Recommended kids books for October
This month we’ve got the sweetest and most inspiring picture books, quirky junior fiction, heartwarming real-life stories, and highly-anticipated fantasy epics.
Find our October picks for YA books here.
KIDS BOOK OF THE MONTH
Windows by Patrick Guest
This uplifting picture book is written from Patrick’s own experience of having to leave the family home during the Coronavirus pandemic, due to his son’s Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Windows shows how five kids from different parts of the world connect and draw strength from their communities from behind the safety of their own windows. Heartwarming, hopeful and surprisingly funny, this is a charming book that speaks directly to the strange and difficult year we’ve all been having.
Our reviewer Angela highly recommended this ‘gentle reflection on the challenges faced by families this year and a reminder of the many joys to come.’ You can read her full review here.
For ages 3 and up.
SIX KIDS BOOKS TO READ THIS MONTH
What We’ll Build by Oliver Jeffers
A father and daughter set about laying the foundations for their life together. Using their own special tools, they get to work – building memories to cherish, a home to keep them safe, and love to keep them warm. Picture book creator and visual artist Oliver Jeffers is so well-loved he really needs no introducing. His last book, Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth was written for his son, and this new companion book is inspired by the birth of his daughter.
Our reviewer Alexa appreciated this ‘gentle, thoughtful and loving tribute’, particularly for Jeffers’ attention to the nurturing of intrinsic values and emotions. You can read her full review here.
For ages 3 and up.
Skunk and Badger (Skunk and Badger, Book 1) by Amy Timberlake & Jon Klassen
Gregarious Skunk is Badger’s new roommate, and there is nothing Badger, a rock scientist who prefers to be left alone to do Important Rock Work and play the ukulele to chill out, can do about it. Skunk ploughs into Badger’s life, and Badger’s life is upended. Chaos ensues when too many chickens and a stoat enter the picture. This delightful illustrated junior fiction gives readers a fresh take on an odd-couple friendship and calls to mind classic authors like E.B. White, A.A. Milne and Kenneth Grahame.
Our reviewer Athina couldn’t speak highly enough of this book: ‘Funny yet wise, irresistibly playful and infused with an offbeat charm, Skunk and Badger is a beautifully crafted, whimsical adventure.’ You can read her full review here.
For ages 7 and up.
Roll with It by Jamie Sumner
Twelve-year-old Ellie has big dreams: one day she’s going to be a professional baker, so she’s always writing fan letters to her favourite celebrity chefs and practicing recipes on her mother. But when Ellie and her mom move to Oklahoma temporarily so they can help take care of her grandpa, Ellie has to start over in a new town and school. Except she’s not just the new kid – she’s the new kid with cerebral palsy in the wheelchair who lives in the trailer park. It’s not until she makes friends with Coralee and Bert, that Ellie realises that her new home might just be the best thing that ever happened to her.
Our reviewer Dani greatly enjoyed this debut novel, recommending it as ‘an easy to read and lighthearted story…perfect for fans of Wonder’. You can read her full review here.
For ages 8 and up.
Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, Book 3) by Jessica Townsend
Readers all over the world have been waiting with bated breath for this final instalment in Jessica Townsend’s wonderful Nevermoor trilogy. And now, finally, it is here, and available in both hardback and paperback editions.
Morrigan Crow and her friends have survived their first year as proud scholars of the elite Wundrous Society and proven themselves loyal to Unit 919. Now Morrigan must get a handle on her Wundersmith powers and to finally start learning the Wretched Arts. But a strange illness has taken hold of Nevermoor’s magical Wunimals, turning them mindless and vicious. With the city she loves in a state of fear, Morrigan quickly realises it’s up to her to find a cure.
For ages 10 and up.
The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst by Jaclyn Moriarty
Ten years after he was stolen, the Prince of Cloudburst has returned, and the King and Queen plan a huge party to celebrate. On the other side of the kingdom, Esther is looking forward to another year at Katherine Valley Boarding School. But the new school year is riddled with unsettling changes among teachers and students, and the mountains surrounding the school are now crowded with wicked Shadow Mages. As secrets and dangers escalate, Esther must find the answers to several puzzles, and it’s even possible that there might be a connection with the Stolen Prince. How can ordinary Esther save her family, her school and possibly her entire world?
Our reviewer Kim revelled in popular Australian author Moriarty’s latest book: ‘It’s a rare delight to read a truly imaginative magical adventure that is also genuinely hilarious.’ You can read her full review here.
For ages 9 and up.
Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed The World by Elena Favilli (available 15 October)
This is the third book in the blockbusting Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls series. It contains 100 bedtime stories about the lives of 100 extraordinary immigrant women – women who leave their homelands to seek refuge, to realise dreams, and to contribute to the world. Readers will fight climate change with Xiye Bastida-Patrick, captain a cricket team with Lisa Sthalekar, strategise global affairs alongside Madeleine Albright, and more. Like the other volumes in this excellent series, the stories are accompanied by gorgeous, full-colour portraits, created by female artists from all over the globe.
Our reviewer Angela was hugely impressed by this latest extension of this popular series: ‘Informative and inspirational, it deserves a place on the shelf of every book-loving home!’ You can read her full review here.
For ages 7 and up.
KIDS CLASSIC OF THE MONTH
Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
Alice’s second adventure takes her through the looking-glass to a place even curiouser than Wonderland. She finds herself caught up in the great looking-glass chess game and sets off to become a queen. It isn’t as easy as she expects: at every step she is hindered by nonsense characters who crop up and insist on reciting poems. Some of these poems, such as ‘The Walrus and the Carpenter’ and ‘Jabberwocky’, are as famous as the Alice stories themselves.
Our reviewer Sam extolled the virtues of beautiful, old-looking childhood books and thinks ‘this unabridged hardback edition, with the stunning original illustrations from Sir John Tenniel, feels as magical as the story itself.’ You can read her full review here.
For ages 10 and up.
THE ONLINE LAUNCH OF A NEW TREEHOUSE BOOK
The 130-Storey Treehouse looks set to be the wildest and weirdest addition to the bestselling Treehouse series yet. And we are delighted to invite everyone to join us at Tuesday 20 October at 4.30pm for a special online event with Andy Griffith and Terry Denton as they unveil the 13 new levels to their legendary treehouse.
You can book for this free event here, and make sure you send in your best questions beforehand by emailing your question, name, age and school to [email protected]
NEWS, RESOURCES & RECOMMENDATIONS
The Wilderness Society has revealed the winners of this year’s Environment Award for Children’s Literature. This award is presented annually to fiction and nonfiction books that ‘foster a love of wild places and wildlife in young Australians’ and ‘encourage a sense of responsibility for our natural world’.
My Happy Life is a sweet series of junior fiction books translated from the original Swedish, and a real Readings favourite. The books features an optimistic little girl, Dani, as she encounters real-life challenges around family and friendships. To celebrate the release of the final book in the series – All’s Happy That Ends Happy – two of our children’s specialists shared what makes this series so special and joyful.
If you have an older reader at home who is currently in need of some funny middle fiction to blow the real-world blues away, we also compiled some of our favourite recent books we guarantee will put a smile on your face.
Finally - for those enjoying the slower pace of 2020 (or who want to embrace it more), we put together a list of recommended kids books that encourage an easy pace, contemplation and taking pleasure in small joys.
