School’s almost out for summer (or is already out for the lucky few!). That means holiday-time might be looming. If you’re staycationing or jetting off, you need some good summer reads for your little brood to keep them entertained on flights, boats, and to chill out the little ones and help them GO TO SLEEP.
Our book expert Lisa Feely from Lovekidsbooks has the lowdown on exactly which books are spot on for summer for every age.
1. Katie the Kitten Rhyming Stories, Alex Scheffler
(Early Learning)
Katie’s a kitten with sleek, shiny fur. She has sparkly eyes and a lovely deep purr. Lizzy’s a lamb who loves to have fun. She plays in the fields and skips in the sun. Katie the Kitten and Lizzy the Lamb are two playful creatures that love to dance and skip through the day. Too cute.
2. My First Gruffalo Little Library, Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler
(Baby & Toddler)
These are an absolute must for little readers. Gripping from start to finish. From the Gruffalo baby and toddler series featuring all your favourite characters from the deep dark wood. Learn about colours, numbers, opposites and animals with this fabulous set of four bold, bright board books in a miniature slipcase. A perfect gift for young Gruffalo fans. This one is great for taking on holidays or for travelling.
3. The Brilliant World of Tom Gates (Tom Gates Series), Liz Pichon
(Ages 8 upwards)
Tom Gates is the master of excuses for late homework: dog attacks, spilt water, lightning. Tom’s exercise book is full of his doodles, cartoons and thoughts, as well as comments from his long-suffering teacher, Mr Fullerton. After gaining five merits for his CAMPING SUCKS holiday story, Tom’s work starts to go downhill which is a pity, as he’s desperate to impress Amy Porter, who sits next to him…
There are eight books in this series, enough to cover the whole summer for enhusiastic readers or for rainy days.
4. The Twits, Roald Dahl
(Ages 8 upwards)
An epic story by the world’s best ever children’s author Roald Dahl. Mr and Mrs Twit are extremely nasty, so the Muggle-Wump monkeys and the Roly-Poly bird hatch an ingenious plan to give them just the ghastly surprise they deserve. Lovekidsbooks recommends every single Roald Dahl book for kids – amazing stories for children to get lost in their imaginations.
5. The Secret Seven Collection, Enid Blyton
(Ages 9-12)
Kids who enjoy adventures or dreaming up adventures will love these. Peter, Janet and Jack, Barbara, Pam, Colin and George, together they are The Secret Seven – ready to solve any mystery, any time. In their first adventure and the Secret Seven super-sleuths are already on the trail of a mystery. The gang are dressed in disguise, following a lead to a spooky old house in the snow…
6. Paper Towns, John Green
(Teenage Fiction)
Quentin has always loved Margo Roth Spiegelman, for Margo (and her adventures) are the stuff of legend at their high school. So when she one day climbs through his window and summons him on an all-night road trip of revenge, he cannot help but follow. But the next day Margo doesn’t come to school, and a week later she is still missing. Q soon learns that there are clues in her disappearance . . . and they are for him. But as he gets deeper into the mystery. This is a thoughtful, insightful and hilarious coming-of-age story.
7. Girl Online, Zoe Sugg
(Young adult fiction)
The incredible debut novel from YouTube phenomenon Zoe Sugg aka Zoella. She writes: “I have this dream that secretly all teenage girls feel exactly like me. And maybe one day when we realize that we all feel the same we can all stop pretending we’re something we’re not… But until that day I’m going to keep it real on this blog and keep it unreal in real life.” Penny has a secret. Under the alias, Girl Online Penny blogs her hidden feelings about friendship boys high school drama her crazy family and the panic attacks that have begun to take over her life. When things go from bad to worse her family whisks her away to New York where she meets Noah, a gorgeous guitar-strumming American. Suddenly Penny is falling in love – and capturing every moment of it on her blog. But Noah has a secret too one that threatens to ruin Penny’s cover – and her closest friendship – forever.
