I’m thrilled to be able to share this guest post with you, written by Hannah Rix, co-founder of Little Reads.

Little Reads is a curated library of 3,000+ hand-picked children’s books, ages 5 to 11, on iOS and Android.

It’s for kids who already love reading (and the parents keeping them supplied), not a learn-to-read tool. More library than classroom.

Every so often, a child reads their way to the end of the shelf.

I think reaching this so often as a child has made me into a (slight) book hoarder as an adult. It’s a running joke in our house that the TBR pile is becoming a bit of a health hazard and probably needs its own bookcase but I’m not ready to accept that defeat yet…

But when a child has read the entire shelf (you know the one). They’ve worked through the class library, the school library, the recommendations and the sequels to the recommendations.

Now they’re slightly bereft, asking the most wonderful and most stressful question a reader can ask. What should I read next?

I spent ten years teaching English (three of them as Head of English at a SEND specialist school), and this was one of my favourite kinds of problem to solve. Not only because these children were already excited about the prospect of reading new books. But they also don’t need persuading.

And in my experience, the trick isn’t another book like the last one. It’s a book big enough, or different enough, to keep them going for a loooonngg time.

Here are five I’d hand over without hesitation.

1. The Girl Who Speaks Bear, Sophie Anderson

This one’s for the fairy tale kids. The ones who drained the myths and legends shelf dry and want a story that feels like it’s being told just to them.

Yanka was found in a bear cave as a baby. Twelve years on she’s bigger and stronger than everyone in her village, and so done with the whispers about where she came from. 

So she runs. Off over icy rivers and mountains, picking up the most brilliant bunch of friends as she goes.

And the thing I really love about this book is there are little folk tales tucked between the chapters (bears, princesses, dragons), and every single one of them means something to the story.

If they come back demanding more Sophie Anderson (which they will), The Snow Girl and The Thief Who Sang Storms are great places to go next.

2. The Land of Roar, Jenny McLachlan

Every kid has invented an imaginary world. But what if yours was real, and what if it remembered you?

Arthur and Rose made up Roar when they were little. Now they’re eleven and much too grown up for all that, thank you. 

Then their grandad gets snatched into Roar by the villain who used to stalk their nightmares, and suddenly they’re climbing back into their own imagination to rescue him.

Give this to the reader who likes to spend more time asking “what if [insert imaginary world here] was a real place?” than living in the real world (I mean can we blame them?).

Bonus that it’s the first of a trilogy, so nobody runs out of pages by Thursday.

3. Malamander, Thomas Taylor

Picture a seaside town in winter. Pier empty, wind howling, and everyone in town swears there’s a monster that creeps out of the sea.

Herbie Lemon is the Lost-and-Founder at the town’s grand old hotel, and his whole job is returning lost things to their owners. 

Then a girl called Violet turns up and asks him to find her parents, who vanished twelve years ago. The trail leads (obviously) straight to the monster.

Spooky but in a cosy way. More shivers than nightmares. Great for fans of a whodunnit, or those who work out the ending fifty pages early. They’ll absolutely eat this up.

First of a series too (thank goodness).

4. Brightstorm, Vashti Hardy

Sky-ships. An ice race. A family name to clear. Perfect for any reader who inhales adventure stories.

Arthur and Maudie’s famous explorer dad has died on a failed expedition to the bottom of the world. And to make matters worse, everyone’s saying he was a thief before he went. But the twins aren’t having it. So they talk their way onto a rival sky-ship and race to South Polaris to find out what actually happened.

Pure action-adventure, and perfect for the kid who declares a book boring if nothing’s happened by page two.

5. A Kind of Spark, Elle McNicoll

And one to finish that’s a different kind of special.

Addie’s class learns about the witch trials that happened centuries ago in her small Scottish town, and she can’t let it go. The people they tried weren’t magic. They were different. 

Addie is autistic, so she knows exactly how that feels, and she decides her town is going to remember those women properly (because there’s more to their story, just like there’s more to hers).

A small story with a big heart.

If you know a child who was hooked on Wonder, this will grab their attention. It’s definitely a book that sparks (pardon the pun) some big and important questions.

One last thought

None of these children need winning over. They’re already consumed by reading and hungry for the next one.

At times like this it’s about making sure the next book is never out of reach.

Keeping up with these special kinds of readers was the bit I found hardest as a teacher.

And it’s exactly why I co-founded Little Reads, a curated library of 3,000+ hand-picked books for kids aged 5 to 11, with every book on this list in it.

No ads, no quizzes, no streaks to chase. Just the books. It’s £7.99 a month after a 7-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

It’s built for children who already love books. If the children you know are still finding their feet with reading, there are better-suited apps out there.

SPECIAL OFFER: Instead of the usual 7-day free trial, you can get 30 days free with the code GETKIDS30.