Illustrated books for older children
Your child is likely to love books with pictures well into primary school (if not all the way through and beyond).
There's nothing wrong with this at all: illustration is beautiful, fun and accessible, and offers another way to read a story!
If you're struggling to find illustrated books for older children (mid- to upper primary), then try some of the books below: all brilliant stories that are brilliantly illustrated...
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Nightlights
Author: Lorena Alvarez
Publisher: Nobrow
Interest age: 8+
Reading age: 10+A remarkable, haunting and beautiful graphic novel for younger readers, Nightlights is a magical fable about creativity and believing in yourself. With a 'Studio Ghibli' feel and some sumptuous artwork, this is a wonderful read and a visual treat.
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Scavenger: Chaos Zone
Author: Paul Stewart Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Interest age: 9+
Reading age: 9+The second in the Scavenger series, Chaos Zone finds York and his robot Zoid friend Belle exploding from a ventilation tube into a strange forest. A thousand years into space, the animals and plants aboard the city-sized Biosphere spaceship have mutated. But what has happened to the humans on board the ship?
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Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth
Author: Judd Winick
Publisher: Puffin
Interest age: 6+
Reading age: 6-10Colourful, action-filled and laugh-out-loud funny, with plenty of burps, farts and catchphrases, HILO is the first in a bestselling US graphic novel series for younger readers. It's also a genuinely well-told, gripping sci-fi story.
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Claude in the City
Author: Alex T Smith
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Interest age: 7+
Reading age: 7+Claude is no ordinary dog - he leads an extraordinary life! When Mr and Mrs Shinyshoes set off for work, Claude heads for the city, where pigeons, beret shops and robberies await.
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Greta Zargo and the Death Robots from Outer Space
Author: A.F. Harrold Illustrator: Joe Todd Stanton
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Interest age: 9-12
Reading age: 9-12Greta Zargo is the key to protecting planet Earth from space robots - but is she too busy tracking down a cake thief to notice? A silly joy of a book that mashes up The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with The Great British Bake Off.
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Bad Mermaids
Author: Sibéal Pounder Illustrator: Jason Cockroft
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Interest age: 7-11
Reading age: 9-11Beattie, Mimi and Zelda will change the way you see mermaids forever as they attempt to save their home of Swirlyshell in this delightfully silly story from the author of Witch Wars.
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Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made
Author: Stephan Pastis
Publisher: Walker Books
Interest age: 7+
Reading age: 8+Meet Timmy Failure - a terminally over-confident middle school pupil attempting to make millions by solving local mysteries, such as who ate his classmates’ unattended Halloween candy.
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Grandpa Bert and the Ghost Snatchers
Author: Malorie Blackman Illustrator: Melanie Demmer
Publisher: Little Gems
Interest age: 6-9
Reading age: 7+When Grandma Gertie visits Anna and Kasper from Barbados, they discover that the ghost of Grandpa Bert is in her handbag! Meanwhile, some ghost snatchers are determined to capture him. Fast-paced and funny.
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Hilda and the Hidden People
Author: Stephen Davies and Luke Pearson
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Interest age: 7-10
Reading age: 7+An illustrated chapter book based on Luke Pearson’s brilliant Hilda graphic novels, Hilda and the Hidden People is a fun and pacey adventure combining a contemporary heroine with a gentle mythological element.
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The Legend of Kevin
Author: Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Interest age: 7-10
Reading age: 7+Max longs for adventure in his life – then one day, a flying pony called Kevin crashes into his flat, blown in by a magical storm. Mayhem, friendship and a brilliant cast of characters combine in this fabulously funny tale.
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The Wizards of Once
Author: Cressida Cowell
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 8+Wish is a girl from a warrior tribe and Xar is a boy from a wizard tribe, living in a world loosely based on Ancient Britain at the beginning of the Iron Age, but where magic is real. A fabulously imaginative, funny and unpredictable adventure.
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Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Ghosts
Author: Katie and Kevin Tsang Illustrator: Nathan Reed
Publisher: Farshore
Interest age: 7-11
Reading age: 9+Sam Wu is scared of many things but is determined not to let anyone find out. However, after an unfortunate incident in a space simulator on a school trip, he becomes a target for class bully Ralph, who nicknames him Scaredy-Cat Sam.
