Author of Einstein the Penguin and Cecily Sawyer: How To Be A Spy, Iona Rangeley is a former winner of the Spark! Book Award for fiction ages 7-plus, voted for by readers – so she knows what young espionage enthusiasts are looking for.
Here she gives us her tips for spy books for children whose imaginations are fired up by stories of undercover intrigue
Ruby Redfort by Lauren Child
Ruby is the ultimate fantasy for wannabe spies. She’s smart, sarcastic, loaded with cool gadgets and even has a spy butler – not to mention a toaster that receives secret messages. I loved the Clarice Bean books as a child and Ruby was Clarice’s hero: she would probably be Cecily Sawyer’s, too.
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
I came across this via the Disney show (wrong way round, I know). It’s a fun, funny series about a ragtag quartet of kids with extraordinary talents who must infiltrate an evil boarding school to put a stop to its headmaster’s plans.
Read more:
- Top 5 books for children under eight, chosen by author Truly Johnston
- Top 5 children’s books about animals, selected by Oscar’s Lion author Adam Baron
- Top 5 board books for children, chosen by New York Times bestselling author Jon Klassen
Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter
Another spy boarding school, but not an evil one this time. My friends and I loved these books when we were 14 and even used Cammie and her gang’s “agent nicknames” for each other.
