Lovereading4kids Weekly Staff Picks
Reading is fundamental to the development of children and countless research shows the links between good reading skills from an early age and future success in life. However, finding books children want to read or authors that excite them, can be difficult; the choice is daunting and guidance rather thin on the ground.
So, Lovereading4kids was created to be the best recommendation site for Children’s Book from toddlers to teens. It has been created using the experience we have as parents and book lovers, who want our children to read great books. Secondly, it has been created from what we have learned from setting up our first book site lovereading.co.uk
Books for all ages! Top downloads
Baby and Toddler
- My First Elmer by David McKee
- Over the Hills and Far Away A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes from Around the World by Elizabeth Hammill
- A Great Big Cuddle by Michael Rosen
3+ readers
- Square by Mac Barnett
- Wonder Goal! by Michael Foreman
- The Match by Russell Ayto
5+ readers
- The Great Telephone Mix-Up (Little Gem) by Sally Nicholls
- Town Is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz
- The Bad Mood and the Stick by Lemony Snicket
7+ readers
- Hoakes Island by Ian Friel
- The Uncracked Code by Tamara Macfarlane
- A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold
9+ readers
- You Are Awesome by Matthew Syed
- How to Bee by Bren MacDibble
- Spirit by Sally Christie
11+ readers
- The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson
- A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge
- Girls for the Vote by Linda Newbery
13+ readers
- Holes by Louis Sachar
- Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge
- The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
YA readers
- Release by Patrick Ness
- The Girl in the Broken Mirror by Savita Kalhan
- Moonrise by Sarah Crossan
Register now – FREE for a unique range of services specifically created to help parents and anyone who likes to buy books for children choose the best books for boys and girls of all ages.
- Download and print off the Opening Extract of every ‘featured book’ on our site, even the picture books.
- Discover new writers through our unique children’s author ‘like-for-like’ recommendation service.
- Read our exclusive online book reviews by Julia Eccleshare, author and children’s books editor at the Guardian.
- Enjoy regular emails to keep you up to date on the latest and best in your chosen age ranges. (Please be reassured that your e-mail address will remain confidential to Lovereading and not sold to any of those horrible spam people).
Register now and try it out. We know choosing books for children will become a joy!
We love Lovereading4kids because it promotes reading choices, new authors and a sense of community for children of all ages!
Rachel Bridgeman
It is THE website to use for narrowing down your search for any book. Definitely knocks the socks off any other book review website.
Nickey and Tomasz Hawryszczuk
I love all the books they recommend & put up for me to review. I also love the fact that they give new authors the chance to share their boo
Daisy Pennock – age 15
Love “Lovereading4kids” as my son gets to hear about & read new books before his mates which keeps him interested in reading=a very happy Mum
Liz Evans
Lovereading4kids is great, we get books really early never late. We love to read and review, and think you would like it too. The excitement
Jasmine Harris-Hart, age 12
I am so pleased to have signed my kids up as they are reading a much wider range of books and even choosing books out of their comfort zone.
Angela East
I have told all my friends, family & teachers to see for themselves just how great the site is. Without fail, they are hugely impressed.
Alexander Boxall – age 11
It is fantastic, you get to read lots of books and you always find something new and amazing in them.
Erica Motoc, age 7
This month's 'featured books':
Bedtime Reading
Each Peach Pear Plum
Allan Ahlberg, Janet Ahlberg
Illustrated by Janet Ahlberg, Janet Ahlberg
A delightful board book with simple rhyming text and engaging
interactive pictures. Children will be able to find characters that
are mentioned in…
Peepo! 30th Anniversary Edition
Allan Ahlberg
Fabulous illustrations, wonderful rhyming text with not a word out
of place; this is a book that no nursery bookshelf can be without.
This book…
The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Touch and Feel Playbook
Eric Carle
A Touch and Feel version of this is a much-loved classic, first
published in 1969, is perfect for older babies and toddlers. It
features concepts…
Fairytales Gone Wrong: Get Some Rest, Sleeping Beauty!
Steve Smallman
Illustrated by Neil Price
Young children will learn the importance of rest in this hilarious
story all about sleep and as result bedtime should become an easier
time of the…
Goodnight Everyone
Chris Haughton
Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award Perfect for the end of
every day, award-winning Chris Haughton captures the soothing time
as the sun goes…
With My Mummy
James Brown
Illustrated by Cally Johnson-Isaacs
One of our special picks for Mothering Sunday The ahhh-factor is at
its highest setting in this sweet but sturdy little board book. On
each page a…
This month's 'featured books':
Reviewed by Children
Cannonball Coralie and the Lion
Grace Easton
May 2018 Debut of the Month Funky and thoroughly contemporary in
feel, though simultaneously acknowledging classic children's
illustration,…
William Wenton and the Secret Portal
Bobbie Peers
In a nutshell: code-breaking child genius versus villainous robots
| William Wenton is something of a bionic boy; half of his body is
a…
The Magical Mix-Up
Zach King
Illustrated by Beverly Arce
May 2018 Book of the Month | In a nutshell: fast-moving mix of
magic, first crushes and knockabout humour | Zach King's family
have…
Cuckoo Song
Frances Hardinge
Frances Hardinge creates a brilliant sense of menace in this
chillingly dark fairy story . Something sinister, beyond just
getting wet, happens to…
McTavish Goes Wild
Meg Rosoff
Illustrated by Grace Easton
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book
Award | A new story for that best of all dogs, McTavish, and
another…
Football School Season 2: Where Football Explains the World
Spike Gerrell, Alex Bellos
Illustrated by Ben Lyttleton
This clever, hugely entertaining book is further proof, if it were
needed, that football is the best game in the world, and that there
is nothing,…
This month's 'featured books':
Books of the Year
The Lost Words
Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 A book to make you think and
feel, this is an important, beautiful, spellbinding treasure. Words
from…
The Ravenmaster's Boy
Mary Hoffman
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | In a nutshell: intrigue and
treachery at the Tower of London, and a bird's eye view of the end
of Anne…
The Wizards of Once
Cressida Cowell
Winner of the 2018 Blue Peter Awards - Best Story | One of Our
Books of the Year 2017 | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month
October…
Orbiting Jupiter
Gary D. Schmidt
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | Shortlisted for the UKLA 2017
Book Award Before meeting his new foster brother, Jack understands
what he…
Lockwood & Co: The Empty Grave
Jonathan Stroud
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | In a nutshell: dicing with the
dead has never been so thrilling Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood &
Co series…
Matt Millz
Harry Hill
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | In a nutshell: dreams-come-true
adventure plus comedy advice from the master Harry Hill's
new…
This month's 'featured books':
Fascinating Facts
The Big History Timeline Wallbook
Christopher Lloyd
Illustrated by Andy Forshaw
If you want to know what was happening on Earth any time in the
last four billion years, then you couldn't do better than opening
out the Big…
National Trust: The Secret Diary of John Drawbridge, a Medieval Knight in Training
Philip Ardagh
Illustrated by Jamie Littler
In a nutshell: historical adventures full of facts and fun Not
since Horrible Histories has the past been brought to life for
young readers so…
Mr Shaha's Recipes for Wonder
Alom Shaha
Illustrated by Emily Robertson
Mr Shaha's Recipes for Wonder: Adventures in Science round the
kitchen table will help families appreciate the wonders of
science…
The Earth Book
Jonathan Litton
Illustrated by Thomas Hegbrook
April 2017 Fascinating Facts Book of the Month This beautiful
information book explores all aspects of our planet, this
‘tiny…
A World of Cities
Lily Murray
Illustrated by James Brown
In this large format picture book 30 famous cities around the globe
are brought to life through beautiful illustrations and a vast
miscellany of…
Lesser Spotted Animals
Martin Brown
Shortlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award In a nutshell: not your
average animal book | This is no ordinary animal book, you won't
find…
This month's 'featured books':
UKLA 2018
What Not to Do If You Turn Invisible
Ross Welford
Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award January 2017 Book of the
Month | In a nutshell: invisible girl finds herself in the
spotlight…
A Perfect Day
Lane Smith
Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award In this follow up to the
beautiful There Is a Tribe of Kids, Lane Smith's bright and fresh
artwork combines…
The Goldfish Boy
Lisa Thompson
Longlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2018 | Longlisted for the
UKLA 2018 Book Award A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month
January…
Out of Heart
Irfan Master
Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award Donating your heart is the
most precious gift of all. Adam is a teenage boy who lives with his
mum and…
A First Book of Animals
Nicola Davies
Illustrated by Petr Horacek
Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 | Longlisted
for the UKLA 2018 Book Award What a wonderful book to give to a
child. It's…
Black Light Express
Philip Reeve
Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award In a nutshell: dazzling
journeys into other worlds | Philip Reeve continues to turn
us…
This month's 'featured books':
Books for Boys
Bruno and Titch
Sheena Dempsey
Perfect for pet-lovers (and especially guinea pig lovers)
everywhere, this funny story of finding a home and a person to care
for him is told from…
The Tigerboy
Ted Hughes
Described as Metamorphosis for young readers, this story by Ted
Hughes is indeed filled with a sense of transformation, visceral
and almost…
William Bee's Wonderful World of Trucks
William Bee
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month March 2017 Irresistible for
anyone mad about trucks! There's so much to learn about the…
Lucky Break
Rob Stevens
In a nutshell: comic capers deliver sensitive story of grief and
recovery Arnold is unlike anyone Leon has ever met before. He's
honest to the…
The Gold Thief
Justin Fisher
In a nutshell: thrilling adventure in a magical other world | After
his adventures in the thrilling Circus of Marvels, all its
young…
Danny McGee Drinks the Sea
Andy Stanton
Illustrated by Neal Layton
Andy Stanton, that maestro of absurdity, teams up with Neal Layton,
an illustrator who also has a direct line to preposterousness, to
create a…
This month's 'featured books':
Reluctant Readers
Attack of the Alien Dung!
Gareth P. Jones
Illustrated by Steve May
In a nutshell: pets protect the world from alien attack | Planet
Earth Is under constant threat from aliens, and who is there to
protect…
Puppy Academy: Murphy and the Great Surf Rescue
Gill Lewis
Illustrated by Sarah Horne
In a nutshell : daring puppy heroes Gill Lewis's little stories of
the doggy students of the Puppy Academy have much to…
Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder: The End of the World. Maybe.
Jo Nesbo
With crazy inventions, disappearing socks, half-men half-frogs, a
moon chameleon invasion and, of course, plenty of super-sonic
bottom burps, this is…
The Misadventures of Max Crumbly 2 Middle School Mayhem
Rachel Renee Russell
In a nutshell: wacky humour, thrilling action, nail-biting suspense
and cool raps From the creator of the hugely…
The Beautiful Game
Alan Gibbons
Illustrated by Chris Chalik
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | In a nutshell: the highs and lows
of our national obsession | Football has the power to…
Hard Luck
Jeff Kinney
Hard Luck, book 8 of the hilarious, globally-bestselling and
award-winning Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, is now out in paperback.
Francesca Dow, m.d.…
This month's 'featured books':
Super-readable Dyslexia-friendly
McTavish Goes Wild
Meg Rosoff
Illustrated by Grace Easton
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book
Award | A new story for that best of all dogs, McTavish, and
another…
Shona, Word Detective (4u2read)
John Agard
Illustrated by Michael Broad
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 7 Shona loves words and discovering
new ones, so she's fascinated by the professor on TV talking about
her…
Young Wizards
Michael Lawrence
Illustrated by Chris Mould
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8+ On the day before their sister's
thirteenth birthday strangely magical things start to…
Scrum!
Tom Palmer
Illustrated by Dylan Gibson
Interest Age 9+ Reading Age 8+. A passion for rugby and a dilemma
about it too lies at the heart of this touching story of a boy with
a big…
School Spelling Dictionary
Christine Maxwell, Julia Rowlandson
Interest Age 7+ Reading Age 8+ Based on a phonic approach to
finding spellings, this schools edition of the best-selling
Dictionary of Perfect…
Mad Iris and the Bad School Report
Jeremy Strong
Illustrated by Scoular Anderson
One of our Dyslexia Friendly Books of the Year 2015 - Interest Age
8-12 Reading Age 8Firm favourite Mad Iris returns for a third
madcap…
