FOR AGES 0-2

• My Dog Bigsy by Alison Lester is an energetic read-aloud story about a little dog with a big personality.
• What does your perfect day look like? Perfect by Danny Parker & Freya Blackwood is a beautifully evocative picture book that brings to life all the pleasures of a day spent playing and exploring.
• Patience can be a hard virtue to learn, but I’ll Wait, Mr Panda by Steve Antony is a hilarious way to drive home the lesson.
• Love is My Favourite Thing by Emma Chichester Clark is utterly heartwarming – Plum is a good dog, but sometimes she does bad things. Will her family still love her when she’s naughty?
• Our favourite brother and sister team get excited about numbers in Charlie and Lola: One Thing.
• If you’re searching for some calming nap time music, Max Richter’s From Sleep is a meditative instrumental piece that will appeal to both kids and adults.

FOR AGES 3-4

• The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers is the sequel to the brilliant The Day the Crayons Quit – the crayons and their complaints are back, and they want their old friend Duncan to help.
• The Lion and The Bird by Marianne Dubuc is a beautiful tale of the friendship between a kindly lion and an injured bird.
• Count as you walk up Numerical Street! Antonia Pesenti & Hilary Bell’s playful tale takes you on a tour of the suburban streetscape.
• What Do You Wish For? by Jane Godwin & Anna Walker is the perfect Christmas book that will have kids eagerly talking about their own wishes.
• Superstar children’s performer Justine Clarke needs no introduction, and Pyjama Jam is the perfect thing to get little feet up and dancing.

FOR AGES 5-7

• A stunning exploration of different animals and their habitats, The Wonder Garden by Kristjana S Williams & Jenny Broom is a work of art.
• Comedian Julian Clary has turned his hand to writing with The Bolds, which follows a family of hyenas trying to keep a wild secret.
• Watch out for Aaron Blabey’s The Bad Guys! Mr Wolf, Mr Piranha, Mr Snake and Mr Shark might seem bad, but they want to be good - can they save the day?
• The Cat With the Coloured Tail by Gillian Mears is a tender fable about a man who sells ice creams to suit every mood with the help of his magical cat.
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears: A Tale Moderne by Steven Guarnaccia is a quirky 1950s twist on the classic fairy tale.
• Ultimate Star Wars is for the ultimate Star Wars fan. Packed full of concept art, character bios and visual guides.
• The Hush Music Foundation have put together The Hush Treasure Book, a collection of tales and poems by beloved storytellers such as Jackie French, Bob Graham and Margaret Wild.
  

FOR AGES 8-10

• The beloved first adventure of everybody’s favourite wizard has been given the illustrated treatment. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Illustrated Edition is brought to life by Jim Kay’s marvellous illustrations.
• Little Britain‘s David Walliams has once again taken his comedic wit to the page with Grandpa’s Great Escape, a hilarious and heart-warming story about Jack and his Spitfire pilot grandfather.
• Julie Hunt’s incomparable Song for a Scarlet Runner won our inaugural Readings Children’s Book Prize last year, and her latest book KidGlovz is an equally stunning tale of a piano prodigy trapped against his will.
• The Fourteenth Summer of Angus Jack by Jen Storer is a rollicking adventure that blends Norse mythology with urban fantasy.
• Rivertime by Trace Balla won our 2015 Readings Children’s Book Prize, and it’s easy to see why – this illustrated canoe journey up the Glenelg River is a contemplative read that’s brimming with detail.

FOR AGES 11-13

• Rick Riordan – the prolific author of the Percy Jackson series – is at it again, and this time he’s chronicling the adventures of the Norse gods. Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer is an action-packed read that will have kids enthralled.
• Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead is about the challenges of friendship, and what happens to three friends as they slowly start to go their separate ways.
• Letter For the King by Tonke Dragt is a Dutch saga in the style of King Arthur that won the Children’s Book of the Year in 1963.
• John Boyne, the author of the unforgettable Boy in the Striped Pyjamas takes us back to Nazi Germany once more with his latest tale, The Boy at the Top of the Mountain.
• I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora is a thoughtful read that sees three friends hatch a plot to get their entire town reading Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird.

FOR AGES 14-17

• Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff is a breathless reading experience – Kady and Ezra’s attempts to stop a galactic conspiracy is chronicled through a series of transcripts and dossiers.
• With its wizard protagonists and magical school, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell is a tongue-in-cheek homage to Harry Potter, while still being a charming and compulsively readable story in its own right.
• Every Move is the final instalment in Ellie Marney’s gripping crime thriller set in Melbourne.
• Cloudwish by Fiona Wood follows sensible student Van Uoc, who doesn’t believe in wishes – until one comes true and she catches the eye of the popular Billy Gardiner.
• Jack is stuck in a dying town, with a life she’s not sure she wants. Vikki Wakefield’s Inbetween Days is a powerful tale about the complications of growing up.
• With rare interviews and archival footage, Amy is a moving look into the chaotic life of the musical icon.