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Mostly Book Talk

Mostly Book Talk is all about children reading for pleasure and finding connections with books. These recommendations come from experience of children's book clubs and we review books and talk to authors on our Mostly Book Talk podcast.  www.mostlybooktalk.com

 

 

Suggested ages are just a guide to give an idea of length, complexity and subject matter, but there are lots of overlaps and the age guides should not be seen as rigid. For the Teen/YA lists, I lean towards the permissive (in my experience teens are good judges of their own boundaries when reading and in any case books are a safe space to push boundaries) but if you know that is not right for you, then check the book description and notes.

 

Book Talk is a Community Interest Company. 

This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage
I Feel Bad About My Neck: with a new introduction from Dolly Alderton
The Burial Place
The Switch
Reek
Pernickety Boo
Little House
Darkly
The Octopus, Dadu and Me
How to Be a Revolutionary
Otherland
The Dragon In The Library
Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Taking the Blame: The No. 1 bestselling series
Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Being Good: The No. 1 bestseller
Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Making Enemies
The Amazing World of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler: Discover the wonderful worlds behind the nation's favourite picture-boo
The History of Information
Amazing Asia: An Encyclopedia of an Epic Continent
The Girl and the Mermaid
The Song of the Nightingale
An Anthology of Intriguing Animals
Little Women: V&A Collector's Edition
National Trust: Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright! An Animal Poem for Every Day of the Year (Poetry Collections)
V&A: The Twelve Days of Christmas
A Really Short History of Nearly Everything
Hansel and Greta: A Fairy Tale Revolution
The Wonders of Nature
The Lost Spells: An enchanting, beautiful book for lovers of the natural world
The Jackie Morris Book of Classic Nursery Rhymes
National Trust: I Am the Seed That Grew the Tree, A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year (Poetry Collections)
The Very Merry Murder Club
The Clockwork Crow
First Light
The Long Winter
The Girl Who Saved Christmas
Sky Song
Winter Magic
The Missing Barbegazi
The Way Past Winter (paperback)
Shackleton's Journey
The Dark is Rising: The classic children's fantasy novel (A Puffin Book)
Frost Hollow Hall: 'The Queen of Historical Fiction at her finest.' Guardian
Mistletoe and Murder
V&A: The Twelve Days of Christmas
The Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker: Press the note to hear Tchaikovsky's music
Some Like it Cold: A Cosy YA Romance That Will Melt Your Heart
The Very Merry Murder Club
Only for the Holidays: Give yourself a cosy happy-ever-after this Christmas!
Love in Winter Wonderland: A feel-good bookshop romance to warm hearts this Christmas!
Dash And Lily's Book Of Dares
The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily
Mind the Gap, Dash and Lily
Let It Snow
The Left Hand of Darkness
The Smell of Other People's Houses
Winterkill
All I Want For Christmas
This Winter
The Silent Stars Go By
Claude in the City
Squishy McFluff: The Invisible Cat!
The Man Who Wore All His Clothes
Early Reader: The Three Little Witches Storybook
Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: Up, Up and Away!
Dixie O'Day: In The Fast Lane
Superdad's Day Off
Isadora Moon Goes to School
Mary's Hair
Dog Man
Sophie Takes to the Sky
Fabio The World's Greatest Flamingo Detective: The Case of the Missing Hippo
Captain Pug
Hubble Bubble: The Glorious Granny Bake Off
The Snake Who Came to Stay
Pernickety Boo
Little House
The Butterfly Lion
Grimwood: Laugh your head off with the funniest new series of the year
Sam Wu Is NOT Afraid of Ghosts!
Oliver and the Seawigs
Ivy & Bean – Book 1
The Brilliant World of Tom Gates
Baby Aliens Got My Teacher
Ottoline and the Yellow Cat
Clarice Bean, Utterly Me
Guardians of Magic
Sofia Valdez and the Vanishing Vote
Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure: Book 1
Marshmallow Pie The Cat Superstar
Reek
Pernickety Boo
Little House
Feather
Rollercoasters: Rat
Northern Soul
D-Day Dog
The Foundation: Will Always Welcome You
EchoStar: Is Always Listening
The Dog that Saved the World (Cup)
The Humiliations of Welton Blake
I Am Rebel: Waterstones Children's Book of the Year 2024
The Griffin Gate
Owen and the Soldier
Armistice Runner
Booked: Graphic Novel
Swim Team: A Graphic Novel
Northern Lights - The Graphic Novel
Global: a graphic novel adventure about hope in the face of climate change
Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir: WINNER OF THE WEEK JUNIOR GRAPHIC NOVEL AWARD 2024
Vern: Custodian of the Universe
Anne of West Philly: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Anne of Green Gables
Measuring Up
Awkward
Amulet Box set 1-9 Graphix
Unicorn Boy: Book 1
Bunny vs Monkey (a Phoenix Comic Book, from the million-selling Jamie Smart, Illustrator of the Year)
When Stars are Scattered
El Deafo: The Superpowered Edition
Roller Girl
The Crossover
Love That Dog
Rebound
The Weight of Water
In the Key of Code
For Every One
The Book With No Pictures
Press Here
Where The Wild Things Are
You Choose: A new story every time – what will YOU choose?
Hippos Go Berserk
The Fastest Tortoise in Town
Sam Francisco, King of the Disco
Gigantic
The Bowerbird
The Song of the Nightingale
Harry the Dirty Dog Board Book
We're Gangin on a Bear Hunt: We're Going on Bear Hunt in Scots
Each Peach Pear Plum
The Night Pirates
Two Monsters: 35th Anniversary Edition
Rosie's Walk: 50th anniversary cased board book edition
Axel Scheffler's Flip Flap Farm
Hippos Go Berserk
If I had a dinosaur
Goodnight Moon
Peepo! (Board Book)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
That's not my bear…
Where's Spot?
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
Each Peach Pear Plum
Baby Face: Amazing Baby
Where's Mr Duck?
Beware of the Storybook Wolves
Snow White in New York
Good Little Wolf
Little Red
The Pea And The Princess
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
Prince Cinders
Into the Forest
The Three Pigs
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book?
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
Duckling: A Fairy Tale Revolution
Blueblood: A Fairy Tale Revolution
Hansel and Greta: A Fairy Tale Revolution
Cinderella Liberator: A Fairy Tale Revolution
Mariella Mystery: The Ghostly Guinea Pig: Book 1
The Fairy Detective Agency: Operation Bunny
Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure: Book 1
Dotty Detective
Mac Undercover (Mac B, Kid Spy #1)
Mina Mistry Investigates: The Case of the Disgusting School Dinners
Trouble in New York
Escape from Mr Lemoncello's Library
Iggy Peck and the Mysterious Mansion
Agent Zaiba Investigates: The Missing Diamonds
Otherland
The Dragon In The Library
The Great Fox Illusion
Show Us Who You Are
A Chase In Time
The Bookshop Girl
To the Edge of the World
Small Change for Stuart
Pizazz: The super awesome new superhero series!
Erica's Elephant
A Christmas in Time
Big Change for Stuart
The Train to Impossible Places
Swimming Against the Storm
A Most Peculiar Toy Factory
Deadlock
High-Rise Mystery
Emil and the Detectives
The Clockwork Sparrow
Mystery & Mayhem
Peril in Paris
Mic Drop
The London Eye Mystery
The Guggenheim Mystery
Murder Most Unladylike
When Life Gives You Mangoes
Harriet the Spy
Liar and Spy
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase: Book 1
Reek
Bringing Back Kay-Kay: The Times Children's Book of the Week
The Chestnut Roaster
Day of the Whale
Boy Overboard
The Secret of Golden Island: An action-packed summer adventure from the Costa Award-winning author
The Chime Seekers
I Am Rebel: Waterstones Children's Book of the Year 2024
Black Hole Cinema Club
The City of Secret Rivers
Like A Curse
The Spiritstone Saga: Tariq and the Drowning City: Book 1
Secrets of the Snakestone
The Song Walker
A Secret of Birds & Bone
Little House
The Octopus, Dadu and Me
How to Be a Revolutionary
Wonder
The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh
Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer
I Am Lenny Brown
Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths
Artichoke Hearts
When the Sky Falls: The bestselling wartime animal tale inspired by a true story
Birdie: A powerful, moving animal and friendship tale for fans of Michael Morpurgo
Boy Overboard
What Katy Did
October, October: WINNER OF THE YOTO CARNEGIE MEDAL 2022
Away With Words
The Great Fox Illusion
Like A Curse
Like A Charm
Alyssa and the Spell Garden
The Girl Who Speaks Bear
The House with Chicken Legs
Aubrey and the Terrible Ladybirds
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
A Pinch of Magic: A magical gift to curl up with this Christmas
The Shadow Moth
The Ickabog: A warm and witty fairy-tale adventure to entertain the whole family
Pernickety Boo
Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Taking the Blame: The No. 1 bestselling series
Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Being Good: The No. 1 bestseller
Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Making Enemies
Who Let the Gods Out?
Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer
Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths
The City of Guardian Stones
The Story of Tracy Beaker
Matilda
Charm School
Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures
Mac Undercover (Mac B, Kid Spy #1)
Uncle Gobb and the Dread Shed
The Advenures of Captain Underpants
Until the Road Ends: From the bestselling author of When the Sky Falls
When the Sky Falls: The bestselling wartime animal tale inspired by a true story
D-Day Dog
Safiyyah's War
Angel of Grasmere: From Dunkirk to the Fells
Goodnight Mister Tom
The War That Saved My Life
The War I Finally Won
Whistling in the Dark
The Silver Sword
Letters from the Lighthouse: ‘THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION’ Guardian
Our Castle by the Sea
Hitler's Canary
The Emergency Zoo
The Umbrella Mouse
Feather
Archie's War
Armistice Runner
White Feather
The Skylarks' War
War is Over
Stay Where You Are And Then Leave
Secret FC
Football Academy: Boys United
Rugby Academy
Booked: Graphic Novel
The Crossover: Graphic Novel
Swim Team: A Graphic Novel
Running On Empty
Ghost
Kick
The Crossover
Rebound
Roller Girl
Splash
Show Us Who You Are
The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day
A Wrinkle in Time
Time Travelling with a Hamster
Phoenix
The Many Worlds of Albie Bright
Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor
When You Reach Me
Professor Astro Cat's Stargazing
Professor Astro Cat's Human Body Odyssey
Professor Astro Cat's Deep-Sea Voyage
The Big Book of the Blue
The Skies Above My Eyes
The Big Book of Bugs
The Big Book of Birds
My Head-to-Toe Body Book
What's Inside?: See-through pages and magic surprises!
Real-Life Mysteries: Can You Explain the Unexplained?
HerStory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook the World
YouthQuake: 50 Children and Young People Who Shook the World
Some Like it Cold: A Cosy YA Romance That Will Melt Your Heart
You're the One that I Want
Noughts & Crosses
The Haunting of Tyrese Walker
Songlight: 'The standout young adult novel of the year . . . The Handmaid's Tale but with mind reading.' The Times
How To Die Famous
The Crossing
Cinderella Is Dead: the TikTok sensation
Eight Pieces of Silva: an addictive mystery that refuses to let you go …
Clap When You Land
Hold Back the Tide
The Deathless Girls
Good Girl, Bad Blood
Melt My Heart
Raybearer: The New York Times bestseller, soon to be a major Netflix series
When Stars are Scattered
The Sad Ghost Club Volume 1: Find Your Kindred Spirits
Booked: Graphic Novel
The Crossover: Graphic Novel
Swim Team: A Graphic Novel
Northern Lights - The Graphic Novel
Global: a graphic novel adventure about hope in the face of climate change
Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir: WINNER OF THE WEEK JUNIOR GRAPHIC NOVEL AWARD 2024
100 Tales from the Tokyo Ghost Cafe
If You'll Have Me
Vern: Custodian of the Universe
Anne of West Philly: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Anne of Green Gables
Measuring Up
Amulet Box set 1-9 Graphix
The Girl From The Sea
One: WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL 2016
The Door of No Return
The Black Flamingo
Brown Girl Dreaming
Where the Heart Should Be: The Times Children's Book of the Week
Crossing the Line: Winner of the Yoto Carnegie Shadowers' Choice Award
The Boy Lost in the Maze
The Crossing
Run, Rebel
Long Way Down
The Poet X – WINNER OF THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2019
The Weight of Water
In the Key of Code
Everything All at Once: A Fabulous Poetry Collection About Life at Secondary School
For Every One
You're the One that I Want
The Upper World
A Crongton Story: Liccle Bit: Book 1
Day of the Whale
Chinglish
Artichoke Hearts
Northern Soul
Swing
Solo
The Big Ask
Boy Like Me
Release
Girl. Boy. Sea.
The Poet X – WINNER OF THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2019
Sophie Someone
Reek
Darkly
Dogs of the Deadlands: SHORTLISTED FOR THE WEEK JUNIOR BOOK AWARDS
Rebel of the Sands: The must-read New York Times-bestselling fantasy series
Hero at the Fall: The must-read New York Times-bestselling fantasy series
Traitor to the Throne: The must-read New York Times-bestselling fantasy series
Where the World Ends
Children of Blood and Bone: A West African-inspired YA Fantasy, Filled with Dark Magic
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
What Sunny Saw in the Flames
Sunny and the Mysteries of Osisi
Pet
The Harder They Fall
Noughts & Crosses
Swing
The Hate U Give
Long Way Down
After The Fire
Saint Death
Orangeboy
Lies We Tell Ourselves: Winner of the 2016 Inaugural Amnesty Honour
Moonrise
Dear Martin
Dear Justyce
To Kill a Mockingbird
Moxie: as seen on Netflix
How To Die Famous
Murder on a School Night
We Know What You Did
I Am Winter
It All Started With A Lie
One of Us Is Lying
We Were Liars: Soon to be a major TV series on Amazon Prime!
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
The Lie Tree
The One Memory of Flora Banks
Heist Society: Heist Society: Book 1
The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-time
Paper Towns
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition
The Machine Gunners
The Snow Goose and The Small Miracle
Code Name Verity
Sisterland
Book Thief
Orphan, Monster, Spy
Once
Then
Maybe
Now
Between Shades of Gray: The Graphic Novel
Dear Mrs Bird: Cosy up with this heartwarming and heartbreaking novel set in wartime London
Empire of the Sun
Rollercoasters The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
You're the One that I Want
The Upper World
Rollercoasters: Rat
Noughts & Crosses
The Sad Ghost Club Volume 1: Find Your Kindred Spirits
Swing
Solo
The Humiliations of Welton Blake
The Big Ask
Boy Like Me
The Girl Who Couldn't Lie
Steady For This: the laugh-out-loud and award-winning teen novel!
If You'll Have Me
Keedie
When I Feel Red: A powerful story of dyspraxia, identity and finding your place in the world
The Upper World
Noughts & Crosses
Day of the Whale
EchoStar: Is Always Listening
AdelAIDE: Just Wants to Help
The Foundation: Will Always Welcome You
The Declaration
The Resistance
The Legacy
The Maze Runner
Winterkill
The Knife of Never Letting Go
Wranglestone
Art Shaped: 50 sustainable art projects to kickstart children's creativity
National Trust: Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright! An Animal Poem for Every Day of the Year (Poetry Collections)
The Book of Hopes: Words and Pictures to Comfort, Inspire and Entertain
Not Just a Book…
Do You Love Bugs?: The creepiest, crawliest book in the world
Look Up!
The Iron Man: Chris Mould Illustrated Edition
Norse Myths: Tales of Odin, Thor and Loki
The Night Bus Hero
Tamarind & the Star of Ishta
Owl or Pussycat?
The Owl And The Pussycat
Shoe Wars PB
Felix After the Rain
Black and British: A short, essential history
The Secret Garden (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
The Secret Garden: An Illustrated Edition of the Classic Novel
The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden (Painted Editions)
The Secret Garden (centenary ed)
The Secret Garden: V&A Collector's Edition
The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden
Oxford Children's Classics: The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden: Mary's Journal
The Secret Garden: Movie Sticker Activity Book
The Secret Garden: The Story of the Movie
The Secret Garden: Faber Children's Classics
The Secret Garden (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions)
The Song of the Nightingale
Harry the Dirty Dog Board Book
The Big Dreaming
Goodnight Moon
Goodnight Everyone
Max at Night
Goodnight Already!
Secrets of a Sun King: ‘THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION’ Guardian
British Museum: Find Tom in Time, Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt: Tales of Gods and Pharaohs
British Museum: So You Think You've Got It Bad? A Kid's Life in Ancient Egypt
Project Ancient Egypt
Egyptian things to make and do
The Time-Travelling Cat and the Egyptian Goddess
We Are the Ancient Egyptians: Meet the People Behind the History
Egypt Magnified: With a 3x Magnifying Glass
British Museum Press Out and Decorate: Ancient Egypt
You're the One that I Want
Wranglestone
Wonder
Who Let the Gods Out?
When Stars are Scattered
When I Feel Red: A powerful story of dyspraxia, identity and finding your place in the world
What Sunny Saw in the Flames
The Upper World
The Secret of Golden Island: An action-packed summer adventure from the Costa Award-winning author
The Harder They Fall
The Goldfish Boy
The Declaration
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: Vintage Children's Classics
The Crossover: Graphic Novel
The Crossing
The Haunting of Tyrese Walker
Tsunami Girl
The Graveyard Book
The Light in Everything: Shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal 2023
I Must Betray You: A powerful, heart-breaking thriller based on real events. The winner of the Yoto Carnegie Shadowers' Choice M
One: WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL 2016
The Poet X – WINNER OF THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2019
The Eternal Return of Clara Hart: Shortlisted for the 2023 Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing
October, October: WINNER OF THE YOTO CARNEGIE MEDAL 2022
The Song Walker
The Door of No Return
The Boy Lost in the Maze
Steady For This: the laugh-out-loud and award-winning teen novel!
Safiyyah's War
Choose Love
Hirameki: Draw What You See
National Trust: Blossom Origami
National Trust: Nature Origami
The Big Book of Nature Art
The Dot
Graphic Novel Builder: The Illustrated Guide to Making Your Own Comics
Art Shaped: 50 sustainable art projects to kickstart children's creativity