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
- Meltdown! by Jill Murphy
- The Tickle Test by Kathryn White
3+ readers
- The Wildest Cowboy by Garth Jennings
- Square by Mac Barnett
- Wonder Goal! by Michael Foreman
5+ readers
- The Great Telephone Mix-Up (Little Gem) by Sally Nicholls
- The Bad Mood and the Stick by Lemony Snicket
- Plantopedia by Adrienne Barman
7+ readers
- Hoakes Island by Ian Friel
- The Uncracked Code by Tamara Macfarlane
- A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold
9+ readers
- How to Bee by Bren MacDibble
- You Are Awesome by Matthew Syed
- Spirit by Sally Christie
11+ readers
- The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson
- A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge
- The Island at the End of Everything by Kiran Millwood-Hargrave
13+ readers
- Holes by Louis Sachar
- Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge
- Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
YA readers
- White Rabbit, Red Wolf by Tom Pollock
- Moonrise by Sarah Crossan
- Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls
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 Lovereading4kids because I get an opportunity to put my opinion forward and to try new books
Elosie Clarkson – age 11
This company is amazing; not only is it is a great opportunity to get books and review them but everyone is so friendly and supportive!
Jemma Rubens, age 10
At @HHSHaringey we love @lovereading4kids because our pupils can practice reviewing & get free upcoming books before anyone else!
Helen Swinyard – Heartlands High
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
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
LoveReading4Kids is a modern and creative way of emphasising the value and importance of books in this digital age #booksforlife
Amrit Bunet – Teen
I love Lovereading because I often never know what to read and this helps you find a good book. I have recommended this to many people.
Shannon-Louise Masters – age 15
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
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…
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…
The Everywhere Bear
Julia Donaldson
Illustrated by Rebecca Cobb
Best-selling duo Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb reunite in a
lovely story that begins in a Year One classroom before taking us
on an exciting,…
Are You Sitting Comfortably?
Leigh Hodgkinson
March 2016 Book of the Month Leigh Hodgkinson's picture book is a
stylish investigation into how and where to read a book.…
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…
Elmer and the Lost Teddy Board Book
David McKee
The Elmer books are stunning to look at, with their jewel-like
colours and fabulous jungle scenes, but they teach children about
kindness, acceptance…
This month's 'featured books':
Reviewed by Children
How to Bee
Bren MacDibble
May 2018 Book of the Month How To Bee is unlike any story I have
ever read. The narrative voice is heartfelt and the author uses a
mild form…
The Faceless Ones
Derek Landy
Prize winning Skulduggery Pleasant is back for a third thrilling
adventure. Along with his side-kick Stephanie, Skulduggery, the
skeleton detective,…
The Burning Maze
Rick Riordan
May 2018 MEGA Book of the Month | In a nutshell: gods and monsters,
heroism and humour | The Burning Maze is book three in…
Skylarks
Karen Gregory
In a Nutshell: Falling in love, taking a stand, and standing tall
Exploring an unforgettable relationship between two young women
and…
My Box-Shaped Heart
Rachael Lucas
In a Nutshell: Fractured families | First love | Fresh starts |
16-year-old Holly feels like an outsider, except when she's…
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,…
This month's 'featured books':
Books of the Year
Flip Flap Dogs
Nikki Dyson
Illustrated by Nikki Dyson
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | February 2017 Book of the Month
Open the book and turn its divided pages carefully, top and bottom
half together,…
Who Let the Gods Out?
Maz Evans
Longlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2018 | One of Our Books of
the Year 2017 | February 2017 Debut of the Month Oh my goodness,
this…
Old Hat!
Emily Gravett
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | Longlisted for the UKLA 2018
Book Award June 2017 Book of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of
the…
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe
Lauren James
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | September 2017 Book of the
Month | In a Nutshell: Stellar story of survival in outer space A
uniquely…
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…
Indigo Donut
Patrice Lawrence
Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2018 | One of Our Books of the
Year 2017 | In a Nutshell: Soaring soundtrack to resilience
and…
This month's 'featured books':
Fascinating Facts
The Big Bird Spot
Matt Sewell
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month May 2017 Described as
‘the Bansky of the bird world', Matt Sewell has…
101 Brilliant Things for Kids to Do with Science
Dawn Isaac
Doing exactly what it says on the tin, this book is indeed packed
with things for kids to do with science and the great news is that
all 101 of them…
The Superhero Handbook
James Doyle
Illustrated by Jason Ford
There's no excuse for anyone who, having read this book from cover
to cover and followed its instructions carefully, does not emerge
a…
The Nature Timeline Wallbook
Christopher Lloyd, Patrick Skipworth
Illustrated by Andy Forshaw
The most innovative approach to non-fiction since Horrible
Histories, the What On Earth Wallbooks present information in a way
guaranteed to inspire…
Above and Below
Patricia Hegarty
Illustrated by Hanako Clulow
Children are invited to explore eight different habitats in this
appealing and very attractive information book, clever split page
design allows them…
It Starts with a Seed
Laura Knowles
Illustrated by Jennie Webber
Shortlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award The life cycle of a tree
is beautifully described in this outstanding book. A narrative
poem…
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…
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,…
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We Come Apart
Sarah Crossan, Brian Conaghan
January 2018 Book of the Month | Shortlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book
Award In a nutshell: unputdownable story, beautifully told |
…
The Bone Sparrow
Zana Fraillon
Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award | Shortlisted for the CILIP
Carnegie Medal 2017 and awarded the Amnesty CILIP Honour |…
A Story Like the Wind
Gill Lewis
Illustrated by Jo Weaver
One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | Longlisted for the UKLA 2018
Book Award A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month May 2017
Gill…
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…
This month's 'featured books':
Books for Boys
Dylan's Amazing Dinosaurs - The Stegosaurus
E. T. Harper
Illustrated by Dan Taylor
Dylan and his dinosaur friend fly off on amazing dinosaur discovery
missions to the Land of Living Dinosaurs. This time he has to
discover what…
Harry and the Monster
Sue Mongredien
Illustrated by Nick East
How can Harry tame the monster who comes to scare him in the night?
Luckily first Mum and then dad come up with a clever plan.
Suddenly, the monster…
How Pirates Really Work
Alan Snow
Do pirates really like singing rollicking songs, burying their
treasure and parrots? Do they really eat Ship's biscuits with worms
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…
The Boy and the Globe
Tony Bradman
Illustrated by Tom Morgan-Jones
Young readers wondering what's so special about Shakespeare as
celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of his death get
underway would do…
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…
This month's 'featured books':
Reluctant Readers
Who's a Big Bully Then?
Michael Morpurgo
Illustrated by Joanna Carey
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8+. How do you see off the school
bully? Sick of being picked on and called ‘chicken' the
narrator of this…
There's a Dragon in My Backpack!
Tom Nicoll
Illustrated by Sarah Horne
From the Psammead to the Cat in the Hat, there's a long tradition
in children's books of young protagonists befriending a
magical…
Dave Pigeon (Nuggets)
Swapna Haddow
Illustrated by Sheena Dempsey
In a nutshell: pigeontastic comedy capers with Dave and Skipper |
Things are not looking good for pigeons Dave and Skipper. The
Human…
Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie Escape from Camp
Jeff Norton
Life's not easy for Adam Meltzer, or rather death isn't. You see,
he's a zombie – bad enough for anyone let alone someone
who…
Aliens Love Dinopants
Claire Freedman
Illustrated by Ben Cort
Those pants-mad aliens are back for another bonkers and utterly
irresistible episode of knicker-nicking! Lightning sends the
aliens' spaceship…
Point Blanc Graphic Novel
Anthony Horowitz, Antony Johnston
Brilliantly visualised, these graphic novel versions of the
best-selling stories of boy spy Alex Rider add a fantastic new
dimension to the original…
This month's 'featured books':
Super-readable Dyslexia-friendly
Noah Scape Can't Stop Repeating Himself
Guy Bass
Illustrated by Steve May
Interest Age 8-11 Reading Age 8 Guy Bass's hilarious story is a
lesson to be careful what you wish for and why making everything
all…
Ninja: Death Touch
Chris Bradford
Illustrated by Sonia Leong
One of our Dyslexia Friendly Books of the Year 2013 - Interest Age
8-12 Reading Age 8 A dramatic new story in the popular Ninja series
and…
A Twist of Tales
Julia Donaldson
Illustrated by Peter Bailey
Interest Age 5-8 No-one knows better than Julia Donaldson how to
tell a story for young readers. There are three fairy tales in this
appealing…
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…
Fame Thing
Jonathan Meres
Illustrated by Jake McDonald
One of our Super Readable Books of the Year 2016 | Interest Age
8-12 Reading Age 8 | In a nutshell: funny story of football,
fandom…
Street Corner Dad
Alan Gibbons
Illustrated by Ismael Pinteno
Interest Age 7-12 Reading Age 7 Set in Liverpool during World War
II, Alan Gibbon's novel is a compelling drama. It packs a
real…
