What is your favourite book of all time?
That is potentially a question with no final chapter. So let’s make it a bit easier for you. What is the most influential book you have ever read? That question opens a door to an impressive library: chunky tomes on Greek philosophy or French existentialism, Ian McEwan’s thrillers, Jacques Derrida’s Writing and Difference, a crime scene of police procedurals and Scandi fiction, Blindness by Jose Saramago and all the Man Booker Prize winners of the past decade.
We also learn the power of books: how they teach us to imagine and dream, to protest and obey, and to wage war and find peace
However, the books that you still remember, line by skipping line and chapter by adventurous chapter, are the ones you read when you were a child. Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland unleashed the power of imagination, Carol Ann Duffy’s Rumpelstiltskin and Other Grimm Tales gave you a pleasant shudder, and you still crave for a bite or two of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
We learn to read in our early years, literally and figuratively. We learn the alphabet, how to recognise letters and group them like a bunch of friends, and walk, skip and jump through sentences, paragraphs and chapters. But we also learn the power of books: how they teach us to imagine and dream, to protest and obey, and to wage war and find peace.
Moreover, more than any television show or app, books teach us how to be alone and quiet, especially during the summer holidays. The following, a combination of old and new favourites, will shush your little ones.
4 to 10 years
Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells
Picture Corgi
Max is a toddler rabbit who gives his big sister Ruby – who admittedly is a bit bossy – quite a hard time. When Ruby decides to make a cake for grandma’s birthday, Max gets his own slice too.
Cowgirl by Giancarlo Gemin
Nosy Crow
Cowgirls in Wales? In Giancarlo Gemin’s imagination, yes. Gemma decides to save a herd of cows by hiding them on a farm. The young heroine is chatty, makes you laugh and is a tough cookie – our kind of girl.
My Uncle is a Hunkie Says Clarice by Lauren Child
Orchard
Clarice Bean is an eight-year-old girl who lives in a household where something, somewhere is always happening. In this latest Clarice adventure, her parents are going away on important business and so Uncle Ted comes to stay. Everything works out well at first – but a few pages later, granddad has gone missing and Clarice’s little brother is stuck in the railings. Oh, and there is a guinea pig on the loose.
The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss
Harper Collins
First published in 1957 by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr Seuss, The Cat in the Hat has been a favourite for generations. Words play and frolic as they try to keep up with the naughty yet lovable cat.
8 to 11 years
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
Collins Modern Classics
On his ninth birthday, Omri receives various gifts, including the skateboard he so badly wanted. Two of his gifts, however, are pretty strange: an old cupboard and a plastic Indian that his friend Patrick gave him. But they will soon become his two favourite gifts because when he puts the Indian in the cupboard and turns the key, magic happens.
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Puffin
The inimitable Pippi Longstocking lives in a fantasy world where only her rules matter. Wacky and wonderful, this classic by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren is a stimulating and fun read for the little ones.
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
Granta
If the Arabian Nights had to be mixed and matched with Alice in Wonderland, the result would be the book Salman Rushdie wrote for his son Zafar. The book follows young Haroun as he embarks on a magical adventure: he meets fantastical characters, travels to distant lands, and battles evil.
Half a Man by Michael Morpurgo
Walker Books
Weighing in at just 64 pages, this is a little book with big thoughts about the physical and mental scars caused by conflict. Grandpa was physically disfigured and mentally scarred when his ship was torpedoed. Young Michael is told not to stare or ask questions. However, when he visits his grandpa at his home on the Isles of Scilly, Michael learns the true story.
12 to 16 years
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Arrow
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a wise, compassionate, funny and poignant book. Set in the Deep South of the 1930s, the novel follows Scout and Jem Finch, two youngsters whose father Atticus defends a black man charged with raping a white woman.
Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper
Puffin
A wild Cornish setting, an ancient treasure map and a search for lost gold: what’s not to like about this first instalment from Susan Cooper’s fantastic The Dark is Rising sequence?
The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
Orion
Oscar makes the best apple tarts in the world. So do he and his best friend Meg say. But when they eat one of these delicious tarts, everything starts to go wrong. Meg moves to New Zealand and a new girl moves into her house. Then Oscar’s mum dies and he disappears.
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
Collins
Yes, we have all watched the film version with all its spectacular special effects. However, the book is no less fun. Follow Bilbo Baggins as he comes out of his hobbit hole and goes on a quest to claim the treasure of Smaug.