Read all the classics to your grandchild? Here are the books to try next
Published on: 10 August 2017 Author: Anna McKerrow
If you're looking after the grandchildren this summer, we’ve got some great book recommendations for you to share, based on your own favourite childhood reads.
What to read next if you loved...
The Famous Five – Enid Blyton
Fans of Julian, Anne, Dick, George and Timmy’s mystery-solving activities (and if you like a bit of Agatha Christie yourself) will love discovering Robin Stevens’ Wells & Wong detective series that begins with Murder Most Unladylike.
Just William – Richmal Crompton
The quintessential naughty boy-come-adventurer, Just William is the precursor to newer (but just as mischievous) Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth, a comic book-style novel for 6-8s by Judd Winick. Or, for laughs with older readers, try radio DJ Christian O’Connell’s Radio Boy.
Pippi Longstocking – Astrid Lindgren
Fortunately there are plenty of adventurous, anarchic girl characters out there to enjoy with new generations – why not try Sibeal Pounder’s new Bad Mermaids series, or CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell’s magical Harper series, which begins with Harper and the Scarlet Umbrella.
Watership Down – Richard Adams
Fans of the moving and richly imagined rabbit book will love reading Blue Peter Prize winner and modern classic-in-the-making Podkin One-Ear by Kieran Larwood – which is also reminiscent of The Hobbit – to 10-12 year old grandchildren.
Check out the Blue Peter Book Awards
Anne of Green Gables – L M Montgomery
The funny, touching and heart-warming story of orphan Anne Shirley’s adventures in Avonlea, a rural community in Nova Scotia, continues to win young readers’ hearts. If you loved Anne, read Laura Dockrill’s Darcy Burdock series about the irrepressible, sparky Darcy to 7-10 year olds.
For slightly older readers, Jo Cotterill’s A Library of Lemons explores more of the poignant elements of friendship and loneliness in Anne’s story, reminding us that family doesn’t have to be the one you were born with.
My Naughty Little Sister – Dorothy Edwards, illustrated by Shirley Hughes
Naughty siblings are an eternally relevant subject for children’s books, and if you enjoyed the Naughty Little Sister series, why not share Children’s Laureate Lauren Child’s Charlie and Lola series with young primary school-aged grandchildren?
Find out more about our Children's Laureate
When We Were Very Young – A A Milne
If you remember being read this beautiful children’s poetry classic, you’re going to love A Great Big Cuddle: Poems for the Very Young by Michael Rosen, with fantastic illustrations by former Children's Laureate Chris Riddell. It’s a big, colourful hardback gem of a book, filled with poems for the little ones in your life.
