While I have never been one to whip up a World Book Day costume (I think I tried and failed miserably one year), I love books and my youngest has shelves full of books that quite frankly he grew out of years ago – I’m the one struggling to part with them!
Luckily my two enjoy reading, so when I asked if they had any recommendations they passed over their favourite latest reads. I thought I’d add a couple of my own as well, so here we go…
Starting with a couple of picture books:
Nibbles, The Book Monster by Emma Yarlett
I’ve recommended this to a few people who have successfully given it as presents. Just the fact the book has holes in it is great fun for the kids, but I love it when nibbles gate-crashes other storybooks, how dare he!
It’s hilarious, beautifully constructed and a little bit cheeky.
In My Heart by Jo Witek
I used this book when the children were 4 years and up, to find an easy way to communicate to them that having lots of emotions was perfectly normal and there were reasons why they might feel sad, or shy or silly.
With lovely illustrations, this is a really great book to have to hand through the ups and down of parenting.
My 9-year-old recommends:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Diper Overlode, by Jeff Kinney
The ever popular Wimpy Kid series are easy to read for those who may find full pages of text overwhelming, with great cartoon illustrations throughout to help support the story.
In the words of my son, it was really funny.
The 156-Storey Treehouse, by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton.
We had the privileged of going to a talk by Andy Griffiths at the Cheltenham Literary Festival last year, and were delighted with limitless boundaries for which the imagination can take a story. Who knows how many more stories the treehouse can go!
Another easy to read format with a festive touch, plenty of illustrations and even a little song or two to learn along the way.
My 12-year-old recommends:
Wild Oak by C.C Harrington
Tiger Heart by Penny Chrimes
My daughter loves animals, and both of these stories combine majestic big cats bonding with children; only together can they conquer the roller coaster of an adventure and the challenges ahead of them.
Happy reading everyone!
(No endorsements here, just books we love)