Best Books for Kids
recommended by librarians, teachers, authors and kids
Last updated: November 19, 2024
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.
Magical Stories for Kids, recommended by Cressida Cowell
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 Music Books for Kids, recommended by Meurig and Rachel Bowen
Have you heard that music is good for children but don’t know where to begin? Musicians Meurig and Rachel Bowen recommend the best music books for children.
The best books on Happiness for Children, recommended by Vanessa King
What is happiness? Why does happiness matter? Vanessa King, lead psychologist at the charity/non-profit Action for Happiness, discusses how developing ours and our children’s happiness skills can have benefits for our own lives and for society as a whole.
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.
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 Tween Books of 2017, recommended by Zoe Greaves
It’s a golden age for books for 8-12 year old children—aka ‘Tweens.’ Our children’s editor, Zoe Greaves, picks some of the year’s best.
The Best Picture Books of 2017, recommended by Zoe Greaves
Looking for a lovely set of books to give to a child who is just learning to read? Five Books children’s editor, Zoe Greaves, picks five of the best published this year.
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.
Rachel Hickman recommends the best Novels Set in Wild Places
Rachel Hickman, co-founder of Chicken House Publishing and author of One Silver Summer, selects books with wild settings that have appeal to older children. She discusses how a strong use of nature adds drama and meaning to a narrative, and the way that setting can become another character in a story.