2009 has seen a wealth of new author talent as well as the return of others. It's been tremendously difficult to choose our top 50 (or so!) books of the year but we hope, if you missed them earlier in the year you'll grab them now, either for yourself – for your children or relations.
Just click the tab to your left to go to the age range you are looking for.
Each and everyone of them is, in our opinion, a book with something extra special to offer.
Why not have a look at the free Opening Extracts and decide for yourselves.
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Books of the Year 2009
To see the Lovereading4kids selection of ‘Books of 2009’, just click on one of the age range tabs below. You'll find some highly recommended reads, some of them prize winners and some of them not. The crucial thing is we rate them all.
Books of the Year - Baby and Toddler
Stolen
Lucy Christopher
Winner of the Branford Boase Award 2010 Julia Eccleshare, our editorial expert and chairman of the Branford Boase Award judges says: ‘Stolen is a wonderfully accomplished first novel. Sure-footed and without a word wasted Lucy has created a fantastic sense of...
Format: Paperback - Released: 04/05/2009
Lucy Christopher
Winner of the Branford Boase Award 2010 Julia Eccleshare, our editorial expert and chairman of the Branford Boase Award judges says: ‘Stolen is a wonderfully accomplished first novel. Sure-footed and without a word wasted Lucy has created a fantastic sense of...
Format: Paperback - Released: 04/05/2009
Price: £5.24- Saving £1.75 (25%)
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The Death-defying Pepper Roux
Geraldine Mccaughrean
Prize-winning Geraldine McCaughrean has turned her deft hand to a brilliantly witty and fast moving story about a boy who wants to defy his destiny. Pepper is an unusual name and Pepper Roux is an unusual child especially since, according...
Format: Paperback - Released: 03/06/2010
Geraldine Mccaughrean
Prize-winning Geraldine McCaughrean has turned her deft hand to a brilliantly witty and fast moving story about a boy who wants to defy his destiny. Pepper is an unusual name and Pepper Roux is an unusual child especially since, according...
Format: Paperback - Released: 03/06/2010
Price: £5.24- Saving £1.75 (25%)
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Little Bear's Little Boat
Eve Bunting
Tender and true, this is a beautiful story about Little Bear’s loss as he grows too big for the little boat he loves. Since he can no longer fish from the boat or dream in it, he searches for another...
Format: Board Book - Released: 06/07/2009
Eve Bunting
Tender and true, this is a beautiful story about Little Bear’s loss as he grows too big for the little boat he loves. Since he can no longer fish from the boat or dream in it, he searches for another...
Format: Board Book - Released: 06/07/2009
Price: £3.74- Saving £1.25 (25%)
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Babies Love Books
Laurence Anholt
Celebrate books anytime and any place with these jolly babies who are shown sharing books and loving them too, in all kinds of likely and unlikely places from the library to a beach and with loads of places in between....
Format: Hardback - Released: 05/03/2009
Laurence Anholt
Celebrate books anytime and any place with these jolly babies who are shown sharing books and loving them too, in all kinds of likely and unlikely places from the library to a beach and with loads of places in between....
Format: Hardback - Released: 05/03/2009
Price: £8.24- Saving £2.75 (25%)
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Welcome to the Zoo
Alison Jay
This absolutely gorgeous wordless picture book has now been re-released in a small format rounded-edged board book that’s perfect for babies and tiddly toddlers. Curious eyes will explore the zoo, which is brimming with beauty, humour and high-jinks. Parents will...
Format: - Released: 01/10/2009
Alison Jay
This absolutely gorgeous wordless picture book has now been re-released in a small format rounded-edged board book that’s perfect for babies and tiddly toddlers. Curious eyes will explore the zoo, which is brimming with beauty, humour and high-jinks. Parents will...
Format: - Released: 01/10/2009
Price: £3.74- Saving £1.25 (25%)
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The Medusa Project: The Set-Up
Sophie Mckenzie
This is not science fiction. Within the lifetime of children now the human race will have created new improved humans through genetic manipulation. Frightening but true. Here in the first of a thrilling roller-coaster adventure series you can join four teenagers, each...
Format: Paperback - Released: 06/07/2009
Sophie Mckenzie
This is not science fiction. Within the lifetime of children now the human race will have created new improved humans through genetic manipulation. Frightening but true. Here in the first of a thrilling roller-coaster adventure series you can join four teenagers, each...
Format: Paperback - Released: 06/07/2009
Price: £5.24- Saving £1.75 (25%)
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That's Not My Baby - Girl
Fiona Watt
Irresistible to inquisitive fingers, the strokeable features within each book in the ‘That’s not my...’ series are designed to develop sensory and language awareness through the bright pictures, simple text and patches of different textures – in this one it’s...
Format: Board book - Released: 25/09/2009
Fiona Watt
Irresistible to inquisitive fingers, the strokeable features within each book in the ‘That’s not my...’ series are designed to develop sensory and language awareness through the bright pictures, simple text and patches of different textures – in this one it’s...
Format: Board book - Released: 25/09/2009
Price: £4.49- Saving £1.50 (25%)
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That's Not My Baby - Boy
Fiona Watt
Irresistible to inquisitive fingers, the strokeable features within each book in the ‘That’s not my...’ series are designed to develop sensory and language awareness through the bright pictures, simple text and patches of different textures – in this one it’s...
Format: Board book - Released: 25/09/2009
Fiona Watt
Irresistible to inquisitive fingers, the strokeable features within each book in the ‘That’s not my...’ series are designed to develop sensory and language awareness through the bright pictures, simple text and patches of different textures – in this one it’s...
Format: Board book - Released: 25/09/2009
Price: £4.49- Saving £1.50 (25%)
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Talk With Me!
Stella Blackstone
What does each animal say? Open the flaps to find out who quacks, who snaps, who growls and who squawks. Introducing different kinds of ‘talking’ across the animal world. Also check out Walk With Me!
Format: Board Book - Released: 01/03/2009
Stella Blackstone
What does each animal say? Open the flaps to find out who quacks, who snaps, who growls and who squawks. Introducing different kinds of ‘talking’ across the animal world. Also check out Walk With Me!
Format: Board Book - Released: 01/03/2009
Price: £4.49- Saving £1.50 (25%)
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Stick Man
Julia Donaldson
Creators of The Gruffalo, best selling author/ illustrator Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler are back with another bestseller on their hands. “Stick Man lives in the family tree/ with Stick Lady love/ And his children three”. But one day Stick...
Format: Paperback - Released: 07/09/2009
Julia Donaldson
Creators of The Gruffalo, best selling author/ illustrator Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler are back with another bestseller on their hands. “Stick Man lives in the family tree/ with Stick Lady love/ And his children three”. But one day Stick...
Format: Paperback - Released: 07/09/2009
Price: £4.49- Saving £1.50 (25%)
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My Animals
Xavier Deneux
Stylish imagery in black and white (with a cleverly done tiny hint of colour on each page) introduces some familiar animals in a highly original way. Perfectly placed holes for little fingers will encourage readers to engage closely with each picture as...
Format: Board Book - Released: 05/01/2009
Xavier Deneux
Stylish imagery in black and white (with a cleverly done tiny hint of colour on each page) introduces some familiar animals in a highly original way. Perfectly placed holes for little fingers will encourage readers to engage closely with each picture as...
Format: Board Book - Released: 05/01/2009
Price: £5.24- Saving £1.75 (25%)
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Marvin Wanted More
Joseph Theobold
This board book comes complete with a wonderfully warm and woolly Marvin on the cover that’s wonderfully touchy-feely. The story inside though delivers a wonderful lesson in ‘wanting more’! Marvin the sheep takes drastic action to resolve the problem of...
Format: Board Book - Released: 03/01/2005
Joseph Theobold
This board book comes complete with a wonderfully warm and woolly Marvin on the cover that’s wonderfully touchy-feely. The story inside though delivers a wonderful lesson in ‘wanting more’! Marvin the sheep takes drastic action to resolve the problem of...
Format: Board Book - Released: 03/01/2005
Price: £4.49- Saving £1.50 (25%)
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Gone
Michael Grant
Gripping from the first moment, this is a scary, an unputdownable and a brilliantly plotted fantasy. One minute all the adults are there - next they're gone! Only the children remain and they are trapped, cut off...
Format: Paperback - Released: 03/09/2009
Michael Grant
Gripping from the first moment, this is a scary, an unputdownable and a brilliantly plotted fantasy. One minute all the adults are there - next they're gone! Only the children remain and they are trapped, cut off...
Format: Paperback - Released: 03/09/2009
Price: £5.99- Saving £2.00 (25%)
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Elmer's First Counting Book
David Mckee
Enjoy counting Elmer, everyone’s favourite patchwork elephant, and his friends from 1 Elmer to 10 birds singing in this attractive shaped board book. There are 3 delightful tigers daintily dancing while 4 contented lions lie dreaming under the stars. And...
Format: Board Book - Released: 01/03/2007
David Mckee
Enjoy counting Elmer, everyone’s favourite patchwork elephant, and his friends from 1 Elmer to 10 birds singing in this attractive shaped board book. There are 3 delightful tigers daintily dancing while 4 contented lions lie dreaming under the stars. And...
Format: Board Book - Released: 01/03/2007
Price: £3.74- Saving £1.25 (25%)
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Each Peach Pear Plum (Board Book)
Allan Ahlberg
A delightful board book with simple rhyming text and engaging interactive pictures. Children will be able to find characters that are mentioned in the text, such as Mother Hubbard and Cinderella. Wonderful detail in the illustrations provides endless entertainment in...
Format: Hardback - Released: 27/05/1999
Allan Ahlberg
A delightful board book with simple rhyming text and engaging interactive pictures. Children will be able to find characters that are mentioned in the text, such as Mother Hubbard and Cinderella. Wonderful detail in the illustrations provides endless entertainment in...
Format: Hardback - Released: 27/05/1999
Price: £4.49- Saving £1.50 (25%)
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Dot and Dash: Learn to Share
Emma Dodd
Dot and Dash and their friends Big, Tall and Small are ready to play with their toys but nobody wants to share. Dot does not want to share the ball and Dash does not want to share the truck but...
Format: Board Book - Released: 02/02/2009
Emma Dodd
Dot and Dash and their friends Big, Tall and Small are ready to play with their toys but nobody wants to share. Dot does not want to share the ball and Dash does not want to share the truck but...
Format: Board Book - Released: 02/02/2009
Price: £3.74- Saving £1.25 (25%)
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