We are often asked to recommend books that are popular with children and have a good literary content. Here are some suggestions but we would welcome your views and any others that you think should be added to the list.
Allan Ahlberg |
The Better Brown Stories |
Joan Aiken |
* A Handful of Gold |
Vivien Alcock |
The Face at the Window |
Philip Ardagh |
The Eddie Dickens Trilogy |
Phyllis Arkle |
Magic at Midnight |
Nina Bawden |
* Granny the Pag |
Floella Benjamin |
Coming To England |
Malorie Blackman |
Pig Heart Boy |
Quentin Blake |
The Green Ship |
Judy Blume |
* Superfudge |
Tony Bradman |
Football Fever Ed |
Theresa Breslin |
Kezzie |
Betsy Byars |
The Eighteenth Emergency |
Aidan Chambers |
Seal Secret |
Simon Cheshire |
Jeremy Brown of the Secret Service |
Babette Cole |
* Drop Dead |
Dutch Cooper |
Josie, illustrated by Jan Jutte, translated by Patricia Crampton |
William Corlett |
* The Bridge in the Clouds |
Bruce Coville |
The Magic Shop Series |
Sharon Creech |
Ruby Holler |
Helen Cresswell |
* Lizzie Dripping |
Gillian Cross |
* Rent-A-Genius |
Chris d’Lacey |
The Salt Pirates of Skegness |
Roald Dahl |
* James and the Giant Peach |
Lucy Daniels |
Animal Ark Series |
Colin Dann |
The Farthing Wood Series |
Andrew Davies |
Conrad’s War |
Cecil Day Lewis |
The Otterbury Incident |
Terrance Dicks |
The Pyramid Incident |
Berlie Doherty |
* Berlie, Willa and Old Miss Anna |
Steve Donald |
Orson Cart Saves Time |
Edward Eager |
Half Magic Series |
Stephen Elboz |
A Handful of Magic |
Elizabeth Enright |
The Saturdays |
Anne Fine |
* The Angel of Nitshill Road |
Catherine Fisher |
The Snow-Walker’s Son |
Louise Fitzhugh |
Harriet the Spy |
Michael Foreman |
War Game |
Jane Gardam |
Kit Stories |
Leon Garfield |
The Apprentices |
Adèle Geras |
* The Fabulous Fantova Files |
Morris Gleitzman |
Blabbermouth |
Rumer Godden |
* The Diddakoi |
Willis Hall |
* The Last Vampire |
Julia Harman |
Ghost Writer |
Libby Hathorn |
Way Home |
Diana Hendry |
Harvey Angell |
Nigel Hinton |
* Beaver Towers |
Dorothy Horgan |
Charlie’s Eye |
Anthony Horowitz |
Groosham Grange |
Shirley Hughes |
* Chips and Jessie |
Ted Hughes |
* Tales of the Early World |
Brian Jacques |
Redware Series |
Julia Jarman |
The Time-Travelling Cat |
Pete Johnson |
How to Train your Parents |
Terry Jones |
* Fairy Tales |
Erich Kastner |
Emil and the Detectives |
Gene Kemp |
* The Clock Tower Ghost |
Judith Kerr |
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit |
Clive King |
Stig of the Dump |
Dick King-Smith |
* Chewing the Cud |
Tessa Krailing |
* Miranda and Friends |
Caroline Lawrence |
The Thieves of Ostia |
Robert Leeson |
Tom’s Private War |
Eric Linklater |
The Wind on the Moon |
Penelope Lively |
The Ghost of Thomas Kempe |
Sam Llewellyn |
Pig in the middle |
Arnold Lobel |
Frog and Toad are Friends |
Hugh Lofting |
Doctor Dolittle |
Jonathan Long |
The Dog That Dug (with Paul Korky) |
John Loveday |
Goodbye Buffalo Sky |
Margaret Mahy |
* The Chewing Gum Rescue |
Jan Mark |
The Dead Letter Box |
Simon Mason |
The Quigleys |
Virginia Mayo |
Remembering, The Story of a Soldier |
Amanda McCardie |
The Frog Ballet |
Geraldine McCaughrean |
The Wooden Horse |
Roger McGough |
The Magic Fountain |
Livi Michael |
Frank and the Black Hamster of Narkiz |
Barbara Mitchell |
Eric and the Striped Horror |
Ursula Moray Williams |
Gubbolino the Witch’s Cat |
Michael Morpurgo |
* Kensuke’s Kingdom |
Beverley Naidoo |
No Turning Back |
Jenny Nimmo |
Seth and the Strangers |
Andrew Norriss |
Aquila |
Philippa Pearce |
Mrs Cockle’s Cat |
Jack Perry |
I Jack |
Ann Pilling |
Mother’s Daily Scream |
François Place |
The Last Giants |
Philip Pullman |
* Clockwork, illustrated by Peter Bailey |
Lynne Reid Banks |
* Angela and Diabola, illustrated by Klaas Verplancke |
Philip Ridley |
* Kasper in the Glitter |
Mary Rodgers |
Freaky Friday |
J.K. Rowling |
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone |
S F Said |
Varjak Paw |
Posy Simmonds |
Fred |
Francesca Simon |
Horrid Henry |
Lemony Snicket |
A Series of Unfortunate Events |
Johanna Spyri |
Heidi |
R L Stine |
Goosebumps Series |
Jeremy Strong |
* Fatbag the Demon Vacuum Cleaner |
Robert Swindells |
Ice Palace |
Ruth Symes |
The Mum Trap |
Dylan Thomas |
A Child’s Christmas In Wales |
Ruth Thomas |
Hideaway |
Colin Thompson |
* How to Live Forever |
Theresa Tomlinson |
Little Stowaway (with Jane Browne) |
P L Travers |
Mary Poppins Series |
Ann Turnbull |
Pigeon Summer |
Kaye Umansky |
Pongwiffy |
Ellen Weiss |
The Animal Rescue Squad (with Mel Friedman) |
Robert Wetsall |
The Creature in the Dark |
Marcia Williams |
Mr William Shakespeare’s Plays |
Margery Williams |
The Velveteen Rabbit |
Jacqueline Wilson |
* Double Act |