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Find out moreAll the books we feature on LoveReading4Kids are selected because we think they deserve to stand out from the crowd of the many thousands of other titles published each month.
July 2021 Book of the Month | “Elizabeth North was one of the bravest and strongest women in the entire world. And I am going to tell you why”. Thus readers are introduced to How to Be Brave’s captivating story world in a manner that’s typical of its whimsical all-knowing narrative style. Adding to this, footnotes written in the amusing authorial voice are used to entertaining effect throughout the rip-roaring ride. To begin at the beginning, we are matter-of-factly informed that Elizabeth lived a charmed childhood that left to her muse “how much she loved her life. It was a strange thing for a child to think, but Elizabeth North was a strange child who lived a strange life.” Tragically, Elizabeth’s idyllic days are darkened by the unthinkable - both her parents die and she’s sent to The School of the Good Sisters, where an encounter with a rare duck - the Mallardus Amazonica - sets her on a path she will follow through her life. Skipping forward, we are introduced to Elizabeth’s daughter, Calla. Poor due to Elizabeth’s struggle to make ends meet as a scientist (and her lackadaisical approach to adulting), mother and daughter are dealt an unexpected hand when Elizabeth is invited to the Amazon to find the Mallardus Amazonica, resulting in Calla being sent to The School of the Good Sisters. The school’s old-fashioned quirks and cast of nuns and pupils are a delight. Edie is an especially fabulous creation - in her French-accented words, she’s “excellent at subterfuge and skulduggery”. When Calla uncovers shocking secrets, the adventure swells like the Amazon in rainy season. Given that “if there was a problem in Elizabeth’s life, Calla solved it,” that’s exactly what she sets out to do, in this case enlisting the help of her new friends and a Blessing of Nuns. What a marvellously rollicking story of a resourceful togetherness this is.
July 2021 Book of the Month | Having demonstrated in The Gifted, the Talented and Me a real comic gift for creating believably awkward adolescent males, William Sutcliffe does it again with 13-year-old Luke. His family life has been turned upside down as first his stroppy elder sister and then his father join the climate rebellion activists ‘across the road,’ squatting in a house scheduled for demolition in a controversial airport extension plan. While poking gentle fun at Nimby’s and career protestors alike, there is an underlying core of real science and justified outrage about the environmental crisis for the planet in this hugely enjoyable story. Other serious themes are touched upon in this subtle and deceptively light-hearted narrative. The role of protest, politics and the media, the need for tolerance and understanding of different lifestyles, responsible parenting and the need for us all to stand up for what really matters. Luke learns a lot about himself and his own prejudices when he comes up against Sky – a child born into alternative lifestyles and protest, who yearns for stability and the privilege of attending school. These are both great characters, frequently displaying wisdom and courage that their elders lack. Making serious points while provoking laughter takes real skill and this excellent novel undoubtedly demonstrates that. Highly recommended.
July 2021 Book of the Month | Written by an expert in dog training – Steve Mann is recognised all over the world for his expertise, he is also the author of the UKs leading dog training manual for adults. As you would expect from an author with such a pedigree this book is filled with useful information. Presented in short clear sections, with lots of cartoonlike illustrations, the book will not overpower any young dog owner, but sets out in a logical manner the how and why of dog (and human) behaviour – so that dog and handler are both comfortable, relaxed and learning. The book covers all the essential exercises for good dog ownership, how to read the dog’s body language (and how dogs read ours), clear instructions, as well as lots of fun activities and even some quizzes. An excellent choice for any young dog owner (and even some not so young ones!).
July 2021 Book of the Month | The Ordnance Survey Kids’ Adventure Book is an inspiration, guide and introduction to map-reading and navigation that will give both competence and confidence to young explorers. Ever since I was a kid, looking at a map has been imagining an adventure. Learning the symbols, colours, abbreviations, lines, dashes and fonts that illustrate an Ordnance Survey map is like cracking a secret code that makes it possible to visualise what is around and beyond. In this new Kids’ Adventure Book, OS has made the learning even more fun - packed cover to cover with puzzles, quizzes and tips that will keep the young adventurer in your family (and you!) entertained for days. Then, once they are ready to step out on their first expedition, the book also provides everything they need to know about how best to prepare, deal with difficult weather, injuries - and even where they might go in Britain and what to do if they get lost! Perfect to equip curious kids aged 8+ with the confidence and skills to explore the outdoors and get adventurous. Kids who love the outdoors will find more inspiration in our collection, A World of Adventure.
July 2021 Debut of the Month | Opening with the arresting scene of a body being discovered, the third in a month, Chris Whitaker’s The Forevers is a thought-provoking page-turner founded on a killer concept - if you could get away with anything without consequence, if the world was about to end, what would you do? “The dead girl lay face down, ashen hair fanned out like she’d been posed. Some kind of terrible masterpiece Mae knew she’d never forget”. This is the grim reality of Mae’s present. At seventeen, she thinks back to ten years earlier, when news of the asteroid first broke - a ticking timebomb that’s set to explode. There’s no avoiding the terrible truth - “She was seventeen years old. She would die in one month”, for the Earth was “so broken not a thing would survive.” Amidst increasing rumbles and tremors, amidst people’s preparations for death, the discovery of the body of Mae’s popular peer Abi provokes questions - Did she jump? Was she pushed? The sense of time running out, and the brutal psychological impact of knowing that the end is nigh, is masterfully evoked in all its heart-stopping starkness, while the dynamics between the young adult characters are authentically realised. All in all, this near-dystopian thriller has thought-provoking bite.
July 2021 Book of the Month | The Big Bad Wolf is late AGAIN and is ruining stories as he rushes through the forest to Grandma's house. When the Three Little Pigs get seriously grumpy AGAIN, Wolf tells them he's had ENOUGH. There will be no more HUFFING and PUFFING from this Big Bad Wolf. The fairytale characters aren't worried - they can totally manage without him! But Big Bad Wolfing is harder than it looks ... And what happens when they realise that they really need a Big Bad Wolf in this story? From the pairing behind the fabulously funny and internationally bestselling There Is No Dragon In This Story comes another hilarious story featuring your favourite fairytale characters as you've never seen them before!
July 2021 Book of the Month | What a blooming brilliant concept - an adopted Brooklyn teenager with an uncanny gift for giving life to plants inherits an old mansion from her birth family and becomes embroiled in an ancient ancestral curse. The book’s botanical and mythic insights are endlessly fascinating and interwoven with green-fingered dexterity, and the plot is 100% page-turning as it conjures a fast-blossoming story that twists with the grip of snaking vines. Bri’s inherited house, with its massive grounds and apothecary, is in quaint, curious, countrified Rhinebeck. On arrival, she follows a trail of clues left by her aunt Circe and discovers a deadly Poison Garden. Then she reads a letter from Circe declaring that “fate has a way of catching up to us. You must decide if you can continue this work, because you are the only one that can.” Turns out it’s no coincidence that Bri’s full name (Briseis) and those of her birth mom and aunt (Selene and Circe) are powerful women from Greek myth. Alongside the uncoiling magical mystery, I adored the loving banter between Bri’s moms, and the intrigue of her friendship with local boy Karter. Then there’s super stunning, super rich Marie, a girl with mysteries of her own and a driver called Nyx - a name that might also set bells a-ringing. This Poison Heart is contemporary YA fantasy at its finest and confirms Kalynn Bayron’s talent for coming up with killer concepts and spinning new gold from timeless old tales (I also adored Cinderella is Dead). What’s more, the epic ending leaves scope for a sequel - I truly hope that’s the case.
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July 2021 Book of the Month | Aldrin Adams is an ordinary boy with an extraordinary superpower. When he eats cheese, just before he goes to sleep at night, he can enter into other people's dreams . . . and their nightmares! But why has he, of all people, been given this ability? What is he supposed to do with it? And why doesn't it come with some kind of instruction manual that explains how it works? There are so many questions that require answers. Luckily, Aldrin's dad owns the biggest and finest cheesemonger's for miles and miles around, offering him unlimited access to some of the stinkiest cheeses in the world as he tries to figure it all out. What Aldrin doesn't realise, as he embarks on his journey of discovery, is that he is being watched by Habeas Grusselvart, a mysterious, supernatural villain who creates nightmares for millions and millions of children every night. Suddenly, a young boy poses a threat to his plans to control the world through fear. Which is why he must be stopped - at all costs!
July 2021 Book of the Month | The World Cup, the Europa league, the League Cup, Serie A – you name it, Paul Pogba’s won it (Serie A four times in fact). But if you want to know about the man behind the stats then this is the book for you. It’s jam-packed with information on Pogba’s early life and his playing career from its beginnings at the academy at Le Havre to his glory days at Juventus and Manchester United. There’s lots about his goals of course – especially those amazing volleys, Pogboom! – but other details too, his friendship with Jesse Lingard, his favourite music and yes, his hairstyles. Author and illustrator, who appear throughout in the comic style illustrations, are proper football fans and there’s a real sense of their enthusiasm for their subject. Lively and entertaining, and hugely accessible thanks to the mix of text and illustration, this is another winner in a top-ranked series.
July 2021 Book of the Month | Readers of the Phoenix Comic love Jamie Smart’s Bunny vs Monkey adventures, and no wonder. They are totally brilliant, inventive, original and hilarious comic strips. If you’re not in the know, the chief characters are Bunny and his gang Squirrel, Pip and Skunky, and their adversary, causer of mayhem, Monkey. From the opening wintery story, “Gross!” in which Monkey uses smelly mud on a stick to try and advance his plans for world domination, the pace is frenetic, silly and very funny. Story titles such as “The Embiggening!”, “The Destroy-O-Torium” and “Monkey with a Flame Thrower” give you an idea of what else is in store. It’s a comic comic extravaganza and as an added treat, Smart shows readers how to draw Action Beaver and Le Fox. Irresistible!
July 2021 Book of the Month | This is adventure number six for the Bolds, a family of hyenas living happily in Teddington disguised as humans. Let’s hope there will be more too, because there are very few stories more joyful, cheering and entertaining than these and only Paddington to compare for characters as lovable and inspirational. If you’ve read previous Bolds books, you’ll know that they’re always ready to help other animals and to open their doors to those in need. Of course therefore they give homeless aardvark Annika a warm welcome and set out to track down her missing friends, escapees from the same zoo, Charlie the skunk and Fergie the fruit bat. The latter, we discover, have been camping out in Parliament Square with friendly eco-warriors. Can the Bolds find them somewhere permanent (and quieter) to live? This is the Bolds, so of course the answer is yes. Gloriously silly, genuinely heart-warming and beautifully plotted, it all ends with a special party for twins Betty and Bobby Bold, and an ‘au revoir’ to another friend, Fifi, the singing poodle superstar. She promises to return, ‘Wherever life might take me, my heart belongs with the Bolds.’ That will be true for all the dear readers too, this one included.
A Lovereading4kids 'Great Read' you may have missed 2011 selection. A truly special picture book. It's the story of Zou the Zebra as he spends his first night away from his parents. Both endearing and reassuring for both parent and child, this is a wonderful book to read aloud. Zou discovers he can cope on his own and even offers to comfort other little zebras with the help of something very special... Publisher Julia Marshall on why she chose this book: "In this book, Zou forgets his own fear and sadness when he helps others, especially those smaller than him. But Michel Gay is never smarmy. This book makes you remember exactly what it was like to be on your own for the first time."
March 2013 Book of the Month Best-selling Darren Shan, master of the dark story, spins another horrific thriller set after the zombie apocalypse. In the world of the dead, a terrifying battle is taking place over who will control the streets of London. Will it be the dead? Or the alive? Darren Shan’s fans, their tastes for terror sharpened by Cirque de Freak, will love this third volume in the Zom-B series.
The exciting new series from the master of teen horror. Zom-B is a radical new series about a zombie apocalypse, told in the first person by one of its victims. The series combines classic Shan action with a fiendishly twisting plot and hard-hitting and thought-provoking moral questions dealing with racism, abuse of power and more. This is challenging material, which will captivate existing Shan fans and bring in many new ones. As Darren says, It's a big, sprawling, vicious tale...a grisly piece of escapism, and a barbed look at the world in which we live. Each book in the series is short, fast-paced and bloody. A high body-count is guaranteed!
March 2013 Book of the Month The first book in the explosive new zombie series from the master of horror, now in paperback. The exciting new series from the master of teen horror. Zom-B is a radical new series about a zombie apocalypse, told in the first person by one of its victims. The series combines classic Shan action with a fiendishly twisting plot and hard-hitting and thought-provoking moral questions dealing with racism, abuse of power and more. This is challenging material, which will captivate existing Shan fans and bring in many new ones. As Darren says, It's a big, sprawling, vicious tale...a grisly piece of escapism, and a barbed look at the world in which we live. Each book in the series is short, fast-paced and bloody. A high body-count is guaranteed!
Join the loveably lively Zoe and her devoted dog Beans in a world full of fun, friendship and magical adventures. It's a case of hide and seek as Beans loses his favourite toy.
Join the loveably lively Zoe and her devoted dog Beans in a world full of fun, friendship and magical adventures. It's a case of hide and seek as Beans loses his favourite toy. There's now a delightful new adventure about Zoe and Beans, called The Magic Hoop. Click here to see this title.
October 2015 Book of the Month A group of Californian teenagers with superpowers should be having the time of their lives, right? Wrong… This action-packed page-turner about the self-proclaimed Zeroes shows that superpowers come at a cost. In fact, Ethan’s power, an all-knowing voice that speaks through him, has torn the group apart. And that’s also what lands him in serious trouble when he finds himself in the throes of an armed robbery. After being taken in for police questioning, Ethan, aka Scam, is compelled to call on the Zeroes for help. While still angry about the insults his voice poured on them, the old gang comes to his rescue. Chizara uses her superpower to crash the police station's systems so Ethan can escape. But that’s not enough; the shockwaves are already out there and the Zeroes, a collection of six compellingly realised characters, are drawn into increasingly high-stake situations. The first in a trilogy, and the result of a collaboration between three esteemed writers, this is an exhilaratingly original take on superpower-themed fiction. And, as the extraordinary teenagers are forced to find a way to harness their powers, it’s also an allegory about stepping up and taking responsibility. - Joanne Owen
Explosive and compelling, this is the third part of the bestselling Joshua Files sequence in which an ancient prophecy is predicting the end of the world in 2012. Don’t feel it’s essential to read the first two titles to enjoy this 3rd heart-stopping adventure, as the author cleverly interweaves the story to date at the beginning of this one. That said, the first two are so good, you will miss some of the detail. In Zero Moment, Josh is convinced he’s discovered the key to time travel but dare he use it to save his father? When his great friend Ixchel is kidnapped by the very people intent on the world’s destruction, he must take things into his own hands to save both Ixchel and the world. To read the titles in order start with Invisible City then Ice Shock and finally Zero Moment.
February 2018 Book of the Month | The story of a young man and the special relationship he forms with the lollipop man who once saved his life, Zebra Crossing Soul Song is an original and touching coming of age story, full of insight and set to a playlist of songs that will have all readers swaying in time to its music. Lenny is eighteen and resitting his psychology A level; revising episodic memory sets him thinking about his friend Otis, and how their conversations over the years at Otis’s zebra crossing have left ideas and music imprinted on his mind, more indelibly even than those black and white marks on the road. It’s a relationship strong enough to endure through the different pressures on both of them. Scattered with song lyrics, and seeded with truths, this memorable and absorbing story moved me to tears. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 13+
January 2021 Book of the Month | Everyone struggles to cope with their emotions, but it’s especially difficult for young children who often lack the vocabulary to express how they are feeling, even to themselves. Fearne Cotton is both a mum and a champion of mental health and wellbeing and her book cleverly provides children with practical ways to learn about their feelings and through that to understand why they feel the way they do, and to deal with emotions such as anger, sadness and anxiety. It does this through fun and engaging interactive exercises, which allow children to be creative and to play even as they work out what’s going on in their heads. It’s a book that very many parents will welcome and it will be a real boost for lots of children. Congratulations to Fearne Cotton for the lightness of touch she brings, and for keeping it all so friendly and accessible. Other useful books in this area include the new Happy Healthy Minds series edited by Alain de Botton for The School of Life, and for children even younger, we recommend Eva Eland’s award winning When Sadness Comes to Call and the follow up Where Happiness Begins. And you can also find a selection of books, to help build confidence and self-esteem, here.
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 order of the day when not at school, where meeting up off school grounds with the biggest heart-throb from the nearby boys school is seriously cool and where girls get together and 'B' about others particularly when an American beauty arrives at the school and threatens to ruin everything. It's page-turning stuff.
With fast-paced action and non-stop adventure from page one no reader can fail to be hooked in to this terrific series set on the high seas in and around 17th century Japan. The series will captivate young readers including the most reluctant. This is Book 7 in the blockbuster Young Samurai series by Chris Bradford. Young Samurai was shortlisted for the Red House Children’s Book Award and nominated for the Carnegie Medal.
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At LoveReading4kids we’re passionate about all the books we feature.
All the books we feature on LoveReading4Kids are selected because we think they deserve to stand out from the crowd of the many thousands of other titles published each month. However, sometimes in a month, we wish to give that little bit more emphasis to a title or titles and to make it a 'Book of the Month' within its age range.
You’ll find those titles here in our Books of the Month page.
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