The summer is almost here and to celebrate we have a fantastic selection of books that are guaranteed to bring out the sun! We have beach reads, back garden reads and brilliant bedtime reads. We've lots of fascinating non-fiction titles to keep your young ones interested and activity books perfect to keep kids occupied on a long journey.
The long holidays are also an ideal time to build on good reading habits, and foster a real life-long love of books away from the classroom. With a book there are no limits to how far their imagination can go.
Scroll down for a list of books, in age order, to keep your young readers busy over the summer holidays.
For more inspiration, take a look through our Collections, an easy way to find the perfect summer read for children interested in more focused themes. We have books about Friendships, Eco Reads, chapter books that are perfect for new readers, and Verse Novels for older readers, or check out our Star Books category with the top picks from our expert reviewers. Plus we have lots of interviews and reading recommendations with brilliant authors and illustrators including Jacqueline Wilson, Konnie Huq, Katya Balen, Michael Morpurgo and Neill Cameron.
Every year we cover the most important and influential Book Awards and this section is a great treasure trove to plunder for top quality books. We have the shortlists, and often the longlists too, of all the main children's book awards including The Week Junior Book Awards, the Branford Boase, the CILIP Carnegie Greenaway Medals and UKLA Book Awards. It's worth a browse!
Our Graphic Novels & Comics section has had a refresh and now has an awesome selection of quality must-reads. And if your children prefer facts to novels, head over to our blog section for a round-up of the Best Non-Fiction with titles with a wide range of titles from science to art to famous people, suitable for all ages from toddler to teen.
If you are looking for activities to keep the kids entertained, check out our Kids Zone. There are activities with a bookish theme to download including colouring in pages, puzzles and creative projects..and videos with draw-alongs, storywriting tips and author talks. Joanne Owen's Get Creative series is full of amazing ideas, with top tips to get the kids writing. And take a look at A World of Adventure: 50 Books to Inspire : try a micro-adventure and camp in your garden, take a nature walk, create a bug hotel, bake or hold a star-gazing night!
The titles in this section will be refreshed throughout the summer months so it will be well worth coming back to take a peek. Happy browsing!
Comments (91)
Ellen S - 10th July 2022
Great suggestions for the summer holidays!Angela N - 10th July 2022
The summer holidays are my absolute favourite time to read! Can't wait!CAROLINE W - 10th July 2022
love to see my kids reading booksTracy B - 9th July 2022
Another great selection of books, thank youAngela D - 9th July 2022
Great selection of books will definitely be getting some of these for my grandsonLaura P - 8th July 2022
Some lovely books here!Anthea H - 8th July 2022
What a lot of lovely books - we really are spoilt for choice.!Gill W - 7th July 2022
Some fab ideas for me to get for my Granddaughter when she comes to stay.Louise G - 6th July 2022
Can’t wait to read Red Lorry Yellow Lorry to the grandchildrenMargaret G - 5th July 2022
So many to choose - added lots to my book shelf - thanks for your helpJulie W - 29th June 2022
Great books to keep the kids entertainedPriscilla S - 29th June 2022
Fantastic collection of lovely books for youngstersSusan B - 29th June 2022
Who could resist The Day Fin Flooded the World? Wonderful!Susan B - 29th June 2022
Your reading lists are fantastic and I dip in often for ideas for new books.Lisa G - 28th June 2022
Great selection of Summer reads and lots that are real favourites of ours on this list too.Susie W - 28th June 2022
Bad Things Happen Here looks a great read!Jill B - 22nd June 2022
What a brilliant selection _ so many great books to choose from.Coldi R - 21st June 2022
My children love activity books and The Great British Staycation Activity Book looks like something they would love!Sally C - 16th June 2022
Wow, my grandchildren would love these books!Laura C - 12th June 2022
You can’t take an elephant on holiday sounds very funny, my twins would love this bookMarion G - 10th June 2022
What a great and diverse selection of books, several there that I shall be getting for my grandchildren.Beth S - 10th June 2022
Ah, I love some of these ideas!jean v - 10th June 2022
With grandchildren of different ages this is my first port of call to find books I know my little bookworms will love. An invaluable resource.Fiona K - 7th September 2020
Lots of great books to choose from. Very useful so I can find new material to read to my granddaughter.Andi G - 7th September 2020
Great selection of books, something for everyoneTracy B - 7th September 2020
Brilliant selection of reading material for little bookworms of all agesAngela P - 7th September 2020
What a great and comprehensive list of suggestions - something to suit everyone!Deborah C - 7th September 2020
Some great sounding reads here. My daughter loves to lose herself in a good bookMANDY D - 6th September 2020
With my 11 grandchildren ranging from 10 years down to 9 months this list has given me a fab choice of books for themSusan B - 6th September 2020
Am particularly taken with the Elmer book and the much applauded Duck and Penguin Do Not Like Sleepovers.Susan B - 6th September 2020
So pleased to read this list! I am just about to invest in some more books for the children. Thank you.Michael O - 5th September 2020
Wonderful selection for the childrenClaire P - 5th September 2020
would love to read Ballad of Songbirds and SnakesJan H - 4th September 2020
Such a varied and helpful list - thank youkim w - 4th September 2020
The choice of good books is seemingly endlessJudith A - 3rd September 2020
What a fabulous selection of books, cannot wait to read themNaomi O - 3rd September 2020
Awesome list, something for everyone!Carly B - 2nd September 2020
We are going on a Treasure Hunt sounds like a lovely read.Jacqui G - 21st August 2020
Wonderful list.Wendy G - 21st August 2020
Another great list.Hannah C - 12th August 2020
We Are Bound By Stars looks great!Marion G - 11th August 2020
How To Change Your Parents into Superstars looks great fun.fiona w - 11th August 2020
a great selection and something for everyone of my children, its great that they are available now as reading them will make sure the kids dont fall behind at schoolVesta P - 11th August 2020
What a great selection of Summer reads. There's something for everyone there.Priscilla S - 11th August 2020
wow some great titles there, what a lovely selection of books for my great grandsonChristine L - 10th August 2020
Fab selection, some great suggestions for giftsKaren P - 7th August 2020
Hideous Beauty is great and can’t wait to read The Unadoptableslisa a - 6th August 2020
yoga babieslooks like funlisa a - 6th August 2020
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes looks really interestingPat H - 5th August 2020
Great selection for all my grandchildren aged 5 - 8MARIA R - 5th August 2020
would like to read 'loveless' sounds interestingSusie W - 5th August 2020
Gemma's Not Sure looks a good read, and one we can all (not just teenagers!) identify with!lynda s - 4th August 2020
some wonderful choices herelynda s - 4th August 2020
good selectionsChristine L - 4th August 2020
So many great books, I love buying books for children so have now have lots of great suggestions now to help with presentsEileen R - 3rd August 2020
So many great choices, don't know where to begin!Gill M - 2nd August 2020
What a great selection of books for little book worms.Anne H - 2nd August 2020
Excellent selectionMichael O - 2nd August 2020
Amazing selection for all children age groupsSarah W - 1st August 2020
One of my favourite parts of being a nursery school teacher is reading to the children, so I'm always on the lookout for great new picture books!amy s - 1st August 2020
What a great list xJames F - 31st July 2020
Amazing range of books!chris b - 21st July 2020
Thanks for some fab recommendations :-)terri h - 21st July 2020
What an excellent reading list!! But where to start!Margaret G - 19th July 2020
Spoilt for choice - fun fuelling - love love LOVEAnna T - 18th July 2020
Loved The Freddie Yates book. Highly recommendedsusan w - 16th July 2020
Some great ideas here to keep the kids entertained, some classics and some newer stories. Thanks too for the link to the activities blog. I'm sure we will be trying some of them.Anne-Marie M - 7th July 2020
I'm a book ONLY giving Auntie and several of these are going on my reserve listslynda s - 6th July 2020
A great place to start a search for 'what next' especially as it includes all the new booksMarion G - 6th July 2020
What a lovely selection of books. I am particularly looking forward to sharing 'Ways To Make Sunshine', with my grandchildren.lilly b - 1st July 2020
WOW great picksjackie p - 30th June 2020
Great selection of summer readingJoy W - 29th June 2020
Love the variety of books,something for everyone!Donna S - 29th June 2020
Some great ideas here to inspire my children to keep reading through the summer holidays.Naomi O - 29th June 2020
Great selection for inspiration!Debby B - 28th June 2020
A great selection covering different ages and abilities. I think 2020 will also be known as a year when children read more than any other year. It would be nice to not only remember all the loss and problems created by the Coronavirus pandemic, but the gains in children expanding their reading, independent learning, home experiments, creativity and imaginative inventions. I think many children will benefit from having time to explore, to try things out, to spend time reading indoors and outdoors. Last year I gave a big pile of books to my neighbours 2 little ones and a similar pile (+ a costume) to my nephew - it's nice to see children delighted o have new reading material.Alison B - 28th June 2020
My daughter and I are looking forward to reading Hope Jones Saves the World.Sharon W - 28th June 2020
Great selection of booksJordanne P - 27th June 2020
Lovely selection of books - will definitely have to look into a few of these books for my class.JEANNETTE L - 27th June 2020
WONDERFUL SELECTION, SOMETHING FOR ALL AGES AND READING ABILITY JANNETTE LJenny M - 27th June 2020
There are so many books in this list that my daughter would love to readLeah T - 26th June 2020
Some eclectic choices here, my 10 & 7 year-olds will want to read lots of them.Natalie B - 26th June 2020
Fantastic list for my little girl xxLaura P - 24th June 2020
Will refer to this list for my 9 year old!Lilian W - 24th June 2020
Great to see Elmer is still a favourite. Most of the Authors have passed through the hands of my Children now the turn of Grandchildren.Sally C - 24th June 2020
Fabulous selectionGill W - 23rd June 2020
A fab selection of books for all the children that have been in lock down.Emma C - 23rd June 2020
Great selection here and lots to add to my reading list!Avis R - 23rd June 2020
Where to start, such a lovely selection of reading materialNancy T - 23rd June 2020
I would love to read Pets And Their Famous Humans.Susie W - 22nd June 2020
Some lovely picks these, my favourite has got to be Isadora Moon Goes on HolidayLeave A Reply
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