Siblings – for over 8 years old
Siblings can be annoying, a responsibility, and the best person to team up with – or all of those things at once! These thrilling books are all about brothers and sisters.
-
My Laugh Out Loud Life: Mayhem Mission
Author: Burhana Islam Illustrator: Farah Khandaker
Publisher: Knights Of
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 8+At the heart of this amusing diary-style novel is the story of Yusuf - a little boy who is sad that his beloved big sister is leaving home, perhaps especially so because Affa has been his closest support in a single parent household. Readable, relatable and accessible to all.
-
My Brother is a Superhero
Author: David Solomons
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Interest age: 9+
Reading age: 9+Fast-moving, very funny, and gleefully mining the comic potential of the superhero genre, this is an inventive story about Luke: superhero expert and comic-lover.
-
The Fowl Twins
Author: Eoin Colfer
Publisher: HarperCollins
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 9+The Fowl twins are completely unlike each other, but they make the perfect team when the evil ACRONYM attacks them. Readers will find a well-developed fantasy world with a plot that is full of clever, satisfying twists and turns.
-
Keedie
Author: Elle McNicoll
Publisher: Knights Of
Interest age: 12+
Reading age: 9-11A powerful book about a neurodivergent protagonist taking a stand against bullying and hypocrisy.
-
Sisters of the Lost Marsh
Author: Lucy Strange
Publisher: Chicken House
Interest age: 9-12
Reading age: 9+A wonderfully unpredictable, gothic-feeling fairy tale where the lines between reality and fantasy are deliciously blurred and the downtrodden female characters emerge strong and self-reliant.
-
The Tapper Twins Run for President
Author: Geoff Rodkey
Publisher: Orion Children’s Books
Interest age: 10-12
Reading age: 10-12The third installment in the hugely popular Tapper Twins series, this book doesn't disappoint. Full of quirky illustrations, photos, screenshots and interviews, it gives a hilarious and entertaining account of the Twins' battle to rule the school.
-
Lily Alone
Author: Jacqueline Wilson Illustrator: Nick Sharratt
Publisher: Doubleday Children's Books
Interest age: 10+
Reading age: 10+Lily's self-centred young mother jets off to a holiday in Spain with her new boyfriend. Lily and her three younger siblings are carelessly left behind.
-
Wave Riders
Author: Lauren St John
Publisher: Macmillan
Interest age: 11-14
Reading age: 9+ yearsTwins Jess and Jude wake one morning to find their yacht adrift and their guardian missing. Packed with half-truths, deception, red herrings, villainous baddies and a sense of ever-present threat, this is a mystery to keep readers guessing.
-
Mia and the Lightcasters
Author: By Janelle McCurdy Illustrator: Ana Latese
Publisher: Faber
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 9-1112 year-old Mia lives with her young brother Lucas and mum and dad in the city of Nubis, under the light of the forever moon and permanently starlit skies. She has always dreamed of being umbra tamer, but a terrifying encounter with a red eyed umbra out on the Nightmare Plains three years ago frightened her into staying within the city walls. Now Mia’s …
-
Fritz and Kurt
Author: Jeremy Dronfield Illustrator: David Ziggy Greene
Publisher: Puffin
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 9+The true story of two brothers and their family whose lives were torn apart by the Nazi plan to rid the world of anyone they considered ‘different’.
-
The Day we Saved the Future
Author: Ashley Banjo and Jordan Banjo with Alexandra Sheppard Illustrator: Brittney Bond
Publisher: Scholastic Children’s Books
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 8+When Earth is threatened by a terrifying supervillain, brothers Micah and Cass travel back in time to stop him. An exciting sci-fi adventure packed with futuristic technology.
-
Wished
Author: Lissa Evans
Publisher: David Fickling
Interest age: 9-12
Reading age: 9+Utterly bonkers and totally brilliant; searingly funny and acutely painful; completely fantastical yet strangely believable; this crazy adventure will make you gasp, smile and maybe even shed a tear or two.
-
Sister Switch
Author: Beth Garrod
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Interest age: 9-13
Reading age: 8+Lily and Erin are sisters, but they couldn't be more different. So what on earth will happen when they find that their bodies have been swapped? A fast-paced, laugh-out-loud story with lots of heart.
-
The Book of Legends
Author: Lenny Henry
Publisher: Macmillan
Interest age: 9-11
This is a pacy fantasy adventure, jam-packed with groan-making jokes, and touchingly dedicated to Lenny Henry’s own childhood local library in Dudley.
-
The Swifts
Author: Beth Lincoln Illustrator: Claire Powell
Publisher: Puffin
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 8+When Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude is attacked during a family reunion, Shenanigan Swift and her sisters must work together to identify the would-be killer before they strike again. This hugely entertaining murder mystery is brimming with dire villains, secret passageways and deadly games of Scrabble.
-
Sisters of the Mist
Author: Marlyn Spaaij
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 9-11It’s summer and Margot, Kyra and Janna are staying with their granny in Frygea Forest, a place full of legend. Trolls stalk the forest, as does the Hellhound, a beast with burning eyes. Worst of all are the Fog Furies who abduct the young girls they find in the forest.
-
All Four Quarters of the Moon
Author: Shirley Marr
Publisher: Usborne
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 9+When Peijing’s family move from Singapore to Australia, everything is different. Will they ever adjust to a life so unlike the one they have left behind?
-
The Kid Who Came from Space
Author: Ross Welford
Publisher: HarperCollins
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 8+When Tammy disappears, her brother Ethan instinctively knows she's still alive. A few days later, a short, hairy alien called Hellyann crash-lands in the reservoir and tells him that Tammy has been abducted and taken to a human zoo. Can Ethan and Hellyann rescue Tammy - and will they ever return? A hilarious science fiction adventure from an award-winning au…
-
Saving Neverland
Author: Abi Elphinstone Illustrator: Geraldine Rodriguez
Publisher: Puffin
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 8+An enchanting reimagining of Peter Pan for contemporary times, where Martha must help Peter stop Captain Hook’s curse.
-
Mega Robo Bros
Author: Neill Cameron
Publisher: David Fickling Books
Interest age: 8+
Reading age: 9+Brothers always find something to fight about. Alex and Freddy are no different - even though they're also the most powerful robots in the universe.
-
A Pinch of Magic
Author: Michelle Harrison
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Interest age: 9-13
Reading age: 9+Desperate for an adventure, Betty plans an outing to neighbouring Marshfoot on her 13th birthday. But then Granny breaks the devasting news that she is trapped on her island by an ancient curse. A riveting tale of witchcraft, love and betrayal.
-
Two Sisters: A Story of Freedom
Author: Kereen Getten
Publisher: Scholastic Children’s Books
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 9+Set in Jamaica and London in 1781, this insightful novel follows the fate of half-sisters Ruth and Anna, who are born to the same slave mother. As well as highlighting the appalling treatment of slaves, this moving tale celebrates the bond between sisters.
