I think we are all tired of hearing ‘these are uncertain times’ but nevertheless they really are! Yesterday I thought we would be having a warm sunny school holiday with walks in the park and picnics in the garden and today I think we might actually get snow instead! There are a lot of things we cannot influence or change during these times but the one thing we can do is keep our children reading. We can read with them and to them (every night, you know the drill by now!) and we can help them explore the world through books.

Reading is a great way to relax and reading aloud/listening can have a calming affect so popping on an audio book when things get a bit fractious is just one of my top tips for the holidays.

Amazing Non-Fiction

If you have a budding scientist in your household or you are keen to feed an inquisitive mind then I would suggest any of the above titles, all from our BorrowBox eBook collection. Some other titles from this collection which I think are well worth a look include Brain Fizzing Facts, David Attenborough, Adventures on Earth and True Stories of Pirates. All of these you can find in your BorrowBox app.

Adventure Stories

It has been hard to go on any actual adventures in recent times so turning to a book can bring great solace and the stories above are just a snapshot of what is available on BorrowBox. You’ll know from my previous posts that I have an absolute love of the Alex Bell’s Explorers’ Club series and Ocean Squid Explorers’ Club is no exception, there is a new cast of characters to get to know and of course, a perilous journey to undertake! We will be reading The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes this weekend as well as continuing our foray into Ancient Greece as we start Homer’s Iliad.

Listening

There really are too many audio books for me to choose from in our BorrowBox collection and yet I have gathered some rather lovely ones above. I am listening to The Lost Spells as I write; I have to admit I wasn’t sure how this book would translate to audio but I stand corrected as this is one of the most relaxing and interesting audio books I have ever listened to. I would definitely recommend this one for a little moment of calm.

For Older Readers

We do have an extensive collection of eBooks and audio books for Young Adults in BorrowBox, it is well worth a browse and I must confess that this is my go-to collection when I want a new listen. Here are a few suggested listens – please do go and have a browse in the app to see some of the other amazing titles that are available.

As I am a great reader of Young Adult fiction, I find it really hard to pick out just a few titles to recommend but I have tried with the selection below to give you some really great series starters to keep your young people engaged and ready for more!

Lots of reading suggestions from me today, as it is the school holidays I thoroughly recommend children’s choice – allow them to choose what they want to read or listen to. Their choices might surprise you but you never know, it could be the hook that finally turns them into a lifelong reader!

Happy reading everyone, don’t forget to grab some books for yourself to read over the holidays as well, let me know if any of these books have tempted you or if you have any recommendations for me!

Stephanie.