Failing to drag the kids away from their screens and get them reading? Wondering where to find literary distraction for children? You’ve come to the right place. Here award winning authors and others recommend the best novels and novelists for kids and explain why they have chosen them.
Michael Morpurgo chooses his favourite children’s books and also discusses five of his own books here, author Melvin Burgess chooses his best fiction for children and young adults and bestselling children’s author, Audrey Penn chooses her favourite teen books. Here Zoe Greaves picks the best children’s fiction of 2018.
Cornelia Funke chooses her best fairy tales as contemporary fiction and Cressida Cowell chooses magical stories for kids. Alan Lee chooses his best books drawn from myth and fairy tale. Novelist Philip Reeve looks at science fiction and fantasy.
Elsewhere, a number of award winning authors choose novels for kids on various themes. Robin Stevens chooses the best books on kid detectives, Beverley Naidoo, her best books with the theme of courage and kindness for kids and Kiran Millwood Hargreave her best books on fierce girls in tween fiction. Geraldine McCaughrean discusses five of the books she has written, based on true events.
The Best Classics Books for Children, recommended by Annelise Gray
Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire continue to fascinate children and provide fertile ground for historical novels that resonate with today’s readers. Author and classicist Annelise Gray talks us through some of her favourite books for children set in the ancient Mediterranean world and Roman Britain.
Fairy Tales as Contemporary Fiction for Kids, recommended by Cornelia Funke
If you haven’t read any books by German children’s author Cornelia Funke yet, you have a treat in store. The multi-award winning writer of imaginative fiction talks us through her books and explains why fairy tales continue to fascinate her and her readers.
Michael Morpurgo on His Novels
Michael Morpurgo takes us on a journey behind the scenes of five of his own books. He talks about his convictions as a writer and how he weaves fiction out of truths—experiences, accidents, history and memories—and why getting lost is often the best way to make a remarkable discovery.
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1
From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler
by E L Konigsburg -
2
Harry Potter: the Complete Series
by J.K. Rowling -
3
The London Eye Mystery
by Siobhan Dowd -
4
The Sinclair Mysteries: A Clockwork Sparrow (Book 1)
by Katherine Woodfine -
5
Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase (Book 1)
by Jonathan Stroud
The best books on Kid Detectives, recommended by Robin Stevens
The best books on Kid Detectives, recommended by Robin Stevens
Do you love to solve a mystery? Do the twists and turns in the plot of a classic whodunit thrill you? Award-winning author Robin Stevens talks us through her favourite kid detectives and the murderously good books from which they come to life.
Books Based on True Events, recommended by Geraldine McCaughrean
Not all kids want to read about magic and fairytales and many have an unquenchable thirst for reading about reality. Geraldine McCaughrean talks us through five of her own books that were inspired by true events.
The best books on Courage and Kindness for Kids, recommended by Beverley Naidoo
Fairy tales and stories of courage and survival can help children understand that although there are injustices in the world there are ways in which they can make a difference – however small. The award-winning author Beverley Naidoo recommends five great books in which kindness triumphs over adversity.
Fierce Girls in Tween Fiction, recommended by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Books like Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls popularise the many different ways women and girls can be strong, and as strong as they need to be. Award-winning children’s author, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, talks us through some of her favourite strong female characters in children’s fiction.
Cressida Cowell on Magical Stories for Kids
From wizards to alchemy and fairies to folklore, Cressida Cowell reveals the magical stories that were most important to her as a child (and which she now delights in sharing with her own children), and her own inspirations for writing about magic and magical worlds today.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy for Young Adults, recommended by Philip Reeve
Award-winning author Philip Reeve talks us through the science fiction and fantasy books that shaped him and his work in profound ways; among indubitable classics are vibrant lesser-known works awaiting our discovery.
Michael Morpurgo recommends his Favourite Children’s Books
The best-selling children’s author, Michael Morpurgo, says books for children need to do more than amuse their readers. He picks his own favourite books written for young people.
Children’s and Young Adult Fiction, recommended by Melvin Burgess
Melvin Burgess, author of Junk and Doing It tells us about the books that first inspired him and he picks the best thriller writing for young adults – along the way explaining why young people make the most demanding readers
Audrey Penn recommends her Favourite Teenage Books
Children’s author, Audrey Penn, picks five books she loved as a teenager – all stories of struggle in the face of adversity.