Reading a book is a favourite activity of many people of all ages, and it comes as no surprise that children like to read books too, especially the ones that sparks their imagination and creativity. Reading to young children can build a strong parent-child emotional bond while simultaneously helping to develop a child’s language skills and vocabulary. Reading stories can broaden the horizons of young children by introducing them to characters, concepts, and relationships beyond their everyday experiences. This broader worldview can encourage curiosity and foster communication skills in an inquiring mind.

Children starting to read at an early age usually continue to do so as they get older. Consequently, they are less likely to be obsessed with the Internet, video games, and television as too much time spent with these gadgets is proven to be damaging to a child’s development. Children who read regularly are known to have better memory retention, concentration and analytical skills. Reading fiction can help ease anxieties among children, which is commonly experienced important events in their lives. Young ones usually do not show that they feel alienated and different from their peers.

However, this is where good fiction can help overcome these worries by introducing them to situations and characters they can relate to, who have similar anxieties and who find ways to deal with them.

1. Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat (Emmy and the Rat)

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat is a book about a good girl named Emmy who tried very hard to be good. She did her homework without anyone telling her to do so and ate all her vegetables. Emmy never talked back to her nanny, Miss Barmy, although it was almost impossible to keep quiet some days. Emmy was a little too good, which is why she liked to sit by the Rat, who was not good at all. This book is a droll fantasy with an old-fashioned sweep and a positively cinematic cast.

It is a mystery cleverly woven into a fun and, at times, hilarious caper. Children can likely find themselves laughing out loud by a delightful read. This book takes children on a merry ride, which is sometimes like a scary romp that turns smoothly on its fantastic premise and fabulous characters. Emmy and the shrinking Rat is a fun and funny book with a fast-paced storyline. It is a page-turner that appropriately begins and ends with the unforgettable Rat in an acrobatic flip-book feature.

2. Where the Red Fern Grows

A beloved classic that captures the great bond between man and man’s best friend, this edition of Where the Red Fern Grows also includes a special note to readers from Newbery Medal winner and PrintzHonor winner Clare Vanderpool. This book is about a child named Billy who has long dreamt of owning not one but two, dogs and when he is finally able to save up enough money for two pups to call his own, he is ecstatic. It does not matter that times are tough; together, he and his dogs will roam the hills of the Ozarks.

Billy and his hounds become the best hunting team in the valley, where stories of their great achievements spread throughout the region. Also, the combination of Old Dan’s brawn, Little Ann’s brains, and Billy’s sheer seem unbeatable throughout the story. However, tragedy awaits these determined hunters who are now friends as Billy learns that hope can develop out of despair and that the seeds of the future can come from the scars of the past.

3. Number the Stars

Number the Stars is Lois Lowry’s unforgettable Newbery Medal-winning novel about a ten-year-old Danish girl’s bravery, which is tested when her best friend is threatened by the Nazis of 1943. These German troops begin their campaign to relocate all the Jews of Denmark, and Annemarie’s family takes in Annemarie’s best friend, Ellen Rosen. They conceal her as part of the family, and through the eyes of 10-year-old Annemarie, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggle the Jewish population of Denmark.

This includes nearly seven thousand people across the sea to Sweden. The heroism of an entire country reminds us that there was pride and human decorum in the world, even during a time of war and terror. This book includes a new introduction by the author.

4. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia)

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, also known as the Chronicles of Narnia, is one of America’s top most-loved novels, selected by PBS’s The Great American Read. This is a popular book with a beautiful paperback edition of book two in the classic fantasy series named The Chronicles of Narnia. Moreover, this particular edition features cover art by three-time Medal-winning illustrator David Wiesner and interior illustrations by the series’ original illustrator, Pauline Baynes.

The story involved four adventurous siblings named Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie, who steps into a wardrobe and enters the fantasy land of Narnia. Narnia is a land frozen in everlasting winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. However, when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change and a great sacrifice. This book opens the door to enter a new world and has been captivating readers of all ages with an enchanted land and memorable characters for over sixty years.

5. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 100th Anniversary Edition (Books of Wonder)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a journey to the spectacular Land of Oz. This book is a classic tale from the author named L. Frank Baum has entranced readers for over a century. This edition was published for the hundredth anniversary, and it features the original illustrations by W.W. Denslow, where new readers will learn the power of the phrase “There is no place like home.” This hardcover edition has high-quality reproductions of the original art that follows the adventures of young Dorothy Gale and her dog, Toto.

Their house in Kansas is swept away by a cyclone, and they enter a strange land called Oz. In Oz, she meets the Munchkins and joins the Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion on a memorable journey to the Emerald City, where lives the all-powerful Wizard of Oz. This storybook is suitable for anyone in 4^th grade and above.

6. The City of Ember: The First Book of Ember

The City of Ember, the First Book of the series named Ember, depicts the story of Ember, which is the only light in a world with darkness. When Ember’s lamps begin to flicker, two friends must race to escape the darkness that envelops the whole world. This highly commended adventure series is a modern-day classic that has sold over four million copies. In this book, the city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race, and two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city started to dim.

Lina, one of the main characters, finds part of an ancient message, and she is sure it has a secret that will save the city. Now, she and her friend must race to figure out the clues to keep the lights on. If they succeed, they might have to convince everyone to follow them into danger, and if they fail, the lights will diminish, and the darkness will close in forever. The City of Embers was nominated to twenty-eight state award lists and awarded different titles and prizes for being a notable children’s book.

7. The Invasion (AnimorphsGraphix #1) (1)

The Invasion is a wildly popular, bestselling sci-fi series by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant. This novel returns in a new full-colour graphic novel series, adapted by Chris Grine. Sometimes weird things happen to people, and a similar thing happened to Jake when he and his friends saw the light in the sky that seemed to be heading right for them. That night, these five normal kids learned that humanity is under a silent attack, and they were given the power to fight back. Now, the children named Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias, and Marco can transform into some of the most dangerous creatures on Earth.

They must use that given power to outsmart an evil larger than anything the world has ever seen. The Animorph books are dark, witty, thrilling, endlessly inventive and achingly sad. They made me many children laugh out loud and cry to sleep. K.A. Applegate, the author of the bestselling Animorphs series, the Remnants and Everworld series, Home of the Brave, and the Roscoe Riley Rules series, lives in Tiburon, California.

8. The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories, 1)

The Wishing Spell is the first book in Chris Colfer’s #1 New York Times bestselling series named The Land of Stories. This series is a story about two siblings who fall into a fairy-tale world. Alex and Conner Bailey’s world changes in this fast-paced adventure that uniquely combines our modern-day world with the captivating realm of classic fairy tales. The Land of Stories depicts the tale of twins Alex and Conner through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories.

These siblings leave their world behind and enter a foreign land full of wonder and magic, where they meet fairy tale characters they grew up reading about. However, after a series of encounters with goblins, witches, wolves, and trolls alike, getting back home is harder than they thought. Chris Colfer was honoured as a member of the Time 100 and Time magazine’s annual list of the most influential people in the world.

9. The Shadows (The Books of Elsewhere, Vol. 1)

The Shadows is the first volume of the Books of Elsewhere series and for the fans of Small Spaces, Coraline, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and James Howe’s Bunnicula classics. It is one of the award-winning New York Times bestselling book series. This crumbling mansion on Linden Street, where eleven-year-old Olive and her parents move into, has secrets. They find it filled with mysterious paintings, and Olive knows the place is creepy, but it isn’t until she comes across its three talking cats that she realizes there’s something darkly magical afoot.

In this book, Olive finds a pair of antique spectacles in a drawer and discovers the most peculiar thing. She can travel inside the house’s eerie paintings to a world that’s strangely quiet and eerily sinister. However, in entering Elsewhere, Olive has been entangled in a mystery darker and more dangerous than she could have imagined. She confronts a power that wants to be rid of her by any means necessary, and only the cats and an uncommon boy she meets in Elsewhere are on her side. So it is up to Olive to save the house from the shadows before the lights go out for good.

10. Percy Jackson and the Olympians 5 Book Paperback Boxed Set 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians 5 Book Paperback Boxed Set is a blockbuster set fit for demigods, complete with a bonus poster. This set now comes with glorious new cover art and a special poster. This value-priced set includes the best-selling The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Last Olympian. Children who read these books can accompany the son of the sea god named Poseidon and other demigods as they go on a series of quests facing monsters, gods, and conniving figures from Greek mythology.

Their journey will test whether they have what it takes to save the Olympians from an ancient enemy, and it is for anyone. It can be for readers who are experiencing Percy’s adventures for the first time or for fans who want to consume the saga again. Whatever it be, this gift will be prized by readers aged eight to eighty.