Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

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Topic: Reading for Pleasure

Picturebook

The heroine of this beautifully illustrated story feels her anger like a storm in a dark forest. It sweeps her away, and she thunders and howls. She pours down her emotions like sheets of rain; rage surges like a wind whipping angry waves. Her anger takes her on a wild ride. Appropriate for a wide variety of ages, this book illustrates many aspects of anger that are often hard to articulate- how overwhelming it is, how isolating, even scary. But it also shows anger to be a source of power and an agent for change. Teckentrup’s impactful, boldly coloured paintings skilfully evoke the way intense anger can take us on an emotional journey, one that can be both exhausting and affirming. This beautiful tribute to one girl’s experience of anger offers readers the opportunity to make sense of, and talk about their own feelings of rage in a time when that kind of understanding is more important than ever.

Chapter book

This funny, poignant, uplifting story about lockdown celebrates how – sometimes – just keeping on going makes you a hero.

Chapter book

A chilling magical adventure about two sisters born 40,000 years apart, perfect for fans of The House With Chicken Legs and The Wild Way Home.

When Bela’s mother dies, she is summoned to deepest Siberia to stay with an uncle she’s never met. Exploring his strange scientific workshop, she uncovers a secret she was never meant to find – a doorway that opens to an icy land, frozen in time and full of legends come to life.

But this frozen land is in danger, and it’s up to Bela to find a way to save it. To succeed, she must join forces with the impossible: a long-lost sister she never knew she had, born 40,000 years before…

Picturebook

A mammoth NEW picture book from the award-winning Kim Hillyard!

One peaceful Tuesday morning, a loud CRACK could be heard as the last mammoth on earth broke free from her icy shell – here comes Gretel the Wonder Mammoth! Everyone is so excited to meet her but as she settles into her new life, Gretel starts to feel a little overwhelmed and even a bit lonely…

This positive, encouraging picture book teaches young readers that perhaps the bravest act a person (or mammoth!) can do is ask for help .

Gretel the Wonder Mammoth is a perfect bedtime read for fans of Rob Biddulph, Rachel Bright and Jim Field.

Chapter book

A dark, gothic adventure set deep in a Bavarian forest, with angels and owls and magic and a boy who isn’t all that he seems to be…

A cherub is blown into Cassie Engel’s bedroom during a thunderstorm, triggering a series of terrifying events. Cassie must discover if its arrival was an accident or part of something more sinister.

With a self-obsessed opera singer for a mother, a strange taxidermist father, and a best friend who isn’t quite what he seems, Cassie is forced to unearth the secrets of her family’s past. As the dark forces gather around them, can Cassie protect all that she holds dear?

The fantastic debut novel from Lucy Hope, with cover illustration by Anna Shepeta.

Non-fiction

Journey through the skies with this beautifully illustrated bird book for children!

Parrots, hummingbirds, eagles and more, swoop across the pages of this colorful bird book, featuring illustrations and photographs to immerse young nature enthusiasts in the extraordinary world of
birds.

Discover the surprising homes, relationships, and habitats of our feathered friends, and learn about how we can protect the wonderful bird world.

Within its pages, you will find:

-Fascinating and detailed information about birds, making it a perfect classroom read
-A glossary of bird terminology and full list of national birds
-Detailed illustrations and photographs of all things bird – beaks, feathers, nests, eggs, habitats and more!
-Fun and surprising facts that will make you want to learn more

Discover the wondrous world of birds!

Also known as the Urban Birder, author David Lindo’s engaging text will show children just how amazing birds are, what they do for our planet, and how we can help to protect birds and their natural habitats. This book shows that birding can be accessible to all, inspiring even city-dwellers to engage with birds in urban environments.

Accompanied by enchanting illustrations of bird families including gamebirds, flightless birds, and perching birds, are amazing facts about how birds talk to each other, what they eat, and how they are able to fly.

From frozen ice-scapes to sweltering deserts, from prehistoric ancestors to amazing adaptations, explore the surprising homes, relationships, and habits of our feathered friends.

For the bird watchers of the future, this is the perfect bird identification book for kids to encourage their interest in the animal planet, and learn how to conserve it.

Explore the natural world in its entirety!

The Extraordinary World of Birds is the most recent title in the breathtaking series that contains The Magic and Mystery of Trees, The Book of Brilliant Bugs, and Earth’s Incredible Oceans.

Picturebook

Join Winston the mouse as he sets out on another irresistible Christmas adventure!

From Alex T. Smith, bestselling author of the Claude series, comes How Winston Came Home for Christmas – the festive sequel to the much-loved How Winston Delivered Christmas . Full of gorgeous colour artwork and Christmassy activities for all the family to enjoy, this second Winston adventure is sure to become a Christmas classic to be enjoyed year after year.

It is five days until Christmas and Winston has a Very Curious Mystery to solve. He has hazy rememberings of another mouse, and he just knows that someone very important to him is lost. After promising Oliver that he will be back in time for Christmas, no matter what, Winston sets out on an exciting round-the-world adventure to find the missing mouse, helped along the way by wonderful old friends and delightful new ones, too.

A Christmas mystery written in 24-and-a-half-chapters, one to read every day of December in the lead up to Christmas, each chapter includes it’s very own festive activity for all the family to enjoy together – including crafting decorations, making Christmas food, discovering Christmas traditions from around the world and so much more!

This gorgeous hardback has a festively foiled cover, a ribbon and artwork on beautiful paper, making it the perfect Christmas gift.

Chapter book

In a remote Nigerian village, thirteen-year-old Simi is desperate to uncover a family secret…

WINNER OF THE 2019 TIMES/CHICKEN HOUSE CHILDREN’S FICTION COMPETITION

City girl Simi is sent to stay with her long-lost grandmother in a remote Nigerian village. There’s no TV, internet or phone. Not a single human-made sound can be heard at night, just the noise of birds and animals rustling in the dark forest outside.

Her witchlike grandmother dispenses advice and herbal medicine to the village, but she’s tight lipped about their family history. Something must have happened, but what?

Determined to find out, Simi disobeys her grandmother and goes exploring. Caught in the sinking red quicksand of a forbidden lake, her fantastical journey begins …

A richly imagined magical fantasy adventure set in West Africa by a prize-winning new voice in children’s writing.

Introduces readers to Yoruba myths and legends whilst showcasing the wealth of culture, traditions, adventure, fun, joy, celebrations, music, pride and love found in Nigeria.

Beautifully explores themes of grief and belonging.

Efua is the winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2018.

Chapter book

A brilliantly imagined new 8+ adventure about resilience, family and hope. From the bestselling and Waterstones Children’s Book Prize shortlisted author of BOY IN THE TOWER. Perfect for fans of Ross Welford, Lisa Thompson and Onjali Rauf.

Rule number one: Always be prepared . . .

Billy’s mum isn’t like other mums. All she wants is to teach him the Rules of Survival – how to make fire, build shelter and find food . She likes to test Billy on the rules until one day she goes too far, and Billy is sent to live with a dad he barely knows.

Then the world changes forever as people begin to be infected with a mysterious virus that turns their skin grey. As chaos breaks out, Billy has to flee the city. Suddenly he realises that this is what his mum was preparing him for – not just to save his family, but to save the whole world.

Non-fiction

Britannica’s Listified! will surprise, amaze and amuse inquisitive young readers with 300 ingenious lists that organise the best bits of our awesome world.

Ever wondered which 10 dinosaurs were the largest, and what they weighed…in cats? Or how much of your DNA you share with other animals…and bananas? Enter the listiverse and get ready to see the world in a whole new way. Listified! takes the best and most amazing parts of the universe – erupting volcanoes, medieval machines, jumping spiders, exploding stars and everything in between – and organises them into quirky list form for curious kids and their friends and family to enjoy.

Brought to life by imaginative and hilarious artworks, each list presents subjects from new and unexpected angles. So let Britannica’s Listified! take you on a journey through 300 lists that illuminate everything from the human body, to prehistoric creatures, planet Earth, outer space and the mysteries beyond. Here are three mind-blowing facts from Listified! to get you started…

A Tyrannosaurus rex could swallow 15,000 hamburgers in a single bite. A bolt of lightning is the width of your thumb and five times hotter than the surface of the Sun. If you tied all your hair together into a single cord, it could support the weight of 18 cows.

An utterly absorbing compendium of amazing facts and trivia that will keep children aged 8+ entertained for hours!

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