Girl reading a book

Reading recommendations

Know any small, hungry bookworms? Here are four great reads that children and grownups can enjoy together. Check out our tips!

Book tips

Book cover How I live now by Meg Rosoff

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (2006) In a season of political unrest, 15-year-old Daisy is sent away from New York to stay with cousins in the English countryside. A magical summer unfolds, especially after Daisy’s activist aunt is called away, leaving Daisy and her cousins alone on the farm. The children bask in their total freedom from rules and responsibilities, and a forbidden love between Daisy and her cousin Edmond grows stronger. But with the sudden outbreak of war, England becomes an occupied country. The perfect summer comes to an end, and the fight to survive begins. Meg Rosoff received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2016. How I Live Now is her debut novel. The story is taut, suspenseful, and brutal in places. But Rosoff never leaves her characters, or her readers, without hope.

Book cover Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman (1997). Book 1 of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. “Lyra and her dæmon moved through the darkening hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight of the kitchen.” With this sentence, 2005 laureate Philip Pullman pulls readers straight into the world of his heroine Lyra Belacqua in this innovative and exciting fantasy trilogy. What is the connection between Lord Asriel’s discovery of parallel worlds and the disappearance of Lyra’s best friend? Warning: this book may keep you curled in the hammock this summer while everyone else hits the beach, reading and wishing for a dæmon of your own! Northern Lights has also been published under the title The Golden Compass. The other two books in the trilogy are The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

Book cover The day you begin by Jacqueline Woodson

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson (2019). Illustrated by Rafael López. This is a picture book about feeling different—like you don’t belong, and no one understands you or sees you for who you are. Jacqueline Woodson, who received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2019, has a remarkable ability to combine her straightforward, plainspoken prose with warmth and a powerful sense of empathy. The Day You Begin movingly depicts the pain of social marginalization and offers the key to a way forward: namely, open conversation. Not least of all, this is a story about the happiness and community we can find by daring to share the unique qualities that make us who we really are.

Cover of the book The Red Tree by Shaun Tan

The Red Tree by Shaun Tan (2011) Intensively atmospheric and emotionally charged, The Red Tree is a symbiosis of evocative illustrations and concise yet forceful prose. Our 2011 laureate Shaun Tan is a brilliant artist and an equally strong storyteller, and like so many of his picture books, The Red Tree is truly a book for all ages. In it, Tan renders with precision the feeling of being left out and alone, but also a hope that refuses to fade, no matter the obstacles.