6 modern classics guaranteed to encourage children to read

Children can be reluctant readers sometimes and all it takes is one great title to spark their interest.

Some of the classics we read as children aren’t quite as inspiring to today’s generation as they once were so it is time to shake things up with a new list of exciting titles.

Inclusively covering ages 5-15 years, the following list should have a book recommendation perfect for any child you know.

“Can I Build Another Me? follows a child’s hilarious, wildly inventive train of thought as he decides to make a clone of himself – and starts to ponder what makes him Him. Is it the scar on his knee or his sticky palms? Is it his love of acorns or the way he winks? The more he thinks about it, the more complicated it becomes.”

Buy it here:

Can I Build Another Me?

“Insightfully sweet, with a gentle humour and poignancy, here is Oliver Jeffers’ user’s guide to life on Earth. He created it specially for his son, yet with a universality that embraces all children and their parents. Be it a complex view of our planet’s terrain (bumpy, sharp, wet), a deep look at our place in space (it’s big), or a guide to all of humanity (don’t be fooled, we are all people), Oliver’s signature wit and humour combine with a value system of kindness and tolerance to create a must-have book for parents.”

Buy it here:

Here We Are 

“Katy Carr is a lively, daredevil oldest sister in a big family. She loves messing around outdoors, climbing on the garage roof or up a tree, cycling, skateboarding, swinging…. But her life changes in dramatic and unexpected ways after a serious accident.

Inspired by the classic novel What Katy Did, Jacqueline Wilson creates an irresistible 21st-century heroine. Fans of Hetty Feather and Tracy Beaker will fall in love with Katy and her family too.”

Buy it here:

Katy

“‘Hoop kings SOAR
in kicks with wings.
Game so sweet
it’s like bee stings.’

It’s 1988. Charlie Bell is still mourning his father, and struggling to figure out how he feels for his best (girl) friend, CJ. When he gets into trouble one too many times, he’s packed off to stay with his grandparents for the summer. There his cousin Roxie introduces him to a whole new world: basketball. A legend on the courts is born. But can Charlie resist when trouble comes knocking once again?”

Buy it here:

Rebound

“A varied and thought-provoking collection of short stories and poems for teens with a conscience, with striking cover illustrations by award-winning children’s laureate Chris Riddell With contributions from Frances Hardinge, Sarah Crossan, Matt Haig, Neil Gaiman and many more. Did you know that … government spies can turn on your phone and use the microphone to listen to your conversations? … that lesbian and gay relationships are illegal in 78 countries and can be punished by death? … that Amnesty recently recorded the highest number of executions globally for more than 25 years? Through short stories and poetry, twenty-five leading authors and illustrators explore the top human rights issues facing young people today.”

Buy it here:

Here I Stand

“Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s a Fractional Persian—half, his mom’s side—and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life.
 
Darius has never really fit in at home, and he’s sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn’t exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes.”

Buy it here:

Darius the Great is Not Okay