Books for Babies and Toddlers

1		Archie Domenica More Gordon June 2012 Debut of the Month. From an important and exciting new author/illustrator – a hugely original new talent – comes a riot of canine fun, bound to attract appreciative tail-wagging from dog fans! Featuring a royal guest star at the end it’s … Download free opening extract
2		The Best Kind of Kiss Margaret Allum A stunning book with plenty of kisses on every page – from fluffy kisses and big kisses to lip smacky and snuggly cuddly mummy kisses – there’s a kiss for every moment. But the best kiss of all for the … Download free opening extract
3		Zog (Paperback and CD-Audio) Julia Donaldson Winner of the Galaxy Children’s Book Award 2010. Book and CD edition. The creators of the best-selling Gruffalo have invented a delightful new character – Zog the little dragon who always wants to do best at school. Zog’s determination to win … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 3+ readers

1		The King of Quizzical Island Digs Through the World Gordon Snell Age 3+. This is one of the loveliest picture books that’s been published in 2011 to share with your toddler.  In the extraordinary adventures of the King of Quizzical Island, the King decides he must prove to his citizens that … Download free opening extract
2		Have You Ever Ever Ever? Colin McNaughton Talented duo Colin McNaughton and Emma Chichester Clark have teamed up to create a witty and original introduction to some very favourite characters from nursery rhymes and popular songs. The cat and the fiddle, incy wincy spider, the four and … Download free opening extract
3		L is for London Harriet Rowe From daredevil doubledeckers leaping over Tower Bridge to drunken barristers unable to stand up to toast the king, this pocket A-Z is filled with fun and quirky facts about London.  Titles already published in the A is for Alphabet series … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 5+ readers

1		The Great Dog Disaster Katie Davies June 2012 Book of the Month. If you’re looking for entertainment and a wildly funny adventure then any one of the Katie Davies stories is perfect.  It’s told from the perspective of 9 year old Anna, a young girl with … Download free opening extract
2		O is for Olympics Ned Elliott Numerous amazing and little known facts about the Olympics will inform and amuse children in equal measure. From a heroic marathon runner in 490 BC to one who sneaked a lift in 1904, this A-Z brings to life the epic … Download free opening extract
3		The Monster Machine Nicola L. Robinson June 2012 Book of the Month. Have monster fun with the making of monsters and what they do next! Topped up with the right ingredients of slugs, toenail clippings, earwax, spiders and some special glue, the monster-making machine churns out … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 7+ readers

1		Sam Silver, Undercover Pirate 1 : Skeleton Island Jan Burchett, Sara Vogler, Leo Hartas June 2012 Book of the Month. This is the first in a fantastic new series that we guarantee will get even the most reluctant reader reading! It combines everything that boys and girls aged 7+ will love including time-travelling, treasure hunting … Download free opening extract
2		Little Manfred Michael Morpurgo June 2012 Book of the Month. Award-winning author and illustrator duo Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman have created a touching story about the way lives become entangled during conflict and how, unexpectedly, those ties can lead to enduring friendship. When … Download free opening extract
3		The Dragonsitter Josh Lacey May 2012 Book of the Month. A hilarious story full of useful tips for any dragon-minder. When Eddie’s Uncle Morton goes off on an urgent mission he leaves his dragon behind with Eddie as the babysitter. But a dragon is not … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 9+ readers

1		Tiger Wars Steve Backshall June 2012 Book of the Month. Wildlife specialist Steve Backshall, presenter of the Award winning TV show Deadly, brings the threat tigers are under sharply into focus in this thrilling eco-adventure. Saker and Sinter are two teenagers on the run from … Download free opening extract
2		Earthfall Mark Walden June 2012 Book of the Month. Rich in dazzlingly but sinister technology with Grendels, Drones and Hunters on the attack, this headlong adventure of how a group of kids fight against it is a thrilling corkscrew of a story. Miraculously … Download free opening extract
3		The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making Catherynne M. Valente June 2012 Debut of the Month and eBook of the Month. A witty and original prize-winning debut ‘fairy’ novel that has won the hearts of readers across the US. Once an ordinary 12 year old, nothing is ever ordinary again for September … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 11+ readers

1		Next Keith Gray June 2012 Book of the Month. Brilliantly written, each of the stories in this thought-provoking and surprisingly entertaining collection asks what happens next? Award winning authors including Malorie Blackman, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Philip Ardagh and Keith Grey explore the question, what … Download free opening extract
2		The Adjusters Andrew Taylor June 2012 Book of the Month. A chilling story of perfect children, medically transformed! Newly arrived in a new town and in a new school it doesn’t take Henry long to discover that something is wrong. Very wrong. How can … Download free opening extract
3		A Waste of Good Paper Sean Taylor A moving, first person story that captures the frustrations and pent-up fury of a boy with a lot of problems. Jason has been told to write something in his new journal everyday. The trouble is there is nothing he wants … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 14+ readers

1		Theodore Boone 3: the Accused John Grisham June 2012 Book of the Month. Bestselling John Grisham’s needle-sharp writing is brilliantly on display in this detective story centring on 13 year old Theodore Boone. The son of lawyers, Theo is an expert in how the law works. It’s knowledge … Download free opening extract
2		At Yellow Lake Jane McLoughlin June 2012 Debut of the Month. Full of tension, this is a gripping debut novel with vibrant characters caught up in a complex interweaving of stories all of which are played out on the faraway shores of Yellow Lake. Etta finds … Download free opening extract
3		A Monster Calls Patrick Ness Winner of the 2012 Carnegie Medal AND 2012 Kate Greenaway Medal. This is the first time, in the Awards 75 year history, that one book has won both prizes! Rachel Levy chair of the 2012 CILIP Carnegie judging panel said: “A … Download free opening extract

Tags

Tell the Wolves I’m Home,Carol Rifka Brunt,River of Destiny,Barbara Erskine,Where the Bodies are Buried,Christopher Brookmyre,Wife 22,Melanie Gideon,The Villa Girls,Nicky Pellegrino,A Death in Summer,Benjamin Black,The Kashmir Shawl,Rosie Thomas,Anna Dressed in Blood,Kendare Blake,The Book of Summers,Emylia Hall,The Accident,Linwood Barclay,Sam Silver, Undercover Pirate 1 : Skeleton Island,Jan Burchett, Sara Vogler, Leo Hartas,Little Manfred,Michael Morpurgo,Tiger Wars,Steve Backshall,Next,Keith Gray,The Great Dog Disaster,Katie Davies,O is for Olympics,Ned Elliott,The Dragonsitter,Josh Lacey,Earthfall,Mark Walden,The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making,Catherynne M. Valente,The Monster Machine,Nicola L. Robinson,Archie,Domenica More Gordon,The Best Kind of Kiss,Margaret Allum,Zog (Paperback and CD-Audio),Julia Donaldson,The King of Quizzical Island Digs Through the World,Gordon Snell,Have You Ever Ever Ever?,Colin McNaughton,L is for London,Harriet Rowe,The Great Dog Disaster,Katie Davies,O is for Olympics,Ned Elliott,The Monster Machine,Nicola L. Robinson,Sam Silver, Undercover Pirate 1 : Skeleton Island,Jan Burchett, Sara Vogler, Leo Hartas,Little Manfred,Michael Morpurgo,The Dragonsitter,Josh Lacey,Tiger Wars,Steve Backshall,Earthfall,Mark Walden,The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making,Catherynne M. Valente,Next,Keith Gray,The Adjusters,Andrew Taylor,A Waste of Good Paper,Sean Taylor,Theodore Boone 3: the Accused,John Grisham,At Yellow Lake,Jane McLoughlin,A Monster Calls,Patrick Ness

Books for Babies and Toddlers

1		Mayfly Day Jeanne Willis Its message is one to treasure.  Mayfly lives for only one day. Is she sad? No, everything about that one day is to be celebrated. Mayfly sees buds burst open, she sees babies being born; she feels breezes blowing and … Download free opening extract
2		Peppa Pig: Peppa Meets the Queen Join Peppa Pig as she goes to the Palace and gets to meet the Queen! Miss Rabbit is invited to the Palace to get an honour and Peppa and her friends are going too! It’s a wonderfully celebratory day out … Download free opening extract
3		Pip and Posy: The Big Balloon Axel Scheffler April 2012 Book of the Month. Best known for creating the pictures for the Gruffalo, Axel Scheffler has created a perfect story for pre-school. How can Pip’s friends cheer him up when his beautiful red balloon goes POP! ? Luckily Posy … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 3+ readers

1		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 book in the slightest, though the monsters are grotesque, equipped with very sharp teeth and pointy claws.  Little Max … Download free opening extract
2		Charlie and Lola: We Completely Must Go to London Best-selling Charlie and Lola and their best friends Marve and Lotta are very excited to be going on a trip to London! They gaze up at Buckingham Palace and wonder which is the Queen’s Bedroom, they look in wonder at … Download free opening extract
3		The Worst Princess Anna Kemp May 2012 Book of the Month. A funny new picture book from the team behind the successful Dogs Don’t Do Ballet and Rhinos Don’t Eat Pancakes! Girls everywhere will be cheering for Sue in this story of determination and derring-do. The galloping, tongue-in-cheek rhyming text … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 5+ readers

1		HM Queen Elizabeth II: Diamond Jubilee This is a very special Ladybird souvenir edition to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II. … Download free opening extract
2		Me, the Queen and Christopher Giles Andreae, Tony Ross A touching and funny story about a 7 year-old girl’s adventure having tea with the Queen. Told with Giles Andreae’s trademark warmth and humour, but with an added poignancy when the Queen meets Christopher, Freya’s brother, this is a perfect … Download free opening extract
3		The Perfect Pet Shop (Early Reader) Vivian French A delightful animal story, perfect for early readers. There’s nearly a pet shop disaster when a noisy puppy won’t stay quiet at night time. How will the other animals ever get to sleep? Maybe telling stories will do the trick? … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 7+ readers

1		Dotty Inventions And Some Real Ones Too Roger Mcgough May 2012 Book of the Month.  Best-selling poet Roger McGough hits some real Eureka! moments in this cheerfully wacky picture book full of fabulously ingenious inventions. Professor Dotty Dabble is a great inventor so is sure she’ll win the National … Download free opening extract
2		Eeek! The Runaway Alien Karen Inglis April 2012 Book of the Month. A boy, an alien and football – without any shadow of doubt it’s a match made in heaven for boys in particular and if you have a reluctant reader in the house aged from 6-9 … Download free opening extract
3		Homecoming Michael Morpurgo Michael Morpurgo, former Children’s Laureate and the award-winning author of War Horse, has written a beautifully evocative story which celebrates the beauty of a place and the pain it creates when that beauty is under threat. Michael always liked to … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 9+ readers

1		White Dolphin Gill Lewis May 2012 Book of the Month. Bestselling Gill Lewis’s new story tells of the amazing, life-affirming powers of dolphins.  Kara’s life is in a mess; her mum has disappeared, she is in trouble at school and her father is about to … Download free opening extract
2		The Sleeping Army Francesca Simon May 2012 Book of the Month. Freya is an ordinary girl living in modern Britain, but with a twist: people still worship the Viking gods. One evening, stuck with her dad on his night shift at the British Museum, she … Download free opening extract
3		Twelve Minutes to Midnight Christopher Edge April 2012 Book of the Month. A thriller with a fast-paced cinematic style, Twelve Minutes to Midnight is an electrifying story from an exciting new author featuring a feisty 13 year old heroine. It is the first book in a must-read … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 11+ readers

1		A Dog Called Homeless Sarah Lean May 2012 Debut of the Month. This is an outstandingly assured debut novel from a sparkling new talent.  When Cally Fisher sees her dead mother, real as anything, no one believes her. So Cally stops talking – what’s the point … Download free opening extract
2		Hero on a Bicycle Shirley Hughes May 2012 Book of the Month. Best-selling illustrator Shirley Hughes writes beautifully in this gripping story set during World War Two. Living in Italy during the occupation by the Germans, Paolo and his sister Constanza long to do something for the … Download free opening extract
3		A Waste of Good Paper Sean Taylor A moving, first person story that captures the frustrations and pent-up fury of a boy with a lot of problems. Jason has been told to write something in his new journal everyday. The trouble is there is nothing he wants … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 14+ readers

1		Changeling Philippa Gregory May 2012 MEGA Book of the Month. Best-selling Philippa Gregory’s first book for teenagers is a thrilling story of malice and betrayal, courage and passion. Tricked out of her inheritance by her greedy and duplicitous brother, Isolde must swap ruling … Download free opening extract
2		Slated Teri Terry May 2012 Debut of the Month. This is a debut novel not to miss. It’s an original and haunting psychological thriller that’s packed with intense mystery and secrets that will have you gripped from the very first page.  It’s the story of Kyla … Download free opening extract
3		When It Happens Susane Colasanti May 2012 Book of the Month. A terrific romantic comedy drama for all those searching for The One! Sara and Tobey couldn’t be more different. She is focused on getting into her first-choice college; he wants to win Battle of the … Download free opening extract

Hey hey, welcome to May! This month we have virtual shelves full of great books to inspire your kids to lovereading. You could start by telling them that J. M. Barrie, creator of the ever-young Peter Pan, was a May baby. Born in 1860, a lonely child (the 9th of 10 siblings!), Barrie created a fantasy world that has captured the hearts of kids and adults ever since. Here’s what else is new this month…

Author of the Month, Cassandra Clare

If your teens love reading and haven’t discovered Cassandra Clare yet, now is a great time! The Tolkien and Austen lover is the author of two brilliant series. ‘Infernal Devices’ is a dark, dangerous and romantic urban fantasy in a Victorian London filled with vampires and werewolves. ‘Mortal Instruments’ explores an alternate, parallel world filled with shape-shifting demons. Fans of Twilight will think they’ve died and gone to Heaven! Get all of the books in these amazing series by visiting Lovereading4kids today.

Books of the Month

Our bookshelf this month is packed with great reads for all tastes and ages. Get started now and find your kids a fabulous new adventure this month.

Plus for the fast-growing army of e-readers, don’t miss our eBook of the Month, The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda (14+) - Hunger Games-type action-packed survival against the odds.

Get Competitive! Great chances to Win

We’ve three great competitions this month. Tied into our section featuring the fabulous children’s books of award-winning fledgling publisher Nosy Crow, 3 lucky winners can win an exciting selection of books and apps. Click here to enter.

PLUS! We also have 5 awesome brand new Horrid Henry T-Shirts to give away to coincide with the forthcoming publication of Henry’s latest exploits – Horrid Henry’s Monster Movie. Here’s the link … Go there, do that and get the T-shirt!

And we have an 100 book give-away of Matt Dickinson’s 11+ thriller Mortal Chaos to get readers in the mood for the release of his second, Deep Oblivion (published in June), which you can read an extract of in our Pre-Publication section today.

That’s a First! – Debuts of the Month

Whatever you do don’t let your teenagers miss our MEGA Debut of the Month
Black Heart Blue by Louisa Reid (14+). A novel which packs a heart stopping punch. Sixteen year old twins Hephzi and Rebecca are about as different from each other as they could be. In this harrowing survival tale of family ties, hopes and dreams.

Below are our other top debuts for May:

A Dog Called Homeless Sarah Lean (9+) Heartbreakingly beautiful, tender story of heartache and hope, doubt and courage, silence and song. Download Extract More info	Hitler’s Angel William Osborne (11+) Courage and danger in a page-turning thrill ride that readers will devour! Download Extract More info
Secret Breakers : The Power of Three H. L. Dennis (11+) Code-breaking, secrecy and adventure … DaVinci Code for kids! Download Extract More info	Slated Teri Terry (14+) Gripping, absorbing, dystopian psychological thriller. Download Extract More info

Rabbiting on! – Series of the Month, Little Grey Rabbit

Hooray! These delightful, classic and much-loved tales for kids aged 3+ have been re-launched in beautiful editions and we have loved getting to know them again! You’ll be glad you clicked.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

Well, we couldn’t ignore the Diamond Jubilee (Gawd bless yer majesty)! So, we have compiled a small selection of titles to celebrate. Our absolute favourite is Horrid Henry meets the Queen by Francesca Simon, which should really be called: ‘The Queen meets Horrid Henry’! Sparks fly as you can imagine! …

Writing Competitions for Young and Old

We love anything that inspires new talent and this month there are TWO great competitions for budding writers:

The Wicked Young Writers competition rewards creative writing by young people from the ages of 5 to 25 and is judged by former Children’s Laureate, Michael Morpurgo. Visit the website to get started!

And for slightly older writers: the Times / Chicken House New Writers Award. An annual search for original ideas, a fresh voice and a story that children will love. Anyone who has written a novel for children aged 7-18 can submit a manuscript. Click here to find out more about entering.

See below for a bookshelf of previous winners and runners up who were also published by Chicken House.

And finally, definitely worth a look … Sean Taylor, best known as an illustrator, has released his debut YA fiction title, A Waste of Good Paper (11+). Drawing from his own experiences, this is a searingly honest and touching work. Think The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

Well, that’s all folks! May in a basket! Scroll down to see more book recommendations in the age ranges you have said you are interested in. If you want to change them just log in to your account.

See you in June for some summer fun. Til’ then, Happy Reading!