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
- Oi Dog! Board Book by Kes Gray, Claire Gray
- Where Is Little Fish? by Lucy Cousins
- Count with Little Fish by Lucy Cousins
3+ readers
- No, Nancy, No! by Alice Tait
- The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield
- Forever or a Day by Sarah Jacoby
5+ readers
- The Great Big Book of Friends by Mary Hoffman
- King of the Sky by Nicola Davies
- Bug Hotel by Libby Walden
7+ readers
- The Book Case by Dave Shelton
- Max Champion and the Great Race Car Robbery by Alexander Mccall Smith
- The Chocolate Factory Ghost by David O'Connell
9+ readers
- The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day by Christopher Edge
- To the Edge of the World by Julia Green
- Tin by Padraig Kenny
11+ readers
- The City of Secret Rivers by Jacob Sager Weinstein
- Twelve Nights by Andrew Zurcher
- The Goose Road by Rowena House
13+ readers
- Truly, Wildly, Deeply by Jenny McLachlan
- Holes by Louis Sachar
- The Football Trials: Kick Off by John Hickman
YA readers
- I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman
- Encounters by Jason Wallace
- I Stop Somewhere by T. E. Carter
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
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
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
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
A great way to introduce kids to great books, authors & genres. Parents can find age-appropriate books to share with their children.
Judi Davies – Aberdare Girls Sch
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 finding new books to read. My mummy and me look at the new ones coming out. I have written reviews of some of them!
Jessica Cobbin – age 7
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
Peace at Last
Jill Murphy
A new board book edition of the picture book classic, in a size
that's perfect for little paws! A timeless storybook classic full
of bright…
Goodnight Tiptoe
Polly Dunbar
A dreamy, goodnight story. Bedtime comes and every one is sleepy
– except Tiptoe! One after another, Tilly settles her friends
down for the…
Blown Away
Rob Biddulph
Winner of the 2015 Waterstones Children's Book Prize A brilliant
adventure for a bold Penguin who gets swept up, up and away on a
brand new…
The Star Tree
Catherine Hyde
When a little girl's nightlight goes out, she takes a magical
midnight journey to the Star Tree in this beautiful bedtime read
from fine artist…
Before I Wake Up...
Britta Teckentrup
April 2016 Book of the Month A little girl's dreams take her and a
friendly lion on a magical journey. Together they fly over meadows,
swim…
Each Peach Pear Plum
Allan Ahlberg, Janet Ahlberg
Illustrated by 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…
This month's 'featured books':
Reviewed by Children
Savage Island
Bryony Pearce
In a Nutshell: When a £1 million prize game becomes more than
a game…. Extreme pressure, perils and outright horrors
fester when five…
The Book Case
Dave Shelton
April 2018 Book of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month
April 2018 A deliciously exciting story with a great boarding
school…
Twelve Nights
Andrew Zurcher
April 2018 Debut of the Month | In a Nutshell: Mystery | Magic |
Otherworldly wraiths | An ambitious and atmospheric fantasy…
Beyond the Odyssey
Maz Evans
April 2018 Book of the Month The penultimate in the series, Beyond
The Odyssey continues with poor Elliot's life becoming more
difficult by…
The Wardrobe Monster
Bryony Thomson
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month April 2018 A charming story of
bedtime fears with a neat twist to it. Dora and all her toys wake
up grouchy and…
Judy Moody Saves the World!
Megan McDonald
Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Another day. Another mood. Meet Judy Moody at her moodiest best, in
this laugh-a-minute third adventure in the international
bestselling series.
This month's 'featured books':
Books of the Year
La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One
Philip Pullman
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | November 2017 Book of the Month
More than two decades after Northern Lights the first book
of…
Triangle
Mac Barnett
Illustrated by Jon Klassen
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | April 2017 Book of the Month |
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month March 2017 Brilliant
and…
The Hate u Give
Angie Thomas
Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2018 | One of Our Books of
the Year 2017 | Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award | April
2017 Debut of the…
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…
I am Bat
Morag Hood
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | This must be one of the
brightest and best picture books of the year. With minimalist
illustrations –…
One Silver Summer
Rachel Hickman
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | June 2017 Debut of the Month A
heady romance for two adolescences each of whom is coping with a
family…
This month's 'featured books':
Fascinating Facts
Destination: Space
Christoph Englert
Illustrated by Tom Clohosy Cole
Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award 2017 - Best Books with
Facts | September 2016 Fascinating Facts Book of the Month …
Bubbles & Balloons 35 Amazing Science Experiments
Susan Akass
Who doesn't like playing with balloons and bubbles? Now you can
have all the fun and learn about science at the same time. There
are 35…
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…
The Wonder Garden
Jenny Broom
Illustrated by Kristjana S Williams
Winner of the English Association 4-11 Picture Book Awards 2016 -
Non-Fiction 7-11 category | Longlisted for the inaugural Klaus
Flugge Prize, an…
Exploring Space
Martin Jenkins
Illustrated by Stephen Biesty
How amazing that less than 100 years after the invention of the
motor car, humans have built and launched vehicles that can leave
the solar system.…
Migration
Mike Unwin
Illustrated by Jenni Desmond
Imagine: you're flying high over the Himalayan mountains, on a
journey filled with danger. The temperature is far below freezing,
the air is thin,…
This month's 'featured books':
UKLA 2018
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…
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…
Grumpy Frog
Ed Vere
Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award Join Grumpy Frog as he
learns about compromise and tolerance, friendship and the power of
saying sorry. A…
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…
Peter in Peril Courage and Hope in World War Two
Helen Bate
Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award Peter is just an ordinary
boy, who loves playing football with his friends and eating cake -
until war comes…
The Street Beneath My Feet
Charlotte Gullian
Illustrated by Yuval Zommer
Shortlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award Detailed, ingenious and
graphically beautiful this information book opens, as the best do,
with an…
This month's 'featured books':
Books for Boys
Life Stinks!
Peter Bently
Illustrated by Fred Blunt
Packed with comical characters, battles, puns and poo, this
hilarious new series from Peter Bently, a Roald Dahl Funny Prize
winner, will be…
Spangles McNasty and the Fish of Gold
Steve Webb
Illustrated by Chris Mould
To the canon of disgusting, disreputable villains loved by children
– the Twits, Mr Gum, Armitage Shanks – can now be added
Spangles…
The Secret Dog
Joe Friedman
Good dog stories are irresistible and this one has everything that
young readers want. Josh is living on a Scottish island with his
crofter uncle…
Demolition
Sally Sutton
Illustrated by Brian Lovelock
“Bang! Clang! Crack! Thud! Creak!! Wham! ” The noises
of the building site provide a background to this vigorous story of
destruction.…
The Day the Crayons Came Home
Drew Daywalt
Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
Longlisted for the UKLA 2017 Book Award | Shortlisted for the
Children's category of the Books are My Bag Readers Awards 2016
Those…
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…
This month's 'featured books':
Reluctant Readers
The Ostrich of Pudding Lane
Jeremy Strong
Illustrated by Sarah Horne
Jeremy Strong knows just how to pitch a story to junior readers and
the three different adventures in this collection have all his
hallmarks:…
The Fox and the Ghost King
Michael Morpurgo
Illustrated by Michael Foreman
Award-winning Michael Morpurgo weaves a charming and witty story
around sport and history as they have come together in the recent
twin triumphs of…
Storyworlds: Nature
Thomas Hegbrook
Opening with an exhortation to readers to ‘discover, inquire
and wonder', this is another example of the exciting trend in
non-fiction…
Follow That Car
Lucy Feather
Illustrated by Stephan Lomp
Hey you, Mouse needs help! He has to catch the gorilla in the
bright yellow car, let's go! On Mouse's instructions, readers
follow the…
The Jewelled Jaguar
Sharon Tregenza
In a nutshell: myth, mystery and adventure Sharon Tregenza's
exciting mystery story opens in very dramatic fashion when a huge
sinkhole…
Hank Zipzer: The Curtain Went Up, My Trousers Fell Down
Henry Winkler, Lin Oliver
Love the new CBBC series? Read the original books! TV tie-in
edition of the New York Times bestselling series about the
hilarious adventures of a…
This month's 'featured books':
Super-readable Dyslexia-friendly
Spitfire
Tom Palmer
Illustrated by David Shephard
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8+ Tom Palmer combines football with
a dramatic story of the Second World War, plus a touch of
the…
Rugby Academy: Combat Zone
Tom Palmer
Illustrated by Dave Shephard
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8+ Tom Palmer is brilliant at
capturing the passion of sport and the drama it creates. Woody is
an…
Snug
Michael Morpurgo
Illustrated by Faye Hanson
Interest Age 5-8 Former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo has a
gift for telling stories about animals and how they touch the lives
of…
The Number 7 Shirt
Alan Gibbons
Interest Age 9 -14 Reading Age 8+. Perfect for reluctant or
struggling readers. This is an action-packed story involving a boy
who dreams of being a…
The 13th Fairy
Kaye Umansky
Illustrated by Stefano Tambellini
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8+ Poor Sleeping Beauty! Everyone
knows she was cursed by the wicked fairy out of spite because
she…
The Hat Trick
Terry Deary
Illustrated by Stefano Tambellini
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 Can Jud rise to the challenge in
this new edition of the popular football-tale-with-a-twist from
award-winning…
