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
- Meltdown! by Jill Murphy
- My First Elmer by David McKee
- Over the Hills and Far Away A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes from Around the World by Elizabeth Hammill
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
- The Bad Mood and the Stick by Lemony Snicket
- Town Is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz
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
- Moonrise by Sarah Crossan
- The Girl in the Broken Mirror by Savita Kalhan
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!
I love ‘LoveReading 4 kids’ because they let you read and learn things you’d never dreamed of learning before.
Emily Horncastle – 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
It’s a community united by a passion for books and promoting the best there is in children’s literature.
Sam Bateman and family
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 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
It’s really exciting to read and review new books, thrilling to see my reviews online and I love finding the final published copies on sale.
Sam Harper – age 10
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
We love Lovereading4kids because they put books in front of us we wouldn’t otherwise have read. They make us more adventurous readers!
Emily Jacques
This month's 'featured books':
Bedtime Reading
Mr Underbed
Chris Riddell
STOP PRESS: You have probably seen the Christmas TV ad for Moz the
Monster. It looks to us as though the inspiration for it may well
have…
Where the Wild Things are
Maurice Sendak
Jacqueline Wilson, February 2012 Guest Editor: "The text is very
minimal but perfect - and the illustrations are glorious. This
isn't a scary…
A Perfect Day
Lane Smith
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month May 2018 | Longlisted for the
UKLA 2018 Book Award Award winning Lane Smith celebrates the simple
delights of…
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy
Lynley Dodd
First published in 1983 and still as good today. Written by Lynley
Dodd, who is a New Zealander, this is the first in a series of
books about the…
Bedtime with Ted
Sophy Henn
It's bedtime for Ted, but he's just too busy yet – flip the
flaps and you can see why: Ted is in the bath with some penguins,
busy…
Beep Beep Beep Time for Sleep!
Claire Freedman
Illustrated by Richard Smythe
This book will be heaven for digger devotees, and a dream come true
for their parents too. A busy day on the motorway is drawing to a
close: the…
This month's 'featured books':
Reviewed by Children
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…
Dear Martin
Nic Stone
May 2018 Debut of the Month | In a Nutshell: Striving for goodness
when the world has you down as bad Picture this. You're an honors
student…
The Lie Tree
Frances Hardinge
Award-winning Frances Hardinge is spellbinding is this hugely
entertaining and dramatic Victorian thriller. When Faith's father
dies suddenly…
Fish Boy
Chloe Daykin
Illustrated by Richard Jones
Shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2018 | Longlisted for the
UKLA 2018 Book Award March 2017 Debut of the Month In…
The House with Chicken Legs
Sophie Anderson
May 2018 Debut of the Month | This sparkling debut weaves the
captivating folklore of Baba Yaga with the thrills of a
classic…
Rose Rivers
Jacqueline Wilson
Illustrated by Nick Sharratt
May 2018 MEGA Book of the Month | In a nutshell: new and old
friends united in classic Jacqueline Wilson story
Jacqueline…
This month's 'featured books':
Books of the Year
Carve the Mark
Veronica Roth
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | In a Nutshell: Deadly dilemmas
amidst Star Wars-esque intergalactic enmity | First book in an
ambitiously epic…
Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep
Eleanor Farjeon
Illustrated by Charlotte Voake
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | Elsie Piddock Skips in Her
Sleep is one of the great Eleanor Farjeon's loveliest stories,
and…
The One Memory of Flora Banks
Emily Barr
Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2018 | Longlisted for the
Branford Boase Award 2018 | One of Our Books of the Year 2017
|…
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…
Where the World Ends
Geraldine McCaughrean
One of our Books of the Year 2017 | Shortlisted for the UKLA 2018
Book Award May 2017 Book of the Month | In a nutshell: beautifully
written,…
Katinka's Tail
Judith Kerr
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the
Month November 2017 Fans of the adventures of Judith Kerr's Mog
will…
This month's 'featured books':
Fascinating Facts
The Shakespeare Timeline Wallbook
Christopher Lloyd, Dr. Nick Walton, Patrick Skipworth
Illustrated by Andy Forshaw
The Shakespeare Timeline Wallbook will give readers (of all ages)
special insight into all the 38 plays, as well as into the man and
his time. A…
Big Picture Book of General Knowledge
James Maclaine
Illustrated by Annie Carbo
Packed with interesting and useful information on a range of
important subjects areas, from geography (a section called Around
the World), to music,…
The School of Music
Meurig Bowen, Rachel Bowen
Illustrated by Daniel Frost
This excellent book is an inspiring and all-encompassing guide to
the world of music for young people. By inviting them to imagine
they are attending…
What If a... Could a Monkey Waterski?
Camilla de la Bedoyere
Illustrated by Aleksei Bitskoff
Discover some amazing and unusual facts about monkeys in this
imaginative book full of humorous scenarios that children can
relate to. Using everyday…
Cool Physics
Sarah Hutton
Illustrated by Damien Weighill
An amazing guide to the wonders of physics, handily broken down
into accessible bite-sized chunks and particularly helpful for
anyone new to or…
Dinosaurs : and Other Prehistoric Creatures
Matt Sewell
Opinions on what dinosaurs looked like have changed a lot recently,
and instead of imagining them as big lizards with muddy-brown or
green scales,…
This month's 'featured books':
UKLA 2018
Aubrey and the Terrible Ladybirds
Horatio Clare
Illustrated by Jane Matthews
Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award June 2017 Book of the Month
| A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month June 2017 A sequel
to…
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…
Under the Same Sky
Britta Teckentrup
Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 | Longlisted
for the UKLA 2018 Book Award With its dedication, ‘For a
united world…
Where the World Ends
Geraldine McCaughrean
One of our Books of the Year 2017 | Shortlisted for the UKLA 2018
Book Award May 2017 Book of the Month | In a nutshell: beautifully
written,…
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…
A Child of Books
Oliver Jeffers, Sam Winston
Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award Julia Eccleshare's Book of
the Month September 2016 Award-winning storyteller and artist
Oliver…
This month's 'featured books':
Books for Boys
George Pearce and His Huge Massive Ears
Felix Massie
George Pearce has unusually large ears – in fact they're
massive! It's not the size of his ears that causes him problems
though,…
Just Call Me Spaghetti-Hoop Boy
Lara Williamson
March 2017 Book of the Month A touching and amusing story about
belonging and the search for an heroic identity. Adam has always
known that he was…
Timmy Failure: The Book You're Not Supposed to Have
Stephan Pastis
In a nutshell: absurd comedy genius | Timmy Failure is the best
worst detective in children's fiction, and a wonderful
comic…
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…
Ug-A-Lug Four Cavemen and a Prehistoric Pencil
Jill Lewis
Illustrated by Simon Rickerty
May 2014 Book of the Month Award-winning Simon Rickerty illustrates
this deliciously dotty story. Four cavemen find a pencil and have
absolutely no…
Sir Ned and the Nasties
Brett McKee
Illustrated by David McKee
Written by father and son team Brett and David ‘Elmer' McKee
there's the feel of a fable to this picturebook. The Nasties
are…
This month's 'featured books':
Reluctant Readers
Super Skills: How to Create Animation in 10 Easy Lessons
William Bishop-Stephens
September 2016 Fascinating Facts Book of the Month Anything you can
imagine, you can animate says this stimulating book, and it
explains clearly and…
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…
Treasure Hunters: Peril at the Top of the World
James Patterson
In 3 words : in it together The Kidd family, stars of some of James
Patterson's liveliest and most boisterous…
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…
How to Update Your Parents
Pete Johnson
Illustrated by Nikalas Catlow
This is a hilarious story of dead fish, gorillas with bananas in
their ears, poetry, cunning plans and highly legal documents (kind
of). Oh and…
The Outlaw Varjak Paw
S F Said
Winner of the Blue Peter Book of the Year 2007 and winner of Blue
Peter Prize 2007 'The Book I Couldn't Put Down.'Varjak Paw is a cat
with attitude…
This month's 'featured books':
Super-readable Dyslexia-friendly
The Black Knight of Gressingham 4u2read
Philip Ardagh
Illustrated by Mike Phillips
Interest Age 7-12 Reading Age 7 Philip Ardagh is one of the
funniest - and cleverest - authors around and his stories of the
Green Men of…
All I Said Was...
Michael Morpurgo
Illustrated by Ross Collins
One of our Dyslexia Friendly Books of the Year 2014 - A Dyslexia
Friendly Picture Book for Parent and Child The former
Children's…
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…
The Smallest Horse in the World
Jeremy Strong
Illustrated by Scoular Anderson
Interest Age 7+ Reading Age 7+. Best-selling author Jeremy Strong
takes a thoughtful look at how a bit of magic and invention helps
when times are…
A Perfectly Ordinary School
Jeremy Strong
Illustrated by Scoular Anderson
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8+ Bestselling Jeremy Strong wittily
dreams up the perfect way for Frankie to see off the school
bullies.…
Stars Shall be Bright
Catherine MacPhail
Illustrated by Ollie Cuthbertson
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8+ There are all sorts of stories
being told about World War One, this one, based on the true story
of the…
