Summer Reading List: Ten Little Boys Share their Favourite Books

Books are a big deal in our house, especially at bedtime when we let Stanley pick his favourite stories to cuddle up on the bed and read with us. I’d much rather he got stuck into a good book than picked up the iPad or switched on the TV (although I’m not wholly against either, just in moderation), so I’m always looking for inspiration for new stories that will tempt him to reach for the bookshelf.

If you and your kids love reading too, I thought it would be very useful to ask 10 boys aged between 1 and 10 (and/or their mummies) to list their three favourite books. It’s fascinating to see how quickly their tastes change and I will definitely be taking hints from this list when buying gifts and future books for both my boys.

I hope you find it as interesting as I did – and thank you to George, Oliver, Stanley, Leo, Isaac, Reuben, Ruben, Matt, Mekhi, Joe and Thomas for sharing their love of books!

Oliver and George chose: Busy Airport by Rebecca Finn, Noisy Orchestra by Sam Taplin and What the Ladybird Heard by Julia Donaldson.

Stanley chose: Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See? by Eric Carle and Bill Martin Jr, Goat Goes to Playgroup by Julia Donaldson and The Gruffallo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

Leo chose: The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Marvin Wanted More by Joseph Theobald.

Isaac chose: Stick Man by Julia Donaldson, Tales from Acorn Wood by Julia Donaldson and Shhh! Don’t Wake The Royal Baby by Martha Mumford.

Reuben chose: The Twits by Roald Dahl, The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle and The Dinosaur Cove series by Rex Stone.

Ruben chose: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye by Geronimo Stilton, Deadly Series by Steve Backshall and Horrid Henry series by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross.

Matt chose: Frankie’s Magic Football by Frank Lampard, The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of Pig by Emer Stamp and The Wishing Chair by Enid Blyton.

Mekhi chose: The Queens Knickers by Nicholas Allen, Horrid Henry and the Secret Club by Francesca Simon, and Surfs Up, Sponge Bob! by David Lewman and Heather Martinez.

Joe chose: Gangsta Granny by David Walliams, Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian by Rick Riorden, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling.

Thomas chose: Holes by Louis Sacher, Tom Gates Extra Special Treats (… Not) by Liz Pichon, and The Recruit by Robert Muchamore.

To pick up these popular reads, check out the English-language children’s books sections of your nearest Dymocks, Page One or Bookazine, or buy online at Amazon.com! 

This feature first appeared on Louise’s blog ‘Mum of Boys’.