Children's Summer Book Club 2024
The Today programme’s Children’s Summer Book Club has returned for the holidays! Each year our panel recommends children’s books on different themes and for different age groups and will feature old favourites, classics, new releases, books you can borrow from the library and books to delight the whole family.
This year we’ve enlisted the help of Frank Cottrell-Boyce, award-winning author and screenwriter and the current Waterstones Children’s Laureate and Cressida Cowell, author and illustrator of the bestselling How to Train Your Dragon, The Wizards of Once and Which Way to Anywhere.
The Book Club suggestions will feature on the programme every Monday until the end of August.
Here are Frank's and Cressida's recommendations so far:
Friendship
Frank:
Boy at the Back of the Class – Onjali Rauf
Minnow on the Say – Philippa Pearse
Emil and the Detectives – Erich Kästner
Cressida:
Holes – Louis Sachar
The Bear and the Piano – David Litchfield
The Cheat Book – Ramzee
Funny books
Frank:
The Mega-Complicated Crushes of Lottie Brooks – Katie Kirby
Down with Skool! – Geoffrey Willans
Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Jeff Kinney
Boss of Everyone – Danny Wallace
Truckers – Terry Pratchett
Bunny Vs Monkey – Jamie Smart
Cressida:
Angus Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging – Louise Rennison
Astrid and the Space Cadets – Alex T Smith
Barbara Throws a Wobbler – Nadia Shireen
Sideways Stories from Wayside School – Louis Sachar
Adventure
Frank:
Letter for the King – Tonke Dragt
Adventures on Trains – M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman
Mickey and the Night Kitchen – Maurice Sendak
Cressida:
Amari and the Night Brothers – B.B. Alston
Time Travelling with A Hamster – Ross Welford
You Choose – Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart
Kensuke’s kingdom – Michael Morpurgo
Factual
Frank:
Amy Gets Eaten – Adam Kay and Henry Parker.
FACTopia! – Kate Hale and Andy Smith
You Are History – Greg Jenner and Jenny Talor
Cressida:
The Story of Everything – Neal Layton (picture book)
All Are Welcome – Alexandra Penfold, illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
Britannica All New Children's Encyclopedia Britannica – Christopher Lloyd
Nature
Frank:
Diary of a Young Naturalist – Dara McAnulty
My side of the Mountain – Jean Craighead George
Toby Alone – Timothee Fombelle
The Last Bear – Hannah Gold
Cressida
The Lost Words – Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris
Clean Up! – Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola
The Lorax – Dr Seuss
The Last Wild – Piers Torday
