Children’s Books and a Giveaway: Give a gift of an all-time favourite

Here at Puffin we all have a favourite book. The one we return to over and over again like a faithful friend. From classic children’s characters like Spot and The Very Hungry Caterpillar to first reads with Tracy Beaker, The Wizard of Oz, and Greg Heffley, the following list has something for everyone’s skip down memory lane. If you haven’t read any of these books yet, you may just find yourself a new all-time favourite!

 

Every night, when the world is sleeping, big gruesome giants guzzle up whoppsy-whiffling human beans. And there’s only one giant who can stop them – the BFG. He’s the kindest giant there is and, with his friend Sophie in his top pocket, he sets out to rid the world of the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater and all their rotsome friends forever. Add The BFG by Roald Dahl to your list! And don’t forget to watch the trailer for Steven Spielberg’s The BFG!

 

 

Alone and fending for themselves in a Poland devastated by World War Two, Jan and his three homeless friends cling to the silver sword as a symbol of hope. As they travel through Europe towards Switzerland, where they believe they will be reunited with their parents, they encounter many hardships and dangers. This extraordinarily moving account of an epic journey gives a remarkable insight into the reality of a Europe laid waste by war. Add The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier to your list!

 

 

‘I’m Tracy Beaker. This is a book all about me. I’d read it if I were
you. It’s the most incredible dynamic heart-rending story. Honest.’ Tracy is ten years old. She lives in a Children’s Home but would like a real home one day, with a real family. Meet Tracy, follow her story and share her hopes for the future in this beautifully observed, touching and often very funny tale, all told in Tracy’s own words. Add The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson to your list!

 

 

A nightmarish danger threatens from the other side of reality . . . Armed with only a frying pan and her common sense, young witch-to-be Tiffany Aching must defend her home against the monsters of Fairyland. Luckily she has some very unusual help: the local Nac Mac Feegle – aka the Wee Free Men – a clan of fierce, sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men. Together they must face headless horsemen, ferocious grimhounds, terrifying dreams come true, and ultimately the sinister Queen of the Elves herself. Add the first book in the Tiffany Aching sequence, The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett, to your list!

 

 

‘Without this child, we shall all die.’ Lyra Belacqua lives half-wild and carefree among the scholars of Jordan College, with her daemon familiar always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle – a struggle born of Gobblers and stolen children, witch clans and armoured bears. As she hurtles towards danger in the cold far North, Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: she alone is destined to win, or to lose, the biggest battle imaginable. Add Northern Lights: His Dark Materials 1 by Philip Pullman to your list!

 

 

Dorothy thinks she is lost forever when a terrifying tornado crashes through Kansas and whisks her and her dog, Toto, far away to the magical land of Oz. To get home Dorothy must follow the yellow brick road to Emerald City and find the wonderfully mysterious Wizard of Oz. Together with her companions the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion whom she meets on the way, Dorothy embarks on a strange and enchanting adventure. Add The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum to your list!

 

 

Hold on to your broom for magical mayhem! Lovable but disaster-prone Mildred Hubble is a trainee at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches, but she’s making an awful mess of it. She keeps getting her spells wrong and crashing her broomstick. Yet she manages to get by until she turns Ethel, the teacher’s pet, into her deadly enemy and chaos ensues. Add The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy to your list!

 

 

Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into a new year and a new school where undersize weaklings share the corridors with kids who are taller, meaner and already shaving. Desperate to prove his new found maturity, which only going up a grade can bring, Greg is happy to have his not-quite-so-cool sidekick, Rowley, along for the ride. But when Rowley’s star starts to rise, Greg tries to use his best friend’s popularity to his own advantage. Recorded in his diary with comic pictures and his very own words, this test of Greg and Rowley’s friendship unfolds with hilarious results. Add Diary Of A Wimpy Kid (Book 1) by Jeff Kinney to your list!

 

 

‘Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a Greek God. I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. That’s when things started really going wrong. Now I spend my time fighting with swords, battling monsters with my friends, and generally trying to stay alive. This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I’ve stolen his lightning bolt – and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.’ Can Percy find the lightning bolt before a fully-fledged war of the Gods erupts? Add the first book in the Percy Jackson series, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, to your list and find out!

 

 

Twelve-year-old villain Artemis Fowl is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history. His bold and daring plan is to hold a leprechaun to ransom. But he’s taking on more than he bargained for when he kidnaps Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance Unit). For a start, leprechaun technology is more advanced than our own. Add to that the fact that Holly is a true heroine and that her senior officer Commander Root will stop at nothing to get her back and you’ve got the mother of all sieges brewing! Add Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer to your list!

 

 

Now’s your chance to own some of our all-time favourite books!* Enter our competition to be in with the chance of winning the following:

*This competition is now closed. 

What’s your all-time favourite book? Let us know using #SeasonsReadings on the @PuffinBooks Twitter.