Santa goes to the bookshop - Children's books ideas

Dear parents,
If you're anything like me, you must already be thinking about Christmas and have a pretty good idea what your little ones would love to find under the tree. It's probably mostly about Lego, Star Wars, American Girl dolls, Hatchimals or whatever...Been there, done that. However, ever since my eldest (now 18) was a toddler, I've always made sure my kids found a book or two under the tree.

It will probably be overlooked at first, but it will be there and the child will get the idea that books are presents and they can give you as much pleasure as the much-coveted Lego set.
If you're anything like me, when you come across a great books for children list, you at least browse the titles to see if they might interest your little ones. This is exactly what I set out to do – share with you some of the wonderful books we have discovered. Maybe you already know some of them, maybe you will find something nice to put under your Christmas tree. (My youngest is 9 and he's already read all of them, but generally speaking I think they are suitable for the 7-10 age group)

The Midnight Gang

David Walliams is among the best-selling children's authors and that much publicity might put you off. But he is actually good and I decided to put him first on my list as I was surprised to hear my son mentioning “The Midnight Gang” the other day, saying something like:'Oh, I loved that book'. It is a bit sad, as it takes place in a children's hospital, but it is all about friendship and making dreams come true. We've read all of Walliams' books, all fun and enjoyable, but one that stands out is “Mr. Stink” as it teaches kids to be good to those less fortunate in life.

Horrid Henry

I don't remember how we discovered Francesca Simon's “Horrid Henry” series, but my son just couldn't get enough of these funny stories. No, Henry is not horrid, he's just a naughty, very clever boy, whose main problem in life is the rivalry between him and his younger brother, Perfect Peter. Could be a good idea if you're dealing with sibling rivalry in your family. The stories are short and easy to read before bedtime for instance, not to mention you can also find 'Early reader' editions.

Dragons at Crumbling Castle

It's a hilarious take on the old King Arthur story and a great opportunity to introduce your kids to the wonderful world of Terry Pratchett. Some authors are good, or inspirational, Terry Pratchett is just magical. “Dragons at Crumbling Castle” is just a collection of short stories, but the real goal here is to get your kids interested enough to go on the Discworld series. “The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents” belongs to the Discworld series and can be read as a stand-alone book. What's so special about a bunch of rodents? Well, the fact that they were born near the Unseen University and they absorbed some magic and now they can talk...Terry Pratchett is not a children's author, but his Discworld series has a Young Adult sub-series, about a young witch called Tiffany, and no, it's not a female version of Harry Potter.

Fortunately the Milk

This is Neil Gaiman's most-suitable to young readers book and it's next on the list as he was a good friend of Terry Pratchett's. (They even wrote a book together.) “Fortunately the Milk” is a crazy adventure that takes the kids on a galactic chase, with pirates and odd creatures and the hapless Dad who went out to buy some milk saves the world.
As in Terry Pratchett's case, once you get the kids hooked on Neil Gaiman's writing, there are other books suitable for young readers. I will only mention “Coraline” and “The Ocean at the End of the Lane”.

The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of Pig

This is the first book in an extremely funny series (by Emer Stamp) written from a pig's perspective and it is mostly his innocence that captivates the reader. Your kids will love it as the pig obviously doesn't know much about grammar, which offers many laughs, plus the opportunity to discreetly point out common mistakes. The adventures of Pig trying to evade the cruel fate of an animal farm or his subsequent quest to save Cow from being transformed into fashion purses are pretty wild, but they also teach about animal cruelty, friendship and courage and, rest assured, everything ends well.

The World According to Humphrey

Another animal as main character, this time a hamster, living his life as a classroom pet, so it follows mostly the kids and their teacher's problems. Spending the weekends in different houses, little Humphrey gets to help kids with common childhood problems, like standing-up for themselves, or points out obvious problems in our society, like too much TV or too many gadgets that destroy family life. (There are already four books in this series by Betty Birney, but we only read two so far)

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

This book by Kate DiCamillo is kind of sad, as it tells the story of a fancy china rabbit, living a sheltered life in a rich house, who gets lost and meets all sorts of people – old, sick, poor. There's a part even when the rabbit is stuck in a dumpster, but he makes it out, wiser and more caring. Much as we'd love to, we cannot feed our children's minds with Winnie-the-Pooh and fairy tales forever, which is why I recommend this book as being inspirational. The world is not perfect, there's suffering and loss sometimes, but you can get through everything.

Rotten Romans

OK, that's a random example for the Horrible Histories books, which is one of the greatest educational series ever. Teaching history, the fun way. Romans, Vikings, Cavemen, Tudors – these are but a few of the titles we have around the house. Each book is packed full of information, but in a funny way, with many jokes and quizzes, the kids won't even notice they're actually learning something.
Speaking of Horrible Histories, there is also a huge collection of videos of the same name, doing the same thing – educate through laughter! (You can find them on YouTube!)

Mythical Creatures and Minor Deities of Greek Mythology

Also a random example of mythology books your kids might come to love. These abridged stories read like any normal story, but it gives the children a chance to gain some basic knowledge of Ancient Greece and its mythology.

Some time ago I wrote a post about Greek Mythology, as I believe it is fundamental for children to know even a bit about it. Like the picture above – you cannot go through life without knowing about the Muses that govern each art.

As I was writing this post, I made up my mind what books my son should get for Christmas. The fourth book in the Pig Diary series, which came out this year, and David Baddiel's “The Person Controller” I found out about Baddiel on a list just like this and we've read a short story of his – "The Boy who could do what he liked", quite good actually, although it should be read primarily by those parents who tend to control too much of their kids' lives.
I hope you can find something suitable for your children on this list and please share in the comments what books your children loved! Always good to know...

Thanks for reading