Kids books for 6 to 8 year olds. Expert recommended children's books for ages 6 to 8 years old. This is a great age to get children reading and loving books. We have a wide range of books 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 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.
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:
“This one is fascinating. When I looked at it initially, I thought there is no way we’re going to get even close to shortlisting it, with its classic cats-as-a-hook. But when you start to read it, it’s really good. 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! As you said, one of the judges, for her children, it was the book they couldn’t put down; they would argue about who would take it to bed and read it. The other thing that was really compelling in this book was that some of the more traditional books are really science books. They’re going to appeal to a young student or child who’s already really interested in science. 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
“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...
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
“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...
Editors’ Picks: 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
“Hairy Maclary, a scruffy little dog, trots about town. On the way he gathers up lots of dog friends. It’s a rhyming text with repetition that builds.” Read more...
The best books on Pets For Young Kids
Catherine Rayner, Children's Author
“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
Atticus the Storyteller's 100 Greek Myths
by Lucy Coats
Q: I should mention for anyone who has small children, that your book, Atticus the Storyteller’s 100 Greek Myths, is absolutely wonderful. My own are 6, 5 and 4 and they can’t get enough of it. I now give it as a present whenever any of their friends has a birthday.
A: That’s wonderful. The thing is that if they have them in their heads now, it will actually serve them for life. There are meant to be only x number of stories in the world, and these are pretty much templates for all of them…
“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...
“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...
“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 Paper Bag Princess
by Michael Martchenko (illustrator) & Robert Munsch
***Our bestselling children’s book of 2019 (ages 3-6) so far***
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...
“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...
Meurig and Rachel Bowen, Children's Author
“Music and dance are centre stage in these charmingly illustrated re-tellings of some of the better known stories from ballet.” Read more...
Meurig and Rachel Bowen, Children's Author
“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...
Meurig and Rachel Bowen, Children's Author
“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, Cartoonist/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.
“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. Narrator: Ron Butler Length: 5 hours and 3 minutes Ages: 9 – 12 “ Read more...
“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. Narrator: Guy Lockard Length: 2 hours and 14 minutes Ages : 10 – 14 “ Read more...
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...
Overground Railroad
by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James Ransome, narrated by Shayna Small and Dion Graham
“She and her parents are part of the overground railroad, which the author explains she learned about in Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns. It’s about people leaving the South and going north to get out of oppressive tenant farming contracts, or just trying to find a better place to live.” Read more...
“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...
“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
“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
“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
“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...
“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...
“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...
“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...
“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...
“A fantastic story about the last wolf in Britain, and so well-handled.” Read more...
“A story about death that is fresh and that I call light-hearted but it doesn’t preach too much.” Read more...
“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
“This story focuses on the relationship between a little boy and his grandfather and the simple adventures that they share.” Read more...
The best books on Grandparents and Grandchildren
Joseph Coelho, Children's Author
“I think this is the essence of this book is that it’s all about that role of grandparents to kind of be the other parents, to be there in times of need.” Read more...
The best books on Grandparents and Grandchildren
Joseph Coelho, Children's Author
Joy
by Corrinne Averiss and illustrated by Isabelle Follath
Emotional, funny and uplifting, this beautiful picture book has a strong message about empathy and maintaining loving relationships with our grandparents. Guaranteed to bring a bit of joy into every reader’s life, this story is a pure delight.
Children reading this book will understand how the simple act of being with someone, of talking to someone, can have a huge impact.
15 Things Not To Do With A Granny
by Margaret McAllister and illustrated by Holly Stirling
“Presented like a rule book this is a book dedicated to active grannies.” Read more...
The best books on Grandparents and Grandchildren
Joseph Coelho, Children's Author
“There is so much to love about this book. Firstly the dinosaurs being woken up by the heat from humans burning everything and then them tidying up the mess.” Read more...
“This is such an amazing book that is honest about the scale of the issue and that it’s our fault – but presented in a really fun way.” Read more...
“This beautifully illustrated book has a poignant, beautiful and clear message about sustainability in the oceans.” Read more...
“It is a very funny story, written in rhyme, with wonderful, crazy Seuss illustrations – and a big environmental message for young readers.” Read more...
The best books on Trees For Younger Readers
Neal Layton, Cartoonist/Illustrator
“This captures effortlessly for me how we as a society love to put beautiful endangered animals in cages and stare at them – but we don’t spend time talking about what we are doing.” Read more...
“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...
“This is a bedtime read. It’s really quiet and settling” Read more...
” A cheery book about how as adults we tend to think of the rain as a bit of an inconvenience, whereas for a child it’s really exciting.” Read more...
“A bold picture book, the colour is striking with an unusual palette. Captures little moments that together perfectly describe a snowy day.” Read more...
“An atmospheric and funny book that captures the mood of a summer’s day with the chance to go for a ride on a boat.” Read more...
“A seed is one of the biggest wonders of the natural world, this book shows how a single seed can make it against all the odds.” Read more...
“Maurice Sendak was inspired by the set and costumes he designed for the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Christmas production” Read more...
Harvey Slumphenburger's Christmas Present
by John Burningham
When it comes to delivering the last present in his sack, no journey is too far for Father Christmas! A charming seasonal story from an award-winning artist.
“Every December an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole would arrive for J R R Tolkien’s children. The letters were from Father Christmas.” Read more...
“A lovely pop-up edition of the classic Christmas poem” Read more...
“A beautifully illustrated version of a classic Christmas fairy tale.” Read more...
“This is a book about a father expressing his grief – I don’t think you would have had a story like this 15 years ago.” Read more...
Best Books About Dads (for younger kids)
Paul Howard, Cartoonist/Illustrator
“This story depicts a strong and loving relationship between father and son.” Read more...
Best Books About Dads (for younger kids)
Paul Howard, Cartoonist/Illustrator
“This is excellent visual storytelling and beautifully shows how having a child is transformative.” Read more...
Best Books About Dads (for younger kids)
Paul Howard, Cartoonist/Illustrator
“I love that the dad in this story seems to be the main carer. He takes her to school and he picks her up.” Read more...
Best Books About Dads (for younger kids)
Paul Howard, Cartoonist/Illustrator
“It’s really inventive and imaginative – they just use things lying around the house to make up a story.” Read more...
Best Books About Dads (for younger kids)
Paul Howard, Cartoonist/Illustrator
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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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1
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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1
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 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.
The best books on Grandparents and Grandchildren, recommended by Joseph Coelho
Acclaimed poet, Joseph Coelho, recommends five of the best kids’ books that celebrate the magical bonds between grandparents and their grandchildren. Positive intergenerational relationships have very real health benefits for the whole family! So get yourself settled on a comfy chair with a grandchild and take some time to enjoy sharing these delightful stories.
Best Environmental Books for Kids, selected by Georgina Stevens
What are the best books to engage and educate young kids about the environment? Environmentalist and author Georgina Stevens has some ideas. She recommends her favourite environment books for kids, as well as a few websites that will help teach them (and their families) how to make a difference.
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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.
Books about the Weather for Kids, recommended by Tim Hopgood
Children have almost universal responses to different kinds of weather: kicking fallen leaves in autumn, splashing in puddles in the rain, catching snowflakes on tongues when it snows. We talk to author and illustrator Tim Hopgood about the weather as an inspiration for children’s books.
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 (for younger kids), 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.
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.
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.
