Tips for encouraging your children to read more this summer + Puffin book giveaway

*This is a collaborative post

As a rule, I generally try and ban electronic devices from holidays and days out. H, H and J know that they can play on their tablets and computers as much as they like when they are at home but when we're out and about, their devices usually stay at home and they can entertain themselves in other ways. Harry (10) and Heidi (8) are old enough now to read longer books and they can happily sit in the back of the cars for hours reading. We always buy/borrow new books over summer whether this be with a trip to the library, charity shop or WH Smith at the airport. I really believe that summer is a fantastic opportunity for kids to lose themselves in a story and I'm delighted to be teaming up with Puffin and their 'Start A Story' campaign this summer. 

Visit the Puffin website here and sign up to the campaign. You'll receive top recommendations for the best books to buy for your kids this summer



Harry, Heidi and Jack read for every evening in bed for 30 minutes before they go to sleep during term time. I must admit I am more relaxed about this in the holidays but that doesn't mean the kids don't enjoy lots of reading time. Books will always come on holiday with us and during our trip to Wales last month, Heidi and Harry both read 3 big books from cover to cover and Jack read the same book over and over every night (he's a creature of habit). Puffin sent the children some new books to take camping with them this week (you can win these books in our giveaway if you scroll to the bottom of this post) and I was amazed that Harry read Diary of a Wimpy Kid from cover to cover in one night.


Top Tips for encouraging your children to read this summer 


  • Leave a selection of books in the back seat pockets of the car so they are always there for long journeys
  • Take books and torches with you during camping trips and encourage reading by torchlight - it's super exciting! 
  • Take books on holiday with you to read on the plane, by the pool and at the beach
  • Continue bedtime reading times on holiday
  • If you're going camping, read books by the campfire and take it in turns to read a page. A non-fiction book or ghost story is good for this
  • Arrange a book swap party with your children's friends half way through the holidays
  • Spend and afternoon crafting bookmarks based on your children's favourite book characters
  • If you're not sure what books to buy, use websites such as Puffin Start A Story or ask what your children have enjoyed reading at school and buy a book by the same author
  • Create a summer reading corner in their bedroom with cushions, a stocked bookcase or book box and a water bottle - somewhere they can head to relax or if they need some time away from the X Box. Check out these reading nooks if you need any inspiration. 


Books for children aged 0-5

We love the classic 'Where's Spot' which we have passed to my 2 year old nephew to enjoy. This is a story I remember as a child myself and a real favourite with my own children when they were younger. If you don't have it in your collection, I can highly recommend buying the board book and it will be a story that is shared time and time again. 


Our second recommended book for this age group is 'The Giant Jumparee' which is by one of our all time favourite authors Julia Donaldson. Although this is aimed at children aged 0-5, we are all Julia Donaldson fans and had not read this story so decided to take it camping with us anyway as a good bedtime story. The plot is simple with rhyming words and I imagine it will definitely keep the attention of very small children as they follow the tale. What I like about this book is that Jack (aged 6) could easily read it himself but we could also enjoy it as a family when I read it to us all (complete with silly voices) in the evening before bed.



Books for children aged 5-9

Heidi (8) is only just starting to read bigger books - we used to laugh as she used to 'pretend' to read them but now I can see she is definitely reading and taking everything in. She loves reading in the car during road trips and decided to start reading 'The Racehorse Who Won't Gallop' during our camping trip. This is quite a big book so feels quite grown up but Heidi has been enjoying it so far. 


Another book recommended for this age group is 'George's Marvellous Medicine' by Roald Dahl. Harry picked this up to read in the car on the way home as he had finished the book he'd brought and this was going spare. Harry is probably the only child I know who says they don't like Roald Dahl books but this book kept him quiet for a whole hour as we packed up the car after our camping trip and travelled home so I think that the time is perhaps turning! 

Books for children aged 9+

Harry is the biggest reader in our house - even more so than Steve and I. Once he starts reading a book he can't put it down. The first book he picked up was 'The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary | The Next Chapter'. This non-fiction book provides lots of inside information to the making of the movie which we watched at Jam Jar Cinema earlier this summer. Harry really lost himself in this book and I would recommend to anyone who has watched the movie. It followed us everywhere during our trip.....






The second book recommended for this age group is 'Wave Me Goodbye' by Jacqueline Wilson. This book tells the tale of a 10-year-old girl who is sent away on a train with her schoolmates during WWII. This is a big book and could probably last a full week's holiday if read regularly. Harry is going to try this book once he's finished George's Marvellous Medicine. I'll Tweet how he finds it. 


For more reading recommendations this summer, don't forget to check out the Puffin 'Start A Story' website here


I honestly can't imagine going on holiday or taking a day trip without a book in tow - both for myself and the children. Summer is a time where life slows down for us a little and it's lovely to have a full six weeks to lose yourself in multiple books. We have a few other trips planned this summer and once we've finished these books we'll definitely head to the Puffin website and select a few other books from their range. Puffin books are so well known and you know you're buying a quality book if you spot a little Puffin on the cover.

Puffin Books Giveaway 


Puffin Books have provided us with a bundle of books to giveaway to one lucky reader this summer. The winner will receive all of the Puffin books mentioned in this post. Here is the full list worth £50+:

Please enter via Rafflecopter below (ends midnight 20th August 2017). Good luck! 


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98 comments

  1. I really like the look of The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop. I love Clare Balding and imagine she is such a great writer. x

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  2. Invisible Emmie By Terri Libenson looks great and something children can relate to in their life experiences

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  3. Fungus the Bogeyman, my kids love anything disgusting, so this book will certainly keep their attention

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  4. One of the Diary of a wimpy kid books, my Dayton loves them

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  5. Great prize :) thanks for the chance. Good luck to all.
    Msg from Aysha Suleman (Ash) @Ms_Zircon

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  6. George's marvellous medicine. I loved it as a child

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  7. The Mr Men books because I remember reading them as a child and enjoying them.

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  8. A Summer Double Daisy by Kes Gray & Nick Sharratt just like my little one always up to mischief!

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  9. The Twits as such fond memories of reading it

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  10. The Smoking Hourglass by Jennifer Bell because its about magic

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  11. The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop (Charlie Bass) It has a strong girl power message and of course horses! Which my daughter is mad about!

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  12. Love the suggestions for books for under fives. Our girls love bedtime stories and Spot is one of their favourites. In fact, it's one of my books from when I was a kid 😀

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  13. Tilly and the Time machine as I like Ade Edmundson

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  14. The twits as I remember reading it as a kid

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  15. Goodnight space man - My little boy is just learning to read and is obsessed with space ! This book would be right up his street

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  16. I would choose The Jolly Postman by Janet & Allan Ahlberg, I read this to both my children, it was one of their favourites, and I know my granddaughter would love it, especially reading the letters.


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  17. diary of a wimpy kid - they love this

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  18. I loved reading as a child and it's so lovely to see your children with a book using their imagination.

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  19. We’re All Wonders by RJ Palacio

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  20. Fungus the Bogeyman, Alexander loves anything distgusting

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  21. George's Marvellous Medicine, a brilliant story that I loved growing up. Plus we love all things Roald Dahl in our house

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  22. Love from Lexie interests me. Cathy Cassidy is a big hit with us and I haven't seen this one before. Thanks for the great giveaway.

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  23. Fungus the Bogeyman i used to love that book

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  24. I love the idea about reading with a flashlight!

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  25. Peter Rabbit: A Peep-Inside Tale because my son loves him :)

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  26. image: https://www.penguin.co.uk/content/dam/prh-consumer/puffin/articles/2017/June/burgler_bill.png


    Burglar Bill by Janet & Allan Ahlberg sounds exciting

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  27. The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop love horses

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  28. Middle School: Escape to Australia by James Patterson

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  29. Stars
    Laura Jennings as my neice has intrests similar to storyline, thanks

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  30. CAROLYN HEYWORTH7 August 2017 at 15:56

    PETER RABBIT AS MY GRANDSON LOVES WATCHING THIS

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  31. There's a Monster in your book - my little boy is really into monsters, so he'd really enjoy this.

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  32. This frog is definitely NOT grumpy!I think my little fella would identify with him...sometimes ;)

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  33. Peter Rabbit - A peep inside tale

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  34. George's Marvellous Medicine as it is a childhood favourite. Thankyou for the competition x

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  35. The Jolly Postman by Janet & Allan Ahlberg.....I adore this book so it was one of my first picks when my little girl was born.

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  36. There’s a Monster In Your Book by Tom Fletcher & Greg Abbot. This sounds a busy book to keep my grandchildren amused and laughing not for bedtime though.

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  37. Jeremy Strong sounds like something my son would love xx

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  38. Diary of a wimpy kid catches my eye as my daughter loves them! @bexallum on twitter

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  39. We love a bit of Julia Donaldson here. My sister in law kindly got us a signed copy of her book for older kids 'the Giants and the Joneses' which is good fun, but both my boys still love her picture books too :)

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  40. The 'Where's Spot?' book, brings back great memories!

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  41. The trials of Apollo by rick Riordan because my boys have enjoyed his books in the past, they are full of mystery, action and adventure xx

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  42. Peter rabbit looks great as I used to love it as a child

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  43. Diary of a Killer Cat looks like great fun

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  44. The diary of a wimpy kid books look amazing!

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  45. George's Marvellous Medicine, I remember reading this when I was young, great book too :)

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  46. Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are so funny and its great that the author is continuing yo bring out new stories which my son loves to read.

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  47. Tilly and the Time machine sounds right up my daughters street

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  48. The Diary of Dennis the Menace: Rollercoaster Riot!
    When I was a kid the local second hand shop let you have 10 Beanos for 50p

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  49. The trials of APOLLO looks like a good book.

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  50. There's a monster in your book caught my eye, seems like the sort of thing my kids would
    Love plus the monster is a cutie

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  51. Tilly and The Time Machine, I think this is one book my daughter would really enjoy to read

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  52. Goodnight space man - my daughter loves the stars and planets

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  53. The Jolly Postman by Janet & Allan Ahlberg has really good reviews but somehow I have missed reading it to the children. The title sounds rather good too.

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  54. Hairy Maclary because i know my son would love this!

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  55. Tilly and the Time Machine looks funny & exciting!

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  56. There's a Monster in Your Book is on our wishlist - I think Jaxon will love it,

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  57. Has to be the giant jumperee as i want to read the book as it looks interesting by the cover of it.

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  58. The Racehorse who Disappeared by Clare Balding because Clare knows all about racehorses and is bound to have made this a really good read!

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  59. The book that most catches my eye is 'There's a monster in your book' by Tom Fletcher. It seems like such a fun story!

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  60. Definitely Meg and Mog. I am certain I read it as a child, but I can't actually remember it.

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  61. George's Marvellous Medicine as it was part of my childhood and my niece would enjoy it.

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  62. the wind in the willows. i loved that book as a child

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  63. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett & Laura Ellen Andersen because I love Terry Pratchett :)

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  64. The Dark Prophecy looks great, my son's kind of book.

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  65. The Milly Molly Mandy stories!

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  66. The toddler books as my little one likes simple stories - eg Funnybones!

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  67. Fungus the Bogeyman - sounds funny!

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  68. The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop by Clare Balding & Tony Ross - because I always got lost in horse stories at that age.

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  69. I think that my son would like Hilo The Great Big Boom Hilo Book 3 by Judd Winick.

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  70. George's Marvellous Medicine because I read it as a child and I think my daughter would love it

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  71. Charlotte Carter-Dunn19 August 2017 at 16:44

    Funny Bones because I used to love the story as a child and I think my niece would love it too :)

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  72. The twits as I had the audio book and me and my sister spent many nights giggling while falling asleep while listening to this

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  73. Diary of a wimpy kid are my favourite to read to my nieces

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  74. Dennis the Menace and Gnasher: The Golden Catapult as I enjoyed the comics as a child

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  75. They all look like stories my girls would love, but I'm going to have to with Fungus the bogeyman. top bloke!

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  76. George's marvellous medicine because my son loves roald dahl stories x

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  77. Moomin and the Wishing Star because it reminds me about my childhood. We watched Moomins every evening :)

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  78. The Young Magicians and the Thieves’ my grandkids would lpove this book

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  79. Wave me goodbye looks soooo good.so fun. Lorna gardner

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  80. my daughters would like the The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney

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  81. I'm intrigued by the Doctor Who books - had no idea they existed! Great for both kids and adults alike.

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  82. The Mr Men books. my daughter loves them

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  83. Fungus the Bogeyman, gross is funny

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  84. I would love Little Women for my daughter. She is an avid reader and I can remember loving this book at her age.

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  85. A summer double daisy as it sounds funny, and my five year old daughter loves funny stories xXx

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  86. The Smoking Hourglass (THE UNCOMMONERS) looks great reading

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  87. The Mr Men books because I remember reading them as a child and enjoying them.

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  88. The secret garden. Loved the film and the book is something you can read over again x

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  89. Fungus the Bogeyman is fab, my nephew loves it

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  90. The Twits because it brings back lots of fun childhood memories x

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  91. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: V&A Collector's Edition! As i love the original book and this cover is beautifully illustrated!

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  92. George's Marvellous Medicine - a classic which I loved as a child and I know my children would too!

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  93. I would love to read "This is NOT a bedtime story" to my little boy xx

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  94. I like the look of The Trials Of Apollo, as my boys love an adventure story!

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  95. George's marvellous medicine , I remember reading this when I was young and laughing lots so I know my 5 year old son would love it too.

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