Recommendations and answers to the reading-life questions parents ask — from an English teacher who curates every book in the Little Reads library.
Books like Heidi Heckelbeck for 6 and 7 year olds. Five funny books with a magic secret, starting with Princess Mirror-Belle.
Children's Greek mythology books from age 5 to 10. Percy telling the myths like family gossip, a day at the ancient Olympics, and more.
Chapter books for 10 year olds that aren't part of a series. Five whole stories to start with, and a few more for when those are done.
Books like Captain Underpants for 6 to 8 year olds. Five silly books to read next, starting with Dog Man, and a few more after those.
Christmas books for 8 year olds to read on their own. Five stories, which are funny and which are sad, plus picks for 7, 9 and 10.
Books like Junie B. Jones for 6 to 8 year olds. Five funny school stories told by the child, two of them British.
Five book series for 7 year olds, with the book to start on and how many more we have, plus where Magic Tree House begins.
Book series from the 90s that a child can read now, with the year each began, where to start and the age it suits today.
The best Pamela Butchart books, picked from the sixteen we hold. Which to start with, which suits a 5 year old and which is for 9.
Five book series for 9 year olds, with the book to start on, how many follow and the sad or scary bits worth knowing first.
A Year 4 reading list for 8 and 9 year olds who read for fun, not for homework. Five books to start with and a few more after.
Books like Spirit Animals for 8 to 10 year olds. Five books with a child, an animal who belongs with them and a world that needs saving.
Chapter books for 9 year olds who read alone and want something longer. Five series starters, the one to try first, and where to go after.
The classic children's books we stock, by age from 5 to 11, and which ones a child reads alone and which work best out loud.
Five book series for 8 year olds with enough books to keep them going, which one to start with and who each suits. Hand-picked.
Books like Judy Moody for 6 to 8 year olds, from someone who read the lot as a kid. Five series with the same moods, mischief and short chapters.
Five book series for 10 year olds that they can read in order without running out, and which one to hand over first.
Books like Narnia for 8 to 11 year olds. Hidden doors, other worlds and siblings who go through together, and the age each one suits.
Five books on our age-9 shelf that children rate and nobody reviews, and what ten years in a classroom taught me about "too easy".
An honest answer from ten years in the classroom, plus five books that get going fast enough that nobody has to push through.
Chapter books an 8-year-old reads to themselves. Five hand-picked series starters, plus the step-up for when they're racing ahead.
Chapter books a 7-year-old can read alone. Five hand-picked series starters, plus what to try if they're not quite there yet.
Books like The Hunger Games that a 10 to 12 year old can actually read. Age-right survival stories, hand-picked from our library.
Books like Scarlet and Ivy for 9 to 11 year olds. Boarding-school mysteries and determined girl detectives, picked from our library.
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