Looking for books for Christmas gifts?
Because I’m a helpful kind of girl (and because I’m looking for inspiration myself), I put this question to the Your Kid’s Next Read Facebook group:
What’s the one book you’ll buy for a kid this Christmas?
Then, to make it harder for them, and useful for us, I asked them to tell me who it would be for (you know, girl 10, boy 9, as opposed to ‘Bill’ and ‘Jane’).
And now, to make it super easy for you (and for me), I’ve created a shopping list, organised by gender and age. Enjoy!
Boy, 3
Oh Dear (Rod Campbell)
Moving Blocks (Yusuke Yonezu)
Girl, 3
Adam Saves Christmas (Benji Bennett, Roxanne Burchatz)
Boy, 4
Do Not Open This Book (Andy Lee)
Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas (Aaron Blabey)
Boy, 5
Pig The Elf (Aaron Blabey)
Nothing (Yasmeen Ismail)
Girl, 5
The Fairy Dancers (Natalie Jane Prior, Cheryl Orsini)
Thelma The Unicorn (Aaron Blabey)
Boy, 6
The Bad Guys (Aaron Blabey)
Tough Guys Have Feelings Too (Keith Negley)
Tashi (Anna Fienberg, Kim Gamble)
Girl, 6
Wombat Stew (Marcia Vaughan, Pamela Lofts)
The Fairy Dancers (Natalie Jane Prior)
Olivia (Ian Falconer)
The Sisters Saint-Claire (Carlie Gibson, Tamsin Ainslie)
Historium (Jo Nelson, Richard Wilkinson)
Botanicum (Kathy Willis, Katie Scott)
Talulah’s Tutu (Marilyn Singer, Alexandra Boiger)
Boy, 7
Mister Cassowary (Samantha Wheeler)
The Bad Guys (Aaron Blabey)
Girl, 7
The Bad Guys (Aaron Blabey)
Squishy Taylor (Ailsa Wild, Ben Wood)
Boy, 8
The Midnight Gang (David Walliams, Tony Ross)
Charlie And The War Against Grannies (Alan Brough)
Artemis Fowl (Eoin Colfer)
Warriors series (Erin Hunt)
Girl, 8
Artie and The Grime Wave (Richard Roxburgh) See kid review here.
The Girl Who Saved Christmas (Matt Haig)
Violet Mackerel (Anna Branford) See review here.
Boy, 9
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets (illustrated) (J.K. Rowling, Jim Kay)
WeirDo #7: Mega Weird (Anh Do, Jules Faber)
Samurai vs Ninja series (Nick Falk, Tony Flowers)
School Ship Tobermory #2: The Sands of Shark Island (Alexander McCall Smith)
Girl, 9
Flora & Ulysses (Kate DiCamillo, K.G. Campbell)
The Midnight Gang (David Walliams, Tony Ross)
Boy, 10
The Mapmaker Chronicles series (A.L. Tait)
The Impossible Quest series (Kate Forsyth)
Mr Terupt Falls Again (Rob Buyea)
Pax (Sara Pennypacker, Jon Klassen)
The War That Saved My Life (Kimberly Brubaker Bradley)
Blueback (Tim Winton)
The Puzzle Ring (Kate Forsyth)
The Marvels (Brian Selznick)
The 78-Storey Treehouse (Andy Griffiths, Terry Denton) See kid review here.
Girl, 10
A Waltz for Matilda: book #1 in The Matilda Saga (Jackie French)
The Midnight Gang (David Walliams, Tony Ross)
The Girl Of Ink And Stars (Kiran Millwood Hargrave)
Pax (Sara Pennypacker, Jon Klassen)
For Keeps: A Treasury Of Stories, Poems and Plays Celebrating 100 Years Of The School Magazine (School Magazine)
Girl, 11
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children (Ransom Riggs) Read a kid’s review here.
Lord Of The Rings (J.R.R Tolkien)
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (J.K. Rowling)
Withering-By-Sea (Judith Rossell)
Wormwood Mire (Judith Rossell)
Brotherband #6: The Ghostfaces (John Flanagan)
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World (Kate Pankhurst)
Nightbird (Alice Hoffman)
The Dragonfly Song (Wendy Orr)
Boy, 12
Brotherband #6: The Ghostfaces (John Flanagan)
Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics (Chris Grabenstein)
Girl, 12
One (Sarah Crossan)
Illuminae (Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff)
Gemina (Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff)
Pax (Sara Pennypacker, Jon Klassen)
Boy, 13
Everything Is Changed (Nova Weetman)
Freedom Swimmer (Wei Chin)
One Thousand Hills (Noel Zihabamwe, James Roy)
Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
Girl, 13
The Ghost By The Billabong: book #5 in The Matilda Saga (Jackie French)
This One Summer (Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki)
Fairy Tail graphic novel series (Hiro Mashima)
Diary Of A Tokyo Teen (Christine Mari Inzer)
Girl, 14
Code Name Verity (Elizabeth Wein)
Eleanor & Park (Rainbow Rowell)
Cloudwish (Fiona Wood)
Words In Deep Blue (Cath Crowley)
Boy, 14
Magnus Chase And The Hammer Of Thor (Rick Riordan)
Everything Is Changed (Nova Weetman)
This is obviously not a complete list, reflecting as it does the thoughts and shopping lists of the members of the Your Kids Next Read Facebook Group (which is why some books come up in several age categories). But it’s a ripping start! For more ideas, check out our lists of recommended reads – the books that come up over and over as suggestions in our group.
NB: This post incorporates affiliate links – if you click the title of each book it will take you to Booktopia and any purchase you make will result in a small commission for me at no extra cost to you.
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