Top 10 children’s fiction February 2016

Diary of a Wimpy kid is still numero uno! Is it the allure of cartoon/comic content? Check out Jeff Kinney drawing his characters here!

The popular Liz Pichon with Tom Gates and Rachel Renée Russel with Nikki Maxwell (dork diaries) have great drawings as part of their stories too

1. Diary of a wimpy kid series, by Jeff Kinney

2. Tom Gates series, by Liz Pichon

3. Treehouse series, By Andy Griffiths

4. Harry Potter series, by J.K.Rowling

5. Where’s Wally? by Martin Handford

6. Dirty Bertie, by Alan MacDonald

7. Dork Diaries, by Rachel Renee Russel

8. Ruby Redfort series by Lauren Child

9. Big Nate series, by Lincoln Peirce

10. Awful Auntie by David Walliams

Drawings as part of the story are a great way to connect with characters and situations in a book. Has anyone checked out The Marvels? This beautiful book (the cover is smothered in gold leaf) tells the grand tale of shipwreck and adventure. Told in pictures, the first part of the book has expressive drawings that lead you through the story.  The written half pieces together the mysterious and wonderful story of the performing Marvel family.

Top 10 Children’s fiction for January 2016

Summer holiday reading has paid off for Liz Pichon who has the potential to knock Diary of a Wimpy Kid out of the top spot with her amazing Tom Gates book series!

Wondering how authors become people who create stories? Lauren Child has a great website with some encouraging notes for those budding authors out there.  Ruby Redfort fans can pit their wits against code cracker for high security info or take the Spectrum test.  And… paper backs, check out the process for the cover shoots for Look into my eyes, Catch your death, Take your last breath and Feel the fear.

Ever redesigned the book cover for your favourite read? Let us know in the comments.

 

1. Diary of a wimpy kid, by Jeff Kinney

2. Tom Gates, by Liz Pichon

3. Treehouse series by Andy Griffiths

4. Dirty Bertie, by Alan MacDonald

5. Where’s Wally? by Martin Handford

6. Big Nate, by Lincoln Peirce

7. Ruby Redfort, by Lauren Child

8. Captain Underpants and the sensational saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot, by Dav Pilkey

9. Demon dentist, by David Walliams

10. Magnus Chase and the sword of summer by Rick Riordan

Is there a Sherlock Holmes hidden in you? 6 great children’s cipher books to try today.

Do you have what it takes to go undercover and discover the secret world of espionage?

Well if you can break the following code I think you will have what it takes!

A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I    J   K   L   M   N   O   P    Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z

H   I   J    K    L   M  N   O   P  Q   R   S   T    U   V   W   X   Y   Z   A   B   C   D   E    F   G

_        _   _        _        _   _   _   _         _    _    _    _    _    _    _

P        H  T        H        J   V   K   L       I     Y    L   H    R   L   Y

If you managed to work out the code – you are awesome!!!

Did you know Samuel Morse developed a code that could be sent electronically using short dots and long dashes.

It became known as:

_   _   _   _   _                   _   _   _   _

T   V   Y   Z   L                  J   V    K   L

Lord Robert Baden-Powell the founder of the scouting movement used visual codes by sketching details of a fortress on a picture of a:

_    _    _    _    _    _    _    _    _

I    B    A    A    L    Y   M    S     F

Making codes and ciphers is great fun. Why not create your own and test them out on your family and friends.

 

 

 

Top 10 Children’s fiction June 2015

Tom Gates has two positions in the Top 10 this month! You might know Liz Pichon’s creation has a musical side,  you too can join in with Dog Zombies rendition of Delia’s a weirdo with a score from Tom Gates’ band! Got some of your own tunes inspired by characters from your favourite books? Let us know in the review section.  A new Dirty Bertie is about to hit the shelves, get your library card ready to place your reserve…and…go!

 

1. Diary of a wimpy kid by Jeff Kinney

2. Dirty Bertie by Alan MacDonald

3. Conspiracy 365 by Gabrielle Lord

4. Where’s Wally? by Martin Handford

5. Ruby Redfort by Lauren Child

6. Big Nate by Lincoln Pierce

7. Excellent excuses (and other good stuff) by Liz Pichon

8. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

9. Genius ideas (mostly) by Liz Pichon

10. The 26-storey treehouse by Andy Griffiths

Top 10 children’s fiction for April 2015

The series books are holding their own in the popularity stake but, classic author, Roald Dahl has a serious fan base out there

1. Diary of a wimpy kid by Jeff Kinney

2. Dork Diaries by Rachel Renée Russell

3. Where’s Wally? by Martin Handford

4. Dirty Bertie by Alan MacDonald

5. Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce

6. Matilda by Roald Dahl

7. Ruby Redfort by Lauren Child

8. The 52-storey treehouse by Andy Grifiths

9. Awful Auntie by David Walliams

10. Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl

January’s Top 10 Children’s fiction

Some of these great books were in the Summer Reading Challenge.  Are any of them your favourites? Let us know what you think of the books you read on the reviews page and help someone find a new favourite.

1.   Diary of a wimpy kid series, by Jeff Kinney

2.   Where’s Wally?, by Martin Handford

3.   Dirty Bertie, series, by Alan MacDonald

4.   Dork diaries, by Rachel Renée Russel

5.   Ruby Redfort, series, by Lauren Child

6.   Big Nate series, by Lincoln Pierce

7.  Conspiracy 365 series, by Gabrielle Lord

8.   The 52-storey treehouse, by Andy Griffiths

9.  Awful Auntie, by David Walliams

10.Matilda, by Roald Dahl

November’s Top 10 Children’s fiction

This month’s favourite library lends include author Jeff Kinney.  As popular online as in print, “To date, the online version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid has more than 80 million visits, and is typically read by more than 70,000 kids a day.”

1.   Diary of a wimpy kid by Jeff Kinney.
2.   Where’s Wally? by Martin Handford
3.   Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
4.   Dirty Bertie by Alan MacDonald
5.   Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone by J. K. Rowling
6.   Awful Auntie by David Walliams
7.   Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl
8.   Matilda by Roald Dahl
9.   Conspiracy 365 by Gabrielle Lord
10. Puzzle pirates by Leigh, Susannah.

October’s Top 10 Children’s fiction

Adventure, puzzles and plots in this top ten. Great to see Roald Dahl three times in the leader board! Featuring illustrations by the talented Quentin Blake brings life to these scratchy tales of errant anti-heroes and their feats of daring-do.

1.   Diary of a wimpy kid series by Jeff Kinney
2.   Where’s Wally? series by Martin Handford
3.   Dirty Bertie series by Alan MacDonald
4.   Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl
5.   Matilda by Roald Dahl
6.   Big Nate series by Lincoln Pierce
7.   The Twits by Roald Dahl
8.   Conspiracy 365 series by Gabrielle Lord
9.   Puzzle pirates by Susannah Leigh
10. Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone by J. K. Rowling

 

Top 10 Children’s fiction in July

Fire up Children’s imaginations over winter with rainy day reading.  Are one of these your favourite?

1.   Diary of a wimpy kid by Jeff Kinney

2.   Where’s Wally? by Martin Handford

3.   Dirty Bertie by Alan MacDonald

4.   Conspiracy 365. by Gabrielle Lord

5.   Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce

6.   Puzzle pirates by Susannah Leigh

7.   Captain Underpants and the attack of the talking toilets by Dav Pilkey

8.   Hide and seek things that go by Dawn Sirett

9.   The BFG by Roald Dahl

10. The great city search by Rosie Heywood

Top 10 Children’s fiction for June

Most popular reads for June, and in perfect time for the school holidays! Grab some holiday reading today!

1.   Diary of a wimpy kid by Jeff  Kinney
2.   Dirty Bertie by Alan MacDonald
3.   Where’s Wally? by Martin Handford
4.   Conspiracy 365 by Gabrielle Lord
5.   Big Nate by Lincoln  Peirce
6.   The BFG by Roald Dahl
7.   Puzzle pirates by Susannah Leigh
8.   Captain Underpants and the attack of the talking toilets by Dav Pilkey
9.   Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone by J. K. Rowling
10. Attack of the bandit cats by Geronimo Stilton