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
- Tabby McTat Picturebook and CD by Julia Donaldson
- Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
- A Busy Day for Birds by Lucy Cousins
3+ readers
- The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
- Tabby McTat by Julia Donaldson
- Goodnight Everyone by Chris Haughton
5+ readers
- The Diary of a Killer Cat by Anne Fine
- Grandad's Secret Giant by David Litchfield
- What's My Name? by Wendy Finney
7+ readers
- My Mum's Going To Explode! by Jeremy Strong
- Mango & Bambang: Tiny Tapir Trouble by Polly Faber
- Danny Dingle's Fantastic Finds The Jet of Justice by Angie Lake
9+ readers
- Eye of the Wolf by Daniel Pennac
- Dragon's Green Worldquake Book One by Scarlett Thomas
- Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
11+ readers
- Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
- The Island at the End of Everything by Kiran Millwood-Hargrave
- Cogheart by Peter Bunzl
13+ readers
- Holes by Louis Sachar
- The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon
- Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. by Anne Frank
YA readers
- A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
- A Monster Calls: Special Collector's Edition by Patrick Ness
- ...And a Happy New Year? by Holly Bourne
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!
It is fantastic, you get to read lots of books and you always find something new and amazing in them.
Erica Motoc, age 7
I love Lovereading as it provides an honest opinion and showcases a range of fiction. Suited to both parents & kids alike, it’s a must-use.
Georgie Rowe – age 16
You give me age appropriate ideas of books I can read and buy for the children and find out what other children their age think of them too.
Katie Lonsdale
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
We love Lovereading4kids because it promotes reading choices, new authors and a sense of community for children of all ages!
Rachel Bridgeman
It has introduced my children to books we hadn’t come across before. Real children’s reviews gives a great insight into what others think to
Lorraine Woods
I love lovereading4kids because I’ve read amazing books I would never have picked up, and its opened doors to new genre’s I now love.
Harriet Cunningham
I love Lovereading4kids because I get an opportunity to put my opinion forward and to try new books
Elosie Clarkson – age 11
This month's 'featured books':
Bedtime Reading
Count with Maisy, Cheep, Cheep, Cheep!
Lucy Cousins
Smiling, cheerful, independent, no wonder toddlers everywhere love
Maisy, and she makes all early learning experiences fun and
exciting. This story…
Tufty
Michael Foreman
Tufty the little duck grows up in the grounds of Buckingham Palace
(his parents are very fond of the Royal Duck and Duckess (sic) who
give the ducks…
Zzzzz A Book of Sleep
Il Sung Na
Wonderful illustrations coupled with a gorgeous storyline of an owl
who at night watches while others go to sleep but as dawn breaks
can you guess…
10 Ten-Minute Stories
Various Authors
If your New Year resolution was to spend ten minutes a day reading
to your children, then this attractive collection of fairy stories
from around the…
Bedtime Stories Baby's First Storybook: Follow the Finger Trails
Luana Rinaldo
Campbell Books lead the field in books for babies, and this little
hardback board book is certain to become a favourite with parents,
the perfect…
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…
This month's 'featured books':
Carnegie Greenaway
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
J. K. Rowling
Illustrated by Jim Kay
Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2017 | Exciting news
for all Harry Potter fans, Bloomsbury has published the first fully
illustrated…
The Bone Sparrow
Zana Fraillon
Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2017 and awarded the
Amnesty CILIP Honour | Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's
Fiction Prize 2016…
The Sleeper and the Spindle
Neil Gaiman
Illustrated by Chris Riddell
Winner of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2016. A deluxe edition of
the thrillingly reimagined fairy tale by the magical partnership
of…
The Ghost of Thomas Kempe
Penelope Lively
Winner of the 1973 CILIP Carnegie Medal The Ghost of Thomas Kempe
is a timeless and haunting story, critically acclaimed, this
Carnegie award…
The Wolves of Currumpaw
William Grill
Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2017 | Longlisted
for the UKLA 2017 Book Award | A beautiful and moving re-telling of
the first…
Watership Down
Richard Adams
Illustrated by Aldo Galli
Winner of the 1972 CILIP Carnegie Medal A book that resonates as
vividly today as it did nearly half a century ago, this
keepsake…
This month's 'featured books':
Books Reviewed by Children
The Five Realms: The Gift of Dark Hollow
Kieran Larwood
Illustrated by David Wyatt
In a nutshell: brave rabbits continue their fight against a
terrifying enemy The story of rabbit hero Podkin One-Ear continues
in this…
Goodnight Everyone
Chris Haughton
Perfect for the end of every day, award-winning Chris Haughton
captures the soothing time as the sun goes down and all the animals
begin to fall into…
The Wrong Train
Jeremy De Quidt
In a Nutshell: Sinister short stories Sublimely spine-tingling,
this evokes all the dread of an ominous tap-tap-tapping on your
door in the dead of…
Mango & Bambang: Tiny Tapir Trouble
Polly Faber
Illustrated by Clara Vulliamy
Polly Faber and Clara Vulliamy's Mango and Bambang stories are
perfect for newly independent readers. There are four funny,
entertaining…
Isadora Moon Goes on a School Trip
Harriet Muncaster
In a nutshell: half-vampire, half-fairy, Isadora makes a new friend
Lively, told in short chapters and filled with illustrations
this…
Bathroom Boogie
Clare Foges
Illustrated by Al Murphy
How do you follow a roaring success like Kitchen Disco? Why, with a
Bathroom Boogie of course. Who knew that when we're out our
bathrooms…
This month's 'featured books':
Bookshelf Essentials
Mog The Forgetful Cat 40th anniversary edition
Judith Kerr
Many happy returns to Mog the Forgetful Cat who has been delighting
readers for forty years. Brilliant author-illustrator Judith
Kerr's…
Bears In The Night
Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain
One of our 'Must Reads'. Lively pictures, charming characters and
the fact that the story only uses 24 words, but to beautiful
effect, make this a…
The Conquerors
David McKee
In this masterpiece for all ages, best-selling illustrator David
McKee has created a miniature morality tale. The General leads his
army into one…
Mio's Kingdom
Astrid Lindgren
From the world famous creator of Pippi Longstocking comes this
touching magical adventure about an unhappy little boy who meets a
genie and is…
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Joan Aiken
A wonderful adventure as two children flee from the yranny of their
wicked guardian and bravely set out on the road to London. Miss
Slighcarp is as…
Up in the Tree
Margaret Atwood
This is a delightfully simple and light-hearted story told with a
poetic jauntiness written and illustrated by one of the foremost
literary novelists…
This month's 'featured books':
Classics
Island of Adventure
Enid Blyton
Illustrated by Stuart Tresilian
A surprise holiday at Craggy-Tops for Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann, Jack
and Kiki the parrot should have been perfect! With the sea breaking
below them at…
King Arthur And His Knights Of The Round Table (with an introduction by David Almond)
Roger Lancelyn Green
One of the best known and best loved stories in mythology, how a
small boy pulls the sword from the stone thus proving that he is
its rightful keeper…
The Call Of The Wild (with an Introduction by Melvin Burgess)
Jack London
This is a classic of all classics. Melvin Burgess has written an
Introduction that will make the reader realise if they haven't
already…
Stone Cold
Robert Swindells
In a nutshell: Iconic | Outspoken | Big Issues | Difficult
TruthsStone Cold is a Carnegie Medal-winning thriller by Robert
Swindells. It is one of…
The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (with an Introduction by Darren Shan)
Mark Twain
This is a wonderful adventure of three boys from very different
worlds. At the heart of the story is the relationship between
Huckleberry Finn and…
The Teddy Robinson Storybook: Macmillan Classics Edition
Joan G. Robinson
Joan G. Robinson's based her classic stories, about the very
everyday things that might happen to a teddy bear, on her
daughter's bear…
