Nine of the best children’s books for summer 2023
Recommended reads for the school summer holidays
- 1. One Chance Dance
- 2. Anchored
- 3. Can You Get Rainbows in Space?
- 4. The Adventures of Billy Shaman: The Rage of the Sea Witch
- 5. The House with a Dragon in It
- 6. Prehistoric Beasts
- 7. Stolen History: The Truth About the British Empire and How It Shaped Us
- 8. Stateless
- 9. The Case of the Lighthouse Intruder
1. One Chance Dance
by Efua Traoré
An exhilarating tale about children working together to help each other on the streets of Lagos. Ages 8-12.
Chicken House, 336pp, £7.99; theweekbookshop.co.uk
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
2. Anchored
by Debra Tidball and Arielle Li
This comforting picture book about a big ship and a little tugboat focuses on the themes of separation and reunion, and how we carry thoughts of our loved ones with us wherever we go. Ages 0-5.
EK Books, 32pp, £10.99; theweekbookshop.co.uk
3. Can You Get Rainbows in Space?
by Dr Sheila Kanani, illustrated by Liz Kay
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
A stylish book covering a dazzling array of topics from astronomy to zoology, and answering questions such as why some animals glow in the dark. Ages 7-9.
Puffin, 128pp, £14.99; theweekbookshop.co.uk
4. The Adventures of Billy Shaman: The Rage of the Sea Witch
by Roland Chambers
The first in the series, this is the story of Billy, who is transported to the frozen north 2,000 years ago. It is narrated by a giant tortoise and has quirky illustrations. Ages 5-8.
Zephyr, 176pp, £7.99; theweekbookshop.co.uk
5. The House with a Dragon in It
by Nick Lake, illustrated by Emily Gravett
Foster child Summer is having lunch one day when a sinkhole appears in the sitting room, leading to a host of adventures. This is a magical wish-fulfilment novel with lovely illustrations. Ages 8-12.
Simon & Schuster, 240pp, £12.99; theweekbookshop.co.uk
6. Prehistoric Beasts
by Dr Dean Lomax, illustrated by Mike Love
A pop-up book focusing on less-familiar prehistoric creatures. Each double-page spread features a regular animal alongside its ancient ancestor. Ages 3+.
Templar, 16pp, £16.99; theweekbookshop.co.uk
7. Stolen History: The Truth About the British Empire and How It Shaped Us
by Sathnam Sanghera, illustrated by Jen Khatun
Filled with references to popular culture, this is an engaging guide to the empire, covering everything from the history of HP Sauce to the source of the word “zombie”. Ages 9+.
Puffin, 208pp, £8.99; theweekbookshop.co.uk
8. Stateless
by Elizabeth Wein
This cleverly constructed murder mystery from the author of “Code Name Verity” is narrated by 17-year-old Stella, the only female pilot in an air race in 1937. Ages 12+.
Bloomsbury, 400pp, £8.99; theweekbookshop.co.uk
9. The Case of the Lighthouse Intruder
by Kereen Getten, illustrated by Leah Jacobs-Gordon
The first story in the Di Island Crew Investigates series features a gang of easily distracted child detectives looking into a mysterious shadow on an island off Jamaica. Ages 5-8.
Pushkin, 224pp, £7.99; theweekbookshop.co.uk
-
Train Dreams pulses with ‘awards season gravitas’The Week Recommends Felicity Jones and Joel Edgerton star in this meditative period piece about a working man in a vanished America
-
Crossword: November 13, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Middleland: Rory Stewart’s essay collection is a ‘triumph’The Week Recommends The Rest is Politics co-host compiles his fortnightly columns written during his time as an MP
-
Train Dreams pulses with ‘awards season gravitas’The Week Recommends Felicity Jones and Joel Edgerton star in this meditative period piece about a working man in a vanished America
-
Middleland: Rory Stewart’s essay collection is a ‘triumph’The Week Recommends The Rest is Politics co-host compiles his fortnightly columns written during his time as an MP
-
‘Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America’ and ‘Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary’feature The culture divide in small-town Ohio and how the internet usurped dictionaries
-
6 homes with fall foliagefeature An autumnal orange Craftsman, a renovated Greek Revival church and an estate with an orchard
-
Bugonia: ‘deranged, extreme and explosively enjoyable’Talking Point Yorgos Lanthimos’ film stars Emma Stone as a CEO who is kidnapped and accused of being an alien
-
The Revolutionists: a ‘superb and monumental’ bookThe Week Recommends Jason Burke ‘epic’ account of the plane hijackings and kidnappings carried out by extremists in the 1970s
-
Film reviews: ‘Bugonia,’ ‘The Mastermind’ and ‘Nouvelle Vague’feature A kidnapped CEO might only appear to be human, an amateurish art heist goes sideways, and Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless’ gets a lively homage
-
Book reviews: ‘Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity’ and ‘Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice’feature An examination of humanity in the face of “the Machine” and a posthumous memoir from one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, who recently died by suicide