Category Archives: Top ten books

July 29, 2023 · 8:03 PM

Top ten books loved by my 9 year old

Our boy went through a year of not reading much when he was 8. He’d become bored of the junior non-fiction on offer, and despite his teachers trying to encourage him to try fiction, it just wasn’t his thing at the time. The last post I did was 2 years ago.

This past year everything’s changed again, and it’s back to nightly reading in bed – and we’ve again found ourselves telling him multiple times to put the book down and go to sleep. And… I’m pleased to report this year he’s finally found a taste for fiction!

1. Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson

“This is fiction, but it’s like non-fiction. Because it could be a true story”. This was his summary of Goldfish Boy, which was the first non-fiction novel he finished cover-to-cover. He was so absorbed, he finished it in just a couple of nights.

It’s about a boy who lives his entire life inside, and from the clues he observes by looking through the window, he goes on the journey to solve a neighbourhood crime. The 9 year old was gasping, sighing and cheering out loud as he turned the pages and tried to solve the mystery himself.

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July 23, 2023 · 9:51 AM

Top 10 books loved by my (other) 6 year old

Last year I predicted that by now my little girl would be reading books all by herself, and the nightly ritual of me reading to her would be over. I was right in one way – she’s now racing through books on her own – but we’ve now started reading side by side before bed instead, which is a very special time for us both.

She’s discovered some really sweet books this year, and kept reading the absolute favourites. Here are the Top 10 for this little 6 year old!

1. Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls – 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo

What a beautiful book! This one is filled with pretty illustrations, easy-to-read text, and inspirational stories. From Marie Curie and Greta Thunberg to many other women (some whose stories I didn’t know myself), this book is one that we both enjoy reading.

For a little girl who sometimes doubts what she can achieve, each page is a reminder that all the incredible women in this world started out just like she did. I believe that our amazing girl will have a story that could go in a book like this one day, and I hope that by reading these stories she can believe it too.

2. A Big Guy Took My Ball by Mo Willems

Oh how we love the Piggy and Elephant books! Number 5 on last year’s list, they are on the list again, because they are just so funny. Piggy is full of energy and emotions, where Elephant is a bit more serious (and very patient).

I can’t help but make the connection between these two characters and our own two children. Even the illustration on the front of A Big Guy Took My Ball is exactly how our two kids often are: the big one trying to play a game (or solve the world’s problems) and the little one draped across his shoulders yelling about a missing ball.

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July 21, 2022 · 6:56 PM

Top ten books loved by my (other) 5 year old

Our little girl still loves reading! She likes listening to stories, telling stories, writing stories and, now that she’s started school, reading stories. Reading to her is one of the only ways to keep her still.

1. Olivia’s Secret Scribbles: My New Best Friend by Meredith Costain

Olivia’s Secret Scribbles makes the list for a second year in a row! We’ve read every book in the series at least three times, and I have to say they still manage to keep both of us interested. There’s something so sweet about Olivia and the challenges she has at home and school – perhaps because they mirror everything our daughter is going through.

My New Best Friend is a particular favourite, as our little girl started school this year. Just like Olivia, she has had to navigate the difficult and wonderful ways of playground friendships.

2. HotDog Book 8: Art Time! by Anh Do

Another Anh Do series, Hot Dog is about a sausage dog and his two friends Lizzzy the lizard and Kev the cat. This bizarre grouping solves mysteries, goes on camping trips and performs in the circus. It has simple yet entertaining stories that are easy to listen to before bed.

When the baddies stole the Llama Lisa, a priceless painting of a llama, our little girl was captivated by the action. When the Mona Lisa was mentioned on the TV a week later she shouted, ‘Mummy, they’ve copied the Llama Lisa from Hot Dog!’… How dare they!

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June 30, 2021 · 6:28 PM

Top ten books loved by my 7 year old

Another year has passed and our boy has another year’s worth of knowledge packed into his little brain. He’s a sponge when it comes to facts, and despite spending 99% of his life in our home town, his knowledge of geography has now officially bypassed mine. He reads widely and quickly (and makes his parents very proud in the process).

Here are his Top 10 favourite books for when he was 7.  

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1. Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe

Now this is a great book for an inquisitive 7-year-old that loves learning about how things work! It goes into intricate detail of machines, animals, processes… but using only 1,000 of the most commonly used words in the English language. My 7-year-old had learned so much about the world from this book, and I’ve had fun trying to work out what exactly is being described (the “strange animal” entry on the Tree of Life page had us stumped for a while).

The diagrams are beautiful – easy to read and extremely detailed. It’s a great book for children and adults alike.

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June 30, 2021 · 6:17 PM

Top ten books loved by my (other) 4 year old

Her love of books continues! We’ve had another wonderful year of reading, writing and sharing books together. Trips to the local library are still a weekly activity and every day must end with a book. It’s been fun exploring fiction and fantasy stories – her older brother was all about facts and the real world – so this is a welcome change.

In the last year she’s become quite the creative storyteller. She loves drawing pictures and writing words, then turning them into elaborate stories. Each night she relays her stories to her stuffed toys in bed, before finally drifting to sleep.

1. Olivia’s Secret Scribbles: Unicorn Parade by Meredith Costain

Now these books are delightful! They’re about a 7 year old girl called Olivia who loves inventing, exploring and hanging with her friends. They’re so Australian and so current that you could use these stories to explain my kids’ lives right now. They have easy-to-understand language, and are visually beautiful – with a bright accent colour for the illustrations and the stand out words.

In these stories the children are kind to each other, the teachers love teaching, and the parents share the parenting equally. It’s full of role models for us all!

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April 25, 2020 · 5:33 PM

Top ten books loved by my (other) 3 year old

Our little 3-year-old has grown so much in the year since I posted Top 10 books loved by my (other) 2 year old. She’s understanding much more complicated storylines, and has an amazing attention span when she’s curled up listening to her favourites books.

She’s started recognising words and sounding out letters (watching her older brother go through kindergarten last year has definitely helped her with that!) and I’m pretty sure she’ll be reading by herself before my next post next year. Her favourite books were hard to pick – there’s been so many in the last 12 months – but the below selection have really stood out.

Harry in a Hurry - Pan Macmillan AU

1. Harry in a Hurry by Timothy Knapman

The 3-year-old still loves rabbits as much as she did when she was two, and I bought this book for her when I was away travelling with work. Harry the hare races around on his scooter so fast that he misses the destruction he’s leaving behind… until he crashes into a pond and is rescued by the super. slow. tortoise. Tom (who takes all afternoon just to blow his nose).

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April 15, 2020 · 2:53 PM

Top ten books loved by my 6 year old

Just when I thought reading with my son snuggled in bed was never going to happen again, it returns! The world’s recent events have meant slower mornings for us. After a quick trip downstairs to put on Bluey for the 3-year-old, I slip back in bed to read. And lately, the 6-year-old – and his favourite chapter book – have been joining me.

And that’s because he can now read! Just over a year of school and he can read entire books by himself. Last year, I was reading the chapter books, and this year it’s all him.

The 117-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths, Terry Denton (9781760559144) - PaperBack - Children's Fiction

1. The 117-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

This time last year we were only just introduced to these books. A year on and we’ve read every one of the series twice – the first time with me reading a chapter aloud every night, the second time my 6-year-old reading them to himself before bed (and sometimes staying up way too late to get to The Last Chapter).

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July 22, 2019 · 9:28 PM

Top ten books loved by my 5 year old

What difference a year makes! Last year the list was full of picture books and junior non-fiction. This year we’ve made a sudden change to a) chapter books that we read before bed over a number of weeks, sometimes months, or b) books my son reads himself. And it’s a whole new and exciting world!

It’s amazing what 6 months of school can do. Our boy who wasn’t interested in reading anything other than his own name is now reads absolutely everything. And I mean everything. From sign-posts and cereal boxes to TV captions and toothpaste tubes… if it has a word on it, my 5 year old will be right there sounding out each of the l-l-l-e-e-t-t-t-er-er-er-s… letters!

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1. The 26-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

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June 11, 2019 · 9:04 PM

Top ten books loved by my (other) 2 year old

Our little girl is two! It feels like it should be a lot older than that because 1) she certainly makes her presence known, and 2) we can’t imagine a life without her.

A year ago I listed her top ten books and I’m thrilled that her obsession with books has continued. She’s an active little thing, and reading seems to be the only way we can keep her still. When I sit on the lounge she snuggles in so closely, and hangs off every word.

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1. Peppa Goes Ice Skating by Ladybird

Ahhhh, Peppa Pig. Where do I start?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s no wonder it’s a popular TV show. Easy storylines. Short, 5-minute episodes. But since the introduction of brilliant, modern shows like Bluey, I’m starting to get sick of the whole ‘Daddy Pig is hopeless’ and ‘girls-do-this-and-boys-do-that’ attitudes that seem to plague every Pig episode.

My daughter, of course, thinks Peppa is amazing. And you don’t argue with a 2-year old.

Peppa Goes Ice Skating is one of her favourite books and it’s actually quite enjoyable to read. My daughter likes to check that Miss Rabbit is handing out the right skates for Daddy, Mummy, Peppa and George, and enjoys running her fingers over the loopy trail Peppa has left in the in the ice.

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August 25, 2018 · 1:00 PM

Top ten books loved by my 4 year old

Another year of reading has passed and my little baby is now a tall and confident boy ready to start school next year. The biggest shift in the last twelve months has been in how my son likes to read: we used to repeat his favourites a hundred times until he knew the words by heart, but this year it’s been more about learning. He’ll read a book to get the facts, then want to move onto something else.

But of course, there’ll always be his favourites. And I’ve listed our top-ten from the last year below. For previous years lists, click here.

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1. Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can you? by Dr. Seuss

When my 4-year-old was a baby, a local newspaper ran a promotion where you could get a Dr. Seuss book each week and collect them all in a box set. My uncle, who has always showered my children with gifts, collected the whole set and gave them to my son. We’ve read every book numerous times, and I’ve loved the tongue-twisting stories just as much as my son has loved listening to them.

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