Tricky Ages: 5-9+

By The Book Nook, Hove

Tricky Ages: 5-9+

By The Book Nook, Hove

As kids gradually start reading independently, it can be hard to find the right book. Here is a progressive list of beautifully illustrated and accessible suggestions from 5+ to 8+. Each book is marked with both how illustrated it is — ranging from full colour illustrations, to occasional black and white illustrations — and how many pages long it is. The first book in each series is listed, just click on the author to see the rest of their books. Ages for guidance only.

Billy and the Mini Monsters: Monsters at the Zoo

Zanna Davidson and Melanie Williamson

£5.99 £5.69

Squishy McFluff: The Invisible Cat!

Pip Jones and Ella Okstad

£7.99 £7.59

5+, 80 pages, full colour illustrations and rhyming text. First in an 8+ book series.

Monsters in the Dark (Ukrainian language)

Susanna Davidson and Melanie Williamson

£5.99 £5.69

5+, 80 pages, full colour illustrations /comic strips throughout. First in a 10+ book series.

Little Rabbit's Big Surprise

Swapna Haddow and Alison Friend

£5.99 £5.69

5+, 96 pages, full colour illustrations. Sweet story.

Claude in the City

Alex T. Smith

£7.99 £7.59

5+, 96 pages, 2-colour illustrations throughout. 10+ book series.

Rabbit and Bear: Rabbit's Bad Habits: Book 1

Julian Gough and Jim Field

£7.99 £7.59

5+, 112 pages, full colour illustrations by Jim Field. First in a 5 book series.

Max and Chaffy: Welcome to Animal Island!

Jamie Smart

£6.99 £6.64

5+ 128 pages, full colour comic book style illustrations and interactive element. From creator of Bunny Vs Monkey.

Adventuremice: Otter Chaos

Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre

£6.99 £6.64

5+, 128 pages, Full colour Illustrations. First in a new series.

Unipiggle: Unicorn Muddle

Hannah Shaw

£5.99 £5.69

5+, 128 pages, full colour illustrations. First in a 6 book series.

Meet the Twitches

Hayley Scott and Pippa Curnick

£5.99 £5.69

5+, 128 pages, full colour illustrations. First in a 3 book series.

Isadora Moon Goes to School

UK) Muncaster Bedfordshire Barton le Clay Harriet (

£6.99 £6.64

5+, 128 pages, 2-colour illustrations throughout. 10+ book series.

Kitty and the Moonlight Rescue

Paula Harrison and Jenny Løvlie

£6.99 £6.64

5+, 128 pages, 2-colour illustrations throughout. First in a 10+ book series.

Marv and the Mega Robot: from the multi-award nominated Marv series

Alex Falase-Koya and Paula Bowles

£6.99 £6.64

5+ 128 pages, 2-colour illustrations throughout. First in a 4 book, ongoing series.

Kate on the Case (Kate on the Case 1)

Hannah Peck

£7.99 £7.59

6+, 160 pages, 2-colour illustrations throughout. First in a 3 book series.

The Naughtiest Unicorn

Pip Bird and David O'Connell

£6.99 £6.64

6+ 160 pages, black and white illustrations. First in a 10+ book series.

Dave Pigeon: WORLD BOOK DAY 2023 AUTHOR

Swapna Haddow and Sheena Dempsey

£7.99 £7.59

6+, 160 pages, black and white illustrations. First in a 4 book series.

The Worst Class in the World Gets Worse

Joanna Nadin and Rikin Parekh

£6.99 £6.64

6+, 160 pages, black and white illustrations. First in a 3 book series.

Hotel Flamingo

Alex Milway

£7.99 £7.59

6+ 192 pages, 2-colour illustrations. First in a 4 book series.

Call the Puffins: Book 1

Cath Howe and Ella Okstad

£7.99 £7.59

6+, 176 pages, black and white illustrations. First in a new series.

Luma and the Pet Dragon: Book 1

LEAH MOHAMMED and Loretta Schauer

£6.99 £6.64

6+, 192 pages, black and white illustrations throughout. First in an ongoing series.

The Nothing to See Here Hotel

STEVEN BUTLER and Steven Lenton

£7.99 £7.59

6+, 192 pages, black and white illustrations throughout. First in a 4 book series.

Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape: Book 1

Dermot O'Leary and Nick East

£7.99 £7.59

6+, 192 pages, black and white illustrations. First in a 5 book series.

Leonora Bolt: Secret Inventor

Lucy Brandt and Gladys Jose

£7.99 £7.59

6+, 208 pages, black and white illustrations. First in an ongoing series.

Pugs of the Frozen North

England) Reeve Devon Philip ( and England) McIntyre London Sarah (

£7.99 £7.59

6+, 224 pages, black and white illustrations throughout.

The Boy Who Grew Dragons (The Boy Who Grew Dragons 1)

Andy Shepherd and Sara Ogilvie

£7.99 £7.59

6+, 224 pages, black and white illustrations. First in a 6 book series.

Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball

Laura Ellen Anderson

£7.99 £7.59

6+ 224 pages, black and white illustrations. First in a 7 book series.

Grimwood: Laugh your head off with the funniest new series of the year

Nadia Shireen

£7.99 £7.59

6+ 240 pages, black and white illustrations throughout. First in a 2 book series.

Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet: Book 1

Zanib Mian and Nasaya Mafaridik

£7.99 £7.59

6+, 224 pages , black and white illustrations. First in a 5 book series.

Diary of an Accidental Witch

Honor and Perdita Cargill and Katie Saunders

£7.99 £7.59

6+, 224 pages, black and white illustrations. First in a 4 book series.

Stink: Fairy vs Boy: A Stink Adventure

Jenny McLachlan

£7.99 £7.59

6+ 240 pages, diary style, black and white illustrations throughout.

Anisha, Accidental Detective

Serena Patel and Emma McCann

£6.99 £6.64

6+, 256 pages, black and white illustrations. First in a 6 book series.

Dotty Detective

Clara Vulliamy

£6.99 £6.64

7+, 176 pages, black and white illustrations. First in a 6 book series.

Harley Hitch and the Iron Forest

Vashti Hardy and George Ermos

£7.99 £7.59

7+, 256 pages, black and white illustrations throughout. First in an ongoing book series.

Pizazz: The super awesome new superhero series!

Sophy Henn

£6.99 £6.64

7+, 288 pages, black and white comic-style illustrations throughout. First in a 5 book series.

Charlie Changes Into a Chicken

Sam Copeland and Sarah Horne

£7.99 £7.59

7+, 288 pages, black and white illustrations. First in a 3 book series.

The Accidental Diary of B.U.G.

Jen Carney

£7.99 £7.59

7+, 272 pages, black and white diary style illustrations. First in a 3 book series.

The Beast and the Bethany

Jack Meggitt-Phillips and Isabelle Follath

£7.99 £7.59

8+, 256 pages, black and white illustrations. First in a 3 book series.

Rainbow Grey

Laura Ellen Anderson

£7.99 £7.59

8+, 304 pages, black and white illustrations. First a 3 book series.