Over the next few weeks, we’ll be compiling a host of gift guides to help you with your Christmas shopping.

FOR AGES 0 - 2

• A sauntering cat is seen quite differently through the eyes of a range of different animals in They All Saw A Cat. Little people will pore over the clever visual clues in this deceptively simple perfect picture book.
• Admirers of Oliver Jeffers’ playful illustrations will love his idiosyncratic alphabet book, An Alphabet, presented in a durable large board book format.
• Hours will be spent in creative play with Maisy’s Pirate Ship. All the familiar Maisy characters are there, plus there are pop-ups, press-out figures and a 3D galleon.
• Cute, tiny and brightly coloured, Listen to the Pets and Listen to the Countryside both feature plenty of noisy buttons for baby fingers to press.
• All hail King Baby – ruler of the house, adored by all subjects, and maker of many, many demands. Parents, babies and older siblings will love sharing this funny picture book together.
• Sally Sutton creates some of the best construction-related books around, and the Construction Crew box-set brings together three of her board books: Roadworks, Construction and Demolition. These onomatopoeic stories are incredibly fun to read out loud to young fans of tractors, diggers and cranes.
• Soothe the entire household with the latest in the renowned Hush music series. Hush Collection Volume 16 features the contributions of singer-songwriter Lior, and uses the hopes, dreams, questions and feelings of real-life children to inspire and comfort.

FOR AGES 3 - 4

• Madcap illustrations accompany great read-out-loud text in The Gobbledygook and Scribbledynoodle, in which a scribbly, mischievous monster escapes from the pages of Gobbledygook’s library book and sets off an imaginative caper.
• Oi, Dog! is a silly and charming rhyming tale of what animals should sit on what objects. Kids are sure to laugh at the cats on gnats, the whales on nails, and the frogs on – (You’ll have to read the book to find out!)
• The only fair solution when TWO turtles find ONE attractive Stetson hat is to agree that neither turtle will have the hat. Much-loved author-illustrator Jon Klassen brings us a strong friendship and a turtle with dreams in the hilarious We Found A Hat.
• Poor Hilda Snibbs has a trio of very naughty monkeys on her hands in Three Little Monkeys. It’s lucky that Hilda loves her pet monkeys so much, because their behaviour would test anyone’s patience… Author Quentin Blake is a household name, while Emma Chichester Clarke’s cheerful artwork is always a delight.
• Gentle, dreamy children will love the fantastical and whimsical worlds in Emily Winfield Martin’s Dreamers box-set – clouds become dragons, mermaids have tea parties and unicorns are ridden through forests. This sweet keepsake includes two board books: Day Dreamers and Dream Animals.
• Celebrate the jetsetting Mr Chicken with the Mr Chicken Goes to Paris Gift Set, which contains a book and a SOFT TOY MR CHICKEN. Need we say more?

FOR AGES 5-8

• The Little People Big Dreams series has delighted many readers this year by telling the childhood stories of accomplished women in a fresh, engaging way that allows modern young readers to relate. The latest two in the series are Maya Angelou and Amelia Earhart.
• The Bad Guys return for their fourth adventure in Apocalypse Meow. Manic cartoons and manageable text have made this series popular with beginning readers who like to laugh. The latest mishap sees Misters Wolf, Shark, Snake and Piranha battling a serious zombie kitten situation.
• Travel to the Greek island of Rhodes with the gorgeous retro picture books, My Donkey Benjamin and My Pig Paulina. Children can meet little Susi and her sister Angelica, and experience 1960s family island life through low-key animal stories.
• The adventures of sensible Mango and skittish tapir Bambang (who is definitely not-a-pig) continue in Tiny Tapir Trouble. Life in a bustling big city has always thrown challenges at the pair, and in this new book, big trouble comes in the form of a small tapir house-guest.
• History proves hilarious in the new book from Nick Falk and Tony Flowers: in How To Beat Genghis Khan in an Arm Wrestle, a Time Rescrambler malfunction results in two enemies and a little sister being transported back to the Mongol empire.
• Try out 113 languages from all over the world in the highly entertaining, informative and user-friendly The Hello Atlas. This is a visually engaging book that includes remote locations and indigenous languages.

FOR AGES 8-11

• Lovers of gross humour and frenzied action will appreciate Artie and the Grime Wave. Hilarious (mis)adventures ensue in the town of Grime when Artie and his best friend Bumshoe take on a gang of baddies.
• An unlikely friendship forms when proper Annabel and wild Kitty battle the forces of good and evil in A Most Magical Girl. This fantastical tale is set in a Victorian London peopled by witches and wizards.
• Cult author Neil Gaiman has created a heartening Norse-inspired quest with a relatable hero in Odd and the Frost Giants. Viking boy Odd teams up with new friends to confront the evil frost giants that have taken over Asgard, the city of gods. This hardcover book features an attractive cut-out cover, with silver foil and illustrations by the inimitable Chris Riddell.
• Folk stories, legends, myth, festivals and celebrations from all around the world abound in the fantastic treasury A Year Full of Stories. There are 52 familar and new stories, one for every week of the year, and the book is filled with colourful illustrations to spark curious minds.
• Contemporary classic The Secret Horses of Briar Hill couples the reality of WWII with the imagination of a sick girl convalescing in hospital. Gorgeously illustrated and tenderly told, this is a beautiful gift for sensitive and thoughtful young readers.
• Puzzle-fiends and code-crackers will love sleuthing their way through Book Scavenger. 12-year-old Emily is a mega-fan of the online and IRL game, Book Scavenger. She finds herself tasked with solving a secret new version of the game, as game creator Garrison Griswold lies in hospital, gravely ill.

FOR AGES 10-13

• Magnus Chase and his friends must retrieve Thor’s lost hammer and prevent outright war in the second book in the Magnus Chase series. Magnus Chase and The Hammer of Thor is perfect for tweens who enjoy smartarse characters and stories that add mythology into modern world settings.
• Australian girl Izzy must reconcile her dual Australian and Papua New Guinean identities, and undertake a dangerous underwater mission in The Shark Caller. This is an engrossing drama with a touch of the supernatural.
• The Smugglers Curse is a fast-paced pirate voyage, full of historical detail and peril. Tweens who live for action scenes will love this one.
• The Other Side of Summer will suit tweens who enjoy reading about deep feelings and imaginative possibilities – especially if they also love music. It tells the story of Summer and her family, who are trying to recover from the tragic death of Summer’s older brother, Floyd, and includes a good dash of magic.
• The Song from Somewhere Else is the funny, moving story of a surprising friendship, accompanied by stunning illustrations. When Frank seeks a refuge from bullying at school outcast Nick’s house she also uncovers extraordinary secrets.

FOR AGES 13–'DISCERNING ADULTS’

• Romantic teens who enjoy happy-sad stories will love Words in Deep Blue by award-winning author Cath Crowley. This is a Melbourne-based love letter to books, bookshops and the rollercoaster of teenage life.
• Your teen may become very, very scared of the Irish fairy folk after reading The Call – a book that had many Readings staff in its thrall.
• A fatal virus has swept Australia in Mark Smith’s The Road to Winter, leaving teenager Finn to fend for himself on the Victorian Surf coast. When Finn comes across tough Rose, a Siley (or asylum seeker) on the run, he risks his own safety to help hide her. This is a realistic near-future story that combines frontier action with a moral core.
• There’s Game of Thrones treachery at play in sci-fi thriller, The Diabolic. Nemesis is a Diabolic, a genetically-modified bodyguard, who is programmed to love and protect Sidonia, the daughter of a powerful senator. When Sidonia is summoned into the dangerous heart of the Empire, a disguised Nemesis goes in her place.
• The recent movie has revived interest in Ransom Riggs’ already-popular trilogy about a group of very unusual children on the run from evil forces. The Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children Boxed Set brings together all three novels, for a quirky reader who likes supernatural adventures.

Still stumped? We also offer a range of options for gift vouchers for use in-store and online.