Five Books is all about interviewing experts, and who are the ultimate experts about kids' books other than kids themselves? In these interviews we've approached children who are particularly passionate about reading and asked them to make recommendations about the books they most love to read.
A few tips we find help when it comes to getting children reading:
1. Read a lot yourself. Children tend to copy your behaviour and if you seem mesmerized by books, they're more likely to get reading too.
2. Reduce screen time. There are so many interesting books being published for children at the moment, there's just no reason they should spend all of their time watching an iPad or TV. The rest of the time they can spend delving into books about whatever subject catches their fancy.
3. Read with your children before bedtime. Even after they can read for themselves, children love being read to.
Please get in touch if you have a child who'd like to make recommendations! Our email address is editor@fivebooks.com.
The Best Rick Riordan Books, recommended by Alex (age 13)
This is a big week for Rick Riordan fans as The Tower of Nero, the final book in his Trials of Apollo series, is published. Here, Alex, a 13-year-old boy living in Oxford, explains what Rick Riordan’s books are about, why he finds them so mesmerizing, and which book you might want to start with if you’re interested in reading them.
Best Shakespeare Books for Kids, recommended by Natasha
Are you longing to get your children as excited about Shakespeare as you are? There’s a lot of books out there to introduce kids to the Bard. Here, Natasha, a 10-year old living in Oxfordshire, recommends some of her favourite retellings of Shakespeare stories.
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.
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1
Goalkeepers Are Different
by Brian Glanville -
2
The Illustrated History of Football
by David Squires -
3
The Kingfisher Football Encyclopedia
by Clive Gifford -
4
Kane (Ultimate Football Heroes)
by Matt & Tom Oldfield -
5
Football School Season 1: Where Football Explains the World
by Alex Bellos, Ben Lyttleton & Spike Gerrell
Best Football Books for 11 Year Olds, recommended by Alexander
Best Football Books for 11 Year Olds, recommended by Alexander
There are a lot of books about football for sale in bookshops these days, but which ones are any good? 11-year-old Alexander, who loves football as well as reading, shares his choices of the best football books for kids as part of our ‘By Children for Children‘ series.