Books for Babies and Toddlers

1		When I Dream of ABC Henry Fisher Wonderfully dreamy and fantastical illustrations – opera singing mermaids, shy dragons and even chocolate drinking vampires – combine with simple text to encourage children to learn their ABC.  Perfect as a bedtime read as after the parent has gone it’s … Download free opening extract
2		Christmas Time Alison Jay Come on a journey through Alison Jay’s magical festive world! Discover all the things that make Christmas the most special time of the year and see if you can spot two lucky children who are on their own Christmas Eve … Download free opening extract
3		The Story of the Little Mole – The Sound Book Werner Holzwarth The best-selling Little Mole has been delighting or displeasing readers according to their taste in toilet humour for a couple of decades. All young children will adore this sound version which adds an important dimension to the story of Little … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 3+ readers

1		Dog Loves Books Louise Yates Winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2010 (Funniest Book for Children aged Six and Under). Shortlisted for the Independent Booksellers’ Book Prize 2010. The magic of books and reading is perfectly illustrated in this joyful picture book. Dog loves books … Download free opening extract
2		Goodnight Tiptoe Polly Dunbar As with all Walker Books titles this doesn’t just have a fabulous story to it but it’s beautifully printed and bound in paperback on quality paper – it really makes a wonderfully affordable gift for babies and toddlers. Goodnight Tiptoe … Download free opening extract
3		The Ice Bear Jackie Morris Stunning illustrations capture the warm emotions of this magical story and juxtaposes them perfectly with  the winter landscape of the white bears and the hunters who live in it.  When Raven steals a white bear cub and delivers him to … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 5+ readers

1		Farther Grahame Baker-Smith Graham Baker-Smith’s debut Leon and the Place Between was shortlisted for the prestigious Greenaway Medal in 2010. Farther is the first book that he’s written and illustrated himself and it’s utterly captivating.  The text is so beautifully placed and inextricably … Download free opening extract
2		Quentin Blake’s Magical Tales John Yeoman, Quentin Blake Beautifully told, the fourteen folk stories in this collection are taken from around the world giving a slice of different kinds of magic from different times. In all there are elements of enchantment, transformation and trickery as the kind and … Download free opening extract
3		Grow Your Own Monsters Nicola Davies, Simon Hickmott, Clive Boursnell A practical guide to growing all kinds of unusual plants – not the ordinary, good looking ones that most people choose to grow! Voodoo Lilies, Venus Fly Traps, Squirting Cucumbers and Abyssinian Bananas are just some of the exotic and … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 7+ readers

1		A Boy Called M.O.U.S.E. Penny Dolan An evocative and thrilling tale, set in a richly colourful Dickensian world, featuring a small boy, Mouse, whose parents are lost at sea, and whose life is threatened by the claims of his money-grabbing and debt-ridden Uncle and he is … Download free opening extract
2		Bink & Gollie Kate DiCamillo, Alison McGhee With deliciously spare text and delightful cartoons, the way friends Bink and Gollie, two very different girls both with very strong views(!), manage to be supportive of each other and also to give each other space to do their own … Download free opening extract
3		Lost Dogs Garrett Carr Ballydog may well be a weird, weird town (in Ireland as it happens) with weird  characters, and monsters giving it that supernatural touch but this is a great read.  The author is a terrific storyteller and has clearly had a … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 9+ readers

1		Billionaire Boy David Walliams Hugely entertaining, this captivating story is also thought provoking about the perils of having way too much money. Joe Spud is the richest twelve-year-old in the world; he has everything his heart desires – except happiness. As one disaster follows … Download free opening extract
2		Alien Storm A.G. Taylor A gripping science-fiction adventure pits a group of kids with super powers against a mysterious Russian billionaire. Infected by an extraordinary virus from a meteor storm, Sarah, Robert and the younger children in their charge are now at risk from … Download free opening extract
3		The Iron Man Ted Hughes A stunning new version of a much-loved children’s classic with stunning and unusual illustations from Laura Carlin. Part modern fairy tale, part science fiction myth, The Iron Man describes the unexpected arrival in England of a mysterious giant “metal man” … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 11+ readers

1		Unhooking the Moon Gregory Hughes Winner of the BookTrust Teenage Book Prize 2010 and shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize 2010. One absolutely, indisputably MEGA story! This highly recommended title is a beautifully written, utterly original, funny and bittersweet tale about two newly orphaned kids … Download free opening extract
2		Withering Tights Louise Rennison Winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2010 (Funniest Book for Children aged Seven to Fourteen). Laugh out loud at this launch title of a brilliant new series by Queen of Teen author Louise Rennison. Tallulah Casey, cousin of the … Download free opening extract
3		My Name is Mina David Almond For everyone who loved David Almond’s Skellig, My Name is Mina is its prequel written over 10 years after Skellig was published to such acclaim.  Skellig remains one of THE bestselling and well known novels of the last decade. So here, … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 14+ readers

1		Matched Ally Condie Introducing a rare new talent and almost certainly one of the biggest Young Adult debuts of the year this is the first in an utterly compelling, visionary and imaginative series that is set to be a sensation. The book is … Download free opening extract
2		The Truth About Leo David Yelland Shortlisted for the Young Minds Book Award 2010 Full of insight, this is a deeply moving story about how a child handles a parent with a serious problem. Leo’s life with his father is a mess but there is no way … Download free opening extract
3		You Against Me Jenny Downham Prize-winning Jenny Downham’s debut novel Before I Die was the profoundly moving story of the death of a teenager. Told with immense insight and compassion it showed Jenny’s talent for understanding the energetic positivity of teenagers; how, for them, the … Download free opening extract

We hope you and the children are having a great start to the new decade, and that books are playing a big part! According to our literary calendar, Judy Blume, Kenneth Grahame, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Charles Dickens were all born in the month of February, and every time we recall such brilliant children’s writers it inspires us to go out and find new talent to tell you about – to help kids of today fall in love with reading.

Our Bookshelf of fantabulous Books of the Month

MEGA BOOK OF THE MONTH! – Time Riders by Alex Scarrow

As well as our normal bookshelf of Books of the Month we want to shout a bit louder about one of the most anticipated new books for young readers. Written by an established adult author Alex Scarrow Time Riders is his first children’s book. Three teenagers have cheated death. Now they have to fix broken history, and stop time travel from destroying the world… Readers of 10+ will be transfixed by it. Find out more and read a free Opening Extract!

Help your kids’ imaginations with the books behind the films

Films are a wonderful way of piquing children’s interest in stories, but sometimes it’s good for them to read the book before they see the movie because when you read you can imagine how landscapes, characters and adventures look – it’s brilliant brain training. So we’re launching a new category with information about upcoming films and the books they’re based on – to help make books a part of the whole experience. Find out more about the brilliant new films due for release and created from even better books.

Win yourselves something fantastic – new competitions

After a brief break for January, our popular Free Prize Draws and Competitions section is back! This month we have prizes linked to cats, dragons and teenage spies!

Asking the big questions – Author of the Month Gemma Malley

Gemma’s powerful and gripping novels for young adults are often based on big ideas about science and moral duty.

Her new book, The Returners, is no exception. It’s an endlessly thought-provoking story set in an alternate future that questions the role of every individual in society.

Why not take a look at all the books from February’s Author of the Month and download some free Opening Extracts – we’re sure your teenagers will get hooked…

February – Debuts of the Month

The Badness of Ballydog Garrett Carr 7+ Three teenagers in a grim coastal town have to try to save it from a vast ancient creature on the seabed…but is it worth saving?. Download Extract More info	Princess for Hire Lindsey Leavitt 9+ An hilarious story about a girl who gets the chance to be a substitute princess, and makes one royal fiasco after another.. Download Extract More info
Superhumans: Meteorite Strike A.G. Taylor 9 – 12 An action-packed SciFi adventure about two kids who survive an alien virus, only to be enrolled by a rogue international agency with ruthless goals… Download Extract More info	My So-Called Afterlife Tamsyn Murray 11+ A terrifically funny story about a deceased girl with a pretty lame afterlife who gets a chance to put grisly matters to rest and meet the ghost of her dreams! Download Extract More info
Out of Shadows Jason Wallace 14+ A memorable, moving and disturbing coming of age story set against the tumult of Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. It’s incredibly powerful and definitely one for teenage readers. Download Extract More info	Beautiful Creatures Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl 14+ An exquisitely crafted dark Gothic fantasy story with unforgettable characters – this book is a future classic. Download Extract More info
Magic Under Glass Jaclyn Dolamore 14+ A stunning blend of paranormal intrigue and doomed love that captures a perfect Gothic romance on every page. Download Extract More info

Guest Editor of the Month – Robert Muchamore

Best known for his Cherub Series, Robert Muchamore is also the author behind the more recently penned and wildly popular Henderson’s Boys series, the latest of which – Secret Army – is out now. This month Robert has chosen a selection of books, exclusively for Lovereading4kids, by authors who have influenced and inspired him in his impressive career to date.

Have you or your children read the cult Classic Catcher in the Rye?

The recent death of the author J D Salinger has reignited interest in his book, which is considered by many to be one of the most important books of all time.

Long a staple of GCSEs perhaps it’s time to take this out of the classroom and either revisit or say hello to the teen anti hero Holden Caulfield. Read an Opening extract and find out more..

We hope there’s plenty here to help your children keep on enjoying books, and to challenge them to progress their reading skills. Have a great February!