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Books of the Year 2023

books of the year 2023We love to hear which books are most popular among our community of primary teachers, TAs, librarians, authors and children’s book lovers.

Our Review Panel searched for the top children’s books published in the last year. We looked for the best classroom read-alouds, the most popular books with children and the best books to support the school curriculum.

Browse the SHORTLISTED books in each category below – perfect for topping up your library with the best new children’s books from the past year!


See your winners!

Members of the BooksForTopics website have voted for their favourites to find the winners of the Books of the Year 2023. Voting is now closed – Click here to see the winning books!

 

 

 

Chapter book

A magical new series from best-selling author and illustrator, Laura Ellen Anderson!

Ten-year-old Ray Grey lives in the magical Weatherlands, high in the sky. Ray is surrounded by Weatherlings with astounding weather power at their fingertips . . . but she doesn’t have ANY magic!

Then, after a trip to Earth, Ray’s life changes forever. She is transformed from Ray Grey into RAINBOW GREY! With the help of her best friends (and exploding cloud cat, Nim) now all Ray has to do is master her powers AND save the world from a mysterious, powerful enemy . . .

We love to hear about which books are popular among our community of primary teachers, TAs, librarians, authors and children’s book lovers.

We searched for your top children’s books published in 2021. Browse the SHORTLISTED books in each category below or head to the Books of the Year page to see the category winners.

If you are looking for a library top-up of new books for your school, you can purchase the full selection in one pack.

See the 2022 version of this list here…

Chapter book

The second book from the author of A Kind Of Spark, with Neurodivergent characters you’ll root for and a moving friendship at its heart.

When Cora’s brother drags her along to his boss’s house, she doesn’t expect to strike up a friendship with Adrien, son of the intimidating CEO of Pomegranate Technologies. As she becomes part of Adrien’s life, she is also drawn into the mysterious projects at Pomegranate.

At first, she’s intrigued by them – Pomegranate is using AI to recreate real people in hologram form. As she digs deeper, however, she uncovers darker secrets…

Cora knows she must unravel their plans, but can she fight to make her voice heard, whilst never losing sight of herself?

Chapter book

Toto is no ordinary cat, and she can’t wait for you to join her on her FIFTH ninja adventure! From one of the UK’s best-loved broadcasters.

Toto’s brothers, Silver and Socks, and their best friend Catface have just been made Deputy Ninja Cats! But while celebrating, they accidentally break a boat belonging to a very important cat and find themselves heading north to a bootcamp for naughty animals.

Deep in the Scottish Highlands, they must climb mountains, paddle leaky canoes and prove that they can work as a team. But something isn’t quite right at the bootcamp, and Toto’s ninja senses are on high alert …

There is a local legend of a super-strong wildcat, destined to raise an army and take over all of Scotland. Toto knows she must find out more, but danger is lurking at every turn. Can she find the mysterious wildcat, before it’s too late?

Ideal for reading aloud or for children to curl up with and read alone, the story features brilliant black and white illustrations throughout. With themes of friendship, inclusivity and winning in the face of adversity, this is a hilarious must-read for all animal-loving kids!

Non-fiction

The essential starting place for anyone who wants to learn about Black British History. David Olusoga’s thought-provoking text charts the forgotten histories of Black people in Britain from Roman times right through to the present day. From Roman Africans guarding Hadrian’s Wall, to an African trumpeter in the court of Henry the Eighth, Black Georgians fighting for the abolition of slavery, Black soldiers fighting for Britain in the First World War, Windrush and right up today. These are the stories that brought us all together in this country.

When did Africans first come to Britain?

Who are the well-dressed black children in Georgian paintings?

Why did the American Civil War disrupt the Industrial Revolution?

These and many other questions are answered in this essential introduction to 1800 years of the Black British history.

This children’s edition of the bestseller Black and British: A Forgotten History is beautifully illustrated in full-colour with maps, portrait galleries, timelines, photos and portraits.

Chapter book

Tomas is a fully-fledged expert dragon grower and protector of the dragonfruit tree. He has eyes in the back of his head for watching over those sneaky dragons, awesomely fast reflexes for putting out sparks and dodging the diving antics of whirling newly hatched dragons. He’s got it all down pat – and managing his little lightning bolt dragon Zing, too.

But he’s not quite prepared for the adventure that awaits him when a huge secret is revealed about his new friend, Aura. A thrilling secret that will take Tomas and Aura on a journey of discovery that will finally unlock the last mysteries of the dragonfruit tree. A journey of discovery that all the dragons will be in on – and just what will happen when lightning bolt dragon Zing and storm dragon Flicker get together?

Get ready for the ride of your life in this fizzing, sparkling final story in THE BOY WHO GREW DRAGONS series.

Chapter book

Meet Grant the genie, and his best friend – the puppy Teeny…

The first in a series of magical adventures from the renowned illustrator, Steven Lenton, winner of Waterstones Picture Book of the Month and the Times Children’s Book of the Week.

When Grant the Genie is cast out of Genie World, he lands on Earth with a big, fat bump! Without a lamp to call home, he has to settle for an old cracked teapot instead.

Grant is very lonely until he meets the puppy, Teeny. Then Genie and Teeny are kidnapped by the evil purple-loving Lavinia Lavender, and find themselves on-course for a rollercoaster of an adventure – when all they really want is a place to call home…

Chapter book

Are you sick of being utterly adorable? Tired of being cuddled and hugged? Fed up of having your head confused for your bottom because you just so happen to be SOOOOPER-DOOOOOPER fluffy?

Lin: If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you’re in the right book.

Everyone thinks that Lin is the cutest panda in the world. So much so that they ship her off to the local zoo, away from her beloved brother, to be ogled at by the masses. But Lin HATES being cute, and now she will do everything in her power to prove that she’s the baddest, meanest, most un-cute animal in the zoo.

Laugh-yourself-out-of-bed hilarious, the first in a new series from the creators of DAVE PIGEON.

Chapter book

Sewer-loving secret agents Mango and Brash are plunged into a hilarious new mystery and a BIG MESS in John Patrick Green’s full-colour, laugh-out-loud graphic novel InvestiGators: Take the Plunge, perfect for emerging readers and fans of Dav Pilkey.

Mango and Brash are the InvestiGators : sewer-loving agents of S.U.I.T. and scourge of supervillains everywhere!

In their next big adventure, S.U.I.T. headquarters is under attack, and Mango and Brash are going undercover and underground disguised as city sewer workers to unclog a sticky situation. But when their search for the criminal Crackerdile backfires, the toilets they travel through get blocked and the InvestiGators take the blame for it!

Can Mango and Brash restore their good name and put the real culprit behind bars before the whole city is in deep water?

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Your Review

Stone Girl Bone Girl

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