Kids books for 6- to 8-year-olds. Expert recommended children's books for aged between 6 and 8 years old. This is a great age to get children reading and loving books. We have a wide range of books recommended on our site, so you are bound to find many books your children will love.
We have books about pets, elves, grandparent, black icons, dads, Christmas books, playful books, funny books and graphic books.
Many 6-year-olds and 7-year-olds will still be learning to read but it's still important to keep reading aloud to them, as this will help them gain vocabulary and experience books above their reading level.
Many research studies have shown that reading for pleasure is important for children's academic success, mental health and even later economic success. Another recent study has shown reading aloud to a child along with play can help a child regulate and manage emotions and help with social-emotional development. This is the ideal time in a child life to foster a love of reading: find your child's next great book in our list, then curl up on a sofa and read it together.
If you want to start your child on a book series we have recommendations for series for 8 year olds.
Our book recommendations are all made by experts, who explain their choices in an interview. You can browse our database either by book or by interview:
Always, Clementine
by Carlie Sorosiak
Clementine is a genius. She is also a mouse. And she is on the run from the lab that bred her. Always, Clementine consists of letters composed in Clementine’s head to her friend Rosie, a chimpanzee who is still in the lab. Readers have the excitement of the chase, Clementine’s enthusiasm when introduced to the game of chess, and the message that we should define success for ourselves. As Clementine puts it, “if someone is telling you what you have to be, then you might lose the opportunity to be what you are”. A fun novel in short chapters, perfect for newly confident readers and a good choice of book to read aloud to siblings of different ages.
Ages 6-11
Nour's Secret Library
Wafa' Tarnowska, Vali Mintzi (illustrator)
When the streets of Nour and Amir’s town turn into battlefields, the two children and their friends sneak out during lulls in the shelling to collect books and create a library which they name Al-Fajr (Dawn). The award-winning author spent months as a child in a basement to survive shelling during the civil war in Lebanon, where she took refuge in books. She was inspired to write this picture book by young people in Daraya, Syria, who under siege saved 15,000 books from bombed houses and created a library in the basement of an abandoned building. The illustrator cleverly uses charcoal to give a sense of the reality of war, and gouache to communicate hope and spirit; the text has a storytelling feel.
Ages 4-7
“It’s about percentages, it’s about showing the spread of characteristics across the world. It’s picking up interesting points, and it raises a lot of points that can be built on and explored. I’ve opened a page at random: five people speak English, four of whom are from North America. So English is a very widely spoken language, but there’s a vast number of languages, so it gives you interesting numbers that you may not be aware of, and can form the basis of a conversation or a discussion. You don’t have to read the book, you can open it at a single page and form a lesson from it or form a discussion from it, be it at the dinner table at home or in the school room.” Read more...
Best Science Books for Children: the 2022 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
Alan Wilson, Scientist
The Secret Life of Butterflies
Roger Vila, Rena Ortega (illustrator), translated by Paula Meiss
Rena Ortega’s glorious watercolour illustrations and text by Roger Vila, of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Barcelona, combine perfectly in this large format scientific picture book (48 pages). Young readers will be fascinated by these delicate creatures that lived among the dinosaurs and which go through several complete transformations in their lives. The Secret Life of Butterflies also explains why butterflies are crucial to our planet, and is a perfect scientific introduction to the concept of interdependence in nature.
Ages 6-10
An Illustrated Collection of Nordic Animal Tales
Pirkko-Liisa Surojegin, translated by Jill G. Timbers
A collection of 26 traditional tales retold and exquisitely illustrated by Pirkko-Liisa Surojegin, a Finnish illustrator known for her expressive and delicate style. The stories all feature animals reflecting human behaviours, several of them with the cunning fox taking advantage of the hard-working bear. With large font and full-page illustrations, these lively stories are perfect for newly confident readers to read by themselves, but Nordic Animal Tales is also a lovely book to read aloud with younger children.
Ages 5-10
A Storm of Sisters
by Michelle Harrison
A Pinch of Magic Adventure (book 4). Atmospheric series about sisters and magic for readers age 8 and up.
The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art
by Cynthia Levinson & Evan Turk (illustrator)
***Winner 2022 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal***
A picture book about the life and work of Benjamin Shahn (1898-1969), from his childhood in Lithuania as a Jew under Tsar Nicholas II to his life as a young immigrant and later an established artist in the United States. This book is very much about the process of being an artist, about knowing who you are in order to find out what kind of artist you are. Shahn used his art for social dialogue, insisting that the purpose was to communicate. Evan Turk effectively uses connected scenes, distorted shapes and symbolic forms to tell the visual part of the story.
Ages 4-7
Above and Below: Sea and Shore
Harriet Evans & Hannah Bailey (illustrator)
An informative book brimming with lovely, accessible illustrations and split pages with a flap on each two-page spread that adds richness. Younger children will enjoy the pictures of all kinds of animals and plants. Older children can begin to understand the variety and interconnectedness of coastal and deep sea ecosystems through chapters that include polar seas, tropical shore, kelp forest, mangrove, estuary and coral reef.
Ages 5-10
I am a book. I am a portal to the universe.
by Stefanie Posavec & Miriam Quick (illustrator)
***Winner of the 2021 Royal Society Young People’s Books Prize***
“My very favourite of the books. In fact, I liked it so much that I bought fifteen copies and I’ve been giving them out to everyone…. I wasn’t the only one who loved this book. I think everyone was intrigued by it, because it’s so interactive. It’s a true and very creative art and science fusion.” Read more...
Best Science Books for Children: the 2021 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
Katharine Cashman, Scientist
“I first fell in love with the title. I like the fact that it had activities, the DIY pages in the mix. I could really see teachers or parents using this, because although they’re very simple things to do they definitely looked like fun activities. And I liked that it was put in a context by having the different sections: all about plants (the parts of the plant and photosynthesis); the world of plants, about adaptation and evolution; from breakfast until bedtime, about all the ways that plants are involved in your everyday life; and the power plants. I like that span from the very fundamental information about plants, all the way through to things that you don’t think about, how we use plants and how plants can help us.” Read more...
Best Science Books for Children: the 2021 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
Katharine Cashman, Scientist
Nano: The Spectacular Science of the Very (Very) Small
by Jess Wade & Melissa Castrillón (illustrator)
An award-winning physicist introduces young readers to essential concepts such as atoms and elements, and to various fields that scientists might study. Young children can relate to questions such as what makes different materials light, heavy, strong or bendy, while older readers can think about how materials are combined and engineered for practical applications such as making seawater safe to drink. An elegant picture book to inspire curiosity about the world around us.
Ages 4-8
We Are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know
Traci Sorell, Frané Lessac (illustrator)
“It is one that I would recommend listening to while also looking at the picture book, because it has beautiful, bright illustrations and the words and pictures are paired very well together. It’s definitely striking to hear on audio because you have this full cast of narrators who are reading the story. They are from Cherokee, Navajo, Choctaw, and Chickasaw backgrounds, so you get to hear the voices of the people the stories are about too.” Read more...
The Best Audiobooks for Kids of 2021
Emily Connelly, Journalist
Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera
by Candace Fleming & Eric Rohmann (illustrator)
***Winner 2021 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal***
Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera is a scientific picture book about the short, busy life of the honeybee. It contains the usual facts that an information book should but also provides food for thought about how we all follow a similar cycle of life and death, and how much work really goes into a spoonful of honey. What lifts this book is the seamless interweaving of the text with the detailed, magnified oil painting illustrations.
Ages 4-8
Stuntboy, In the Meantime
Jason Reynolds, Raúl the Third (illustrator), Guy Lockard (narrator)
“Stuntboy is a very dynamic and fun audiobook, and Jason Reynolds is a celebrated children’s author, for good reason. He has done it again, written a story that’s very good at meeting kids where they are…..I’d say for reluctant readers or for kids who haven’t seen themselves in children’s literature before, or for kids who are looking for a fun story, this is great. And the audiobook is a whole other amazing experience, narrated by a full cast. “ Read more...
The Best Audiobooks for Kids of 2021
Emily Connelly, Journalist
Cats React to Science Facts
by Izzi Howell
*** Winner of the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize***
“This one is fascinating. It really captures, for example, why the Earth has a magnetic field. It explains force and energy balances, the idea of electromagnetism. It’s really, really good, well explained science. And you’ve got the added fun of cats in it! We wanted to try and have some books that might reach out to children who are maybe a bit intimidated by science or don’t think they’re very good at it, or perhaps just aren’t very interested in it. And we thought this book could do that: it would appeal to a much wider audience.” Read more...
The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
Mike Kendall, Scientist
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
by J.K. Rowling & Jim Kay (illustrator)
If you are looking for an alternative Harry Potter children’s edition, Jim Kay has illustrated Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It's a relatively large book with plenty of colour illustrations, available both in hardcover and paperback. These editions are perfect for the youngest generation of readers, who are just old enough to enjoy the story but still have a preference for picture books.
100 Things to Know About Numbers, Computers & Coding
Alex Frith (illustrated by Federico Mariani and Parko Polo)
“Computers are such a big part of our life and understanding a little bit about them is of benefit to everyone. But it can be quite a dry subject, ‘numbers, computing and coding’: even the title doesn’t sound very promising. But the book itself presents some fascinating facts. They’re quite mind-boggling, some of them. It’s amazing to look at.” Read more...
The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2019 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
Sheila Rowan, Physicist
Too Small Tola and the Three Fine Girls
by Atinuke & Onyinye Iwu (illustrator)
This is the second volume in the Too Small Tola series; each volume consists of three stories. Resourceful little Tola lives in a one-room apartment in Lagos with her strict but loving grandmother, studious older sister and football-obsessed older brother. These slim volumes feature the universal concerns of a little girl against the backdrop of daily life in one of Africa’s megacities. A very charming book by a professional storyteller.
Ages 5-9
Atticus the Storyteller's 100 Greek Myths
by Lucy Coats
As a way to introduce children to Greek myths, this book is the best we’ve come across. It’s told as a journey—Atticus is travelling with his donkey, Melissa—so there are little breaks between the stories as he arrives in places, which makes the myths more manageable. Children really, really like this book and will listen to it many times. If they are learning classics in school, they will wow the teacher with their knowledge of the myths, which come up a lot in western language and literature.
Narrator: Simon Russell Beale
Length: 1 hour and 53 minutes
Ages 5-10
“Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice is a biography of Kamala aimed at 4-8 year olds. We don’t learn anything substantially new (her name means ‘Lotus Flower’; when she was being cranky once as a toddler and her mother asked her what she wanted, she answered ‘freedom’), but it’s beautifully done. It also opens with the notion that Kamala Harris wants to be president one day, and that other girls too, can aspire to be president. As we now know, this really is no longer beyond the realms of possibility.” Read more...
“A fact-filled journey through the oceans with clever paper engineering and beautiful illustrations. This book has such panache – it is a standout, sumptuous feast of book design. Every page makes you sigh and reminds us just how extraordinary the watery depths and its inhabitants are.” Read more...
The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018
Zoe Greaves, Children's Author
“This book is really, really good. It’s got lots of interesting facts, and it’s explained really nicely. I’m just looking at a page here, ‘Where do clothes come from?’ It’s the journey of a pair of jeans and there are little facts—like where the word denim comes from, ‘de Nîmes’ in France—and then the whole process, from growing the cotton right through to shipping it to shops. The book looks at how the internet or GPS work, how electricity works when you turn on your lights. The book is just raising awareness that everything we do, at any moment in our lives, has a big knock-on effect: somebody, somewhere in another part of the world has done something, has grown something, something has been burned to provide electricity. It gives us a better understanding of our context in the whole natural world which I think, often, even as adults we don’t fully appreciate.” Read more...
The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
Mike Kendall, Scientist
“Gut Garden…was a fascinating book. You’d have to be living under a rock right now not to realize that viruses and microbes are very important to us and can have good and bad effects. This is not my field, but I know we’re constantly learning more and more about these microbial communities both in our body and in nature and everywhere, really. They point out in the book that there’s orders of magnitude more microbes in our body than there even are cells: in a sense, we’re just a host for these microbes. It’s really nicely presented. It’s clever the way it goes through the roles that the microbes play: in digestion preserving food, in our health when things go wrong, how our body tries to counteract this. There are some really good facts, like how they can lie dormant for years. There are even some speculations about what your appendix might be used for. It’s really good and this is the type of book that 10 or 20 years ago you wouldn’t have been able to write, because we didn’t know a lot of this stuff. It’s a really fast-moving field, and this is not your typical science book. We all enjoyed it.” Read more...
The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
Mike Kendall, Scientist
“The book tells the story of the two sisters being determined to get a playground in the courtyard behind their house, and not taking no for an answer. The illustrations by Ana Ramírez González are absolutely stunning and it’s a lovely tale for young kids of what you can achieve if you put your mind to it.” Read more...
The Train to Impossible Places
PG Bell (author) and Flavia Sorrentino (illustrator)
“There is just a whiff, just the merest whiff, of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in this book. And that is never a bad thing in a book. It’s a wild, funny and impossible adventure – just the sort of crazy ride that is perfect to sink into.” Read more...
Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018
Zoe Greaves, Children's Author
” I love the simplicity of the illustrations, combined with the simplicity of the words—and yet this book also has a really profound effect on you. It reminds you that it’s okay to feel sad and that if you actually take the time to sit with your feelings, then you have the time to release them and set them free.” Read more...
Bianca Schulze, Children's Author
“This is a wonderful book written for children that teaches children about Justice Ginsburg and teaches them that it’s okay to question what other people say, it’s important to speak your mind and it’s great to have the courage of your convictions. It’s a fantastic book because it exposes children to a great role model.” Read more...
The best books on Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Amanda Tyler, Lawyer
The Complete Tales: The Original Peter Rabbit Books
by Beatrix Potter
The Tales of Beatrix Potter remain on the must-read list for very young children. The illustrations are an important part of the experience, but this Beatrix Potter audiobook—with each tale read by a different celebrity—comes highly recommended by Libby Joy of the Beatrix Potter Society.
“This is one of my favorite stories. I used to read it every year, as part of a unit on Cinderella stories. It is based on an African folktale. John Steptoe is a very gifted artist, he illustrates the African village so evocatively.” Read more...
The Best Antiracist Books for Kids
Paula Young Shelton, Children's Author
The Explorer
by Katherine Rundell
A fantastic and engaging read – so it’s no surprise that The Explorer received a plethora of awards. An adventure story set in the Amazon, it’s the perfect listen to keep young explorers entertained.
Narrator: Peter Noble
Length: 6 hours and 13 minutes
Ages: 8-12
Wherever My Wellies take Me
by Clare Morpurgo
A charming book that follows Pippa into the countryside as her day unfolds, she encounters people and animals on the way. Pippa's travels are complemented by poems from some of our greatest authors, personally chosen by Clare and Michael Morpurgo. Part poetry anthology, part child's scrapbook,
“A classic that would be a treat for any child to read.” Read more...
The best books on Pets For Young Kids
Catherine Rayner, Children's Author
“This book gently steers the reader to the fact that handicapped children can do things that able-bodied children would do.” Read more...
Klaus Flugge, Publisher
“This book is especially good since it plays on the myths surrounding these ‘vicious’ barbarians, while exposing readers to the complex and fascinating world of travel, trade and tradition that underline these misconceptions.” Read more...
The Best Viking History Books for Kids
Janina Ramirez, Children's Author
“Myths were made up a really long time ago. Like the lady with the snakes on her head – it’s probably not real but it happened so long ago maybe it was true?” Read more...
The Best Graphic Novels for Eight Year Olds
Helen, Children
Julian Is A Mermaid
by Jessica Love
While riding the subway home with his Nana one day, Julian notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Then his imagination takes over. A thoroughly charming story
“A book inspired by true accounts of the experience of refugee children.” Read more...
The best books on Courage and Kindness for Kids
Beverley Naidoo, Children's Author
“Violet invents different airplanes and helicopters, and she is on her way to an air show where she wants to show off her inventions when she notices that there is a boy-scout troop stranded in the river.” Read more...
Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, Economist
The Journey
by Francesca Sanna
A tale of two girls and their mother that have to leave everything behind and travel on a long journey to somewhere unfamiliar. A refugee story full of fear and hope in the turmoil of war.
“A never-yet bettered introduction to each section of the orchestra for young people.” Read more...
“Music and dance are centre stage in these charmingly illustrated re-tellings of some of the better known stories from ballet.” Read more...
“It’s a real tear jerker, especially when you’re listening to the music at the same time as reading the book. It pulls you into music through emotionally powerful writing.” Read more...
“The thing about the British Empire is that it was so big so lots of things happened and boy did a lot of things happen.” Read more...
The Best History Books (for 8-10 year olds)
Alex, Children
“Not just child’s book. It’s wordless and wonderful, full of playful drawings and inked ideas.” Read more...
Jon Burgerman on the best Playful Books for Children
Jon Burgerman, Cartoonists & Illustrator
Calculus by and for Young People
by Donald Cohen
Calculus by and for young People is a wonderful, very short book by a man called Don Cohen. It get children (from the age of 7) interested in exploring the ideas of infinity and gives them confidence to follow through on those ideas even though these idea are said to be incredibly complex and can't be done until you're 16.
The Hockey Sweater
by Roch Carrier
The Hockey Sweater teaches about not only the game but also its place in Canada, particularly in 1930s Quebec
Dinosaur
by David Norman
You have pictures of dinosaur fossils but also artists’ impressions of dinosaurs. It is almost meant to be like a paper version of a museum experience
“The boy really wants these shoes that everyone else has, but he is very poor. He’s being raised by his grandmother and she knows he needs new boots, he does not need these fancy sneakers. But he wants them so badly!” Read more...
Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, Economist
Father Christmas Goes on Holiday
by Raymond Briggs
No one needs a holiday more than Father Christmas, but where can such a well-known and easily recognized person go? A wonderfully illustrated book that celebrates the magic of Christmas.
How Was That Built? The Stories Behind Awesome Structures
Roma Agrawal, Katie Hickey (illustrator)
“I love this book, because I like building things … kids can pick up this book and then the constructions that appear would be better as a result of reading it. It’s inspirational and gets you thinking about stuff … It’s really nicely written and really nicely illustrated.” Read more...
Best Science Books for Children: the 2022 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
Alan Wilson, Scientist
Beetles for Breakfast and Other Weird and Wonderful Ways to Save the Planet
Madeleine Finlay, Jisu Choi (illustrator)
Children's Book of Philosophy: An Introduction to the World's Great Thinkers and Their Big Ideas
Sarah Tomley & Marcus Weeks
“This has actually been my favourite since I was seven years old, this was my very first philosophy book. Basically, any time I go over to my grandparents’ house I read it. I can read it over and over because every single time I find something new, which is just so amazing. This is my favourite, but the first one I picked is probably a better philosophy book, just because it has more information. But this one is really good, and good for younger kids age seven or eight and up.” Read more...
The Best Philosophy Books for 8-13 Year Olds
Zara, Children
Think about It! Philosophy for Kids: Key Ideas Clearly Explained
Alex Woolf, Daniel O'Brien, Olivia Daisy Coles (illustrator)
“With this one, I just really like all the cartoons. There are a ton of drawings, and that’s really nice for kids. My sister also likes this one, because of all the cartoons, obviously, but also because it has a lot of questions. This is her philosophy book that she has liked since just before she turned eight years old.” Read more...
The Best Philosophy Books for 8-13 Year Olds
Zara, Children
Big Ideas for Young Thinkers: 20 Questions about Life and the Universe
Jamia Wilson & Andrea Pippins (illustrator)
“This one I really like, because it has a lot of people. It has Malala Yousafzai. It has Langston Hughes, who was an author and not really someone who you would think of including in a philosophy book. I thought that was pretty cool. It also includes Gandhi and other people like that. And it has really nice questions. Another thing that I’m really passionate about is Pride, and it has questions like ‘what is gender?’ This book asks why we have rules enforcing all this gender stuff, what’s the point? That really appeals to me.” Read more...
The Best Philosophy Books for 8-13 Year Olds
Zara, Children
“What I like about this book is that it’s really diverse. It has a bunch of different people but not only from the modern day, it still has the basic ones too. And it includes stuff about lying, which is one of my favourite parts of philosophy – whether lying is always right or wrong, the ethics of that.” Read more...
The Best Philosophy Books for 8-13 Year Olds
Zara, Children
“I picked this one because I’m into feminism and I really like female empowerment. I feel like a lot of books just have males, white males. But this one has a lot of feminist philosophy. This book covers pretty much everything, it has Eastern, Western… different philosophies from all over the world. And it’s really easy to understand because there’s a ton of colours and pictures.” Read more...
The Best Philosophy Books for 8-13 Year Olds
Zara, Children
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
William Joyce, Joe Bluhm (illustrator)
Agent Asha: Mission Shark Bytes
by Sophie Deen & Anjan Sarkar (illustrator)
Inventors: Incredible Stories of the World's Most Ingenious Inventions
by Robert Winston & Jessamy Hawke (illustrator)
“We really liked this one because it’s a more narrative form of non-fiction and the author is an astrophysicist who has won awards for outreach. It’s very clear that she’s used to talking to and engaging with kids. You can tell she’s writing from an academic perspective, but also that she’s writing to answer the sorts of questions that she gets from kids. We also liked the illustrations, but the big thing was the authentic nature of the author’s voice, and that she is clearly writing for curious kids. For Ages 8-12″ Read more...
Best Science Books for Children: the 2021 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
Katharine Cashman, Scientist
King and the Dragonflies
by Kacen Callender, narrated by Ron Butler
Ages: 9 – 12
Narrator: Ron Butler
Length: 5 hours and 3 minutes
“In this story we’re in Louisiana with a young Black boy, who is grieving his older brother who had just died, suddenly. It’s a tough topic, certainly, but we’re in a year where so many people are experiencing such trauma. Ron Butler’s narration just brings these different characters off of the page and into your ears.” Read more...
The Best Audiobooks for Kids of 2020
Emily Connelly, Journalist
Before the Ever After
by Jacqueline Woodson, narrated by Guy Lockard
Ages : 10 – 14
Narrator: Guy Lockard
Length: 2 hours and 14 minutes
“This is a novel, and it’s no secret that Jacqueline Woodson is an incredible author. She is a favourite of ours at AudioFile. It’s a story about a young boy, ZJ, who really idolises his father. His father was a former pro football player who had to stop playing because of this mysterious illness.” Read more...
The Best Audiobooks for Kids of 2020
Emily Connelly, Journalist
When Stars Are Scattered
by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson, narrated by Faysal Ahmed (and full cast)
“It’s inspired by a refugee from Somalia, Omar Mohamed, who is one of the co-authors. It’s roughly the story of him growing up in a refugee camp in Kenya and trying to get to safety in America. It’s about spending so many years there, waiting.” Read more...
The Best Audiobooks for Kids of 2020
Emily Connelly, Journalist
Overground Railroad
by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James Ransome, narrated by Shayna Small and Dion Graham
***2021 Audie Awards Best Audiobook for Young Listeners***
“They’re beautiful pictures, and they really did such a marvellous job making a soundscape that goes along with it… It’s a piece of history that is great to explore with children.” Read more...
The Best Audiobooks for Kids of 2020
Emily Connelly, Journalist
“If you listen to the audiobook, you can hear all the sounds of Little Lobo and his friends going to the market, buying food for the luchadores, who are these pro wrestlers who are very hungry and want some food before their match. Gary Tiedemann is the narrator and he does a great job with all the different character voices. They’re not too silly but they’re definitely a little silly.” Read more...
The Best Audiobooks for Kids of 2020
Emily Connelly, Journalist
“Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History…We felt this book was just really nicely written. In the first sentence he writes, ‘in the beginning, nearly 14 billion years ago, the entire universe was smaller than the period that ends this sentence.’ He really has a good way of capturing the enormity of what you’re looking at. The book has nice little digressions too, where he talks about the physics. So there’s a little bit about Newton and the impact that had and then there’s things about the oblateness of the Earth—in other words, it isn’t exactly spherical—and that you’re a little bit lighter at the equator than you are at the poles.” Read more...
The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
Mike Kendall, Scientist
“This book was the big hit in my family. Everybody put it as their number one. What’s nice about it is that it gives you some insights into how science evolves and works and very often it’s not somebody waking up one morning going, ‘I think I’m going to become a scientist and win a Nobel Prize.’ It’s often very accidental. Some of the big discoveries are opportunistic: it isn’t what somebody set out to do in the beginning. I think that’s really encouraging for young people, to see how scientists and scientific careers evolve and that there’s not one way to do this. Some of these people got Nobel prizes very late in life, some people quite early. Some people got them in disciplines that were a bit outside of what they were working on. Even Einstein: he was working in a patent office when he published his early papers on relativity.” Read more...
The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
Mike Kendall, Scientist
“This is a really nice story. It’s about a young girl who’s feeling quite alone and a little bit detached and she finds comfort in music. Again, initially, I thought this was just too much of a story, that there wasn’t enough science in it and it didn’t get enough into the coding. But then, as the book progresses, you realize that she is also learning about scripting and coding. Towards the end, the book really is getting into the syntax and how you construct algorithms and how you logically solve a problem. The book does it in a really nice way and so we felt, again, that this was a book that would be very good for someone who’s perhaps intimidated by the idea of coding.” Read more...
The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
Mike Kendall, Scientist
“This is a touching story of a child who recognizes that she’s not being represented in museums, so she creates her own museum that represents her family and her community. A lot of people can identify with this story.” Read more...
The Best Antiracist Books for Kids
Paula Young Shelton, Children's Author
“It talks about recognizing that you are enough and that we are all enough, that we all deserve to be loved and respected and appreciated for who we are. It’s a lovely story with beautiful illustrations of its central character, an African American girl with big natural hair. It promotes self love to African Americans, but I also hope it promotes an appreciation for the beauty of African Americans by others.” Read more...
The Best Antiracist Books for Kids
Paula Young Shelton, Children's Author
“This beautifully and brightly illustrated book is about a little girl entering into a new world. It could be a classroom or it could be anything. It features this beautiful African American girl with big, beautiful hair, talking about her expectations about entering someplace new and her thoughts about how she might be received. She eventually figures out how to make herself seen and heard. I read The Day You Begin at the beginning of my first grade year and leave the book prominently displayed through the year, because it captures what a lot of children go through as they experience new things. We all experience so many similar things and yet we each bring a different perspective, different expectations and different fears.” Read more...
The Best Antiracist Books for Kids
Paula Young Shelton, Children's Author
“I love what Weatherford writes for children. I use a lot of her books in class like Moses and Voices of Freedom and Freedom on the Menu. Pick up any book that she’s written, and you’ve got a winner. But this book, In Your Hands, is special. It’s a touching story about a mother and a child who happened to be African American. The mother has all the same dreams that any mother has for her child, but she also is attuned and worried about how the world will perceive her child. This is something I could identify with as a mother. And this book is as much for the adult reading it as it is for the child.In many children’s books, the illustrations are brash and bright in color. These illustrations are light and warm tones. To me, it really embodies the warmth between a mother and child.” Read more...
The Best Antiracist Books for Kids
Paula Young Shelton, Children's Author
“I think it is one of his darkest books and I think it’s a very sad book. It’s his first ever children’s book, written in 1961, fresh off the back of writing his short stories. “ Read more...
Tilly Burn, Children's Author
The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
by Roald Dahl
We could really have recommended any book by Roald Dahl to keep kids entertained—and if you’ve got a very long car journey, a boxset of all his works could be viewed as a sensible investment. But The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me is a lovely short one to get started with. Like many Roald Dahl audiobooks, it’s narrated by a well-known comic actor, in this case Hugh Laurie.
Narrator: Hugh Laurie
Length: 45 minutes
Ages: 5-7
“because you believe Roald Dahl and trust him and because you know he tells a good story, you immediately accept that he’s telling you to root for Charlie Bucket. And you’re like, “Yeah, sure. Here we go!”” Read more...
Tilly Burn, Children's Author
“It’s about the enterprising and wonderful Mr Fox whose family are starving in their burrow. He’s fed up of not having enough food to feed them. Mrs Fox asks him to go out and get some food and he comes up with a phenomenal plan to dig tunnels underneath three farmers, Mr Boggis, Mr Bunce, and Mr Bean and steal chickens and ham, cider and lots of other goodies from them all” Read more...
Tilly Burn, Children's Author
“A book that has a unique way of introducing an important subject. I suppose you could call it the art of gentle persuasion, or how you can peacefully convince someone to see things your way.” Read more...
Klaus Flugge, Publisher
“A fantastic story about the last wolf in Britain, and so well-handled.” Read more...
Klaus Flugge, Publisher
“A story about death that is fresh and that I call light-hearted but it doesn’t preach too much.” Read more...
Klaus Flugge, Publisher
“It’s like reading a fairy tale book – but grown-up fairy tales that are actually true. The ladies are all real.” Read more...
The Best Graphic Novels for Eight Year Olds
Helen, Children
“Asterix (who is a tiny guy with a big moustache) and his friend (who is a big guy) called Obelix are very, very funny.” Read more...
The Best Graphic Novels for Eight Year Olds
Helen, Children
“There’s a lot of adventure and snow and a cute little dog called Snowy.” Read more...
The Best Graphic Novels for Eight Year Olds
Helen, Children
“It is a story book but it has tonnes of facts in it – especially about Shakespeare.” Read more...
The Best Graphic Novels for Eight Year Olds
Helen, Children
“A special edition of the the moving and empowering poem by Maya Angelou with illustrations by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.” Read more...
“The true story of the life of the ballerina Misty Copeland, one of my heroes.” Read more...
“An illustrated book about black history that illuminates black women’s specific role in driving change.” Read more...
“The illustrated story of Josephine Baker, a ground-breaking dancer, singer and comedienne of the 1920’s.” Read more...
“The illustrated story of Fannie Lou Hamer, a champion of civil rights, a woman who overcame prejudice and abuse and yet turned that experience into a message of hope.” Read more...
“Maurice Sendak was inspired by the set and costumes he designed for the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Christmas production” Read more...
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1
How Was That Built? The Stories Behind Awesome Structures
Roma Agrawal, Katie Hickey (illustrator) -
2
Microbe Wars: Humanity's Biggest Battles with the World's Smallest Life-Forms
by Gill Arbuthnott & Marianna Madriz (illustrator) -
3
Fourteen Wolves: A Rewilding Story
by Catherine Barr & Jenni Desmond (illustrator) -
4
Fantastically Great Women Scientists and their Stories
by Kate Pankhurst -
5
If the World Were 100 People
Jackie McCann, Aaron Cushley (illustrator) -
6
Beetles for Breakfast and Other Weird and Wonderful Ways to Save the Planet
Madeleine Finlay, Jisu Choi (illustrator)
Best Science Books for Children: the 2022 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Alan Wilson
Best Science Books for Children: the 2022 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Alan Wilson
The Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize celebrates books that stimulate children’s curiosity and enthusiasm to explore, innovate and debate. Alan Wilson, Chair of this year’s judging panel, talks us through the six outstanding science books for kids that made the 2022 shortlist.
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1
Philosophy: A Visual Encyclopedia
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2
Children's Book of Philosophy: An Introduction to the World's Great Thinkers and Their Big Ideas
Sarah Tomley & Marcus Weeks -
3
Big Thinkers and Big Ideas: An Introduction to Eastern and Western Philosophy for Kids
by Sharon Kaye & Tara Sunil Thomas (illustrator) -
4
Big Ideas for Young Thinkers: 20 Questions about Life and the Universe
Jamia Wilson & Andrea Pippins (illustrator) -
5
Think about It! Philosophy for Kids: Key Ideas Clearly Explained
Alex Woolf, Daniel O'Brien, Olivia Daisy Coles (illustrator)
The Best Philosophy Books for 8-13 Year Olds, recommended by Zara
The Best Philosophy Books for 8-13 Year Olds, recommended by Zara
Zara, age 12, is an avid reader of philosophy books. Here she shares her favourite picks, and gives adults some tips on selecting the best books to get kids interested in philosophy.
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1
Library Lion
Michelle Knudsen, Kevin Hawkes (illustrator) -
2
Write to Me
Cynthia Grady, Amiko Hirao (illustrator) -
3
Tomás and the Library Lady
by Pat Mora & Raul Colón (illustrator) -
4
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
William Joyce, Joe Bluhm (illustrator) -
5
The Lonely Book
Kate Bernheimer, Chris Sheban (illustrator)
The Best Books about Libraries for 4-8 Year Olds, recommended by Bahram Rahman
The Best Books about Libraries for 4-8 Year Olds, recommended by Bahram Rahman
Libraries provide a space for children to read for pleasure and discover the transformative power of books. Children’s author Bahram Rahman shares his favourite picture books about libraries for children age 4-8, and explains why book-recommending algorithms cannot replace librarians.
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1
Under the Stars: Astrophysics for Everyone
by Lisa Harvey-Smith & Mel Matthews (illustrator) -
2
I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast
by Michael Holland & Philip Giordano (illustrator) -
3
Agent Asha: Mission Shark Bytes
by Sophie Deen & Anjan Sarkar (illustrator) -
4
Inventors: Incredible Stories of the World's Most Ingenious Inventions
by Robert Winston & Jessamy Hawke (illustrator) -
5
I am a book. I am a portal to the universe.
by Stefanie Posavec & Miriam Quick (illustrator) -
6
100 Things to Know about Saving the Planet
Best Science Books for Children: the 2021 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Katharine Cashman
Best Science Books for Children: the 2021 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Katharine Cashman
In selecting the best science books for children, the judges of the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize identify books that are scientifically accurate as well as accessible and engaging. Katharine Cashman, Professor of Volcanology at Bristol University and Chair of this year’s judging panel, talks us through the six wonderful books that made the 2021 shortlist.
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1
¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat
by Raúl the Third, narrated by Gary Tiedemann -
2
Overground Railroad
by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James Ransome, narrated by Shayna Small and Dion Graham -
3
When Stars Are Scattered
by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson, narrated by Faysal Ahmed (and full cast) -
4
Before the Ever After
by Jacqueline Woodson, narrated by Guy Lockard -
5
King and the Dragonflies
by Kacen Callender, narrated by Ron Butler
The Best Audiobooks for Kids of 2020, recommended by Emily Connelly
The Best Audiobooks for Kids of 2020, recommended by Emily Connelly
Whether you’re on a car journey or sitting on the sofa together at home, listening to audiobooks with kids can be an incredible experience. Some will make you laugh, some will make you weep. Many will help us develop empathy for other human beings in the world around us. Here Emily Connelly, Assistant Editor at AudioFile, talks us through the magazine’s choices of the best audiobooks for kids of 2020.
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Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry
by Neil deGrasse Tyson & with Gregory Mone -
2
Cats React to Science Facts
by Izzi Howell -
3
In the Key of Code
by Aimee Lucido -
4
How to Win a Nobel Prize
by Barry Marshall, Bernard Caleo (illustrator) & with Lorna Hendry -
5
Gut Garden: A journey into the wonderful world of your microbiome
by Katie Brosnan -
6
Everyday Journeys Of Ordinary Things
by Libby Deutsch & Valpuri Kerttula (illustrator)
The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Mike Kendall
The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Mike Kendall
To find the best science books for kids, the judges of the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize look for books that are not only accurate but also entertaining. Mike Kendall, Professor of Geophysics at Oxford University and chair of this year’s judging panel, talks us through the six fabulous books that made the 2020 shortlist (the final winner will be chosen by the real experts: more than 13,000 kids).
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In Your Hands
by Brian Pinkney (Illustrator) & Carole Boston Weatherford -
2
The Day You Begin
by Jacqueline Woodson & Rafael López (Illustrator) -
3
I Am Enough
by Grace Byers & Keturah Bobo (Illustrator) -
4
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale
by John Steptoe -
5
Milo's Museum
by Purple Wong (Illustrator) & Zetta Elliott
The Best Antiracist Books for Kids, recommended by Paula Young Shelton
The Best Antiracist Books for Kids, recommended by Paula Young Shelton
Understanding the African American experience is not just about learning about suffering, it’s also about celebrating a vibrant culture and its roots across the millennia. Paula Young Shelton, author of Child of the Civil Rights Movement, recommends the best antiracist books for kids.
The Best Roald Dahl Books, recommended by Tilly Burn
Roald Dahl was one of the 20th century’s most popular children’s authors. Here, Tilly Burn, Archive and Collections Assistant at the wonderful Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden, UK, chooses her top Roald Dahl books and discusses the secrets of his enduring appeal.
The Best Graphic Novels for Eight Year Olds, selected by Helen
“And what is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversation?” Eight-year-old Helen feels the same. Here she tells us why reading graphic novels is fun, relaxing and definitely not for babies – and recommends her current five favourites.
Favourite Kids’ Books, recommended by Klaus Flugge
Since founding Andersen Press in 1976, Klaus Flugge has published some of the most well-known and best-loved names in the world of children’s books– he has launched the careers of some of our best-loved picture book illustrators, from Quentin Blake and Chris Riddell to David McKee, Tony Ross, Michael Foreman and Emma Chichester Clark. Here he expounds on his favourite books and why laughter is his favourite subject.
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Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
by Carole Boston Weatherford & Euka Holmes -
2
Josephine: A Dazzling Life
by Christian Robinson & Patricia Hruby Powell -
3
The Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
by Vashti Harrison -
4
Firebird
by Misty Copeland -
5
Life Doesn't Frighten Me
by Jean-Michel Basquiat & Maya Angelou
Books on Black Icons for Children, recommended by Jamia Wilson and Andrea Pippins
Books on Black Icons for Children, recommended by Jamia Wilson and Andrea Pippins
Jamia Wilson and Andrea Pippins discuss books that that tell the stories of some of the greatest black icons in history – and explain why reading books that celebrate these extraordinary lives can be transformational for all children.
The best books on Elves, recommended by Igreth the Elf
Elves are often misunderstood or misrepresented over the Christmas period – Christmas cracker jokes have never been kind to these tiny heroes of the festive season. Here Igreth the Elf, great-great-great-grandson of Ilbereth the Elf, sets the record straight and introduces five children’s books that celebrate the extraordinary contribution these diminutive creatures make to Christmas itself.
Best Books About Dads, recommended by Paul Howard
Depictions of fathers in children’s books have leapt forward in recent years, says illustrator Paul Howard. He talks us through his favourite visions of modern dads in books, from the ultimate macho man to fathers at their most vulnerable.
Korky Paul on Inspiring Illustrations
Korky Paul, the illustrator of the hugely popular Winnie the Witch series (among others), talks to Five Books about the pictures and books that have most inspired him.
Jon Burgerman on the best Playful Books for Children
Whatever your age, play is how we test ideas, define rules and see if they hold. New York-based artist and author Jon Burgerman talks to Five Books about his favourite titles that encourage kids to have fun and be playful, without worry or fear of failure, and simply enjoy the limitless possibilities of imagination.
Funny Books for Kids, recommended by Elys Dolan
Elys Dolan, author of Mr Bunny’s Chocolate Factory and rising star of the picture book world, on the funniest illustrated books for reading at bedtime—and why children’s characters needn’t always set good moral examples.
The best books on Christmas, recommended by Father Christmas
Shelve your cynicism – Santa Claus does exist, and he took the time out to tell us his five favourite Christmas-time books. He’s more of a pictures than a words kind of guy, and he’s been to Las Vegas
Best Economics Books for Kids, recommended by Yana van der Meulen Rodgers
Great books can introduce kids to economics at a young age, says Rutgers University economics professor Yana van der Meulen Rodgers. Here she picks some lovely story books for 5-10 year olds and explains the key economic concepts they illustrate.
