Children's books

Whether you're a parent, carer, or teacher, discover book recommendations for young readers, activities and quizzes that spark engagement and learning, and competitions to win signed children's books and exciting prizes. 

Plus, tick 'children's (0-6)' or 'children's (7-12)' in your profile to receive new competitions and updates directly to your inbox.


National Book Tokens Discover

National Book Tokens Discover, the place to be for booklovers.

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Discover Children's Books

 

Competitions

Discover our competitions to win signed children's books and exciting prizes, including National Book Tokens for young readers to spend on even more books!

 

Check back soon for a new giveaway!

Activities

Discover activities to do together all around the theme of books and the enjoyment of reading.

Top children's authors share their writing tips

Tips for children who want to write!

We asked our favourite authors to share their writing tips and advice for BBC 500 Words.

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Have fun with the Bookily activity sheet

Have fun with the Bookily activity sheet

On the lookout for a rainy day activity? Discover their book choosing style, complete the word search, and more.

Download and print

 

We're going on a... bookshop treasure hunt!

We're going on a... bookshop treasure hunt!

An adventure to the local bookshop is the perfect activity for you and your family. Can you find all 16 books?

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Books to Read

Discover the best books for young booklovers, including books for fans of video games, illustrated books about disability, and books for children to pick up with their National Book Tokens.

20 brilliant books to buy with your book token

20 brilliant books to buy with your book token

Whether they love cosy fantasy or literary thrillers, these are the most popular books for teens and young adults today.

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10 brilliant children's books by Irish authors

10 brilliant children's books by Irish authors

Celebrate the talent of Irish artists with these highlights from the 2024 Recommended Irish Reads guide!

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24 more children's and teen books out in 2024

24 more children's and teen books out in 2024

The best new children's books, whether they love shipwrecks and survival, feisty friendships, or heart-pounding fantasy.

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24 new children's and teen books out in 2024

The best new children's and YA titles, from brilliant graphic novels and magical delights to stories of friendship and family.

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9 books for children that champion neurodiversity

Liz and Julie at Next Page Books – a children's bookshop devoted to inclusivity and diversity – share books which feature neurodiverse characters.

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7 illustrated children's books about disability

James Catchpole, author of What Happened to You?, shares his top illustrated books that feature characters with disabilities or are true stories about famous disabled people.

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5 books for children who love video games

Christopher Edge, author of Escape Room, recommends his top books for children – whether to introduce them to even more adventures or to inspire reluctant readers.

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10 armchair adventures for junior bookworms

 Katherine Rundell, author of The Good Thieves, shares her favourite adventure stories for children.

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5 comic book series for kids who love graphic novels

 Jamie Smart shares his top comic book recommendations.

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10 brilliant books to read by Black writers

Layla, a bookseller at Round Table Books, recommends brilliant books for both children and adults written by Black authors.

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Quizzes

Discover our quizzes about popular children's books, authors and illustrators – why not challenge a young booklover to beat your score?

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Which Mr. Men or Little Miss character are you?

Are you clumsy or cranky? Do you spend the weekend dancing or getting into trouble? Discover your inner Mr. Men Little Miss personality.

Take the quiz

 

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How well do you know Roald Dahl?

Matthew Dennison, author of Teller of the Unexpected: The Life of Roald Dahl, tests your knowledge of this beloved children's author.

Take the quiz

 

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20 years of World Book Day

20 questions about World Book Day authors to celebrate 20 years of the wonderful charity which celebrates books and reading.

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25 years of World Book Day

National Book Tokens is proud to have sponsored World Book Day for more than 25 years. To celebrate their big birthday, we created a quiz about World Book Day books past and present.

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What's your book choosing style?

Do you like the comfort of familiar characters or enjoy challenging yourself to read new voices and stories? Discover your book choosing style!

Take the quiz

 

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Help us find the missing book titles

Our bookshelves have fallen down and we've lost some of our book titles! Can you help us find the missing words from popular children's books?

Play the quiz

 

Book Doctor

Discover brilliant recommendations from bestselling children's authors.

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Rashmi Sirdeshpande, author of Think Like a Boss

Rashmi Sirdeshpande has joined us to provide reading recommendations and advice to young readers.

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Jasbinder Bilan, author of Asha & the Spirit Bird

Jasbinder Bilan has joined us to prescribe the best reads for young booklovers.

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Sophie Kirtley, author of The Wild Way Home

Sophie Kirtley has joined us to prescribe some brilliant books for young readers.

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Robin Stevens, author of Murder Most Unladylike

Robin Stevens has joined us to prescribe the best reads for young booklovers.

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Emma Carroll, author of The Tale of Truthwater Lake

Emma Carroll has joined us to prescribe some fantastic books for children and adults.

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Ask a Bookseller

Discover booksellers' favourite picks. Are you looking for short stories to get your kids into reading, or graphic novels for children who love all things space? Submit a question for our guest booksellers and if it's answered, we'll send you and your young reader a £15/€20 National Book Token to spend in your local bookshop.

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Got a question for a bookseller?

Submit a question and if it's answered, we'll send you a £15/€20 National Book Token to spend in your local bookshop.

Ask now

 

Waterstones Canterbury

Rachel from Waterstones Canterbury recommends

Rachel from Canterbury answers your questions about the best books for children.

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Next Page Books

Liz and Julia from Next Page Books recommend

Liz and Julie from Hitchin answer your questions about the best reads for kids.

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A gothic fairytale based on Bengali folklore

Draw your dream pizza

We gave young booklovers the chance to win a signed copy of Peng and Spanners and £50 to spend on pizza.

See the winners
Win £1,000 / €1,000 for your school’s library

Who won £1,000 for their school's library?

5 schools each won National Book Tokens, with one school also receiving funds to upgrade their library space.

See the winners
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Design a National Book Token

This World Book Day, we invited children of all ages to design their own fabulous National Book Tokens!

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Draw your own Christmas jumper

To celebrate the publication of Jenny Pearson's Operation Nativity, we challenged young readers to design the ultimate festive jumper for the chance to win some Christmas goodies!

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Design a new superhero

We challenged children to design a new SuperQuesters character (with a special tech feature or superpower which helps the environment) to win SuperQuesters goodies.

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Create your own villain

To celebrate Ryan Hammond's Villains Academy, we asked children to create their own villain for a chance get their character illustrated by Ryan and featured on their very own National Book Token.

See the winners
Supporting reading for pleasure for children everywhere

Supporting reading for pleasure for children everywhere

We know that reading for pleasure is the biggest indicator of a child's future success, and has a far-reaching impact on wellbeing. That's why we celebrate books and reading for children through our charity partnerships, as well as through our year-round calendar of fun competitions, reading recommendations and quizzes.

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National Book Tokens Discover, the place to be for booklovers.

Sign up today and we'll enter you to win a £100/€120 National Book Token every month!