Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

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Topic: Literacy

Chapter book

The brilliantly funny and first book in the SAM WU series, starring the bravest scaredy-cat in the world. Sam Wu is NOT a scaredy-cat (except he is). When a trip to the Space Museum goes terrifyingly wrong, Sam begins a mission to prove to the school bully, and all of his friends, that he is a fearless space adventurer.

A truly laugh-out-loud, voice-led and madcap story of ghost hunting, snakes and mischievous pet cats called Butterbutt.

Graphic Novel

A beautiful adaptation of the classic novel. Renowned graphic novel artist, Edith, has created an enchanting version of the classic Tom’s Midnight Garden. This is a new and special way to read and share one of the best-loved and most enduring children’s stories of all time. A story with a special place in the hearts of grandparents, parents, and children everywhere, this wonderful graphic novel adaptation is faithful, accessible, and stunningly illustrated. A perfect gift for all the family.

Non-fiction

Filled with quizzes, stats and little known facts, plus illustrated and told with all the fun of a Tom Gates novel, the Football Superstars series is perfect for young readers five and up.

Is Marcus Rashford your ultimate football hero? His rise to the top has already seen him win The FA Cup, EFL Cup and UEFA Europa League for Manchester United as well as become a semi-finalist at the FIFA 2018 World Cup.

Discover how the local kid got into Manchester United’s famous academy and worked hard to become part of its star-studded first team as well as an England international, plus the amazing way he called on the UK government to end child poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The Football Superstars series is aimed at building a love of reading from a young age, with fun cartoons, inspirational stories, a simple narrative style and a cast of characters chipping in with quotes, jokes and comments.

Chapter book

Things aren’t going well for Greg Heffley .

He’s been thrust into a new school where undersize weaklings share the corridors with kids who are taller, meaner and already shaving.

Along with his friend Rowley, Greg’s desperate to prove his new maturity, which only going up a grade can bring. But when Rowley’s star starts to rise, will Greg be able to reach the same heights of popularity as his best friend?

Graphic Novel

A bold and stylish reissue of the groundbreaking and hugely popular graphic adaptation of Alex Rider’s very first mission.

Forcibly recruited into MI6 after the mysterious death of his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex is sent to infiltrate the organization of a sinister billionaire. Within days he’s gone from schoolboy to superspy – and it looks like his first assignment may be his last…

Graphic Novel

The magic of L.M. Montgomery’s treasured classic is reimagined in a whimsically-illustrated graphic novel adaptation perfect for newcomers and kindred spirits alike.

When Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert decide to adopt an orphan who can help manage their family farm, they have no idea what delightful trouble awaits them. With flame-red hair and an unstoppable imagination, 11-year-old Anne Shirley takes Green Gables by storm.

Anne’s misadventures bring a little romance to the lives of everyone she meets: her bosom friend, Diana Barry; the town gossip, Mrs. Lynde; and that infuriating tease, Gilbert Blythe. From triumphs and thrills to the depths of despair, Anne turns each everyday moment into something extraordinary.

Graphic Novel

The Witches, now available as a graphic novel from Eisner Award-winning artist Penelope Bagieu!

Witches are real, and they are very, very dangerous.

They wear ordinary clothes and have ordinary jobs, living in ordinary towns all across the world – and there’s nothing they despise more than children.

When an eight-year-old boy and his grandmother come face-to-face with the Grand High Witch herself, they may be the only ones who can stop the witches’ latest plot to stamp out every last child in the country!

This full-colour graphic novel edition of Roald Dahl’s The Witches, adapted and illustrated by Eisner Award-winner Penelope Bagieu, is the first-ever Dahl story to appear in this format.

Graphic novel readers and Roald Dahl fans alike will relish this dynamic new take on a uniquely funny tale.

Graphic Novel

Percy Jackson – now in stunning graphic novel form!

Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a Greek God. I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. That’s when things started really going wrong. Now I spend my time fighting with swords, battling monsters with my friends, and generally trying to stay alive.

This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I’ve stolen his lightning bolt – and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.

Can Percy find the lightning bolt before a fully-fledged war of the Gods erupts?

Graphic Novel

The first awesome thematic Corpse Talk book – all about the most amazing scientists from history ever! Adam Murphy interviews the dead famous scientists who changed the world – getting their stories straight from the corpses’ mouths!

Reading Corpse Talk: Ground-Breaking Scientists is like having history injected into your brain! It guarantees laughs, surprises, and a whole host of the most astonishing achievements you’ll ever discover.

Don’t miss out on the biggest thing to hit history since Horrible Histories!

Graphic Novel

Howl with laughter with the FIRST book in the hilarious full-colour illustrated series, Dog Man, from the creator of Captain Underpants! George and Harold (the co-stars of the enormously popular Captain Underpants series) are in big trouble again!

George and Harold have created a new breed of justice — one that is part dog, part man, and ALL HERO!

With the head of a dog and the body of a human, this heroic hound digs into deception, claws after crooks, rolls over robbers, and scampers after squirrels.

Will he be able to resist the call of the wild to answer the call of duty?

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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