Despite worrying falls in children reading this year, here at LoveReading4Kids we have had some shining moments. We have been honoured to be shortlisted for a number of awards, from the Heart of Gold Award at the Small Awards to Retail Business of the Year at the British Business Awards to Book Retailer of the Year at the Nibbies. This is our second year of being an online bookstore with social purpose and we're proud to see word of our work spreading. We've reached some amazing milestones this year, by donating up to 25% of the cover price of every book sold to UK schools (while also giving shoppers 10% off!) and so far we've raised more than £75,000 for our schools. Much needed funds to help stock school libraries and engender a life-long love of reading.
Even with the celebration and excitement of glittering awards ceremonies the brightest highlights of our year have been the amazing books we've been able to read, review and share with you, the very best of which were given a LoveReading4Kids Star. Our Star Books are the cream of the crop, the pick of the bunch, and the books that stand out from the thousands read by our editorial team over the course of the year. These Star Books come with our highest recommendation, and are a great place to start when selecting your children's next read or a gift for the young people in your lives.
We never cease to be amazed by the creativity and talent from the authors and illustrators in the children's book world. 2024 has seen new gems from much loved picture book talent; Emily Gravett delivered yet another delicious book to explore in Bothered by Bugs, Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston aced it with The Dictionary Story, and Mariajo Ilustrajo conjured up magic when I Hate Books became I LOVE books. Picture books are the first step towards a lifetime of reading and whilst we have just a few included within this collection, you can find many more picture book treasures recently published here.
Older readers have been treated to a return to the world of Mortal Engines in an unputdownable dystopian adventure Thunder City by Philip Reeve, Phil Earle's genuinely funny and relatable novella Northern Soul breaks hearts, and in Keedie, Elle McNicoll delivers a powerful prequel to their award-winning novel A Kind of Spark. Tom Percival, well known for his picture books, demonstrated his capacity for empathy building in his first full length novel, The Wrong Shoes. It is unlikely that you'll have read a more powerful and important book all year.
We have enjoyed graphic novel greatness from the house of David Fickling Books in Tosh's Island by Linda Sargent and Joe Brady, and another brilliant addition to the Mega Robo Bros from Neill Cameron. And perfectly-pitched for pre-teen readers who are fed up of being considered too young to have their voices heard and taken seriously, Nora Dâsnes’ Save Our Forest! is a glorious graphic novel that sees a band of infectiously passionate friends bring about positive change.
We've also been thrilled to welcome debut talent from Jack Kurland with his gorgeous The Cat Who Couldn't Be Bothered, Chibundu Onuzo with an enchantingly fresh middle grade fantasy, and Margaret McDonald with an astonishingly raw YA debut about young boys growing up in the care system.
Authors Michael Hoffen, Dean Burnett and Rosie Jones have spelt out the facts, and through their superb information books we have learnt about the civilisation of Ancient Egypt, the much-needed neuroscience behind phone usage, and the very real challenges of growing up.
And it's been a winning year for poetry with another exceptional anthology Tomorrow We Begin from LR4K favourite Matt Goodfellow, an original and moving collection of poems by Oliver Sykes sharing his personal life experience in We Are Family - Six Kids and a Super Dad, and a dreamy celebration of art through verse from Joseph Coelho in Goodnight, Starry Night.
This year we said an untimely goodbye to a wonderfully funny and prolific author, Jeremy Strong, whose laugh-out-loud stories have encouraged thousands of children to pick up a book. The children's book world will miss him but he leaves us one last gift, Fox Goes North, published posthumously with a touching message of hope. A recommended addition to every Christmas Stocking this winter.
We also saw the baton passed as we welcomed Frank Cottrell Boyce to the post of Children's Laureate, and thanked Joseph Coelho for two years of hard work highlighting the essential service that public libraries contribute to the nation's reading.
Have we mentioned your favourites from 2024 yet? Scroll on to discover the full list - and if you think we've missed out a future-classic-must-read then please let us know in the comment section below.
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