity, Dania enacts a plan to bring down those who betrayed her and her family.

But the one person standing in her way is the very man who signed her life away in the first place, and retribution becomes a complicated game of cat and mouse. Because sometimes betrayal isn’t as simple as it seems and revenge certainly isn’t as easy – not when your heart is involved.

Jakub’s Otter

Coral Rumble

Chapter book

In her first work of fiction Coral tells the story of ten-year-old Jakub Polanski who cares for his single mum, Maria, who has multiple sclerosis. The weight of responsibility has made Jakub forget he is a child, and his life outside of school is full of adult concerns. Everyone is worried about Jakub’s mental health. To take the pressure off his mum and give Jakub a break, life-long family friends, the Koniks, take Jakub on holiday to Italy. While there Jakub learns about Marta’s passion for writing poetry and storytelling, and she shows him that freedom and adventure are there for the taking. He discovers he is funny and smart and is not only defined by being a carer. And, in Italy, Jakub finds hope as he listens to an old, wise woodsman, who teaches him about otters, especially one injured otter called Piccolo.

Here to Slay

Radhika Sanghani

Chapter book

Kali has a lot to deal with. Her crush doesn’t notice her, her parents love her cousin more, and a big family wedding is overshadowing her 16th birthday. So, she really did NOT need a demon appearing in her bedroom and for the fate of the world to rest in her hands.

It turns out that all girls named after the Indian demon-fighting goddess Kali are imbued with special powers, and are destined to fight demons. At least she’s not alone in this mess – she’s got the very cool, very confident K to teach her how to be a demon slayer. Now, if only she could also figure out how to slay at life…

It All Started With a Lie

Denise Brown

Chapter book

When Pearl discovers a newspaper clipping showing a picture of her dad holding the baby he found abandoned outside a hospital, it sets off a chain of events of betrayal, obsession, murder. And it all started with a lie. Perfect for fans of Cynthia Murphy and Holly Jackson.

The Thread That Connects Us

Ayaan Mohamud

Chapter book

A story of shared blood and bad blood, endings and beginnings.

Safiya has struggled to pick up the pieces of her family since her dad left them and moved to Somalia. She refuses to trust in love, despite wishing she could fall for boy-next-door Yusuf. And then her dad moves back to town with his new family, shattering her life all over again.

Halima doesn’t want to move to England. She resents her stepdad for dropping her in a strange new life with a new language to learn, replacing her friends with bullies who set out to shame her.

When the girls are thrown together at school, it’s hate at first sight. But as they uncover life-changing secrets from their parents’ past, they begin to realize – What if the key to all their problems lies in their sisterhood?

How to Survive a Horror Movie

Scarlett Dunmore

Chapter book

Horror movie enthusiast Charley is determined to keep a low profile when she’s enrolled at a girls’ boarding school on a remote island. That is, until someone starts killing off her senior class! From elaborate scare tactics to severed heads in fridges, Charley has found herself at the centre of a teen horror movie. And that’s not the only alarming thing that’s happening – she’s now seeing the ghosts of her former classmates!?

Haunted by her peers, and with everyone beginning to suspect her, Charley decides to do something about it. She and her only best friend Olive are going to solve the murders and find out who’s killing off the class before graduation. Charley just needs those pesky ghosts to shut up and give her a hand.

A fast-paced tongue-in-cheek YA novel about two friends trying to survive senior year – literally! Perfect for fans of Fear Street, The Midnight Club and the SCREAM franchise.