Lovereading4kids Top 3 books, by age range, 1 - 8 November 2015

Books for Babies and Toddlers

1		Blue Penguin Petr Horacek November 2015 Book of the Month   There are some breathtakingly beautiful illustrations in Petr Horacek’s new picture book, and a story to bring a lump to the throat. Blue Penguin does the same things that the other penguins do but, ... Download free opening extract
2		Good Night Like This Mary Murphy As every parent knows, a good ‘night night, snuggle down’ book is invaluable, and Good Night Like This is a particularly lovely take on the theme.  It’s night-time and the baby animals are being tucked into bed, half page flaps ... Download free opening extract
3		A Little Owl Called Hooty Diana C Vickery Enter the magical world of Swankypants the cat as we meet a young owl called Hooty. Hooty is hungry and must leave the safety of his branch for the very first time to catch his dinner. But he's afraid of ... Download free opening extract

Featured Books for Young Adults

1		Zeroes Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Deborah Biancotti October 2015 Book of the Month A group of Californian teenagers with superpowers should be having the time of their lives, right? Wrong… This action-packed page-turner about the self-proclaimed Zeroes shows that superpowers come at a cost. In fact, Ethan’s ... Download free opening extract
2		Monster C.J. Skuse October 2015 Book of the Month  In an isolated boarding school, a group of girls settle in for the holidays.  Everyone else has gone home and there are rivalries and animosity between them – this definitely isn’t going to be ... Download free opening extract
3		A Court of Thorns and Roses Sarah J. Maas *** Suitable for 16+ due to some explicit content.  Pure and completely engaging escapism in the form of high fantasy. Feyre; stubbon, independent and loving has taught herself how to provide for her impoverished family, however on a winters day, ... Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 3+ readers

1		Robin's Winter Song Suzanne Barton November 2015 Julia Eccleshare's Book of the Month Beautifully illustrated, this buoyant and cheerful story captures Robin’s delight as the new season arrives! There’s a chill in the air and all of Robin’s friends are flying away to somewhere warmer. ... Download free opening extract
2		The Emperor of Absurdia Chris Riddell Put on your jingle-jangle socks, and prepare for adventure! Sumptuous illustrations tempt readers into the delightfully absurd world in which dinner is served before lunch and skyfish settle on umbrella trees. The young Emperor is a charming child with a ... Download free opening extract
3		Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat T. S. Eliot Arthur Robins’s scratchy illustrations are full of humour and he’s proving to be the perfect partner for T.S. Eliot. Skimbleshanks is the third of the Old Possum poems Robins has illustrated and it’s another rousing success. The world Eliot describes ... Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 5+ readers

1		The What on Earth? Wallbook Timeline of Nature Christopher Lloyd, Patrick Skipworth November 2015 Book of the Month  The most innovative approach to non-fiction since Horrible Histories, the What On Earth Wallbooks present information in a way guaranteed to inspire children’s curiosity and to stimulate real enthusiasm for learning. Each one contains ... Download free opening extract
2		Tom's Sunflower Hilary Robinson Written and illustrated with warmth, humour and sensitivity, this excellent book, part of the Copper Tree Class series, tackles the subject of family break-up. Hana is confused and upset because her parents are going to live separately, and all the ... Download free opening extract
3		Too Many Toys! Heidi Deedman How many toys is too many? It’s a question that’s bothers Lulu. She has had her teddy Jupiter since she was a baby and loves him very much, but as she grows up, she’s given more, and more, and more ... Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 7+ readers

1		Old School (Diary of a Wimpy Kid book 10) Jeff KinneyNovember 2015 Book of the Month Old School is number ten in the multi-million-selling Wimpy Kid series and author Jeff Kinney is on very good form. The generation gap is something of a theme in this episode: Greg doesn’t understand ... Download free opening extract
2		My Parents are Driving Me Crazy Pete Johnson The ups and downs of would-be comic Louis’s life make for highly amusing reading.  Ups include first date with his friend/comedy agent Maddy, and forth-coming appearance on a TV talent show; downs are school, Mr Beach in particular, and Dad, ... Download free opening extract
3		If Only We Had a Helicopter Roger Mcgough Interest Age 7-12 Reading Age 7  Here’s a slice of Roger McGough’s childhood to entertain young readers, stories of some of the antics he got up to with his friend Midge: adventures with a new puppy; fun days at school; ... Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 9+ readers

1		The Fish Detective Chris O'Dowd, Nick Vincent Murphy November 2015 Book of the Month  Here we have another episode in the life of hapless eleven-year-old Martin Moone, related by his imaginary best-friend and sidekick Sean Murphy in as fine a free-fall stream-of-consciousness narrative as you could hope for, ... Download free opening extract
2		Haunters Thomas Taylor The dead and the living exist side by side in this thrilling time-travelling adventure. In David's recurrent dream, Eddie seems real and it seems like he's got something to tell David. That's scary enough but then David gets picked up ... Download free opening extract
3		The What on Earth? Wallbook Timeline of Big History Christopher Lloyd November 2015 Book of the Month  If you want to know what was happening on Earth any time in the last four billion years, then you couldn’t do better than opening out the Wallbook Timeline of Big History. Each one ... Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 11+ readers

1		Young Bond: Shoot to Kill Steve Cole November 2015 Book of the Month  Steve Cole steps into Ian Fleming’s, and latterly Charlie Higson’s shoes in this brand new adventure for the young James Bond, and finds them a very good fit. This is a clever piece of ... Download free opening extract
2		Clare and Her Captain Michael Morpurgo November 2015 Julia Eccleshare's Book of the Month Award-winning Michael Morpurgo is always at his best when writing about the countryside and the animals in it. Here, in a story inspired by his wife’s childhood, he writes about young Clare, visiting ... Download free opening extract
3		Island Nicky Singer Island is a powerful and vivid new story from Nicky Singer, the prize-winning author of Feather Boy. London teenager Cameron is cast away on an uninhabited island in the Arctic with his scientist mother Pascale, who seems more interested in ... Download free opening extract

Featured Books for 13+ readers

1		The 5th Wave Rick Yancey This is a novel that packs a punch on every page with hope and despair in equal measure alongside life and death. It will leave you gasping for breath and keep you hooked to the end and long after it'll ... Download free opening extract
2		Dangerous Lies Becca Fitzpatrick Strong-willed Stella is the key witness in a murder trial and has been placed under police protection. After being given a new identity and forced to cut all contact with friends from her former life, including her boyfriend, Stella is ... Download free opening extract
3		Paper Towns John Green A special edition slipcase edition of John Green's Paper Towns, with pop-up paper town. Award winning author John Green’s fresh-voiced novel is an utterly gripping story that gives a roller-coaster, unputdownable read. Strongly set with all the details of life ... Download free opening extract