Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK

Picturebook

Here at Booksfortopics we are big fans of Mini Grey (author of Traction Man and Toys in Space). This egg-cellent picture book does not fail to impress us either, recounting the tale of an egg that is desperate to learn to fly without having to wait to hatch first. Behind the quirky story, which can be accessed on numerous levels by children of different ages, sit important themes of dreaming big, having hope and the frustration of having to wait for something important to happen.

This is a high quality text full of detailed comic-style illustrations.

It follows the adventures of an Action-Man style hero with an outfit for every occasion. His daily superhero challenges include rescuing lost toys, diving in the sieve-wreck and saving distressed damsels.

Highly recommended for KS1 and filled with humorous details to pore over, this is a winner of a book.

This is a fun story about Super Daisy’s mission to save Planet Earth, which is on a collision course with Planet Pea. This book is full of bold illustrations, flaps and pull-tabs.

This is a chapter book aimed at the 7-9 age range, written in Jeremy Strong’s trademark style of laugh-out-loud humour. When new teacher Mr Butternut tells the class that they are all superheroes, Casper and his friends choose their superhero names and use their new-found confidence to solve problems big and small.

This is a new novelised adaptation of Raymond Briggs’ classic story (also available here), bringing all the magic of the original tale into a narrative form.

A boy named James is so excited when snow arrives on his farm that he rushes outside to build the snowman he has been longing to create. Wonderfully, the snowman comes to life and gives James a magical adventure that he will never forget. This cherished story that never loses its magical appeal, is bound to be a favourite for many to curl up with this Christmas.

Join the busy athlete as he goes for gold in this playful, interactive flap book!

Ready, set, go! Can you win the gold medal? Join in and use the flaps to help the athlete to warm up, jump over the pole, dive into the pool and much, much more. With interactive action-flaps, you can do it, too!

Each clever flap provides an action or scene-change to encourage children to actively engage and explore . The playful flaps are perfect for little hands to develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Original concept and illustration by Dan Green.

From The Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Dog to karate princesses and hot cross bottoms, there’s a Jeremy Strong story to suit every child’s sense of humour. Jeremy’s readers range from 7 to teen, perfect for fans of Roald Dahl and Andy Stanton.

Guess what’s coming to town! The Animal Games!

There’ll be show-jumping for horses AND rabbits, and discus for dogs – so of course I have to enter Streaker. Mum says a CARROT is more obedient than my dog, but I think she can do it – Streaker can go for GOLD!

Boys United: the first book in the Football Academy series by Tom Palmer

Jake loves football and dreams of becoming a professional footballer. He’s worried about his height though – what if he’s too small for football? But on the day of his trial Jake is quick on the ball and scores – he’s made it! Jake can’t wait to pull on his shirt and join the team. But someone at the club wants to make his life difficult. Can Jake face up to the bullies and become man of the match again?

Stay on the ball this season with the first four stories following the boys in United’s under-twelves.

Jaz Santos vs the World is the first in a new series about a girl who gathers an unlikely group of friends together to make their own girls’ football team. This is an inclusive and empowering tale with a real-life feel that will appeal to fans of Cath Howe and Jacqueline Wilson.

When Jaz finds a leaflet advertising a girls’ football tournament, she seizes the opportunity to take back some control. Thinking carefully about how to sell the idea to her classmates, Jaz pours heart and soul into rallying a team of girls to prepare for the tournament. From fundraising to training, Jaz leaves no stone unturned – with her passionate hopes of proving that girls can be taken seriously in football matched only by her desire to get mum back.

With girls’ football growing more popular than ever, this is an empowering book with a dynamic and entertaining main character who shows what can happen when somebody leads the way in a new sporting initiative. 

This timely and heart-warming story about teamwork, self-belief and following your passions in the face of life’s ups and downs is likely to score big with readers aged 8-11.

Chapter book

Danny is obsessed with two things: football – especially City Football Club – and investigating crimes. So when England and City footballing hero Sam Roberts is reported missing the day after Danny saw him being taken, blindfolded, into the bowels of the City FC stadium late at night, he’s determined to get to the bottom of it. But is Danny getting into something he can’t handle?

As well as being a huge football fan, Tom Palmer has an international reputation in reader development. He is a coordinator of the Reading Partners consortium, works with The Reading Agency, Booktrust and the National Literacy Trust, and has been the official writer for the Premier League Reading Stars scheme for five years. He is the author of the Football Detective series, also for Puffin Books. Tom lives in West Yorkshire with his wife and daughter.

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