Must-Have Christmas Reads

28 Nov 2023 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news

No Christmas stocking is complete without a festive book or two.

Library staff have been sharing their wish lists for this Christmas together with the books they will be giving their lucky families and friends – why not give some of these a try yourself.

Pre School Children

• David Almond – A Way to the Stars - Uplifting and magical.
• Michael Brownlow – Ten Little Penguins - Granny Penguin is not feeling well – can the ten little penguins cheer her up?
• Ross Collins – We Disagree about this Tree - Can Bear and Mouse work together to decorate their tree?  Lovely rhyming story.
• Julia Donaldson – The Christmas Pine - Beautiful, festive story about a little tree with a big destiny.
• Julia Donaldson – What the Ladybird Heard at Christmas - Can the clever little ladybird foil a plot to steal the children’s Christmas. presents?
• Mark Sperring – 20 Elves at Bedtime - It’s the night before Christmas Eve and Santa can’t get to sleep!
• Helen Stephens – How to Hide a Lion at Christmas - Lion is supposed to be staying at home while the family go away for Christmas...!

Borrow and reserve these suggested titles by clicking on our reading list - Recommended Christmas Reads for Pre-school children
 

Children aged 5+years

• Philip Reeve – Mice on the Ice - The Adventuremice are in action again – can they save the frost fair and bring joy to the town?
• Jane Riordan – Tales from the Forest - Perfect for Winnie the Pooh fans – seven new stories celebrating the Hundred Acre Wood.

Borrow and reserve these suggested titles by clicking on our reading list - Recommended Christmas Reads for 5+years
 

Children aged 7+ years

• Abi Elphinstone– The Frost Goblin - Adventure story for the most magical night of the year.
• Hannah Gold – Finding Bear - Beautiful and emotional sequel to the ‘The Last Bear’.
• Tom Fletcher – The Christmasaurus and the Naughty List - Another magical story with the Christmasaurus – can he help children on the naughty list to become good?
• Matt Goodfellow – The Final Year - Powerful story told in verse about finding your voice, your place and your people
• Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton – The 156-Storey Treehouse - Treehouse is getting festive and there are Christmas laughs on every level.
• Matt Haig – Father Christmas and Me - Magical story of Amelia, a human growing up in Elfhelm – and guess who her adoptive parents are!

Borrow and reserve these suggested titles by clicking on our reading list - Recommended Christmas Reads for 7+years

Children aged 9+ years

• Sophie Anderson – The Snow Girl - Special story – perfect for Christmas! Snowy, winter magic
• David Baddiel – Virtually Christmas - Etta and Monty need to find Santa and save Christmas!
• S.F. Said – Tyger - Set in a strange, alternate world, Adam discovers a mysterious, mythical animal. Lives are in danger...who can help?
• Robin Stevens – Mistletoe and Murder – A Murder Most Unladylike Mystery - Great series –every school should have its own deadly detective agency!

Borrow and reserve these suggested titles by clicking on our reading list - Recommended Christmas Reads for 9+years

Young People aged 11+years

• Suzanne Collins – The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (The Hunger Games Prequel) - How did Coriolanus Snow become the man he did?  Read the book before watching the film!
• Derek Landy – Bad Magic  - A Skulduggery Pleasant Graphic Novel – full of the usual magical peril and humour
• Sue Reed – The Rewilding of Molly McFlynn  - 15-year-old Molly is not happy to be moved out to rural Northumberland to live with her grandparents, and what strange thing is her grandmother doing in the garden at night...?
• Jonathan Stroud – The Screaming Staircase – Lockwood & Co  - First title in the Lockwood & Co series, and they’re all great! When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co step in...

Borrow and reserve these suggested titles by clicking on our reading list - Recommended Christmas Reads for 11+years
 

Young People aged 14+years

• Karen McManus – One of Us is Lying - 5 strangers walk into a detention centre – only 4 walk out alive.
• Alice Oseman – Heartstopper Vol 5 - Catch up with Nick and Charlie in this latest title in the wonderful Heartstopper Series.  

Borrow and reserve these suggested titles by clicking on our reading list - Recommended Christmas Reads for 14+years

Adult Fiction

• Roar: A Story for Every Woman by Cecelia Ahern  - “A quirky collection”. Short stories capturing different facets of women's lives.
• Narrow Dog to Wigan Pier by Terry Darlington  - “A true record of a retired couple who restore a barge and sail to interesting destinations with their whippet for company– Extremely funny series!”
• Cloud Cuckoo Land Anthony Doerr - “Epic! Historical – fantasy – love of stories”.
• Lessons in Chemistry Bonnie Garmus - Brilliant story of Chemist, Elizabeth Zlott and her determination not to be held back by attitudes to women in the early 1960’s.
• The Christmas Appeal by  Janice Hallett - The Fairway Players are back – and there’s another dead body to investigate...!
• The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett - Crime fiction – who can uncover the dark truth behind the Alperton Angels Cult?
• None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell  “Can’t wait for the next one to come out!” - Psychological thriller. Who is Josie Fair – and what has she done?
• Before the Coffee gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - A wonderful series!  A gateway to time travel is found in an unassuming café - “I love these books and recommend them”.
• The Night Circus and The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern - “Fantastic for fantasy and metaphysical lovers!”
• The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman - A Thursday Murder Club Mystery  - In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up every week to investigate unsolved murders.

Borrow and reserve these suggested titles by clicking on our reading list - Recommended Adult Fiction Reads

Adult Non Fiction

• Nathan Anthony – Bored of Lunch: The Healthy Slow cooker Book - Easy recipes – calorie counted.
• Katherine May – Enchantment: reawakening wonder in an exhausted age.
• Katherine May – Wintering: the power of rest and retreat in difficult times - Katherine’s journey through winter and the healing power of the great outdoors.
• Tom Michell – The Penguin Lessons - Heart-warming story of the friendship between a young teacher and a penguin he rescues.

Borrow and reserve these suggested titles by clicking on our reading list - Recommended Adult Non Fiction Reads