As promised, the first of three blogs this week on book recommendations. Even though my children are now teenagers, they still get a book or two in their stocking – I live in hope! In my experience younger kids are easy – you can just buy them a story or picture in some subject they’re vaguely interested in and they will love it. Older children are not so easy, especially if you don’t know them that well. Having said that, I don’t always get it right for the kids that live with me either! Oh well, it’s ALWAYS worth giving a book, in my view, and you never know, you might even spark a new interest – kids are notorious for sticking with what they know.
So, if you are looking for some ideas for the young people in your life, here are some fab non-fiction titles that I have spotted.
Primary School
There Are Fish Everywhere – Britte Teckentrup and Katie Haworth
Stunning illustrations, informative, weird and wonderful facts about sea creatures. Beautiful.
Young, Gifted and Black: Meet 52 Black Heroes from Past and Present – Jamia Wilson and Andrea Pippins
Short biographies of towering figures in Black history, some you will have heard of and some less well-known, but equally important. Boldly illustrated.
The Human Body: A Pop up guide to anatomy – Richard Walker and Rachel Caldwell
Anatomical books make very popular gifts and the pop-ups in this one are wonderful. Has the added twist of presenting it from the perspective of a 19th century medical student, so something for those with an interest in history too.
Late primary/early secondary
Code Like a Girl: Rad Tech Projects and Practical Tips – Miriam Peskowitz
I’m all for a book that busts a gender stereotype – boys can like fashion, girls can like coding.
Unlock Your Imagination: 250 boredom busters – published by Dorling Kindersley
When you try to peel your children off their devices, how often do you hear them cry “But, I’m bored!”? There is an argument that our kids should be more bored, as this can stimulate creativity. This book may help and many of the activities are short and straightforward, so could be done whilst travelling. Suitable for younger kids too, so good if you have children of different ages to please.
An Anthology of Intriguing Animals – Ben Hoare
This is a beautiful book, taking a close-up look at 100 animals and their special talents and characteristics. Lovely short chapters with some off the wall facts, and a mix of stunning photographs and illustrations.
Teens
Many teenagers are happy with adult books, but we all know that they can also have some very unique and specific needs and interests. Thankfully, the book market in recent years has evolved to cater to this very special group, when interest in books can really fall off a cliff.
Zen Teen: 40 ways to stay calm when life gets stressful – Tanya Carroll Richardson
This book will be published on 6 December and I’ve already got one on pre-order! Many teens are interested in mindfulness now as a way of managing the pressures in their life, and this can only be a good thing. This title looks as if it will be a worth addition to any teenager’s library.
Cooking Up a Storm: The teen survival cookbook – Sam Stern & Susan Stern
Teenagers love independence and at some point that is going to mean cooking for themselves, so you may as well get them started sooner rather than later. This book dates back to 2014, but is a good one, with real food, and not just the sugary bakes that are often marketed at this age group, and particularly females. Boys need to know how to cook too!
Would You Rather Randoms: A collection of hilarious hypothetical questions – Clint Hammerstrike
My kids’ favourite dinner table conversation seems to revolve around such questions as would you rather eat the same thing for the rest of your life or never eat the same thing twice???? Hmm. They love it though. This little book could spark some similarly edifying conversation in your household.
I hope there is something here that is useful to you. I’d love to hear your suggestions too.
Look out for my fiction recommendations later in the week.
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The central character, Hildy, is a slightly quirky, slightly awkward 17 year-old. She has two close friends – her best friend is Max, who is gay and fairly camp with it, and her other good friend, Xiu is much more astute, confident and successful in affairs of the heart. She confides in them extensively about her feelings and worries. Hildy has not had a boyfriend for some time and so, out of a degree of desperation signs up for a research programme which is exploring whether it is possible to facilitate a romantic relationship between two people by making them ask and answer a specific set of (36) questions. Hildy’s ‘partner’ in the programme is Paul, who, from the outset, makes it quite clear that he is only in it for the $40 fee and who is a nonchalant and frustrating participant to begin with; where Hildy makes an effort to answer the questions truthfully and fully, Paul is uninterested and uncooperative, and obfuscates throughout. Their first session ends with Hildy throwing a tropical fish at Paul that she had bought for her younger brother on the way to the meeting.
Nadiya’s Bake Me A Story: Fifteen stories and recipes for children by Nadiya Hussein. My kids love baking and adore the Bake-Off and Nadiya’s victory in the competition last year was inspirational to many. Nadiya is a judge on the children’s Bake-Off on CBBC so kids will still be very familiar with her. This is a lovely book, and Nadiya is a lovely person who has qualities that naturally appeal to children. I love the idea that recipes here are combined with a quirky take on some classic fairy tales.
The Usborne Creative Writing Book. Children are programmed to be creative, but modern life does not always allow them to exercise that muscle. Consequently, a blank page can be daunting for some children and they may need a little nudge or guidance to express their inner writer/artist/designer. There are a wide range of creative journals around just now; I bought this one because writing is the particular interest of the child I have in mind, but others are more gender-based or tailored towards different interests. They provide a great little tool for when kids say they are bored; boredom is good!
Guinness World Records 2017: Gamer’s Edition. The Guinness World Record Book has been a staple for my son’s stocking since he was young, but at 15 he is no longer as interested as he once was. The Gamer’s Edition is a compromise, acknowledging his passion for computer gaming, whilst fulfilling his mother’s passion for the very un-tech world of books – sneaky!
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. Building on the success of his similarly titled books for adults, Covey has written a book for teenagers which encourages goal-setting, helps to build resilience and gives advice on managing relationships with family, friends, peers and authority figures. It is non-patronising and is written very much in the context of the digital age. Just don’t let them see you reading it!
Fun Science: A guide to life, the universe and why science is so awesome by Charlie McDonnell. Charlie is a highly successful YouTuber who vlogs about science, in the linguafranca of the young people. He has over 2 million subscribers to his YouTube channel and clearly has a great passion for his subject, which is always to be admired. The look and feel of the book is a world away from a textbook, so I doubt it’s going to help much with GCSE revision, but the enthusiasm is quite infectious, which is half the battle. I could see this appealing to 11-13 year olds.
Julia's books 