Lovereading 4 Kids Updates from the world of children’s books

Featured Books Age 0 – 5 Years

1		My Mum! Beth Shoshan From the same illustrator that brought us the charmingly funny My Dad! – we now have My Mum! – who is rather silly but simply lovely. Guarenteed to put a smile on your child’s face. … Download free opening extract
2		What the Ladybird Heard Julia Donaldson Best-selling author and illustrator Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks have teamed up for another brilliant picture book. Right in the farmyard among all the noisy animals with their MOOs! and QUACKS! and BAAs! and OINKs!  lives a tiny silent ladybird. … Download free opening extract
3		Giraffes Can’t Dance Giles Andreae A touching and triumphant story republished in celebration of the title’s 10th birthday about how the giraffe goes from being hopeless on the dance floor to becoming the star of the show. Jeered by all for his disastrous dancing, Gerald … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 5+ readers

1		The BFG Roald Dahl This is a delightful, funny and exciting story about a special friendship between two people from different worlds – a giant and a child. As the story develops it shows how trust and love develops between them. It also … Download free opening extract
2		Oliver Moon and the Troll Trouble Sue Mongredien Fun to read wizard school adventures for Oliver. The auditions for the school play go badly wrong from the beginning. Instead of being cast as a hero, Oliver lands the part of a troll! A gruesome forest troll who will … Download free opening extract
3		My Brilliant Book! Michael Broad Short of a good book to read, Sam decides that writing his own is the only way to really enjoy a story. Vibrantly illustrated, Sam’s flights of fancy – aliens, a world full of sweets, a trip to the wildwest … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 7+ readers

1		The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish Neil Gaiman Visually dramatic, this is a hugely entertaining adventure perfectly tinged with an alarming subtext.  Desperate to have his friend’s two goldfish, a boy swaps his father for them – despite the warning from his sister. Predictably, Mum is not pleased … Download free opening extract
2		Mr Gum And The Dancing Bear Andy Stanton Winner of The Blue Peter book award 2009 ’most funny book with pictures’ category – Mr Gum is off on his fifth best-selling adventure. And it is as zany and ridiculous as any that have gone before. This time, a gigantic … Download free opening extract
3		Wallace And Gromit Grand Adventures And Glorious Inventions Penny Worms Suitable for discerning Wallace and Gromit fans, this all-singing, all-dancing book sets out as Wallace’s secret invention scrapbook, with snippets of information and personal memorabilia about his cracking contraptions and his madcap capers with his dog, Gromit. With lots of … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 9+ readers

1		Shadow Forest Matt Haig Winner of the overall Blue Peter Book of the Year 2009 and category winner of ‘the book I couldn’t put down’.   A dramatic adventure story set in an enchanted magical world. Samuel Blink’s life changes forever when a giant log … Download free opening extract
2		The Magic Thief Sarah Prineas This is an absolutely captivating debut fantasy adventure. Full of magic and trickery, this is the story of a wizard and his new apprentice trying to discover why the magic in their city is fading and how they must stop it from disappearing … Download free opening extract
3		The Wolves In The Walls Neil Gaiman Prepared to be scared by this utterly brilliant romp of a story which is powerfully told in words and pictures. Lucy can hear all kinds of noises coming from the walls of the house. They are creeping, sneaking and crumpling … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 11+ readers

1		If You’re Reading This, it’s too Late Pseudonymous Bosch This is the quirky, original and deliciously dark sequel to the hilarious The Name of This Book is Secret.  Bursting with inventive characters and laugh-out-loud moments, readers will be instantly hooked once more by the stylish storytelling of Pseudonymous Bosch.   A … Download free opening extract
2		My Sister Jodie Jacqueline Wilson A fantastic book from Jacqueline Wilson. Pearl and Jodie are sisters who are very different. Jodie is noisy, brash, insensitive and bold. Pearl is only ten, little and shy and anxious all the time. When their parents both get jobs … Download free opening extract
3		The Book of a Thousand Days Shannon Hale Recorded as a highly readable diary, this is an original retelling of a fairy tale that gives a taste of the traditional while adding original and unexpected elements to make it anything but an ordinary fairytale and you certainly won’t … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 14+ readers

1		Gone Michael Grant   Gripping from the first moment on, this is a scary, an unputdownable and a brilliantly plotted fantasy. First the teachers start to disappear from school; soon all the adults are gone. Only the children remain and they are trapped, cut … Download free opening extract
2		The Ant Colony Jenny Valentine An irresistible new novel from Jenny Valentine, winner of the Guardian Children’s Book Prize with Finding Violet Park.  Written with a wonderful lightness of touch, the author manages to weave and interweave the very different lives of a disparate range … Download free opening extract
3		Wildthorn Jane Eagland Set in Victorian England, this is a thought-provoking and shocking debut story for teenagers and adults of how a young woman with an ambition to become a doctor (at a time when it was frowned upon for women to have … Download free opening extract

Featured Books Age 0 – 5 Years

1		Minty And Tink Emma Chichester Clark The importance of a special toy is perfectly captured in this passionate story about how a toy can be ‘real’.  When searching for a birthday present for her baby brother, Minty finds a tiny toy bear who can talk. Instantly, … Download free opening extract
2		What the Ladybird Heard Julia Donaldson Best-selling author and illustrator Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks have teamed up for another brilliant picture book. Right in the farmyard among all the noisy animals with their MOOs! and QUACKS! and BAAs! and OINKs!  lives a tiny silent ladybird. … Download free opening extract
3		Tin Forest Helen Ward Book and CD. Exquisite and fascinating illustrations beautifully capture the hopeful mood of this story about the power of dreaming. Living in a miserable grey world, an old man repeatedly dreams of colour and growth. Gradually his world begins to full up with … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 5+ readers

1		My Brilliant Book! Michael Broad Short of a good book to read, Sam decides that writing his own is the only way to really enjoy a story. Vibrantly illustrated, Sam’s flights of fancy – aliens, a world full of sweets, a trip to the wildwest … Download free opening extract
2		The BFG Roald Dahl This is a delightful, funny and exciting story about a special friendship between two people from different worlds – a giant and a child. As the story develops it shows how trust and love develops between them. It also … Download free opening extract
3		Winnie The Twit Laura Owen Fun to read and well-matched by their illustrations, these four short stories tell of yet more dramatic and hilarious adventures for Winnie the Witch and her cat Wilbur. Winnie variously tries to find the perfect pet, to fix things with … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 7+ readers

1		Mr Gum And The Dancing Bear Andy Stanton Winner of The Blue Peter book award 2009 ’most funny book with pictures’ category – Mr Gum is off on his fifth best-selling adventure. And it is as zany and ridiculous as any that have gone before. This time, a gigantic … Download free opening extract
2		Wallace And Gromit Grand Adventures And Glorious Inventions Penny Worms Suitable for discerning Wallace and Gromit fans, this all-singing, all-dancing book sets out as Wallace’s secret invention scrapbook, with snippets of information and personal memorabilia about his cracking contraptions and his madcap capers with his dog, Gromit. With lots of … Download free opening extract
3		Genie and the Phoenix Steve Cole, Linda Chapman An exciting fantasy adventure full of twist, turns and some very unexpected moments. Michael, Milly, Jason and Jess are just four ordinary children leading quite ordinary lives until they meet a most unusual genie disguised in the shape of a … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 9+ readers

1		Shadow Forest Matt Haig Winner of the overall Blue Peter Book of the Year 2009 and category winner of ‘the book I couldn’t put down’.   A dramatic adventure story set in an enchanted magical world. Samuel Blink’s life changes forever when a giant log … Download free opening extract
2		The Magic Thief Sarah Prineas This is an absolutely captivating debut fantasy adventure. Full of magic and trickery, this is the story of a wizard and his new apprentice trying to discover why the magic in their city is fading and how they must stop it from disappearing … Download free opening extract
3		Ingo Helen Dunmore This is the first of the Ingo quartet. Helen Dunmore has done what few authors succeed in doing.  She’s created an absolutely believable mythical world alongside our own. One that makes you want to be there more than anything else, … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 11+ readers

1		If You’re Reading This, it’s too Late Pseudonymous Bosch This is the quirky, original and deliciously dark sequel to the hilarious The Name of This Book is Secret.  Bursting with inventive characters and laugh-out-loud moments, readers will be instantly hooked once more by the stylish storytelling of Pseudonymous Bosch.   A … Download free opening extract
2		The Book of a Thousand Days Shannon Hale Recorded as a highly readable diary, this is an original retelling of a fairy tale that gives a taste of the traditional while adding original and unexpected elements to make it anything but an ordinary fairytale and you certainly won’t … Download free opening extract
3		My Sister Jodie Jacqueline Wilson A fantastic book from Jacqueline Wilson. Pearl and Jodie are sisters who are very different. Jodie is noisy, brash, insensitive and bold. Pearl is only ten, little and shy and anxious all the time. When their parents both get jobs … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 14+ readers

1		Gone Michael Grant    Gripping from the first moment on, this is a scary, an unputdownable and a brilliantly plotted fantasy. First the teachers start to disappear from school; soon all the adults are gone. Only the children remain and they are trapped, cut … Download free opening extract
2		The Ant Colony Jenny Valentine An irresistible new novel from Jenny Valentine, winner of the Guardian Children’s Book Prize with Finding Violet Park.  Written with a wonderful lightness of touch, the author manages to weave and interweave the very different lives of a disparate range … Download free opening extract
3		Wildthorn Jane Eagland Set in Victorian England, this is a thought-provoking and shocking debut story for teenagers and adults of how a young woman with an ambition to become a doctor (at a time when it was frowned upon for women to have … Download free opening extract

Featured Books Age 0 – 5 Years

1		My Mum! Beth Shoshan From the same author that brought us the charmingly funny My Dad! – we now have My Mum! – who is rather silly but simply lovely. Guarenteed to put a smile on your child’s face. … Download free opening extract
2		Minty And Tink Emma Chichester Clark The importance of a special toy is perfectly captured in this passionate story about how a toy can be ‘real’.  When searching for a birthday present for her baby brother, Minty finds a tiny toy bear who can talk. Instantly, … Download free opening extract
3		Tin Forest Helen Ward Book and CD. Exquisite and fascinating illustrations beautifully capture the hopeful mood of this story about the power of dreaming. Living in a miserable grey world, an old man repeatedly dreams of colour and growth. Gradually his world begins to full up with … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 5+ readers

1		My Brilliant Book! Michael Broad Short of a good book to read, Sam decides that writing his own is the only way to really enjoy a story. Vibrantly illustrated, Sam’s flights of fancy – aliens, a world full of sweets, a trip to the wildwest … Download free opening extract
2		The BFG Roald Dahl This is a delightful, funny and exciting story about a special friendship between two people from different worlds – a giant and a child. As the story develops it shows how trust and love develops between them. It also … Download free opening extract
3		Winnie The Twit Laura Owen Fun to read and well-matched by their illustrations, these four short stories tell of yet more dramatic and hilarious adventures for Winnie the Witch and her cat Wilbur. Winnie variously tries to find the perfect pet, to fix things with … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 7+ readers

1		Wallace And Gromit Grand Adventures And Glorious Inventions Penny Worms Suitable for discerning Wallace and Gromit fans, this all-singing, all-dancing book sets out as Wallace’s secret invention scrapbook, with snippets of information and personal memorabilia about his cracking contraptions and his madcap capers with his dog, Gromit. With lots of … Download free opening extract
2		Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl A book that requires no introduction as it is probably Dahl’s best-known and most read creation and deservedly so. The secretive and magical world of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory is revealed to five ‘lucky’ children, each of who has won … Download free opening extract
3		Mr Gum And The Dancing Bear Andy Stanton Winner of The Blue Peter book award 2009 ’most funny book with pictures’ category – Mr Gum is off on his fifth best-selling adventure. And it is as zany and ridiculous as any that have gone before. This time, a gigantic … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 9+ readers

1		Shadow Forest Matt Haig Winner of the overall Blue Peter Book of the Year 2009 and category winner of ‘the book I couldn’t put down’.   A dramatic adventure story set in an enchanted magical world. Samuel Blink’s life changes forever when a giant log … Download free opening extract
2		Ingo Helen Dunmore This is the first of the Ingo quartet. Helen Dunmore has done what few authors succeed in doing.  She’s created an absolutely believable mythical world alongside our own. One that makes you want to be there more than anything else, … Download free opening extract
3		The Magic Thief Sarah Prineas This is an absolutely captivating debut fantasy adventure. Full of magic and trickery, this is the story of a wizard and his new apprentice trying to discover why the magic in their city is fading and how they must stop it from disappearing … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 11+ readers

1		If You’re Reading This, it’s too Late Pseudonymous Bosch This is the quirky, original and deliciously dark sequel to the hilarious The Name of This Book is Secret.  Bursting with inventive characters and laugh-out-loud moments, readers will be instantly hooked once more by the stylish storytelling of Pseudonymous Bosch.   A … Download free opening extract
2		The Book of a Thousand Days Shannon Hale Recorded as a highly readable diary, this is an original retelling of a fairy tale that gives a taste of the traditional while adding original and unexpected elements to make it anything but an ordinary fairytale and you certainly won’t … Download free opening extract
3		The Secret Ministry of Frost Nick Lake Hugely dramatic, this is a fast-paced fantasy thriller based on stories from Inuit folklore. After her explorer father disappears in the Arctic, Light finds herself in serious danger as she is drawn into folk stories of her forbears. Supported by … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 14+ readers

1		My (not so) Simple Life Joanna Nadin The further escapades of the engaging and immensely funny Rachel Riley – an Adrian Mole style character of today’s teenage world.  Written in diary style, this book has all the necessary hallmarks to be a real page-turner.  Not just funny but genuinely … Download free opening extract
2		Wildthorn Jane Eagland Set in Victorian England, this is a thought-provoking and shocking debut story for teenagers and adults of how a young woman with an ambition to become a doctor (at a time when it was frowned upon for women to have … Download free opening extract
3		The Ant Colony Jenny Valentine An irresistible new novel from Jenny Valentine, winner of the Guardian Children’s Book Prize with Finding Violet Park.  Written with a wonderful lightness of touch, the author manages to weave and interweave the very different lives of a disparate range … Download free opening extract

Featured Books Age 0 – 5 Years

1		Gorilla Anthony Browne Greenaway winner in 1983.Wonderfully inventive story and almost tear-jerking at times but with a happy ending.  The illustrations are both detailed and colourful and children will delight in them. I’m sure for some parents it really touches a nerve as … Download free opening extract
2		Santa’s Littlest Helper Travels The World Anu Stohner Curl up on those cold starry winter nights and enjoy a magical Christmas story with Santa’s littlest helper who saves the day when everyone around him gets ill.  It’s a Christmas story with a twist and with some stunningly colourful … Download free opening extract
3		Aliens Love Underpants! (Book and CD edition) Claire Freedman     Joint winner of the Richard and Judy “Early” 5+ Category. Terrific illustrations capture the flood of jokes about pants that underlie this rhyming story now brilliantly brought to even greater life by the addition of a CD to accompany the … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 5+ readers

1		Alice In Wonderland (slipcase edition) Lewis Carroll, Rodney Matthews The story is timeless and can be read at so many different levels, but this lavish slipcased edition is quite simply stunning and will bring to the reader a very different Wonderland – even more fantastical and a little darker … Download free opening extract
2		The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Basil Wiley Miller A wonderful debut from an incredibly talented wordsmith and illustrator. Fans of The Wizard of Oz and James and the Giant Peach will love Basil and his erstwhile adventures. Basil is an ordinary boy living a very ordinary life in a lighthouse, … Download free opening extract
3		Spells Emily Gravett A stunning new picture book from Emily Gravett, full of witchcraft, wizardry and magic. We meet a frog trying his utmost to turn himself into a handsome prince from a torn up spell book, resulting in inevitably confusing consequences. It … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 7+ readers

1		The Birthday Book Michael Morpurgo This is a sumptuous collection of stories and verse compiled by Michael Morpurgo, beautifully illustrated by Quentin Blake and published in aid of The Prince’s Foundation for Children and Arts and to celebrate the Prince of Wales’s 60th birthday. It’s … Download free opening extract
2		The Butterfly Lion Michael Morpurgo The inspiring magic of a white lion brings friendship and hope to a lonely ten year old. Miserable at his boarding school, Bertie runs away. He is rescued by a kind old lady who tells him of how another Bertie, … Download free opening extract
3		Tom’s Midnight Garden Philippa Pearce A classic time slip story in which Tom, staying in big house now divided into flats, manages to get into the garden at night and make friends with a little girl. But who is the girl? Can she really be … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 9+ readers

1		The Magic Thief Sarah Prineas This is an absolutely captivating debut fantasy adventure. Full of magic and trickery, this is the story of a wizard and his new apprentice trying to discover why the magic in their city is fading and how they must … Download free opening extract
2		The Shapeshifter: Finding the Fox Ali Sparkes Dax is a boy with a difference: Dax can turn into a fox. Suddenly able to follow a scent, search out dangers and scavenge for his own food, Dax finds a new life opening before him. Soon Dax is off … Download free opening extract
3		Frankenstein – retold by Gill Tavner Mary Shelley When Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, an epic battle of friendship and horror begins between man and monster – and as it reaches fever pitch a tragic chain of events occurs. This and the other retellings by Real Reads are a … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 11+ readers

1		Coraline (film tie-in edition) Neil Gaiman This edition is due to coincide with the film version of Coraline which will be released in February 2009.  When Coraline’s family move into a new home, she steps through a door into another house which seems strangely familiar.  It has … Download free opening extract
2		The Knife of Never Letting Go Patrick Ness Winner of the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize 2008 and Booktrust Teenage Prize 2008. The electrifying and unflinching young adult debut novel about the impossible choices of growing up by award-winning fiction writer Patrick Ness. This title is part of Walker Books’ … Download free opening extract
3		Steel Trapp Ridley Pearson A sharp, fast-paced thriller featuring a 14-year old whose photographic memory causes him to get embroiled in a complex puzzle of kidnapping, bribery, terrorism and on the run from the federal agents. The author is an established writer of suspense … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 14+ readers

1		Twilight Stephenie Meyer Deeply seductive and irresistibly compelling, this is an extraordinary love story that will stay with you long after you’ve finished it. It’s the first in the Twilight series and is a captivating sage of vampire romance. The 2nd … Download free opening extract
2		New Moon Stephenie Meyer The road for Bella and Edward is never going to be a smooth one and after an incident that puts Bella’s life in danger Edward decides he must leave her “as if he had never existed”. In the following months … Download free opening extract
3		Before I Die Jenny Downham Winner of the Branford Boase Award 2008. This is a haunting yet truly amazing read but don’t read it too young. Definitely not for someone less than 14 years old. If you knew you were going to die what would … Download free opening extract

Featured Books Age 0 – 5 Years

1		Santa’s Littlest Helper Travels The World Anu Stohner Curl up on those cold starry winter nights and enjoy a magical Christmas story with Santa’s littlest helper who saves the day when everyone around him gets ill.  It’s a Christmas story with a twist and with some stunningly colourful … Download free opening extract
2		The Pencil Allan Ahlberg This book is an hilarious and unmissable treat! One day there is just a lonely pencil…It begins to draw – a boy, a dog, a cat and then a house and streets for them to play in. But everyone wants … Download free opening extract
3		Look Out, Stripy Horse! Jim Helmore, Karen Wall Hot on the hooves of the stripy horse’s first prize-winning adventure, Who Are You Stripy Horse? comes a wonderfully humorous and delightful tale of mischief, mayhem and monkeys and not forgetting of course, stripy horse. It’s a must for lovers … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 5+ readers

1		Yuck’s Supercool Snotman Matt And Dave Loved by boys and girls of 5+ but particularly boys.  Two horribly disgusting adventures will be found within the covers of this latest Yuck adventure – Yuck’s Supercool Snotman and Yuck’s Dream machine. Seriously yuckable but utterly spellbinding. … Download free opening extract
2		The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Basil Wiley Miller A wonderful debut from an incredibly talented wordsmith and illustrator. Fans of The Wizard of Oz and James and the Giant Peach will love Basil and his erstwhile adventures. Basil is an ordinary boy living a very ordinary life in a lighthouse, … Download free opening extract
3		Alice In Wonderland (slipcase edition) Lewis Carroll, Rodney Matthews The story is timeless and can be read at so many different levels, but this lavish slipcased edition is quite simply stunning and will bring to the reader a very different Wonderland – even more fantastical and a little darker … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 7+ readers

1		The Birthday Book Michael Morpurgo This is a sumptuous collection of stories and verse compiled by Michael Morpurgo, beautifully illustrated by Quentin Blake and published in aid of The Prince’s Foundation for Children and Arts and to celebrate the Prince of Wales’s 60th birthday. It’s … Download free opening extract
2		A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel (Quick Text) Charles Dickens This is the full story in quick modern English for a fast-paced read. The original Christmas tale is brought to life in this colourful graphic novel adaptation. It is the second Charles Dickens title from Classical Comics and probably his … Download free opening extract
3		Whitaker’s World Of Weird Tracey Turner Attractively produced, this is a neat pocket book stuffed full of extraordinary facts about all kinds of unusual things. Set against a background of strong photographic images, the sections in this book cover many things including Weird Encounters, Weird Behaviour … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 9+ readers

1		A Christmas Carol with A Christmas Tree (illustrated by Robert Ingpen) Charles Dickens This gorgeous and sumptuously illustrated new edition of the completely unabridged A Christmas Carol is an absolute dream of a gift.  The illustrations are by the award-winning artist Robert Ingpen who has successfully captured the atmosphere of Victorian London and … Download free opening extract
2		The Magic Thief Sarah Prineas This is an absolutely captivating debut fantasy adventure. Full of magic and trickery, this is the story of a wizard and his new apprentice trying to discover why the magic in their city is fading and how they must … Download free opening extract
3		Girls Are Best Sandi Toksvig Women gladiators, women in the Bayeaux Tapestry, women inventors – Sandi Toksvig uncovers them all in her light-hearted approach to the serious message of this book – women have always done amazing things but have mostly been overlooked by history. … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 11+ readers

1		Power Of Five: Necropolis Anthony Horowitz Yet again Anthony Horowitz has come up trumps with an edge-of-the-seat thriller with some brilliantly spun twists that will keep you guessing right up to the very end. The female protagonist is brilliantly portrayed – the first time, we think … Download free opening extract
2		When The Snow Fell Henning Mankell Shortlisted for the Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation.  The winner will be announced on 20 January 2009. A touching story of growing up and discovering what really matters. Joel makes three New Year’s resolutions: To see a naked lady, … Download free opening extract
3		A Really Short History Of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson Full of extraordinary discoveries and wonder at the world we live in, this is a thrilling scientific journey through history. It raises and answers many of the questions young readers ask about how the greatest scientific discoveries were made and … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 14+ readers

1		Before I Die Jenny Downham Winner of the Branford Boase Award 2008. This is a haunting yet truly amazing read but don’t read it too young. Definitely not for someone less than 14 years old. If you knew you were going to die what would … Download free opening extract
2		Young, Loaded And Fabulous Katherine Kingsley Addictive, scandalous and glamorous fiction from a brand new author writing for sophisticated teens!  As its title implies this is not for the faint-hearted.  If you’re up for a wild read where clubbing or holidaying in St Tropez is the … Download free opening extract
3		Eclipse Stephenie Meyer The much-anticipated 3rd novel in the captivating saga of vampire romance that began with Twilight, continued with New Moon. Friendships are stretched beyond breaking point and love choices must be made that are a matter of life and death and … Download free opening extract

Featured Books Age 0 – 5 Years

1		The Gruffalo Pop-up Theatre Book Julia Donaldson Not only can you read and reread the much loved story of the Gruffalo in this complete work of art but you can open the pop-up stage to act out the adventures of the little brown mouse, or even create … Download free opening extract
2		Dog Biscuit Helen Cooper A sumptuously illustrated and heart-warming adventure about a little girl who turns into a dog – or does she?  Find out in this wonderful new adventure from award winning author/illustrator, Helen Cooper. … Download free opening extract
3		My Grandpa’s Amazing Inventions Richard Johnson This is a wonderfully inspirational picture book for any young child.  Grandpa is an inventor and has been invited to enter a competition to win the ‘greatest invention prize’. Of course he wins it but that’s not all for something … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 5+ readers

1		Yuck’s Supercool Snotman Matt And Dave Loved by boys and girls of 5+ but particularly boys.  Two horribly disgusting adventures will be found within the covers of this latest Yuck adventure – Yuck’s Supercool Snotman and Yuck’s Dream machine. Seriously yuckable but utterly spellbinding. … Download free opening extract
2		Lost Happy Endings Carol Ann Duffy Shortlisted for the prestigious 2008 Greenway. A wonderfully lyrical story about the search for the happy endings that are needed to make the perfect story. Beautiful illustrations bring the story to life. … Download free opening extract
3		The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Basil Wiley Miller A wonderful debut from an incredibly talented wordsmith and illustrator. Fans of The Wizard of Oz and James and the Giant Peach will love Basil and his erstwhile adventures. Basil is an ordinary boy living a very ordinary life in a lighthouse, … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 7+ readers

1		The Birthday Book Michael Morpurgo This is a sumptuous collection of stories and verse compiled by Michael Morpurgo, beautifully illustrated by Quentin Blake and published in aid of The Prince’s Foundation for Children and Arts and to celebrate the Prince of Wales’s 60th birthday. It’s … Download free opening extract
2		Kaspar Michael Morpurgo A wonderfully emotional but heart-warming tale from the pen of one of the foremost writers for children.  Brilliantly interwoven in historical fact at the time of the sinking of the Titanic is the story of Kaspar the Savoy cat, who … Download free opening extract
3		A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel (Quick Text) Charles Dickens This is the full story in quick modern English for a fast-paced read. The original Christmas tale is brought to life in this colourful graphic novel adaptation. It is the second Charles Dickens title from Classical Comics and probably his … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 9+ readers

1		Girls Are Best Sandi Toksvig Women gladiators, women in the Bayeaux Tapestry, women inventors – Sandi Toksvig uncovers them all in her light-hearted approach to the serious message of this book – women have always done amazing things but have mostly been overlooked by history. … Download free opening extract
2		The Magic Thief Sarah Prineas This is an absolutely captivating debut fantasy adventure. Full of magic and trickery, this is the story of a wizard and his new apprentice trying to discover why the magic in their city is fading and how they must … Download free opening extract
3		Frankenstein – retold by Gill Tavner Mary Shelley When Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, an epic battle of friendship and horror begins between man and monster – and as it reaches fever pitch a tragic chain of events occurs. This and the other retellings by Real Reads are a … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 11+ readers

1		The Knife of Never Letting Go Patrick Ness Winner of the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize 2008 and Booktrust Teenage Prize 2008. The electrifying and unflinching young adult debut novel about the impossible choices of growing up by award-winning fiction writer Patrick Ness. This title is part of Walker Books’ … Download free opening extract
2		A Perfect Ten Chris Higgins Chris Higgins’ writing rivals the likes of Cathy Cassidy and Jacqueline Wilson.  She’s an author truly in tune with the teen psyche.  This is her fourth novel and she gets better and better with each new storyline.  The characterisation is … Download free opening extract
3		Airhead Meg Cabot From the creator of Allie Finkle and The Princess Diaries comes a brand new novel featuring two very different girls, one a superbrain and the other a supermodel. They have absolutely nothing in common until something extraordinary happens. … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 14+ readers

1		Before I Die Jenny Downham Winner of the Branford Boase Award 2008. This is a haunting yet truly amazing read but don’t read it too young. Definitely not for someone less than 14 years old. If you knew you were going to die what would … Download free opening extract
2		The Meaning Of Life Joanna Nadin Laugh out loud funny from the first page, The Meaning of Life, will be devoured by teenagers and adults in equal measure just as the Diaries of Adrian Mole hit the spot for a different generation. A spot-on teenage voice … Download free opening extract
3		Twilight Stephenie Meyer Deeply seductive and irresistibly compelling, this is an extraordinary love story that will stay with you long after you’ve finished it. It’s the first in the Twilight series and is a captivating sage of vampire romance. The 2nd … Download free opening extract

Featured Books Age 0 – 5 Years

1		My First Nursery Stories Tony Ross   Best loved, classic nursery stories are vividly brought to life in Tony Ross’s humorous and vigorous illustrations. Follow the charmingly agile goats as they trip-trott over the bridge having dispatched the hairy troll SPLASH into the river with a well-aimed … Download free opening extract
2		The Pencil Allan Ahlberg This book is an hilarious and unmissable treat! One day there is just a lonely pencil…It begins to draw – a boy, a dog, a cat and then a house and streets for them to play in. But everyone wants … Download free opening extract
3		The Gruffalo Pop-up Theatre Book Julia Donaldson Not only can you read and reread the much loved story of the Gruffalo in this complete work of art but you can open the pop-up stage to act out the adventures of the little brown mouse, or even create … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 5+ readers

1		The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Basil Wiley Miller A wonderful debut from an incredibly talented wordsmith and illustrator. Fans of The Wizard of Oz and James and the Giant Peach will love Basil and his erstwhile adventures. Basil is an ordinary boy living a very ordinary life in a lighthouse, … Download free opening extract
2		Alice In Wonderland (slipcase edition) Lewis Carroll, Rodney Matthews The story is timeless and can be read at so many different levels, but this lavish slipcased edition is quite simply stunning and will bring to the reader a very different Wonderland – even more fantastical and a little darker … Download free opening extract
3		Bob’s Best Ever Friend Simon Bartram Simon Bartram’s Man in the Moon was one of the most memorable, witty, and intriguing picture books of recent times and now at last, Bob, the man in the moon is back but looking for a best ever best friend … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 7+ readers

1		The Birthday Book Michael Morpurgo This is a sumptuous collection of stories and verse compiled by Michael Morpurgo, beautifully illustrated by Quentin Blake and published in aid of The Prince’s Foundation for Children and Arts and to celebrate the Prince of Wales’s 60th birthday. It’s … Download free opening extract
2		Kaspar Michael Morpurgo A wonderfully emotional but heart-warming tale from the pen of one of the foremost writers for children.  Brilliantly interwoven in historical fact at the time of the sinking of the Titanic is the story of Kaspar the Savoy cat, who … Download free opening extract
3		A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel (Original Text) Charles Dickens The original Christmas tale is brought to life in this colourful graphic novel adaptation. It is the second Charles Dickens title from Classical Comics and probably his best-loved story. Set in Victorian England and highlighting the social injustice of the … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 9+ readers

1		Midnight for Charlie Bone Jenny Nimmo Since his father died, Charlie Bone has lived with his mother and her mother, in the house of his other grandmother, Grandma Bone. Looking at a picture of a couple with a baby and a cat, he suddenly discovers he … Download free opening extract
2		The Magic Thief Sarah Prineas This is an absolutely captivating debut fantasy adventure. Full of magic and trickery, this is the story of a wizard and his new apprentice trying to discover why the magic in their city is fading and how they must … Download free opening extract
3		The Number 7 Shirt Alan Gibbons This is an action-packed story involving a boy who dreams of being a football pro. Because fiction and non-fiction are interwoven together, it’s likely to attract less keen readers but readers who may have a passion for football. His heroes … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 11+ readers

1		The Knife of Never Letting Go Patrick Ness Winner of the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize 2008 and Booktrust Teenage Prize 2008. The electrifying and unflinching young adult debut novel about the impossible choices of growing up by award-winning fiction writer Patrick Ness. This title is part of Walker Books’ … Download free opening extract
2		Airhead Meg Cabot From the creator of Allie Finkle and The Princess Diaries comes a brand new novel featuring two very different girls, one a superbrain and the other a supermodel. They have absolutely nothing in common until something extraordinary happens. … Download free opening extract
3		The Carbon Diaries 2015 Saci Lloyd Shortlisted for the 2008 Costa Children’s Book Award. This is a novel written in diary form as Laura, a teenager chronicles her life and that of her family as it is in 2015.  It’s edgy, it’s appealing and it’s contemporary and … Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 14+ readers

1		The Meaning Of Life Joanna Nadin Laugh out loud funny from the first page, The Meaning of Life, will be devoured by teenagers and adults in equal measure just as the Diaries of Adrian Mole hit the spot for a different generation. A spot-on teenage voice … Download free opening extract
2		Before I Die Jenny Downham Winner of the Branford Boase Award 2008. This is a haunting yet truly amazing read but don’t read it too young. Definitely not for someone less than 14 years old. If you knew you were going to die what would … Download free opening extract
3		Young, Loaded And Fabulous Katherine Kingsley Addictive, scandalous and glamorous fiction from a brand new author writing for sophisticated teens!  As its title implies this is not for the faint-hearted.  If you’re up for a wild read where clubbing or holidaying in St Tropez is the … Download free opening extract

Storytelling is an essential part of being human. Who knows why it started, but one day thousands of years ago someone sat on a rock and started spouting fantastical nonsense that kept the audience on the edge of their seats. And the tradition has passed down all the way to the writers of this month’s brilliant children’s books…

Author of the Month

Author of the Month Robert is a real-life private investigator turned author. He has gained legions of fans for his CHERUB series, about a special branch of the British Secret Service for teenage operatives. They’re trained professionals with an essential advantage: no adult suspects they’ll be spied on by a child! Muchamore has a knack for writing punchy, exciting stories that children will wish were for real. 11+ readers will be hooked.

Series of the Month

Series of the Month: Pendragon, by D J MacHale

This wildly entertaining series of books follow Bobby Pendragon, who is just a normal 14-year-old American, until one day he’s swept off through spacetime on a series of nail-biting adventures, to save all humanity from a terrible demon. To coincide with the 8th in the series, we’ve also selected a couple of backlist titles to whet your appetite. Perfect for 9+ children especially boys.

Oathbreaker    by Michelle Paver 5th in the epic adventures of Torak and Wolf		The Magic Thief     by Sarah Prineas An absolutely captivating debut fantasy adventure full of magic and trickery.
Allie Finkle’s Rules For Girls: The New Girl     by Meg Cabot 2nd in this fun packed girls adventure, for 7+ girls		The Kiss of Death     by Marcus Sedgwick follow up to the brilliant My Swordhand is Singing.

A World Away    by Pauline Francis a beguiling historical adventure of two young people from very different worlds who fall in love.		The Resistance    Gemma Malley an absolutely chilling, powerful sequel to Gemma Malley’s acclaimed debut, The Declaration.
Airhead     by Meg Cabot a brainiac girl stuck in a super models body. New fun with more to follow.

Have your kids got ‘Ology’ yet?

If you haven’t already seen the ‘Ology’ books, take a look now. The series gives kids a chance to read about mythology, pirateology, wizardology, Egyptology and dragonology – all the things they probably wish they could study at school. And we’ve got a free-to-enter competition to win £50 worth of Ology goodies!

Waggits Tale competition – 5 books to give away?

An absolutely delightful and heart-warming animal tale for 7+ readers about a puppy that gets dumped in the park by its owner. As he learns to fend for himself with the help of other strays, his life becomes both exciting and frightening but can he survive the harsh world of being a stray in a city where humans are a constant threat to survival. We have 5 copies to give away in our free to enter competition. Click here to find out more.

The Debut collection of the Year from Walker

Since the beginning of the year we’ve been showcasing the brightest new storytellers from Walker Books in the New Voices section of Lovereading4kids. These are brilliant debuts, in all genres and from all corners of the world, guaranteed to wow readers aged 10+. The authors are the rising stars to watch in the future.

Debuts of the Month:

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart is being touted as a new Harry Potter, with a group of young friends all working together to solve fiendish puzzles.

Carbon diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd. It’s January 1st, 2015, and the UK is the first nation to introduce carbon dioxide rationing, in a drastic bid to combat climate change. As her family spirals out of control, Laura Brown chronicles the first year of rationing with scathing abandon.

More Essential Reads

Our Essential reads section is where we show off a lot of beautiful and brilliant books that you may simply have forgotten about. This month, for the start of the new school year, we have given the list a bit of a make over and added among others two lovely titles by John Masefield Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights. Click here to find out more.