Truly Johnston, author and winner of the Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022, picks her favourite books for children under eight to get lost in during the summer holidays.
Mission Microraptor by Philip Kavvadias
Two boys on an action-packed mission to save a rare, newly hatched microraptor. This funny adventure will make you want a pet dinosaur.
Grimwood by Nadia Shireen
A bonkers forest world with a vivid cast of characters, lively drawings, a charismatic lead fox and a raving raven. There are four in the series now so something children can get well into.
The Thames and Tide Club: The Secret City by Katya Balen
As a Londoner who grew up in an estate near the river, this book speaks to me. I can fully believe the Thames foreshore holds treasure related to a secret underwater world (with a wildly furious porpoise princess!) A lighter read with fun characters.
Read more:
- Top 5 board books for children, chosen by New York Times bestselling author Jon Klassen
- How Ballet Shoes became a timeless story about the power of choosing your family
- Children’s laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce on how getting kids to read can help fight misinformation
Cloud Soup by Kate Wakeling
Poetry is a great way for children and younger readers to explore language. This brilliant collection by Wakeling plays with words and imagery on subjects from cake to Chagall and has a range of fun, thoughtful and inventive poems in different styles.
